Chapter 22: A Bunch of Paupers Playing with Their Lives

The night wind howled, and the air was thick with killing intent.

A figure darted through a small grove of trees, frequently glancing behind him.

"Did I shake them off?"

As he muttered to himself, his gaze sharpened, and he gritted his teeth, channeling the little spiritual energy he had left, continuing his frantic sprint.

The Wind Riding Technique, which he had activated, did not bring him a sense of coolness but rather a panic that felt like his insides were burning.

This was because, behind him, a blue-robed cultivator was chasing him at high speed on a flying disk.

"Wang San, you can't run!"

Wang San ignored the taunt and charged toward the Howling Moon Mountains.

As long as he could enter the Howling Moon Mountains, he could use the complex terrain to shake off Gao Ting'e.

The speed of wind riding was much faster than that of a flying disk.

However, the spiritual energy consumed by using the Wind Riding Technique was far greater than that required for a flying disk.

Gao Ting'e's face was dark as he followed from a distance.

Whenever he felt the gap was wide enough, he would channel his spiritual energy to accelerate and catch up.

"Haha, instead of running to the headquarters of the Mountain Breakers, you're fleeing to this desolate wilderness. Truly, you're courting death."

With a cold laugh, Gao Ting'e held a talisman in his hand, ready to activate it at any moment.

But as the surroundings changed, Gao Ting'e's expression became increasingly uncertain.

"Something's not right, he's trying to run into the mountains!"

The members of the Mountain Breakers were far more familiar with the nearby mountains than those who traveled the great rivers and lakes.

If he really managed to run in, hiding for a couple of days, Gao Ting'e would have no way to deal with him.

"Fine, I'll have to waste this Divine Speed Talisman on you."

Without hesitation, Gao Ting'e put away the flying disk and took out a yellowish talisman, sticking it to his body.

As he infused it with spiritual energy, a figure enveloped in a yellow glow, like a dragon of earth, roared toward him.

The distance between him and his pursuer grew closer.

Realizing this, Wang San's heart raced, but no matter how much he channeled his spiritual energy, he couldn't pull away.

The Wind Riding Technique had its limits.

"Wang San, die!"

With a light shout, a flying sword shot from several hundred meters away.

Swoosh!

Wang San staggered but didn't fall, instead running even more frantically.

Gao Ting'e recalled the flying sword, which was stained with a layer of fresh blood.

"Quite resilient, I wonder how many rounds you can take."

Gao Ting'e continued his pursuit, the night wind on his face bringing a sense of relief.

"Brother Daoist, save me!"

A desperate cry echoed through the air.

Luo Chen's face was ashen, hiding behind a door, a stack of talismans hanging from his waist, and a Soul-Piercing Nail in his hand.

"Save your mother, don't come this way!"

His inner complaint went unheard by Wang San, who charged straight toward his house.

"The Great River Gang is handling business, all irrelevant people, get out of the way!"

With a loud shout, a massive fireball suddenly appeared in the dark night sky.

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

Damn, what are you doing?

The next moment, the fireball, like a meteor, crashed down, targeting not only Wang San but also Luo Chen's yard.

Boom!

Gao Ting'e landed gracefully, the yellow glow around him disappearing, the Divine Speed Talisman now completely useless.

Amidst the burning house, he looked at the corpse on the ground.

"Quite good at faking death."

Before he finished speaking, the corpse on the ground flipped over, and a flying sword pierced through it, pinning it to the ground.

With a cold laugh, Gao Ting'e glanced sideways.

"Are you going to come out on your own, or do you plan to burn to death inside?"

In response, a fireball flew at him.

"Trivial tricks, daring to show off in front of me!"

Gao Ting'e raised his hand, and a yellowish light shield enveloped him. The fireball hit the shield, causing a ripple of yellow light before dissipating.

He summoned the flying sword back to his hand.

"Senior, show mercy!"

Gao Ting'e looked at the man who had tumbled out of the window, shaking his head in disdain.

Just a worthless cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

Suddenly, he shouted, "Bold!"

Another fireball flew at him.

The fireball was not scary; what enraged him was that a mere fourth-level Qi Condensation cultivator dared to attack him after seeing him.

In a fit of rage, he was about to strike with the flying sword.

As for the fireball, he didn't even care.

His Earth Shield was the best defense against most low-level spells; not to mention a fireball, even a Meteor Shower couldn't break through it.

But the next moment, his expression changed.

After the fireball dissipated, a black light sliced through his Earth Shield like a knife through tofu, then drilled straight into his chest.

Swoosh!

"Soul-Piercing"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under the night sky, a figure moved like a ghost, continuously casting spells, and a series of fireballs flew out.

Gao Ting'e tried to activate his Earth Shield again, but in the relentless attack of the fireballs, he had no chance to catch his breath.

"How fast his casting speed is!"

This was Gao Ting'e's last thought before he fell.

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

"It might be faking death; I've used this trick before, and the previous person did too."

"So, I need to test it!"

Without hesitation, Luo Chen cast another fireball.

Puff!

The corpse didn't react, seemingly dead.

Luo Chen was still unsure; at this distance, if the person was faking death, he still had a chance to run.

But if he wasn't truly in a desperate situation, why would he fake death?

Luo Chen's eyes lit up, and he recited a short incantation, his fingers moving suddenly.

A green light, like a vine, extended from the ground, wrapping around the cultivator's neck.

"Clang!"

A sword's hum sounded, and Luo Chen was startled, then increased his spiritual energy input.

The vine tightly twisted around the neck, not releasing until the head had been twisted twice.

"Really faking death, but this trick doesn't work on me."

Relieved, Luo Chen approached the corpse.

Looking at the neck twisted like a pretzel and the bizarre expression on the face, Luo Chen felt surprisingly calm.

There was no anger at being caught in the crossfire, nor any pride in defeating a powerful enemy.

Sometimes, adapting to a certain atmosphere is very easy.

Luo Chen had always been good at adapting.

He just sighed, realizing that the Vine Binding Spell could really kill, and he would never mock a certain god king again.

Shaking his head, he found the action a bit eerie looking at the pretzel neck.

Luo Chen began to search the corpse with ease.

A swallow-shaped flying sword, the quality of which he would check later.

A lotus leaf flying disk, which he knew was a low-grade flying tool, priced at 150 spirit stones at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, half more expensive than a regular first-grade low-grade one.

The robe was destroyed.

Hmm, there was also a close-fitting inner armor, no wonder he survived my Soul-Piercing Nail and several fireballs.

Unfortunately, it was also mostly ruined.

No spirit stones? No cultivation techniques? No storage bag?

Damn, what a pauper!

Pulling out the Soul-Piercing Nail from the chest, Luo Chen cursed as he searched another corpse.

In the end, he only found a set of flying knives and a small bag of spirit stones, nothing else.

Damn, another pauper!

"A bunch of paupers, playing with their lives every day!"

Luo Chen looked back at his burning house, feeling helpless.

"The local gang is really impolite!"

(End of Chapter)