Chapter 242: The Fang Family Arrives

"Pfft!"

After this strike of thunder, Chen Che could finally hold it no longer, and once again, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.

The palm strike from the garden guardian just now, trading injury for a kill, was extremely vicious; the True Qi had pierced through his chest. It appeared there were no external wounds, but his internal organs had suffered significant damage!

Chen Che had pretended to be fine while going all out, launching attacks without leaving the slightest margin, all to end the battle quickly and kill the garden guardian.

Otherwise, there would be no need to wait for the garden guardian to escape the Array Diagram; even if they just kept on exhausting each other, it would be hard to say who would live and who would die.

Chen Che knelt on one knee on the ground, one hand supporting the earth, the other clutching his chest, as he spat out blood mouthful after mouthful.

The Array Diagram beneath his feet also dimmed in light and shrank in range as his injuries worsened.

Tang Ying naturally saw Chen Che's state; she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, yet she dared not step forward to help.

She knew very well that the battle was not yet over, and with her cultivation, going to help would only be a hindrance.

Moreover, the commotion of their battle was too great; by now, it must have already alerted the others in the Fang Family, and perhaps the Fang Family members were already on their way here.

They had to leave as soon as possible!

"The Fang Family is coming. You go first, I will hold them off!"

As if sharing a telepathic connection with Tang Ying, Chen Che said with his back to her.

"But what about you?"

Tang Ying clenched her fists; she had never hated herself for being useless as much as she did now!

"The Fang Family's attention is surely all here. You take advantage of the chaos to escape now and bring the people from the Inspection Bureau to save me. I have the confidence to survive until then!"

Chen Che turned his head and smiled at Tang Ying.

That smile revealed a sense of smug self-confidence, yet Tang Ying saw the exhaustion and forbearance hidden within it.

"Chen Che, if you dare to die, I will absolutely not forgive you!"

Tang Ying said with a sobbing tone, bit her red lip, and vanished into the Medicine Garden.

Chen Che turned his head back, gazing as the smoke and dust kicked up by the thunder dissipated.

The garden guardian lay prone on the ground, his clothes in tatters, looking utterly wretched. He also stared at Chen Che, his bright, piercing eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"This is an Artisan Technique?! This is impossible! Absolutely impossible?! Your strength is at most that of a Postnatal Grandmaster; even if you know Artisan Techniques, it is impossible to unleash such powerful force!"

The garden guardian struggled to stand up, only to find his lower leg bone was broken; he fell back to the ground having only stood up halfway, and then realized his internal organs were already shattered, causing him to spit out a large mouthful of blood.

"I cannot lose! I cannot be defeated just like this!"

The garden guardian screamed hysterically. He could be said to have been extremely stifled in this battle; from the moment he was trapped in the Array Diagram, he had been unable to unleash his full strength, forced to only defend and take hits.

Finally, having gained a chance to counterattack by trading injury for a kill, it had still been a tactical error, leading to this current state.

"I said I would bury you here, and you will not survive!"

Chen Che changed his hand seals again and slapped the ground. The Array Diagram rotated once more, the characters lit up, and the garden guardian widened his eyes in terror.

"Pfft!"

A tree branch as thick as an elephant's leg burst out from the soil beneath the garden guardian, piercing through his chest and hanging him in mid-air!

"You cannot kill me, you cannot kill me!"

The garden guardian had no room left to resist; he roared while clinging to his last breath, unable to accept his impending death.

"Gen Wood—Thorn!"

Chen Che gave a low shout. On the tree branch that had pierced the garden guardian, countless small yet slender wooden thorns grew out once more, poking the garden guardian into a sieve!

"Gen Earth—Burial!"

Chen Che changed his hand seals again. The tree branch that had burst from the ground retracted back into the earth, and the soil split and then closed, burying the garden guardian inside, leaving only his head exposed.

"Cough... Pfft!"

Chen Che sprayed out another mouthful of blood. The pain in his chest reached its peak at this moment, and a feeling of dizziness surged up, making him sway unsteadily.

"Benefactor, how are you?"

Lao Jin rushed over at this moment, asking about Chen Che's condition with concern.

Chen Che glanced at him, shook his head, and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely bring you out safely."

Lao Jin's tear-swollen eyes turned red again, and he blamed himself: "It is my incompetence; I couldn't hold back, which is why I led people back here. And I even caused Benefactor to be severely injured. I deserve to die!"

Just as Chen Che was about to say something, under the moonlight, black shadows flashed across the ground.

The Fang Family had finally arrived!

Chen Che turned his head to look; the entire Fang Family had mobilized and arrived at the Medicine Garden.

The Fang Family members were all stunned by the scene in the Medicine Garden! Their forbidden ground had actually turned into such a state; every Fang Family member present could not accept it!

Fang Jixian took a step forward, looking at the tragic state of the Medicine Garden with a face full of shock, and roared in disbelief: "No! No! My Medicine Garden! No!!"

"That is Grandpa Gong!"

Fang Shaokun shouted at this moment.

The others followed his line of sight and were shocked to see the scene of the garden guardian surnamed Gong buried in the earth.

This sight struck the nerves of every Fang Family member present once again, and incomparable shock surged in their hearts!

The garden guardian's combat power was among the best in the Fang Family; apart from the secluded Fang Family ancestor and the Patriarch Fang Jixian, the garden guardian's Martial Dao Realm was the most peerless.

Yet now, the garden guardian had actually been buried just like that! The shock this brought to the Fang Family members can be imagined!

Zhuque also furrowed his brows; compared to shock, he felt more anger. The Fang Family's Medicine Garden was an important asset of the Martial Arts Alliance, and it had taken great effort to cultivate it to the level of abundant True Energy it had today.

And now, it had actually been destroyed just like that!

Zhuque cast his gaze toward Chen Che, and Chen Che also looked up at this moment. Their gazes collided, and both their bodies shook; a sense of familiarity filled both their hearts.

"Lu Renjia?!"

Fang Shaokun screamed again, pointing at Chen Che, who had used the Ghost Gate Needle to disguise his appearance, and said, "You are Lu Renjia!"

Hearing this, Fang Shifeng furrowed his brows and took out his phone to type something.

Fang Jixian took a step forward, his surging True Qi erupting outward, his fury roiling and rising as he looked at Chen Che with eyes filled with monstrous killing intent.

The destruction of the Fang Family Medicine Garden was equivalent to severing the bond between the Fang Family and the Martial Arts Alliance, and it was an even greater insult to the Fang Family!

"Mr. Lu, the Fang Family has always been on good terms with you, and our business dealings have been very harmonious. Today is my birthday banquet, after all. Is this the birthday gift you give me?"

Fang Jixian's voice was low, and his might descended from the sky, enveloping Chen Che and Lao Jin.

Lao Jin could not withstand it and fell to his knees with a thud.

Chen Che forced himself to stand up, looked straight at Fang Jixian, and coldly snorted: "Using human lives to nourish a treasure land brimming with True Qi—the Fang Family is truly worthy of being the number one Martial Dao family in Jinling!"

"This is the Fang Family's business, and it has nothing to do with you!"

Fang Jixian continued to release his pressure and roared: "Useless to say more; since you have discovered the Fang Family's secret, leave your life here today!"

"Wanting my life? It won't be that easy!"

Chen Che let out a roar, his True Qi scattering the pressure and transforming into a large snake that lunged toward Fang Jixian to tear at him.

"An ant trying to shake a tree!"

Fang Jixian snorted coldly and flicked a finger, and the True Qi snake dissipated completely.

Chen Che took this opportunity to turn and flee: "Go!"

Chen Che reached out to grab Lao Jin's arm, but was pushed away by the latter.

"Benefactor, go quickly! I return this life of mine to you!"

Lao Jin said this quickly, then roared as he charged toward Fang Jixian:

"You bunch of animals, give me back my wife, give me back my daughter! You Fang Family members will meet a miserable death!"

Chen Che turned to look at that figure throwing itself into the fire like a moth; it was already too late to turn back and save him.

With his wife and daughter dead, whether for the sake of repaying a debt or seeking revenge, this simple, honest man no longer wished to live!

Chen Che gritted his teeth in unwillingness, turned back around, and without a moment's hesitation, his figure flashed and disappeared into the Medicine Garden.

Lao Jin rushed toward Fang Jixian, waving his fists and striking out as if his life depended on it.

However, how could the strength of an ordinary person shake Fang Jixian, a Martial Artist at the Grandmaster Great Perfection realm?

"Seeking death!"

Fang Jixian slammed a palm onto the crown of Lao Jin's head; Lao Jin's body instantly stiffened, and blood poured from his seven orifices.

A blue flame of True Qi rose from bottom to top, burning Lao Jin until he was reduced to ashes.