The sharp sound of "chi chi" piercing through the air startled the two Kongtong disciples back to their senses.

However, Gao Xuan had extremely strong finger force, and his technique of flicking poison needles was exquisite. The spinning needles shot out at lightning speed, and by the time the two realized and tried to dodge, it was too late.

Two poison needles pierced straight through their hearts. The two Kongtong disciples let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, their bodies trembling and twitching, their faces turning black, and they were clearly doomed.

The poison needles of the Feihua Sect were very potent. As long as they drew blood, they could quickly numb the nerves and cause the body to lose control.

Especially since the needles were deeply embedded in the heart, the penetrating damage alone was enough to be fatal.

"The Jianghu is dangerous, and you were too careless. Standing there like fixed targets, it's embarrassing not to take a couple of shots."

Muttering under his breath, Gao Xuan sheathed the Hidden Dragon Sword and bent down to search He Bi's body.

The man was dead; it would be a waste not to. If there were any secret manuals or treasures on him, he took them.

Few people would carry manuals on them. He Bi's body didn't even have a money pouch, only a jade pendant.

The only thing of value on him was the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword.

Gao Xuan picked up the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword, which weighed over ten pounds and felt heavy in hand. The blade was three fingers wide and three feet long, with pine tree patterns on it—a top-tier sword.

The downside of this sword was its weight, requiring strong wrist strength and inner power to wield.

Gao Xuan regretted not finding the Seven Injuries Sword Technique manual. Although he killed He Bi, it was He Bi who was lacking. The Seven Injuries Sword Technique was extremely sophisticated.

With the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword in hand, Gao Xuan used the Flying Swallow Body Technique to return to the inn front.

Tao Zhengren was still fiercely battling Wang Xiong. From the looks of it, Wang Xiong had the upper hand.

His iron rod was extremely fierce, every move and stance was full of power.

Tao Zhengren wielded his sword to dodge, but couldn't find an opening. While Wang Xiong's staff technique was strong, its heaviness prevented him from subduing Tao Zhengren.

Tao Min and Tao Hui watched anxiously from the side, unsure of how to assist.

However, these two had little combat experience; joining the fight wouldn't pose a threat to Wang Xiong and would merely distract Tao Zhengren. Staying out was the wiser choice.

Two other Feihua Sect disciples were busy administering antidotes to their poisoned comrades and removing the needles.

Due to the urgency, the two were sweating profusely. The two who took the antidote finally caught their breath, sitting on the ground, their faces pale and breathing heavily.

Gao Xuan appeared behind them like a ghost. One of the guys sitting on the ground happened to see Gao Xuan. He was about to scream when Gao Xuan flicked his hand, scattering more than a dozen poison needles as if they cost nothing.

The two facing away from Gao Xuan heard the sound of the hidden weapon, and it was too late to dodge. They were hit in the back and fell to the ground screaming.

The other two, who had just been saved, saw Gao Xuan's attack. But their bodies were weak, and they couldn't dodge even though they saw it coming. They were hit squarely by the poison needles.

In an instant, all four screamed in agony. As they cried out, froth began to ooze from their mouths, their eyes rolled back, and their condition worsened significantly.

The sudden turn of events also caught the attention of Tao Zhengren and Wang Xiong.

Both were shocked to see Gao Xuan appear.

Gao Xuan was chased off by He Bi, so how did he come back? Where was He Bi?

Both Wang Xiong and Tao Zhengren were top-notch experts with sharp eyes. They immediately noticed the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword in Gao Xuan's hand.

The sharkskin scabbard looked ancient and was inlaid with red and green jewels.

The Pine Pattern Ancient Sword looked beautiful, with a distinct appearance.

Both top experts recognized it immediately as the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword in He Bi's possession.

A great swordsman like He Bi would never let his treasured sword out of his hand. What's more, He Bi had aggressively pursued Gao Xuan earlier, so under no circumstance should he have lost his sword.

Wang Xiong's heart sank, sensing something was wrong.

He couldn't fathom what sort of trick or trap Gao Xuan had used to even take down He Bi. With the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword in Gao Xuan's hands, He Bi was presumably in deep trouble.

With this thought, Wang Xiong was already contemplating retreat. All his men had been killed by Gao Xuan's hidden weapons, and it looked like He Bi was done for too.

If he continued to entangle himself, he would gain nothing. Worse, he might even lose his life here.

Seeing Wang Xiong's intent to leave, Tao Zhengren seized the opportunity.

This Jiangnan Swordsman had roamed the Jianghu for decades. Although he had a bit of a self-righteous air, his martial arts, wisdom, and decisiveness were top-notch.

Tao Zhengren was filled with anger; He Bi had brazenly led people to ambush him without any scruples, clearly intending to kill him.

Tao Zhengren couldn't defeat He Bi, so despite his anger, he had to bide his time and wait for an opportunity.

Now that He Bi had been dealt with by Gao Xuan, Tao Zhengren wouldn't let Wang Xiong leave. They all had to die.

Wang Xiong's desire to retreat caused his iron staff to lose its ferocity. Tao Zhengren launched into Nine Palace Swordsmanship, pressing the attack on Wang Xiong.

The Nine Palace Swordsmanship relied on the Bagua for its variables, with the central palace as its root. Combined with the Nine Palace Sword Technique, its moves were the most intricate and dense.

Tao Zhengren's Nine Palace Sword seemed to cast a net of swordplay around Wang Xiong.

In terms of martial arts, Wang Xiong was actually a cut below Tao Zhengren. After all, Tao Zhengren came from a prestigious and orthodox background, with deep-rooted skills. In terms of moves, inner strength, and body technique, he was superior to Wang Xiong.

Earlier, Wang Xiong relied on his innate divine power and the presence of He Bi, which bolstered his confidence, allowing him to fully unleash his fierce staff technique.

Now that the situation had reversed and Wang Xiong's morale had plummeted, his fierce staff technique became timid, and his momentum drastically declined. He was completely suppressed by the dense Nine Palace Swordsmanship.

Wang Xiong sensed the unfavorable situation. He wanted to muster his strength for one last fight, but the Nine Palace Divine Sword would not give him a chance.

With its dense, web-like sword techniques, if Wang Xiong tried to fight recklessly, the battle would end immediately.

Forced to concede, Wang Xiong could only desperately guard his defenses.

Gao Xuan approached and loudly said, "Hero Tao, let me lend you a hand."

He did not wait for Tao Zhengren to respond before flicking two flying sabers.

Although he had almost exhausted his hidden weapons, Gao Xuan had earlier scavenged from the Feihua Sect disciples and found a bunch of hidden weapons.

He even found a flying saber harness, strapped with two rows of shiny flying sabers. Throwing the flying sabers now felt exceedingly extravagant.

Gao Xuan's flying saber is not tossed randomly; it aimed precisely at the spot Wang Xiong would retreat to.

Wang Xiong was already overwhelmed by the Nine Palace Sword, gasping for breath, and in order to evade the flying saber, he had no choice but to roll awkwardly on the ground.

He pursued a fierce and forceful style and wasn't adept at such nimble body technique changes.

Tao Zhengren seized the opportunity, using the move "Go with the Flow," and his longsword swept across following Wang Xiong.

Wang Xiong, greatly alarmed, supported himself on the ground to get up, but then he saw several points of cold light flashing towards him. He had no choice but to exert himself again and roll sideways.

However, lying on the ground were several poison needles unknowingly inserted.

Wang Xiong rolled on the ground and immediately got hit. With deep inner power and horizontal training methods, his muscles and bones were strong and tough.

Such small poison needles couldn't claim his life. However, being pricked by the poison needle made his movements pause involuntarily.

Tao Zhengren took advantage, accelerating completely and flying over, the sword transformed into a shadow of cold light sweeping across Wang Xiong's body.

The tall body of Wang Xiong still rolled once on the ground before suddenly splitting into two.

His life force was extremely strong; even when his body split diagonally from the chest into two segments, he didn't immediately die.

The intense pain made Wang Xiong scream frantically, constantly twisting his half-body.

The brutal scene terrified the sisters Tao Min and Tao Hui.

Tao Zhengren, with a cold face, said, "What are you afraid of? This is the enemy trying to kill us. If you fall into their hands, you'll be humiliated, and life will be worse than death.

"Jianghu never tolerates weakness."

The sisters were uneasy due to Tao Zhengren's reprimand, wanting to avoid looking at Wang Xiong but dared not to do so.

Gao Xuan flicked his finger to shoot a poison needle, piercing Wang Xiong's right eye, causing his head to jerk back and then silence fell.

Tao Zhengren looked at Gao Xuan with complex emotions; this person's ruthless methods in killing don't include cruelly torturing enemies deliberately. Killing Wang Xiong might even be called merciful. It showed the nature of this person.

His gaze swept over the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword at Gao Xuan's waist, unable to resist asking, "What happened to He Bi?"

"I killed him."

Gao Xuan said it casually, but to Tao Zhengren, it was like thunder in his ears.

Although he anticipated it, hearing Gao Xuan say this news still shocked Tao Zhengren greatly.

Considering He Bi's swordsmanship and martial arts were exceptionally superb, spending decades in Jianghu. Even if Gao Xuan's hidden weapon skills were exquisite, killing He Bi was as hard as climbing to the heavens.

Tao Zhengren wanted to ask Gao Xuan how he killed He Bi, but inquiring about someone's expertise is a taboo in Jianghu.

He attempted to say, "He Bi is, after all, a senior master. I'll go check on him."

Gao Xuan knew Tao Zhengren was uneasy, so he pointed towards the woods, "Over there."

Tao Zhengren nodded to Gao Xuan, "Please wait for me a moment."

The big eyes of Tao Hui and Tao Min were continuously watching Gao Xuan, curious about how Gao Xuan killed He Bi.

They originally wanted to follow Tao Zhengren but lost interest thinking the other was a corpse.

Compared to that, the living Gao Xuan seemed more interesting.

After Tao Zhengren left, Tao Min asked Gao Xuan curiously, "How did you kill He Bi? A few days ago, you couldn't beat us."

This young girl was almost eighteen yet spoke with a touch of innocence and naivety, asking in front of Gao Xuan without considering whether he might feel embarrassed.

Yet her big eyes were full of curiosity without a hint of sarcasm or malice.

Gao Xuan's skin was thick enough; he smiled, saying, "I couldn't bear to hurt you a few days ago."

Tao Min's eyes widened in disbelief, her little face full of skepticism.

That day, Gao Xuan was cut twice on the chest, which was quite a serious injury. It was a bit too exaggerated to say he let them to such a degree.

But today Gao Xuan truly displayed martial arts excellence, far exceeding them.

Be it lightweight skill or hidden weapon, both showed the formidable flair of a first-class master.

Tao Hui was more sensible than Tao Min, having more delicate thoughts. She offered a respectful bow to Gao Xuan, "We have you to thank for breaking through this calamity; Brother Gao is our family's savior."

She apologized, "A few days ago, it was our sisters who were immature. I hope Brother Gao won't mind."

Although Tao Min was somewhat innocent, being from a prominent family, she quickly caught on and hurriedly bowed to thank Gao Xuan.

Gao Xuan reached out to support, "We're all people of honor, no need for such courtesy."

He smiled, saying, "I was muddle-headed at first, thanks to you two for the lesson which made me awaken. Come to think of it, I should thank you two..."

Gao Xuan was quite adept at speaking; a few words closed the gap with the two young beauties.

Although Tao Hui and Tao Min didn't believe him entirely, hearing him speak like this still made them happy.

A few days ago, Gao Xuan gave them advance warning, saving their family. This time, he risked his life to help. It's heroism beyond compare.

In comparison, Gao Xuan's drugging was a trivial matter, maybe just a joke at the time.

Now Gao Xuan looked even more heroic and carried himself with an extraordinary aura, surpassing even their father's demeanor.

The more the two young beauties looked at Gao Xuan, the more they liked him; within a few exchanges of words, they already felt a deep connection. They even felt a sense of meeting too late.

Tao Hui and Tao Min were ultimately teenage girls, carefree, speaking happily and completely forgetting the current situation.

Tao Zhengren dared not be careless, cautiously checking He Bi's corpse.

He Bi's body didn't show any traces of hidden weapons, only eight sword marks in total.

From the sword marks, Tao Zhengren could even deduce how He Bi was struck and killed.

Looking at He Bi's dying yet unclosed eyes, Tao Zhengren felt a chill: such swordsmanship was truly terrifying... What exactly is this Gao Xuan's background, and what does he intend by following him?

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