Chapter 581: Chapter 363: Enemies

"Someone is indeed tailing me. I just don’t know if I’m their specific target," Xu Yang murmured.

Striding out of the Celestial Strategy Academy, he quickly noticed several hidden gazes sweeping over him. He had originally planned to head straight for Wu Family Castle, but given the circumstances, he had no choice but to take a detour around Yunzhou City first and then go to the castle with a different face. In any case, with the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill, he could change into whatever face he wanted at will.

Although it was early autumn and the sky was barely bright, the massive Yunzhou City was already bustling with activity. The commoners, struggling to make a living, were pushing their carts all over the streets to transport various supplies.

After changing his face again in a secluded alley, Xu Yang had breakfast in Yunzhou City before finally rushing to Wu Family Castle. As a free market, Wu Family Castle offered better prices for both buying and selling than the city. Despite it being early in the morning, a sizable crowd had already gathered.

Xu Yang glanced to the side. The bounty placed on him by the Fuhu Gang was still there, though the wanted poster had faded somewhat under the erosion of wind and rain. After paying the entrance fee, he quickly entered Wu Family Castle.

His main objective this time was to buy some cheap herbs that could greatly nourish his Qi-Blood. Of course, given his current Realm, only things at the Spirit Medicine Level would be effective. His secondary goal was to find items that could enhance his Cultivation.

He didn’t have a lot of Spirit Coins, but it wasn’t a small amount either. Between the reward from the Purple Sun Sect and what he had looted from corpses, he still had over eighty coins left, even after spending some on cultivating the Vajra Glaze. If he converted them all into resources, it would be enough to sustain him for a month or two.

Soon, Xu Yang spotted a Hundred-year-old Blood Ginseng at a stall. As one of the main ingredients of the Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill, Blood Ginseng was already an herb that greatly nourished Qi-Blood, and a hundred-year-old one had even better effects. For those below the Celestial Essence Realm, it could even be used to cling to life in near-death situations.

"How much for this Blood Ginseng?" Xu Yang crouched down, confirming that it was indeed a hundred years old and exuded a faint trace of Spirituality.

"Two Spirit Coins," the stall owner replied.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang stood up and walked away. Even one Spirit Coin was considered a high price for this thing; asking for two was simply treating him like a fool.

"Sir, let’s talk this out! You can have it for one Spirit Coin," the stall owner hastily called out.

Xu Yang stopped in his tracks and said, "One Spirit Coin, and you throw in a thirty-year-old Ginseng."

A thirty-year-old Ginseng was one of the supplementary ingredients for the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill. Although he didn’t plan on refining the pill, he wasn’t going to be a sucker; he had to get what he could.

"Deal!" The stall owner knew he had met an expert, so he immediately stopped haggling and readily agreed.

Xu Yang paid the money and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed that the stall had many freshly picked herbs still covered in dirt, and in a wide variety as well.

Jin Yu’s assigned homework was to fill the backyard medicine field, which required spending credits to purchase herb seedlings from the Celestial Strategy Academy. Given the choice between credits and Spirit Coins, he preferred spending coins, and there was no rule saying he couldn’t buy seedlings outside.

However, just as he was about to ask for details, a shout from nearby interrupted his thoughts.

"Hundred-year Ice Silkworm Treasure Robe! Any interested friends, please come take a look!"

Xu Yang turned around, only to see the crowd in the market swarming toward the source of the voice with a massive SWISH.

"A Treasure Robe?"

Xu Yang strode over as well; he had wanted to get his hands on a Treasure Robe for a long time. During his past few battles, he had suppressed his strength and didn’t dare unleash it fully out of fear that his transformation would tear his clothes apart, leaving him naked. The defense of this kind of Treasure Robe was average, but its elasticity was incredible. Even if he suddenly turned into a ten-foot giant, it would never rip.

Squeezing into the crowd, he saw a middle-aged man holding a Treasure Robe with a blue base, cloud patterns, and gold-threaded edges. Its texture was exquisite, reflecting a brilliant light under the sun, as if it was glowing on its own.

"How are you selling this Treasure Robe?" someone asked.

Clearly, Xu Yang wasn’t the only one interested. For a Body Refining Expert, this kind of Treasure Robe was a great item to prevent them from becoming naked after a transformation. On the other hand, due to the rarity of its materials, only people with true status could afford to wear it, making it a symbol of prestige.

"The base price is one hundred Spirit Coins, going to the highest bidder."

One hundred Spirit Coins?

Xu Yang immediately dropped the idea; he didn’t even have that many coins to his name.

"One hundred Spirit Coins, I’ll take it!"

Someone actually started bidding.

"Make way, all of you. Those who can’t afford it, get lost."

Right then, several men roughly shoved their way through the crowd and stepped in. Xu Yang was also pushed aside. He looked up and saw a middle-aged man dressed in a cloud-patterned brocade robe walking in, flanked by three burly thugs. The people who had been shoved aside were about to get angry, but upon seeing the middle-aged man, they all obediently shut their mouths.

"One hundred and twenty Spirit Coins. I’m taking this Treasure Robe," the middle-aged man said, tossing a bag of Spirit Coins over.

The few people who had been bidding instantly went silent, and the face of the man selling the Treasure Robe turned distinctly ugly.

"What, you think it’s too much?" the middle-aged man said indifferently. An intimidating pressure emanated from his body, revealing an imposing Cultivation at the Celestial Essence Second Layer.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Celestial Essence First Layer experts were everywhere in the Celestial Strategy Academy and Celestial Essence Second Layer ones were as common as dogs; Celestial Essence Strong Persons were still very rare in the outside world. At the very least, in a place like Wu Family Castle, there weren’t many at the Celestial Essence Second Layer. Even those at the Celestial Essence First Layer weren’t considered the mainstream; the majority were Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artists.

If one truly had capabilities, they wouldn’t come to a place like this to buy cheap goods.

In an instant, many people were forced back by the powerful pressure, their faces turning pale. Not wanting to draw attention, Xu Yang retreated along with them.

"I wouldn’t dare. This Treasure Robe belongs to Gang Leader Yang," the middle-aged man selling the robe said, his expression shifting slightly as he hurriedly offered it up with respect.

"You know what’s good for you," Gang Leader Yang coldly snorted. He signaled for his subordinate to step forward and take the Treasure Robe, then turned around and strode away with his men.

"This Yang Zheng is too domineering, forcing a transaction like that."

"If you had his Cultivation and a group of Celestial Essence First Layer subordinates, you could be just as domineering."

"Wu Family Castle isn’t even doing anything about it."

"If Wu Family Castle did intervene, do you think this friend selling the Treasure Robe would still be able to leave alive?"

It was only then that Xu Yang realized this middle-aged man who had forced the sale was none other than Yang Zheng, the leader of the Fuhu Gang.

"Yang Zheng!" Xu Yang’s eyes flickered with a fierce glint.

If the Fuhu Gang hadn’t placed a bounty on him, he could have kept refining and selling the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill for profit, and he wouldn’t be in a position where he lacked even a hundred Spirit Coins.

Glancing at Yang Zheng, who was still trying to pick up bargains in the distance, Xu Yang went back to searching for Spirit Medicine, though he kept a constant eye on Yang Zheng’s movements.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Yang had spent thirty Spirit Coins and bought over ten low-age Spirit Medicines. The Spirit Medicines here were indeed much cheaper than those sold in the apothecaries of Yunzhou City, but the drawback was also obvious: it was very easy to be targeted. After all, the area was only so big, and if you kept buying things back to back, it would be hard for those looking for a zero-cost business not to set their sights on you.

At this moment, he had already noticed several hidden gazes occasionally sweeping over him.

"You’d better not come looking for death," he thought to himself.

Not far away, Yang Zheng seemed ready to leave. Xu Yang immediately left Wu Family Castle a step ahead of him, and sure enough, a few tails followed him from behind.

When he was three or four miles away from Wu Family Castle, the Power of Heaven and Earth behind him began to fluctuate, and a muffled thunder-like sound reached his ears. Xu Yang quickly turned around, only to see a red-glowing Fist Seal tearing through the air and blasting straight toward him. Judging by the aura it emitted, it was merely an attack unleashed by a Celestial Essence First Level Martial Artist.

"Simply courting death!" he sneered.

Without any hesitation, he raised his hand and threw a punch.

BOOM!

The sound of his fist tearing through the air exploded, sending out visible ripples. The oncoming Fist Seal was directly pierced through, shattering into pure Energy. The violent shockwave roared as it swept in all directions. Centered around Xu Yang, the ground cracked open, and dust billowed into the sky.

The next moment, three dark figures exuding cold killing intent tore through the smoke. They rushed forward like lightning in a pincer movement, scattering the billowing dust. All three wore black masks; only their eyes, glinting with a chilly light, could be seen.

The person in the middle wielded a short blade. The tip of the blade flickered with a cold light, and as it sliced through the air, it didn’t make a single sound. Like a venomous snake, it thrust straight at Xu Yang’s throat, intending to kill him in one strike. The short blade emitted a strong Spirituality—it was unmistakably a Spirit Soldier Level weapon.

The other two attacked from the left and right. One launched a Palm Force strike at his armpit, while the other used a Grapple technique to grab his arm. The three coordinated tacitly; there was no telling how many times they had done this before. Their strikes were ruthless; they weren’t just after his money, but his life as well, entirely unwilling to leave Xu Yang any chance of survival.

Xu Yang’s indifferent gaze sharpened. Even if these people were killed ten times over, it wouldn’t wash away the sins they had committed. Any slight guilt he might have felt earlier about entrapment vanished into thin air.

BOOM!

The power of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture surged within his body. Overbearing Gang Yuan poured out like a tidal wave, and a majestic pressure erupted from him as the center, kicking up rolling dust. The Power of Heaven and Earth from all directions swarmed over frantically, as if they had seen their king.

Three pairs of exposed eyes widened in unison, revealing expressions of sheer horror, but it was too late.

In the instant the short blade was about to pierce Xu Yang’s throat, the Gang Yuan on his body rapidly intertwined, transforming into Protective Gang Yuan that cloaked him. He tilted his head slightly, and the short blade brushed past his Protective Gang Yuan, hitting nothing but air. At the same time, his Palm struck out like a bolt of lightning, violently slamming into the chest of the person wielding the short blade.

BAM!

This Palm strike was as heavy as a mountain. Like the hammer of a thunder god, it tore through the Protective Gang Yuan of the man holding the short blade with unstoppable force and landed solidly on his body.

CRACK...

The power of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture burst forth, accompanied by the sound of shattering bones. The man’s chest caved in upon impact, his spine jutting out from his back. In that single instant, it was impossible to tell how many bones had been broken.

His eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of their sockets from the impact, and he spat out large mouthfuls of blood. Before he even had time to scream, his body was sent flying off the ground, tracing a parabola in midair. After landing, he lay completely silent like a dead dog.

"Truly worthy of being a Spirit Bone Technique," Xu Yang murmured, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

This Celestial Essence First Level Martial Artist was killed by a casual Palm strike that didn’t even use half of his explosive power. He knew it wasn’t because his opponent was weak, but because the power of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture was far too domineering and formidable. Let alone those whose Realm was a layer lower than his, even among those in the same Realm, very few could withstand a single Palm strike from him.

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.