"So many monks... they must have fled here from some temple."
"And they all died in Xu Family Village... becoming Evil Spirits and Weird Beings."
"It looks like they were still praying for Buddha's protection as they died..."
"Sadly, Buddha never answered them, and their faith crumbled completely."
Lu Mian shook his head slightly.
These monks harbored little resentment. They had simply fallen into despair after losing their faith.
He composed himself and looked around, spotting another narrow path on the right.
Without giving it much thought, Lu Mian walked in.
Sun Feifei walked along the dark, narrow village road, gripping her sword in one hand, her expression tense.
After hearing the chanting earlier, she too had found herself separated from Han Can, Lu Mian, and the others.
Even in this terrifying deserted village, Sun Feifei managed to stay calm despite being a woman.
After all, among the Guard Hall's twelve guards, the Falcon Guard definitely ranked in the top three for casualties.
Without some courage, Sun Feifei could never have lasted two months.
She walked for a while.
Then Sun Feifei suddenly heard faint sobbing up ahead.
She frowned slightly, wondering whether to approach, but the sobbing had already stopped.
While Sun Feifei was puzzling over it, she saw a figure approaching from the darkness in the distance.
He was tall, with a stern expression.
It was Han Can, captain of the Sixteenth Squad.
"Captain!"
Sun Feifei let out a small breath of relief at the sight of Han Can.
This was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
Staying beside Han Can should keep her safe.
"Feifei, have you seen anyone else?"
Han Can asked in a low voice when he saw her.
"No."
"You're the only one I've run into so far, Captain."
Sun Feifei shook her head.
"Hmm... looks like we've all been separated."
"Come with me. Let's find Yu Hao, Lu Mian, and the others first."
Han Can spoke evenly.
As captain, he had to ensure his squad members' safety first.
"All right."
Sun Feifei did not think much of it.
Just as the two were about to set off together,
Han Can suddenly made a startled sound and looked to the left.
"Feifei, did you see a dark shape flash past just now?"
Sun Feifei looked over as well and shook her head. "Captain..."
Before she could finish, Han Can suddenly struck, knocking her unconscious with a chop of his hand.
"Don't blame me..."
"I have no choice..."
Han Can shook his head slightly.
After passing through the dark path, Lu Mian emerged onto the village road again.
"The village entrance seems to be just ahead."
Lu Mian was considering waiting at the entrance for Han Can and the others when he suddenly heard several sets of footsteps behind him.
He turned to look and found Yu Hao, Sun Jin, Tong Tai, and Gan Wenbin.
Sun Jin seemed to be injured. White cloth wrapped his chest, with blood seeping through it.
There was no joy in Lu Mian's eyes at the sight of these four teammates. Instead, he rolled his neck.
He could sense their hostility toward him.
It was blatant, without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"Lu Mian... we finally found you."
"A mere Corpse Collector dared to refuse me. You must be tired of living."
Yu Hao sneered.
"Brother Yu, don't waste your breath on this bastard."
"Let's hurry up and kill him!"
Sun Jin held a sword, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"That's right!"
Tong Tai nodded.
Gan Wenbin had already drawn his saber.
"Heh..."
"I've actually wanted to kill you lot for a long time too."
Lu Mian gave a strange laugh.
"I think you've lost your mind!"
Seeing that Lu Mian showed no fear at all only made Yu Hao angrier.
He was about to draw his sword and attack when he unexpectedly sneezed.
That sneeze threw off the timing of his attack!
Whoosh!
Lu Mian surged forward, the Great Cleaver in his hand turning into a vicious streak of white light as he brought it crashing down!
Black Tiger Descends the Mountain!
His explosive speed was too much. Sun Jin had no time to react, while Yu Hao barely managed to raise his sword across his body to block.
Clang!!!
Although Lu Mian had only just reached blood-qi perfection, he had practiced several martial arts in succession, giving him brutally powerful strength. The Great Cleaver itself was built for heavy chopping blows.
One strike cleaved straight through the sword and split Yu Hao himself in two!
Even in death, Yu Hao likely never imagined that Lu Mian had already made his move back in the Dining Hall.
Lu Mian had deliberately patted his shoulder then, releasing a trace of his own Plague Miasma into Yu Hao's body.
The sneeze just now had been caused by Lu Mian activating that trace of Plague Miasma.
Riiip!
It sounded like scissors slicing through cloth.
By the time Sun Jin and the others reacted, Yu Hao was already a corpse in two pieces.
"Damn you!"
"Die for my brother!"
Tong Tai drew his saber and thrust straight at Lu Mian's heart.
Lu Mian sidestepped while shaping his left hand into the Snake-Head Form, silently jabbing Tong Tai's right upper arm!
"Aah!"
Agony shot through Tong Tai's arm, and he could not even hold on to his saber.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Gan Wenbin attacked from the side, slashing viciously at Lu Mian's back.
Sun Jin also thrust his sword toward Lu Mian's eyes.
Neither of them had considered helping Tong Tai out of danger.
They were eager for Lu Mian to kill Tong Tai so they could take Lu Mian's life!
But Lu Mian chose a method neither had anticipated.
He abruptly grabbed Tong Tai's shoulder and hurled him hard at Sun Jin.
Thud!
Tong Tai slammed into Sun Jin, knocking him to the ground.
At the same time, Lu Mian subtly adjusted his position so Gan Wenbin's saber struck only his back.
Slash!
The muscles in his back tightened like tough cowhide. The saber managed only to cut a long, bloody gash without reaching the bone.
Whoosh!
Lu Mian spun on the spot, swinging his arm through a full circle and bringing his blade crashing down!
Gan Wenbin was so frightened by the strike that he dodged backward.
But Lu Mian moved like a slithering snake, closing in swiftly and smashing the hilt into his chest!
Crack!!
As though struck by a hammer, Gan Wenbin's chest caved in and shattered, sending him staggering back several steps.
Lu Mian had already repositioned his blade and swept it across in a flash of steel.
Slash!
The Great Cleaver sliced Gan Wenbin's head clean off.
Blood splattered across Lu Mian's face.
"Aah!!!"
Sun Jin and Tong Tai had just scrambled to their feet. At the sight, they screamed in terror.
Their nerve was completely shattered. Neither even considered continuing to fight Lu Mian.
Whoosh!
Both tried to flee at once.
But how could Lu Mian possibly let either of them go?
If he was going to kill them, he had to kill them all. No survivors!
Letting even one of them return alive would cause him enormous trouble!
Lu Mian's figure flashed, and he appeared behind Tong Tai, driving his left palm forward with vicious force!
Thud!
Lu Mian's palm strike shattered Tong Tai's heart, and he spat out a mist of blood.
Hearing that dull impact, Sun Jin's heart jolted. He desperately wished he could run faster!
Unfortunately, no matter how fast he ran, he was no match for Lu Mian.
Before he had covered even a dozen meters, he heard the wind howl behind him.
The next instant, he knew nothing more.
"Huff, huff..."
After killing Yu Hao and the other three in one go, Lu Mian panted lightly.
Now he could feel the searing pain in his back.
Although Iron Shirt had barely stopped that strike, his flesh had still been cut open, and the bleeding would not stop.
Without hesitation, Lu Mian took a Qi-Nourishing Pill from his waist and swallowed it.
With enough vital energy and the Gluttonous Stomach's digestion, the wound would soon heal.
Before you continue