In the blink of an eye, an icicle appeared in front of the fair-skinned man. Under the dappled sunlight, the icicle refracted a brilliant, colorful light!

Leaf Gray immediately sensed that things were going south.

Just moments before, he had gathered spiritual power in his eyes, allowing him to see the spiritual glow on the attacker's body. He judged that the opponent was a cultivator above the third level of Spirit Creek Realm but not yet at the fourth level.

The opponent's cultivation level was higher than his own. Moreover, judging from the fact that he had been inexplicably struck by the opponent's blade earlier, the opponent's combat experience also surpassed his.

Leaf Gray had been cultivating for a relatively short time. He hadn't undergone any rigorous training, nor had he received guidance from a master. Wielding the long sword, he could only perform the simplest chops, slashes, stabs, and lifts—devoid of any real technique or skill.

His cultivation was inferior, his skills were lacking, and the opponent even knew magical techniques... The situation was beyond dire.

The moment the icicle took shape in the opponent's hand, Leaf Gray stomped his foot on the ground, using the recoil to charge forward.

Leaf Gray's reaction took the fair-skinned cultivator by surprise. He had expected his opponent to flee immediately, but instead, this adversary advanced rather than retreated.

His figure drifted backward once more, simultaneously launching the icicle with extreme speed.

The sharp icicle struck Leaf Gray, blocked by the golden glow on his body's surface. Although it didn't injure him, the impact force made his chest feel stifled and sore, significantly slowing his forward momentum. The golden glow on his body dimmed considerably.

After launching one icicle, spiritual light gathered again in the fair-skinned man's hand, clearly intending to form a second icicle. Leaf Gray's eye twitched nervously. In battles between low-level cultivators, the one who knew magical techniques clearly held a significant advantage.

"How many can you block?" the fair-skinned man taunted, all the while maintaining a safe distance from Leaf Gray. One pursued, the other retreated. In just a short moment, Leaf Gray had been hit by three icicles. The golden glow on his body had dimmed to the point of nearly extinguishing, yet he couldn't even touch the hem of the opponent's garment.

This kind of fight made him feel deeply frustrated. He desperately wanted to pull out a Fire Snake Talisman and teach the other party a lesson.

However, he suppressed this impulse. He wasn't sure if a single Fire Snake Talisman could kill the opponent. This was a cultivator, not one of the wolves he had killed when he first arrived on the battlefield. Furthermore, he didn't have the advantageous terrain like when he had fought the big tiger.

A vague plan was already forming in his mind, but whether it could be successfully implemented would depend on luck.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, when Leaf Gray was struck by another icicle, the golden glow on his body finally vanished completely. Battered by the successive icicle impacts, he had sustained internal injuries, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Enveloped by the chilling cold, he couldn't help but shiver.

He glared hatefully at the fair-skinned man, his face filled with unwillingness, and spoke his first words since the fight began: "What grudge is between us?"

The fair-skinned man chuckled lightly. "No grudge, no grievance."

Leaf Gray fell silent, waiting for what would come next.

Sure enough, the fair-skinned man said, "However, if you can tell me where you found so many ores, I might spare your life!"

A sharp glint flashed in Leaf Gray's eyes. He had identified the root of the problem. This confrontation wasn't a chance encounter; the other party had specifically come for him! The cause was the ores he had sold.

To be honest, Leaf Gray had always been very careful. He had gone to the Providentia Merchant Alliance three times, each time dealing with a different person. Moreover, he only took a small portion of the ores to sell each time, not daring to sell too much, precisely for fear of attracting the attention of anyone with ill intentions. He would even take several detours on his way back, making sure no one was following him.

But the facts proved that if someone truly had malicious intentions, no amount of caution was useful, unless he simply stopped going to the Providentia Merchant Alliance to sell things.

But he needed spirit pills for his cultivation. If he didn't go to the Providentia Merchant Alliance, where else could he go?

What he could determine now was that this matter wasn't orchestrated by the Merchant Alliance itself. It was unlikely that such a large alliance, which prided itself on honesty and fairness to all, would target a minor cultivator like him.

So, this was most likely the underhanded work of some individuals within the Merchant Alliance. Leaf Gray recalled the three alliance members he had traded with, but he simply couldn't figure out which one had set their sights on him.

All three transactions had been perfectly ordinary. The only unusual thing was the hint from the woman named Seraphina Vale during the first transaction, but even that didn't necessarily indicate anything.

From the fair-skinned man's words, it seemed the other party suspected he had found a vein containing various ores and wanted to probe for its location.

He had no idea that Leaf Gray didn't have any ore vein at all; his ores were all brought out from The Lunar Blight.

Seeing Leaf Gray remain silent, the fair-skinned man's face darkened. "You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" He decided to beat Leaf Gray half to death first, then force him to reveal the location of the supposed ore vein.

Saying this, he brandished his blade and charged at Leaf Gray.

He didn't use the icicle technique again, mainly because the consumption was quite significant. Having broken Leaf Gray's Golden Body Talisman, he was confident he could handle Leaf Gray with ease.

However, Leaf Gray, who had just been acting so defiant, suddenly turned and fled, running with astonishing speed.

The fair-skinned man was amused by this. Watching Leaf Gray's retreating figure, he said leisurely, "Do you really think you can escape?"

He pursued without haste, simultaneously taking a spirit stone from his storage bag and holding it in his palm to slowly recover his energy.

He could see that Leaf Gray was terrified out of his wits. Fleeing desperately like this would only accelerate the consumption of his own spiritual power. Once a low-level cultivator ran out of spiritual power, they weren't much different from a mortal. Manager Miller, whom Leaf Gray had killed through trickery, was a prime example.

So, all he needed to do was ensure he didn't lose track of Leaf Gray.

One pursued, the other fled. They passed through a forest of jagged rocks, crossed a small stream, and arrived at a clearing. The fair-skinned man found Leaf Gray standing there, gasping for breath, his face as pale as paper, not moving an inch.

"Ran out of spiritual power already?" The fair-skinned man let out a scornful laugh and slowly approached, even twirling his blade skillfully. "Why did you stop running?"

He stood ten zhang away from Leaf Gray, his face full of mockery.

However, he soon realized something was wrong because Leaf Gray's expression was one of extreme terror. He was staring in one direction, and the hand holding his sword was trembling violently.

A foul, fishy wind swept through, and a low growl sounded. From behind a large tree, a massive, snow-white tiger stepped out, pacing leisurely with calm steps.

Its amber pupils turned towards the fair-skinned man, making his heart skip a beat. He suddenly remembered a rumor he had heard in the market two days ago.

"It can't be... this unlucky, can it?" he wailed inwardly.

But then the thing he dreaded most happened. The great tiger opened its mouth and spoke in human tongue: "You dare disturb this King's slumber? It seems you have no wish to live!"

Fine beads of sweat instantly covered the fair-skinned man's forehead. He finally understood why Leaf Gray looked so terrified.

The source of that terror wasn't him, but this very tiger!

Just as he was at a loss for what to do, he heard Leaf Gray speak: "Spare us, Great Tiger King! We didn't know this was your territory. We'll leave immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the fair-skinned man nodded his head repeatedly, like a chicken pecking at rice.

The tiger roared in anger. "You think you can come and go as you please? What do you take this place for?"