Xu Yang was a bit stunned. He had originally thought Bai Ningmei might beg him for help, but to his surprise, she didn't ask for his assistance.
"Interesting," Xu Yang muttered to himself, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He continued to munch on the wild fruit in his hand, his interest piqued by Bai Ningmei's actions.
"You're not getting away. Not just you, but today, all of you will die here."
Ji Tai's mouth twisted into a bloodthirsty smile, and his evil, cold eyes swept over Xu Yang's face.
Apart from Xu Yang, everyone else here was at the Golden Core stage.
Only Xu Yang was at the Qi Refining stage. However, if Ji Tai truly believed that Xu Yang's cultivation was only at the Qi Refining stage, then he was an absolute fool.
Ji Tai walked up to Xu Yang and scanned his face. "Those two people, you killed them, didn't you?"
The two people Ji Tai referred to were the two Nascent Soul cultivators Xu Yang had just killed.
Xu Yang understood what Ji Tai meant. He nodded nonchalantly and replied, "Yeah, I killed them. What about it?"
A flicker of surprise flashed in Ji Tai's eyes. He sneered, "You've got some guts, admitting it. I thought you wouldn't dare to."
With that, Ji Tai's spiritual energy began to surround Xu Yang, probing his cultivation level.
Ji Tai thought that Xu Yang's cultivation should be at the Nascent Soul third or fourth level.
But after a while, the results left him questioning his beliefs. Xu Yang's cultivation was actually just at the ordinary Qi Refining stage.
"What...?" Ji Tai's face twisted in confusion.
Xu Yang really was just at the Qi Refining stage, and Ji Tai couldn't detect anything unusual.
This meant that either Xu Yang was truly at the Qi Refining stage, or Xu Yang's cultivation was much higher than his, and Ji Tai couldn't fully probe it.
But how could that be possible? Ji Tai was at the mid-to-late Nascent Soul stage. As long as the other party was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, he could detect their cultivation level.
If he couldn't even figure out Xu Yang's hidden cultivation, then it would mean Xu Yang was a terrifying ancient cultivator at the Cave Heaven stage...
But Cave Heaven cultivators were legendary elders! How could one just suddenly appear in a place like this?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Ji Tai's mind.
"You really are only at the Qi Refining stage?" Ji Tai asked coldly, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
"I really am just at the Qi Refining stage. What's wrong?" Xu Yang replied.
"Hmph, didn't you have a Nascent Soul cultivator with you earlier, but he's gone now?" Ji Tai asked.
"Yes, that's right. There was an old Nascent Soul cultivator with us earlier, but he's gone now. What's the problem?" Xu Yang asked.
"Where did he go?" Ji Tai asked, his voice filled with resentment.
As expected, Ji Tai thought, after killing the two Nascent Soul cultivators, the other had run away, leaving Xu Yang here to confuse and delay him.
"That person? He's dead," Xu Yang said nonchalantly.
"Hmph, you won't say, huh? Since you refuse to speak, then you can die," Ji Tai said, losing all patience.
He had come here to find the killer of the two Nascent Soul cultivators. The more time he wasted here, the further the killer would escape, making it harder to catch them.
"Goodbye, you can die now."
Suddenly, Ji Tai drew a short sword wrapped in black energy and lunged at Xu Yang.
Xu Yang's eyes instantly turned cold. With a swift motion, he reached out and grabbed the incoming knife.
Immediately, the previously fierce black short sword came to a complete halt, unable to move an inch.
"This..." Ji Tai was stunned. He felt like the sword had struck something as hard as iron, unable to move at all.
But the person holding the sword was just a Qi Refining cultivator!
Suddenly, in panic, he looked up at Xu Yang and said, "You! You're not a Qi Refining cultivator!"
Xu Yang sneered and squeezed his hand. The short sword instantly turned into dust.
"You're wrong. I'm just a Qi Refining cultivator."
After speaking, Xu Yang kicked out. A massive wave of spiritual energy, overwhelming and unrelenting, slammed into Ji Tai.
The individual strands of spiritual energy were weak on their own, light and insubstantial, typical of Qi Refining energy, but there were so many of them.
When enough of them gathered together, a qualitative change occurred. Ji Tai was sent flying by Xu Yang's kick, traveling several thousand meters before crashing into a mountain.
A thunderous roar erupted, and a cloud of dust rose, filling the sky with yellow dust.
The six Nascent Soul cultivators nearby were petrified.
How did Ji Tai die? He couldn't even withstand one strike?
Thud...
One of the Nascent Soul cultivators immediately buckled, kneeling down, followed by the others. When one person took the lead, the others followed suit and knelt as well.
They weren't idiots. Ji Tai had fallen after just one strike.
Clearly, if Xu Yang wanted to kill them, it would just take a single kick.
Seeing the others pleading desperately, Xu Yang calmly ate a few more fruits and said, "Alright, since you all know you were wrong and are begging for mercy, I'll let you go."
In fact, Xu Yang wasn't a bloodthirsty person; he preferred not to kill if possible.
But this cultivation world was chaotic, where the strong prey on the weak, and the weak get trampled.
As a mere Qi Refining cultivator, Xu Yang was often targeted by people with ill intentions.
He had no choice but to show a little of his power to teach these people a lesson. Though he was a Qi Refining cultivator, he wasn't an ordinary one. Anyone who provoked him would have to die.
Hearing Xu Yang's words, the Nascent Soul cultivators felt as though they had received a pardon. After kowtowing repeatedly, they quickly fled.
Bai Ningmei was still in a daze. She had prepared herself to die, but within less than a minute, the situation had completely reversed.
Ji Tai had been kicked several thousand meters by Xu Yang and had crashed into a mountain, likely reduced to nothing but dust.
The other Nascent Soul cultivators had all escaped, and she was safe.
"My lord, thank you for saving me!" Bai Ningmei dropped to her knees, repeatedly kowtowing.
Xu Yang stretched out, nonchalantly watching.
If anyone were to be more confused right now, it would be the Golden Core cultivators who had just moments ago betrayed Xu Yang without hesitation.
"My lord, spare us..." one of the Golden Core cultivators stammered, his fearful gaze locked on Xu Yang, as if staring at a demon.