Rumors

"Hmm?"

Just as Jiang Chen prepared to launch an ambush, the man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"The smell of blood?"

The man's nose twitched; he had actually caught the scent of fresh blood.

Something had happened?

"You're quite sharp."

Seeing that the opponent had noticed him, Jiang Chen stepped out from the corner, no longer concealing himself as he had before, revealing his true face.

"It's you?!"

The man recognized Jiang Chen at a glance.

The goal of his trip was to abduct Jiang Chen.

This left him extremely surprised.

As far as he knew, Jiang Chen had only just stepped into the Three Qi and Blood Gates a few days ago, becoming an Inner Courtyard disciple of the White Ape Martial Hall.

His two subordinates were both at the perfection of the Three Qi and Blood Gates; no matter how he looked at it, they shouldn't have fallen at the hands of Jiang Chen.

Could it be that someone from the Jiang Clan had set an ambush?

"Stop looking around, it's just the two of us here."

Holding a blood-stained dagger, Jiang Chen walked toward the man with a leisurely, unhurried gait.

His calm and indifferent demeanor made it seem as if he were out for a spring stroll.

This kid isn't right.

The man grew increasingly vigilant, his Martial True Qi surging within him as he took a slight step back with his right foot.

The calmer Jiang Chen appeared, the more abnormal he felt.

There might truly be an ambush here; it would be better to leave while he could.

Swish!

Seeing signs that the man intended to flee, Jiang Chen lunged forward to kill.

There was no reason to let such a fat sheep slip away.

"Three Qi and Blood Gates?"

Sensing Jiang Chen's Qi and Blood fluctuations, the man who had originally intended to escape changed his mind, his eyes turning fierce.

A mere Three Qi and Blood Gates cultivator dared to bare his fangs at him?

"Perfect, this saves me from having to sneak into the Jiang Clan."

Immediately, the man stomped his right foot hard against the ground, charging out like a bloodthirsty beast, carrying a terrifying, bloody aura.

His speed was so fast that it was far beyond what Jiang Chen, at the Three Qi and Blood Gates, could compare to.

The gap between the Blood Qi Realm and the True Martial Realm was revealed in full display at this moment.

"The distance is enough!"

When the distance between them was less than a meter, Jiang Chen immediately activated his Soul Seal.

In an instant, an intangible, formless Soul Force surged out like a heavy hammer, slamming fiercely into the man.

The man's entire body stiffened, his pupils trembling, and the fierce, malevolent expression on his face turned into one of dullness, numbness, and agony...

Thud!

The man collapsed headfirst, completely losing consciousness.

Snap!

Jiang Chen acted immediately, skillfully dislocating the man's joints, severing his tendons, and sprinkling bone-softening powder—the entire sequence of movements was fluid and practiced.

"Hmm? Is the consumption of the Soul Force Impact this high?"

After successfully subduing the man, Jiang Chen turned his focus inward.

The Soul Seal, which had been bright and radiant before, was now dim and lusterless.

This was a sign that his Soul Force had been completely exhausted.

He had been hoping to rely on the Soul Force Impact to walk sideways through the Prefecture City.

It seemed that was just wishful thinking.

"To use Soul Force Impact multiple times, I must at least cultivate to the second stage of perfection."

Until he had accumulated enough Soul Force, this trump card could not be used lightly.

After all, no one knew when danger might strike; he had to keep a life-saving ace up his sleeve.

"Hiss!"

At this moment, the man who had lost consciousness due to the Soul Force Impact was actually beginning to wake up.

"What's going on? I just..."

Feeling a tearing, agonizing pain radiating throughout his entire body, the man was filled with bewilderment.

Wasn't he just about to take down Jiang Chen?

Where is he now?

What happened just a moment ago?

Why does his body hurt so much?

And why can't he muster even a shred of strength?

Was he poisoned?

"As expected of the True Martial Realm, waking up so quickly; your physical constitution is truly excellent."

Jiang Chen's consciousness returned to his body as he walked up to the man and skillfully began to search him.

An ancient book.

A piece of parchment.

Some bottles and jars.

A stack of silver banknotes; judging by the thickness, there should be around five thousand taels.

"You, what did you do to me?"

At this moment, the man became fully lucid.

He had actually fallen into Jiang Chen's hands?

How is this possible?

He was in the True Martial Realm, after all.

Even if he was a True Martial Realm practitioner who had forced a breakthrough by consuming a Saint Pill, he was still in the True Martial Realm.

And Jiang Chen was merely an ant in the Blood Qi Realm.

Under normal circumstances, he should have been able to slap him to death with a single strike.

Why is he the one lying on the ground like a dead dog now?

"It seems you still haven't grasped the situation."

Seeing the man chattering incessantly, Jiang Chen stomped down, snapping his arm.

The sound of shattering bone, accompanied by a painful wail, echoed through the small alley.

"Get your foot off me!"

The man was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, yet he was unable to move.

"That is not the attitude of someone begging for help."

Jiang Chen applied pressure with his foot, grinding it back and forth.

"I beg you! I'm begging you! Please, get your foot off me!"

The man's wails grew even more intense, and the look in his eyes as he stared at Jiang Chen was filled with nothing but terror and awe.

Jiang Chen was absolutely not normal.

Setting aside the fact that he had been ambushed inexplicably, the calm, methodical way he was torturing him now was not a mindset a mere youth should possess.

"Is this the so-called Treasure Pill?"

Jiang Chen opened the bottles and jars.

He had no interest in the poisons, but a brown pill that spilled out of one of the porcelain bottles caught his attention.

The brown pill emitted a pungent, bloody stench.

He was all too familiar with this scent of blood.

Whether it was the mole or the man before him, both carried the aura of this pill.

"That's right."

The man nodded.

"How is this refined? You had best not test my patience, or I wouldn't mind skinning you alive, one slice at a time."

Jiang Chen crouched down, patting the man's face with a poisoned dagger.

"It was bestowed by the gang leader; the main ingredient used... is the essence blood of martial artists!"

At this moment of life and death, the man dared not hide anything and spoke obediently.

"The essence blood of martial artists?"

Jiang Chen's brows twitched.

They are using living people to refine pills?!

No wonder these pills carried such a thick, bloody stench!

Wait!

Martial artist essence blood?

"The disciples who disappeared from White Ape Martial Hall a few days ago—was that your doing?"

Jiang Chen asked immediately.

"Yes!"

The man revealed the detailed inside story.

Among the disciples of White Ape Martial Hall, some came from villages outside the Prefecture City. After figuring out their routines, they would ambush them halfway.

It wasn't just White Ape Martial Hall; they had also captured quite a few disciples from other martial halls.

It was just that they only captured ordinary disciples and didn't touch the elite ones, which was why it hadn't attracted any attention until now.

"Does your Azure Dragon Gang have ties to demons and evil spirits?"

Jiang Chen asked again.

Refining pills using the essence blood of martial artists—no matter how you looked at it, it smelled of involvement with demons and evil spirits.

"I don't know."

The man shook his head.

He had only joined the Azure Dragon Gang a few months ago. After consuming a Saint Pill to break through to the True Martial Realm, he had come to White Cloud County with the gang's protector.

As for the inside secrets of the Azure Dragon Gang's upper echelons, he wasn't qualified to know them.

Puchi!

Having obtained the information he wanted, Jiang Chen sent the man on his way, clean and swift.

[Suppressed Evil Cultivator, Origin +2]

A line of ethereal text drifted across the Myriad Dao Chart.

"2 points of Origin?"

No wonder those two Evil Cultivator at the Three Qi and Blood Gates only provided 1 point of Origin.

Even this True Martial Realm cultivator only yielded 2 points of Origin.

To fill the second stage of the Soul Seal, he would need to kill at least ten True Martial Realm cultivators.

Relying solely on Soul Force Impact was very difficult; he had to improve his cultivation as soon as possible.

Once he stepped into the True Martial Realm and combined it with Soul Seal attacks, every strike would be a guaranteed kill.

Immediately, Jiang Chen dragged the corpses to a corner and poured Bone-Eroding Powder out of a porcelain bottle.

A hissing sound rang out.

The three corpses were rapidly corroded, eventually turning into a puddle of black liquid, leaving not even a scrap of bone behind.

"Next, it's time to deal with the Azure Dragon Gang."

Jiang Chen put away the poisons, disguised himself, and quickly left the alley.

"Have you heard? Recently, disciples from all the major martial halls have been disappearing for no reason!"

"Martial hall disciples disappearing? Could it be they encountered evil spirits?"

"Has a demon or evil spirit really snuck into our Prefecture City?"

"Heh, what demons or evil spirits? As far as I know, the disappearances of those martial hall disciples have everything to do with the Azure Dragon Gang."

"The Azure Dragon Gang? That gang that appeared a while back?"

"No way? A gang dares to lay hands on martial hall disciples?"

"It's absolutely true. Someone saw with their own eyes the Azure Dragon Gang ambushing martial hall disciples outside the city."

"What does the Azure Dragon Gang want? Those martial halls all have major powers backing them."

"Who knows? Maybe the Azure Dragon Gang wants to incite infighting among the major powers."

"Do you think the Azure Dragon Gang might be related to those rebels?"

"That's a possibility..."

Before long, rumors and gossip spread through every street and alley.

In an instant, the Azure Dragon Gang was pushed to the forefront of the storm.