9: Chapter 9 Senior Brother, have you ever heard of staged accidents?

["Not handing it over?"]

[Zhao Tiger, the leader, looked as if he had heard the world's biggest joke. He exchanged glances with his two lackeys behind him, and they all burst into exaggerated laughter.]

["Hahaha! Old man, are you still dreaming? Do you even know who you're talking to?"]

[Once Zhao Tiger finished laughing, he took a step forward and pointed a finger at your nose, his face full of menace.]

["I'll give you one more chance. Either hand over five Low-Grade Spirit Stones obediently, or I'll make sure you learn what the rules of the Outer Sect are today!"]

[He released his aura of the Second Layer of Qi Refining without any restraint, pressing down on you.]

[If it were an ordinary Cultivator of the First Layer of Qi Refining, their legs would likely have gone soft under this pressure, and they wouldn't even be able to stand steadily.]

[But you simply stood there quietly, the smile on your face not changing in the slightest.]

[Your mana was more than five times denser than that of an ordinary First Layer of Qi Refining. In terms of the solidity of your Foundation, this person at the Second Layer of Qi Refining in front of you was nothing more than a little brother.]

[To you, his pressure was like a gentle breeze brushing against your face; you felt nothing at all.]

["Hm?"]

[Zhao Tiger was momentarily stunned to find that his pressure was actually ineffective against you, and he immediately flew into a rage out of humiliation.]

["You old geezer, how dare you play dumb with me! It seems you won't shed a tear until you see your coffin! I'll show you what's what!"]

[As he spoke, he clenched his fist, which began to glow with a faint earthy-yellow spiritual light. He had clearly channeled his mana, and he threw a punch straight at your chest!]

[He didn't aim to kill with this punch, but he didn't hold back much either.]

[He wanted to give this newcomer old man a warning shot to let him know who the boss was around here.]

[His two lackeys behind him wore gloating smiles, waiting to see the miserable sight of you foaming at the mouth after being hit.]

[However, what happened next caused everyone's jaws to drop.]

[Facing this menacing punch, not only did you not dodge, you didn't even blink.]

[At the very moment Zhao Tiger's fist was about to strike you, you made a move that no one could have predicted.]

[You took a step forward, proactively using your own chest to meet his fist.]

[Then, as if struck by a high-speed truck, you let out a miserable "Aow!" and flew straight backward, tracing a perfect parabola in the air before landing heavily on the ground seven or eight meters away with a "thud."]

[You lay motionless on the ground, emitting weak groans, with a trace of blood "perfectly timed" to seep from the corner of your mouth.]

[The entire scene instantly fell silent.]

[Zhao Tiger and his two lackeys were completely dumbfounded.]

[Zhao Tiger stared blankly at his fist, then at you lying "on the verge of death" on the ground, his mind going completely blank.]

["I... I didn't use that much strength, did I?"]

[He knew the power of his own punch. Hitting a Cultivator of the First Layer of Qi Refining should have at most forced them back a few steps and made their chest feel tight.]

["How could it have sent someone flying so far? And even made them vomit blood?"]

["Is this old man... made of paper?"]

["Hu... Brother Hu, what... what do we do? We didn't... we didn't kill him, did we?" one of the lackeys asked with a trembling voice.]

[In the Azure Cloud Sect, sparring between fellow disciples was common, but if it resulted in death, that was a major crime! At best, one's Cultivation would be crippled; at worst, it meant immediate execution!]

[Zhao Tiger's face turned pale in an instant.]

[He just wanted to collect some protection money; he didn't want to be charged with murder!]

["No... impossible! I didn't hit him that hard!" Zhao Tiger defended himself frantically, quickly walking over to your side and squatting down to check on you.]

["Old... Senior? Are... are you okay?"]

[You lay on the ground, eyes half-closed, breathing weakly, looking as if you might expire at any moment.]

[Using "all your strength," you raised a trembling hand and pointed at Zhao Tiger, your lips quivering as you spoke haltingly:]

["You... you... have such a cruel heart..."]

["I am a ninety-year-old man who has just embarked on the immortal path, my body is naturally fragile... and yet you... you actually struck such a vicious blow..."]

["I... I don't want to live anymore..."]

[As you spoke, you coughed out another mouthful of blood with a "pfft," splashing it all over Zhao Tiger's face.]

[Startled by the warm blood, Zhao Tiger suffered a Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, collapsing onto his backside on the ground.]

["It's over... it's over... something's really gone wrong now..."]

[Looking at your miserable state, he began to imagine himself being dragged away by the Enforcement Hall, having his Cultivation crippled, and being expelled from the sect.]

["Brother Hu, quick! Think of something!" the other two lackeys urged anxiously.]

["Right, right, right! Medicinal Pills! Healing pills!" Zhao Tiger snapped out of it and hurriedly fished a small porcelain bottle out of his Storage Pouch, pouring out a pill that emitted a medicinal fragrance and trying to stuff it into your mouth.]

["Senior! This is a high-quality healing medicine, a 'Rejuvenation Pill'! Please take it quickly! You'll be fine once you swallow it!"]

[You shook your head weakly and pushed his hand away.]

["No... I won't take it..."]

["My old bones... with that punch of yours, my internal organs have been shattered... my Meridians are broken too... my immortal path... my immortal path is severed... no Medicinal Pill will help now..."]

["I... I'm so full of regret! I cultivated hard for seventy-two years and only entered the Qi Refinement Stage at ninety. Do you think it was easy for me? Waaaah..."]

[The more you spoke, the more emotional you became, until you actually started wailing loudly on the ground like a child.]

[At this point, Zhao Tiger and the other two completely lost their composure.]

["Broken Meridians? A severed immortal path?"]

["This crime was even more serious than murder!"]

["Destroying someone's path to the Dao was an irreconcilable blood feud in the Cultivation world!"]

["Senior! Senior, please don't cry! Let's talk this through!" Zhao Tiger was nearly ready to kneel before you.]

["It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I really didn't mean to hurt you!"]

["Yes, yes, Senior Tang, Brother Hu was just joking with you!"]

["Please be magnanimous and forgive us this once!"]

[The two lackeys also crowded around, each with a long face, looking as if they were just short of hugging your legs to beg for mercy.]

[You stopped crying, looked at them askance, and said feebly, "Forgive you? What about... my injuries? My ruined immortal path... who's going to compensate me for that?"]

[Upon hearing this, Zhao Tiger knew there was a chance for a resolution.]

[He wasn't afraid of you making demands; he was afraid of you wanting nothing and being dead set on going to the Enforcement Hall.]

["Compensate! We'll compensate! We'll definitely compensate!" Zhao Tiger said hurriedly.]

[Gritting his teeth, he took off his shriveled Storage Pouch and stuffed it into your hand.]

["Senior, this is everything I own! Inside there are... thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and a few bottles of healing and Cultivation Medicinal Pills! Take them all! Just as long as you can let go of your anger!"]

[Seeing this, the other two lackeys quickly followed suit and contributed their own Storage Pouches.]

["Senior, mine is for you too!"]

["And mine!"]

[Holding the three Storage Pouches in your hand, you weighed them, and the look of grief on your face softened slightly.]

[You coughed twice, slowly climbed up from the ground, and brushed the dirt off your clothes.]

[In your movements, where was there even a hint of being "heavily injured with a severed immortal path"? You looked completely fine!]

[Zhao Tiger and the other two stared at you, their eyes bulging.]

["You... you're okay?" Zhao Tiger asked tentatively.]

["Who said I'm okay?" You glared at him and clutched your chest again, looking as if you might collapse at any moment.]

["I'm seriously injured! Internal injuries! You mortals wouldn't be able to tell! I feel like my internal organs have all shifted! Without a hundred... no, two hundred Spirit Stones, it won't be cured at all!"]

["Zhao Tiger: \"...\""]

[If he didn't realize by now that he was being scammed, then he would have wasted the last twenty-plus years of his life.]

[This old man in front of him was no saint at all! He was a crafty old swindler! A veteran actor!]

[Most likely, eighty percent of those injuries were faked!]

[Zhao Tiger trembled with rage, his face turning various shades of blue and white.]

[He wanted to explode, to snatch back his Storage Pouch and give this old fraud a severe beating.]

[But he didn't dare.]

[First, he was in the wrong to begin with; he was the one who had come to provoke and had even struck first.]

[Second, he couldn't gauge your background. An old man who could take his punch head-on and then instantly put on such a performance to extort him didn't seem like a simple character at all.]

[If this old man really had some background or knew some strange techniques, and he chose to burn bridges today, he likely wouldn't have any good days ahead.]

[After weighing his options repeatedly, Zhao Tiger finally squeezed out a few words through his teeth.]

["Senior... you are brilliant!"]

[He was admitting defeat.]

["It's nothing, it's nothing." You chuckled as you tucked the three Storage Pouches into your robes, then patted Zhao Tiger's shoulder and said earnestly:]

["Young man, don't be so hot-headed. In the future, you must learn to respect the elderly and cherish the young, do you understand?"]

["As for today, I'll act as if nothing happened. You may go."]

[As if granted a grand amnesty, the three of them scrambled away, not even daring to look back.]

[Watching their pathetic retreating figures, the smile on your face grew even brighter.]

[You took stock of today's "spoils of war."]

[The three Storage Pouches contained a total of over seventy Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus a bunch of miscellaneous Medicinal Pills and Talismans.]

[For a pauper who had just entered the sect like you, this was practically a fortune!]

["Not bad, not bad. These Senior Brothers of the Outer Sect are truly too hospitable."]

[In high spirits, you hummed a little tune and walked back to your cave.]

[You decided to make good use of this startup capital to begin your grand plan of planting Spirit Medicine.]

[After entering the Qi Refinement Stage, your life had finally gotten on the right track.]

[What you didn't know was that on a nearby mountain peak, a figure in a moon-white dress had witnessed everything that just happened.]

[Standing under a tree, a wry, amused expression appeared on Su Qinghan's stunning face for the first time.]

[This Menial Worker named Tang Xun... no, Outer Sect Disciple, always seemed to bring her some unexpected "surprises."]