A playful smile flickered across Cheng Xiaofan's lips as he heard the old Taoist's words.
Seeing Cheng Xiaofan's dismissive smile, the old Taoist's heart ignited with anger, and he roared, "Boy, do you dare to disregard my existence?"
In his eyes, this young man was utterly infuriating.
He hadn't shown the slightest bit of shock upon seeing him.
He hadn't even bothered to ask who he was.
His arrogant demeanor suggested he didn't take him seriously at all!
Cheng Xiaofan sneered at the old Taoist contemptuously and said, "A mere wicked cultivator, relying on a few evil arts, do you think you can stop me from taking the gold in the tomb?"
"Boy, you are quite arrogant!"
The old Taoist's face turned black with rage, and he yelled, "Do you know that the four golden guardian beasts squatting on this grave have absorbed the spiritual energy of these villagers? If you kill them, all the villagers in this entire village will become imbeciles."
"Even if you get the gold, you will end up with a notorious reputation."
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled and said, "Wicked path, the moment I first saw you, I knew you were the real tomb keeper here, Ouyang Hu's lapdog!"
"These four golden guardian beasts, refined with evil arts, will vanish into thin air immediately and will not harm any villagers."
Hearing this, the old Taoist burst into wild laughter, "Do you think you can defeat me? You're thinking in the clouds, boy."
"Die for me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old Taoist flicked his sleeve, and a wisp of black smoke transformed into a sharp sword, lunging towards Cheng Xiaofan.
Cheng Xiaofan stood still, not moving an inch.
The black sword stopped in mid-air, about half a meter away from Cheng Xiaofan.
"Ah, what is this situation?" the old Taoist exclaimed in shock.
Immediately!
Unwilling to accept defeat, he flicked his sleeve again.
Another white mist turned into a sharp sword, shooting towards Cheng Xiaofan.
However, the sword, like the previous one, stopped in mid-air, half a meter away from Cheng Xiaofan.
The old Taoist's legs went weak with shock, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
He shouted loudly, "How can this be?"
"Am I dreaming?"
"This is impossible!"
"I must be seeing things!"
He rubbed his eyes fiercely, but everything remained real.
Cheng Xiaofan waved his hand, and a surge of dragon power flew out, instantly entangling the black and white swords.
The black and white swords vaporized in an instant.
"Wicked path, what other tricks do you have? Bring them out quickly!"
Cheng Xiaofan sneered, "Oh, right. I know you're skilled in earth遁之术 (túndùn zhī shù - earth escape technique). If you feel you can't kill me, use your earth escape technique and run!"
"How did you know I'm skilled in earth escape technique?" the old Taoist asked fearfully.
From the aura Cheng Xiaofan had released earlier, he could already clearly sense that he was no match for the young man before him.
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled and said, "I guessed it?"
Guessed it?
The old Taoist was utterly speechless.
You can guess something so accurate?
But!
He soon realized this was not the time for hesitation.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing was the best option.
If he didn't leave now, it would be too late!
Nothing was more important than saving his own life.
*Poof!*
The old Taoist leaped forward, executing a swift maneuver, and plunged headfirst into the ground.
*Whoosh!*
Cheng Xiaofan flicked his hand, sending a strand of dragon power into the soil. Like pulling a radish, he yanked the old Taoist, who had burrowed into the ground to escape, out.
*Bang!*
He was thrown heavily onto the ground.
"Ah—"
The old Taoist cried out in pain.
Staring at Cheng Xiaofan as if he had seen a ghost, he asked, "How did you do that?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled faintly and said, "Guess!"
"..." Hearing this, the old Taoist was on the verge of tears.
How could I possibly guess that?
He knew he had run into a tough opponent today and quickly said, "I don't want to die. Spare me, and I won't fight you anymore!"
"I'll immediately remove the curse markings I placed on the golden guardian beasts in the tomb, and you can take the gold, alright?"
Cheng Xiaofan said, "No!"
"If I let you go, and if this news gets out, everyone will know that I took the gold from here."
The old Taoist quickly said, "Don't worry, I absolutely won't say anything!"
Cheng Xiaofan said, "Forget it. Do you think I'll believe you? I think only dead people can keep secrets well!"
"You brat, do you think I'm that easy to bully?"
The old Taoist roared, leaped into the air, his fingernails immediately turned black, and grew to over a meter long as he lunged towards Cheng Xiaofan.
His fingernails were highly poisonous. Once they broke the skin, the venom would instantly spread throughout the body, leading to death.
Unfortunately!
He had underestimated Cheng Xiaofan.
*Clang!*
Cheng Xiaofan waved his hand, and the Demon Bone Blade was already unsheathed.
With a swift motion, he swung it forward.
*Bang!*
The old Taoist fell from the air onto the ground.
His head immediately separated from his neck.
His head rolled more than ten meters away, his eyes still wide with disbelief as he opened his mouth and asked, "How did you kill me?"
"Guess!" Cheng Xiaofan replied.
*Pfft!*
A mouthful of blood gushed from the old Taoist's mouth.
He died with his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
Cheng Xiaofan pushed the Demon Bone Blade forward, and a red light shot out.
The old Taoist's body and head instantly vanished.
At this moment, the four golden guardian beasts squatting on the grave were gone.
And the wicked markings on the four stone sculptures of the golden guardian beasts in the secret chamber beneath the tomb had all miraculously disappeared.
Cheng Xiaofan waved his hand and collected all the gold from within.
"Chirp!"
The Sky-Breaking Eagle carried Cheng Xiaofan and flew back.
Shortly after Cheng Xiaofan left, the villagers who had fainted on the ground began to wake up one by one.
"Huh? Why are we lying on the ground?"
"Yeah, what a strange thing. Did we fall under a spell?"
"Quick, let's go and see Ouyang Zhengze's tomb."
"That's right, everyone, get up and let's go quickly."
At this time, the two guards on duty also woke up.
Hearing the voices from outside, they immediately ran out of their room.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" The two asked curiously as they saw the villagers, young and old, carrying hoes and shovels, swarming towards the area.
One of the village elders asked, "Something has happened at Ouyang Zhengze's tomb. Don't you two know?"
The two guards looked bewildered and said, "Old village chief, what happened here?"
The old village chief said, "Huh? That's strange. We heard a monstrous roar from here. You two on duty, you didn't hear it, did you?"
"Old village chief, are your hearing abilities malfunctioning? We've been on duty here, and we haven't heard anything!" the two guards said in unison.
The villagers present were dumbfounded!
It was one thing if one person had a hearing problem, but it wasn't possible for the entire village to have hearing problems, was it?
...
"Chirp—"
At this moment, the Sky-Breaking Eagle carrying Cheng Xiaofan had already flown back over Zhuxi Village.
A heavy snow was falling on Zhuxi Village, and the swirling snowflakes descended from the sky, turning the entire world into a white expanse.