Yang Jing shook his white-haired head, looked at the Black Wind Thief, and said,

"Fellow Daoist, while your actions are calculated, you have deeply offended the Lu Family. I’m afraid that in their eyes, the lives of all the Independent Cultivators here combined aren’t worth as much as a single Lu Family disciple."

The Black Wind Thief cackled sinisterly.

The next moment, he attacked. All his Gu Insects beat their wings and came screaming toward Yang Jing.

Yang Jing formed a ball of cyan light in his hand and scattered it with a wave. It transformed into thousands of cyan needles, as fine as ox hair. These needles effortlessly pierced straight through the carapaces that even Magical Artifacts struggled to break.

Beneath the sky-blotting rain of needles, the terrifying swarm of Gu Insects instantly rained down, littering the ground.

"That’s the Yi Wood Divine Needle! How can it be so astonishingly powerful?!"

Seeing this, the Cultivator was so horrified that he didn’t even have time to mourn the loss of his Gu Insects. He could only stare at Yang Jing in utter shock.

The next moment, he turned to flee. ’I thought I could bait a big fish by herding these Lu Family disciples,’ he thought, ’but I ran straight into a brick wall instead!’

Yang Jing formed Magic Formulas with his hands and shot out a golden beam of Sword Qi, slicing clean through one of the Cultivator’s legs.

Missing a leg, the Cultivator crashed heavily to the ground, rolling over several times in a pathetic display.

"Speak. What is your purpose here?"

Yang Jing channeled his Magical Power and, with a wave of his hand, blew off the Black Wind Thief’s Conical Hat, revealing his true face.

The Black Wind Thief’s face was surprisingly refined, with a scholarly air. He had a long, three-stranded beard and a graceful demeanor.

One of the Independent Cultivators behind Yang Jing suddenly cried out in shock,

"That’s Elder Xu Chongpu of the Beishan Xu Family!"

Xu Chongpu frantically tried to cover his face.

Yang Jing wasn’t surprised. ’It’s impossible for the Black Wind Thieves to have run rampant for so long without colluding with the local powers.’

"Speak. What is your purpose here?"

Xu Chongpu gritted his teeth and said nothing.

With a flick of his finger, Yang Jing sent dozens of Yi Wood Divine Needles piercing into Xu Chongpu’s body.

"If you were only after wealth, you would have sent your Skull-Eating Gu scattering to search for themselves and wipe out every Cultivator on this Flying Boat. But you didn’t. Instead, you kept all the Gu Insects close by, as if you were afraid they might accidentally harm someone important. I imagine that attacking the Flying Boat and plundering riches was just a cover. You’re actually looking for someone. Am I wrong?"

At these words, Xu Chongpu’s eyes widened. ’I can’t believe this old geezer’s instincts are so sharp!’ he thought.

"You’re a dead man either way. You might as well spill everything you know and get a clean death. Otherwise, when I activate these Yi Wood Divine Needles... well, I’m afraid it’s going to be a little painful."

Yang Jing crooked his finger, and the Yi Wood Divine Needles inside Xu Chongpu’s body activated, causing him to let out an inhuman scream.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk! We came aboard for two children, a boy and a girl!"

Xu Chongpu simply couldn’t bear the agony of the Qi of Yi Wood burrowing through his body.

Yang Jing raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chi Yu and Yellow Foot standing behind him.

"What a coincidence."

With a flick of his hand, the Yi Wood Divine Needles in Xu Chongpu’s body shot into his brain, ending the Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivator’s life.

’Most of these Black Wind Thieves have intricate connections with local families, and they usually target the Flying Boats of other kingdoms. A sudden attack on a Flying Boat belonging to the Lu Kingdom’s Royal Family seems highly irregular.’

’After all, this is the border of the Lu Kingdom.’

’When it comes to being the local bully, the Lu Kingdom’s Royal Family is the biggest one there is.’

"Steward Wang," Yang Jing asked, "aside from my grandson and granddaughter, are there any other children—a boy and a girl—on this Flying Boat?"

Steward Wang shook his head repeatedly.

"As far as I know, you are the only one who brought two children aboard, honored Daoist."

He never imagined that this old man, who looked like he had one foot in the grave, could be so formidable. ’Xu Chongpu wasn’t well-known in the Beishan Xu Family,’ he thought, ’but that was without taking this shocking number of Gu Insects into account.’

’With these Gu Insects on his side, I’m afraid not even the Xu Family’s own patriarch would be his match.’

’Yet this powerful expert was defeated in just a few moves by this old Daoist from the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, using a simple Magic like the Yi Wood Divine Needle. It’s simply unbelievable.’

A glint flashed in Yang Jing’s eyes as he said,

"More people are coming. Two Foundation Establishment Cultivators. One has heavy footsteps, so he should be a Body Refining Cultivator. I will cast a spell to trap them. The rest of you will attack at once. Use every trick you have up your sleeves and kill them as quickly as possible."

After having instantly killed Xu Chongpu, Yang Jing had already established considerable prestige among the Independent Cultivators. At his words, they all nodded in agreement.

They knew their only hope of escaping the Black Wind Thieves alive rested on this old man who looked as though his life was nearing its end.

The Tunneling Speed of Foundation Establishment Cultivators was extremely fast, and the two of them soon appeared before everyone.

One of the two was dressed similarly to Xu Chongpu. The other was a large man, bare-chested, revealing a body of powerful muscle. His face was hideous, and his head was completely bald and shiny.

His skin was dark, as if cast from refined iron. His aura was as heavy as a mountain, and his body alone blocked most of the passageway.

When the pair saw the ground littered with Gu Insects and Xu Chongpu’s corpse, their eyes flickered with uncertainty.

’Xu Chongpu must have relied on the keen senses of his Skull-Eating Gu to try and capture those two children by himself and claim all the credit,’ they thought. ’He never expected to be killed in an instant.’

"Old man! Was it you who killed Xu Chongpu?!"

Yang Jing lifted his wrinkled face to look at the large man.

"What if it was?"

"Die!"

The large man let out an explosive roar and stamped his foot.

A thick Gang Qi erupted, and the large man’s figure shot straight toward Yang Jing.

The deck plating in the Flying Boat’s corridor instantly shattered under his foot, sending splinters flying. As his massive body compressed the air, it produced a thunderous roar like a trumpeting behemoth.

He swung an arm like an elephant’s trunk. The opened Acupoints throughout his body trembled, and under the enhancement of his Gang Qi, the massive tendons in his back unleashed terrifying Giant Power.

A massive fist barreled straight for Yang Jing’s face.

The other Foundation Establishment Cultivator didn’t hold back either. He watched Yang Jing with a sinister gaze as he activated a Flying Saber, its razor-sharp tip aimed at Yang Jing’s vitals, ready to strike.

BOOM!

A tough Cyan Vine suddenly burst from the deck, blocking the large man. The vine’s body was pliable, effortlessly dissipating the monumental Fist Force of his punch before coiling around his body like a python.

The Cyan Vine arrested the man’s violent charge, slamming him hard onto the deck.

The impact was like he had struck himself with his own full-power punch. His dark face flushed crimson, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Young man, you’ve cultivated nothing but brute Death Force. You are a long way from defeating me," Yang Jing said.

Before the words had even left his mouth, another Cyan Vine erupted at the feet of the distant Black Wind Thief, flying to ensnare him.

The Black Wind Thief could never have imagined the old Daoist’s Magic would be so strange. He hastily redirected his Flying Saber to slash at the Cyan Vine at his feet.

But if the Cyan Vine could stop the burly man’s immense Giant Power, blocking his Flying Saber was a simple task.

With little room to evade in the narrow corridor, the Black Wind Thief had no choice but to activate the Spiritual Light of his Defensive Spiritual Artifact as the Cyan Vine bound him tightly.