The cool west wind blew through the green bamboos in the forest.

*Hua Hua...*

The forest was so quiet, you could hear a needle drop. Only the sound of bamboo leaves swaying was heard, and not far ahead, two horses, one black and one white, silently chewed the grass and leaves.

Jiang He's breathing almost froze in this deathly still atmosphere, but as an Inspector of the *Justice Division*, he was by no means a pansy. Even though he knew that the bamboo forest was full of murderous intent, his face never showed the slightest trace of panic.

What was the cultivation level of the owners of those two horses?

What direction would they attack from?

And the biggest question was, why would someone ambush him in the bamboo forest east of **First Spring Town**?

Passing through this bamboo forest and walking a few hundred feet to the east, you would reach a cave hidden by a spell. And inside that cave was one of the ***Imperial*** Sect's forty-seven *'Alchemy Chambers'*. This was also a secret that the ***Imperial*** Sect could never reveal under any circumstances.

It was probably a fluke. Jiang He didn't think that the group of people ambushing him knew about the existence of the *Alchemy Chamber*, and they were probably just ordinary thieves trying to rob him.

After a moment of silence, Jiang He took a deep breath and spoke again. "Do you two recognize this golden robe of mine? Whether you're outlaws or not, you should know that offending the **Central Region** *Justice Division* is not a minor offense that can be settled by spending two or three days in jail."

His voice shuttled among the green bamboos, but the only response was the sound of bamboo leaves swaying in the wind.

"I'll give you a chance and count to three. Three..."

*Chirp---chi~~chichi...*

Just as Jiang He said 'three', three chirps of a shrike suddenly came out from the depths of the bamboo forest, sounding as if heralding spring.

Jiang He heard this and paused briefly, but didn't pay too much attention to it and continued his countdown. "Two!!"

*Chirp---chi~~chichi...*

The chirping sounded again in the same cadence, unexpectedly consistent with the rhythm from before.

At this time, Liang Zhu, who was standing behind Jiang He, finally noticed that this extremely natural-sounding chirping was not emitted by a bird's throat, but by a special iron whistle.

This communication method did not use spiritual power or magic items at all, therefore it could not be detected even by high-level cultivators with their spiritual sense. And even if it was detected, it was in vain if they did not understand the code.

It was just a commoner's method, but sometimes it could be useful.

*Chirp---chi~~chichi...*

As the third bird call came out, Liang Zhu finally understood its meaning, but after understanding it, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

Sixth Brother's meaning was: '*strike first*'. In other words, did he want him to make a move against Jiang He?

But why?

While Liang Zhu stood frozen in surprise, Jiang He finished the countdown, raised his sword finger, and a jet-black spear flew out of his storage bag.

"One!!!"

Seeing this, Liang Zhu gritted his teeth slightly, and despite not wanting to attack Jiang He, who had his back to him, he decided to listen to his Sixth Brother and pulled out a short dagger with a bright red color. He infused his spiritual energy into it and stepped forward.

*Swish---*

The flaming half-arc struck Jiang He's back, followed by a ground-shaking explosion.

*Boom!!!*

Liang Zhu's dagger easily made a huge gash in the back of Jiang He's golden robe, and when it came into contact with his protective energy, a flame exploded between the two.

Jiang He did not expect Liang Zhu to make a move on him, but he still reacted extremely fast, immediately shifting his spear at his back while turning his head to look behind.

*Dang!!*

The jet-black spear shaft blocked Liang Zhu's dagger.

Jiang He stared at Liang Zhu and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

"..."

Liang Zhu looked at him calmly, and with his left hand behind his back, he injected spiritual energy into the *Thunder Talisman* already prepared in his sleeve. Then, as he threw the talisman, he jumped back.

Several *Thunder Dragons* fell from the sky around Jiang He, trapping him as if in a cage.

A strong wind blew in the forest, and lightning welded black marks on the green bamboos.

Looking at Liang Zhu who wanted to pull away from him, Jiang He frowned, feeling confused. How could a young cultivator in the late stage of *Foundation Building*, dare to attack him, a cultivator in the early stage of *Core Formation*?

"Are you looking down on me, an Inspector of the *Justice Division*? Do you think I'm one of those rogue cultivators in the *Core Formation* stage, scurrying like rats in the streets? Do you think you can cross the line with a little cleverness? Hehe---"

*Whoosh---*

He gripped the hilt of the black spear in his right hand and swept around his body, drawing the spearhead into a dark arc around himself.

The several *Thunder Dragons* that had originally confined him in place were blown apart by the arc of the spear, turning into energy particles and scattering.

Liang Zhu didn't expect Jiang He to break through his thunder prison in just one move. He was not a swordsman or a physical practitioner, so he wasn't specialized in fighting at close range. He intended to trap Jiang He for three breaths, enough to give himself a chance to pull away, but now...

*Boom---*

With the explosion, Jiang He, who was standing on the spot with the spear in his hand, suddenly swayed and rushed forward to Liang Zhu almost instantly.

He held the tail of the spear in his hand, thrusting it forward as much as possible.

The tip of the spear was like the head of a blue dragon, bursting out with an impetuous momentum like a magnificent beast.

Liang Zhu looked at the spear pointed toward his chest, and his eyes widened slightly as his intuition told him:

*---I definitely won't be able to dodge this blow.*

And once he was struck, his body would be torn to pieces and he would be killed on the spot.

However, his heart remained calm.

He vaguely knew what was going to happen next.

---It was time for Sixth Brother to make his entrance.

Almost at the same time...

*Whoosh---*

A cold light flashed through the bamboo forest behind Liang Zhu.

An emerald spirit sword came flying from the depths of the bamboo forest behind Liang Zhu and passed by his waist. The tip of the sword precisely hit Jiang He's black spear.

Following that, a white shadow flashed out of the forest, came in front of Liang Zhu, and grasped the hilt of the sword that had arrived a step earlier.

Feng Yu Die grabbed the sword hilt, flipped the blade, and directly hit the black spearhead, pushing it to the ground. Then she placed the sword horizontally on the spear shaft and slid it forward.

*Boom---*

Jiang He widened his eyes slightly, seeing that the silver-haired girl who suddenly appeared was only in the middle stage of the *Foundation Building*.

He was a little surprised for a moment, not expecting that a middle-stage *Foundation Building* cultivator could actually so skilfully block his spear attack with her sword and catch his flaw.

But he was just surprised.

Looking at the emerald sword sliding down the spear shaft and approaching his neck, there was no trace of panic in his eyes.

The spearhead that had already impaled the ground suddenly sprang out of the earth like a snake and struck behind Feng Yu Die with great speed and ferocity.

When Feng Yu Die turned her head and saw the spearhead that seemed to bend 180 degrees with light speed, her eyes widened as she quickly retreated the sword in her hand and used it to block over her shoulder.

*Bang---*

The spear hit the sword blade directly, and because the force was too fierce, the sword slipped out of Feng Yu Die's hand and flew toward the sky, spinning.

And just when Xiao Yunluo's emerald sword flew ten feet into the sky, a black shadow flashed out from the bamboo forest to the east, reached out to grab the sword in mid-air, and then stabbed Jiang He's head from above.

When Feng Yu Die saw Ye Anping's attack, she shouted a warning, "Young Master Ye, watch out. There is a big problem with this spear!!"

Ye Anping replied with his eyes: *I saw it*.

However, he still turned his body upside down and stabbed with the sword from above.

Jiang He glanced up and instantly turned the spear shaft, knocking Feng Yu Die away, then lifted it above his head with both hands.

The emerald sword in Ye Anping's hand descended, colliding with the spearshaft in a burst of sparks.

*Ding---*

"Another *Foundation Building* cultivator? Heh..."

With that, he swung the spear with his left hand. The black spear turned into a snake again, curved around Ye Anping's right side before stabbing toward his waist.

Ye Anping calmly glanced at the spear and said, "Sister, now."

At his words, ten strands of ice-blue sword energy came toward Jiang He from the west with a watery spirit like a cold winter.

Pei Lianxue leaned over and jumped out of the forest, reaching Jiang He's side and swinging her sword toward his neck.

"Another one?!"

Jiang He widened his eyes and tried to repeat the previous trick, to knock Ye Anping away and then block Pei Lianxue's sword.

However, when he was about to use his spiritual energy to control the spear in his hand, everything seemed to have suddenly stopped, and all sounds ceased for a moment.

In an instant, the spear disappeared from his hands.

?

Jiang He's eyes widened in disbelief. *Where is my spear? Why is it missing?*

Anyway, there was no time to think about what had happened, but perhaps out of instinct, Jiang He used his hand to block the one sword light aimed toward his neck, out of the ten.

*Swish---*

The remaining nine sword lights landed on various parts of his body unobstructed, leaving nine wounds that were deep to the bone.

"What a thick skin."

Ye Anping frowned slightly, then immediately turned around and used his *Interrogation Sword* technique to slash his neck.

However, Jiang He reacted again and raised his already torn right hand to deflect the blow that Ye Anping aimed at a vital point.

*Swish---*

Ye Anping pushed the sword forward with force and said, "You're at a dead end anyway, isn't it better to die a quick death? Must you suffer so much?"

"Arrgghhhhh--!!" Jiang He looked at Ye Anping's face with bloodshot eyes. "How dare you, a few mere *Foundation Building* cultivators..."

*Swish---*

Before he finished speaking, a silver-white sword penetrated his back and exited from his chest.

After Feng Yu Die recovered, she immediately took out the other sword she originally carried and rushed back into the fray.

Jiang He looked at the spirit sword protruding from his chest in disbelief. He stiffened his neck and twisted it 180 degrees, staring at Feng Yu Die behind him.

Feng Yu Die was so shocked that she turned pale. This was the first time she saw a person twist their neck 180 degrees with their own strength. She immediately poured spiritual energy into her sword.

Pei Lianxue on her right side and Ye Anping above her also acted in sync with her.

*Swish---*

Three swords with different spirit energies drew three sword lights, which met at the *golden core* in Jiang He's chest.

*Ding---*

The energies scattered, the core was shattered, and the man dropped dead.

The splattered blood stained the *Justice Division* insignia embroidered on his golden robe.