Chapter 75: Annihilation of the Clan

Liu Qinghu had not made a single move from the very start, and even called out to the other disciples of the Iron Spear Sect, telling them not to follow Xie Chenglin's men in the attack.

On this point, Liu Qinghu's attitude was perfectly correct.

"Get up."

Zhao Fuzhou spoke calmly, "First find the people from the Longevity Cult, then we'll talk."

Find the people first?

True enough—Xie Chenglin had blocked the Martial Suppression Bureau from entering the mountain gate to search, which made it obvious he was hiding people inside the mountain gate, afraid of being discovered.

"... Yes!"

Liu Qinghu was overjoyed upon hearing this, and said gratefully, "Thank you, my lord!"

Then he stood up, called over the other disciples of the Iron Spear Sect, and led the way for the people from the Martial Suppression Bureau.

The main areas to be searched were Xie Chenglin's residence and his son's, as well as two mountain caves.

When the search reached a sealed small courtyard near Xie Chenglin's residence, Chen Mu suddenly heard a heartbeat slowed down many times over, coming from underground behind the courtyard.

"No one here."

The Martial Suppression Bureau members inspecting the small courtyard hadn't heard it; they circled around once and came out of the courtyard.

"Wait."

Chen Mu raised his hand and walked toward the back of the courtyard. As he walked, he deliberately Intent Intensifies his footsteps.

Just at the instant he approached the underground chamber...

Boom~

A sudden muffled thud.

Along with the broken square stone block, as dirt and gravel flew, a burly figure shot up from underground.

Moving at tremendous speed, trailing a thick stench of blood, it charged straight at Chen Mu.

Whoosh~

Whoosh!

Chen Mu stepped into the Spirit Serpent Steps, shifted his body, and dodged nimbly.

The charging burly figure didn't pursue either; it swept past Chen Mu and rushed down the mountain.

"Found them!"

"They're here!"

"..."

The Martial Suppression Bureau members who came to their senses shouted in pleasant surprise.

Two people immediately followed, chasing after the burly figure.

Hoo~ hoo~

Those searching other corners, hearing the shouts, rushed over quickly.

But the burly figure was even faster.

Charging headlong, it had already left the Iron Spear Sect's grounds and continued moving down the mountain.

Hum~!

Suddenly, the air trembled, and a platinum sword qi descended from the sky, locking onto the burly figure and slashing down viciously.

The angle tilted from above downward, aimed straight at the burly figure's legs!

So fast it arrived in the blink of an eye.

The burly figure stumbled; its charging form, under the cutting of the sword qi, tilted to the other side and crashed onto the mountain path.

Surprisingly, the burly figure's legs were fine!

Let alone being chopped off, even the skin wasn't broken, much less any blood.

"Horizontal Tempering?"

Chen Mu's eyes lit up.

"Hundred Longevity Demonic Body?"

Zhao Fuzhou's figure appeared on a tree beside the mountain path, looking down at the burly figure, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Hoo!

The burly figure stood up from the mountain path and charged toward the foot of the mountain once more.

"Whoosh!"

The sound of breaking wind rang out, and the platinum sword qi descended again, locking the burly figure dead.

Boom~

The burly figure was struck by the slash, its entire body smashed into the mountainside, gouging out a shallow pit, with dirt and gravel spraying out.

"BOOM~!"

An explosive blast, like thunder from a clear sky—the burly figure directly exploded, its massive body scattering into a rain of shredded flesh and blood across the sky, splattering through the air.

The original shallow pit instantly became a deep pit.

Dead?

Chen Mu was startled and looked up at Zhao Fuzhou.

"I didn't kill it."

Zhao Fuzhou drifted down lightly from the treetop, "The Hundred Longevity Demonic Body can self-detonate. This fellow had tempered horizontally for so long, and to keep the secret, chose suicide. Hard on him."

"..." Chen Mu's mouth twitched.

Still, this term "Hundred Longevity Demonic Body"—this was the second time he'd heard it.

Last time, the Longevity Cult member hiding underground in the backyard of the garment shop in the outer Chengnan district had also cultivated the "Hundred Longevity Demonic Body," and when facing arrest by the Martial Suppression Bureau's Innate Guard Yan Qingyuan, had revealed himself.

At the time, Chen Mu heard a thunderous boom from afar, and the Longlife Cultists died—he had thought Yan Qingyuan killed them, but it was self-explosion!

"My lord, do all Longlife Cultists cultivate the 'Hundred Lifespan Demon Body'?"

Chen Mu walked over, asking as he went.

As he neared the spot where the shattered corpses were scattered…

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

The card was in hand.

He reached into his pocket to check.

Strength Card!

Second Strength Card—one card equals thirty Power Cards!

The probability of obtaining a Strength Card after a Cross-Refining martial artist's death seems quite high.

"All cultivate the 'Hundred Lifespan Demon Body'?"

Zhao Fuzhou shook his head with a faint smile. "It's not that easy. The 'Hundred Lifespan Demon Body' isn't cultivable by just anyone. According to the Longlife Cult's internal hierarchy—Zero Lifespan, Ten Lifespan, Hundred Lifespan, Thousand Lifespan, Ten Thousand Lifespan—only those with sufficient rank qualify to cultivate it."

"And among those qualified, only one in a hundred succeeds."

"That ratio is already quite high," Chen Mu mused.

Among ordinary Cross-Refining martial artists, only one in hundreds succeeds in cultivation.

Once the 'Hundred Lifespan Demon Body' is perfected, not only is its defense astonishing, but it also enables self-explosion!

Though self-explosion is the final, suicidal choice, its destructive power is immense.

When Yan Qingyuan captured him, he was injured.

…

…

The burly figure exploded and died.

Under the leadership of Liu Qinghu and the Iron Spear Gate disciples, the Zhenwu Bureau's forces continued their search.

Yet after scouring the Iron Spear Gate's base and every inch of the mountain, they found no second Longlife Cultist.

The first one had already self-exploded—there was no one left to interrogate.

The lead was broken again!

Chen Mu felt a pang of regret.

Zhao Fuzhou showed no emotion, merely ordered Liu Qinghu and the remaining Iron Spear Gate disciples to bind themselves, then led the group, torches in hand, through the night back to Wulong Fucheng.

Back at the Zhenwu Bureau headquarters, Liu Qinghu and the others were locked in cells—no abuse, merely detention.

Zhao Fuzhou said nothing about their future handling, and Chen Mu did not press; today's mission with the Zhenwu Bureau had already yielded results.

Eight Inner Power Cards, three Skill Cards, two Cultivation Cards, one True Qi Card!

Not to mention the second Strength Card.

Chen Mu planned to use it as soon as he returned home.

Cross-Refining One Cauldron Body was just the beginning—further strengthening, Two Cauldron Body, Three Cauldron Body, Four Cauldron Body…

He could keep Cross-Refining indefinitely!

"My lord! Something's happened! My lord~"

A frantic cry suddenly came from the direction of the gate.

He saw He He Ningshuang, drenched in sweat, rushing into the Zhenwu Bureau.

Chen Mu, who had just been about to take his leave, instinctively halted, watching He He Ningshuang hurry forward until she stood before Zhao Fuzhou.

"My lord, the Three Extremes Valley has been attacked! When we arrived, everyone inside was already dead!"

What?

Chen Mu's eyelid twitched—had the Three Extremes Valley been wiped out?

What a ruthless Tang Wuyang!

He had killed every single member of his own sect!

This man was far crueler than Xie Chenglin—he must already be a full member of the Longlife Cult.

"All dead?"

Zhao Fuzhou's expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked, "When did they die?"

Right!

The time of death of the Three Extremes Valley's people was crucial to Chen Mu.

If they had been dead more than three days, no cards could be collected!