Volume One: Turmoil in the Small Town Chapter 56: Vanquishing Foes in the Forbidden Grounds

That day, among those who besieged the Zhang family—apart from a few minor lackeys—the main figures were Yuan Yi, Liu Tianqing, Lin Ye, Wang Zewei, and a shadowy cultivator at the third level of Nascent Soul. (As for the others, I honestly can’t be bothered to come up with their names.)

Yuan Yi had already been killed by him, and Lin Ye, according to what the system reported, had perished somewhere outside. Zhang Heng had expected Lin Ye’s death. That day, Lin Ye had set up so many people—naturally, the others would not let him off. His sixth-stage Return to Ruins cultivation was simply inadequate before those people.

Now, only Wang Zewei and Liu Tianqing remained for Zhang Heng to deal with.

Burial Dragon Abyss was essentially Zhang Heng’s domain—or more accurately, the realm of the “Super Leg System.” To find those two was a trivial matter.

As expected, before long Zhang Heng encountered another familiar face: Wang Zewei, the Grand Elder of the Outer Sect of the Blazing Sun Palace.

In truth, Zhang Heng had no personal animosity with him. The only conflict was that Wang Zewei had joined the group that attacked the Zhang family. But then again, there were plenty of others in that siege—his presence or absence made little difference.

Zhang Heng’s reason for targeting him was entirely for the sake of his clan brother, Zhang Yu.

Thanks to the system’s guidance, Zhang Heng could now skillfully wield Du Gu Bai’s “Heart-Guarding Sword.” The Heart-Guarding Sword was Du Gu Bai’s most powerful move. In fact, when Du Gu Bai was crossing his tribulation earlier, Zhang Heng had unintentionally caused him trouble by forgetting to return the Heart-Guarding Sword. Otherwise, with that technique, Du Gu Bai could have withstood seven bolts of tribulation lightning and survived.

Well, fortunately, Senior Du Gu did not hold it against him.

Employing the same method as before, Zhang Heng hid at a distance, observing Wang Zewei from the shadows. But dealing with him was relatively simple—there was no need to overthink it. Zhang Heng unleashed a single sword technique from behind, and Wang Zewei was dead in an instant.

With only the power of the Return to Ruins stage, Wang Zewei stood no chance against a strike from Du Gu Bai’s protective artifact. Even in his dying moment, Wang Zewei had no idea why he died so abruptly—perishing mid-step, just like that. Who could possibly accept such a fate?

The next target was Liu Tianqing. When Zhang Heng found him, Liu Tianqing had just discovered a relatively rare medicinal herb and was overjoyed.

Zhang Heng did not bother to conceal himself and appeared directly at his side.

Upon seeing Zhang Heng, Liu Tianqing did not attack; instead, he rationally surveyed his surroundings with great caution.

Liu Tianqing was always composed. He knew Zhang Heng was a calculating man who would not appear before him without reason. Furthermore, Zhang Heng was connected to two Nascent Soul cultivators, so Liu Tianqing dared not act rashly.

Zhang Heng, however, was unconcerned with all that. He strode right up to Liu Tianqing and spoke coldly, “King of the Southern Marches, Liu Tianqing. There’s little enmity between us. For your role in besieging my Zhang family, I could let it pass.”

Liu Tianqing said nothing, but continued to watch the surroundings warily. With such confidence, Zhang Heng must have one of those Nascent Soul powerhouses hidden nearby. If he resisted, he feared he would die miserably. Yet his pride would not allow him to grovel for mercy.

So he only fixed Zhang Heng with a cold, hostile stare, remaining silent.

Understanding his misgivings, Zhang Heng continued, “Liu Tianqing, the two Nascent Soul experts are not with me. You needn’t worry. Even if you strike and slay me, I would be powerless to resist. However, you are a clever man—you should know what choice to make.”

Liu Tianqing gave a cold laugh. “And what do you think I should do?” he said in a low voice. Death was a small price; there was no need to bow to Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng replied, exasperated by his stubbornness, “Fine, let’s lay the cards on the table. I’m done pretending. I truly do have the means to kill you.

“But today, I’ve decided to spare your life.

“You are free to search for treasures in Burial Dragon Abyss—I won’t interfere.

“But when you leave this place, I hope you’ll remember your responsibilities. Do what you must, and do it well.

“Don’t forget—South Liu City is not only my home, but also the home of the Saintess Linglong. If you fail in your duty, you needn’t fear my wrath; the people of Linglong Sacred Land will not spare you.”

Having said his piece, Zhang Heng turned and left, ignoring Liu Tianqing’s expression.

To tell the truth, Zhang Heng could have killed him with ease. But though Liu Tianqing had made a rash mistake, he had genuinely defended the people of southern Liu State for many years. If he died, the citizens of Liu State might once again become entangled in the chaos of civil strife. This was something Zhang Heng did not wish to see.

Soon after, Zhang Heng moved to another place.

He roamed freely through Burial Dragon Abyss as if it were his own back garden. Were other cultivators to witness this, they would likely cough blood in outrage.

After a while, Zhang Heng lay beneath a tree, eating a spiritual fruit and watching a fierce battle unfold in the distance.

On one side was a formidable, nameless spirit beast; on the other, a human cultivator clad entirely in black.

Zhang Heng pondered whether he should kill this black-robed man as well.

Ah, forget it. Reaching Nascent Soul stage is no easy feat—I’ll let him live this time.

This black-robed cultivator had merely shown off before Zhang Heng; he had done no real harm to the Zhang family. There was no need to kill him.

(In truth, Zhang Heng wasn’t confident he could handle a third-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.)

Zhang Heng gradually approached. When he was near enough, he called out loudly to the man in black, “Hey, remember me, old fellow?”

The black-robed man was wholly absorbed in the fight and had no time to respond. The beast was incredibly fierce—he had to give it his all.

Seeing that neither combatant paid him any mind, Zhang Heng felt awkward.

So he decided to give himself a part to play and make his presence known. From his ring, he took out an object.

He spoke to the black-robed cultivator, “You and I are fated to meet. Let me give you something—catch!”

With that, Zhang Heng tossed the item at him. The man instinctively caught it, but the moment he touched it, it cracked open and vanished into thin air.

The black-robed man thought Zhang Heng was toying with him and flew into a rage, but was too entangled with the spirit beast to spare any attention to Zhang Heng.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Zhang Heng hurriedly retreated. This time he truly withdrew, for the coming battle would likely sweep him up as well.

To be honest, the fruit he tossed was nothing special, but it could mimic the aura of a high-grade spirit herb. Now, in the eyes of the spirit beasts of Burial Dragon Abyss, that black-robed man was like a walking high-grade herb.

The high-tier spirit beasts of Burial Dragon Abyss all understood the dangers of spatial turbulence. Normally, they stayed within their territories and dared not roam. But once every hundred years, when the spatial turbulence subsided, not only did hordes of human cultivators arrive, but it was also the perfect opportunity for native spirit beasts to venture out in search of treasures.

At this time, they would all leave their lairs and scour Burial Dragon Abyss for valuables. Now, with the black-robed man resembling a mobile spirit herb, his fate in this beast-infested place was clear—even if he barely survived, he would certainly be flayed of a layer of skin.

Having accomplished all this, Zhang Heng felt immensely pleased. The path of cultivation demanded clarity of mind. Now that all matters were settled, his heart was at ease.