When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

Although Song Chen was shocked, he still closed the distance between them.

I dare not go too far away, for fear of an accident.

The man realized what was happening and quickly mobilized his spiritual energy in his dantian, then suddenly raised his hand and waved it at Zhang Jiu.

A ghostly, deep blue flame flew out from his left hand, transforming into a wall of fire three or four feet high and five or six feet thick.

He stood firmly in front of Zhang Jiu.

"There are capable cultivators among the Xu family!" Song Chen thought to himself.

Seeing that the wall of fire blocked Zhang Jiu, the man exhaled and immediately roared at his companions:

"Something's wrong! I'll stop him, you guys continue the mission."

The voice just fell.

Behind the wall of fire, Zhang Jiu conjured a piece of emerald green wooden sword out of thin air. The wooden sword absorbed the entire wall of fire into the sword, leaving it completely unharmed.

Moreover, the originally dull sword body continued to flash with light after absorbing the energy, as if it hadn't had enough to eat.

Wood consumes fire, and the inferior overcomes the superior!

Song Chen's eyes lit up, and he pondered:

The Zhang family is really generous! That wooden sword must be a priceless, top-tier magical artifact.

"Stop me? You think you can?"

Zhang Jiu's hair fell loose in the wind, adding to his imposing presence, and he looked at the other person with a mocking gaze.

The Xu family cultivator who had just uttered those arrogant words felt a chill run down his spine and, sensing something was wrong, turned to run away.

The spiritual energy surged wildly into the magical artifact on his leg, causing it to quickly glow with an overwhelming and destructive force.

however.

next moment.

Vines sprouted from the wooden sword in Zhang Jiu's hand and climbed up his forearm.

In an instant, it became even more stable.

Immediately afterwards, without any hesitation, he slashed forward with his wooden sword, which crisscrossed.

The man was initially terrified, but after a while, realizing that nothing had happened, he burst into laughter.

"Turns out it was all bark and no bite; I overestimated you..."

Before he finished speaking, trees sprouted directly from his seven orifices.

Its body continued to expand until it finally exploded, turning into a cloud of bloody fireworks and disappearing completely.

Zhang Jiu didn't stop and immediately rushed towards the other two.

His movements were so fast that it was difficult to react.

The remaining two, one big and one small, had barely noticed when Zhang Jiu was already in front of them.

Seeing this, one of the older cultivators, with a long beard, actually gave up running away, stood in front of the younger cultivator, and directly cupped his hands to Zhang Jiu, saying:

"Who are you, sir? Could you be one of our accomplices also eyeing the Zhang family's mines? We can give up seventy to eighty percent, just to spare us!"

Another, slightly younger cultivator glanced at the older cultivator in shock.

Although he looked reluctant, he didn't say anything and let the older cultivator speak and negotiate.

Without wasting words or slowing down, Zhang Jiu raised his sword and thrust it at the older cultivator.

The older cultivator's expression stiffened, he clicked his tongue inwardly, and quickly dodged.

"Since you young man is so ignorant of social etiquette, then this old man will teach you what it means to be forgiving when you can!"

Then, he glanced at the cultivators behind him, signaling them to keep their distance, and took out a bronze bell from his storage bag.

Song Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, looking wary and ready to make a move at any moment.

When the bronze bell was taken out, it was only the size of a palm. However, with the infusion of spiritual energy from the older cultivator, it instantly grew to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

At the same time, the bell exudes a terrifying pressure that can directly intimidate the mind.

The fight was discovered by nearby workers. Some of them saw the bronze bell from afar and, due to their low cultivation level, immediately fainted.

"Kid! After so many sword strikes, it's my turn!"

The older cultivator suddenly created distance and shouted, "Take this!"

The bronze bell has disappeared without a trace.

Zhang Jiu looked around cautiously, glancing left and right, but still couldn't find the location of the bronze bell.

Unexpectedly, the bronze bell suddenly appeared, enveloping Zhang Jiu's entire body and trapping him inside, unable to escape.

That's all, so it doesn't really matter.

The bronze bell swung around in the air like a dice roll, shaking up and down.

Zhang Jiu, caught in the middle of it, was overwhelmed and dizzy. Even the wooden sword in his hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

"Second Uncle! Kill him! He just killed Qingyao!"

The younger cultivator behind the older cultivator had tears in his eyes and a ferocious expression on his face.

"Die!"

The older cultivator nodded upon hearing this, his brow furrowed, and he made a hand seal with his right hand, waving it forward.

The bronze bell was moving faster and faster, like a star from outer space, about to fall to the ground.

Song Chen still did not make a move.

Although this attack was incredibly powerful, and Zhang Jiu would have been either killed or crippled if he had taken it head-on, he had only been attacking and not defending during the fight!

as predicted.

At the moment the bronze bell fell.

Despite feeling extremely uncomfortable, Zhang Jiu focused his mind and released a spell. A vast green light emerged from the bottom of the bronze bell, its gentle aura supporting the bell and preventing it from falling directly.

Unfortunately, this method was ineffective and failed to neutralize all the power.

His body absorbed all the remaining power, suffering numerous injuries. He lay in the depression, severely wounded and unconscious.

"The battle is over... Let's go! He's dead, let's get to the mission!"

The older cultivator gently patted the head of the younger cultivator beside him, whose face was full of resentment, and said gently.

"Second Uncle, let's go whip the corpse! What if he's still alive? He killed Qingyao!"

The young cultivator's anger had not yet dissipated, and he remained vengeful.

"It's too late, look!"

The older cultivator shook his head and pointed to the Zhang family cultivators collecting minerals in the distance.

They kept fleeing, and were about to reach the emergency teleportation array to leave this place.

"Can......"

"If the mission isn't completed, Qingyao's death will have been in vain!"

The older cultivator grabbed the younger cultivator's hand and tugged at it, offering a reminder.

"No! I want revenge for Qingyao! Second Uncle, you spared that man's life just now! Why?"

My second uncle didn't say anything.

As he held a high position in the family, he naturally had many things to consider, both the future and the consequences.

What if the visitors are cultivators from the Zhang family, and they kill the other side's people on the other side's territory?

Isn't this a declaration of war without warning?

The Xu family only wanted to secretly gain some benefits; they hadn't reached the point of open conflict.

"I'm doing this for the greater good, for your own good! You're still young and don't understand, so listen to your second uncle first! Be good!"

Second Uncle tightened his grip on the young monk's hand and said urgently.

"No! I won't listen!"

The young cultivator was already deeply in love and unable to extricate himself. Determined to avenge his beloved, he pulled his second uncle's hand away and roared:

"Xu Feng! I'm already at the sixth level of Qi Refining, the same cultivation level as you. Stop telling me you're doing this for my own good!"

"Besides, you're over fifty and still single, how could you, an old bachelor, possibly understand my feelings..."

A black needle darted swiftly through the bright sunlight, gleaming but not dazzling.

Pfft!

The needle goes in and comes out.

Blood was spilled five steps away.

The Soul-Snatching Needle, with a still-beating red heart attached, traced a beautiful arc in the air before disappearing.

Unnoticed by anyone, and under Song Chen's control, the needle tip and red core were removed and returned to his palm without anyone noticing.

The older monk's face was still filled with shock; it seemed that, for him, the younger man's words were more painful than death.

"Second Uncle?"

The young cultivator sensed something was wrong and asked in confusion.

Second Uncle's eyes trembled. Before he died, he didn't even look at the young cultivator. He immediately vomited blood, lay motionless on the ground, and died.

One fatal blow!

A smile played on Song Chen's lips as he glanced at the Soul-Snatching Needle, thinking to himself:

"The power of the Soul-Snatching Needle sneak attack is truly impressive; the Trident Hook certainly couldn't achieve such a feat!"