Jiayuan City had its highest pedestrian traffic in the South Market before the manor gates. Right in the middle stood a two-story pavilion known as the Spirit Smoke Pavilion, a place that bought and sold spiritual herbs.
Inside a second-floor private room of the Spirit Smoke Pavilion, a middle-aged man wearing a white robe embroidered with a light-blue tiger head on his chest, sporting a goatee and holding an iron pipe in his hand from which wisps of white smoke rose out of the bowl, reclined in a rocking chair with his legs crossed, closing his eyes in comfort.
Right at that moment, a knock sounded from outside the door, followed immediately by a young man's voice. "Is Director Lian in?"
"Oh! Little Wang! The door's unlocked, come on in! What is it?"
Recognizing the voice, Lian Xingchen remained lying down without getting up, speaking with unconcern after lightly exhaling a puff of smoke.
Wang Xiaoyu was a shop assistant at the Spirit Smoke Pavilion. Hearing this, he gently pushed open the door and walked inside, then turned to shut it before approaching Lian Xingchen to report that Mo Juren had just returned to Jiayuan City, clashed with Cao Yang the third leader of the Brothers Alliance outside the Mo manor gates, and subsequently killed him.
"Oh! This is getting interesting. You're saying this Mo Juren dropped to the Second Innate Stage in cultivation, yet he actually killed Cao Yang, who possessed Fourth Innate Stage strength!"
Lian Xingchen suddenly sat up, tapped the table with his pipe, flicked off the ash, stroked his goatee with amused interest, and chuckled as he spoke.
"That's right. But when Mo Juren threw that punch, I felt as though a momentary trace of Qi Refining cultivator aura emanated from his body. The aura wasn't strong, but it could still be faintly sensed."
Watching Lian Xingchen's expression, Wang Xiaoyu proceeded to describe the aura he sensed when he saw Mo Juren make his move.
"Injured and not dead, staying out there for a few years, and returning as a cultivator-there has to be a secret in all this. Your cultivation is a bit too low and easily exposed. Go tell Liu Yang to keep a secret watch, and report back to me if anything comes up!"
Lian Xingchen paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, then spoke.
"Oh! Right, check along the way whether he has joined a sect."
As Wang Xiaoyu finished receiving his orders and turned to open the door, ready to step out, Lian Xingchen's voice came over once more. Wang Xiaoyu turned his head back to answer with a "yes" before turning to leave.
The Jiayuan City branch of the Spirit Smoke Pavilion was an intelligence-gathering and supply-procurement stronghold for Spirit Beast Mountain in the mortal realm, and the lowest cultivation level of any clerk here was the Fifth Qi Refining Layer.
Wang Xiaoyu's cultivation was at the Seventh Qi Refining Layer, the same as Chen Ming's, otherwise it would have been hard to detect the cultivation realm of the cultivation world exposed during that momentary strike.
Lian Xingchen was the master of the Jiayuan City Spirit Smoke Pavilion, possessing the strength of the Twelfth Qi Refining Layer. The main reason he came here to serve as pavilion master was to undertake sect missions; wanting to build his foundation required a Foundation Establishment Pill, and given his advanced age, achieving foundation establishment was basically impossible without one.
Despite currently looking only around forty years old, his actual age was already past eighty. In the mortal realm, people of this age were mostly already laid to rest in the dirt.
Chen Ming, who was still drinking tea in the teahouse, had no idea that he was now being targeted by various factions and was silently gazing straight ahead. In the time it took to burn half an incense stick, three men dressed in official yamen bailiff uniforms walked out from the gates of the Brothers Alliance.
Mortal yamen officials might not be a big deal, but they could enlist people from the sects. Unaffiliated cultivators generally preferred not to provoke them unless necessary. Should the officials manage to enlist sect members to make a move, that was a minor matter; what they feared most was the officials slapping you with the identity of a demonic path fiend, which was the greatest trouble of all!
"No need to look."
Watching the men leave, Chen Ming picked up the broadsword in his hand, took a piece of shattered silver from his body, and tossed it onto the table before rising to leave.
executing the Shrouding Smoke Steps, he instantly rushed in front of the two guards and slashed out with his single saber. Two heads instantly tumbled to the ground, and Chen Ming turned around without looking back as he entered the courtyard.
Just as he stepped through the door, he saw a burly man directing fifteen or sixteen gang members as they moved a dozen chests out of a house. Each wooden chest was around thirty by fifty centimeters, the kind ordinarily used for storing gold and silver.
Ignoring these small fry, Chen Ming charged straight at the burly man and brought his saber down, separating head from torso, before storming into the front hall. Finding no one in the front hall, he turned and crossed into the second hall.
Hanging above the doors of the hall were three large characters: Righteous Gathering Hall. Dozens of chairs were arranged inside, and three seats sat at the back of the hall. Aside from the chair on the far left, which was empty, the rest were completely occupied!
"Who's there? How dare you come make trouble at the Brothers Alliance!"
Seeing Chen Ming suddenly appear outside the hall doors holding a blood-stained broadsword, Alliance Leader Li Biao, who sat in the central seat of honor, slammed his hand down on his chair and stood up in fury.
At Li Biao's words, the various brothers in the hall all sprang to their feet, glaring with furious eyes at Chen Ming outside the hall doors!
"Villains sure talk a lot, Alliance Leader Li!"
With a light chuckle, Chen Ming lunged into the hall, instantly cutting down two more men. Before many could even react, several more fell!
"Mo Juren, you actually dare to single-handedly slaughter your way into my Brothers Alliance and kill so many of my brothers! Today, this alliance leader will make sure you don't leave alive!"
With that, Li Biao instantly grabbed one of the three swords hanging on the wall behind him and lunged at Chen Ming. Seeing the situation, Geng Fang, the second leader of the Brothers Alliance, also grabbed one of the swords and attacked Chen Ming's right flank!
Clang! Clang!
With two crisp rings, Chen Ming deflected the swords attacking from both sides and stepped back two paces. Without mobilizing spiritual energy, matching two formidable martial artists still left him falling slightly short. Although his body had undergone the baptism of the Evergreen Technique, it was merely a bit stronger than an ordinary innate-realm martial artist, while his own martial cultivation was only at the Second Innate Stage.
Just as Chen Ming's mind raced with thoughts, Li Biao and Geng Fang pressed their attack, one striking high and the other low. Seeing this, Chen Ming hastily retreated.
"Mo Juren, with just this little bit of skill, you dare to come make trouble at my Brothers Alliance? Do you feel like you've lived too long and came over to deliver your head on purpose? Haha!"
Watching Chen Ming fall back in consecutive defeats, Li Biao burst out in mockery, his sword flashing endlessly as he thrust straight toward Chen Ming's chest!
After a dozen exchanges, Chen Ming realized that if he did not use spiritual energy, he fundamentally could not deal with Li Biao and the others. He shook his head helplessly and flicked his broadsword, sending it spinning out of his hand!
Seeing this, Li Biao wanted to mock him a few more times, but then suddenly felt the aura around Chen Ming change. His body began to tremble as if it were no longer under his control, and the sword in his hand involuntarily dropped to the floor beside his feet!
An oppressive might, unique to superiors, emanated from Chen Ming, making people feel a nameless terror rising from the depths of their hearts!
Ah! I just wanted to get along with you all using the identity of an ordinary mortal, but who would've thought! Bro has already become a legend, tremble, you ants!
An aura belonging uniquely to cultivators emanated from Chen Ming. Gently shaking his head, Chen Ming spread his hands in a helpless gesture, the corners of his mouth lifting as he smiled wryly.
Executing the Shrouding Smoke Steps, he instantly arrived before Li Biao and Geng Fang. With a double-handed slap, two fireballs immediately entered their bodies, and the pair let out frantic screams as raging flames ignited and burned upon them.
Seeing their two leaders reduced to such a state, the many gang members inside the house scrambled to flee. Observing this, Chen Ming hastily retrieved the broadsword he had tossed aside earlier and hacked toward the fleeing thugs!
Utterly terrified and bereft of any will to resist, the crowd was instantly cut down to the last by Chen Ming, his white robes dyed crimson with blood. Gazing at the corpses covering the ground, Chen Ming stepped into the hall and set a fire, igniting the entire estate before turning to leave.
Looking toward the sunset on the horizon that burned like fire clouds, Chen Ming let out a soft breath. Just as he was about to walk home, three flying darts suddenly and without warning shot straight toward his glabella, chest, and dantian.