Chapter 185: Instant Kill!

"Indeed, where there's profit, there are connections."

Chen Mu sighed.

Cangshan is the outer barrier of Zanglong Ridge.

Dozens of shanzhai that took refuge in Cangshan appear to have been formed by martial artists from northern Shannan who had nowhere else to turn.

In reality, most of the main leaders of each stockade are representatives of external factions.

There must be many valuable things inside Zanglong Ridge.

Over ten thousand years, martial artists who deliberately took refuge in Cangshan have been replaced again and again.

But the core has never changed.

Anyone who tries to attack a somewhat sizable shanzhai within Cangshan will suffer a devastating blow.

Yanhu Stockade is especially off-limits.

Lin Kuan fled into Yanhu Stockade; Chen Mu could easily ignore him.

Witnesses and physical evidence are already in hand; he can already report his mission.

How the Town Guard Office deals with Lin Kuan afterward is of little concern to Chen Mu.

But!

The "Jianzhuang" greaves are in Sikong Sheng's possession.

This component, Chen Mu must obtain.

Therefore, action against Yanhu Stockade is unavoidable.

The good news is the records state that Yanhu Stockade and Feisha Stockade are enemies—deeply so.

Sikong Qinhu's eldest son, five years ago, was raped by the third daughter of Feisha Stockade's chief, Huang Batian!

The rape alone was bad enough, but the key point is that Sikong Qinhu's eldest son, while resisting, was accidentally killed when Huang Batian's third daughter applied slightly too much force!

This created a bitter, unbreakable feud.

Records show Sikong Qinhu fought Huang Batian several times; Yanhu Stockade and Feisha Stockade clashed multiple times.

The conflict ended only after Huang Batian's third daughter died as a sacrifice, and substantial precious resources were paid as compensation.

Since then, Yanhu Stockade and Feisha Stockade have officially become sworn enemies.

They normally avoid each other; occasionally, their subordinates engage in skirmishes.

Everyone in Cangshan knows Yanhu and Feisha are enemies.

When Chen Mu read this, a plan rapidly formed in his mind!

……

……

In the winter morning, the biting wind whipped up the dry, yellow leaves at Cangshan's outskirts.

Chen Mu crouched like a stalking leopard, hidden within a dense thicket of withered grass, his aura blending seamlessly with the surroundings.

The "Listen to the Wind" skill fully activated, every rustle of wind, every insect chirp and bird call, even the faintest footsteps and breaths within a thousand-meter radius, clearly echoed in his mind.

Chen Mu had been lying in wait for half an hour, patiently awaiting his target's appearance.

Finally, movement arose simultaneously along two narrow paths leading deep into Cangshan.

Only one person emerged from the left path.

He was short in stature, with long black hair loosely flowing, dressed in a simple gray cloth robe, yet his steps were steady—each stride covering dozens of meters, his figure flickering with a unique rhythm.

His face was lean, his eyes sharp, his temples prominently swollen, and a deep, tranquil aura subtly radiated from him.

Chen Mu's heart stirred: "Ge Ge Qingsong!"

Third-in-command of Yanhu Stockade, a Divine Bridge expert at Earth Altar Realm!

He was Chen Mu's primary target this time.

From the right path emerged a group of over ten men, dressed as a common caravan, pushing several carts covered with oilcloth.

Their leader was a burly, ferocious-looking man with a demon-headed saber at his waist, his aura hovering around Ninth Stage Innate.

Chen Mu had studied his portrait last night—this man was Ninth-in-command of Feisha Stockade, Guo Zhanggui.

The two groups happened to meet right on the main road!

Guo Zhanggui and his men clearly recognized Ge Ge Qingsong; their faces instantly tensed, hands instinctively gripping their saber hilts.

The enmity between Feisha Stockade and Yanhu Stockade was known to all Cangshan bandits.

They never expected to encounter an Earth Altar Realm expert from Yanhu Stockade out here in the wilderness.

"Greetings… Elder Ge!"

Guo Zhanggui gritted his teeth, forcing a grim smile, and bowed in greeting.

Ge Ge Qingsong halted, glanced coldly at Guo Zhanggui's group, seemingly too indifferent to bother with such minor players, merely letting out a faint "hmm" in response.

The next instant, he tapped his foot lightly and shot forward dozens of meters, leaving Guo Zhanggui's group far behind, vanishing quickly at the road's end.

"Phew…"

Seeing Ge Ge Qingsong depart, Guo Zhanggui and his men exhaled deeply, wiped away cold sweat, and spoke in trembling relief.

"Damn, scared the shit out of me—today's pure luck…"

"Yeah, ran into Yanhu Stockade people."

"Shh! Lower your voice!"

"…"

Guo Zhanggui's group rejoiced at having narrowly escaped disaster.

Hidden in the shadows, Chen Mu's eyes flashed with sharp cunning.

A bold plan instantly crystallized in his mind.

Paying no heed to the still-shaken Guo Zhanggui and his group, Chen Mu's figure slipped soundlessly into the forest beside the path like a ghost, circled around in a wide arc, pushed his movement art to its limit, and darted at lightning speed between the trees—faster than Ge Qingsong—rushing toward the direction he had been heading!

He was going to intercept Ge Qingsong!

In barely a moment, Chen Mu had already overtaken the oblivious Ge Qingsong, arrived ahead of him at a three-way fork in the road, reined in his aura once more, and lay in ambush.

Barely two minutes later, Ge Qingsong's unhurried yet unusually steady footsteps drew from far to near.

Just at the instant Ge Qingsong stepped forward to pass through the junction—

Chen Mu launched his attack without the slightest warning!

The target was not the body, but the soul.

Soul-Shock Spike!

An invisible, formless, yet incomparably sharp psychic spike instantly crossed a hundred meters and stabbed viciously into Ge Qingsong's completely unguarded brain!

"Ugh—ah—"

Caught utterly off guard, Ge Qingsong let out a pained, low howl of agony, clutching his head and staggering; the aura gathered around his body instantly collapsed, his eyes went vacant, his whole frame froze in place, his defenses thrown wide open.

This was the moment Chen Mu had been waiting for.

Within his dantian space, the stored yin-cold sword Qi was instantly activated!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three invisible, formless, colorless, traceless "Yin Swords" of the *Two Forms Sword Qi* shot toward Ge Qingsong's vital points in a triangular formation!

Though his soul had been wounded, Ge Qingsong's Earth Altar realm instincts still remained; at the very last critical instant, he forcibly twisted his body and narrowly dodged the first two hidden swords aimed at his heart and throat.

But the third hidden sword, he no longer had the strength to evade!

"Chirp!"

A faint, strange sound.

The third hidden sword pierced with perfect precision through his glabella and into his brain!

Ge Qingsong's body went rigid with a sudden jerk; lingering in his eyes was endless agony, shock, and disbelief—then the light in them faded completely, and he fell backward stiffly, dead on the spot.

An Earth Altar Divine Bridge cultivator had been ambushed and instantly killed in the blink of an eye!

The plan went surprisingly smoothly.

【Corpse discovered. Loot?】

"Yes!"

The card was in hand; he checked it on the spot.

True Essence Card!

One year and seven months' worth of True Essence.

Pocketing the card, Chen Mu quickly stepped forward and carefully examined Ge Qingsong's facial features, build, and clothing details.

Then, activating the *Hundred Transformations Body Art*, his bones let out faint cracking sounds, his muscles writhed, and in barely a moment he had become utterly identical to the Ge Qingsong lying on the ground!