Counterkill!

Inside the house.

"Brother Zhou, have some tea."

With a broad smile on his face, Lin Chang'an brought over tea that had been steeped with Wood Spirit Thorns.

"Little Brother Lin, take a look at the quality of these two bottles of medicinal pills."

Zhou Qing wore a teasing smile, without the slightest visible flaw.

He first took out two bottles of medicinal pills, then leisurely lifted the teacup and took two light sips. As he set it down, he inconspicuously brushed the sachet at his waist.

"Fine medicinal pills."

Still smiling, Lin Chang'an looked at the two bottles on the table, then took out two Golden Light Talismans.

"Little Brother Lin, these two Golden Light Talismans aren't enough."

"Brother Zhou, given the current prices outside, upper-grade defensive talismans are nearly fifty Spirit Stones apiece. Though your medicinal pills are indeed good."

"Little Brother Lin, how about this? I'll add another bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills."

Looking pained, Zhou Qing took another bottle of medicinal pills from his Storage Bag. Lin Chang'an nodded lightly and examined the pills.

As the two men each harbored their own schemes, just as Lin Chang'an reached for the Jade Bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills, Zhou Qing suddenly revealed a vicious glint in his eyes. He violently uncorked the bottle and splashed its contents at him.

Lin Chang'an feigned shock and tried to rise, only to stagger and collapse back into his chair. Yet the mana shield formed by the Golden Light Talisman against his body was splashed by the black water from the Jade Bottle.

Pssh!

The pale golden mana shield darkened under the Five Poison Water. In apparent panic, Lin Chang'an activated three Golden Light Talismans in succession before finally stabilizing it, though he looked weak and powerless.

"Five Poison Water! Brother... Brother Zhou, what are you doing?!"

Amid the corrosive hissing and curling smoke, Lin Chang'an looked utterly terrified.

Once Five Poison Water touched someone, even a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator would suffer.

Seeing Lin Chang'an like a lamb awaiting slaughter, the kindness on Zhou Qing's face had long since vanished, replaced by cold indifference.

"Little Brother Lin, forgive me. Don't you understand that wealth should not be flaunted?"

Greed had taken root. Ever since Zhou Qing had seen the Spirit Gathering Array in Lin Chang'an's room last time, he had become covetous. Knowing Lin Chang'an possessed considerable wealth, and since he was leaving anyway, he naturally intended to make one last haul.

"You! When did you poison me?!"

Lin Chang'an rose and staggered backward, his face filled with panic.

"Do not blame this old man!"

Seeing Lin Chang'an poisoned and limp, Zhou Qing shook his head and sighed in a hoarse voice.

"If you must blame someone, blame the fact that Zhou Tieshan was born so fortunate. I want Foundation Establishment too. Since the clan cannot help me, then I..."

At that moment, a violent twisting pain suddenly erupted in his abdomen. Zhou Qing's expression changed sharply, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"Damn it! You despicable bastard, you poisoned me!"

Amid his shock and fury, Zhou Qing immediately understood. The tea had been poisoned.

Inside the small room, both men had secretly poisoned the other.

Zhou Qing hurriedly swallowed several Antidote Pills. Glaring furiously at Lin Chang'an, he raised his hand and summoned his spirit pet, an Earth Hound, from his Spirit Beast Bag.

"You damned Rogue Cultivators!"

A vicious demonic hound the size of a calf pounced straight at him. Amid Lin Chang'an's terrified screams, the Golden Light Talisman's shield gave off a sizzling sound.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But the next instant, several flashes of fire erupted, accompanied by the cries of his spirit pet. Hidden amid the flames were three streaks of azure light.

[Wood Spirit Thorn]

Before he had time to think, Zhou Qing forcibly propped up a mana shield and roared in fury, "Upper-grade Fireball Talismans? I never thought your wealth—"

Amid the thunderous explosions of the Fireball Talismans, Zhou Qing's voice abruptly cut off.

"H-how is this possible?!"

Zhou Qing's face was filled with disbelief as he stared at the mana shield before him. At some point, it had been pierced through.

His mana shield flickered dimly, while three red dots arranged in the shape of a character on his throat visibly turned dark blue.

With a thud, Zhou Qing staggered helplessly to the ground, his eyes full of unwillingness. If he had not been so greedy, perhaps he would have already left the Market by now.

Yet blackness surged through his throat, and he could not make a sound. Reflected in his scattered, unwilling eyes were his spirit pet lying limp in the distance and Lin Chang'an rising to his feet.

His spirit pet had already collapsed limply to the ground.

Pssh!

The Green Bamboo Sword flashed, and his head was cleanly severed.

With unwillingness and regret, Zhou Qing's consciousness sank into endless darkness.

"You old bastard, I've been guarding against you all along!"

Lin Chang'an rose from the ground with a cold laugh and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Everything had happened in the space between sparks and flint.

Though he had killed Zhou Qing, a Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator, while only at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

In truth, the two had never stood on equal ground from the start.

He had not been poisoned, while Zhou Qing had already drunk poisoned tea.

He had first feigned terror at being poisoned. As he staggered back, while his opponent released his spirit pet to pounce on him in a frenzied attack, he used it as cover—at the moment Zhou Qing's guard was at its lowest.

He then used several First Tier upper-grade Fireball Talismans as a feint, concealing three Wood Spirit Thorns within them. That was what proved decisive.

"Too close."

Only after delivering the finishing blow and cutting off Zhou Qing's head did Lin Chang'an finally let out a silent breath of relief.

Pouring the tea had also been an opportunity, but he knew the other man clearly intended to rob and murder him. Zhou Qing had remained tense and watchful throughout. Though the distance had been advantageous, it had also been the moment when Zhou Qing's guard was strongest.

That was why he had calculated that he would feign poisoning and seize the chance to launch a sneak attack.

Just as Lin Chang'an was preparing to clean up the battlefield, a massive rumble suddenly sounded from within the Market.

"Something happened!"

Lin Chang'an's expression changed. He hurried out of the courtyard, climbed onto the roof, and stared toward the Market in shock.

"That's the Zhou Family!"

From afar, he could see blazing flames rising from the Zhou Family, along with countless Cultivator Bandits rampaging through the area.

Zhou Family.

"Old Ancestor, there is a traitor in the clan! The formation has been broken, and countless Rogue Cultivators have rushed in!"

"Old Ancestor, this is bad! Our clan's medicinal fields have been burned!"

"This is bad, Old Ancestor! The Head of the Family was intercepted while returning!"

Faced with the clan's panic, the Old Ancestor who had led the Zhou Family through several crises shouted with imposing authority, "What are you panicking for?! They are merely a pack of rebellious Rogue Cultivators!"

But at that moment, a grief-stricken beast roar came from the Zhou Family's rear mountain. Upon hearing it, the Zhou Family Patriarch, who had been calm just moments before, underwent a drastic change in expression.

"This is bad! How could the Clan-Protecting Spirit Beast be in trouble?!"

"Old Ancestor, this is bad! Someone is attacking the rear mountain!"

For the first time, a trace of panic appeared on the Zhou Family Patriarch's face.

Their Zhou Family's Clan-Protecting Spirit Beast was in its birthing period, its weakest time.

There was an insider!

The Zhou Family Patriarch immediately understood, and fury made his teeth grind together.

When the clan formation had been broken, he had only harbored suspicions. But this time, their enemy had struck directly at the Clan-Protecting Spirit Beast on the rear mountain. If there were no insider, then ghosts truly must be at work.

"Kill them all for this old man!"

A thunderous roar of fury rang out from the Zhou Family, and the Zhou Family Patriarch charged out with a roar.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator with little lifespan remaining, driven into a frenzy, was undoubtedly terrifying.

Yet this unrest was not limited to the Zhou Family. Chaos erupted in many places throughout the Market.