Chang Sheng's expression changed several times. He flicked his whisk and pretended to attack Xu Zifan. While Xu Zifan was defending, he suddenly changed direction and grabbed Xu Xiaoxiao and Xu Zhe!
He grabbed the two men by the neck with both hands, lifting them up and using them as shields to completely cover himself. He said menacingly, "Back off! Or I'll kill them!"
Xu Zifan looked at him as if he were an idiot, but instead of backing away, he took a few steps closer. "They're just two fools who can't stand to see me doing well. Why should I care about their lives?"
Chang Sheng's face darkened, and he tightened his grip. "You really don't care about their lives? They're your cousins, your blood relatives. If this gets out, have you thought about your reputation? Aren't you righteous people always trying to flaunt your justice? Are you really going to stand by and watch them die?"
"You talk too much nonsense, but unfortunately I'm not swayed by either soft or hard tactics!" Xu Zifan said as he threw out several Thunder Explosion Talismans, completely disregarding whether the two siblings would get hurt.
Chang Sheng then realized that his move was indeed useless, so he casually tossed the two aside and hurriedly dodged. Xu Xiaoxiao and Xu Zhe fell to the ground like rag dolls, terrified and in tears.
Xu Xiaoxiao weakly opened her mouth to ask for help, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz. Shao Hua scanned her and informed Xu Zifan, but Xu Zifan ignored her, passing right over them and rushing towards Changsheng, his Xuan Tie Fan spinning rapidly.
Changsheng's face turned extremely ugly as soon as he saw the Xuan Iron Fan. Having suffered from this thing before, he naturally took precautions. The small umbrella in his hand instantly grew larger, deflecting all the poison needles shot out by the Xuan Iron Fan. Then, he passed his whisk over the umbrella and swung it hard at the Xuan Iron Fan, making it tremble.
Xu Zifan paused, quickly recalled the Xuan Tie Fan, and was already in front of Changsheng. Suddenly, a treasured sword appeared in his hand and slashed fiercely at the large umbrella.
When magic weapons clashed, Xu Zifan had the upper hand. The magic weapons of the cultivation world were many times stronger than those of this world. He cleaved the umbrella in two and then slashed at Changsheng.
Chang Sheng was terrified and retreated rapidly, staring at Xu Zifan's treasured sword in astonishment. "You...you have a storage magic treasure?! You actually have a storage magic treasure! This treasured sword and that Xuan Iron Fan are also top-grade magic treasures. Where did you get them? Speak!"
Xu Zifan pressed his advantage, throwing out his black iron fan and slashing down with his sword at the same time, sneering, "Where do you get the confidence to ask me to tell you? You think you can still beat me? Because of your extra age?"
Chang Sheng dared not confront him head-on. He made a hand seal and quickly flashed to Xu Zhe's side, dodging the knife. He grabbed Xu Zhe and slapped him hard on the chest. Xu Zhe immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, which landed on Chang Sheng's whisk.
Chang Sheng smiled, tossed the unconscious Xu Zhe aside, and said to Xu Zifan, "Sometimes the advantage of age is beyond your imagination. I've eaten more salt than you've walked roads."
"Then how come you didn't die from the spitting heat!" Xu Zifan put away the darts, held eight golden needles between his fingertips, and flicked his wrist to shoot them at Changsheng.
Chang Sheng's smile vanished as he flicked away the whisk, coldly snorting, "Arrogant brat! Today, this old Daoist will show you the consequences of looking down on an old man!" His whisk's power increased dramatically; he added another talisman and attacked Xu Zifan. "I'll teach you a trick: use the heart's blood of your loved ones as a sacrifice, which will weaken your power by half. Blame yourself for your own lack of humanity, for even your closest relatives want you dead, allowing me to take advantage!"
This was definitely not just the power of the heart's blood; the old Taoist must have done something else. However, Xu Zifan was also interested in knowing about his unorthodox methods. As soon as he heard his words, he entered his space, quickly found two protective magic treasures for backup, and also found a few idle rag dolls as substitutes.
Just as Changsheng was about to strike Xu Zifan, the person in front of him suddenly disappeared. He stopped in astonishment and looked around, his body tense up in a defensive posture, but he couldn't sense Xu Zifan's presence at all, which made him even more shocked.
But after the initial shock came excitement. Xu Zifan had definitely stumbled upon a tremendous opportunity, and he was most envious of those lucky individuals with such extraordinary fortune. Although he didn't know how an unlucky fellow like Xu Zifan, born in an unlucky year, month, day, and hour, could have such luck, he only needed to kill Xu Zifan today to seize all of Xu Zifan's treasures, and perhaps even gain a chance to achieve immortality!
He didn't know what method Xu Zifan had used to disappear, so he dared not relax and kept waving his whisk around, attacking with all his might, for fear that Xu Zifan would find some opening and hurt him.
Xu Zifan watched him dance wildly and excitedly like a madman from inside the space, then calmly tidied up the things he needed and tossed a stand-in to the other side of the space.
Chang Sheng saw "Xu Zifan" suddenly appear, and immediately pounced over, delivering a powerful blow with all his might!
Just then, Xu Zifan jumped out of the space, holding golden needles and stabbing several major acupoints on Changsheng's back with lightning speed!
Chang Sheng heard the sound of wind behind him, but it was too late. He couldn't stop in time and crashed into "Xu Zifan". He felt a sharp pain in his back and screamed in agony.
"Ah—what is that!" Changsheng retaliated with a backhand strike, but Xu Zifan had already withdrawn his needles and retreated. Changsheng glanced angrily at the rag doll on the ground, then stared at Xu Zifan in disbelief, "A substitute?!"
He shattered the rag doll with a flick of his whisk, then retreated several steps in a mixture of anxiety and anger. He was anxious because Xu Zifan had done something behind his back that caused his spiritual energy to suddenly surge, posing a serious danger. He was also furious because Xu Zifan's substitute was another top-tier item; even destroying the substitute couldn't harm Xu Zifan in the slightest. It was worlds apart from his scarecrow substitute.
Xu Zifan's other treasures were one thing, but this stand-in was an utter insult! He hadn't even fully recovered from his injuries, otherwise how could he have been repeatedly defeated by Xu Zifan?! This was all because Xu Zifan ruined his stunt double!
The surging spiritual energy made Changsheng's temper even more volatile and irritable. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Xu Zifan, gritting his teeth as he charged forward, shouting, "You deserve to die! I will refine your body into a puppet and your soul into a ghost servant! Otherwise, I will not be able to quell the hatred in my heart!"
Xu Zifan switched to a more suitable nine-section whip and attacked him around the house, giving him no chance to get close. Changsheng's whisk was completely useless. Enraged, Changsheng suddenly exerted his strength, but Xu Zifan vanished instantly, reappearing when he stopped, lashing his hand with the whip, and snatching his whisk as he screamed, snapping it in two!
The whisk was Changsheng's natal magic weapon. With the whisk destroyed, Changsheng instantly spat out a mouthful of blood, and the whisk, which had weakened Xu Zifan's power, naturally lost its effect. Xu Zifan swung his whip again, and Changsheng hurriedly threw out more than a dozen talismans to dodge, only being struck on the cheek. However, a long, deep, bone-revealing bloodstain appeared on his white-haired, youthful face, running from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth, making him look even more ferocious and hateful.
Chang Sheng staggered, secretly resenting Xu Zifan for having too many magical treasures and for having a higher level of skill than him. He finally dared not fight any longer, and after a feint, he immediately fled towards the door.
But Xu Zifan not only kept an eye on him himself, but also had Shao Hua keep an eye on him. His escape route was drawn as a red line on the virtual screen. Xu Zifan was simply chasing the red line and attacking, completely unaffected by the illusion. He lashed Changsheng on the back with his whip, and Changsheng let out another scream.
Xu Zifan quickly circled the courtyard, placing spirit stones in eight directions to set up an array, ensuring that no matter how high Changsheng's cultivation level was, he couldn't escape. There was trouble outside; a real fight would be a real problem.
Changsheng realized he couldn't control the courtyard, his face changed drastically, and he fled while making hand seals, saying in shock and anger, "We have no enmity between us. Last time, you ruined my business and seriously injured me first, so I came back for revenge. You are the one in the wrong. Do you still want to kill me? How can someone as despicable as you cultivate the Dao?"
Xu Zifan sneered, "To put it in high-sounding terms, everyone should kill a scoundrel like you. To put it in private, you killed the former Qingfeng Daoist and destroyed Qingfeng Temple. As the abbot of Qingfeng Temple, I should deal with you."
The abbot was furious. "Who do you think you are? Qingfeng Temple has completely fallen into ruin. There's only one person here. Where are your disciples and your lineage? I don't believe you learned all your skills from Qingfeng Temple. You clearly found another opportunity!"
"So what if it is?"
"You didn't inherit the Qingfeng Temple's legacy, so why are you seeking revenge for it?!" Changsheng was furious, finding Xu Zifan utterly unreasonable. This enemy had appeared out of nowhere; where did the old Daoist Qingfeng find this successor? Why did he even want to inherit the Qingfeng Temple?!
Xu Zifan cornered him against the wall, threw out a cage, and locked the man inside. He slowly approached and said, "To tell you the truth, I'm willing."
Chang Sheng was horrified to discover that his spiritual power was restricted by the cage, and his already severely injured body became even weaker. He shook the cage desperately, but it was too sturdy to budge.
This time he was truly terrified and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy, displaying utter humility. "Daoist Master! Daoist Qingfeng! Abbot! Please spare my life. My feud with the former Daoist Qingfeng is purely personal and has nothing to do with you. Please let me go this time. I promise to stay far away from the mainland and never return. Please spare me. I really will never dare to do it again."
Xu Zifan sat cross-legged in front of him, seemingly thinking about how to deal with him. "No, you seemed to hate me a lot just now, saying you wanted to turn my body into a puppet and my soul into a ghost servant. Tsk, if I let you go, wouldn't I be asking for trouble?"
"No, no, no! Abbot, I was arrogant and conceited, blind to the value of a gem. I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong. If you are willing, I... I will serve you like a slave, I will obey your every command. Abbot, I will definitely help you to make Qingfeng Temple flourish. They say that to err is human, to forgive divine. Please, give me a chance to correct my mistakes, please..."
Xu Zifan shook his finger in front of him, "No way. You just said you've eaten more salt than I've walked roads, and that you're old enough to know a lot of tricks I've never heard of. Look, you think you can use other people's blood to deal with me? How can I let you go? That would be suicide!"
If Changsheng still can't see that Xu Zifan is playing a trick on him, then he's wasted his hundred years of life!
He grabbed the cage and stood up, saying fiercely, "Don't force me. You don't know what I'm capable of. Even if I die, I can drag you down to hell with me in the last second before I die. You'd better let me go, or you'll be forced to die with me!"
Xu Zifan feigned surprise and clapped for him, "Sounds good. Show me your tricks, I'm really eager to see them." Seeing that Changsheng didn't move, he urged, "Hurry up."
Changsheng nearly vomited blood again. Why did this person never play by the rules? Was he truly fearless and indifferent to everything? What an oddball!