203: Chapter 203 Eighty percent

Lin Tian stood at the valley entrance, looking toward the Iron Sword Martial Artists ahead; those Martial Artists were all terrified out of their wits.

Lin Tian asked coldly, "Are you still going to fight?"

The Martial Artists fell silent.

Lin Tian said, "If you aren't going to fight, then if you want to pass, leave behind half of your spoils."

In the end, they left behind half of their spoils and then quickly departed.

Lin Tian watched their departing backs, his gaze flickering.

Piled at his feet was that half-bag of Spirit Medicine just confiscated from the Iron Sword Sect Disciples, the night-luminescent pearl emitting a soft glow through the gaps in the bundle.

The few young Disciples behind him clutched the few stalks of Spirit Medicine that had been rewarded to them, their faces filled with both gratitude and fear, not yet fully recovered from the shock of him shattering an iron sword with a single palm just moments ago.

The sounds of battle in the valley continued, but they were no longer as intense as before; clearly, the Situ Family's defensive line was gradually being dismantled.

Lin Tian did not turn back to look, his gaze remaining fixed on the gravel road at the valley entrance.

Sure enough, not long after, a few more figures came stumbling out from the depths of the valley.

These people were all more or less injured, their robes stained with blood and mud, and without exception, they all carried bulging bundles on their backs.

Some had looted the storehouse during the melee, some had pilfered rows of porcelain bottles from the Situ Family's Alchemy room, and others had simply pried off the ancient jade plaques that the Situ Family had enshrined in their ancestral hall.

Lin Tian intercepted them one by one, repeating the same words: "Leave behind half of your items, and I will let you go."

Some glared at him, others pleaded softly, but under Lin Tian's immovable, cold expression and the supportive shouting of the Disciples behind him, they all eventually gritted their teeth, unloaded half their items, and hurried away.

After a few more groups arrived one after another, the open space behind Lin Tian had piled up with supplies like a small mountain.

He picked up a few pieces of silver notes and jewelry but couldn't be bothered to take any more; while these worldly goods were certainly valuable in the Yunzhou Prefecture, for a Cultivator of the Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm, what was truly precious was never silver.

He specifically picked out Spirit Medicine from the piles of spoils—the Situ Family had entrenched themselves in the Taixuan Mountain Range for over a hundred years, and with Blood-Bound Beasts in the depths of the valley clearing paths and scouring the mountains for them, the quantity and quality of the wild Spirit Medicine they had accumulated were truly astonishing.

Hundred-year-old Polygonatum, a Poria cocos the size of a washbasin, a whole bundle of Heart-Piercing Grass that still shimmered with a pale golden luster even after being dried—just sorting and packing these Spirit Medicine into bundles took him quite a while.

In less than an hour, the wild Spirit Medicine he had accumulated in his hands was no less than a hundred stalks.

Just as he was taking inventory, footsteps sounded again on the gravel road at the valley entrance. This time, it wasn't young Disciples coming out, but an old man with graying hair and beard.

Lin Tian recognized him—an Elder of the Chen Family, Chen Yuankui, a cultivator at the Middle Stage of the Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm, who was quite famous among the several large families around the Yunzhou Prefecture.

At this moment, the bundle on his back was larger than anyone else's, stuffed until it was round and bulging, hastily wrapped on the outside with a torn robe, and as he ran, dark green fragments of medicinal herbs kept spilling from the edges of the bundle.

What stained his robes wasn't blood, but several kinds of differently colored medicinal powders; clearly, he hadn't just grabbed a few random things from the storehouse, but had precisely looted the most valuable Alchemy room of the Situ Family.

Lin Tian stood in the middle of the road and raised a hand to block him.

Chen Yuankui abruptly stopped in his tracks, looked up, and upon seeing it was Lin Tian, was stunned for a moment before sneering, "Move aside. This old man has no time to waste with you."

Lin Tian did not move, simply repeating the sentence he had already said a dozen times: "Leave behind half of your items, and I will let you go."

Chen Yuankui was stunned for half a breath, then, as if he had heard some grand joke, threw his head back and laughed, the wrinkles on his old face bunching together: "What are you? Get lost!"

Lin Tian stopped wasting words and struck out directly with his right palm. The Great Strength Vajra Palm, at the Major Achievement Realm, its palm force wrapped in pale cyan Transformation Qi, headed straight for Chen Yuankui's chest.

Chen Yuankui hadn't expected him to dare to attack directly; in his haste, he wiped away his smile, clenched his right palm into a fist, and met the attack.

Fist and palm collided with a dull boom, dust splattered across the gravel road, and the ground beneath their feet was shaken, producing a thin crack.

Lin Tian retreated three steps, his palm slightly numb—the Transformation Qi of a Fifth-Grade Middle Stage expert was indeed much more profound than that of the young Disciples from before.

Chen Yuankui only retreated half a step before steadying himself; he looked down at his own fist, then at Lin Tian, his sneer deepening: "Just this little trick? And you want this old man's spoils? How laughable."

Before his voice had even faded, he aggressively pressed forward, his footwork steady and fierce, and threw another punch toward Lin Tian's head.

This punch was wrapped in even denser Transformation Qi, the force of the fist whipping up the gravel on the side of the road, the power striking straight at the skull—this was no sparring match; it was an attempt to kill.

Lin Tian's pupils constricted slightly, and he did not strike with his palm again. He reached toward his waist with his right hand, the autumn water sword rang as it left its sheath, and the Xiaguang Sword Technique was unleashed without reservation, driven by his Fifth-Grade Transformation Qi.

Seven sword lights simultaneously appeared in the Void Realm, spreading out in a fan shape, covering the sky and earth as they enveloped Chen Yuankui.

Chen Yuankui's fist force only had time to shatter five of the sword lights; two more slipped through the gaps in his fist wind, one grazing his left shoulder, slicing through his robe and leaving a shallow bloodstain.

The other struck his right arm precisely, the sword light biting three points into his flesh, fresh blood instantly gushing out and staining half his sleeve red. His right fist still maintained its punching posture, but his entire arm had already gone limp—

That sword strike had precisely severed the Meridians of his right arm, the path through which his Transformation Qi flowed through the entire arm was cut off, and this hand was temporarily crippled.

Lin Tian did not pursue with his sword, but with a twist of his wrist, the tip of the autumn water sword once again pointed at Chen Yuankui's throat.

Chen Yuankui stumbled back two steps, looked down at his right arm which was continuously dripping blood, then looked up at the long sword in Lin Tian's hand, which hadn't even been stained by a single drop of blood, gritted his teeth, and squeezed a few words from his throat: "Stop! I am willing to hand over half of my items."

Lin Tian did not move, his voice turning colder: "It's too late. Now, hand over eighty percent of your items."

Chen Yuankui's face twitched violently, and he subconsciously wanted to clench his fist, but the excruciating pain in his right arm caused his whole body to hunch over.

He did not answer immediately, so Lin Tian took another step forward, the tip of the autumn water sword drawing three points closer to his throat. Blue veins bulged on Chen Yuankui's forehead, and finally, under the cold light of that sword tip, he softened, hoarsely saying: "Fine! Eighty percent!"

With his left hand, he tremblingly unloaded the large bundle from his back, threw it on the ground, and kicked it toward Lin Tian with his foot.

Lin Tian used the tip of his sword to pry open the bundle—inside were neatly arranged more than forty stalks of wild Spirit Medicine of excellent quality, each one individually wrapped in oil paper, clearly High Grade items that had been treasured for many years in the Situ Family's Alchemy room.

Tucked into the lining of the bundle were also three thread-bound Secret Manuals, with the covers respectively inscribed with "Iron Wall Fist," "Roaming Dragon Steps," and one tattered saber technique manual.

Chen Yuankui clutched his right arm, his face livid as he watched Lin Tian collect the bundle to his feet, then gritted his teeth and turned to leave.