Chapter 410

An Ziyang stared at the expressionless woman, standing with his hands behind his back.

Although he looked composed on the surface, he was secretly on high alert, his hands pulling on silk threads that could trigger all mechanisms at any moment, while his Gu insects were already prepared to pounce and kill.

Liu Jin.

The Director of the Eastern Depot.

The people of the Jianghu were merely pawns, expendable materials used to test An Ziyang. This great eunuch was the true threat tonight.

"Eunuch Liu, don't you want to chat?"

An Ziyang said.

The woman did not answer; she merely watched An Ziyang quietly for a moment, turned her gaze to the surroundings, and then immediately turned her gaze back.

"This is just a smokescreen; your real plan is elsewhere."

He said this with absolute certainty.

"Without a Heaven-Man guarding it, this cannot be the true location of your setup. Your real setup is at—"

"Wang Gongchang."

An Ziyang's pupils shrank sharply.

But the next moment, he forcibly suppressed his emotions and said with a smile,

"What is Eunuch Liu talking about?"

The woman did not answer.

She had no intention of bickering with An Ziyang, nor did she have any thought of probing for information; she simply picked up a long sword from the corpse of the masked man and slowly wiped it against her body, removing the bloodstains.

An Ziyang frowned.

Liu Jin had never cultivated Nature Cultivation, so although his method of possession was bizarre, it had many limitations. It was not just a matter of time, but also quantity and quality; thus, the targets Liu Jin had possessed previously were basically ordinary people who knew no Wu Gong.

Possessing someone who knew Wu Gong was also a great drain on Liu Jin. Therefore, this woman must be a very important pawn.

And this woman's Wu Gong posed no threat to An Ziyang.

Then, what was he trying to do by picking up the sword?

A desperate struggle?

Would someone like Liu Jin, who was like a puppet, do such a meaningless thing?

The next moment, the woman raised her hand and tore at her body!

The clothing on her body was torn off in one piece, revealing her snow-white body.

An Ziyang's eyes widened abruptly.

It was not because of the woman's body—he had seen plenty of that. It was because of a scar on her belly that stretched from left to right and was still oozing blood! It had been crudely stitched with hemp thread, and one could vaguely see the flesh wriggling!

And the woman's hand had already grabbed the hemp thread.

Without the slightest hesitation, An Ziyang raised his hand and pulled! The silk threads pulled the mechanisms, triggering dozens of traps, shooting countless hidden weapons toward the woman!

No matter what Liu Jin wanted to do, he could not let him succeed!

Kill him first!

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft—

Countless hidden weapons nailed the woman's body in an instant; her eyeballs were pierced, her nose and mouth were sliced off, and her scalp was even peeled back, revealing a stark white skull.

Yet, at the very last moment of her life, the woman still pulled the hemp thread down.

Her belly opened up.

A box slowly emerged from the flesh and blood and fell to the ground.

And behind the box was a bundle wrapped in oil paper, emitting blue smoke; the blue smoke was carried by the wind to An Ziyang, giving off a pungent odor.

An Ziyang was very familiar with this odor; he had been tinkering with this stuff at Wang Gongchang for the past few days.

Gunpowder.

The next moment—Boom!

The woman, or rather Liu Jin, exploded with a bang!

An Ziyang raised his hand abruptly, his sleeve burst open, and an iron umbrella unfurled to block his front.

Drizzling bits of flesh hit the surface of the umbrella and then slid off.

After a few breaths, he lowered the umbrella.

The woman, or rather Liu Jin, had already disappeared.

On the ground, there remained only two severed legs lying crookedly, some shattered remains, and a severed hand still tightly gripping the long sword.

The box that had been hidden in her belly had been caught in the explosion and had shattered, revealing the items stored inside.

They were a few scraps of paper, seemingly torn randomly from a book, with some text written on them. Several sheets had already been ignited and were slowly burning.

An Ziyang's brows slowly furrowed.

"What exactly does Liu Jin want to do?" "Suicide like this, just to send a few scraps of paper to me?"

"Now, apart from me, there are no living people here; what threat can a few scraps of paper pose to me?"

He pondered for a moment, chanted a mantra, and directed his Gu insects to pounce on one of the scraps of paper; after confirming it was non-toxic, he brought it back and placed it in his hand.

He stared intently at the text on it.

"Form vanishes, no self, spirit returns to the Great Void..."

"Mind wanders the Eight Extremes, spirit illuminates the Zhou Tian?"

"This is! A remnant of the Xuanlan cultivation method from Yingzhou!"

An Ziyang raised his head abruptly.

He finally understood Liu Jin's plan!

The explosion was not meant to kill him, but to destroy the evidence while simultaneously sending a signal!

And now, he really had the Xuanlan cultivation method in his hand!

Without the slightest hesitation, An Ziyang rushed out, charging toward that pile of paper scraps! He struck with his palm, unleashing the majestic true energy of the Wedding Dress Divine Art, intending to smash the scraps into dust!

But the next moment—Boom!

A tall figure appeared before him, blocking his palm.

The next moment, another figure darted past and took the pile of paper scraps away.

"Got it! Everyone!"

The figure jumped onto the roof like a wisp of blue smoke, carefully and quickly extinguished the flames on the paper scraps, and then, borrowing the moonlight, slapped his own thigh.

"Indeed, indeed!"

"The rumors are not false! I cannot see the depth of this cultivation method, but it is definitely different from all the Wu Gong currently in the Jianghu; it does not train true energy or tendons and bones, but the spirit—this is the legendary Xuanlan cultivation method!"

"Pity, only four or five pages! The other parts have already been burned away!"

He beat his chest and stamped his feet.

But the next moment, an aged voice interrupted his words.

"No matter, the person is still here."

An Ziyang exchanged a blow with the tall figure, retreated rapidly, withdrew into the Gu insects and mechanisms, and scanned the surroundings.

On the walls, roofs, and throughout the courtyard of this small compound, more than a dozen figures appeared, also dressed as Jianghu people. But unlike the masked men from before, these people did not cover their faces.

So An Ziyang recognized them instantly.

"Why, esteemed Sect Leaders, can't you sleep? Did you get lost coming to the territory of my Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

His hand reached behind his back, his gaze shifting to the roof.

There were two people there, the most dangerous ones.

Water-End Zen Monastery, Liaoxing.

Kunlun Sect, Qiao Cailian.

The two Heaven-Men who had won the "Peak" plaque for their respective sects at the Moon-Viewing Banquet on Mount Songshan.

Qiao Cailian looked at An Ziyang with hatred.

"Li Miao humiliated me like that that day; today, I will first collect some interest from you, his lackey!"

Liaoxing, however, pressed his palms together, sighed long, and shook his head.

"The elders in the monastery are trapped in the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, and this monk had no choice but to come... Battalion Commander An, please forgive me."

He smiled apologetically.

"But Battalion Commander An, this monk really does not wish to offend the tiger's might of Lord Li; coming here today is merely to ask Lord Li for this cultivation method."

"If Battalion Commander An is willing to hand over the full volume, this monk will ensure your safety. When the elders in the monastery recover, this monk is willing to pay with his life to Lord Li to apologize for today's offense; I wonder if that is acceptable?"

An angry shout emerged from the side.

"Why say so much to this lackey and eagle dog!"

A middle-aged man with red-rimmed eyes, holding a woman's severed hand that was still gripping a long sword, stared fixedly at An Ziyang.

"With so many lives lost, one cultivation method is not enough!"

"I want him to be buried with my daughter!"

(End of chapter)