A short while later, Bai Cuixiang’s struggles grew weaker and weaker.
With her mouth clamped shut, she couldn’t even beg for mercy.
Gradually, her Inner Qi could no longer suppress the poison, and foul blood began to seep from her mouth and nose.
One must understand that Zou Feng’s current Five Poison Skill wasn’t limited to releasing poison from his palms.
The poison from his hands was simply more concentrated and acted faster.
But after Cultivating, he could make any part of his body venomous at will.
Thus, Bai Cuixiang was effectively being constricted by a giant, humanoid poison sac. One could only imagine her agony.
Seeing that it was about time, Zou Feng suddenly exerted his strength again.
Amidst a series of sharp CRACKS, the Female Evil Cultivator went completely limp, ceasing all movement.
Death by poison and constriction.
But Zou Feng was still uneasy. He proceeded to twist Bai Cuixiang’s neck a full 360 degrees.
Now, not even the so-called "Lingnan Saint Hand" could save her.
Releasing Bai Cuixiang’s corpse, Zou Feng found himself panting heavily.
It couldn’t be helped. His opponent was an Eighth Grade Martial Artist, after all. Her Inner Qi was no joke.
As for the difference between a Ninth Grade and an Eighth Grade...
To put it simply, a Ninth Grade Martial Artist’s Inner Qi is scattered and lacks cohesion.
But upon advancing to Eighth Grade, the Inner Qi could condense into a mass, possessing a solid-like power.
Although the Protective Qi Force Bai Cuixiang had just been circulating couldn’t harm Zou Feng’s Tribulation-Indestructible Body, it certainly wasn’t without sensation.
The pain, like being repeatedly hammered, was quite distinct.
Still, killing an Eighth Grade Evil Cultivator while only suffering some minor pain was an impressive achievement.
Not counting Qian Kun, who was refined to death by side effects, Bai Cuixiang was the first Eighth Grade expert Zou Feng had personally killed face-to-face.
’Eighth Grade cultivators really are something else. I can’t underestimate them...’
After catching his breath for a moment, Zou Feng began to search Bai Cuixiang’s body to see what he had gained this time.
As it turned out, besides one more pill of Celestial Immortal Joy Powder, all Bai Cuixiang had on her was the bit of broken silver she had just accepted.
But for someone who had infiltrated the Yang Mansion disguised as a maid, this was quite normal.
With that, the rest was simple.
He would dump Bai Cuixiang’s body into the East River tonight.
The news that "Xiaocui" had disappeared after leaving his convalescent residence would soon attract the Yang Mansion’s attention.
Once the Yang Mansion reported it to the Government Office, the real Xiaocui’s indenture contract would be used to locate her.
At that time, they would discover that the real Xiaocui had likely been killed long ago, and the one who had been staying at the Yang Mansion was an impostor.
The Fake Xiaocui had apparently used the opportunity of delivering snacks to him to "make a run for it."
That’s right, Zou Feng had no intention of revealing that he was the one who killed the Fake Xiaocui.
He was currently in a state of "grievous, unhealed injury." Even with the element of surprise, how could he possibly counter-kill an Eighth Grade Evil Cultivator with almost no cost to himself?
Revealing it would not only bring no benefits but would also immediately put him under intense scrutiny.
’Thankfully, I sent the Guard, Lin Chen, away earlier. Bai Cuixiang also seemed to want to avoid a major commotion and any unexpected complications, so this can be completely covered up.’
The only thing to worry about was the Blood-handed Butcher, who was clearly in league with Bai Cuixiang.
Others would just think Bai Cuixiang took the opportunity to flee after delivering the snacks.
But when Bai Cuixiang failed to appear, the Blood-handed Butcher would be able to deduce that something had happened to her.
’The Blood-handed Butcher definitely knows that Bai Cuixiang practices a Replenishing Evil Skill and that she would likely use the snack delivery as a chance to make a move on me.’
’But the reality is, nothing happened to me, yet Bai Cuixiang has disappeared...’
’Tsk, analyzing it this way, there’s a real chance the Blood-handed Butcher will notice me.’
For now, he could only hope that the Blood-handed Butcher’s relationship with Bai Cuixiang was mediocre, and he couldn’t be bothered to investigate the truth of her disappearance.
However, pinning his hopes on such uncertainties was not Zou Feng’s style.
In the end, as long as he advanced to Eighth Grade, it shouldn’t be a big problem even if the Blood-handed Butcher came after him.
’So, if I want to advance as quickly as possible, I still need to keep farming those potent Evil Pills from the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect...’
「In the dead of night」
Zou Feng put on a simple disguise, shouldered the burlap sack containing Bai Cuixiang’s corpse, and silently left the courtyard villa.
Since he was still disguised as a porter, it was perfectly normal for him to be hurrying along while carrying a sack.
He soon arrived at East River Port and tossed the sack into the turbulent waters of the East River.
After finishing the job, Zou Feng didn’t leave. Instead, he found a nearby spot with a good vantage point and began to lie in wait.
There was a reason, of course, for choosing to "fish" here.
The mountain search for the Ten Directions Sect, conducted by the various factions, hadn’t ended after just one night.
As part of the encirclement plan, all the major paths on Qifeng Mountain were being guarded by disciples of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.
The main purpose of the search was to flush out the Ten Directions Sect remnants hiding on Qifeng Mountain.
But the Ten Directions Sect remnants weren’t fools; they knew which places to avoid.
Therefore, some Ten Directions Cultists would likely choose to jump into the East River and escape by swimming underwater.
But one can’t stay submerged for too long. Sooner or later, they would have to surface.
The area around East River Port had an extremely complex shantytown, which was the most convenient hiding place for the Ten Directions Sect remnants after they surfaced.
So, after confirming there were no Celestial Essence Sword Sect disciples guarding the vicinity, Zou Feng chose to fish here.
During the tedious wait, Zou Feng passed the time by continuing to practice his skills.
However, most of the night passed without a single soul in sight.
Seeing that dawn was about to break, Zou Feng had no choice but to dejectedly head back.
But he wasn’t discouraged. This sort of thing was perfectly normal when it came to fishing.
Anyone who’s been an angler knows that coming up empty-handed is the norm; catching something is basically a fluke.
「For the next five days」
Zou Feng’s fishing expeditions all ended with him coming up empty-handed.
During this time, the Government Office sent people to inquire about the Fake Xiaocui.
Zou Feng, of course, responded "truthfully."
The Fake Xiaocui, at least on the surface, had indeed left the courtyard villa right after delivering the snacks.
And to keep his master, Luo Yong, from overthinking things, Zou Feng even sent him a personal letter.
The letter explained that the Fake Xiaocui had only infiltrated the Yang Mansion with designs on the Yang Family.
She had now used this opportunity to escape, and there was no need for further concern.
After five days of coming up empty, just as Zou Feng was considering whether to change his fishing spot, on the sixth night, he got a bite!
Hiding in a large tree, Zou Feng, relying on the Night Vision granted by his Five Poison Skill, finally spotted a man furtively surfacing from the river.
The man seemed to be injured. After climbing ashore, he panted for a moment before scrambling toward the shantytown.
In these unusual times, it would be a miracle if he were a law-abiding citizen.
As the man passed under the tree, Zou Feng suddenly leaped down, pouncing on him like a toad snatching its prey and pinning him to the ground.
When executing the Toad Stance, by Charging Power and accumulating qi, his body would become abnormally heavy.
To the man, it felt no different than a mountain of flesh crashing down on him.
The moment he pinned the man down, Zou Feng smelled the familiar scent of Evil Pills.
Therefore, he had no more reservations and immediately "sent off" the already-injured Ten Directions Sect remnant.
Although he had only caught one fish in six days, the haul was quite good.
The man clearly didn’t want his Evil Pills to get wet, so the Elixirs were all kept in a small, sealed vial on his person.
Zou Feng opened it and took a look. There were three pills of Celestial Immortal Joy Powder, and over ten other unknown Red Pills and Black Pills.
’Not bad. With these Evil Pills, my Chaos Finger and Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force can both be improved by a large margin.’
’Eighth Grade is truly not far off!’
After looting the body, Zou Feng threw the Ten Directions Sect remnant’s corpse into the river and quickly made his escape.
Back at the courtyard villa, after resting for a bit, Zou Feng was about to start training when a member of the Black Flood Dragon Gang unexpectedly arrived, saying he had an urgent matter to report.
It turned out that Wang Xingjian had been seriously injured during last night’s annihilation operation.
As the one who had sponsored Zou Feng’s entry into the Black Flood Dragon Gang, and as they were from the same faction, it was only right and proper that Zou Feng, upon hearing this news, should go and visit him, even if it meant being pushed in a wheelchair.
In reality, the fact that someone was sent to inform him immediately was a clear sign that Chen Jingsheng wanted him to pay a visit.
So, Zou Feng quickly swallowed a Qi Dispersing Pill, had Lin Chen prepare a carriage, and headed straight for the Guangfa Gambling House.
This time, he chose not to take the wheelchair.
He had been "recuperating" for almost a month, after all. Still needing a wheelchair would be too obviously fake.
Chen Jingsheng was no fool. If he saw that Zou Feng hadn’t improved after so long, he would definitely think he was faking his injury to avoid participating in the annihilation operation.
Before long, Zou Feng arrived at the Guangfa Gambling House and, with Lin Chen’s support, walked into Wang Xingjian’s residence.
The moment he entered, he was hit by the thick smell of medicine.
Looking over at the bed, he saw several parts of Wang Xingjian’s body wrapped in white cloth. Already thin in appearance, he now looked as frail as a bamboo pole.
The White Fox he had seen before was now lying by Wang Xingjian’s pillow, looking utterly heartbroken.
Meanwhile, Chen Jingsheng stood beside the bed, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Greetings, Master Chen!"
"Brother Wang, are you alright..."
Chen Jingsheng sized Zou Feng up for a few moments and nodded slightly.
Wang Xingjian turned his head, looked at Zou Feng, and gave a bitter smile. "My brother, do I look alright to you...?"
"How did this happen? Are the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect that strong?"
Zou Feng was genuinely puzzled. He had spoken with Wang Xingjian before and knew that he had a clear attitude of just showing up for the annihilation operation without putting in any real effort.
Logically, with that slacker attitude, the chances of Wang Xingjian suffering such a serious injury should have been very small.
Before Wang Xingjian could respond, Chen Jingsheng spoke up. "The one who injured him may not have been a remnant of the Ten Directions Sect."
Wang Xingjian followed with a sigh. "My brother, you may not know this, but there are plenty of people looking to stir up trouble and muddy the waters amidst the chaos with the Ten Directions Sect..."
"I suspect some bastard from the Danxin Alliance took advantage of the chaos to attack me!"
Before joining the Black Flood Dragon Gang, Zou Feng knew that it was currently the weakest of the three major gangs in Yuan Guang County.
The main reason was that the Gang Leader, Deng Guangxin, had been in death-seclusion for too long, leaving the gang without its strongest fighter to hold the fort.
Furthermore, no one in the gang even knew where Deng Guangxin was in seclusion.
This had allowed the other two gangs to start spreading rumors long ago that Deng Guangxin was actually already dead.