Borrowing a Knife

A crescent moon hung askew, casting a pale light over the bodies of Zhu Hong'an and Yang An as they lay in the middle of the courtyard.

Gao Xian and Zhu Qiniang stood in the shadows beneath the eaves, their figures draped in gloom, creating a striking contrast of light and dark against the two men in the moonlight.

The sudden look of joy on Gao Xian's face shattered the somber atmosphere surrounding him.

He was naturally pleased, for he had sensed the presence of Old Wang.

If the evil spirit hadn't arrived tonight, things would have become difficult to manage.

Gao Xian tugged at Zhu Qiniang, pulling her back toward the side room; Zhu Qiniang glanced at the prone Zhu Hong'an in the courtyard, a flicker of hesitation crossing her face.

She had not sensed the evil spirit's aura, but she had noticed that Zhu Hong'an was about to wake up.

Gao Xian knew that Zhu Qiniang had little faith in him and doubted that the evil spirit had already arrived, so he exerted a bit more force on her hand.

His strength was naturally no match for Zhu Qiniang's, but he used this gesture to convey his confidence.

Zhu Qiniang ultimately yielded to Gao Xian, and the two retreated together into the dim side room.

Zhu Hong'an, lying on the ground, suddenly twitched his hands and feet slightly before opening his eyes.

Seeing this, Zhu Qiniang's hand muscles tightened instinctively, nearly crushing the bones in Gao Xian's palm.

Gao Xian endured the pain and gripped Zhu Qiniang's hand firmly; the Soul-Bewildering Powder was potent, and even if Zhu Hong'an had regained consciousness, his body would inevitably remain limp and numb.

Old Wang was about to arrive, and Zhu Hong'an would absolutely not be able to escape!

Zhu Qiniang sensed Gao Xian's resolve and couldn't help but glance at him; Gao Xian smiled at her, signaling that there was no need to be so tense.

In the dim room, Gao Xian's neat white teeth and sparkling eyes were highly conspicuous, making his smile seem to glow and illuminate the dark space.

This smile was infectious, causing Zhu Qiniang to slowly relax.

"Ugh..."

Zhu Hong'an clutched his head and let out a pained groan; he couldn't recall why he was lying there or why his head ached so fiercely.

Zhu Hong'an shifted his gaze and saw Yang An lying nearby, a look of confusion crossing his chubby face.

"Yang An is here too? I was just drinking with him, so why am I lying on the ground? Where is Qiniang?"

Hidden in the room, Zhu Qiniang saw it clearly: Zhu Hong'an's gaze was gradually sharpening, clearly indicating he had regained his senses.

Zhu Hong'an seemed to sense the gaze of Zhu Qiniang and Gao Xian; he looked up and saw two silhouettes in the side room.

The room was very dark, and he couldn't see their features clearly, but from their postures, he easily recognized them as Zhu Qiniang and Gao Xian.

Zhu Hong'an's eyes naturally fell upon their joined hands, and he flew into a rage—these two wretched people were actually having an affair right in front of him!

No, it's these two wretched people working together to harm me.

Zhu Hong'an suddenly remembered: he had been dealing with Gao Xian just moments ago, only to be ambushed and knocked unconscious.

But what were these two standing there watching? What kind of trick were they trying to pull?

The more Zhu Hong'an thought, the angrier and more terrified he became; as he struggled to rise, he saw a pitch-black figure with half a head missing appear before him.

The sight of the creature's mangled head was truly horrifying, and the single remaining eyeball glowing with green light was even more sinister and terrifying.

"An evil spirit!" Zhu Hong'an immediately recognized the thing before him and instinctively reached for his Three Yang Talisman.

He knew the terror of evil spirits and had kept over a dozen Three Yang Talismans in his sleeve pocket year-round.

The moment his hand moved, he knew something was wrong; he wasn't even wearing his dharma robes, so where could he get his talismans?!

Furthermore, his Azure Wood Armor had been taken, and his Thunderlight Ring had been removed as well.

Without talismans or artifacts, Zhu Hong'an was stunned for a moment before hurriedly forming seals and chanting, attempting to cast the Lesser Yang Evil-Slaying Technique.

This technique was specifically designed to break through evil filth and was a very powerful spell.

However, his hands and feet were weak, and even his tongue felt numb; he could neither hold the seal nor complete the chant.

In the room, a cold sneer appeared on Zhu Qiniang's face; although Zhu Hong'an was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, he rarely fought others and had pitifully little combat experience.

Suddenly encountering an evil spirit, his various attempts to respond appeared truly laughable.

Old Wang, with his half-missing head, did not give Zhu Hong'an a chance; his pitch-black palm thrust violently into Zhu Hong'an's chest.

Zhu Hong'an, who was in the middle of trying to trigger his spell, let out a miserable shriek; unable to continue casting, he slammed both palms onto Old Wang's body.

The stimulation of intense pain caused Zhu Hong'an to erupt with a burst of powerful strength; as an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator, his internal organs, bones, and flesh were quite robust, and his mana was very deep.

This desperate strike, with pure mana converted into palm force, carried several thousand pounds of power.

Old Wang was struck, causing patches of black ash to explode from his body; he bared his teeth and let out a silent scream, then exerted force with his hands once more.

His fingers were as sharp as knives and carried a terrifying corrosive power.

The evil spirit exerted a sudden burst of strength, its palm piercing through Zhu Hong'an's sternum and gripping his heart.

Although Zhu Hong'an was an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator, he could not withstand such an injury. His body went limp, devoid of any remaining strength.

Under the erosion of the evil spirit's yin energy, the plump, fair-skinned Zhu Hong'an quickly lost all his essence and blood; his body withered, shrank, and blackened, soon turning into a charcoal-like dried corpse.

Having absorbed Zhu Hong'an's essence and blood, the green light in the evil spirit's eyes grew significantly more intense.

Under normal circumstances, an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator armed with talismans and artifacts would never have been killed so easily by Old Wang.

Zhu Hong'an had first been struck by the Soul-Bewildering Powder, and with his magical artifacts, talismans, and robes all stripped away, his mind was far from clear, which was why he had ended up in such a state.

Seeing Zhu Hong'an reduced to a charred, mummified corpse, a flicker of satisfaction and relief appeared in Zhu Qiniang's emerald eyes.

Gao Xian also let out a sigh of relief; his plan had been a success, and all the trouble he had gone through had not been in vain.

After killing Zhu Hong'an, Old Wang grabbed Yang An, who was lying to the side.

Yang An turned into a mummified corpse while still in his deep slumber, departing quite peacefully.

Having absorbed the essence and blood of two cultivators in succession, Old Wang seemed to have consumed a potent tonic, his dark, thin body appearing to have grown a couple of inches taller.

Old Wang was not satisfied; his single emerald eye turned toward Gao Xian in the room.

Even though the room was dim, Old Wang relied on his sense of aura to easily pinpoint Gao Xian's location.

Just as Zhu Qiniang was about to make a move, she heard Gao Xian say, "I'll handle this!"

She was a little surprised; although the evil spirit before them was hideous, its strength was not to be underestimated. Had she not just seen Zhu Hong'an grabbed and killed in an instant?

Could Gao Xian really handle it?

Golden light emerged from the depths of Gao Xian's eyes, and his Master-level True Yang Spear was instantly triggered by the movement of his thoughts.

The invisible spear, condensed from mana, divine sense, and yang energy, thrust fiercely into Old Wang's chest, the True Yang Spear flashing with a blinding golden light as it was stimulated by the yin energy.

The True Yang Spear was specifically designed to counter evil energy; although Old Wang's body was impervious to blades and spears, it could not withstand a strike from the True Yang Spear.

A large hole was immediately torn through his pitch-black chest, erupting into a cloud of black ash.

Old Wang had suffered a heavy blow; he bared his teeth in a silent scream, his body twitching and trembling uncontrollably.

At this moment, Gao Xian's second True Yang Spear arrived.

The invisible True Yang Spear shone with golden light once more upon colliding with the yin energy, and this golden light blasted half of Old Wang's head into smithereens.

Following that, the third True Yang Spear descended, piercing straight into Old Wang's abdomen.

The scorching aura of the True Yang Spear was like fire, and three consecutive strikes blasted Old Wang's body to pieces, his broken remains turning into black ash dancing in the sky under the burning of the True Yang mana.

Once Old Wang was destroyed, the wisp of evil energy that had been entwining Gao Xian dissipated completely.

Zhu Qiniang knew that Gao Xian's True Yang Spear was powerful, but she had not expected his mastery of it to be so profound that he could fire three shots in succession.

The key was that Gao Xian did not need to form seals or chant incantations; the three rapid, fierce, and consecutive strikes left the evil spirit unable to react at all before it was reduced to ashes on the spot.

Looking at Gao Xian again, she felt a few more points of admiration for him.

Zhu Qiniang had originally thought Gao Xian was a bit soft-hearted and incapable of achieving great things.

After this incident, she discovered that Gao Xian was quite deep, capable of enduring and remaining silent in ordinary times, yet decisive and ruthless at the critical moment.

Furthermore, Gao Xian had become a Master Alchemist at such a young age and possessed extraordinary talent in spellcraft.

Zhu Qiniang had an intuition: "This handsome man will surely achieve great things in the future!"