Escape was out of the question.

At least, that's how Chen Beiming saw it. His father and the twelve elders of the Liuyun Sect formed a formidable group. With one Half-step Nascent Soul and twelve Golden Cores, their combined strength could sweep through all the nearby small and medium-sized sects. They could even contend with a Nascent Soul Realm expert! But cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm were exceedingly rare; one could count them on one hand within the entire jurisdiction of Qiuyue City.

SWOOSH. SWOOSH. SWOOSH.

The twelve Golden Core Stage Elders surrounded Xu Lai's group of three, leaving them no room to escape.

Chen Beiming said coldly, "You have only yourselves to blame for not understanding that one shouldn't flaunt their wealth. To think you would dare to casually reveal a Spiritual Artifact. If not you… who else should I kill?"

A Spiritual Artifact!

The eyes of the twelve Liuyun Sect Elders flashed with greed; even they did not possess a Spiritual Artifact. Forging one required a Fourth Grade Artifact Refiner, and each piece could fetch an astronomical price at auction in Qiuyue City.

No wonder that old fox Chen Xian was willing to spend three Spirit Veins to hire us. So he was after a Spiritual Artifact…

Although they were green with envy, it was too late for regrets. With a sigh, one of the Elders casually launched an attack of Spiritual Energy.

A massive fireball plummeted from the sky, its heat so intense it seemed to scorch space itself.

Ye Meizi's scalp went numb, and her whole body trembled. As a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, she was filled with despair. This is not a battle on my level at all!

Ye Meizi had been certain she was doomed.

But when the fireball landed on the man named Taotie, Young Master Xu's attendant, the result... was like a single drop of rain falling into the deep sea, stirring neither ripple nor wave.

Taotie's face was etched with deep disdain. "With strength like this, you dare to murder people for their treasures? Go back and cultivate arduously for another thirty thousand years."

"..."

The Golden Core Elder who had attacked stood dumbstruck. Facing the strange looks from the other elders of his sect, his face flushed purple with rage. "So you're an expert of the same realm! In that case, this Senior will hold back no longer!" he roared.

"Wasting time." Taotie frowned and let out a cold snort.

Without any perceptible movement, the twelve elders of the Liuyun Sect cried out in agony as their bodies disintegrated inch by inch, turning to dust and scattering in the wind.

As the sky over the Nameless Mountain Range began to dim, the afterglow of the setting sun washed over Chen Beiming and his father, Chen Xian, leaving them frozen like wooden statues, unable to believe the scene that had just unfolded.

The next second, both father and son were drenched in cold sweat.

Desperation filled Chen Beiming's heart. I thought we were slaughtering a fat sheep, but it turned out to be a fierce tiger in sheep's clothing! We've really kicked an iron plate today!

Even though Chen Xian was a Half-step Nascent Soul, boundless fear flooded his heart. He knew that the brawny, middle-aged man's strength was definitely not Nascent Soul Realm.

It's probably… the Divinity Transformation Realm, which is above the Nascent Soul Realm! Otherwise, he couldn't have dispatched the Liuyun Sect Elders so effortlessly.

"Fellow Daoist, this was all a misunderstanding," Chen Xian said, bracing himself. "We were instigated by the Liuyun Sect Elders. This has nothing to do with my son and me."

"Oh, a misunderstanding." Taotie cracked a smile, revealing his white teeth. "Are you a fool, or am I?"

Knowing that there was likely no peaceful way out of this, Chen Xian threw caution to the wind. "Don't think you can do as you please just because you're in the Divinity Transformation Realm! You should know that the Liuyun Sect has several Divinity Transformation experts! If the Liuyun Sect learns of what happened today, you'll be finished as well. Why don't we each take a step back? What do you say?"

Chen Xian's tone was now laced with threat. He possessed a Sound Transmission Jade Slip that could directly contact the Liuyun Sect; after all, as a City Lord, he had such privileges.

"Young Master, should I kill them all?" Taotie asked, turning to Xu Lai.

Xu Lai frowned. "Handle it." He felt this was a waste of his time. He turned and walked toward the back of the mountain, intending to spend more time chatting with his master and the others. After all, he was returning to Hua Country on Earth tomorrow.

"Young Master..." Chen Xian's scalp tingled with dread. To have an attendant who might be a Divinity Transformation Realm expert… who exactly is that young man? Could he be the scion of some great family with a legacy spanning tens of thousands of years, or perhaps from a top-tier sect?

"My master is a little unhappy," Taotie shrugged. "So… I hope you're reborn into a better life."

He raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, preparing to swat away these two annoying flies.

Chen Xian frantically crushed the Sound Transmission Jade Slip in his hand, but no sound emerged. The transmission channel couldn't even be formed!

"Father!" Chen Beiming's face was a mask of despair. Chen Xian felt no different.

"Who dares to kill an elder of my sect!"

Dozens of long, rainbow-like streaks shot across the distant sky. A group of cultivators rapidly approached, all wearing identical, pure white Daoist robes embroidered with flowing clouds on the chest.

Seeing them, Chen Xian was overjoyed. They were from the Liuyun Sect!

The man leading them was none other than the Sect Master of the Liuyun Sect, a mighty expert of the Divinity Transformation Realm. He hurried forward and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Chief Liu."

"City Lord Chen?" Chief Liu glanced at Chen Beiming, who was a disciple of his sect, before his gaze settled on Chen Xian. "The life tokens of twelve Liuyun Sect elders shattered simultaneously. Are you involved in this?" he asked icily.

"No, no, no!" Chen Xian yelped, hastily pointing a finger at Taotie. "It was him! He was the one who acted! It has nothing to do with me!"

"Fellow Daoist, what is your meaning in killing the elders of my sect?" Chief Liu said, studying Taotie. He frowned slightly, realizing he couldn't see through the other man's boundary.

"They tried to rob my Young Master. You should consider yourselves fortunate I haven't annihilated all nine generations of your clans, and you dare ask me why?" Taotie retorted with a slight smirk.

Ye Meizi felt as if her very soul was about to flee her body. This is the Liuyun Sect, the strongest sect within a thousand miles of Qiuyue City! Their Sect Master is a Divinity Transformation Realm expert!

"How audacious!"

"Such insolence! Sect Master, I, Xu Qing, volunteer to execute this villain!"

"Our Liuyun Sect is a great and noble sect! How could our Golden Core Realm elders possibly rob you? That's ridiculous!"

"..."

Although the dead were only Outer Sect Elders, the Liuyun Sect's reputation was at stake. These Inner Sect Elders and the Sect Master had been reporting on the sect's progress over the last century to the Supreme Elder. When they sensed the twelve elder life tokens shatter, they had all rushed over at once. Now, hearing the perpetrator's outrageous claims, the Liuyun Sect elders were all seething with rage.

At the very back of the group of Liuyun Sect experts stood an old man. With his white hair and stooped posture, he looked ancient, as though he already had one foot in the grave. His entire body emanated an aura of death. Strangely, he perpetually clutched a long pole that looked like a flagstaff. Only those closest to him knew that he never let go of it, not even in his sleep.

The old man had once drunkenly claimed that the pole was his life. As long as he lived, the flag remained; if he died, the flag would perish. When someone once asked him where the flag was, the old man had fallen silent, hugging the flagpole and weeping like a small child who had lost his candy.

At this moment, the white-haired elder stared intently at Taotie as if he had seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes hard, and after confirming that it wasn't an illusion, he froze completely.

"You… are you Huang Fu?"

Taotie had also spotted the old man, and a look of surprise crossed his face.

That single sentence made the old man's eyes well with tears. He struggled to straighten his stooped back, his hand subconsciously tightening its grip on the flagpole. His lips trembled, but for a long moment, he couldn't speak a single word.

"Supreme Elder," Chief Liu said respectfully, his expression shifting slightly. "You… you know the murderer?"

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