配资炒股

Tianyuan World!

In the late afternoon, at the gates of Zhenning City, Su Jie and Chen Yun rode their swift horses to this place.

From afar, they could see Dong Hongtian, along with three other men wearing short tunics and armed with swords and blades, with large frames that clearly belonged to martial artists.

“Brother Dong.”

“Brother Xu.”

Su Jie and Dong Hongtian greeted each other with a clasped fist, and Dong Hongtian introduced his three friends beside him.

“These are friends who will join us on our journey to Green Valley Plain, Jade-faced Dragon Cui Bingyuan, White Tiger Iron Claw Xiao Chang, Butterfly Sword Gan Huren; all of them are first-class fighters.”

All these people had impressive titles, which sounded quite appealing.

Su Jie looked over and greeted with a bow, “I have seen all the brothers here.”

“Brother Xu is too courteous, we’re all friends going to remove demons at Green Valley Plain, no need for such formalities.”

After exchanging greetings and introducing Chen Yun briefly as his friend, the party of six horses left Zhenning City and proceeded along the official road.

Chen Yun rode up next to Su Jie and whispered, “Su Jie, these people seem rather average in strength!”

From Chen Yun’s perspective, aside from Dong Hongtian, who seemed somewhat capable, the other three didn’t appear very strong, making her wonder if they even had the cultivation of the first level of the Yunling Realm.

A resounding nickname doesn’t guarantee fighting skill, and who knows if it’s just self-proclaimed.

Chen Yun couldn’t comprehend why people of such calibre would dare to set up a blockade at the mountain gate of Ghost Ridge Palace.

“If our strength were strong, we’d be worried about exposing ourselves.”

Su Jie smiled, as joining Dong Hongtian was merely a ruse to sneak into Ghost Ridge Palace; he didn’t truly need the fighting power of others.

Upon considering this, Chen Yun said no more.

“Let’s go, we should hurry back to Ghost Ridge Palace, otherwise Taoist Qiu might think we’ve died out here.”

With a squeeze of his legs, Su Jie urged his horse to quicken its pace.

……..

Two days later!

The temperature dropped further, and the first snowfall dressed the earth and forests in a silver cloak.

The howling cold wind blew, causing the dried leaves to dance through the air.

The group of six fine horses moved along the long-neglected official road, their hooves treading on the snow and leaving behind clear prints.

Whoa!

Dong Hongtian reined in his horse, removed his bamboo hat, shook off the snow, and looking at the small village ahead covered in white said while examining a map, “I’ve been to this village before; Nanyang City isn’t far ahead, and that’s a big city. We should rest there; after running for two days, not only the people, but the horses too can’t take much more.”

After rushing for two days with little rest, Su Jie and the others were now less than half a day’s journey from Green Valley Plain.@@novelbin@@

“As you say, Brother Dong, you have the experience, and I have no objections.”

Su Jie shrugged, and Chen Yun followed his lead.

The other three young heroes appeared visibly relieved; as the weakest among them, their rears were sore from the horseback ride, and they were eager for a break.

“I’ve run out of water; I’ll go ask for some in the village, wait for me a moment.”

Cui Bingyuan rubbed his neck and hurried off towards the village.

Dong Hongtian shook his head, complaining, “This guy doesn’t even bring enough water for a long journey.”

Xiao Chang laughed, “He’s not just going to ask for water; it’s his old habit acting up, he needs to borrow someone’s pit toilet.”

Gan Huren grinned, “Old Cui, he enjoys that one-time exhilarating feeling, and while others trouble to recognize their beds, he troubles to recognize toilets.”

Chen Yun pursed her lips, her face full of disdain.

“Alright, let’s drop it; Miss Chen is here, let’s refrain from such coarse talk.”

Dong Hongtian interrupted the discussion between the two men. To continue would be impolite.

Xiao Chang and Gan Huren glanced at Chen Yun. Due to the terrifying centipede-like stitched scar on her face, which made her look fierce and ferocious, they subconsciously didn’t regard her as a woman.

Su Jie was idly chatting with Dong Hongtian. After a while, Su Jie frowned, “Why is it taking him so long to return? Is he usually gone this long?”

Xiao Chang was stunned, then scratched the back of his head and said, “No, he’s actually been gone longer than usual today.”

“I’ll go and bring him back.”

Gan Huren volunteered, riding his horse towards the village.

Time passed, and now even Gan Huren’s presence had faded. Su Jie and several others, including Dong Hongtian, immediately realized something was amiss.

“Something’s happened.”

Dong Hongtian’s expression was grave as he drew the long sword from his waist, gazing towards the small village.

“Let’s go have a look and be careful.”

Mounted on his horse, Su Jie took the lead towards the small village.

Upon drawing closer, they found the entire village deathly silent. Although it was midday, not a single soul could be seen.

“Gan Huren and Cui Bingyuan’s horses.”

Dong Hongtian saw two horses tied to a banyan tree at the entrance of the village.

“Let’s go!”

Without making a sound, Su Jie released a Reconnaissance Dragonfly. Following the footsteps on the ground with his gaze, he looked towards a house at the front of the village and then back at Dong Hongtian.

Dong Hongtian nodded, dismounted, and followed Su Jie step by step towards the house.

The house was built with yellow mud with a stone mill at the entrance and firewood stacks and water jars on both sides.

“Brother Cui, Mr. Gan, reply immediately if you hear us.”

Taking a deep breath, Dong Hongtian filled his lungs with air and his voice thundered like a tidal wave, spreading throughout the entire village.

Silence!

There was no echo throughout the village, a silence that was chilling to the bone.

Su Jie flicked a pebble from the ground to open the door to the house.

The inside was just as quiet, but there lay two familiar figures on the ground—Gan Huren and Cui Bingyuan.

They were clearly still conscious but seemed as if poisoned, with their bodies extremely stiff.

Trying to get up, their movements were like those of drunkards, their mouths open but unable to utter a sound.

Dong Hongtian was shocked and immediately rushed into the house, where he saw a family of seven, old and young, all lying scattered on the ground, seemingly asleep, without any external injuries yet having ceased breathing and heartbeat.

“It’s not poison.”

Chen Yun squatted down, checked the two men’s injuries, and shook her head at Su Jie.

The disciples of Ghost Ridge Palace were experts in using poison, and could easily recognize if poisoning was the cause.

“Of course it’s not poison—this is damage to the soul.”

Su Jie’s voice turned cold as he looked at the corpses in the house. This familiar style of death was recognizable to him at first glance as being caused by soul destruction.

Su Jie had conducted experiments and even possessed a Soul Summoning Banner, so he was well-versed in such matters.

No wonder they had not smelled blood upon entering the village; those killed by Yin Souls would not have any external injuries.

“Let me do it.”

Seeing Dong Hongtian at a loss, Su Jie walked up to Gan Huren and Cui Bingyuan with a bottle of Soul Nourishing Pill in hand.

This elixir was one of Su Jie’s spoils of war; he had obtained a variety of elixirs from several inner disciples, including this one, which could nourish and calm the soul. It wasn’t expensive and was typically used by disciples to accelerate meditation.