In a cavern within the mountain, a figure was pressed tightly against the rock wall.

Listening to the wails and screams from outside, his back was drenched in a cold sweat.

He was a gaunt man, his features obscured by a mask.

The mask itself wasn’t unusually shaped, but it bore the image of a human face.

A face so well-proportioned, yet painted on a mask, created an extremely peculiar sight. With the man actually wearing it, the feeling was indescribably bizarre and eerie.

This was the leader of the Sang Mountain Seven Face, the Human-faced Ghost!

But at this moment, the Human-faced Ghost completely lacked the composure of his station. He just felt he was cursed with the worst luck imaginable.

He had been ordered here to ensure the cooperation between the Hundred Ghosts Hall and the Dragon Emperor Hall proceeded smoothly.

Who could have possibly imagined that, out of nowhere, that scourge Fang Shuwen would come storming in?!

The story of the battle outside Flying Snow City had not yet spread far and wide.

This was mainly because the crowd who had witnessed it didn’t want to admit that Fang Shuwen had scared them so badly they’d nearly lost the will to even compete for the Seven-String Ancient Chapter.

Such talk would only boost his reputation at the expense of their own.

As a result, these people were often vague, which led to a twisted rumor. The truth was that Fang Shuwen had tossed the Seven-String Ancient Chapter to Ye Feihua.

But the story that spread was that Ye Feihua had snatched the Seven-String Ancient Chapter that Wu Lingxiao had gifted to Fang Shuwen.

However, as one of the Sang Mountain Seven Face and a pawn of the Hundred Ghosts Hall, the Human-faced Ghost’s information channels were far superior to those of an ordinary person.

Although his knowledge of that battle was limited, he knew that Fang Shuwen was exceptionally skilled—a remarkable rising star.

Thus, when he learned that Fang Shuwen was escorting Xu Shuxin to Yuqing Pavilion, he had decisively split the Sang Mountain Seven Face into two groups.

Just then, the Hundred Ghosts Hall had issued new orders.

So he had focused his attention on matters here.

But even so, he knew that Ghost-faced Fox and the others had already fallen to Fang Shuwen.

He had been congratulating himself, thinking that by hiding here, he would never have to confront Fang Shuwen... but then Fang Shuwen had actually shown up *here*?!

Outside the Dragon Emperor Hall, a full eight Undead, plus two to three hundred Vermilion Bird Envoys and Vermilion Bird Guards, constituted a terrifying force that could not be ignored anywhere in the Jianghu.

But before this scourge, they didn’t even have the strength to resist.

’If Fang Shuwen finds out I’m here, how could I possibly survive?’

"No!"

The Human-faced Ghost forced himself to calm down.

"I can’t just wait here to die..."

He listened to the commotion outside, knowing that Fang Shuwen had just unleashed an incredibly formidable technique. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But the Undead were different from the common Vermilion Bird Envoys and Guards. Their Inner Strength was profound, and their mastery of Martial Arts was deep.

It was said that the most skilled among them could even face the likes of the Three Immortals, Two Kings, and One City Madman and retreat unscathed.

’That last move probably wasn’t enough to kill all the Undead.’

’I still have a chance!’

And just as he thought, Fang Shuwen’s move, a combination of the [Celestial Intent Four Symbols Technique] that produced [Raging Fury], had a terrifyingly large area of effect. The sudden attack had killed nearly all the men in red.

But the six men in black had only been sent flying by the Palm Power, not killed on the spot.

This was within Fang Shuwen’s expectations. Although he knew these men were empowered by the Divine Fire Seal, making it extremely difficult to get information from them...

...he still had to try.

So he had intentionally left them alive to see if he could interrogate them for some information and confirm his suspicions.

Although the six men in black had luckily survived, they were not in good shape. Blood trickled from the corners of some of their eyes, like tears of blood. Others had suffered severe damage to their meridians, their Inner Strength faltering and failing.

Fang Shuwen strode forward, and with a sudden blur, he was already in front of one of the men in black.

Seeing a wide-open weak point on Fang Shuwen’s chest, the man in black gritted his teeth, abruptly channeled his energy, and threw a palm strike.

Halfway through the strike, a sense of crisis instantly flooded his mind.

It was followed by a searing pain as his arm vanished into thin air.

This was the first form of the [Unskilled Palm Technique], [Hidden Blade]!

It looked like an opening full of flaws, but in reality, believing it to be true meant falling into a trap.

After casually shattering the man’s arm with a palm strike, Fang Shuwen reached out and grabbed his face.

"Where is the Vermilion Bird Hall Master now?"

The man in black was stunned, even forgetting the pain in his arm.

"You... How do you know about the Hall Master?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a CRACK echoed out. Fang Shuwen had crushed his entire face, along with half of his head.

"I’m the one asking the questions. When did it become your turn to question me?"

"You’ve gone too far!!!"

The remaining five men in black stared with furious, bloodshot eyes. Seeing the ground littered with corpses and Fang Shuwen acting without any semblance of reason, they roared in anger and pounced simultaneously, hoping to make a final, desperate stand.

Fang Shuwen’s eyes lifted slightly. Using [Plum Blossom Scattering Hand], he smoothly grabbed the wrist of an approaching man in black, twisted it gently, and positioned it in front of another man’s Palm Technique.

A CRACK resounded.

The second man couldn’t retract his attack in time and snapped his comrade’s arm in half.

His expression changed. He was caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, when a massive force struck his chest.

Fang Shuwen had kicked him, sending him flying into the mountain wall.

He then reached out, grabbed the shoulder of the man whose arm had just been broken, and pulled him forward to use as a shield.