064: A Moment of Greed Can Turn Kindness into Enmity! The Way Is Not Taught Lightly, Nor Sold!

At the critical moment, a golden thread flashed, moving with unparalleled speed.

"There's even a Gu poison?"

Xu Ning forcibly suppressed the discomfort in his body, immediately made a hand seal, and a Golden Light protective shield instantly appeared around his body.

However, the Golden Silkworm Gu simply opened its mouth and bit down, causing the Golden Light shield to tremble violently and shatter in an instant.

Xu Ning's eyes widened suddenly, and before he could dodge, his jaws were bitten on the neck.

"Ah!--"

The excruciating pain caused Xu Ning to roar in fury. His inner Law Power erupted and swept across the ground, causing a violent tremor. The surrounding pebbles seemed to jump, and countless weeds and decaying leaves shook violently.

The Golden Silkworm Gu was blasted away a great distance.

In that instant, a blade flashed, as fierce as lightning.

It was as if a muffled thunderclap suddenly resounded from within the golden gong, echoing far and wide.

Xu Ning suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, and a void appeared in his mind. A strong sense of weakness and despair, as if his whole body was about to soften, swept over him.

This was the vacuum period in which all his Spiritual Qi was unleashed.

He was in a period of great pain from repeated injuries, and at this moment he could barely turn around and summon his magical Law Artifact.

The next instant, all he saw was the flash of the blade like a silver snake, closing in instantly, and everything in front of him was a blur of white.

Chen Dengming, his sword and man becoming one, moved like lightning, brushing past Xu Ning's body.

The sensation of the blade tearing through Flesh and Blood, bone, and meridians was so slight that it was as subtle as if the blade had just gently snapped a fishing line.

Xu Ning's body trembled, and he staggered two steps. The dazzling blade light before his eyes faded, and he felt as if the earth had darkened and the sky had fallen.

The excruciating pain seemed to react a beat too late, only then coming from my chest, as if something was being torn apart.

He stood like a solitary peak, his eyes filled with disbelief, and slowly turned his head to look at Chen Dengming.

A bloodstain grew wider and wider from his chest.

Chen Dengming turned around, his sharp gaze, almost tangible, fixed on Xu Ning. He pressed his right hand against his abdomen, quickly absorbing the Metal Elemental Spiritual Energy that had invaded his metallized abdomen. Otherwise, if he had been any slower, his intestines would have been ruined.

Xu Ning suddenly gave a bitter laugh, his lips twitching for a moment. He didn't say anything, but his eyes seemed to convey everything he wanted to say, allowing anyone who looked at him to get the information from his eyes.

"You truly deserve to be called someone who has cultivated to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Level in less than a year. Let's go, let's go, war is about to break out again, Zhu Family Jiahe."

Before the rest of the message could be conveyed in that instant, Xu Ning's eyes became unfocused, his pupils dilated, his body suddenly trembled, blood spurted from his chest, and he collapsed to the ground with a 'thud'.

"Call--"

Chen Dengming relaxed for a moment, but immediately tensed up again, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he made a hand seal.

A golden spear materialized in an instant, its tip sharp and pointed.

Whoosh!

The golden spear pierced Xu Ning's head in an instant, blood splattering everywhere. The corpse's limbs twitched once, then remained motionless, and soon a pool of blood accumulated on the ground.

Only then did Chen Dengming breathe a sigh of relief. The wariness and sharpness in his eyes subsided, and cold sweat had appeared on his back and forehead. His fingers trembled slightly.

Qi Cultivation Seventh Level!

Xu Ning clearly had the upper hand, yet he remained so discreet.

If he hadn't been well-prepared, and if his opponent hadn't ultimately fallen for his trap, drinking wine infused with the colorless, odorless, formless, and intangible Golden Silkworm Gu poison during negotiations with Master Hu, he might not have been able to kill his opponent even with all his methods combined.

"Puff--"

Chen Dengming opened his mouth and spat out a broken Breath Concealing Bead.

He had just used this pearl in his mouth to deceive Xu Ning.

However, Xu Ning was even more of a cunning old fox, and he actually used the same trick on him, but in return, he outsmarted him.

No wonder he's the head of the Golden Character Workshop neighborhood in this Gathering Place, and he can even mediate between the Luo Family and Zhu Family. However...

"What was the meaning of the message Xu Ning sent me telepathically?"

Looking back now, Chen Dengming felt slightly puzzled. He had just recovered from the intense battle and his mind was not yet able to focus on thinking.

"Brother Chen!"

At that moment, Jiang Qiang rushed over, interrupting Chen Dengming's thoughts.

Are you alright?

"It's nothing. It's just that the Spiritual Qi was somewhat depleted, and..."

Chen Dengming frowned slightly, suppressing the throbbing pain in his chest that felt like angina, and looked at the Blood Centipede Gu that was pinned to the ground not far away by a black nail-shaped Law Artifact.

The Blood Centipede Gu was critically injured and on the verge of death; otherwise, he wouldn't have felt the agonizing pain in his chest.

This was the greatest injury and loss he suffered in this battle.

"Brother Chen, your Gu Worm..."

"It's alright. Qiangzi, immediately activate the surrounding Formation to prevent Xu Ning from having any more companions nearby, and also to prevent Master Hu from betraying us. Blood Centipede is dying, and I was also severely injured and need to be treated on the spot."

Chen Dengming gave the instructions.

"Alas!" Jiang Qiang clasped his hands in a fist salute, then glanced at Xu Ning's corpse on the ground with a tremor in his heart, feeling incredulous.

This is Qi Cultivation High Level cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Level, and also the owner of the Golden Character Workshop, a prominent figure whom he used to have to look up to.

Today, however, he was killed by Brother Chen, even though he knew that Brother Chen had been preparing to eat this big fish for a very long time.

But when it actually happened today, he was still overwhelmed with shock.

"Qiangzi, take this from Xu Ning's Storage Bag and give it to me."

Chen Dengming suddenly gave the order.

"Huh? Oh!"

Jiang Qiang immediately complied. When he took the Storage Bag from Xu Ning, who was still radiating a faint spiritual aura, his hands were still trembling slightly. He hurriedly handed it to Chen Dengming.

Chen Dengming opened it and glanced at it, his eyelids slightly lowered, and said, "Qiangzi, it seems we've had a great harvest this time. You've done a great job supporting us, so I'm going to take it."

"No, no, no! Brother Chen, where did I get this credit?"

Jiang Qiang quickly waved his hand and chuckled dryly, "I didn't even need to use the Formation I set up. I was just anxiously waiting on the sidelines and couldn't help you at all. Brother Chen, you've always been good to me. I can't accept this reward without having done anything for you. Brother Chen, you should heal your injuries first, and I'll go set up the formation right away."

After saying that, Jiang Qiang immediately turned around to activate the Formation he had set up nearby, without even glancing at the Law Artifact scattered on the ground.

"Great courage appears as timidity; that could be said of me. Great wisdom appears as foolishness; that could be said of Qiangzi."

Chen Dengming watched Jiang Qiang leave to get busy, temporarily setting aside his suspicions.

Xu Ning's greed served as a wake-up call for him.

One should always be wary of others, even though he didn't want to believe that Jiang Qiang, who was beside him, might have any ulterior motives.

After all, he was usually very generous and polite to Jiang Qiang, and he really treated him well, but he still tested him a bit.

Judging from Jiang Qiang's performance, he is clearly a clever and quick-witted person.

He deliberately claimed to be seriously injured, but in reality, he wasn't that badly hurt.

He instructed Jiang Qiang to pick up the Storage Bag, indicating that he wanted to share the profits, which was also a test of the other party's intentions.

This kind of probing cannot be described as judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty person.

It's better to be certain than to never test the waters, leaving others uncertain and gradually emboldened to act recklessly.

It should be understood that a single thought of greed and selfishness can turn strength into weakness, wisdom into ignorance, kindness into cruelty, and purity into depravity.

Fortunately, Jiang Qiang passed his test, which proved that his judgment was good and that his usual generosity had paid off; the other party was not someone to be trifled with.

Chen Dengming composed himself, trying to calm the throbbing pain in his chest. He quickly replenished his Spiritual Qi by holding the Spirit Stone, and then walked towards the Blood Centipede Gu.

The Blood Centipede Gu was completely pierced through by the black nail-shaped Law Artifact. All four wings were damaged. It was still twitching slightly, but it had lost a lot of blood and its breath was extremely weak, as if it was struggling to die.

"Centipede!"

Chen Dengming reached out and touched the blood centipede.

"Whoa--"

The blood centipede emitted an extremely faint hiss, its red pupils dimmed, and its tentacles twitched slightly, touching Chen Dengming's fingers.

Both the person and the Gu (a type of magical artifact) can feel the close connection of blood ties, yet they can also sense the Life Force of one of them rapidly fading away.

Chen Dengming took a deep breath, his eyes resolute. "You accompanied me from the Nanxun Kingdom to the present, saving my life many times in critical moments. Now it's my turn to try my best to save you."

After saying that, Chen Dengming turned around and brought over Xu Ning's body.

Before the Spiritual Qi within this person dissipated, the blood centipede was carefully picked up from the ground along with the black nail and driven into Xu Ning's heart. The blood centipede then opened its pincer-like mouthparts and devoured Xu Ning's heart Essence Blood.

Chen Dengming remained expressionless as he grabbed the Ice Spirit Blade.

He grasped the blade with his hand and made a slash; blood gushed out, dripping from his palm and landing on the blood centipede.

The Blood Centipede Gu was created using his blood, and his blood is the best tonic to save the dying Blood Centipede Gu.

"Buzz--"

The Golden Silkworm Gu flew over, buzzing and flapping its wings to protect the area.

On the other side, Jiang Qiang had also moved the array plate over. After activating the Three Powers Guarding the Pass Formation, he discreetly stood guard outside the Formation to protect Chen Dengming.

He's not stupid; he's also greedy, otherwise he wouldn't have come up with a strong-form algorithm that even Chen Dengming found outrageous.

However, he was self-aware enough to know that some wealth was off-limits and some things, no matter how good the relationship, could not be overstepped, otherwise it would turn friends into enemies.

Therefore, when Chen Dengming mentioned his achievements, he immediately declined and focused on doing his job well. This was all experience he gradually accumulated after experiencing the pain of losing his wife.

He stood guard quietly outside the battlements, gazing at the spring river waters after the ice melted on the Qi River in the distance. Suddenly, he thought of the peach trees in his hometown. By now, the peach blossoms should be in bloom.

The peach tree in the courtyard of the house.

His wife planted it herself when she was alive.

Every year, the peach blossoms bloom in profusion, their delicate red petals blazing like a thousand branches in the warmth of spring, just like my beloved wife, her face and the peach blossoms reflecting each other's beauty.

Now, his wife is gone, and the peach blossoms have faded.

Petals fell in profusion, like a red rain.

"Every year when the peach blossoms bloom, I think of him. It's a pity that the Immortal Path is long and arduous, and I'll have to walk alone from now on. I only hope that Brother Chen can find a happy dao companion in the future. Seeing him working so hard every day, I don't know why. Perhaps it's some kind of obsession? It's good that he has such thoughts."

And there's more than one person with this idea.

Master Hu had a tiny bit of hope left, thinking that if both sides were to suffer heavy losses...

But when Xu Ning was actually killed by Chen Dengming and his body was thrown into the Qi River, his last thought was quickly extinguished.

I slapped myself hard. What nonsense I was thinking! All those years of being so cautious had been for nothing.

Xu Ning's death was a huge blow to Master Hu.

The key point is that Chen Dengming doesn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries. The battle began with one dazzling blade of light and ended with another, which was awe-inspiring.

The saying goes, "Kill the chicken to scare the monkey," but Chen Dengming didn't just kill a chicken, he killed a tiger.

As for Master Hu, he considered himself nothing more than a paper tiger.

He was just a businessman with only the strength of the Qi Cultivation Fourth Level of Qi Refining. He hadn't fought with anyone for many years, so how could he compare himself to a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Level of Qi Refining? Therefore, he considered himself just a little dog and knew better than to provoke a ruthless person like Chen Dengming.

For several days afterward, Master Hu would frequently send people to deliver healing spirit medicine to Chen Dengming's inn, showing concern and genuine care as a partner.

After feigning injury for several days, Chen Dengming waited until the Blood Centipede Gu was truly out of danger and his injuries began to heal. He then stopped, informing Master Hu that he was fine.

This necessary probing, a little trial and error, is enough to gauge the other party's attitude.

If the feigned injury continues, it's no longer a test, but a seduction.

Taking into account Xu Ning's dying words.

He instructed Jiang Qiang to start purchasing Spirit Rice, talismans, and other supplies to stockpile.

At the same time, he instructed Master Hu to make sure he could acquire first-tier, fifth- to sixth-level metal and wood elemental Daoist techniques for him, and was willing to exchange the first part of the Gu Refining Art for it.

Once this promise was made, Master Hu immediately perked up, and at the same time, he vaguely sensed Chen Dengming's thoughts from his eager actions.

"It seems that Fellow Daoist Chen is afraid that the Zhu Family will settle scores with him later and cause him trouble, so he is already thinking of leaving."

Master Hu puffed on his pipe, the tobacco turning red and then black, then red again, as he pondered, exhaling clouds of smoke. Suddenly, he grinned and exhaled a smoke ring.

"Very well, very well. It's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. It's good that he wants to leave, and he's even willing to leave behind the first part of the Gu Refining Chapter. My business won't go out of business in the future."

Fellow Daoist Chen, you really know how to handle people. You've even left someone as greedy as me Lei Laohu, speechless.

After pacing around the room for a while, Master Hu made a decision after some contemplation.

"I've spent so many years in the border region, spent so much money, and supported so many people... I didn't just sit around doing nothing! It seems I need to start using my connections!"

He was certainly not a big shot in the vast Merchant Alliance.

However, as the agent of the Merchant Alliance stationed in the Ten Thousand Mile Frontier, he has accumulated considerable merit and connections over the years through his cautious and meticulous approach and his ability to raise funds for the Merchant Alliance.

Paying some price to apply to the alliance for purchasing Qi Refining Stage is not difficult.

Fortunately, Chen Dengming only wanted first-order level 5 and 6 Dao techniques, not first-order high-level Dao techniques.

Even with his authority, it would be difficult for him to mobilize or obtain advanced Dao techniques of level seven or above in the first tier.

This is because the Merchant Alliance also has agreements with the Cultivation Family on the Ten Thousand Mile Frontier.

It is forbidden to trade first-tier advanced Daoist techniques with external parties without permission.

These kinds of Daoist techniques are almost always just gimmicks used by the major Cultivation Family to recruit Rogue Cultivator cultivators from the surrounding area.

If these advanced Daoist techniques can be bought with money on the market, then what's the point of attracting and recruiting 'high-level henchmen' to join the Lineage and risk their lives for them?

Such methods are universally applicable throughout the entire Cultivation World, from sects to Lineage.

The law should not be lightly transmitted, and the Way should not be sold cheaply.

The reason why some cultivation sects specializing in Sword Cultivator or Body Cultivation stand out and attract exceptionally talented individuals to join them, thus growing larger and stronger, is that they do not easily pass on their cultivation methods...

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Just wanted to say that I've been updating too fast and too much lately. Regardless of what some readers say, I've genuinely updated over 40,000 to almost 50,000 words. If I update any faster, the quality will drop. Therefore, I plan to take it slow, but I'll still try to update at least 7,000 to 8,000 words daily! Xianxia is a long novel, and we want to read long novels, not ones that are finished in a few months or have a terrible ending. So, I need to take it slow, otherwise, if it falls apart, there won't be anything left to read. Thank you for your understanding.