Aside from Ah Huang, Ah Wu also sprang out, the strands of gray mist on its body gathered into a mass and transformed into an arrow, shooting out swiftly!

At this moment, the middle-aged "man" was nothing more than a living target. Facing the attack, he neither dodged nor evaded, getting hit right in the waist and abdomen by the demon art arrow!

Crack!

The arrow shattered into poisonous gray gas, corroding the middle-aged man's flesh with a "sizzling" sound, quickly eating through a large hole front to back, exposing his withered internal organs!

Even the spine was corroded and broke.

With the spine broken, the middle-aged man's body wobbled and fell to the ground.

The remaining singular eye still locked fiercely onto Gu Yuan, stubbornly dragging his body forward, refusing to stop attacking despite everything.

Clang!

Grabbing the Qiushui Sword, Gu Yuan drew it out, its cold and sharp blade slicing through the air like a streak of light, ruthlessly cleaving towards the middle-aged man's neck.

Splurt!

This man's hardened physique was like rotten wood under the sharp Qiushui Sword, his head chopped off in one blow.

With the head severed, the man's hand trembled, and finally, he ceased to move.

But Gu Yuan did not relax.

Because a lingering wisp of intangible danger still haunted his heart.

Suddenly, a mass of gray-white mist burst from the corpse, accompanied by a ghostly wail.

As the gray-white mist flew out, the corpse on the ground became dry and decayed as if weathered for years.

Gu Yuan felt a cold and chilling evil qi rushing towards him, even seeing a sinister and unfamiliar face appearing faintly in the gray-white mist.

"A ghostly being?!"

Within Gu Yuan's body, his muscles and bones vibrated, and his energy coursed, turning him into a furnace.

Charcoal fire blazed inside him, emitting waves of heat that dispelled the chilling evil qi coming at him.

Amidst the turbulent airflow, he struck down with a sword, splitting the gray-white mist in two, the sword light scattering it to pieces.

"Woo woo woo..."

But in the next moment, the gray-white mist, as if possessing a spirit of its own, quickly reformed, its size shrinking noticeably, giving an unwilling cry before darting away into the distance.

Gu Yuan did not intervene, because just then, a gray arrow shot out, piercing the mass of gray-white mist.

The gray toxic gas exploded, covering the entire gray-white mist and quickly corroding it.

"Ahhh!!!"

A shrill and unearthly scream came from the gray-white mist, as if it could shake one's soul.

But the scream grew weaker as the gray-white mist was corroded and vanished, along with the scream itself.

Gu Yuan gazed deeply at the decayed remains on the ground,

"Could it be Lin Zhou's neighbor, the martial master with the surname Zhang, was drained of his essence blood by this ghostly thing?!"

"And furthermore..."

He took out the Spirit-Seeking Disc from his bosom, at this moment, the needle on the copper plate slightly trembling, pointing towards the corpse on the ground.

"This ghostly thing is actually related to the Mystic Old Turtle..."

Gu Yuan's gaze turned grim, not hesitating any longer, calling Ah Huang and Ah Wu, he turned and left.

The matter involving Mystic Old Turtle, this evil Dao Celestial Human, meant he should flee first.

After all, with his small stature, he might not be able to overcome but could certainly avoid.

Later, it'd be best to ask Old Man Chen, at least to clarify what divine techniques Mystic Old Turtle excelled in, his methods, know your enemy to be prepared...

Moreover, first, it was the martial school instructor surnamed Zhang, followed closely by him, this martial master.

Gu Yuan suspected that the ghostly beings under Mystic Old Turtle's command were more enthusiastic about martial masters with abundant energy like him.

...

In the market.

At Old Li's fish shop.

"Old Li, I'll offer you twenty taels for this old turtle of yours, how about it?"

A middle-aged man with a sallow face and a long saber hugged to his chest said in a hoarse and low voice to Old Li across from him.

Old Li was short, his hair grizzled, wrapped in a colorless old coat, his hands clasped together, nose bright red from the cold yet occasionally sniffing.

In the fish tank before them lay an old turtle.

The old turtle was larger than a basin, its heavy dark shell showed faint, ancient, and peculiar patterns on it, covered with green moss.

Its head and neck bore bone-like protrusions of various sizes, particularly on its forehead, where one such protrusion appeared sharp, resembling a single horn.

The old turtle was bold and leisurely, allowing the two men to examine it, lazily resting on the rock in the tank without moving a muscle.

If it didn't move, it resembled a rock at rest, having a very low presence.

Hearing this, Old Li's face brimmed with difficulty, his coarse hands stroking the turtle's shell, filled with reluctance as he said,

"This old turtle has been raised since my great-grandfather's generation, he retrieved it from the river, tending to it with care, passed down through generations until now, over a hundred years. To speak frankly, I've been watched over by it as I grew up. Respected guest, if you wish to take it away, my heart truly cannot bear it..."

"Fifty taels of silver!"

The sallow-faced swordsman, hearing this, raised the price without blinking. At the same time, he took out several pieces of shiny silver from his bosom.

Gulp!

Seeing this, Old Li instinctively swallowed his saliva.

Fifty taels of silver for an old market fish vendor was undoubtedly a fortune!

He could never save so much in a lifetime...

"Respected guest, you..."

Old Li's heart skipped a beat, feeling tempted yet uneasy, a slight fear creeping into his heart.

Though not worldly-wise, age had made him shrewd; sometimes, when too much money was offered, it wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Especially when the other party belonged to the most undauntable of the Jianghu sectors.

"Old sir, how about I add another twenty taels?"

As if sensing his thoughts, the sallow-faced swordsman continued, "Outside, I'll just say I spent eight taels to buy it, so it won't bring trouble to you."

Hearing this, Old Li relaxed a bit, quickly agreeing, "No, no, just fifty taels is fine."

"Heh heh..."

The sallow-faced swordsman sneered, took out another twenty taels of silver, and thrust it all, including the previous fifty taels, into Old Li's hands, "Never mind, I'm not short of this bit of money..."

Then, he raised his voice angrily, "What? Ten taels of silver? Do you think money grows on trees? Stop the nonsense; I'll give you at most eight taels!"

Having said this, he carried the turtle from the tank, wrapped it in a hemp cloth, and with Old Li's grateful gaze, he stormed off with his goods.

Out the door, sneaking a glance at the gossiping bystanders, the sallow-faced swordsman departed with a cold expression.

Once out of the market, he circled the streets a couple of times, ensuring no one followed, then slipped into an alley.

Scaling a wall, he entered a courtyard, his body emitting crackling bone sounds as his physique shrank a size smaller.

Wiping his face, he revealed a fair and handsome appearance.

This person was Gu Yuan!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.