Fan Jiushe had no intention of killing Ye Kong with a single strike. His objective was the spiritual energy stored in Ye Kong’s qi sea. For a Qi Refinement cultivator who had neither formed a golden core nor a nascent soul, the moment they died, all the spiritual energy in their qi sea would immediately dissipate into nothing.

Fan Jiushe would never do something that harmed others without benefiting himself. He had already planned his strategy. Standing in the grass, his thick lips moved as he silently recited the incantation for “Quicksand Technique,” his five fingers forming hand seals and pointing toward Ye Kong.

Fan Jiushe’s plan was perfect – cast Quicksand Technique on Ye Kong, trap his body in the earth, immobilize him, then stop.

But at the critical moment, Fan Jiushe suddenly discovered that the seemingly foolish boy had abruptly dropped his dried meat, turned around, and gave him a mocking smile, as if he had seen through his intentions all along.

Forget him! Continue! Just one more line of the incantation to complete it! Fan Jiushe thought.

But how could Ye Kong let him continue? He’d been playing dumb for ages precisely to lower his opponent’s guard and find an opportunity.

Ye Kong moved the instant he decided to act, giving his opponent no time to think. He grabbed a huge handful of talismans from his sleeve and flung them over. He didn’t even know if paper talismans worked on cultivators, but they were currently his only means of attack.

Blinding Talismans, Unstoppable-Bleeding Talismans, Spirit-Calming Talismans, even Fetus-Protection Talismans – dozens of talismans burst into flames mid-air, burning as they flew straight at Fan Jiushe’s face. Their effectiveness was unknown, but the visual spectacle was certainly impressive.

Fan Jiushe didn’t know what kind of spell this was. Startled, he thought that even if these were just basic Fireball Techniques, they could still burn him to ash.

Actually, the Quicksand Technique only needed one more line to complete. But if he finished it, those talismans would arrive at the same time. Fan Jiushe wasn’t stupid enough to trade his life for his opponent’s. He stopped reciting mid-incantation and forcibly dodged aside.

“Ugh!” Having failed to release the Quicksand Technique, Fan Jiushe suffered spiritual energy backlash. A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his mouth.

“You little bastard, so you’ve been playing dumb this whole time!” Fan Jiushe stared [noodles]at Ye Kong with malicious eyes, blood streaking his teeth in a shocking sight.

Ye Kong sneered coldly. “I deceived you, you deceived me – we’re even. Actually, I don’t want to fight you to the death. There’s no deep hatred between us, is there? Why not bury the hatchet? I’m not confident I can kill you, and you’re not confident you can kill me either. How about we shake hands and make peace? We’ll coexist peacefully, non-aggression, five principles, shake hands and be good friends.”

“Haha, you wish.” Fan Jiushe laughed loudly, his face twisted. “Let me tell you something – the cultivation technique I practice uses others as furnace cauldrons. If I let you go, where would I get my breakthrough!”

“Are you really confident you can kill me?” Ye Kong asked. Then he continued, “Oh, Brother Fan, I forgot to tell you – before I left, I had the Lu brothers take people to capture your brother, your wife, your son, and your father back in your old home in the neighboring county. It’s been so long now, I think… they should have caught them all by now, right?”

Ye Kong spoke in a flat tone, devoid of any emotion. “I also told them that if I don’t return by nightfall, they should send them on their way. Mm, kill them from youngest to oldest. What do you think of that arrangement, Brother Fan?”

“You’re so despicable!” Fan Jiushe forced the words through clenched teeth.

He hadn’t expected this teenage boy to be so ruthless, capturing the entire Fan household while they were out of the city.

Ye Kong clasped his hands behind his back and smiled. “I’m a street thug to begin with – using these kinds of underhanded tactics is perfectly natural. You probably don’t know just how arrogant those masters and vicious servants at the Ye Manor used to be. But now when they see me, which one dares not respectfully call me Eighth Young Master? I don’t provoke others – that alone is a blessing. Since you didn’t understand my character, how about we both stop now and head back to the city, pretend nothing happened. How’s that?”

Fan Jiushe’s eyes flickered uncertainly. He’d always used this trick to threaten others – he never expected someone would kidnap his own family.

“Hahaha…” Fan Jiushe suddenly threw his head back and laughed. “Boy! You think I’m that easy to fool? You think the Dragon-Snake Gang is that easy to breach? Just with a few street thugs under the Lu brothers?”

“No, no, no, of course not!” Ye Kong waved his finger. “Going with the Lu brothers were my Ye family guards, plus people who can also turn invisible. Do you think that’s enough?”

“Too clever for your own good – smart kids don’t live long!” Fan Jiushe glared at Ye Kong furiously. He hadn’t expected to spend his whole life scheming only to be deceived by this child in the end.

“That’s not for you to worry about. So, what’s it going to [unauthorized copy]be? Have you decided?” Ye Kong asked.

Fan Jiushe’s expression eased as he smiled bitterly. “My parents, elder brother, wife, and children are all in your hands. What choice do I have?”

“Haha, then let’s head back to the city.” Ye Kong smiled and walked over.

“Haha, let’s go then.” Fan Jiushe also walked forward to meet him.

But just as both men displayed harmless smiles, as if by prior agreement, they simultaneously launched their attacks.

Ye Kong once again threw out a large handful of talismans, while Fan Jiushe swung both palms repeatedly, firing several fireballs at Ye Kong.

Using Shadow Dance, Ye Kong easily dodged the fireballs and sneered. “So you really don’t care about your family’s lives after all.”

Fan Jiushe laughed heartily. “And you really had no intention of letting me go either.”

“Then eat a few more talismans!”

Fan Jiushe laughed even harder. Earlier he’d carelessly been hit by two talismans and discovered they were completely useless. All he needed to do was circulate his spiritual power through his body once, and all the abnormal effects immediately disappeared.

“This Fan will take your hits head-on! Can’t use spells? Hmph, such petty tricks are nothing to worry about!”

After speaking, his short, stout body stood immovable like a mountain, letting the talismans strike his body and explode into balls of flame.

“Haha, you think this can hurt me?” Fan Jiushe laughed heartily, but suddenly felt stolen content a sharp pain in his chest.

Looking down, he saw a dagger glowing with an eerie blue light had pierced straight into his chest. Blood seeped out, staining his clothes black.

“How does Five Poison Grass taste?” Ye Kong chuckled coldly. When he’d thrown the talismans earlier, he’d also hidden the Poison-Drenched Dagger among them.

“I’ve been tricked again!” Fan Jiushe yanked out the dagger through clenched teeth and slapped his storage pouch, swallowing something unknown.

If at the beginning Fan Jiushe had only wanted to capture Ye Kong alive, now he was intent on killing him. Even if he couldn’t absorb this brat’s cultivation, he absolutely had to kill him. This level of cunning and ruthlessness made even Fan Jiushe feel threatened.

“Let me show you the power of a lower mid-grade spirit talisman! Fire – Bird – Technique!”

Fan Jiushe’s eyes had turned red with rage. He threw out his secret weapon – this Fire Bird Technique talisman he’d bought at the cultivator’s market years ago for twenty spirit stones. He was too reluctant to use it except in critical moments.

This lower mid-grade spirit talisman was truly powerful. One hundred and eight firebirds materialized out of thin air, screeching fiercely like vicious birds just released from captivity, blotting out the sky as they charged toward Ye Kong.

“Shit!” Ye Kong’s heart jumped in alarm. He hadn’t expected Fan Jiushe to possess such a terrifyingly powerful spirit talisman.

He quickly dodged, but those flame-formed firebirds actually paused in mid-air, then screeched in unison and changed direction to shoot toward Ye Kong.

“Damn it, they even have tracking!” Ye Kong knew he was in real danger now. This was the most dangerous moment since arriving on the Cangnan Continent. One hundred and eight firebirds – getting touched by even one would burn him to nothing but bones.

Ye Kong sprinted madly toward the tree line, hoping to use the trees as cover to wear down some of the firebirds.

But those firebirds were like meteors, their speed astonishingly fast. Ye Kong could hear the shrill cries [noodles]getting closer and closer behind him. Before he could even reach the forest, the firebirds had already caught up…

“Damn it, if I’m going to die, then I’ll die!” Knowing escape was impossible, Ye Kong simply closed his eyes.

But with his eyes closed, the firebirds’ cries became even clearer. The calls seemed both ordered and chaotic. The screeches of one hundred and eight firebirds merged together like an incomparably complex chorus, rising and falling, surging with sonic waves.

Rhythm!

Two words suddenly appeared in Ye Kong’s mind. That’s right – even these firebirds’ cries had rhythm. If there was rhythm, there were blank spaces. Even the densest frequency had gaps between.

At this life-or-death moment, Ye Kong suddenly grasped the Way of Rhythm. He shot upward like a dragon emerging from the sea, his mind filled only with the firebirds’ rhythm, his body moving with Shadow Dance movements – flipping, leaping…

In that moment, Ye Kong had forgotten himself. He forgot he was a person, becoming like a feather in the sky with no weight, no direction, simply spinning with the breeze. Or like a small boat drifting in raging waves – no matter how fierce the wind and waves, as long as he rode the wave crests, he would forever keep the storm beneath his feet.

Fan Jiushe’s eyes blurred watching. He saw Ye Kong sometimes jumping, sometimes running, weaving back and forth among the flock of firebirds. And those firebirds acted like his domesticated pets, flying around him but never hitting him.

“Boom!” The Fire Bird Technique’s spiritual energy dispersed completely. In an instant, the firebirds transformed into a ball of smoke and vanished into the air.

Yet Ye Kong stood unharmed in the center of the grassland.

“Even the Fire Bird Technique can’t hurt him!” Fan Jiushe looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He turned and ran toward the horses tied at the forest edge.

“Want to flee now? No way!” Ye Kong roared and shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, cleaving through the air. His fist struck out fiercely. Although he didn’t know spells, his punch packed quite a force.

“Bang!”

With a tremendous sound, Fan Jiushe was sent flying. However, he was unharmed. Meanwhile, Ye Kong, who’d thrown the punch, gritted his teeth in pain – his right fist was a bloody mess.

Looking at Fan Jiushe again, he saw the man’s entire body radiating golden light. The light was like a thin layer of mist enveloping him, even making his face somewhat blurry.

“Haha, you can’t kill me. How about we make peace now? Didn’t you say earlier we should shake hands and be good friends?” Fan Jiushe climbed up from the ground and spoke.

Ye Kong applied a Bleeding-Halt Talisman to himself and stared coldly at Fan Jiushe. “Make peace? You wish! You’ve really pissed me off now!”

“Then what do you plan to do? Can you break through my Golden Light Body Protection Technique? You can’t even use spells, boy.” Fan Jiushe taunted.

“Can’t break it, but…” Ye Kong paused, then continued, “I can hold you here and see how long your golden light can last!” He smiled wickedly. “At the very least, I’ll hold you until nightfall. Your whole family, dead!”

Fan Jiushe’s weak point had been hit. He roared furiously, “I’ll fight you to the death!”

He charged forward, relying on his Golden Light Body Protection to throw punches wildly at Ye Kong.

Ye Kong didn’t bother engaging him, just dodged. He’d avoided even the flock of firebirds – how much harder could Fan Jiushe’s fists be?

Finding his punches ineffective, Fan Jiushe turned to leave. But Ye Kong immediately gave chase, picking up random rocks and fiercely pelting the back of Fan Jiushe’s head.

Fan Jiushe cursed inwardly. He’d originally been at Qi Refinement Layer 3 with already weak spiritual power. Maintaining this Golden Light Body Protection Technique was extremely taxing. Getting hit by rocks made his spiritual energy drain even more frantically. If he let Ye Kong keep hitting him from behind, he probably couldn’t last even the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

“Screw your mother!” While maintaining his Golden Light noodlesBody Protection, Fan Jiushe split off some spiritual energy to fire a Fireball Technique.

The fireball blocked Ye Kong momentarily. Fan Jiushe took the opportunity to leap onto his horse. Ye Kong snorted and pulled out a Spirit-Calming Talisman, throwing it with perfect accuracy to stick on the horse’s forehead.

“Boom!” Fan Jiushe and the horse crashed down together. Not knowing he just needed to peel off the talisman, he thought the horse was dead. He had no choice but to go for the other horse.

Ye Kong had anticipated this. Another Spirit-Calming Talisman, and the other horse toppled over as well.

“Must you really push things to the bitter end? Leave others a way out – you never know when you’ll need one yourself!” Fan Jiushe, unable to escape, snapped angrily.

Ye Kong sneered disdainfully. “Leave others a way out? You’re just now realizing this? Where were you before? Let me tell you! My character is – either don’t do it at all, or do it completely!”

“Then just you wait!” Fan Jiushe snorted angrily and with a wave of his sleeve, sat cross-legged on the grass. His other hand reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a handful of colorful spirit stones to replenish his spiritual energy.