“`
Chen Mu’s eyes suddenly flashed with a hint of red, “Very well, very well… Since you want to act, I will play along to the end!”
“This dense fog is so annoying!”
He immediately pulled out the Fire Cloud Gourd and quickly chanted a spell.
Puff!
Blue flames burst forth like a breached dam from the mouth of the Black Gourd.
Centered around Chen Mu, they spiraled outwards in all directions.
The mana within the thick fog was instantly ravaged by the scorching temperature, and the fog evaporated in the blink of an eye.
The surroundings instantly became clear.
The Low Hill Courtyard was riddled with countless holes, and the giant boulder wall to the east was also smashed to pieces.
Under a broad-leafed tree two hundred meters outside the compound, Lin Su’s figure was involuntarily revealed.
Chen Mu roared, his legs slightly bent, as he boosted his feet with the Void Cloak Technique.
Bang!
The ground suddenly exploded, creating a two-meter-wide pit.
Chen Mu burst through the lingering broken fog and slammed fiercely toward Lin Su.
Lin Su nearly instinctively activated the Yin Sha Secret Arrow.
A series of black arrows shot out from the shadows, raining down on Chen Mu like droplets.
Chen Mu didn’t bother to defend.
He had realized, there was no point in holding back, might as well go for broke!
He just wanted to land a heavy punch on this bastard before he was riddled with holes!
So, he raised his left hand to shield his eyes, letting his own black smoke and Spiritual Light be shattered, while fiercely activating the Void Cloak Technique again, charging forward despite the black arrows.
Clang, clang, clang…
Like nails falling to the ground, the black arrows struck Chen Mu’s body with a metallic ring, managing only to break the skin, leaving a series of small marks.
“I knew it! Even at this moment, you’re still bloody acting!” Chen Mu was beyond furious.
He took two steps and was now in front of Lin Su.
“Sand Shooting Shadow!”
A ball of black and red suddenly appeared in the palm of Chen Mu’s right hand.
Then, he pulled his right hand back to gather strength and pushed the black and red ball, slamming it forcefully against Lin Su’s front.
Lin Su’s defensive Spiritual Light blocked it only for a moment before it was corroded by Sand Shooting Shadow and shattered by the overwhelming force.
All of Chen Mu’s strength suddenly converged into his fists.
The sinewy muscles were nearly bursting out of his indigo skin.
“Wasn’t it just to trick me into attacking first and then suddenly strike to kill me and mock me?”
“Well, make your move then!”
“Ha!”
Hum hum hum…
His fists were like the buzzing wings of a bee, relentlessly pounding Lin Su without pause.
Crack!
Lin Su’s right arm, raised subconsciously to protect himself, snapped immediately.
“What the hell are you even talking about?!”
That question flashed through Lin Su’s mind, but then it was utterly silenced by the unending barrage of punches.
Crack, crack…
Puff, puff, puff…
Bones shattered, organs ruptured, blood splattered!
The immense pain brought a moment of clarity to Lin Su, and as the shadow of death quickly enveloped him, his heart was filled with an absurd sense of regret.
“What the hell have I gotten myself into?!”
“My Condense Aperture Secret Method…”
“My path of the Dao…”
“I’m not willing!”
…
After a long while, Chen Mu came back to his senses.
He looked down at Lin Su’s head, smashed flat but not broken, and his face was a mask of confusion.
He… he played himself to death?!
“Thinking of playing the pig to eat the tiger, showing weakness to counter kill, but he didn’t manage the act properly?”
“Then got his rhythm all messed up by his own series of punches and died with his path extinguished?”
It must be so!
The thought gave Chen Mu the chills.
“So lucky!”
If that man had used his full strength from the beginning…
Would that massive hand of fog have crushed him to death in an instant?!
Or been turned into a sieve by those countless short arrows?!
“`
Terrifying!
Chen Mu dispelled the Five Ghosts Possession.
His entire body collapsed to the ground with a thud, too weak to even twitch a finger.
There seemed to be a pit gouged out at the center of his forehead, causing him such pain that he wanted to smash his head against something.
The battle had lasted less than three minutes from start to finish, but it had already exceeded the limit of the Five Ghosts Possession.
It took a good while before Mu recovered slightly, Chen Mu bearing the intense pain at his forehead as he sat up.
“I need to clean up the scene quickly!”
Looking at the courtyard that was mostly collapsed and the chaotic slopes of the Low Mountain, a sense of crisis surged within him.
“This person is the Prefect from the Inspection Courtyard—his death here must not be discovered by others.”
Five Ghosts Moving Mountain!
Amidst billowing black smoke, the shriveled-headed Lin Su was completely devoured.
Then he dived into the underground secret chamber.
He took some Yellow Bud Rice and cured meat, then destroyed and filled in the passage to prevent discovery.
He further destroyed the Low Hill Courtyard, setting it on fire without hesitation before leaving swiftly.
He had not returned since last night on the Tongtian River.
This place had been caught up in a battle involving Zhongshan Path disciples.
It all had nothing to do with him!
That’s right!
…
Gengyin District, the gathering point at the pavilion.
Chen Mu deliberately took a detour, and by the time he arrived, four or fifty people had already assembled.
“Why is your face so pale?” Shang Huan teased as he sidled up to Chen Mu.
“Scared,” Chen Mu said calmly.
“I was scared stiff too, hid in a cellar all night without daring to show my face,” Shang Huan said, empathizing.
“You stayed on the Tongtian River the whole night?” Old Hao asked as he looked at the direction from which Chen Mu had come.
“When I saw that soaring black dragon, I didn’t dare to move, only approached the dock to check at daybreak,” Chen Mu “truthfully” said.
“Lucky you didn’t come back,” Old Hao sighed. “Your place got hit by someone’s actions, half-collapsed, and then they set it on fire.”
“By now, I reckon even the wooden shed has been reduced to ash.”
Chen Mu’s face changed dramatically as he pretended to be shocked and angry, “How could I be so unlucky!”
“You should feel lucky. If you were in the yard last night…” Old Hao said meaningfully.
Chen Mu immediately shivered appropriately, “I indeed should feel lucky.”
Then he shifted the topic, steering the conversation towards last night’s events.
Sure enough, the two no longer discussed his burned-down residence.
…
The group of forty or fifty people clustered together, buzzing with noise, all discussing the chaos of the previous night.
Some were fearful, others excited.
Chen Mu hid within the crowd, silently observing.
Fear was normal, excitement was somewhat more curious.
Find adventures at empire
Last night, while receiving dream visions from his peers, he had discovered that not only Zhongshan Path was killing and robbing; disciples from Jilong Road’s Lower Courtyard were also taking advantage of the chaos.
Chen Mu silently noted the faces of several individuals.
“It’s better to keep my distance from these people in the future.”
He didn’t want to return their ‘gifts.’
Troublesome!
…
As the day progressed to when the sun was three poles high, the crowd grew increasingly irritable waiting.
Finally, a team from the Inspection Courtyard arrived, looking haggard and rushed.
Among them, two posted a white paper with black lettering on the pavilion’s pillar.
The leading Prefect in black spoke beside the pillar with a serious face.
“The Oversight Courtyard decrees—”
“To prevent another attack from Zhongshan Path and avoid further losses, the Oversight Courtyard has decided to abandon the Lower Courtyard and collectively retreat into the mountains to seek refuge.”
“The decision to follow into the mountains is left to you.”
“Those who follow will receive certain benefits.”
“Those who leave will be regarded as having voluntarily renounced their status as disciples of Jilong Road’s Lower Courtyard.”
“Details are in the notice.”
“Those willing to follow can gather in Bing Zi District tomorrow morning to depart.”
Almost the instant the Prefect in black finished speaking, the crowd exploded into an uproar.
Chen Mu’s expression turned solemn.
Abandon the Lower Courtyard?
Had the situation become so dire?