Chapter 981: Bearing the Blame

The black-robed man's sinister voice came, "Since you recognize me, leave the items now, and I can spare your lives."

Zu'an was a little curious. It seemed this person had a formidable background, but he didn't know who they were.

After all, he had been in this world for too short a time and had always been involved in court affairs, so he wasn't very familiar with the names in the martial arts world.

At this moment, Sun Ji also voiced the same question: "Old Yang, who exactly is he?"

Yang Long didn't answer him, his gaze never daring to leave the black-robed man. "If I hadn't recognized you, I might still harbor some illusions, but the infamous Daoist Thickbrow of the evil path never leaves survivors."

"Daoist Thickbrow?" Zu'an frowned. He had never heard the name before. Was he very powerful?

However, he noticed the two eyebrows beneath the other man's cloak were indeed thick and black, making the nickname quite fitting.

Sun Ji said angrily, "Who cares about thick brows or thin brows? In Yijun territory, apart from Prince Yan, our Sun family calls the shots. I advise you not to be ungrateful. Perhaps our Sun family could even take you as a guest elder and offer you a bright future. Otherwise, you'll die without even knowing how."

Yang Long's brow furrowed subtly. He wanted to tell Sun Ji to stop talking, but then he reconsidered. Since the other party was already infamous, speaking or not wouldn't make much difference, so he didn't bother to intervene.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Thickbrow threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Hahaha, cultivators cultivate themselves, comprehend the world, and seek freedom and transcendence. I, Thickbrow, have no interest in being a dog for an aristocratic family."

Yang Long's face burned. Clearly, in the other man's eyes, he was merely a dog serving others. As a fellow cultivator, he had his own pride and immediately retorted, "What's wrong with mastering scholarly and martial arts to serve the imperial family? The path of cultivation inherently consumes countless resources. How can one possibly bear such massive consumption alone? You speak grandly, but your own hands are stained with blood from plundering other cultivators' resources and cultivation. How does that make you more noble?"

Hidden in the shadows, Zu'an was startled. He hadn't expected this Daoist Thickbrow to also rely on absorbing others' cultivation. *Tsk tsk tsk*, sure enough, such methods are considered evil cultivation in the martial arts world. He mustn't let his Gluttonous Heaven Devouring Art be exposed, lest he be targeted by everyone.

At this moment, Daoist Thickbrow snorted, "Stalling for time with irrelevant talk. Die!"

After speaking, he waved his black robe, and a surge of black mist swept towards the carriage.

"Young Master, be careful!" Yang Long quickly shielded Sun Ji. The other guards also braced themselves as if facing a formidable enemy, each unleashing their unique skills towards the black mist, but alas, they were all like clay oxen entering the sea.

A series of agonizing screams erupted. The guards with lower cultivation levels were already enveloped by the two masses of black mist and drawn towards Daoist Thickbrow.

"Hahaha..." Daoist Thickbrow extended his hands, placing them directly on the heads of the captured men. After a long laugh, the men were shriveled into mere husks.

"This is truly exhilarating." Daoist Thickbrow casually tossed the dried corpses aside, then licked his lips as if unsatisfied. Upon seeing his gaze, the Sun family members collectively swallowed hard.

Zu'an frowned subtly as he watched. This fellow was truly murderous. He discerned that although the cultivation method the man practiced appeared somewhat similar to his Gluttonous Heaven Devouring Art, there was a world of difference in essence.

The man's absorption efficiency was too low; all sorts of impurities were drawn into his body indiscriminately. With years of such accumulation, his body would develop severe problems, and his character would be warped by the negative emotions from others' bodies. Eventually, he would either go mad or die from mental derangement.

He was likely in the second-to-last stage now, which explained why he seemed somewhat neurotic and so bloodthirsty.

As he pondered, Daoist Thickbrow's figure flickered, charging directly towards Sun Ji.

Sun Ji, a fifth-rank cultivator, usually acted boastful and arrogant, believing himself to be extraordinary. But now, facing the overwhelming murderous aura, he felt his entire body tremble and weaken, unable to even conjure a thought of resistance.

At this moment, Yang Long roared. As a seventh-rank master, he manifested countless ice cones directly in front of him, stabbing towards his opponent.

"A cultivation practitioner of the ice element," Zu'an thought, reminded of Chu Chuyan. He wondered if she had returned to her sect yet.

Daoist Thickbrow's wide robe swirled, and dark mist appeared in his palm. The ice cones instantly melted and vanished.

Yang Long hadn't expected to stop the opponent with just that. A cold glint appeared as he pulled out a twelve-foot long spear from behind him and thrust it directly at the opponent.

The spear was entirely silver-white, exuding a chilling aura.

Zu'an's eyes widened. Where did this guy pull such a large spear from?

He seemed to have noticed him pulling it from behind his rear just now. *Hmm*, the more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became!

The long spear conjured countless spear shadows, instantly enveloping Daoist Thickbrow.

Soon, Daoist Thickbrow appeared sealed within a cocoon-like block of ice.

The Sun family members cheered, but Yang Long's brows were tightly furrowed.

At that moment, a sinister voice suddenly emerged from within the ice. "In terms of spear techniques, you have reached the grandmaster realm. Unfortunately, the gap between seventh-rank and eighth-rank cannot be bridged by mere skill. You completely fail to understand what it means to borrow the power of heaven and earth."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the massive block of ice shattered like an eggshell, exploding outwards with a bang.

A black shadow shot out from inside. Yang Long was greatly alarmed, shouting, "Young Master, run!"

He raised his spear and charged forward, but the opponent neither dodged nor avoided, striking his spear shaft directly with a palm. With a *crack*, the formidable long spear instantly broke into two, and the opponent's palm followed through, pressing against his chest.

Yang Long spewed blood, flying backward. Fortunately, he had cultivated for many years and managed to break free from the opponent's control at the critical moment, thus avoiding the fate of being shriveled into a husk. However, this had exhausted all his strength, and he lay sprawled on the ground, unable to fight any further.

On the other side, Sun Ji was already terrified. He immediately pushed one of his subordinates off his horse, then fiercely clamped his legs around the horse's belly, desperately galloping away.

The other guards also scattered like monkeys from a falling tree, fleeing in different directions.

Daoist Thickbrow scoffed, then waved his sleeve. The scattered weapons on the ground shot out like guided missiles, accurately striking the backs of the guards, none of whom escaped.

Looking towards the direction Sun Ji fled, he took a step, and in the next moment, he appeared directly in front of him.

With a whinny, the horse reared in fright. Daoist Thickbrow snorted and slapped its head with his palm. The horse withered visibly and died on the spot.

Sun Ji was thrown off clumsily. He tried to run but found his legs unresponsive, his body inching backward as he continuously begged for mercy: "Senior, all you want is wealth. I'll give you the items. There's no need for bloodshed, is there? After all, this is Yijun, and incurring the Sun family's deadly enmity would cause a lot of trouble."

At this, Daoist Thickbrow nodded. "You're right, offending your Sun family in Yijun is quite troublesome."

Hearing him say this, Sun Ji couldn't help but be overjoyed. "As long as Senior spares me, I promise not to pursue this matter further. Those guards who died just now are dead; our Sun family won't make a big deal out of it. The items are here. Please, Senior, be lenient." As he spoke, he offered the storage bag containing the auction items with a fawning smile.

Zu'an sneered inwardly. Those guards had fought desperately to protect him, only for this to be their ultimate fate.

Daoist Thickbrow inspected the bag. After confirming its contents, he tucked it into his robes, a hint of playful mockery on his face. Immediately afterward, he struck Sun Ji directly on the head with his palm.

"You..." Sun Ji managed to utter only one word before collapsing softly.

Daoist Thickbrow sneered, "Offending the Sun family is troublesome, but if I kill all of you, who will know I was the one who did it?"

Yang Long, witnessing the scene from the side, let out a long sigh. "There are no impenetrable walls in the world. The Sun family will surely find you."

After speaking, he struck his own forehead with a palm, committing suicide. He knew he had no chance of survival and didn't want to remain there to have his cultivation drained by the opponent; it was better to end it himself more swiftly.

Daoist Thickbrow approached him. After confirming his death, he said mockingly, "Now there's a ready-made scapegoat. How could the Sun family possibly find me?"

As he spoke, he tidied up the scene. He took out a bottle and sprinkled its contents on the shriveled corpses. Those bodies then disintegrated at a visible rate, and finally, a cold night wind blew, turning them entirely into dust.

Zu'an nodded subtly. This person was indeed careful and cautious, worried that such a death might easily be linked to him, which was why he destroyed the bodies.

Next, Daoist Thickbrow approached Yang Long. Using his finger, he wrote the characters "Three Three Three" on the ground. To make it more convincing, he deliberately wrote only half of the last "Three" character, then placed Yang Long's hand over it to obscure it.

Having done all this, he nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to leave, a sigh came from the side: "You dare to commit such acts but don't dare to take responsibility, insisting on letting innocent people bear the blame. Doesn't your conscience ache?"