A Warm Embrace!

What did it mean for traps to lie everywhere? What did it mean for every step to conceal killing intent?

Shan He experienced it firsthand today.

It would be a waste if this brat did not become an assassin. When it came to killing and hunting, he was even more professional than assassins like them.

For a moment, Shan He actually felt the despondence of an old generation being replaced by the new.

Have I grown old?

Of course, now was not the time to lament the passing years. He first needed to resolve the predicament before him.

Otherwise, it would not be a matter of growing old, but dying.

Yet the mud beneath his feet possessed an incredibly powerful suction force and was desperately dragging him downward.

This was no ordinary mud.

If it had been an ordinary mud pit, he could have used his movement technique to soar into the sky and escape the quagmire.

Shan He now understood why Tang Fei called it Hell's Gate. It was said that when the newly dead entered Hell's Gate, they were reluctant to leave the world of the living. Yet within Hell's Gate, countless ghosts reveled, tugging and pulling at them, wanting them to enter and become evil ghosts like themselves.

Whether human or ghost, all liked luring others into ruin.

Shan He was in an awkward situation now. He could not struggle, could not move, and did not even dare use his Yin Yang Qi lightly.

Because he knew that every exertion would only make him sink deeper.

Who could understand the frustration of possessing abundant Yin Yang Qi yet being unable to use it?

"How is it?" Tang Fei looked at Shan He with a grin. "Feeling troubled? Hell's Gate opened especially for you today, so enjoy yourself."

"You think this thing can trap me?"

"What? You have a way out?" Tang Fei asked curiously.

Whenever he encountered particularly troublesome prey, he liked luring it here.

Whether it was a bear as large as a hill or a Hate Mountain leopard that had become sentient, once it entered Hell's Gate territory, only one fate awaited it: being roasted or stewed.

The stronger and larger the beast, the greater the damage Hell's Gate inflicted upon it, making it sink even deeper.

When faced with danger, struggling and resisting was instinctive.

That was true for both humans and animals.

Shan He pulled a palm-sized model airplane from his pocket and lightly pressed it with his finger. With a series of clanks, the model began extending and enlarging before him.

Very quickly, an AI smart aircraft appeared in the air, its tail blasting deep-blue flames.

"Rope!"

Shan He shouted, and a silver filament dropped from the belly of the smart aircraft. A handle had even been thoughtfully attached to the silver filament, making it easy for someone to grab on and fly.

Shan He grabbed the handle, and the smart aircraft slowly dragged his body upward.

He could not use his own strength, but he could borrow an external force to pull himself up.

This way, Hell's Gate could forget about trapping him.

Tang Fei was practically furious. Did these people have no shame?

They were even using high-tech methods? Were they bullying the Old Earth Refugees for being uncultured?

Tang Fei summoned the Dogleg Knife. The blade spun as it swept toward the arm Shan He was using to grip the handle.

Trying to run? No way.

Leave that arm behind.

No, take the arm with you and leave the body behind.

Shan He had been prepared. His fiery-red fist had already swollen countless times larger, like a massive football, and he punched toward the whistling Dogleg Knife.

A powerful red current surged forth and slammed viciously into the Dogleg Knife. Struck by that immense force, the Dogleg Knife was sent flying with a bang.

Tang Fei panicked, afraid the Dogleg Knife would fall into the mud, and quickly summoned it back into his palm.

Bang!

The Dogleg Knife landed in his hand, but its powerful corpse-cold qi had not yet fully dissipated. Tang Fei let out a muffled groan, and his body involuntarily sank another stretch.

Tang Fei did not dare make any rash movements.

He did not have a smart aircraft. He only had a manual transmission.

The smart aircraft was extremely powerful and quickly dragged Shan He out of the mud.

Shan He's body rose into the air, and he regained the initiative.

He recalled the smart aircraft, then looked down at Tang Fei and laughed. "Didn't you say this was Hell's Gate? Today, I'll help you out and send you to hell early."

As he spoke, red light flashed from his fist once more.

The red flames formed a massive red fist and smashed toward Tang Fei, who was trapped in the mud.

Tang Fei secretly groaned.

He had originally intended to use Hell's Gate to trap Shan He. Once Shan He's body had sunk so deeply into the mud that he could not move, Tang Fei's Dogleg Knife could cleanly chop off his head.

Only after confirming that he was dead beyond any possibility of dying again would Tang Fei figure out how to fish out his body.

Well, he did not necessarily have to fish it out.

After all, he always retrieved his prey when hunting before.

Unfortunately, Shan He had escaped with the smart aircraft, while Tang Fei's manual transmission aircraft was of no help at all.

Now that the attack had arrived, if he did not fight back, only death awaited him.

Tang Fei gritted his teeth, poured Yin Yang Qi into his right hand, and threw a punch.

The phantoms of a dragon and an elephant burst forth, roaring as they charged toward the massive red fist.

Tang Fei's Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Technique had not yet broken through the first level. If he did, the dragon and elephant would become solid entities, and their attack power would soar countless times over.

Boom—

The dragon and elephant phantoms collided with the massive red fist in midair. Heaven and earth darkened as dragons roared and elephants trumpeted.

The dragon and elephant vanished the moment they collided. Fortunately, the massive red fist only surged forward a little farther before vanishing into nothing as well.

Tang Fei understood that his realm of strength was inferior to that of this Old Man, and the Yin Yang Qi within him was even further inferior.

However, the Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Technique was a divine Buddhist art, possessing vast and righteous radiance. Shan He's Thousand Corpse Transformation, on the other hand, followed a path of extreme yin and poison. Evil could not suppress righteousness; when it encountered a divine Buddhist art, it would naturally be restrained and suppressed.

Even though the Yin Yang Qi contained in Shan He's punch had been deeper and more powerful, the exchange had still ended evenly matched.

Subduing demons, subduing demons—were Shan He and his ilk not precisely the demons it subdued?

Shan He was already greatly shocked that his punch had failed to achieve its intended effect.

His body still floated in midair as he stared at Tang Fei. "An exquisite technique. What a pity your mastery is lacking."

His fist began gathering power, and the red flames blazed even more fiercely, as though a small red sun were burning atop his fist.

"Take another punch from me."

That red sun smashed toward Tang Fei at a speed that appeared incredibly slow yet was astonishing to behold. This time, he did not merely want to kill Tang Fei; he wanted to destroy this section of Hell's Gate as well.

To hell with Hell's Gate. Before absolute strength, every gate would be shattered to pieces.

Tang Fei's expression turned grave. He knew how powerful this punch was.

Even from such a distance, he could already feel the sinister, terrifying aura brought by those red flames.

He felt bone-piercing cold.

Yes, that was the strangeness of Thousand Corpse Transformation.

Clearly, it burned red flames, yet it used the qi of extreme yin. Those burning flames would not bring warmth. They would only bring extreme cold.

They could incinerate a person, or freeze one into an ice sculpture.

With the majestic bearing of a blazing sun, the red orb cast red radiance across the earth, enveloping Tang Fei and the patch of ground where he stood.

Even the dark-brown mud was illuminated red, making it look like a mass of crimson blood pulp writhing about.

Despair rose in Tang Fei's heart. This old bastard was determined to wipe him out completely.

His legs were deeply trapped in the mud. Any slight exertion would make him sink another fraction. The means he had originally used against Shan He had ultimately backfired upon himself. It was an enormous joke.

At the critical moment, a Silver Light Whip descended from the sky.

Phoenix stood atop a large tree and shouted, "Tang Fei, grab it."

Tang Fei seized the tip of the whip. Phoenix gave it a hard pull, combining it with the terrifying force generated as the Phoenix Whip contracted, and yanked Tang Fei from the mud pit as though pulling up a radish.

Seeing Tang Fei fly toward her, Phoenix stretched out an arm and gathered his body into her embrace.

Their entwined bodies spun through the air several times in a posture that was far from graceful yet exceedingly warm, then landed together on the ground.

Boom.

Mud flew everywhere, and the spot where Tang Fei had been standing had become a pitch-black crater.

"Are you all right?" Phoenix asked Tang Fei.

Tang Fei was covered from head to toe in mud. When the red sun exploded, his body had only just been pulled free from the mud. Though his actual body had not been harmed, the exploding mud had chased after him and splattered all over him.

"I was in trouble before, but now I'm fine." Having escaped death, Tang Fei was in an excellent mood. He said with a cheerful grin, "You saved me again."

"You saved my life, so I was alive to save yours," Phoenix said.

Tang Fei nodded, acknowledging Phoenix's logical reasoning. "That makes sense. If I go kill him for you, that means I'll be saving you again."

Shan He had come to kill Phoenix. If Tang Fei killed Shan He, would that not mean he had saved Phoenix?

At the end of the day, Phoenix still owed him a life.

That meant the supplies and weapons she had promised still counted.

"I'll go with you," Phoenix said.

"I'm going too," Little Fatty said.

Even Little Fatty could tell Shan He was formidable. His big brother might not gain any advantage against him.

Little Fatty was afraid his big brother would get beaten up. If anyone wanted to beat up his big brother, they had to beat him up first.

The Old Man grabbed Little Fatty's arm, pointed at Little Knife, and said, "Go play with him."

"Okay." Little Fatty nodded and swung his hammer as he walked toward Little Knife.

The Old Man then called Tang Fei and Phoenix back. "Leave this old bastard to me."

He pointed at the Clown and Snake Woman. "You young people have more in common to talk about."

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