Dajing Prefecture, Liang Province. Yijiang.
Beside Guihong Marsh, the night was cool as water.
"Hahahaha! He really is here! Brother Zhao's tracking technique is impressive indeed!"
"Sheng Nian, you devil! Hand over that ancient talisman, and we'll give you a quick death!"
Sheng Nian's black robe was already tattered.
He was drenched in blood, apparently having fought several fierce battles.
He surveyed his surroundings, panting slightly.
The horizontal saber in his hand had snapped as well. Blood kept flowing from his wounds, running down the broken blade and dripping onto the ground.
Yet there was no panic in his eyes.
"Hmph, stop dreaming of resisting. Our fellow rogue cultivators have already spread a net encompassing heaven and earth around the mouth of the Yijiang and Red Bank Valley. This time, we'll separate your head from your body!"
At the head of the crowd stood a handsome young cultivator. He looked at Sheng Nian with contempt.
His words brimmed with righteous indignation, fierce and vehement.
"You beast! To seize the thousand-year-old spirit medicine in that secret realm's herb garden, you actually raped and murdered the young lady of the Zhao family who treated you so kindly! Today, you won't leave the Yijiang, no matter what!"
Someone else in the crowd shouted, "And that's not all! To seize that metal-earth supreme spirit, sunken sand black gold, you launched a sneak attack
"and murdered my elder brother!"
"He also killed Fellow Daoist Hongyu!"
"Your crimes outrage gods and men! All the bamboo in the world couldn't record them!"
Sheng Nian's gaze was deep and still, like an ancient well or a bottomless pool. He casually swept his eyes over several of them, a cold smile curling his lips. "Taking credit for your own achievements and pinning it on me-
"My 'righteous' fellow Daoists,