Chapter Seventy-Seven: The City of Yellow Dragon

A life-saving grace! Surely these cultivators from the Void Realm ought to show some gratitude. If each of them casually gifted him a million or so spirit stones, he could train in the Eternal Cultivation Chamber. Of course, he wasn't one to demand repayment for favors, but right now he desperately needed spirit stones.

Su Yizhao waited for the others to express their thanks, but was disappointed. They merely offered a slight nod of gratitude, with no intention of handing over any spirit stones.

The middle-aged cultivator continued, “Later, the consecrator broke the formation. We were burning with rage and about to destroy the Tang family, only to discover that they had already fled—no one remained!”

Gou Jiancheng immediately cupped his hands. “Thank you all for your efforts! This was my oversight, leading to so many comrades dying tragically. This enmity will be avenged! Please go heal your wounds; I will report to Huanglong County right away!”

The cultivators departed one after another.

Only Leng Muran and his companions stayed behind.

The three fixed their gaze on Su Yizhao!

Suddenly.

Leng Muran spoke in a mocking, sinister tone, “The infamous brothel guest, your reputation is well deserved! But I find it strange—why did this incident happen right after you joined?”

Su Yizhao shrugged his hands.

Why?

He wished he knew. If not for years of law enforcement fostering vigilance, he too might have fallen into the ambush, and none would have survived.

He couldn't be bothered to explain.

Ning Yuquan stepped forward, pointing at Su Yizhao's nose, sneering maliciously, “Where is Friend Hua? Did you kill him and then frame him as a spy?”

Faced with this accusation, Su Yizhao's expression remained unchanged.

Suddenly, he darted forward, raised his hand, and slapped Ning Yuquan's forehead.

Smack!

Frame him? Did he have nothing better to do?

Everyone was stunned!

Ning Yuquan staggered back, dumbfounded!

Wounded all over, he never expected Su Yizhao to attack so abruptly.

At that moment, he stared blankly at Su Yizhao. Five red finger marks appeared on his forehead, slowly turning blue.

The blow wasn't severe, but the humiliation was immense!

“I'll kill you!” Ning Yuquan howled!

Su Yizhao, refusing to accept threats, moved swiftly and slapped him three times across the face.

The crisp sound echoed in the hall.

Gou Jiancheng had just come to his senses, but was immediately stunned again!

Leng Muran and the others couldn't help but retreat.

---

Impossible to dodge?

Gou Jiancheng secretly admired it—Stage Six, perfected Leap Technique, truly impossible to evade!

Ning Yuquan collapsed to the ground, his face covered with finger marks.

He had forgotten he was a cultivator.

With a hateful glare, he gritted his teeth at Su Yizhao. “If you have the guts, kill me. If I survive today, I’ll make sure you die!”

“No!”

Just as Gou Jiancheng spoke, before he could even raise his hand, a flash of golden light streaked past.

Crack...

Silence.

You could hear a pin drop!

The cracking sound lingered in their ears.

A pinhole-sized wound appeared on Ning Yuquan’s forehead, and a drop of blood trickled out.

His eyes widened in shock, and he slowly collapsed!

Thud! He hit the ground, lifeless.

Every man has pride.

Su Yizhao would not tolerate those who refused to bow their heads.

If you can't win, you should focus on cultivation—what good is stubbornness?

Su Yizhao cupped his hands to Gou Jiancheng, apologetic. “Senior, I... didn't mean to...”

Gou Jiancheng forced a bitter smile and waved him off. “A pity. He was cultivated at great expense by the auction house.”

Su Yizhao was stunned!

Was it really a pity, or was he hoping to extort some spirit stones?

Leng Muran finally fell silent, slowly withdrawing and leaving.

Only three remained in the hall.

Feng Manyin seemed shaken by what had just happened.

She watched Su Yizhao carefully out of the corner of her eye—how could a smiling man suddenly take a life so ruthlessly?

Though Ning Yuquan had indeed erred, his mistake wasn’t fatal.

“I... I must take my leave.”

A fragrant breeze faded away, leaving only Su Yizhao and Gou Jiancheng.

Gou Jiancheng said, “You frightened her.”

Su Yizhao replied, “I warned her long ago—though she is beautiful, the world outside is truly dangerous. She must take care.”

Gou Jiancheng forced a bitter smile. “Though I know you’re unafraid, I must tell you—Ning Yuquan has an older brother training in Huanglong County, also a genius.”

Su Yizhao was shocked!

Why hadn’t he mentioned this earlier? He truly dreaded trouble!

He barely had time for cultivation, spending every day dealing with trivial matters—how would he ever ascend to the upper realm?

“Will you still go to Huanglong County? I’ll lend you thirty million spirit stones.”

---

Su Yizhao asked, “And what about the shell?”

Gou Jiancheng replied helplessly, “If I give you thirty million, I’ll only count twenty million as a loan.”

Su Yizhao nodded resolutely. “I’ll go—right away!”

Gou Jiancheng handed him a storage ring and instructed, “Ning Yuquan’s death likely can’t be concealed. I’ll exert some pressure on his elder brother.”

Su Yizhao took the ring and checked it with his spiritual sense—thirty million high-grade spirit stones were neatly arranged inside.

With his heart settled, he asked, “What’s his name? What’s his realm?”

“Ning Yuhe! Mid-stage Seven Deity Realm!”

Su Yizhao nodded. “As long as he doesn’t seek me out, I won’t go looking for him. I truly don’t have the time.”

Gou Jiancheng seemed to understand his mood, then changed the topic. “Do you know why I never mentioned Hua Chengshuang?”

Su Yizhao was silent.

Why not speak of it?

Hua Chengshuang had been bribed by demon cultivators—he was the spy.

This disaster, so devastating, had him as its chief culprit!

Gou Jiancheng said gravely, “Because the impact is too great. Without concrete evidence—or even if there is—you cannot speak of it.”

Su Yizhao understood.

The demon cultivators had not only come ashore, but had infiltrated human cultivators in this way.

The ramifications were indeed enormous.

If word spread, the entire continent would be gripped by panic and suspicion.

Yet, understanding was one thing.

The truth was, the demon cultivators had already infiltrated, and who knew how many families and cultivators had been bribed, threatened, or forced to join them.

Su Yizhao felt helpless.

For now, he would have to shoulder this burden.

Leaving the auction house, he stepped onto the teleportation array in the heart of Kaoshan City.

After paying a thousand high-grade spirit stones, the array activated instantly.

Within four or five breaths, he appeared in Huanglong County City.

The clamor engulfed him as he walked into the crowd, scanning with his spiritual sense. He immediately realized that a county city was indeed a county city—the dense buildings and cultivators stretched as far as the eye could see, the city’s boundary nowhere in sight.

Among the throng, countless cultivators intentionally or unintentionally radiated powerful auras. He was like a leaf drifting in the sea, swaying as he made his way toward the Gou family auction house.

As the continent’s monopoly, the Gou family auction house was renowned.

The tower housing the auction was impressive, but in his spiritual sense, the entire city was filled with grand buildings. By comparison, the auction house was not the most imposing.

As he approached the gate, the guards stopped him: “Friend, the auction has already begun, and all seats are taken. You cannot enter!”

Both guards were at the peak of the Five Deity Realm, their four eyes fixed on him.

Su Yizhao couldn’t be bothered to speak. He simply produced the jade token given by Gou Yu’er.

The guards saw his calm demeanor and moved closer to inspect the token. The more they looked, the more confused they became...