Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

The officer looked up at the black cloth. "Sir, it's confirmed. Just an hour ago, I followed a servant from the Chen family here."

"Because there were patrols, I couldn't get too close, but I still saw them covering several human stakes nailed around the perimeter with black cloth."

"How dare they defy the imperial decrees and use living people as human stakes! They're courting death!" Cao Xiong's anger was now uncontrollable.

"You must return to the Chen residence immediately and have Cao Man lead men to arrest the village head, Wang Yue."

The officers and soldiers immediately left the area and ran towards Tanxiang Village.

Once the soldiers had gone far away, Cao Xiong turned back to Chen Lian's side.

"Chen Lian, lift that black cloth off for me."

Cold sweat streamed down Chen Lian's forehead uncontrollably. "Sir, this black cloth is just to cover the newly laid foundation, no..."

"I told you to open it, don't make me do it a third time." Cao Xiong's voice was icy cold.

Chen Lian couldn't help but shudder, but he absolutely could not open the black cloth, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Sir, please show some respect to the Living Buddha."

"Hmph~"

Cao Xiong slapped Chen Lian away, then walked to the black cloth, grabbed a corner, channeled his inner strength, and flung it away.

The black cloth floated into the air, revealing the foundation of the main hall that had been covered below.

Five bodies were found buried standing up in the middle and four corners of the pit, with only their chests and above exposed.

Cao Xiong immediately recognized that the corpse in the center of the hall was wearing the standard water-polished steel armor that reached the waist of the Ming Dynasty's generals.

"Swish~"

Cao Xiong drew his Evil-Sniffing Blade and pointed it at Chen Lian. "Chen Lian, tell the truth, and your family may live."

"Cao Xiong, do you think I don't understand the law?"

"May the Living Buddha protect us! What are you all standing there for? Kill him!"

Chen Lian shouted at the people around him, then crushed a wooden plaque and, with the help of two servants, tried to escape.

"Stubborn to the end~"

As Cao Xiong's evil-smelling longsword slashed through the air, the heads of two servants instantly fell to the ground.

The surrounding villagers and a group of patrolling Chen family servants surrounded Cao Xiong. Having witnessed Cao Xiong's ruthlessness, they dared not make a move easily.

Cao Xiong looked around and noticed that many of the people there were ordinary civilians dressed in shabby clothes and showed no signs of menace. So he called out,

"I am Cao Xiong, a centurion of Linya Commandery. According to the imperial law, anyone who uses a living person as a stake shall be executed by slow slicing!"

"Today, I will only execute the ringleaders; all others should leave immediately."

Cao Xiong's voice indeed caused chaos in the crowd, and many people who came to build the temple slowly retreated.

"You dare? The Living Buddha is all-powerful and is protecting us. What are you waiting for? Kill them!" Chen Lianzang was hiding on the outermost edge.

Upon hearing this, more than a dozen servants of the Chen family stopped backing down and rushed forward, brandishing their weapons.

The dozens of people behind him, most of them followed closely behind.

Only a dozen or so people stood there, bewildered.

"If you want to die, then so be it."

"Sword Drawing Technique~"

A sharp glint of light flashed, and the dozen or so people who first approached Cao Xiong were instantly cut in half at the waist.

In just a short while, Cao Xiong was surrounded by corpses.

Chen Lian collapsed to the ground. When Cao Xiong told him to lift the black cloth, he had already crushed the wooden plaque that the Living Buddha had given him.

At this critical moment of life and death, Chen Lian didn't know what to do and could only shout, "Living Buddha, save me!"

A five-colored Buddha light rose from the distance of the temple, leaping rapidly toward Cao Xiong, accompanied by an ethereal voice: "Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot."

Cao Xiong gripped his long sword tightly, muttering to himself, "The real culprit has arrived!"

The Buddha's light drew closer and closer to Cao Xiong. In just three or four seconds, a monk in tattered robes appeared before Cao Xiong, looking at him calmly.

"Your bloodlust is so strong, it's not a good thing." Jin Shicheng clasped his hands together, his voice carrying a power to purify people's hearts.

Cao Xiong was blessed with the attribute "Stone Heart," so Jin Shicheng's methods had no effect on him.

"As expected of a wicked monk, he bewitches people, condones his followers to rob merchant caravans, and even imprisons an official of the imperial court. He deserves to die!"

Cao Xiong unleashed a torrent of internal energy and attacked fiercely.

When Jin Shicheng saw that Cao Xiong was unaffected by his mental purification, his face darkened.

Jin Shicheng took off the Buddhist prayer beads hanging around his neck and kept chanting mantras.

Then, he flicked out the golden prayer beads in his hand.

"Swish~"

Cao Xiong's longsword clashed with Jin Shicheng's Buddhist prayer beads.

The prayer beads were not heavy; they were made entirely of polished wood. Yet, under the influence of spiritual light, they were able to withstand Cao Xiong's longsword without suffering any damage.

The prayer beads flew around once and landed back in Jin Shicheng's hand.

"Thousand-Armed Tathagata~"

Jin Shicheng stood upright, hands clasped together, eyes closed, head bowed. Six palms formed of spiritual energy appeared behind him, striking Cao Xiong simultaneously.

"The Vajra Splits the Mountain!"

Not to be outdone, Cao Xiong channeled his inner energy and unleashed one of the moves of the "Maha Saber Technique".

The two spiritual energy palms were cleaved by the long sword, turning into fragments and disappearing into the air.

The other four arms arrived at Cao Xiong's side almost simultaneously, their palms flipping and slapping him.

Cao Xiong turned his head slightly, and his bones cracked as they squeezed. His four arms felt like they were striking a hard stone, unable to harm him in the slightest.

Cao Xiong had figured out Jin Shicheng's methods; his attacks looked intimidating, but their actual lethality was not as strong as they appeared.

Cao Xiong blocked the attack entirely by relying on the attribute "copper skin and iron bones".

"Die!"

Cao Xiong raised his sword with both hands, his figure darting about as he slashed down.

"Prajna Palm"

Jin Shicheng's hands glowed, like a pair of jade, using softness to overcome hardness and block the attack of the Evil-Smelling Longsword.

"I take refuge in the Buddha's teachings~"

Jin Shicheng clenched his teeth, opened his mouth, and silently recited the incantation.

A Buddhist symbol appeared on Jin Shicheng's chest.

It seemed as if hundreds or thousands of high monks were chanting softly around the mark.

As for Cao Xiong, the target of the attack, he only felt as if countless silver needles were trying to pierce his mind, accompanied by Buddhist symbols, but they were all blocked by the barrier outside his consciousness.

Cao Xiong circulated his internal energy to counter Jin Shicheng's attack while simultaneously gathering his strength.

"Sword Drawing Technique~"

Cao Xiong swung his sword, creating a small storm in its wake.

"Click~"

Jin Shicheng's Buddhist prayer beads were completely severed by the Evil-Sniffing Longsword, and the beads fell to the ground and rolled around.

Before Jin Shicheng could react, the Evil-Sniffing Blade had already slashed across his neck.

[Defeat a Qi Refining Realm early stage cultivator, fragment +1]

[Fragments: 1-6]

Cao Xiong kicked Jin Shicheng's corpse far away.

He slowly walked up to Chen Lian and said, "Tell me where the loot from the caravan is, and I might spare your life."

Chen Lian was still reeling from Jin Shicheng's defeat when Cao Xiong's voice boomed in his ears, bringing him back to his senses.

"My lord, I'll confess everything, please let me go."

Cao Xiong sheathed his Evil-Sniffing Blade. "I told you that if you cooperate, I might spare your life."

"The goods are in the cellar in my backyard..."

"Pfft~"

After Chen Lian revealed the exact location of the goods, Cao Xiong stabbed him in the back with a knife.

"You...you lied to me~"