Hit the snake in its vulnerable spot, and pull up the weeds by the roots!

After four palm strikes and a single punch, an eerie stillness seemed to settle over the mountain path around the corner.

Linglong stood expressionless beside them, watching the scene unfold quietly. John, dressed in his gentlemanly attire, had cold sweat beading on his back. He picked up a white handkerchief to wipe the perspiration from his forehead, clearly shaken by the spectacle. Yet, as a worldly middle-aged foreigner who had seen his share of wonders, he managed to maintain his composure.

"Um... Sir! May I ask your honored name?"

"It was my blindness that failed to recognize a true master just now! Please allow me to introduce myself. I am John, a board member of the Hongmou Group and also the executive president of the Extreme Sports Association."

"I originally intended to reserve this small token of introduction for Miss Linglong, but since she was unwilling to accept it, allow me to present it to you, Sir, borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha!" With that, John reached into the inner pocket of his suit once more, bringing out the metal-packaged cylinder and holding it out horizontally toward Chen Jue.

Chen Jue looked back at him, noting his deep reverence, and gave him a meaningful glance. He could hear the foreigner's heartbeat accelerating—clearly, the man was panicked. Reaching out to pat the other's shoulder in reassurance, Chen Jue said, "Don't be afraid, Mr. John. I, Chen Jue, am no villain."

"It's just that these individuals had a prior grievance with me, so I administered a slight punishment."

Chen Jue smiled faintly at John, then familiarly took the metal cylinder and turned it over in his hand. The object was very heavy to the touch, and its outer shell felt somewhat like metallic lead.

"A lead casing? Is it for radiation shielding?"

"That being said, does the item inside carrying congenital Qi truly emit some form of energetic radiation?" Chen Jue muttered inwardly.

As for John, upon hearing these words, his facial muscles twitched in an awkward smile. His eyes drifted back to the five men sprawled limply by the roadside like heaps of grass. He felt as though this seemingly gentle young man was nothing less than a demon draped in human skin—harmless to look at, yet unleashing thunderous violence the moment he struck.

"So Your Honor's name is Chen Jue! This is my business card, please do me the honor of accepting it, Sir!"

"Since you can appreciate the value of what is inside this tube, Sir, you must exist on the same level as Miss Linglong, capable of sensing the mysteries within. If you are interested, you are welcome to visit our Extreme Sports Association."

"With your martial arts prowess, Mr. Chen Jue, you would surely be interested in the secrets of eternal life." John offered another card with a tight, unnatural smile.

Chen Jue did not refuse. Taking something from someone established a connection and sowed the seeds of karma, so he smoothly accepted the card.

Much like his relationship with Lin Tianchen—because they had crossed paths at the seaside and planted bad karma, Lin Tianchen and his bodyguards had ended up knocked unconscious the moment they met again.

However, Chen Jue felt utter disdain for the word "eternal life" that John had mentioned.

Having traveled so widely and befriended so many, Chen Jue had long since seen through many of the world's truths and principles.

Even First Emperor Qin, an autocratic ruler of legendary stature, was buried deep within his mausoleum. There was no such thing as an eternal secret in this world; at best, one could live a few decades longer than ordinary people, much like Daoist Master Huang Shizhen's master.

"You don't believe it, Mr. Chen Jue?"

"There truly exist immortal life forms in this world..." John began, noticing Chen Jue's expression of utter contempt, but before he could finish, Lin Tianchen, who had just passed out, suddenly let out a cough, shattering the atmosphere just as a deeper discussion was about to unfold.

Lin Tianchen struggled to roll over from the weeds by the roadside, his face bruised and battered as he stared fixedly at Chen Jue, gasping out in a thread of a voice, "I... underestimated... you..."

Chen Jue was not surprised to see him regain consciousness, as he had held back his strength during those strikes. Otherwise, the men lying on the ground would have had their skulls shattered like bursting watermelons.

Furthermore, Lin Tianchen was a practitioner of Dark Energy martial arts; his physical constitution was clearly superior to that of the bodyguards. Dragging himself back to wakefulness was proof that he had experienced similar physical trauma before.

Seeing Lin Tianchen awake, Linglong could not help letting out a soft sigh. She walked over to him, crouched down, and spoke expressionlessly in a low whisper right by his ear: "Second Senior Brother, I don't know whether to call you clever by half or simply born that way. Overseas, you had master and the Senior Senior Brothers shielding you, along with the Xingyi Sect backing you up. But back in your homeland, you are nothing—simply a fool who abandons the roots for the trivial branches."

Lin Tianchen struggled to roll his eyes, looking toward Linglong as his lips twitched slightly. "Junior Sister... you..."

"Sigh! It seems you still don't understand! Go on being your foolish ghost, then!"

With that, Linglong extended a finger and tapped Lin Tianchen right between the eyebrows. Lin Tianchen let out a muffled groan, rolled his eyes, and passed out cold once more.

Seeing this, Chen Jue frowned slightly. He could tell that Linglong's move was a Dark Energy strike targeting vital acupoints, striking straight at Lin Tianchen's brain. The method was ruthless, showing not a shred of fellow-disciple affection.

"Fellow Daoist Linglong... what is this..."

Before Chen Jue could finish his question, Linglong stood up. First, she instructed John, who was standing frozen in shock, "Mr. John, these people came with you. Handle the aftermath."

"Y-Yes... Miss Linglong! It's no trouble at all..." John swallowed hard, recalling the rumors of this woman's operational style in overseas circles, terrified that she might administer the exact same treatment to him.

Seeing the foreigner so cooperative, Linglong said nothing more. She gave him a slight nod, then turned to the puzzled Chen Jue and said, "Fellow Daoist, let's go! Longtan Bay is becoming a place of trouble. Let's find somewhere else and continue our discourse on the Dao."

Hearing this, Chen Jue temporarily suppressed his doubts, slipped the newly acquired metal tube into his trouser pocket, and followed Linglong as they quickly left the corner of Longtan Bay.

More than ten minutes after the two had departed, John—who had been standing frozen with a chilled spine—finally took a deep breath, retrieved an electronic button from his pocket, and pressed it gently.

Before long, a group of foreigners dressed in outdoor athletic gear emerged from nowhere and stood respectfully before him.

"Go! Clean all these people up! And check on Mr. Lin, the chairman of Tianchen Group—see if he can be saved. If he can't be revived, dispose of him along with the rest."

"Understood, President! Leave it to us!" Several of the foreigners nodded, clearly well-versed in this sort of cleanup work.

With his instructions given, John ordered someone to bring over a satellite phone. He dialed a string of numbers and reported to the steady breathing on the other end: "President, we have made initial contact with the Dragon, but the target rejected our invitation... However, we did encounter another interesting expert who is interested in the item you provided..."

...

Leaving Longtan Bay, Chen Jue followed Linglong deeper into the mountains. After walking about seven or eight kilometers and crossing several ridges, they arrived at an orchard filled with navel orange trees.

Inside the orchard stood a dilapidated farmhouse where a woman in her sixties was scattering grain in the yard to feed a few free-range chickens.

Seeing Linglong appear, the elderly woman called out, "Linglong is back!" Then, catching sight of Chen Jue following behind, her eyes crinkled into a smiling slit. "Is this Linglong's boyfriend?"

"Grandma! This is a new friend of mine, not a boyfriend. Just cook enough for one extra person at noon," Linglong shook her head and instructed.

"Alright, alright! It's rare to see you bring a guest home." The old woman smiled, nodded, and went inside to busy herself with preparing the meal.

Chen Jue took in the environment of the orchard and the crude farmhouse without asking any further questions. He simply followed Linglong through the navel orange grove until they reached a clear, jade-green stream flowing below.

The riverbank was covered in smooth pebbles. Linglong found a spot to sit down, looked back at Chen Jue, and said, "Fellow Daoist Chen Jue must be harboring doubts about what I did just now, right?"

Chen Jue nodded. "Dark Energy straight to the brain—death or crippling injury is certain. Fellow Daoist Linglong, your intent to kill is rather heavy, and your methods rather cruel."

Hearing this, Linglong smiled faintly, finding this "dust-mortal immortal" beside her rather excessively naive. She picked up a pebble, tossed it into the river with a plop, and replied, "As the saying goes, strike the snake at its seven inches, cut the grass by its roots!"

"I had a reason for doing what I did; it wasn't merely about a heavy intent to kill."

"This Second Senior Brother of mine is no good sort. Back overseas, he repeatedly made covert moves against me, likely harboring some crooked intentions. He thought his actions were flawless, but I caught traces of them every time."

"However, due to the environment at the time and the consideration that we shared the same master, I didn't strike back."

"Now that my master has passed away and I have broken away from the Xingyi Sect, since my Second Senior Brother still refuses to give up, I naturally had to collect some interest from him. Moreover, I didn't kill him; I simply turned him into a fool. Guarding his wealth like a walking corpse of a rich man is far better than being sold down the river while still counting the money for someone else."

The third update has been delivered!

My energy is still holding up, so I'll write another chapter~ The protagonist is not a do-gooder saint; if you're going to complain, please flip to the next chapter.