Chapter 48: One Kick Sends Flying

Xu Yang was a bit stunned. He had expected Bai Ningmei to beg him for help, but to his surprise, she didn't.

"This is interesting," Xu Yang murmured, a smile playing on his lips. He continued to munch on the wild fruit in his hand, observing Bai Ningmei with keen interest.

"Of course you can't escape. Not just you, hmph. Today, all of you will die here."

Ji Tai's lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile, and his sinister eyes swept across Xu Yang's face.

Except for Xu Yang, everyone else was at the Golden Core stage.

Only Xu Yang was at the Qi Refining stage. However, if Ji Tai truly believed that Xu Yang's cultivation was merely at the Qi Refining stage, he would be an utter fool.

Ji Tai walked up to Xu Yang, his eyes scrutinizing Xu Yang's face. "You killed those two, didn't you?" he asked.

The two people Ji Tai referred to were naturally the two Nascent Soul cultivators instantly killed by Xu Yang earlier.

Xu Yang, understanding Ji Tai's meaning, nodded and casually replied, "Yes, I killed them. So what?"

A surprised look flashed in Ji Tai's eyes, and he sneered, "You're quite bold, daring to admit it. I thought you wouldn't."

As he spoke, Ji Tai's spiritual energy began to swirl around Xu Yang, attempting to probe his cultivation level.

Ji Tai believed Xu Yang's cultivation should be at the third or fourth layer of the Nascent Soul stage.

However, after probing for a while, the result made him question reality. Xu Yang's cultivation appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary Qi Refining stage.

"This..." Ji Tai's expression turned strange.

Xu Yang truly seemed to be only at the Qi Refining stage; he detected no anomalies.

This meant that either Xu Yang was genuinely at the Qi Refining stage, or his cultivation was far superior to Ji Tai's, so much so that Ji Tai couldn't clearly discern his true level.

But how could this be? He was at the mid-to-late Nascent Soul stage; as long as the opponent was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, he should be able to detect their cultivation.

If he couldn't even detect Xu Yang's hidden cultivation, it would mean Xu Yang was an old monster at the Heaven Grotto stage...

But Heaven Grotto stage cultivators were legendary old monsters. How could one suddenly appear here?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Ji Tai's mind.

"Are you truly only at the Qi Refining stage!?" Ji Tai asked with a cold face, his eyes sweeping the surroundings.

"I really am just at the Qi Refining stage. Why do you ask?" Xu Yang replied.

"Hmph, wasn't there a Nascent Soul cultivator here just now? He ran away, didn't he?" Ji Tai questioned.

"That's right. What about it? There was indeed an old Nascent Soul cultivator just now, but he's gone now. Is there a problem?" Xu Yang asked.

"Where did he go?" Ji Tai demanded resentfully.

It was just as he suspected. The one who killed the two Nascent Soul cultivators had escaped, leaving Xu Yang here to mislead him and buy time.

"Oh, you mean that person? He's dead," Xu Yang said indifferently.

"Hmph, you won't tell me, will you? Since you refuse, then you can die."

Ji Tai had run out of patience. He was here to find the murderer of their two Nascent Soul cultivators. Every minute he wasted here meant the murderer would get further away and be harder to catch.

"Goodbye. You can die now." Suddenly, Ji Tai abruptly drew a black short sword, its blade wreathed in dark energy, and thrust it towards Xu Yang.

Xu Yang's gaze suddenly turned cold. He swiftly extended his hand and seized the incoming short sword.

Instantly, the black short sword, which had been attacking fiercely, froze, unable to move an inch.

"This..." Ji Tai was bewildered. He felt as if his short sword had struck a solid block of iron, unable to advance even a millimeter.

Yet, the person holding his sword was clearly only at the Qi Refining stage.

Suddenly, he raised his head in horror and looked at Xu Yang, exclaiming, "You! You're not at the Qi Refining stage!"

Xu Yang scoffed. With a squeeze of his hand, the short sword instantly disintegrated into dust.

"You're wrong," Xu Yang said. "I am just at the Qi Refining stage."

After speaking, Xu Yang unleashed a kick, sending a torrent of spiritual energy crashing down on Ji Tai without mercy.

Individually, these strands of spiritual energy were incredibly weak, seemingly light and airy, truly Qi Refining stage spiritual energy. However, their sheer quantity was immense.

When a sufficient quantity gathered together, a qualitative change occurred. Ji Tai was directly sent flying by Xu Yang's kick, soaring for several kilometers before crashing with a thud into a mountain peak.

After an earth-shattering roar, a cloud of dust billowed, filling the sky with yellow haze.

The six Nascent Soul cultivators nearby were instantly petrified.

Ji Tai, just like that, died?

He couldn't even withstand a single blow?

Thud...

One of the Nascent Soul cultivators immediately went weak at the knees and knelt down. With one person leading, the other Nascent Soul cultivators also knelt.

They weren't fools. Ji Tai had been defeated without even withstanding a single blow.

Clearly, for Xu Yang to kill them would be as simple as another kick.

Xu Yang watched their desperate pleas. After calmly eating a few more fruits, he said, "Alright, since you all realize your mistakes and have begged for mercy, I'll let you go."

In truth, Xu Yang wasn't a bloodthirsty person; he avoided killing when possible.

However, this cultivation world was too chaotic, with the strong preying on the weak.

As a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator, he was constantly targeted by those with malicious intentions.

There was nothing for it. Xu Yang had no choice but to display some of his methods to teach these people a lesson. Although he was at the Qi Refining stage, he wasn't an ordinary one. Anyone who provoked him would die.

Upon hearing Xu Yang's words, the Nascent Soul cultivators felt as if they had been granted a great pardon. After repeatedly kowtowing, they scrambled away.

Bai Ningmei was still somewhat bewildered. She had just prepared herself for death, yet in less than a minute, the situation had completely turned around.

Ji Tai had been sent flying several kilometers by Xu Yang's kick, smashing into the mountain. He was likely dead, with not even a trace left.

And the other Nascent Soul cultivators had all fled. She was safe.

"My lord, thank you for saving my life." With a thud, Bai Ningmei also knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

Xu Yang's lips twitched; another one had knelt.

If anyone was more bewildered at this moment, it was the Golden Core cultivators who had swiftly sided with Ji Tai and unhesitatingly sold Xu Yang out earlier.

"My lord, please spare us..." one of the Golden Core cultivators stammered, looking at Xu Yang with terrified eyes, as if seeing a demon.