Xu Taiping ignored these people and continued to step forward, his figure rushing to Mr. Yashan like a fierce wind.
Just as Mr. Yashan was about to disappear again, Xu Taiping struck his chest with a powerful blow, akin to a bull's horn collapsing a mountain.
A loud sound, mixed with the cracking of bones, echoed.
Mr. Yashan, who had just stood up, was directly sent flying backward by this punch, crashing heavily into the courtyard wall.
However, the cost of Xu Taiping's all-out attack was that several figures leaped over the wall and surrounded him, leaving him no way to escape.
"Kill, kill this little thief and let him know the consequences of offending our Yunlou Association!"
Mr. Yashan, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, swallowed a few pills and then pointed at Xu Taiping, roaring in anger.
In fact, even without his command, the few people who had already surrounded Xu Taiping began to attack.
For a moment, the small courtyard was filled with sword and knife auras.
If Xu Taiping were really to be beaten by them, he would likely turn into a pile of mush in no time.
However, to Mr. Yashan's great surprise, Xu Taiping did not run or resist. Instead, he took a deep breath and made a snapping gesture with his fingers.
Just as Xu Taiping was about to be cut down by the swords, a crisp snapping sound echoed in the courtyard.
At first, Mr. Yashan was full of confusion, but soon, the confusion in his eyes turned to horror.
With a piercing sound of air bursting, a gale-like force exploded from Xu Taiping's body, instantly shredding the four people attacking him into a pile of flesh and blood.
For a moment, blood mist filled the air.
What Xu Taiping had just used was the second finger technique of the Cangluan Ring—Shatter Mountain.
"Impossible, this is impossible..."
Mr. Yashan, his face full of disbelief, momentarily forgot to run. By the time he reacted, Xu Taiping was already standing in front of him, holding a bloody knife.
Before Mr. Yashan could finish his sentence, Xu Taiping punched him in the cheek, smashing him and the wall together.
After the confrontation, Xu Taiping had confirmed that Mr. Yashan's cultivation was at most at the Opening Gate stage, not even reaching the initial level of the Opening Gate stage.
Xu Taiping was not afraid of such a cultivator.
The only thing he had to be wary of was Mr. Yashan's invisibility treasure, but since he had not used it again, Xu Taiping guessed that the treasure had a usage limit or time restriction.
"Brother Dao, spare my life, Brother Dao, spare my life! I was at fault, please forgive me!"
Mr. Yashan's bones were already broken in many places, and his treasures were useless. He was at the end of his rope and could only beg on his knees.
"Tell me, how did your Yunlou Association target me?"
Xu Taiping stood in front of Mr. Yashan.
"This, there was no special reason..."
Just as Mr. Yashan was about to lie, he was kicked down by Xu Taiping.
"If you don't tell the truth, next time I'll use a knife."
Xu Taiping took a step forward, pointing the knife in his hand at Mr. Yashan.
"Brother Dao, don't be hasty, I, I'll tell, I'll tell!"
Mr. Yashan waved his hands frantically.
Xu Taiping glared at him.
"It was like this, a few days ago, we went to Xifeng Pavilion. A disciple of Xifeng Pavilion who had joined our Yunlou Association told me that there was an outer disciple of Qingzhu Residence who had planted many valuable herbs this year. When they mature, they could sell for at least one to two thousand merit coins. I was tempted and..."
Mr. Yashan's voice grew softer and softer.
Hearing this, Xu Taiping frowned inwardly, thinking:
"It turns out it was a disciple of Xifeng Pavilion who revealed the information about the seeds. Could it be those few people who were scolded by Uncle Jiu last time?"
He immediately thought of the few people who were scolded by Uncle Jiu that day.
However, he decided to keep this matter in mind and ask about other information first.
"So, inviting me here was your idea, not the Yunlou Association's?"
"It was indeed my own idea, but, but I am the leader of the Yunlou Association in this area, and I can make decisions on such small matters."
When mentioning that he was a leader of the Yunlou Association, Mr. Yashan suddenly raised his voice, clearly trying to intimidate Xu Taiping.
"What treasure did you use to become invisible? Hand it over."
Mr. Yashan was clearly unwilling to hand over the treasure.
Xu Taiping slashed with his knife from a distance.
"Brother Dao, calm down. This treasure is called the Concealment Grass. When held in the palm, it makes you invisible, but it can only be used three times a day, each for ten breaths."
Mr. Yashan was reluctant to hand over the green leaf.
Xu Taiping inwardly confirmed his guess and then took the leaf.
Xu Taiping nodded and then asked:
"If I join the Yunlou Association now, what benefits will I get?"
He asked casually, as if it were a casual question.
Hearing this, Mr. Yashan's face lit up, as Xu Taiping's desire to join the Yunlou Association would certainly benefit him.
"Brother Dao, I can assure you that if you join the Yunlou Association..."
Just as Mr. Yashan relaxed his guard, Xu Taiping gathered his true qi and slashed with his knife.
"If you weren't a leader of the Yunlou Association, I might have considered sparing your life."
He muttered expressionlessly.
After the incidents with the ghost and the tiger demon, Xu Taiping had realized that to survive in this cultivation world, he could not be merciful. His safety always came first.
The tragedy of Liu Qingmei was
"Proper handling, good, good."
Lingyue Fairy's spirit appeared from the gourd.
She had been watching the entire time and was very satisfied with the outcome.
"Wasted a few Golden Bell Talismans."
Xu Taiping was somewhat regretful, thinking that if he had handled it better, he wouldn't have wasted those talismans.
Xu Taiping, following Lingyue Fairy's guidance, cleaned up the traces around the small courtyard and put all the bodies, including Mr. Yashan's, into the gourd.
He couldn't leave any evidence for Xifeng Pavilion and the Yunlou Association, even if they knew it was him, they couldn't prove it.
After cleaning up the scene, he sorted through the items he had obtained from the bodies.
He got three Fire Arrow Talismans, two Golden Bell Talismans, and six hundred merit coins.
"This is much more profitable than growing herbs."
Xu Taiping joked, looking at the extra bag of merit coins.
"But the risk is a hundred times greater than growing herbs."
Lingyue Fairy, fearing that Xu Taiping would go down the wrong path, quickly reminded him.
"Don't worry, Sister Lingyue, I understand. I don't like doing this kind of thing."
Xu Taiping smiled and shook his head.
Lingyue Fairy nodded and then pointed to the Fire Gourd on Xu Taiping's waist, saying:
"Next, you can focus on cultivation until the big competition in two years."
The night after returning to Qingzhu Residence.
Xu Taiping opened the Fire Gourd and carefully poured out a small cup of the Dragon Bile Wine he had steeped for a day.
"Sister Lingyue, should I... drink it?"
He raised the cup, looking at Lingyue Fairy with some hesitation.
Tonight, he planned to test the effects of the Dragon Bile Wine.