Hong Qisheng doted on his daughter to the bone, so naturally, he wouldn't casually marry her off. First, the candidate had to be an orphan with no attachments. Second, he had to have proper features and a well-proportioned figure.
Third, he had to possess a Spiritual Root to continue the Daoist Arts. With these conditions, the number of suitable young men could be counted on one hand. Furthermore, because two of them were blood brothers, Hong Qisheng feared his daughter would suffer from gossip in the future.
Thus, he presented them with generous gifts, urging the two brothers to back down gracefully. In the end, only two men remained standing before everyone. The one in dark green clothes was named Sun Xiao.
His family owned two medicinal herb shops. He had a broad forehead and a thick nose, looking quite honest and sincere. The other, in a royal blue long robe, was more handsome, but his behavior was frivolous.
Upon entering the room, he immediately looked askance at Hong Qian, who had come to inspect her potential husband. It seemed Sun Xiao would likely be chosen. Just as Zhao Chun had thought, Hong Qisheng sized up the two men and got a general idea of their respective temperaments.
Just as he was about to keep Sun Xiao, a servant suddenly ran in from outside.
“Master! There's someone outside who calls himself an Immortal Master and wishes to see you!”
“Immortal Master?”
Hong Qisheng was puzzled. He waved his hand and said, “Invite him in!”
“Daoist Friend Hong!”
The man called out with a laugh. He wore a plain Daoist Robe, had a long face and thin eyebrows, and entered the room as if walking on wind. He glanced around, his gaze pausing only for a moment on Meng Han before moving away.
He then addressed Hong Qisheng, “I heard that Fellow Daoist intends to select a son-in-law. I, Liu, have come to recommend myself. What does Fellow Daoist think?”
Zhao Chun couldn't see his cultivation base, but Hong Qisheng's face had already darkened, seeming quite wary. He said, “Senior, may I ask for your name and identity?”
“Liu Fengyan, just a Rogue Cultivator!”
Hong Qisheng sneered inwardly. He also couldn't see this person's cultivation base, so he figured he must have reached the Late Stage of Qi Refinement. For such a prominent figure among Rogue Cultivators to arrive uninvited today, did he think Hong Qisheng didn't understand the stakes involved?
If Senior Meng Han hadn't been present, he might have truly fallen prey to this villain's malicious hands! Thinking of this, two or three drops of cold sweat had already formed on his forehead. He said coldly, “Senior has already reached the Late Stage of Qi Refinement.
My humble daughter is but a mere mortal body; she is truly not a match. Please go back!” Liu Fengyan knew he wouldn't yield easily.
He had originally planned to strike directly today, capture his wife and daughter, abduct all three of them, and then interrogate them thoroughly. Unexpectedly, the Hong Family had invited True Spirit Sect Disciples here. Before entering, he had intended to kill them all.
After obtaining the Daoist Arts, he would just leave. No matter how formidable the True Spirit Sect was, they could only manage their own turf. If he fled into the territory of another major sect, he could still live freely.
Who would have known that Meng Han, also at the Late Stage of Qi Refinement, was present, making him feel apprehensive and afraid to act rashly. Although their cultivation bases were the same, Sect Disciples had numerous magical arts and a hundred different methods.
If they were to truly fight, a Rogue Cultivator like Liu Fengyan, who only had his cultivation base and a mere three or four magical arts, wouldn't have much of an advantage. What he cultivated was an unorthodox evil art of the Qi Refining Stage, exchanging his own lifespan for a great increase in cultivation base.
Now that more than half of his lifespan was gone, he didn't dare to squeeze out any more, and his cultivation base had stagnated as a result. Thus, he became even more frantic in his search for an orthodox Daoist art that could allow him to cultivate to Foundation Establishment, and the Hong Family had caught his eye.
Behind him was a dead end; fighting forward offered a chance to live and advance to Foundation Establishment. Liu Fengyan had no choice. He moved to strike, aiming straight for Hong Qian's head!
“Audacious!”
Meng Han shouted loudly, took three steps forward, and slapped the hand away! He had felt something was wrong the moment Liu Fengyan entered and hadn't relaxed his guard since. Seeing him truly make a move, he immediately intervened to protect them, thinking to himself, “He sure is patient, specifically choosing today to act!”
Liu Fengyan also hadn't expected his speed to be so fast. His wrist, which had been struck away, was still numb.
“All of you, get back!”
Meng Han shouted at the crowd again. He stomped his left foot on the ground, flipped over, and kicked Liu Fengyan out of the house. He then said, “Hong Qisheng, watch over your wife and daughter!
If they get hurt, this old man won't be responsible!” The Hong family mother and daughter had screamed the moment the two clashed. Hong Qisheng grabbed one in each arm and first sent them into the inner courtyard to take shelter.
He also told the two son-in-law candidates to go in as well, lest they become collateral damage. Although Zhao Chun and the others didn't dare get close, they watched from the side. A fight between Late Stage Qi Refinement cultivators was enough for her to learn a lot from.
As for Liu Fengyan, after taking a kick from Meng Han, he immediately spat out a mouthful of metallic-tasting sweetness! He didn't dare to sit and wait for death. Enduring the pain, he flipped over and scrambled up, tilting his head to block a heavy punch.
The force of the fist was fierce, making his ears ring! He was, after all, a man who had struggled and fought for decades. Liu Fengyan stepped back, pulling distance between them.
Then, he raised a hand, pointed forward, and shouted, “Black Water Entangling Feet!” The bluestone slabs under Meng Han's feet instantly turned pitch-black. Two or three water-shaped strange hands shot up violently and grabbed his ankles!
Seizing this moment, Liu Fengyan's hands swept across his chest. He then brought both hands together, making a forward-slashing motion as if wielding a saber, “Slash!” A black-purple ray of light condensed in the air, bending into a crescent arc and speeding towards Meng Han!
“Insignificant tricks!”
Meng Han ignored the strange hands at his feet. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and a layer of crystalline white armor covered his entire body. The black light struck it, only causing him to lean back slightly.
It didn't even pierce the white armor! Liu Fengyan's expression grew grave. Two of his four evil arts had been used, yet neither could harm this person.
He cursed inwardly, “What kind of monster is he!” He immediately circulated the spiritual qi throughout his body, preparing to use the most powerful of the four arts, the “Evil Seed Spirit Devouring Technique,” against Meng Han. This magical art was vicious and sinister.
It used spiritual qi to condense insect-sized evil seeds and spread them around one's body. During a fight, one would activate the evil seeds to become parasitic on the opponent's skin, devouring their spiritual power. In the blink of an eye, it could suck an opponent dry.
He had relied on this nefarious move to kill many sect disciples, knowing that they were inexperienced in the world and lacked vigilance, which allowed him to succeed repeatedly.
“Stupid big oaf, let's see if you can defend against this move!”
Liu Fengyan hid the evil seeds around his body and attacked Meng Han! Those evil seeds were too minuscule. Meng Han didn't notice them, simply thinking that Liu Fengyan had given up on ranged attacks and switched to close-quarters combat.
He laughed angrily, “Come on! Your grandpa here isn't afraid of this!” With a stomp of his feet, he shattered the black water with brute force, seized Liu Fengyan's arm with one hand, and delivered a heavy punch straight to his face!
The punch sent him flying two or three meters away, with half of his face caved in!
“You've fallen into my trap!”
He propped up his body, just waiting to see Meng Han's spiritual power dissipate so he could go up and finish him off. Afterward, he would deal with those third-level Qi Refinement underlings one by one.
One breath!
Meng Han didn't move.
Two breaths!
Meng Han withdrew his fist and looked at him coldly.
Three breaths!
Meng Han raised his arm and casually brushed the evil seeds away.
“How can this be?”
Liu Fengyan's eyes looked as if they would split from their sockets. He saw that Meng Han's skin was like cast bronze and iron; the evil seeds were completely unable to attach themselves! What kind of magical art was that?
It wasn't just Liu Fengyan who wanted to ask; Zhao Chun, who was watching from the side, also had her eyes light up. If she could get her hands on it, her close-range defense would be complete! However, if it was something stored by the True Spirit Sect, that would be fine.
But if it was Senior Brother's private property, that would be difficult. Meng Han didn't know that Zhao Chun had already set her sights on him. He stepped forward, lifted Liu Fengyan up with one hand, and said, “There's a lot you don't know.
To dare make a move in front of this old man, you've really got guts.”
“Spare me! Spare me!”
Liu Fengyan's tears and snot streamed down his face. Blood and tears smeared into a mess on his face, which was disgusting to look at. He yelled, “I'll give you Essence Stones…
I'll give you my magical arts! All of it! Just spare my life!
I'll never dare to do it again!” Meng Han was no fledgling. He naturally understood the principle of cutting the grass and pulling up the roots.
With a twist of his fingers, a crisp crack was heard. He raised his hand and tossed Liu Fengyan's corpse to the ground, then instructed a dumbfounded Hong Qisheng, “You deal with this yourself.”
“Yes! Yes!”
After escorting his wife and daughter back, he saw the black-faced big man cripple a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator with a single punch. Hong Qisheng was both happy and scared. He was happy that today's matter was resolved, but scared that Meng Han was so ferocious.
What would happen if he accidentally provoked him?
“Still, many thanks to Senior Meng for taking action, allowing my, Hong's, family to be saved! This Hong will definitely reward you generously!”
He cupped his hands and spoke with extreme humility. Meng Han poured himself some water to drink. He turned around, intending to offer a few words of refusal, but saw a line of blood appear on the man's neck.
“What's wrong with you?” he asked in confusion.
Hong Qisheng's head suddenly shot up into the sky! Gushing fresh blood sprayed out! Everyone was stunned on the spot, feeling only a murderous aura descending upon the Hong family manor!
Zhao Chun felt as if a giant hand had seized her heart, and her breathing suddenly became rapid (End of this chapter)