From the auras of the five people, Cheng Xiaofan immediately discovered a significant situation: during the middle of the night two days ago, they had infiltrated his villa and were struck by the Dragon Saber Array surrounding it.
The Dragon Saber Array had hit the five individuals silently, and the residents of the villa hadn't even reacted.
Before setting up the formation, the Earth God, along with the fox spirit mother and daughter, and Meihui Inui had brought their treasure aura to the newly built villa, drawing it out and covering the entire surrounding area.
Just then, the Taoist Kudao arrived with the Dragon Sabers, and Cheng Xiaofan set up the Dragon Saber Array.
Without the treasure aura covered by the Earth God and the others, Cheng Xiaofan would not have been able to set up the Dragon Saber Array. This had been explained earlier in the book, so it need not be repeated.
Looking at the five people lying on the ground, Cheng Xiaofan knew very well that any external enemy attempting to intrude upon the new villa would be unable to escape Taotie’s nose and its special sensing abilities.
The fact that they could conceal themselves from Taotie and easily approach the villa indicated that these five people were no ordinary cultivators.
These five assailants were now here, which suggested that the Earth God had been continuously monitoring the villa surroundings with his treasure aura.
As soon as any external enemy invaded, he would be the first to know.
After the five assailants were knocked down by the Dragon Saber Array, the Earth God quickly brought them to the back of the mountain.
"Old Tu, you've truly worked hard!"
Cheng Xiaofan put aside his demeanor as a descendant of Shennong and bowed deeply to the Earth God, clasping his fists. "I never imagined you've been secretly protecting those around me!"
Upon hearing this, the Earth God hastily returned the bow, saying, "Divine Farmer Lord, this is my duty as a minor deity. Besides, it wasn't something I could do alone."
"After all, the fox spirit mother and daughter and Meihui Inui also contributed before!"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled faintly and asked, "Where are the fox spirit mother and daughter and Meihui Inui these days? If you have time, I'd like to invite you all for a gathering."
The Earth God immediately clasped his fists and replied, "Reporting to Divine Farmer Lord, they are all currently in seclusion for cultivation. I will notify Divine Farmer Lord as soon as they emerge!"
"Good, I understand!"
Cheng Xiaofan nodded, his gaze falling back on the five people on the ground. "Old Tu, do you know why they attacked my villa?"
The Earth God said, "When I brought them here, I interrogated them. They claimed to be rogue cultivators from the martial world, passing by. They noticed a mystical light flickering from the ground in Divine Farmer Lord's villa courtyard at night and thought there was hidden treasure underground. Thus, they harbored evil intentions and tried to steal it, but were knocked unconscious by the formation."
"However, I, as a minor deity, did not believe their words at all. I used my magic to keep them in a state of suspended animation, and to deal with them after Divine Farmer Lord returned!"
Cheng Xiaofan said, "Old Tu, you did well. Just as you suspected, they weren't telling you the truth."
"If I'm not mistaken, they are actually members of a hidden cultivation organization, extremely wicked, known in the martial world as the Hidden Blacks!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a surge of energy struck the five people.
The five lying on the ground trembled, and one by one, they sat up, their frightened eyes darting around.
When they saw Cheng Xiaofan, they shivered again.
"You... you are Cheng Xiaofan?" one of them asked Cheng Xiaofan in fear.
Cheng Xiaofan sneered and said unhurriedly, "That's right, I am Cheng Xiaofan. How did you recognize me?"
The man trembled again, saying, "I saw videos and photos of you on the martial world forum, of course I recognize you!"
Cheng Xiaofan said coldly, "Since you know about me from the martial world forum, you should know that I'm someone who kills without blinking. How dare you attack my villa?"
"Aren't you afraid I'll tear you to pieces?"
The man's face turned ashen with fear and he said, "We are sorry, we are rogue cultivators from the martial world. We were just passing by your courtyard late at night and saw a red light flickering from the courtyard. We thought there was treasure buried underground and a moment of greed took over!"
"Master Cheng, we were wrong, please let us go!"
Slap!
Cheng Xiaofan slapped him through the air.
The man cried out in pain, spitting out a mouthful of blood and immediately losing consciousness.
The other four were so frightened their faces turned as white as paper.
Cheng Xiaofan pointed at a white-nosed man among the four and said, "Come here and tell me, who are you people?"
The white-nosed man trembled as he approached Cheng Xiaofan and said, "Reporting to Master Cheng, we are indeed rogue cultivators from the martial world, purely passing by!"
Whoosh!
Cheng Xiaofan drew the Demonic Bone Saber from his spatial ring.
With a flash of the saber, the heads of everyone except the white-nosed man rolled to the ground.
The Demonic Bone Saber then spewed out a wave of blood, and the bodies of the four instantly disappeared.
"Do you want to die like them too?" Cheng Xiaofan played with the Demonic Bone Saber in his hand, tilted his chin slightly at the white-nosed man, and asked coldly.
The white-nosed man was terrified and immediately knelt before Cheng Xiaofan, saying, "I don't want to die, Master Cheng, I really don't want to die..."
"You don't want to die? Then tell me the truth, damn it!" Cheng Xiaofan roared.
The white-nosed man immediately said, "Reporting to Master Cheng, we... we are the Hidden Blacks, and we were ordered to find Ye Shisan!"
In fact, when Cheng Xiaofan had seen through these five people as Hidden Blacks, he had already suspected their arrival was related to Ye Shisan.
What Cheng Xiaofan couldn't understand was: why were these Hidden Blacks relentlessly pursuing Ye Shisan?
"How did you find this place?" Cheng Xiaofan's face instantly darkened as he asked.
The white-nosed man said, "It is said that our sect leader recently found a diary from the old Taoist who raised Ye Shisan back then. It recorded Ye Shisan's final whereabouts."
"Then he dispatched the five of us to come here while I was abroad."
"Actually, as we approached Master Cheng's villa wall, we discovered the surrounding protective formation. We guessed that Ye Shisan should be living inside."
"We prepared to force our way through the protective formation. Unexpectedly, this protective formation was too formidable. As soon as we jumped onto the courtyard wall, we were struck unconscious by a lightning bolt from the sky."
Cheng Xiaofan snorted coldly and continued to ask, "Tell me, why have you Hidden Blacks been pursuing Ye Shisan?"
The white-nosed man said, "It is to obtain the Golden Elixir he formed during his cultivation!"
"Why do you Hidden Blacks want his Golden Elixir?" Cheng Xiaofan frowned deeply and asked.
The white-nosed man shook his head in confusion, saying, "Reporting to Master Cheng, only our sect leader knows about this. We subordinates have no idea!"
Cheng Xiaofan then asked, "Who is your sect leader?"