Fierce Battle

At the Hour of the Dog.

As the sun sank beyond the horizon, the sky gradually darkened.

Tang Yinian and his son appeared in the courtyard right on time.

As they approached the small building, they vaguely saw Song Wen emerge from the medicinal field.

Tang Yinian plastered on a smile. "I had only heard that Elder Extreme Yin had taken in a young prodigy as his disciple. Seeing you today, I can see that you are indeed imposing and distinguished—a dragon among men."

Song Wen did not recognize Tang Yinian and asked with a puzzled expression, "And you are?"

Unlike his father's warmth, Tang Liang's face was somewhat grim.

There had already been bad blood between him and Song Wen, and now Song Wen had learned the immortal Fireball Technique, leaving Tang Liang deeply resentful.

Some country bumpkin who had appeared out of nowhere had obtained, in less than three months, what Tang Liang had long dreamed of. How could his heart not brim with jealousy?

He stared at Song Wen and said with a trace of mockery.

"As a disciple of the Heavenly Baleful Gang, you do not even recognize the gang leader."

Song Wen's heart jolted at those words. Tang Yinian's appearance was beyond his expectations. According to rumor, Tang Yinian was one of the rare true masters of the martial world.

Surely nothing will go wrong with tonight's plan?

But upon recalling his preparations, Song Wen put his mind at ease.

Though countless thoughts churned within Song Wen, his face remained calm. He even wore a flattered smile as he clasped his hands in salute.

"This junior is Song Wen. Greetings, Gang Leader."

"You overpraise me, Gang Leader. This junior does not deserve your commendation."

"Master is waiting for the two of you inside. Please, come in."

Tang Yinian nodded. "When you have time, Nephew Song, you must visit my residence more often."

With that, he led Tang Liang toward the small building.

After they had gone some distance away, Tang Yinian quietly asked his son.

"Do you have prior grievances with him?"

Tang Liang replied, "There was a slight unpleasantness between us."

Tang Yinian said, "It would be best if you could reconcile with him. In my view, this boy is deeply shrewd. Moreover, he has learned an immortal's technique. He will not remain an ordinary man in the future."

What Tang Yinian did not know was that the two were already mortal enemies.

Song Wen watched their retreating backs, a bloodthirsty smile curling across his lips.

He had made every preparation to kill Tang Liang tonight.

The reason he had appeared in the medicinal field just now was that, under cover of darkness, he had uprooted the Red Blood Vine from the spirit field, placed it in a jade box, and stored it in his storage pouch.

Everything was ready; all that remained was to invite the gentleman into the urn.

Once he saw the two men ascend to the second floor, Song Wen silently began circulating his spiritual power, preparing to cast the Fireball Technique.

Upon reaching the second floor, Tang Yinian lightly cleared his throat and said.

"Elder Extreme Yin, this gang leader has come with his son. Please open the door so that we may speak."

Then he waited eagerly for Extreme Yin's response.

Yet there was no response at all from within the room.

"What is going on?" Tang Yinian murmured, casting a puzzled glance at Tang Liang. Tang Liang was equally baffled, like a monk measuring a yard with two hands and finding neither end.

Tang Yinian noticed that the door was not shut, but merely ajar.

He gently pushed it. With a creak, the door opened.

By the dim light, Tang Yinian noticed a figure seated cross-legged in the middle of the room. Yet the figure gave off no sound of breathing.

Tang Yinian was startled and cried out, "Elder Extreme Yin! What happened to you?"

Even as he spoke, he rushed inside.

Tang Liang followed closely behind him into the room.

At the sight of this, a fierce gleam suddenly erupted in Song Wen's eyes.

Now was the perfect moment to strike!

With a wave of his hand, a fist-sized fireball shot forth, hurtling toward the room on the first floor.

The fireball blasted apart the door and landed on a large earthenware jar holding ten jin.

Boom!

The jar shattered, sending large amounts of thick black liquid splashing in every direction. It was fierce oil.

The fierce oil ignited the instant it met flame.

Not far away stood ten more identical earthenware jars.

They had been splashed with some of the fierce oil, and they too suddenly caught fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A succession of explosions rang out through the sky. Even the nearby ground trembled, causing the several thousand members of the Heavenly Baleful Gang to turn and stare in alarm. Their hearts quaked with fear. Who dared cause trouble in the Heavenly Baleful Gang?

The shockwaves from the explosions instantly tore the entire small building to pieces.

Countless steel needles also sprayed out amid the blasts, like a hail of wildly fired bullets.

Song Wen watched it all with great satisfaction.

He had purchased the fierce oil outside, and had deliberately added countless steel needles to the earthenware jars.

He could not help marveling at the methods of cultivators. Using his storage pouch, he had brought in over a hundred jin of fierce oil without anyone noticing.

Then, he had placed Extreme Yin's dried corpse in the room to draw Tang Yinian and his son's attention.

Song Wen's plan had been meticulous, but he had still underestimated the strength of Tang Yinian, a congenital martial artist.

A congenital martial artist could project true qi outward and form a protective barrier around the body. The flames filling the sky and the shooting steel needles could not harm him at all.

Tang Liang, however, was not so fortunate.

His entire body was burned black, and several steel needles had pierced into his abdomen.

Gripping his son in one hand, Tang Yinian circulated his true qi and burst outward like a great roc spreading its wings.

The moment Song Wen saw Tang Yinian charge out of the sea of flames, he activated the talisman he had prepared long ago.

A head-sized fireball came roaring toward Tang Yinian.

Horror filled Tang Yinian's face. The power and heat of this immortal fireball made his heart tremble with fear. He knew that if it so much as grazed him, he would be crippled even if he survived.

In that desperate moment, Tang Yinian had no other choice. He could only throw Tang Liang in his hand toward the fireball.

"No!"

Tang Liang let out a desperate roar!

He slammed straight into the lightning-fast fireball.

Bang!

Tang Liang's body was blown into pieces, scattering across the sky.

Tang Yinian's eyes bulged with fury as he stared fixedly at Song Wen. Intense hatred burst from him, as if he wanted to hack Song Wen into ten thousand pieces.

"Song Wen, you little bastard! This gang leader will tear you to pieces!"

He pushed his movement technique to its limit, weaving and darting out of the sea of flames.

His figure flickered rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, he had closed in on Song Wen.

"Boy, hand over your life."

Tang Yinian specialized in body-tempering martial arts; all his skill was concentrated in his fists.

His fist carried the might to split stone, like a massive hammer of steel as it hurtled toward Song Wen's chest.

Bang!

The fist stopped a foot before Song Wen's chest and could advance no farther.

That was Song Wen's Shield Technique.

Song Wen felt as though he had been struck by a speeding carriage. His entire body was flung backward through the air.

Song Wen was startled. As expected of a congenital martial artist, Tang Yinian's attack was terrifyingly powerful.

Fortunately, it was still not enough to break through his Shield Technique.

As he was flung backward, he took the opportunity to activate another Fireball talisman.

At such close range, the fireball appeared abruptly and shot forward with incredible speed, leaving Tang Yinian nowhere to dodge.

The fireball drove straight ahead and slammed directly into Tang Yinian's chest.

The body-tempering martial art in which he took such pride was instantly broken. His body was hurled several zhang backward, while his chest became a bloody, mangled ruin, with who knew how many ribs shattered.

Tang Yinian fell to the ground, but he did not die immediately. He struggled desperately to rise.

While he had been in the air, he had seen clearly that Song Wen, who had taken one of his heavy punches, was unharmed. Song Wen could finish him off at any moment.