Meanwhile.
"Pfft!"
The Water-Fire Cudgel in Fang Mo's hands was like a long spear as he thrust it viciously into Yuanji's throat.
The fragile cartilage in his throat shattered instantly under the blow.
Yuanji's body jerked rigid. He clutched the cudgel impaling his neck, eyes bulging, while a "gurgling" sound escaped his mouth and bloody froth poured from his nose and mouth.
He stared fixedly at Fang Mo, the venom in his eyes gradually giving way to fear and confusion.
He didn't understand.
Why was this jailer's head harder than a nail?
"In your next life..."
"Remember to take calcium."
Fang Mo coldly pulled out the cudgel and let Yuanji's corpse collapse into the pool of blood.
He raised a hand and touched his forehead. It wasn't seriously injured, but it still stung like fire.
"Damn, that still hurt a bit."
Fang Mo cursed and turned to look at the battlefield on the other side.
Things there didn't look too good.
Iron Bone Liu had been shaken so badly he was practically coming apart. His figure was as faint as a wisp of smoke, and he looked ready to vanish completely.
"Useless."
Fang Mo cursed under his breath.
But he couldn't blame Old Liu entirely. It wasn't his specialty, after all. Making a thug ghost fight a bald monk like this was asking a bit much.
Fang Mo carried the cudgel over, one step at a time.
The old monk seemed to sense his companion's death. He chanted even faster, and the ghostly face on the blood-red bell seemed to come alive, opening its maw as if to devour anyone in its path.
"Having fun making all that noise, are you?"
Fang Mo licked his lips and circled behind the old monk.
If the front was too hard to attack, he'd go in through the back.
That was perfectly reasonable.
The old monk was a tough one, too. Sensing Fang Mo's approach, he didn't even turn around. He simply drove the blood-red bell to its limit, shielding himself so thoroughly that not even wind or rain could get through.
He had clearly decided to hide in his shell like a turtle and wear Fang Mo and Iron Bone Liu down.
Fang Mo tentatively struck the bell twice.
"Clang! Clang!"
The rebound numbed his palms, but the bell merely wobbled. It didn't even develop a crack.
"Well, look at that. Pretty damn tough."
Fang Mo grinned.
He liked them with a bit of backbone. They made a much nicer sound when they cracked.
Iron Bone Liu was weak, but seeing that his master had arrived, he forced himself to keep going to prove his loyalty. He turned into a black cord and wrapped tightly around the old monk's upper body, disrupting his concentration and his ability to maintain his protective divine art.
"My lord! Go for his lower half!"
Iron Bone Liu shouted himself hoarse.
Fang Mo's eyes lit up.
Great minds think alike.
He stared at the old monk sitting cross-legged on the ground. His gaze gradually lowered, finally settling on the rear end exposed a little by the man's seated posture.
The monk's robe covered it, but Fang Mo had plenty of experience in combat—and sneaky tricks. As long as he knew where to aim, that was enough.
"Master, forgive me."
"This move is called Spirit Snake Explores the Cave. It's made to break the Golden Bell Shield!"
Fang Mo took a deep breath, planted his feet, and flexed his arms until his muscles bulged, channeling all his strength into the tip of the Water-Fire Cudgel.
Without the slightest hesitation, he aimed at that indescribable spot and thrust with all his might!
"Pfft—"
The monk's robe and the layer of blood-red light tried to stop him, but against a blow powerful enough to split mountains and crack stone, every defense looked pale and feeble.
The Water-Fire Cudgel swept through the weak barrier like a hot knife through butter, struck its target with pinpoint precision, and plunged deep inside.
"Raaaagh—!!!"
And to make sure it worked, Fang Mo even gave the cudgel a deliberate twist.
A shrill, mournful cry burst from the old monk's throat.
His face, previously as placid as a still well, twisted into a knot. His eyes bulged like copper bells, and the blood-red aura around him fell into complete disarray.
"Bang!"
The supposedly indestructible blood-red bell shattered with a crash as its master lost control of his mind.
The backlash from the disrupted Aura sent the old monk spewing blood, his strength instantly dwindling to almost nothing.
"Strike while he's down and finish him off!"
Iron Bone Liu had been getting beaten the whole time. How could he let this chance slip by?
He let out a delighted, eerie cry. His ghostly leg, which had been little more than a blur, suddenly solidified. Trailing a gust of black wind, it swept viciously into the old monk's temple.
"Smack!"
The old monk was in too much pain to dodge.
That kick became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The old monk's head lolled to one side, and his body slumped limply to the ground. Only his eyes remained wide open, as if he were asking the heavens: Why must such shameless scoundrels exist?
At last, the cell fell silent.
Only Fang Mo's heavy breathing and the sound of blood flowing across the floor remained.
"Whew..."
Fang Mo wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath.
These opponents had been a real handful.
They'd been drugged and had their shoulder blades pierced when they were brought in, yet they could still put up such a fight.
If he hadn't been shameless enough—no, smart enough—and had Iron Bone Liu there to distract them, he might've ended up dead in a ditch today.
He looked at the three grotesque corpses on the ground. Far from feeling sick, he wore a smile of harvest-time delight.
Because, deep in the Soul Depth,
the ink-black Record of Punishing Crimes was shining brighter than ever before.
Before you continue