"Alright!"
A few breaths later, Yun Ze responded, gripping Lan Feng backward, holding the hilt towards the black-robed man.
"I can give you the spiritual artifact, as long as you don't kill us."
"Good!"
The black-robed man's eyes lit up, and he reached for the hilt!
This posture offered no possibility of resistance.
He had already made up his mind: as soon as he grasped the hilt, he would thrust forward, sending the young man before him to the Yellow Springs!
But just as his palm was about to touch the hilt, an unexpected event occurred!
Yun Ze tightened his grip on the blade, the sharp edge instantly embedding itself into flesh and blood. Yet, he didn't hesitate, taking a step forward instead!
The black-robed man's pupils constricted. He was preparing to retract his hand and defend himself.
But by the time he reacted, it was already a fraction too late.
Yun Ze, holding the front half of the blade, had already placed the middle section against the man's neck!
A gentle sweep would be enough to send him on his way!
The black-robed man's hand remained suspended in mid-air, still at least half a foot away from Lan Feng's hilt.
He had lost!
A bead of sweat trickled from his temple, his voice trembling, "Young... Young master, spare..."
"Save those words for your next life."
Yun Ze uttered calmly, cutting off the black-robed man's plea.
With a casual draw, Lan Feng swept across the man's neck, cleanly severing his head and sending his soul to the Yellow Springs!
*Bang~*
A dull thud echoed as the head and corpse landed simultaneously.
Yun Ze crouched down, removed the black-robed man's conical hat, and saw an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
His eyes were bloodshot, filled with disbelief, and a trace of spiritual energy dissipated from his corpse.
Yun Ze frowned, shaking his head slightly.
Is this what immortality is like?
Some mortals pursue treasures, resorting to murder, arson, and plunder for anything, but what difference is there between these immortals and mortals?
No.
Perhaps these immortals, unbound by rules, are even more brutal than mortals.
If Yun Ze wished to avenge his parents, he would inevitably face immortals in the future.
He needed to adapt to this sooner.
He slowly stood up, casually wrapping a strip of cloth around his hand, and gathered the black-robed man's corpse into a pile, intending to bury him outside the inn.
Regardless of any grudges in life, the man was dead now, and he deserved a proper burial.
After all, Bu Bu was still a little girl, and seeing too much bloodshed was not good for her.
He briefly searched the black-robed man's belongings, hoping to find something similar to the cloth bag he carried, but found nothing.
He only discovered three smooth, jade-like stones and a tattered piece of cloth with a strange pattern.
The stones looked like some kind of treasure, so Yun Ze pocketed them. As for the tattered cloth...
The black-robed man had kept it close to his person, even more carefully than the three stones.
Yun Ze couldn't discern what the item was, so he put it into the cloth bag as well.
After finishing these tasks, he dragged the corpse downstairs. As soon as he reached the ground floor, he saw the three inn servers and the innkeeper, who had been tied to the inn's pillars.
They were all dead.
Yun Ze glanced at them as he walked downstairs. Their bodies were mangled, with not an inch of intact skin, and the pillars they were bound to were covered in scratch marks, suggesting they had endured considerable torment before their deaths.
Not far away, a short dagger was stuck in a table.
Yun Ze approached and saw ten large characters engraved on the table.
"Abducting children, butchering people for meat, deserving death!"
He couldn't help but frown. It seemed those people had indeed died without injustice.
This also explained why there was sleeping powder in his teacup. These people had likely seen Bu Bu's docile and cute appearance and harbored ill intentions.
If he had been an ordinary mortal, without the experience his parents had taught him, he might have fallen for it!
Yun Ze looked down at the corpse he was carrying, his brow furrowing slightly.
People are like this, always having two sides.
Stealing treasures and killing is evil, while punishing evil and killing is good.
But who could truly say whether he was good or evil?
Yun Ze only knew that he was a dead man now.
He carried the corpse out of the inn, found a spot, dug a hole, and buried him. Then, he returned to the inn, ignoring the other corpses.
Some people, even in death, could be buried in the earth, while for others, one would wish they died again.
When Yun Ze returned, Bu Bu had woken up.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, looking up at Yun Ze, and asked somewhat curiously, "Are you injured?"
"Yes."
Yun Ze nodded and walked to the table, unwrapping the cloth. He discovered that the wound from Lan Feng was still bleeding and had not stopped.
It was exactly the same as the black-robed man's injury!
He had considered using his immortal jade power to forcibly coagulate the blood, but remembering Yu Xian was nearby, he refrained.
"A cultivator broke in just now, and I killed him. I also got injured, but I don't know why this wound isn't healing."
"It's sword qi."
Bu Bu, still sitting on the bed, slowly said, "Sword qi is also known as golden poison. Once it enters the body, it damages the internal structure. If it's not expelled from the body, the injury will continue to worsen."
"Ah?"
Yun Ze finally realized the seriousness of the situation and asked, "Then how can it be expelled?"
"The simplest method is to guide your spiritual energy to the vicinity of the wound and see if you can sense a sharp aura.
If you can, envelop it with spiritual energy and send it out of your body."
"Alright, I'll try!"
Yun Ze said, then sat down cross-legged, beginning to sense the sharp aura near the wound using Bu Bu's method.
About fifteen minutes later, he found the so-called golden poison, enveloped it, and expelled it from his body.
As a stream of black blood flowed out, Yun Ze felt the wound begin to scab over rapidly, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hah~"
Yu Xian, who had been lying on the ground, slowly sat up, stretched, and looked at the two in the room, "Yo, you two are up early!"
"Brother Yu."
Yun Ze greeted him with a smile, "Just now there was..."
"I know, I know. I was just sleeping, not dead. Of course, I know what happened."
Yu Xian said, getting up and walking to Yun Ze's side, placing a hand on his shoulder and patting it twice, "Good job, kid! You've helped me finish my work ahead of time. I appreciate you~"
He wasn't joking; Yu Xian meant it sincerely.
With his cultivation, he had sensed the black-robed man approaching the inn and absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy. Not to mention he had also been tormenting those mortals downstairs.
The reason he hadn't made a sound was that he wanted to see how Yun Ze would handle the situation.
After all, to purify the world, mere intention is not enough!
He needed ability! Talent! And the courage to turn the tide and defy the entire world!
The black-robed man's cultivation was at the early stage of the fourth level of Qi Refining. With Yun Ze's strength and Lan Feng, he could at least hold on for three to five rounds.
If Yun Ze had fallen into a disadvantage, he would have intervened, but then his association with the World Purification Society would be severed.
If Yun Ze could kill the man in return, he would proceed to the next round of tests.
"Work?"
Yun Ze was full of curiosity. This wasn't the first time he'd heard Yu Xian mention his work.
But what exactly he did, Yun Ze had no clue.
What kind of work was specifically for immortals to sleep on?
"Brother Yu, what do you mean by 'work'?"
"You want to know?"
Yu Xian narrowed his eyes, then smiled, "Then let me ask you a question first, alright?"
"As you wish."
"Have you ever heard of the Ascension Convention?"