Chapter 38: Du Peng

  Zhang Heng didn't say another word, and drove the Lingzhu to find the remaining scattered corpses of the cultivators. Before long, he found those mangled bodies one by one.

  Zhang Heng endured the nausea and cleaned up their storage bag, only to find that they had obtained a total of twenty or so crystal stones, which added up to less than what the yellow-faced Taoist had.

  Slightly disappointed, Zhang Heng felt that these scattered cultivators were even poorer than he had imagined. But after careful consideration, this was also understandable. After all, they didn't have any power to rely on, and the crystal might have been obtained through robbery. Perhaps in the world of scattered cultivators, they were considered relatively wealthy.

  Stunned, Zhao Rui stared at Zhang Heng who had obtained over twenty crystal stones in one go, and couldn't help but feel a little regretful that these crystal stones should have belonged to him...

  Twenty crystal stones are also a considerable amount for an inner disciple like him, and Zhao Rui only has several tens of crystal stones in his hand.

  "How many crystals did you get in total?" Zhao Rui couldn't help but ask, because he didn't see the process of Zhang Heng killing the yellow-faced Taoist priest, so he didn't know how much Zhang Heng specifically gained.

  Zhang Heng clapped his hands, and with a practiced motion, he performed a Dust-Repelling Technique. He wasn't very satisfied, saying: "Hmph, a total of fifty-eight crystal stones, and one low-grade spiritual artifact... barely enough..."

  "So expensive? And there's another treasure." Zhao Rui said with some surprise, and his heart regretted even more.

  Zhang Heng said sternly, "Let me, your elder brother, take care of this ill-gotten wealth. You, younger brother, have also killed several evil cultivators and are indeed a good cultivator who rids the people of harm. I suppose you wouldn't be greedy for these ordinary people's hard-earned money either."

  "Yes... Elder Tang is right." Zhao Rui's response was somewhat forced, and the smile on his face looked more painful than crying.

  He had made up his mind that if he encountered a similar situation again, he would definitely take the initiative to be strong and absolutely not let this "greedy" senior brother snatch away all the spoils of war.

  Unconsciously, Zhao Rui, who was originally a kind and simple person like a blank sheet of paper, underwent a change in his mindset under the influence of Zhang Heng. As for what he will become in the future, who knows?

  After the success of this "anti-rape" strategy, Zhang Heng has come to understand the difference between ordinary loose cultivators and sect disciples.

  These individual practitioners' cultivation methods are very rough and even lack a complete method. The cultivation methods, due to not receiving guidance from predecessors, have also taken many detours.

  Therefore, even without any spiritual tools, a disciple of a sect can still easily defeat an ordinary loose cultivator of the same level.

  This is also why Zhang Heng and the other person were able to easily annihilate these eight scattered cultivators, although it was also related to the fact that the two of them far surpassed ordinary cultivators of the same rank. If it were an ordinary disciple from another sect, it would be very difficult to achieve this.

  Of course, this is also because the two only encountered ordinary loose cultivators. Among the loose cultivators, there are some particularly powerful existences, most of whom have had encounters and have strength that far surpasses that of ordinary loose cultivators.

  Through this battle, Zhang Heng reevaluated Zhao Rui's strength. This son's strength was not weaker than that of a cultivator in the Great Perfection stage of Qi Refining. He could even use third-grade spells with ease, and his strength was indeed terrifying.

  After gaining spoils of war, the two continued flying, their speed also increasing by a few degrees.

  On the road, Zhao Rui's gaze would occasionally glance towards the surrounding mountains, with a look of great reluctance, as if he wished to come across another batch of scattered cultivators to rob.

  Zhang Heng naturally knew what he was thinking and smiled as he asked: "Does Zhao still want to rid the people of a scourge? Such opportunities will arise again in the future."

  Zhao Rui smiled awkwardly: "Yes, those robbers are really hateful..."

  At this moment, ten monks flew towards them from the front, their feet were all spiritual instruments, and their bodies revealed a sharp aura.

  Zhao Rui's face showed a few shades of joy and he said: "Has another robbery come?"

  Zhang Heng shook his head: "It shouldn't be."

  The momentum of these ten people is completely different from those scattered cultivators before, and their cultivation is all above the middle stage of Qi Refining. The spiritual instruments under their feet are at least low-grade spiritual instruments.

  Moreover, these people's attire were very similar, all wearing a set of light armor, the flying formation was extremely neat and tidy, without any disorder.

  The most striking one was the handsome young man in white, with a sharp eyebrow that gave people an unyielding feeling, and his eyes emitted a cold and icy aura.

  The whole person is like a sword out of its scabbard, even if thrown into the crowd, will be quickly noticed by others.

  And from the aura emitted by this young man, his cultivation has already reached the realm of Qi Refining Period Great Perfection. The spiritual tool under his feet is actually a high-grade spiritual tool, and the cyan armor on his body is faintly radiating a light glow, estimated to be at least a defensive spiritual tool.

  These ten people took the young man as their leader, and all the other monks stood obediently behind him, without any intention of making a move.

  The white-clothed youth quickly discovered Zhang Heng and his companion's existence, leading the cultivators behind him to rapidly approach this direction.

  "Tang Shixiong? Who are they?" Zhao Rui asked curiously.

  "Not very clear, probably has something to do with Du Tianbao." Zhang Heng was also guessing the identities of some people.

  The young man in white stopped twenty meters away from the two of them, and the cultivators behind him all came to a sudden stop.

  His cold gaze swept over Zhang Heng and the others, only slightly lingering on Zhao Rui, while completely ignoring Zhang Heng.

  "We are the patrol guards of Dugu Fort, responsible for security work around here. Is that flash of fire on the horizon just now related to you?" The young man in white asked indifferently.

  Zhang Heng stepped forward a few meters, his expression calm as he said: "Both of us are disciples of Fang Yunshan, traveling together to Dutiange Fort. On the way, we encountered eight bandits who were lone cultivators, but they have already been taken care of by us. As for the firelight just now, it was a spell cast by my junior brother here."

  "Huh? You've completely wiped out the Luoshan Eight Evils?" The white-clothed youth's face showed a few hints of surprise, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances at the two of them, his gaze mainly falling on Zhao Rui.

  Judging from his tone, Luo Shan seems to have some reputation in this place.

  "Was that spell just cast by you? Were there any Foundation Building cultivators present at the time?" The young man in white had a look of incredulity on his face.

  Zhao Rui slightly bowed to the young man in white: "I am Zhao Rui, and he is Tang Shixiong, a fellow disciple from the same mountain. The spell just now was indeed cast by me, it's a fire-element secret technique passed down by our master, and there were no other cultivators present at that time."

  A young man in white clothes continuously made a fist at Zhao Rui, but ignored Zhang Heng beside him: "I am Du Peng of the Lone Heaven Pavilion. The power of the spell you just cast is probably no less than that of an ordinary third-tier spell."

  Zhao Rui's face showed a joyful expression as he said, "Not bad, this spell is a simplified version of the intermediate-level spell Flame Hurricane, and its power is indeed not weaker than a third-tier spell. I remember when I was cultivating this spell..."

  Zhang Heng was embarrassed on the side, this Zhao Rui is too lacking in mind, others just praised you a sentence, and you can't wait to untie your old bottom for the other party to see.

  However, Du Peng seemed to have a good impression of Zhao Rui, and the two of them ignored the people around them, chatting idly for a while.

  Finally, Du Peng slightly saluted Zhao Rui: "You and I have a very pleasant conversation. If you have time in the future, come to Dutiange Fort to find me, Du. At that time, we will discuss the law together. I am currently on patrol duty. If there is any inconvenience, please forgive me, brother."

  "I'll really come find you later." Zhao Rui smiled at him and saw them off as they left.

  Du Peng took the monks behind him and left quickly, never looking at Zhang Heng again from start to finish.

  Zhao Rui smiled: "This person is not bad, Tang Shixiong should also get to know him."

  Zhang Heng gave him a glance and didn't explain much. He said calmly, "Let's hurry up, Dutiange Fortress is not far from us now."

  Zhang Heng didn't have any resentment in his heart either. This world was just like that, where strength represented everything.

  Zhao Rui's strength was not inferior to that of a cultivator in the Great Perfection of Refining Qi, and he would naturally get along well with his opponent. On the surface, however, he was just a cultivator in the early stages of Refining Qi, and was not even taken seriously by his opponent.

  With a cold expression, gazing at the azure sky, Zhang Heng's heart silently said: One day, the entire Three Star Domain will tremble because of my existence...