Plop!
The masked man with a bloody hole between his eyebrows fell to the ground with a dull thud. He was instantly dead.
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
What happened? Why did someone suddenly fall to the ground and die?
Among them, Steward Zhang's eyes widened in shock.
He had just seen the wisp of golden light that shot out from Chen An's finger and recognized that this was the second realm of the Goldfinger—Golden Light Release!
But how was this possible!
The 'Goldfinger' spell was famous for being difficult to practice.
It would take at least a few decades for ordinary Cultivators to refine to reach the second realm of Golden Light Release.
The price-performance ratio was extremely low. No one would practice it at all.
Otherwise, no matter what, it was still a spell. How could it be sold for only 100 low-grade spirit stones?
The question was, how did Chen An, a mere fourth level Qi Refining Stage Cultivator, manage to cultivate the 'Goldfinger' to the second realm in such a short period of time?
What the hell!
Steward Zhang could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought about it. His face was filled with doubt.
Buzz!
The sound of a blade scraping against the air could be heard.
Just as everyone was distracted, the masked man with a cultivation of the seventh level of Qi Refining Realm from the Black Iron Villa launched a sneak attack without any morals. He suddenly slashed at Steward Zhang's head.
Fortunately, Steward Zhang's reaction was outstanding. He immediately turned his body to the side and dodged this fatal slash.
However, he did not dodge completely. His right shoulder was cut open, and blood instantly seeped out, soaking a large area of his clothes.
After failing his sneak attack, the masked man at the seventh level of Qi Refining immediately distanced himself from Steward Zhang. He was afraid that the other party would find an opportunity to counterattack, so he was very careful.
Then, he shouted at his low-level companions on the other side of the carriage:
"What are you waiting for? Let's end this quickly!"
With this sudden roar, the masked men, who had been intimidated by Chen An's golden light, immediately charged at Chen An with their sabers.
However, they had only taken a few steps when they suddenly felt their entire body become soft and weak. They looked like they were about to collapse.
An experienced masked man immediately realized that he had been poisoned!
"Quick, take the antidote…"
"…Pfft!"
The masked man was just about to warn his companions when his head was blasted open by a golden light that shot over halfway through his sentence. He fell to the ground with a plop.
"Pfft… Pfft… Pfft!"
A series of dull sounds rang out.
All the poisoned masked men were accurately shot in the head by a golden light and instantly died.
These masked men who had been killed by headshots did not have high cultivation levels.
Apart from one Cultivator who was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, the rest were all at the bottom of the third or fourth level.
With the Soft Bone Powder in his body, he was completely unable to retaliate against Chen An's golden light attack. He could only die unwillingly on the spot.
"Steward Zhang, let me help you!"
Chen An shouted, but he did not step forward to join the battle. Instead, he continued to stay where he was and provide long-range support. He used the golden light to assist Steward Zhang in killing the other party.
Steward Zhang was originally at a disadvantage and had been passively defending.
With Chen An's support, the situation was instantly turned around.
Thus, he began to take the initiative to attack, his fighting style extremely aggressive.
The remaining masked man knew that the situation was hopeless, so he did not continue to tangle with the two of them. He retreated as he fought by the roadside, planning to retreat.
How could Chen An allow the other party to do as he wished?
He could not sleep well at night after letting the tiger return to the mountain.
Hence, he immediately jumped down from the carriage and took the risk to chase after the masked man who was constantly retreating, vowing to kill him here.
Steward Zhang had the same thought. He chased after them relentlessly and beat them up.
Chen An was in charge of long-range support, while Steward Zhang was in charge of close combat. The two of them worked together to beat the masked man, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, into a sorry state.
However, no matter how pathetic he was, the masked man had no intention of counterattacking.
He just kept defending and retreating.
It was not until the next second when his mask was shot down by a golden light and his true appearance was revealed that he suddenly stopped running.
Chen An glanced at the other party. It was a middle-aged man in his forties. He didn't know him.
"Steward Ouyang, why is it you?!"
After seeing the masked man's true appearance, Steward Zhang's face was filled with shock.
This masked man, whom he had always thought was a Cultivator of Black Iron Villa, was actually a member of the Bamboo Leaf Gang!
Moreover, he was the manager of another cheap district and was considered his colleague!
Did the other party want to do something bad to slander the Cultivators of the Black Iron Manor, or was the other party a spy planted by the Black Iron Manor?
Steward Zhang had a myriad of thoughts in his mind, but he still couldn't figure it out. He could only ask bluntly, "Steward Ouyang, what exactly is going on?"
Steward Ouyang ignored him and silently took out a scarlet pill from his chest pocket and threw it into his mouth.
It was the Scarlet Blood Pill!
It was a medicine that could increase one's cultivation in a short period of time but would damage one's foundation in the future!
Steward Zhang recognized this evil medicine and immediately swung his sword at Steward Ouyang.
The other party was willing to damage his foundation in order to increase his temporary strength in a short period of time. Other than wanting to silence him, what else could this be?
He had to kill the other party before the medicinal effect took effect. Otherwise, he would be in big trouble.
"Clang—"
Steward Zhang swung his sword, but it was easily blocked by the other party's saber.
Seeing this, Chen An did not watch the show. He crazily provided firepower support from afar and kept shooting golden light at Steward Ouyang.
Unfortunately, the other party dodged all of them.
Steward Ouyang's eyes were bloodshot and his muscles bulged. His aura suddenly soared.
His strength was already close to the eighth level of Qi Refining.
It was not something a low-level Cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refinement like him could deal with.
Buzz!
Suddenly, Steward Ouyang flashed in front of Chen An and punched him in the head. He wanted to get rid of this annoying fly first.
Chen An relied on the strength of his divine sense, which far exceeded that of ordinary Cultivators, to quickly react and dodge this fatal punch.
However, he only dodged the fatal blow and not the punch.
His head was spared, but his shoulder was grazed by the other party's fist.
Crack!
The sound was deafening in the quiet forest.
In the next second, Chen An was instantly sent flying and crashed into a patch of grass. It was unknown if he was dead or alive.
When Steward Zhang saw this, he immediately turned around and ran without saying a word, choosing to leave Chen An alone.
He had no confidence in defeating Steward Ouyang, who had increased his strength. He chose to leave first.
However, how could Steward Ouyang let him escape?
He couldn't care less about dealing with Chen An in the grass. He turned around and chased after Steward Zhang.
Steward Zhang's speed was not fast, and he caught up to him in an instant.
Seeing that he really couldn't escape, Steward Zhang immediately took out all the valuable things on him and said to Steward Ouyang:
"Steward Ouyang, this has nothing to do with me. I didn't see anything today. I hid 88 medium-grade spirit stones under the table in the office area of the cheaper district. Those are the savings I've accumulated over the past 30 years. I'll give them all to you now. It's enough for you to go back to Black Iron Manor and enjoy yourself for decades. There's no need to suffer losses with me here."
"I want the spirit stones. I want your life too."
With that said, Steward Ouyang charged over with all his might.
As an undercover agent of the Black Iron Manor, he had spent more than ten years climbing to his current position in the Bamboo Leaf Gang. How could he go back just like that?
Wouldn't that make his previous efforts all in vain?
In a few years, the Black Iron Manor would start an all-out war with the Bamboo Leaf Gang. At that time, he would need the identity of the Bamboo Leaf Forest Manager to help him complete some secret missions.
"In that case, let's die together!"
Steward Zhang's eyes were red as he gritted his teeth. He knew that the other party would not let him off today. He chose to counterattack to his death. Even if he died, he would drag the other party down with him.