“Lu Zhaoyuan! Get out here and meet your death immediately!”
Duan Hongling's cold shout echoed over the lake, plunging the cabin into an instant, dead silence.
Lu Zhaoyuan's face grew slightly pale as he urged in a low, rushed voice, “Boss Ding! The woman outside is Duan Hongling, the overseer of the Precious Fish pond. Since she tracked us here, she must have already alerted the Star-Plucking Sect.
“Experts will be coming to reinforce her soon! We must leave quickly. Any further delay, and things will turn disastrous!”
“Leave?” Ding Hong sneered, snorting through his nose. He slowly rotated his thick neck, his joints letting out a series of crisp, cracking sounds.
“You cost my brother his life and ruined my, Ding Hong's, opportunity. Do you honestly think you can just walk away today?!”
He suddenly rose to his feet. A surge of incomparably powerful qi erupted from his body, snuffing out all the candles in the cabin at once!
Darkness rushed in like a tide, leaving only his triangular eyes glowing with an eerie light. Glinting with cold malice, they locked onto Lu Zhaoyuan. “Follow me out. We will quickly deal with that woman and reclaim the Precious Fish. Otherwise... you can stay behind today to be buried alongside my fourth brother!”
With those words, the four demons behind him—Pang Wei, Xiong Laosan, Hu Jiu, and Chen Hongyuan—all took a step forward, killing intent surging in their eyes!
Lu Zhaoyuan felt a chill deep in his heart and weakly replied, “Understood...”
Outside the boat.
Shen Xiuhan and Duan Hongling stood side by side on a jagged reef.
The waters of the eastern shore were as clear as jade, offering an unobstructed view for miles around. Only this sand-carrying boat was strangely moored at the mouth of the bay.
Lu Zhaoyuan was almost certainly on that boat!
However...
Duan Hongling could not be sure if there was anyone else on board. If there was an ambush, boarding blindly would be walking right into a trap.
Thus, she decided on a strategy of probing and stalling, waiting for the sect's experts to arrive and assist them!
Yet, before she could call out again.
Bang!
The cabin door was kicked open, and a burly figure exuding a fierce aura like a giant bear slowly stepped onto the deck.
“Duan Hongling?”
Ding Hong stood by the bulwark, looking down from his high vantage point at the beautiful woman on the reef.
The flesh on his face quivered with a sinister smile, his eyes greedily scanning Duan Hongling's curvaceous figure. “What a fine mermaid... Isn't it boring guarding this wretched island day in and day out? Why don't you follow me instead? We can enjoy ourselves every day and ascend to paradise together. How about it?!”
“Hahaha!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Pang Wei, Xiong Laosan, Hu Jiu, and Chen Hongyuan also boarded the deck one after another. Hearing his words, they burst into wild, unrestrained laughter, spewing a continuous stream of vulgarities!
Standing quietly among the crowd, Lu Zhaoyuan's pupils suddenly contracted when his gaze accidentally brushed past the figure in green!
He parted his lips, about to warn them that this very youth had instantly slaughtered Weng Gui in just a few moves...
But the words caught in his throat!
Weng Gui's attitude and the threats from Ding Hong and the others pricked his heart like two icy thorns. This made Lu Zhaoyuan realize that demonic path cultivators were, after all, demonic cultivators—they were completely untrustworthy!
Scheming with tigers would only lead to being eaten alive, bones and all, sooner or later!
Why not... Screw them over! That way, I can take advantage of the chaos to escape!
A complex look flickered in the depths of Lu Zhaoyuan's eyes. There was venomous hatred! There was also a sense of vindictive pleasure!
Thus, he forced himself to swallow his words, lowered his eyes, and remained silent.
On the reef.
As Duan Hongling watched the thugs reveal themselves one by one, her beautiful face instantly darkened, shock and wariness intertwining in her eyes. “You... you are the Six Cangwu Demons... You are Ding Hong!”
She suddenly whipped her gaze around, her eyes piercing Lu Zhaoyuan like blades. Gritting her teeth, she spat out coldly, “Lu Zhaoyuan! How dare you! You actually colluded with demons, aided our enemies, and betrayed the sect?!”
On the boat, Lu Zhaoyuan kept a cold face and said nothing.
Ding Hong glanced sideways at him and grinned, smugly revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. “Duan Hongling, spare me your self-righteous nonsense. Your Star-Plucking Sect is corrupt and unfair. Isn't it only natural for Brother Lu to choose our Holy Sect as his sanctuary?”
“Besides...”
Ding Hong suddenly lowered his brows, his tone shifting as a sinister sneer curled his lips. “You should worry about yourself instead... I have always loved eating fish, and I especially love... thorny mermaids like you!”
Boom!
Ding Hong's aura erupted, and a tide of malevolent energy swept out as he roared: “I will handle this woman! Sixth Brother, go slaughter that brat! Lu Zhaoyuan! Take my other three brothers and snatch back the Precious Fish! Once we finish this job, the sea will be wide open for us to roam, and no one will be able to do a damn thing to us!”
“Understood!” The crowd roared in unison!
Before the echo of their voices died down!
Ding Hong's figure transformed into a streak of black smoke, instantly vanishing from the bulwark.
In the next instant, his massive body tore through the river mist, crashing down right in front of Duan Hongling like a falling meteor!
There were no fancy techniques or feints. There was only a simple, brutal, massive fist enveloped in thick black energy, punching out with the fury of a thunderbolt!
『Yinsha Great Art: Yellow Springs Straight Fist』!
Wherever the fist-wind passed, the air let out an ear-piercing shriek!
Duan Hongling's beautiful face was filled with killing intent. With a sharp cry, she channeled her Anjin force into her palm, striking out with her slender hand as if pulling a raging tide!
『Star-Plucking Hand: Shattered Star Palm』!
Fist and palm collided with a deafening boom!
The fierce wind howled, sweeping in all directions like a violent wave. The lake water was blasted high into the air, transforming into a dense shroud of rising mist and steam that swallowed their two locked, fighting figures.
At the same time.
A slender white shadow drifted down from the deck, closing in on Shen Xiuhan like a shadow clinging to a bone.
The man's face was as pale as paper, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and thick black hair fell loosely over his shoulders. His entire body exuded a sinister, deathly aura.
Wearing a sinister grin, he splayed his ten fingers like withered branches, his fingernails shimmering with a faint, dark green hue!
This man was none other than the sixth of the Six Cangwu Demons, Chen Hongyuan!
“Kid, consider it your bad luck. You will be the eighth Star-Plucking Sect disciple I tear to pieces!”
“Die!”
Chen Hongyuan's voice was raspy and grating, sounding like dry wood scraping together!
Before his voice even faded, his body had already blurred into a white shadow, lunging in front of Shen Xiuhan in the blink of an eye.
Four acupoints surged within him simultaneously. Splaying his ten fingers like eagle talons, he clawed toward Shen Xiuhan's face, accompanied by a freezing, eerie wind!
『Yinsha Great Art: White Bone Soul-Consuming Hand』!
If this claw struck home, let alone a body of flesh and blood, even solid iron would have five holes corroded into it.
“Claw techniques?”
Shen Xiuhan merely raised an eyebrow, a trace of imperceptible disdain flickering in the depths of his eyes.
Swish!
His green robes suddenly blurred!
With a shift of his feet, Shen Xiuhan seemed to transform into a green streak of light. Moving with the speed of a thunderbolt, he flashed right in front of Chen Hongyuan!
What incredible speed!
“Not good! This brat is too powerful! Brothers, help—”
Chen Hongyuan's face fell instantly! Realizing in an instant that the youth's strength far exceeded his expectations, a chill shot straight to his skull. He cried out in panic for help while hastily changing his stance, crossing his arms to shield his chest.
But... he was too slow!
Or rather, Shen Xiuhan's movements were fast beyond imagination!
His leg shot out like a dragon-gate spear bursting from the sea, piercing the air with a sharp sonic boom as it ruthlessly thrust toward Chen Hongyuan's chest!
『Thirty-Six Paths Sky-Collapsing Kick: Spear-Thrust Kick』!
Boom! Crack!
Chen Hongyuan's arms shattered upon impact. White bone shards tore through his flesh, protruding hideously, and his forearms dangled at a bizarre angle, completely devoid of any support.
Yet the kick lost none of its momentum. Carrying an unstoppable torrent of Anjin force, it slammed heavily into his sternum!
Crack, crack, crack...
A rapid succession of bone-cracking sounds erupted like exploding bamboo joints.
Chen Hongyuan's chest caved into a terrifying hollow, and his internal organs were violently jarred out of place. He coughed up blood repeatedly, and a heart-wrenching pain washed over him, causing him to let out a bloodcurdling shriek:
“Ahhhhh!”
Severely wounded, his mind fell into complete disarray! With both arms ruined, his center was left completely undefended!
The cold light in Shen Xiuhan's eyes flared. His right hand instantly formed a claw and thrust forward like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, striking straight for Chen Hongyuan's throat!
『Heavenly Eagle Wind-Tearing Hand: Heavenly Eagle Neck-Wring』!
“Gurgle, gurgle!”
With absolutely no power to resist, Chen Hongyuan had his throat seized by the massive hand. As it instantly tightened, his shrieks cut off abruptly!
Immediately after, Chen Hongyuan's face turned from pale to red, and then from red to a bruised blue. His two broken arms flailed in a desperate, subconscious struggle, and his legs kicked wildly like a drowning man on the verge of death.
This sudden, dramatic turn of events, from Chen Hongyuan's initial attack to him being choked, took no more than three to five breaths of time.
Pang Wei and the others had not even stepped onto the island before they were shocked into a sudden halt. Their faces twisted in horror as they roared furiously:
“How dare you harm our Sixth Brother! Let go of him!”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan raised an eyebrow slightly. He looked toward Pang Wei, his lips curving into a slight smile.
Then, the hand clamping down on Chen Hongyuan's throat... suddenly squeezed with violent force!
Crunch...
The sickening sound of shattering throat bones clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
Chen Hongyuan's eyes bulged, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets as his pupils instantly dilated and lost focus.
His body convulsed violently twice before completely going limp, devoid of any remaining spark of life.
Shen Xiuhan released his grip, allowing Chen Hongyuan's corpse to fall into the lake with a loud splash. It was quickly swallowed by the rolling waves, leaving no trace behind.
One of the Six Cangwu Demons, the Sixth Demon Chen Hongyuan...
fell!
Shen Xiuhan slowly withdrew his hand, turning his gaze toward Pang Wei. With a calm, effortless smile, he said casually:
“I've let go.”
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