The Red Snake Gang

Cultivators could hardly fight without using various talismans.

Qi Refining cultivators were too low-level to use many kinds. For defense, they mostly relied on Golden Body Talismans, Wood Shields, and Thick Earth Shields. For offense, they used Geng Metal Sword Talismans, Ice Arrow Talismans, and Armor-Piercing Hammers.

Even these low-grade talismans were beyond the means of most Rogue Cultivators at the Qi Refining level.

They were only willing to use talismans when their lives were on the line.

Zhu Qiniang said, "You just don't have enough practical experience. We cultivators fight heaven, earth, and other people.

"The hardest thing is defying heaven, but the most dangerous thing is dealing with our own kind.

"Once we get back, I'll spar with you more. At the very least, you need to know how powerful the common talismans are. Then you'll know what you're dealing with..."

Zhu Qiniang thought Gao Xian was excellent in every way. She was only worried that he was afraid of fighting, even a little cowardly. That really wasn't good.

Being meticulous was certainly a good thing, but in the world of cultivators, there wasn't much time to calculate everything.

No one knew what sort of person they might run into or what might happen the next moment.

They had to be ready to fight at any time. That was part of a cultivator's awareness.

Gao Xian could only nod repeatedly. He knew his own flaw. In his previous life, he'd been a middle-aged office drone. He could manage a few petty schemes and workplace politics well enough.

But fighting, let alone killing someone, went completely against the no-crime principles he'd spent decades cultivating.

He'd killed Old Wang because he'd had no choice. At the time, he'd been extremely tense, and he'd only struck back to defend himself.

As for killing Zhu Hong'an, the other man had pushed him too far. Gao Xian had done a great deal of mental preparation before he could take that step.

So when faced with an unexpected situation, he wasn't ready to go straight to killing.

The Iron-Back Gray Wolf up ahead was running fast, but Zhu Qiniang wasn't worried. It left broad trails of blood wherever it went, so they wouldn't lose it.

She followed behind it with Gao Xian, explaining various lessons about combat as they went.

They followed the blood trail over a mountain ridge and soon spotted the Iron-Back Gray Wolf lying in a patch of dead grass. Its belly still rose and fell, but it was clearly out of strength.

Several cultivators of unknown origin stood cautiously around the wolf, pointing spears and swords at the dying giant.

Seeing their coarse clothes and the bow slung over one man's back, Zhu Qiniang knew they were Rogue Cultivators who made their living in the mountains.

Most cultivators wore Daoist robes, while those with money wore mage robes. Only cultivators who often worked in the mountains—climbing ridges and crossing through the brush—wore coarse clothes for the sake of moving freely.

Rogue Cultivators like these were poor and vicious. They would kill for a medicinal herb or a demon beast.

Under normal circumstances, Zhu Qiniang wouldn't have picked a fight over an Iron-Back Gray Wolf.

But this time, she'd brought Gao Xian along. She needed to teach him a lesson.

Gao Xian saw the Rogue Cultivators too. He drew a deep breath. "Qiniang, are we going to fight?"

Zhu Qiniang tugged him forward. "And you won't always get to choose.

"Once you set foot on the path of cultivation, you have to face all kinds of challenges and dangers."

Gao Xian didn't want to fight, but he couldn't just stand by and watch. "Then how should I help when we start?"

"When the fighting starts, don't rush in. Remember to activate your Wood Shield and protect yourself. Wait until the situation's clear, then follow my lead."

After giving him a few instructions, Zhu Qiniang released his hand and quickened her pace.

The cultivators surrounding the Iron-Back Gray Wolf had also noticed Zhu Qiniang and Gao Xian.

Zhu Qiniang wore a dark blue mage robe, a bamboo hat, and a veil over her face. Since she was going out with Gao Xian, she'd even used Bone-Shrinking Art to make herself much shorter, completely changing her appearance.

Gao Xian wasn't nearly so cautious. He wore a green Daoist robe and a bamboo hat for shade. He hadn't even thought to cover his face.

Among the more than ten thousand cultivators at Flying Horse Market, hardly anyone knew him.

The Rogue Cultivators in coarse clothes paid little attention to Gao Xian. He was young, and looked green as grass.

Zhu Qiniang, on the other hand, had a sharp gaze and wore an expensive mage robe. At a glance, she looked like a formidable opponent.

A burly man with a thick beard called out, "Stop! The Red Snake Gang is hunting here. Everyone else, leave at once!"

Zhu Qiniang didn't stop. In a low voice, she said, "We killed that wolf."

"You killed it?"

The burly leader sneered. "You think you can just claim our prey because you say so? Who do you think you are? If you know what's good for you, get lost. Don't make us use force."

The group had hunted in Soaring Snake Mountain for years, living on the edge of death every day. They'd long since developed a vicious streak.

If they hadn't sensed that Zhu Qiniang was formidable, they'd have attacked already. They wouldn't have wasted time talking.

As the burly man spoke, two cultivators raised their longbows and took aim at Zhu Qiniang.

One disagreement was all it took for both sides to reach the point of swords drawn and bows bent. A fight seemed inevitable.

Gao Xian was nervous. He swallowed and gripped his sword hilt. Deep within his brow, Sister Lan appeared, forming a mysterious connection with the runes in his Azure Wood Armor.

With Sister Lan's help, Gao Xian was confident he could activate his Wood Shield in an instant. Even so, he couldn't help feeling nervous.

There were five of them, and every one of them had a vicious glint in his eyes. They were clearly no good.

They were about sixty paces apart, or thirty zhang. Even his Master-level True Yang Spear couldn't reach them from that distance. (In ancient times, a pace meant taking a step forward with each foot. A pace was usually considered five feet, and two paces made one zhang.)

Soul-Bewildering Powder wouldn't work either, and the White Plum Needles on his wrist were even more useless.

The best option was to draw his sword and charge into the fight. With his current speed, he could reach the other side in two breaths.

A breath was also a unit of time here. One breath meant one inhalation and exhalation, roughly two seconds.

Gao Xian had always thought this was an imprecise way of measuring time, but when in Rome, he did as the Romans did. He'd even started using it himself.

His Lightning Dragon Hand had reached the Master level, and he'd specifically tested his all-out burst of speed. He could move a little over ten zhang in a second. With Wind Control Art, he could increase his speed by another thirty or forty percent.

While Gao Xian was calculating how to act, Zhu Qiniang drew her sword and lunged at the others like a gale.

The two archers shot without hesitation. To kill Zhu Qiniang, they used precious Armor-Piercing Talisman Arrows.

The two arrows shot toward her, their Armor-Piercing Runes shining with white light.

Zhu Qiniang's jade-green sword flashed. She swept it to either side, precisely striking the two arrows and shattering them on the spot.

The burly men turned pale with shock. Long arrows empowered by Armor-Piercing Runes were incredibly fast and could pierce armor.

For their opponent to shatter them so easily with nothing but a sword meant her swordsmanship and strength were both terrifying.

They realized the woman was likely a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, and began to consider retreating.

At that moment, Zhu Qiniang suddenly let out a sharp shout.

Standing behind her, Gao Xian felt as if someone had fired a cannon right beside his ear. It seemed his brains had been blasted out.

But Sister Lan, deep within his brow, remained as steady as a mountain. That kept his mind clear, allowing him to control his body and command his spiritual power.

If Gao Xian was affected that badly, the five cultivators facing Zhu Qiniang were even worse. They were stunned, dizzy, and weak in the limbs.

Taking advantage of the opening, Zhu Qiniang murmured a spell and activated the Azure Wood Thunder Spear. The Lightning Ring on her left hand flashed, spitting out twisting arcs of lightning. A five-foot-long green spear condensed instantly amid the crackling light.

She raised her hand, and the lightning-wreathed green spear shot out.

One of the archers across from her hadn't even realized what was happening before the green spear pierced his head, bursting it in a spray of blood.

The second green spear followed close behind, blasting the other archer's head to pieces.

Then the third green spear shot at the burly leader.

The thick-bearded man was the strongest among them. Through his daze, he saw green lightning flash and knew he was in danger.

Without hesitation, he mustered all his strength and swung his sword at it.

His sword moved quickly, but he failed to hit the green spear. Green lightning pierced the burly man's chest. The spell's terrifying penetrating force, combined with the explosive power of the lightning, blasted the upper half of his body to pieces.

Gao Xian saw blood and flesh burst through the air. The sight was shocking, yet strangely beautiful...

In three successive thrusts, Zhu Qiniang had killed three cultivators on the spot without giving them a chance to fight back. It was far more domineering than his own True Yang Spear!

By then, Zhu Qiniang had reached the two remaining cultivators. She swept her sword across, slicing one of them clean in half at an angle.

The last cultivator had come to his senses. He stared at Zhu Qiniang in terror, hesitated, then suddenly dropped to his knees. "Spare me, senior..."

He kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic, looking utterly pitiful and servile.

Gao Xian came to Zhu Qiniang's side, full of admiration for her. For some reason, a line popped into his head: "Whose general is this, so incredibly valiant..."