Chapter 416

The night grew increasingly gloomy, the wind sweeping wildly with a suffocating oppression that spread over people's hearts.

Chen Zheng's ancestral home sat quietly at a corner of the street; upon closer look, it was merely an utterly ordinary old house. But Pangzi and I both knew that this seemingly tranquil, dilapidated old house concealed a chilling killing intent.

After witnessing the strangeness of those worms, Pangzi and I hurried to the pharmacy to buy some supplies, packed them into our bundles, made thorough preparations, and then went to Chen Zheng's ancestral home.

Pangzi and I arrived at Zheng-ge's ancestral home one step ahead of Yuan Qiu; originally we planned to wait for QingSongShu to meet up before entering. But when we saw the moon in the sky about to disappear and faintly surrounded by a halo, we realized the celestial phenomena had changed, and time would not allow us to wait any longer.

Without hesitation, we pushed open the heavy gate, Pangzi and I carrying our small bundles, one after the other, and entered.

Inside the courtyard, in the Nine Yin Formation, all eleven flags had each been tied with a living soul; Pangzi and I recognized two of the souls: one was the female corpse from the alley, the other was the Northeastern Tiger. The remaining empty flag, I thought, must have been prepared for Chen Mo.

Dong Yumin and Chen Zheng waited quietly outside the formation, with a group of black-clad bodyguards following behind them. Dong Yumin had changed into a green long robe, and within the formation's eye, an artificial Innate Eight Trigrams had already appeared.

With Pangzi's and my eyesight, how could we fail to notice that the Nine Yin Formation had changed? The Innate Eight Trigrams within it seemed to be playing a role in stimulating growth, continually gathering the yin qi within the Nine Yin Formation.

When the gate was pushed open, Chen Zheng and Dong Yumin both turned to look at us. Seeing Pangzi and me, a flicker of undisguised surprise flashed in Chen Zheng's eyes.

"How could it be you, Wu Chang?" Chen Zheng asked in a low voice.

Pangzi stepped forward anxiously and said to Chen Zheng, "Zheng-ge, listen to me……"

Before Pangzi could finish his words, a low, angry shout came from the air: "Attack!"

The black-clad bodyguards surrounding us, like soldiers hearing a general's order, quickly closed in. On each of their foreheads was clearly a black mole the size of a soybean; without exception, they were all worm-raised corpses.

Only then did Pangzi and I faintly make out that beside Chen Zheng, at the edge of the Nine Yin Formation, stood a person completely enveloped in a black robe. His figure was hidden in the night, faint and elusive; if not looked at carefully, one would not even notice that someone was standing there.

This must be the person who had been hiding in the shadows, directing Fan Wu Chang to control the snake infant to kill people. It was also he who controlled the worms to save us from the gun barrel of Xia Shan Hu.

The mastermind behind the scenes finally appeared; at this moment, I involuntarily recalled the vanished snake infant and those innocents who had been slaughtered. My surging anger welled up uncontrollably from my heart, and I struck the worm-raised corpses around me with greater force.

Soon, Pangzi employed his old skill again, unleashing the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate from his hand; every needle struck the foreheads of those worm masters without exception, turning them into pools of blood.

Only Pangzi, Chen Zheng, and I remained, clutching each other nervously; of course, there was still the worm master hidden in the dark corner.

After we eliminated the worm-raised corpses, the black-robed worm master also acted, drawing a strange rune in the air and then chanting an incomprehensible incantation.

A soft rustling quickly sounded in the quiet courtyard, like the trembling of tree buds or countless insects crawling. Soon, as the sound intensified, a large pile of toxic creatures appeared once again in the courtyard.

But Pangzi and I had already prepared a countermeasure for dealing with these troublesome worms.

As those insects slowly crawled toward us, Pangzi and I quickly took down the bundles behind us and poured their contents onto the insects.

My bundle contained realgar powder, while Pangzi's held cinnabar powder. Realgar repels insects, especially having a natural restraint against snakes, whereas cinnabar powder, used by ancient alchemists, is flammable like gunpowder.

In an instant, Pangzi pinched his fingers to form a seal, sealed the killing intent, and then tossed a Samadhi fire talisman onto the insects on the ground.

The fire quickly spread among the insects, and the courtyard filled with the smell of burning toxic worms and the pungent odor of realgar powder. As the realgar scent drifted on the wind, the worms grew even more panicked, buzzing about like blind flies.

Just then, a gleaming golden light, like a pair of scissors, came at Pangzi from his left. Instinctively, I launched a Yin Mountain Command toward the incoming golden light.

After the palms collided, a scorching heat surged through my palms… This technique, too, seemed to be a martial art.

Heaven's Five Thunder Generals, Earth's Five Thunder Masters, generals and masters emerge together… Pangzi gave a low shout, and the Radiant Five Thunder Palm struck toward the worm master.

With a bang, the black-robed worm master was blown back by Pangzi's palm, staggering several steps before collapsing to the ground.

Pangzi and I exchanged a glance, both astonished, unable to hide our suspicion.

This makes no sense—how could this worm master be so weak?

"Chen Zheng, aren't you going to act? Do you still want to extend your wife's life?" the worm master staggered to his feet and shouted urgently at Chen Zheng.

His words completely revealed his age. Earlier, when he had ordered those worm masters to attack, he deliberately lowered his voice, leading Pangzi and me to think he was elderly. Now, in his panic, we could roughly tell from his voice that his age was not much greater than ours.

I couldn't suppress my doubt, frowning at him. Is this worm master truly the mysterious mastermind behind the scenes, the teacher of Ou Yaofeng? Why does his strength feel comparable to that ill-fated Ou Yaofeng?

But I could only hold onto this doubt for later contemplation, because after hearing the black-robed worm master's words, Chen Zheng actually prepared to attack us.

We had already witnessed Chen Zheng's skill in the secret passage—a master of internal boxing whose fist could even repel that strange flying sword; truly, it was not something an ordinary person could withstand.

"Wait, Zheng-ge, listen to me: you've been deceived; this whole thing is a setup from start to finish. He never truly intended to extend your sister-in-law's life; he's using you, using you to set up this formation, then refining your sister-in-law into an evil spirit." Seeing Chen Zheng's momentum rising like a thunderbolt, I quickly stepped forward and repeated to him the words I had told Fan Wu Chang.

I believed Chen Zheng would surely listen to us, for this concerned Dong Yumin's safety.

Indeed, Chen Zheng heeded our words, especially upon hearing that Dong Yumin would be refined into an evil god; his brows immediately furrowed, and his clenched fists gradually relaxed.

He pointed at us, staring at the black-robed figure on the ground, and asked, "Are what those two said true?"

Faced with Chen Zheng's accusation, the black-robed worm master seemed a little flustered, but quickly she forced composure, glaring at Chen Zheng: "Hmph, Chen Zheng, I tell you, if you don't kill those two, your wife will never be able to extend her life; when my master blames us, neither you nor I will get off easy."

The black-robed worm master's words startled me; did he have a master? Could it be that, like Ou Yaofeng, he is merely one disciple of the hidden mastermind behind the scenes?

The more I thought, the more I felt this possibility was true; I never expected that, after enduring countless hardships and believing we were about to find that mysterious mastermind, we would discover that the mastermind remained hidden behind the scenes—we hadn't even seen a corner of his clothing, let alone his silhouette.

When the worm master uttered those threats, Pangzi and I truly worried that Chen Zheng might yield; however, we soon realized that this concern was unnecessary.

Chen Zheng not only did not yield, but instead coldly said to the black-robed worm master, "You haven't given me an explanation; instead you wield your master to pressure me, revealing your guilt. Do you really think… I, Chen Zheng, am a fool?"

The final sentence seemed to roar from his dantian, shaking the dust on the ground. Chen Zheng swiftly stepped forward, staring at the black-robed worm master and pressing his question relentlessly.

"Speak, what exactly is your scheme—are you trying to extend my life, or to harm my wife?"

This underworld tyrant finally flew into a rage; Dong Yumin is his reverse scale, and anyone who offends it must die.

Seeing Chen Zheng's anger, the black-robed worm master was not afraid; instead, he fixed Chen Zheng with a wild, loud laugh.

"If that's the case, then I have no choice but to kill you and retrieve what my master wants. Chen Zheng, your time has come." Having said that, he spoke in a dark, low voice: "Attack."

Pangzi and I felt a tightening in our chests, thinking he had brought reinforcements; we hurriedly scanned the courtyard for anyone else. Seeing the black-robed worm master's fearless demeanor, his backup must be formidable.

But after searching for a long time, we found not a trace of unusual qi—not even a hint from the worms. In the entire courtyard, aside from Pangzi, Chen Zheng, and myself, there was only Dong Yumin.

Right, Dong Yumin!

My heart gave a sudden thump; I instinctively glanced at Dong Yumin. Not looking would have been fine, but once I did, I was utterly startled.

I saw Dong Yumin's body emanating a faint, elusive chill; the pallid moonlight cast upon a grayish face, at the center of whose forehead lay a barely visible black speck.

A worm-raised corpse—and not a low-level one at that!

My heart clenched tightly; I immediately shouted at Chen Zheng, "Be careful."

Chen Zheng frowned at me, his eyes showing a hint of doubt.

Perhaps out of a martial artist's instinct for danger, he instinctively shifted his left side and stepped back.

Just as Chen Zheng dodged, a flash of blade light sliced past his waist; fortunately, his agile sidestep meant the dagger only tore his clothing.

After the dust settled, when Chen Zheng saw clearly the person holding the dagger, even with his composure, he couldn't help but turn pale.

"Yu Min, how could it be you?"

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