Chapter 25: Wealth Comes from Windfalls
"Aren't you afraid?"
Mountain Tiger Zhao Kuo frowned slightly. They had ambushed and killed many wealthy cultivators before, but none of them had remained so calm in such a situation.
Shopkeeper Song and Zhao San also realized something was off and cautiously watched Li Changsheng.
Only Wu Liu remained unfazed.
"You're being overly cautious, aren't you?"
"Even if he has a top-grade artifact, he's still just a peak Qi Refining cultivator. The four of us can easily take him down!"
Hearing this, Mountain Tiger and the others felt they had indeed overreacted. After all, Li Changsheng was just a peak Qi Refining cultivator, and they had already killed more than ten such cultivators.
Moreover, even if Li Changsheng had some trump card, so did they.
"We were indeed being too cautious."
"But to avoid complications, let's finish him off quickly!"
Mountain Tiger shook his head and spoke coldly.
Li Changsheng looked at the four of them and said indifferently, "Tell me the location of the ruins, and I'll give you a quick death."
"Kid, who gave you the guts to act so arrogantly?"
Wu Liu sneered, forming a hand seal. A half-meter-long wind blade instantly materialized and shot toward Li Changsheng.
"Whoosh!"
A broken sword appeared in Li Changsheng's hand, and with a casual swing, it slashed out.
Boom!
The wind blade was instantly cut in half by an invisible sword energy. Before Wu Liu could react, he was also sliced in two, his face still frozen in disbelief.
Now, Li Changsheng no longer concealed his power. Holding the broken sword in one hand and resting the other behind his back, he slowly walked toward Mountain Tiger and the others.
An overwhelming aura, one that only a Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess, emanated from his body.
"Impossible!"
"How can you be a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
Mountain Tiger and the others' faces changed drastically!
They had thought they were dealing with a small sheep, but the sheep had turned out to be a ferocious tiger!
"You knew I was going to act against you?"
Shopkeeper Song's face was filled with regret as he muttered, "You even knew that I had Wu Yuan spying on you? You deliberately came to the shop to lure me out of the marketplace so you could wipe us all out in one go?"
By now, Shopkeeper Song had realized that Li Changsheng bringing Wu Yuan along was no accident.
"Manager Li, we were deceived by Shopkeeper Song. If you're willing to spare me, I'll hand over the map to the Vajra Sect's ruins and compensate you with three thousand spirit stones," Mountain Tiger quickly said, looking at Li Changsheng.
Although he had his own trump card, he wasn't confident he could take down a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Moreover, Li Changsheng was so young. He must have only recently reached Foundation Establishment. Three thousand spirit stones would surely tempt any ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator!
"Do you take me for a fool?"
"If I kill you, everything you have will naturally be mine!"
Li Changsheng snorted coldly, his eyes filled with disdain. As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his sword.
Whoosh!
The sound of the sword cutting through the air echoed.
Mountain Tiger's eyes flashed with panic. He slapped his storage pouch, and a formation disk appeared in his hand. With an infusion of true energy, a jade-green barrier formed in front of him.
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded as the sword energy collided with the jade-green barrier. An invisible shockwave erupted from the point of impact, obliterating all the surrounding plants and trees.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and help!"
Mountain Tiger shouted, not even caring about the crack that had appeared on the formation disk.
He had managed to escape from Foundation Establishment cultivators several times before, all thanks to this damaged top-grade artifact formation disk. Without it, he would have died long ago.
Hearing this, Shopkeeper Song and Zhao San exchanged glances. Ignoring Mountain Tiger's earlier neglect, they both attacked simultaneously.
If Li Changsheng didn't die today, they would all perish here!
Shopkeeper Song activated his mid-grade talisman sword once more, sending it flying toward Li Changsheng's head like a streak of light.
Zhao San also drew his mid-grade artifact saber and slashed at Li Changsheng with the force of splitting a mountain. His attack was just as fast as Shopkeeper Song's talisman sword. In just two breaths, the saber was already above Li Changsheng's head, aiming to decapitate him.
"Die!"
A vicious glint flashed in Mountain Tiger's eyes. Ignoring the three or four cracks now marring his formation disk, he infused it with another burst of true energy. Dozens of faint green sword energies shot out, forming a swirling vortex of sword energy that aimed to shred Li Changsheng to pieces.
Li Changsheng shook his head slightly.
These three were seasoned rogue cultivators with rich combat experience. No wonder he had been so easily killed by them before reaching Foundation Establishment.
Although he currently lacked any powerful trump cards, Foundation Establishment was still Foundation Establishment!
With a light step, Li Changsheng effortlessly dodged Zhao San's heavy saber strike. Then, with a flick of his broken sword, he sliced Shopkeeper Song's talisman sword in half.
Pfft!
Shopkeeper Song spat out a mouthful of blood. This was his once-invincible talisman sword, and now it had been destroyed by a seemingly shabby broken sword.
At that moment, the green vortex of sword energy arrived!
Boom!
Li Changsheng's broken sword slashed out diagonally, and a white sword energy instantly formed, colliding with Mountain Tiger's vortex in mid-air. The green vortex was shattered by the white sword energy, which then spiraled around and sliced through Mountain Tiger's neck. Before Shopkeeper Song's horrified eyes, the white sword energy pierced through his chest.
Mountain Tiger's neck sprouted a line of blood as his head flew into the air, blood spraying everywhere. His body slowly collapsed to the ground.
"That just leaves you!"
Li Changsheng turned his gaze to the only survivor, Zhao San.
"Senior… spare me!"
Zhao San immediately fell to his knees, kowtowing incessantly for mercy.
"Do you know the location of the ruins?"
Li Changsheng asked calmly.
"Yes, yes! I'll take you there right away!"
Zhao San nodded repeatedly.
He no longer dared to negotiate with Li Changsheng. All he hoped was that after reaching the ruins, Manager Li might be in a good mood and let him go.
Li Changsheng glanced at Zhao San, then turned to collect the storage pouches of the four dead men.
"Let's go. Lead the way!"
"Yes, yes!"
Zhao San nodded repeatedly and began walking deeper into the Black Wind Mountain Range.
Li Changsheng followed behind.
"As the saying goes, wealth comes from windfalls!"
As he walked, Li Changsheng checked the contents of the storage pouches. Apart from Wu Yuan, who was a pauper, the other three had quite a bit of wealth. There were over seven thousand spirit stones alone, along with various other items. Most of them were artifacts, mostly low-grade, but Li Changsheng estimated they could still fetch a few thousand spirit stones.
In addition, there were spiritual herbs and other items that could easily sell for another one or two thousand spirit stones.
The most valuable item was likely Mountain Tiger's formation disk. Though it now had five or six cracks and could only be used a few more times before breaking, it was still a top-grade artifact and worth at least three thousand spirit stones. If he found a skilled craftsman, it might even be repaired and reused.
It was worth noting that even a Qi Refining cultivator at the fifth or sixth level might not earn a hundred spirit stones in a year. Li Changsheng, with his own shop and alchemical skills, only earned about a thousand spirit stones annually.
The items in these storage pouches would tempt even a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
"Deposit seven thousand spirit stones!"
Li Changsheng silently commanded.
[Deposit successful. Balance: 6,170 coins.]
[Use the Immortal Cultivation Simulator? Each use consumes 1,000 coins.]