Turning his head to look at the entrance, Shun Long saw 3 young men in black robes, arrogantly swaggering inside the shop.
The man in the lead stared at the pills behind the glass cases with a smile on his face, while his eyes lit up when he noticed their high prices.
And yet, a shocked look had suddenly appeared on his face when he saw the 4 skeletons whose eyes were shining with green ember wisps.
However, ignoring the skeletons' creepy appearances, his eyes were once again focused on the countless pills around him while the greed inside them deepened even further.
The 2 men who were following behind him traded glances with each other, while large smiles could be seen on their faces before they turned their attention at Shun Long.
The young man in the lead seemed to be in his mid-twenties, with long black hair that was tied up in a ponytail and a pointy jaw.
His gaze looked around the shop as if he was the owner, before he finally turned his eyes towards Shun Long as well.
Shun Long saw that the man in front of him had an evil smile on his face, before his condescending voice sounded in Shun Long's ears
''Brat, I heard that someone purchased old Bu's shop and turned it into a pill shop.
The pill shop supposedly has crazy prices as well, while their owner made a lot of money yesterday.
Judging by the prices of your pills, it seems that the rumors are true. I am sure that you made a killing.
However, you should already know that you are not allowed to operate a shop in the 'Silver cross street' without the permission of our 'Violent guardian gang'!
After all, every shop here needs to be under our gang's protection for their own good!''
Nodding their heads, the 2 young men behind him also agreed, before the short-haired, black-robed man on the left added
''Don't worry kid, as long as you pay the price, our gang will make sure to protect your shop properly!''
The man in the middle nodded his head, while his eyes stared at the pills around him once again, before he raised 5 fingers in the air and said in a commanding tone
''5 million! As long as you pay 5 million low-grade spirit stones every month, we will allow your shop to operate normally.
Otherwise, I am sure that you understand the consequences.
Old Bu was a person who paid for protection as well, until his shop stopped making money anymore.
Actually, I should charge you more considering how you sold pills yesterday without our permission, but 5 million can be considered the start of a good deal!''
Shaking his head Shun Long actually wondered for a moment, where did an early rank 3 and a pair of peak rank 2 Spirit realm cultivators find the courage to extort the entire Silver cross street for protection money?
Although he hadn't paid much attention to the shops around him before he had purchased his shop, Shun Long clearly remembered that some of the bosses from the nearby shops had even reached the middle stages of the Spirit realm.
''To be able to extort protection money from every shop in the Silver cross street, there is no way that their gang is limited to these 3 fools in front of me. They should probably have at least a few late-stage Spirit realm cultivators as well!''
And yet, even as this thought flashed through Shun Long's mind, there was no way for him to agree to pay 5 million low-grade spirit stones as protection money.
After all, this was just an extortion fee so that this gang wouldn't mess with his shop.
As for protecting it? What a joke! With the black panther staying inside the first floor of the shop, and Little Black who was residing in the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', why would Shun Long need more helpers from this 'Violent guardian gang'?
Looking at the 3 black-robed people in front of him, Shun Long didn't even bother wasting words with them.
All he said was a single word, before he pointed forward with his finger
''Scram.''
Shun Long's qi was then gathered in his finger, while sparks of lightning appeared around his hand before a lightning bolt shot out from it towards the 3 men in front of him.
The man in the middle smirked when he saw Shun Long's attack before he punched forward with his right arm in response.
Flames had appeared around the man's hand, as he met Shun Long's thunderbolt finger head-on.
The scene that followed however was completely different from his expectations.
The man's flames were completely unable to stop the lightning bolt that pierced a hole through his finger.
The terrifying force behind the thunderbolt finger sent the man flying, outside of the shop, into the crowd that was waiting at the shop's entrance.
Hearing the blood-curdling screams that left the man's mouth, the pair of peak rank 2 Spirit realm cultivators who were behind him, now stared at Shun Long with eyes full of anger, as well as concealed fear.
It was obvious that they hadn't expected for Shun Long to attack them first.
The crowd was also shocked when they saw the young man in their midst, whose right hand was now charred and in a horrible condition.
There was practically no one in the Silver cross street who would dare fight against the 'Violent guardian gang's' members.
Even if they asked you for 5 million low-grade spirit stones, at most they would beat you and break down your shop if you didn't pay. But if you dared to fight against them, they would definitely kill you without exception!
The pair of peak rank 2 Spirit realm cultivators rushed out of the shop and supported the pony-tailed young man who seemed to have barely held on to his senses.
The man looked at Shun Long who was inside the shop with unconcealed hatred as well as fear in his eyes.
After taking a look at his arm, his eyes turned cold, as he said in a murderous tone that was filled with killing intent
''You are dead!''
Without waiting for an answer, the 3 men from the 'Violent guardian gang' passed through the crowd who had opened a path for them, as they left the 'Silver cross street'.
At the same time, in the depths of the first floor, Liu Mei who was still sitting cross-legged next to the black panther, absorbing the residual qi inside her body, finally opened her eyes!