Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

As for the matter of seizing the pass, Murong Fan had already made arrangements in secret. Last night, under the pretext of "inspecting the defenses," he quietly sneaked to the key passage halfway up the mountain, where he secretly protected the person.

"The reason why Jia Tianlong is so fearless is that, in addition to uniting with a number of gangs, large and small, such as the Iron Spear Society and the Broken Water Gate, he also invited a short, unfathomable demon to come and help him." A heavily injured patrolling disciple reported, dragging his heavy body.

The Wild Wolf Gang launched a series of fierce attacks, advancing step by step, leaving behind mountains of corpses. Jia Tianlong stood at the front of the formation, a smug look on his face as if he were about to seize the Seven Mysteries Sect for himself.

"Continue the attack! Launch the final battle! You mortal ants, always dragging your feet and hesitant, you'll never achieve anything great!" The speaker was a gaunt man, less than three feet tall, wearing a red robe embroidered with gold thread, his clothes jingling with gold jewelry. This dwarf with gold teeth was none other than the Golden Light Master. He hefted the heavy money pouch at his waist, squinted, and smiled, "With this master here to oversee things, go ahead and do your work with peace of mind!"

"Reporting to the Venerable Master, the three reclusive elders of the Seven Mysteries Sect are stationed ahead, and we are unable to break through them by force. Their strength has reached the Transcendent Realm, which is rarely seen in the mortal world. We cannot break through them by force, so we beg the Immortal Master to help us again!" A hall master of the Wild Wolf Gang hurriedly reported.

"Three ordinary mortals, nothing to worry about!" Venerable Jin Guang laughed, stroking his beard. His gold teeth gleamed greedily in the firelight. "Such formidable enemies require a great deal of my spiritual energy to deal with. The original agreement of three thousand taels of gold needs to be increased by two thousand, and the number of boys and girls must be doubled, otherwise this deal is off!" The dwarf paused, staring at Jia Tianlong.

"Rest assured, Immortal Master!" Jia Tianlong, sweat beading on his forehead, hurriedly replied, "Five thousand taels of gold, plus four hundred boys and girls for your cultivation! I only ask that you finish this quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Venerable Jin Guang clapped his hands in satisfaction. The gems on his purple-gold crown reflected golden light. He licked his lips and said, "That's more like it. For the sake of the gold and the child who is cultivating, I will take care of these old fogies for you!"

The Venerable Jin Guang looked at the three old men before him and laughed wildly, "You didn't have much time left anyway, but you insist on throwing your lives away today. I will grant your wish!"

With a flick of his sleeve, the Golden Light Master released three golden talismans that flew from his robes and hovered three feet in front of him, humming and vibrating. The runes on the talismans, outlined in cinnabar, swirled with an eerie blood-red light, and were actually drawn with the essence and blood of young boys and girls.

"go!"

The talisman transformed into three golden rainbows, heading straight for the three reclusive elders. These three were all the accumulated strength of the Seven Mysteries Sect over a hundred years. Though their hair was white, their blood and qi were as strong as dragons. At this moment, they joined forces and formed an array, their palm winds whistling as they condensed into an invisible wall of qi.

"boom--"

The golden light collided with the wall of energy, creating a surge of air that snapped all the ancient trees on both sides of the mountain path. The three old men groaned, each taking three steps back, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, their eyes filled with horror.

"A cultivator?" the leading elder stammered. "Could it be a legendary immortal master?"

"Now you know fear?" The Golden Light Master cackled, his short body hovering in mid-air, his golden ornaments jingling. "Too late!"

"You three old and arrogant mortals, how dare you ruin my important plans?"

He formed hand seals, and the three talismans turned back in mid-air, transforming into three golden chains that coiled around the old man's neck like venomous snakes. The air shrieked as the chains passed.

"Stop!" Wang Juechu shouted loudly.

Wang Juechu's pupils constricted sharply. The dwarf hovered in mid-air, his body swirling with spiritual energy; he was clearly the cultivator his master had mentioned earlier!

"Immortal Master..." His voice trembled, "The Seven Mysteries Sect has no enmity with you, why..."

"Shut up!" Jin Guang Shangren waved his hand, and a golden light pierced through the air. Wang Juechu hurriedly raised his sword to block, but the fine iron longsword broke in two like rotten wood. He was also hit in the chest by the residual force and flew backward, spitting blood.

"Sect Master!" the elders exclaimed and rushed forward.

Wang Juechu crashed heavily onto the bluestone steps, his black robe soaked in blood. He struggled to sit up, only to see that the Golden Light Immortal had already manipulated golden chains to bind the three reclusive elders to the ground. The flesh where the chains tightened was charred black, with wisps of smoke rising from it.

"Master!" Murong Fan flashed and caught Wang Juechu, secretly channeling a wisp of spiritual energy into his palm to protect his heart. He looked up at the short figure in mid-air.

"Oh?" The Golden Light Master's gaze swept over, his gold teeth gleaming greasy in the firelight. "Another reckless little brat?"

Murong Fan stood in the crowd, his gaze slightly narrowed. This Golden Light Venerable was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, but he had a magical artifact by his side. For the moment, he dared not be careless and could only feign weakness to find out his strength.

Murong Fan handed Wang Juechu over to the elder for support and slowly stepped forward. He did not reveal his spiritual power, but simply clasped his hands in the manner of a mortal martial artist: "Immortal Master, your supernatural powers are vast, and this junior admires you greatly. However, as an immortal cultivator, aren't you afraid of getting entangled in mortal battles and corrupting your Dao heart by meddling in them?"

"Cause and effect?" The Golden Light Master laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. His dwarf body swayed back and forth in mid-air, the golden weapons at his waist clanging like a death knell. "I cultivate the path of wealth; gold is my Dao heart, and young boys and girls are my resources! What do you, an ant, know?" His laughter abruptly stopped, a chilling glint in his triangular eyes: "Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"

"Wait a minute!" Murong Fan stepped forward and said loudly, "Since Immortal Master cultivates the path of wealth, then everything is negotiable."

"Where did this brat come from, daring to be so bold!" The Golden Light Master narrowed his eyes, his divine sense sweeping over Murong Fan like a tide, but was blocked by an invisible spiritual energy barrier.

A plan immediately formed in his mind, and his triangular eyes darted around: "This Seven Mysteries Sect really has no one to rely on. The big shots aren't coming out to hide in the back, leaving you, a mere child, to take their place?" After saying that, he glanced sideways at the heavily injured Wang Juechu, his gold teeth gleaming with calculation and mockery in the firelight.

"This young friend is exceptionally courageous, with extraordinary talent and spiritual roots. He is truly a promising talent. If you are willing to submit to me, I will teach you superior techniques and share wealth and glory. Wouldn't that be much better than dying here? After I take down the Seven Mysteries Sect, I will give you thirty percent of the gold, how about that?" After saying this, the dwarf laughed triumphantly again, the clinking of gold at his waist mingling with his laughter.

"You cultivator, so greedy and wicked, why don't you surrender!" Murong Fan roared, secretly channeling his spiritual energy to prepare for action.

"You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!" Upon hearing this, Venerable Jin Guang's ears turned bright red. He abruptly pulled off the purple-gold gourd from his waist and poured out three bronze bells the size of walnuts. "Soul-suppressing bells, activate!" He formed a hand seal, and the bells, suspended in the air, erupted with a piercing buzz. The sound waves transformed into visible golden ripples, rushing straight towards Murong Fan's sea of ​​consciousness.

Murong Fan felt a sharp pain in his head, his spiritual energy suddenly became sluggish, and as he staggered, the Golden Light Master had already summoned the Spirit Binding Chains—blood-red runes appeared on the surface of the chains, coiling around his limbs and bones like venomous snakes.

"Little brat, taste my Golden Silkworm Gu!" The Golden Light Master grinned maliciously and made a hand seal, as thousands of silver threads transformed into a rain of poisonous needles.

Murong Fan hastily gathered protective spiritual light, but the light shield trembled repeatedly when he was shot by the poison needle. His left arm was accidentally hit by the silver thread, and a dark blood line immediately appeared.

He grunted and retreated three feet. Just as he formed a fireball spell with his fingertips, he saw the golden crown on the Golden Light Master's head shine brightly. A golden beam of light as thick as a bowl crashed down, blasting a crater more than ten feet deep into the ground in front of him.

Murong Fan spun around swiftly, barely dodging the golden beam of light, but his robes were torn in several places by the aftershocks. He glanced down at the dark blood lines spreading across his left arm, his brows furrowing slightly—this Golden Silkworm Gu was fed with the essence blood of living people every month, making it extremely toxic and capable of eroding the circulation of spiritual energy.

"Little brat, now you know fear?" The Golden Light Master hovered in mid-air, his golden teeth flashing a smug grin in the firelight. Suddenly, he rubbed his hands together and laughed, "How about this? If you kneel down and submit, I'll spare your life. What do you say?"

Murong Fan remained silent, his divine sense rapidly scanning his body. The Gu poison was traveling along his meridians, causing spiritual energy to stagnate wherever it passed. He secretly circulated the Everlasting Spring Technique, using the life-giving power of wood-type spiritual energy to suppress the poison, while his right hand quietly reached into his sleeve and grasped something.

"Does the Immortal Master know," he suddenly looked up, a faint smile playing on his lips, "why I was able to see through your Spirit Binding Chains at a glance?"

Master Jin Guang was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Why?"

"Because I am also a cultivator!" Murong Fan's eyes sharpened, his tone steady, "I simply disdain associating with a money-grubber like you!"

"Master, this kid is clearly at a disadvantage. Take advantage of the situation and kill him!" Jia Tianlong shouted from afar!

"What are you yelling about!" The dwarf swept his hand, sending a gust of wind sweeping over the Wild Wolf Gang's guards. He turned to Jia Tianlong and shouted, "This kid is a cultivator. Killing him is twice as difficult. You'll need another five thousand taels of gold! Otherwise, I'm not going to keep you company!"

"Damn it, how can this dwarf be so arrogant! He already raised the price of the agreed-upon three thousand taels of gold, and now he wants to raise it again! He's just treating us like韭菜 (leeks, a metaphor for being exploited) to be harvested," an elder of the Wild Wolf Gang whispered.

"What are you muttering about?" The Golden Light Immortal, with his sharp ears, glared at the elder, then turned to Jia Tianlong, his gold teeth grinding. "That old man is right, killing this cultivation brat is too risky. We need more money! Another ten thousand taels of gold, not the five thousand we agreed on before. Not a single coin less!"

Murong Fan sneered inwardly: "This dwarf has a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks; I never imagined he'd be so greedy! He's a total money-grubbing scoundrel! Looking at his demeanor, he doesn't resemble a cultivator at all. Even now, he's still thinking about raising the price; he's practically risking his life for money. Today, I will act on behalf of Heaven and rid you, this money-loving scourge!"

During the fight just now, Murong Fan was not actually defeated by this dwarf. In fact, he deliberately feigned weakness. He was playing dumb to catch the tiger—he wanted to take this opportunity to find out all of the opponent's trump cards and obtain more information and resources about cultivation!