Sweeping Through the Martial World: Starting with Max Level Yi Jin Jing

Chapter 9 The First Appearance of the Poisonous Claw

As the sun rose higher in the late morning hours, the West Market Street, where Jishetang was located, was shrouded in an eerie stillness.

At this time of day, pharmacies would normally be open to customers, dispensing medicine and providing medical consultations, and the streets would be filled with the bitter scent of herbs and the sounds of people.

Today, however, the two heavy elm wood doors of Jishetang were lying crookedly on the ground, with obvious chopping marks on the door frame.

The shop was in complete disarray. The sandalwood medicine cabinet was smashed to pieces, and various medicinal herbs were scattered all over the floor with shards of porcelain jars. The strong, pungent smell of medicine mixed with dust filled the air.

The most shocking sight was the several pools of blackened blood on the ground, stretching from behind the counter all the way to the threshold leading to the back room.

As soon as Su Wan's carriage reached the street corner, she could no longer resist and jumped down from the carriage.

Seeing this, he stumbled and rushed into the shop, his vision already blurred with tears. "Father! Father!"

Chen Xuan followed half a step behind her, his eyes flashing like lightning as he quickly scanned the surroundings.

The owner of the noodle and tea stall across the street had long since disappeared, and the door of the cloth shop diagonally opposite was also tightly closed, with only a few frightened eyes peeking out from behind the cracks in the door.

Besides the smell of medicine, there was also a very faint, cold, fishy smell in the air, which was hard for ordinary people to detect, but it made his internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing stir slightly.

It is poison. Moreover, it is a highly concentrated, toxic, and volatile poison that has not been volatilized for long.

"In the back room! Miss, the master is in the back room!" An apprentice with a bruised face and red, swollen eyes from crying ran out from the back room. It was the same boy who had gone to deliver the message earlier.

Su Wan rushed into the back room. On the simple bed, Physician Su lay on his back, his face ashen, a large dark red bloodstain on his chest, his eyes closed, and his breath weak.

Another older apprentice was futilely trying to wipe away the blood and foam that kept seeping from the corner of his mouth with a damp cloth.

"Father!" Su Wan rushed to the bedside, grasped her father's cold hand, and quickly placed her fingertips on his pulse. She felt that his pulse was disordered and weak, sometimes there and sometimes no pulse, which meant that his internal organs had been severely damaged.

Suppressing her grief, she took out her needle pouch from her bosom, pulled out several silver needles, and skillfully and accurately inserted them into several major acupoints on Physician Su's chest to temporarily protect his heart.

Chen Xuan did not go into the back hall. He stood in the center of the main hall of Jishetang, his gaze falling on the smashed medicine cabinets, the overturned tables and chairs, and the messy footprints on the ground.

The footprints were deep and messy, indicating at least six or seven people with heavy footsteps, not like those who practiced light-footed kung fu.

But two pairs of footprints stood out, exceptionally clear, with even strides and steady footing, exuding a deliberate composure even amidst the chaos.

His gaze finally settled on the corner of the counter, where a small, inconspicuous patch of dark gray powder was mixed in with the scattered Poria cocos slices.

He walked over, squatted down, and without touching it with his hands, simply moved closer. The chilling, fishy smell emanated from the powder. The edges of the powder, against the blue brick floor, took on a slightly corroded, matte white hue.

"Young Master Chen...," the injured apprentice followed, pointing to the ground, his voice trembling.

"When those people were robbing things, one of the leaders took out a small leather pouch from his pocket, poured some of this kind of ash powder on the counter, said 'bad luck,' and then... then that piece of wood quickly turned black and blistered..."

Chen Xuan's eyes narrowed. The corrosive poison powder seemed to be used not only for looting, but also for demonstration and destruction of evidence.

"Did you get a good look at the leader?" Chen Xuan asked.

The apprentice struggled to recall, his face showing fear: "He was masked... not very tall, a bit fat, and had a high-pitched voice, like... like a knife scraping the bottom of a pot. Oh, and his right hand seemed to be disabled, always tucked into his sleeve; he could only use his left hand to smash things. There was also a tall guy next to him, like a bamboo pole, with particularly cold eyes, standing at the doorway, not coming in."

Fat, high-pitched voice, right hand disabled. Tall, thin, cold eyes.

"What did they steal?" Chen Xuan continued to ask.

"It's...it's those boxes that Mr. Su kept in the secret compartment in the inner room. They contain his most treasured medicinal herbs, including century-old ginseng, snow mountain cordyceps, and...and several medical case notes written by Mr. Su himself," the apprentice cried. "It seems those people went there specifically for those things."

Just then, Chen Xuan's ears twitched slightly.

Outside the back window of Jishetang facing the street, in that narrow alley that few people usually walk on, came a few extremely faint "tap-tap" sounds, like a cat stepping on a tile, and almost inaudible, suppressed breathing.

There were more than just one or two people. Moreover, they had already quietly gathered around.

"Take Miss Su and your master into the back courtyard, lock the door, and don't come out no matter what noise you hear," Chen Xuan whispered to the apprentice, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The apprentice shuddered. Although he was scared, seeing Chen Xuan's calm yet profound eyes, he inexplicably felt a surge of courage, nodded vigorously, and turned to run back to the back room.

Chen Xuan walked slowly to the wide-open entrance of Jishetang, stood with his hands behind his back, looked at the shadow of the opposite rooftop, and the entrance of the narrow alley to his right, and his voice carried out calmly:

"Since you haven't left, why hide and show your face?"

Before the words were finished, a dark shadow flashed at the entrance of the narrow alley, and three figures darted out like ghosts, landing in a triangular formation in the middle of the street, blocking the way directly in front of the entrance of Jishetang.

One of the giants, standing silently like an iron tower with hands the color of dark iron, was none other than Li Feng, the leader of the Blood Hand Gang under the Black Wind Sect, known as "Iron Hand".

At the same time, two "whoosh" sounds came from the opposite rooftop, and two men in black appeared, holding crossbows. The cold arrowheads gleamed with a ghostly blue in the sunlight, clearly coated with deadly poison.

Four more people slowly emerged from the alley. The leader was short and stout, his face covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of narrow, sinister eyes. He was the same fat man whose voice was described as "scraping the bottom of a pot."

Beside him stood the tall, thin man in blue, with a cold gaze. Behind them were two more men in black, their auras deep and their temples bulging, clearly skilled fighters.

Nine men surrounded them, crossbow bolts ready to strike.

"Chen Xuan," the short, stout old man spoke, his voice indeed sharp and piercing, carrying a mocking tone like a cat catching a mouse.

"You've got some nerve, coming all alone. What, you think you can just walk around Qingyang City like a madman after crushing those trash from the Seven Killings Society?"

Chen Xuan's gaze swept over the group, pausing briefly on the short, stout old man and the man in blue, before finally landing on the sleeves of the two men in black behind them—there, the outline of a dark pattern could be vaguely seen.

"The dogs of Shadow Pavilion certainly have a keen sense of smell." Chen Xuan's face darkened with murderous intent. "Smashing the shop, injuring people, just to lure me out?"

"To lure you out?" the man in blue asked menacingly, toying with a thin, black needle in his hand, its tip gleaming ominously in the sunlight.

"Originally, this plan was only to target Jishetang, but the master is very interested in Old Man Su's medical skills in alleviating the effects of 'Marrow Erosion Powder'..."

"I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. Since we've run into each other, you're just an eyesore I'll run over on the way anyway. Perfect timing, Old Snake has improved the formula for his new 'Netherworld Bone-Corroding Powder,' and he's just short of a decent person to test it."

Before he finished speaking, the black needle in his hand shot out without warning! It wasn't aimed at Chen Xuan, but at the threshold of the wide-open door of Jishetang!

"laugh--"

A soft crackling sound rang out. The black needle pierced the bluestone threshold, and the stone surface around the needle hole instantly turned ashen, corroding and spreading inward at a visible speed, emitting wisps of white smoke with a sweet, metallic smell! The toxicity was terrifying!

This is the murder weapon used to wipe out the entire Poison Wolf Gang! This is the "Netherworld Needle"!

"See that?" the short, stout old man grinned maliciously.

"Those idiots like Tu Laosan were hit by this needle and died before they could even utter a sound. Don't worry, we'll make sure you die a little slower and get a good taste of this bone-chilling, soul-stirring flavor."

Chen Xuan stared silently at the spreading gray marks on the threshold, his face still expressionless, but his eyes gradually turned cold, like a deep pool in winter.

"Are you done talking?" he asked.

The short, stout old man was taken aback, not expecting the other party to react this way.

"I'm done speaking," Chen Xuan slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread wide, and the internal energy of the perfected Yi Jin Jing within his body began to surge like the Yangtze River, its extremely yang and powerful aura quietly permeating the air.

"Then..."

The moment he uttered his last word, he moved!

Although he hadn't practiced lightness skills, his speed was still considerable thanks to his powerful internal energy.

Without warning, without a fleeting image, the person appeared in front of the three men in black standing in a triangular formation in the middle of the street!

Chen Xuan's palm strike came like a tidal wave. Li Feng, who was in the lead, roared and pushed his "Iron Arm Skill," which he had practiced for twenty years, to its limit, and crossed his arms to block.

"Snap!"

With a piercing cracking sound, Li Feng's supposedly invulnerable arms snapped.

His massive body was thrown off the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, before crashing heavily onto a street corner. He struggled for a moment before losing consciousness, his fate unknown. This master of external martial arts was no match for him.

The other two swordsmen were also among the best of the best. Though startled, they remained calm and, with a sharp shout, drew their two gleaming longswords simultaneously, attacking from above and below.

With a fierce gust of wind, the blades slashed towards the azure figure! Their perfect coordination, the blades forming a net, blocked all avenues for escape.

However, Chen Xuan had no intention of dodging.

Faced with the barrage of blades, he simply threw a punch!

An ordinary punch, lacking any remarkable force. But the instant the fist touched the blade at the very front—

"clang--!!!"

A deafening roar, like the sound of a great bell, exploded! The longsword, forged from a hundred times refined steel, was bent in half by the punch, the man wielding it suffered a splitting wound, and the sword slipped from his grasp.

He was struck in the chest as if by a giant hammer, spitting out blood as he flew backward, crashing into half a mud wall across the street, and then fell silent.

The force of the punch hadn't subsided; it followed the momentum and slammed into the blade of the swordsman on the left. "Crack!" The blade snapped! The fist grazed the broken blade and imprinted itself on the swordsman's chest.

The second knife-wielder's eyes bulged out, his sternum collapsed, and he collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

In the blink of an eye, three elite fighters were dead.

On the rooftop, the two crossbowmen watched in terror, instinctively pulling the triggers! Two poisoned crossbow bolts whistled as they shot towards Chen Xuan's back!

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Chen Xuan swayed slightly at an incredible angle just before the crossbow bolt struck him.

"Knock! Knock!"

Two crossbow bolts grazed his clothes and embedded themselves deeply in the ground in front of him, their fletchings trembling as they penetrated the stone three inches deep!

Chen Xuan's figure, after that brief moment, soared into the sky like a roc spreading its wings, heading straight for the rooftop opposite!

The two crossbowmen on the roof were terrified. It was too late to reload; they hastily drew their short swords. But before the swords were even half-drawn, Chen Xuan was already in front of them.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two palms landed lightly on their chests. Like kites with broken strings, the two fell from the rooftop, which was three zhang high, and crashed onto the bluestone street. Their bones were shattered, and they were clearly beyond saving.

From the moment Chen Xuan made his move until all five peripheral fighters were killed, only a few blinks of an eye passed.

Chen Xuan gracefully landed back in the center of the street, his blue robe spotless.

He looked at the four remaining people at the narrow alley entrance with a calm gaze, but it sent a chill down the spines of the short, stout old man and the man in blue.

This was not the "bitter battle" or "attrition" they had anticipated at all; it was a crushing defeat! It was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep!

"Now," Chen Xuan said slowly, looking at the short, stout old man whose expression had finally changed drastically, and the man in blue robes whose eyes were now extremely solemn.

"It's your turn."