A Tough Customer

A commotion broke out among the surrounding shops. Qin Sang's expression changed drastically. "Strike!" Before the words had even faded, cyan light blazed intensely from Qin Sang's body. Phoenix Wings unfurled; a flood dragon shadow surged forth. A sharp, ear-piercing sound of tearing air detonated like thunder in the middle of the street. A tricolored streak of escape light surged like a thunderbolt, lunging straight for Vice Envoy Zuo. Vice Envoy Zuo's pupils contracted sharply. The others were all appalled, utterly shocked by Qin Sang's instantaneous burst of movement speed. They had originally assumed that with five cultivators on their side, capturing their target would be no difficult task, and that Vice Envoy Zuo's gathering of reinforcements was unnecessary and overly cautious. To their astonishment, the man's movement technique far exceeded their imagination; had he set his mind on fleeing, they would have had no confidence in stopping him. At the same time, Bai and Fei You split up, charging toward their respective opponents. Qin Sang had Fei You tie down the youth in martial attire. Bai ended Steward Liu's life, then charged toward another late Core Formation cultivator. Vice Envoy Zuo and his group reacted swiftly. Qin Sang had not chosen to flee, and dividing his forces was exactly what they wanted. Vice Envoy Zuo's sleeves fluttered as a black dragon-headed stone staff appeared in his palm. It was crafted from some unknown spiritual material, possessing a jade-like luster and radiating a faint, shifting black glow. As it vibrated, strange waves of energy rippled outward. Clutching the dragon staff, Vice Envoy Zuo watched the charging Qin Sang with cold eyes. Neither dodging nor evading, he smashed the dragon staff fiercely downward. The other four immediately retrieved their own magic treasures. The youth in martial attire moved to intercept Fei You. The late Core Formation cultivator charged toward Bai alone, confident that with his strength, even if he could not suppress Bai, entangling him for a time would be no trouble at all. Their objective was Daoist Qingfeng; so long as Vice Envoy Zuo and the others took down the main target, it would be a tremendous merit, and there was no need to worry much about anyone else. Thus, the other two cultivators each summoned their magic treasures, flanking Vice Envoy Zuo on the left and right to mount a pincer attack on Qin Sang. *Whoosh!* Fierce winds whipped against his face. An ice-blue iron chain and a moon-white flying dagger tore through the air, but what was far more terrifying was the dragon-headed stone staff in the center. Its black light blotted out the sky like a true black dragon descending from the heavens, exerting suffocating pressure. *Rumble!* The ground ruptured, and ancient trees snapped. The autumn streetscape was destroyed in an instant. Had it not been for the protection of spiritual formations, several of the surrounding shops would likely have been caught in the blast and collapsed. Qin Sang's gaze turned chilling. As though prepared well in advance, he flicked his finger, and the ebony sword materialized before him, erupting with blinding sword radiance and an aura that rivaled the dragon-headed stone staff. The sword wheel manifested once more. In the next instant, the black dragon pounced downward. *Boom!* *Bang! Bang!* Qin Sang's face paled, and his figure halted abruptly. The ebony sword flew back, the sword wheel battered and broken. Facing three opponents alone—one of whom was a top expert—strained even Qin Sang's strength. Channelling his true essence to the utmost, he condensed the sword wheel around the ebony sword once again. Yet Vice Envoy Zuo and his companions would not give him the chance to recover. Unleashing their full power, the three magic treasures paused for only a fraction of an instant before blazing with brilliant light, bearing down directly on Qin Sang without holding anything back. The outcome seemed decided. However, they had failed to notice that during the clash, Qin Sang had secretly cast out the Primordial Concentric Rings. The treasure rings flashed in midair, and a figure emerged—it was none other than the two-headed hou. Twisting its body, the two-headed hou lunged without hesitation toward Bai's opponent. "Watch out!" Vice Envoy Zuo was the first to notice the Primordial Concentric Rings and warned his ally. Seeing the two-headed hou, he was secretly astonished that this man possessed a spirit beast of such formidable strength. No wonder the guild had warned them to exercise utmost caution and never underestimate him. To his surprise, no sooner had the thought arisen than an even more shocking sight unfolded. On the second floor of an inn along the street, a loud *bang* sounded as the window was violently shattered open. A figure burst out without warning, targeting the exact same opponent as the two-headed hou. After entering the cultivation market, Qin Sang had felt that carrying a coffin on his back was too conspicuous, so he had left his external incarnation at an inn. Even earlier, before going to meet Old Zou, he had made it a practice to settle the external incarnation elsewhere first. He feared that if he were to make enemies, someone might trace back to the identity of Qingfeng. Qin Sang had secretly awakened the external incarnation, using it as an unexpected ambush. Vice Envoy Zuo and the others had initially thought it was a member of the Business Alliance who had come to assist them upon hearing Vice Envoy Zuo's shout, but when they sensed the incarnation's aura, their expressions changed completely. "Fall back, quickly!" Vice Envoy Zuo's eyes nearly tore at the corners as he screamed in horror, simultaneously summoning a flying sword to slash hastily toward the two-headed hou. That cultivator had already realized something was amiss. Bai alone was already putting immense pressure on him. The sudden appearance of a person and a beast on his flanks, each radiating tremendous power, filled him with terror. Bai had known Qin Sang's plan all along. He had deliberately maneuvered his opponent without the man noticing, drawing him to the position most advantageous to them. With three great experts joining forces against a single person, there was no suspense. Bai moved like lightning as corpse qi erupted violently, engulfing his opponent. A tempest of wind blades shot from the center of the two-headed hou's brows, and the incarnation descended from the sky. All three attacks struck simultaneously. In utter panic, the cultivator managed only to toss out a few talismans, but they were useless. His protective spiritual light was instantly shattered, and he died a gruesome death on the spot. The incarnation tore open the man's chest. Its arm dripping with blood, it caught the scent of gore and licked its lips, but unable to disobey the commands of the true body, it forcefully cast aside the corpse and turned its gaze elsewhere. *Clang!* Bai stepped in to deflect the flying sword for the two-headed hou. Without pausing, man and beast immediately switched targets to slay Fei You's opponent. Then, together with the incarnation, they closed in to encircle Vice Envoy Zuo. Fei You stared blankly at his fallen opponent, unable to process what had just happened. He had been drowning in regret, believing death was certain. He had never expected such an astonishing turn of events—Daoist Qingfeng had somehow summoned so many powerful helpers, completely reversing the situation in an instant. *No wonder Father, Mother, and the Wang sisters hold him in such high esteem!* Fei You was thrilled. He had made the right bet! Inside the shops lining the long street, a dead silence fell. When Vice Envoy Zuo made his earlier proclamation, some had indeed been swayed. Many of these shops were intricately connected to the Three Great Merchant Alliances, and not a few belonged to merchant guilds under the Eastern Pole Alliance. Among the various guilds of the Eastern Pole Alliance, there truly existed a covenant of mutual aid. Yet while they were still hesitating, the battle had shifted in rapid succession. The man the Qiongyu Guild sought to arrest displayed shocking strength, striking down two of the Qiongyu Guild's experts in the blink of an eye. "Hiss! Three top experts! The Qiongyu Guild has provoked a tough customer—thank heavens this old man didn't make a move!" Inside one of the shops, someone drew in a sharp breath of cold air, breaking into a cold sweat as lingering terror washed over him. "Don't forget there's also a spirit beast; its strength is likely no weaker than a late Core Formation cultivator," an alluring woman beside him added. Peering out at the street, a strange gleam flashed in her eyes. "Did you sense it? The person who appeared last shares an unbroken aura with the cloaked man, as if they are one and the same." The other person's expression shifted as he stared fixedly at the incarnation. After a moment, he gasped in astonishment, "It's very likely a secret technique similar to an incarnation! And that corpse dao cultivator radiating thick corpse qi—could he be his refined corpse?" The two exchanged a glance, rendered speechless with shock.