One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

The night wind howled, carrying with it a strong smell of blood and burning.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Zhang Taichu's figure would mysteriously appear more than ten meters away with each step he took.

"That Taoist priest..."

At the edge of the battlefield, Shen Chong, who had not yet made a move, was now squinting, staring intently at the approaching figure through the reflection in his glasses.

I don't know why.

When he saw that shabby Taoist priest, his heart, which had become dull and greedy due to his cultivation of loan sharking, inexplicably skipped a beat.

A sense of dread, as if he were being targeted by a natural enemy, instantly crept up his spine.

Something's not right.

Shen Chong subconsciously took half a step back and whispered to his companion beside him:

"The aura emanating from this old Taoist priest... is too clean."

"Clean?"

Xia He, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow in surprise, her peach blossom eyes sweeping over Zhang Taichu:

"He looks quite slovenly; that Taoist robe probably hasn't been washed in decades."

No, I'm not referring to appearance.

Shen Chong shook his head, his expression more solemn than ever before:

"It is Qi."

"In this battlefield filled with killing, desire, and madness, everyone's Qi is turbid and restless."

"Only him."

"It's like a stagnant pool, without the slightest ripple, you can't even feel its presence."

Just as Shen Chong finished speaking...

"Hehehe..."

A sinister laugh suddenly rang out from a dark corner not far away.

The voice was dry and harsh, like scratching a blackboard with fingernails, giving people goosebumps.

"Shen Chong, you're getting more and more regressive as you get older."

"Whether it's stagnant water or flowing water, as long as it's the key to Longhu Mountain, it's our prey."

Splash!

With a sound of rolling gravel.

A short, old man wearing a dark green military overcoat and holding a string of prayer beads in his hand emerged from the shadows.

He was unremarkable in appearance, with a wrinkled face and a pair of triangular eyes that gleamed with cunning.

Yuan Tao, a renowned master craftsman and weapon refiner of the Quanxing sect!

"Old Master Yuan?"

Shen Chong paused for a moment, then frowned and said:

"Why are you joining in the fun, old man?"

"lively?"

Yuan Tao grinned, revealing a set of incomplete, yellow teeth:

"I'm not here to watch the show, old man."

"I heard that old madman Lu Jin has the Tongtian Talisman on him, and I'm really envious."

talking.

He turned his head, his sinister eyes locking onto Zhang Taichu, who was slowly walking towards him.

"However..."

"Before we take the Tongtian Scroll, we need to clear out these small fry who seem to have appeared out of nowhere."

"This old Taoist priest looks unfamiliar, but his lightness skill is quite impressive."

"Perfect, I'll use it to test my old man's treasure!"

Before he could finish speaking...

Yuan Tao's wrist suddenly jerked.

"go!"

Om-! ! !

Two sharp, piercing explosions suddenly rang out in the air.

Suddenly, two beads the size of longan flew out from the rosary in Yuan Tao's hand.

One black and one white.

The two beads swelled instantly upon leaving his hand, transforming into two streaks of light that carried terrifying, suffocating kinetic energy, heading straight for Zhang Taichu's face.

It was so fast that it even left two long white trails of air in its wake.

Nine Dragon Sons!

Quanxingyuan Pottery's famous ritual implements!

"Baxia! Chaofeng!"

"Smash it!"

Yuan Tao's smile grew increasingly sinister.

His two beads, one as heavy as Mount Tai, are specifically designed to break through defensive techniques; the other as fast as lightning, is incomparably sharp.

Let alone mortal flesh, even steel bones would be reduced to scrap metal under the crushing force of these two beads.

"Die!"

In that instant.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the two streaks of light.

Even Lu Jin, who was going crazy in the distance, seemed to sense this threat and paused slightly.

however.

Zhang Taichu as the target.

They maintained that slow, deliberate pace, moving forward step by step.

"court death!"

Seeing Zhang Taichu's arrogance, Yuan Tao's murderous intent intensified.

Ten meters!

Five meters!

one meter!

The two beads, carrying an overwhelming force, instantly slammed into Zhang Taichu's front.

The terrifying wind pressure even caused Zhang Taichu's messy hair to dance wildly backward.

Just when everyone thought that the Taoist priest's head would explode like a watermelon in the next second.

Zhang Taichu finally made a move.

A hand emerged from the sleeve of the tattered Taoist robe.

Then, he casually scooped it up in front of him.

Snapped.

A soft sound.

In the center of the battlefield.

Zhang Taichu remained standing there, his posture upright, not even the hem of his clothes was disheveled.

And in that withered palm.

At this moment, he was firmly holding two beads that were still spinning wildly but could not move forward an inch no matter what he did.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!

The two beads rubbed violently against Zhang Taichu's palm, emitting a tooth-grinding metallic shriek and sparks flying everywhere.

They struggled desperately, as if they were alive, trying to break free from the grip of that large hand.

but.

That hand was like an iron cage, completely still.

"this……"

far away.

Yuan Tao's ferocious smile froze instantly.

His mouth dropped open, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Caught...caught it?!"

"unarmed?!"

How is this possible?!

These are the nine sons of the dragon!

It was his natal magic weapon, which he had refined for decades!

Even among the Thirty-Six Thieves of yesteryear, few would dare to take such a direct hit, right?

Are those old Taoist priest's hands made of some kind of magical artifact?!

"Um?"

Zhang Taichu lowered his head, looking at the two little gadgets in his hands that were still buzzing.

His brows furrowed slightly.

"What is this thing?"

He held his hand up to his eyes and examined it carefully by the firelight.

That look in his eyes was full of disdain.

It's like seeing a pile of dog poop that you accidentally stepped in.

"Is this all the weapon-forging techniques you have now?"

Zhang Taichu curled his lip, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm:

"The Qi patterns were carved crookedly, like they were scratched by chicken feet."

"The materials were riddled with impurities; they even mixed in dead human bones?"

"This is what they call... a magic weapon?"

He raised his head, looked at Yuan Tao not far away, and shook his head helplessly:

"Young people these days have increasingly trendy skills."

"It's shameful to show this kind of trash."

"In the past, a weapon refiner who made this kind of thing would be expelled from the sect."

"You...you..."

His prized work was publicly humiliated by an unknown old Taoist priest.

Yuan Tao was so angry that he trembled all over, and his old face turned as red as a pig's liver:

"You old fool! What do you know!"

"Let go of my baby!"

"baby?"

Zhang Taichu chuckled softly.

That smile carried three parts disdain and seven parts nonchalance.

"This kind of junk that breaks with the slightest pressure deserves to be called a treasure?"

Done.

Zhang Taichu slowly closed the hand that was holding the bead.

The five fingers suddenly exerted force.

"Squeak—"

A sharp, chilling sound rang out.

Yuan Tao's pupils contracted sharply, and an unprecedented fear surged into his heart.

"No...no!"

"stop!!!"

He roared hysterically, trying to retrieve the magical artifact.

But, it's too late.

"It's noisy."

Zhang Taichu uttered three words calmly.

Then.

He clenched his fist tightly.

Bang!

A muffled thud.

Those two indestructible dragons, capable of even piercing steel plates.

In Zhang Taichu's palm, they were like two crunchy walnuts.

It shattered instantly, turning into a handful of fine dust.

"puff--!!!"

At the very instant the bead shattered.

Suddenly, Yuan Tao, who was in the distance, trembled violently.

He suddenly opened his mouth, spitting out a mouthful of blood that turned into a cloud of blood mist in the air.

He looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant; his once rosy complexion had turned ashen white.

My natal magic weapon was destroyed, and my mind and spirit were injured!

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

Yuan Tao clutched her chest, staggered back a few steps, and almost fell to the ground.

He raised his head and stared intently at Zhang Taichu.

The arrogance and malice from before were long gone from his eyes.

Instead, there was a deep sense of terror.

monster!

This is a complete monster!

No Qi is used, and no magic is performed.

He crushed his nine dragon sons with just his physical strength?

Is this guy even human?!

"Walk……"

"Run!!!"

The instinct for survival instantly overwhelmed everything, and Yuan Tao no longer cared about the Tongtian Talisman or the prestige of being a renowned figure in the Quanxing Sect.

He let out a strange cry, turned around and ran, faster than a rabbit.

They didn't even have time to pick up the military overcoat that had just fallen on the ground.

"Well……"

Shen Chong and the others standing nearby were all dumbfounded.

They glanced at the retreating figure in a disheveled state, then at the old Taoist priest leisurely brushing the dust off his hands.

Is that... all there is to it?

Yuan Tao, the weapon refiner who caused so much trouble for righteous people, was scared away just like that?

"That's so rude."

Zhang Taichu brushed the powder off his hands and muttered something to himself with some dissatisfaction:

"They littered, and they didn't even apologize."

He raised his head and glanced indifferently at the several dumbfounded Quanxing demons around him.

Just a glance.

Shen Chong felt as if the blood in his body was about to freeze.

It was a kind of oppressive force emanating from the depths of one's soul.

It was as if, if the old Taoist priest so desired, they would turn into a pile of powder in the next second, just like those two beads.

Fortunately.

Zhang Taichu didn't seem to have much interest in these "little flies".

He looked away and put his hands back into his sleeves.

He took another step and walked towards the figure still going crazy in the center of the square.

"Little Lu, oh Little Lu..."

As Zhang Taichu walked, he sighed helplessly:

"At your age, you've really wasted your life."

"Being completely fooled by a few bugs."

"I'll have to trouble you, senior brother, to come and wipe your butt in the middle of the night."

"What a waste of sleep..."

As his figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

Shen Chong and the others then felt the suffocating pressure lessen slightly.

"Huff... huff..."

Xia He patted her chest, panting heavily; her once alluring face was now completely drained of color.

"Then...who exactly is it?"

"When did such a large Buddha statue come to be hidden on Mount Longhu?"

Shen Chong pushed up his glasses, which were already askew, his palms were covered in cold sweat.

He looked at Zhang Taichu's slightly hunched but unshakable back.

"I don't know who he is."

"But I know one thing."

"Longhu Mountain tonight..."

"Things are probably about to change."