At this moment, the further they advanced, the more terrified everyone felt.

The scene before them was too shocking. At regular intervals, they encountered one or more corpses. What was even more alarming was that none of these individuals had been ordinary in life; they were all experts!

“Killing one person every ten steps” sounds simple, but how difficult is it to actually do? These were cultivators, not cabbages!

The further they went, the more frequently everyone glanced towards the carriage where Gu Xiu was. Even the rogue cultivators from the Victory Gang couldn’t help but tremble, their legs turning to jelly.

That Feng Bugui had said earlier that he cut down some bamboo and killed a few people. But… who could have imagined that the “few people” he mentioned were these individuals?

Not to mention them, even the several Foundation Establishment cultivators from Wanbao Pavilion, and even Su Rumei, who had already reached the Golden Core stage, watched with hearts pounding in fear.

“These people are all figures of great renown. They even prepared the Green Bamboo Traps the Dragon Array in advance. Such a force came prepared, joining forces to attack us. If they had succeeded…”

“Today, we would likely have suffered heavy losses!”

“Not just heavy losses,” the Shadow beside her was equally shocked. “This formation would have been enough to trap the two of us. The best outcome might have been us escaping wounded, while everyone else perished completely.”

Su Rumei nodded with a grave expression. Golden Core cultivators are indeed powerful; Qi Refining cultivators couldn’t defeat a Golden Core even with human wave tactics. But… if you add a formation, plus prepared methods that hadn’t been deployed yet… it was hard to say.

Subconsciously, both of them turned their gazes once again towards Gu Xiu’s carriage, filled with doubt and uncertainty.

“This is… ‘Green Fall Yellow Springs’, Tu Biqiong!”

“Hiss, it really is her!”

“Tu Biqiong is actually dead too? Didn’t she advance to Foundation Establishment half a year ago? How did she also die here?”

Just then, the group at the front of the caravan made another new discovery.

It was a female corpse. The woman possessed stunning beauty, and her attire and style were enough to make one want to lose themselves in her allure. But now, she had become nothing but a skeleton draped in rouge and powder.

Of course, what drew everyone’s gaze wasn’t her appearance, but her identity. She was a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator, nicknamed ‘Green Fall Yellow Springs’. Her signature move, the Yin Soul Thorn, was enough to strike fear into hearts.

The few Foundation Establishment cultivators present could no longer remain calm. Although they were Foundation Establishment cultivators themselves, if they faced this woman skilled in sinister methods, they absolutely wouldn’t dare claim a sure victory.

More importantly, it would be impossible to kill her so easily!

Because Tu Biqiong’s cause of death was identical to the previous group: a single strike piercing through her heart meridian! She seemed not to have reacted even in death; her face still bore an expression of disbelief, as if shocked by her killer’s power.

“This… this couldn’t really be the work of that Senior Feng, could it?” someone stammered, their eyes filled with terror. The others were much the same; their faces were written with incredulity.

“Impossible!”

“It absolutely cannot be that so-called Feng Bugui’s doing!”

Mou Xingsheng spoke up without hesitation. His eyes also held terror mixed with fear, but he forced himself to appear composed. “This is Tu Biqiong! A genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator! A Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivator leaping across realms to kill a Foundation Establishment expert? Do you all really believe such a thing?”

This…

Everyone was stunned for a moment before subconsciously shaking their heads. To be honest, they didn’t quite believe it.

After all, from Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Void Refining, to Great Ascension, cultivators have always had strict hierarchical divisions. Each advancement represents a qualitative change. Even the difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment is the gap between heaven and earth. How could it be possible?

To be fair, fighting across minor levels isn’t unheard of; fighting across major realms is something prodigies can sometimes achieve. But any instance of cross-realm combat involves exhausting all means and seizing every advantage. Often it requires luck. Nothing is ever as effortless as this—a single fatal strike?

“Don’t be fooled by that kid’s current cultivation level,” Mou Xingsheng continued. “It’s true he’s at the seventh layer now, but he was only at the fourth layer not long ago! In such a short time, consolidating his realm would already be considered good progress. How could he possibly fully master his power? How could he possibly leap realms and defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator so quickly?”

This made the others fall into deep thought. Indeed… all of this was filled with fantasy; it was hard to believe.

Even Su Rumei and the Shadow couldn’t help but frown and exchange a glance.

“Then you tell us,” someone asked, “if these people weren’t killed by Feng Bugui, who killed them?”

The others also looked over curiously.

Yes… so many people dead; they couldn’t have just been struck by heavenly punishment out of thin air. This group clearly came for the Wanbao Pavilion caravan. And among the group, only Feng Bugui went off alone.

If he didn’t do it… then who did?

This question hit the nail on the head, leaving even Mou Xingsheng stammering and unsure how to answer.

“Continue forward,” Su Rumei ordered.

She herself was also somewhat uncertain and wanted to see more.

The road ahead remained far from peaceful. Further along, they occasionally encountered more corpses—mostly Qi Refining stage cultivators—but two more Foundation Establishment corpses also appeared.

The further they went, the tighter Su Rumei’s frown became.

The ambushers this time were extremely well-prepared. Faced with such a large force… she wasn’t even sure if she could truly escape unscathed within that formation.

“Ji Shaoming!”

“It’s Ji Shaoming!”

“The famous prodigy rogue cultivator of Yunxiao City! It’s him!”

After traveling another stretch of road, another exclamation rang out.

Everyone rushed forward to look and saw another corpse—a young master in blue robes.

This person… was yet another major figure.

“It really is Ji Shaoming!”

“Although Ji Shaoming was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, his methods were unfathomable; he could even fight mid-Foundation Establishment opponents! He was hailed as a prodigy of Yunxiao City! How… how did he die just like that?”

“Can such a prodigy also die?”

“This is impossible! How could such a prodigy still have his heart meridian severed by a single strike? Who on earth made this move?”

“Could it really be Feng Bugui?”

“Are you crazy?! If before I might have doubted it somewhat… but now with Ji Shaoming’s corpse appearing here too… this clearly cannot be something Feng Bugui is capable of! No matter how strong his power is… he couldn’t possibly leap realms and kill a prodigy!”

“Who can say for sure? It’s true Ji Shaoming was a prodigy… but compared to true prodigies there’s still a gap! Besides… that Feng Bugui comprehended Dao Intent at the fourth layer! Who dares claim for certain he absolutely couldn’t do it?”

A debate broke out among the group. Some believed Gu Xiu killed these people; others believed Gu Xiu’s strength couldn’t possibly accomplish these feats.

However… such arguments didn’t last long because soon after, near prodigy Ji Shaoming’s corpse, everyone discovered yet another body.