Chapter 79

Death! Zheng Qing had seen it before!

As a martial artist, even if one hasn't personally killed someone, they would have at least witnessed someone else doing so!

Almost every martial artist has personally witnessed the fading of another's life.

Zheng Qing had been with Zheng Xuan for many days, not only seeing death but also personally ending the lives of others.

But... no matter how many times one has seen death, when they realize that death might come to them at any moment... most people would cower!

Zheng Qing was no exception! Looking at the two dead Zheng family martial artists, his legs turned to jelly. If he hadn't been sitting on his warhorse, he would have fallen to the ground long ago.

Escape! A word that had never crossed his mind before flashed through Zheng Qing's mind.

Escape! If he didn't escape now, that fierce Zheng Shi Yi would definitely kill him!

"Go!"

Zheng Qing turned his horse and spurred it, galloping back in the direction he had come from.

"Want to run?"

Zheng Shi Yi sneered and took two steps with his "Eight Desolations Step," quickly catching up to Zheng Qing, who was pale and frantically stabbing his horse's buttocks with a dagger to speed it up.

The Shadowless Blade reappeared! Zheng Qing's head fell to the ground, his body still on the horse, one hand tightly gripping the reins. He ran about a hundred meters before falling off the warhorse. His eyes, wide open in terror, still showed fear of Zheng Shi Yi even in death.

"Fool." Zheng Shi Yi mounted his horse and rode around the three bodies, deep in thought. "Could these three have been scouts, with more powerful people following behind?"

Recalling Zheng Xuan's vicious and hateful gaze when he left, Zheng Shi Yi felt that this matter was probably not so simple. He dismounted, slapped the horse's buttocks hard to make it run away in pain, and hid himself in a nearby grove of trees.

"Clippity-clop!"

Not long after "Wanliju" left, the sound of hooves could be heard again on the path Zheng Shi Yi had taken.

These people gradually approached and soon appeared in Zheng Shi Yi's line of sight.

The leader was an old woman with silver hair, deep wrinkles, and a face as withered as an old tree root. She exuded an incredibly powerful aura.

This was the family's ancient ancestor, the Grand Elder, Zheng Lanqing! Zheng Shi Yi drew a sharp breath. It was rumored that this old woman, who was already 120 years old, had reached the peak of the Spirit Spring Realm, the Ninth Spring!

Due to her advanced age, she rarely involved herself in family affairs. Normally, she relied on secret medicines to extend her life.

She only appeared when something major happened in the family.

A young martial artist dismounted beside Zheng Lanqing, examined the dead bodies, and then turned to bow and kneel, saying, "Ancestor, these three are the clan members who were pursuing that beast."

Zheng Lanqing's pupils narrowed, and a cold aura emanated from her body. Her lofty voice carried a hint of displeasure: "The younger generation of the family is becoming more and more disrespectful! They actually attacked their own people..."

That old dog Zheng Xuan talks about rules? Zheng Shi Yi cursed inwardly. You should take care of your own people first! When I was having my Supreme Divine Soul extracted by Zheng Tianyu, why didn't you come out and strike down that beast Zheng Song?

"Hmm?" Zheng Lanqing's ears twitched, and she suddenly turned and walked toward Zheng Shi Yi.

"Oh no!" Zheng Shi Yi sighed inwardly.

The distance between them wasn't too far. He could hear their conversation, and their cultivated martial sense might have detected something different here.

If he was discovered, he was dead!

Zheng Shi Yi quickly held his breath, not even blinking, and watched as Zheng Lanqing approached, hoping she wouldn't make any real discoveries.

As the distance between them grew closer, a pungent odor from Zheng Lanqing's body entered Zheng Shi Yi's nostrils. This was the smell of someone who was very old and close to death.

Zheng Lanqing stopped just one tree away from Zheng Shi Yi. If she took one more step, she would easily discover him. She stood there, looking around.

"Was it just my imagination? I clearly felt something here just now. How could there be nothing?"

Zheng Lanqing looked at the dark surroundings, gathering her martial sense to try to detect something.

At this moment, Zheng Shi Yi even stopped breathing, afraid that even the slightest sound would disturb this old woman.

Zheng Lanqing listened intently for a long time, her brows furrowing with disappointment. She must have been mistaken!

"Could that feeling have come from the front, not here?"

Zheng Lanqing frowned and took a step forward.

Zheng Shi Yi was terrified. If she took one more step, she would discover him.

At this moment, a voice from not far away called out, "Ancestor, the hoof prints on the ground seem to be heading toward the Xuanming Sect."

"That beast must have gone to the Xuanming Sect after killing those people. If we chase him now, we should be able to catch up."

"Chase him!" Zheng Lanqing leaped onto her horse and shouted, "Today, I will definitely kill that little beast!"

"Phew!" Zheng Shi Yi let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground. "That old dog Zheng Xuan even brought out a peak Spirit Spring Realm ancestor to kill me. If I don't condense my Spirit Spring and enter the Spirit Spring Realm, I will eventually be killed by them!"

After a brief rest, and once he was sure Zheng Lanqing and the others were far away, Zheng Shi Yi came out, mounted a horse near the bodies, and galloped away on a small path leading to the Xuanming Sect.

Since Zheng Lanqing and the others were not on the same path as Zheng Shi Yi, they did not meet. After four days of travel, he finally returned to the Xuanming Sect.

Zheng Shi Yi urgently needed soul stones to condense his Spirit Spring and cultivate the nameless technique. Upon returning to the sect, he immediately headed to the Longwen Hall, which provided information on wanted criminals.

"Wanted criminals?" Chen Xu, a disciple of the Longwen Hall, looked at Zheng Shi Yi with surprise. This newcomer, dressed in the clothes of a recent initiate, must be desperate for money. The combat power of the wanted criminals on the sect's list was not weak!

Zheng Shi Yi glanced at the name on Chen Xu's chest badge and respectfully said, "Please help me, Senior Brother Chen."

Chen Xu wanted to advise Zheng Shi Yi but decided against it. Every year, people like this came, and he had advised many, but no one ever listened.

"Go get the information on the wanted criminals for this junior brother." Chen Xu waved to a servant and then ignored Zheng Shi Yi.

The servant quickly brought the information Zheng Shi Yi wanted and placed it in front of him.

Zheng Shi Yi flipped through the information, which listed the wanted criminals, the reasons for their wanted status, and the rewards for capturing them.

The twentieth name was Qiu Tianlang, and his entry had a red line through it. The rewards for capturing the criminals ranked above Qiu Tianlang were clearly higher than for capturing Qiu Tianlang.

Of course, capturing them was much more difficult than capturing Qiu Tianlang.

When Zheng Shi Yi saw the rewards for the top three, he was shocked. "Capturing the third one yields 18,000 soul stones."

"Capturing the second one yields 32,000 soul stones, and capturing the first one yields 50,000 soul stones!"

"If I could capture any of them, I would have enough soul stones to cultivate the nameless technique. Unfortunately, their strength is unknown, and it's rumored that they have killed countless elders."

"With my current strength, trying to capture them would be suicide. I'll look at the others."

Zheng Shi Yi started from the highest reward and read through the information on each wanted criminal.

The further down the list he went, the more terrifying their strength seemed. For those with rewards over 3,000 soul stones, he had no chance of capturing them, let alone fighting them.

"Fine, I'll take the information back and analyze it carefully to decide which criminals to target." These wanted criminals were not simple, and he needed to understand their situations to have any chance of capturing them.

Zheng Shi Yi explained his situation to the servant, who recorded it and let Zheng Shi Yi take the information.

After Zheng Shi Yi left, Chen Xu glanced at the registration form the servant had organized: Zheng Shi Yi.

This name seemed familiar. Chen Xu frowned, trying to remember where he had heard it before. He shook his head and laughed lightly. Who cares! This new kid probably won't be seen again.

Back at his residence, Zheng Shi Yi greeted Su Jingdan and hurried back to his room to carefully analyze the information on the wanted criminals.

"I still need 18,000 soul stones."

"Based on my combat power... only those with rewards of 3,000 soul stones or less have a chance of being captured by me. But... how long will it take to capture enough? And where can I find them? That's a problem!"

"For those with rewards over 3,000 soul stones, I have no ability to capture them. What should I do?"

Zheng Shi Yi's brows furrowed as he worried about how to gather 18,000 soul stones.

Wu Dong's rough, excited voice, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps, came from outside the room, "Brother, you're back!"

Before he finished speaking, Wu Dong pushed the door open with a grin, ran into the room, and excitedly patted Zheng Shi Yi's shoulder.

Zheng Shi Yi's frown eased, and a rare smile appeared on his face. "Back?"

"Yep!" Wu Dong nodded and sat down next to Zheng Shi Yi.

Seeing the information spread out on Zheng Shi Yi's table, Wu Dong's brows furrowed. "Brother, what are you looking at?"

Zheng Shi Yi sighed, and the smile on his face was replaced by a frown. "I need a lot of soul stones to try to reach the Spirit Spring Realm."

"Trying to reach the Spirit Spring Realm so soon?" Wu Dong looked at Zheng Shi Yi in surprise. They had known each other for less than three months.