Han Xuan was halfway up the road to Five Paths Mountain when a sudden whistle cut through the air.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Three killing intents locked onto him.
He immediately leapt back—just in time to avoid three streaks of spiritual light aimed at his chest. The attacks smashed into the ground, leaving cracks in the stone path.
Han Xuan's expression darkened.
Although he had already left the Blueleaf Market, he was still well within the market's territory.
How dare anyone attack him here?
Were they not afraid the market guards would notice the commotion?
Han Xuan's eyes narrowed as a dangerous suspicion surfaced in his mind.
"Could it be…?"
Just then, three figures stepped out from behind the trees, surrounding him. All of them radiated the aura of Seventh Stage Qi Refining.
"So you're Han Xuan," The thin one in front said with a mocking smile, "Owner of the Hollow Tavern. Heard your spiritual wine makes good fortune. You must've fattened your pockets nicely over the years."
He raised a dagger coated with faint, dark-red light.
"Hand over all your treasures, and maybe… maybe I'll consider letting you crawl away."
Han Xuan's breath steadied, "And you three are?"
The thin man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, "No need for names. Just hand the goods."
Suddenly, Han Xuan's eyes widened slightly in recognition.
These three…
He remembered their faces from the wanted posters distributed by the Clearwind Sect.
The Blackscale Brothers!!
They are cruel, greedy, and guilty of over a dozen robberies and killings.
Han Xuan heard that they had disappeared for months.
Who would have expected they would appear here, ambushing him?
Han Xuan exhaled softly, "Who sent you? Was it Chen Wuye?"
They appeared too coincidentally, especially after he had just rejected Chen Wuye's invitation.
The thin man's expression twisted, "Chen Wuye? Never heard of him. We just rob the weak and the rich. Now quit wasting our time. Hand over your treasures."
"Why should I hand over my treasures to strangers like you?" Han Xuan scoffed, "I worked myself half to death—brewing wine before dawn, serving customers at noon, stocking up the tavern every day, making wine on holidays, barely have time to cultivate, let alone sleeping at night. So, tell me, why should I hand over the fruits of my hard work to trash like you?"
His eyes turned cold.
"You—!"
The Blackscale Brothers erupted in fury.
"Kill him!"
Whoosh!
The thin brother lunged with a blade coated in sinister red light, while the burly one flanked from the side, fists wrapped in spirit energy. The last brother circled behind, launching a wave of razor-sharp wind blades.
Han Xuan reacted instantly.
With a single thought, a translucent layer of frost surged up in front of him, blocking the frontal strike.
After that, a wave of cold qi swept outward from his feet, forcing the burly brother to halt mid-charge as frost crawled up his boots. Then, ice lines spread across the ground like creeping roots, trying to trap the third brother's legs.
The three attackers retreated a step, startled.
"What the—!? First Brother, he isn't Fourth Stage Qi Refining!"
"The client said he was weak! Fourth to Sixth Stage at most, but he's clearly Seventh Stage like us!"
"Damn it, we were cheated! But don't panic, he's just one man!"
Han Xuan didn't respond.
He normally suppressed his cultivation to avoid attention. Unless someone carefully scrutinized him or forced him into a fight, no one could accurately judge his realm.
Only when he took action did his true cultivation reveal itself.
Han lifted a hand calmly.
Ice spiritual energy surged.
Whoosh—!
Dozens of ice shards condensed in midair and rained down toward the Blackscale Brothers.
The three reacted instantly. Their skin shimmered, turning pitch-black as hard, glossy scales crawled across their bodies.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The shards struck their scaled skin, producing crisp metallic echoes.
Han Xuan's eyes narrowed with interest.
"So that's why they're called the Blackscale Brothers… some kind of body refinement technique?"
Unfortunately, while their scales looked impressive, they were ultimately useless.
Han Xuan had infused his previous attack with a strand of Sovereign Frost Qi, leaving each ice shard carrying a faint yet deadly trace of that power.
He intended to end things quickly.
He couldn't allow the guards to show up. More importantly, he couldn't afford to expose the full extent of his cultivation.
The brothers realized something was wrong almost instantly.
Their scales held… mostly.
But a few shards still sliced through the gaps, leaving shallow cuts. Frost spread from those wounds, crawling rapidly over their skin.
Their expressions changed drastically as they staggered backward.
"M-My spiritual energy… It's freezing!"
"I can't circulate spiritual energy properly!"
The thin brother shouted, panic rising, "Third Brother! Hurry up and end this! He's not simple!"
The short, thickset brother gritted his teeth, fury twisting his features, "Fine! Let's see him handle this!"
He slapped the spirit bag on his waist.
It trembled violently.
Then—
Buzz… buzz… buzz!!
A cloud of dark-red insects burst forth, filling the air with a sickening hum.
Han Xuan's eyes narrowed as he watched the writhing cloud of insects.
"Spirit Devouring Insects?"
He had seen their description in some records while researching True Spirit.
It was said that Spirit Devouring Insects could consume spiritual energy in all its forms—spells, talismans, even formations. More terrifyingly, they could gnaw away the spiritual energy within a cultivator's meridians, leaving even skilled fighters helpless.
He never expected the Blackscale Brothers to possess such strange insects.
'No wonder they've been invincible among Qi Refining cultivators,' Han Xuan thought.
It was said even Clearwind Sect disciples had suffered losses against them.
It turned out they relied on these Spirit Devouring Insects.
As he was still considering how to counter them—
"Croak!"
Baobao, who had been lounging lazily on his shoulder this entire time, suddenly sat up straight. Its round little body quivered with excitement, eyes shining as it stared at the massive insect swarm.
"Croak croak!"
Han Xuan blinked, "Baobao…?"
Then realization struck him.
Toads ate insects.
And even though Baobao was a True Spirit, at its core… it was still a toad.
So, of course, it would get excited at the sight of insects.
Moreover, these weren't ordinary insects like pests from Han Xuan's spiritual garden. These were Spirit Devouring Insects—strange, dangerous, and saturated with spiritual energy.
For Baobao, they weren't just food.
They were nourishment.
"Do you want to eat it?" Han Xuan asked.
Baobao bobbed its head so vigorously its cheeks wobbled.
"Alright, go!" Han Xuan flicked his wrist.
Fwoop!
Baobao shot through the air like a cannonball.
The Blackscale Brothers stared and were baffled.
"A toad?"
Baobao landed directly in the middle of the insect swarm.
Next, it opened its mouth wide, and then a massive suction force erupted from its wide mouth.
What followed was terrifying.
Sluurp!!
Thousands of devouring insects were pulled in like water down a drain, vanishing into Baobao's belly with horrifying speed. The air trembled from the sheer force of it.
Within seconds—
The entire swarm was gone.
Completely, absolutely gone.
Baobao sat on the ground with a bulging belly and a blissful expression, "Croak~"
The Blackscale Brothers stood frozen in shock, especially the short brother who had released the Spirit Devouring Insects. His face drained of all color.
"H-how is that possible…? My Spirit Devouring Insects!"
Han Xuan didn't feel like wasting even a breath more on them.
Ice Mist Veil!
Cold energy surged from his fingertips as a dense fog of frost rolled outward, swallowing the forest path and enveloping the three brothers in an instant.
This spell came from the Eternal Frost Sovereign Sutra—a defensive technique designed specifically to obstruct both sight and spiritual sense. Within its range, enemies were left blind and deaf to all perception.
The Blackscale Brothers flinched, instinctively drawing close.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, stay alert!" The thin brother warned, voice tight, "I can't see or sense anything inside this mist!"
The burly brother clenched his fists, panic creeping into his tone, "First Brother, we can't circulate our spiritual energy anymore! That frost he hit us with—it's freezing our meridians! We need to retreat!"
The thin brother gritted his teeth.
Of course, he could feel it too. The frost spreads through his body like a cold poison, locking down his core. If this continued, they wouldn't even get the chance to crawl away.
For the first time, regret flickered in his eyes.
'Damn that Chen Wuye!'
If they had known Han Xuan's true strength, they would never have accepted this job so carelessly.
Meanwhile, the short brother stared blankly into the fog, still muttering, "My insects… eaten… by a toad…"
His spirit nearly collapsed.
At that moment—
Whoosh.
A thin, nearly invisible flash cut through the mist.
Then another.
Then another.
Pffft. Pffft. Pffft.
The needles struck their necks so cleanly and quietly that none of them even managed to turn their heads.
Their bodies fell like puppets with their strings cut, eyes wide—caught between terror and utter confusion.
A moment later, the ice mist thinned and dispersed.
Han Xuan walked calmly toward the corpses scattered on the ground.
He didn't spare the fallen bodies even a moment of pity.
He raised his hand, and with a soft pull of spiritual energy—
Whoosh.
Three thin, translucent needles returned to his palm.
They were barely visible unless one looked carefully; faint cold light shimmered along their length.
These were Ice Soul Needles—a top-grade Rank 1 spiritual weapon granted to him by the system.
They were not meant for piercing flesh.
They were meant for piercing the soul.
If the target wasn't wearing a soul-protection treasure, even a small scratch would instantly freeze their soul, shattering their consciousness before they could react.
The Blackscale Brothers lying at his feet were the perfect example.
Han Xuan slipped the needles back into their jade case, expression calm. He said lightly, "Baobao, store them. We're running low on fertilizer at home. These will do."
Baobao stared at the corpses, expression full of disgust, but duty was duty.
With a reluctant "croak", it hopped forward and swallowed them whole, one after another.
Han Xuan sighed, "And don't forget to spit out their belongings later."
Baobao froze—then slowly turned its head away, pretending it didn't hear him.
Han Xuan rubbed his temples, "…Let's go."
Baobao hopped back onto his shoulder with its usual lazy wobble.
Just like that, they resumed their journey toward Five Paths Mountain, leaving behind no trace of the battle except a faint chill lingering in the air.