Chapter 55: Killing to Save a Life

Xu Yang wasn't someone deeply concerned with the world's well-being, but if he could save some lives, he naturally didn't wish to see widespread suffering.

"Young friend, what exactly is going on?" Just then, Zhang Tianjun's voice came from behind Xu Yang.

Xu Yang turned around, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. "Sir," he said, "I want something from you, something I believe you possess. If you can give it to me, I might consider explaining things in detail."

Zhang Tianjun's heart tightened as he saw Xu Yang's cunning smile. He instinctively asked, "What do you want?"

Xu Yang replied, "One of your subordinates suddenly appeared with a spirit ship. As expected of the Spirit Treasure Auction House, you're truly wealthy and powerful. You must have quite a few of them, right? Can I buy one?"

Xu Yang looked at Zhang Tianjun with a hopeful expression. Ever since he first saw the spirit ship, Xu Yang had been eyeing it.

Since he was only in the Qi Condensation stage, he couldn't fly. Thus, every time he had to move, he felt like he was constantly running until his legs gave out.

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Zhang Tianjun gave a wry smile. "Sir, you've misunderstood," he said. "Our Spirit Treasure Auction House only has one. I merely lent it to Zhao Tianyu."

Xu Yang suddenly understood. He had thought the Spirit Treasure Auction House was truly so extravagant that they had distributed spirit ships to their subordinates.

However...

Since there were no other spirit ships, Xu Yang set his sights on the one he had just seen.

"Alright," Xu Yang said casually, "since you don't have any others, I won't press the issue. Just give me the only one you have."

Zhang Tianjun gave another wry smile. "This spirit ship isn't even mine," he explained. "It was allocated from above, and I can't make decisions about it... Besides, your request is a bit excessive."

Zhang Tianjun's mouth twitched. If he hadn't been wary of Xu Yang's unfathomable strength, he would have punched him long ago.

"Excessive?" Xu Yang sneered. Suddenly, his fist shot up and then struck down.

The speed was like lightning. Before Zhang Tianjun could even react, he took a solid punch.

His body was launched at high speed, like a cannonball.

However, Xu Yang moved even faster, catching Zhang Tianjun in mid-air and then slamming him hard onto the ground.

*Boom!*

The ground immediately cracked in a spiderweb pattern, and a deep trench extended for dozens of meters!

"Now, do you still think it's excessive?" Xu Yang held Zhang Tianjun pressed to the ground, a look of indifference on his face.

"Not at all!" Although the scene was quite grand, Zhang Tianjun was a cultivator at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage. Aside from feeling like all his bones were about to shatter, he had no other issues.

Nevertheless, Xu Yang's display just now had thoroughly intimidated Zhang Tianjun.

Although Zhang Tianjun was unharmed for now, he knew that if Xu Yang wanted his life, it would likely be over in an instant.

"Good," Xu Yang said calmly. "Now, go get that spirit ship back for me, and then give it to me."

...

Zhao Tianyu was congratulating himself on his brilliant decision to quickly pilot the spirit ship away from the troubled area when he received Zhang Tianjun's order to return at top speed.

Though Zhao Tianyu was extremely reluctant, the thought of the consequences of disobeying the order made him swiftly choose to return.

Soon, Xu Yang saw the spirit ship.

As Zhao Tianyu descended from the spirit ship, Xu Yang smiled faintly at him.

"This spirit ship, it's mine now," Xu Yang said, a smile gracing his lips.

Zhao Tianyu was somewhat stunned and looked towards Zhang Tianjun.

He saw Zhang Tianjun in a state of disarray, looking like a miserable old man.

"President... this..." Zhao Tianyu could guess what had happened with just his toes.

"Just let him have it. We... *sigh*," Zhang Tianjun said, shaking his head.

Since Zhang Tianjun had spoken, Zhao Tianyu naturally didn't say anything more. He watched as Xu Yang stepped onto the spirit ship, fiddled with it for a moment, and then the ship transformed into a blur, soaring away.

...

Xu Yang's next destination was the Myriad Swords Sect. There was no particular reason, except that members of the Myriad Swords Sect had also visited the sealed land of the Heavenly Sun Sect, and it was currently the closest location to him.

The Myriad Swords Sect was located in the central part of the Great Desolate Forest in Tianwu Commandery, on a solitary peak that soared high above the clouds like a lone crane.

The peak resembled a precious sword, and the Myriad Swords Sect was indeed a sect that specialized solely in the path of the sword.

Xu Yang piloted the spirit ship and landed in front of the Myriad Swords Sect's mountain gate. Someone had already been watching him.

As soon as Xu Yang disembarked from the spirit ship, two people approached him with smiling faces.

"We are Elder Xu Qingyin and Xu Qingying of the Myriad Swords Sect, here to respectfully welcome our distinguished guest."

The two were dressed in long robes of black, white, and blue, with precious swords strapped to their backs.

Though the swords looked ancient and unassuming, like ordinary blades, faint blue lightning occasionally flickered across them, indicating they were no common artifacts.

Both men had deep wrinkles on their faces and snow-white hair, but their overall demeanor was full of vitality and spirit, showing no trace of the decrepitude typically associated with old age.

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Given their excellent demeanor, Xu Yang naturally smiled in return.

"Young friend from the Spirit Treasure Auction House, what brings you here?" Xu Qingying asked with a smile, stepping forward.

Since the spirit ship belonged to the Spirit Treasure Auction House, he naturally assumed Xu Yang was one of their members.

"I am not from the Spirit Treasure Auction House," Xu Yang stated, getting straight to the point. "I'm here because I want to know the whereabouts of the Demonic Sky Mad Dragon."

"The Demonic Sky Mad Dragon?" The two men exchanged glances, surprised that Xu Yang was looking for them because of this matter.

"Young friend, let's go inside to discuss this," Xu Qingying said.

He probed Xu Yang's cultivation and was surprised to find that Xu Yang was only in the Qi Condensation stage.

He immediately shook his head. He'd have to be a fool to believe Xu Yang was truly only in the Qi Condensation stage.

Xu Yang must have hidden his cultivation.

Upon entering the Myriad Swords Sect, Xu Yang smelled a stronger stench of blood than that of a slaughterhouse.

"Why is the smell of blood so strong?" Xu Yang asked, frowning.

A sorrowful expression appeared on Xu Qingying's face. "Alas, it's all because of that beast!" he sighed. "If it weren't trying to break through the seal, why would our Myriad Swords Sect resort to such actions?"

Hearing this, Xu Yang had a rough idea and asked, "Did you capture and kill a group of people with Pure Yang bloodlines...?"

Xu Qingyin said, "Alas, we had no choice. If we didn't kill them, countless more people would likely die!"