Chapter 28: A Ruthless Attack and Killing the Enemy

Yu Qingtan was unaware that, recently outside the Tianxiang Pavilion, every night someone had been selling Golden Spear Pills.

The Golden Spear Pill only had one main medicinal herb, Ling Qi, that was a spiritual medicine; the rest were more than a dozen adjuvant common medicines. The method to refine it was just a pot to simmer, rolling into pills, which a regular alchemy apprentice could handle.

After receiving the prescription, Han Daniu had his confidants prepare a batch of medicinal materials and secretly hired a loose cultivator who had studied alchemy to refine it. It was easily turned into hundreds of pills.

They had some people try them out, and the results were very good. Those in the middle phase of Qi cultivation doubled their direct combat power straight away, and those in the later phases also saw an increase in combat power by two or three tenths.

Apart from feeling drained for a couple of days, there were no other side effects.

Thus, following the small marketing trick added by Yu Qingtan to the prescription, Han Daniu started by giving away a batch for free, then found a few agents to sell them at the entrances of various brothels and pleasure quarters throughout Suichuan Immortal City.

Han Daniu, seeing the daily income of hundreds of spirit stones, and with the amount still increasing, grew somewhat nervous.

…

"Young Master Qi, how much has Qingtan's chess skill improved?"

One day, Qi Hong came to look for Yu Qingtan again.

Yu Qingtan suspected he had used money to secure his ability, after all, she was now considered a star of the Tianxiang Pavilion, and it was very hard to draw her name.

"Ha, Miss Qingtan is really naturally clever, your Chess Skill is advancing by leaps and bounds," he said somewhat embarrassedly after having lost to Yu Qingtan the first time.

Actually, it wasn't so much that Yu Qingtan was impressive, but rather that Qi Hong's Chess Skill was quite mediocre, only enough to give beginners a hard time.

"Another round, this young master must avenge his earlier disgrace."

"This time I'll go first."

"I have no objections."

Yu Qingtan made her move and chatted with Qi Hong as they played.

"I heard that recently there has been a significant increase in the number of demonic beasts in the Yunhua Mountain Range, is that true?"

"Indeed it is, but this happens every few years. It's because demonic beasts breed quickly. However, there's no need to worry. Only loose cultivators jump at shadows. Suichuan Immortal City is as secure as a fortified wall. There's no need for concern, Miss Qingtan."

"I see. By the way, did you execute the thief you caught last time?"

"Hey, we wouldn't let him off that easily. He's still languishing in the dungeon, leading a life of desperation, and we still don't know where he's hidden the things he stole."

"Don't you have something like the Soul Search Spell?"

"That's a secret technique of the Demonic Path, how does Miss Qingtan know about it?"

"I read about it in a book."

"Miss Qingtan, it's better to read less of those haphazard books. Still, Orthodoxy does have interrogation spells like the True Word Spell, but unfortunately, they are side-door spells and seldom circulated."

"I see, Young Master Qi is indeed widely informed. Ah, don't place there—"

Yu Qingtan used her hand to stop Qi Hong's hand, which was about to make a move.

If Qi Hong placed his piece there, Yu Qingtan would lose.

As Qi Hong's hand touched Yu Qingtan's, he gently held it and laughed, "Miss Qingtan, you can't cheat, now can you?"

Blushing, Yu Qingtan gently withdrew her hand and said, "Young Master Qi, please go easy on Qingtan—"

"I can't do that; if this young master loses two rounds in a row, how would I save face? Besides, I see Miss Qingtan's wrist is bare. Let me gift this 'Stars and Moon in Harmony' bracelet to Miss Qingtan."

"Although it's just a first-grade low-level magic artifact, it's exquisitely crafted. Does Miss Qingtan like it?"

"As long as it's from Young Master Qi, Qingtan likes it," Yu Qingtan shyly said.

She felt her standards were getting lower and lower.

"Then let me put it on for you."

"Mm-hmm!"

"It looks beautiful, thank you, Young Master Qi."

…

After Qi Hong left, Yu Qingtan glanced at the system panel and sure enough, the Affection Value went up by 1, Devotee, Qi Hong, Qi Cultivation seventh layer.

"Little guy, got you."

Yu Qingtan felt that Qi Hong had been coming around many times, yet to bestow any Affection Value, which was a complete waste.

This time, through some little tricks, she finally achieved her goal.

After finishing work, Yu Qingtan walked out of the back door of Yun Xiang and headed in the direction of her home.

Halfway there, as she rounded a corner where neither passersby behind nor ahead could see, something happened.

A series of three silver needles shot out from the shadows of the corner, targeting Qing Tan's face, heart, and the dantian in her lower abdomen respectively.

They were almost soundless.

Truly the epitome of maliciousness.

By the time Qing Tan noticed the silver needles, they were less than ten feet away from her.

Even using the Water Escape Technique would be too late.

At the critical moment, Qing Tan's mind shifted, and an identical figure to Qing Tan instantly appeared in front of her.

Only, it was unclothed.

It was Qing Tan's shadow clone.

"Puff, puff, puff~"

The faint sounds of the needles piercing flesh arose.

With just a thought, the shadow clone vanished, and the three silver needles with a faint glow dropped to the ground.

At the same time, Qing Tan had already used the Water Escape Technique to move towards the direction from which the needles had been fired.

On her way, Qing Tan also activated Hao Can's "Love's Protection."

Thankfully, she had been issued last month's spirit stones from the pavilion two days prior.

Judging by the strength of the needle attack, Qing Tan estimated that her attacker hadn't reached the late stages of Qi Cultivation.

As expected, a black-clad person wearing a bamboo hat appeared in front of Qing Tan.

The attacker was slightly stupefied, his confidence in his stealth assault was full.

The silver needles were part of a set of middle-grade first-tier magic artifacts, also treated with potent poison. The attacker, at his cultivation of the sixth level of Qi Cultivation, had used them to secretly kill several cultivators in the later stages of Qi Cultivation before. Dealing with a young girl in the initial stages of Qi Cultivation should be easy and enjoyable.

If he hadn't always been cautious, always exerting full force even in hunting a rabbit, he would have thought there was no need to use this trump card.

However, just as he saw his silver needles about to succeed, a bare figure took the hit with its back, and then suddenly disappeared.

"Could it be a puppet? But she shouldn't have had the time to bring out a puppet!"

The black-clad person was still puzzled, preparing to strike again, when his expression suddenly changed.

The opponent was closing the distance rapidly, and at the same time, three water blades were launched at even faster speed than his move.

The spiritual power fluctuations from the water blades were unmistakably at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation.

The black-clad person immediately took out an oval black shield and tried to dodge as well using his movement technique.

The water blades were successfully blocked by the shield, merely forcing the attacker to retreat several steps.

At that moment, the attacker cursed the person who had provided him with intel, as this was clearly not some novice only capable of the Cleansing Spell and at the initial stage of Qi Cultivation.

The attacker started to think about retreating.

But Qing Tan was not about to let him go.

Yet another three water blades were flung.

By this time, Qing Tan had closed the distance, and then a water curtain appeared, blocking the attacker's retreat.

The black-clad person only had time to release an amulet for protection before quickly using his shield to defend against the water blade attack.

"What kind of monster is this, not even considering the consumption of spiritual power when using spells?" the attacker raged inwardly.

With such rapid use of Escape Technique, in addition to the successive six Water Blade Techniques, and then casting such a wide Water Curtain Technique, his spiritual power at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation should've been exhausted by now.

Yet, in the increasingly panic-stricken eyes of the attacker, six more water blades were rapidly shot at him.

The black-clad person frantically channeled spiritual power into his shield while pushing his movement technique to the limit, dodging left and right, barely managing to block three of the water blades and evading the other three.

By this point, the attacker was running low on spiritual power, but he didn't even have the time to take a Spirit Revitalizing Pill, and he was cornered between the water curtain and a wall.

"Fellow Daoist, spare my life~"

However, the response he got was another three water blades.

The black-clad person used the shield to block one, another broke through his protective light barrier, and the last water blade sliced into his body from his right shoulder to his left chest.

Only then did Qing Tan breathe a sigh of relief, leaning against a wall while panting heavily.

And it was then that the Enforcement Team and the people from Tianxiang Pavilion arrived on the scene, belatedly.