"Tian Mo, how are you? Are you all alright?" After dealing with all the black-clad men, Xiao Chen quickly approached Tian Mo and the others. At a glance, only a dozen or so people were left.
"Brother Xiao Chen, thank you, thank you for saving my clansmen!" Tian Mo said gratefully, bowing his head. Tears filled with endless sorrow flowed down his face.
"Young man, thank you, thank you for saving us. Without you, our Nei Gu Clan would have been wiped out!" an old woman also said tearfully, full of gratitude.
"Tian Mo, stay strong!" Xiao Chen said with a smile. He then looked at the old woman and asked, "Granny, what happened? Why did Shadow attack your village?"
"Sigh! They came for the recipe of our Nei Gu Clan. For the recipe, they even killed the clan leader," the old woman said sadly, tears streaming down her face.
"Recipe? What kind of recipe would make Shadow attack your village?" Xiao Chen asked curiously. What recipe could a small village have that would attract the attention of Shadow?
The ancient white tiger flew over, startling the dozen or so survivors, who looked at it in terror.
Xiao Chen quickly reassured them, "Haha, don't be afraid. It's a friend of humans and won't harm you. It's called Little White Tiger."
"Hello, Little White Tiger!" Tian Mo greeted the ancient white tiger timidly, and the tiger happily flapped its wings in response.
Seeing that the white tiger understood human language, they relaxed a bit. The old woman then explained, "Our Nei Gu Clan has a recipe for brewing wine that has been passed down through generations. The wine can enhance true essence, but our clan's physique is not suitable for cultivation, so we can't improve our cultivation levels. Our clan is weak, and we rely on selling this wine to sustain our lives. Eventually, others took notice, and many came after us, but we managed to fend them off. However, Shadow's strength was too great for us to handle."
"Wine that enhances true essence?" Xiao Chen was surprised. He had never thought that drinking wine could enhance true essence.
Tian Mo quickly took a small gourd from his waist and handed it to Xiao Chen, saying, "Brother Xiao Chen, this is the wine, brewed with Xuanling grass, Sansheng grass, and... various other herbs. Try it."
"Tian Mo!" the old woman scolded softly, not fully trusting Xiao Chen. After all, they didn't know him, and their recent experiences made them wary.
Understanding the old woman's concerns, Xiao Chen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Haha, no need. The Nei Gu Clan shouldn't stay here any longer. That guy already sent out the message, so you should leave quickly."
"Brother Xiao Chen, thank you so much for saving our clan," a middle-aged man said gratefully with a smile.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The others also expressed their gratitude.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and said, "No need to thank me. It was just a small effort. Now, time is short, so you should go."
"Goodbye, Brother Xiao Chen!" Tian Mo said, waving at Xiao Chen.
"Xiao Chen, they're being too cautious, aren't they? We saved them, yet they still don't fully trust us," the ancient white tiger complained.
"Forget it. They're pitiful too. They've lost so many people, so it's natural for them to be wary," Xiao Chen said, not minding.
"This guy's storage ring has quite a few crystals, over a thousand of them. They were probably stolen too," Xiao Chen said with a smile, examining the leader's storage ring and finding a lot of loot.
Xiao Chen took out an old yellow paper from the storage ring. After reading it, he said, "Isn't this the recipe for Xuanling wine that Tian Mo mentioned? Haha, this will be useful."
"Xiao Chen, do you know how to brew wine?" the ancient white tiger asked curiously.
"No."
"Then why do you need the recipe?"
"I can't, but the Xiao family can. This is a great fortune. However, it feels uneasy to take someone else's recipe," Xiao Chen said with a wry smile but eventually kept the recipe and the treasures from the leader's storage ring.
"Xiao Chen, you must understand that if you hadn't saved them, their clan would be extinct. What's wrong with taking their recipe?" the ancient white tiger said, flapping its wings indifferently.
"Build my own strength?" Looking at the leader's corpse, Xiao Chen recalled the leader's previous words and muttered to himself.
"Xiao Chen, someone is coming. They should be from Shadow!" the ancient white tiger suddenly sensed human presence approaching and immediately entered the storage ring.
Xiao Chen slowly stood up, looking in the direction of the approaching presence. He also sensed it and sneered, "They're coming fast! But unfortunately, they're just ants."
"Xiao Chen, Shadow is quite strong. There are so many Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. I killed seven just now, and you killed two. That's nine. Now eleven more are coming, along with a bunch of ants," the ancient white tiger transmitted.
"Shadow's methods are too cruel. I must eliminate them, or more clans like the Nei Gu clan will be destroyed!" Xiao Chen said coldly, his eyes filled with intense killing intent.
"Shhh!"
Two minutes later, dozens of figures appeared, all dressed in black and wearing black masks, quickly surrounding Xiao Chen.
The black-clad leader glanced at the dead leader, then at Xiao Chen, and said coldly, "This kid killed the second-in-command. Attack!"
"Didn't the second-in-command's message tell you about my strength? Your boss just sent you all to die? He's too scared to come himself?" Xiao Chen said coldly, his intimidating gaze sweeping over the black-clad men.
"To kill a kid like you, our boss doesn't need to come. Brothers, kill him!" the black-clad leader ordered, swinging his saber, and dozens of black-clad men swarmed towards Xiao Chen.
"Little White Tiger, looks like we're in for a massacre!" Xiao Chen said coldly, quickly drawing his divine sword and charging forward.
"Hmph! Such big words..." the black-clad leader sneered, but his words were cut short.
Xiao Chen had appeared before him, his divine sword already piercing the leader's heart.
Xiao Chen said coldly, "Focus during battle. Talking too much can cost you your life!"
"How is this possible..." The leader's eyes were filled with fear and unwillingness as he fell.
"Kill him!" The other Foundation Establishment stage black-clad men roared in anger.
"Roar!"
The ancient white tiger emerged from the storage ring as a white mist, roaring fiercely. With a flap of its wings, its massive body lunged at the black-clad men.
"What? What is this monster? A demon beast?" A black-clad man exclaimed in terror.
"Shhh!"
"Bang!"
The ancient white tiger's claw struck down fiercely, leaving deep gashes on a black-clad man, killing him instantly. Simultaneously, its tail swept out quickly, sending another black-clad man flying with a muffled bang, rolling several times on the ground.
"Ghost Shadow Divine Art!" Not wanting to waste time on these ants, Xiao Chen immediately used his movement technique, stepping on the air and shooting forward rapidly.
"Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!"
His figure moved like a ghost among the dozen or so black-clad men, sword shadows flashing. As blood sprayed, in the blink of an eye, the dozen or so black-clad men were all killed by Xiao Chen with a single strike to the throat, falling down swiftly. His movements were clean and efficient, showcasing his skilled swordsmanship.
"Incredible! How is this possible?" Seeing Xiao Chen's ruthless methods, a black-clad man trembled in fear.
"Even Foundation Establishment stage cultivators were killed by him in one strike. This kid's strength is terrifying!" Another black-clad man said in disbelief.
"Little White Tiger!" Xiao Chen shouted, quickly charging at the remaining dozen or so black-clad men.
"Roar!"
Understanding Xiao Chen's intent, the ancient white tiger roared, flapping its wings rapidly, sending a gust of wind that blew the dozen or so black-clad men away.
"Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!"
Xiao Chen stepped on the air, charging at the flying black-clad men. His figure turned into a series of black lines, moving like a ghost. His divine sword mercilessly reaped lives with swift, precise, and deadly strikes to the throat.
"Beautiful!" Seeing Xiao Chen perfectly slaughter the dozen or so black-clad men in mid-air, the ancient white tiger couldn't help but praise.
"What? A demon beast... that can talk?" A heavily injured black-clad man exclaimed in horror, his voice trembling.
This black-clad man was intentionally left alive by the ancient white tiger, who only used its tail to inflict serious injuries, as they needed information from him.
"Little White Tiger, well done. Leave one alive for questioning!" Xiao Chen said, flashing over and praising the ancient white tiger. They even high-fived each other.
"Of course!" The ancient white tiger replied proudly.
Seeing Xiao Chen approach, the black-clad man immediately begged for mercy in terror, "Don't... don't kill me! Please! Don't kill me! I'll... I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"Tell me, where is Shadow's lair exactly?" Xiao Chen asked coldly, his intimidating gaze sweeping over the black-clad man, who trembled in fear.
"I... I'll tell you, but you have to let me go!" the black-clad man said in terror, feeling the fear of death for the first time.
Xiao Chen said coldly, "You are not in a position to negotiate with me. Speak quickly! Otherwise, I'll kill you right now!"
The black-clad man, trembling with fear, hurriedly replied, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! It's... it's in a small valley south of Qiushui Town."
"Shh!"
After getting the information, Xiao Chen mercilessly slashed with his sword, saying coldly, "Idiot! You no longer have the right to live! Little White Tiger, let's go and destroy Shadow!"