This Dao Ancestor is too young.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanzhu raised his hand, and two dark jade-colored gemstones landed in the woman's arms.

"I will remember Fellow Daoist Jiang's kindness. When I kill this old pig and dog, I will repay him not only with five hundred spirit stones, but even with five thousand spirit stones."

He was prepared to fight to the death, but he never expected that this woman, whom he had only met a few times, would be willing to lend a helping hand.

"Kill me?"

Tao Jintai stood up, revealing a face covered in blood, his gaze dark as he stared at the woman in the green dress:

"I had no intention of offending the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, but you have ruined my path."

"Today I'll see how a rogue cultivator who has just entered the Qi Refining Realm, plus a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining, can kill me."

At this moment, Tao Jintai's imposing aura was no longer concealed, bursting forth with unrestrained force and extreme dominance.

At the same time, crimson light emanated from his body, soaring into the sky and filling the heavens.

Then it transformed into a blood-red mist, layer upon layer, cascading down, melting broken walls and corroding rocks wherever it passed, as if trying to kill the two of them.

At that moment, an old man wearing a silver cloak with a white undershirt stood in front of the blood-red mist.

The old man raised his hand, and a blue jade pendant floated up from his palm, bursting forth with wisps of blue light that extinguished the blood mist and blocked the attack.

Uncle Tian looked distressed, his eyes filled with helplessness.

He originally intended to leave with the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, but this young lady dragged him here to fight.

Or rather, I was persuaded by the young lady to come here and risk my life, and even now, that sentence still echoes in my mind.

"Uncle Tian, ​​do you know why, in the memories of the future, the Chamber of Commerce chose to become enemies of the Dao Ancestor?"

We're too concerned with gains and losses, just like ordinary merchants. But some things shouldn't be about just profits; there's more to it than that...

The distinction between right and wrong!

Various thoughts flashed through Tian Bo's mind, and in the end, he decided to risk his life here.

As a Qi Refining Realm cultivator, he instantly eradicated all distracting thoughts from his mind.

"This demon has failed to break through its barrier and will inevitably suffer a backlash. Attack with all your might and kill it!"

Tian Bo roared to the sky, his magical power surging forth and flowing into the jade pendant.

Boom~

The jade pendant trembled, its radiance surged, like a blue sun illuminating the sky, then crashed down with a deafening roar.

Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanzhu went all out, raising his arms and forming a hand seal.

Water control technique!

Splash~ Splash~

Water flows out of nowhere, transforming into springs, surging and gushing forward.

At the same time, Jiang Chuyu took out more than a dozen talismans from her bosom and threw them out directly.

Ice spikes, fire snakes, wooden spikes... transformed into a torrent of magic, rolling forward.

In almost an instant, the three attacks shattered the blood mist and engulfed the enemy.

A deafening roar, mixed with painful screams, rang out, followed by a blood-red rainbow that broke through the blue light and fled into the distance, disappearing into the horizon.

A hoarse and venomous voice drifted through the air:

"Decades of scheming and plotting, all for naught in a single day. You lowly commoners and the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, I will remember you!"

Tian Bo frowned, stretched out his hand, and gently beckoned. The blue light dissipated, and the jade pendant fell to the ground.

"The demonic cultivators are unpredictable and have many methods, yet none of them have perished."

He paused, turned slightly to look at the boy in the cotton coat, sized him up, and then slowly spoke:

"We still have the protection of the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, so that demonic cultivator is nothing. But this young friend, you should be careful."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanzhu dispelled the golden light on his arm, clasped his hands in a salute, and said:

"Thank you for your help, senior. As for the demonic cultivators' retaliation, I..."

The boy stood straight, his arms hanging naturally at his waist, his expression cold.

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

An old man who has cultivated for decades but is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining will not even be qualified to face him in a few years.

Uncle Tian sensed the confidence in the boy's words and fell silent for a moment.

The twelfth level of Qi Refining is extremely difficult to break through each time. People with ordinary talent will be stuck at the third level of Qi Refining for their entire lives. However, considering the performance of the young man in the battle just now.

Call ~

The old man sighed softly:

"For a genius like you, that demonic cultivator is indeed nothing, but you have not yet fully grown up and need the protection of a powerful force."

"Would you like to join the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce?"

The boy's eyes were thoughtful. After a moment, he looked up, his expression more serious than ever before. He didn't answer directly but instead asked other questions:

"Can the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce save the city from widespread death?"

Standing in the center of the city, he could already hear the chirping of insects and the wailing of the surrounding people, filled with despair and pain.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Tian slowly shook his head:

"The worms have penetrated into the bone marrow and internal organs, and now they have hatched; there is no point in trying to save them."

"Jiaoyuan City is destroyed!"

The old man made his own judgment.

"I see!"

Zhang Yuanzhu sighed softly:

"Although the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce is powerful, I would rather travel the world and roam the world with my sword."

As his words drifted away, he had already begun walking towards the edge of the ruins:

"The insect eggs have been prematurely released, and there should still be civilians alive in the city. I need to deal with the monsters and leave for now."

Jiang Chuyu lowered her hand, putting away the two black jade crystals in her bosom. She stared intently at the boy's blood-stained face, especially at his eyes, which she looked at again and again with a thoughtful expression.

Then, her red lips parted slightly:

"The Qingyun Chamber of Commerce caravan will leave Jiaoyuan City in three days and head to Linhai City. If you are interested, you may join us in three days."

Zhang Yuanzhu paused slightly and nodded lightly on his forehead.

Then, just as he was about to take another step, a seemingly unintentional question reached his ears.

"We've met several times and fought side by side, yet I still don't know how to address you, fellow Daoist?"

With his back to the two, Zhang Yuanzhu's eyes were deep as he took another step, leaving the ruins of the city lord's mansion. A soft whisper drifted away on the wind.

"Zhang Bairen!"

"Bai Ren? What a wonderful name!"

The woman stood with her hands behind her back, her dress fluttering, her long black hair dancing, ethereal like a fairy descending to earth, her eyes containing a unique emotion.

Uncle Tian's gaze lingered on the direction where the woman and the boy had left, his brows gradually furrowing.

"Miss, didn't we agree to leave today? Why are you delaying for three more days?"

"Giggle~"

A gentle breeze blows, and her graceful figure slowly fades away:

"Uncle Tian, ​​some people are always worth waiting for."

.......

the other side.

After leaving the ruins of the city lord's mansion, Zhang Yuanzhu leaned against the wall with one hand, panting heavily, with drops of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

After repeatedly destroying his magical artifacts and fighting desperately time and time again, even though his magical power had recovered somewhat when he stood on the blood-red lake, he still felt exhausted at this moment.

"I can still wage war!"

The young man whispered, took out the essence blood pill from his storage bag, swallowed it in one gulp, cleansed his physical body, and restored his magical power.

He managed to stand up straight and ran towards the place where the chirping of insects was the most intense.

On the street, strange figures emerged from the shadows, with triangular heads, twisted limbs, and chunky shells on their bodies—they looked like giant insects.

The scarlet insect-like eyes revealed madness and a thirst for slaughter.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't save everyone!"