My exclusive card pool

Chapter 244: Using strength to defeat cleverness
late at night.

A hundred meters away from Yubaolou, there is an inconspicuous house.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman dressed in purple robes emerged from the secret passage and entered the courtyard.

The moonlight, as silvery as silver, dappled through the branches of the locust tree in the courtyard. The man in purple, Hanxiang, lightly tapped the stone table with his fingertips, while his junior sister, Lengyan, played with a strand of hair at her temple.

Not long after.

A series of footsteps stopped abruptly outside the courtyard, followed by three long and two short knocks on the door, breaking the silence.

"Come in, Chief Hou."

Hanxiang didn't even raise her eyes, her voice indifferent.

Hou Liwei, the leader of the Tianlang Gang, pushed open the door and entered. His suit was neatly pressed, but it couldn't hide his rough and unruly air.

He hunched over, hurried to the stone table, beads of sweat glistening in the moonlight on his forehead.
"Please forgive me, esteemed immortals, but the 'medicinal herbs' I used tonight were ineffective. He died after only a few moments of service, which has truly spoiled your enjoyment."

His voice trembled, clearly showing that he was terrified of the man and woman.

"Shh." Leng Yan suddenly raised her eyes, but the smile didn't reach them. "Wait a minute."

Hou Liwei was taken aback.

Before he could react, he saw the woman in purple in front of him flip her hand and grab at the air.

Swah——

The shadow at the base of the wall, ten steps away, began to wriggle.

A pale white paper sparrow was forcibly pulled from the void by an invisible force and fluttered into Leng Yan's palm.

"A paper sparrow listening to the wind? Ha." Leng Yan's fingertips caressed the paper sparrow's wings, then she scoffed and crushed it into dust. "A trivial skill in the art of paper cutting."

"Junior sister, it seems that an uninvited guest has infiltrated the Jade Treasure Pavilion tonight."

Hanxiang looked at the paper sparrow in the woman's hand and said calmly.

Leng Yan pondered: "Those three tough guys from the other day used the same method... It's impossible for ordinary people to see through it."

Hou Liwei then realized that he had been monitored and followed the whole time. He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I deserve to die, please have mercy, Immortal Master..."

"Shut up." Hanxiang interrupted, flicking her sleeve. "Now that your ears are pinched, let's get down to business."

Hou Liwei, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, hurriedly said:
“The dead ‘dregs’ have been transported to Mr. Bill’s church cellar, but he… still thinks it’s not enough, saying that ‘blood mayflies’ are in need of a warm bed and that he must add twenty more bodies before sunset tomorrow.”

Hanxiang and Lengyan exchanged a glance, both filled with disdain.

Leng Yan said with a hint of sarcasm, "This impoverished lad from Western Red Noble Island, does he really think he's still a prince? With his stitching witchcraft, he dares to bargain with my Great Joy Palace?"

Hanxiang said softly, "What Magou Town has no shortage of is 'materials' for two people. In the refugee camp in the west of the city and the beggar's alley in the south of the city, twenty sets can be gathered in half an incense stick's time."

As he spoke, he shook his head.

“But we are not his subordinates.”

Hou Liwei shrank back, not daring to reply.

Hanxiang thought for a moment and said, "You should pass on the message to him that there will be enough corpses delivered to our door tomorrow... but there is one condition: the blood coral promised to us must be delivered in advance."

"Yes, Immortal Master."

Hou Liwei nodded vigorously.

Her cold, red lips curved slightly as she turned her gaze toward the Jade Treasure Pavilion: "Those merchants from the Morning Kingdom tonight... the young man in the lead seems to have very abundant vital energy."

She lightly licked her canine teeth with the tip of her tongue, as if savoring a sweet treat.

"His group of companions, along with them, just filled Bill's appetite."

A knowing smile appeared on Hanxiang's lips.

With these words from her junior sister, it was as if she had pronounced a death sentence on those seven people.

Hou Liwei looked at the two men's tacit sneers and hurriedly forced a fawning smile in agreement, but goosebumps crawled all over the back of his neck.

Suddenly, the locust branches in the courtyard were shaken by the wind, and the fine moonlight, like silver scales, swept across the shadows at the entrance of the secret passage. No one noticed that deep in the crevice, a pair of ink-wash yin-yang fish silently disappeared into the gap between the bricks and stones, as if they had never existed.

...

...

The following morning, in a private room on the third floor of Yubaolou.

Su Su lowered her head and carefully fastened the last button for Wang Xi.

She moved gently, even her breathing was deliberately softer, as if she wasn't the one who risked speaking out to warn them last night.

Wang Xi allowed her to serve him, but his gaze took in her feigned composure. She silently withdrew and said in a low voice, "Please wait a moment, sir, I will go and fetch you breakfast."

The voice was flat, making no mention of what happened last night.

Wang Xi hummed in agreement and turned his gaze to the window. Outside the Jade Treasure Pavilion, the town of Magou was gradually awakening in the morning mist, still bustling, yet exuding a suffocating deathly aura.

A short while later, the door was pushed open again.

A rich and enticing fragrance wafted over.

Before the newcomer even got close, Wang Xi already knew it was someone else... It wasn't Su Su's slender figure, but a plump and soft body that embraced him from behind.

Her tender, lotus-root-like arms wrapped around his waist, and her full, high breasts pressed against his back.

"Guest sir."

A sweet, cloying voice, capable of melting bones, breathed softly in Wang Xi's ear, and delicate fingertips, with alluring skill, lightly brushed across his firm chest, moving downwards.

"Let me serve you breakfast."

She was cold and aloof.

She decided to take matters into her own hands.

Wang Xi swiftly grabbed the restless little hand with lightning speed, his five fingers like iron clamps, rendering it unable to move.

A playful smile curved his lips as he asked without turning his head, "Did you come to the wrong room, young lady? Where's Susu?"

Despite being held by the wrist, Leng Yan remained completely calm, resting her chin on Wang Xi's shoulder, her alluring face framed by her captivating eyes.

"The matchmaker felt sorry for our distinguished guest, saying that Su Su was clumsy and didn't know how to serve people, so she specially sent me to make up for it..."

She deliberately moved even closer: "Let me tell you a secret, sir, I am the real 'top courtesan' of Jade Treasure Pavilion. Even if you empty your purse, you can hardly touch a single finger of mine."

Wang Xi raised an eyebrow, his smile carrying a deeper meaning:
"Oh? Then I've hit the jackpot!"

He loosened his grip slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Since that's the case, I, Wang, will certainly have a good taste of what you, this vixen, are like today..."

"Witch?" Leng Yan was slightly taken aback, then her face flushed with a spring-like smile, her red lips licking the corner of her mouth as she let out a coquettish laugh: "Sir, you really know how to play. I like this title—hmm?!"

Before she could finish speaking, the charming smile on her face froze instantly.

An invisible force froze her entire body, making her limbs feel like they were filled with lead. No matter how she tried to activate her internal magic, she could not move an inch.

She immediately released her primordial spirit to scan the area and was horrified to discover that her wrist joints, elbows, knees, shoulder blades, and even the vital points of her neck had been locked by strange, faint, spider-like "threads" that were invisible at some point.

These threads are not physical objects, yet they exude a cold and resilient power of will.

"The Art of Puppetry?!" Leng Yan exclaimed in shock, her allure vanishing, replaced by disbelief and panic: "You're a reclusive cultivator?! Impossible!"

If the other party were a cultivator, she and her senior brother should have discovered it long ago.

Leng Yan was indeed careless.

Although she sensed the young man's extraordinary demeanor last night, like that of a martial arts expert with extremely vigorous energy, she couldn't detect a trace of magical power emanating from him. She simply assumed he was a master among mortals, a worthy prey.

Who would have thought that this was a cultivator whose magical power was hidden and whose realm far exceeded her imagination!
The gap between the two was too great; her proud perception was like a blind man touching an elephant in front of Wang Xi.

Wang Xi turned around and leisurely sat down at the table.

The "top courtesan," who had just been so alluring, was now like a puppet on strings, her limbs forcibly pulled apart, suspended in mid-air in an extremely humiliating posture, her beautiful eyes, which seemed to be spitting fire, fixedly staring at the young man.

"I'll give you one chance to ask for help." Wang Xi picked up the cold tea on the table, took a sip, and said calmly. "This is the only time."

Faced with the other party's contemptuous treatment and wanton manipulation, an intense sense of humiliation and hatred flashed in her cold and beautiful eyes.

She dared not harbor any more illusions, and immediately let out a piercing scream, her voice infused with magical power, instantly resounding throughout the entire Jade Treasure Pavilion:

"Senior brother, save me!!"

The piercing scream was like a thunderclap.

At this moment, Hanxiang, dressed in a purple robe, was climbing the stairs and had just reached the corner on the second floor.

A piercing cry for help rang out, and his expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he transformed into a blur, unleashing his full power as he rushed straight towards the room on the third floor where Wang Xi was.

Almost at the same moment, Hou Liwei's furious roar came from downstairs: "Where the hell have you all gone?! Grab your weapons! Third floor! Someone's causing trouble!"

A sudden, hurried sound of footsteps erupted as the Sky Wolf Gang's thugs, armed with machetes, axes, and old-fashioned rifles, surged up the stairs.

After shouting, Hou Liwei turned around abruptly and bowed obsequiously to the shadows of the stairs, saying, "Gentlemen, this is a tricky situation. Please lend us your help. We will reward you handsomely afterwards!"

From the shadows, three tall, blond, blue-eyed Westerners in sharp suits, but with expressionless faces, slowly emerged.

They were all Baron Bill's confidants.

One of them, the leader, grinned, revealing a set of sharp, white teeth, and said menacingly in broken Da Lu dialect:

"Useless...always...so much trouble."

After saying that, the three figures suddenly blurred, leaving only three dim, scarlet afterimages in place, moving at an unbelievable speed.

Bang!
The carved wooden door of the third-floor wing was smashed open with tremendous force, and Hanxiang's figure appeared at the doorway with the force of wind and thunder.

However, what he saw before him made his pupils shrink. The young man in the long black coat was sitting calmly at the table, legs crossed, holding a teacup in his hand.

Behind him, his junior sister Leng Yan, who was always proud and ruthless, was suspended in mid-air with her limbs outstretched in an extremely humiliating posture.

Her pretty face was contorted, her eyes unfocused; she was clearly being controlled and didn't even have the strength to shout or curse.

"Junior Sister!" Hanxiang cried out, then turned around abruptly, glaring at Wang Xi with a mixture of shock and anger: "Your Excellency... what skill! Forgive my poor eyesight, I didn't recognize you as a reclusive master! May I ask which immortal sect you come from?"

Hanxiang was no fool. The strange state of Lengyan being restrained instantly reminded him of the puppet show.

To be able to use this technique so skillfully, one is very likely a direct disciple of the "Wanfa Hedao Sect".

He felt apprehensive about his direct disciple.

next moment.

But then the young man in black, who was sitting upright, slowly put down his teacup, looked up, and said calmly, "Wang Xi, the true disciple of Mo Jian Zhai."

Just seven short words.

Hanxiang and Lengyan were startled.

Their pupils contracted sharply in unison.

Mo Jian Zhai?
Although it is not a major sect like the Four Symbols Court, it is not an ordinary sect either; it just keeps a low profile most of the time.

It is said that the "Mysterious Lord" came from the Ink Sword Studio.

The current abbot, "Shuhua Daoren" Song Hui, is also an ascended being...

This young man before me is actually a true disciple of the Ink Sword Sect?!
What is the concept of a true disciple?
That represents the core strength standing at the pinnacle of the younger generation of the entire Immortal Sect; they are absolute geniuses.

Why would someone with such a promising future wander around in a backwater like Magou Town?
Amidst a flurry of thoughts, a chill instantly swept through their bodies, leaving them with only one thought: They'd hit a brick wall!

Hanxiang's anger instantly turned into deep apprehension.

His expression shifted several times before he managed to force a stiff smile that looked more like a grimace: "So it's the esteemed master from Mo Jian Zhai who has arrived. There... there must be some misunderstanding here?"

Before he could finish speaking, he tried to take advantage of the pause in the conversation to make his escape.

But as soon as he retreated, Wang Xi chuckled softly:
"Heh, it seems you two, brother and sister, don't have a very deep bond. You'll abandon each other when disaster strikes? Oh well..."

He casually raised his hand, his five fingers making a grasping motion.

call--

It sounded like a low, mournful roar of a dragon.

A massive black dragon, formed from dense, dark spiritual energy, emerged from Wang Xi's sleeve.

Its scales were menacing, its eyes were like torches, and it carried a deep, abyssal, hellish pressure. It roared silently, instantly traversing space and tightly binding Hanxiang, who had just retreated to the door.

The man in purple felt as if he were bound by a chain of ten thousand feet of black iron, his bones and muscles about to crack and snap.

"Ugh!!"

At the critical moment of life and death, Hanxiang unleashed her potential.

The Great Joy Palace technique, "The Wondrous True Skill of Yin-Yang Harmony," was running wildly, instantly igniting the accumulated essence of others within his body.

His body shone with a bloody light, his muscles bulged and swelled, and his whole body expanded as if inflated, with veins protruding like coiled dragons.

Hanxiang's idea was simple: to try to break free from the black dragon's restraints using her physical strength.

However, reality is quite harsh.

The black dragon not only remained motionless, but suddenly tightened its grip.

Click!Click!
The sickening sound of bones cracking rang out in rapid succession, and Hanxiang let out a shrill scream that was so mournful it was inhuman, as the protective blood energy around her shattered like soap bubbles.

"puff--"

Blood gushed from his mouth, mixed with fragments of internal organs.

His swollen muscles rapidly deflated, his entire body shrank like a punctured balloon, his eyes dimmed, and he slumped completely in the strangulation of the black dragon.

...

...

Almost immediately after a few breaths.

A stench filled the air—

Three ghostly, scarlet figures burst through the doorway with shrill cries; they were the three Western bloodlines.

They froze as soon as they entered.

They stood frozen in place, like statues.

The three of them could only see that the two purple-robed "immortals" whom Hou Liwei had described as arrogant, mysterious and powerful were now suspended in mid-air in an extremely miserable and humiliating manner.

The young man in black, who was sitting upright, poured himself a cup of tea and glanced at them indifferently.

"Titus, Bloodline of Red Duke Island (Hostile/High-Rank Two-Star/Elite)"

"Jane, a descendant of the Crimson Island..."

The three bloodline descendants' pupils contracted, and they exchanged a glance.

The instinct for survival... no, or rather, the fear of higher-ranking predators, drove them to instantly unleash the dormant vampire power within them.

"Roar!"

A beastly growl resounded.

The three men's skin instantly lost all color, turning as pale as bleached paper. Their eyes turned into a deep, lifeless black, and their lips curled up, revealing sharp fangs.

Thick, almost tangible, scarlet blood energy erupted from their pores, instantly filling the entire room with a strong stench of rust and decay.

In the next instant, three blood-red figures tore through the air, surrounding Wang Xi from three extremely tricky angles.

One figure exploded, transforming into a swarm of bloodthirsty bats that squeaked and blotted out the view, lunging straight at Wang Xi's face; another person lowered his arms to the ground, his spine stretched and deformed, instantly transforming into a giant wolf, roaring as he raised his claws to strike Wang Xi's crown; and finally, the last person opened his blood-red maw and spat out a condensed, foul arrow of blood, piercing towards Wang Xi's heart!

Despite the siege, Wang Xi didn't even lift his eyelids.

...

...

At the same time, the entire Jade Treasure Pavilion was in complete chaos.

The guests were terrified by the continuous screams, roars, and sounds of a terrifying fight. They cried out and pushed each other as they fled downstairs like headless flies.

Many handsome men and beautiful women, dressed in disheveled clothes, also took advantage of the chaos to blend into the crowd and escape.

Hu Bugui and his two companions, along with Mei Yanxi, Zhang Fuyun, and Liu Xunyan, knew that something had changed after hearing Leng Yan's first shrill cry for help.

They used their agility to clear away the scattered resistance on the way to the third floor, and rushed to the door of Wang Xi's room almost one after another.

The door was wide open, and the stench of blood hit us.

The six people gasped in shock upon seeing the scene inside the room, frozen in place.

Wang Xi remained seated at the table, with the purple-clad man and woman hanging behind him, their fates unknown. At his feet, three blond, blue-eyed, pale-skinned men in suits lay motionless on the ground, their faces filled with terror, already lifeless.

The whole process was too fast.

It happened so fast they didn't even know what was happening.

"Young Master Wang, what is this...?"

Hu Bugui's Adam's apple bobbed as he hesitated before asking a question.

"It's nothing." Wang Xi put down his teacup. "The people behind Yu Bao Lou can't hold back anymore and are preparing to make a move against me."

He smiled and said, "Then I'll have no choice but to retaliate."

"..."

Everyone took a deep breath.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

Is the power behind Jade Treasure Pavilion too useless?
How could Hu Bugui and his two companions be in such a sorry state...?

It can only be said that Young Master Wang's strength was too great, causing his opponent to kick a hornet's nest.

In this brief moment of deathly silence.

A languid, alluring laugh, seemingly capable of bewitching the soul, came without warning from outside the window, ringing clearly in everyone's ears:

"Oh dear, what a temper..."

The voice was full of charm and had a captivating magic that made Hu Xiaosheng's neck hairs stand on end.

Everyone had the same thought—

This person is no ordinary individual!
"I have been negligent; I had no idea that a true disciple of the Ink Sword Sect would personally grace my humble abode..."

The voice seemed to be both far away and right outside the window: "Imperial Treasure Pavilion has failed to provide adequate hospitality and has offended you greatly. Please forgive me, Immortal Wang."

Wang Xi sensed that the newcomer was far more powerful than Leng Yanhanxiang. Finally, he stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and a half-smile appeared on his lips:

"After waiting half the night, the main character finally arrived."

A graceful figure appeared in the thin mist.

This was a woman also wearing a purple gauze dress, but her temperament was even more aloof and elegant, with a hint of pitifulness in her eyes.

"Grand Music Hall Yin Clan's Personal Transmission: Monster - Zhi Ji (Enemy/High-Rank 5-Star/Hero)"

(End of this chapter)