The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

Hearing the commotion, the vendors and shoppers nearby all gathered around to watch the excitement.

When Chen Jue pointed to the stall owner who had been knocked away, the crowd erupted in horrified cries.

"Is this the 'Flesh Branch Puppet' of the Medicine King Sect?!"

"What are the Linjiang City Guards doing? How could they let something like this sneak into the city?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jue followed the black-clad security guard closer to take a look.

The stall owner, who had been knocked away by the truck, had his chest cavity ruptured under the weight of the dump truck. Inside, there was no flesh or internal organs, only a cavity of sticky green sap and brown tree branches used to support his body.

The men in black maintaining order looked terrified, and Chen Jue felt a chill run down his spine.

He never expected that the young man who had just struck up a deal with him was actually a complete monster!

Meanwhile, the onlookers were already buzzing with discussion.

"Something terrible has happened... The 'Flesh Branch Puppet' is a puppet controlled by the Medicine King's retinue. Its appearance in the outer city proves that there are already Medicine King's experts lurking in Linjiang!"

"Back then, Puyang in Henan Province was first infiltrated by the 'Flesh Branch Puppet,' who planted a Tree of Life in the city center, corrupting millions of lives overnight..."

"..."

Chen Jue listened intently to the surrounding discussions, his gaze never leaving the mangled corpse with its chest ruptured on the ground.

This thing had an indescribable chill. Green fluid bubbled in its chest cavity. After death, its body gradually turned pale, like a floating corpse pulled from the water, and its belly swelled up rapidly like a balloon.

"Haha, your belly's so big, is it going to explode?"

During the discussion, someone chuckled and said something like that.

In an instant, the room fell silent, and a chilling aura pierced through everyone's tailbone, making their faces turn pale with fear.

"Run!"

The thought had just arisen in everyone's mind.

Then a loud "BOOM!" was heard.

The "flesh branch puppet" on the ground suddenly exploded, and countless green sap splattered like bullets across the entire second-floor black market.

"Sorry, brother."

At the moment the "Flesh Branch Puppet" exploded, Chen Jue reached out and pulled the security guard who was holding a "Flintlock Gun" against him to his side.

The green slurry instantly smeared the security guard's head and face, while Chen Jue remained completely dry.

"you!"

Aside from being a bit disgusting, the green liquid didn't seem to be poisonous. The security guard with the gun reacted immediately, became furious, and turned around to confront Chen Jue.

Chen Juexin thought bitterly. Judging from the angry posture of the security guard in front of him, he was afraid he would have to pay one or two thousand yuan in compensation for mental distress.

"Cough cough cough!~~"

The security guard got so angry that he choked on his own saliva before he could say more than a few words. He squatted down and kept patting his chest with his palms, coughing incessantly.

To show his concern, Chen Jue stepped forward to pat the security guard on the back, but when he slapped him, the security guard vomited a puddle of green slime.

Brown roots wriggled in the mucus, like tapeworms.

Chen Jue stared in astonishment, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

He took two steps back and realized that the people who had been splashed with green water were now bent over coughing violently.

Green slime oozed from their eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, forming clumps on the ground. As the roots moved, it expanded as if it were alive, gradually mixing together.

"We're rich! We're rich!"

Some survivors who weren't hit by the green liquid celebrated loudly, grabbing sacks and frantically buying up the goods.

Chen Jue suddenly realized what was happening, kicked the black-clad security guard in front of him to the ground, snatched the flintlock pistol wrapped in a black cloth from his hand, and headed straight for the herbal medicine stall that he had hesitated to approach earlier.

Two fellow martial artists also took a liking to the stall. They tried to flank it from both sides, but Chen Jue drew his sword and blocked their path, slashing them back with a single blow.

"Friend, make your fortune elsewhere."

Chen Jue stood ready, sword drawn, leaving no room for doubt.

Seeing that the young man had turned his two-handed swords into a one-handed sword, the two warriors were intimidated and could only retreat reluctantly.

Chen Jue selected the medicinal herbs that were not contaminated by the green liquid and put them into a handbag.

Then a thought struck him, and he turned around to look at the stall selling the secret manuals at the edge.

The man in the straw hat did not participate in the looting; instead, he pressed the self-destruct switch on the box behind him to clean up the mess.

The box was glowing red from the flames; the guy had even packed up the secret manuals displayed on the stall and thrown them inside.

"Damn! How much do you earn in a month working?! You're working so hard!"

Chen Jue gritted his teeth, gripping the hilt of his knife, ready to step over the obstacle.

However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

The security guard who had just been kicked over seemed to have suddenly contracted rabies. His mouth split open to his ears, revealing a gaping maw full of green liquid, and he lunged at him with incredible speed.

Chen Jue was startled and moved slightly backward, instantly dodging the security guard infected by the green liquid.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Let go of me! I won't take your things!"

"You monster!"

Just because Chen Jue could instantly dodge the attacks and bites of the green liquid infected doesn't mean others can.

Especially those martial artists who lost their vigilance while immersed in the "zero-dollar purchase" event.

They were tackled by infected people around them, some had their throats bitten off, and others had half of their faces torn off, emitting heart-wrenching screams.

Chen Jue felt a chill on his neck as he sensed several malicious stares.

He followed his instincts and turned to look.

Where the "flesh branch puppet" had just exploded, a circle of strong, infected individuals with faces ashen like tree bark had gathered around.

They stood in orderly formation, chanting in unison a chilling prayer.

"The Medicine King is merciful; all things flourish!"

"May all who cultivate this land with one heart ascend to paradise together!"

As the sound of prayer echoed through the black market on the second floor, their bodies swelled up rapidly, as if inflated!

"Sun Youtian! Are you stupid?! Is money more important than your life?! Run now!!!"

The surviving martial artists in the black market, seeing that the situation was completely out of control, made their fortunes and then jumped out of the windows to retreat one after another.

Chen Jue kept his eyes fixed on the man in the straw hat. When he saw him jump out of the south window, he quickly jumped out of the east window and followed him.

Splash!

Chen Jue climbed over the blue corrugated steel fence, making a noticeable noise, and followed the man in the straw hat into a deserted old alley.

"You've got some nerve trying to steal from the Wu family!"

Suddenly, three voices came from the houses on both sides of the old alley.

Chen Jue's expression hardened, and he sensed something was wrong. He quickly turned and tried to escape.

However, at that moment, a figure landed at the front and back of the old alley, and there was even a person standing on the roof, blocking all of Chen Jue's escape routes.

Chen Jue gripped the hilt of his sword, his face wary, staring at the three martial artists who had blocked him in the alley.

"Hey kid, who are you?"

The martial artist blocking the back of the alley was dressed in black, carrying a three-foot-long single-edged sword. His eyes lingered on the long sword at Chen Jue's waist, his greed obvious.

The martial artist blocking the alley was very young, at most in his early twenties. He wore a light red printed Chinese-style cardigan, held a black-sheathed longsword, and had a condescending, cynical smile on his lips.

"What kind of powerful person would come to the black market to buy cultivation manuals?"

"Kill him with one blow and hang his head in front of the black market as a warning to others."

The three men surrounded Chen Jue on three sides in the narrow alley, chatting and laughing amongst themselves, seemingly regarding Chen Jue as a temporarily talking dead man.

Chen Jue stood still, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Facing the attack from three sides, he was initially annoyed and nervous, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

Because his vital energy was too strong, in his perception, the three martial artists who were pointing fingers at him had vital energy as weak as a candle on a windowsill in a strong wind, so weak that it could be blown out at any moment...

It is known that the higher a martial artist's realm, the stronger their qi and blood become.

How strong could three martial artists with barely any energy, even if they were highly skilled?

Fourth level of True Qi? That's the absolute limit!

"Little brat, put down the knife, or Grandpa might let you die a little easier!"

A martial arts master in tight-fitting clothes, holding a knife, approached Chen Jue with a sinister grin.

The young martial artist with a cold smile at the front of the alley also moved forward in sync with Chen Jue, constantly compressing the space for him to maneuver.