Chaos and monsters begin with the red dragon's clone.

The two men with the three-pronged mustache were startled and instinctively turned around, only to see the burly man with the thick beard and his accomplice return at some point.

He was staring at them, his face grim, veins throbbing on his forehead, and bloodshot eyes.

"Brother Guo Lie, listen to my excuses!!" The man with the three-pronged mustache was startled and hurriedly waved his hands. "No! Let me explain! No, no, then I won't sell this statue of the Holy Child. I'll apologize to you, brother..."

"Go ahead and try to argue with my brother's curved sword!" the accomplice sneered sinisterly.

Clang!

The burly man with a thick beard drew his curved knife, his eyes bloodshot: "You filthy bastards, I was trying to make a deal in good faith, and you resort to such underhanded tactics!" He kicked off the ground and charged at the two men in a furious leap.

His breathing, heartbeat, and movements were loud and clear, and his speed was astonishing, clearly indicating that he had achieved considerable skill in the second stage of Body Tempering and was a master in this field.

"This can't be resolved peacefully!! Let's go!!"

The man with the three-pronged mustache looked unwell. He pulled off his face towel, revealing slightly bulging temples, which was also a second-rate appearance.

But his companion was different. Seeing the burly man with the thick beard rushing towards him in the blink of an eye, his curved blade whistling as it slashed down, his face turned ashen, and he hurriedly retreated.

"Let me rip your hearts out and see if they're black!! Die!!"

With a roar, the burly man with a thick beard, Guo Lie, swung his curved blade down from above, the wind whistling through the air.

The man with the three-pronged mustache hurriedly raised his arm to block, the iron gauntlet on his wrist colliding with the blade, sending sparks flying.

"bite--!"

With a sharp crack, the man with the three-pronged mustache felt his arm go numb and stumbled back several steps, crashing into the trunk of an old pine tree.

His companion screamed and turned to run.

Guo Lie's accomplice had already circled around to the flank, and with a swift movement, he darted out, gripping a foot-long hunting knife, and stabbed the fleeing man in the lower back.

"ah--!"

A scream rang out from the woods. Several black crows were startled and flew away in a flurry.

The man staggered two steps, reached up to clutch his side, blood gushing from between his fingers, collapsed to the ground, twitched a couple of times, and then fell still.

"Sixth brother!?"

The man with the three-pronged mustache was terrified. He sprang up from the tree trunk, kicked up a dead leaf, and struck Guo Lie in the chest with both palms.

The palm strike was heavy and dull, carrying the power of a second-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator; an ordinary person would likely have their bones broken if struck by it.

Guo Lie neither dodged nor evaded, holding his curved blade horizontally in front of him to take the blow head-on.

Bang!

The force of his palm struck the blade, causing Guo Lie to sway slightly, his footsteps creating two shallow craters in the mud. He grinned, revealing yellow teeth, the bloodshot veins in his eyes growing even more pronounced: "Is that all the strength you've got?!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his knee and slammed it hard into the abdomen of the man with the three-pronged mustache.

The man with the three-pronged mustache hurriedly twisted to dodge, but he didn't expect Guo Lie's knee to be a feint. The curved blade had already risen from below, the tip of the blade cutting through his clothes under his ribs, leaving a shallow line of blood.

"hiss--"

The man with the three-pronged mustache gasped, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Only now did he realize that Guo Lie had not only reached the threshold of the third realm and possessed great strength, but also had tricky moves and remarkable skills. His reputation was well-deserved. He regretted deceiving the other party, but it was too late at this point. He had only one thought in his mind.

"run!!"

The thought had barely formed when Guo Lie lunged forward, his curved blade slashing, chopping, parrying, and thrusting, the wind whistling through the air as he unleashed four consecutive attacks, each aimed at a vital point.

The man with the three-pronged mustache struggled to defend himself, his iron gauntlet clattering as it blocked the first three blows. But he couldn't block the fourth one—the back of the blade slammed into his shoulder, the bone cracking, and his entire left arm drooped down.

"Ah!!" he screamed.

Guo Lie's accomplice suddenly appeared from the side, stabbed him in the thigh with a knife, twisted it around, and pulled it out, drawing out a spurt of blood.

The man with the three-pronged mustache suddenly collapsed to one knee, his face deathly pale, his lips trembling as he tried to say something.

Guo Lie had already sheathed his sword, raised his right foot, and kicked him in the chest.

"Bang—!"

The kick was delivered with full force, sending the man with the three-pronged mustache flying off the ground. He flew backward for about ten feet before crashing heavily into the trunk of a banyan tree with dense foliage.

He fell to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. His chest was caved in, and countless ribs were broken. He struggled to get up, but only managed to leave a few furrows on the ground in vain.

"...Guo Lie,...brother, spare my life...I'll go and...get you a proper...sacred child statue..."

"If I take your heart out and it doesn't look black, I'll do as you say."

Guo Lie's bloodshot eyes had faded considerably. He sneered, flicked his knife, and walked towards his opponent.

The man with the three-pronged mustache, his heart filled with despair, lay on the ground. Staring at the treetop, his eyes suddenly widened as he saw something. He frantically waved, "Help! Help!!"

"who!?"

Guo Lie stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the tree canopy.

The woods were quiet for a moment.

A helpless voice finally came from within the tree canopy: "Gentlemen, I was just passing by. I can pretend I didn't witness what happened today. Could you please let me leave?"

Immediately afterward, a figure leaped down and landed—Zhang Xun was filled with helplessness. He had only gone up the mountain to see the details of the Rebirth Sect's Chaotian Temple and whether there was a chance to finish off Geng Ping. He didn't expect to stumble upon a clandestine transaction. As expected, the two sides clashed, which also affected him, causing his hiding place to be exposed—fortunately, the other party was not too strong, still at the second level of Body Tempering.

But it would be best to settle things peacefully.

"Just passing by!?"

Guo Lie's eyes were still slightly bloodshot, but he looked much calmer. He looked at Zhang Xun and saw that the other party's aura and posture were not yet at the second realm, so his expression immediately relaxed a lot.

"We brothers got into trouble and were on the run. We're not afraid of this being exposed. It's fine if we're just passing by and leaving, as long as no one else is hiding in the tree." The man with the three-pronged mustache breathed his last and remained silent. Guo Lie walked hoarsely toward the tree.

"Of course not, feel free to look." Zhang Xun breathed a slight sigh of relief, forced a smile, and stepped aside.

…………

Guo Lie's accomplice sneered at the sight, shook his head, and walked toward the body of the fleeing man, preparing to loot the corpse.

He hadn't taken more than two steps.

Then they heard a loud thud as someone stomped on the ground, and out of the corner of their eye, they saw their elder brother, Guo Lie, rush towards the unfamiliar man.

The unfamiliar man seemed to have been prepared, and with a flick of his hand, he scattered a handful of white ash.

"Ridiculous! Do you think we've never used such tricks before? We'll fall for it? A mere realm? With your skills, Brother, you'll be done for in no time..."

The thought had barely formed when the accomplice's pupils constricted. Upon seeing the unfamiliar face, he drew his sword, unsheathed it, a flash of cold light, and sheathed it.

The eldest brother, Guo Lie, was like a greenhorn, frozen in place, or rather, he didn't dodge.

His accomplices were instantly stunned and stood frozen in place.

Big Brother!!

"he!!"

Why didn't you dodge?!

Bang! !

With a muffled thud, Guo Lie's body collapsed to the ground amidst the white and gray mist of blood.

The unfamiliar man instantly leaped over the corpse, burst out of the white ash, put on a cold expression, and swiftly attacked him.

His accomplice, his eyes wide with shock, finally snapped out of his daze and cried out, "Big Brother?!"

He glared at the unfamiliar face, about to turn and run away, when suddenly he froze.

Swish.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Xun rushed forward, and with a flash of light, the blade sliced ​​across his neck, causing blood to spurt out instantly.

"You!!!" The accomplice came to his senses, stared at Zhang Xun in horror, and realized how his elder brother had died. He clutched his bleeding throat but could not speak. He also fell straight to the ground with a thud and was silent ever since.

The woods finally quieted down.

Zhang Xun remained expressionless, sheathed his sword, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and shook his head softly: "Why force me? I originally wanted to settle things peacefully."

silence.

"Going out alone is too dangerous. I originally went up the mountain to see Geng Ping at Chaotian Temple, but I didn't expect to encounter bad people... It's too dangerous..."

He sighed softly.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, an idea struck him. He quickly crouched down and searched the corpses' clothes and bodies with both hands. After a while, he pulled out two heavy money bags and the miniature statue wrapped in black cloth. He then put them in his pocket and quickly left the crime scene.

Once he reached a grove on the other side of Gongjia Mountain, he climbed a tree to hide, and after calming his breathing, he opened the three money bags to count them.

"Great! We've struck it rich this time!" Zhang Xun looked at the counted amount of money and couldn't help but feel a little excited.