6: The oriole is behind

In just a moment, Jin Penglai had already suffered several knife wounds, his body covered in scars, looking like he was about to collapse.

"Zhou Chaoxian, my Jin family won't let you off for killing me!" Jin Penglai roared, struggling to defend himself.

"Let me off? You should ask if I will let the Jin family off!"

Zhou Chaoxian's long spear, like a Dragon entering the sea, struck Jin Penglai's shoulder directly, the sharp spear tip protruding from his back.

"Ah!!!"

Jin Penglai screamed, and before he could turn his blade to defend, a long saber from behind had already struck, sending his large head flying into the air, where it rolled a few times before landing at his feet.

"Tch, you dog," Zhou Chaoxian spat disdainfully, then waved his hand and said, "To the Jin family! According to Great Qi law, colluding with bandits means the entire family is to be executed!"

Zhou Chaoxian pulled out his long spear, picked up Jin Penglai's head, and walked towards the Jin family.

Xu Sanyan watched Zhou Chaoxian walk away, his eyes slightly narrowed. Wasn't he here for the Cultivation Technique?

Could it be... he doesn't know the Ma family possesses a cultivation Cultivation Technique?

That's good, one less competitor.

By this time, the chaos in the city had subsided considerably, with only sporadic screams still echoing, quickly swallowed by the sandstorm.

Just then, Xu Sanyan saw a person emerge from the Ma family's back courtyard, stealthily climbing over the wall and running along the alley towards the city gate.

"Liu Hong..."

Xu Sanyan's heart stirred. He knew Liu Hong wasn't dead. That old fellow had taken advantage of them fighting for their lives outside to sneak into the Ma family to search for something.

Xu Sanyan wasn't in a hurry to act. The proximity to Wu Jue and the other person meant that any fighting would easily attract them, so he jumped down from the rooftop and quietly followed.

Liu Hong took a deep breath, adjusted his facial expression, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

As soon as he walked out of the alley, he saw a figure vaguely appear at the end of the long street, slowly approaching. He realized it was Xu Sanyan.

"Fourth Brother, why are you here?"

Liu Hong smiled. His expression showed no abnormalities, but his heart had already tightened.

"Waiting for you, of course." Xu Sanyan smiled as he approached.

Liu Hong also came forward with a full smile, his hand under his sleeve moving slightly, a short knife falling into his hand with a reverse grip, though it was hidden by his arm, so Xu Sanyan couldn't see it clearly.

"Waiting for me for what? The Ma family has countless riches; taking just a bit would be enough to live lavishly for years."

The distance between them was less than three meters. Xu Sanyan's smile remained unchanged as he pulled off the scarf from his face and casually tossed it aside. The dark brown scarf, stained with blood, drifted in the yellow wind.

"What good things are you hiding in your embrace, Second Master? Can you let me see?"

The smile on Liu Hong's face visibly stiffened. Suddenly, a short knife flew from his hand, heading straight for Xu Sanyan's face, his action so decisive and without any warning.

But Xu Sanyan was already prepared. His long saber instantly unsheathed, batting the short knife away, and at the same time, he leaped forward, his blade sweeping horizontally at Liu Hong's waist, moving so fast that Liu Hong could barely discern his movements.

Liu Hong's face changed drastically. He hurriedly retreated to dodge, "You Broke Through?"

Before a Martial Artist made a move, one couldn't tell the other's Realm. Once they fought, one could judge the other's strength based on factors like power and speed.

Therefore, after Xu Sanyan only made one slash, Liu Hong could tell that his martial Dao had improved again.

Xu Sanyan's attack missed, but he wasn't in a hurry to press the attack. Instead, he grinned, "Thanks to you, old man, I fortunately Broke Through. It's nothing worth mentioning. You're the one who hides things deeply. Wu Jue probably doesn't know you've already taken the item, does he?"

Liu Hong knew he was no match for Xu Sanyan, and being old, he had long lost the courage to fight to the death. He could only beg for his life, "What I took isn't a Cultivation Technique, but a precious medicine. How about I exchange this item for my life?"

Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow slightly, "Precious medicine?"

He had only heard of its name but had never seen a precious medicine in person.

Liu Hong pulled out a long, narrow wooden box from his embrace, about the length of his forearm, quickly opened and closed it.

"This is the precious medicine. It's formed by absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and can promote martial Dao cultivation, as well as nourish the body. Its effects are extraordinary. Can I use it to exchange for my life?"

Xu Sanyan's heart stirred. Liu Hong's movements were too fast; he only saw a pitch-black, wood-like object inside, but couldn't make out its specific appearance.

"You're not lying to me?" Xu Sanyan squinted at him.

Liu Hong guaranteed, "Every word is true!"

Xu Sanyan pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, put the item down and leave yourself."

"Thank you, Fourth Brother."

Liu Hong threw the precious medicine to the side and quickly darted into an alley on the other side.

He seemed eager to escape?

Xu Sanyan glanced at his retreating figure, bent his legs slightly, and leaped. The precious medicine landed in his hand, and then he chased after Liu Hong.

He wanted the item, and he wanted his life too!

Xu Sanyan knew the principle of cutting the grass to remove the roots; he would never leave any hidden dangers!

Liu Hong quickly scurried through the alley, his face full of urgency, constantly looking back, terrified that Xu Sanyan would catch up.

Suddenly, he heard a sound above him, abruptly looked up, and a cold blade of light pierced through the sandstorm, slashing directly towards his face.

Although Liu Hong was old, he was still quite agile. In the nick of time, he leaned back, dodging the fatal blow.

"You don't keep your word!"

Liu Hong shouted, seeing that the person above him was indeed Xu Sanyan.

"What are you talking about, Second Brother? We're bandits; what honor is there?"

Xu Sanyan said no more, flipped down from the rooftop, and swiftly delivered a series of kicks. Liu Hong only managed to block the first two kicks, but the last one landed squarely in his chest.

"Pfft!"

Liu Hong spewed a mouthful of fresh blood. The disparity in their strength was too great; he was far from being a match.

Xu Sanyan didn't give him another chance. With a flash of the blade, several splatters of blood appeared on the wall.

Whoosh—

A gust of sand blew past, leaving only Liu Hong's headless corpse on the ground.

Xu Sanyan squatted down and felt around, discovering another item in his embrace.

A small booklet.

Feeling the texture of the paper with his fingertips, Xu Sanyan had a faint suspicion in his heart. With excitement, he took it out, only to see eight large characters written on it:

"The Supreme Truth and Serenity Scripture of Eliminating Illusion and Attaining Reality"

Xu Sanyan's eyes narrowed slightly. The name of this Cultivation Technique... it's so strange.

Without much thought, he opened it and read it carefully. But the more he read, the stranger it seemed. It appeared to be just an ordinary Cultivation Technique.

With a thought, the panel appeared before his eyes. The Cultivation Technique column remained unchanged.

["Cultivation Technique - None"]

According to his previous experience, even if he hadn't learned this Cultivation Technique, as long as he had seen it, there would be a reaction on the panel, simply stating "Not Initiated."

Xu Sanyan frowned. This thing, eight out of ten, was fake.

He guessed that the Ma family deliberately placed the precious medicine with this fake Cultivation Technique to create confusion.

To make people mistakenly believe that this was the immortal cultivation Cultivation Technique, thereby causing everyone to fight over it, ignoring Ma Tianqing, and increasing his chances of survival.

After all, everyone's goal was the Cultivation Technique. A Ma Tianqing was far less important than the Cultivation Technique.

"Truth and falsehood, what a cunning scheme..." Xu Sanyan knew without thinking that this must have been Master Ma's idea.

Using a real precious medicine to highlight a fake Cultivation Technique. If Xu Sanyan didn't have the panel, he might have also believed this was a real cultivation Cultivation Technique, especially since he had never seen what a real one looked like.

Xu Sanyan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had thought the Cultivation Technique would be so easy to obtain.

Putting the items away, Xu Sanyan looked expressionlessly at Liu Hong's head at his feet, kicked it aside, and stepped out of the alley.

In the cold alley, only a headless corpse remained. A whisper carried on the wind and sand, "Idiot, trying to be a strategist..."

...