Whoosh, whoosh-
Three rogue cultivators ran for their lives, their figures swift as the wind. Spiritual light flickered beneath their feet, and each leap carried them seventy or eighty feet.
The incredibly dense white mist rolled forward before them, waves of fog spreading in all directions.
Feeling the spiritual energy in his body rapidly draining away, the burly man bringing up the rear could not help complaining:
"Damn it, everyone says there's a terrifying gap between rogue cultivators like us and Dao Academy cultivators. Today I finally saw it for myself. Lord Yin's Changpi Ghosts are at least comparable to cultivators at the first or second layer of Qi Refining. How could that greenhorn turn one to ash with a single Law Technique when he's only at early Qi Refining himself?"
"How old is he, anyway?"
As he spoke, the burly man suddenly sensed the dangerous presence behind him rapidly closing in. His expression changed, and he instantly picked up a little speed, overtaking the old man.
"Damn it, I miscalculated."
The man with the black mole at the front said grimly:
"I thought the three of us together would have this in the bag."
As he spoke, he recalled that terrifying edge filled with icy killing intent he had just witnessed, and promptly shuddered.
"Boss, what do we do?"
"That brat's about to catch up! I don't want to take one of his Law Techniques. It'll really kill me!"
The burly man shouted, unconsciously picking up a little more speed until he looked poised to overtake the mole-faced leader.
"Keep running east," the mole-faced man said viciously. "We'll lead him as far away as we can. Then I'll activate that Law Artifact. However strong he is, he's only at early Qi Refining. Against this strike from Lord Yin, he'll be crippled if he doesn't die."
His words fell.
The mole-faced man glanced at the burly man beside him, who was about to overtake him. He abruptly reached out and clapped him hard on the shoulder, covertly shoving him backward as he said meaningfully:
"These Dao Academy disciples carry plenty of good stuff!"
"Once I kill that brat behind us with the Law Artifact, don't forget to take his Storage Bag. Then we'll go straight down to find Lord Yin."
But just then.
There was a sharp hiss.
The old man left behind by the other two abruptly stopped. The next instant, a terrifying edge brimming with baleful intent burst out of his chest.
An icy chill struck their faces.
"No time. We'll do it here."
The mole-faced man's breath caught. He fumbled a strangely shaped, tiger-tooth-like knife Law Artifact from his Storage Bag and instructed the burly man beside him:
"Go draw his attention first. I'll activate the Law Artifact right away."
At this, the burly man glanced at the old man's corpse lying ahead, then said in a negotiating tone:
"Boss, it's really not that I'm afraid to die. It's just that with my strength, I probably wouldn't last a single exchange against him. I'd be no use at all. Your cultivation's the highest. How about you hold him off, and I activate the Law Artifact instead?"
"What bullshit are you spouting? Go!"
The mole-faced man barked.
"Two left."
Zhang Jing's gaze swept past the old man's corpse on the ground and settled on a slowly moving, indistinct figure a short distance ahead.
Hmm? Where's the other one?
As he pondered, another Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique appeared in his hand, then became a blur and flew straight toward that figure.
At that moment.
What a chance!
Hiding to one side, watching with bated breath, the mole-faced man's eyes lit up when he saw Zhang Jing cast his Law Technique. He hurriedly poured Law Power into the knife Law Artifact.
Roar!
A faint, elusive roar rang out, and an incredibly dense aura of savage baleful intent erupted from the blood-red knife.
In an instant.
The knife became a streak of red light, cleaving through the white mist along its path as it slashed straight toward Zhang Jing.
At this sight, the mole-faced man's taut body finally relaxed, and his expression slowly regained its composure.
Meanwhile.
After throwing out that Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique, Zhang Jing paid no further attention to the indistinct figure ahead. His steps slowly halted, his vigilance already raised to its utmost.
He seemed to have caught the scent of some danger.
A great quantity of Spiritual Sense poured into the Mind's Eye Dao Seed.
Driven at full power, the Mind's Eye abruptly opened. In an instant, the dense white mist seemed to cease to exist, and everything within a radius of over a hundred feet was reflected in Zhang Jing's mind.
There!
He turned his head and "looked" toward the mole-faced man hiding behind a wall, anticipation written across his face.
A trace of danger abruptly entered Zhang Jing's perception.
The white mist parted of its own accord.
The knife flashing with bloody light rapidly grew in Zhang Jing's sight, bearing a terrifying momentum far beyond early Qi Refining.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Splash-
Within the Five-Law Spirit River, seven icy-blue Law Technique Fish leaped out together, instantly merging into the layer of protective spiritual light around Zhang Jing.
Icy-blue light, solid as substance, instantly pierced the white mist and illuminated the surroundings.
Boom!
The knife Law Artifact transformed into a savage black tiger poised to devour its prey. Opening its enormous, blood-red maw lined with interlocking fangs, it savagely bit into Zhang Jing's reinforced protective spiritual light.
The bloody light was vicious! The icy radiance was dense!
The two actually locked into a dead stalemate.
Finally.
There was a crack!
The blood-colored knife broke into three pieces and fell to the ground. Zhang Jing's protective spiritual light likewise grew extremely dim, as though it would dissipate at any moment.
After glancing at the broken knife Law Artifact on the ground.
Zhang Jing maintained his protective spiritual light and walked straight toward the mole-faced man.
Soundlessly, a Star-Attracting Talisman appeared in his hand.
Tap, tap-
Soft footsteps sounded, drawing ever closer.
Yet to the mole-faced man's ears, that sound was like a death summons from the King of Hell, chilling him to the core.
"So this is-a Dao Academy disciple? Heh, heh, monsters, all of them!"
Despair and bleakness appeared in his eyes.
My greatest trump card couldn't even break through his protective spiritual light...
With a thud.
The mole-faced man dropped to his knees before Zhang Jing, kowtowing as he shouted:
"Spare my life, fellow Daoist! We were forced into this! Don't you want information about the demon in Black Mountain County? I'll tell you everything!"
"Speak!"
"The demon hiding in Black Mountain County is called Lord Yin. This nighttime fog is his doing, and the Changpi Ghosts in it follow its commands. We were ordinary rogue cultivators, but a moment's carelessness left us under Lord Yin's coercion. That was why we endured humiliation and had no choice but to serve the villain."
"Ah, I'm an honest cultivator! Every moment, I've been looking for a chance to slay that old devil, but my strength is lacking, so I've never dared act!"
The mole-faced man first sighed, then looked at Zhang Jing excitedly:
"Now that you're here, Black Mountain will have peace! Now that you're here, we'll finally have a clear sky of justice!"
Zhang Jing remained unmoved and merely asked coolly:
"How strong is this 'Lord Yin'? And where is it hiding?"
"According to Lord Yin itself, its current cultivation is at the peak of the Qi Refining fourth layer. Among some ruins right beside the eastern city wall is a secret passage leading straight to the underground palace it built in Black Mountain County's city. Supposedly, there are secret passages in the west, north, and south of the city too, but I don't know their exact locations."
"..."
Like beans spilling from a sack, the mole-faced man poured out everything he knew in one breath.
He feared that speaking even a little too slowly would send him after his two brothers.
After finishing.
He raised his head toward Zhang Jing and asked cautiously, "Fellow Daoist, considering my utter sincerity and the fact that I'm an honest cultivator, could you spare my life?"
The next instant, the dense protective spiritual light slowly dissipated.
The mole-faced man saw Zhang Jing's face, wearing the hint of a smile, and then his vision went black.
A short while later.
Zhang Jing held two shabby Storage Bags containing only some Spirit Stones and two battered Law Artifacts.
A trace of disappointment appeared in his eyes.
Rogue cultivators really are poor!
But just then.
"Junior Brother Zhang!"
A low voice abruptly rang out, carrying a hint of urgency.
Zhang Jing looked toward the voice. The speaker was none other than Senior Brother Ding, hurrying toward him.
In just three to five breaths.
Senior Brother Ding arrived beside him with the others.
Senior Sister Tong stepped forward, her expression anxious as she circled Zhang Jing again and again, examining him from head to toe.
Only after confirming that Zhang Jing was uninjured did she let out a soft breath and reproach him:
"Junior Brother, how could you act alone?"
"Senior Brother Ding reminded us over and over during the day that we had to be careful. Especially you, a newcomer who's only just joined the Dao Academy-you lack experience and don't have all sorts of life-saving measures. What if you'd run into a demon? If something had happened to you this time, how would I face Senior Brother Yangchu when we returned?"
Zhang Jing was about to answer when Senior Brother Zhou beside him interceded:
"All right, Tong Yao. Junior Brother Zhang probably just got anxious and chased after them. He just needs to be more careful next time. Besides, Junior Brother Zhang practices a middle-grade cultivation method. What threat could these three early Qi Refining rogue cultivators pose to him?"
"That still doesn't mean-" Senior Sister Tong wanted to continue, but Senior Brother Ding interrupted with a smile.
"Junior Sister Tong, this is Junior Brother Zhang's first mission, after all. It's understandable that he lost his composure when something happened. Weren't you all the same back then? He's at the Qi Refining third layer, just like you. His methods aren't necessarily weaker than yours."
Then Senior Brother Ding turned toward Zhang Jing and said earnestly:
"Junior Brother Zhang, we'll let it go this time. Next time something happens, make sure you tell me immediately. Acting rashly like this is far too risky."
"I understand," Zhang Jing said solemnly.
His words had barely fallen.
He sensed several strange gazes.
Zhang Jing turned to look and found Senior Sister Tong and the other two staring at him, dumbstruck.
"Junior Brother, you... really broke through to the Qi Refining third layer?" Senior Brother Zhou swallowed and asked incredulously.
Zhang Jing nodded and answered with a smile:
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"Wait, you only joined the Dao Academy less than two months ago, didn't you? You completed the accumulation between the Qi Refining second layer and the third layer of Qi Refining just like that? Broke through the bottleneck just like that? That makes no sense!"
"Haha, that's why Senior Brother Yangchu thinks so highly of him."
Senior Brother Ding interjected with a hearty laugh, then looked at Zhang Jing again.
"Junior Brother Zhang Jing, since you killed these three rogue cultivators, I imagine you discovered some-"
Before he could finish.
Rustling footsteps came from every direction, denser even than raindrops. Like a tide, the sound instantly engulfed Zhang Jing and the other four.
This is-
Senior Brother Ding's expression tightened. A Jade-Green Bamboo Staff instantly appeared in his hand, the Dao Patterns on it slowly lighting up.
Senior Sister Tong and the other two likewise looked tense, instinctively surrounding Zhang Jing.