Chapter 140: The Killer of Tang Yiming!

"Yes!"

"…"

Cards were picked up, one after another.

Terrible!

On the scene, the ground was littered with shattered corpses, broken limbs, and severed arms—visually overwhelming.

Fortunately, Chen Mu had seen corpses before; as he moved, he collected the cards and indeed found a Zhenwu Corps officer from Jing'an Prefecture, injured and unconscious.

"Ahh~!!"

"Save me~! Save me~!"

"Run… run! It's a demonic cultivator! Run!"

"…"

A scream shattered the silence.

The hundreds of people gathered at the valley's edge, frozen in terror, erupted into chaos and scattered in all directions.

Those too injured to flee lay on the ground, screaming or begging for help.

But no one came to assist.

They were all driven mad with fear!

Nie Renchou had slaughtered over four hundred people and absorbed all their essence and blood.

Such power could not possibly belong to an ordinary Innate Realm cultivator.

The key was how horrifying the scene was.

No matter how valuable the artifact, you must have a life to use it.

Nie Renchou had left, but who could guarantee he wouldn't return?

The Xuemo Sect never had too much blood.

Ordinary people's blood offered limited aid to Xuemo Sect disciples who had already cultivated.

But cultivators with robust qi and blood were different.

Run!

They had rushed over in excitement; now they fled in panic.

By the time Chen Mu revived several injured Jing'an Prefecture Zhenwu Corps officers, fewer than a handful of the hundreds remained at the valley's edge.

Those left were all Innate Realm cultivators—many even at the late Innate Realm stage.

Shen Ge, Pang Yunrui, and Qin Liangjing had not left either.

After Chen Mu finished helping the injured, they all returned together to Lu County.

…

Back in the county.

Chen Mu first compensated the injured Shopkeeper for the ruined inn.

He was an innocent victim; the inn was entirely blameless.

Though the true culprit was Tang Zhenke, Chen Mu didn't lack this small sum of money.

The Shopkeeper, who had been on the verge of tears, finally smiled upon seeing the money.

But the inn could no longer house guests.

Chen Mu and the other three took their belongings and moved to another inn.

Each took a private room, then met at a teahouse to sit and discuss in detail.

Their topics were: the upcoming ancient ruin, and the approaching waves of cultivators.

If a master like Nie Renchou had come, others would surely follow.

…

It lasted until nightfall.

Each returned to their room to rest.

Chen Mu then took out all the cards he had collected and examined them one by one.

A total of four hundred and nineteen cards!

Most were Internal Force cards, ranging from two months' worth to nine months' worth.

Combined, all the Internal Force amounted to roughly four years of true qi.

Chen Mu used them in large batches—four times total—absorbing and converting them all into his own true qi, pushing his cultivation upward.

Then came five True Qi cards, ranging from three months' worth to seven months' worth.

Chen Mu used them one by one, including his previous reserves, all consumed to activate the Duan Tianhe Scripture and transform them into "Duan Tianhe True Qi."

Though his cultivation did not break through, it climbed to the peak of Fourth Stage of Heaven!

The remaining cards: over forty Skill cards, mostly Post-Heaven martial arts.

Sixteen Training cards, twenty Power cards, five Memory cards, and twenty-six Equipment cards.

The items sealed in these Equipment cards were mostly Peiyuan Pills, with weapons as secondary, plus various miscellaneous items.

He used the Power cards one by one, gaining slight physical enhancements.

After finishing all card usage, Chen Mu exhaled, then rested for a while.

Immediately after, he used a Memory card to "browse" the deceased cultivator's memories.

After finishing the first, he moved to the second, then the third.

When he "saw" the fourth Memory card, Chen Mu's spirit perked up.

"Bají Men, Leng Yanfeng? Leng Yanhui?"

The killer of Tang Yiming has been found!

The local power in Jing'an Prefecture: Baji Gate, Deputy Head Leng Yanhui!

The reason: Tang Yiming slept with Leng Yanhui's daughter, refused to take responsibility, and walked away.

Leng Yanhui's daughter, unable to bear it, committed suicide.

Due to Tang Yiming's strength and fear of the Tang family's influence, Leng Yanhui gritted his teeth and swallowed it.

When an ancient relic's fluctuation appeared in Lu County, Tang Yiming came—and so did Baji Gate.

After Tang Yiming was defeated by Chen Mu, Leng Yanhui saw his chance.

That night, Leng Yanfeng and Leng Yanhui slipped away from others' sight and visited Tang Yiming.

Since Tang Yiming didn't know about Leng Yanhui's daughter's suicide, he was unguarded when Leng Yanfeng and Leng Yanhui visited—and was assassinated from behind by Leng Yanhui.

Leng Yanfeng helped as well.

After killing Tang Yiming, the two left swiftly, without alerting anyone.

Now it's clear: these brothers meant to smear Chen Mu.

Too bad…

Leng Yanfeng is dead, but left behind a memory card.

Leng Yanhui, standing beside Leng Yanfeng, is clearly dead too; which card he contributed doesn't matter.

"Leng Yanhui killed Tang Yiming—Tang Zhenke will find it very hard to uncover…"

Chen Mu pondered.

Leng Yanhui's daughter died over half a month ago.

When Tang Yiming interacted with Baji Gate, he held the upper hand and gained the advantage.

Tang Zhenke, in the short term, would never think to link Baji Gate to this.

"If the old bastard can't figure it out, I'll help him!"

Cold fury flashed in Chen Mu's eyes.

Leng Yanfeng and Leng Yanhui tried to frame him.

Then Baji Gate doesn't need to remain.

Baji Gate's reputation in Jing'an Prefecture was already poor.

In Leng Yanfeng's memories, their crimes of injuring and killing were not just one or two.

But they killed cultivators, not ordinary people—so Jing'an Prefecture's Town Martial Office simply didn't care.

Using Tang Zhenke's hands to destroy Baji Gate is perfect!

Of course.

Tang Zhenke is powerful, with sharp spiritual perception; sending a message in Lu County's city is risky.

Wait until we enter the ancient relic—then find an opportunity!

Thinking of this, Chen Mu exhaled, calming his mind.

…

…

For the next two consecutive days, Chen Mu and the other three waited in Lu County's city.

On the third morning, the four set out again, heading for the ancient relic's location.

Ten li away, they arrived in no time.

After two days' absence, hundreds of cultivators had once again gathered around the valley where the relic lay.

The earlier crowd had been driven off by Nie Renchou.

These newcomers arrived later, never saw Nie Renchou, and stayed.

This included cultivators who had fled, calmed down for a day, then couldn't resist returning because of the relic's treasures—few in number, but not insignificant.

Hundreds gathered at the valley's edge, noise filling the air.

"After Nie Renchou finishes digesting, he'll likely return," Shen Ge said calmly, watching the crowd from the hillside.

"He'll definitely come back," Pang Yunrui nodded. "A newly opened relic means fresh treasures. Even though Nie Renchou cultivates demonic arts, he won't pass up the treasures."

"Let him come."

Qin Liangjing murmured, "Just now I spotted three—no, including Tang Zhenke, four Earth Altar Realm experts."

"If Nie Renchou returns, he likely won't sneak in again to kill and drain blood."

"Hah! That's not certain!"