The Mysterious Dungeon: A Survival Guide to the Twelve Talismans

That punch would cripple his son, even if he didn't die.

Her two healthy sons are now useless.

"Tsk tsk tsk, village chief, how cruel you are! You even killed your own son?"

Zhou An exclaimed in amazement.

"Dad~~!" Zhou Shan uttered this word, then his head lolled to the side and he died.

"Shan'er~~!" The village chief looked at the dead Zhou Shan in disbelief.

He really did kill his own son.

"Who...who exactly are you?" The village chief pointed at Zhou An, his whole body trembling.

"Who am I? Naturally, I'm the one who killed you." Zhou An's smile vanished.

With a thought, Zhou Shan's body instantly turned into a mummified corpse.

Zhou An casually tossed Zhou Shan's body aside and looked at the village chief.

"Village Chief, would you like to die standing up? Or lying down? Or perhaps without consciousness?" Zhou An asked softly.

The village chief turned and ran away without hesitation.

With such a huge gap in strength between the two sides, how could they possibly escape?

Zhou An flashed forward and caught up with the village chief, covering the village chief's head with his large hand.

The village chief instantly squatted down, his face filled with terror.

"Spare me, senior! I'm willing to offer a thousand taels of gold and cultivation techniques!" the village chief pleaded hastily.

Just as Zhou An was about to strike, a thought struck him: "Where is the thing?"

"Senior, can you spare me?" the village chief asked cautiously.

"You have no choice. Where is it?" Zhou An emphasized.

The village chief dared not say another word; he did not want to die.

"Ah... murder! Murder!"

The maids finally realized what was happening and screamed in terror.

Zhou An glanced at the maids, who were immediately so frightened that they fainted.

The village chief immediately led Zhou An to a secret room.

The total amount was two thousand taels of silver, plus a high-grade Xuan-level Qi and Blood Cultivation Technique and three high-grade Xuan-level Martial Arts Techniques.

"A high-grade Xuan-level cultivation technique?" Zhou An's pupils contracted slightly.

Although he had only been here for a few days, he already knew how rare the top-grade Xuan-level cultivation technique was.

At this moment, Zhou An realized that his parents, given their identities, were probably not so simple either.

Otherwise, how could one possess a high-grade Xuan-level Qi and Blood cultivation technique and martial arts?

"You, a mere village chief, possess four profound-level cultivation techniques?" Zhou An looked at the village chief with a half-smile.

The village chief was startled and wanted to speak, but he didn't know how.

"But it doesn't matter anymore. Behave yourself in your next life." Zhou An said softly, and a large hand covered the village chief's head.

Just as the village chief was about to beg for mercy, he felt a powerful force drawing him in from above.

In the blink of an eye, the village chief lost consciousness and eventually turned into a mummified corpse.

Zhou An released his grip, then strode out of the secret room and disappeared from the village in a few flashes.

……

Yunfeng City.

Zhou An looked at the massive city before him, slightly surprised.

The city wall was about twenty zhang high, and its entire surface was engraved with complex runes, which occasionally flashed with fluorescent light.

Above the city gate was a watchtower about ten zhang high.

Judging from the shape of the tower, it is similar to the watchtowers along the border, only slightly smaller.

It wasn't just this city gate that had a watchtower; rather, a watchtower stood atop each of the four city gates.

Zhou An also knew the function of the watchtower: to spread light and dispel darkness.

Yunfeng City is very prosperous, as can be seen from the long queues of people entering the city.

Ordinary people, farmers, caravans, convoys, and so on.

If you encounter any important figures or martial artists, you don't need to queue; you can enter directly through the 'VIP' passage on the side.

As a martial artist, Zhou An naturally couldn't wait in line.

He went straight to the VIP channel.

"Are you a martial artist?" The captain looked Zhou An up and down, somewhat unsure.

"Yes." Zhou An nodded.

"Go in." The captain waved his hand, gesturing for Zhou An to enter.

"What? Even Tom, Dick, and Harry dare to pretend to be martial artists?"

"Lin Changyuan, as expected, a son of a concubine is a son of a concubine. Can't he even tell the difference between a martial artist and a peasant?" An annoying voice came from behind.

Then a man dressed in a sleek, fierce-looking outfit appeared.

Several martial arts guards followed behind him.

Zhou An glanced at the guy, too lazy to pay him any attention, and strode directly into the city.

Chapter 117 Cloud Maple City, the Young Master Attacks?

"Stop right there! Did I say you could leave?" Lin Changzong's face turned cold.

The next instant, a guard stepped forward and blocked Zhou An's path.

Zhou An remained expressionless, raised his hand, grabbed the guard by the neck, and lifted him high into the air.

"Do you see me as a martial artist now?" Zhou An looked at Lin Changzong with a cold expression.

"Waaaaah~~!" The guard in the Bone Refining Realm struggled incessantly, but found himself powerless and unable to move at all.

Then look at Lin Changzong, his face turned pale in an instant.

He knew that his bodyguard was a master of the Bone Refining Realm.

But now he was subdued in a single move.

"Hmph!" Zhou An snorted coldly, then threw aside the guards and strode into the city.

"Damn it, damn peasant!" Lin Changzong cursed as he saw Zhou An enter the city.

"Brother, be careful, there may be eavesdroppers. That person is at least at the peak of the Bone Refining Realm." Lin Changyuan immediately warned upon hearing this.

"Who gives you the right to speak here, you illegitimate son?" Lin Changzong glared fiercely at Lin Changyuan.

The next second, a whooshing sound rang out.

"Ah~~!" Lin Changzong immediately covered his mouth and screamed.

Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed that Lin Changzong's lips had instantly become red and swollen.

Lin Changzong spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with a few front teeth and a piece of silver.

"Keep your mouth clean, or next time it won't just be a matter of losing a few teeth," Zhou An's voice drifted over.

In an instant, everyone was dumbfounded.

Based on this level of control and power, they guessed that Zhou An's strength had even reached the third level of the Meridian Opening Realm.

"Brother, I told you so, you... sigh!" Lin Changyuan sighed, but inside he felt extremely relieved.

Because he was the eldest son, the elder brother always looked down on him.

Lin Changyuan had long been annoyed by the fact that the other party always referred to him as an illegitimate son.

But there was nothing that could be done about it. Now that he saw the other side in defeat, how could he not feel satisfied?

"Young Master, Young Master, are you alright?" Several guards rushed over.

Lin Changzong glared at Lin Changyuan and mumbled, "Are you guys dead? You saw me being beaten and you didn't do anything."

"Quickly, get me to the clinic, and send someone back to inform my father!"

Lin Changyuan's eyes flickered as he watched Lin Changzong leave.

"Keep an eye on me, my stomach hurts, I need to use the restroom," Lin Changyuan said to his men.

"Yes, Captain." The guards quickly replied.

……

Zhou An was strolling down the street when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

"Brother, please wait a moment."

Upon hearing this, Zhou An turned around and saw the captain who had been guarding the city gate walking over.

"Sir, do you have something to discuss with me? Or do you wish to avenge your elder brother?" Zhou An asked Lin Changyuan with a faint smile.

“My name is Lin Changyuan. I am here only to offer a reminder.”

"My elder brother is vengeful, and my father is the county magistrate of Yunfeng City, so you'd better be careful," Lin Changyuan said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Interesting. It seems you and your older brother don't get along very well." Zhou An smiled.

"The struggle for the crown prince position has always been like this. I, the illegitimate son, am not having a good time. I don't even know my brother's name."

Lin Changyuan's cultivation was only at the early stage of Bone Refining, and he wanted to form a good relationship with Zhou An.

"Zhou An, thank you for your kindness. Hope we meet again someday." Zhou An returned the greeting with a cupped hand, then slowly walked towards the city.

"Zhou An... I've never heard of him. He must be a martial artist from outside."

"Martial Arts Tournament, tsk tsk tsk, there are more and more prodigies here."

"I wonder who will win this martial arts tournament. I also hope my older brother will be even more arrogant..."

Lin Changyuan was hoping that his elder brother would offend a powerful figure and be removed from office, so that he could take over.

His talent was not bad to begin with, but all the resources were given to the eldest son.

Unfortunately, his older brother is only at the late stage of Bone Refinement, just two minor realms higher than him.

If all the resources were given to him, he felt he might as well try to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm.

……

Zhou An strolled around the city and had a meal at an inn, asking the waiter all sorts of questions.

This gave me a general understanding of the layout of Yunfeng City.

Yunfeng City is very large, far exceeding any ancient city Zhou An knew of.

The population of Yunfeng City alone is as high as one million.

It should be noted that Yunfeng City is only a county town.

In ancient times, a county town could only have a maximum population of 100,000, but here it's ten times that number.

In general, it has a lot to do with Eternal Night.

The strongest person in the city is the county magistrate, a powerful expert at the mid-stage of the fourth-level True Yuan Realm.

The other top experts are at the early stage of the fourth level of True Essence Realm.

There were only four people.

They are respectively the County Magistrate, the Liu family of Yunfeng, the Demon-Slaying Martial Arts School, and the Yunshui Tower.

This is the first tier of strength. There are many more forces in the second tier, and the strongest of them are all at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Zhou An also focused on inquiring about the martial arts tournament.