Annihilation

Mad Blood Daoist was dead.

Not even a complete corpse remained.

"With no backing behind him, he was used as a pawn and never even realized it." Fang Yuan's face was calm.

Before long, a streak of light shot across the sky, moving at incredible speed, and in an instant arrived before Fang Yuan.

He glanced at Mad Blood Daoist's corpse on the ground, then noticed the sword-wielding man standing beside Fang Yuan, a look of surprise in his eyes.

Still, he cupped his hands and spoke with a hint of respect, "Mr. Mo."

Uncle Mo nodded slightly in response, his demeanor indifferent, carrying an air of detachment from worldly affairs.

"Yuan'er, are you unharmed?" the Eleventh Elder asked with concern.

Fang Yuan smiled and replied, briefly recounting what had just happened.

"If not for Mr. Mo being here today, the consequences would have been unthinkable," the Eleventh Elder said thankfully.

If something had happened to Fang Yuan on his watch, he would have become a sinner of the Fang Family.

"I wonder where Mad Blood Daoist got so many talismans. They were troublesome to deal with, and in the end, he even used a Blood Restriction Talisman to trap me for a while."

The Eleventh Elder looked at Mad Blood Daoist's corpse, still feeling unsatisfied, and sent out several bursts of true qi, scattering his ashes to the wind.

"Wait." The Eleventh Elder suddenly realized something and said, "Yuan'er, did you just say you fought Mad Blood Daoist?"

Fang Yuan had glossed over the details of his fight with Mad Blood Daoist in a light tone.

But the Eleventh Elder, snapping back to reality, was stunned. He had assumed that Mr. Mo had stepped in as soon as Mad Blood Daoist arrived.

"No, I must report this to the family head when I return. I can't let you take such risks again."

The Eleventh Elder hadn't witnessed everything, but the few words he'd heard were enough for him to guess, and he was increasingly awed by Fang Yuan's talent.

"Lord Fang Hai, who was that sword-wielding expert who struck just now?"

"How come I don't remember the family having an elder like that?"

After Uncle Mo had exchanged greetings with the Eleventh Elder, he vanished into the air, disappearing without a trace.

Many disciples, and even stewards, couldn't suppress their curiosity and couldn't help asking.

But no one could provide an answer. Perhaps some of the more senior stewards knew something, but they remained tight-lipped.

"Reporting to the Young Master, we've found where Fang Man is being held."

The two disciples who had followed Fang Yuan to Green City Stronghold hadn't been idle. Using the token he'd given them, they had gathered information throughout the stronghold.

"Take me there."

Fang Yuan was still concerned about his brother's safety. With the disciples leading the way, they soon arrived before a large iron door.

"We were worried about alerting the enemy, so we only dealt with the guards at the door. But we didn't find the keys on them."

Fang Yuan nodded. The iron door was forged from Black Gold Iron, a fairly tough material.

"Step back a bit, you two."

The two disciples were puzzled but complied.

Boom... Thud...

Fang Yuan clenched his fist, and without any fancy moves, he simply drove it into the large iron door.

In an instant, the door bent and warped, the embedded bolts popped out, and the whole thing flew backward with a clatter.

"Such a direct method."

The two disciples were dumbfounded. Truly, raw strength could overcome all techniques.

"Please, save us!"

"Let us out!"

The prison of Green Ridge Stronghold held many people. Fang Yuan didn't recognize most of them, but from their clothing, many were clan members from the Prefecture City.

Fang Yuan's gaze swept around as he walked through the long, dark cell. The dampness and stench were heavy.

Whoosh... Whoosh...

Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared.

A faint sound of air being cut rang out abruptly.

Fang Yuan's eyes turned cold. He sidestepped and saw a blade attached to a chain slicing past in front of him.

No, there were two!

He frowned slightly, pressed off the ground with his feet, and leaped into the air, dodging another blade from the other side.

But then, the blade that had been pulled back came swinging in again, its edge still deadly, forcing him to flip repeatedly in midair.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The two disciples stood nearby, completely unable to react. They were cut, but fortunately, not in any vital spots.

"If my mental strength hadn't improved, I might have fallen for that."

Fang Yuan turned his head and saw two figures across from him, their faces obscured by black cloth.

"Two more at the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm!"

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes. The auras of these two were in no way inferior to the Second Chief of Green Ridge Stronghold—in fact, they were slightly superior.

"You're not from Green Ridge Stronghold, are you?"

Fang Yuan had long suspected that Green Ridge Stronghold was colluding with outsiders, and the appearance of these two confirmed his suspicions.

"Go!"

Without wasting a word, the two men raised their chain-blades and charged forward, moving like lightning.

Fang Yuan took a deep breath, drew his three-foot green sword, and, despite his exhausted body, resolutely met their assault.

For a time.

In the pitch-black prison corridor, blade-light flashed and swords sang without cease. Dozens of exchanges passed, each one making hearts pound uncontrollably.

Anyone paying close attention would surely notice that Fang Yuan's combat strength seemed greatly diminished.

Earlier, he had slaughtered ninth-level Xiantian cultivators like chickens and dogs, and had even shown no fear of the Mad Blood Daoist at the Foundation Building Realm.

The reason was simple.

Fang Yuan was utterly exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached, and his true qi had run dry.

After cutting down the various leaders of Green Ridge Stronghold and countless bandits, then facing down a Foundation Building cultivator head-on, his body had reached its limit.

"What seamless coordination."

Fang Yuan raised his sword to continuously block their attacks, but they worked together flawlessly.

Whenever he tried to strike one of them, the other would find an opening to stab at him. Under their combined force, the power they unleashed far exceeded their individual strength.

"A cultivator of the same realm in their hands probably wouldn't last a hundred exchanges," Fang Yuan praised inwardly.

"Who goes there?!"

At the same time, as blades and swords still clashed within the prison, several stewards from the Fang Family surged into the corridor, their gazes sharp.

"Protect the Young Master!"

Seeing his clansmen arrive, Fang Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had the means to kill these two, but it would come at a cost.

Not worth it.

Besides, if you can gang up, why fight alone?

Though the two were formidable together, they couldn't hold out against the sheer numbers of the Fang Family, and they were soon subdued.

"We came late. Please forgive us, Young Master."

The five stewards bowed deeply, clasping their hands in apology.

"Rise, everyone. I am the one who troubled you to come to my rescue." Fang Yuan stepped forward to help them up, speaking with a smile.

"We wouldn't dare."

The men waved their hands and shook their heads repeatedly. They had witnessed Fang Yuan's overwhelming strength firsthand; compared to him, they were like fireflies against the bright moon.

To defy a Foundation Building cultivator from the Xiantian Realm, not only escaping unscathed but even wounding the opponent in return—

In all their years, they had never even heard of such a thing.

"How did you all end up here?" Fang Yuan asked, curious.

"The Eleventh Elder was worried for your safety, so he sent us to the Young Master's side to wipe out the remnants of Green Ridge Stronghold."

One steward said with relief, "We happened to hear the sounds of fighting inside, so we came in."

Fang Yuan nodded, then turned his gaze to the two masked men. "Thoroughly investigate their identities."

"We have the means here."

No sooner had he spoken.

The two men immediately bit down on their back molars, letting poison flow down their throats. They collapsed to the ground, black blood spilling from their mouths.

"Trained death warriors, it seems. Decisive, too."

The trail had gone cold, but Fang Yuan wasn't bothered. If he wanted to uncover the person behind this, there were always more ways than obstacles.