Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

On the other side, Sun Yao sat leisurely in a chair, brewing tea and warming wine. Her cultivation level hadn't improved, and she hadn't seen Yang Ling for a long time. Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Sun Yao subconsciously looked up, wondering to herself, who could be looking for her so late? After all, she rarely had visitors.

She looked up abruptly, and was slightly taken aback when she saw Yang Ling.

"It's you?" She looked at Yang Ling, not quite recognizing him at first. Yang Ling, on the other hand, remained calm and greeted Sun Yao with a smile.

"We haven't seen each other for a long time, why are you reacting like this when you see me?"

"It's precisely because we haven't seen each other for so long that I didn't react at first. Is there something you need that came to see me so quickly?"

"It's been so long since we last met, I can't help but miss you!" Sun Yao looked at Yang Ling with affection. Yang Ling didn't say much, but simply found a seat and sat down.

The two talked all night long.

It wasn't until the next day, after Yang Ling had dealt with all the matters, large and small, and bid farewell to everyone, that he prepared to leave. Ying Zheng wanted to accompany Yang Ling, but Yang Ling politely declined. Ying Zheng was quite capable, and staying behind could help handle any unexpected situations.

The battle with the people of the Dark Gate was a fight to the death. Yang Ling didn't want Ying Zheng to put himself in danger. He left the place and headed east. The aura he had just sensed was extremely powerful. Yang Ling looked around, but when he arrived in the east, his heart was filled with confusion.

There seems to be an even more powerful figure hiding in this area.

He opened his eyes, but all around him was silent and still. He put on a mask, changed his clothes, and the aura emanating from him was unfathomable. After making these preparations, Yang Ling continued forward. He wasn't sure if the people from the Dark Gate would recognize him; if they were, it would be troublesome. Every step from then on was fraught with difficulty, and Yang Ling carefully observed his surroundings.

He had commissioned someone to draw a simple map. It must be said, almost none of the major families escaped unscathed. He gazed into the distance; there lay the Wind Sect, a powerful aura seemingly permeating it. Previously, this place was quite formidable, but now it exuded a chilling aura.

Yang Ling remained calm, but his heart was filled with curiosity. There must be someone from a secret sect in this place, otherwise the malevolent aura wouldn't be so strong. He cautiously stepped inside.

When Yang Ling pushed open the door, she suddenly blurted out:
"You old bastard, how could you commit such a heinous act!" The aura emanating from him was extremely powerful. Moreover, this old man's method of increasing his strength was to devour the power of others. The man looked at the suddenly appearing Yang Ling, puzzled. Where did this kid come from?

"Who are you? How did you manage to break into the sect so easily? What is your purpose here?"

"These people were all your fellow disciples. You harmed them. Don't you feel even a little bit guilty? Don't force me to take action against you!"

"Let me tell you, if you dare to do something like this again, don't blame me for being impolite!" Yang Ling couldn't stand this kind of ruthless and unscrupulous person, and wished he could kill him on the spot.

The old man turned his gaze to Yang Ling, who gave him a feeling that was both familiar and unfamiliar, as if he had met him before.

"Who exactly are you? Your aura is very strange, it feels both familiar and unfamiliar to me!"

His words carried a hint of accusation. Yang Ling didn't want to waste any more words and took direct action.

"Your source energy is quite good; I value it highly. Why don't you give it to me now?"

Yang Ling spoke frankly. He looked Yang Ling up and down, finding him increasingly unfathomable.

"Who exactly are you? Your strength is completely different from what I imagined. How did you manage to do that?" He took a step back, putting distance between himself and Yang Ling. When he was fighting Yang Ling earlier, he felt a force pulling him towards it.

This is not something an ordinary person could do.

Yang Ling didn't reply, but attacked again. He had to finish the fight quickly and avoid attracting the attention of the Dark Sect. Of course, the old man wasn't stupid; knowing Yang Ling's strength, he had concealed half of his power. However, even so, he was still no match for Yang Ling. He roared, utterly shocked: How could Yang Ling be so powerful? Under Yang Ling's suppression, he couldn't muster any strength at all. This was impossible! How did he do it?
"Why are you so powerful? This is impossible! Your strength is too great; this is not something an ordinary person can achieve!" He questioned Yang Ling, desperately trying to get an answer. Yang Ling remained expressionless and directly attacked the old man's head. It seemed the old man had absorbed a considerable amount of power. However, the source was what he truly needed.

He looked around and found that, apart from the source, nothing posed a threat to him. He looked at Yang Ling, wondering to himself: Could Yang Ling's strength really be extraordinary?
"You wouldn't happen to be from the Dark Gate, would you? I've already made a cooperation agreement with you, how could you treat me like this?"

"Moreover, we agreed beforehand that you absolutely cannot kill me!" Yang Ling walked up to the old man, looking down at him, curious about what he was saying.

"What did you just say? What kind of cooperation did you reach with the Dark Gate? Tell me." The old man looked at Yang Ling, not understanding why Yang Ling was suddenly so excited. However, since Yang Ling wanted to know, he didn't intend to hide it. As long as Yang Ling spared his life, that was enough.

"The Dark Sect members previously looted this place, leaving nothing behind. To save our lives, we made a deal with them. Afterward, they told us they could help us improve our strength, and we were willing to help them!"

"So that's how it is. No wonder he did such a thing!" Yang Ling said, glancing thoughtfully at the old man. Since the old man had explained, he would personally see him off.

"I'll personally see you off on your way; that way, we won't waste any more words!"

The old man's eyes widened. Who would have thought that Yang Ling would betray his benefactor and do such a thing?

"You've crossed the river and burned the bridge, you've broken your promise! How could you do such a thing? This is unreasonable!" he questioned Yang Ling. Yang Ling ignored the old man's nonsense and directly attacked, killing him in one move.

He examined the old man's corpse and could clearly see that someone had tampered with it. Yang Ling didn't want to linger there, so after looking around, he turned and left.

Meanwhile, another scene is unfolding.

"Please, please, let us go! You've ransacked our house!"

"Heroes, please have mercy and let us go!" In a courtyard, a row of people knelt on the ground, pleading with each other. Standing before them were several members of the Dark Gate, their faces full of sneers and disdain.

"It's your honor that we're interested in your stuff. What right do you have to refuse?" One of them had barely finished speaking when he slapped another to the ground, his tone full of accusation.

"We've spared your lives, that's already showing you mercy. We didn't expect you to dare whine and cry like this. Since you want to die, then I'll grant your wish!" These two weren't top-tier in strength, but relying on their powerful backers, they had committed countless atrocities. The person being attacked wasn't weak, but even if they fought them, he might not necessarily win.

They dared not act rashly. If they injured these people, even more powerful people would come the next day and slaughter their entire families. Now, the place was full of members of the Dark Gate. Those who had been knocked away were spitting blood, looking disheveled and their eyes filled with panic.

"Let me tell you, you are nothing in front of us. If you dare to play any tricks again, I'll take your lives!" the man shouted, and the other man was too frightened to say a word. His family possessed considerable resources and usually cooperated with other powerful families. When the secret gate attacked, they pleaded for their lives, managing to save a few of them, but at a great cost.

Who would have thought that these people wouldn't give up, coming to rob them every day. No matter how many resources they had, they couldn't withstand this kind of torment. The man gritted his teeth; he really didn't want to live like this anymore. But the lives of his entire family were in these people's hands; what could they do?

At this moment, a voice sounded.

A woman with a high ponytail and dressed in black walked out. She held a long whip in her hand, her peach blossom eyes filled with anger. She raised her hand and swung it fiercely at the group of people.

"Shameless scoundrels, how dare you be so arrogant! Your cultivation levels are nothing special, what makes you think you can act so cocky in front of us? Do you really think we're afraid of you!" The man's eyes widened in disbelief as soon as the woman finished speaking. He hadn't expected the woman to suddenly attack and tried to stop her, but her strength and cultivation level far surpassed theirs, making it futile. The woman easily repelled the two men.

Seeing this, the two men clenched their fists and roared angrily, "How dare you attack us! You're tired of living! Keeping you alive is already a blessing for you, but now you dare to ride roughshod over us. You really don't know what's good for you!"

They shouted loudly, seemingly determined to kill everyone, and the atmosphere instantly froze. The man quickly pulled the woman back, whispering, "What are you doing? If you do this, aren't you going to get us all killed? Even if you get rid of them, the Dark Gate people will come back. What will we do then? Who can stop them?"

Hearing the man's words, the woman knew her uncle was right. Even if they dealt with these few people, the secret agents would come again, and then no one could stop them.

"Enough! Stop pretending in front of me!"

"Wang Yi, I originally intended to spare your life, but after this incident, I will make sure your entire family pay with their lives!" The injured man pointed at them and shouted loudly, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.

"How dare you hit us! You deserve to die!" Upon hearing this, Wang Yi panicked instantly and rushed forward to stop them, saying in a trembling voice, "My daughter was being unreasonable and offended you. Please let us go! We really didn't mean to!"

The man was furious and didn't bother with Wang Yi. He thought to himself, "How could Wang Yi say such a thing? He's utterly shameless. Everyone has their own agenda."

Watching their retreating figures, Wang Yi knew they were determined to eliminate them. Just as they were about to leave, a figure suddenly blocked their path. The members of the Dark Gate were even more enraged. They were already furious at being attacked, and now someone was blocking their way—it was truly an eye-opener for them.

Enraged, they attacked without warning, one of them even swinging an axe. Those around gasped in surprise, wondering who this person was. They'd never seen him before; didn't they see they were from the Dark Gate? The Dark Gate were known for their ruthless killing; stepping forward now was practically suicide.
Everyone held their breath, completely unprepared for how things had turned out; it was nothing like what they had imagined. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Yang Ling launched a counterattack, and the two men had no chance to retaliate, being dispatched instantly by Yang Ling. With such strength, who could possibly be Yang Ling's match?

Everyone was stunned, thinking that Yang Ling was too powerful. There were people from the Dark Gate nearby, yet Yang Ling took care of them directly. Could it be that Yang Ling had an extraordinary background? Realizing the complexity of the situation, they left immediately.

Upon witnessing this, the woman's gaze towards Yang Ling changed. She had initially thought Yang Ling wouldn't offer assistance, but she hadn't expected him to actually save them.

"Thank you for saving me, young master. But you really need to think this through. There are great risks involved. What if something unexpected happens..." she couldn't help but say. Yang Ling remained calm. He had long disliked those people, and his intervention was solely to help them. What other reason could he have?

The man suddenly stepped forward and said bluntly, "Why did you help us just now? What you did will cause you a lot of trouble, and we don't want to die with you!"

Yang Ling looked at them but ignored them. To be honest, he only saved them because of that woman; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered. Then, Yang Ling turned and walked forward.

He could clearly sense that even the strongest among them was no match for him, and the rest were no match for him either. Since he was already here, he might as well take care of them all at once.

Yang Ling had already made up his mind, and just as he was about to act, the woman suddenly blurted out, "Young master, I don't think you're a local. You've killed their people, you'd better run away quickly, otherwise it'll be a waste to lose your life!" They knew what the consequences of offending the Dark Gate would be. These people were ruthless and would not show them any mercy. In their eyes, these people's lives were like livestock, to be beaten or killed at will.

The woman's reminder to Yang Ling was out of consideration for his past help. Besides, they had already incurred the wrath of the Dark Gate; further words would be futile. Yang Ling should leave quickly; he might save his life, but their own survival was uncertain. The man, somewhat displeased, muttered, "Why all the nonsense? If we could have dealt with them, we might have had a chance. Now, we're definitely dead. What are we going to do? We're doomed!" (End of Chapter)