Feeling unwell, he increased the price, and those cultivators could only endure it. The problem was paying two million to buy an earthworm from Cheng Xiaofan, which might not even be usable as bait. How could they not be angry?
However, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't be blamed for this. The fault lay solely with the middle-aged man.
If he hadn't stepped forward to cause trouble, none of this would have happened!
These cultivators were also hot-tempered. They grabbed the middle-aged man and tied him securely to a stone pillar in a pavilion.
Bang!
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man's body trembled, and the ropes as thick as a thumb tied around him snapped as he exerted his strength.
"Kid, die!"
The middle-aged man picked up a fish spear from the ground and swept it horizontally towards Cheng Xiaofan with a swoosh.
He didn't intend to kill with this strike, but if it had hit Cheng Xiaofan and swept him into the lake, he would have broken at least a few ribs and been bedridden for a while.
He thought his opponent wouldn't have time to dodge.
To his surprise, as the fish spear swept over, Cheng Xiaofan calmly smiled and remained motionless.
In a flash!
Cheng Xiaofan's hand formed a claw, and he grabbed the handle of the fish spear, deflecting the middle-aged man's swift and forceful strike.
"You struck first, so don't blame me for being impolite!"
Cheng Xiaofan said coldly. Then, his figure flickered, and he appeared before the middle-aged man, his hand reaching for his chest.
The claw strike was fierce and terrifying, carrying a mysterious aura.
The middle-aged man yelped in fright, dropped the fish spear, stepped on the Big Dipper, and shifted with the celestial dance, narrowly avoiding Cheng Xiaofan's hand reaching for his chest.
The outcome was decided in one move.
Cold sweat drenched the middle-aged man's entire body.
He was a master of ancient martial arts, already a congenital expert, his skills as smooth as water, just one step away from entering the fourth realm of congenital mastery.
Yet, the aura emanating from the other party was so oppressive that he could barely breathe.
If he hadn't dodged quickly, his life would likely have been lost to him.
"Did you come down from Jinniu Mountain?" Cheng Xiaofan pressed forward, asking coldly.
The middle-aged man did not hide his origin. "That's right. I came from Jinniu Mountain. My Taoist name is Luohua Daoshi!"
"Heh heh, well said, Liushui and Luohua, a pair of clowns!"
In fact, Cheng Xiaofan had noticed the middle-aged man secretly observing him as soon as he arrived at Nanshan Lake.
That was precisely why he intentionally exposed himself to Meng Huaisheng while digging for earthworms in the woods.
Otherwise, if Cheng Xiaofan had wanted to avoid Meng Huaisheng's gaze while digging for earthworms, how could he have let him discover him?
Cheng Xiaofan sneered coldly and said, "I didn't expect Liushui Daoshi to suffer a loss in Zhuxi Village. Are you, Luohua Daoshi, here to avenge him!"
"Someone with such mediocre strength as you, how dare you show yourself before me?"
With that, he raised the fish spear and used the same move against him, whoosh, he swept it horizontally.
His movement was a perfect imitation of what Luohua Daoshi had just displayed.
"Ah!"
Luohua Daoshi, unable to dodge, cried out in pain and was sent flying more than ten meters by the fish spear, landing in the lake.
Similarly, Cheng Xiaofan did not intend to kill, or Luohua Daoshi would have been dead by now.
Even so, Luohua Daoshi broke several ribs.
Luohua Daoshi secretly felt lucky that he hadn't intended to kill Cheng Xiaofan when he attacked, or he might be dead by now!
"Mr. Cheng, I know how powerful you are, glug... please spare my life, cough cough... Ah, I'm drowning, glug glug..."
Luohua Daoshi, who had fallen into the lake, endured the pain in his waist and ribs, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, frantically begging Cheng Xiaofan for mercy.
Cheng Xiaofan, seeing that Luohua Daoshi had not intended to kill him, did not deliver a fatal blow.
"Potianying, carry him ashore!" Cheng Xiaofan noticed that Luohua Daoshi was clearly not a swimmer; after struggling in the lake for a few moments, he had already swallowed a lot of water.
"Screech—"
Potianying let out a sharp cry, flew into the lake, directly grabbed Luohua Daoshi by the collar, and with a bang, threw him heavily onto the shore.
"Ah—Oof..."
With that fall, Luohua Daoshi vomited all the water he had swallowed.
Cheng Xiaofan walked over, glanced at the dejected Luohua Daoshi, and said with a half-smile, "Luohua Daoshi, do you feel comfortable now?"
"..." Comfortable my foot!
Having taken a trip to the gates of hell and back, Luohua Daoshi didn't know how to respond to Cheng Xiaofan.
Huff, huff...
Luohua Daoshi lay on the ground, panting heavily.
When he looked up, he saw Cheng Xiaofan's dog lying opposite him in the same posture, panting with a smile.
When had he ever been so humiliated by a dog?
Yet, he was being mocked and humiliated by a dog!
"Mr. Cheng, I admit defeat!" After a while, Luohua Daoshi finally managed to get up from the ground and bowed deeply to Cheng Xiaofan.
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "You can go back and tell Kudao Ren that Nanshan Lake belongs to all the people of Zhuxi Village. No matter who they are, and no matter how powerful their influence, they will not take Nanshan Lake from the people of Zhuxi."
"Mr. Cheng, I will relay your words to Kudao Ren verbatim when I return!" Luohua Daoshi bowed to Cheng Xiaofan again.
As he turned to leave, two cultivators immediately stopped him.
One of them roared, "Luohua Daoshi, you can't leave yet. If I can't catch any fish after buying Mr. Cheng's bait, you'll be responsible!"
"That's right, two million for an earthworm! If we don't even see a shadow of a fish, you'll have to compensate us, as well as our lost time!"
"Yeah, you messed things up and want to slip away, no way!"
"If you dare to run, we won't be polite to you!"
"Want to leave? Have a taste of my sword!"
With these two shouting, the other cultivators surged forward, instantly surrounding Luohua Daoshi.
Some were clenching their fists, ready to attack Luohua Daoshi, and one of them even drew his sword and pointed its tip at Luohua Daoshi's nose.
Cheng Xiaofan could tell that if Luohua Daoshi wasn't injured, the swordsman would definitely not be his match.
Taking advantage of his severe injuries, they wanted to attack him?
Cheng Xiaofan despised such unsportsmanlike behavior the most.
He immediately took two Shenlong Pills and two Energy Pills and handed them to Luohua Daoshi, saying, "Luohua Daoshi, my Shenlong Pills can not only deal with snake venom but also heal severe injuries."
"Combined with these two Energy Pills, they can heal your broken ribs in minutes!"
"Take these pills, and I won't charge you a single cent!"
"Thank you, Mr. Cheng!" Luohua Daoshi, in unbearable pain, heard Cheng Xiaofan's words and, without considering his intentions, took the pills and swallowed them in one gulp.
In a flash, Luohua Daoshi's pale face regained its color, and he looked much more energetic.
"How is it?" Cheng Xiaofan asked Luohua Daoshi.
Luohua Daoshi said excitedly, "It's good! I feel like all my broken ribs are healed!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan pointed at the swordsman and said to Luohua Daoshi with a smile, "He wants to offer you his sword. Now you can fight him!"
"I want to see who is more formidable between you two!"