Annihilation

On the stone altar, countless purple-black tentacles began to sprout densely from the cracked surface of the Divine Child, flailing wildly in the air.

Soul-Stitching Crone lay limp by the altar, her face ashen and her eyes filled with nothing but despair; she seemed to lack even the strength to harbor resentment.

Butcher Liu and Wu Tong were also stunned by this sudden turn of events, temporarily ceasing their clash to retreat and stare in horror at the constantly mutating tumor.

It was at this suffocating moment.

"BOOM!!"

At the rear courtyard passage, the already dilapidated wooden door, along with a section of the brick wall, was completely blasted open by a violent force!

Amidst the flying debris and wood splinters, a blood-drenched figure charged in ferociously!

The newcomer was none other than Yue Shan!

His uniform was reduced to mere rags, and his exposed skin was covered in wounds. The deepest one ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, the flesh curled back to reveal bone; he had clearly endured a brutal, life-or-death struggle.

Yet, his back remained as straight as a spear, and he gripped a Goose-Quill Saber that shimmered with a cold, ghostly light, its blade stained with black and red filth.

Yue Shan's eyes were sharp as a hawk's; the moment he scanned the room, he took in the entire situation.

His gaze then locked onto the frantically twisting tumor on the altar, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Evil creation... must be purged!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he kicked off the ground, his figure moving like lightning as he took the initiative to charge toward the out-of-control Divine Child!

A brilliant red glow erupted from the Goose-Quill Saber, the blade tearing through the air with a sharp, mournful wail as it struck fiercely toward the core of the tumor!

The mass of flesh seemed to sense the intense threat posed by Yue Shan; countless tentacles coiled toward him like living things, and a powerful mental shockwave mixed with maddening intent exploded outward.

"Break Evil! Suppress Soul!"

Yue Shan roared, his internal energy and blood exploding to form a scorching suit of armor.

The saber in his hand transformed into a streak of crimson light; wherever the blade passed, those tough tentacles melted away like snow.

The blade hacked deeply into the tumor, triggering a violent spasm.

The battle between the two sides instantly reached a fever pitch.

The saber flashed, red light crisscrossing as the blade strikes fell like a torrential storm, clashing madly against the constantly regenerating tentacles.

Airwaves rolled, shaking the already crumbling walls of the room until dust rained down.

Although Yue Shan was valiant and his swordsmanship sharp and overbearing, the Divine Child—even in its out-of-control state—possessed power far exceeding that of ordinary evil spirits. Combined with his own severe injuries, a stalemate formed.

On the other side, seeing Yue Shan entangled with the Divine Child and the Soul-Stitching Crone already incapacitated, Butcher Liu felt the urge to retreat.

He knew the situation tonight was lost; staying meant certain death. He cast a fierce glance at the heavily wounded Wu Tong, then flicked his eyes toward Yue Shan, who was locked in combat with the monster.

Gritting his teeth, he hesitated no longer, turned, and bolted toward the door leading from the main room to the courtyard!

"Trying to run?!" Wu Tong tried to intervene, but was forced back by a backhanded strike from his opponent, which aggravated his wounds and caused him to cough up another mouthful of blood.

Butcher Liu reached the doorway, kicked open the already crooked door panel, and stepped into the front courtyard.

The moment his feet touched the ground.

Four beams of earthy-yellow light suddenly ignited at the north, south, east, and west points of the ground!

The lights connected rapidly, forming a simple four-sided formation that trapped him in the center!

Within the formation, earth energy surged, carrying a heavy binding force that made Butcher Liu feel as if he had stepped into a quagmire; his movements instantly became sluggish and viscous!

This was the Yin-Locking Stake and simple containment array that Zhao Tie had set up on the perimeter earlier, following Yue Shan's instructions!

Although primarily aimed at evil evasion techniques, it was equally effective at binding living people, especially those with vigorous blood energy like Butcher Liu!

"Damn it! An ambush!" Butcher Liu was shocked and furious, roaring as he swung his cleaver in an attempt to hack through the invisible restraint.

His strength was immense; as the cleaver swung, the earthy-yellow light of the formation fluctuated violently, as if it might be torn apart at any moment.

But the array was linked to the earth's energy, endless and self-replenishing, making it impossible to break free in the short term.

Just as he was struggling to break the formation.

"BANG!"

A crisp gunshot rang out from the darkness of a roof somewhere to the side!

The one who fired was Zhou Ling, who had been lying in wait on the roof!

She had been following the plan, occupying a high vantage point with a clear view outside the dyehouse, observing the situation in the courtyard through binoculars.

The bullet tore through the night sky with a faint, piercing whistle, aiming with pinpoint accuracy at the wide-open Butcher Liu!

This was no ordinary rifle round, but a specialized armor-piercing Evil-Breaking Bullet designed for difficult targets!

The bullet head had been specially treated—sharper and harder—and infused with silver powder and red copper filings, specifically meant to break through hard-body techniques and evil-magic protections!

Butcher Liu sensed a fatal crisis, but trapped within the array, his movements were restricted; he could only manage to turn slightly and block with his cleaver.

"THWIP!"

The bullet missed his heart, but it drilled fiercely into the area just below his right shoulder blade!

Though the muscle there was thick, it was not his most heavily defended area!

The custom-made bullet easily tore through tough skin and muscle, even shattering a small piece of bone!

More importantly, the evil-breaking power contained within the bullet clung to him like maggots on rotting flesh, surging wildly into his body through the wound and clashing violently with the blood energy tempered by his wicked arts.

"Ah--!!" The Butcher let out a miserable, agonizing roar; his right arm went limp instantly, and the cleaver in his hand clattered to the ground.

The evil-breaking power rampaged through his body, bringing pain ten times more intense than a normal gunshot wound, and severely disrupted the circulation of his blood energy.

Inside the house, Wu Tong heard the gunshot and the scream, his spirits lifting as he realized Zhou Ling and Li Tie had made their move!

On the roof, Zhou Ling calmly worked the bolt to chamber another round and took aim once more.

The Butcher was terrified to his core, knowing that if he didn't break free, the next shot might cost him his life!

He roared wildly, ignoring his severely injured right arm and the evil-breaking power ravaging his body, and slammed his left hand against his own chest.

A mouthful of vital blood sprayed out, transforming into a blood mist that merged with his blood energy, forcibly and temporarily boosting his strength to the point where the surrounding earthy-yellow formation light shook violently, revealing a momentary weakness!

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, he charged like a wild bull toward the weakest corner of the formation!

"Boom!" The formation was actually breached by his desperate, life-risking charge!

Just as he stumbled out through the gap in the formation.

"Bang!"

The second gunshot arrived right on cue!

This time, the bullet's target was his gleaming bald head!

Given the distance and the target's severe injury and loss of momentum, there was almost no possibility of Zhou Ling missing her shot.

The bullet pierced precisely into the back of the Butcher's head, exiting through the center of his forehead along with pulverized brain matter and a spray of black-red blood!

His forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and his massive body collapsed to the ground as if all his bones had been removed, kicking up a cloud of dust.

After twitching twice, he went completely still.

Those fierce, cruel eyes remained wide open, still holding a trace of terror.

In the shadows at the corner of the courtyard, Chen Mo watched the Butcher's fallen corpse, recalled the Weaponized Paper Puppet he had been ready to deploy, and hurried toward the house.

With the captain struggling inside, it would be rather tactless for him to keep slacking off outside.

Inside the main room, the battle between Yue Shan and the Divine Child had reached a critical juncture.

Having failed to secure a victory after a long fight, he felt his strength beginning to wane. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he drove his long blade deep into the tumor, the blade glowing with a brilliant red light, pinning the core firmly in place.

Then, his left hand quickly pulled a dark gold talisman from his robes.

This was no ordinary yellow talisman, but a Sunfire Evil-Breaking Talisman issued by the upper echelons of the Anomaly Suppression Bureau; it was immensely powerful and difficult to craft.

"Righteous energy of heaven and earth, Sunfire burns away evil! Decree!"

Yue Shan shouted in a low voice, slapping the talisman onto the junction where the blade met the hilt.

"Boom--!!!"

The talisman instantly transformed into a blinding, scorching golden flame, surging wildly along the blade and into the interior of the tumor.

The ultimate yang, ultimate rigid evil-breaking power clashed violently with the sinister, chaotic forces inside the tumor.

"Roar--!!!"

The Divine Child let out the most shrill and miserable howl of its existence as countless black-red fluids and shattered tissues were scorched from within by the golden flames and erupted outward!

The massive, sinister aura dissipated rapidly like a receding tide...