Ding Fan loosened the ropes binding the man's hands, but at this moment, he wasn't in the mood to ask about the man's origins. The spiritual energy had become even richer than before, indicating that the Spirit Grass was not far away.

For cultivators, spiritual energy was like a sweet spring, and Ding Fan was like a person on the verge of dying from thirst in the desert; now, all he wanted to do was to quickly obtain the Spirit Grass and then cultivate to his heart's content.

However, the man Ding Fan had saved did not leave, but instead knelt down before Ding Fan. "Senior, please, I beg you, save us."

"I've already killed the people who captured you, you're free to go now," Ding Fan said indifferently.

"Senior, above the ancient tomb, my companions are still under the control of these tomb robbers. I beg you, please save them," the man pleaded as he began to kowtow to Ding Fan.

Ding Fan really didn't want to deal with these people's affairs. He wasn't Lei Feng, he couldn't meddle in everyone's business. "I can't and don't want to deal with other matters."

"Senior, those tomb robbers outside are from the Japan," the man said. "The ones you killed were lackeys of the Japanese. Decades ago, they invaded our country. After their defeat, because some things were too cumbersome to take with them, they hid several cultural relics in different locations, and this place is one of the ancient tombs where they hid their treasures.

We are both people of Huaxia, we cannot just watch as the people of Japan steal the treasures of our country."

The man looked sincerely at Ding Fan.

Ding Fan's expression also turned serious. Although he was from the Cultivation World, after being reborn, he had learned about the invasion of Huaxia Country by Japan. Even though decades had passed, this tiny country showed no repentance, always acting like a praying mantis blocking a chariot, constantly challenging Huaxia Country.

Now that these short-statured Japanese had encountered him, Ding Fan felt it was time to teach them a lesson.

"Alright," Ding Fan nodded. The Spirit Grass wasn't going anywhere, and Ding Fan thought to himself that he could take care of the Japanese invaders before dealing with other matters.

"That's great!" The young man was so overjoyed he didn't know what to do, and promptly kowtowed twice more to Ding Fan on the ground.

Because the young man said his companions were in great danger, the two did not delay any further. The young man led the way, and they hurriedly moved through a passageway toward the ground above.

On the way, Ding Fan discovered that this indeed appeared to be a tomb chamber. Recalling how he'd broken through the Great Illusionary Array and entered the mountain cave, which led him to this chamber, he became puzzled. Could it be that the remnants of the cultivator were inside this chamber?

But the tunnel inside the cave had been sealed off by these stone walls... Ding Fan couldn't understand, and for now, he could only hope that, after dealing with the Japanese above, he could return to the stone chamber to investigate further.

"Senior, if you climb this soft ladder, you'll see the Japanese. They have guns, so I'll climb up first to divert their attention. Then you can find the right moment to take them out," the young man brought Ding Fan to a hole in the wall.

From where they were, the hole was over ten meters above their heads, with only a soft ladder hanging down.

After hearing what the young man said, Ding Fan felt a bit more favorably toward him. If what the young man said was true, then their situation above was extremely dangerous. As soon as the young man climbed up, he would likely be killed by the Japanese—not to mention attracting their attention.

This young man was willing to sacrifice himself to save his friends and create an opportunity for Ding Fan; truly a man of great loyalty.

"You wait here below. After I have taken care of the situation above, I'll come down and tell you," Ding Fan said. Without paying further heed to the young man, he went straight for the soft ladder.

…

In the forest, a woman who looked nearly identical to Su Maner was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk. Her face was pale, and her mouth was dry and cracked from not having drunk water for a long time.

"Su Qinger, how are you doing? Your wound is oozing pus. If it's not treated soon, it could get worse..."

By Su Qinger's side, a woman with a bloodied forehead and her hands bound behind her back looked at her with a face full of worry.

"Wang Han, I'm okay, don't worry about me..." Su Qinger shook her head slightly.

"Su Qinger, you must hold on. Da Zhuang and the others are all dead, and Guo Jing went down to explore the ancient tomb with those people. Now it's just the two of us left. If you can't hold on, then I don't want to live either..." While Wang Han was speaking, tears streamed down her face.

Su Qinger took a deep breath and didn't say another word. She understood the situation well; there was only death awaiting them that day.

These Japanese had gone to great lengths to find this place. Having found what they were looking for, how could they possibly leave any survivors?

"Hey girls, don't you two get bored by yourselves? How about we have some fun?" A short-statured Japanese man, licking his lips with eyes seemingly shining, fixated his gaze on Su Qinger's face.

"Xiao Chuan, hadn't you promised Guo Jing that as long as he accompanied you guys down to inspect the ancient tomb, you would let us go? Guo Jing has already gone down, are you going to go back on your word?" Wang Han, trying to suppress her panic, said.

The man called Xiao Chuan snorted coldly. "Have you ever seen us Japanese keep our word? So what if I go back on my word now? What can you do to me?"

"You... you're shameless!"

"Haha... Shameless? Are you praising me?" Xiao Chuan said as he began to unbuckle his belt. "Now, let me show you something even more shameless."

Su Qinger slowly closed her eyes; upon being captured by these Japanese, she had anticipated this scene and had already decided that if it really came to this point, she would bite her tongue and commit suicide. She just didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Thinking of her own youth, she hadn't truly enjoyed her teenage years or life itself, yet now she had to end her own life.

Farewell... this world!

Thump... Just as Su Qinger was about to bite her tongue, a muffled sound suddenly rang out. Su Qinger was startled, but when she opened her eyes, she saw two Japanese bodies thrown on the ground.

Su Qinger was taken aback.

"Since you don't keep your word, let me teach you how to be human." After a cold voice spoke, Ding Fan slowly walked over.

"You... you killed my men?!" Xiao Chuan, looking at the two corpses on the ground, had his face turn ashen.

Ding Fan acted as if he hadn't heard Xiao Chuan's words.

Slap... A slap rang out abruptly, and Xiao Chuan covered his face, stumbling from the force.

Su Qinger present at the scene, along with Wang Han and even Xiao Chuan himself, hadn't seen how Ding Fan struck. They'd seen people slap others before, but they'd never witnessed someone slap like Ding Fan did.

Xiao Chuan's right cheek immediately swelled up high; after spitting out a mouthful of blood, he was shocked to find that the slap had knocked out his front teeth.

"Come here! Come quickly. Beat him to death for me! Kill him!" Xiao Chuan yelled frantically.

"This slap is to teach you that one must be trustworthy and resolute in action!" Ding Fan still looked indifferent, as if Xiao Chuan being slapped had nothing to do with him. "Making empty promises you can't keep means you deserve to be hit."

Slap... Another slap flew across the air, and this time Xiao Chuan didn't stay on his feet, tumbling to the ground and eating a mouthful of mud.

This time Xiao Chuan was in an even worse state; as he spat out a mouthful of blood, he realized he had lost almost all his teeth. Still, he didn't forget to call for help.

"Someone... come..."

"You should get out of here quickly, they have more people, and when their reinforcements arrive, you'll be at a disadvantage," Su Qinger, somewhat worried, said to Ding Fan.

The people from Japan were many, and they all had guns; even if someone was able to fight, they wouldn't likely be able to defeat so many.

"Kid, you've hit me, and I'll make sure you regret it..." Xiao Chuan's words were slurred due to the lack of teeth, but Ding Fan heard him clearly.

Ding Fan smiled faintly at Su Qinger. "A few Japanese underlings are hardly enough to make me run away."

Slap... Ding Fan's hand moved without warning, and another slap sent Xiao Chuan reeling.

After this slap, Xiao Chuan's face swelled to the point it resembled a pig's head, and he could be certain that he had lost all his teeth since he didn't spit any out with the blood...

"This slap is to teach you that one can't bite off more than they can chew, not to be full and still carry more," Ding Fan said, his expression still mild.

"I... I know I was wrong, please don't hit me anymore..." Xiao Chuan was no longer being arrogant, and at this point, he knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging Ding Fan for mercy.

Xiao Chuan realized that his men probably wouldn't arrive in time, or else with him being beaten so badly, why hadn't any of them shown up by now? At this moment, he understood that if he didn't plead, he would surely be beaten to death by this brute.

Without even glancing at Xiao Chuan kneeling on the ground, Ding Fan swung his Soft Sword, and instantly, a bright light followed by a trickle of blood appeared on Xiao Chuan's throat.

Thump... Xiao Chuan's body then fell heavily onto the dust-covered ground.

Ding Fan had learned about Japanese people from books; they were doggedly subservient, fawning when you were powerful, and waiting for the day they could turn vicious and bite you back.

For such people, Ding Fan had never considered leaving them alive.

To kill was just to kill.