Turning Hostile, Killing

"Fellow Daoist Huang, what is the meaning of this? Your disciple actually launched a sneak attack on my subordinates; you owe me an explanation. Otherwise, don't blame me for breaking our agreement." Seeing the scene unfolding above the cliff, Qin Shuang was filled with shock and rage. He turned around, his expression furious and guarded, as he questioned Huang Ting.

Huang Ting retreated rapidly, putting ten meters of distance between himself and Qin Shuang, before laughing aloud: "Fellow Daoist Qin, let's stop playing dumb. I never believed you would actually split the treasures within this cave dwelling with me. This is the inheritance left behind by a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator; no one would ever share that with another. Before, I was merely playing along because I feared you might escape."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuang's expression turned ugly. "You think that with your Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation, you can keep me here? How truly arrogant. I will let you experience the power of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

Hearing this, Huang Ting sneered: "Do you think the power of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage is enough to suppress me? You are too naive. I will let you broaden your horizons so you can at least die with your eyes open."

As he spoke, Huang Ting raised his hand and slapped the Qiankun Bag at his waist. Two Talisman Treasures immediately flew out, hovering before him before transforming into a three-story pagoda and three flying swords. Looking at the pagoda and swords, Huang Ting laughed wildly at Qin Shuang: "With this magic treasure, the Huangji Tower, and the Three Yang One Qi Sword, how can you fight me? Go to your death!"

Before his voice had even faded, the three flying swords pierced toward Qin Shuang at high speed. Simultaneously, the Huangji Tower flew above Huang Ting's head, descending a yellow curtain of light to protect him. Clearly, these two magic treasures were a perfect combination of offense and defense.

Seeing Huang Ting's actions, Qin Shuang's face grew even darker. He sneered: "Don't think you are the only one with Talisman Treasures. While they are rare, I happen to have two as well. Today, even if I have to exhaust their power completely, I will kill you here."

As he spoke, Qin Shuang slapped his Qiankun Bag. Two Talisman Treasures flew out, transforming into a suit of ice armor and a blue orb. The ice armor quickly encased Qin Shuang, radiating a blue light that wrapped around him, while the orb shot out to meet the Three Yang One Qi Sword.

Seeing this, Huang Ting's expression sank, and he said viciously: "I didn't expect you to have two Talisman Treasures as well. But how can a single orb block my three flying swords? Watch how I shatter your ice armor. Die!"

The two immediately clashed. The orb and the Three Yang One Qi Sword collided repeatedly, emitting crisp sounds. Suddenly, Huang Ting raised his hand and rapidly formed hand seals. The Three Yang One Qi Sword let out a soft hum, splitting off one sword to strike rapidly at Qin Shuang, while the other two swords tightly entangled the orb.

Seeing this, Qin Shuang flicked his sleeve, and a blue sword light shot toward the incoming blade. With a crisp sound, the blue light was shattered by the sword, which then struck violently against the blue barrier emitted by the ice armor. The barrier rippled intensely, but fortunately, it was not pierced, and it blocked the strike, allowing Qin Shuang to breathe a sigh of relief. Qin Shuang then manipulated the orb to return and knock the sword away, but the orb was quickly surrounded again by the three swords.

Seeing this, Huang Ting let out a loud laugh: "Let's see how long you can hold out. Once I kill you, I can swallow the treasures in this cave dwelling all for myself."

Hearing that Huang Ting intended to monopolize the treasures, Qin Shuang grew anxious. He hadn't expected Huang Ting to be so difficult to deal with; it seemed he would have to take a desperate risk, or he would never be able to kill this man. Thinking of this, Qin Shuang made up his mind.

Next, while manipulating his Talisman Treasure to fight Huang Ting, Qin Shuang secretly retrieved two talismans. When Huang Ting once again formed hand seals to split the Three Yang One Qi Sword to attack, Qin Shuang immediately lunged forward, dodging the sword's strike. At the same time, he manipulated the orb to entangle the other two swords, while he himself closed the distance to Huang Ting.

Seeing Qin Shuang's sudden movement, Huang Ting grew alert and retreated rapidly. Seeing that Huang Ting was too cautious, Qin Shuang had no choice but to activate the Phantom Talisman in his hand. The talisman immediately turned into a white light that enveloped him, and then Qin Shuang vanished from his spot.

Huang Ting was shocked. He stopped moving and turned to look around, but found nothing; he could not locate Qin Shuang. Huang Ting grew even more nervous, pushing his focus to the limit to guard against a sneak attack.

Just then, a sound of air being torn apart rang out. Huang Ting immediately left his spot, moving around to prevent Qin Shuang from locking onto him. Seeing this, Qin Shuang felt helpless and had no choice but to manipulate the orb to break free from the Three Yang One Qi Sword and fly toward Huang Ting.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the orb, and it radiated a powerful aura. Seeing this, Huang Ting's expression changed drastically. Knowing Qin Shuang was going to risk everything, he retreated while manipulating the Three Yang One Qi Sword to intercept.

With a loud boom, the orb detonated under Qin Shuang's command. The powerful force blasted the Three Yang One Qi Sword away, sending it flying into the distance. Its light was extremely dim, clearly having exhausted its power, and it wouldn't last much longer.

Huang Ting could no longer spare the heart to grieve for his sword, as a talisman was flying toward him at high speed. The talisman was glowing intensely, clearly already activated, and Huang Ting had no time to dodge. He had no choice but to pour all his true essence into the Huangji Tower.

The talisman emitted a crisp cracking sound and shattered instantly. A white light burst forth, covering everything within a fifteen-meter radius, and Huang Ting was immediately engulfed.

When everything calmed down, the area within fifteen meters was covered in white ice, and the temperature was extremely low; even a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator would not dare walk inside without protection. This talisman was called Three Feet Ice Seal, a treasure Qin Shuang had obtained from an ancient cave dwelling. It was incredibly powerful and served as his trump card. Using it on Huang Ting left Qin Shuang feeling deeply pained.

Huang Ting's situation was dire. Hit directly by the Three Feet Ice Seal, he was frozen solid within the ice. Even with the protection of the Huangji Tower, he had suffered heavy injuries, and the tower itself had exhausted its power and turned to dust.

A white light appeared on the scene, revealing Qin Shuang; the power of the Phantom Talisman had been exhausted. Without a moment's delay, Qin Shuang flicked his sleeve, releasing a top-grade magic tool flying sword that shot toward the frozen Huang Ting.

Seeing this, Huang Ting grew desperate and tried to manipulate the Three Yang One Qi Sword to protect himself. Qin Shuang naturally wouldn't let him have his way; he quickly formed hand seals, causing the ice armor on his body to fly off and intercept the sword.

Huang Ting panicked and tried to probe his Qiankun Bag with his divine sense to retrieve other magic tools, but it was too late. Qin Shuang's sword pierced through his chest, shattering his internal organs. He stared at Qin Shuang with eyes full of unwillingness before dying.

Seeing Huang Ting dead, Qin Shuang felt a surge of joy and finally relaxed. After looting the body, he cast a low-level spell to burn it to ashes.

After dealing with Huang Ting, Qin Shuang looked up at the cliff with a worried expression, thinking to himself: "I wonder what the situation is inside the cave. Ling Feng is already injured, and I fear Xu Yang cannot hold his own alone. If those two die, I will surely grind those three into dust."

Xu Yang had been struck by Ling Feng's palm and sent into the entrance, feeling the world spin. When he regained his senses, he found himself on a platform. The floor was paved with white jade, inscribed with runes that formed an array—it appeared to be a teleportation array.

Below the white jade platform was pitch-black darkness, with nothing visible. In front of the platform was a long white jade corridor, and at the end of the corridor was a bend, obscuring what lay beyond.

Before he could examine it closely, the space on the platform rippled, and Ling Feng appeared out of thin air. Xu Yang immediately stepped back two paces, looking at Ling Feng with vigilance. Ling Feng appeared on the platform and immediately knelt, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face was sallow, clearly having suffered heavy injuries.

Seeing this, Xu Yang immediately asked: "What happened to you? How did you get so badly hurt?"

Ling Feng looked up at Xu Yang and said: "Run! Liu Peng and Hu Xinrong have turned against us. They launched a sneak attack on us outside just now. If I hadn't reacted quickly, we both would have been severely wounded."

Xu Yang was stunned, his expression changing drastically. He quickly stepped forward to carry Ling Feng on his back and ran toward the white jade corridor in front of the platform. In a moment, they disappeared around the bend at the end of the corridor.

Not long after Xu Yang and the others left, the space on the platform rippled again. Liu Peng, Hu Xinrong, and Zhao Man appeared on the platform, looking around with vigilance.

Seeing that the area was empty and that Xu Yang and the other had vanished, they relaxed slightly. The three examined the environment but found nothing. The fatty Hu Xinrong said impatiently: "Let's go! There are no treasures here, just a teleportation array! We should hurry and pursue Xu Yang and the other! Ling Feng is severely injured and no longer a threat. Once we finish off Xu Yang, we can explore this cave dwelling at our leisure."

Liu Peng and Zhao Man agreed that Hu Xinrong made sense; it was better to eliminate Xu Yang and the other first, as the treasures wouldn't run away and could be found later. The two nodded at Hu Xinrong, signaling their agreement.

Hu Xinrong smiled smugly and said to the two: "I have plenty of experience in exploration. As the master's eldest disciple, I have already explored several cave dwellings with him. You two have only just joined the sect; there is still much for you to learn!"

"Of course, as your dao companion, I will take good care of you, Junior Sister Zhao." As he said this, Hu Xinrong looked at Zhao Man with a lecherous expression. Beside them, a flash of hidden jealousy crossed Liu Peng's face upon hearing Hu Xinrong's words.

Zhao Man replied with a flirtatious expression: "Then this little sister thanks Senior Brother Hu for his care. Once this mission is over, I will certainly fulfill my promise and become your true dao companion."

Having received Zhao Man's promise, Hu Xinrong's fat face beamed with joy. He said excitedly: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go hunt down Xu Yang and the other! Let's finish the master's task as soon as possible so I can spend a romantic night with you, Junior Sister."

With that, Hu Xinrong took the lead and walked into the white jade corridor to pursue Xu Yang and the other, while Liu Peng and Zhao Man exchanged a glance and quickly followed.