35: My boy, your path has widened.

"So what if I heard?"

Lu Ming flicked the blood from his hand, his expression completely unperturbed.

This old geezer was acting all mysterious from the start, not even daring to state his name, clearly with something to hide.

Chen Ziliang's words were stuck in his throat, his face constantly changing.

Admittedly, Lu Ming was very strong.

Stronger than most veteran Night Watchers.

But Chen Ziliang didn't think he was a match for Xie Jinyu.

Great reputations are not built on empty words; Xie Jinyu dared to call himself the strongest below the Fourth Realm, and it certainly wasn't just talk.

And Lu Ming hadn't even entered the Third Realm; the disparity in strength was too great.

Now he had even accidentally killed Xie Jinyu's assistant. If they hadn't met in the secret realm, it might have been fine.

But if they did meet, given Xie Jinyu's vengeful nature, their fates wouldn't be any better than Gongsun Yang's.

Chen Ziliang swallowed hard, and spoke with difficulty: "Brother Lu, why don't we report this to the Night Watch Division before making a decision?"

Of course, this was merely his suggestion; the final decision still rested with Lu Ming.

"If you want to report it, then report it. I'm not stopping you," Lu Ming glanced at him calmly.

Chen Ziliang's heart suddenly tightened.

He looked at Gongsun Yang's corpse, his eyes hardening.

"Brother Lu, please move aside."

Lu Ming raised an eyebrow and moved aside as requested.

He wanted to see what Chen Ziliang planned to do.

Chen Ziliang took a deep breath and half-crouched on the ground.

The moment his fingertips touched the ground, the soil beneath his palm suddenly churned like boiling water.

The soil, manipulated by Chen Ziliang, became extremely viscous, like countless invisible hands, slowly dragging Gongsun Yang's body underground.

"This talent is quite good."

Lu Ming's brows subtly arched. He hadn't expected this seemingly gentle young man to be so adept at destroying evidence.

I can only say, young man, you've broadened your horizons.

However, this is too wasteful, isn't it?

Lu Ming immediately stopped him: "Wait a moment."

Chen Ziliang looked at Lu Ming, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Lu Ming slowly walked to the corpse, squatted down, and retrieved a storage bag from Gongsun Yang.

That practiced movement made Chen Ziliang's heart clench fiercely.

How did he end up with such a superior?

Killing and looting, all in one go, even more sinister than a demonic cultivator!

But there was no other way; he had chosen this path himself. Now, all he could do was offer his pledge of allegiance.

"Tsk, another pauper. You can have this storage bag," Lu Ming took out a few Body-Tempering Pills from inside and casually tossed the storage bag to Chen Ziliang.

Chen Ziliang blankly caught the storage bag, his face still somewhat pale.

He opened it and found about two hundred thousand in cash inside, roughly several months of his income.

Chen Ziliang's Adam's apple bobbed: "Brother Lu, this..."

Lu Ming waved his hand: "Take it. Aren't you saving money for your sister's surgery?"

Chen Ziliang's hands trembled, and he felt a warmth in his eyes.

"Thank you..."

Lu Ming glanced at him, a barely perceptible curve at the corner of his mouth:

"Ziliang, don't be so impulsive in the future. If you bury Gongsun Yang's body and someone discovers it, they might think I'm feeling guilty."

Chen Ziliang suddenly looked up, the gratitude on his face instantly replaced by astonishment.

Lu Ming leisurely kicked Gongsun Yang's corpse, "Have you ever considered why Gongsun Yang, that old geezer, was still hiding and concealing himself even after you reported your identity?"

He turned and stared at the entrance of the ruins, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.

"This Xie Jinyu is truly interesting. On one hand, he spreads rumors that he rejected the Jiangcheng Night Watch Division's request, and on the other hand, he secretly arranges for people to guard outside the ruins."

"There's only one possibility: he discovered some extraordinary treasure in these ruins and wants to keep it all for himself!"

"This bastard isn't afraid of overeating. Let's go, let's go meet this prodigy."

...Inside the ruins, the scorching sun hung high, and yellow sand swirled everywhere.

The sand was scorching hot from the sun, and the dry air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

The few people from the Jiangcheng Night Watch Division who had lost contact stared in horror at the young man before them.

At their feet lay several corpses of Night Watchers.

"Xie Jinyu, you're insane!"

"As fellow Night Watchers! How dare you lay such a cruel hand on your comrades! Aren't you afraid we'll report you?"

Wei Changhe, who was leading them, suddenly knelt on one knee, his left hand pressed against his chest, blood seeping through his fingers.

His roar exploded in the yellow sand, shaking the distant dunes, causing sand to trickle down.

Xie Jinyu brushed the sand off his brocade robe, his movements slow and deliberate, as if the corpses at his feet were merely bothersome pebbles.

"Report me?" He sneered, "Wei Changhe, you're truly naive. Do you think you can still get out?"

Spiritual energy surged in his palm, violent spiritual energy flowing within it, slowly condensing into two transparent spiritual energy spears, emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.

Xie Jinyu waved the spiritual spears in his hand, pointing to the dilapidated pagoda behind them, a cold smile playing on his lips:

"Will you go in yourselves, or shall I invite you in?"

The faces of the Jiangcheng Night Watch Division members changed.

They knew well that a terrifying demonic creature resided in that pagoda.

Entering the pagoda meant certain death!

Half a month ago, someone reported encountering a small group of Nether race in the Youhai Mist Zone.

Wei Changhe, as part of the vanguard team, went to investigate and accidentally discovered these ruins.

As soon as the news reached the Night Watch Division, they were ambushed by that group of Nether race.

When reinforcements arrived, they suddenly realized that the strength of that Nether race group was far from as simple as it appeared.

Their leader was a peak Third Realm high-level alien, whose physical body was comparable to a human at the Fourth Realm.

And more than a dozen of its subordinates also had Third Realm cultivation.

Wei Changhe was unsure how such a powerful alien team managed to bypass the Great Xia border army and infiltrate.

But he was very clear that the alien force did not kill them immediately because they wanted to force them into the pagoda to fight the creature, so they could reap the benefits.

Wei Changhe and the others struggled in the ruins for half a month, finally managing to wait for reinforcements from the Night Watch Division again.

Unexpectedly, what they got was Xie Jinyu, this ungrateful wretch.

And now, Xie Jinyu, this beast, actually harbored the same intentions as the alien race.

He wanted to use the lives of everyone in the Jiangcheng Night Watch Division to buy himself time!

Wei Changhe looked at Xie Jinyu's calm and composed face, a chill running straight from his spine to the top of his head.

"Xie Jinyu! You will regret this!" Wei Changhe's voice was filled with immense anger, "If we die, you will also become a target for those Nether race!"

Xie Jinyu's lips curved into a playful smile, as if appreciating an interesting toy: "It doesn't matter. As long as I get the opportunity inside the pagoda, a mere few Nether race, I will suppress them in an instant!"

"Suppress them in an instant?" Wei Changhe coughed up a mouthful of blood, as if he had heard the biggest joke, "That's a high-level Nether race leader. Do you think with your peak Third Realm cultivation, you can last a few rounds against him?"

Xie Jinyu's smile faded a bit, but the spiritual energy spear in his palm became even more solid, its tip shimmering with a cold, eerie light.

"Yes, a high-level alien, I'm so scared!"

"That's why I need you all to scout ahead."

With that, the spiritual spear was thrown, piercing through the body of a Night Watcher...