The Great Battle Is About to Begin

Before long, the clang of weapons suddenly came from ahead, faintly accompanied by screams.

Gu Chang'an's heart tightened, and his pace quickened.

Rounding a dilapidated alley, he saw Liu Wei and the others surrounded by five or six thugs from the Firewood Gang. Chen Qi had taken a blade to the shoulder, blood streaming down, and was being shielded in the center of the group.

Those thugs were all fierce and ruthless, clearly the Firewood Gang's elite. Their blades struck straight for vital points, locking the group in place and making escape impossible.

"Damn it, they caught up so fast!"

Zhou Yue gritted his teeth and cursed, his Blade Stance already showing signs of fatigue.

"Fall back—!" Song Zong roared through clenched teeth as he parried.

Just then—

"Kill!"

A thunderous growl erupted from the flank.

A figure burst through the wall, Blade Light tearing through the air like lightning—Mountain Shattering Saber Technique, Third Form: Falling Peak!

One Firewood Gang thug didn't even turn around before being slashed diagonally, blood spraying everywhere.

"Brother Gu!" Liu Wei cried out in joy.

Gu Chang'an didn't stop. His blade spun like a windwheel, one form flowing into the next as he carved into the enemy ranks like Wind Sweeps Clouds!

"Stop him!" a Firewood Gang leader roared, charging forward with his blade.

"You think you can stop me? Dream on!"

Gu Chang'an growled low, stepped forward, and shifted his shoulder. Like a phantom, he circled behind the opponent and slashed across his waist.

Pfft—

The enemy didn't even have time to grunt before he fell in two pieces.

Seeing this, the remaining Firewood Gang thugs' morale plummeted.

Song Zang seized the moment and roared: "Kill!!"

The group's spirits surged, and they charged together.

Before long, all enemies lay dead, blood splattered across the broken bricks, the alley falling into dead silence.

The battle was over.

Gu Chang'an slowly sheathed his blade, his chest heaving violently. His shoulder robes were already stained red with blood, and beads of blood still clung to the edge of his saber.

Liu Wei hurried over, his eyes full of concern, and asked in a low voice:

"Brother Gu, how are you? All these wounds..."

Gu Chang'an smiled faintly and waved his hand:

"I'm fine. These are just flesh wounds."

"And... Zhang Yuying?" Song Zong frowned and asked.

Gu Chang'an's gaze darkened slightly, and he said flatly: "She swallowed the Blood Pill and went completely mad. But I've already killed her."

"Mad Demon?" Zhou Yue sucked in a cold breath. "This Blood Pill... it's truly sinister. It can even drive a person insane."

"Sinister?" Song Zong's eyes were like iron, and he said coldly: "This is demonic arts, not just sinister. They refine pills with human lives, discarding all humanity. Even a Demonic Fiend would be no worse."

He swept his gaze around and spoke heavily: "Say no more. We need to return as soon as possible and report everything to Director Wang. We must stop them from refining more Blood Pills. This Firewood Gang... must be completely wiped out."

Everyone's expressions turned solemn, and they nodded in unison.

In the County Office's main hall, the night was as dark as ink, and the candlelight flickered faintly.

After Gu Chang'an finished speaking, the hall fell into a moment of dead silence, as if the very air had frozen.

Wang Hao sat quietly at the head, his eyes slightly lowered, his expression like iron.

The silence stretched for one breath, then two—

Finally, he slowly rose. His wide official robes swayed with the motion, heavy as a mountain.

He flicked his sleeves and turned, gazing out the pitch-black window. His voice was low and icy, like the rumble of thunder:

"Blood Pills... refined from living people?"

"This subordinate saw it with his own eyes." Chen Qi stepped forward, bowing, and nodded through gritted teeth. "That pill was blood-red all over, with Pill Marks like veins, and it was still faintly pulsing. Before my wife died, she was forced by the Firewood Gang to boil medicinal herbs—her life traded for a pill."

With that, he carefully pulled a sealed brocade box from his chest. Inside lay a single pill.

Wang Hao took it and opened the lid. In an instant, a cloying, bloody stench surged forth, as if countless wronged souls were whispering and sobbing.

The pill's surface flickered with Blood Light, as if it were still "breathing."

He sniffed, and his face immediately twisted: "...Damn it. It really is a Blood Pill!"

"I knew it! Back then, Daoist Chai brought his remnants to surrender, saying he wanted to wash his hands and turn over a new leaf. I already felt something was off."

Wang Hao's voice grew colder and colder, a vicious glint surfacing in his eyes. "How could a man with a demonic background truly reform? At the time, someone at court was protecting him, so I couldn't make a move. But now—"

He slammed his hand onto the desk, cracking several lines into the wooden surface!

"I was wrong!" Wang Hao gritted his teeth, veins bulging at his temples. "That Daoist Chai should have been killed long ago!"

He turned to face the assembled crowd, his gaze sharp as a blade:

"The Firewood Gang is already a demon's den—if we don't destroy it, there will be no peace! This official will issue orders immediately, summon the elite of the Martial Guard Division, and purge the alchemy grounds west of the city—blood for blood!"

"And we will wipe out the Firewood Gang, sever its roots, execute its heretical followers—not one left alive!"

At these words, everyone in the hall clasped their hands and answered in unison:

"Yes!"

Wang Hao then looked at Gu Chang'an, his tone softening slightly but still heavy:

"You did well. In this battle, you led from the front and uncovered the truth—your merit is undeniable. But your injuries are severe. Go home tonight and rest well. Tomorrow, report to the Appointment Hall of the Martial Guard Division and take your place in the first rank of the purge force."

"This matter is urgent—there is no time to waste."

Gu Chang'an clasped his fists, his voice firm: "This subordinate understands."

Wang Hao nodded, turned, picked up his brush, and personally wrote out the troop deployment orders. One sealed command after another flew out of the County Office.

Deep within Black Wind Ridge, the secret den of the Firewood Gang.

The walls were jagged rock, eerie flames flickering, casting the entire cavern into a twisted hellscape.

The alchemy furnace glowed deep red, its fire blazing. Several young acolytes sat around it, focused, tossing medicinal herbs and human blood into the cauldron one by one.

One acolyte held a silver needle, pulled a commoner from an iron cage, pressed him emotionlessly beside the furnace, then stabbed into his chest to draw blood into the cauldron—his face unchanged.

Screams mingled with the roar of the furnace fire, like the wailing of demons.

The other commoners in the iron cage trembled in terror. Some shouted desperately: "Let me out—don't kill me—"

But no one paid them any mind.

At the far end of the hall, on the main seat, an old man in gray robes stood with his hands behind his back, brows tightly knit, his face as cold and grim as stone.

He was the Firewood Gang's leader—Daoist Chai.

Before him knelt a gray-clad spy, drenched in cold sweat.

"Wang Hao is bringing the Martial Guard Division's elite—they'll move at dawn tomorrow?" Daoist Chai asked in a deep voice, his words scraping like iron spikes on stone.

"Yes, this subordinate received word from an inside source. Wang Hao secretly summoned eighty elite members of the Martial Guard Division, all well-trained. They'll reach Black Wind Ridge within two days." The spy trembled, not daring to lift his head.

Daoist Chai's eyes narrowed, his face darkening like ink.

"Hmph... Wang Hao, that old dog, can't sit still anymore."

He slammed his palm onto the stone table, sending chips flying.

"Left and Right Protectors!"

"This subordinate is here!" came the reply from both sides of the hall.

From the left stepped a man in a black robe, tall and thin as a withered bamboo, with sharp features and eyes keen as a hawk, radiating bone-chilling cold—the Firewood Gang's Left Protector, Yin Jiu.

From the right came a man in a red robe, short and stocky but immensely solid, with a hideous face full of rough flesh and blood-red eyes blazing like fire, as if he had crawled from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, a terrifying bloodthirsty aura clinging to him—the Right Protector, Liang Hu.

"What do you think?"

Yin Jiu licked his lips, his eyes full of cold light: "Kill. Since they're coming, let's make sure they never leave."

Liang Hu snorted coldly: "We still have three hundred brothers under us, every one of them a desperado. If it comes to a fight, I guarantee we'll kill at least half of them!"

Daoist Chai's gaze was sinister. He sat down slowly.

"Don't be careless."

"Zhang Yuying still hasn't returned... something has likely happened to her."

"Since they're making a move, we'll set our trap early."

He flicked his sleeve, and a map unfurled—a topographical chart of Black Wind Ridge, marking caves, dense forests, and waterways.

"Pass down the orders. Three things."

"First, keep the furnace running—speed it up. The Blood Spirit Pill must be refined today. Once it's done, I can break through to the Seventh Grade, and then no one can stop me, Daoist Chai!"

"Second, recall all Incense Masters for reinforcement. Withdraw all outpost forces—this battle decides everything!"

"Third—" His voice dropped low, his gaze murderous. "Prepare all those 'Medicine Men.' If the situation turns against us, I will immediately perform a blood sacrifice of ten thousand souls!"

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

Yin Jiu chuckled softly: "If the leader truly breaks into the Seventh Grade, that Wang Hao will have to kneel and beg for mercy."

Liang Hu gripped his spiked club and grinned coldly:

"All the grievances we've swallowed over the years—it's time to collect."

Daoist Chai closed his eyes and murmured:

"All who block my path to ascension—are but medicine."