Chapter 31: Throw Your Old Mother! (Request Follow Reading or2)

In the mountain hollow.

A black eagle circled overhead, its sharp eyes like a death warrant, locking onto the four figures below.

The wilds were silent, save for the rustle of autumn winds sweeping fallen leaves and the gentle murmur of flowing water.

In the deathly stillness, He Can carefully observed every whisper of wind and stir of grass in the wilds.

Lu Ming removed the sack from the puppet’s shoulder and walked slowly toward the corpse pit; inside was an extremely corrosive poison, enough to dissolve all the corpses and erode the stone walls.

But unfortunately, before the two had taken more than a few steps, a disturbance in qi suddenly erupted from behind the shrubs on the western slope.

He Can and Lu Ming turned almost simultaneously, staring at the rustling, withered shrubs—only to find thick toxic mist seeping from their surfaces.

The mist was ink-green; leaves and vines that touched it withered instantly, turning black and charred, clearly laced with potent poison.

As the mist obscured the shrubs, a figure emerged from within.

The fog blocked vision, but faintly they saw the figure clad in a skirt, spinning in place as her sleeves flared wide, her whole body nearly transforming into a top:

Hu, hu~

At the same instant, a chilling wind surged across the slope; the toxic mist pouring from the figure’s sleeves coalesced into two emerald venomous serpents, spiraling outward and instantly engulfing a radius of over ten zhang—seen from afar, it resembled a rapidly expanding typhoon’s eye!

“Hundred Ghosts Bring Plague?!”

He Can’s eyes widened in shock—he knew someone had beaten them to it, expecting a master from Zihui Mountain or a retainer of the Wang Fu, but he never imagined he’d witness the pinnacle technique of the Poison Cult!

The Poison Cult of the Witch Religion, though weak in direct combat, possessed unrivaled area-denial power; “Hundred Ghosts Bring Plague” was its supreme technique.

Lu Ming realized the situation had spiraled beyond expectation and swiftly retreated, shouting loudly:

“Friend, hold on! We’re allies!”

He Can also called out sharply:

“Who are you?”

But unfortunately, the poison witch on the slope, having chosen to strike, would leave no room for mercy; barely had the words fallen when the green mist surged into a tidal wave, sweeping down with the wind to crush the entire hollow.

Seeing the opponent, despite being of the same path, showed not an ounce of courtesy, Lu Ming immediately slid a bone flute from his sleeve:

“Xiu~~ Dudu~…”

BOOM—

The moment the sound rang out, sand and dust erupted from both sides of the pond, followed by a thunderous explosion!

Two motionless figures in cloaks, without warning, leapt forward with the speed of thunder; the one on the right crossed his arms mid-air, gripping the hilt of his waist blade:

Shang—

As the blades drew, twin brilliant silver edges shot forth, cleaving through the toxic mist and striking straight toward the poison master on the slope.

The left puppet, meanwhile, drew its three-foot sword and attacked the flank with thunderous speed.

The puppets had no consciousness; their every move was controlled by the witch. Though the toxic mist obscured vision, the blurred shapes within still allowed them to lock onto the poison master’s position.

But Lu Ming hadn’t anticipated that the moment the two puppets charged into the mist, a vortex suddenly erupted from its side:

Sa—

Amid a terrifying rush of wind, a dark shadow surged toward him like a demon from smoke!

?!

Lu Ming’s face turned ashen; he instantly altered the flute’s tone:

“Dudu—”

Xie Jinhuan, using the toxic mist as cover, slipped silently downstream to the brook; the instant the two puppets moved, he unleashed a full-power ambush, aiming to slay the witch from behind.

But the puppets’ reaction speed was inhuman: the double-blade puppet, moments ago charging up the slope, turned at a perfect right angle the instant the flute tone changed, without pause, slashing diagonally with its twin sharp silver blades!

Sa—

Seeing his flanking opportunity vanish, Xie Jinhuan didn’t retreat—he planted his feet and charged head-on:

Dong!

The explosion shattered the sandy ground into a circular crater.

The Tian Gang Iron Club, dragging a storm of toxic mist, reached the double-blade puppet in an instant; the iron club slipped between the twin blades and struck the chest with pinpoint accuracy.

Pong—

In an instant, the puppet’s chest burst open, revealing black, leather-like flesh densely covered in intricate talismanic script.

The heavy club pierced two inches into the chest—but met resistance like iron or petrified wood, unable to pierce further; the residual force, however, hurled the puppet out of the mist, slamming it directly before the pond’s broken edge.

BOOM—

The sheer force of the impact startled both witches.

But puppets were meant to take blows; Lu Ming showed no hesitation and immediately commanded them forward to encircle again.

Xie Jinhuan, having repelled one enemy, hadn’t advanced more than a few zhang when the other puppet blocked his path with a three-foot blade, thrusting forward and instantly summoning a hundred sword shadows:

Sa sa sa—

Ding ding ding ding…

Xie Jinhuan parried with his club; sparks flew wildly within the toxic mist.

With Xie Jinhuan’s martial foundation, killing this man would take but one move.

But puppets were clearly not men.

The sword puppet refused to engage in technique or care for injury or death—it only struck with terrifying speed, each thrust aimed straight at vital points!

The double-blade puppet, though struck hard on the chest, wasn’t destroyed; the moment it hit the ground, it sprang back up, swinging its twin blades wildly, each strike forcing Xie Jinhuan to defend, forming a pincer stance with the sword puppet.

Three blades clashed midair; in the blink of an eye, Xie Jinhuan left multiple fatal wounds on the puppets’ necks and hearts.

Yet the puppets pressed forward like an unceasing tide, not a drop of blood spilled.

?

Xie Jinhuan now understood why one couldn’t take puppets seriously.

Logically, he should have avoided their sharp edge, circling around to strike from behind.

But Xie Jinhuan refused to yield; realizing targeting acupoints was useless, he drew his Zheng Lun Sword with his left hand, wielding both blades to slash and strike at joints and tendons.

Ding ding ding…

While Lu Ming held off the martial artist’s close-range assault, He Can had planned to ambush the poison master within the mist.

But neither had expected the two puppets couldn’t even contain this martial artist—within moments, the sword puppet’s tendons were severed, its blade clattering to the ground.

Seeing the tide turn, He Can instantly spun his black umbrella overhead.

Hu~

As the umbrella spun, black mist spread from its rim; on its pitch-black surface appeared three white ghostly faces.

A chilling aura of ghosts surged through the hollow, dimming even the autumn light, as if invisible entities drifted through heaven and earth, turning the hollow into a hell of ten thousand wailing spirits:

“Aaah—!!”

But unfortunately, before the three minor ghosts could act, a piercing electric screech erupted from within the mist:

Ci la la—

The sound was so shrill it resembled a hundred birds singing in unison; a small patch of dark mist flickered violently, glowing pale blue-white!

The Zheng Lun Sword was Zihui Mountain’s divine weapon, specialized in subduing demons and expelling evil!

Xie Jinhuan had tried channeling his own crude thunder art through the Zheng Lun Sword—and found the amplification astonishing; he’d turned a few feeble sparks into a dense net of lightning.

Though it lasted only an instant, the flash of thunder erased all the sinister ghostly aura from the hollow; even the autumn light grew warm again.

?

He Can, commanding his ghost umbrella, found it now useless as a burning stick; his eyes filled with incomprehensible shock.

Ghost witches, as the name implies, control malevolent spirits to harm others.

The minor ghosts, terrified, dared not surface; the witch became a commander without troops—his umbrella, once a weapon, now served only to shield from rain and sun.

Such a thing was normally impossible; his umbrella was no low-grade artifact, and artifacts capable of suppressing it so utterly were exceedingly rare.

But now he faced it—he realized he could not unleash his full power, and without hesitation, he retreated:

“Fall back!”

Meanwhile, Lin Wanyi on the slope, seeing the sheer dominance of Xie Jinhuan’s sword, felt her own shock and doubt.

But she had no time to ponder; with such a divine artifact in his hands, killing these two allies was like playing—she simply kept pushing the toxic mist toward Lu Ming, the last standing opponent.

Lu Ming, unable to contain Xie Jinhuan even with both puppets, realized the man carried a high-grade exorcism artifact—he understood this battle was hopeless.

Seeing the towering toxic mist descend upon him with no escape, Lu Ming flung his sleeves, releasing several round spheres into the mist toward the two.

Xiu xiu xiu—

Pong pong…

The spheres flew like shuttles, exploding on contact with the emerald mist, unfolding into vast, sticky nets that blanketed the sky, leaving no escape.

Lin Wanyi, a poison master whose strength lay in covert poisoning, had little direct combat ability; seeing the nets hurtling toward her, she instantly dodged behind a pine tree.

But the nets, upon striking the trunk, recoiled instantly and wrapped her up like a caterpillar.

Shua~

Xie Jinhuan, as a martial artist, possessed far greater explosive power; he leapt forward with a club strike and a kick, hurling the two battered puppets into the nets, then darted left and right in rapid succession, slipping cleanly through the gaps between the nets.

Seeing the two fleeing, their distance now great, Xie Jinhuan didn’t hesitate—he leapt sideways, adjusted his angle, raised the Tian Gang Iron Club, muscles bulging, qi surging like a storm-tossed sea, and hurled it with all his might:

“I throw your old mother—!”

BOOM—

With a thunderous explosion, the Tian Gang Iron Club, wrapped in boundless qi, split the churning toxic mist down the middle, as if a god had cleaved the valley with a single sword!

The iron club spun through the hollow; below, the brook exploded open, revealing jagged rocks and gravel, while a white dragon of shattered water and debris surged outward in both directions.

Lu Ming, head down, fled for his life—until he felt the overwhelming blade-pressure, the tidal wave of shattered stone and flying water, crash against his back.

Although this “Hand-Release Flail” came from afar, its accuracy and force were utterly inconceivable!

Lu Ming’s eyes barely flashed with terror before the Heavenly Gang Flail struck him in the back like a spinning wheel.

Thud—

A muffled boom echoed as a burst of blood mist exploded between the hills.

The figure sprinting forward swelled and vanished in an instant, leaving only two lower legs flung far ahead, blood staining the ground dozens of feet around in an instant!

The Heavenly Gang Flail, still brimming with momentum, raced onward like an unrivaled spinning wheel, striking toward He Can as he fled.

He Can caught sight of this horrifying strike from the corner of his eye, his heart freezing with dread—he spun midair and unfurled his black umbrella!

Puff~

Boom—

The whirling heavy flail arrived in an instant, shattering the ghost umbrella into pieces!

The figure behind the umbrella was slammed in the chest by the flail, flung backward, splashing into the stream like a water gourd, then crashing into the hillside shrubs!

Rustle-rustle-rustle—

……

(End of Chapter)