Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

Moreover, it is said that the servant recently had a stroke of good luck and gained the favor of Qingfeng Zhenren. If we could kill him, take the reward from him, and then stage an accident, we could not only vent our anger but also make a fortune.

"Why didn't my brother, or Liu Yun, come?"

Zhao Yuan glanced at the sky, his brows furrowed. "Does it really take this long to deal with a mere Qi Refining stage servant?"

Just then.

rustling.

A soft sound of footsteps came from down the slope.

"Finally back."

Zhao Yuan's face lit up with joy, but when he turned around to look, his expression froze the moment he saw who it was.

It wasn't Liu Yun who came.

Instead, he was a young man wearing a gray Taoist robe with a stern face.

It was Shen Feng, whom he wanted to kill.

Shen Feng walked at a moderate pace, as if he were simply strolling through the area.

"Is it you?"

Zhao Yuan was stunned for a moment, then a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, "Where's Zhao Teng? And...?"

Shen Feng stopped ten steps away, calmly looking at Zhao Yuan as if he were looking at a dead man.

"And Senior Brother Liu Yun asked me to come and see you off before he died."

"what?"

Zhao Yuan's pupils contracted, then he let out a sneer, "You? A handyman with some talent for managing the herb garden? I'm afraid Senior Brother Liu Yun encountered some powerful monster, which allowed you to escape by sheer luck."

He simply did not believe that Shen Feng could kill Liu Yun.

In his memory, Shen Feng was nothing more than a handyman who only knew how to sweep the floor and tend to the flowers and plants all day long.

"Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, it saves me a lot of trouble."

Zhao Yuan grinned maliciously, and the aura of a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator erupted.

Although he was expelled from his sect, he was, after all, a disciple of Wuzhuang Temple, and his background was far beyond that of ordinary rogue cultivators.

"Fire Serpent Technique!"

He formed hand seals, and a flaming fire serpent two zhang long materialized out of thin air, carrying scorching heat waves, baring its fangs and rushing straight at Shen Feng.

He used all his strength in this attack, aiming for a fatal blow.

Shen Feng stood still, without moving an inch.

Until the fiery snake was within three feet of his face.

"Disperse."

He casually waved his sleeve.

An invisible wind pressure descended from nowhere.

The menacing fire serpent seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, instantly shattering into countless sparks without even igniting the hem of Shen Feng's clothes.

"What?!"

The sinister smile on Zhao Yuan's face froze.

What kind of tactic is this?

His magic was shattered simply by the air currents created by a wave of his sleeve.

"You've concealed your cultivation level!"

Zhao Yuan reacted extremely quickly, a strong sense of alarm rising in his mind. He reached into his storage bag and summoned a crimson shield to protect himself. At the same time, he turned and fled.

The person who could break his spell in an instant was definitely not at the Qi Refining stage! Recalling what this person said about Liu Yun's death, he was already mostly convinced.

"Can they escape?"

Shen Feng's voice rang in his ears.

The wind is everywhere.

Zhao Yuangang rushed out a few steps and felt the surrounding air become extremely viscous, with streams of blue air wrapping around his limbs and bones like ropes.

"Open it!"

Zhao Yuan roared, his spiritual power burning wildly as he tried to break free of his restraints.

But he was horrified to discover that the wind, though seemingly gentle, was incredibly resilient; the more he struggled, the tighter it tightened.

"Shen Feng! I am a direct descendant of the Zhao family! My uncle is on good terms with the outer sect manager! If you dare to kill me, the Zhao family will not let you get away with it!"

Unable to move, Zhao Yuan could only roar with a fierce but weak expression.

Shen Feng walked slowly to him, his gaze calm as still water.

"The Zhao family?"

Shen Feng's lips curled into a mocking smile. "A few days ago, there was a guy named Zhao Teng who said the same thing before he died."

These words struck Zhao Yuan like a thunderbolt.

"Zhao Teng...you killed them?!"

Zhao Yuan's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief and fear.

Zhao Teng and his group of five, all elites of the family, were actually killed by this servant.

"Now that you know the secret, you can travel in peace."

Shen Feng stopped wasting words.

He raised his right hand, and a sharp-edged, blood-smelling iron flywheel shot out.

This is the very magical artifact used by the rogue cultivator known as the Black Water Twins.

"you……"

Zhao Yuan looked at the flying wheel and seemed to understand something; his eyes were filled with despair.

"Pfft."

The flywheel spun, tracing an arc, and Zhao Yuan's head rolled off with a thud, gushing blood.

The wound was smooth yet rough, with a distinctive tearing sensation, typical of the marks caused by flying wheel-type magical artifacts.

Shen Feng expressionlessly retracted the flying wheel and took out a tattered black banner from his storage bag.

These are the belongings of that other rogue cultivator.

He broke the black banner in half and casually threw it next to Zhao Yuan's corpse, then deliberately left several marks on the scene as if the ghosts had torn it apart.

"Zhao Yuan colluded with the Blackwater Duo, but was killed by them because of a dispute over the division of spoils."

Looking at the arrangement before him, Shen Feng murmured, "The Zhao family should like this story."

The Blackwater Duo are notorious bandits in this area, elusive in their movements, and murder and robbery are commonplace for them.

If the Zhao family investigates this far, they'll only assume it's a case of double-crossing.

As for where the Blackwater Duo went?

The dead cannot defend themselves.

Shen Feng skillfully removed Zhao Yuan's storage bag and scanned it with his divine sense.

Inside, besides some common pills, there were several letters exchanged with the family, as well as a family token.

"Another penniless wretch."

Shen Feng put away the valuables and threw the remaining miscellaneous items, along with the storage bag, into the bushes nearby, making it look like it had been hastily looted.

After doing all this, he checked the scene again to make sure there were no traces of wind magic left behind.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes."

Shen Feng took one last look at Zhao Yuan's corpse, then his figure transformed into a gentle breeze and disappeared into the depths of the mountains and forests.

Half an hour later.

Wuzhuang Temple Mountain Gate.

Shen Feng reverted to his cautious and meticulous servant demeanor, showed his waist token to the mountain-guarding disciple, and handed over the task of collecting spiritual herbs in the mission hall.

"Shen Feng, hand over one Earth Spirit Purple Ganoderma, one Iron Bone Ginseng, and one Cloud Mist Grass. You will receive 700 contribution points."

The disciple in charge coldly made a note of it and then tossed the new identity badge to him.

Shen Feng respectfully accepted it, bowed his head, and withdrew.

No one knew that this seemingly honest handyman disciple had just killed several people a hundred miles away, including a formal outer disciple of Wuzhuang Temple.

Back to the stone house in the Earth Spirit Herb Garden.

Shen Feng sat down cross-legged and activated the simple protective barrier in the room.

He took out a jade bottle from his bosom and poured out a round pill that emitted a faint fragrance.

Linghua Dan.

This was a gift from Steward Tian, ​​and it has a remarkable effect on Qi Refining cultivators breaking through bottlenecks and condensing their divine sense.

For Shen Feng, who possesses both physical experience and insights, breaking through to the Refining Spirit stage is simply a natural progression.

"The Zhao family's matter is settled. Next, we need to improve our strength to prepare for the impending calamity at Longevity Mountain."

Shen Feng closed his eyes and swallowed the Spirit Essence Pill.

As the medicine took effect, a surge of pure spiritual energy instantly filled his limbs and bones.

The wind outside seemed to become more dynamic with his breathing.