The sky remained clear and blue, with a few long strands of golden clouds stretched across the distant mountaintops.
"It's definitely here."
Within the secret ground, Xu Yang stood atop a high point, surveying his surroundings as the scenery gradually overlapped with his memories.
Back then, his little follower had established a powerful faction here—the Tianfeng Sect.
However, after many years, both the sect and that little follower had faded away in the river of time.
"Wait." Suddenly, Xu Yang sensed something, and a smile appeared on his face as he turned to look at Ling Qingshu.
"You just learned a new sword technique; how about I give you a treasure sword?"
Ling Qingshu looked at Xu Yang with delight. "Yes!"
"Good, then let's go get it," Xu Yang said, darting quickly in a particular direction. Ling Qingshu followed close behind him.
In its prime, the Tianfeng Sect had a treasured sword called the Fang Tian Sword, the key to the sect's protective formation, hidden in the heart of the ice-capped mountain at the center of the secret ground.
Just now, Xu Yang had detected a faint fluctuation from the formation.
Though the formation had weakened, it hadn't completely collapsed! And the core of the formation, the Fang Tian Sword, was still there.
In the past, during the height of the Tianlan Sect, swords of Fang Tian's caliber were plentiful.
But now that the Tianlan Sect had declined, Ling Qingshu, a sect master, was left with only a broken sword.
Since they were here, they naturally had to retrieve the Fang Tian Sword—it had belonged to Xu Yang, after all.
…
They hadn't gone far when suddenly, from the four cardinal directions, four figures surrounded Xu Yang and Ling Qingshu.
Leading them was a short, chubby man whose twisted features defied the limits of ugliness; "peculiar" was the only word for his appearance.
The three behind him looked more presentable, though their poor judgment was clear in following this man's lead.
"A robbery? A holdup? What's going on?" Xu Yang's face was stern, but a hint of amusement tugged at his lips as he looked at them.
"Exactly, you guessed it! We're the Four Tigers of Ten-Mile Pavilion. Ever heard of us? Leave everything on you here, and you can leave," the fat leader blurted out.
"That's right, our boss is in the mid-Core Formation stage, and we're all in the Core Formation stage too. You'd better hand everything over if you don't want to be killed!" added one of the underlings arrogantly.
Xu Yang smirked. Just four Core Formation stage cultivators? Did they think they were impressive? Daring to rob him—they had no idea what they were getting into.
Ling Qingshu instantly drew her sword, pointing it at the robbers. "Filthy scoundrels, I'll cut you down!"
As she spoke, Ling Qingshu activated her powerful sword technique and was about to charge forward.
Xu Yang quickly held her back.
"Calm down. You're a young lady; can't you refrain from always wanting to cut down everyone? Let me talk to them first."
Xu Yang was determined to critique Ling Qingshu's fiery temperament.
Ling Qingshu stomped her foot, seemingly dissatisfied, her eyes still fixed on the four robbers, as if she were ready to strike the moment something went wrong.
Xu Yang stepped forward slowly until he was right in front of them, holding up a single finger.
"I'll count to three. By the time I'm done, if you're not gone, well… do you see her? She'll make sure you disappear from this world."
The four robbers looked at Xu Yang in disbelief, and after confirming that he was only in the Qi Refining stage, the leader, a fat man, sneered.
"Foolish! You're just a Qi Refining cultivator, yet you dare to stand here running your mouth? You must have a death wish!"
"All those who thought I was just Qi Refining are dead now," Xu Yang replied indifferently.
"You're not at the Qi Refining stage?"
"I am at Qi Refining. I've been at this stage for ages," Xu Yang replied, feigning sadness.
"Pah! Quit pretending!" The fat man laughed coldly. "What are you all waiting for? Kill the woman, and as for the man… he's a pretty boy, so keep him alive for her."
"Yes, boss." The other three sneered, advancing on Xu Yang without any regard for him.
"Keep the man alive? Isn't it usually the woman they keep alive? Ugh, maybe they're… into men?" Xu Yang shuddered in disgust.
"Well, since you've chosen death, don't blame me." As he spoke, Xu Yang's figure suddenly closed in.
"A mere Qi Refining stage, acting all high and mighty!" The three men charged forward with fists aimed at Xu Yang's head, determined to smash him into pieces.
Crack…
There was a sickening sound of bones breaking. Xu Yang collided with the three Core Formation cultivators.
All three spat out blood as their wrists shattered under a powerful impact, reduced to nothing but shards. The sound of bones breaking resounded through their bodies, and in an instant, they collapsed, dead.
Ling Qingshu watched in awe, gaining a newfound respect for her ancestor's strength. To kill three Core Formation cultivators with such ease—how could that be done without being at the Cave Heaven stage?
At that moment, a small puppy-like spirit beast jumped out, quickly devouring the three men's Core Formation cores. Satisfied, it leapt onto Xu Yang's shoulder, rubbing against his cheek.
The previously arrogant fat man was dumbstruck, a sudden, unpleasant smell wafting from him. Even he knew now he had kicked a steel wall.
"They're dead. Now it's your turn." Xu Yang turned to the fat man.
"You're not in the Qi Refining stage! You're not!" the fat man stammered, repeating himself out of fear.
Yet no matter how he looked at it, Xu Yang appeared to be at the Qi Refining stage...
To hide one's true strength so well before a mid-Core Formation cultivator—only a Nascent Soul stage cultivator could do that!
Realizing this, the fat man almost fainted on the spot.
"I really am Qi Refining," Xu Yang replied earnestly.
"Alright, I've wasted enough time talking to you. Dying by my hand should be enough to satisfy you." Xu Yang raised his palm, aiming it at the fat man's head.
Despite being a Core Formation cultivator and used to life-or-death situations, the fat man's reflexes kicked in. He raised his arm and, with his palm to the sky, summoned a swirling black vortex in his hand, absorbing everything around it and reducing it to dust.
"Even if you're at the Nascent Soul stage, I won't just sit here and die!"
"Devouring Wind Slash!" The fat man roared, meeting Xu Yang head-on. This was his signature move, and with all his might, he unleashed its full power, pushing himself to the limit.
Boom…
Xu Yang easily sidestepped the attack and slapped the fat man across the face.
The fat man spun in mid-air, completing several full rotations before landing on the ground, lifeless.
"And to think, of all the things you could do, you chose to rob people," Xu Yang said with a cold smile.