Chapter 173: Wealth Lies in Peril!

"This… this is impossible?"

"Is the information reliable?!"

The secret chamber erupted in uproar, everyone stunned and doubtful.

If the news is true, then Fang family's greatest reliance is gone!

"If the Fang family's ancestral elder were still alive, would I dare scheme against the Fang family, let alone ambush and kill them repeatedly?"

Chen Mu spoke again, "To be honest, the person who hired me to target the Fang family is the young master of the Zhang family."

"The Zhang family wiped out by an unknown force?" Sun Chengye blurted out.

"Yes, that Zhang family."

Chen Mu snapped, "The ones who destroyed the Zhang family were none other than the Fang family! Because the Zhang family accidentally discovered the secret that the Fang family's ancestral elder had died!"

Hum~~

At Chen Mu's words, Sun Chengye, the Han family patriarch, the Stormwind Martial Arts Hall master, and everyone else were stunned, their minds briefly going blank.

Of course!

The sudden annihilation of the Zhang family had always been a mystery.

Remember, the Zhang family was the Fang family's in-laws!

The Zhang family was quietly wiped out; though the Fang family made some moves, they were all thunder without rain.

Previously, Sun Chengye and the others had not understood, thinking the Fang family heartless.

Now they understood!

If the Fang family had destroyed the Zhang family, then everything made sense!

Compared to the secret of their Tiangong realm ancestral elder's death, what did a mere in-law family matter?

The Fang family dominated Xiangzhou and made its name resound across Hanning Dao.

They relied entirely on their ancestral elder!

Now the ancestral elder is gone…

…

While Sun Chengye and the others were still stunned, Chen Mu continued, "Now, the Fang family has only Fang Ronghe, a Di Tan beginner, left. Can't you all together handle the rest?"

He paused, watching the men whose eyes now flickered and breaths quickened, and delivered his final promise: "Tonight, the core Fang family disciples will scatter to break out. I will deal with Fang Ronghe. All you need to do is gather every force you can muster and ambush and annihilate the Fang family's breakout squads!"

"After success, I claim not a single piece of the Fang family's assets or territories—they will be divided equally among your families!"

The secret chamber fell into deathly silence, broken only by Coarse and Heavy breathing.

Wealth lies in peril!

For Sun Chengye and the others, to say they never envied such a behemoth as the Fang family, never dreamed of taking a bite, would be a lie.

But previously, they had been cowed by the Tiangong realm's might, daring not move or even dream.

Now, the greatest threat has been confirmed dead, Fang Ronghe of the Di Tan realm has someone to deal with him, and the remaining Fang family disciples—under your combined strength—can certainly be annihilated!

Moreover, there is this mysterious and powerful "Black Dragon Society assassin" leading the way…

Sun Chengye was the first to recover, his eyes blazing with determination as he gritted his teeth: "Do it! My Sun family will follow my lord!"

The Han family patriarch and the Stormwind Martial Arts Hall master exchanged glances, saw the resolve in each other's eyes, and nodded firmly.

"We are ready to follow my lord's orders!"

The other leaders quickly voiced their agreement.

Before the immense profit, fear was temporarily suppressed; greed and ambition took the upper hand.

"Good."

Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction. "Now discuss among yourselves: how to ambush, how to divide the spoils, and who will handle which targets."

"Understood!"

Sun Chengye and the others responded, then began their planning.

…

Nightfall, like ink, tightly wrapped around Changlong Prefecture.

The Fang family mansion lay in silence.

Until midnight…

The Fang family's main gate and several side gates opened nearly simultaneously.

Five groups, long prepared, surged forth like a breached dam, led by the primordial experts Fang Hongyi, Fang Hongtu, Fang Hongdao, moving silently and swiftly out of the mansion toward their preselected directions.

At the same time, an ancient figure rose like a phantom from within the mansion, stepping through empty air, spiraling upward until he halted at five hundred meters above ground.

It was Fang Ronghe!

His robes snapped in the night wind; his powerful perception spread like an invisible web, instantly enveloping the five squads below and the broader city district.

He stood like a hawk circling high above, cold eyes scanning the darkness, waiting for the venomous snake to strike.

The five squads sprinted through silent streets, initially progressing smoothly, encountering no resistance.

The city wall's silhouette loomed ahead; hope seemed within reach.

Yet, the instant they neared the gate and their vigilance slackened—

"Fire!"

A cold command rang out from nowhere.

Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!

Hum~ Hum~ Hum~

The next moment, deadly attacks erupted from rooftops, alleyways, and shadows on both sides of the street!

Dense volleys of arrows flew like locusts, thick spears hurtled through the air with tearing sounds, poisoned daggers glowed with eerie light, raining down upon the Fang family squads.

"Ah~!"

"There's an ambush!"

"Careful!"

Screams and cries of alarm instantly tore through the stillness of the night.

At all four city gates, the Fang family disciples and die-hard guards were caught completely off guard; a swath of them were shot down in an instant, the casualties were heavy, and the ranks fell into chaos.

"Sun Chengye! So it was you, you despicable little wretch!"

At the east gate, Fang Hongtu's eyes nearly split with rage. He made out the enemy bursting out from the shadows, roared, and brandished his long saber as he charged at the leading Sun Chengye like a maddened tiger.

"Kill them! Leave none alive!"

Sun Chengye's face was utterly savage. Leading several times the number of men the Fang family had, he cut off and surrounded the force led by Fang Hongtu, launching a bloody encircling slaughter.

The fighting at all four directions flared to a white-hot intensity almost simultaneously.

"Clang-clang-clang~"

Boom! Boom! Boom~

"Ah!"

"Kill them!"

"Charge! Break through!"

"……"

The glint of blades and swords, the crack of explosions and dull thuds never ceased; roars and screams wove together, and blood dyed the long street red in an instant.

High in the sky, Fang Ronghe clearly sensed the fierce slaughter below. His face was terrifyingly dark, his chest heaving, but he forcibly held back the impulse to strike at once.

He was waiting!

Waiting for the true target—the Black Dragon Society assassin to appear!

The moment the assassin showed himself, Fang Ronghe would descend with the force of a thunderbolt and crush him on the spot!

……

Near the east gate, Chen Mu was like a stone statue merged into the shadows, his aura drawn in to the utmost, quietly lying in ambush atop a tall bell tower. His gaze pierced the night as he, too, waited.

He was waiting for Fang Ronghe to lose patience, drop his altitude, or have his attention drawn by the fighting somewhere.

One in the high sky, one in the shadows—the two were engaged in a silent contest of patience.

The slaughter at the four city gates grew ever more brutal.

Although Fang Hongyi, Fang Hongdao and the others fought desperately, they were outnumbered, and Fang family disciples kept falling around them.

On Fang Hongtu's side, however, facing Sun Chengye's attacks, he parried with room to spare and could still look after the others.

The place where Chen Mu was hiding was not far from the two of them.

Seeing this, he struck without hesitation.

Spotting that Fang Hongtu's back was poorly defended, Chen Mu took a pitch-black curved saber from his palm-space, and, from a distance, sent a silent slash toward where Fang Hongtu was!