Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Helpers
Neighbors from up and down the street gathered around. They were silent, craning their necks to watch the commotion.
The news that the Miaofa Sect was withdrawing must have spread, so people weren’t as cautious anymore.
If Zhang Chang couldn’t make this stick today, no one would be able to collect money on this street in the future.
He had originally called Mo Yaozi and his crew over because they were street thugs who knew the ropes and could back him up.
He never thought Mo Yaozi would be so easily scared. His retreat had created a whole lot of unnecessary trouble!
"Useless trash!"
Zhang Chang cursed under his breath and flung his sleeve, shaking off Mo Yaozi’s hand as a powerful aura rose from him.
"A bunch of mud-legged peasants!!"
With that, he flicked his fingers.
"Third Heaven of the Origin Talisman! Allow me to show you peasants an Immortal Technique from my sect!"
A smile bloomed on his face. Spiritual Qi flowed from his fingertips, swirling rapidly in front of him, about to form a Talisman in an instant.
The neighborhood Cultivators were in an uproar, scattering and backing away.
The Twelve Meridians of the Origin Talisman!
That was one of the fundamental Cultivation Techniques for new disciples of the Miaofa Sect.
It was renowned in the surrounding area for being balanced in both offense and defense. They never imagined they’d get to see it today!
Even the hot-tempered man next to Bai Mo felt a profound sense of dread.
Without a second thought, he swung the hammer in his hand, sending it whistling through the air!
Bai Mo watched as Zhang Chang’s Spiritual Qi Talisman took shape. It looked very similar to the ones sold in his neighbor Sun Qiao’s shop.
’How truly wondrous!’
To draw a Talisman with Spiritual Qi and manifest it from thin air... he had never seen such a Cultivation Technique in the city before.
As if struck by a sudden inspiration, Bai Mo watched the Spiritual Qi snake around and trace the design, then flicked his own finger. A speck of starlight shot out, arriving first despite being launched later.
Zhang Chang’s meandering Spiritual Qi stream suddenly slammed right into Bai Mo’s speck of starlight.
The flow of Spiritual Qi halted, its leading edge dissipating at the same time as the starlight.
Zhang Chang’s eyelid twitched. ’In all our sparring matches, when has a Cultivator below the Qi Refining realm ever been able to sever the flow of our Spiritual Qi!?’
Before he could even process his shock, the hammerhead smashed into his half-formed, illusory Talisman with immense force.
BANG!
The Spiritual Qi scattered!
The man with the large hammer, pressing his advantage and fueled by the power of a Qi Blood Pill, let out a fierce roar and charged forward.
The wind stirred up by the hammer made even Zhang Chang’s face change color.
With a flick of his wrist, he traced out a design with Spiritual Qi. A green Talisman formed in an instant and merged into his body.
Just as the hammer was about to strike him, he pushed off his toes and leaped into the air.
He soared away effortlessly, then landed lightly and steadily on the edge of a roof.
Bai Mo felt it was a bit of a shame. The quality of his opponent’s green Talisman was somewhat lacking, but he had drawn it with such practiced skill that Bai Mo had no chance to interrupt.
But while Zhang Chang had escaped, Mo Yaozi and the others behind him had lost their backer. They were scared out of their wits.
Mo Yaozi, in particular, was grazed by the follow-through of the hammer swing, which tore a chunk of flesh from his arm.
"AHHH!!"
Mo Yaozi shrieked in pain. Seeing the other burly men shouting and closing in, he hastily swung his sword to defend himself.
In the ensuing chaos, the few fake disciples were completely overwhelmed. Piercing pain shot through their bodies from several places, and they immediately felt they were in mortal danger.
"Immortal Master, save me!! Even if we haven’t earned merit, we’ve still put in the effort!"
Mo Yaozi cried out in agony.
A flash of disgust crossed Zhang Chang’s eyes as he stood on the roof’s edge, but he ultimately decided to act.
’Looks like I’ll have to kill someone to establish my authority after all!’
’Fine. I’ll just give a portion of the Spirit Stones to my senior brother afterward to settle this.’
He drew the Longsword from his waist. The body of the blade was strange, seemingly engraved with Talisman-like patterns.
’After all, it’s a whole street’s worth of Spirit Stones. No one’s ever collected from them before...’
Zhang Chang’s gaze shifted, met Bai Mo’s calm eyes, and then involuntarily darted away.
Instead, his eyes fell on the group of men who were about to beat Mo Yaozi to death with their hammers.
But before he could make a move, an angry shout rang out.
"That’s the bastard!!"
It was followed by the crisp sound of something slicing through the air.
Bai Mo saw a flash of silvery-white light streak past, and Zhang Chang instinctively raised his sword to block.
CLANG!
With the sound of metal on metal, the incoming object was split in two.
In a flash, Bai Mo raised his hand and snatched the piece that shot past him.
Glancing down, he saw it was the tip of a blade.
Young Master Wang, who the blade fragment had been pointing at, broke out in a cold sweat, nearly collapsing.
Everyone looked toward where the long knife had come from and saw a group of rough-looking men approaching menacingly.
The people in the way unconsciously parted. Lanshan, leading about a dozen of his brothers, walked straight up to Bai Mo.
"Shopkeeper Bai, are you alright!?"
Bai Mo shook his head and answered honestly,
"I’m fine. But if you all hadn’t arrived, I’m afraid I would have had to take a Qi Blood Pill and run for it."
"That villain already had malicious intentions!"
Hearing this, the rough men of the Demon Hunting Team all focused their gazes on the Qi Blood Pill in Bai Mo’s hand.
They had heard Limpy Ma talk about this Pill before, and their impression of the rather frightening-looking Pill immediately improved.
Lanshan, however, shifted his gaze to Zhang Chang, his expression cold.
"An outer disciple from the Miaofa Sect’s Talisman Branch."
"They have the worst reputation of all. They act recklessly, and everyone despises them."
"Now that Immortal Arrival City is changing hands, with the old regime giving way to the new, they are indeed flocking to the city in droves."
Zhang Chang looked down at Lanshan and his men, his face ugly.
Even though Sect Cultivators have a deeper foundation than Loose Cultivators...
...if he fought these brutes head-on, he would really die here.
"What’s this? You’re not leaving? Waiting for my brothers to shoot you down like a bird?"
Limpy Ma looked up at Zhang Chang, whistled, and jeered.
Zhang Chang’s face darkened.
"Do you have any idea what happens to those who provoke a disciple of my Talisman Branch?"
Limpy Ma laughed. "I hear you support a lot of bandits and thugs on the outside, but people like that are hardly a threat."
"How about you come down and have a go with us, right here on this street?"
Lanshan had no patience for their taunts and cut in directly.
"This place is under the protection of our Demon Hunting Team."
"Next time someone comes, either we’ll be the ones lying on the ground, or you’ll be the ones crawling away!"
With that, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Sect Disciples are certainly impressive. You can go now!"
Zhang Chang couldn’t stand such humiliation. Veins popped on his forehead as he roared in anger,
"Despicable curs! Immortal Arrival City is still the territory of my Miaofa Sect!"
Lanshan’s expression grew complex as he looked at him. He suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"Why don’t you try telling that to the Immortal Masters of the Xuandao Sect?"
As he spoke, he abruptly turned, snatched a spear from a man beside him, and hurled it.
"Get lost!!"
Zhang Chang’s face changed. He spun in mid-air, gracefully dodging to the side.
"Fine!! Just you wait!"
Before he even landed, he circulated the Spiritual Qi in his body. His figure flickered and drifted away like a dancing butterfly until he was gone.
Lanshan watched him depart with cold eyes, then ordered the men around him,
"Get these scumbags out of here."
The men from the Demon Hunting Team didn’t even need to act. The local men immediately dropped their hammers, and a few of them stepped forward.
In just a few moves, they dragged away the half-dead Mo Yaozi and his crew.
Lanshan then broke into a smile and said to Bai Mo,
"I heard a Sect Cultivator had come to the street, so I brought some men over. Glad I wasn’t too late."
Bai Mo nodded, turned around, took out a rolled pill, and stuffed it into the mouth of the man who had taken the Qi Blood Pill.
He then spoke earnestly to the man’s companions,
"Take this brave man away to get some good rest. Make sure he drinks plenty of water. Tonight, I’m treating you all to meat!"
Seeing the men cheer and walk away, Bai Mo then led Lanshan and his group aside.
"If you all hadn’t rushed over, this could have gotten much more troublesome..."
Before Lanshan could speak, the many rough men of the Demon Hunting Team pushed him aside and swarmed forward.
"Haha, Alchemist Bai, you’re too kind. I’m Iron Destiny. Please give me your guidance in the future."
"I’m Da Xi! A pleasure to meet you, Alchemist Bai!"
"Me, me, me..."
