The night wind howled, carrying a murderous aura.

A figure darted through the small forest, glancing behind him from time to time.

"Have I lost them off?"

Muttering to himself, his eyes sharpened, and he gritted his teeth, channeling the little spirit power he had left as he continued to sprint.

The Wind-Control Seal he used to enhance his speed brought no sense of relief; instead, it filled him with a fiery panic that seemed to burn from within.

Behind him, a blue-robed cultivator was rapidly closing in on a flying disc.

"Zhou San, you can't escape!"

Zhou San ignored him and charged desperately toward the Howling Moon Mountains.

As long as he entered the Howling Moon Mountains, he could rely on the complex terrain to lose Gao Ting'e.

Flying with the Wind-Control Seal was much faster than using an enchanted artifact like the Lotus Leaf Disc. However, the spirit power consumed by casting a spell was far greater than that used by a flying artifact like the Lotus Leaf Disc.

Gao Ting'e's face darkened as he trailed behind. Whenever he noticed the gap widening, he would channel his spirit power to close the distance.

"Hehe, instead of running to the Poshan Gang's headquarters, you're fleeing aimlessly into the wilderness, you're truly seeking death."

With a cold sneer, Gao Ting'e clutched a talisman in his hand, ready to activate it at any moment. However, as the surrounding scenery gradually changed, his expression grew increasingly uncertain.

Wait, he's trying to escape into the mountains!

The Poshan Gang knew the nearby mountain ranges far better than those like him who spent their lives on the great rivers.

If he managed to get inside and hide for a couple of days, there would be nothing Gao Ting'e could do.

Fine, I'll just have to waste this Swift Talisman on you.

Without hesitation, Gao Ting'e put away the Lotus Leaf Disc and slapped a yellow talisman onto his body and spirit power surged into him.

Next instant, a figure shrouded in a yellow glow streaked forward like an earthen dragon, roaring through the air.

The distance between him and his target shrank.

Seeing this, Zhou San felt his soul nearly leave his body. No matter how much he pushed his spirit power, he couldn't widen the gap. Even the Wind-Control Seal had its limits.

"Zhou San, meet your end!" With a low shout, a flying sword shot toward him from hundreds of meters away.

Swish!

Zhou San stumbled but didn't fall; instead, he ran even more frantically for his life.

Gao Ting'e summoned back his sword, which was now stained with a layer of bright red blood.

"Quite a tough one. I wonder how many more strikes you can take."

Gao Ting'e continued the pursuit, the night wind against his face offering a slight sense of refreshment.

***

A desperate cry for help pierced the air. "Fellow Daoist, save me!"

Luo Chen's face was grim as he hid behind the door, a stack of talismans at his waist and a Soul-Breaking Nail clutched in his hand.

Save you? Save your mother! Don't run toward me!

He cursed inwardly, but Zhou San obviously couldn't hear him. Instead, Zhou San charged straight toward his house without hesitation.

"The Dajiang Gang is handling business—bystanders, stay out of the way!"

With a deafening roar, a massive fireball suddenly illuminated the pitch-black night sky.

Through the crack in the door, Luo Chen's eyes widened.

Damn it, what are you doing?

The next moment, the massive fireball crashed down like a meteor, targeting not just Zhou San but also Luo Chen's courtyard.

Boom!

Gao Ting'e landed gracefully as the yellow glow around him faded; the Swift Talisman was now completely used up.

He stood against the backdrop of the raging fire consuming half of the collapsed house and glanced at the body lying on the ground.

"Still pretending to be dead, huh?"

Before he could finish speaking, the body on the ground stirred slightly, only for a flying sword to pierce through it, nailing it to the ground.

With a cold sneer, Gao Ting'e glanced sideways and said, "Are you coming out on your own, or do you plan to burn to death in there?"

The response came in the form of a fireball.

Gao Ting'e raised his hand, and an earthy yellow light haloed him. The fireball struck it, sending ripples of yellow light before fading away.

"A petty trick, and you dare show it off in front of me!"

With a flick of his hand, the flying sword on the ground shot back into his grasp.

"Senior, please have mercy!" a man cried out as he clumsily crawled out of the window.

Seeing this, Gao Ting'e shook his head in disdain.

Just a worthless fourth stage Qi-Refining cultivator.

Suddenly, Gao Ting’e roared in anger, “How dare you!”

Another fireball came hurtling toward him. He wasn’t truly threatened by it—he was simply enraged that a mere fourth-stage Qi Refining cultivator dared to attack him after seeing who he was.

In his fury, he prepared to strike with his flying sword. As for the fireball, he didn't even care about it.

His Earth Shield’s defense was unparalleled among most low-tier spells, capable of blocking even Fury Meteor Rain—let alone a mere Fireball.

However, in the next moment, his expression changed drastically.

After the fireball dissipated, a streak of black light sliced through his Earth Shield like a knife through tofu and drove straight into his chest.

Squelch!

"Soul-Breaking…"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under the night sky, a figure moved like a phantom, rapidly forming seals with both hands and unleashing a relentless barrage of fireballs.

Gao Ting'e tried to summon his Earth Shield again, but with the barrage of fireballs, he had no chance to catch his breath.

His casting speed... it's so fast!

This was the only thought Gao Ting'e had before he fell.

Luo Chen stood two hundred meters away, staring intently at the fallen corpse.

"He might be playing dead. I've used that trick before, and so did the last guy. So, better test it out!"

Without hesitation, Luo Chen sent out another fireball.

Boom!

The corpse didn't react, it seemed truly dead.

Luo Chen still wasn't entirely sure. From this distance, if the man was truly playing dead, he would still have a chance to escape.

However, if he wasn't on the verge of death, why would he pretend to be dead?

Luo Chen's eyes lit up as he chanted a short incantation and his fingers suddenly moved.

From the ground in the distance, a stream of green light twisted like a vine and wrapped around the cultivator's neck.

Clang!

A sharp ringing of a sword echoed, startling Luo Chen, who immediately poured more spirit power into the spell.

The vine twisted the neck tightly, turning the head two full rotations before it finally dissipated.

Luo Chen sighed in relief and said as he walked over to the corpse, "So he really was pretending to be dead. Too bad that trick doesn't work on me anymore."

Looking at the twisted neck and the grotesque expression frozen on the face, Luo Chen felt surprisingly calm this time. There was neither the anger of being dragged into the fight nor the pride of defeating a powerful enemy.

Sometimes, adapting to a particular atmosphere was quite easy. In fact, he always had excellent adaptability!

He merely sighed. Realizing that Entangle could indeed kill, he silently vowed never to mock that particular God King again.

He tried shaking the body, but as the head began to move, its twisted neck only made the sight even eerier.

Luo Chen, now well-versed in the art of scavenging, then began rummaging through the body for anything valuable.

There’s a swallow-shaped flying sword. I will have to assess the quality later.

There is also a Lotus Leaf Disc!

A Lotus Leaf Disc was a lower-grade flying artifact that Luo Chen knew cost hundred and fifty spirit stones at the Treasure Pavilion, which was about half more expensive than a standard first-tier low-grade artifact.

This robe is ruined. Oh, there is also an inner armor! No wonder he survived my Soul-Breaking Nail and over a dozen fireballs.

What a pity! It was almost completely destroyed as well.

No spirit stones? No techniques? And not even a storage bag?

Damn, what a brokeass!

Luo Chen cursed as he pulled the Soul-Breaking Nail from the chest and moved to search for another corpse.

In the end, all he got was a set of flying blades and a small pouch of spirit stones. There was nothing else.

Damn it, another brokeass!

Luo Chen muttered to himself, "A bunch of brokeasses—what are they even risking their lives for every day?"

He then turned to look at his house, still engulfed in flames, and felt like crying.

"The local factions here seriously have no manners!"