91: battle of wits

Tianxing City, Central District, Qingshi Alley.

The morning sunlight spilled onto the sign of the "Wannian Talisman Array Shop," coating it in a layer of gold.

Zhou Wannian (Old Man Han) removed the door panels as usual, holding his signature tattered cattail leaf fan in his hand as he leisurely sat on a rattan chair by the entrance.

"Old Man Han, morning!"

The shopkeeper next door who sold Spirit Medicine greeted him warmly. "I heard you took on another big order yesterday?"

"Just earning a living, just earning a living."

Zhou Wannian responded with a smile, but his gaze inadvertently swept across the alley entrance.

There, two Cultivators dressed in yellowish-brown robes with Jinguang Sect tokens hanging from their waists were holding a portrait, conducting door-to-door inspections.

The portrait clearly depicted an old man in grey robes with a sorrowful expression.

"A bounty of three thousand Spirit Stones? The Jinguang Sect really thinks highly of me."

Zhou Wannian sneered inwardly but remained calm on the surface, even going so far as to wave at the two inspecting Cultivators.

"Fellow Daoists, are you looking for someone? Why not come in for some tea?"

The two Cultivators glanced at him.

Although the old man before them also wore grey robes, his complexion was ruddy, his gaze was worldly, and he radiated the faint but real pressure of the Early Foundation Establishment Stage.

"No need, Senior, we still have official business."

The two cupped their hands and bypassed the shop with a hint of awe.

This was the "darkness under the lamp." Who would have thought that the wanted man was sitting right under their noses drinking tea?

...Meanwhile, in the Lower District, at the Jinguang Sect station.

A Vice Hall Master reeking of alcohol was smashing a teacup to pieces.

"It's been two days! You can't even find a shadow? What's the use of keeping you useless trash around!"

"Hall Master, please calm your anger!"

A subordinate rushed in, his face full of joy. "We have a lead! Our spy over at the 'Abandoned Mine Tunnel' saw a grey-robed old man sneakily crawling inside! He was even holding a very Advanced-looking Formation Plate!"

"Abandoned Mine Tunnel?"

The Vice Hall Master sobered up halfway, greed flaring in his eyes. That was the Black Shark Gang's buffer zone, a place no one usually went—the perfect hiding spot!

"That Formation Plate is definitely valuable! And there's that three thousand bounty!"

"Gather the men! Bring the 'Array-Breaking Crossbows'! Follow me!"

Without notifying his superiors, he took twenty-three elite subordinates (all at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining) and aggressively charged toward the Abandoned Mine Tunnel... deep within the Abandoned Mine Tunnel of Tianxing City's Lower District.

It was dark and damp here, but at this moment, the air was filled with a faint, sweet scent, like burning resin.

Li Feiyu was leading a dozen youths, clinging to the rock wall at the top of the mine tunnel, hanging upside down in the shadows like bats. Each of them had a "High-Grade breath concealing talisman" given by Zhou Wannian stuck to them and wore specially made gas masks on their faces.

Along both sides of the tunnel below, dense rows of Formation Flags had already been set up.

"They're here."

Li Feiyu's gaze was cold as he tightly gripped a "Spirit-Breaking Crossbow" that shimmered with a faint blue light.

Footsteps approached.

"Everyone, be careful. That old man is a bit strange."

The Vice Hall Master propped up a thick, earthy-yellow spiritual power shield, the Medium Grade magical sword in his hand flickering with a cold light that illuminated the path ahead. The twenty-three subordinates behind him also activated their respective defensive Magical Artifacts.

This was the professionalism of a Cultivator; even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit.

However, when they stepped into the area filled with the sweet scent...

"Hmm? This smell..."

The Vice Hall Master's nose twitched, and his expression changed drastically. "Not good! It's 'Turbid Spirit Smoke'! The Spiritual Qi is poisoned! Hold your breath!"

But this smoke was pervasive; it didn't target the body, but the spiritual power!

The Cultivators discovered to their horror that the circulation of spiritual power within their bodies had suddenly become extremely sluggish, and their originally bright protective spiritual light instantly dimmed by thirty percent.

Just then.

"Formation, activate!"

In the darkness, Li Feiyu gave a thunderous shout.

Buzz—!!!

On the rock walls surrounding the tunnel, over a dozen blinding paths of runic light suddenly lit up.

It wasn't an offensive Formation, but rather—a Gravity Field!

This was a simple Formation modified by Zhou Wannian using discarded runes from the "Heavy Water Yin Thunder."

Boom!

A heavy pressure descended from the sky. The Jinguang Sect Cultivators were caught off guard, feeling their bodies sink. Many with lower cultivation were pressed directly to the ground, their protective spiritual light making "crackling" sounds as they struggled under the weight.

"Kill!"

Li Feiyu pulled the trigger.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Over a dozen faint blue crossbow bolts, carrying a "Spirit-Breaking" effect specifically designed to counter spiritual power shields, shot down from the shadows overhead.

"Ah!"

Screams rang out.

These Jinguang Sect elites, with their shields weakened and bodies suppressed, collapsed in heaps instantly. The bolts pierced through the thin spiritual light and embedded themselves into their bodies.

"Bastards! You dare ambush me!"

The Vice Hall Master roared; he was, after all, an expert at the seventh level of Qi Refining. He suddenly bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, forcibly activating his magical sword.

"Golden Light Slash!"

Swish!

A golden Sword Qi several meters long soared into the air, directly tearing through the Gravity Field above and slicing two Tingfeng Tower youths, who couldn't dodge in time, in half!

A rain of blood fell.

"All of you, die!"

The Vice Hall Master went berserk. He sacrificed a bronze mirror that shot out several rays of golden light, sweeping wildly through the tunnel.

Any rock struck by the golden light exploded instantly. Two more youths were caught in the blast and sent flying, their fates unknown.

This was the gap between Realms!

Even while poisoned and trapped in a Formation, the counterattack of a seventh-level Qi Refining expert was still lethal.

"Boss! We can't hold on!"

"Don't panic!"

Li Feiyu jumped down from the rock wall, moving like a wolf as he wove through the rubble, using the terrain to dodge the golden light.

In his hand, he held a Talisman as black as ink—the trump card Zhou Wannian had given him, a weakened version of the "Poison Thunder Drill."

"Cover me!"

The remaining youths' eyes turned red. No longer hiding, they threw the "Fireball Talismans" and "Ice Spike Talismans" in their hands, hurling them at the Vice Hall Master as if they cost nothing, all to interfere with his vision.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Vice Hall Master was left disheveled by the explosions, his protective spiritual light teetering on the brink of collapse.

"A bunch of ants!"

He was just about to sweep his sword across.

At that exact moment, when his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to rise...

Li Feiyu dashed out from a blind spot on the side like a bolt of black lightning, only ten meters away from the Vice Hall Master!

"Go to hell!"

He fiercely threw out the black Talisman.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The Talisman transformed into a purple-black spiral of lightning, carrying a scalp-numbing screech as it instantly bored through the Vice Hall Master's already dimmed protective spiritual shield.

"No—!"

The Vice Hall Master's eyes widened.

Pfft!

The lightning entered his body, exploding into a bowl-sized bloody hole in his chest, the poison instantly reaching his heart.

Even so, his final strike before death still slammed hard into Li Feiyu's abdomen.

Bang!

Li Feiyu flew out like a kite with its string cut, crashing against the rock wall. He vomited blood, a horrific wound slashed across his abdomen... the battle was over.

The tunnel was deathly silent, save for the moans of the injured.

The Jinguang Sect was completely wiped out. On Tingfeng Tower's side, four were dead, three were heavily injured (including Li Feiyu), and everyone else had minor injuries.

This was the reality of fighting in the cultivation world. There were no flawless victories, only lives traded for lives.

"Cough, cough..."

Li Feiyu struggled to get up and swallowed a healing pill.

"Quick... clean up the battlefield."

"Collect all the Jinguang Sect's Magical Artifacts and Storage Pouches."

"Then... use 'Corpse-Dissolving Water' to destroy their faces and drag their bodies to the edge of the Black Shark Gang's territory."

"And then... throw a few broken pieces of Magical Artifacts marked with the Black Shark Gang's symbol over there."

...Qingshi Alley.

Zhou Wannian sensed the vibration of the Transmission Talisman and listened to Li Feiyu's weak report.

"A pyrrhic victory... as expected."

Zhou Wannian was not moved by the deaths.

But he was very satisfied with Li Feiyu's performance. Knowing how to use Formations, toxic smoke, and Talismans to perform a "dimensionality reduction strike" against higher-stage Cultivators—this was the kind of soldier he had trained.

"Keep the items well; those are your resources too."

"Next, lie low for three days."

"Wait for the Jinguang Sect and the Black Shark Gang to start fighting, then go and pick up the scraps."

Ending the transmission, Zhou Wannian looked out the window.

"The chess pieces have come alive."

"Next, it's time to see Young Master Ling's 'high-end game'."

He picked up the "turtle spirit brush" and continued sketching on a new Formation Plate.

"The muddier the water, the fatter the fish."

"The stagnant pool of Tianxing City is finally about to boil."