Talisman Emperor

Chen Xi obtained a rough understanding of the strength of these villains of Firecrow Town from Qiao Sheng.

Amongst the over 1,000 villains in Firecrow Town, the strengths of Scarecrow Zhang, Skull Li, Crimson Matthiola, Wu Fuzi, and Qi Yin were ranked at the top. All of them possessed cultivations at the perfection-stage of the Golden Core Realm, killed people like flies, and had extremely abundant combat experience.

Actually, Chen Xi was extremely surprised when he just obtained an understanding of this situation. After all, as far as he was concerned, since the Firecrow Town gathered the wicked and evil of the entire Darchu Dynasty, then logically speaking, the most formidable villain shouldn’t possess just this level of strength.

But after Qiao Sheng explained it, he instantly understood.

Villains at the Rebirth Realm and above posed too great of a threat, and the crimes they committed in the outside world were too heavy and caused widespread indignation, so it would be insufficient to appease public wrath without killing them. The Darchu Dynasty didn’t dare dally when facing these villains, as it was worried of fostering a tiger that would cause harm to the Darchu Dynasty, thus the most cold blooded extermination was launched on these people.

Under these circumstances, how could these villains that possessed cultivations at the Rebirth Realm or above dare stay at Firecrow Town?

On the other hand, the existences of Scarecrow Zhang and the others were as laborers. In the area controlled by the Darchu Dynasty, they didn’t have to worry about the possibility of being exterminated, but so long as they advanced to the Rebirth Realm, then they would be unable to avoid being killed.

This was too painful to cultivators. They were unable to advance, which meant their lifespan was limited, so living was no different than waiting for death.

Perhaps this was the punishment of the Darchu Dynasty towards them. Living while waiting for death was sometimes even more tortuous than directly killing them.

In short, after he found out about the strength of Firecrow Town, Chen Xi didn’t worry about his life being threatened any longer, and he followed behind Qiao Sheng to push open the door and enter Firecrow Tavern.

Something worthy of mentioning was that before they entered the tavern, Qiao Sheng had carefully instructed Chen Xi that these veterans would intentionally find fault with newcomers and show their power. So he asked Chen Xi to endure it when he should endure it and refrain from doing anything stupid.

Chen Xi neither agreed nor disagreed to this.

As soon as the door opened up, a gust of cold wind bore into the room, and Chen Xi stood at the entrance as the originally bustling tavern suddenly became perfectly silent.

Within the tavern that wasn’t large were over 10 tables that laid scattered around in the surroundings, and there were a few tens of villains surrounding the tables as they drank wine and chatted. In the depths of the building was a long counter, and the owner of the tavern rested his chin on his hand as he dozed behind it.

At this moment, when they saw Chen Xi enter, the gazes of everyone in the tavern shot over. All of these villains had evil gazes and savage expressions, and when they saw Chen Xi’s unfamiliar face, their expressions revealed a trace of ridicule.

“Oh, another newcomer has arrived. Welcome to Firecrow Town. But this Little Brother is really handsome, why don’t you come have a drink with Big Sister?” A seductive woman that was gorgeous like a peach blossom sat at the center amongst numerous villains and supported her cheek with her hand as she blew a resounding whistle, and her pair of peach shaped eyes stared fixedly at Chen Xi while flowing with an amorous expression.

As soon as this sweet and charming voice left her mouth, it instantly dispersed the silent atmosphere from before, and the tavern became bustling once more. In the eyes of these people, Chen Xi appeared to be young with a thin figure, and he didn’t pose the slightest threat to them.

“This woman is Crimson Matthiola. Do you want to accompany her for a drink?” Qiao Sheng grinned as he teased.

“A drink? Watch out or your skull will be cracked open before being used as fertilizer.” In a corner, an aged voice sounded out. It was an old man in scholarly robes who held a book in his hand and possessed a sage-like air, and he was drinking by himself.

There was no need for Qiao Sheng to introduce the old man as Chen Xi had already roughly guessed that this old man was surely Wu Fuzi. Merely from Wu Fuzi’s appearance, it was truly difficult to imagine that a scholarly old man like this actually liked to hear the shrill cries of living people before being able to fall asleep.

“Little Brother, don’t listen to the old fellow’s crap. I, Crimson Matthiola, only kill fellows that I dislike. Big Sister likes you extremely, and I’m only too anxious to hold you in my palm and protect you. Why would I make you into fertilizer?” Crimson Matthiola chuckled.

“Hey, which newcomer wasn’t held in your palm and protected, yet were protected to the point their skulls were cracked open in the end?” Wu Fuzi seemed to rather like bickering with Crimson Matthiola, and he didn’t hold back in the slightest as he exposed her again.

Instantly, Crimson Matthiola couldn’t be bothered to tease Chen Xi as she started bickering with Wu Fuzi, and it caused the other villains in the tavern to roar endlessly with laughter.

Chen Xi paid no attention to all this, and he arrived before the counter and said, “I need a map of the Gloom Forest.”

Meanwhile, Qiao Sheng had quickly arrived behind the counter and spoke something to the tavern owner in a low voice, and he was presumably introducing Chen Xi’s identity to the owner. After he finished speaking, he grinned as he left and left behind Chen Xi and the owner.

The tavern owner nodded and said, “I do indeed have the map of the Gloom Forest, but the map is incomplete, and its price is high. Are you sure you want to purchase it?”

Chen Xi nodded. He had a premonition that the Blacksun Ambush that targeted him had already begun. If he didn’t make the best use of his time and enter the third route that he’d planned to enter since long ago, he’d probably allow his enemies to seize the initiative.

Moreover, possessing a map of the Gloom Forest would undoubtedly be much more convenient.

The tavern owner raised his head and sized Chen Xi up for a moment before naming his price indifferently. “500,000 Nascent Condensation Pills.”

The bustling noises in the tavern instantly went silent again when they heard this, and numerous gazes stared at the tavern owner with a strange expression. They seemed to have never imagined that this black hearted owner would actually not just be black hearted, but be so absurd. He was obviously demanding an exorbitant price.

Chen Xi’s brows knit together, and he went silent for a moment before taking out a storage pouch and throwing it over. “I hope this map is worth this price.”

The tavern owner’s spirits were instantly refreshed as he nodded with a grin. “You probably know of that fellow Qi Yin. This map was personally drawn by him after wandering about in the Gloom Forest for many years. Not only does it record the routes in Gloom Forest, it even labels some dangerous places, so it’s absolutely worth this price.”

As he spoke, the tavern owner took out a light blue colored jade slip and passed it over.

“Thank You.” After sizing it up briefly and not noticing anything amiss on it, Chen Xi put it away right away and spoke with a nod before turning around and walking towards the door.

The tavern owner was stunned as he seemed to have never imagined that Chen Xi was in such a hurry, and he said in his heart. Could it be that this kid has committed a crime that caused widespread indignation, and he’s being pursued at full force? Otherwise, why’s he unwilling to stay for even a moment?

“Brother, since you’ve come to Firecrow town, then aren’t you going to have a drink before leaving?” The door to the tavern was suddenly blocked by a robust one-eyed man, and he looked at Chen Xi as he spoke with a gruff voice.

“Get out of the way, I’m in a hurry,” said Chen Xi indifferently.

“Oh, it’s fine if you’re in a hurry, but you have to ask if the brothers and sisters present agree to your departure.” The one-eyed man laughed coldly.

“We don’t! A newcomer rarely comes, so us brothers are in a great mood, and we want to drink wine and celebrate. Wouldn’t it be too boring if the person concerned isn’t present?”

“Right, you’re too rude, young man. It isn’t too late to leave after you treat everyone to a cup of wine.”

The numerous villains in the tavern shouted out successively as they looked at Chen Xi with ridiculing gazes, and a trace of burning greed appeared in the depths of their eyes.

All of them took notice of Chen Xi buying the map with 500,000 Nascent Condensation Pills earlier. At this moment, Chen Xi seemed like a plump lamb in their eyes, and they were truly unwilling to let him go without taking a bite.

“You’ve really decided to not move aside?” Chen Xi completely disregarded everything in his surroundings and only stared at the one-eyed man before him as a trace of killing intent gushed out from his eyes.

A stream of coldness suddenly gushed out in the heart of the one-eyed man, and he felt a type of unrestrainable terror. But in next to no time, he jolted awake from this state, and he turned angry from embarrassment as he stared at Chen Xi and said with a savage expression, “Are you threatening me?”

Even though he spoke like this, but he actually faintly felt a trace of uneasiness in his heart. But out of consideration for his face, he forcefully endured it, and he even thought that the coldness that gushed out from his heart in that instant was only his misconception.

This savage and loud shout of the one-eyed man instantly caused the expressions of everyone in the tavern to become hostile, and all of them pressed their hands on their weapons as they revealed killing intent.

The entire tavern was instantly filled with killing intent, and even the air seemed as if it had frozen solid.

“Little Brother, you have such a handsome appearance, so don’t do anything stupid. Otherwise, you can only be made into fertilizer by Big Sister once you die.” Crimson Matthiola cast an amorous and seductive gaze at Chen Xi, yet her words revealed boundless killing intent.

“It wouldn’t be bad to lock him up in my hole. His shrill cries of pain will surely be able to allow me to have a relieving and nice sleep.” Wu Fuzi closed the book in his hand and looked over unhurriedly.

“Unfortunately, my human dolls can only be made from beautiful female corpses, so he’s of no use even if I kill him.” Right at this moment, the tavern door was opened from the outside, and Scarecrow Zhang who wore embroidered clothes and a marten cloak walked in.

Skull Li, who bared his upper body, stood by Scarecrow Zhang’s side, and he couldn’t help but speaking in a booming voice when he heard this. “What’re you feeling unfortunate for? He would be good for me to make into a bone pearl.”

Chen Xi raised his eyes and looked towards the surroundings, and his expression still remained indifferent as he said calmly, “Alright, I’ll treat everyone to wine. How about a jug for each of you?”

The one-eyes man laughed coldly and said, “Alright. A jug of wine is 100,000 Nascent Condensation Pills. Take out two or three million Nascent Condensation Pills and we’ll have a drink happily. How about it?”

“I’m afraid you can’t afford to drink it.” Chen Xi sighed abruptly.

“Can’t afford to drink it? Little brat, once you die, you’ll know if your Uncle can afford to drink it or not!” The one-eyed man burst into rage as he never imagined that Chen Xi would still be so stubborn when it had come to this, and he roared right away before stretching out his hand to grab Chen Xi as he intended to strike first and restrain Chen Xi.

Bang!

Winds whistled from his palm as his thick True Essence carried along a ferocious aura, and it seemed like a fierce beast that roared as it charged out with the intention of swallowing its enemy. The strength of this one-eyed man was obviously extremely strong, and his technique was skilled and experienced. At the instant he struck out, he utilized his full strength without holding back in the slightest, and it could be seen from this that he wasn’t rash like he appeared on the surface.

Unfortunately, he’d encountered Chen Xi.

Clang!

A cold light appeared abruptly, and the thick energy from his palm hadn’t even touched Chen Xi’s body when it was destroyed halfway.

The one-eyed man’s eye stared wide open like a saucer as he stood frozen on the spot. In less than a tenth of an instant, his gaze turned from gloominess to shock, and then it became dumbstruck. A bloody hole had already been penetrated through his neck since an unknown time, and his blood had only abruptly sprayed out all over at this moment. His stalwart body crashed onto the ground along with this, and he couldn’t stand up ever again.

The battled seemed to have not begun, yet it had already ended.

The other villains didn’t even have the time to make a move before the one-eyed man had already crashed to the ground. As they looked at the gurgling blood that ceaselessly sprayed out of the one-eyed man’s throat, everyone was terrified in their hearts. Not even in their dreams had they imagined that a thin young man, a handsome young man that had just arrived at Firecrow Town, would actually be able to kill the one-eyed man instantly.

After all, even though the one-eyed man’s strength wasn’t outstanding, he possessed a cultivation at the advanced-stage of the Golden Core Realm. Before he came to Firecrow Town, he was renowned villain whose hands had been tainted by an immense amount of blood.

However, at this moment, he’d died just like this!

“I told you. You can’t afford to drink the wine I treat you to.” Chen Xi didn’t even spare a glance at the corpse on the ground as he spoke indifferently.