After taking down Big Beard, Wang Xiaoqiang, with a thought, retrieved the Demon Droplet and then immediately released 50 million Spiritual Springs from his body, with another thought, he summoned all nine of his avatars back.

Once the nine avatars returned, Wang Xiaoqiang absorbed them back into his body and, as if nothing had happened, continued his search for ghost cultivators to slay.

Big Beard's words were not exaggerated; this time, Prince Ann had indeed dispatched many experts. These experts included ten guest elders and forty death soldiers, forming an assassin group with strict organization and discipline. They set up the "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web" grand formation in Lianyun City, waiting for Wang Xiaoqiang to walk into their trap.

After Big Beard's signal was sent out, all the assassins extended their divine sense towards his location. Soon, they located Big Beard, but found only a corpse, then detected a cultivator in the Ninefold Body of the Immortal Venerable Realm, who was none other than Wang Xiaoqiang, the one who had just released 50 million Spiritual Springs.

The information the assassins received from Prince Ann was that Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base had reached the Fourth Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage. A Ninefold Body of the Immortal Venerable Realm clearly did not match his identity, so the assassins did not believe this Ninefold Body individual was Wang Xiaoqiang.

However, since Big Beard was dead and had sent out a message before dying, they naturally came to investigate. Apart from the twenty who were setting up the formation, the remaining twenty-nine people flew over from various parts of Lianyun City.

Before they arrived, Wang Xiaoqiang had already left Big Beard's corpse, so they did not find him.

After gathering, the assassins found only Big Beard's corpse, lying face-up on the ground. Though dead, his eyes were wide open, with traces of anger and reluctance still in them.

Over twenty assassins examined Big Beard's body meticulously. The leader crouched down, looked at the gaping blood hole in Big Beard's chest, frowned, and then turned the body over, finding a blood hole on his back as well. This blood hole corresponded with the one on the front, and it was directly aligned with the heart.

"Wang Xiaoqiang is only at the Fourth Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage, but Big Beard was at the Sixth Soldier Realm. How could Wang Xiaoqiang have killed Big Beard?"

"If not him, then who? Big Beard did send a message to us..."

"Looking at this wound, it doesn't seem like something Wang Xiaoqiang would do; it looks more like ghost cultivator techniques..."

The assassins debated as they examined Big Beard's corpse, while the leader suddenly stood up, scanned the group with his gaze, and decisively said, "Everyone, spread out and act. We must find Wang Xiaoqiang within half an hour. If we can't find him in half an hour, we'll activate the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web grand formation..."

"Boss, activating the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web grand formation will harm the innocent," an elderly guest elder said.

"We can't worry about that," the leader said. "With conflict comes casualties. Compared to those large-scale wars, what do these few casualties count for?"

"But, this... the citizens of Lianyun City, right, and Princess Hua Shao is here as well. If she gets killed, that could be serious."

"A merciful heart does not make a good assassin," the leader said sinisterly. "As for Princess Hua Shao, I can blame her death on the ghost cultivators, haha..."

The elderly guest elder pursed his lips, about to speak, but the leader had already said, "Enough, no more nonsense, do as I say now, everyone go into action,"

That old assassin knew it was useless to say more, so he stayed silent. The assassins responded in unison, then dispersed in all directions to search for Wang Xiaoqiang.

...

Adjacent to the Ghost Territory, the corpse qi in White Cloud City was thick, and ghost cultivators thrived there, greatly increasing their combat power.

Moreover, they could retreat to the Ghost Territory at any time in case of disaster, being able to advance or retreat freely, giving them confidence. Thus, during the sweep, they did not withdraw even when facing setbacks, but instead engaged in deadly combat with Fang Qiu and a group of students. However, these ghost cultivators viewed all others as enemies, attacking assassins they encountered as well.

As the twenty-nine assassins searched for Wang Xiaoqiang separately, they inevitably ran into ghost cultivators. Even though they did not intend to kill ghost cultivators, the ghost cultivators proactively provoked them.

This significantly hindered their search for Wang Xiaoqiang, causing them quite a bit of frustration. To shake off the ghost cultivators, they had to take action and cut them down.

The assassins' involvement added a reinforcement to the human cultivators, whereas the once numerous and strong ghost cultivators now became demoralized, turning the battle in favor of the human side.

Knowing there were assassins after him, Wang Xiaoqiang did not reveal his true cultivation, disguising himself as if he were at the Ninefold Body of the Immortal Venerable, and used ghost blood to smear his face, making it difficult for the assassins to recognize him.

Nevertheless, with many assassins around, Wang Xiaoqiang inevitably ran into some before he could fully hide, but fortunately, most assassins did not attack him. However, while the assassins spared him, he did not spare them.

Just as Wang Xiaoqiang had shot down a Ghost General and retrieved its Primordial Spirit, a Guest Assassin at the Seventh Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage suddenly flashed over, snatching the Ghost General's Primordial Spirit from Wang Xiaoqiang's hand.

Then he stared intently at Wang Xiaoqiang's blood-smeared face, exclaiming in surprise, "Kid, your cultivation isn't high, but your combat power is quite something, being able to independently slay a Ghost General..."

A cultivator in the Ninefold Body of the Immortal Venerable Realm could indeed slay a Ghost General, but elsewhere, in the corpse-qi-laden Lianyun City, one would typically be instantly killed by a Ghost General, with no chance of killing one.

This was what puzzled the Guest Assassin, prompting him to question Wang Xiaoqiang's identity.

Seeing the high cultivation and unfamiliar face of the assassin, Wang Xiaoqiang realized he was undoubtedly an assassin. After a glance, he noticed no one else around, no other accomplices came with the assassin, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There's nothing strange about that, right? I used a magic treasure to kill the Ghost General."

"You used the Sun-Shooting Bow, right?" The assassin asked with a cold smile. He was trying to trick Wang Xiaoqiang.

"How did you know?" Wang Xiaoqiang responded without reserve at this point.

The Guest Assassin turned swiftly, staring intently at Wang Xiaoqiang, an eerie smile spreading across his face, "I also know you're called Wang Xiaoqiang!?" "That's right, it's me, alright!" Wang Xiaoqiang said, and with a thought, the 'Courage' character inside him floated out, glowing golden, crashing into the Guest Assassin.

The Power of Dao is a unique spell technique of Yueyang Academy, not possessed by outsiders. Given the gap in Qi cultivation between Wang Xiaoqiang and this Guest Assassin, he unleashed his Path of Courage to make a surprise attack.

At the same time, he released the Demon Droplet, silently circling around the Guest Assassin, attacking from behind.

The Guest Assassin was startled at this sight. Before the 'Courage' character struck, he condensed six Hammer-Head Divine Weapons to defend frontally,

but though he could manage the front, he couldn't guard the back, as the Demon Droplet spun into his back.

With a muffled sound, a spray of blood bloomed.

The Guest Assassin's body shook violently, then his eyes widened. With another muffled sound, the Demon Droplet burst through his front, bringing another spray of blood with it.

The Guest Assassin dropped to his knees with a thud, spatting out a mouthful of blood froth, and issued a loud yell, attempting to signal his accomplices.

But before he could make a sound, Wang Xiaoqiang's 'Courage' character collided with his forehead with a loud bang, a burst of golden light, sending him flying.

His body flew silently through the night, where it landed was unknown, in any case, he never managed to make a sound. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.