From the fake emperor to the concubine

It seems that not only the people from Zhennan Prince's Mansion, but also Medicine King Valley, Ziyun Gang, and some other unidentified forces have made their move. These people may usually be enemies, but in the face of the Thousand-Year Blood Spirit Mushroom, they have temporarily united.

"That guard is very strong, at least at the mid-stage of the Mahayana realm!" someone shouted.

"So what if he's in the mid-stage of Mahayana Buddhism? There are so many of us, why would we be afraid of just one person?"

"Attack together! Kill him and seize the Blood Spirit Mushroom!"

A roar erupted from the crowd, and then fifty or sixty people rushed toward the inn at the same time.

Zheng Yi took a deep breath, and the spiritual energy within his body began to circulate wildly.

Although he was powerful, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could easily handle so many people. Especially those three early-stage Mahayana realm experts; if they attacked together, they would still cause him some trouble.

"Looks like I need to get serious."

A glint of light flashed in Zheng Yi's eyes, and he sprang up to meet the black-clad men who were charging at the front.

His speed was unbelievable; he appeared in front of those people almost instantly.

"die!"

He struck out with his palm, and a powerful force surged out like a tide, causing the men in black to cough up blood and fly backward.

Before they even landed, Zheng Yi had already appeared in front of the next group of people.

His movements were unpredictable and elusive, each step seemingly instantaneous, making it impossible to track his movements. His attacks were equally ruthless, each strike aimed directly at vital points, showing absolutely no mercy.

puff!puff!puff!
Blood splattered everywhere and screams were heard.

In just a few dozen breaths, more than a dozen people fell to Zheng Yi's hands.

The remaining men were terrified by this scene, and their attack slowed down.

"What kind of monster is he?"

"This is too strong! It's not human!"

"Don't panic, attack together! No matter how strong he is, he's only one person!"

The three powerful experts at the early stage of the Mahayana realm finally made their move.

They attacked Zheng Yi from three directions simultaneously, their coordination was excellent, and it was clear that they had planned it in advance.

The man on the left wielded a long sword, its blade flashing like a bolt of lightning, incredibly sharp; the man on the right wielded a pair of short hammers, their shadows overlapping, their power immense; the man in front of him was empty-handed, but his fists were wrapped in a faint light, clearly indicating that he had cultivated some kind of special technique.

"Three early-stage Mahayana cultivators ganging up on me?" Zheng Yi sneered. "Fine, then I'll show you what true power is."

Instead of retreating, he advanced and went straight to meet the person in front of him.

"You're asking for death!" the man roared, throwing a punch at Zheng Yi's chest.

Zheng Yi did not dodge, but instead met the punch head-on.

boom!
The two fists collided, making a deafening sound.

The man's expression changed drastically. He felt as if he had crashed into a mountain. An irresistible force came from his fist, instantly breaking the bones and tendons in his arm.

"Ah—" he screamed, flying backward and crashing heavily into the wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Zheng Yi gave him no chance to catch his breath. He flashed in front of him and slapped him on the top of the head.

puff!
The man's head exploded like a watermelon, splattering red and white matter all over the ground.

"Third brother!" The other two were shocked and furious, and attacked Zheng Yi at the same time.

The longsword drew a sharp arc, aiming straight for Zheng Yi's throat; the double hammers, accompanied by a whistling sound, smashed towards Zheng Yi's back.

Zheng Yi dodged the long sword by sidestepping it, and at the same time, he struck the sword with his palm.

clang!
With a crisp sound, the longsword was cleaved in two by Zheng Yi's palm strike.

"What?" The man wielding the knife was shocked.

This sword was his natal magical weapon, having been with him for many years and incredibly sturdy. He never expected it to be broken in two with a single palm strike.

Before he could react, Zheng Yi had already grabbed his neck with his other hand.

"Let me go," he said with difficulty, struggling frantically with his hands.

Zheng Yi ignored him and tightened his grip slightly.

Click!

With a sharp crack, the man's neck was snapped, and his head drooped limply.

Zheng Yi flung the corpse at the man wielding the hammer.

The man wielding the hammer had his view blocked by the corpse and hurriedly dodged to the side.

But just then, Zheng Yi appeared in front of him.

"You—" His pupils contracted sharply, and he tried to back away, but it was too late.

Zheng Yi threw a punch, which landed squarely on his chest.

boom!
His chest caved in, and he flew out like a kite with a broken string, landing lifeless.

Three powerful cultivators at the early stage of the Mahayana realm perished at Zheng Yi's hands in just a few breaths.

The battlefield fell silent.

Everyone was stunned, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Three experts at the early stage of the Mahayana realm, attacking together, were instantly killed before even lasting a single round. What kind of monster is this?

"Peak of the mid-stage Mahayana!" someone exclaimed in horror. "He's not just mid-stage Mahayana, he's peak mid-stage Mahayana! He's only one step away from late-stage Mahayana!"

"How is that possible? How could someone like that be a bodyguard for a merchant?"

"Run! Run!"

The crowd finally broke down.

They no longer dared to continue the attack, turned and ran, scattering in all directions.

Zheng Yi did not give chase.

He stood quietly, watching the figures of those people fleeing in panic, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Can you escape?"

His figure flashed and disappeared.

The next instant, he appeared in front of a fleeing man and smashed him into a bloody pulp with a single palm strike.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth.
His speed was unbelievable; every strike he made was fatal. Those who fled had no chance to resist and could only watch helplessly as death descended upon them.

Screams filled the air, and the stench of blood permeated the atmosphere.

Moments later, the battle was over.

The area around the inn was littered with corpses and rivers of blood. Of the fifty or sixty attackers, not a single one survived.

Zheng Yi stood amidst the corpses, his expression calm as still water.

He turned back to the inn and found Master Zhou standing at the top of the stairs, looking at the horrific scene outside with a horrified expression.

"Young Master Zhang." Master Zhou's voice trembled.

Although he knew Zheng Yi was strong, he never imagined he would be this strong. In just a few minutes, he slaughtered fifty or sixty experts, including three early-stage Mahayana realm powerhouses.

This is beyond powerful; it's terrifying.

"Master Zhou, it's alright now," Zheng Yi said. "No one else should be coming tonight."

Master Zhou swallowed hard and nodded with difficulty.

"Thank you... thank you, Young Master Zhang," he said incoherently.

Zheng Yi waved his hand, "Go and rest first. We'll leave early tomorrow morning." "Okay, okay." Master Zhou nodded repeatedly and turned to go back to his room.

Zheng Yi glanced at the corpses outside and frowned.

Leaving so many corpses here will definitely cause a sensation. But he can't worry about that now. He'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, and let the Qingyun City government handle the rest.

He returned to the lobby, found a chair, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

Although the battle just now wasn't much of a deal for him, killing so many people in a row had still depleted his spiritual energy. He needed to rest and prepare for tomorrow's journey.

Silent all night.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Zheng Yi woke up Master Zhou and the others.

“Let’s go now,” he said.

Master Zhou dared not object, immediately packed his belongings, and followed Zheng Yi out of the inn with the Blood Spirit Mushroom.

Outside the inn, the body from last night had been cleaned up, leaving only some dark red bloodstains on the ground. Several city guards were looking around, seemingly investigating what had happened the previous night.

Zheng Yi led Master Zhou and the others, bypassing the city guards via another route, and headed towards the city gate.

"Young Master Zhang, which gate should we exit the city from?" Master Zhou asked in a low voice.

“South Gate,” Zheng Yi said. “The South Gate is closest to the core area, and there are fewer people there, making it less likely to be ambushed.”

Mr. Zhou nodded and asked no further questions.

The group walked through several streets and arrived near the South Gate.

The South Gate is the smallest gate in Qingyun City, and not many people usually pass through it. It was early morning, and only a few guards were dozing off at the gate.

Zheng Yi observed the surroundings but found nothing unusual.

"Let's go." He led the way toward the city gate.

The guards yawned when they saw them, lazily checked their tokens, and then let them out.

Once outside the city gate, Zheng Yi immediately quickened his pace.

“Master Zhou, the journey ahead may be a bit bumpy, please bear with it,” he said.

"It's alright, Young Master Zhang, please rest assured," said Master Zhou.

Zheng Yi nodded, then released his spiritual power, lifting Master Zhou and several guards up and flying south.

Flying is much faster than walking, and in less than half an hour, Qingyun City had disappeared from sight.

Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but did not let his guard down.

He knew that the real danger was yet to come.

It takes three days to travel from Qingyun City to the core area. During these three days, who knows how many people will be lying in ambush along the way, waiting to seize the Thousand-Year Blood Spirit Mushroom.

“Mr. Zhou, for the rest of the journey, we’ll try to avoid main roads and take side roads,” Zheng Yi said. “It will be slower, but it will be safer.”

"I will follow Young Master Zhang's arrangements," said Master Zhou.

The group flew south and soon entered a wilderness.

This wilderness is called "Southern Wilderness," an uninhabited area between Qingyun City and the core region. The terrain here is complex, teeming with demonic beasts, and few people typically traverse this area.

But for Zheng Yi, this place is actually the safest.

His strength is sufficient to deal with the monsters here, and it's not easy to be ambushed in the wilderness. As long as he's careful, he should be able to pass through safely.

After flying for about two hours, Zheng Yi suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Master Zhou asked anxiously.

“There are people ahead,” Zheng Yi said in a deep voice.

His divine sense probed out and discovered that a dozen people were lying in ambush in a forest five miles ahead. The auras of those people were very strong, and two of them had already reached the early stage of the Mahayana realm.

"It seems they had laid an ambush beforehand," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He had thought taking the back path would allow him to avoid the ambush, but he hadn't expected that the enemy had even stationed people here. It seemed that this operation to seize the Blood Spirit Mushroom was being orchestrated behind the scenes.

“We’ll take a detour,” Zheng Yi said.

He changed direction and flew eastward.

But after flying for less than half an hour, he stopped again.

“There are people ahead too,” he said, frowning.

In the woods to the east, there were also a dozen or so people lying in ambush, their strength similar to the previous group.

"These people planned this meticulously," Zheng Yi thought with a chill. "It seems they anticipated I would take this route."

He thought about it and decided to try heading west.

As expected, there was also an ambush on the west side.

“There are ambushes on three sides, leaving only the north,” Zheng Yi pondered. “But the north is the direction back to Qingyun City, and going back will definitely be more dangerous.”

"Young Master Zhang, what should we do?" Master Zhou asked anxiously.

Zheng Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "Force our way in."

"Force our way through?" Master Zhou exclaimed in alarm. "But there are so many people in front of us!"

“There’s no other way,” Zheng Yi said. “There are ambushes on three sides; we can’t get around them. Rather than wasting time, we might as well charge straight through.”

He looked at Master Zhou, his gaze resolute. "Don't worry, Master Zhou, with me here, nothing will happen."

Master Zhou gritted his teeth, but finally nodded. "Alright, I'll do as Young Master Zhang says."

Zheng Yi took a deep breath, then led everyone to fly towards the woods to the south.

Once inside the woods, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The air was filled with the scent of earth and decaying leaves, mingled with a faint, almost imperceptible, sense of menace.

"Come out," Zheng Yi stopped and said calmly. "No need to hide anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the woods. More than a dozen figures emerged from all directions, surrounding Zheng Yi and his group.

Leading the group were two middle-aged men dressed in gray robes, exuding a deep aura; they were clearly the two experts at the early stage of the Mahayana realm.

"You have a sharp eye, sir," one of them chuckled. "We've been lying in ambush for so long, but you still managed to spot us."

"Who are you people?" Zheng Yi asked.

“Who we are is unimportant,” the man said. “What matters is the thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Mushroom you possess. Hand it over, and we might spare your lives.”

"What if I don't pay?" Zheng Yi said calmly.

“Then don’t blame us for being impolite.” The man’s face darkened. “Although you killed quite a few people last night, most of them were just a rabble and wouldn’t amount to much. We’re different; we specialize in dealing with experts.”

"Oh?" Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow. "Then I'd like to see what you're capable of."

The man sneered and winked at his companion behind him.

More than a dozen people moved at the same time and pounced on Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi shielded Master Zhou and the others behind him, and then went to greet them.

He was fast, but this time the enemy was clearly prepared. The dozen or so men didn't rush at once, but instead split into several groups and attacked from different directions, cooperating perfectly.

"A formation?" Zheng Yi's heart skipped a beat.

He noticed that the people's positions were carefully arranged, seemingly following some kind of formation. Each person guarded a specific position, supporting each other to form a tight attack network.

"Dragon-Trapping Formation!" one of them shouted. (End of Chapter)