Horror!

The sky had completely darkened.

"Ah... achoo!"

Suddenly, an Apprentice sneezed, the sound like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, incredibly loud.

Seeing this, Wu Zhi's expression changed, and he immediately berated, "Are you looking to die? Making such a racket! If Yang Heng hears this, all our hard work will be for nothing."

"I don't know what's happening. I suddenly felt a chill, a coldness shot straight up to my head, and I got goosebumps all over."

The Apprentice explained in a low voice, a mix of fear and confusion on his face.

Hearing this, Wu Zhi's expression softened, and he comforted, "The wind is strong in the mountains at night; you might have caught a chill. It's nothing serious; don't scare yourself."

"Besides, there are so many of us here. When there are many people, courage grows. We should fear nothing."

"Yeah, what's there to be afraid of? If you're a man, stand up straight..." The other Apprentices around chimed in with words of reassurance.

"Alright, stop discussing it. This matter ends here. Yang Heng should be here soon. Everyone, perk up and keep a close eye on the road ahead. As soon as Yang Heng appears, we'll rush him and catch him off guard."

Wu Zhi gestured downwards with his right hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

He, however, stared intently at the road ahead, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

The Apprentice who had felt the chill was named Zhao Dazhuang. True to his name, he was tall and powerfully built, standing at a formidable 1.9 meters.

Despite the others' attempts to comfort him, Zhao Dazhuang's fear did not subside; instead, it intensified.

He still felt a palpitation in his chest. He looked around; the surroundings were pitch black. Shrubs, large trees, and weeds seemed to magnify countless times under the moonlight, appearing like monstrous figures, like vengeful spirits from hell. Zhao Dazhuang watched, trembling, his face turning ashen, cold sweat breaking out.

Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, like an evil ghost approaching him, reaching out with pale, gray claws to grab his collar and drag him into the abyss. He was terrified, his body shaking uncontrollably, large beads of sweat trickling down his nose and soaking his clothes.

A gust of wind blew, and he shivered, feeling an intense coldness wash over him. It was this chill that brought him back to his senses; everything he had imagined was just his mind playing tricks.

Now, all he wished for was for Yang Heng to appear quickly and for this whole ordeal to be over.

The mountain wind at night is truly cold! Zhao Dazhuang thought.

"Rustle..."

Before long, the sound of rustling footsteps reached everyone's ears, the sound of walking on soft surfaces like sand and fallen leaves.

Everyone's spirits immediately lifted, their faces breaking into smiles.

They knew someone was coming!

And it was highly likely the person they were lying in wait for—Yang Heng!

Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed on the road ahead, instinctively gripping the sharp wood-cutting knives in their hands, the blades glinting coldly.

At the same time, the wind blowing grew even colder!

Rustle... rustle...

The sound grew closer, and gradually, a figure appeared in their sight. However, it was too dark to see clearly from a distance.

As the figure approached, everyone finally saw the person's face, and they rejoiced.

It was Yang Heng!

"Attack!"

Wu Zhi roared, his eyes flashing with ferocity, charging towards Yang Heng with his sharp wood-cutting knife held high.

The others followed closely, shouting loudly, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" to bolster their courage.

Instantly, the place erupted with the sound of killing, cold light flashing, and the ground thudding as if they had entered a battlefield of blood and gore.

Soon, Wu Zhi reached Yang Heng and, without hesitation, swung his wood-cutting knife towards Yang Heng's neck, intending to decapitate him with a single blow.

But as he brought the knife down, he met Yang Heng's calm face and indifferent pupils. Yang Heng seemed completely unfazed, showing no fear.

Wu Zhi froze, and in that instant, a chill seeped into his bones, his blood seeming to turn to ice. Yang Heng's indifferent gaze pierced his heart like a sharp knife, and his breathing hitched.

Wu Zhi was petrified. The gleaming wood-cutting knife in his hand offered no courage whatsoever.

With a clang.

The wood-cutting knife fell to the ground.

Wu Zhi collapsed completely, his bones feeling as if they had been removed, leaving him limp on the ground, drenched as if he had just been pulled from water.

Yang Heng glanced indifferently at Wu Zhi, then raised his right foot and stomped heavily on Wu Zhi's chest. As the sound of cracking bones echoed, Yang Heng delivered another powerful kick towards Wu Zhi's head.

Crack... crack...

The sound of breaking bones continued unabated.

Crimson blood splattered everywhere, exploding in the air like fireworks.

Yang Heng unleashed his full power, activating his Blood Essence. The strength of one leg approached a thousand jin, like an elephant's kick. Wu Zhi's head was instantly blown apart, shattering like a watermelon, bone fragments, blood, and brain matter spraying in all directions.

Simultaneously, Wu Zhi's entire body was sent flying backward by the immense force, crashing into the oncoming crowd like a broken sandbag.

Though it seemed to take a long time, all of this happened in a mere instant.

Wu Zhi, eager for revenge, had charged quickly. By the time he reached Yang Heng, the others were still more than ten meters away.

As Zhao Dazhuang and the others charged forward, the dark sky and their excited state made it difficult to see. They saw a mass of something flying towards them. They couldn't make out what it was and assumed Yang Heng had picked up a tree stump from the roadside and was throwing it at them as a projectile.

Reacting instinctively, everyone swung their wood-cutting knives at the incoming object.

To their surprise, what they struck wasn't hard wood or anything similar. The sensation in their hands made them realize they had hit a person!

Everyone was shocked!

They hastily pulled back their knives.

Swish!

Blood spurted out, hot blood spraying directly onto everyone's faces. They were all stunned. When they noticed the person on the ground was a headless corpse, everyone's heart leaped into their throats.

They widened their eyes and looked. Based on the clothing, they could vaguely identify the headless corpse as Wu Zhi, with whom they had just been talking. A wave of terror washed over them, and they stumbled backward.

The person they had been laughing and chatting with moments ago was now a corpse. No one present could comprehend it.

How could things have turned out this way? It was completely different from what they expected. Shouldn't the person lying on the ground be Yang Heng?

They were confused and didn't understand what had happened.

At this moment, an Apprentice shouted, "Quick... look... look... at... Wu... Zhi's neck... neck..."

Hearing the shout, everyone quickly focused their attention on Wu Zhi's neck.

Hiss!

The sight that met their eyes left them dumbfounded. They gasped and couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Wu Zhi's neck looked like the cross-section of a tree felled by an axe, with protruding flesh and many irregular jagged edges. It was horrifying.

Could Wu Zhi have been killed by Yang Heng with an axe?

But a person isn't a tree. Flesh and blood are soft. An axe blow couldn't possibly cause such a wound.

Then there was only one possibility: his head had been torn from his neck by immense force!

Hiss!

Thinking of this, everyone gasped again, their hair standing on end and goosebumps erupting all over their bodies!