418: Chapter 418 Playing so wildly?

"The heterodox path devours souls and reverses the Five Elements; with a mad heart, I dare to contend with the heavens."

"Seeking not the Immortal path but the Profound Cauldron; ruling the Netherworld alone as an evil minister."

"This humble Daoist is Old Man Jiuyou. Greetings to you all."

The old Daoist performed a comical cupped-fist salute, and paired with that expression, he didn't look polite at all.

Wu Dahai seemed stunned by the situation. His previously hesitant tone instantly returned to normal, his eyes filled with fear and vigilance as he silently backed away.

Even Third Brother Chen, lying on the ground, seemed to realize something was wrong and tried to get up and move back.

Only Zhou Yan remained as he was, looking at the other party with curious eyes.

This scene also piqued the interest of the Daoist calling himself Old Man Jiuyou, his smile becoming increasingly sinister.

"Little fellow, you look so young, like a little beggar, yet you've got quite the nerve."

"I just don't know if you're a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger, or if you're confident in your own abilities."

As he spoke, his tattered banner lightly touched the ground, and a thick sense of suffocation along with fluctuations of magical power rapidly spread into the cave.

Third Brother Chen's eyes widened, his strength completely gone. Wu Dahai was so terrified his jaw trembled, and he could only speak falteringly.

"I-I-I... Immortal!"

The Old Daoist Priest seemed very satisfied with Wu Dahai's reaction and laughed heartily while stroking his beard.

Then he looked at Zhou Yan, whose expression remained unchanged, his interest deepening.

But after a careful investigation, he saw the boy was covered in filth and riddled with sickly Qi. Although he couldn't identify the material of his clothes, he seemed like an ordinary dying person.

He really didn't know where such a fellow got his confidence. Was it because he was dying and thus had nothing to fear?

That truly is... exciting!

On one side, Wu Dahai acted as the hype man, his teeth chattering a rhythm; on the other, the Old Daoist Priest, thinking of who knows what, laughed joyfully while stroking his beard.

For a moment, the scene was actually somewhat comical; even the sound of Wu Dahai's teeth chattering was in sync with the Old Daoist Priest's laughter.

In the eyes of Wu Dahai and Third Brother Chen, this Old Daoist Priest was likely the final straw that broke the camel's back.

After all, they had only expected Martial Artists to come for them, never anticipating a practitioner who clearly looked like a villain.

But in Zhou Yan's eyes, it was different.

Zhou Yan's curiosity about this guy far outweighed any other emotion.

His current status was not very good in various aspects.

However, this wasn't due to any serious injury. Ma Hao's move had indeed been intimidating, but he was actually fine.

His poor state was because a Cultivator's dao body is also a type of treasure. The characteristic of "divine objects obscuring themselves" made Zhou Yan indistinguishable from a sickly Mortal, looking as if he were on the verge of death.

It seemed the other party had misunderstood something, much like those Cultivators who enter a Secret Realm and think everything is fine upon seeing mummies or withered bones.

This kind of cliché trope, long written into textbooks, was unknown to this man despite his age; this place must truly be incredibly remote.

Furthermore, through an analysis of the man's physical body, Zhou Yan had already compiled a data summary of him.

Although the panel was unusable, after years of using it, his ability to summarize was still decent.

This fellow's magical power had already liquefied in his Dantian, proving he had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.

But his vitality was only about 600 points, and his magical power was only 80 points.

So, the summary was:

A rather bizarre specimen by the roadside.

Zhou Yan even wondered if, back when he was still a Mortal, he could have activated Time Acceleration to beat him to death.

Eh?

Wait!

Where's my watch?

Zhou Yan had just thought about the issue of Time Acceleration when he realized his watch was missing from his senses.

His equipment was clearly still there, but the watch was missing.

No, it seemed like more than that—his shoes were gone too!

While studying the entrance to the Treasure Pavilion, Zhou Yan had put on the shoes of the Giant Abyss set and later forgot to take them off.

Although he had fought with Suo Jialuo, his feet hadn't really been hit, so the shoes should have been fine.

But now that the shoes were no longer among his equipment, it meant they might have been destroyed.

That meant one thing: the damage from that bastard Ma Hao actually existed!

It might have even shattered his watch!

That was something that had accompanied him through his newbie phase!

Ma Hao, you're dead meat!

Seeing Zhou Yan's expression begin to change, the Old Daoist Priest stopped laughing.

"As expected, were you just acting tough at first? I knew you'd be afraid. Now, let me apply the final bit of pressure."

The Old Daoist Priest waved his hand, and bones flew out from his robe one by one, eventually assembling into a chair.

Then, he sat down.

"I was so busy introducing myself that I almost forgot to tell you."

"To tell you the truth, I was the one who released those beasts in the forest."

"The people in the caravan being bitten by beasts and feeling fear produces high-quality resources like resentment; those are my favorite things."

"With my pursuit afterwards, all of your people have been wiped out."

"Exactly one hundred and five people. Including you, that makes exactly one hundred and eight—an incredibly auspicious number, so naturally, you won't escape either."

By this point, the air pressure inside the cave had completely solidified.

After pausing to observe the expressions of the people in the cave, the old Daoist continued.

"I'll give you a choice."

"After all, I am not a bloodthirsty person; I follow the principles of karmic fate."

"Kill each other among yourselves. The one who survives will not only be spared but will also be taken as my Disciple to embark on the Immortal path together."

"Of course, if you don't care for it, I can also give you a quick death."

"However, killing all afternoon isn't very kind to an old man. I hope you can be considerate of your elder."

That tattered banner was placed right next to his chair. Zhou Yan, having emerged from the distress of his pocket watch possibly being ruined, heard such an arrogant statement.

Then, just as Zhou Yan was about to strike and capture him, Wu Dahai moved first.

He first picked up a sharp piece of rock nearby and charged toward Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan was about to casually take him down, but Wu Dahai suddenly changed direction, kicked off hard, and lunged toward the Old Daoist Priest.

At this moment, the old Daoist's expression was still somewhat playful, wanting to watch the three of them kill each other.

In his view, Zhou Yan was unusual—likely someone so riddled with disease that he didn't fear death much.

If the boy still had enough willpower to brutally kill those two, then under the shroud of resentment, he could be harvested as an excellent corpse-refining tool.

If he failed, then he would just consider himself mistaken.

Once it was over, he would kill the winner and turn them into Materials.

But he hadn't expected that the man who moved first wasn't attacking Zhou Yan, but using that momentum to attack him instead.

One thing he said earlier was indeed true: having killed all afternoon, he was indeed a bit tired, so he was momentary caught off guard.

Taken by surprise by this move, he could only push off the bone armrests and leap into the air at the last moment before the rock struck his head.

But his movements were relatively slow, and he was ultimately hit in a vital spot.

"Gaia!"

And just like that, an old man became a one-testicle old man.

Wu Dahai panted as he looked at the blood-stained rock and the chair that had been smashed to pieces.

Meanwhile, Old Man Jiuyou had leaped to the cave entrance, standing knock-kneed, his face filled with pain and extreme rage as he roared at them.

"You bunch of animals! Bastards! F*ck... you curs, I will make you wish you were dead! Banner, come!"

The tattered banner cast aside emitted a chilling black Qi and flew rapidly toward the old man.

Seeing this, Wu Dahai knew he was going to die, so he threw away the rock and looked at the old man, waiting for death.

Third Brother Chen, who had been shrinking in the corner, had a flash of admiration in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and reached into the wound on his left arm.

But just as Third Brother Chen endured the pain, tearing open his wound to pull out a golden needle, a scene shocked everyone present.

Zhou Yan had somehow appeared behind the old man.

Because the old man was hunched over with his legs pressed together, Zhou Yan, with his absolute height advantage, caught the tattered banner first.

Then, like swinging a baseball bat, he swatted the old man aside, sending him flying three meters away.

Then, he examined the tattered banner in his hand right where he stood.

"Good heavens, where exactly am I?"

"An ancient-method Ten Thousand Soul Banner? Playing this wild!"