Chapter 38: Counter-Kill!
Inside the room.
“Brother Zhou, have some tea.”
With a beaming smile, Lin Chang’an brought over the tea steeped with the Wood Spirit Thorn.
“Brother Lin, take a look at the quality of these two bottles of pills.”
Zhou Qing wore a teasing smile, showing no sign of any flaw.
He first took out two bottles of pills, then leisurely lifted the tea and took two sips, and when he set down the cup, he discreetly touched the scented sachet at his waist.
“Good pills.”
Lin Chang’an smiled broadly at the two bottles of pills on the table, then took out two Golden Light Talismans.
“Brother Lin, these two Golden Light Talismans aren't enough.”
“Brother Zhou, given the current market, a high-grade defensive talisman is nearly fifty spirit stones each, even though your pills are decent.”
“Brother Lin, how about this, I’ll add another bottle of Vital Energy Pills.”
Zhou Qing looked pained as he took out another bottle of pills from his storage pouch, and Lin Chang’an gave a slight nod before checking the pills.
While both harbored hidden intentions, just as Lin Chang’an reached to receive the jade bottle of Vital Energy Pills, Zhou Qing suddenly revealed a ferocious glint and violently opened the bottle, splashing it toward him.
Lin Chang’an pretended to be shocked, trying to stand up, but stumbled and fell back into his chair.
However, the magical shield formed by the Golden Light Talisman on his body was hit by the black liquid from the bottle.
Splat!
The pale golden magical shield dimmed under the Five Venoms Water.
Seeing this, Lin Chang’an panicked and immediately activated three more Golden Light Talismans in a row to stabilize it, but he appeared extremely weak and powerless.
“Five Venoms Water! Zhou… Brother Zhou, what are you doing!”
The corrosive sound and rising smoke caused Lin Chang’an to be filled with fear.
The Five Venoms Water—once it made contact, even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators would be in trouble.
And when Zhou Qing saw Lin Chang’an like a lamb to the slaughter, the friendliness on his face vanished, replaced by cold indifference.
“Brother Lin, sorry about this. Don’t you understand the saying ‘wealth should not be flaunted’?”
Greed!
Ever since Zhou Qing saw the Spirit-gathering Formation in Lin Chang’an’s room, he had grown covetous, knowing Lin Chang’an was well-off.
Since he was leaving, he naturally wanted to make a score on the way out.
“You! When did you poison me!”
Lin Chang’an stood up and staggered backward, his face full of panic.
“Don’t blame me!”
Seeing Lin Chang’an weakened by the poison, Zhou Qing shook his head with a hoarse voice and sighed.
“If anyone's to blame, blame the fact that Zhou Tieshan is so lucky. I want to reach Foundation Establishment too. If the clan won’t help me, then I’ll…”
Just then, a stabbing pain suddenly shot through his abdomen.
Zhou Qing’s face changed drastically, and he vomited a mouthful of black blood.
“Damn it! Despicable scoundrel, you poisoned me!”
Shocked and enraged, Zhou Qing finally realized—the tea had been poisoned.
In the small room, both men had secretly poisoned each other.
Zhou Qing quickly swallowed a few detoxification pills and glared furiously at Lin Chang’an, then raised his hand and summoned his spirit pet, the Earth Dog, from his spirit beast pouch.
“You damned drifting cultivators!”
A fierce demon dog the size of a calf pounced forward.
Amid Lin Chang’an’s terrified scream, the Golden Light Talisman’s shield crackled with sparks.
Seeing this, Zhou Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but in the next moment, several firelights flickered.
With the demon pet's screams came three streaks of green light hidden within the flames.
[Wood Spirit Thorn]
No time to think.
Zhou Qing forcefully propped up his magical shield and shouted angrily:
“High-grade Fireball Talismans, I didn’t expect you to have such wealth…”
Amid the thunderous roar of the Fireball Talismans, Zhou Qing’s voice suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
“How… how is this possible!”
Zhou Qing’s face was filled with disbelief.
He stared at the magical shield before him, somehow pierced through without him noticing.
The magical shield flickered dimly, and on his throat, three red dots arranged in a triangle began to turn a visible shade of purple-black.
With a thud, Zhou Qing collapsed powerlessly to the ground, his eyes full of unwillingness.
If only he hadn’t been so greedy, he might have already left the marketplace by now.
However, his throat surged with blackness and couldn’t make a sound.
In his scattered, unwilling pupils, the reflection of his collapsed spirit pet and the figure of Lin Chang’an standing up could be seen.
His spirit pet had already gone limp and fallen to the ground.
Splat!
The Green Bamboo Sword flashed, and his head was cleanly severed.
Zhou Qing, full of regret and resentment, sank into eternal darkness.
“You old bastard, I was guarding against you all along!”
Lin Chang’an, who had just stood up from the ground, sneered coldly and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
All of this had happened in a split second.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that he had crossed two levels to kill Zhou Qing, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining while he was only at the sixth.
In reality, the two were never on equal footing from the start.
He had not been poisoned, whereas Zhou Qing had already consumed poisoned tea.
He had first pretended to be terrified and poisoned, staggering backward.
When the other side released his spirit pet to pounce and bite madly, that became his cover—and also when his opponent’s guard was at its lowest.
He then used several first-rank high-grade Fireball Talismans as a feint, hiding three Wood Spirit Thorns among them, which proved to be the key move.
“That was close.”
Only after delivering the finishing blow and cutting off the opponent’s head did Lin Chang’an finally breathe a silent sigh of relief.
The tea serving had also been a chance, but considering the other party obviously intended to kill and rob him, Lin Chang’an had remained alert the entire time.
The close range was advantageous, but it was also when the other party was most on guard.
Thus, he chose to feign being poisoned and waited for the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
Just as Lin Chang’an was about to clean up the battlefield, a loud explosion suddenly echoed from within the marketplace.
“Something’s happened!”
Lin Chang’an’s expression changed, and he hurried out of the courtyard, climbed to the roof, and stared at the marketplace in shock.
“That’s the Zhou Family!”
From a distance, he could see roaring flames rising from the Zhou Family residence, and countless cultivator robbers were wreaking havoc.
…
Zhou Family.
“Ancestor, there’s a traitor in the clan, the formation has been broken, and countless drifting cultivators have rushed in.”
“Ancestor, bad news! The medicinal fields! Our clan’s medicinal fields are burning!”
“Bad news, Ancestor, the Patriarch was intercepted on his way back.”
Faced with the clan’s panic, the Zhou Family Ancestor, who had led them through multiple crises, radiated authority even without anger and shouted coldly, “What are you panicking for! Just a bunch of rebellious drifting cultivators!”
However, at that moment, a sorrowful beast howl echoed from the back hill of the Zhou Family, and upon hearing it, the once composed Zhou Family Ancestor’s expression changed drastically.
“This is bad! How could something happen to the Guardian Spirit Beast!”
“Ancestor, not good, someone is attacking the back hill!”
At this moment, panic appeared on the Zhou Family Ancestor’s face.
Their Guardian Spirit Beast was currently in its birthing period, the weakest point.
There was a traitor!
The Zhou Family Ancestor instantly understood and clenched his teeth in fury.
When the family formation was broken, he only suspected.
But now that the enemy had gone straight for the Guardian Spirit Beast at the back hill, it would be absurd if there wasn’t a traitor.
“Kill them all!”
A furious roar came from within the Zhou Family.
The Zhou Family Ancestor charged out, roaring with rage.
An old Foundation Establishment cultivator with little lifespan left, going berserk—was undoubtedly terrifying.
Yet this upheaval was not limited to the Zhou Family.
Chaos erupted in many places throughout the marketplace.