Chapter 170: Lure Him Into the Jar?

The last glow of sunset had not yet fully faded, but the Fang family's council hall was already thick with dark clouds.

The spies sent out returned word that the Sun family, Han family, Stormwind Martial Hall, and other factions had dispatched personnel, but clearly only went through the motions—merely pretending to patrol within their own territories, treating the investigation of truly suspicious individuals with indifference, and possibly even secretly laughing at the Fang family's misfortune.

"Damn bastards! A bunch of two-faced cowards!"

Fang Hongtu flew into a rage, smashing a vase beside him with a single palm strike, "I say we gather forces first and wipe out all these slackers! Kill one to warn a hundred!"

Fang Hongdao remained silent, his face grim.

Fang Hongyi let out a heavy sigh and rebuked, "Stop talking nonsense! You might crush one or two families, but can you wipe out every faction in Changlong Prefecture? If you trigger a citywide panic and harm the common folk, will the Peacekeeping Bureau just sit back and do nothing?!"

"… " Fang Hongtu opened his mouth, then clenched his teeth and sank back into his chair, breathing heavily.

The other guest elders also exchanged uneasy glances, at a complete loss.

Launching an offensive search was like fishing for a needle in the ocean; passively huddling in defense was like boiling a frog slowly—their morale was steadily crumbling.

The Fang family seemed trapped in an unsolvable predicament.

At that moment, Fang Ronghe, who had been closing his eyes to rest, slowly opened them.

His cloudy gaze swept over everyone present, his voice carrying a note of finality: "Since we can't hold it, then don't hold it. Since we can't lure him out, then let him come in!"

Everyone froze at his words.

Fang Ronghe continued, "Tonight, shut down the inner courtyard's formation! Hongyi, Hongtu, Hongdao, and Hongquan—you four late Innate Realm experts—each lead a squad of elite troops to cross-patrol the core area of the inner courtyard. I will personally oversee the central hub and monitor the entire compound!"

"We'll set a trap—lay a heavenly net. If he dares show his face, he'll never leave alive!"

This meant using themselves as bait, staking the entire core strength of the Fang family's main lineage on one final gamble!

Hearing this, Fang Hongyi's face darkened with guilt: "It's all our incompetence—we've forced you to risk your own life."

"No more words. This is a matter of survival—we must take the risk!" Fang Ronghe waved him off.

Among the crowd, Fang Hongquan—who had always been quiet and low-profile—when he heard this plan, a flicker of unusual light flashed deep within his lowered eyes, then vanished, returning to calm.

…

At nightfall, Chen Mu arrived quietly at the outskirts of the Fang estate, as usual.

But he immediately sensed something different—

The translucent barrier shielding the inner courtyard had vanished!

And although the estate's atmosphere remained tense, the patrol formations and routes had clearly changed, subtly exuding the scent of a trap laid to lure him in.

"Trying to lure me inside?"

Chen Mu sneered inwardly, refraining from immediate action, instead becoming the most patient of hunters, lurking in the shadows, observing silently.

Sure enough, not long after, he noticed a small side gate of the Fang estate quietly opening—servants dressed in servant's garb, or warriors who had shed their martial attire and worn only undergarments, slipped out in small groups, their expressions frantic, vanishing swiftly into the night.

Clearly, days of killings and fear had driven servants and low-ranking guards, unable to bear the pressure, to follow the example of earlier escapees and flee under cover of darkness!

Chen Mu made no move to stop them.

Their flight would only deepen the panic within the Fang family—he welcomed it.

He continued to wait patiently.

Two more groups slipped out one after another.

When the third group—about seven or eight "servants"—walked quickly out of the small gate with heads bowed, Chen Mu's gaze suddenly sharpened!

Among them was a middle-aged man of average build, head lowered, dressed in coarse cloth, desperately suppressing his aura—but to Chen Mu's keen perception and his "Listen to the Wind" skill, the man's vigorous blood qi and faint yet unmistakable energy fluctuations of the Innate Realm shone like fireflies in the dark!

A cultivation expert of the Innate Realm, disguised as a servant, fleeing?

Chen Mu's suspicions flared instantly.

This man's identity was far from ordinary!

He no longer hesitated—he silently trailed behind.

After leaving the city, the group scattered, each fleeing for their lives.

The Innate Realm warrior chose a secluded path, quickening his pace, clearly eager to put as much distance as possible between himself and Changlong Prefecture.

Seeing no one around, Chen Mu no longer concealed himself—he flashed forward, blocking the man's path.

The "servant" froze, raised his head, revealing a face that looked ordinary but whose eyes gleamed with sharpness—it was Fang Hongquan of the Fang family!

Though he didn't recognize the man blocking him, the icy killing intent instantly told him everything.

"Black Dragon Society friends—do you truly intend to wipe us out completely?"

Fang Hongquan's voice was hoarse, attempting negotiation, but a flash of ruthlessness flickered in his eyes.

Chen Mu said nothing, merely stared coldly at him.

Seeing negotiation was hopeless, Fang Hongquan made up his mind—he would strike first.

He unleashed his full cultivation, his Seventh Stage Innate power exploding without restraint—his body shot forward like lightning, delivering a palm strike brimming with full force and venomous intent straight toward Chen Mu's face!

He aimed to kill in one blow, then flee a thousand miles.

Yet, facing this sudden, ferocious assault, Chen Mu did not dodge or retreat.

He drew a deep breath, then slammed his left fist forward.

The First Form of the Hate-Heart Fist—Hatefire Burning the Heart! The flame-marked fist imprint roared!

The Second Form—Hate Surging to Heaven! The fist force surged like a furious ocean tide!

The Third Form—Hate That Heaven Has No Eyes! The destructive fist intent condensed to its ultimate extreme!

Hate! Hate! Hate!

Boom~ Boom~ Boom!

Chen Mu unleashed three punches in rapid succession, each faster than the last, each heavier than the one before.

The raging flame fist energy, though launched later, overtook the front—easily shattering Fang Hongquan's palm strike, then smashing through his body with unstoppable force, striking his chest with crushing impact.

The ruthlessness on Fang Hongquan's face instantly turned to boundless shock and terror.

He felt as if three burning volcanoes had slammed into him in sequence—his protective qi shattered like paper, his ribs cracked into fragments, his heart crushed outright by the searing, tyrannical fist energy.

"Pfft—!"

He violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood mixed with chunks of his internal organs. Fang Hongquan's eyes bulged wide as he stared at Chen Mu in disbelief, then his body went limp and collapsed, his breath instantly cut off.

Until death, he never understood how this Black Dragon Society assassin had discovered that he was disguised as a servant.

【Corpse discovered. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

Chen Mu stared coldly at Fang Hongquan's corpse, his gaze flickering.

Check the card—Martial Arts Card!

Adding the Martial Arts Card obtained from intercepting and killing the Fang clan branch member who was running to Changlong.

With this number of Martial Arts Cards, he could try to deduce the *Two Forms Sword Qi*!

Chen Mu was very clear on this.

To annihilate the Fang clan, he would ultimately have to face Fang Ronghe, this Earth Altar realm cultivator.

Even if Fang Ronghe's strength was only average among Earth Altar realm cultivators.

But Earth Altar realm was, after all, an existence a full major realm above.

For Chen Mu to face him alone, killing him would be very difficult.

In the short term, his cultivation couldn't be raised—the leap from the Sixth Stage of Heaven to the Seventh Stage was a threshold.

If the realm couldn't be closed, then start from Wu Gong!

*Two Forms Sword Qi*—this immensely powerful, so incomplete it could not be more incomplete absolute art—was the moment to formally master it!