Chapter 22: 21. The Snipe and the Clam Struggle

21. The Snipe and the Clam Struggle

"Thump!"

The masked man with an extra blood-hole in the center of his forehead collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud, his life extinguished in an instant.

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

What happened?

How did someone suddenly fall to the ground and die?

Among them, Manager Zhang stared with wide, shocked eyes.

He had just seen that flash of Gold Light shoot from Chen An's finger and recognized it as the second stage of the Golden Finger—Golden Light Projection!

But how could this be!

The Golden Finger Dharma Spell was notoriously difficult to practice.

To cultivate it to the second stage of Golden Light Projection, a cultivator with ordinary talent would have to spend at least several decades.

The effort and the reward were completely disproportionate; the cost-effectiveness was extremely low.

No one would ever practice it.

Otherwise, it was still a Dharma Spell, so how could it be sold for as cheaply as 100 Low-grade Spirit Stones?

Then the question arose: as a mere Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator, how on earth did Chen An manage to cultivate the Golden Finger to the second stage in such a short time?

It was truly hellish!

Manager Zhang could not fathom it, his face full of disbelief.

"Hum!"

A sound of a blade slicing through the air rang out.

Just as everyone was distracted, that masked man from the Black Iron Villa, whose cultivation reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, played dirty and launched a sneak attack, suddenly slashing his blade toward Manager Zhang's head.

Fortunately, Manager Zhang had extraordinary reflexes and immediately dodged this fatal strike by turning to the side.

But the dodge was not complete; a gash was cut into his right shoulder, and blood instantly seeped out, soaking a large portion of his clothes.

Having failed the sneak attack, this Qi Refining Seventh Layer masked man immediately put distance between himself and Manager Zhang, fearing the other would find an opportunity to counterattack; he was very cautious.

Then, he strained his voice and roared at his few lower-cultivation accomplices over by the carriage:

"What are you still standing there for? Finish this quickly!!!"

Suddenly startled by this shout, the few masked men who had been stunned by Chen An's Golden Light Projection immediately held their blades and charged toward Chen An with fierce, murderous looks.

However, before they had charged more than a few steps, they suddenly felt their entire bodies become soft and powerless, and they looked as if they were about to collapse.

An experienced masked man reacted immediately, realizing he had been poisoned!

"Quick, take the antidote..."

"... Puff!"

That masked man had just wanted to warn his accomplices, but before he could finish his sentence, his head was blown apart by a flash of Gold Light that shot over, and he collapsed to the ground with a thump.

"Puff... puff... puff!"

A series of dull sounds rang out.

All the poisoned masked men were precisely headshot by flashes of Gold Light, their lives extinguished in an instant.

These masked men who died from headshots did not have high cultivation.

Except for one who was a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator, the rest were all bottom-tier cultivators at the Qi Refining Third or Fourth Layer.

Under the effects of the Soft Bone Powder, they had no power to fight back against Chen An's Golden Light Projection attack and could only die in place, filled with resentment.

"Manager Zhang, I'm coming to help you!"

Chen An shouted, but he did not step forward to join the melee; instead, he remained where he was to provide long-range support, using Golden Light Projection to assist Manager Zhang in killing the opponent.

Manager Zhang had originally been at a disadvantage, constantly defending passively.

Now with Chen An's support, he instantly turned the situation around, shifting from disadvantage to advantage.

Thus, he began to take the initiative to attack, his fighting style extremely aggressive.

The last remaining masked man knew the situation was lost and did not continue to tangle with the two, retreating as he fought, intending to flee.

How could Chen An let the other have his way?

If he let the tiger return to the mountain, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night.

Thus, he immediately leaped off the carriage and risked a pursuit of the retreating masked man, swearing to kill him here.

Manager Zhang had the same thought, chasing closely and relentlessly, crazily beating the drowning dog.

Chen An was responsible for long-range support, and Manager Zhang was responsible for close-quarters combat; the two coordinated with each other, beating the Qi Refining Seventh Layer masked man into a wretched state.

But even in such a wretched state, the masked man had no intention of counterattacking.

He only defended blindly and kept retreating.

Until the next second, when his mask was shot off by a flash of Gold Light, revealing his true face, he suddenly stopped running.

Chen An glanced at him; he was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, and he did not recognize him.

"Manager Ouyang, why is it you?!"

Upon seeing the masked man's true face, Manager Zhang in front was full of shock.

This masked man, whom he had always thought to be a cultivator from the Black Iron Villa, was actually a member of the Bamboo Leaf Gang!

And, he was another manager from the Cheap Area who could be considered his colleague!

Was the other party trying to do evil and splash dirty water on the Black Iron Villa cultivators, or was the other party actually a mole planted by the Black Iron Villa?

Manager Zhang's mind was filled with thoughts, but he still couldn't understand, so he could only ask directly: "Manager Ouyang, what is the meaning of this?"

That Manager Ouyang ignored him and silently took a crimson pill from his bosom and threw it into his mouth.

It was a Red Blood Pill!

A type of evil medicine that can boost one's cultivation in a short time, but will damage one's foundation afterward!

Manager Zhang recognized this evil medicine and immediately swung his sword at Manager Ouyang.

The other party was willing to damage their own foundation just to boost their temporary strength in a short time; what could this be if not an attempt to silence a witness?

He had to kill the other party with one sword strike before the medicine took effect, otherwise, there would be big trouble ahead.

"Clang—"

Deacon Zhang's sword was swung out, but it was easily blocked by the other party's blade.

Seeing this, Chen An did not just watch the show; he frantically provided fire support from a distance, continuously shooting Gold Light toward that Manager Ouyang.

But unfortunately, all of them were dodged by the other party.

The current Manager Ouyang had eyes filled with bloodshot veins, muscles bulging all over his body, and his aura surged abruptly.

His strength was already approaching the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.

He was not someone a bottom-tier cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer like him could contend with.

"Hum!"

Suddenly, Manager Ouyang used an Instant Step to flash directly in front of Chen An, fiercely punching toward his forehead, thinking to solve this annoying fly first.

Relying on his Divine Sense strength, which far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators, Chen An reacted quickly and dodged this fatal punch.

However, he only dodged the fatal part; he did not dodge the punch entirely.

His forehead was spared, but in its place, his shoulder was grazed by the other party's fist.

"Crack!"

Only such a sound rang out.

The next second, Chen An flew backward instantly, crashing into a patch of grass, his life or death unknown.

Seeing this, Manager Zhang immediately turned and ran without saying a word, choosing to abandon Chen An to survive on his own.

He had absolutely no confidence that he could defeat the power-boosted Manager Ouyang, so he chose to sacrifice his fellow Daoist rather than himself and left first.

However, how could Manager Ouyang let him run away?

Ignoring the need to finish off Chen An in the grass, he turned around and chased after the fleeing Manager Zhang.

Manager Zhang's speed was not fast, and he was caught up to in an instant.

Seeing that he truly could not escape, Manager Zhang immediately took out all the valuable items on his person and said to Manager Ouyang:

"Manager Ouyang, this matter has nothing to do with me. I haven't seen anything today. I have 10 Middle-grade Spirit Stones hidden under the desk in my office in the Cheap Area. That is the savings I've accumulated over these thirty-some years. I'll give them all to you now; it's enough for you to go back to Black Iron Villa and live happily for decades. There's no need for us to both suffer here."

"I want the Spirit Stones, and I want your life too."

After speaking, Manager Ouyang attacked with all his might.

As an undercover agent for Black Iron Villa, he had spent over ten years climbing to his current position in the Bamboo Leaf Gang; how could he just go back like that?

Wouldn't that mean all his previous efforts would be wasted?

Black Iron Villa would be at full-scale war with the Bamboo Leaf Gang in a few years, and he would need his status as a Bamboo Leaf Forest manager to help him complete some secret missions.

"Since that's the case, then let's die together!!!"

Manager Zhang's eyes turned red, and he gritted his teeth, knowing the other party would not let him go today. He chose to make a desperate final counterattack, determined to drag the other party down with him even in death.

……

PS: Setting out my bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!