Mortal: I, Zhang Tie, started by joining forces with Han Li to kill a strategist.

Three prompts rang in Zhang Tie's mind. He put away his magic weapon, took all the spirit stones and raw ore piled up in the secret room, and also looted the storage bags and magic weapons on the Xie family members.

Zhang Tie didn't count them in detail, but he roughly estimated that this batch of spirit stone ore was worth at least one thousand spirit stones.

Even in Xie Duanfeng and Xie Yunhe's storage bags, there were still seven or eight hundred spirit stones in total. Including other items, they had gained nearly two thousand spirit stones this time alone.

"The path to wealth through ransacking and exterminating families—we've come to the right place with the Xie family!" Zhang Tie exclaimed with delight.

However, this batch of spirit stone ore cannot be exposed to the light of day for a while. There will definitely be people from the Enforcement Peak investigating it. But when the demonic path invades, not many people will remember this insignificant little matter!

Just as he was putting away the blood lion's corpse and using a fireball to send the two Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Xie family to the afterlife, his divine sense suddenly detected the commotion outside Wutong Valley.

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators have already entered Wutong Valley and are rapidly approaching this direction.

One is in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and the other is in the early-Foundation Establishment stage. Does the Xie family have that many Foundation Establishment cultivators?

Although the two had tried to conceal their auras, they could not escape his divine sense. Zhang Tie found their auras unfamiliar and they carried a bloody smell!

"Could it be someone from the Earthly Fiend Stronghold? It can't be such a coincidence! Today is the day of the transaction?" Zhang Tie's heart suddenly stirred.

However, considering that Xie Duanfeng, who should have been in the sect, was now in the Xie family, it was highly likely that he had stumbled upon two groups of people making a deal by accident.

The two were unaware that the Xie family had encountered trouble and came to make the transaction as usual.

Thinking of that iron-willed man, a smile crept onto his lips.

When you come to trade, you should at least have spirit stones on you, right? What an unexpected bonus!

Fortunately, in order to avoid causing a big commotion, they had set up the Six Harmonies Sealing Array to isolate the spiritual energy fluctuations from earlier.

Zhang Tie did not rush to leave, but instead hid in the shadows of the secret chamber, concealing his aura to the extreme. At the same time, the Six Harmonies Sealing Array also disappeared, waiting for the next wave of destined people.

Two figures quickly approached the depths of Wutong Valley, heading straight for the secret chamber, as if they knew the way well.

"That old fellow Xie Yunhe always haggles for ages, and this time it'll probably be no different!" complained a cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage.

"As long as we get the goods, a few dozen more spirit stones don't matter. Take the goods and leave quickly. I just feel uncomfortable in this place!" The cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage frowned slightly, but seeing that the Xie family members in Wutong Valley were all normal, he felt that he was overthinking it.

However, when the two reached the entrance of the secret chamber, they felt a surge of spiritual energy beneath their feet, and their expressions changed simultaneously.

"wrong--"

"There's an ambush!"

Before he could finish speaking, a golden ring and a small cyan tower flew out simultaneously, heading straight for the faces of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator reacted extremely quickly, dodging to the side and producing a blood-red broadsword in his hand. He then slashed at the Azure Gang Tower with a backhand!

"A top-tier magic weapon?" Zhang Tie raised an eyebrow when he saw the blood-red broadsword; this guy was going to be a tough opponent.

"Clang!" The sword towers collided, sparks flew everywhere, and the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator was knocked back two steps, feeling a numbness in his hand.

His expression was extremely grim at this moment, as he was dealing with someone whose cultivation level was no less than his.

But Zhang Tie ignored him, because his primary target was never this mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. The weakness of the Six Harmonies Sealing Array was that it was only a basic array and could not suppress a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Therefore, under Zhang Tie's control, the sealing power of the array was entirely directed at the early-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The golden lock ring whistled as it slammed into the head of the early Foundation Establishment cultivator, splattering blood and weakening his aura, leaving him severely injured and unable to fight.

"Second brother!!!" The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator also reacted and exclaimed in surprise.

But Zhang Tie's sneak attack was aimed at eliminating one of them first.

"You cowardly coward, get out here!" The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator was extremely shocked and furious. He stood in front of the early-Foundation Establishment cultivator and stared coldly into the secret chamber.

Zhang Tie had no intention of hiding any longer. He stepped out of the shadows of the secret room, with the Azure Gang Pagoda hovering above his head and the Golden Lock Ring swirling around him.

The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator stared intently at Zhang Tie, but when he clearly saw the Azure Gang Tower, his pupils suddenly contracted: "Azure Gang Tower, you killed Chao Feng! You're from Spirit Beast Mountain!"

"Oh, you're quite clever. Your affair has been exposed. The Xie family colluded with outsiders to seize the assets of my Spirit Beast Mountain and have now been executed. You can surrender now and perhaps save your lives!" Zhang Tie said jokingly.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator's expression changed instantly. He took out a small black flag from his pocket, activated his spiritual power, and black mist immediately surged from the flag, enveloping Zhang Tie.

The mist had an unusually foul odor, clearly indicating it was not a good thing.

Immediately afterwards, the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator abandoned his companion, raised his blood-red broadsword, cleaved through a node of the Six Harmonies Sealing Array with a single strike, and turned to run!

Zhang Tie snorted coldly, ignoring the destroyed array flags, and the two magical artifacts flew out at the same time.

"Clang!" The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator had no choice but to turn around and block, but this one move slowed down his escape.

Zhang Tie closed in and, under the horrified gaze of the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, slammed a punch into his head.

The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator's protective aura flashed, blocking Zhang Tie's fist wind, but he didn't see the sneer in Zhang Tie's eyes.

The force of the punch struck the protective aura.

The next instant, a dazzling golden light shone from the fist wind, and the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyelids twitched wildly. He sensed the aura of death in this golden light.

He tried to block the golden light with his longsword, but the moment he made a move, the golden light pierced through his protective aura and entered his brow, instantly piercing his head!

The mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyes widened in disbelief, and his body went limp.

At the same time, the Golden Lock Ring flew back and delivered a powerful blow to the head of the early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Book of Cause and Effect flickered.

[Killed a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator – Mad Blade, Karma Value +500]

[Killed a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator—Night Owl, Karma Value +300]

Current causality value: 3090

Zhang Tie collected all the storage bags and magical artifacts from the two of them. The blood-red broadsword was a top-tier magical artifact, and the black flag was a high-grade magical artifact; both were quite valuable.

Most importantly, he found a storage bag full of spirit stones on the guy called Mad Blade, and without hesitation, he stuffed it into his pocket.

After taking one last look and confirming that no trace had been left, he vanished into Wutong Valley in a flash.

Behind them, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Xie family had turned to ashes, and the two cultivators from the Earthly Fiend Village were also left behind.

Shortly after Zhang Tie left, a spirit boat arrived above Wutong Valley. The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator leading the spirit boat coldly swept over the Xie family's territory, but when his divine sense detected the direction of the Xie family's secret chamber, his expression immediately changed to one of alarm, as if facing a formidable enemy.

The killing of two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Xie family, and even the deaths of two unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Xie family's territory, immediately caused an uproar among the surrounding cultivation families.

The cultivators from the Enforcement Peak searched the Xie family's territory and the surrounding area thoroughly, but found no useful clues.

But the investigation was destined to be fruitless, because Zhang Tie had already fled hundreds of miles away and was counting his spoils in a secluded cave.