Chapter 119: Sinister Crimes

"You've got no face! Looking for death!"

The Bald Vulture scowled and cursed, then immediately activated the formation, recreating the force that had just bound the flying boat and forcibly pulled them down, enveloping the four.

Perhaps the target shrank, or perhaps trapping a flying boat is easier than a single cultivator; the Lin sisters and Ruan Qingzhu instantly felt immense pressure, nearly collapsing to the ground! Even a Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivator would be hampered and far weaker in such a formation.

"Do you really think I'm scared of you? I, the Bald Vulture, have roamed the Cloud Mist Mountain Range for over a decade unscathed—just luck?"

The black‑clad elder's eyes burned with cruelty and bloodlust.

Earlier, when he told Xiao Zhangqing to call it quits and go separate ways, it was merely a test, to see whether Xiao Zhangqing truly had confidence.

If Xiao Zhangqing had immediately agreed to his request, truly called it off and left each other alone, that would mean Xiao Zhangqing was uncertain and afraid.

Then he would have struck without hesitation, mercilessly.

Now…

Xiao Zhangqing's confidence far exceeds his expectations; not only does he refuse to settle, he even intends to capture all seven Yunling villains at once? Who does he think he is?

Is he the Luoxia Sect master Lu Dao Ming, or the Baihua Valley valley master Su Wushuang?

Even those two—Da Yu's strongest Nascent Core True Persons in the Southwest Region of the Cultivation World—haven't managed to seize all seven Yunling villains over the years.

What about a Second-rank Body Cultivator? Though a Body Cultivator is hard to pin down and counts as strong within the same realm,

but the Bald Vulture's notorious reputation makes him a peer, doesn't it? Who wins, who loses, we'll only know after the clash! Even if he isn't a match, the Second-rank formation exists; he can fight if he wishes, or flee. No matter how robust a Second-rank Body Cultivator's physique or combat power, it's merely brute force, unable to threaten his life!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The powerful formation's binding force trapped the four of Xiao Zhangqing, and three cold rays shot toward him faster than the eye could catch.

They were the nail‑shaped hidden‑weapon Magic Treasure he had just used to pierce the bound female cultivator's head.

Three at once! Moreover, the three hidden‑weapon Magic Treasures changed color from black to dark green, each coated with poison! "Let's see how strong your flesh really is!"

The Bald Vulture sneered coldly.

The poison on those three Magic Treasures is Second-rank poison!

He doesn't expect the three hidden‑weapon Magic Treasures to assassinate the Second-rank Body Cultivator Xiao Zhangqing, nor to cause him great injury.

All he needs is to breach Xiao Zhangqing's defense, to pierce his skin! Then the Second-rank poison will make Xiao Zhangqing know what 'powerful' truly means! Though the Bald Vulture has never robbed a Second-rank Body Cultivator before, he has a First-rank Body Cultivator under him and has therefore devised a method against Second-rank bodies.

If Xiao Zhangqing remains as arrogant as just now, believing his flesh alone makes him invincible, he's doomed!

Meanwhile.

The other woman, dressed in a pink long dress, also acted, summoning a black net‑shaped artifact from the sky to add another cage around the already formation‑bound Xiao Zhangqing.

"Do you really think I'm just a Body Cultivator?"

Xiao Zhangqing's keen senses and spirit could not miss the hidden machinations within the elder's three hidden‑weapon Magic Treasures; although he was confident his Second-rank middle‑grade physique could withstand them and that the poisoned weapons wouldn't harm him, he still chose not to overplay his hand.

No need for that.

Buzz! Eleven Qingxiao swords flew out, swirling into a sword formation that not only shielded Xiao Zhangqing but also enclosed the Lin sisters and Ruan Qingzhu within.

All the Flying Swords' mana interlinked, sword‑qi twined, forming a small formation; the three women instantly felt the oppressive pressure lift.

Qingxiao Sword Formation, minor success! Though not a traditional formation, Xiao Zhangqing infused a strand of solid mana from a Longevity Stone, equating to a Fake Core True Person level; this tiny Second-rank lower‑grade formation, Foundation Establishment Initial Stage level, is nothing to contend with. Then, with a light flick of his finger, a Qingxiao sword shot skyward, slashing diagonally, instantly cleaving the black net‑shaped artifact in two.

The pink‑dressed woman's alluring eyes widened, pupils contracting, too late to mourn her first‑grade supreme Magic Treasure now ruined, only endless terror remained.

What tier of mana and treasure is this? It's certain that the Bald Vulture's strongest Magic Treasure, before this flying sword, amounts to nothing!

An unremarkable sword, yet it is the most terrifying attack she has witnessed in decades of cultivation!

And the opponent wielded eleven such terrifying Flying Swords! So her mind, bewildered, reacted instinctively.

Without thinking, she turned to flee! This man is not merely a Second-rank Body Cultivator; his cultivation is far more terrifying! Foundation Establishment later stage? Or higher? The black net‑shaped Magic Treasure was shattered, and the three nail‑shaped Magic Treasures were also intercepted by the Qingxiao sword.

Even a Qi Refining Realm pink‑dress cultivator could sense Xiao Zhangqing's anomaly; the Bald Vulture's eyes fluttered wildly, his usually sharp, cold gaze now full of ghost‑like terror.

"Nascent Core… Nascent Core True Person? Impossible!"

The Bald Vulture, terrified to the core, reacted swiftly, pouring all formation power to create a slight hindrance for Xiao Zhangqing, while also, without hesitation, turning with the pink woman to flee.

Both now wished they could unleash every ounce of strength to escape faster.

But no matter how fast they ran, they could not outrun the Flying Sword.

Whoosh! With two flicks of Xiao Zhangqing's fingers, a Flying Sword shot straight after the pink woman, catching her in an instant.

Sensing the approaching sword aura and imminent death, the woman turned back and screamed in terror, "Senior, spare me, I—"

Pfft!

Before she could finish pleading, the Flying Sword sliced across her neck, spraying blood, and her terrified head was flung away.

The Bald Vulture elder, seeing his subordinate's gruesome death, grew even more terrified; clenching his teeth, he dared not hesitate any longer. He tore a Second-rank Talisman Script, and his body vanished mid‑air as if teleporting!

Second-rank Upper‑grade Vanish Symbol?

Xiao Zhangqing looked surprised.

As a Second-rank Talisman Master, he was well‑versed in all kinds of talismans.

His talisman art had only just broken through to the Second-rank middle‑grade level before leaving Nanshan Fang, and the success rate for crafting Second-rank middle‑grade talismans was still low, let alone Upper‑grade.

A Second-rank talisman of this quality, used for life‑saving, would cost almost as much as a Foundation Establishment pill! "If I were only at the Foundation Establishment Realm, or even a slightly weaker Fake Core True Person, I might actually have been able to escape you."

"But unfortunately…"

Xiao Zhangqing closed his eyes, projected his spirit, and, under the Prison Dragon Bracelet's seal, reached a Soul Transformation of 104 zhang; even Nascent Core Initial Stage cultivators are considered above average, and with such perception, a mere Second-rank Upper‑grade Vanish Symbol was insufficient.

Although invisible to the naked eye,

Xiao Zhangqing's spirit could clearly sense an 'intangible' being, after changing direction, dashing wildly toward his right‑front.

Its speed was more than double the Bald Vulture's revealed speed, and its magical flux was completely concealed.

"Got you!"

Xiao Zhangqing suddenly opened his eyes, flicked his finger again, and the Flying Sword that had lost its target surged toward a direction, covering several miles in an instant and cleaving fiercely.

Ah!!

A scream rang out as the Bald Vulture elder, whose thigh had been cut off, could no longer maintain his form and emerged from the Vanish Symbol.

He picked up his broken leg, intending to keep fleeing.

But in the blink of an eye, three swords sped toward him, their tips aimed at him, encircling him completely.

Without a doubt, if he dares to run again, he might not be killed outright, but his other leg will probably not survive.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhangqing calmly leapt forward, reaching the Bald Eagle Elder.

"Senior, spare my life… spare my life…"

The Bald Eagle Elder was no longer arrogant as before; whether from pain or terror, his forehead was already covered with sweat, dripping continuously.

Even though he had only one leg left, he immediately knelt before Xiao Zhangqing, trembling: "Senior, if you spare my life, whatever orders you give, I will obey without fail! You just said you wanted to eliminate the other members of the Cloud Mist Seven Evils, no problem! In a few days, at our scheduled meeting, at a place deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, I can take you there!"

Xiao Zhangqing said coldly, "Roughly where is it? Tell me first."

The Bald Eagle Elder clenched his teeth and shook his head, "Even if I tell you the location, you won't find it. The place is extremely secret; only I can lead the way. However, you must first swear that after eliminating the others, you will spare my life."

"Are you threatening me?" Xiao Zhangqing lowered his head, glanced at him, then his finger slipped lightly, and an Azure Sky Sword slowly advanced toward the Bald Eagle Elder.

Fear clearly showed in the Bald Eagle Elder's eyes, yet he still wouldn't relent: "Even if you kill me, I still say this! If you wish to eliminate the others, you must first agree to spare me."

Hearing that, Xiao Zhangqing suddenly laughed, as if he had heard a joke.

The Bald Eagle Elder, uncertain and pleading, said, "Please, senior, spare my life. I can not only help you eliminate the others, but from now on I will wash my hands of evil forever!"

"No more evil?" Xiao Zhangqing paused at the words, then asked, "Then the people you killed before, does that count?"

The Bald Eagle Elder's eye twitched, sensing the murderous intent in Xiao Zhangqing's words, and hurriedly asked, "Senior, if you kill me, you won't be able to find the others!"

Xiao Zhangqing shook his head, saying, "Don't be foolish. Killing you won't affect my ability to find the others…"

Just as the Bald Eagle Elder was terrified, not understanding Xiao Zhangqing's meaning,

Buzz! An invisible spiritual wave enveloped him; the Bald Eagle Elder sensed the anomaly, his terrified eyes widened as he tried desperately to resist.

Unfortunately, against a Nascent Core‑level spirit, his feeble resistance was negligible; in an instant he fell into a hallucination, his expression turning dazed.

Nightmare Technique! With this supreme spiritual method of torture, Xiao Zhangqing need not discuss any conditions with the Bald Eagle Elder.

Even pretending to go along on the surface would be too much effort.

After the time of a single incense stick passed.

Xiao Zhangqing made the Bald Eagle Elder reveal all the information he wanted to inquire about.

He truly lived up to his notorious reputation as an Evil Cultivator who roamed for over a decade; even at the brink of death, after Xiao Zhangqing severed his leg, his life hung by a thread, yet his guts were still a mess.

Because the Yunling Seven Evils have a fixed meeting time, the location is deep within the Yunling Mountain Range—utter nonsense!

The place he wanted to take Xiao Zhangqing to was a "terrifying" spot he had stumbled upon by chance, where an unknown horror resided.

But it wasn't some high‑level demon beast; he guessed it might be a single evil spirit! When he first discovered the place, he lingered only briefly at the outer edge, gazing from afar at a terrifying white silhouette, and almost died on the spot. After returning, with his Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivation, he fell seriously ill, losing half his life, and needed two or three years of recuperation to recover.

He intended to bring Xiao Zhangqing there so that the terrifying evil spirit would deal with him.

He believed that even if Xiao Zhangqing were truly a Nascent Core cultivator, he might not fare well against that evil spirit.

This was the only way he could think of that might allow him to survive in the hands of a Nascent Core Realman.

However, the Yunling Seven Evils do have a point of contact among themselves.

The location is not in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, but in Clear Stream Lane.

Besides him, only the "Four Evils" remain.

He does not know the true identities of the other four.

Usually they refer to each other by code names; when a huge "fat sheep" appears that one person cannot handle, they use a special contact method to gather several people to act together.

The other Four Evils also have Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Among them, two are comparable to him in strength, while the other two far surpass him.

It would not be an exaggeration to call the two as the "lead brothers" of the Cloud Mist Seven Evils.

These two are in the later stage of Foundation Establishment, possibly even having reached a complete Foundation.

When the Bald Eagle and others targeted an unchewable "fat sheep", they mostly contacted these two for assistance.

With these two involved, anyone who is not a Nascent Core cultivator can be killed!

After gathering the information, Xiao Zhangqing made the Bald Eagle hand over his storage bag obediently, and disclosed all the wealth he had looted over the past decade.

One must admit, these plunderers are indeed wealthy.

Although the Bald Eagle only has Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivation, his personal wealth far exceeds that of Cao Hao, who is at the mid‑Foundation stage!

Even the Evil Cultivator who infiltrated Nanshan Fang years ago to assassinate Xiao Zhangqing, even with his third‑grade Soul Dao Magic Treasure "Thousand Illusion Mask", is still poorer than this Bald Eagle.

Xiao Zhangqing made a rough tally: all the Magic Treasures, Pills, Spirit Stones on the Bald Eagle Elder summed to over forty thousand Low‑grade Spirit Stones! That figure excludes the items he uses daily for cultivation and advancement.

It also does not include the second‑grade superior Disappearance Talisman he just used as a life‑saving trump card, among others.

If those are counted too, the loot he has taken over the past decade would be worth more than double that amount! A normal Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivator's total wealth would be considered good at twenty thousand Low‑grade Spirit Stones.

This Bald Eagle has earned nearly one hundred thousand Low‑grade Spirit Stones in just over a decade! Of course, over a hundred innocent passing cultivators have died at his hands.

Crime of the highest magnitude.

(End of Chapter)