Forest.

Hex Yufu hid behind Zhu Ju, sneaking a peek at the Leng Family’s Patriarch, Cold Pool, who was flanked by two beautiful maids.

He appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a long cyan robe. In his right hand, he held a folding fan, and on his left, he wore a white jade ring.

His features were handsome, his demeanor carefree and elegant.

But this seemingly dapper middle-aged man was a Demon in the hearts of countless women in Leping County.

It was rumored that Cold Pool had a bizarre personality and took pleasure in torturing others for his own gratification, especially young, beautiful women.

In the past three years,

no fewer than twenty of the Leng Family’s maids had died. Every corpse was covered in wounds, having suffered inhuman torture before their deaths.

And that was just the known number; the unknown tally was likely even higher!

Any woman he set his sights on and could get his hands on, Cold Pool would never let go—not even the daughters of his friends or the fiancées of his nephews.

For example,

last year’s Ping Ruxue!

The key was that he was incredibly strong. He had cultivated his Inner Qi years ago, making him a top expert in Le’an County. Furthermore, the women he tortured to death had all sold themselves into servitude, and he never touched women with powerful backgrounds, so even the Government Office was unwilling to get involved.

"Not bad."

He picked up a withered branch from a Yintao tree and gently crumbled it between his hands. Wood shavings fluttered to the ground, releasing a faint, unremarkable fragrance.

Cold Pool nodded and said,

"For deadwood of this quality, once ground into powder and with impurities removed, ten jin will go for three qian. I’ll need about a hundred jin a day to start."

"If you do a good job, there will be even larger orders in the future. This business deal will become bigger than you can possibly imagine."

"Steward Ding," Zhu Ju said, turning his head to ask,

"Can you do it?"

"No problem!" Ding Anx nodded eagerly.

"There’s plenty of deadwood on the mountain, as much as you want. Grinding it into powder is a bit of a hassle, but it won’t take much time."

"Then let’s start the day after tomorrow." A smile touched Cold Pool’s face.

"The day after tomorrow, deliver the first hundred jin to my residence."

"Yes."

Ding Anx agreed.

*

*

*

The carriage left the mountain road and turned onto a smaller path.

Even on the rugged path, the driver’s skilled handling kept the carriage from bumping and jolting.

Inside the carriage.

Cold Pool pulled the two women into his arms and asked,

"What has that brat Leng Xing been up to these past few days?"

"Replying to my lord," one of the accompanying guards said, clasping his fist.

"Ever since you injured him, my lord, he has been recuperating in his room and hasn’t stepped out. We hear he’s been venting his anger in his room, making a commotion from time to time."

"Hmph." Cold Pool narrowed his eyes.

"Some people are just ungrateful wolves. The moment they’re fed, they think about turning around and biting their master."

"If his surname wasn’t Leng..."

"I would have crippled him long ago!"

Rallying his friends, secretly forming the Dark Brotherhood—Leng Xing thought his actions were secret, but Cold Pool had seen everything he was doing.

’Sparring with a bunch of young men all day, honing their Martial Arts and conditioning their Skin and Flesh... who could he be planning to deal with?’

Hmph!

Cold Pool’s gaze hardened.

’Don’t test my patience. Otherwise, even if the rest of the Leng Family objects, I’ll kill him if he needs to be killed!’

"Hm?"

His ears twitched. Cold Pool suddenly roared,

"Look out!"

"TWANG!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of vibrating bowstrings erupted from the dense woods on both sides, followed by dozens of intersecting arrows.

"PFFT!"

"PFFT! PFFT!"

The horses were the first to be hit. The guards on either side barely had time to struggle before subsequent arrows pierced their vital points, and they collapsed to the ground.

The carriage, the primary target, was riddled with countless holes.

Only the short coachman was lucky, managing to flip over and hide under a horse’s belly in time, narrowly escaping the volley.

"BOOM!"

The carriage exploded into pieces.

Carrying the two female corpses, which had been turned into pincushions by the arrows, Cold Pool tilted his head back and roared at the sky,

"Who is it?"

"Get the hell out here!"

Figure after figure darted out from the woods, some holding sabers, others swords. Their bodies were nimble, their movements agile.

Though not numerous, they were, without exception, all accomplished figures who had achieved Entering the Realm.

Clearly.

This was a premeditated, well-planned assassination attempt targeting him specifically.

"My lord, be careful!"

The coachman flipped to his feet, spreading his arms to block Cold Pool.

"My lord, you go first! Old Huang will hold them off for you here."

"Oh?"

Cold Pool raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well. I didn’t expect you, a mere coachman, to be so loyal. When I get back, I will definitely..."

"BANG!"

Before he could finish, countless steel needles shot out from the coachman’s body. They were densely packed and right in his face, filling his entire field of vision.

Even for an Inner Qi Expert like Cold Pool, he only had time to cover his face. His body was inevitably hit.

"Poison needles!"

"They can pierce Protective Internal Qi!"

Lowering his hands, Cold Pool’s expression twisted, the fury in his eyes practically tangible.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

"You, with the surname Leng, you’ve probably long forgotten who I am," the coachman, Old Huang, snarled, pulling a dagger from his clothes.

"My daughter, Xiaodie..."

"SHING!"

A cold glint flashed past.

Cold Pool held a Soft Sword, its blade dripping with fresh blood. A line of red appeared on Old Huang’s throat, his life force rapidly draining away with the flow of blood.

"You talk too much!"

"So many women have died at my hands. Do you expect me to ask for every single one of their names?"

Resentment filled Old Huang’s face as his eyes stared fixedly at him.

’How could this be?’

’That was a scorpion venom that’s fatal on contact. Even for an Inner Qi Expert, he should have shown some reaction, right?’

"Be careful!"

A Black-Clothed Man rushing forward called out, his eyes grave.

"He’s not afraid of poison!"

"Hmph!" another one snorted.

"He’s just bluffing. Inner Qi can slow the spread of poison. Unless he’s an Innate Qi Refiner, it’s impossible for it to have no effect at all."

"Go!"

Several people lunged forward at once. In an instant, the glint of sabers and swords, mixed with a few Hidden Weapons, completely surrounded Cold Pool.

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG..."

The sound of metal striking metal was incessant.

"As I thought!"

Cold Pool’s face was grim.

"You think I wouldn’t recognize you little bastards just because you’re covering your faces? The Hua Family Spear Technique, the Wan Family’s saber art, and..."

"Leng Xing!"

"PENG!"

The Soft Sword, empowered by Inner Qi, became a hard and fierce weapon, colliding head-on with an incoming long saber.

Powerful Qi surged.

The black cloth on the man’s face tore to shreds, revealing Leng Xing underneath, along with his icy gaze.

Hm?

Cold Pool’s expression froze, and for the first time, a look of terror appeared in his eyes.

"Inner Qi!"

’How can this be?’

"Surprised?" Leng Xing snorted.

"I knew that you knew I was secretly forming the Dark Brotherhood, and I knew you were aware it was to deal with you. But what you didn’t know is..."

"With the spoils from that bandit-suppression mission, I also cultivated my own Inner Qi!"

Panshan Saber—Crossing a Thousand-Mile Stream!

A furious, sharp Sword Qi erupted from Leng Xing’s hands in an instant, actually managing to suppress Cold Pool for the first time.

The others took the opportunity to strike.

Reversal Spear!

Wind-Rolling Cloud Form!

Six God Saber!

...

After more than a year of training together, the combined might of their joint attack was no less than that of an Inner Qi Expert. Moreover, they had specifically planned for and rehearsed the process of fighting Cold Pool to the death countless times.

All for this very day!

All for this exact situation!

His close-quarters Soft Sword, his Thirty-Six Forms of Snake Poison Sword Technique, his Inner Qi Realm Cultivation—they had calculated for everything.

As for Cold Pool,

while he had some understanding of them, he was unaware of their true strength—especially Leng Xing, whose breakthrough to the Inner Qi Realm had greatly exceeded his expectations.

The cards were on the table; victory and defeat were decided.

"PFFT!"

"BANG! BANG!"

Several figures scattered in all directions.

Cold Pool, who had been surrounded in the center, was now covered in wounds. A gash on his waist, so deep the bone was visible, was particularly shocking.

Even the Soft Sword in his hand had been sent flying.

"He’s finished!"

Wan Jing’s eyes lit up.

"Get him!"

"SHHFF!"

Cold Pool suddenly lunged, charging straight at Leng Xing.

"You damn little beast, even if I die today, I’m taking you with me!"

"BOOM!"

A Palm Force howled forth, chilling to the bone.

Leng Xing’s brow furrowed slightly. Though he was surprised by the unnatural quality of his opponent’s Palm Force, his own movements didn’t slow.

He swung the Leng Family’s Panshan Saber, creating a blur of afterimages that collided with the incoming Palm Force.

"PENG!"

"Watch out!"

The change in force made Leng Xing’s expression shift drastically.

"He’s trying to escape!"

Before his words had faded, Cold Pool had already used the momentum to fly backward, crashing into the oncoming Wan Jing and Hex Leshan.

"Kill!"

Blood flew and Inner Qi surged as a figure broke through their interception and charged up the mountain.

"After him!"

Leng Xing shouted through gritted teeth, but when he saw that Wan Jing and Hex Leshan’s faces were deathly pale, he immediately said,

"You two stay here! I’ll go after him!"

’Cold Pool can no longer suppress the scorpion venom in his body. Coupled with his heavy injuries, as long as I catch up, I can definitely take his life.’

Two figures, one chasing the other, rushed into the mountain forest.

Soon.

A man and a woman appeared ahead. Upon seeing their faces, Leng Xing’s expression changed slightly, and he was about to shout a warning.

"SHHFF!"

Cold Pool lunged.

"AHH!"

Hex Yufu screamed.

The next moment.

Cold Pool, still in mid-air, seemed to suddenly lose all his strength. He plummeted straight to the ground, his life completely extinguished.