Destruction

Mad Blood Daoist was dead.

There wasn't even a whole corpse left.

"Without anyone to back him up, he let others use him as a pawn without even realizing it." Fang Yuan's expression was calm.

Before long, a streak of light shot across the sky at incredible speed, reaching Fang Yuan in the blink of an eye.

He glanced at Mad Blood Daoist's corpse on the ground, then noticed the sword-wielding man beside Fang Yuan. Surprise flashed in his eyes.

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

Uncle Mo gave a slight nod in response, his manner indifferent, with an air of detachment from the world.

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

Fang Yuan smiled and gave him a brief account of what had just happened.

"If Mr. Mo hadn't been here today, the consequences would have been unthinkable," the Eleventh Elder said gratefully.

If anything had happened to Fang Yuan on his watch, he would have become a sinner in the Fang Family's eyes.

"I don't know where Mad Blood Daoist got so many talismans. He was tricky to deal with, and in the end, he even used a blood-sealing talisman to trap me for a while."

The Eleventh Elder looked at Mad Blood Daoist's corpse, still unsatisfied. He struck out with several more blasts of true energy, reducing the body to dust.

"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, mentioning it in passing.

But when the Eleventh Elder finally took in what he had said, he froze. He had assumed Mr. Mo had stepped in as soon as Mad Blood Daoist showed up.

"No, I'll have to report this to the family head when I get back. I can't let you put yourself in danger again."

The Eleventh Elder hadn't witnessed what happened, but he could piece together quite a bit from Fang Yuan's brief account. He was even more shaken by Fang Yuan's talent.

"Lord Fang Hai, who was that sword-wielding expert who just stepped in?"

"I don't remember the family having an elder like him."

After meeting the Eleventh Elder, Uncle Mo had soared into the sky and vanished.

Many disciples and even Stewards could no longer suppress their curiosity, and couldn't help asking.

But no one could give them an answer. Perhaps some of the more senior Stewards knew something, but they still kept their mouths shut.

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

The two disciples who had come to Green City Stronghold with Fang Yuan hadn't been idle. Carrying the token he had given them, they had searched around the stronghold for information.

"Take me there."

Fang Yuan was very concerned about his brother's safety. He had the disciples lead the way, and soon they reached a huge iron door.

"We were worried about alerting them, so we only dealt with the guards at the entrance. We couldn't find the key on them, though."

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

"Step back a little."

The two disciples weren't sure why, but they did as he said.

Boom... clank...

Fang Yuan clenched his fist. Without any fancy moves, he simply raised it and smashed it into the iron door.

In an instant, the door buckled and warped, its embedded screws flying out as the whole thing crashed away with a clatter.

"What a straightforward approach."

The two disciples stared in stunned silence. Truly, one force could overcome ten thousand tricks.

"Please, save us!"

"Let us out!"

The Green Ridge Stronghold prison held many people. Fang Yuan didn't recognize most of them, but judging by their clothes, quite a few were members of Aristocratic Clans from Prefecture City.

Fang Yuan's gaze swept around as he walked through the long, dark prison. The air was damp and reeked.

Whoosh... whoosh...

Suddenly, a blade flashed.

A faint whistle cut through the air.

Fang Yuan's eyes turned cold. He immediately dodged to the side and saw a blade, fastened to an iron chain, sweep past him.

No—there were two!

His brow furrowed. He pushed off with his foot and leaped into the air, dodging the blade coming from the other side.

But the blade being pulled back was still razor-sharp, forcing him to twist and turn in midair.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The two disciples beside him hadn't even had time to react. They were injured, but fortunately, neither had been struck in a vital spot.

"If my spiritual strength hadn't improved, I really would've walked right into their trap."

Fang Yuan turned around and saw two figures opposite him. Their faces were impossible to make out, hidden beneath black cloth.

"Two more at the Ninth Layer Houtian Realm!"

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes. Their auras were no weaker than the Second Chief of Green Ridge Stronghold's; in fact, they were slightly stronger.

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

Fang Yuan had long suspected that Green Ridge Stronghold was conspiring with outsiders. The appearance of these two confirmed his suspicions.

"Attack!"

The two didn't waste words. They raised their chain-blades and charged, moving like lightning.

Fang Yuan took a deep breath, drew his three-foot sword, and, despite his exhausted body, met their attack without hesitation.

For a time,

the dark prison corridor glittered with flashes of blades and rang with the clash of swords. After dozens of exchanges, the spectacle made onlookers' hearts pound for no reason.

Anyone paying close attention would have noticed that Fang Yuan's fighting strength seemed to have plummeted.

Earlier, he had killed Ninth Layer Houtian Realm cultivators as easily as barnyard dogs, and he hadn't even feared Mad Blood Daoist, a Foundation Building Realm cultivator.

There was only one reason.

Fang Yuan was simply too exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached, and his true energy was all but depleted.

He had already slain Green Ridge Stronghold's various Chieftains and countless bandits, then faced a Foundation Building Realm cultivator head-on. His body had reached its limit.

"What seamless teamwork."

Fang Yuan kept raising his sword to block their attacks, but the two worked together flawlessly.

Whenever he tried to strike one of them down, the other would find an opening and stab at him. Together, they unleashed power far beyond what either could manage alone.

"An ordinary cultivator at the same realm probably wouldn't last a hundred exchanges against them," Fang Yuan thought, impressed.

"Who's there?!"

Meanwhile, the clash of blades still rang through the prison as several Fang Family Stewards rushed into the corridor, their eyes sharp.

"Protect the Young Master!"

Seeing his clansmen arrive, Fang Yuan relaxed a little. He had a way to kill the two, but it would cost him something.

Not worth it.

Besides, if we can gang up on them, why fight one-on-one?

The two were formidable together, but the Fang Family had more people. They were soon captured.

"We arrived too late. Please forgive us, Young Master."

The five Stewards bowed slightly and cupped their hands, deeply apologetic.

"Please, get up. I'm the one who troubled you by making you come to my rescue." Fang Yuan stepped forward to help them up, smiling as he spoke.

"We wouldn't dare take credit."

They all waved their hands and shook their heads. They had witnessed Fang Yuan's formidable strength; compared to him, they were no more than fireflies beside the moon.

He had defied the odds, defeating a Foundation Building Realm cultivator while still in the Xiantian Realm. Not only had he come away unharmed, he had even wounded his opponent.

They had lived half their lives and had never even heard of such a thing.

"What brought you over here?" Fang Yuan asked curiously.

"The Eleventh Elder was worried about your safety, so he sent us to help you wipe out the remaining members of Green Ridge Stronghold."

One Steward said with relief, "We happened to hear fighting inside, so we came in."

Fang Yuan nodded and turned his gaze to the two masked men. "Make sure you investigate their identities."

"We've got no shortage of tools here."

The moment he said this,

the two men suddenly bit through the poison hidden in their back teeth. The poison slid down their throats, and they fell to the ground, spitting black blood.

"Looks like they were trained as dead soldiers. They were certainly decisive."

The trail had gone cold, but Fang Yuan wasn't upset. There were always more ways than obstacles when it came to unearthing the people behind it.