Ask about the knife in your hand before asking, midnight speed (next week's update will be changed to 12:00 PM)

Chen Dengming approached with a smile, making small talk while discreetly producing a Low-grade Spirit Stone and pressing it into the other cultivator's hand.

"Immortal Master, a small token of respect, unworthy of your notice. This was given to me by an Immortal Master from Golden Character Workshop last time—I'm just a minor Xiantian, no use for it."

The spirit stone gleamed conspicuously in the night.

As the saying goes, money opens eyes. The cultivator's previously taut face relaxed, his cold gaze toward Chen Dengming warming a few degrees as he accepted the bribe.

"Not bad, you know how to play the game. What future is there with Golden Character Workshop? Following Ming Laoda of Hutong Street—that's the smart choice. You say you don't know how our conflict started?"

Seeing Chen Dengming's bewildered expression and sincere, humble attitude, the cultivator nodded with satisfaction and began leading the way.

"The bad blood between our two factions goes way back, but this time Golden Character Workshop went too far. They blamed the death of one of their old cultivators on Hutong Street and kept picking fights."

"Oh?"

Chen Dengming's heart stirred.

Could it be this coincidental? An old cultivator?

He followed step by step, listening as the other continued, a suspicion growing in his mind.

The old cultivator from Golden Character Workshop that the man mentioned had died in a small grove north of the Gathering Place. Preliminary estimates placed his death exactly one month ago, and he'd died in his own cultivation site.

It all matched perfectly.

Time of death, place of death, age of the deceased—everything lined up.

It was that old cultivator who had died by Chen Dengming's own hands over a month ago.

So Golden Character Workshop had pinned the blame on Hutong Street.

The two factions had been clashing over it ever since, and Hutong Street had unwittingly taken the fall for him.

But now, the big shot of Hutong Street had also set his sights on Chen Dengming because of the Waist Token gifted by Fairy Luo. That spelled trouble.

Chen Dengming wasn't stupid. The moment these Kalami showed up, they'd blocked his escape routes front and back—clearly hostile. If he didn't meet that big shot, fine. But once he did, if the man made demands or forced him to switch sides to Hutong Street, he'd have no choice but to comply. He'd be meat on the chopping block.

As for the Luo Family Waist Token Fairy Luo had given him? He knew its worth better than anyone—limited at best. He had no real connection to her.

Other cultivators might speculate about his relationship with Fairy Luo, but anyone sharp and observant would notice his mortal status and draw their own conclusions. They wouldn't necessarily be intimidated.

So now, he had to get out immediately to preserve himself. Trying to please both sides and play both ends was impossible.

The moment Chen Dengming's mind settled on a decision, the cultivator beside him, about to speak, suddenly sensed a flicker of hostility.

This cultivator had never fully let his guard down. His expression shifted, and he began activating the talisman clutched in his hand.

But the moment he channeled his spiritual energy, he felt a swelling pain in the palm that had taken the spirit stone, his internal energy stuttering.

In that instant, a shadow shot out from Chen Dengming's ear and sank its fangs into the cultivator's cheek.

The cultivator felt a sharp sting like a bite, then his entire face went numb. But that wasn't the end—a blade of light flared before his eyes, and a savage slash carved into his neck.

The force of that strike was immense. The cultivator's neck snapped clean through, his body not even swaying before blood erupted like a geyser.

All of this happened in a flash, too fast for the eyes to follow.

The two Xiantian cultivators behind him had just been thinking that the "newbie" was chatting cheerfully with their Immortal Master.

Then, in the next moment, he'd suddenly exploded into action, lopping off their master's head with a single stroke. They hadn't even seen the Blood Centipede Gu before that strike—their master's head was already flying through the air, blood splattering their faces, their eyes wide with shock.

That terror froze them for a heartbeat.

In that heartbeat, Chen Dengming let out a roar, his gaze turning razor-sharp as if he'd become a different man. He charged in, blade in hand, his muscular torso bulging as the Broken Blade's aura surged, taking off another Xiantian's head.

By then, the third Xiantian snapped out of his daze. His first instinct wasn't to fight back but to scream and retreat.

"Take my blade!"

Chen Dengming pressed forward, a long cry tearing from his throat as his fighting spirit blazed. He lunged ahead and swung again, the astonishing blade aura crashing like a furious sea against the other's parrying longsword.

Clang!

Sparks burst.

Steel met steel.

The third Xiantian coughed up a mouthful of blood, his longsword shattering inch by inch, his tiger's-mouth grip splitting open. Before he could stagger back, Chen Dengming flickered.

The Broken Blade trembled, its edge grazing the man's throat. The sound and sensation of steel slicing through cartilage and Blood Vessel transmitted vividly to Chen Dengming's ears and palm.

Blade light rose, sword shadow fell.

Blood rain and gale. In the span of a rabbit's rise and a falcon's stoop, three men lay dead by Chen Dengming's Broken Blade.

The most dangerous cultivator among them hadn't even managed to activate his most effective spiritual shield or lethal talisman before meeting his end.

Chen Dengming stared at the bodies thudding to the ground, at the cultivator's wide, disbelieving eyes, his hand gripping the familiar hilt of the Broken Blade.

Blood soaked the earth. A satisfying vengeance!

When words fail, let the blade in hand speak first!

For a moment, he felt again the thrill of that long-ago night when he'd stood alone against a city, testing his steel against the world. The pent-up frustration of these days—being looked down on as a mere mortal by cultivator after cultivator—found some release.

"Chen's spirit stones aren't so easy to take," he muttered.

He let out a long breath, his fierce gaze softening. He picked up the cultivator's money pouch, glanced inside, and his face darkened.

"Broke! Not a single Spirit Stone! Can't even cover the interest on the Spirit Grains I just lent him."

Sensing someone approaching, he immediately bent down, retrieved the Spirit Stone Gu he had handed over from the cultivator's hand, pried out the talisman the man was clutching tightly, picked up the severed head, wrapped it quickly in his patched cloak, took a breath, leaped over the alleyway, and swiftly departed.

In no time, figures appeared one after another at the alley's entrance. Seeing the corpse on the ground, some gasped, while others' eyes flickered with greed, fixed on the money pouches of the two Xiantian cultivators. But when they spotted the headless cultivator's body, they all cooled down.

In the chaotic Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place, killing and being killed were all too common.

Almost every day, someone died, and among them, slain Xiantian cultivators were the most frequent. Who hadn't seen a corpse before?

But this time, someone had actually taken out a cultivator from Hutong Street. If the Golden Character Workshop was behind it, the Gathering Place would likely plunge into even greater chaos in the days ahead.

Chen Dengming took a breath, leaped, and Swift as the Wind and Lightning, quickly returned to his dwelling.

He swiftly dug out another Spirit Stone he had hidden, then retrieved the Bamboo Slice Gu and Loach Gu he had refined from various corners.

After that, he opened the cloak wrapped around the cultivator's head, letting the Blood Centipede Gu suck away the poisoned blood from the face to prevent anyone from spotting any clues. Then, using the cultivator's blood, he scrawled a line of words on the wall.

Turning around, he rushed out the door.

Just then, his neighbor Xu Wei seemed to hear the commotion. She opened her window and happened to see Chen Dengming leaving, carrying large and small bundles. Her expression was one of surprise.

"Young Master Chen, what are you doing?"

Chen Dengming paused briefly, glanced at Xu Wei's pretty face, which had already swollen less, hesitated for a moment, but still offered a warning.

"The fight between the Golden Character Workshop and Hutong Street is likely to get even fiercer. Miss Xu, you'd best find somewhere else to take shelter."

"Somewhere else?"

Xu Wei was taken aback, then looked down in confusion. "Where? I... I don't have any Spirit Grains to trade for a better place to stay. In the city, aside from the shacks, the only better dwellings are reserved for Immortal Masters..."

Chen Dengming sighed inwardly, gave Xu Wei a deep look, and said, "I'm planning to go out and lie low for a while. Miss Xu, take care!"

With that, Chen Dengming turned and hurried away with his pack.

"Go out? Leave the Gathering Place?"

Xu Wei watched Chen Dengming's sturdy retreating figure. A surge of impulse rose to her lips, making her want to shout, "Take me with you."

But the words caught in her throat. She swallowed them down and only called out, "Young Master Chen, wait..."

Chen Dengming turned back. A dark object suddenly flew toward him, startling him. He instinctively caught it with his Spirit Finger, and a fragrant scent hit his nose. It was a money pouch embroidered with mandarin ducks.

"This?"

Chen Dengming looked over in surprise.

He saw Xu Wei's ears tinged with a shy blush, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as she said, "This Concubine doesn't know what trouble you've gotten into that you'd risk leaving the Gathering Place, but as they say, in the Martial World, one must help in times of need. When fleeing, you need travel money. Though This Concubine comes from a humble background, I understand that. These Spirit Grains are my savings, clean money. I hope you can use them. There are Demon Beasts outside the Gathering Place. You... be very careful."

As she said the last words, "be very careful," the window slammed shut with a bang.

Chen Dengming held the thin money pouch in his hand, torn between laughter and tears. He was about to return it, but seeing the window already closed, he had no choice but to give up.

He wasn't in dire straits now, but he found he couldn't refuse such sincere generosity.

Just like when he first arrived, huddled under her eaves, and she had casually given him a meal.

He still remembered the fragrance of that cold meal, more deeply etched in his memory than any delicacy he had ever eaten. Because in that meal, there was something extra—sincerity. Perhaps it was the only thing that still radiated warmth and light on this cold and cruel path of Longevity cultivation.

Sometimes, turning to a friend in trouble was no shame at all.

What was truly shameful was having no friends to turn to when trouble came.

Thinking of how Xu Wei had just said she had no money to change her dwelling, yet was willing to give him money to flee, his heart was filled with a mix of emotions. He could only call out from afar.

"Thank you. When I return another day, I will repay you double!"

"When you return another day, perhaps there'll be no need to repay... This Concubine won't need it anymore..."

Behind the window, Xu Wei's expression shifted between joy and sorrow. Her lovely face was captivating, elegant and moving.

In the end, she didn't call out the impulsive and presumptuous words, "Take me with you."

It wasn't just a lack of courage, but also a sense of confusion.

Confusion over whether he would agree, and even if he did, confusion over whether the future would be good or bad—all unknown.

After all, they were just ordinary neighbors. She had once intended to join forces with him, but Chen Dengming hadn't thought much of her, let alone now that she was trapped in a predicament.

On the path of immortality, how few were the fated ones where the woman's heart was willing but the man's mind was elsewhere?