Frog in a Well

That was why he had contacted the Wang Family and the Wan Family, intending to use the strength of both families to kill Situ Yuntian's three sons amid the chaos.

Including Situ Yunlei, the Situ Family's final trump card.

As for how the three great elders would be dealt with? A smile curled at Xu Zimo's lips.

By then, Xiao Guizi had already returned to his room. He still could not quite fathom Xu Zimo, always feeling that this Senior Brother of his never played by the rules.

The sky gradually darkened, and Zhouque City was far too silent tonight.

In Xu Zimo's room, he looked at Hei Shisan and instructed, "Send those three old men on their way."

"Leave Zhouque City?" Hei Shisan asked doubtfully.

"No, leave this world," Xu Zimo said calmly.

Hei Shisan froze, but still nodded before leaving the room.

Outside Zhouque City, four figures raced onward. Looking at Hei Shisan in the lead, the First Elder said politely, "To trouble you, sir, to escort us to the Sacred Sect so late at night—we are truly grateful."

Hei Shisan shook his head indifferently.

The night wind blew gently. Moonlight cast a ghastly pallor across the ground, and tonight's wind seemed especially cold.

From within the silent city behind them came what sounded like the barking of dogs.

As the city faded farther into the distance, the sight of Zhouque City gradually blurred from their eyes.

At last, they arrived before a high slope, and Hei Shisan stopped.

He stood at the very top of the slope, the cold wind tossing his loose hair about.

His utterly emotionless eyes rested on the three elders, as though he were looking at one corpse after another.

"What is it?" the First Elder asked with a dry laugh.

"Nothing. It is time for you to be on your way," Hei Shisan said blandly, drawing his long saber.

"What do you mean?" The Second Elder frowned slightly, taking a small step back as he asked warily.

Hei Shisan gave no further answer. With a sharp clang, his saber left its sheath.

With four explosive bursts, the four Meridian Gates—Lunquan, Mystic Bone, Chaoyingfeng, and Kunhai—opened in full.

The aura of the Empty Meridian Realm descended over the surroundings like a towering mountain.

"You call yourselves disciples of the True Martial Sacred Sect? I knew those people could never be fully trusted!" the First Elder shouted.

The three elders then took up positions in three directions. Spiritual energy surged from their bodies as their three Meridian Gates opened wide.

Each of them took an array disk from their Storage Ring, pouring the spiritual energy within their bodies madly into it.

Once the array disks were activated, the three of them simultaneously hurled them into the sky.

A dazzling black radiance shone forth. The three array disks fused into one, forming a black cage that enveloped Hei Shisan within.

The array disks shattered, and countless Formation Seals flew out from within, arranging themselves according to the laws of the formation.

"Luckily, we came prepared," the First Elder said smugly.

Array disks were used to store Formation Seals. Usually, when Formation Masters fought others, they had to form seals on the spot. That was far too slow, and their opponents could easily evade them.

Thus, long ago, someone had developed array disks, allowing Formation Seals to be formed in advance and stored within them.

When needed in battle, one only had to shatter the array disk, and those Formation Seals could be activated and deployed in an instant.

It all looked complicated, but in truth, it took only a moment.

Hei Shisan looked at the black cage surrounding him and frowned slightly. His saber erupted with an azure glow.

The blade light swept up dust that filled the sky, even cleaving a great gash through the earth beneath his feet, its momentum as unstoppable as a rainbow.

Yet when it struck the black cage, it seemed to be swallowed whole, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.

"Stop wasting your strength. This is the Tier Four formation, Darkness Cage. We may not be able to kill you, but trapping you for one night will not be a problem," the First Elder said proudly. "Since Xu Zimo was the one who drove matters to the bitter end first, then do not blame us.

"We will head to Zhouque City now and spread word of this, so everyone can see that bastard's true face."

"That is right, we will expose every one of his crimes," the Second Elder added through gritted teeth.

That man had promised to bring them into the True Martial Sacred Sect and help them advance into the Empty Meridian Realm.

But now he had gone back on every promise, and even wanted to kill them to silence them.

The three great elders had betrayed the entire Situ Family for this, only to end up with such a result.

The fury in their hearts was easy to imagine.

"Do not take everyone else for fools," the Third Elder snorted coldly. "From the very first day you came to us for cooperation, we planned to keep something in reserve. We prepared this Tier Four formation, and who would have thought it would truly come in handy?"

"Nothing but frogs in a well," Hei Shisan said. Seeing that he could not break the formation, he sat down cross-legged and ceased attacking.

"What do you mean?" the First Elder asked with a frown.

"I admit that you are not stupid. You knew to leave yourselves a way out, but you will never understand just how vast heaven and earth truly are," Hei Shisan said calmly.

"Who are you trying to scare?" the Third Elder said indifferently. "You can barely protect yourself now, yet you still dare to boast."

Hei Shisan cast the three of them a cold glance, said nothing, and simply closed his eyes to rest.

"What do we do now?"

Just as the three discussed countermeasures, a voice suddenly rang out from above.

"It seems the Young Master was right. Three little rats, and you truly dreamed of jumping out of the cage."

"Who? Who is talking?" The three shouted at once, nervously looking overhead.

Shili Changkong wore white robes and carried a sword in his arms. Walking through the air, he casually yawned.

"Who are you?" The First Elder and the others swallowed hard as they asked nervously.

If the other party could walk through the air, that meant his cultivation was at least at the Empty Meridian Realm.

And though he had not revealed even a trace of his aura, the pressure he gave the three elders was even greater than when they faced Hei Shisan.

"The farce is over." Shili Changkong could not even be bothered to draw his sword. He merely swept the sheathed blade casually through the air.

The next moment, a dazzling sword radiance blossomed before the three elders, and their lives froze at their final instant.

The next day, Zhouque City appeared no different from before.

Vendors rose at their usual times and set up their stalls in their usual places. At its usual hour, the city too began to grow lively and prosperous.

"I am willing to help you manage the Situ Family." Early in the morning, Situ Yunqing, who had tossed and turned all night, found Xu Zimo and spoke earnestly.

Xu Zimo introduced Shili Changkong to Situ Yunqing and said, "From now on, he will be your guard. The two of you will manage the Situ Family together. If there is any danger, he can protect you as well."

After seeing Situ Yunqing off, Xu Zimo called Shili Changkong aside alone.