"What an utter fool." A-San was ecstatic with joy. Soon enough, he would be able to demand five thousand spirit stones from him!
The vehicle sped along, quickly arriving in front of the Red Sun Tavern. Ten guards in black stood at the entrance. A-San pressed close to Yun Xiao, terrified that Yun Xiao might see this array of forces and try to flee.
To A-San's surprise, Yun Xiao didn't even glance at the guards, walking straight into the tavern.
Young Master Ning, whose given name was Ning Dong, was a collateral descendant of the Ning Family—one of the four major cultivation families in Ningcheng—and was responsible for overseeing some of the family's businesses.
Among the cultivation families of Ningcheng, Ning Dong was considered a somewhat prestigious young man in his early thirties. Recently, he had taken a liking to a woman named Zhao E, though unfortunately, she was entirely unimpressed with him. Consequently, he had orchestrated a scheme to trap Zhao E in high-interest debt so that he could control her. In his view, for women to depend on him was their good fortune, and naturally they should pay whatever price was required.
Today, he had sent his subordinate A-San to execute the plan, but A-San had yet to return, failing to send even a single message. Ning Dong harbored doubts, wondering just how efficient the fellow's work really was.
He took a few sips of spirit wine laced with a special potion. Right now, the spiritual energy within his body was churning wildly and desperately needed to be calmed. Finally, he saw A-San arriving tardily.
Casually tossing a wine cup, Ning Dong rebuked, "Useless trash, why did you take so long? Where is Zhao E?"
Fawning upon Ning Dong like a tame dog, A-San groveled, "Family Head, I didn't bring her back..."
"Useless thing, you can't even handle a small task like this. Get the hell out of here tomorrow!" With those words, Ning Dong delivered a vicious slap across A-San's face.
"There was a bit of a hitch along the way. That person said he wanted to talk to you face-to-face. He said he was going to stand up for Zhao E."
Ning Dong raised his head and saw that Yun He was already standing firmly before him. As a cultivator who had reached the Primordial Earth Greater Full Circle, the guards surrounding Ning Dong were also all at the Primordial Earth level. Narrowing his eyes and sensing not the slightest aura of a cultivator from Yun He, he felt even greater disdain. With a sneer, he scoffed, "Punk, what rock did a lunatic like you crawl out from under, daring to come look for me and reason things out all by yourself?"
Yun He nodded instead, saying, "Between heaven and earth, the principle of reason carries the greatest weight. Today, I am going to reason with you."
"Ha-ha," Ning Dong laughed aloud, and the guards beside him joined in chorus. "Look at this fool, he still wants to reason with me. How long has it been since I encountered something this laughable? All right, you fool, tell me: how do you plan to reason with me?"
"I will give you ten thousand spirit stones, plus one thousand in interest—not a single stone more. With that, this matter is settled. You smashed Zhao E's shop, and I reckon the damage comes to a few thousand spirit stones, so I'll deduct a portion. That makes eight thousand spirit stones in total, not a bit more. That is what we call reason."
"Who do you think you are, deciding what is reasonable? Men, teach him a lesson and let him understand how the world works..."
Suddenly, Ning Dong felt his vision darken as a large hand clamped around his throat. The entire room froze into absolute silence.
Everyone stared at Yun He as if he were a madman. What on earth was going on? Just a moment ago they were talking about reason, so why had he resorted to violence in the blink of an eye?
With so many pairs of eyes fixed upon him, the man had managed to strike without making a sound, sending a cold shiver down Ning Dong's spine. The wealthier a cultivator was, the more they cherished their own life, and Ning Dong was no exception. He had several wives and concubines, the youngest of whom was currently carrying his very first child—something he had anticipated for a long time. Now that his body had been hollowed out by wine and lust, having a child was no easy matter, and he certainly did not want to lose his life here.
"Brother, brother... didn't we agree to talk things out reasonably? Why resort to hands? Let go of your hand, and let's... talk."
"Ning Dong, we cultivators value reason, but this reason comes with a price. For every extra word of nonsense, you lose a finger." Before his voice even faded, a flash of cold light condensed in his palm, and Ning Dong's finger snapped off on the spot.
"Ah!" Staring at the finger that had flown away, Ning Dong let out a heart-wrenching shriek. "I'll kill you, how dare you..."
"What are you chattering on about? This isn't how you reason." The cold light flashed once more, and another finger parted from his body.
"Ah, ah, ah! Stop, stop, stop! Senior, I was wrong, I was wrong!" After all, Ning Dong was no idiot; years of Jianghu experience told him he had run into a formidable opponent, and he hurriedly begged for mercy, lest his ten fingers prove insufficient to pay the price.
"That's more like it. This is the proper attitude for a practitioner of the Dao," Yun He said. "Let's consider Zhao E's matter settled at that. What do you think? Enough nonsense."
"Fine, fine, eight thousand is eight thousand."
"Your brother here still owes me fifty thousand. Subtract the eight thousand, and hand over the rest."
A-San was stunned, and he retorted, "What are you talking about? When did I ever owe you fifty thousand? I..."
"Ah!" Ning Dong let out a piercing scream as he watched his thumb fly away, his third finger gone.
"Useless trash, utterly useless! A-San, you owe this Senior money—pay up right now, pay him back!" Ning Dong was in too much pain to speak properly. Only now did he truly experience what agony felt like; previously, he was always the one inflicting suffering upon others, but now he finally tasted it himself.
A-San trembled. "Yes, yes, yes, Senior! I owe it to you, I'll pay right now."
Yun He nodded. "Now that's more like it."
Releasing his grip, Yun He produced a spirit treasure and said, "Transfer it to me. Let's make one thing clear beforehand: if there's any more nonsense, every word costs a thousand gold."
"I—I'll fight you to the death!" The moment he regained his freedom, Ning Dong didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. As a Full Circle Stage cultivator, he unleashed his ultimate technique without a second thought, his arms slamming toward Yun He like iron rods, intent on pounding him into a bloody pulp.
"What? Did you take my words as wind blowing past your ears?" Without even glancing at the arms descending from above, Yun He shook his head with a light sigh and flicked his finger...
"Boom!" A flash of bloody light burst forth, and Ning Dong screamed continuously. With his own eyes, he watched his steel-like arms shatter instantly, reducing him to a cripple with bones broken into fragments so pulverized there was no hope of ever reconnecting them.
The entire hall fell into a dead silence once more, save for the terrified sound of everyone's breathing. Tears streamed down Ning Dong's face; he knew everything was over, that he had been reduced to a useless cripple. He no longer had the strength to reclaim this grievance.
"All of you, kneel down." Though Yun He's voice was not loud, it was deafening. No one present could resist the crushing pressure of that command, and everyone dropped to their knees one after another.
"Your fortune is spent. Did you really think you could play this game with me and treat me as a joke? Transfer everyone's family fortunes straight into my spirit treasure. Don't try to be clever, and don't cry about being poor—pay with your lives to atone for your sins, or no one leaves this place today.
A-San, start with you."
Trembling violently, A-San crawled before him and stammered, "Forty-two thousand spirit stones."
The spirit treasure vibrated, and all forty-two thousand spirit stones were reeled in.
Gazing straight at him, Yun He said, "You still have fifty thousand in your spirit treasure. Don't think I don't know."
Terror gripped A-San's heart. What kind of unfathomable divine power did this man possess to know even about the spirit stones he had hidden away? "I'm just a cultivator trying to feed his family, Exalted Sovereign, please spare me."
"A-San, let me tell you the truth: I never intended to let you live in the first place. Trash like you only wastes the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This is your last chance; if you don't know how to cherish it, don't blame me for being merciless."
Yun He's gaze was like a torch. The amount of innocent blood staining this man's hands was countless, mostly belonging to the weak who were powerless to protect themselves. With a gentle wave of his hand, A-San instantly dissolved into a mist of blood. A gust of wind blew by, dispersing the blood fog without a trace, and a living life vanished just like that, leaving not the slightest mark behind.
Witnessing this, everyone was gripped with terror. Even Ning Dong—who, despite the heart-wrenching agony, was forcing himself to endure through sheer cultivation—opened his eyes wide. They finally understood that provoking such a terrifying cultivator would lead to unimaginable consequences.
"Well? Continue," Yun He urged. "Transfer the spirit stones and buy your lives."