Su Ping, having launched later, appeared behind the black mist unexpectedly.
The air around inevitably began to fluctuate.
The black mist abruptly halted outside the window, seemingly aware of something, and the vague human face tried to turn backwards.
However!
Su Ping had already mastered the real combat essence of a Grandmaster Martial Artist.
He wasted no time in talking or idling.
Once he caught up with the black mist, he simultaneously threw six Thunder Fire Pearls!
The face under the black mist could only turn halfway…
Boom, boom, boom!
The Thunder Fire Pearls had already exploded upon it!
Apparently fearing that the power of the Thunder Fire Pearls would be weakened by the black mist and not achieve a fatal blow,
the moment he threw them, Su Ping had already drawn his Red Flame Wood Sword, delivering a full-strength attack bolstered by the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation!
A sword light descended from the sky, tearing through half the night sky, stunning the patrol teams around and the City Lord who was up drinking with his wife in a tall building unable to sleep.
The City Lord widened his eyes at the fierce trail of the sword light, tremblingly set down his wine bottle,
"Are Immortal Masters at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation so powerful now? Such a strike would have required at least the Middle Period of Qi Cultivation in the past!"
"Or is it that, the Inspector has broken through his bottleneck here in Golden Sparrow City?"
In the backyard, outside the wing room.
With the assistance of the Spiritual Rat, Grey, Su Ping confirmed that the black mist had dissipated and then slowly landed.
He did not approach immediately but first sent Grey to jump up and check.
Under the dust from the explosion, the black mist had dispersed, revealing a ragged old man's corpse, barely recognizable as human.
Su Ping took a deep breath, relieved that the power of the Thunder Fire Pearls seemed to be too much for these Low Tier cultivators to withstand!
Yet a faint sense of amazement stirred in his heart.
As the black mist dispersed, and Grey approached, it could sense that something was still hidden inside the battered old man's body.
And on his chest lay a storage bag, was it not?
Thinking this, and once again certain the fellow was thoroughly dead,
Su Ping picked up the corpse and told the crowd who had run out due to the loud noise,
"Just an Evil Cultivator trying to cause trouble, and I happened to kill him on the way."
"I'll check if there's anything unusual about the opponent. Everyone go back to sleep and remember, no going out!"
Backed by the authority of having killed an Evil Cultivator and the recent loud noise.
Su Ping's words gained extra persuasive force, prompting the onlookers to hurriedly retreat back into their rooms.
Su Ping then ignored the arriving forces from the City Lord Mansion and carried the corpse back to his quiet room.
In the quiet room.
Su Ping first meditated to recover the mana exhausted by that recent sword strike.
Then he looked at the remains.
This was the first time he, as a cultivator, was about to search a body.
There was no choice, Su Ping's cultivation had been too weak before; during his early period of Qi Cultivation, he hadn't had the confidence to take on combat missions from the Merit and Demerit Hall.
He first felt out the storage bag, hmm… it was the same model as his own.
So there was no need for any unlocking process.
This kind of storage bag, just like a wallet, could be opened by anyone who held it.
"Only two Spirit Stones? He's even poorer than me!"
"Hmm? 'Essential Texts for Immortal Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Chapter'?"
Su Ping took out a wooden box and was taken aback by the cover.
This was one of the best-selling books in the Hundred Arts Workshop of the Immortal Sect market.
It was a bit pricey, and Su Ping had hesitated to buy it.
Moreover, studying from a book rather than a Jade Scroll was less efficient and more difficult, demanding a higher threshold of talent.
Opening the wooden box, Su Ping looked at the book inside:
"Common Questions and Answers from Early to Late Period of Qi Cultivation"
"Sufficient Food and Clothing by Oneself - Talisman Chapter"
"How to Identify Common Spiritual Medicines and Spiritual Objects"
"Sufficient Food and Clothing by Oneself - Refining Chapter"
Su Ping gazed at the four books, and after a brief pause, he suddenly looked back at the corpse.
"There's something off about this corpse's identity!"
"An evil cultivator among loose cultivators couldn't possibly be this wealthy!"
Although Su Ping's words were harsh, they reflected the reality of this Immortal Sect Territory.
Those with good spirit roots generally went to the Immortal Sect. As for those who slipped through, they were picked up by various Immortal Cultivation families.
The ones who ended up as loose cultivators each had their shortcomings and sorrows.
Their cultivation was merely at the first and second layer of Qi Cultivation, still at the phase of being exploited to the limit.
Even if they turned to evil cultivation, they wouldn't earn enough spirit stones to buy these books!
"So, here comes the truth!"
"This person was most likely an Outer Sect disciple, just like me!"
"It's just unknown what he encountered that turned him into this state, and why he attempted to ambush other qualified disciples!"
Su Ping's eyes involuntarily moved to the man's wrist.
Well, this person had both arms missing from the forearm, making it impossible to see the Immortal Sect mark.
Su Ping continued his search and found a Jade Scroll hidden deep on the person.
This Jade Scroll was wrapped in a black aura that could only be seen by the Spiritual Rat.
This made Su Ping cautious. He did not hesitate to put it back into the newly acquired storage bag.
For the time being, Su Ping had no intention of messing with this Jade Scroll.
Then Su Ping sighed, raised his hands towards the corpse, and performed a salute:
"I don't know who you really are or why you turned out this way."
"Considering we might have been sect members together, I will chant the Rebirth Mantra for you!"
As Su Ping quietly chanted,
White, following Su Ping's instructions, took out a Netherfire Technique Bottle, opened it, and poured the liquid over the corpse.
Then with a puff, it ignited!
The high-temperature flame, capable of melting steel, immediately turned the corpse into black charcoal and eventually reduced it to a small heap of incombustibles.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Taoist Friend, now you don't need to worry about your body being misused."
"No one will know you were once an evil cultivator."
"Consider this a token of appreciation for the books you left behind. There is no need to thank me from beyond the grave."
With this task done, Su Ping was quite satisfied. After bidding farewell to the unnamed Taoist Friend, he began to read the books.
Unlike reading miscellaneous books and mortal martial arts,
books related to cultivator knowledge needed to be read word by word, understood one at a time.
Because the text in these scrolls wasn't ordinary text but a type of magical script.
Each word, when slowly read, would form a vivid comic strip in the viewer's mind.
However, prolonged reading could drain essence, energy, and spirit, which is why normal Qi Cultivation early period disciples couldn't read for long and needed to rest and adjust their condition frequently.
This was one reason why this method was inferior to using Jade Scrolls.
But Su Ping chose to consciously rely on external help!
Life Spirit Medicine in his left hand, Mana Spirit Medicine in his right.
Drained of essence, energy, and spirit and unable to continue reading?
That wasn't an issue, for with Su Ping's current cultivation at the Fourth Layer, he only needed a tiny dose to be fully revitalized!
Plus, he could take advantage of the effective duration to maximize his reading efficiency!
"I can read ten times more efficiently than others."
"But this talent..."
"It's always like my mind gets it, but my hands protest saying they don't."
"However, the content of the Qi Cultivation chapter is still within my comprehension. If I read it a few more times and experiment a bit more,"
"Perhaps, I too can learn a few skills to achieve self-sufficiency and truly live off the land!"