Upon seeing this, Yang Zhenren's expression changed drastically!
While this move was not his ultimate technique, it was far from the "petty trick" he had modestly claimed!
Even a master at the fifth tier of martial arts or five-tier of spellcasting would have met their end then and there!
To think that the other party had casually broken his move!
It was evident that the opponent's strength was definitely above the fifth tier!
"You must be the one who embezzled my artifact fragments, causing me to spend one billion yuan on a pile of ivory powder?"
Yang Zhenren looked at Ying Chen, who was slowly walking out of the courtyard, and asked coldly.
Ying Chen felt a bit bewildered.
What artifact fragments, what one billion yuan?
However, upon seeing the parents of Min Ziqiong, Ying Chen immediately understood.
No wonder Min Ziqiong's parents hadn't come to cause trouble these past few days, remaining as quiet as mice!
So they had been looking for a sucker to buy from!
Most importantly, Ying Chen never expected these two to actually find a sucker and swindle that sucker out of one billion yuan!
Ying Chen couldn't help but size up Yang Zhenren.
His appearance, his demeanor, his eyes...
It was no mistake!
He was the spitting image of a sucker!
If not him, then who?
"One billion yuan is quite a sum! But I only sold that pile of ivory powder, oh no, artifact fragments, for one hundred million. And even then, it wasn't fully paid, only fifty million."
"So your being a sucker has nothing to do with me. Are you looking for the wrong person?"
Ying Chen said with feigned sympathy, looking at Yang Zhenren.
Ying Chen truly felt Yang Zhenren was pitiful.
In this era, it was not easy for cultivators to practice. Not only was spiritual energy depleted, but artifacts were also extremely rare.
Even finding a low-to-mid-grade artifact would cause people to fight like dogs, let alone a mid-to-high-grade artifact.
Naturally, they would be eager to possess it.
But to spend a fortune and only get a pile of useless powder.
If it were Ying Chen, he would also be anxious!
He would also seek out the seller to settle the score!
But no matter how anxious, a debt has its debtor, and one cannot find the wrong person!
What did this matter have to do with Ying Chen?
It wasn't Ying Chen who sold it to him, nor was it Ying Chen who took his money.
"Heh heh, still trying to quibble? I see you'd rather face punishment than accept kindness!"
Unexpectedly, Ying Chen's well-intentioned explanation did not earn him Yang Zhenren's understanding but instead made Yang Zhenren intensify his attack.
Yang Zhenren quickly wrote a character on his palm.
He blew on it forcefully!
Crack!
Then, a deafening sound echoed.
A bolt of lightning materialized out of thin air, tearing through the dark night sky, targeting Ying Chen's head and descending!
It was about to strike Ying Chen down on the spot!
"This is a bit unreasonable of you."
To everyone's surprise, Ying Chen did not dodge, as if he were completely unaware of the impending disaster.
Or perhaps Ying Chen was like a stubborn lump of shit in a latrine, determined to argue right from wrong even when facing death!
"Fool!" Yang Zhenren, who had always looked down on such people, spat out two cold words.
Then he calmly waited for Ying Chen to turn into a scorched corpse.
Meanwhile, Min Ziqiong's mother, standing nearby, couldn't help but anxiously cry out, "No, Zhenren! If you kill him, how will we find out where the true fragments are hidden? Then won't my old man and I be forever under suspicion?"
Yang Zhenren snorted, "Rustic village woman, how would you know the immense power of us Immortals! As long as the item truly exists in this world, I can find it! It's just that I need to borrow his corpse and let him act as a hound!"
Yang Zhenren had already made his plan.
Once Ying Chen was killed, he would use sorcery to reanimate Ying Chen's corpse and, using Ying Chen's dying memories and instincts, locate the artifact fragments supposedly hidden by Ying Chen.
"Your wisdom is profound, Zhenren!" Min Ziqiong's mother quickly offered a flattering remark.
During their conversation, they seemed to have completely forgotten about Ying Chen.
Or perhaps they believed Ying Chen was doomed and not worth their attention.
However, when they finished speaking, they sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere.
Logically, there should have been a smell of burnt flesh in the air by now, accompanied by the sound of Ying Chen's body hitting the ground.
But they smelled neither the odor nor heard the sound of Ying Chen falling!
All they heard was a sizzling sound, like a firecracker that failed to ignite.
"How... possible?" Yang Zhenren turned his head to look forward and then discovered Ying Chen standing in place, unharmed!
There wasn't a single sign of injury on his body, not even his hair was out of place, as if he hadn't been affected by the lightning at all!
Yang Zhenren felt incredulous.
Min Ziqiong's mother also showed a look of disbelief.
Was Ying Chen's life that tough? Even Yang Zhenren couldn't handle him?
"Xiao Hu, what just happened?" Yang Zhenren looked at Hu Daheng.
Hu Daheng should have witnessed the entire process.
Hu Daheng was also a look of shock, stammering, "Just now... I watched the lightning fall on his head... I thought he was certainly dead..."
"But who knew... he just reached up and grabbed at his head like he was catching lice... and extinguished the lightning!"
"Zhenren, could I be under some illusion? How is it possible for someone to catch lightning with their bare hands in this world!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenren's face instantly turned exceptionally grim.
Catching lightning with bare hands!
Even he had never heard of such a technique!
It was simply unheard of and unseen!
Yang Zhenren stared intently at Ying Chen, and after a long while, he finally spoke, "It seems I underestimated you."
"You must be a top-tier expert in hard-qigong from some martial arts holy land, right? To have cultivated your hard-qigong to such a level is truly admirable."
"However, if you think this will scare me away, you are greatly mistaken! No one in this world has ever taken my belongings and not returned them!"
Upon hearing this, Ying Chen couldn't help but smile.
But within his smile, there was a barely perceptible hint of killing intent.
"Taken your belongings? Setting aside whether such a thing even exists, even if it does, you didn't pay me, nor did you make an appointment with me. How did it become yours?"
"I didn't expect the cultivators of this era to have such little ability but such big tempers!"
"Arrogant and overbearing, surpassing even some of the old monsters I met back then!"
Having said that, Ying Chen paused slightly.
Then, as if offering advice and a warning, he spoke a sentence.
"Cultivation is not easy, I advise you to cherish it."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Yang Zhenren did not appreciate it. Instead, he burst into furious laughter, "Very good, very good! In my long life, this is the first time I've been lectured by a mere child!"
"Cultivation is indeed not easy, but death is very easy!"
"I wish you... a good journey!"
After Yang Zhenren finished speaking, a ruler suddenly appeared in his hand.
The ruler was blood-red, and it was carved with one demon god after another.
The moment the ruler was produced, a powerful oppressive aura instantly pervaded the entire heaven and earth.
It was as if demon gods had descended, suppressing everything.
This was Yang Zhenren's ultimate artifact, called the Hai Chijin Liang (架海赤金梁 - Sea-Supporting Crimson Golden Beam).
Yang Zhenren had obtained this artifact by chance from an ancient ruin, and its power was immense.
The only regret was that the artifact was severely damaged for some unknown reason.
Its surface was covered with various cracks, and it would completely shatter after at most ten uses.
Therefore, Yang Zhenren was reluctant to use this artifact unless it was an extraordinary situation.
Now, seeing Ying Chen's terrifying strength and the prospect of obtaining fragments of a new artifact by killing him, Yang Zhenren unhesitatingly took out the Hai Chijin Liang.