Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Chen Xinhu ran very fast; it could be said that this was the first time in her life that she wished she had two more legs.

She used her agility to its fullest potential in the dense forest, twisting and turning left and right, specifically heading towards the densest part of the thorns.

Hopefully, the vines, withered branches, and pebbles along the way can slow down the person behind me and give me a chance to escape.

But it didn't work.

Yi Yang's senses were firmly locked onto her.

He unleashed the perfected movement technique of crossing rivers by skimming water, his powerful internal energy supporting his entire body.

Even if Chen Xinhu's movement skills were extremely high, she couldn't compete with Yi Yang under such circumstances, especially since her own movement skills were only average.

The gap between the two is narrowing at a visible rate.

Finally, when Chen Xinhu turned around for the third time, she saw the figure that was very close by, which made all the color drain from her face.

The old man in gray was hanging a few feet behind her, his steps seemingly unhurried, but she just couldn't shake him off, like a persistent, lingering affliction.

She understood that Yi Yang was just putting her on a leash.

This realization made Chen Xinhu grit her teeth in hatred; she, a notorious villain, had never suffered such humiliation.

But she had no choice; to survive, she could only desperately push forward, hoping to seize a sliver of hope.

But as they moved forward, the trees in front of them suddenly became sparse.

The soil beneath our feet has become loose, with more gravel, and the thickets of thorns have turned into low-lying grass.

Then—there was no road.

Chen Xinhu stopped in front of a large lake.

Before her lay a vast lake, its clear surface reflecting the shadows of fish and shrimp.

The great lake blocked her path; a dead end lay before her.

With no other option, Chen Xinhu turned around and looked behind her.

Yi Yang was already within five steps of her.

He held the Tiger's Roar sword horizontally at his side, the seventy-two-pound Black Fire Iron Blade still stained with Wu Jin's blood. When the wind blew, drops of blood slid down the blade.

Chen Xinhu's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

That biting sarcasm that was usually ingrained in his bones, that sense of superiority that was always ready to mock others, all turned into fear at this moment.

She looked into Yi Yang's eyes—what eyes they were!

Those eyes were eerily calm, devoid of anger or murderous intent; they simply gazed at her with utter tranquility.

It's like watching prey that's doomed.

"Bang—"

She threw the two short daggers on the ground, the sound of metal hitting stone echoing twice.

As soon as he dropped his weapon, his knees buckled and he knelt down.

The pain from her knee hitting the gravel sent a jolt through her brain, but she couldn't care less.

"Senior, please spare me... I shouldn't have come along..."

Her forehead was almost touching the ground, her fingers gripping the loose soil beneath her feet as she said in fear:

"My third brother forced me to come... I didn't want to come... I can give you anything, silver, pills, cultivation techniques, whatever you want, I'll give you..."

Seeing the villain in front of him begging for mercy, Yi Yang did not make any move.

He was familiar with the deeds of these six bandits. Although the six specifically targeted the Sky Patrol Bureau, aristocratic families, and sects, Chen Xinhu was an exception.

She liked to sneak into a village after each successful operation and target a random young family, especially one with children, brutally murdering the husband's wife and daughters in front of him.

The Sky Patrol Division has records of many instances of the other party taking action, and the brutality recorded in them even made Yi Yang want to kill Chen Xinhu after reading them!

Even without any real power, she is a twisted and perverted villain who doesn't deserve any sympathy!

Moreover, the fact that the other party wanted to attack him only compounded his crime.

capital offense!

Thinking of this, Yi Yang stood still, gripping the Tiger Roar sword in his right hand with the tip pointing downwards, watching Chen Xinhu kneel on the ground and cry out.

His face was expressionless.

Yi Yang didn't speak, but simply moved the Tiger Roar forward half an inch.

The undried blood on the blade reflected a dark red light in Chen Xinhu's eyes.

Yi Yang's actions made Chen Xinhu, who had been kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, understand.

The old man wasn't buying it; the other party was determined to kill him.

Knowing she had nowhere to retreat, Chen Xinhu stopped pretending to beg for mercy. She gritted her teeth, raised her head, and her voice suddenly changed from a sob to a sharp threat:

"If you kill me, my brother will never let you get away with it!"

"Moreover, my second brother, Qin Wuli, is about to break through to the True Qi Realm! Then we'll have two True Qi Realm cultivators! How can you, with only a third-level Inner Qi cultivator, possibly stop us?!"

She stared at Yi Yang's face, carefully observing every change in his expression, hoping to detect a trace of fear regarding his progress in True Qi cultivation. At the same time, her voice rose higher and higher as she roared:

"Let me go! I'll go back and plead with my brother to let you go!" "That's your only way out! Do you hear me?!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Yang's pupils dilated slightly as he recalled some information he had previously gathered.

Qin Wuli, whose inner energy was at the third level of perfection, was about to break through to the True Qi Realm.

He memorized this information.

But that's about it.

His expression remained unchanged, showing neither relaxation nor fear.

Yi Yang had had enough of the noise from the other party. Without hesitation or consideration, he did not even give Chen Xinhu a third chance to change his mind.

Point your toes forward.

Chen Xinhu's pupils suddenly contracted to their limit in that instant.

In a life-or-death situation, she was forced to reveal all her cards.

She certainly didn't intend to sit idly by and wait for her death. She flipped her right hand out from her sleeve, and with a flick of her wrist, three poisoned darts flew out of her hand.

The angle is tricky, blocking the top, middle, and bottom lanes, and the speed is extremely fast.

This is her trump card that has kept her alive until today.

But Yi Yang shifted half a step to the side before the dart touched his body.

A half-step, taken with minimal effort.

Three poisoned darts grazed his ear, side, and knee, the force of their tails brushing against his clothes and lifting a thread of fabric.

Embedded in the dead wood behind him.

The wood immediately developed black rot marks, which spread visibly from the tip of the dart outwards, like ink dripping into clear water.

The toxicity is so high that even a minor scratch can be fatal.

But Yi Yang did not stop for a moment.

Tiger roars and slashes horizontally.

The third move of the Nine Peaks Saber: Sharp Peak.

With a cunning angle specifically targeting the throat, the precision of the blade, honed to perfection, was flawless. The Black Fire Iron Blade traced an extremely short arc in the air, slicing into Chen Xinhu's neck from the side.

Her eyes were still wide open.

The lips remained open.

It's like there's one last sentence stuck in my throat.

But those words will never be spoken.

Chen Xinhu's body fell backward into the pile of rubble at the edge of the cliff. Blood flowed down from the severed neck, meandering down the cracks in the cliff face and disappearing into the bottomless abyss.

Yi Yang sheathed his sword.

He let out a sigh of relief.

With all three dead, the matter is temporarily over.

He stood there for a couple of breaths, listening to his surroundings. The only sound in the forest was the rustling of the wind through the leaves; there was no fourth presence, no ambush.

After confirming that it was safe, Yi Yang squatted down and began searching the body.

Chen Xinhu pulled out seven low-grade precious pills from his person, wrapped them in silk cloth and stuck them to his waist; a stack of silver notes was folded in a hidden pocket inside the lining, and after counting them, it amounted to 1,800 taels.

Two thumb-sized porcelain bottles, their mouths sealed with black wax—poison, which might come in handy; and finally, a jade pendant, exquisitely carved, which could be sold for several hundred taels of silver.

After finishing the search, Yi Yang turned back.

Wu Jin's body lay in the forest, broken in two. Six precious pills, two thousand taels of silver notes, and a pair of iron knuckles were found. The knuckles were stained with blood and rust, indicating that he had killed countless people.

Jiang Sha's headless corpse was found beside the official road, with four precious pills and 1,600 taels of silver notes on his body.

The black-sheathed longsword fell into the bushes. Yi Yang picked it up, pulled out half of it, and examined it. The quality was acceptable, but it was two levels worse than Tiger Roar. He then threw it away.

Everything was brought together.

Seventeen low-grade precious pills, five thousand four hundred taels of silver notes. Plus some miscellaneous items.

If each of the seventeen precious pills is calculated at 5,000 progress points, that's 85,000 points.

With over five thousand taels of silver converted into pills, the progress would be at most another twenty or thirty thousand, or even a hundred thousand. For a total of five hundred thousand internal energy level three cultivators, this would only be considered a gain.

The gangsters had been in business for seven years, and their wealth was definitely more than that, but these three probably didn't have much of value on them when they came out to carry out the hunt.

But Yi Yang didn't lose out either. He went out for a trip and made more than 5,000 taels of silver and 17 pills on the side, which was much more generous than the monthly tribute given by the Evening Glow Merchant Guild.

Yi Yang stopped hesitating, dragged the three corpses into the depths of the dense forest, and used Tiger Roar to dig a shallow pit to bury them with grass.

The bloodstains on the official road were covered with withered leaves and mud, and could not be recognized unless you looked closely.

After finishing these tasks, he patted the mud off his hands, led the strange beast horse, and set off again.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed rhythmically on the empty official road, gradually fading into the distance.

The woods behind us fell silent again.

……

Two days later, in the rear hall of Youquan Division in the prefectural city.

Liu Qing stood before the long sandalwood table, holding a thin booklet sealed with wax in her hand, which had been forwarded by the Punishment Department this morning.

Yan Wuyuan remained in a languid reclining position on the soft couch, her right hand supporting her chin, her left hand flipping through an old book, without even glancing at Liu Qing.

Liu Qing wasn't in a hurry. He unfolded the secret report and spoke in a calm tone, as if he were reading a menu.

"My lord, the Punishment Division received reports from the post stations along the route this morning."

"The body of Jiang Sha, the fifth of the six bandits, was found beside the official road. His neck was cleanly severed by a sharp blade, killing him with a single blow."

"After searching, his body was found, along with the bodies of the third brother, Wu Jin, and the fourth brother, Chen Xinhu."

"Wu Jin was cleaved from his left shoulder to his right waist by a single blow, while Chen Xinhu's neck was pierced through."

She closed the secret report and said in the same tone:

"All three were killed with a single blow. There were no signs of struggle at the scene, indicating that it was a one-sided killing due to an overwhelming difference in strength."

Hearing what his maid was saying, the sound of turning pages of an old book beside him stopped.