Yuwen Heigou's eyes narrowed slightly. He did not rashly clash head-on with the Wushan Village Chief but dodged several of his attacks.

Once he understood the strength, speed, and certain angles of the Wushan Village Chief's strikes, he suddenly counterattacked!

Whoosh!

Wushan Village Chief swung his saber, striking empty air. Just as he was about to withdraw his saber, Yuwen Heigou reversed his sword, piercing through all nine silver rings on the back of the saber with utmost precision!

"Hmm?"

The Wushan Village Chief suddenly exerted force, attempting to seize Yuwen Heigou's long sword.

Yuwen Heigou's wrist trembled, vibrating the sword!

Clang, clang, clang!

All nine silver rings shattered under the collision of these two forces!

Yuwen Heigou gripped his long sword, advancing directly towards the chest of the Wushan Village Chief!

"Such a good sword!"

The Wushan Village Chief reacted quickly, swiftly turning the blade horizontally to block Yuwen Heigou's long sword, while stepping forward to punch towards Yuwen Heigou's face!

Even before the punch landed, one could feel a majestic inner qi!

The Wushan Village Chief intended to use the absolute strength of a fifth-grade inner core to defeat Yuwen Heigou.

Unexpectedly, Yuwen Heigou neither dodged nor evaded, but counterattacked with a punch!

Bam!

Their fists collided, with qi force scattering in all directions!

The Wushan Village Chief grunted, stepping back repeatedly, and couldn't help but exclaim, "You're fifth grade too?"

In that brief moment of contact, he clearly sensed the inner qi contained in the opponent's punch, which was even superior to his own!

This revelation not only astonished the Wushan Village Chief but also slightly surprised Chen Tang, Dugu Qingcheng, and Changsun Ming.

At the old temple, although Yuwen Heigou took action, he never revealed any trace of inner qi.

The three assumed he was sixth grade.

They never expected that he was actually a fifth-grade inner core expert!

Of course, even if Yuwen Heigou had hidden this, it was quite normal.

Just as Dugu Qingcheng mentioned, each of them had their own secrets.

Moreover, Yuwen Heigou being a fifth-grade inner core made tonight's battle appear even more assured.

Yuwen Heigou didn't respond, advanced with his sword, continuing to pursue the Wushan Village Chief.

Seeing that the pressure on Yuwen Heigou's side was not much, Changsun Ming wielded his spear, leaping into the fray to assist Dugu Qingcheng.

"Whew, finally someone to help me."

Dugu Qingcheng took a deep breath.

Under the combined assault of the third master Red-faced Ghost and his comrades, she was already drenched in sweat, in a sorry state.

Changsun Ming immediately intercepted the Red-faced Ghost.

Meanwhile, Dugu Qingcheng focused on another foe, her expression grim, grinding her teeth, saying, "You annoying hanged ghost, letting you bully me!"

Buzz!

Before she finished speaking, Dugu Qingcheng moved with her sword, transforming into a stream of sword light, rushing towards her opponent.

Ding ding dang dang!

The foe retreated, increasing the distance, while swinging his rope dart to continuously attack Dugu Qingcheng.

But without the third master's support, his rope dart could not break through Dugu Qingcheng's sword light, and the distance between the two was quickly closing!

Zizizi!

A burst of sword light crashed into the foe's chest, weaving around him several times, slicing through flesh with ease.

In the blink of an eye, the foe's flesh was almost completely stripped by Dugu Qingcheng's soft sword, leaving only a blood-stained skeleton standing in place.

The foe collapsed, and his skeleton fell apart, his life ended!

Dugu Qingcheng came beside Changsun Ming; the two teamed up against the third master, Red-faced Ghost.

Even though the third master was fifth grade, facing the combined assault of Changsun Ming's mighty spear and Dugu Qingcheng's soft sword was overwhelming!

"Who are you people?"

The Wushan Village Chief couldn't help but ask.

It seemed impossible for such youthful warriors to reach this realm and possess such battle prowess unless they came from extraordinary backgrounds!

These four people could truly be called young prodigies!

Such prodigies were rare, even within the major clans where it might be considered fortunate to have just one per generation.

How could four appear all at once?

"Didn't you investigate?"

Dugu Qingcheng's attacks didn't stop as she casually replied, "This lady is called Dugu Qingcheng!"

"Nonsense!"

The Wushan Village Chief scolded, "There is no such person among the younger generation of the Dugu Clan!"

Dugu Qingcheng pursed her lips, "That's because you're ignorant."

Swish, swish, swish!

Yuwen Heigou launched a series of sword strikes, leaving the Wushan Village Chief overwhelmed.

In terms of strength, the Wushan Village Chief had no advantage, and in terms of swordsmanship, he was completely suppressed by Yuwen Heigou!

Bang! Bang!

The two sides engaged in close combat, exchanging two more fierce blows.

Inner qi surged.

The Wushan Village Chief felt a metallic taste in his throat, already suffering internal injuries!

Shuh!

Yuwen Heigou's sword technique suddenly shifted, becoming agile and ethereal, slicing across the Wushan Village Chief's wrist, severing his tendons.

The Nine-Ring Saber clattered to the ground.

Yuwen Heigou seized the opportunity, thrusting forward with several more strikes.

The Wushan Village Chief, now unarmed, blocked with his bare hands, sustaining injuries on his arms, palms, and abdomen, collapsing seated on the ground, unable to stand!

"Leave him alive!"

At that moment, Dugu Qingcheng reminded.

Yuwen Heigou nodded slightly, turning to rush towards the third master, Red-faced Ghost.

In the face of Dugu Qingcheng and Changsun Ming's combined attack, the third master was already struggling.

Now with Yuwen Heigou joining in, within a few moves, he was tripped by Changsun Ming's spear.

In a flash, Dugu Qingcheng's soft sword cut a dozen wounds on him, severed his tendons and sinew, and tossed him aside.

The three turned back.

Elsewhere, the bandits surrounding Chen Tang lay scattered across the ground.

The remaining bandits, seeing their Village Chief captured, harbored thoughts of retreat. With a shout, they fled in all directions, quickly disappearing into the vast night.

The four did not pursue.

These bandits dispersing would require too much time and energy to chase down.

They needed to quickly extract the secrets of Wushan Village!

"Speak!"

Dugu Qingcheng placed the soft sword against the Wushan Village Chief's neck, and demanded, "Who is the 'mother' you speak of, and what are the tributes?"

"Heh heh!"

The Wushan Village Chief coldly chuckled, fearless, and only said chillingly, "You're doomed!"

"What does this have to do with the Profound Celestial Temple?"

Yuwen Heigou pressed further.

"Hahahaha!"

The Wushan Village Chief simply laughed loudly, still unwilling to relent, looking at Chen Tang and the others with provocative and arrogant eyes, repeatedly saying, "You four little brats will all die eventually!"

"Unfortunately, you won't live to see that day."

Dugu Qingcheng's expression turned cold, and with a swift motion, she beheaded the Wushan Village Chief!

Afterward, she retrieved a bucket of cold water, covered the third master's face with a rag, and began waterboarding him!

"If you confess, you won't have to endure this pain."

Dugu Qingcheng tortured the third master for a while before pausing, tempting him to speak.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The third master coughed several times, and with a bitter smile, replied, "If I confess, I'll suffer a hundred times more pain than this, never finding peace even in death!"

"Poof!"

With that, the third master suddenly changed his expression, spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes dimmed, and he died by severing his own heart meridian.

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