There was no pain where the snake bit me—just a slight numbness. But the moment its fangs sank in, the area of my chest where the "seed" had previously burst open suddenly tightened. Then, a surge of burning heat erupted outward through the bite wound.
The severed white snake swelled like a balloon pumped full of air. But with its lower half already gone, the heat, along with its toxic blood and entrails, shot straight out from the open stump—splattering cleanly and entirely onto Zhao Si's face.
The venom and internal filth from the snake acted like demon acid—the kind Qiu Bulao had been forced to drink. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Si's facial flesh had been completely corroded away. His entire front face became an exposed skull. Screaming in agony, Zhao Si clutched the remnants of his melted visage and collapsed, rolling on the ground in a frenzy of pain.
Meanwhile, the pudgy man had already drawn a second talisman and was about to activate it. But when he caught sight of Zhao Si's gruesome state, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. The talisman refused to release—clinging to his fingers like it was glued there. His fire talismans were specially made and highly sensitive—once exposed to air, they activated instantly. Now, stuck to his hand, the talisman suddenly ignited with a loud whoosh, becoming a fireball right in his palm.
The pudgy man's attention had still been on Zhao Si. By the time he realized what was happening, his entire forearm was engulfed in flames.
"Aaaagh!" he shrieked, stumbling backward and slapping at the fire. But because the fire talismans required a phosphorus-based fabric blend to stay dry, the phosphorus caught immediately. In a matter of seconds, the flame spread from his forearm up to his shoulder.
Zhao Si had already stopped moving—dead for sure.
As I watched the pudgy man howl in pain, flames now licking at his entire arm, I hesitated. Forget it, I thought. This is heaven's way of paying back my grudge. I decided to spare his life—better to live with a disability than die.
I stepped forward with the Blade of Retribution in hand and swung it at the man's flaming arm. My intention was simple: amputate the limb, save his life, and maybe count it as payback for his earlier fireball attack.
But the pudgy man was already disoriented from the pain. As he flailed about wildly, he accidentally lowered his head—right into the path of my sword.
There was no resistance, no sound—only a flash of blood. His head dropped cleanly from his shoulders, rolling across the floor before coming to a stop, face-up, staring directly at me. His expression was frozen in confusion, as if wondering, Why am I looking at you from this angle?
Blood sprayed everywhere. I was drenched in it. Disgusted, I tore off my outer jacket and threw it aside. Glancing down at the dumbfounded face on the floor, I muttered, "Guess we'll call that suicide…"
When I looked back across the room at the remaining enemies and Soul Husks, I realized chaos had broken out on their side as well.
Earlier, when I missed the pudgy man with the Blade of Sin, the sword had fallen to the ground. Immediately, a few who recognized its value rushed to grab it. But anyone who so much as touched the blade collapsed to the floor, spasming violently.
Among them, one quick-witted fellow realized direct contact was the issue. He stripped off his shirt, wrapped it around his hand, and used it to pick up the Blade of Sin.
Everyone had seen what the blade could do. The others, seeing someone successfully retrieve it, became eager. More hands reached out in greed. Most hadn't even noticed the gruesome deaths of Zhao Si and the pudgy man—they assumed those two were still holding the line.
"Still fighting among ourselves?! Old Zhao and Big He are both dead!"
The voice came from An Gui-zi—the same man who had argued with Zhao Si earlier. His sudden shout snapped the others out of it. They turned to look at me, faces filled with fear.
A freckled man, his face drenched in blood, got up from the ground. Clutching the Blade of Sin with his shirt-wrapped hand, he stared at it and grinned like an idiot.
But before his grin could fade, I raised my right hand and made a grasping motion in the air.
Whoosh!
Before his very eyes, the Blade of Sin vanished from his grasp and reappeared in mine.
The man let out a deranged scream and charged at me barehanded, eyes bloodshot. But after only a few steps, he caught sight of the mangled corpses of Zhao Si and Big He at my feet. His war cry broke mid-note, his voice cracking, and after circling awkwardly, he turned and ran back the way he came.
I didn't need a mirror to know I looked terrifying—my face and hair soaked in blood, my clothes splattered with gore. Judging from their horrified expressions, I must have looked like a demon.
I took a slow step toward them. Just one step.
An Gui-zi sneered and said, "Come on then. Let's take him together!"
But the moment he finished speaking, I sprang into motion—charging directly at them.
Everyone froze.
No one had expected me to charge them alone. An Gui-zi, who had just lifted a leg to step forward, immediately pulled it back. He began shrieking and muttering strange syllables, summoning the nearby Soul Husks to gather around him.
By the time I closed the distance to within ten meters, I flung the Blade of Sin—straight at An Gui-zi's head.
Nobody expected that. At such close range, the speed of the blade gave An Gui-zi no time to dodge.
The Blade of Sin pierced his forehead cleanly—then kept flying.
A dull thump rang out.
An Gui-zi's skull burst open, brains and blood splattering across the floor. His body swayed once, then collapsed in a heap.
Almost instantly, the Soul Husks surrounding him went berserk.
They lunged at the nearest people, ripping into them with claws and teeth. Chaos exploded across the room. The remaining cultists panicked. Those dressed like An Gui-zi screamed and tried to control the Husk swarm—but the creatures were beyond reason. Worse still, a few Soul Husks even turned on one of their own, attacking with such ferocity that if he hadn't dodged fast enough, he'd have joined An Gui-zi in death.
I had only meant to kill the ringleader.
I hadn't expected things to spiral into this.
But now, it seemed I didn't need to lift another finger. As long as I kept a safe distance, these frenzied Soul Husks would handle the rest.
Lin Feng could never have foreseen this—that the very creatures he relied on would turn against his own.
Victory by Soul Husk; ruin by Soul Husk.It was only fitting.
Just as I was about to circle around and assist Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang, a long howl suddenly pierced the air, followed by an eerie wail that sounded like ghosts weeping. The frenzied Soul Husks began to quiet down, falling into eerie silence. Before I could figure out what had happened, a cold voice rang out:
"Hey, brat surnamed Shen—look over here!"
It was Lin Feng's voice!
I looked in the direction of the voice—and the first thing I saw was Gao Liang, already subdued. His short sword was now in someone else's hand, pressed tightly against his neck. One push, and our director would end up just like He Dage. Gao Liang appeared to have been struck by some kind of spell—his eyes were tightly shut, face pale, his body swaying weakly. Nearby, Xiao Heshang lay prone on the ground, looking alarmingly still. I froze for a moment in panic—until I saw the slight rise and fall of his back. He was still breathing, at least for now.
To my surprise, the one holding Gao Liang hostage wasn't Lin Feng. It was Xiao Siyang—the same man who had just minutes ago claimed he was done with all this. He now held Gao Liang's short sword to the man's throat. Lin Feng stood beside him and continued coldly, "Shen La, the Director's life is in your hands. I don't need to spell it out—you know what to do."
I hadn't expected even that old fox Gao Liang could be captured. I had made no mental preparation for this situation. My thoughts were a tangled mess as I scrambled to think of a way to take Xiao Siyang down without harming Gao Liang.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Let him go!"
Hao Wenming stumbled forward with the Measuring Heaven Ruler in his hand. His voice was hoarse and nearly hysterical as he confronted Xiao Siyang. "Let him go! Whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"
Xiao Siyang stared at Hao Wenming coolly. "So this is how you talk to me now, Hao Lao'er?"
Hao Wenming glared back at him, breathing heavily. Then, with a deep sigh, he tossed the Measuring Heaven Ruler to the ground and looked back at me.
"La Zi, you drop your weapons too…"
I knew full well that surrendering now would mean total defeat. But the look in Hao Wenming's eyes said it all—if I didn't drop my swords, he would charge me himself. I couldn't afford to offend the old director, and with Gao Liang in enemy hands, our side had no chance of turning things around. So be it. Time to swallow this loss.
Just as I was about to drop the sword, Xiao Siyang suddenly interrupted, "Don't throw it like that… I'm not blind, you know. You'd just summon it back with a wave."
I shot him a challenging look and said, "I'd hand it to you if I could. But would you dare take it?"
Xiao Siyang sneered. His eyes fixed on me as he said, feigning surprise, "Good point. I hadn't thought of that. I wouldn't dare take your blades. In fact, I won't feel safe unless you're dead. Only then will those twin swords pose no threat."
His meaning was clear.
I gripped the Blade of Retribution tightly in one hand, then reached out toward the place where the Blade of Sin had fallen. Whoosh. The sword flew back into my palm. Now with both blades in hand, I stared directly at Xiao Siyang.
"Come on then," I said. "Kill me."
"No rush," Xiao Siyang replied with a cold laugh. Then, without warning, he flicked the short sword and made a shallow cut across Gao Liang's neck. The wound wasn't deep, but blood flowed freely. In an instant, the director's neck was drenched. It was mostly superficial—but looked terrifying nonetheless.
Xiao Siyang dipped a finger in Gao Liang's blood and licked it, then turned to Hao Wenming, whose eyes were practically on fire.
"Hao Wenming, go deal with this little brat for me. Make it quick. If either of you tries anything funny, Gao the Fox goes down first."
"Uncle Si, wait…"
Before Hao Wenming could respond, Lin Feng unexpectedly tried to stop Xiao Siyang. He leaned in and whispered something into his ear. Whatever it was, it didn't work.
Xiao Siyang shot him a sideways glance and replied icily, "That's your problem, not mine. But if the Heavenly Principle Diagram gets stuck here and we can't get it out—then I'll flay you myself, Lin Feng, in place of that dead bastard Xiao Sanda."
He then turned his back on Lin Feng and stared down Hao Wenming again.
"What are you waiting for?! Do I have to start slicing pieces off Gao the Fox before you move?"
Hao Wenming trembled with rage, but with Gao Liang still held hostage, he had no choice. Slowly, he turned to face me with a bitter smile.
"La Zi… sorry. After this is over, I'll pay you back in the underworld."
Then, without retrieving his Measuring Heaven Ruler, he charged at me—barehanded.
But Hao Wenming wasn't trying to fight me. He lunged headfirst toward my sword blade. Shocked, I instinctively withdrew both blades behind me to avoid harming him. But he wasn't done. He suddenly kicked upward—landing a strike squarely on my chest.
It wasn't a hard kick. Likely, he was trying to provoke me into swinging so he could crash into the blade. Unfortunately, he struck the exact spot where the seed had taken root in my chest.
Before he could retreat, the energy from the seed erupted once again—blasting out from the impact point.
Crack! Hao Wenming was launched over ten meters, tumbling across the floor before finally collapsing, unconscious.
Was he okay?
Just as I moved to check on him, a figure rushed in—Hao Zhengyi. He had remained out of sight ever since Gao Liang's capture.
After examining his brother's injuries, Hao Zhengyi cast me a cold glance. He didn't speak, but I couldn't help asking, "Is he okay?"
President Hao ignored me. Hoisting Hao Wenming onto his shoulder, he stood up and began walking toward the elevator.
"Hey! Hao Zhengyi! What are you doing?" Lin Feng shouted at his back, clearly panicking.
"I came for the Heavenly Principle Diagram," Hao Zhengyi replied without looking back. "Since that's a bust, what am I still doing here? Waiting for Wu Rendi, Yang Xiao, and Yang Jun to return?"
Lin Feng tried to protest, "Who says it's a bust?! Gao Liang is in our hands! We can get the diagram out any time!"
Hao Zhengyi glanced back, half-smiling. "You really believe that? We both know where the Heavenly Principle Diagram is. And without someone to guide you down there, don't expect me to make the trip alone…"
His words struck a chord. It was now clear—he knew the diagram was on the fifth underground level. And from the way he said it, it sounded like he could access it himself.
Lin Feng fell silent.
As Hao Zhengyi resumed walking, Lin Feng made one last attempt.
"Just give me one minute—just one minute, and we'll talk."
He turned back toward Xiao Siyang, his face dark, and whispered something else. This time, Xiao Siyang's expression turned grim. When Lin Feng finished, he slapped the man's cheek lightly and said coldly, "Still hiding cards, even now…"
"If I weren't counting on you for what comes next, I'd send you to join Xiao Sanda right now."
Then, ignoring Lin Feng, Xiao Siyang looked toward Hao Zhengyi, who had reached the elevator. His tone shifted, sounding more respectful.
"As long as we get the Heavenly Principle Diagram, I don't care how you do it."
With that, Xiao Siyang tossed the now-unconscious Gao Liang to the floor like garbage. Then his body began to blur and warp, as if being pulled into the ground. His lower body slowly sank into the floor. As everything below his neck vanished, he gave Lin Feng one final glance and said:
"Don't make me wait too long."