A Kitchen Knife Could Slay a Qi Refinement Perfected

But if the other man chose wrong...

Heh, I wouldn't mind killing him, either.

Wang Zhenfeng thought this, his gaze indifferent.

Although Zhang Yuan claimed to belong to the Eastern Bian Li and possessed six-turn qi refinement cultivation, Wang Zhenfeng still did not quite believe him.

Rogue cultivators with six-turn qi refinement were rare, but not unheard of.

"Of course, whether you agree or not, fellow Daoist, I'm taking them away today. And if you try to stop me, I will cut you down," Wang Zhenfeng added.

Arrogant. Overbearing.

Such was the way of the Wang Household of Dragon Creek City.

Or rather, that was how most qi-refining cultivators from aristocratic clans behaved.

"You are mistaken, fellow Daoist." Zhang Yuan shook his head slightly.

Wang Zhenfeng frowned, his sword edging out of its sheath as he threatened, "What do you mean?"

Rather than answer his question, Zhang Yuan smiled and pointed at his feet.

"Why not look beneath your feet, fellow Daoist?"

Wang Zhenfeng lowered his head.

There was nothing beneath his feet.

When he raised his head again, several iron chains shot toward him in an instant, wrapping around his limbs, waist, abdomen, and neck!

The chains rapidly tightened, threatening to strangle him to death!

Even as his body was about to be crushed apart, Wang Zhenfeng remained calm. He formed a sword gesture with his left hand and pointed lightly at the sword that had fallen to the ground.

The sword flew out of its sheath and slashed several beams of sword light toward Wang Zhenfeng himself.

[Heaven Slash].

All the iron chains binding Wang Zhenfeng snapped apart.

Wang Zhenfeng steadied himself, and his sword flew into his hand. "If that's all you can do, fellow Daoist, you had better... hmm?"

His words cut off abruptly. His pupils widened as he looked down.

A kitchen knife gleaming with cold light had plunged into his chest.

Blood gushed like a spring.

Wang Zhenfeng's eyes filled with bewilderment.

The kitchen knife was no divine weapon, nor was it an Outer Dao Treasure. It was merely the sort of kitchen knife found in every home.

What kind of joke was this? I'm a six-turn Qi Refinement Perfected!

Even ordinary divine abilities struggled to injure him. How could a mere kitchen knife of common iron pierce his Physical Body?

Yet the truth lay before him: someone had driven a kitchen knife clean through his chest.

"M-murder! Mother... the ungrateful little wretch killed someone!"

Liu Yulan's scream shattered the silence as she stared in terror at the figure behind Wang Zhenfeng.

Chen Xinqiao held the blood-drenched kitchen knife, her face expressionless. She raised her arm slightly, about to stab him again.

"That's enough. Come back," Zhang Yuan called out to stop her.

Chen Xinqiao nodded. Before Wang Zhenfeng could react, she left her position behind him and walked to Zhang Yuan's side.

Zhang Yuan ruffled Chen Xinqiao's hair and smiled. "Well done."

Chen Xinqiao had woken at the commotion. Rather than cry, make a fuss, or run away, she had picked up a kitchen knife to hack someone down. Her courage was anything but ordinary.

Unable to dodge Zhang Yuan's hand, Chen Xinqiao could only let him ruffle her hair, silently enduring it with a tiny flicker of displeasure.

As for how Chen Xinqiao had managed it...

An ordinary kitchen knife could not pierce a Qi Refinement Perfected's Physical Body, and Chen Xinqiao could not have silently walked behind Wang Zhenfeng, either.

But Zhang Yuan could first use [Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace] to conceal Chen Xinqiao's figure and aura, then, once she drew close, switch his mounted ability to [Fivefold Body-Rending Qi] and secretly attach it to the kitchen knife.

Simply put, what had pierced Wang Zhenfeng was neither Chen Xinqiao nor the kitchen knife, but the [Fivefold Body-Rending Qi] upon it!

Wang Zhenfeng's gaze turned savage. He glared viciously at Zhang Yuan and spat, "Despicable!"

He understood now.

He had fallen victim to this man's divine ability!

An impurity-laden qi that he could not expel was now inside him, devouring and corroding his organs, sinews, bones, blood, and flesh!

Even his mind was becoming muddled under the influence of that filthy qi.

After gaining further insight, Zhang Yuan could now wield the mind-rending aspect to a greater degree.

"You flatter me, fellow Daoist."

Zhang Yuan cupped his hands, then unleashed [Myriad Coexistence] and [Fivefold Body-Rending Qi] together.

Iron chains bound the Physical Body, while the defiling wind ravaged body and soul.

In the next instant, Wang Zhenfeng's flesh, blood, sinews, and bones, tempered by six-turn qi refinement, scattered on the wind, leaving not a trace.

Wang Zhenfeng was dead!

Zhang Yuan switched back to [Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace] and erased his own Karma with practiced ease.

The Wang Household had a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being presiding over it. If he killed Wang Zhenfeng without erasing that Karma, someone could easily come knocking at his door.

Right, I need to conceal Chen Xinqiao's involvement, too.

Chen Xinqiao had stabbed Wang Zhenfeng and was already entangled in the Karma of his death.

Once he had made certain nothing was amiss, Zhang Yuan and Chen Xinqiao both turned their gazes toward Liu Junmao and the other two, who stood frozen in stunned silence.

Liu Yulan stammered, "M-Master Jun, the Wang Household immortal seems to be dead..."

"Shut up! I don't need you to tell me!"

Liu Junmao slapped Liu Yulan across the face, then dropped straight to both knees. "Immortal, I swear I won't breathe a word about what happened today! Please spare my life! I'm willing to serve you like an ox or a horse!"

Liu Yulan and the old woman hurriedly knelt as well, knocking their heads against the ground as they begged Zhang Yuan for mercy.

Even the Wang Household immortal was dead. If they remained stubborn and refused to beg, they would surely die!

Zhang Yuan rubbed his chin and asked Chen Xinqiao, "How do you think I should deal with these three?"

A gleam flashed in Liu Yulan's eyes at those words, and she hurriedly said, "Xinqiao, it was all Liu Junmao's idea! Your aunt never wanted to sell you! If you have to kill someone, kill Liu Junmao, not me..."

The old woman spoke up as well. "Xinqiao, don't forget how you and your father survived all these years! Without our Liu family, you would have starved to death long ago!"

Tsk, the Liu family's old woman really is the more formidable one. The moment she opens her mouth, she starts wielding moral blackmail.

Listening from the side, Zhang Yuan could not help turning his gaze toward Chen Xinqiao.

Chen Xinqiao's eyes were cold. As she listened to her aunt and grandmother, not a ripple stirred in them.

She had survived until today.

Because of the money her mother had left behind, and because her father went into the mountains every day to gather herbs. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the old woman's family!

"Kill them," Chen Xinqiao said.

Liu Yulan's face went white in an instant. She wailed, "You ungrateful wretch! You're going to kill your own aunt?"

The old woman, whose emotions had barely fluctuated until now, also began to panic. "Chen Xinqiao! What do you mean by that? You unfilial little thing! Didn't your mother ever teach you?"

Chen Xinqiao paid her no heed.

Zhang Yuan looked at the label above her head.

[Loathing].

She truly intended to kill them.

"Xinqiao!"

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out. It was Chen Qinkuai.

Liu Yulan's wailing had awakened Chen Qinkuai, who had been sleeping in the Main Hall.

Chen Qinkuai hurried out of the Main Hall and said urgently, "Xinqiao, kill Liu Junmao if you must, but however awful your aunt and grandmother may be, they're still your family..."

The old woman's family had treated neither him and Xinqiao nor Xinqiao's mother particularly well. Yet blood was thicker than water, and when it came to killing kin, he still could not bring himself to do it.

He could not quite understand. They were all one family, so how had things come to this...

Chen Xinqiao turned her head away and looked at Zhang Yuan.

Father is hidebound, but the man before me shouldn't be.

Zhang Yuan reached out again and ruffled her hair. Her silky hair felt lovely beneath his hand.