After exiting the black stone space, Li Sheng arrived at the seventeenth level, reinforcing the suppression against the otherworldly monsters.

An hour later, the alchemy room refreshed, and he went to prepare two cleansing pills for his junior sister, leaving him with some free time. He hadn't visited the hidden skill pavilion for two days; the skills he had previously purchased were already mastered.

Now, only three sixth-grade, two seventh-grade, and three to four eighth-grade martial arts books remained on the shelves. Compared to medicinal pills and materials, martial arts skills were inherently scarce, and very few people sold them. While lower-tier martial arts were somewhat available, high-tier ones were exceedingly rare.

According to Miss Qingyi, had it not been for the three-year grand competition in Yunchuan City, she wouldn't have been able to gather so many fourth-grade martial arts skills.

Just as he stepped out of the alchemy room, a loud voice called from outside the mountain gate.

"Master of this place, please open the array for a discussion…"

At the same time, figures emerged in a group.

"Chirp chirp!"

"Another group of refugees?"

His consciousness expanded, taking in everything around him. Outside the array, over twenty tired men and women held weapons, cautiously on guard. One man, seemingly the leader, stood at the edge of the array, his true qi circulating, loudly announcing his presence.

"Four fifth-grade, the rest are all sixth-grade—among the two-star strength, they're not weak…"

Li Sheng thought to himself.

"Brother, why bother with formalities? Just rush in! If we delay any longer, those monsters will catch up!"

"Yeah, brother! I'll go scout ahead."

A skinny man with a long knife began to approach the array. The leader glanced at him and tacitly allowed the action.

As mist swirled, the skinny man vanished from sight.

Seeing this, Li Sheng withdrew his consciousness.

"Tuan Tuan, control this person."

After saying that, he walked toward the mountain gate.

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

A group of people from Qingling Village gathered at the village entrance. Upon seeing Li Sheng, they hurriedly bowed.

Passing through Qingling Village, he approached the edge of the array, where the skinny man was spinning in circles, trapped in a phantom formation created by Tuan Tuan.

Li Sheng stepped forward and knocked him unconscious with a palm. Then he dispersed some of the mist, revealing the man's blurred figure.

Seeing the change in the array, the others stepped back a few paces, staring at the array.

"Are you the master of this place?"

"What do you need?"Li Sheng replied calmly.

"My surname is Chen, the leader of the Tiger Gang in Yunshui City."

"May I ask how to address you?"The Chen man's eyes glimmered with interest as he looked down and asked.

Just as he finished speaking, his right hand, hidden in his sleeve, suddenly shook. A shower of fine steel needles, glinting with cold light, shot toward Li Sheng.

"Brother actually used the Thousand Poison Needle right away; tsk tsk... that kid's in trouble!"

"Once we take care of this guy, we can hurry in and rest. Damn, the last place was so poor, there were only a few pretty women."

"How can they not be pretty? Those are the Sect Master's wife and daughter, haha…"

"Don't be so rough this time, Third Brother. Last time we didn't even get a turn before the guy died; it was too boring…"

Seeing their leader using his ultimate technique, the others no longer pretended and grew arrogant.

Those skilled enough to fall under their leader's special technique had already numbered seven or eight; unless one wore full-body armor, there was no chance of survival.

As for the low-tier mountain protection array, breaking it was as easy as pie for them.

Countless poisoned needles filled the air, but Li Sheng narrowed his eyes and remained unmoved. Inside the third-tier array, such a sneak attack seemed laughable.

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First, they intruded, then they tried to ambush; hearing the others' words, it seemed this was not their first time doing such a thing.

"Since that's the case... then let's slay this group of beasts!"

As soon as the countless poison needles touched the mist, they lost their strength and fell from the sky.

Not even the corner of Li Sheng's clothing was touched.

Seeing this, the leader's expression turned grave.

"A third-tier array?"

He had thought that the opponent was frightened; now, it was clear that he was emboldened.

Li Sheng ignored the inquiry. He bent down, grabbed the unconscious man, snapped his neck, and threw him aside.

"You!"

"Bold!"

"Let go of Old Seven!"

Seeing their brother killed, the others erupted in rage.

Li Sheng curled his lips into a cold smile. He had initially thought they were a group of refugees; he didn't expect them to be a bunch of bandits.

"Don't worry; you'll reunite soon!"

With that, he moved and charged toward the array's edge.

As he approached the perimeter, Li Sheng suddenly stopped, looking solemnly at the woods and retracting his right foot.

The mist around him surged, obscuring his figure.

"Weren't you going to send us to reunite? Come out!"

"Haha, boasting! Are you scared now?"

"Brother, are you sure this is a third-tier array?"

"Seems about right."

Seeing Li Sheng retreat, the others laughed mockingly.

"Ah!"

"What the hell is this!"

"No! Brother, save me!"

Just a second ago, the arrogant man collapsed to the ground, countless black strands erupting from his seven orifices.

In mere moments, he was reduced to dust.

"This monster actually caught up so fast!"

"Brother, do we run or fight?"

"Run? Forget that! We're avenging Sixth Brother; what's there to fear from just one monster!"

Inside the array, Li Sheng coldly watched, and when he heard them say there was only one, a smile crept onto his face.

According to Tuan Tuan, a whole group of monsters had arrived; aside from entering the array, these people were bound to die.

"I need to slay ten dangerous-level monsters; I wonder if any of these monsters…"

Just as the group hesitated, a giant black hand, the size of a house, reached out from the right side of the woods.

It grabbed three sixth-grade martial artists, and a brief, piercing scream echoed, quickly fading away.

As the giant palm opened, several gaping maws filled with jagged teeth could be seen chewing on something.

The three figures had vanished without a trace, and their fate was self-evident.

"This…"

The group was taken aback; before they could act, the ground suddenly shook.

Small stones on the ground jumped up two to three feet.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The sounds of distant trees cracking and falling gradually approached.

A massive, ugly head emerged from the thicket, rapidly rising high.

When its figure was fully revealed, everyone gasped in horror.

A body over twenty feet tall was already terrifying, but compared to its grotesque appearance, it paled in comparison.

Li Sheng looked at it with a grave expression; this monster's body had countless appendages resembling centipede legs.

It could stand or crawl, appearing exceptionally eerie.

Next, one, two"hundreds of bizarre monsters approached, greedily staring at the members of the Tiger Gang.

"Um"sir"could we"could we please take shelter inside the array…"

The Tiger Gang leader displayed a smile that looked more like a cry than a laugh as he asked toward the array.

"What do you say?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the nearest monster could no longer hold back; the twenty-foot-tall beast lifted its giant foot and brought it down violently.

Black strands, massive hands, and frenzied magical bats surged forward.

The Tiger Gang members only lasted a few breaths before being brutally torn apart and swallowed whole.

Once the life force in the arena faded, the gazes of the many monsters turned toward the array.