A Quasi-Low Tier Magical Artifact that Shen Changchuan had been clutching in his hand became the final, decisive blow that would determine life and death!
This Golden Needle...
...was, of course, one of the two Golden Needles in Shen Changchuan's possession.
The Golden Needle, paired with the Golden Needle Technique...
...was Shen Changchuan's most powerful trump card.
Before this,
whenever Shen Changchuan faced an enemy, he had basically always used both of his Quasi-Magical Artifact Golden Needles together, coordinating them with the Golden Needle Technique to fight.
But in truth, this wasn't necessary.
Using both Golden Needles at once...
...was only because the enemies Shen Changchuan had faced before were a giant wild boar and a Crocodile Demon.
Those two enemies...
...were both Demon Beasts with massive bodies and tenacious Life Force.
And when facing Demon Beasts with such formidable Life Force, a single Golden Needle might not have been enough to guarantee a kill.
That was why during his previous battles, he used both needles together to ensure a single strike could slay the massive, resilient Demon Beasts.
But this time was different.
This time, he was facing Cultivators—people.
When facing people,
the difference in effect between one Golden Needle and two wasn't significant.
Because a strike to a vital spot meant death either way.
Therefore,
when he first ambushed and killed the second brother at the Qi Introduction Fifth Layer, he had only used a single Golden Needle.
The remaining one, his deadliest weapon,
he had kept clutched tightly in his hand.
Until this very moment.
After holding back for so long, he unleashed it all at once, successfully turning the tables and killing the formidable enemy at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak!
"PHEW!"
Watching the scar-faced man in the distance—his body charred black, a large hole blown through his head—completely lose all Vitality and fall backward...
Shen Changchuan also let out a long breath.
But there was no hint of joy or pride on his face.
On the contrary, his face was ashen, and he seemed completely drained of strength, his back soaked with cold sweat.
For a moment after the man fell,
just for an instant,
Shen Changchuan's figure swayed, unsteady on his feet, almost collapsing to the ground.
It couldn't be helped.
This battle had cost him too much!
It might have looked like he'd easily wiped out his enemies one by one.
But in reality,
from the moment he had shattered Zhao Hanguo's Dantian with a single punch and launched his attack,
he had been walking a tightrope.
The slightest misstep,
and he would have plummeted into an abyss, to his death!
In that short quarter-hour,
Shen Changchuan had not only strained his Heart Spirit to its absolute limit, but he had also pushed the circulation of his Magical Power to its peak!
Several times,
when his Magical Power couldn't recover fast enough, he had no choice but to recklessly squeeze the very last dregs of power from his meridians to fend off his enemies!
A few breaths later,
Shen Changchuan, having caught his breath, managed to recover slightly.
But by now,
less than a tenth of his Magical Power remained, and his meridians throbbed with pain from being pushed to their limits time and again.
Still, having caught his breath,
he was at least capable of fighting again.
Although his remaining combat strength was less than fifty percent of his peak, and the little Magical Power he had left wouldn't last long.
But it was enough.
"You... you... how is this possible?!"
Not far away,
the heavily injured Zhao Hanguo stared at Shen Changchuan with wide eyes. Pointing a trembling finger at him, he stammered in horror as if he had witnessed the impossible.
Since Zhao Hanguo was, after all, at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer,
Shen Changchuan had struck with extreme prejudice, crippling him instantly.
Although Zhao Hanguo wasn't dead, he was so grievously wounded that he had been lying on the ground, unable to even stand.
To the point that just moments ago,
having been crippled by a sneak attack, he had been cursing Shen Changchuan's shamelessness in his heart, filled with extreme resentment, swearing that once the three from He Mountain captured him, he would torture Shen Changchuan brutally to quench his hatred!
That rage and resentment had lasted until this very moment.
It lasted until the leader of the three, the scar-faced man at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak, was also lying dead on the ground without a trace of life.
Now, Zhao Hanguo,
looked at the three miserable corpses scattered on the ground.
When his gaze returned to Shen Changchuan, it was filled with utter terror,
as if he were looking at a demon in human skin.
In his terror,
though he was lying on the ground, unable to stand, he couldn't stop himself from using his hands to push his body backward.
"How is this possible?! Impossible! How could you have this kind of power..."
Zhao Hanguo's face was a mask of terror.
He frantically scrambled backward, as if trying to get away from the horrifying demon before him,
his body leaving a distinct drag mark on the ground.
He had every reason to be terrified.
Three of the infamous He Mountain Four Fierce had gathered here.
Led by their boss at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak, with another at the Qi Introduction Fifth Layer and one at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer setting up an ambush, and yet, in the blink of an eye, they had been utterly decimated by the person in front of him?!
'Based on the aura he revealed during the fight, he's only at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer!'
'Even the weakest of the He Mountain Four Fierce is at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer!'
'How could this be!'
'How could this be the outcome?!'
Zhao Hanguo simply could not comprehend it,
nor could he accept it!
However,
Shen Changchuan had no intention of explaining.
He walked over in a few quick steps and knocked him unconscious with a single chop to the neck.
'This person still has his uses.'
'For instance, the identities of the people who want me dead.'
'And the reason why they're targeting me.'
If he couldn't figure these things out, it would remain a thorn deep in his side.
At the very least,
he needed to know where this threat was coming from,
so he could prepare in advance.
But while the matter was urgent,
this was clearly not a good place for an interrogation. Shen Changchuan planned to take him back to Dawan Village to deal with him properly.
So, he simply knocked him out first,
to prevent any mishaps along the way.
After Zhao Hanguo was completely unconscious,
Shen Changchuan began to collect the spoils of battle from the surroundings.
To avoid any surprises,
he started by searching the weakest one, the fourth brother at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer.
'Since this man had a piece of Leather Armor, he should be quite wealthy, right?'
That was what he originally thought.
But he was quickly disappointed.
Because after searching the man's entire body,
he found nothing of value apart from the Leather Armor he was wearing.
Even that Leather Armor had been slashed by two of Shen Changchuan's Wind Blade Techniques in quick succession during the battle, causing it to completely lose its Spiritual quality and thus all its value.
Er,
it wasn't completely worthless.
In the Mortal World, if the slash was sewn up, it could probably be considered a treasure impervious to blades and could be exchanged for some gold and silver.
But obviously, that was of little use to Shen Changchuan.
A thought suddenly flashed through Shen Changchuan's mind.
'Could it be that this man's wealth was kept by his boss?'
'From the way he flipped his palm to take out the Soul-Attracting Bell earlier, it looked like he had a Storage Bag.'
Though he thought this,
Shen Changchuan didn't go directly to search the boss's body.
Instead, he walked in the other direction,
toward the Qi Introduction Fifth Layer Cultivator whom he had first ambushed and killed, and began to search him.
Soon,
Shen Changchuan found a dagger clutched in the man's hand.
The sharp edge of the dagger reflected a faint blue light.
It looked like a Low Tier Magical Artifact,
and a poisoned one at that.
But other than this dagger,
just like with the previous man, there was nothing else.
He came up empty-handed.
Shen Changchuan's gaze,
then shifted toward the corpse of the leader, the one at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak...