Chapter 328: If You

Thick, potent true energy instantly coalesced into a pale golden giant palm covering nearly half the estate, radiant with brilliant light.

The palm's texture was clear, composed of pure energy, radiating a majestic, righteous force that purified evil and suppressed all things, crashing down upon the estate's core buildings!

"Intruder!"

"Who is it?!"

"Get out of the way!!"

……

Below, in the estate, piercing alarm bells and furious, terrified shouts erupted in a chaotic din.

But it was too late.

"Boom!"

"Boom—rumble—"

The giant palm descended like heavenly retribution.

Those seemingly sturdy houses and pavilions crumbled, shattered, and turned to dust like paper toys beneath the palm.

A terrifying shockwave, mixed with shattered stones and splintered wood, surged wildly outward.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Amidst the swirling dust, several battered, furious figures shot upward from the partially collapsed side buildings—Tang Ji, Du Yuansheng, He Xiaoming.

From the utterly ruined core area, only one figure emerged, covered in ash, blood trickling from his lips, coughing violently as he crawled out—Shi Manfeng, the estate's owner, an old man in brocade robes with a sinister face.

As for those who had not escaped in time or lacked sufficient cultivation, they had already been reduced to shredded flesh or sludge by that single palm.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

……

"Tang Ji! He Xiaoming! Du Yuansheng!"

Ding Tianpeng hovered in midair, robes fluttering, his voice quiet yet carrying the icy authority of judgment, "Surrender, and I'll give you a quick death. Otherwise, you'll know the taste of the Zhenwu Bureau's prison!"

"Judgment Enforcer?!"

When Tang Ji saw the three figures in the air—especially Ding Tianpeng and Zhao Fukang—his pupils shrank to needle points, his face drained of all color, terror overwhelming him.

He never imagined Chen Mu had directly summoned two of the headquarters' most feared Judgment Enforcers!

"Run!"

He Xiaoming reacted fastest—and was cruelest. Knowing survival was impossible, he roared, spun on his heel, and unleashed his cultivation to its peak, becoming a streak of light aimed at the dense forest beyond the estate.

"Think you can run?"

Chen Mu had already locked onto him. The instant He Xiaoming turned, the Xian Long Sword slashed out.

"Swish—"

A searing, magma-like, solidified flame sword qi tore through the night, imbued with the sword intent of the Second Heaven.

The sword qi cut across the sky, instantly spanning dozens of meters, precisely blocking He Xiaoming's escape route, sealing his path.

"Aah! Break it!"

He Xiaoming's face twisted in fury. With no way to dodge, he roared, drew his blade, and poured his true energy into it, slashing out a sinister green dao罡, trying to cleave through the sword qi and carve a path to survival.

Boom—

The flame sword qi and green dao罡 collided violently.

A deafening explosion echoed through the night, golden-red and green light swirling and annihilating each other.

The terrifying shockwave surged like an invisible tidal wave, obliterating the remaining buildings below in a wide radius.

Puff!

He Xiaoming's dao罡 was shattered by the sword qi; the residual qi and force slammed into his protective aura. He groaned, spewed a torrent of blood, and flew backward like a severed kite, crashing heavily to the ground, rolling several times before stopping—his breath ragged, grievously wounded.

On the other side, Tang Ji and Du Yuansheng fared worse.

They hadn't even managed to resist or flee before Ding Tianpeng and Zhao Fukang struck.

Ding Tianpeng merely flicked his fingers; two razor-thin finger blasts, condensed to perfection, pierced through Tang Ji's shoulder blades and knees, crippling his mobility.

Zhao Fukang was even more direct—he reached out with a palm the size of a fan, summoning a giant true energy hand that seized Du Yuansheng like a chick, then slammed him violently to the ground!

"Aah—"

"Puff!"

Two piercing screams erupted simultaneously; Tang Ji and Du Yuansheng fell from the air like broken sacks, crashing into the dust, bones shattered, tendons torn, blood spurting, instantly incapacitated.

In barely two breaths, all three traitorous Si Li officials were defeated, gravely wounded, and captured.

Shi Manfeng, crawling from the ruins, witnessed this devastating scene and stood frozen, face ashen.

"My lord, spare me! All my lords, spare me!"

Tang Ji, blood oozing from nose and mouth, gritted his teeth against the agony in his shoulders and knees, barely propped himself onto his knees, pounding his head against the cold ground, pleading desperately to Ding Tianpeng, Zhao Fukang, and Chen Mu in the air.

"I was only momentarily foolish, deceived by Cao Cao Liangxing and the overseas bandits! I'm willing to atone and reveal everything—please, my lords, grant me a chance to live!"

"Cough… cough… cough…" On the ground, Du Yuansheng lay panting, breath erratic, blood staining his lips, yet his face was filled with defiance and madness. Hearing Tang Ji's plea, he spat out a hoarse roar, "Tang Ji, you spineless coward! What are you begging for? Once they've got you, is there any chance of survival?! A severed head's just a big scar! If you've got guts… cough… cough… then give me a quick death!"

"Fine. I'll oblige."

Zhao Fukang's eyes flashed with lethal intent—he despised such unrepentant traitors.

As he spoke, he casually pointed his right index finger forward!

Shhh—

A hyper-condensed blue beam shot from his fingertip, faster than the eye could track, appearing as nothing more than a faint thread of light flickering through the air!

Pfft!

A soft sound.

Right in the center of Du Yuansheng's forehead, a thumb-thick, front-to-back blood hole instantly appeared.

The ferocious rage and crazed expression on his face froze in an instant. A flicker of bewilderment rose in his eyes, then transformed into intense unwillingness and a final, lingering grasp on life, as the light in them swiftly dimmed.

His mouth opened and closed, as if wanting to say something, yet no sound came out. His body convulsed violently twice, then with a heavy thud, he collapsed completely onto the ground, dead. Blood mixed with brain matter seeped slowly from the hole in his forehead, staining the earth beneath him red.

A Spirit Bridge cultivator of the Earth Altar Realm was as fragile as an infant before the Arbiter of the Heaven Ascending Soul Altar.

【Corpse discovered. Loot?】

"Yes!"

……

Card in hand, he inspected it quickly.

Soul-Enhancement Card!

Another Soul-Enhancement Card — not bad, not bad at all.

Chen Mu pocketed it without a flicker of expression.

Come to think of it, ever since arriving in Weizhou, the drop rate for Soul-Enhancement Cards had been higher than in any of the other places before.

……

Having watched Du Yuansheng be erased so easily with his own eyes, Tang Ji trembled all over like a sieve. His kowtowing grew even more frantic, his forehead even smacking open bloody welts, and his pleas for mercy took on a sobbing, even more piteous wail.

"Mercy! Mercy, my lord! I don't want to die! I'll tell you everything! I know everything!"