Abandon Dragon, Old Mother!

In a mountain hollow.

A black eagle circled overhead, its keen eyes like an imperial death warrant, fixed on the four figures below.

The wilderness was silent. Only the rustle of autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves and the gentle murmur of flowing water could be heard.

In the deathly stillness, He Can carefully watched every stirring of wind and grass in the wilds.

Lu Ming took the cloth sack off the puppet's shoulder and slowly approached the corpse pit. Inside the sack was a fiercely corrosive chemical; pouring it into the pit would be enough to dissolve all the remains and corrode the rock walls as well.

Unfortunately, before the two had taken more than a few steps, a fluctuation of energy suddenly came from behind the bushes on the western slope.

He Can and Lu Ming turned almost simultaneously toward the swaying, withered yellow bushes, only to discover thick poisonous mist seeping from their surfaces.

The mist was dark green. Branches, leaves, and vines rapidly withered upon contact, turning scorched black. It clearly carried a potent poison.

As the poisonous mist shrouded the bushes, a figure emerged from within it.

The mist obscured their view. They could only vaguely make out someone wearing a dress, who began spinning in place the moment she appeared. Her skirts flared and her broad sleeves flew, her entire body almost instantly becoming a top:

Whoosh, whoosh~

Almost at the same moment, sinister winds rose violently over the slope. The poisonous mist pouring from the figure's sleeves became two ghostly green venomous pythons, spreading outward like whirlwinds. In an instant, they covered more than ten yards around her, looking from afar like a rapidly expanding eye of a typhoon!

"Hundred Ghosts Spread the Plague?!"

He Can's gaze instantly filled with astonishment. He knew someone had beaten them here and had thought it was an expert from Purple Emblem Mountain or an Attendant from the Prince's Manor. He had truly never expected to see one of the Gu Poison Sect's supreme Divine Abilities!

Though the Witch Cult's Gu Poison Sect was weak in direct combat, its ability to inflict mass casualties was unrivaled, and "Hundred Ghosts Spread the Plague" was the greatest of these abilities.

Seeing that things had taken an unexpected turn, Lu Ming quickly retreated and shouted:

"Fellow cultivator, wait! We're on the same side!"

He Can also called out a question:

"Friend, where do you hail from?"

Unfortunately, since the poison shaman on the slope had chosen to attack, she would leave no room for compromise. As those two sentences ended, the green poisonous mist became a deluge that could topple mountains and overturn seas, rolling downwind to engulf the entire hollow.

Seeing that this fellow practitioner showed not the slightest honor, Lu Ming immediately slid a bone flute from his sleeve:

"Fwee~~ toot-toot~..."

Boom-

The instant the sound rang out, sand whirled up on both sides of the pool with an explosive crash!

The two motionless cloaked figures abruptly leaped forward with the force of rushing thunder. Midway, the one on the right crossed its hands and gripped the sword hilts at its waist:

Clang-

With the ringing of blades leaving their sheaths, two gleaming blades trailed brilliant silver light, cutting through the poisonous mist and plunging straight into it toward the poison master on the slope.

The puppet on the left drew a three-foot sword and attacked the flank with the force of rushing thunder.

Puppets possessed no minds; their attacks depended entirely on the Gu Master's control. Though the poisonous mist blotted out the sky and sun and obstructed his vision, he could still locate the poison master through the hazy figure within it.

But what Lu Ming had not expected was that, just as the two puppets charged into the poisonous mist, a vortex suddenly appeared at its side:

Whoosh-

Amid a terrifying shriek of cleaving air, a black shadow hurtled toward him like an evil ghost in the smoke!

?!

Lu Ming's expression changed sharply, and he immediately altered the flute's tune:

"Toot-toot-"

Using the poisonous mist as cover, Xie Jinhuan had silently slipped downstream. The instant the two puppets attacked, he unleashed his full strength in a surprise assault, attempting to kill the Gu Master behind them.

But the puppets' reactions were inhumanly fast. The twin-blade puppet had been charging toward the slope, yet the instant the flute's tune changed, it made a right-angle turn without the slightest pause and slashed at his flank with its two sharp silver blades crossing!

Whoosh-

Seeing that he had lost his chance to circle behind them, Xie Jinhuan did not evade. Instead, he drove through both feet and charged straight at it:

Thud!

With an explosive report, a round crater was blasted into the sandy ground.

Dragging a skyful of poisonous mist with it, the Heavenly Gang Mace reached the twin-blade puppet almost instantly. The iron mace slipped through the gap between its blades and stabbed precisely into its chest.

Bang-

In an instant, the front of the twin-blade puppet's robes burst apart, exposing a torso as black as oxhide, densely covered in intricate incantations.

The heavy mace pierced its chest, but it was like stabbing into iron, stone, or hardwood. After penetrating two inches into its flesh, it could go no farther. Yet the remaining force hurled the twin-blade puppet out of the poisonous mist and smashed it down right before the opening in the pool.

Boom-

Such terrifying impact startled both Gu Masters.

But puppets were meant to take blows when necessary. Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Ming commanded them forward again to surround him.

Xie Jinhuan drove his enemy back with one strike, but before he had charged more than a few yards, the other puppet blocked his path with its three-foot blade. A single forward thrust instantly raised a hundred sword shadows:

Swish, swish, swish-

Clang, clang, clang, clang...

Xie Jinhuan intercepted with his mace, and sparks immediately flew through the poisonous mist.

With Xie Jinhuan's martial foundation, killing this person would have required only one move.

But a puppet clearly did not count as a person.

The sword-wielding puppet made no attempt to match Xie Jinhuan in technique or finesse, nor did it care about injury or death. It simply thrust at a terrifying speed, every stroke aimed straight at a vital point!

The twin-blade puppet had taken a heavy mace to its torso without being smashed apart. The instant it hit the ground, it sprang up again, wildly swinging both blades. Every slash struck where he had to defend, forming a pincer with the sword-wielding puppet!

Three weapons clashed in midair. In no more than a blink, Xie Jinhuan had left several fatal wounds in the two puppets' necks and over their hearts!

Yet the two puppets' attacks still surged like a tide. Not even any blood flowed from them.

?

Now Xie Jinhuan understood why he could not treat puppets like ordinary opponents.

By rights, he should have avoided their edge and circled around behind them.

But Xie Jinhuan refused to believe he could not do it. Finding that striking vital points was useless, he immediately drew the Zhenglun Sword with his left hand. Wielding both weapons, he slashed and battered at their joints and the tendons of their hands and feet!

Clang, clang, clang...

With Lu Ming holding the close-assaulting martial artist in check, He Can had intended to launch a surprise attack on the poison master in the mist.

But neither had expected that even two puppets would fail to keep this martial artist occupied. In a mere blink, the sword-wielding puppet's wrist tendons were severed, sending its sword falling to the ground.

Seeing the situation turn against them, He Can immediately turned the black umbrella in his hand, spinning it overhead.

Whoosh~

As he rotated the handle, black mist spread from the umbrella's rim. Three white ghost faces could be seen on its pitch-black canopy.

An eerie ghostly aura also rose through the hollow, dimming even the autumn sunlight. Invisible things seemed to wander between heaven and earth, turning the hollow into a purgatory where ten thousand ghosts wailed:

"Aah-!!"

Unfortunately, before the three lesser ghosts could have any effect, a piercing electrical crackle abruptly rang out within the poisonous mist:

Crackle-

The sound was as shrill as a hundred birds crying together. A small patch of the dark poisonous mist began flickering as well, taking on a bluish-white hue!

The Zhenglun Sword was Purple Emblem Mountain's divine demon-subduing weapon, specializing in suppressing evil and banishing spirits!

Xie Jinhuan tried channeling his own improvised Thunder Magic through the Zhenglun Sword and discovered that its amplification was truly astonishing. It transformed a few tiny electrical arcs into a dense web of lightning.

Though it lasted only an instant, the moment the lightning flashed, the eerie ghostly aura in the hollow vanished completely. Even the autumn sunlight became warm and gentle.

?

Controlling the ghost umbrella, He Can discovered that it no longer responded and had become no better than a fire poker. Indescribable astonishment appeared in his eyes.

Ghost shamans, as their name suggested, controlled sinister ghosts and spirits to harm others.

With the lesser ghosts too frightened to show themselves, the Gu Master naturally became a commander without troops. Apart from keeping off rain and sun, the ghost umbrella in his hand was utterly useless.

Such a situation was normally impossible. After all, his umbrella was of no low grade, and the ghost-suppressing Dharma Artifacts in the world capable of such overwhelming suppression could be counted on one hand.

But he had clearly encountered one now. Realizing that he could not bring his abilities into play at all, He Can retreated without hesitation:

"Retreat!"

On the slope, Lin Wanyi also felt surprise and uncertainty upon discovering how overwhelmingly powerful the sword in Xie Jinhuan's hand was.

But she had no time to think it through. With such a divine evil-suppressing weapon in hand, killing these two fellow practitioners would be child's play. She simply continued driving the poisonous mist toward Lu Ming, the only one still capable of fighting.

Lu Ming could not suppress Xie Jinhuan even while controlling two puppets. Discovering that his opponent also carried a high-grade ghost-suppressing Dharma Artifact, he understood that they had no chance of winning this battle.

Seeing the towering poisonous mist bearing down on him with nowhere to escape, Lu Ming could only sweep his sleeves and throw several balls toward the two people within it.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

Bang, bang...

The balls shot like flying shuttles into the ghostly green miasma, then burst in midair into enormous sticky nets that blanketed the sky and earth, leaving nowhere to hide.

As a poison master, Lin Wanyi specialized in secretly administering poisons and gu and had little ability in direct combat to begin with. Seeing the huge nets flying toward her, she immediately darted behind a pine tree for cover.

But she had not expected the huge net to strike the trunk and contract under the force, instantly binding her into a caterpillar.

Swish~

As a martial artist, Xie Jinhuan had far greater explosive power. Leaping forward, he struck with his mace and kicked, knocking the two wound-covered puppets into the huge nets. Then he darted left and right, forcing his way through the gaps between several nets.

Seeing that the two men were fleeing and had already opened up the distance, Xie Jinhuan leaped sideways without hesitation to adjust his angle. He raised the Heavenly Gang Mace high, his muscles swelling, his force like storm winds and ocean tides. Then he hurled it with all his strength:

"I'll fuck your mother-!"

Boom-

Amid the explosive roar, the Heavenly Gang Mace carried boundless force, splitting the churning poisonous mist in two like a god cleaving into the valley with a sword!

The iron mace spun through the hollow. The stream below instantly exploded, exposing the rocky riverbed and raising a sea-cleaving white dragon that scattered to either side while surging onward!

Lu Ming fled head down for his life. By the time he sensed the boundless sharpness bearing down from behind, the towering wave of air carrying shattered stones and flying water had already reached his back.

Though this "thrown mace" attack came from far away, its accuracy and power were both inconceivable!

Only a trace of terror had time to rise in Lu Ming's eyes before the Heavenly Gang Mace struck his back like a flying wheel.

Bang-

With a single muffled impact, a cloud of bloody mist burst within the hollow.

The figure running forward swelled and instantly vanished without a trace. Only two lower legs remained, tumbling far ahead. In a blink, blood stained the ground for several yards around!

The Heavenly Gang Mace lost none of its momentum. Like an unmatched flying wheel, it continued smashing toward He Can as he fled ahead!

Catching sight of that horrifying strike from the corner of his eye, He Can felt his hair stand on end. He spun in midair and opened the black umbrella!

Bang~

Boom-

The spinning heavy mace arrived in an instant, and the ghost umbrella shattered to pieces!

The heavy mace struck the figure behind the umbrella in the chest, sending him flying backward. He skipped across the stream and crashed into the bushes on the slope!

Crash-