Murong Yuan had already sent a signal for reinforcements and rushed over at the first opportunity to stand with Zou Feng.

Just now, they had all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zou Feng’s strike succeed.

However, the two of them didn’t quite understand why Zou Feng stopped attacking and instead postured as if to leave.

Murong Yunhai couldn’t help but step forward and ask, "Brother Zou, you... why don’t you hit him a few more times?"

Zou Feng shook his head slightly. "There’s no need. He’s already dead!"

Hearing this, Murong Yunhai and Murong Yuan dared not agree.

Murong Yuan coughed lightly and interjected, "A True Qi Realm expert can use True Qi to protect their heart meridian. Even if a vital organ like the heart is damaged, they won’t immediately..."

There was something else Murong Yuan didn’t say: Zhang Xun had sect members rushing to his side.

Once those two helpers rendered aid, supplemented by the Xuanhuang Sect’s Elixirs, Zhang Xun would most likely make it through this scare without any real danger.

Therefore, it was obvious that Zou Feng, having only recently entered the True Qi Realm, didn’t have a sufficient understanding of this Realm yet.

He also didn’t seem to realize just how tenacious a genius like Zhang Xun’s Life Force would be.

Zou Feng couldn’t be bothered to argue. Instead, he raised his hand and held up three fingers.

With every breath that passed, he would lower one finger.

Under the baffled gazes of the Murong father and son, three breaths passed quickly.

"Time’s up!" As he lowered his last finger, Zhang Xun, in the distance, burst into hysterical laughter.

The Murong father and son looked over again, only to see Zhang Xun standing up, trembling all over as if he had gone mad.

His two sect members, who had initially tried to hold him down, seemed to notice something and retreated several steps, their faces changing drastically.

"AHAHAHA..." Zhang Xun was soon laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. "Why... do I feel... like laughing so much..."

"Martial Uncle... quick... make me stop... AHAHAHA..."

As he laughed, Zhang Xun’s body began to swell like a balloon being inflated.

"BANG!"

After expanding until his flesh and skin were stretched to their limit, the only possible result was a violent explosion.

A peerless prodigy of the Xuanhuang Sect was thus reduced to a shower of gore.

Seeing this, Murong Yunhai and Murong Yuan stared at each other, dumbfounded.

’How laughable. Just moments ago, we were reminding Zou Feng that a True Qi Realm genius like Zhang Xun wouldn’t be so easy to deal with?’

’Heh, two Gang Qi Realm cultivators like us actually dared to question whether a titan of the Poison Dao like Zou Feng understood the True Qi Realm well enough.’

’This wasn’t just losing face, this was a massive humiliation...’

After Zhang Xun’s violent death, his two sect members looked toward the watchtower on the city wall with immense indignation.

But Zou Feng’s figure was long gone.

Although they wished they could charge into Qingchuan City immediately to find Zou Feng and avenge Zhang Xun.

But as things stood, Zou Feng was clearly hiding from them, ready to use that same bizarre move for another sneak attack...

That wasn’t all. If they delayed in Qingchuan City for too long, there would likely be even more unforeseen complications.

Experts from Biyou Palace and the Rakshasa Sect were surely on their way. If they didn’t leave now, it might be too late.

The original plan of these Xuanhuang Sect members was that since they couldn’t stop Zhang Xun from coming to face Zou Feng, they would just let him try.

After all, if he could actually defeat the ascendant Poison Cultivator Zou Feng, it would be extremely beneficial for Zhang Xun’s growth.

Perhaps with this opportunity, his state of mind would sublimate, and he would forcefully advance to the Second Grade.

But if things looked bad, or if a victor couldn’t be decided in a short time, the two of them would have decisively intervened.

In any case, when dealing with a deviant from an Evil Sect like Zou Feng, there was no need to talk about martial ethics.

In short, slaying demons and devils was a meritorious deed, regardless of the methods used.

But who could have expected that Zhang Xun—the Sect Leader’s personal disciple, known as the "Fire Yama," a man who always seemed to be blessed with great fortune no matter how recklessly he acted, who seemed unkillable—would be insta-killed without even getting a clear look at Zou Feng’s face...

"Let’s go!" The man Zhang Xun had called Martial Uncle stamped his foot heavily and made his decision through gritted teeth.

"Zou Feng, you won’t be jumping around for much longer—"

As he reluctantly fled, the man didn’t forget to leave a threat.

But when Zou Feng heard this, his heart was filled with gratitude.

’Thank you, brother, for generously putting yourself on my list!’

At the same time, he really wanted to return the phrase "you won’t be jumping around for much longer" right back to that man, verbatim.

Only after confirming that the two from the Xuanhuang Sect had truly fled did Zou Feng pop his head back up from the city wall.

But he certainly couldn’t let his guard down yet; he had to observe for a while longer.

Murong Yuan finally managed to shake off his earlier embarrassment and said, "These so-called Righteous Sects are getting bolder and bolder. Do they think there’s no one left in our Southern Border?!"

Murong Yunhai added, "They sure fled fast. It’d be best if they got intercepted..."

Before he could finish his sentence, three figures appeared ahead, streaking toward them.

Zou Feng was quite familiar with the person in the lead: Zhong Zhe, the Mountain Lord of Biyou Palace’s Hundred-legged Ridge.

The other two were also in the True Qi Realm, but their faces were completely unfamiliar. They were clearly not from Biyou Palace.

After Murong Yuan called for aid, three sects—Biyou Palace, the Rakshasa Sect, and the Cyan Nether Sect—had all responded.

Since the one they were facing was the renowned genius Zhang Xun, the reinforcements naturally had to be True Qi Realm experts.

Unfortunately, these three powerful reinforcements had arrived a step too late and failed to block those two cowards from the Xuanhuang Sect.

Perhaps guessing that Zou Feng wouldn’t know the other two, Murong Yuan took the initiative to introduce them. "The one in the green robes is the Executioner of the Rakshasa Sect, Leng Jing."

"The one cloaked in a black robe is an Elder from the Cyan Nether Sect, Zeng Xiuyuan!"

Next, Zhong Zhe was the first to leap onto the city wall, landing in front of Zou Feng.

They clearly hadn’t grasped the situation yet. Although they had arrived, they were vigilantly scanning their surroundings the entire time.

"Where’s Zhang Xun? I’ve been wanting to deal with that bastard for a long time!" Zhong Zhe said, looking around.

Before Zou Feng could explain, Murong Yunhai couldn’t resist pointing in the direction of Zhang Xun’s violent death and said, "He’s all over the ground..."

The three True Qi Realm Evil Cultivators all looked in the direction Murong Yunhai was pointing, utterly bewildered.

After Murong Yunhai explained further, the three of them initially showed expressions of disbelief. But seeing that no one present looked like they were joking, they finally turned to look at Zou Feng in unison.

They were left speechless, just staring blankly.

They had originally thought it would be a great success if Zou Feng could just hold his own and wait for them to arrive...

"Impressive, very impressive, Elder Zou. It seems this old man misjudged you!" Zhong Zhe was the first to speak, filled with emotion. "That day, you wouldn’t even partake of the Palace Master’s Soul-Devouring Poison Foot. I thought that was the extent of your ambition, but I never imagined..."

Zhong Zhe was a very senior figure in Biyou Palace, so he still treated Zou Feng as a junior.

However, Zou Feng found this hard to respond to.

’What does he mean, not "partaking" of the Palace Master’s poison foot makes me unambitious!?’

And Leng Jing from the Rakshasa Sect and Zeng Xiuyuan from the Cyan Nether Sect both showed looks of incomprehension upon hearing that Zou Feng had missed such a great opportunity.

’Right, right. So everyone in the Southern Border’s Evil Sects is lusting after Su Qingyu’s body, is that it?’

Zou Feng rubbed his forehead and quickly changed the subject. "Master Zhong, the Ancestor... is he alright?"

Zou Feng remembered clearly that Su Qingyu had been furious about the Hundred-legged Ancestor fleeing in the heat of battle and had threatened to deal with the giant centipede.

Zhong Zhe gave a wry smile. "He got a beating from the Palace Master. The injuries weren’t light, but he’ll be fine after some rest."

It was clear that he, the Mountain Lord, was quite distressed for the Hundred-legged Ancestor.

After this bit of idle chat, at Zhong Zhe’s prompting, Zou Feng was formally introduced to Leng Jing and Zeng Xiuyuan, and they to him.

Since they had already gone to the scene to confirm that Zou Feng had indeed killed Zhang Xun, both men paid special attention to Zou Feng and had a very good attitude.

And from Zou Feng’s perspective, their words and actions didn’t quite fit the stereotype of an Evil Cultivator. They were easy to get along with.

Before long, at Murong Yuan’s suggestion, the group headed to the City Lord’s Mansion, preparing to eat and talk.

As a precaution, the reinforcements wouldn’t be leaving right away anyway. They had to stand guard for a while to see if any other situations arose.

To entertain these True Qi Realm masters, Murong Yuan spared no expense, even bringing out a large jar of "Wangchuan Road" for them to drink freely.

Zou Feng had always craved this stuff.

Back when he was in the Gang Qi Realm, to maximize the effects of Wangchuan Road, he hadn’t even chosen to transfer the side effects, allowing its effects to plunge him into a deep sleep.

Now that he had advanced to the True Qi Realm, he wondered what would be different about drinking this wine again.