Ling Feng crushed the Fearless Card into fragments, which then turned into light spots and merged into his body.
Immediately, a surge of courage flooded Ling Feng's heart, a feeling of being unafraid of anything. He had been somewhat afraid of killing before, but now that fear had completely vanished.
"Is this the Fearless Card? It's truly magical," Ling Feng remarked, feeling the change in his emotions.
[Ding! Three-star effect card: Fearless Card has been used. Effective for twenty-five minutes.]
Hearing this, Ling Feng no longer delayed. With only twenty-five minutes, he narrowed his gaze and swiftly swung his blade twice. The sharpness of the Dragon's Roar in its Sheath easily sliced through the iron cage as if it were tofu.
Ling Feng swept his left hand, collecting all the toppling iron bars into his system space, preventing the sound of them hitting the ground from alerting the pockmarked Taoist priest in front of the carriage.
Then, he slowed his pace and approached the Taoist priest, who had his back to him.
Ling Feng intended to attempt an assassination. Creating spiritual swords to kill would cause fluctuations in the surrounding spiritual energy, easily alerting the pockmarked Taoist priest, and if successful, it would save a significant amount of true qi.
Tu Shan Rong Rong watched everything silently from her cage. From the conversation between Tu Shan Hong Hong and Ling Feng, she guessed they might know each other.
"When did sister get to know a human? And a male human at that?"
"Didn't sister never leave Tu Shan?"
A flood of questions entered Tu Shan Rong Rong's mind, but she knew now was not the time to ask them.
Tu Shan Hong Hong also emerged from her cage and approached Tu Shan Rong Rong, gripping the iron bars with both hands.
Should any accident occur or if Ling Feng managed to kill those two detestable Taoist priests, she could immediately release Tu Shan Rong Rong.
Ling Feng quickly reached the pockmarked Taoist priest's back, raising the Dragon's Roar in its Sheath high, and then swung his blade down with full force.
"Clang!"
The bloody spray Ling Feng had imagined did not happen. Instead, a metallic collision sound echoed. A milky white, almost transparent shield appeared before him, blocking his full-force strike.
"Nani?"
Ling Feng's expression changed drastically. What was this?
The pockmarked Taoist priest was also startled by the sudden turn of events. He quickly turned around, drew the long sword at his waist, and slashed backward.
The moment his sneak attack failed, Ling Feng had already retreated several steps. The pockmarked Taoist priest's sword slashed through empty air.
Staring at Ling Feng, the pockmarked Taoist priest frowned, his voice cold as he yelled, "Who are you, brat, daring to sneak attack this old Daoist priest!"
"If it weren't for the protective jade pendant my master gave me, you would have succeeded!"
"Three chances to save my life, and you brat wasted one for nothing! Today, you are dead!"
The pockmarked Taoist priest glanced at a jade pendant on his chest, which now had two cracks.
Seeing that trouble had occurred, Mo Xiao Fan hurriedly urged the horse to stop and hid behind the pockmarked Taoist priest, stealthily observing Ling Feng and the others.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his sneak attack fail, Ling Feng retreated a few more steps, his Deduction Eye scanning the jade pendant on the pockmarked Taoist priest's chest.
[Protective Jade Pendant: Xuan-tier high-grade defensive magical artifact. Can withstand three full-power attacks from a mid-stage Small Demon King! One remaining.]
"Protective jade pendant. A miscalculation. I didn't expect him to have such a life-saving treasure." Ling Feng frowned, then shouted towards Tu Shan Hong Hong behind him, "Quick, save them!"
However, there was no need for Ling Feng to shout. Seeing that they had been discovered, Tu Shan Hong Hong immediately bent open the iron bars of the cage and rescued Tu Shan Rong Rong.
"Damn it! So they're demons! None of you will escape today!"
"I'll sell all of you to the Heavenly Immortal Academy!"
The pockmarked Taoist priest finally realized that the two fox demons he had painstakingly captured had been rescued by the person before him. He was so enraged his lungs felt like they would explode.
These two fox demons were not easy to catch, and now that they were released, how could he not be furious? A talisman appeared in his hand.
"Now, your opponent is me!"
Ling Feng had already formed a sword condensation technique. Numerous spiritual swords materialized around him, floating. There were thirty of them, consuming nearly a third of Ling Feng's true qi.
"What kind of demonic art is this?"
"There are no fluctuations of demonic power, it feels like magic. You're not a demon! You're human! Which family or sect are you from!?"
The pockmarked Taoist priest looked at the spiritual swords floating in the air. He couldn't sense any demonic energy fluctuations, meaning it wasn't a demonic art. If it wasn't a demonic art, it could only be magic!
And Ling Feng was so young. He could be a disciple of a sect elder or a family descendant. He himself was merely an inner disciple of a sect and couldn't afford to offend such a person.
"You talk too much. Go!"
Ling Feng performed a hand seal, and the thirty spiritual swords shot towards the pockmarked Taoist priest through the air.
The formation of thirty spiritual swords was quite intimidating.
The pockmarked Taoist priest's expression changed. He quickly discarded the demon-repelling talisman in his hand and took out another talisman from his Daoist robe. The other party wasn't a demon, so the demon-repelling talisman was useless.
"Vajra Protection Talisman!"
The pockmarked Taoist priest infused his magic power into the Vajra Protection Talisman, and a hemispherical golden shield enveloped him.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The thirty spiritual swords struck the golden shield like a dense rain of swords, but they were like mud cows entering the sea, only causing ripples on the golden shield.
"Brat, I admit defeat today. You can take the two fox demons with you. How about we let this matter go?"
The pockmarked Taoist priest spoke in a conciliatory tone. He was unsure of Ling Feng's identity.
But the fact that he could wield magic, and sword techniques at that, meant his background must be considerable. He couldn't afford to offend him. If his behind-the-scenes forces remembered this incident, he would be in trouble.
"Alright. Hand over all the talismans and treasures on your person, and I'll pretend this never happened."
Ling Feng guessed what the pockmarked Taoist priest was afraid of and decided to see if he could extort his belongings before killing him.
He was very covetous of the Carefree Sword Control Art from the mission reward. Moreover, the pockmarked Taoist priest was a lecherous and harmful individual, so Ling Feng felt no sympathy.
"Brat, don't push your luck! To catch those two fox demons behind you, I nearly emptied my coffers. It's already a huge loss for me if I don't pursue this matter. It's always good to leave a path open for future encounters!" the pockmarked Taoist priest said through gritted teeth.
"I don't care. If you don't leave your treasures and talismans today, you won't be leaving!" Ling Feng adopted an aggressive stance, implying that if he didn't comply, he wouldn't be allowed to leave.
"Brat, even a cornered rabbit will bite! Don't go too far! So what if you're from a noble family? You're alone here now. If I kill you, I'll just go into seclusion in the mountains!"
The pockmarked Taoist priest was now seething with rage, his eyes practically spitting fire.
"Then come and try! You'll die today no matter what!" Ling Feng was too lazy to argue further and attacked directly! With the Dragon's Roar in its Sheath in hand, Ling Feng charged forward.
"Damn it! You refuse a toast only to be given a forfeit! A mere brat who hasn't even fully grown!"
The pockmarked Taoist priest finally understood that Ling Feng intended to kill him. He could feel the killing intent in Ling Feng's eyes.
The pockmarked Taoist priest no longer cared about Ling Feng's identity and unleashed a sword qi strike.