Chapter 304: Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, Just One Flower Short!

Boom—

As the pitch-black pill entered his belly, Chen Yuesheng's ruined body jolted violently, and a savage, grotesque, wildly frenzied terror surged forth like a volcanic eruption!

This aura carried a thick stench of rot and chaos, even disturbing the surrounding void, causing ripples visible to the naked eye in the air.

Chen Mu, who had been approaching to deliver the final blow, sensed this sudden shift in aura—his heart screamed a warning, and without hesitation, he blasted backward, instantly putting dozens of meters between them.

Swoosh-swoosh~

Once safely distant, Chen Mu gave a solemn look toward Chen Yuesheng.

There, lying in the mud, Chen Yuesheng's once gravely wounded, near-dead body was undergoing horrifying mutations at a visibly rapid pace!

His damaged frame swelled and rose rapidly, as if inflating; his head twisted and deformed, his mouth jutted forward, sprouting sharp fangs; his entire skin was covered in wildly growing, iron-hard black hair, and grotesque, nauseating fleshy tumors bulged and writhed across his surface!

In the blink of an eye, Chen Yuesheng transformed from a man into a half-human, half-rat monster standing over three meters tall, radiating a pungent stench and reeking odor, its eyes blazing crimson as blood.

Roar—

Chen Yuesheng threw back his head and let out a roar filled with brutality and agony, the soundwave rippling the river's surface.

He…

No, it—those crimson eyes held not a trace of human reason, only the most primal, pure madness and bloodlust.

Bang~

Its thick hind legs slammed into the ground, exploding a deep crater in the mud; Chen Yuesheng's massive body moved with shocking speed, incongruous with its size, like a bolt of black lightning, lunging straight at Chen Mu!

Chen Mu's gaze turned icy; the Great Luo Turning Heaven Hand reformed once more—a colossal aura palm descended from the sky, striking the monster squarely.

Boom!

The ground cracked into a deeper pit, mud and water spraying everywhere.

Yet the half-human, half-rat Chen Yuesheng merely shook his head, as if untouched, leaping from the pit and charging again at Chen Mu without fear, claws tearing the air with a piercing shriek.

"What is this thing?"

Chen Mu frowned slightly, his hands flicking—thin, willow-leaf daggers, enhanced with true qi, became streaks of cold light, raining down like a sudden storm upon the monster.

Ding-ding-ding—

A rapid, dense sound, like rain pattering on banana leaves, erupted.

Those daggers capable of piercing metal struck the monster's full-body coating of black, hardened hair—and bounced off, leaving only faint white marks, utterly unable to penetrate!

Roar~!

Attacked, Chen Yuesheng's ferocity surged; roaring, he accelerated again, the stench of decay rushing toward Chen Mu.

Hu~

Swoosh!

Chen Mu moved like lightning, retreating swiftly; with a thought, the Sunken Dragon Sword leapt into his hand.

He no longer used his exhausting ultimate technique, but instead wielded the Fighting Heaven Sword Art, advancing to meet the mindless monster in close combat!

Chen Mu deliberately used this chance to hone the Fighting Heaven Sword Art, deepening his mastery over it.

In its half-human, half-rat state, Chen Yuesheng's strength and speed had skyrocketed—each claw swipe and lunge carried the violent power equivalent to a Foundation Establishment realm's Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, and he was fearless, insensitive to pain.

Chen Mu adopted a mobile fighting tactic, his body darting unpredictably; the Sunken Dragon Sword became streaks of crimson sword shadows, like butterflies dancing through flowers, flashing around the monster's massive frame.

The Sunken Dragon Sword, a Mystic Weapon, now revealed its full edge—finally able to pierce the thick black hair, leaving deep and shallow wounds across the monster's bloated body, dark red foul blood oozing continuously.

Chen Yuesheng roared continuously, his attacks growing wilder; his claws gouged deep trenches into the ground, his foul breath even carried corrosive properties—but his mindless combat style left gaping openings before Chen Mu's refined swordplay and agile footwork.

Bang~ Bang~ Bang!

Muffled impacts never ceased.

This battle between man and monster lasted nearly half an hour, reducing the riverside area to utter ruin.

Finally, with a crimson sword flash like a startled swan—

Plop!

A grotesque, ugly, black-haired head, trailing a trail of foul blood, shot skyward.

Chen Yuesheng's massive headless body froze rigid, then collapsed like a mountain of gold and jade, twitching a few times before falling utterly still.

That grotesque, frenzied aura vanished like a receding tide.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

Card acquired; quick check.

Wisdom Card!

Another Wisdom Card.

"Finally, a worthwhile reward."

Chen Mu sheathed his sword, exhaled a slow breath, and adjusted his slightly depleted true qi.

Moments later, he put away the Sunken Dragon Sword, glanced at the corpse slowly reverting toward human form yet still mangled beyond repair, then stepped forward to examine it closely.

Unfortunately, Chen Yuesheng carried no storage pouch or similar item; that grotesque curved blade had vanished during the mutation; the only seemingly valuable robe had been utterly torn apart by his swollen body, rendered useless.

Immediately, Chen Mu channeled true qi, gathering flame energy in his palm, covering the corpse.

Boom~

Intense flames erupted, swiftly consuming Chen Yuesheng's body; within moments, it was reduced to a pile of ash scattered across the ground.

Having finished this, Chen Mu turned and returned to Santan Prefecture, confirming in the ruins of the Golden Money Gang's headquarters that Deng Changtian, Jiang Feng, and He Zhaokun were all dead.

Collected cards: three True Qi Cards.

Not bad.

Thus, the Golden Money Gang's leader Chen Yuesheng, its Four Elders, Ten Hall Masters, and five thousand core members, were all exterminated.

The Golden Money Gang, which had dominated the Four Prefectures for years, was utterly annihilated!

……

He did not rush back to the Star Palace to report.

Chen Mu found a secluded, unnamed peak of a desolate mountain and sat cross-legged.

He took out all the Internal Power Cards, True Qi Cards, and the few remaining True Origin Cards he had accumulated during this time.

One by one, the cards were consumed, transforming into pure streams of energy that surged into his body.

Chen Mu activated the Duan Tianhe Scripture, guiding this vast energy to race through his meridians, meticulously refining and purifying it until it became his own pure True Origin, flowing into his vast, river-like Qi Sea.

When all the card energy was exhausted, Chen Mu clearly felt that, within the Three Pillars of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, the Qi pillar—his True Origin—had reached the peak of the Earth Altar Realm's Divine Bridge Layer, thick and unceasing, flowing without pause.

The final and most crucial step remaining before he could condense the Three Flowers upon his crown and enter the Earth Altar Realm's Three Flowers Converging at the Crown was—

The refinement and breakthrough of his spirit!