Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

Chen Xiang instantly understood the intentions of these people. He had read about such incidents in books, and every time, he would feel a surge of righteous indignation, wishing he could enter the pages and tear those despicable traffickers to pieces. He never imagined that one day, he himself would be caught in such a situation.

Consequently, a radiant smile appeared on his face, puzzling Poison Snake and his gang completely.

"Boss, has this kid gone mad?" asked a big bearded man anxiously.

"He shouldn't have, but let's hope he isn't crazy; otherwise, we can't sell him for a good price," Poison Snake said, equally worried.

It was at this moment that Chen Xiang bent down to pick up a few pebbles, weighed them gently in his hand, and said with a smile, "Aren't you coming to meet your deaths?"

Enraged by these words, Poison Snake bellowed, "I've never seen anyone so arrogant. Brothers, rush him, and be careful not to scratch his face, or we won't get a good price."

A group rushed forward, ready with sacks and ropes, when suddenly, a whizzing sound pierced their ears. A splendid spray of blood appeared in the air, and a man fell to the ground, his head shattered to pieces, brain matter mixed with blood painting the ground red and white.

The crowd, terrified, looked up to see the pebbles in Chen Xiang's hand. It was this very thing that had taken a man's life in an instant, causing them to feel as if they were facing Lost Souls, hesitating to move forward.

"Hurry up and charge, you useless fools! Even if he's tough on his own, what can he do? Get up there and avenge our brother," Poison Snake, though also quite shocked, was still the boss, and had to make a decisive call, hastily urging and rallying his men.

At this time, morale couldn't be allowed to falter; if it did, there would be no place left for him to die. His heart cursed Scarface and his ancestors for not investigating thoroughly before acting, as they had now kicked an iron plate. Not knowing how many of his brothers would die that day, Poison Snake felt a pang of pain.

Bolstered by Poison Snake's encouragement, the men finally snapped out of their fear. The blood around them stirred up the brutal nature in their hearts, and they charged forward with howls.

Chen Xiang, however, frowned slightly, his stomach churning uncomfortably. He hadn't anticipated such a bloody scene and regretted that he should not have struck the first blow.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the tiny pebbles transformed into yamas, claiming lives. Poison Snake's men couldn't get close to Chen Xiang before their arms and legs were broken by the swiftly flying stones.

Learning from before, Chen Xiang didn't attack their heads, but the immense force instantly shattered their arms and legs upon impact. In an instant, the empty ground turned into a Purgatorial battlefield strewn with severed limbs and profuse blood, leaving Poison Snake petrified by the scene before him.

He had seen martial artists from the Martial Arts World before, but he had never seen anyone as formidable as Chen Xiang. Terrified and losing all composure, he scrambled to escape, with obvious wet stains streaming down his trousers.

However, at this moment, how could Chen Xiang let go of him, the main culprit? A small pebble shot forward, whistling faintly through the air, a sound very light but, in Poison Snake's ears, undoubtedly the call of Yama summoning him.

In just a moment, Poison Snake's head burst open like a firework, bringing an ignominious end to his life of sin, dead without a complete corpse.

But Chenxiang frowned as he surveyed the mess strewn about, and he sighed softly, "This place is no longer fit for sleep."

Meanwhile, the two onlookers with scarred faces had been scared to their wit's end, the scene they had just witnessed was too bloody, petrifying even the boldest of people. They were inwardly relieved for having been wise not to step forward; otherwise, they would have surely been one of the corpses lying in a pool of blood.

Just as the pair was preparing to find a place to vent and suppress the terror in their hearts, a voice near them caused them to feel an extreme dread.

"Where might you two be going?" The voice of Chenxiang was haunting in their ears.

The two men immediately knelt on the ground, tears and snot flowing, and they wailed, "Mercy, hero, mercy! I have elderly parents and young children to care for; if I die, they'll be left unattended. Although we've helped the wicked and did evil deeds, it was all Poison Snake who forced us. If we disobeyed, they would take our lives. We beg for your forgiveness this time, hero, and we will never dare again."

Chenxiang looked at the two men crying bitterly and felt a surge of disgust; these people who had assisted in tyranny had caused the death of many and did not deserve to live.

"I heard you two are well-informed. I wish to know if there are any virtuous martial artists around here." Suddenly recalling that these two were local informants who knew of every big and small affair in the city, he probed further.

Upon hearing this, the two men felt as if they'd been granted redemption. They racked their brains for information and under the pressure of life and death, they did indeed come up with a useful piece of news.

There was indeed someone in this city who had succeeded in becoming a disciple of the Immortal, only to be expelled from the sect due to a lack of talent.

"Do you know what powers this Immortal possesses?" Chenxiang continued to ask, knowing that an ordinary Immortal was no match for his own uncle.

"It is said that this Immortal can cut out a paper figure, blow gently on it, and turn it into an incomparably beautiful woman, skilled in all forms of music. He also masters the art of invisibility, able to conceal his form completely. Oh yes, he is also fond of drinking, able to down ten large jars of fine wine without changing expression or even bulging his stomach," the two chattered on, describing the wonders of the Immortal.

Chenxiang, however, frowned upon hearing this; such tricks did not reveal the person's true prowess. Yet, adhering to the principle of better to be wrong in killing than to miss executing justice, he still inquired about the location, intending to meet this Immortal to see whether he could learn the skills necessary to defeat his uncle.

Before departing, however, he punched the two men in the chest. They spat up blood as the punch damaged their internal organs, leading to chronic ailments that would plague them for life, reducing their longevity. Their bodies would be too frail to continue their misdeeds as before, thus serving as their punishment.

Scarface stared at the receding figure of Chenxiang with seething hatred and said through gritted teeth, "Go then, that Taoist Priest is not so easy to deal with. It's said that nine out of ten of his disciples end in untimely deaths; I want to see how long you last."

In their words, there seemed to be a message that the Immortal Chenxiang was about to meet was not a kind figure, and they deliberately concealed this information as a form of revenge against Chenxiang.

However, even if Chenxiang knew, he would only laugh it off because the one he was about to face was the fearsome Yang Jian; what harm could a charlatan do.