"A dead man walking..."

The moment Chen Sheng spoke these words, Elder Liu reacted as if he’d heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. A mocking curve appeared on his wrinkled face, and his sneer was filled with undisguised contempt.

"You sniveling brat! Still spouting such nonsense when death is at your door. Do you really take me for a three-year-old child? Do you think I’d be scared off by such a pathetic bluff?!"

He had his reasons for being so certain.

This ambush had been planned for a long time; it was no reckless act.

They had snuck into the vicinity as early as when Chen Sheng and his men had stopped to drink tea at this desolate stall.

The only reason they hadn’t moved was to carefully scout the surroundings and confirm there were no hidden soldiers or traps.

Only after meticulously combing through the several miles around them and determining that this was merely an incidental stop on Chen Sheng’s journey did they dare to show themselves and spring this fatal trap.

In his eyes, Chen Sheng was already a fish in the net, meat on the chopping block.

It was no exaggeration to say the advantage in this battle was entirely theirs.

"Chen Sheng, the hundreds of wronged souls of my Gao Family will be appeased with your blood today!"

Gao Yuanzhao’s eyes were bloodshot. His long-suppressed hatred erupted like a volcano, his voice twisting with extreme rage.

"My only regret is that your Chen Family has no relatives. Otherwise, I would have made you watch them all be slaughtered, to taste the greatest pain this world has to offer!"

"Captain! Retreat, quickly! We, your subordinates, are willing to form up and fight to the death to buy you time!"

With a SHING, Xu Shenzhi drew the saber from his waist and stepped firmly in front of Chen Sheng, his gaze resolute and fearless.

Ever since the day he was humiliated by the Han Family and Chen Sheng had stood up for him, his loyalty to Chen Sheng had reached its peak.

Li Huai Sheng, Yan Ming, and the others did the same, drawing their blades one after another. Their faces were as grim as Cold Iron, and a tragic, heroic aura rose from them. They had clearly resolved to die.

A complicated look flickered in Zhao Changqiu’s eyes, but he ultimately gritted his teeth and held his saber across his chest, making his stance clear.

Only Lu Cheng’s gaze wandered, flickering uncertainly as if he were weighing his options.

The difference in strength was too great.

They had fewer than twenty Jingwu Guards. Even in formation, they were like a paper wall before an Earth Fiend realm expert.

And while Chen Sheng was strong, holding the title of "number one below the Earth Fiend realm," he had never truly gone through Condensing Evil. How could he possibly resist the tangible might of Evil Qi?

"None of you are afraid to die?" Chen Sheng’s voice was still flat, betraying no emotion.

Hearing this, Xu Shenzhi actually gave a carefree smile. "My heart died the day Han Ling’Er broke our engagement. Now, I have only two wishes left. First, I hope that if you have the chance one day, my lord, you might look after my Xu Family a little."

"Second, I hope that you can one day make that Wang Zilan bow her head and kneel. Other than that, I have no lingering attachments."

"My great revenge is not yet complete. If you survive, my lord, I beg that you one day pay a visit to the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect on my behalf." Li Huai Sheng stared intently at the enemy before them, his voice as hoarse as grinding stones.

Yan Ming remained silent, but his fingers, wrapped around his saber hilt, had turned white from the force of his grip.

"Trying to escape? Heh... a fool’s dream."

Elder Liu sneered repeatedly, as if victory were already in his grasp. "Chen Sheng, from the moment you dared to kill Yu Qiantong and ruin our alliance’s grand plan, your fate was sealed."

"This place will be your grave."

"Pay for my Gao Family’s lives with your own!"

Gao Yuanzhao could no longer suppress his surging killing intent. With a roar, the Evil Qi around him erupted. His body transformed into a gray streak of lightning, and he shot straight toward Chen Sheng, carrying a bone-chilling edge.

The might of an Earth Fiend was on full display. The very air seemed to be torn apart by the piercing Evil Qi.

Xu Shenzhi and the others’ pupils contracted. Blood rushed through their veins as they prepared to charge forward and intercept him at the cost of their lives. But then they saw a faint golden afterimage, faster than thought, shoot out like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

"Captain!"

"My lord, don’t!"

To everyone’s horror, Chen Sheng neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he advanced to meet Gao Yuanzhao. His Body Technique was as swift as lightning, his official robes whipping in the air. Despite starting second, he arrived first.

"You’re courting death."

Seeing Chen Sheng dare to meet him head-on, the killing intent in Gao Yuanzhao’s eyes surged. The gray iron longsword in his hand, tempered over many years, let out a hum as he drew it without hesitation.

As the blade trembled, several incredibly condensed streams of Sword Qi laced with Evil Qi shot out. They were sharp enough to slice through metal and jade. With a series of HISSES, they tore through the air, instantly sealing off all of Chen Sheng’s escape routes.

Projecting Evil Qi from the body to take form and strike the enemy—this was one of the hallmarks of an Earth Fiend Martial Master.

However, faced with such a terrifying attack, Chen Sheng acted as if he hadn’t seen it. He simply raised the arm holding his saber, flicked his wrist, and swung the blade in a horizontal slash.

A flash of saber light, so dark and cold it seemed to devour light itself, suddenly flared.

"BOOM—!"

The saber light and Sword Qi clashed violently.

The expected scene of Chen Sheng being dismembered by the Sword Qi did not occur.

Instead, the moment those incomparably sharp streams of Sword Qi touched the dark saber light, they began to crumble and dissolve at a visible rate, ultimately vanishing into nothing.

’What?!’

Gao Yuanzhao’s pupils shrank abruptly, and alarm bells screamed in his mind.

’How is this possible?!’

’My Evil Qi is peerlessly sharp! How could it be so fragile?!’

Before the thought could even finish, Chen Sheng’s figure had already passed through the dissipating aftershocks of the Evil Qi like a phantom, closing to within three feet of him and striking with his saber once more.

The slash came down with the force of a river pouring from the heavens.

Gao Yuanzhao’s soul nearly fled his body. His rich combat experience made him instinctively channel all his Evil Qi. A grayish brilliance converged on his sword as he raised it horizontally to block.

He believed that even if the opponent’s Sword Skill was strange, his own profound foundation as an Earth Fiend would be more than enough to block this strike.