Chapter 27: Death, Death, Death

  It's been almost three hours since the horse carriage left the village, and if they don't hurry up, once the horse carriage enters the city, what will happen to Ling'er, Gan Ping doesn't dare to imagine. The Taiyi Pure Yang True Classic in his body has already been fully activated, and the Binghuo Rongyuan Decree has also been launched, and he can no longer care about whether these two will conflict with each other, as long as he can rescue Ma Ling'er, even if it means exploding his body to death, he is willing.

  "If I hadn't been focusing on my cultivation and hadn't refined any magic treasures, why would I need to rush so desperately? As long as I summon the flying sword, hurry up and catch up, cut that carriage into pieces with one sword, turn around and head towards Xiao Yue City, and behead Fang Zhengyuan with one sword, wouldn't everything be fine? If someone makes a fuss, kill them together. It seems that in this world, having absolute power is the way to go. I wonder how the village is doing now. Since Fang Zhengyuan and Li Zhuanggui dared to order that dead fat man to kidnap people, they must have had other plans. What a pity! No matter how many schemes you have, I will destroy them all with one move. The fire in the village can protect the safety of Ma Jia Village even if thousands of people come. But what about Ling'er?"

  At this thought, Gan Ping's heart was racing with anxiety and fury. "If anything happens to Ling'er, I'll make sure the entire Fang family pays with their lives! Only then can we deter such evil deeds. Anyone who dares to stand in my way will be killed!" His eyes had already turned red with murderous intent.

  Gan Ping rushed along the pipeline, passing by horse-drawn carriages one after another, but not finding the one he was looking for. He passed over a mountain ridge, and in the distance, the outline of Xiao Yue City appeared before his eyes. "Ling'er", Gan Ping's sharp eyesight had already spotted the carriage with the Wang family crest at the city gate, Fang Zhengyuan standing beside it, carrying down from the carriage a woman who was unconscious, wearing that fiery red dress - could it be anyone else but Ling'er?

  Seeing that Fang Zheng was embracing Ling'er and laughing lewdly, Gan Ping's eyes were about to split open with anger. "You dare, you little beast!" A loud roar echoed through the sky, as Gan Ping shouted angrily from the top of the mountain ridge, his entire body charging down like a dragon, precisely the Dragon Clan's combat technique - Yun Long Yin Xian (Hidden Appearance of the Cloud Dragon). What better time to settle this than now?

  "We're still three miles away from the city gate, and at my current speed, it'll take at least ten breaths to reach the entrance. I fear that Ling'er will be taken into the city by that evil young master." Thinking of this, Gan Ping's speed didn't decrease, but he took out a small, exquisite hammer from his storage ring and held it in his hand. With a surge of true yuan energy, although it wasn't tempered and couldn't fly on its own, simple applications were still possible. The small hammer immediately expanded several dozen times, becoming a massive hammer weighing over 70,000 catties, forged from the Nine Dragon Sunken Silver and the Fallen Star Mountain Stone. It was the perfect tool for breaking through cities and smashing gates. Gan Ping no longer cared about anything else; today, he would break into the city and kill."

  That Fang Zhengyuan was holding in his arms the lovely girl he had been thinking about day and night, fantasizing that soon this treasure would be carried to his bed. He couldn't help but burst into lewd laughter, when suddenly he heard a loud shout. Hastily turning around, he saw a young man wielding a giant hammer as big as a round table, rushing down from the mountain slope in the distance, with a ferocious and terrifying expression - it was Gan Ping. Scared, Fang Zhengyuan hastily turned around holding the girl in his arms and ran, sprinting all the way to the city gate, where he shouted: "Close the gate, close the gate! That kid is chasing after us!"

  The soldier guarding the gate recognized him, who was actually the nephew of the city master. He hastily tried to curry favor with him: "Young Master Fang, what's the hurry?" As he spoke, he also took a glance at Ma Ling'er in his arms. This soldier naturally knew what kind of person Fang Zhengyuan was, and pitied this beautiful young woman who had fallen into his clutches.

  When Fang Zhengyuan heard this, he seemed to have found his backbone and hurriedly said: "Get the door closed for me, don't let that little brat outside come in. No, you shoot him dead for me. As long as you get rid of him, I'll let my uncle promote you." Fang Zhengyuan was afraid that if anything else happened at this time, his father and uncle would definitely skin him alive, so he ordered the officer to shoot Gan Ping dead.

  That officer didn't expect a good thing, seeing Fang Dashao hugging the woman and hastily getting on a horse carriage. He also got spirited up, how could he be alone? Military lord, I kill people like it's nothing! When he looked around and saw Gan Ping rushing over with a big hammer in the distance, he finally knew why Fang Dashao was so flustered. Hurriedly shouting loudly, "Close the door, close the door, all listen to orders, shoot that little brat dead!"

  A long roar like a dragon's, shook the soldiers on the city wall, almost falling off the city head. Gan Ping took advantage of the momentum to swing his large hammer and collide with the 10-zhang-high city gate, causing the entire city wall to shake violently. The soldiers who were originally unstable on the city wall were shaken down by the earthquake-like tremors, falling from the city head like dumplings in a pot. The officer was also frightened by the shaking city wall, lying flat on the ground, shouting: "Quickly shoot arrows, quickly shoot arrows, kill him!" Unfortunately, the surrounding soldiers were all in chaos, and no one paid attention to his orders.

  Gan Ping wielded the massive hammer, his eyes blazing with fury, like a mad tiger, striking the city gate with all his might. The ten-zhang-high gate shook violently, on the verge of collapse. The soldiers inside the gate were terrified, their weapons trembling in their hands. These gate guards were most familiar with this gate, made from hundreds of years of fine wood, wrapped in iron plates, and reinforced with copper nails as large as bowls, making it extremely sturdy. Even a battering ram would have difficulty breaking through it for a while. But now, the seemingly impenetrable gate was riddled with holes like a piece of paper, leaving them wondering what kind of monster was attacking the gate from outside, if they hadn't seen Gan Ping charging towards them earlier.

  In the hearts of those soldiers, Gan Ping had already transformed into a fierce beast. Now, he was anxious and impatient, "Ling'er has been taken into the city by that evil young master, but I'm stuck here fighting this city gate. This gate is too sturdy, it's about to break, but it always falls short by just a little bit. If only I had refined my flying artifact, I would have flown into the city and cut off that evil young master's dog head." Just as Gan Ping was regretting not refining his flying artifact, the large gate in front of him suddenly creaked loudly, and it turned out that the gate could no longer withstand the impact and was about to collapse.

  Gan Ping was overjoyed at the sight, and with both hands he swung his massive hammer, using all his strength to strike the dilapidated city gate. The gate collapsed with a loud crash, sending up clouds of dust as it fell. Gan Ping strode through the gateway, his hammer still in hand, glaring furiously at the trembling soldiers who cowered together like a flock of sheep.

  These old soldiers were all clever and cunning, seeing Gan Ping break in with such momentum, they had already been frightened out of their wits. As soon as he came in, these guys threw away their weapons and scattered in all directions, only the officer was still shouting hoarsely: "Kill him, kill him, kill him, there will be a heavy reward, how many of us are there?" Those fleeing soldiers secretly scolded in their hearts, with rewards but also need to have a life to spend, seeing the momentum of the man at the gate, whoever goes up will die, and they don't care what the officer says, just running with their heads down.

  The officer was yelling when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, and the man stretched out his hand to grab his throat like a vice. A cold voice sounded in his ear, "Tell me, where did Fang Zheng go?" The officer's face turned red as he was caught off guard, unable to breathe, and frantically reached for the knife handle at his waist. Seeing that he was so stubborn, Gan Ping kicked him hard on the leg with a loud thud. The officer's eyes rolled back, and the leg that was kicked twisted in an unnatural way, probably leaving it crippled.

  Gan Ping saw that the officer's tears had already flowed out, but he still had a red face and couldn't make a sound. With a cold hum, he threw him to the ground. Daring to leave Gan Ping's hand, the officer rolled around on the ground in pain, wailing incessantly. Gan Ping was no longer patient enough to waste time with him. He stepped on the rolling officer and said coldly: "Fang Zhengyuan..." The voice was as cold as a razor cutting through the top of his head, making the officer's back feel chilly. He couldn't care about the pain in his leg anymore. The officer stretched out his hand and pointed to a tall building in the city: "That side... That is the City Lord's Mansion... The Fang family and the City Lord's Mansion are adjacent?"

  Before he finished speaking, Gan Ping's figure flashed and he shot towards the direction of the City Master's mansion. The giant hammer was stored in his ring, and Gan Ping's large sleeves fluttered as if he were a celestial being. However, the aura of killing surrounding him made people keep their distance. Not yet arriving at the City Master's mansion, Gan Ping let out a thunderous roar: "Fang Zhengyuan, come out for me!" The deafening bellow echoed through the skies above Xiao Yue City, mixed with an eerie and strange vibration. Suddenly, several long whistles pierced the air, although they were not as domineering and loud as Gan Ping's voice, but also had a lingering breath. It seemed that the one who made these whistling sounds was also an expert.

  Two figures in cyan robes leapt out from the city lord's mansion and appeared before Gan Ping in an instant. One of them shouted, "What kind of reckless person are you, daring to cause trouble in our Xiao Yue City? Don't you know the reputation of the Chi Ye Shuang Qing?" Gan Ping didn't respond, not having time to bother with these people. He charged straight at the two men without changing his speed. The older of the two men saw that Gan Ping was ignoring him and shouted loudly, "Friend, since you won't listen to advice, don't blame my brother and me for being ruthless." As soon as he finished speaking, the two men positioned themselves on either side of Gan Ping, with their palms facing him. A strong gust of wind shot towards him, and Gan Ping's eyes turned cold as he gazed at the palm force. If it were an ordinary person, they would undoubtedly be killed. Since these people were so arrogant, they must have injured many innocent lives.

  He stretched out his hands and slapped the two of them, it seemed that Gan Ping was going to harden up against these two palms. The older man in green clothes couldn't help but reveal a joyful expression, his brother's palm technique was famous in the martial arts world, if he hardened up against this slap, this kid would either die or be crippled. Just as he was thinking this, his dark red palm struck Gan Ping's seemingly delicate hand. This strike was like slapping a hot iron, both of them let out a muffled groan and their bodies violently retreated, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Before they even hit the ground, they transformed into a purple-red flame in mid-air. In an instant, the purple-red flames shot out from their seven orifices, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them were reduced to ashes.

  It was the dragon-patterned triple fire that Gan Ping had refined, but since he couldn't find the heavenly spiritual fire to supplement it, this dragon-patterned triple fire only merged with Gan Ping's three-burner heart fire. Its power wasn't great, but for dealing with such secular masters, it was indeed a case of using an ox knife to kill a chicken. After coldly glancing at the two people who had turned into flying ash, Gan Ping jumped up and stood on top of the high wall of the city master's mansion. The Ning and Fang families were indeed the top figures in the city, with these two connected houses standing together like scales, their intricately carved beams and pillars, countless rooms, and looking at these houses, Gan Ping's face gradually turned iron blue. How could he find Fang Zhengyu and Ma Ling'er among all this?

  With a sudden movement, Gan Ping retrieved a grain-sized golden particle from the storage ring on his finger and infused it with a thread of spiritual energy before tossing it at the grand entrance of the City Lord's Manor. The particle was called Soil Gold Crystal, containing two types of spiritual energies - Earth and Metal. It was a top-grade material for refining gold-based magical artifacts. However, the entwined Earth and Metal energies within were extremely unstable. If any fire-attributed energy entered it, it would explode instantly, releasing immense power. Even Golden Elixir stage cultivators had to be cautious when crafting such items, as they couldn't afford to make a mistake. Since Gan Ping only cultivated the Taiyi Pure Yang Heart Sutra and didn't know much about magic, he could only resort to using this item.

  That golden crystal was suddenly stimulated by Kan Ping's inner power, and in an instant, the golden light flashed, just as it had fallen to the ground at the entrance, it burst open. The massive explosion destroyed the tall gate tower and the wide street in front of the door, a huge crater tens of meters deep appeared, Kan Ping was so anxious that he couldn't care about anything else, even if he destroyed the entire Fang family, as long as he could save Ling'er.

  With a flick of his hand, Gan Ping's palm appeared with over a dozen golden-yellow soil gold crystals. He shouted loudly: "Fang Zhengyuan, if you don't come out now, I'll flatten this Xiao Yue City!" His voice was shrill and resolute, clearly already at the edge of eruption. Seeing no reaction from all around, Gan Ping gritted his teeth, just about to fling those dozen or so soil gold crystals out with a flick of his hand, when a series of pleading voices came: "Immortal Lord, please don't! Immortal Lord, have mercy!"

  A man in his forties rushed out of the city lord's mansion, with a face as white as the moon and a few strands of long beard that made him look elegant. He must have been a handsome young man, but now his face was filled with pleading expressions. "Immortal Master, please spare my son, I don't know how he offended you, I'll let him come out to apologize immediately." This person was Fang Zhengyuan's father, Fang Ting. At this time, Fang Ting's face was sorrowful and his heart had already scolded Fang Zhengyuan severely. Originally, he thought that his useless son had only provoked a powerful figure in the jianghu world. In Fang Ting's mind, City Lord Ning Lingtian had many personal guards, including Hong Ye and Shuang Qing, so it would be easy to deal with a young boy like Fang Zhengyuan. But unexpectedly, this young man was ruthless and cunning, and his moves were those of the Xian family's techniques. This made Fang Ting panic, as someone like him also knew some things about cultivators.

  These monks seem young, but it's hard to say which one is actually a centuries-old monster. Their methods are ruthless and not something ordinary people can contend with. What kind of sin did I commit to give birth to such a troublemaker? Just the other day, he provoked the Zhang family, giving me endless headaches. Before this matter could even settle down, he's already stirred up another incident. Fang Ting secretly made a decision in his heart: once this is over, even if it means risking the wrath of the mother tiger at home, he will severely discipline this troublemaker.

  Gan Ping heard Fang Ting's words, and the corner of his eye flashed with a blue light. A sharp sword was pressed against Fang Ting's throat, "Let Fang Zhengyuan come out and hand over the girl he kidnapped. If anything happens to her, I will make sure that your entire Fang family is buried together." Fang Ting listened, and suddenly felt dizzy, almost fainting from anger. This villain had done such a thing again, this time provoking the cultivators. He was doomed. But with the sword at his throat, he didn't dare speak loudly, carefully pushing the sword tip away and repeatedly saying: "Master, please calm down, take me to find that villain, I will definitely send the woman back safely."

  After finishing speaking, he hastily ran inside. The master of the Fang family spoke up, and the crowd who had been hiding in the house in fear suddenly scrambled to find the trace of Fang Ershao, but after searching for a long time, they found nothing. Fang Ting stood trembling beside Gan Ping, seeing Gan Ping's originally gloomy face getting darker, he secretly thought that things were not going well.