The main goal of this trip had been achieved, but he could still try to kill a few more Ten Directions Cultists for the reward.
For Zou Feng, killing Ten Directions Cultists was no longer just about the rewards or the Evil Pills.
At the very least, the Ten Directions Cultists hiding in this courtyard had already taken action to kidnap him.
Although they hadn’t yet shown any killing intent and only wanted to capture him to discuss cooperation, he couldn’t afford to be naive about it.
The so-called "cooperation" of these cultists was nothing but coercion and enticement. Disagreeing meant a horrible death.
Even if he were forced to cooperate, they would surely place all sorts of vicious Restrictions on him. In short, his life would be a living hell from then on.
Therefore, Zou Feng wouldn’t hesitate to kill any Ten Directions Cultist he could.
In the current chaotic battle, Zou Feng was like a fish in water.
His Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step was perfectly suited for this kind of situation.
Combined with his self-created Snake Stance, which enhanced his Snake Skin Movement, the blow he dealt to the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect was immediately devastating.
In fact, he didn’t even need to use his Five Poison Skill. Simply using his Tribulation-Indestructible Body to tank and delay the attacks of the Ninth Grade Ten Directions Cultists was enough to create opportunities for the other gang members.
As the fight raged on, the number of Ten Directions Cultists still standing dwindled.
Zou Feng also noticed that the cultists trying to escape through the back door were cut off by Chen Jingsheng and ended up dying even faster.
Chen Jingsheng, nicknamed Fire Vajra, had clearly cultivated an incredibly sharp Body Refining Skill that integrated both offense and defense.
When he channeled his skill, his Inner Qi seemed to burn, turning his skin crimson and giving him a terrifying aura.
His fighting style was incredibly ferocious. Even against Eighth Grade opponents, Chen Jingsheng would choose to recklessly tank their attacks while simultaneously unleashing vicious moves like gouging out eyes and tearing out hearts.
The sight made even Zou Feng secretly exclaim in admiration. ’Impressive.’
He realized he had really underestimated this Chen Jingsheng before.
This man was probably not far from breaking through to the Seventh Grade.
’But Chen Jingsheng must be cultivating an Evil Skill with huge hidden dangers. He’s advancing quickly, but he’ll probably die just as quickly...’
Zou Feng had once heard from Bian Yixia during a chat that several years ago, the Black Flood Dragon Gang was at its peak.
The gang had as many as nine Seventh Grade Experts.
Back then, factions like the Mountain and River Association and the Danxin Alliance were all firmly suppressed by the Black Flood Dragon Gang.
But their glory didn’t last long. Three of the nine Seventh Grade Experts suffered from side effects caused by Evil Skills, leaving them with a host of health problems.
Realizing the severity of the issue, all three dared not continue their cultivation and began to avoid fighting as much as possible.
But even after essentially entering a state of retirement, all three died suddenly one after another within a few years.
As for the remaining Seventh Grade Experts, some died in life-or-death duels with enemies, and others died insisting on fighting the River Exotic Beasts...
In the end, of all the Seventh Grade Experts from the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s golden age, only the current Gang Leader, Deng Guangxin, and the Vice Gang Leader, Xiang Kang, remained.
Bian Yixia was considered a rising star of the new generation.
In short, from Zou Feng’s perspective, the people in the Black Flood Dragon Gang who could break through to the Seventh Grade in a short time, aside from that Sixth Young Master who liked to "take care of his sworn brothers’ wives," now clearly included Chen Jingsheng.
He withdrew his gaze. The Ten Directions Sect’s defeat was sealed. Aside from the Seventh Grade expert who was still putting up a desperate fight, it was impossible for anyone else to leave alive.
As for the Seventh Grade "Commander" being held up by Bian Yixia, his capture was only a matter of time, now that he had fallen into despair.
It was worth noting that while it was best for others not to get close to a duel between Seventh Grade Experts, they could still provide some ranged support.
They seized opportunities to throw hidden weapons, toss lime powder...
Although these couldn’t cause any substantial damage to the Commander, they were effective at annoying him and distracting him.
Thanks to the support provided by the gang members, Bian Yixia fought with increasing valor, steadily gaining the upper hand.
Seeing this, and to prevent the Seventh Grade Commander from pulling any last-ditch desperate moves before his defeat, Zou Feng decided to lend Bian Yixia a hand.
Clutching a small piece of gravel he had picked up earlier, Zou Feng circulated his Inner Qi and fiercely threw it.
The hidden weapons thrown by the others were not very useful, serving only to harass. But the one Zou Feng threw was different.
Although he was only an Eighth Grade, he could already perform Inner Qi Release, which meant the density of his Inner Qi was quite close to that of a Seventh Grade.
Such dense Inner Qi, along with the poison from his Five Poison Skill, was all infused into the small stone.
The best part was that so many people were throwing hidden weapons, it perfectly concealed the true power of this particular stone.
"AHH—"
The Seventh Grade Commander had been using his Protective Qi Force to simply tank these harassing projectiles, his full attention focused on dealing with Bian Yixia’s fierce assault.
So how could he have expected that an Old Sixth was mixed in among the many hidden weapons, one that nearly shattered his Protective Qi Force?
But the stone still caused him considerable pain, creating an opening.
How could Bian Yixia waste such a golden opportunity? She brought her hammer down, flattening half of the Commander’s face.
Having suddenly suffered such a Critical Strike, the Commander lost any chance of launching a final desperate counterattack.
Bian Yixia, however, got carried away again, striking with her hammer again and again, not caring whether the Commander had already breathed his last.
Soon, under Bian Yixia’s relentless hammering—her tongue sticking out again—the Commander was unsurprisingly turned into a meat pancake.
Seeing that there was absolutely no chance of saving the Commander, Zou Feng immediately checked his List of Gods.
In the number one spot, Ji Changsheng’s name had not disappeared.
’This Commander... wasn’t Ji Changsheng...’
’Tsk, just how many of these Evil Cultists are still hiding in and around Yuan Guang County!’
Although he had long since determined that the Ten Directions Cultists in this courtyard were just one small group scattered around Yuan Guang County, Zou Feng was still a little disappointed that Ji Changsheng wasn’t among them.
’Ji Changsheng is incredibly durable, which makes him a perfect candidate for the number one spot on the list, but being targeted by a cultist who is very likely in the Seventh Grade Realm still makes me uneasy.’
Meanwhile, the owner of the house, Old Deng, had also been slain.
The Incense Master who had been injured by him and knew him was staring at his corpse and sighing, "Old Deng, Old Deng, what were you thinking? You had a decent life, why did you have to join the Ten Directions Sect..."
The now-dead Old Deng could, of course, no longer answer that question.
But based on Old Deng’s first reaction—trying to cover the Commander’s escape the moment things were exposed—one could imagine how thoroughly he had been brainwashed.
’Perhaps the Ten Directions Sect’s brainwashing doesn’t just rely on rhetoric. They might have some Profound Mysterious Techniques that I can’t even begin to comprehend right now.’
’After all, even Magical Artifacts have been integrated into all walks of life, so the Ten Directions Sect is bound to have even more sinister things.’
Besides, the benefits of Old Deng joining the Ten Directions Sect were obvious.
He was originally just a Ninth Grade old man with declining vitality, but he suddenly got a new lease on life, even breaking through to the Eighth Grade. When he fought just now, he was incredibly fierce.
It would be strange if the Ten Directions Sect wasn’t behind such an anomaly.
"Miss, that’s enough, that’s enough! He’s beyond saving..."
Seeing Bian Yixia still hammering away, a Hall Master finally couldn’t help but step forward to persuade her.
Only then did Bian Yixia stop. She looked around and asked, "Is everyone dead? Did any fish slip through the net?"
"No. All the Ten Directions Cultists here, including Old Deng who defected to them, have been executed."
"What are our casualties?"
"Five brothers have minor injuries. Song Incense Master’s injuries are a bit more serious."
The "Song Incense Master" this person mentioned was, of course, the one who knew Old Deng and had been caught off guard and injured, not expecting him to be an Eighth Grade.
But even Song Incense Master’s injuries weren’t actually that severe.
To be able to take down a stronghold of Ten Directions Sect remnants at such a low cost was an absolute, resounding victory.
Bian Yixia was very pleased with this and, beaming with joy, told everyone to start collecting the spoils of war.
However, achieving such a result was to be expected.
A surprise attack that caught the enemy off guard; two great experts of the Black Flood Dragon Gang, Bian Yixia and Chen Jingsheng, leading the charge; and all manner of underhanded attacks.
On top of that, there was Zou Feng, who was practically half a Seventh Grade, providing all sorts of covert support...
With all these advantages combined, it was a guaranteed win from the start as long as they didn’t throw.
After that, Zou Feng wasn’t too concerned with gathering the loot.
After all, the prize he wanted most was already securely in his possession.
As for the Evil Pills they collected...
Zou Feng could later use the excuse of wanting to study the toxicity of these Evil Pills to legitimately request them from Bian Yixia.
In any case, as the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s Physician, it wouldn’t be strange for him to want to mess around with these elixirs.
For the other gang members, there wasn’t much loot to be had from the bodies of the Ten Directions Sect remnants. The real jackpot would come later when they collected the reward from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.
Especially since Bian Yixia had taken down a Seventh Grade Commander from the Ten Directions Sect, the reward for that would be anything but ordinary.
The resources of a power like the Celestial Essence Sword Sect were beyond Zou Feng’s current imagination.
And a reward that even a Seventh Grade Expert like Bian Yixia coveted so much would either be something that could truly eliminate the hidden dangers of cultivating an Evil Skill, or it would be the opportunity to advance to the Sixth Grade!
But Zou Feng wasn’t envious of such things for the time being. Right now, he just wanted this over with so he could return to the pharmacy and look through the Great Compassion Hand manual.
’It’d be best if I could start practicing it right after reading.’
’Once I master it—not even necessarily to the level of Refined Skill, just reaching the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery would be enough—the power of this Cultivation Skill will surpass all my other skills except for the Five Poison Skill!’
This wasn’t just baseless speculation on Zou Feng’s part.
He had, after all, previously treated many gang members who had been struck by the Great Compassion Hand, including the Seventh Grade Expert, Xiang Kang.
Xiang Kang had taken one palm strike and had actually been on the verge of death.
And Zou Feng had learned that the Ten Directions Cultist who injured Xiang Kang was also a Seventh Grade.
So for an opponent of the same Realm to nearly kill Xiang Kang with a single palm strike—it would be strange if this Cultivation Skill wasn’t incredible!
If he practiced such a High Grade Cultivation Skill well, it would be a tremendous help in his future advancement to the Sixth Grade Gang Qi Realm.
Not to mention, Zou Feng’s ultimate goal was to integrate it into his Five Poison Skill, creating an even deadlier self-made Fusion Skill.
’Of course, it’ll be deadlier, but the side effects will definitely be even more agonizing.’
’The current number one on my list, Ji Changsheng, is pretty tough, isn’t he? Well, once I’ve mastered this Fusion Skill, I wonder if he’ll still be able to take it?’
Zou Feng was quite looking forward to finding out.