Yu Yifeng sighed. "We found only eighteen Hearts of Illusory Moon, so we'll give you nine."

Qingyu's expression changed and she immediately said, "Senior Brother Yu, we're the ones who got these Hearts. Why should we…" Yu Yifeng raised a hand, indicating for her to keep quiet.

The leader of the Surging Waves Sect entourage was their Eldest Senior Brother, Mo Yangqiu. He sneered and then glanced at the interior of the cave. After counting the number of Illusory Moon Beasts inside, he said, "I said half earlier but I changed my mind. I want fifteen. You can have the remaining three!"

"B*stard! Don't go overboard!" Mu Shaoai retorted in anger.

"What's wrong? Unsatisfied?" Mo Yangqiu's eyes widened. He pointed the tip of his sword at Mu Shaoai and said icily, "Now I want you to leave all eighteen behind!"

Yu Yifeng frowned. "We'll give you twelve at most. It wasn't easy for us to get them."

Those from the Surging Waves Sect took some time to negotiate among themselves. Mo Yangqiu then said, "I'll consider you wise, kid! Hand them over!"

Yu Yifeng shook his head and sighed as he took out the Illusory Moon Pouch. It wasn't that he was timid and cowardly. If both sides fought, the Surging Waves Sect wouldn't escape unscathed. However, he was their Eldest Senior Brother. Unlike other sects, he prioritized the safety of his juniors more than the Hearts of Illusory Moon.

"Hang on."

Suddenly, an emotionless voice resounded. Xiao Chen walked over to them and placed Yu Yifeng behind him. He shot Mo Yangqiu an indifferent look. "You're not getting anything."

"What did you say…?" Mo Yangqiu's voice was dangerously low. His murderous aura abruptly erupted from within.

"I said you're not getting any," Xiao Chen said emotionlessly.

"You must be tired of living!" Mo Yangqiu thrust his sword but he was just lunging forward when two ice-cold blades, one cyan and the other purple, pressed against his neck. They were none other than Qingluan and Ziyun'er's respective cyan and purple Blood-cutting Blades.

These two specialized in a.s.sa.s.sinations. Their physical skills were multiple times faster than that of ordinary cultivators. Nearly no one saw how they appeared next to Mo Yangqiu in an instant.

Seeing this, the other nine disciples of the Surging Waves Sect stepped forward. Xiao Chen said dully, "If you're confident that you can subdue us, I welcome you to try." Before his voice faded completely, a tremendous murderous aura shrouded the entire forest like an immense pressure. Even Yu Yifeng and the rest could feel a chill penetrating deep into their bones.

Everyone gasped, not because he killed more than a dozen Foundation Building Realm cultivators in an instant, but because they were frightened by the murderous intent he was sending out at the moment. How could a person have such a heavy killing aura?

"I'm not doing anything. Take your men and get out of here," Xiao Chen said indifferently, glaring daggers at him.

Mo Yangqiu trembled all over. How could an orthodox disciple possess such a terrifying gaze? He barely managed to calm his fear before saying, "Kid, aren't you thinking too highly of yourself? Do you think you and the group of n.o.bodies behind you are a match for the ten of us?"

"I told you. You're free to try me." Xiao Chen ordered Qingluan and Ziyun'er to return to his side and then gestured at Mo Yangqiu to come at him.

A dangerous glint flashed in Mo Yangqiu's pupils but deep inside, he was weighing the pros and cons of fighting Xiao Chen and his team. The Surging Waves Sect team had always bullied the weak and feared the strong. He couldn't even tell the extent of Xiao Chen's cultivation. Could Xiao Chen's cultivation be above his own?

The other nine disciples tightened their grip around their weapons and made no noise. Qingyu and the rest of Jade Qing Sect had also taken out their magic treasures and weapons.

The wind swept the forest like a permeating murderous aura, causing the tree leaves to rustle. Both sides had their weapons pointed to one another but neither made the first strike except to exchange glares.

The tense mood reached its climax and everyone's nerves were stretched taut. Today was only the first day. It wouldn't do anyone good to get into such a huge battle now.

If both sides were willing to compromise, they could prevent unnecessary conflict. However, Xiao Chen continued to stare fixedly at Mo Yangqiu while maintaining his aura. He made it clear that he wouldn't concede. The Surging Waves Sect team coveted their Hearts of Illusory Moon, so they wouldn't leave so easily.

So, they stood on the brink of a great battle.

The silence stretched on. Just as their nervousness reached its peak, a sudden creaking noise shocked a tense disciple of the Surging Waves Sect. Believing that the Jade Qing Sect was attacking, he threw all caution to the wind. His Immortal's Sword turned into a drawn-out radiance and attacked.

Now that one person had made his move, the rest followed suit. Yu Yifeng was well-prepared for this. His Startling Rainbow Sword pierced the skydome like a halo and then turned into a rain of countless golden rays of light. The weather instantly transformed and the greenery all around was reduced to fine dust under the frantic hacking of Sword Qi.

Mu Shaoai moved his fingers to cast a spell, summoning his Immortal's Sword. The moment the sword materialized, it turned into a dozen or so feet-long white rays of light and attacked. Zhou Li and Qingyu's cultivation was relatively low, so they attacked both sides of the enemies. Luo Shangyan and Li Muxue, who were proficient in healing magic, stayed in the rear to reinstate the others' True Energy.

Qingluan and Ziyun'er swiftly charged into the enemies' ranks and disturbed their disposition. With a sneer on his face, Xiao Chen abruptly attacked his nearest target—Mo Yangqiu—with his palm. In an instant, a Dragon's Roar ripped through the air.

Mo Yangqiu raised his sword to block Xiao Chen's palm, but immediately found it incredibly energy-draining. He couldn't help feeling shocked at how strong the palm force was. He swiped his sword sideways, sending a burst of severe Sword Qi slamming into Xiao Chen.

With a light tap of his front toe, Xiao Chen propelled himself ten feet into the air and aimed four to five palm forces downward. In an instant, the earth quaked and countless plants around them were reduced to a cloud of dust.

Mo Yangqiu felt strained. His heart sank as he contemplated if Xiao Chen's cultivation was truly higher than his. Little did he imagine that not only was Xiao Chen's cultivation method different from current cultivators, but his Dragon Roar Palm was ruthlessly fierce. Even if he was an Lv 7 Core Forming Realm cultivator, he could defeat a peak Core Forming Realm cultivator without having to resort to his trump card.

Moments later, nearly all of the forest was destroyed. Zhou Li and Qingyu suffered injuries of varying degrees, as did the disciples of the Surging Waves Sect. Yu Yifeng even went as far as ruining the fighting strength of two late-stage Core Forming Realm disciples with his incredible Sword Qi.

Mo Yangqiu looked even worse off in his battle against Xiao Chen and he was beginning to consider retreating. He yelled, "Stop!"

Xiao Chen ignored him. He finally unsheathed his Blood Lotus Demon Blade and a cold, bloodthirsty murderous aura permeated the place almost instantly. The blade emitted a terrifying red glow that made everyone feel a chill down their back.

"The He family's Blood Lotus Demon Blade! Hang on! You! You're Xiao Chen!" Fright filled Mo Yangqiu's pupils. His face immediately turned as white as paper.

Taking advantage of his distracted state, Xiao Chen kicked his lower jaw and sent him flying for ten feet. Mo Yangqiu fell, landing inside a soil pit. Then, Xiao Chen turned into a lightning-quick light and once again attacked. This time, he aimed his blade at Mo Yangqiu's neck.

"Wait a moment! Friend, we can talk about this!" Lying inside a mud pit, Mo Yangqiu's eyes were fixed on the red radiance s.h.i.+fting back and forth next to his neck. He was so terrified that he s.h.i.+vered all over. Not in a million years had he ever expected that he would run into Xiao Chen, the Murder G.o.d, in his first hunt.

The outside world was rife with rumors about Xiao Chen, from him hacking a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in the Widespread Wintriness Sect to him "going all out in exterminating the Zuoqiu family on his own" in Canglan City. These days, most cultivators considered him a Mad Devil that killed without batting an eye.

When the remaining disciples of the Surging Waves Sect saw that their Eldest Senior Brother at someone else's mercy, they dared not make any reckless movements.

Mo Yangqiu's expression was colored with fright. Even his voice was trembling. "Friend, we can talk this through. I really didn't know it's you. We'll leave now; we'll never…"

Xiao Chen shot him an icy stare. "You think I'll let you go just like that after hurting my friends? Hand over your Hearts of Illusory Moon!"

Mo Yangqiu clenched his teeth and then yelled at his fellow disciples in the distance, "Junior Brothers, give him the Hearts!"

He had long understood that this world was a world in which the strong survived on the expense of the weak. From the moment he planned on stealing others' Hearts of Illusory Moon, he had prepared himself for the possibility of theirs getting stolen. Thus, he didn't put up a fight.

One of the Surging Waves Sect disciples slowly took out their Illusory Moon Pouch with incredible hesitation. Xiao Chen made a grabbing motion and seven to eight Hearts of Illusory Moon flew out of the pouch.

"You can leave now."

Xiao Chen's voice was nonchalant. The moment he retrieved his Blood Lotus Demon Blade, Mo Yangqiu looked as if he had just been rescued from the brink of death. The latter swiftly rose to his feet and led everyone far away with quick but staggering steps.

Xiao Chen returned to the Jade Qing Sect team. Seeing their injured members, he told Yu Yifeng, "Brother Yifeng, sometimes people will only take advantage of your excessive compromise." He then threw Mu Shaoai a glance.

The moment their eyes met, Mu Shaoai felt a chill ran down his back.