Chapter 518: Consecutive Kills: Six-Armed Green-Faced Evil Apparition, Tai Xu Infernal Fire

Beishuozhen has a trump card—that’s inevitable!

After all, it has been passed down for over a hundred years, and Yang Zun has long been rooted in the Four Fanzhen territories; if it were this easy to take Beishuocheng, Xia Hong would feel even less at ease.

Yang Zun’s absence could still be excused as severe injury, but the fact that none of the three Xianyang-level Yang clan members came out to help defend the city is utterly indefensible.

Combined with what Xia Chuan said—that all of Yang Zun’s blood relatives were summoned into the lord’s hall last night—Xia Hong could almost certainly conclude that the desperate Yang Zun was performing some sinister art or secret technique to turn the tide.

Yang Zun is merely a Jade Bone talent, yet his six-armed bone phantom is clearly abnormal—without doubt, it incorporates elements of a malevolent entity; meaning, his secret technique is almost certainly tied to his bone phantoms…

In an instant, Xia Hong had flown to the sky directly above the lord’s hall at the center of Beishuocheng; sensing the stench of blood rising from below, a faint cold smile surfaced on his face.

Fifteen years ago, during the Mirror Immortal encampment incident, he had just broken through to Yuhán level—his strength was now incomparably greater, and that second-grade Iron Furnace had become today’s Fifth-Level Yang Xu Ding.

Xia Hong easily sensed that inside the lord’s hall below, there were currently only six Xianyang-level auras; the weakest of them must be the severely wounded Yang Zun; among the remaining five, the strongest one radiated an unusually depleted aura—without doubt, it was Chu Xukong, who had lost both arms; the other three were chaotic auras, likely the three Xianyang-levels who fled from the North and South Gates; the most stable one stood beside Chu Xukong—clearly the Chen Cang man who hadn’t been assigned to defend the walls.

“Willing to abandon the city gates just to pull off this stunt—let’s see how much chaos you can stir up…”

After a moment of contemplation, Xia Hong was about to dive down, but suddenly sensed something else—he slightly raised an eyebrow and halted his movement.

“Lord Xia, you’ve already seized the city—why must you slaughter them all?”

Five figures flew out of the hall; the elder at the front had a pale face and two empty sleeves hanging limp from his shoulders; the four behind him were all middle-aged men.

Hearing Chu Xukong’s words, Xia Hong ignored him, merely lifting his gaze slightly toward the lord’s hall behind him, then smiling lightly: “You’re buying time for Yang Zun, aren’t you?”

Having his intentions exposed, Chu Xukong’s face darkened; he coldly spoke: “Lord Xia, Great Xia’s strength may be formidable, but before Chen Cang, it’s still insufficient. Old man advises you—”

“I don’t know how strong Chen Cang is, but I’m certain many in Chen Cang are despicable.”

Interrupted, Chu Xukong froze slightly—he knew Xia Hong was referring to Ruhu Forest—and fell momentarily speechless.

“Audacious! How dare you disrespect the dignity of our Chen Cang Fanzhen!”

It was his own clansman, Chu Renjie, who immediately roared in anger at Xia Hong’s insult to the Fanzhen.

Chu Qingshan followed right after, sneering: “From the humble southern slopes, you know nothing of our Fanzhen’s glory—here you bark like a dog—”

Xiū!

Chu Qingshan never finished the word “bark.”

Because Xia Hong suddenly raised Long Que Dao, slashing a sharp blade through the air that severed his neck in one stroke.

Xia Hong made no effort to hold back—before swinging, the crimson sacred rune on his forehead had already appeared; 117 jūn of force—even a casual slash—was far beyond Chu Qingshan’s mere 8 jūn strength.

The blade cut through his neck; Chu Qingshan’s expression didn’t even change—he only felt a chill on his throat, then saw his own body, before his consciousness vanished completely.

“You….”

Chu Xukong, Chu Renjie, and the other two Chen Cang Xianyang-levels stared at Chu Qingshan’s headless corpse, utterly stunned.

Not all the Xianyang-levels who came with them to the southern slopes had died—many perished that night in Ruhu Forest—but back then, they were ashamed to loot a minor child, so they never even mentioned Chen Cang’s name.

This was different—Chu Xukong had just publicly declared Chen Cang’s name, yet Xia Hong showed no hesitation and killed anyway.

“Do you four think you’re worthy to speak of Fanzhen dignity? Chen Cang’s strength is great—but is it yours?”

Xia Hong looked down at the lord’s hall below, pupils narrowing; then without further words, he charged straight at Chu Xukong and the other three.

Pū…

This wasn’t a battlefield—Chu Xukong and the others were likely stunned by Xia Hong’s sudden killing; for a moment, none of them landed. As Xia Hong surged forward again, only Chu Renjie, whose condition was normal, had time to dodge.

Chu Renjie didn’t just flee for himself—he shoved Chu Xukong, who had lost both arms, hard to the left and right; the two barely avoided Xia Hong’s blade.

But the other two weren’t so lucky.

Xia Hong’s blade pierced straight through one man’s skull; the other thought he’d escaped, his face already showing relief—until Xia Hong’s left hand shot out like lightning and seized him.

Pū… Kā…

One pull, one slash—Xia Hong’s movements were clean and precise; the second man’s look of relief hadn’t even faded before his body was split cleanly in two, his consciousness extinguished.

“Run…!”

Chu Xukong finally accepted reality—he realized he likely couldn’t escape; he roared at his nephew Chu Renjie: “Run!” Then, without hesitation, he charged straight at Xia Hong.

“You think you can save him?”

Watching the uncle charge and the nephew flee, Xia Hong felt a strange sense of being the villain—but illusions were illusions; he had no intention of letting anyone escape, and immediately turned to chase Chu Renjie.

Even at full strength, Chu Xukong couldn’t match Xia Hong—how much less now, with both arms severed, his strength reduced by five or six tenths; even with his life on the line, his speed was nowhere near Xia Hong’s level.

Chu Renjie was even worse—he had only 7 jūn strength, weaker than the dead Chu Qingshan; even with his quick reflexes and desperate flight, Xia Hong crushed him from behind in an instant.

As the blade approached, the scent of death filled his nostrils; only then did Chu Renjie feel overwhelming regret—regret for going to Ruhu Forest, for opposing Great Xia, even for coming to the southern slopes.

Pū…

Too late—everything was too late!

The last five Xianyang-levels Chen Cang had left in the southern slopes were all dead within less than ten breaths, leaving only Chu Xukong alive.

Chu Xukong lunged uselessly, watching his nephew die before his eyes; a strange crimson flush spread across his pale face; he glared at Xia Hong and roared: “Killing a scion of the Fangbo lineage is the gravest crime in the Four Fanzhen of Mo’ao River! No matter how strong Great Xia is, you’re only a regional tyrant in the southern slopes! I wait—I wait for you to join us in death!”

“Hah…”

Xia Hong laughed coldly—he’d heard this unreasonable Mo’ao River law when he was in Linchu County City two years ago, and had scoffed at it then; Chu Xukong now thought he could scare him with it? Impossible.

“Even if your Fangbo himself came today, he couldn’t save you!”

Xia Hong let out a cold snort, lunging forward instantly to stand before Chu Xukong; the blade of Long Que Dao slashed out, cleaving cleanly through Chu Xukong’s waist, splitting him in two.

Zhēng…

After killing, Xia Hong lightly shook the blood from his blade, then looked down at the hall below and said calmly: “Enough of the act—come out.”

Hū…

As soon as he spoke, a heavy breath emerged from within the hall.

Chī…

Then, a torrent of thick green smoke erupted from the hall’s main entrance and all four windows; the green mist was astonishingly dense, covering the entire hall in two or three breaths.

Not just that—the smoke, after engulfing the hall, continued rising, climbing hundreds of meters in moments, nearly reaching Xia Hong before finally halting.

When the smoke stopped growing, its coverage spanned two or three li in diameter; not only the lord’s hall, but nearly the entire central district of Beishuocheng was shrouded.

“You knew I did this on purpose?”

Above the smoke, Xia Hong sensed a colossal entity slowly awakening within the green mist; his pupils tightened slightly; hearing Yang Zun’s low question, he smiled: “You just wanted me to kill these Fangbo lineage scions, so you could fully break with Chen Cang…”

He paused, then continued: “From the moment the siege began, I knew you’d recovered. You sacrificed so many blood relatives to feed the malevolent entity inside your bone phantom—did you really think that gave you a chance?”

“Ahh!”

Hū…

No sooner had Yang Zun’s mournful roar reached his ears than two enormous green hands burst through the smoke, lunging toward Xia Hong’s body.

Qīng…

Though Xia Hong appeared to dismiss Yang Zun, his mind had long been fixed on the colossal entity within the smoke; the instant the giant hands struck, he raised his blade to block, and a powerful wave of heat erupted from within him.

Hōng…

As the heat surged, the entire sky of green smoke hissed violently—it ignited as if set aflame, spreading rapidly in all directions, extending nearly a hundred meters outward in moments.