Several outer disciples, whose arms had been severed by Xu Chuan's blade, stared at the scene in disbelief.
It had been less than a month since they last sought trouble with Xu Chuan.
Last time, Xu Chuan was only at the sixth level of the Body Tempering realm. Under their siege, he hadn't even had a chance to retaliate. He had been beaten to the point of needing prolonged rest in bed to recover.
But today, Xu Chuan had directly revealed his cultivation of the second level of the Qi Gathering realm.
Even Sun Qian, who was at the peak of the ninth level of the Body Tempering realm, was no match for him.
In less than a month, advancing from the sixth level of Body Tempering to the third level of Qi Gathering was an almost incomprehensible feat that shattered their worldview!
They kept telling themselves, in their minds, that it was all a dream, an illusion!
But the bloody reality was undeniable!
Accompanying their disbelief was endless fear.
He had even crippled Sun Qian, showing no regard for the fact that Sun Qian had an elder uncle who was an attendant.
And they, just ordinary outer disciples, had no background whatsoever.
Their current standing was entirely due to their sycophantic fawning over Sun Qian to obtain cultivation resources.
It was one thing to flaunt their power with Sun Qian on a daily basis.
But today, they had even attempted to cripple Xu Chuan.
They had truly kicked an iron board this time.
If they had known from the start that Xu Chuan was a Qi Gathering realm martial cultivator, they wouldn't have dared to act even if given ten times the courage.
As it turned out.
In just one exchange, not only had each of them lost an arm, but they had no idea what Xu Chuan would do to them next.
"Senior Brother Xu, spare our lives!"
"Senior Brother Xu, for the sake of us both being outer disciples of the Grand Clarity Holy Land, please spare us. We will never dare again!"
"Also, Wang Mazi leaked your information to Sun Qian. He is the mastermind behind all of this!"
Unable to bear the pain of their severed arms, the outer disciples scrambled to their feet and knelt before Xu Chuan, pleading for their lives.
Losing face was a small matter; losing their lives meant losing everything.
Wang Mazi, who was in the crowd, broke out in a cold sweat and was filled with dread as he saw them betray him.
With a slide, he knelt before Xu Chuan.
"Senior Brother Xu, spare me! Senior Brother Xu, I was momentarily deluded. Please overlook my past transgressions and let me go!"
He then kowtowed heavily, his forehead bleeding, begging for Xu Chuan's forgiveness.
"You lot, slap yourselves three hundred times each, leave behind all your possessions, and then carry him away and get out!"
"As for you, lose an arm and a leg, and cripple your Qi Sea. I can spare your life!"
Xu Chuan said coldly to the group kneeling before him.
This place was, after all, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Clarity Holy Land. Moreover, there were many onlookers at the moment. If Xu Chuan were to kill them all, he would surely be punished by the Law Enforcement Hall.
Being punished for a few insignificant individuals was not worth the trouble.
He also did not wish to gain a reputation for being bloodthirsty.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for sparing our lives!"
Upon hearing Xu Chuan's words, the group was overjoyed.
Although they had to slap themselves three hundred times and hand over all their possessions, it was far better than losing their lives!
They had witnessed Xu Chuan's fearsome power.
Not a single thought of resistance arose within them.
Immediately, they began to use their remaining arms to fiercely slap their own faces.
"Slap, slap, slap!"
Each strike was clearly audible, indicating the immense force behind it.
After three hundred slaps, their faces had swollen into pig-like proportions; even their own mothers would likely not recognize them.
Then, they thoroughly searched the unconscious Sun Qian and presented all their personal assets.
This was, after all, a matter of life and death, and no one dared to act foolishly at this moment.
Once Xu Chuan nodded, they helped each other up and carried the prone Sun Qian away.
As for Wang Mazi, upon hearing Xu Chuan's demands, he completely collapsed.
Losing an arm and a leg and crippling his Qi Sea was akin to a bolt from the blue for him.
From then on, he would be a cripple.
In a world where the strong preyed on the weak, the fate of a cripple was bound to be tragic.
However.
He saw Xu Chuan's cold and stern gaze.
He knew that if he did not comply with Xu Chuan's demands, he might not survive the day.
With a grim resolve, he picked up a long sword from the ground and directly severed his left arm and left leg, then crippled his own Qi Sea with a palm strike.
At this moment, his heart was filled with endless regret.
If not for his greed, he would not have ended up in such a dire predicament.
...
After everyone in the shop had dispersed.
Xu Chuan finally began to examine the personal belongings obtained from Sun Qian and the outer disciples.
Suddenly, an ancient-looking ring caught his eye.
Xu Chuan picked up the ring and, with a thought, a sealed space several cubic meters in size appeared before him.
Xu Chuan was overjoyed.
He knew what this was!
A storage ring!
This was an extraordinary item.
These rings were made from a very precious material that formed its own space, varying in size.
It could be used to store anything except living beings, and their contents would remain unchanged forever.
It was truly an indispensable item for travel and for plundering others.
Even inner disciples did not all possess such items.
He hadn't expected Sun Qian to have one.
This was an unexpected bonus.
Xu Chuan unceremoniously slipped it into his embrace.
As for the other disciples, apart from a few dozen low-grade Yuan stones, there were no other valuable items.
Xu Chuan glanced through them casually and lost interest.
He turned to leave.
"Young Master Xu, please wait!"
Seeing Xu Chuan about to step out of the shop, the shopkeeper was unhappy. Could a duck that was about to be eaten fly away?
Xu Chuan, turning back, looked at the shopkeeper with a hint of confusion.
"Does Young Master Xu still wish to sell that Spiritual Clarity Grass?"
The shopkeeper asked cautiously.
At the shopkeeper's reminder, Xu Chuan finally remembered the purpose of his visit.
He had almost forgotten it due to the interruption.
"Yes!"
He took out the Spiritual Clarity Grass and handed it to the shopkeeper.
Along with it, he also handed over the Centipede Demon Pill he had obtained from the Falling Phoenix Mountain Range and some other miscellaneous items.
"Please help me appraise these items. If the price is right, I'll sell them to you as well!"
The shopkeeper took all the items, first placing the Spiritual Clarity Grass into a jade box, and then began to meticulously examine the other items.
"Young Master Xu, your Spiritual Clarity Grass plus these items total two thousand five hundred low-grade Yuan stones. What do you say?"
"No problem. Give me the Yuan stones, and we'll settle the transaction."
Xu Chuan had a general idea of the value of these items.
The price quoted by the shopkeeper was very reasonable, even exceeding his expectations. There was no reason to refuse.
After receiving the Yuan stones, Xu Chuan returned to the Holy Land under the cover of dusk.
Back in the Holy Land, Xu Chuan lay on his bed in his cave abode, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.
The experiences of the past half month had been more thrilling than his entire eighteen years prior.
Not only had his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, but opportunities seemed to fall into his lap incessantly.
It was a world of difference compared to his past life.
"However..."
"There are indeed some troubles at the moment."
Xu Chuan frowned slightly.
Although he had acted in self-defense today.
The fact remained that he had crippled Sun Qian.
While the Holy Land might not necessarily pursue the matter,
given Sun Qian's vindictive nature, he would certainly seek revenge through his uncle, who was an attendant in the Law Enforcement Hall.
An attendant in the outer sect's Law Enforcement Hall would have a cultivation of at least the first level of the Mortal Transformation realm, possibly even stronger!
If such a person were to seek revenge, Xu Chuan was not entirely confident that he could contend with them.
"How to avoid this impending crisis is the most important thing!"
"One must be strong to withstand pressure. Only by becoming stronger can one fear no threat."
"I must seize this time to improve my strength!"
"Fortunately, I sold a lot of Yuan stones. It should be enough for me to cultivate for a while."
Having made up his mind, he did not hesitate further.
Time waited for no one, and he had no idea when Sun Qian would return with his uncle.
However, the time would certainly not be too long.
Because the outer sect assessment would be held in a not-too-distant future.
At that time, they would certainly not dare to make a move.
Xu Chuan returned to the cultivation room. This was already the best cultivation sanctuary in the outer sect.
The only drawback was the consumption of Yuan stones.
However, this was not a flaw of the cultivation room, but his own limitation.