The mire exploded in an instant, countless masses of black mud churning skyward and surging toward Lu Ding to envelop him.
The old man formed another hand seal.
From inside the black mud sphere, Lu Ding's voice sounded unhurried. "I told you, stalling for time and charging up a killing move during your casting windup isn't in fashion anymore."
"Shatter!!!"
His fist, carrying terrifying force, punched straight through the mud sphere trapping him.
He spread his palm.
A breeze stirred between heaven and earth.
"Slash!"
Over a hundred slashes came at the old man from every direction, striking at all sorts of treacherous angles.
Every strike carried enough sharpness to dismember a qi refiner of the same realm.
Elder Huang waved his hands and twisted his body, drawing on the spiritual qi within him to cast his spells.
The mud beside him and beneath his feet kept changing shape.
It formed shields, raised walls, and piled into mountains, constantly blocking Lu Ding's slashes for the old man surnamed Huang.
The longer they fought, the more shocked the old man became.
Speed, strength, ranged attacks, close combat-apart from his cultivation realm, he held no advantage in any of them.
He had only heard that Lu Ding's physical body was powerful. The rumors outside had never said his speed and ranged spells were this formidable too.
Now the old man finally understood why Yuan Baifeng had died at Lu Ding's hands.
Inside and out, top to bottom, there wasn't the slightest weakness.
He couldn't fight this!
His defeat today was certain.
Lu Ding countered him too thoroughly. No, Lu Ding countered most qi refiners.
Unless they were monstrous freaks like him.
Only someone who advanced both their physical body and their spells in tandem, cultivating both to profound levels, could fight him.
If ordinary qi refiners encountered Lu Ding...
Those who specialized in spells like him would be disrupted, unable to build up a killing move before he closed in and blasted them to death.
Even if they managed to avoid close combat, that was merely drinking poison to quench their thirst-a slow death.
Even the tightest defense would eventually spring a leak. Once Lu Ding seized an opening, the terrifying strength he possessed could decide the outcome in a single blow.
Meanwhile, qi refiners specializing in physical strength would be harried by those bizarre, razor-sharp slashes, left with no choice but to defend passively.
On top of that, he knew a secret flying technique.
Qi refiners with powerful bodies would find it very difficult to close in and trade blows with him.
Even if they broke through into close range, Lu Ding's physical strength was terrifying too. There wouldn't be much suspense over whose hands the deer would fall into then.
The old man simply couldn't understand how one person could cover every aspect so thoroughly.
Willpower, mental strength, talent-were his reserves of all these things inexhaustible?
Signs of defeat emerged.
At last, a slight opening appeared in the old man's defenses, and a slash seized the chance to cut through.
Blood sprayed, and an arm flew.
The old man endured the pain without making a sound. Then he spotted Yan Feifan nearby.
Ferocity showed in his eyes as he charged straight at Yan Feifan.
Yan Feifan shuddered in fright.
"Don't come after me!!!"
He turned and ran.
But his strength was simply too low. Just as the old man was about to catch him...
Yan Feifan sank straight into the solid ground, and the old man's hand closed on empty air.
"Heh-heh, old fart, your back's wide open. Get ready to-glug, glug, glug..."
Unwillingness surfaced in the old man's eyes.
His field of vision dropped, and he saw his own headless body standing upright, blood spurting from its neck.
"Is that my body? So it's already this old..."
Lu Ding landed and hauled up Yan Feifan, who had nearly drowned in the ground.
"Blegh... blegh... blegh... Brother Lu... I need my stomach pumped... blegh..."
"Why go to all that trouble?"
Lu Ding held him upside down and shook him a few times. Yan Feifan vomited even harder, nearly throwing up his stomach.
Only once he had more or less finished vomiting did Lu Ding put him down.
"This... this old man was pretty stupid too, trying to grab me..." Yan Feifan said breathlessly, slumped on the ground.
Looking at his wretched state, Lu Ding couldn't help saying, "You really need to hurry up and learn to swim. I'm honestly afraid you'll drown in the ground one day."
"Or learn how to control earth like that old man."
"Brother, I phase through walls. I don't control elements. I can't do that."
"All right, all right."
Lu Ding looked up at the silent Xie Shunan.
"Shouldn't the Four Seas Group give me an explanation?"
Xie Shunan looked straight into Lu Ding's eyes. "Patrol Officer Lu, you heard it yourself just now. I urged him to calm down, but he wouldn't listen. That was the employee's personal choice and had nothing to do with the Four Seas Group. Both I and the Four Seas Group hold nothing but friendly, benevolent intentions toward you and Bureau 749."
"I'm a businesswoman, and the Four Seas Group is a business. We had no part in any of this."
"We'll discuss whether you had a part in it later. You can leave now."
Lu Ding directly ordered her to leave.
He hadn't forgotten what he had come here to do.
It was better to find the treasure first.
Lest a long night bring too many dreams.
"Then I'll take my leave. The Four Seas Group welcomes your visit at any time, Patrol Officer Lu."
Throughout it all, Xie Shunan's expression remained ordinary, with no fear, anger, or other emotions showing on the surface.
Lu Ding truly couldn't tell what someone like her was thinking.
But she'd better not harbor any ill intentions toward him.
Lu Ding nodded, and Xie Shunan quickly withdrew.
She got into the luxury car outside the police cordon.
Xie Shunan slammed the steering wheel, her face instantly darkening.
"The young ones don't know any better, and neither do the old ones. That whole bunch from Great Black Mountain are bandits. Times have changed, but they still can't change their breed!!!!"
"A bunch of walking disasters!"
"You never consider the consequences when you act. How carefree you are, dying and being done with it, leaving me to clean up every mess."
Xie Shunan took out her phone and dialed.
Before long, the other party answered.
"Dad, tell Grandpa I'm done being the Four Seas Group's successor. Aren't there three others? Let them fight over it. I'm done catering to this. Whoever wants the job can have it. And don't introduce me to anyone else from Great Black Mountain ever again. I don't want to know who's who, how powerful someone is, or how glorious their past was."
"What era are we living in now? Their way of doing things went out of date ages ago."
The other end remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"Nannan, what happened?"
Keeping her emotions in check, Xie Shunan told her father everything, detail by detail.
The man on the other end took a while before replying.
"Our family won't involve itself in Great Black Mountain's affairs anymore. Lu Ding's talent is far too monstrous, and his methods and temperament are exceptionally ruthless. He acts without dragging his feet. Someone like that is dangerous. It's not worth making an enemy of him. We have no conflict of interest."
"Here's what we'll do. I'll have someone ask around about his preferences. As for an apology and an explanation, our Xie Family will give him his full due, both in face and substance."
Xie Shunan gave a lukewarm acknowledgment, hung up, then stepped on the accelerator and drove off.
It seemed she still hadn't cooled down.
Meanwhile, inside the tomb...
After searching for quite some time, Lu Ding finally stood before the burial chamber that no one had opened.
Just like Ye Xuan and the others...
He tried all sorts of methods, finally even using brute force to push the tomb door, but there was no response at all.
Just as Lu Ding was at his wits' end...
Yan Feifan spoke up beside him. "Brother Lu, why not let me try? I can phase through walls, so I should be able to get inside."