A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

These orthodox dual cultivation sects, although mentioned in ancient books, have no lineage passed down in the cultivation world of the Great Liang Dynasty. At least Zhou Ping had never heard of the existence of such sects.

After calculating the time, he saw that the Third Lady had already been ravaged by Lu Jun, and was now like a puppet being manipulated by him, with no resistance or response. Her eyes were dim, and only a soft hum could be faintly heard from her delicate nose.

Zhou Ping acted decisively. A streak of green light pierced through the window paper. In the room, as the two fleshy worms reached their emotional peak and were experiencing a series of climaxes, the light instantly pierced their hearts, causing them to maintain the look of excitement on their faces until their deaths. They didn't even feel any pain before they breathed their last.

The cultivation levels of these two were originally very low, and Lu Jun was still at the early stage of Qi Refining, which was still some distance away from the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The Third Sister of the Three Flowers Gang had her magical powers sealed by Liu Chong long ago, and now she was almost no different from an ordinary person.

With their cultivation levels and their current state of complete absorption, it was nothing short of a pipe dream for them to evade Zhou Ping's sneak attack. In fact, neither of them realized what had happened to them until their deaths, and they went to meet Yama, the King of Hell, in a daze.

"You no longer need to hold grudges against each other. Today, I will send you two, a pair of lovebirds, into the cycle of reincarnation together, so that you can keep each other company."

After entering the room, Zhou Ping glanced at the two bodies still tightly entwined in death and said something with a hint of sarcasm.

After casually glancing through their clothes, Zhou Ping frowned slightly. These two hadn't left behind a single decent item, not even a storage bag.

"The Third Sister of the Three Flowers Gang couldn't possibly be penniless; it seems that all her possessions must have been robbed by Liu Chong."

Zhou Ping's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood the key to it. So he raised his hand and waved it back, recalling the small green sword embedded in the ground. Without looking back, he walked outside.

After briefly determining the direction, Zhou Ping fixed his gaze on an inconspicuous little wooden house at the edge of the village, a solemn expression on his face.

That should be where Liu Chong secluded himself to meditate. This person is different from the previous two. His magical power and cultivation are almost similar to Zhou Ping's. Moreover, he is a cultivator who has undergone tribulation. His fighting skills and methods of dealing with enemies may even be superior to Zhou Ping's.

To deal with this person, he must be on his guard.

In Zhou Ping's original plan, the best option was to eliminate the Third Lady and Lu Jun and then decisively withdraw. This would allow him to avenge himself without taking any further risks, making it the wisest choice for self-preservation.

But as Zhou Ping gazed at the small wooden house, a strange, eager thought stirred within him.

"Liu Chong's cultivation level is at most similar to mine, and he's currently injured. With my current abilities, I should be able to suppress him, and even have a very good chance of killing him!"

Zhou Ping's eyes flickered as he made a deduction, his killing intent towards this person growing even stronger.

"I'll head back to the sect as soon as I've done this job! Even if I can't defeat him, with my current escape speed, no one can catch me!"

After thinking it over, Zhou Ping pulled his straw hat down slightly, revealing only a pair of cold, deep eyes. With a flash of cold light, he moved towards the wooden house...

A moment later, Liu Chong, who was sitting cross-legged in the cabin, suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes and stared in astonishment at a small, earth-yellow flag that was constantly jumping in his palm. He was extremely nervous.

He hurriedly got up and left his meditation spot. After staring at the door for a moment, he quietly crept towards the window. After concealing himself, he immediately used his breath-holding technique. In the blink of an eye, no sound came from the wooden house, and it fell into a deathly silence.

Puff puff!

A dozen or so breaths later, a series of rapid window-breaking sounds rang out, and countless jet-black silver needles, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot into the wooden house with lightning speed, covering a large area of ​​the room.

After the silver needles were inserted, a series of 'thump thump thump' sounds of piercing followed, and the wooden house returned to its previous silence, without the slightest movement.

A deathly silence fell almost simultaneously inside and outside the house, but this silence lasted only a moment before it was broken by an even more intense series of whooshing sounds as more silver needles shot into the wooden house at tricky angles.

If the first wave of silver needles was intended as a sneak attack, then the second wave was a completely indiscriminate, probing attack.

The cabin was instantly riddled with bullets, and Liu Chong could no longer hide. He used a gleaming silver defensive magic artifact, the Silver Shield, to smash through the cabin's roof with a loud bang and flee towards another building on one side.

Whoosh!

Zhou Ping, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately unleashed the emerald green sword he had been waiting for the moment the other party broke out of the house, instantly blocking the other party's escape route.

With a crisp "clang," the small sword struck the opponent's silver shield, leaving a dent the size of a mung bean before bouncing back. Liu Chong's figure was also stopped by this attack, and he fell downwards to the side.

"The Azure Scale Sword!?"

A gasp rang out as Liu Chong, having regained his footing, stared intently at the small, emerald-green sword that had been shot back, letting out an incredulous exclamation.

"Oh? It seems you recognize this item. Could you perhaps enlighten me?"

Zhou Ping, wearing a bamboo hat, slowly emerged from the shadows on one side, his tone tinged with surprise.

Since he had refined this sword, he had never known its name. Now, an outsider had called it out directly, which greatly surprised him.

It seems that this person must have some unknown relationship with the two cultivators from the Crimson Robe Society.

Since the other party has already detected my move, there's no need to hide anymore. I might as well show myself and maybe I can get some useful information out of them.

"Why is the Azure Scale Sword in your hands? Could you be Qin Changqing!?"

Liu Chong's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his body trembled slightly after he said those words.

Qin Changqing's fearsome reputation has already spread within the Crimson Robe Society recently. As one of the most outstanding young members of the Azure Lotus Profound Sect, even the late-stage Qi Refining leaders in the society are terrified of him. It goes without saying that ordinary sect cultivators like them are even more afraid of him.

If we were to encounter this person today, given his cultivation and strength, even with a few more helpers, we would still be doomed to certain death.

"No! Your cultivation level... you're that Qinglian disciple named Zhou Ping!"

Liu Chong's eyes widened, and after sensing the other party's cultivation aura, he suddenly broke free from his fear and realized what was happening.

Zhou Ping, standing to the side, suddenly darkened his expression when he heard the other person mention his name. It was clear from the other person's words that his identity had been exposed and that he had been being watched for a long time.

"How did you come to know my name...? Could you please tell me in detail?"

"Hmph! Didn't my elder brother and Fellow Daoist Ma die at your and Qin Changqing's hands?! Do you know what the consequences are for offending my Crimson Robe Society? Qin Changqing is one thing, his identity is special, and he has the backing of the Qin family of Dianyun, so my Crimson Robe Society naturally wouldn't dare to offend him in the slightest. But you, a mere mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, dare to launch a sneak attack on me? Do you really think my Crimson Robe Society is made of clay?!"

A look of resentment flashed across Liu Chong's face. Thinking of the news of his elder brother Liu Sheng's death, he shouted angrily at Zhou Ping with a fierce but weak expression.

The commotion was so great that it had already alerted the members of the Three Flowers Gang who were on duty nearby. A cacophony of noises rose from all around, and then figures swarmed toward the spot where the two were facing off.

"I see. So you are also a member of the Crimson Robe Society and a relative of Liu Sheng. No wonder you could recognize the magic weapon I am using at a glance."

The doubts in Zhou Ping's mind were instantly resolved after listening to the other party's words.

Without even glancing at the Three Flowers Gang members who were closing in, he frantically waved his sleeves, sending jet-black silver needles flying in all directions like a peacock spreading its tail. In the blink of an eye, he knocked down circle after circle of Three Flowers Gang robbers, causing chaos to erupt in the arena.

Amidst screams and cries of agony, the crowd scattered and fled, running away even faster than they had come.

"Help! I can't see anything!!"

"Quickly report to Chief Steward Lu! Enemies have infiltrated the camp!"

"Poisoned! This hidden weapon is poisoned!!"

.......

Amidst the chaotic scene, Zhou Ping and Liu Chong stared at each other silently, one expressionless and the other with a fierce look of hatred in his eyes.

Zhou Ping once again drew his Azure Scale Sword and slashed at his opponent repeatedly. He knew there was no point in continuing the conversation, and his opponent wouldn't reveal any useful information to him.

Based on what the other party said, Zhou Ping was able to roughly deduce the ins and outs of the matter after a little thought, so he no longer hesitated and decisively took action.

The Three Flowers Gang and the Crimson Robe Society colluded to plot against the Illusionary Sea Deer. This person also happened to know the exact cause of death of Fire Toad and Green Serpent Gentleman, which means that the Crimson Robe Society had already learned about his demon-hunting trip with Qin Changqing and Gu Caiwei several months ago.

The only way the Crimson Robe Society could have known this information is through one thing: Gu Caiwei's senior sister, Wu Yingxue, who secretly found out all the three's actions from Gu Caiwei.

Given the other party's cunning and methods, it would be incredibly easy to extract information from the naive Gu Caiwei.

"It seems that it was when I sold the fox-crow spiritual materials at Wanbaoge that this woman took notice of me and aroused her suspicion. Otherwise, she wouldn't have thought of inquiring about Gu Caiwei's whereabouts."

Having figured all this out, Zhou Ping felt completely clear-headed, and even his mood relaxed considerably.

Ever since leaving Jiyun City, a dark cloud had been hanging over his heart, as if he were being watched.

Although I tried many times along the way and found no signs of being followed, I still had a sense of unease, like a fishbone stuck in my throat, making me restless.

Now that we know about the mastermind, although we can't do anything to them for the time being, at least we have a clear target to watch out for, and we no longer have to make wild guesses and live in fear like before.

With a few nimble movements, Zhou Ping dodged the attack from a round, dark brown magic artifact that his opponent had unleashed. Looking at the wisps of yellowish earth-attribute light swirling around the bead, he noticed a subtle, weighty, and steady aura emanating from it.

This round, bead-shaped magical artifact is clearly a mid-grade earth-attribute artifact. The magical energy emanating from it is not much weaker than the Azure Scale Sword in his hand.

The two exchanged blows for more than ten rounds, their emerald sword light and yellow glow flying and colliding back and forth in the arena. Every now and then, members of the Three Flowers Gang who wandered around and accidentally stumbled into the battlefield would be either cut in two or smashed to pieces, with blood, flesh and corpses flying everywhere in the battlefield where the two were fighting.

Many others, upon witnessing the magical techniques employed by the two during their fight, chose to discard their weapons and flee.

Most people here have witnessed the magical methods of the goddesses and have a certain understanding of cultivators.

Having witnessed Zhou Ping and Liu Chong's methods, they naturally dared not attempt a futile endeavor, like an egg trying to break a rock or a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

The two exchanged blows at an extremely fast pace, exchanging more than ten blows in just a few breaths. Zhou Ping had already summoned his dark round shield in front of him.

Liu Chong's round, bead-shaped magical artifact was extremely powerful. Every time it hit the defensive shield in front of him, it would make him feel short of breath and chest tightness. It was a powerful magical artifact with average speed but extremely strong destructive power.

Zhou Ping dared not be careless, and the dark round shield in front of him protected him tightly, giving the opponent no chance to take advantage.

As the number of matches between the two increased, their mentality on the court underwent some subtle changes.

First, Liu Chong, after his encounter with Zhou Ping, gradually became anxious.

The two were roughly equal in cultivation, but the other seemed to be slightly superior. After a fierce battle, his already greatly depleted magical power made him increasingly powerless. If this trend continued, he would inevitably fail and die.

On the other hand, Zhou Ping became more and more confident and composed as the fight progressed, and quickly adapted to the rhythm of the two combatants.

This battle not only tested his current combat skills, but also greatly boosted his confidence and made up for his long-standing insecurity due to a lack of real combat experience.

After Zhou Ping clashed with Liu Chong several more times, the latter finally noticed Liu Chong's anxious expression.

Zhou Ping seized the opportunity when his opponent was distracted by anxiety, and after taking the blow from the opponent's spherical magic weapon, he took advantage of the opponent's weakened magic power and paused slightly. Suddenly, he unleashed an extremely strong counter-force under his feet, and his physical strength as a mid-stage body refiner suddenly burst out. His movement speed was more than 70-80% faster. After leaving an afterimage, he suddenly disappeared from Liu Chong's sight.

"Oops!"

Liu Chong was terrified by Zhou Ping's ghostly movements. When he suddenly saw the other party disappear right before his eyes, his heart pounded wildly.

He hurriedly used his silver shield to block the incoming Azure Scale Sword, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a blurry figure suddenly appearing on the other side of his wide-open front.

Then, a crimson hammer wreathed in raging flames was seen being grabbed by someone's bare hands and slammed down fiercely towards him, who was unable to dodge in time.

"Take this!!"

A furious roar, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, exploded in Liu Chong's ears, causing his soul to tremble. Then, amidst a sharp pain, he fell into eternal darkness.

"Unexpectedly, he ended up dying under his brother's Light-Splitting Hammer. It's truly a tragic end..."

These were the last words that flashed through Liu Chongsheng's mind before he died. Then everyone saw that one of the two immortal figures who had just been fighting back and forth suddenly had his brains explode and was instantly killed on the spot by the other person who was wielding a fiery red hammer.