Mo Tiange slowly took another sip of tea before speaking. "He Bisheng, He Bixiu. Truly fitting names. 'Why be born?' 'Why cultivate?' Your parents were quite clever."
"Hmph!" He Bixiu didn't catch the sarcasm in her words, instead sneering viciously. "That phrase applies to you! Meeting us, you should regret why your parents ever gave birth to you, and why you ever embarked on the path of cultivation!"
Mo Tiange didn't move, only a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips behind the teacup.
The three exchanged glances, then each drew their spiritual artifacts and lunged forward. At that very moment, Mo Tiange slapped a talisman onto her body. In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind the trio. With a flick of her wrist, a dense cloud of transparent flying needles shot forth from between her fingers.
The three were shocked, scrambling to dodge, but her movements were simply too fast. Each of them was struck by several needles, with He Bisheng faring the worst. His cultivation was the weakest, and he realized the danger too late. As he turned, the flying needles struck him squarely in the chest—he had no time to react!
"Ah—!" The needles were as fine as ox hair. The moment the three were struck, they felt a sharp, itching pain at the points of impact, their faces paling in alarm. He Bisheng, having been hit in a vital spot, immediately went limp and collapsed to the floor.
Seizing the opportunity, Mo Tiange flicked her wrist again. The remaining two, fearing another attack, flinched away, but this time the flying needles shot toward other parts of the room. Instantly, several hidden formation disks and formation flags in the corners were either damaged or toppled over.
Realizing they'd been tricked, the other two flew into a rage. The moment they steadied themselves, their spiritual artifacts were already swinging toward her.
But Mo Tiange's figure moved like a ghost. A sword that had somehow appeared in her hand blocked the attacks. Then, with a shake of her arm, she sent both spiritual artifacts flying.
The two hurriedly tried to recall their artifacts, but at that moment, she waved her hand again. The trio couldn't even see what she threw, but suddenly thorny vines burst from the ground, encircling them completely.
It had taken mere moments. The three were now at her mercy. Mo Tiange clapped her hands lightly and returned to her original seat. In the main hall, the three were entangled within the thorns, moaning in pain.
Only then did fear truly set in for them. The young man surnamed Huang and He Bixiu watched as their opponent moved with terrifying speed, their spiritual artifacts utterly useless against her. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
He Bisheng, frantic, cried out, "Big Brother, he—"
He Bixiu had no time for him. He shouted at Mo Tiange, "You—have you been hiding your cultivation level?!" The three of them were considered quite capable among Loose Cultivators. When had they ever been so thoroughly humiliated working together?
Mo Tiange merely offered a faint, cold smile. "Shortsighted fools! Why would I need to hide my cultivation?" The outcome of Dharma Combat wasn't determined by cultivation level alone. These three, thinking to swindle novices for their wealth, hadn't considered: which cultivator who reached Qi Refining Level 10 without a family backing would still be a novice? She had wandered with her Second Uncle, witnessing multiple battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators. At the Yunwu Sect, she had faced life-and-death situations several times. Compared to the disciples of the Three Sects, these three—who only dared to act after setting up a formation and using Soul-Bewitching Powder, with their poor vigilance and slow reactions—were far inferior. How could they be her match?
When that youth had accosted her on the street, she'd found it strange. But having experienced numerous life-or-death battles by now, her courage had naturally grown. Seeing their clumsy methods, she knew they were nothing special. Since she was bored anyway, she decided to see what they were up to. If it was nothing, fine. If they truly harbored ill intentions, then she'd turn the tables and rob them a little. With the Foundation-Solidifying Pill recipe, she needed money desperately. Robbery was the fastest way, but such acts went against her nature. Now that someone had tried to trick her, how could she let this opportunity slip by?
As she approached this place, she detected traces of a formation inside the house, confirming her suspicions. But a mere Sunfire Formation? She didn't even bat an eye.
"You... you..." the young man surnamed Huang stammered in shock. "You clearly drank the tea, how could you..."
Mo Tiange raised her cup and took another sip. "You mean this Soul-Bewitching Powder? A single Ice Clarity Pill is more than enough." The main ingredient of Soul-Bewitching Powder was the Yuxin Flower. Back in the mortal world, she had been easily subdued by someone using the Yuxin Flower. After that, she had made a point of studying it thoroughly. How could she fail to recognize it now?
The three finally realized they had been played—the prey had turned out to be the hunter.
The young man surnamed Huang glared at He Bisheng, who was slumped on the floor, and cursed, "It's all your fault! What terrible judgment! Now you've gotten us all killed!"
He Bisheng, injured and struggling to speak, retorted, "You... how can you... blame it all on me?!"
"If not you, then who?" the man sneered. "You're the one who brought her here!"
He Bisheng flushed red with anger, but his injuries were the most severe. In his rage, he couldn't even form words. "You..."
Seeing his brother like this, He Bixiu snapped angrily, "Huang Weiren, when my Second Brother brought people before, you never hesitated to take your share of the spoils. Now you complain he's incompetent? Why didn't you go out and find someone yourself?"
Hearing the name, Mo Tiange almost laughed out loud. Huang Weiren—'Unworthy of Being Human'. These three really did have matching names!
Huang Weiren continued to protest, "How was I supposed to know he was this stupid?"
"You didn't see through it either, did you?!"
"I... I trusted him!"
Mo Tiange found this almost laughable. Were these three out of their minds? Arguing among themselves at a time like this? It rather spoiled her sense of accomplishment.
She rapped her knuckles on the table. "Finished arguing?"
The two immediately snapped back to reality, ceasing their quarrel. He Bixiu glanced at He Bisheng, who lay motionless on the floor, struggled internally for a moment, then pleaded, "Fellow Daoist Ye, Senior Ye, we failed to recognize a treasure when we saw one! Please, spare us!"
Huang Weiren also chimed in hurriedly, "Yes, yes, it's all our fault for being blind, failing to see you were an expert. Please, be magnanimous, don't stoop to our level."
Mo Tiange let her gaze drift over them, remaining silent. Only when they began to squirm under her stare did she speak slowly. "Let you go? Alright. First, tell me: how many people have you tricked? And how did you do it?"
The three brightened. He Bixiu and Huang Weiren stopped their infighting, exchanging glances and nudging each other.
"You tell her."
"No, you tell her."
"I don't remember clearly."
"I'm not good with words."
After a round of this, Huang Weiren finally spoke up. "The three of us are Loose Cultivators near the Tiandao Sect. We have no other skills, and truly can't afford to cultivate, so... we came up with this method. Many outside cultivators come to the Tiandao Sect—some drawn by the reputation of the number one sect in Kunwu, others coming to the market here to buy things. We figured, with so many outside cultivators and no one keeping track, if we tricked one or two, no one would notice. So we started this... business with no capital..."
"Your cultivation isn't low now. So you've been at this for a long time? With your clumsy methods, haven't you run into any trouble?"
Huang Weiren said, "We've had some trouble. But we're always careful. We don't provoke people from the Tiandao Sect, and we avoid cultivators from cultivation families. We only target outside Loose Cultivators. These people usually have no backing. Even if a few are strong, with the formation and Soul-Bewitching Powder used together, not many can hold out."
That made sense. If she herself weren't well-versed in formations and hadn't recognized the Soul-Bewitching Powder, she might have fallen for it.
"With your shoddy tricks, people actually fall for it?"
Hearing this, all three wore bitter expressions. He Bixiu explained, "We pick our targets. For cultivators from other places who come to the Tiandao Sect to exchange insights with fellow cultivators, we pretend to be Tiandao Sect disciples. For those who come to buy things, we pretend we have premium materials but don't know their true value..."
"Oh?" That wasn't completely stupid.
"Lately, because the Tiandao Sect is holding the Immortal Platform Meet, many cultivators have come. Lots of them are country bumpkins who've never seen the world, so we..."
Mo Tiange understood. More cultivators meant more inexperienced ones, making them easier to trick. Moreover, during the Immortal Platform Meet, things were more chaotic than usual, and no one paid much attention. These fellows had gotten carried away. Seeing her young age, plain clothes, yet high cultivation, they thought she was an inexperienced bumpkin and couldn't wait to pounce.
"So, during this time, you must have robbed quite a bit."
Huang Weiren looked at her fearfully. "Actually, not that much..."
Mo Tiange smiled. "Not that much? Then hand it all over. Hand it over, and I'll spare your lives."
"Huh?"
"If you don't want to hand it over, that's fine too. I'll just kill you and search your bodies at my leisure."
Watching the three struggle and agonize over the decision, her somewhat gloomy mood instantly improved. Using others' misfortune to comfort oneself was indeed quite effective.
"Big Brother," He Bisheng, still on the floor, wailed, "I... I don't want to die yet."
He Bixiu and Huang Weiren both wore conflicted expressions, exchanging glances.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange gave a light laugh. With a press of her palm, all the flying needles flew back into her hand—even those embedded in their bodies. He Bixiu and Huang Weiren fared better, but He Bisheng had been struck by many needles. As they tore out from his wounds, he howled in agony. "Big Brother, Big Brother, just give it to her!"
Seeing his miserable state, He Bixiu quickly cried out, "Alright! We'll give you everything!"
Mo Tiange smiled slightly. "Throw your Qiankun Bags over here!"
Though injured, He Bisheng was the most terrified. He immediately, trembling, threw out his Qiankun Bag. Seeing this, He Bixiu also gritted his teeth and took out his Qiankun Bag. Huang Weiren was extremely reluctant, but with the other two staring at him, he hesitated for a long moment before finally, with great resolve, threw his out as well.
Mo Tiange caught the three Qiankun Bags, opened them for a quick look, then casually stuffed them into her robe.
Looking at the three swindlers-turned-robbers gazing at her with hopeful eyes, she smiled, took a talisman from her Qiankun Bag, and hurled it at them.
With a "Boom!", the entire main hall was engulfed in flames. The three screamed, "You're breaking your promise!" "Didn't you say you wouldn't kill us?!"
Mo Tiange turned and walked out, waving a hand dismissively. "You didn't hand over all your assets, of course you can't buy back your lives. I'll just take half a life from each of you."
Exiting the house, she got her bearings and leisurely strolled back toward the street.
Those three obviously hadn't handed over their entire life savings. But she wasn't a professional robber; she couldn't be bothered to fuss over such details. Though she said she wouldn't kill them, she still needed to teach them a lesson and vent her anger. That fire was enough to leave them half-dead.
Walking down the street, a smile touched her lips. One Escape Talisman, one Blaze Talisman, and she'd gained several hundred spirit stones. This really was a good deal.