Encounter

"Master?"

Chen Er lowered his voice and tentatively asked a question.

Seeing Jingyuan's serious posture as he listened intently to the surrounding sounds, everyone in the hall tensed up, gripping their knives tightly and cautiously looking around.

Whom are they patrolling the streets at night to keep an eye on?

That's none other than the ruthless killer, Chai Xian.

When nothing unusual happens, everyone can laugh and joke around. But at the slightest sign of trouble, these low-level patrol members immediately become half-frightened.

After all, Chai Xian was a top-tier figure in Xiangzhou, a fifth-grade Transformation Realm expert, and it was said that he could even control four iron corpses.

"In the river."

Jingyuan opened his eyes and said in a deep voice.

In the river? Chen Er's heart skipped a beat. The next moment, he heard a "splashing" sound coming from outside the tavern, as if something had broken out of the water.

The people inside the hall heard it too, and more than a dozen eyes simultaneously turned to the closed tavern door, as if facing a formidable enemy.

The sound of water rang out one after another, and more and more things broke through the water.

Immediately afterwards, the tavern door was violently forced open with a loud bang.

A figure rushed into the tavern. He was dressed in tattered clothes, reeked of stench, and his straw-like hair was soaked by the river and clung to his bloodless face. His eyes were cloudy and lifeless.

Behind him were more "companions," who calmly and indifferently watched the crowd in the tavern.

At first glance, there were at least forty bodies.

This eerie and terrifying scene would probably terrify an ordinary person, or even a low-level martial arts practitioner from another county.

Fortunately, the people of Xiangzhou are no strangers to walking corpses. Having been exposed to them before, they do not have the same fear of ghosts and gods. To them, walking corpses are no different from wolf packs in the mountains.

"Brothers, get your weapons ready!"

Chen Er roared, grabbed a large net from the basket at his feet, and flung it out, enveloping the walking corpse.

Immediately afterwards, he took three steps in two, raised his knife and slashed fiercely at the neck of the walking corpse that had crashed through the tavern door.

Puff!

The blade was stuck in his neck, failing to decapitate him.

Although walking corpses are not as invulnerable as iron corpses, they were all skilled martial artists in life, and after being nourished by Essence Blood, their physiques are stronger than those of ordinary Essence Refining Realm.

The zombie opened its foul-smelling mouth, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and lunged to bite Chen Er's neck.

His attack was so fast that it was comparable to that of the Qi Refining Realm expert, leaving Chen Er completely unable to dodge and a sense of despair welling up in his heart.

"Master, save me!" Chen Er cried out in his heart.

Then, in his vision, the zombie's head spun and flew away, its body suddenly froze, and then it fell straight to the ground.

Jingyuan gripped the monk's knife, shook off the corpse fluid from the blade, and said calmly:

"Break through the window and escape; these zombies are beyond your capabilities."

With the behind-the-scenes person's corpse-manipulation skills, dealing with this group of low-ranking individuals would be a piece of cake.

Chen Er breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to be stubborn, and advised, "Master, quickly use the prayer beads to inform the other fellow practitioners."

Jingyuan ignored them, lunged forward to meet the onrushing horde of zombies, and with each swift stroke of his blade, severed heads one by one.

Seeing this, Chen Er and the others did not hesitate any longer and rushed towards the windows on both sides of the hall, crashing through the windows to escape.

No zombies pursued them; instead, they focused their attack on Jingyuan.

Puff puff puff.

One head after another flew off, and the walking corpses were no match for the sword of the martial monk Jingyuan.

However, he had excellent control over his power, maintaining it at the early stage of the fifth rank.

After all, displaying peak fourth-grade combat power at once would only scare the opponent away.

"When!"

He slashed at the neck of a zombie, finally losing his unstoppable momentum. The zombie's head didn't fly off, but its neck exploded with blinding sparks and disappeared in a flash.

Iron Corpse!

This is an iron corpse.

The Iron Corpse, suffering from the decapitation attack, paid no heed to Jingyuan's blade. It opened its arms and hugged him back, then opened its foul-smelling mouth and bit at Jingyuan's neck.

Click!

Yellow teeth flew out, as if he had bitten into gold.

Jingyuan was radiantly golden, like a sculpture cast in gold. The moment the iron corpse embraced him, Jingyuan activated the Vajra Divine Skill.

Before Jingyuan could break free from the iron corpse's embrace, three more walking corpses rushed over, knocking away the "companions" blocking his way. One grabbed the back of Jingyuan's neck, one held his legs, and one twisted his hands behind his back.

A strongman locks up a man.

The next moment, Jingyuan's martial arts intuition gave feedback, sensing danger.

From the roof beam above, a figure dressed in black and wearing a hood swooped down, holding a steel cone that was imbued with a powerful aura, and aimed it at Jingyuan's crown.

The person behind it all has emerged.

Jingyuan remained unfazed, straightened his clothes, and began to rouse himself, no longer concealing his strength. His fierce aura exploded from within him like gunpowder.

"Boom!"

The four iron corpses instantly exploded into pieces.

Jingyuan raised her hand and grabbed the man in black's wrist, then with a fierce over-the-shoulder throw, slammed him hard to the ground.

Amidst the deafening roar of the powerful force, the solid ground cracked.

Jingyuan clenched his fist and delivered a powerful punch to the black-clad man's abdomen, shattering his tough exterior.

At this moment, he frowned and his face stiffened slightly, because there was no pulse where he was holding the other person's wrist.

Jingyuan pulled off the other person's hood, revealing a face mask underneath, but there was no need to remove it anymore. Jingyuan saw the other person's eyes, which were cloudy, empty, and lifeless.

"It has energy, but no pulse or heartbeat. This is a puppet even more powerful than the Iron Corpse. We've fallen for their trap!"

Jingyuan immediately realized what was happening.

The person behind the scenes didn't make a move. He used this corpse king to disguise himself as a "living person" and launch a sneak attack. If he was injured in the attack just now, then he was indeed a fifth-grade cultivator, and the person behind the scenes would immediately show up and cooperate with the walking corpses to surround and kill him.

Conversely, it indicates that one is concealing their strength.

"Unexpectedly stable"

Jingyuan walked out of the tavern and looked out into the vast night.

He remained completely calm, seemingly confident.

With candlelight burning, in the warm bedroom, Li Lingsu, draped in a robe, sat at the table, enjoying a meal after her workout.

Having just finished feeding the beautiful married woman, while Chai Xing'er was still in the afterglow, Li Lingsu excused herself by saying she was hungry, then went out to call a maid to help warm the wine and heat the dishes.

It is well known that strenuous exercise consumes a lot of energy and is accompanied by hunger, so Myolie Chai had no doubts.

I curled up lazily in bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Li Lingsu took a few sips of wine and ate a few bites of food, then pretended to be unable to hold her liquor, resting her chin on her hand and taking a short nap.

A ghostly spirit quietly departed, passing through the roof beams and gracefully heading to a certain courtyard.

This is the courtyard of Chai Jianyuan's second son. Chai Jianyuan had three sons in total. His eldest son died of illness in his youth, and his second son had no talent for cultivation and helped the Chai family manage their shop.

In his dazed state, Chai Zhong heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes and saw a dark figure sitting at the table with his back to him.

Who is there?

Chai Zhong shouted.

"Zhong'er, I am your father!"

The figure turned around; it was Chai Jianyuan.

"Father?!"

Chai Zhong cried out in surprise, seemingly startled.

He shoved the woman beside him forcefully and shouted for the guards, but received no response.

"This is your dream."

Chai Jianyuan explained.

"Dream?"

Chai Zhong asked a question with some skepticism, then raised his hand and slapped himself. Sure enough, it didn't hurt, so he believed it was all a dream.

He felt a little relieved and muttered to himself: Why do I have to be told about my dreams by you, Dad?

"Zhong'er, I've treated Chai Xian extremely well all these years. Do you resent your father for being biased?"

"Chai Jianyuan" asked.

Chai Zhong smiled wryly, "The Chai family is known for its martial arts. I have no talent for cultivation, so I can only help the Lineage manage the shops and do business. It's normal that Father doesn't value me."

"Chai Jianyuan" nodded. "Then do you know why Father values Chai Xian so much?"

Chai Zhong replied matter-of-factly, "Naturally, it's because Chai Xian is highly talented and has excellent aptitude. Everyone in the Lineage used to say that you had a keen eye for talent and found a genius."

Having said that, he revealed a look of resentment. "Who would have thought we'd let a wolf into the house, bringing back such a scourge?"

"It seems he doesn't know the truth that Chai Xian is Chai Jianyuan's illegitimate son." Following this topic, "Chai Jianyuan" sighed:

"I never expected it to turn out this way. If I had known, I shouldn't have brought him back in the first place. It's a pity that no one saw through his heartless and treacherous nature all these years?"

Chai Zhong snorted, "Chai Xian has an extreme personality. He likes Xiao Lan, but you don't agree to their marriage."

After asking a few more questions, Li Lingsu left Chai Zhong's dream and gracefully went to the courtyard of Chai Kai, the third master of the Chai family.

Night had fallen, but Chai Kai's courtyard was still brightly lit. He was playing drinking games with his concubines, who were alluring and charming. In the warm room, they wore light veils, their private parts subtly revealed.

Chai Kai was a handsome young man with the Qi Refining Realm level. He had survived the "most difficult" days for a martial artist thanks to the strict discipline of Chai Jianyuan when he was young.

Successfully refined essence.

But he gradually fell into depravity and became addicted to women.

"Why aren't you asleep in the middle of the night?"

Li Lingsu cursed under her breath and waited patiently outside.

Finally, he saw Chai Kai flanking two beautiful concubines, followed by two more concubines, making a total of five. He lifted the curtain and entered the large bed.

Soon, from inside the lowered curtains, came a woman's alluring moans.

This group activity lasted for half an hour before it stopped, leaving Li Lingsu extremely envious.

"A mere Qi Refining Realm Qi Refining Realm, and one who indulges in sensual pleasures at that, yet he manages to handle so many women. The martial arts system can be quite enviable sometimes."

After waiting a few more moments and confirming that Chai Kai had fallen asleep, he didn't delay any longer and quickly drifted off to sleep.

In his dazed state, Chai Kai heard someone calling his name. He opened his eyes and found that it was his deceased father, Chai Jianyuan.

"Father, aren't you dead?"

Chai Kai slapped himself, but found it didn't hurt. He suddenly realized that he was dreaming.

"You beast!"

Chai Jianyuan cursed, "All you do is indulge in debauchery all day long! If you were even half as successful as Chai Xian, I could die with a smile on my face."

Chai Kai, who was initially happy to dream of his father, suddenly turned pale and sneered:

"To be as successful as him, and then kill you?"

Chai Jianyuan was momentarily speechless, his expression softening as he said in a deep voice:

"Father also regrets bringing Chai Xian back with him, but do you know why I brought him back in the first place?"

Upon hearing this, Chai Kai looked bewildered.

"Chai Jianyuan" then asked, "Do you know anything unusual about Chai Xian, such as having six toes?"

Chai Kai was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "He has six toes?"

Chai Xian was very self-conscious about the deformity of his toes, so much so that he didn't even know it from his childhood "partners"? Well, there's a reason why these two didn't get along. Li Lingsu then asked him if he knew that "his father" had six toes.

The answer was still negative.

However, Chai Kai harbored deep resentment towards Chai Xian, saying that Chai Xian, an outsider's bastard child, had stolen Chai Jianyuan's affection for him and overshadowed him and his second brother. He also mentioned that Chai Xian had almost strangled him when they fought as children.

"I just called his mother a woman from a brothel and him a bastard, and he almost strangled me to death."

That's what Chai Kai said.

Just as Xu Qian said, Chai Xian's personality is a bit extreme. Li Lingsu found no particularly important clues and ended the operation.

In the mountains behind Sanshui Town, a figure moved through the darkness, sometimes leaping, sometimes running wildly.

He was dressed in black and wore a cloak. He stopped as he leaped across a mountain stream.

Under the faint, cool moonlight, a young monk dressed in a blue robe stood on a large rock by the mountain stream, a cloth bag hanging from his waist.

With his hands clasped together and his gaze calm, he looked at the figure in black and said gently, "Amitabha, the sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore."

"A monk from the Western Regions?"

The man in black, wearing a cloak, removed his hood, revealing his true face. He had handsome features, a gentle and reserved demeanor, and a troubled expression between his brows.

As the person revealed his true appearance, a faint Buddhist light shone from Jingxin's cloth bag.

Jingxin opened the cloth bag and took out a golden bowl. The bowl was scorching hot and emitted a clear Buddhist light.

He pointed the golden bowl at the man in black, and a clear, yet not dazzling, golden light shone from the bowl onto Chai Xian.

Jingxin saw within the golden light, a thick dragon shadow vaguely coiled around Chai Xian's body.

The dragon energy host, Jingxin, put away the golden bowl, gave the man in black a deep look, and said:

"May I ask your esteemed name, benefactor?"

The man in black frowned slightly, his tone steady. "Chai Xian."