112: Chapter 112 Eliminate the Weeds at the Root

Time seemed to have frozen at this moment.

The night wind howled, blowing across the thick scent of blood on the battlefield, yet it could not disperse the suffocating silence.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the two figures standing in a distant standoff.

On one side was the Sixth-Rank Grandmaster, Eunuch Wei, whose figure staggered, blood gushing from his left shoulder, his face as pale as paper.

His well-tailored gray eunuch attire was now stained red with blood over a large area, making him look utterly disheveled.

In those narrow, phoenix-like eyes, the previous indifference and contempt were gone, replaced by a monstrous rage like a volcano about to erupt, and a trace of... horror and wariness deeply hidden beneath that anger!

On the other side stood Gao Feng, holding a long spear and standing proudly.

He was covered in blood, and on his eerie crimson skin, hideous bloodstains were slowly cracking open; this was the terrifying backlash from forcibly compressing energy.

His Aura had also become extremely chaotic due to that earth-shattering spear strike just now, and his face was so pale it lacked a trace of color, as if he might collapse at any moment.

But he still stood there, standing straight like a spear that would never bend!

Those eyes burning with blood flames stared fixedly at Eunuch Wei in the distance, filled with undisguised provocation and icy killing intent!

Behind them, Qin Fang, Du Kang, Yue Changkong, Wulu, and others struggled to crawl up from the ground.

Although they were all wounded and their blood was surging, seeing the scene of Eunuch Wei being heavily injured caused the flames of hope to reignite in everyone's eyes!

They quickly gathered behind Gao Feng, reforming their formation, each of them eyeing the enemy like tigers.

Although their Auras were withered, that resolute Aura of life-and-death camaraderie was even more concentrated and terrifying than before!

"Cough... cough cough..."

Eunuch Wei coughed violently several times, and with each cough, dark purple congealed blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.

He could clearly feel a violent and unfamiliar energy rampaging crazily through his Meridians like maggots on a bone, constantly destroying his vitality.

If it weren't for his solid Grandmaster Foundation and vast blood energy, the backlash of this energy alone would have been enough to make him completely lose his combat capability!

The injuries were far more severe than they looked!

He raised his head and stared fixedly at Gao Feng, his eyes so venomous that it seemed he wanted to swallow Gao Feng alive.

"Good... a very good Gao Pan!!"

He squeezed these words out through his teeth, his voice hoarse and sharp.

"This one... will remember you!"

He knew very well in his heart that he could no longer keep this group of people here today.

On one hand, he was heavily injured and his strength was greatly reduced.

If he continued to fight, even if he could slaughter all these people, he would inevitably pay an unimaginable price, and it might even shake his Grandmaster Foundation!

On the other hand, the chaos in the city was intensifying; if he didn't return to quell it, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Of two evils, choose the lesser.

He could endure a temporary failure, but he absolutely could not accept the political consequences of Wangjiang City spiraling out of control!

"Bastards... just you wait for this one!"

Eunuch Wei left this last sentence with venom, no longer lingering in the slightest.

With a flicker of his figure, he turned into a disheveled gray streak of light and shot madly toward the direction of Wangjiang City at the fastest speed possible!

He had to return immediately to suppress the rebellion and stabilize the overall situation!

In his view, as long as he stabilized the city, this group of heavily injured "bugs" would sooner or later be turtles in his jar; he had plenty of time and means to slowly torture them to death one by one!

Watching the figure of Eunuch Wei retreating in panic, a wave of wild joy at having survived a disaster instantly surged into everyone's hearts!

"We won! We won!"

"Hahaha! We actually... managed to beat a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster and make him run away!"

Qin Fang, Wulu, and the others couldn't help but let out excited cheers.

The nerves that had been stretched to the limit finally relaxed at this moment, and an indescribable sense of exhaustion surged in like a tide.

"Pfft—!"

Just at this moment, Gao Feng, who had been forcing himself to hold on, could no longer suppress the injuries in his body.

He violently spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body swayed, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Big Brother!"

Wulu and Yue Changkong were quick-eyed and fast-handed, hurriedly stepping forward to support him.

"Brother Gao, how are you?"

Xu Changqing also hurriedly stepped forward, his face full of worry.

Gao Feng waved his hand, signaling that he was fine.

He quickly took out the jade bottle he had prepared long ago from his bosom and downed all the remaining Spirit Spring stock solution in one breath.

A gentle yet vast life energy instantly flowed through all his limbs and bones, nourishing his nearly collapsing Meridians, allowing his paper-pale face to finally regain a trace of color.

"Let's go, quickly!"

Xu Changqing looked around and said urgently, "Eunuch Wei has only retreated temporarily; he will soon realize what happened.

Once he quells the chaos in the city and comes back to kill us, we truly won't be able to escape even with wings!"

Everyone nodded; this was indeed the most rational choice at the moment.

However, after adjusting his breath for a moment, Gao Feng slowly raised his head.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and in those eyes that were still burning with faint blood flames, what flickered was not the relief of having survived a disaster, but a kind of... even more terrifying, even more insane fierce glint!

"No..."

He slowly shook his head.

Although his voice was weak, the will within it was as firm as iron.

"...We are not leaving!"

What?!

Once these words were spoken, everyone was stunned, thinking they had misheard.

"Brother Gao, you..."

Xu Changqing looked at him in astonishment, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Gao Feng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging blood energy in his body, and slowly stood up straight.

His gaze looked far toward Wangjiang City, which was soaring with flames and filled with sky-shaking battle cries, and the corners of his mouth actually hooked into an icy and cruel smile.

"Do you think this is the end?"

His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"He thinks we will take the opportunity to escape, and everyone's attention in the city has been attracted by that mutiny... They all think that we are currently at our weakest, the time when we should be tucking our tails between our legs and fleeing for our lives..."

He paused, and the crazy light in his eyes became even more intense!

"This is precisely our best opportunity!"

"He, Eunuch Wei, wants to go back to put out the fire and stabilize the overall situation..."

"Then we will take advantage of his backyard being in chaos and his defenses being empty to go to his home... and set an even bigger fire!"

Gao Feng turned his head abruptly, looking around at these brothers who had shared life and death with him, and word by word, he stated the crazy decision that made everyone gasp in cold air!

"Our target—is the Liu Family mansion!"

"Tonight, I want the Liu clan to be completely removed from Wangjiang City!"

Gao Feng's cold and crazy words were like throwing a huge rock onto a calm lake, stirring up monstrous waves in everyone's hearts!

Taking advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise counterattack, charging straight into the Liu Family's lair?!

Just thinking about this idea was enough to make anyone's scalp tingle!

"Brother Gao, this... this is too risky!"

Xu Changqing was the first to react, and he hurriedly advised against it, "We are all wounded now, especially you; the backlash from that spear strike just now was no small matter.

Moreover, the city is now in a total mess with various factions fighting; if we rashly charge in and get entangled, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Yeah, Big Brother!"

Wulu also said in a muffled voice, "As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood.

It's not too late to settle this blood debt with the Liu Family later!"

However, Gao Feng slowly shook his head, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's, sweeping across the face of every companion.

"No, we don't have a 'later'."

His voice was calm but carried a coldness that seemed to see through everything.

"Do you think that because we heavily injured Eunuch Wei, we can sit back and relax? Wrong!

We have only completely enraged a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster!

From tonight on, he will mobilize the power of the entire Inner Court, and even the Imperial Court, to hunt us down endlessly!

We no longer have a way back!"

"Since there is no way back, we can only forge ahead!"

"Take advantage of Eunuch Wei being tied down by the chaos in the city, unable to attend to other matters; take advantage of everyone's attention being drawn away, leaving the Liu Family's defenses at their weakest; take advantage of the Battle Intent and bloodthirst in our chests not yet having cooled!"

"We must use the most thunderous and ruthless means to eradicate the Liu Family, this malignant tumor that has entrenched itself in Wangjiang City for a hundred years!

This is not only to avenge the brothers who died unjustly at Panshi Stockade, but also to declare to the world—"

Gao Feng suddenly raised the long spear in his hand, the tip pointing directly at Wangjiang City.

That domineering Aura of "I will go even if there are thousands of people" moved everyone present!

"—We are not stray dogs to be slaughtered at will!

Whoever dares to provoke us must be prepared to be uprooted!"

These words made everyone's blood boil, and the last trace of hesitation and fear in their hearts vanished into thin air.

Yes, they had no way back.

From the moment they decided to resist, they had embarked on a thorny path of no return.

"Let's do it!"

Yue Changkong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his Battle Intent reigniting in his eyes, "I've long found that bunch of Liu Family scum unpleasant!

Tonight, let them pay for their blood debts with blood!"

"Count me in!"

Qin Fang chuckled and fished out a few fist-sized "heaven-shaking thunder" from his bosom, "It just so happens I have a few of these treasures left unused; I'll send their whole family to the Western Heaven!"

"Revenge!"

Big Fool was concise and comprehensive, using only two words to indicate his firmest stance.

Watching everyone reignite their fighting spirit, Gao Feng nodded in satisfaction.

He shared the last bit of Spirit Spring stock solution with the more heavily wounded Du Kang, Wulu, and others, and said in a deep voice: "Hurry and adjust your breath; we set off in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!

Remember, this battle requires 'speed'; we must fight quickly and decisively, not giving anyone a chance to react!"

...

A stick of incense later.

The Liu Family mansion, this grand mansion that had stood in Wangjiang City for a hundred years, symbolizing power and majesty, was now shrouded in chaos and panic.

The earth-shattering explosions outside the city and the shouts of killing rising everywhere inside the city had long since thrown this once heavily guarded mansion into a state of anxiety.

The family head, Liu Yuan, this usually dignified and conceited local emperor of Wangjiang City, was now pacing back and forth in his study like an ant on a hot pan, his face full of undisguisable terror.

"Trash! You're all a bunch of trash!" He roared at the steward, who was shivering on the ground, "What exactly happened in the city? Why did that dog Li Yan suddenly rebel? Where is Eunuch Wei? Didn't he go to hunt down that rebel Gao Pan and his group?!"

"M-Master..." the steward replied with a trembling voice, "Outside... it's spreading like wildfire that... that Eunuch Wei saw the situation was bad and has already abandoned the city and fled..."

"Bullshit!" Liu Yuan kicked the steward to the ground, his eyes bloodshot. "Eunuch Wei is a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster; how could he possibly flee! It must be a rumor! It's a conspiracy by those rebels!"

Just then, the study door was violently slammed open, and Liu Xuanfeng scrambled in, his face deathly pale.

"Father! It's bad! It's bad! The... the garrison at the West City Gate sent word that... that group of killers led by Gao Pan is currently slaughtering their way toward our estate!"

"What?!"

Liu Yuan was struck as if by lightning; his body swayed violently, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Gao Pan!

That nightmarish name sent a bone-chilling cold through him.

He never expected that after heavily injuring Eunuch Wei, those lunatics would not only not flee but instead... launch a counterattack!

"Quick! Quick!" Liu Yuan snapped out of his shock instantly. He frantically rushed to a hidden compartment in the study and dragged out a heavy chest. "Gather all the guards! No! Never mind! Let them go to the front courtyard to die and buy us time! Xuanfeng, let's go! Take the secret passage! As long as we can escape, we have a chance to make a comeback!"

However, just as he finished speaking.

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar came from the direction of the mansion's main gate!

The entire Liu Family estate seemed to shudder violently from that loud noise!

Immediately following that were the shrill screams of countless guards and the sounds of weapons clashing in battle!

Too fast!

They arrived too quickly!

Liu Yuan and his son Liu Xuanfeng exchanged glances, seeing endless fear in each other's eyes. They no longer cared about the treasure and rushed frantically toward another secret passage entrance behind the study.

However, just as Liu Yuan triggered the mechanism and opened the hidden door leading to their path of survival, a cold, emotionless voice, like a death sentence, rang out leisurely behind them.

"Master of the Liu Family, in such a rush, where are you planning to go?"

The father and son's bodies instantly stiffened in place.

They slowly, using all their strength, turned around.

At the door of the study stood Gao Feng, holding that long spear still stained with blood, standing quietly. Behind him were Yue Changkong, Wulu, and the others, all bathed in blood and radiating intense Evil Qi. Each of their gazes was like looking at two dead men.

"H-Hero Gao..." Liu Yuan forced a smile uglier than crying, his legs went weak, and he "thumped" down to his knees. "It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! Everything was ordered by Prince Ying; we... we were helpless! I... I am willing to offer all the wealth of the Liu Family, just beg the hero to spare our lives!"

"Father! Why are you begging him!" Liu Xuanfeng, on the side, screamed like a madman. "Gao Pan! Don't get cocky! I tell you, if you kill us, Prince Ying will not let you off! Eunuch Wei will also return soon! By then, you will all die without a burial place!"

"Noisy."

A flash of disgust crossed Gao Feng's eyes.

He couldn't even be bothered to say another word of nonsense.

His figure flashed, and his spear struck like lightning!

Pfft!

A flash of blood streaked across, and Liu Xuanfeng's vitriolic and crazed shouting came to an abrupt halt. A bloody hole appeared in the center of his forehead, the last spark of life in his eyes rapidly faded, and his body slumped down limply.

"Xuanfeng!"

Liu Yuan let out a shrill howl. He looked at his son's corpse in disbelief, and then, endless fear and hatred welled up in his heart. He suddenly raised his head and stared fixedly at Gao Feng.

"Gao Pan! You will die a horrible death! Even as a ghost, I won't let you off!"

"You won't have the chance to be a ghost."

Gao Feng's voice remained cold.

He slowly walked up to Liu Yuan, looking down at this local tyrant who once called the shots in Wangjiang City.

"This spear strike is for the hundreds of innocent lives that died unjustly at Panshi Stockade."

As the words fell, the spear's gleam flashed again!

Pfft!

Liu Yuan's head soared into the sky, the expression of terror and hatred still frozen on his face.

The headless corpse crashed to the ground, and blood stained this study, which once symbolized supreme power.

Gao Feng slowly retracted his spear, his gaze sweeping over the Liu Family guards still resisting stubbornly in the courtyard. His voice, like a cold wind from the Nine Netherworlds, echoed throughout the entire Liu Family estate.

"The Liu father and son have been executed; those who surrender will be spared!"

"Those who dare to resist will be uprooted and wiped out, leaving none behind!"

Gao Feng's cold, heartless voice, like a death ultimatum, echoed over the blood-soaked Liu Family estate.

When the heads of Liu Yuan and Liu Xuanfeng, eyes wide with death, were raised high on spears by Wulu and displayed in the center of the courtyard, the psychological defenses of all the Liu Family guards and servants still resisting collapsed completely in that instant.

Their leader was dead; the situation was lost!

"Clang..."

I don't know who was the first to throw down their weapon, but immediately afterward, the sound of weapons hitting the ground rang out one after another.

"Spare us! Hero, spare us!"

"We were all forced! It has nothing to do with us!"

The surviving guards knelt on the ground one after another, kowtowing like pounding garlic, no longer daring to show the slightest intention of resistance.

Gao Feng had no interest in slaughtering these underlings who had lost their Battle Intent. He glanced at them coldly and said to Xu Changqing beside him, "Lock them all up. After we leave, whether they live or die depends on their own fate."

"Understood." Xu Changqing nodded and immediately directed several surrendered stewards to herd the guards into a side courtyard for centralized custody.

Gao Feng then turned his gaze toward the depths of the estate, to that legendary, impregnable fortress—the Liu Family treasure vault.

"Brother Qin," Gao Feng's voice carried a hint of imperceptible excitement, "it's your turn."

"Hehe, just watch!"

Qin Fang rubbed his hands, a greedy glint flashing in his single eye. He walked quickly to the vault door, which was cast from a single piece of profound iron, half a foot thick, and covered in complex mechanisms, and examined it carefully.

"Tsk tsk, three-ring interlocking, seven-star lock core, and even a mercury anti-theft interlayer; the design is not bad. Unfortunately..." Qin Fang pursed his lips in disdain, "In front of me, Qin Fang, it's no different from paper."

He took out a special tool kit from his bosom, filled with various oddly shaped metal probes and picks. He pressed his ear against the cold iron door, one hand manipulating the probe deep into the keyhole, while the other hand tapped and flicked at the door's mechanisms as if playing a zither.

After a teeth-gritting "click-clack" sound, accompanied by a crisp mechanical spring sound, that profound iron door, capable of resisting thousands of troops, was easily opened by him from the inside.

The moment the door slowly opened, revealing the scene inside, even Gao Feng and the others, who had long been accustomed to big scenes, couldn't help but gasp.

Inside the vault, the brilliance of pearls and treasures was almost blinding!

Gold bricks and silver ingots were piled up like mountains; various rare jewelry, jade artifacts, and antique paintings were casually stacked on the shelves. On the other side of the vault were neatly arranged weapon racks and medicinal cabinets.

Various High Grade weapons that could cut iron like mud emitted a faint cold light.

Century-old ginseng and fleeceflower root, rare blood lingzhi, and purple gold fruit were carefully stored in individual jade boxes, the medicinal fragrance wafting through the air and refreshing the heart.

What concerned Gao Feng the most was a bookshelf in the center of the vault, on which were placed dozens of Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals, among which were not a few fragments of Earth Rank or even Heaven Rank!

"We're rich... we're really rich this time!" Wulu looked at the room full of gold and silver jewelry, drool almost flowing down.

"The Liu Family has entrenched themselves in Wangjiang City for a hundred years; the wealth they've extorted from the people is truly staggering." Yue Changkong looked at this wealth, a flash of disgust in his eyes, but more of it was satisfaction.

"Don't just stand there!" Gao Feng quickly regained his composure and ordered in a deep voice, "Time is tight! Gold and silver jewelry are not important; prioritize taking the Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals, rare medicinal herbs, High Grade weapons, and healing Medicinal Pills! Take as much as you can! Xu Changqing, you are responsible for counting and distributing!"

"Yes!"

Everyone immediately took action, like a swarm of locusts passing through, starting a frantic "zero-dollar shopping" spree.

Everyone knew that these were not just wealth.

These were the most important assets for their future survival and the expansion of Panshi Stockade! With this batch of resources, the strength of Panshi Stockade would undergo earth-shattering changes in a very short period!

Just as everyone was busily looting the spoils of war, preparing to return fully loaded, a slightly aged but full-voiced voice came abruptly from outside the courtyard.

"Hehe, Hero Gao Pan, what excellent methods. Overnight, you've uprooted this Liu tumor that has plagued us for a hundred years. This old man admires you, truly admires you!"

This sudden voice startled everyone present!

Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing, gripping their weapons, and looked toward the direction the voice came from as if facing a formidable enemy.

At the moon gate of the courtyard, an old man in grey robes, wearing the attire of an Elder of the Xuan Yue Sword Sect, stood with his hands behind his back, a meaningful smile on his face, looking at them without any hostility.

Behind him followed two Inner Sect Disciples with steady Auras.

People from the Xuan Yue Sword Sect?!

When did they arrive? And how did they sneak here without a sound?