108: Chapter 108 The Net in the Poisonous Fog

Qin Ruowei accepted the order and left.

Very quickly, the originally deathly silence of Geng No. 9 Courtyard was completely broken.

Several servants, recruited from the Cui Family and still wearing expressions of fear, began to tremblingly move heavy camphor wood chests outside under the supervision of the Lin Family members.

When the chests were lifted, the deliberately unfastened lids slid open with a "clatter," revealing rows of neatly arranged jade boxes inside.

The jade boxes were made of warm, smooth material, and in the faint morning light, one could even see a faint Spiritual Qi flowing on their surfaces. It was clear at a glance that they were High Grade containers used for storing rare Spirit Medicine.

"Be careful! If you break them, your lives won't be enough to pay for the damage!"

A Lin Family disciple sternly reprimanded them. His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to reach the valley entrance without seeming too deliberate.

These "rare Materials" were, naturally, just a ruse.

The jade boxes contained nothing but ordinary pebbles; a low-level "Light-Gathering Talisman" had simply been pasted inside the lid to create the illusion of swirling Spiritual Qi.

The real killing blow was hidden at the bottom of the most inconspicuous chest.

Liu Ruxu had personally embedded a specially refined "Shadow-Tracking Jade Slip" into a hidden compartment at the base of that chest.

This Jade Slip was connected to the master disc in her hand; once the lid was pried open by more than three inches by external force, it would silently record all scenes within a one-zhang radius for three breaths of time.

Everything was ready.

Lin Chen did not go out; he remained sitting cross-legged in the secret chamber with his eyes closed, but his Divine Sense, like an invisible spider web, had already enveloped the entire valley.

He could "see" Qin Ruowei directing the crowd as they laboriously moved the heavy chests into the long-abandoned stone house at the valley entrance.

He could "hear" the dull echo of the chests landing on the stone floor.

Even more, he could "feel" two obscure and greedy auras within the thick, purple-black poisonous mist at the valley entrance, locked tightly onto that stone house.

They were here.

Lin Chen's fingertips gently rubbed the stone ring on his thumb.

At the valley entrance, the poisonous mist churned.

The light inside the stone house was already dim, and as the last team of clansmen retreated and closed the dilapidated wooden door, it became pitch black inside.

Silence, deathly silence.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn later, the tightly shut wooden door suddenly creaked open a crack without any wind.

A pink mist with a fishy, sweet scent, like a living tentacle, quietly slithered in through the gap.

This mist was extremely eerie; it did not dissipate upon touching the ground but instead spread slowly along it. Wherever it passed, even the dust in the air seemed to be dyed with a gaudy pink.

The mist quickly covered the entire floor of the stone house. Tentatively, it swirled around the camphor wood chests. After confirming that no Restriction had been triggered, it suddenly surged upward, completely enveloping the chests.

"Giggle, giggle…"

A woman's coquettish laughter rang out in the mist, as crisp as silver bells, yet permeated with bone-chilling coldness.

"The little brats of the Lin Family are truly filthy rich. They are even willing to use 'Warm Jade Boxes' of this quality to hold stones."

Before the words faded, a slender figure slowly emerged from the pink mist.

She wore a tight purple dress that outlined breathtaking curves; it was the Poison Lady, Hua Sanniang.

Her feet were bare, with a string of tiny silver bells tied around her ankles. She walked silently, and only when she stopped did the silver bells emit a barely audible chime.

She extended her slender jade fingers, about to touch one of the chests.

Just then, a black shadow hung down from the rafters like a ghost, moving so fast it left only an afterimage.

"Clang!"

A piercing sound of metal clashing erupted.

A black-glowing iron hook, wielded by One-armed Zhang Heng, precisely parried Hua Sanniang's finger, the tip of the hook less than half an inch from the back of her hand.

"Hua Sanniang, have you forgotten the Alliance Leader's rules? Scout first, take later."

A hoarse, deep male voice rang out. The burly figure of One-armed Zhang Heng landed with a thud. The muscles on his remaining left arm were knotted, and the iron hook that had merged with his arm gleamed with a heart-stopping cold light in the dimness.

Hua Sanniang's expression darkened, and she glanced at him with seductive, silk-like eyes: "What's the rush? With such good things, do you think they can grow legs and run away?"

"Caution is the parent of safety." One-armed Zhang Heng's gaze, however, remained vigilantly scanning the surroundings, finally settling on the inconspicuous chest in the corner. "Start with that one."

His reasoning was simple: this chest was in the most remote position and looked the least important, making it the most likely to be a trap.

Eliminating the most dangerous first was a habit he had cultivated from years of living on the edge of a blade.

Hua Sanniang pursed her lips and did not refute him further.

One-armed Zhang Heng stepped forward slowly, his left arm's iron hook raising gradually. The tip of the hook grazed the lid of the chest gently; he sensed no Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

He took a deep breath, and the iron hook exerted sudden force, precisely hooking the edge of the lid and prying it upward with strength!

"Creak—"

The heavy lid was pried open by more than three inches.

Almost at the instant the lid opened, the runes on the surface of the "Shadow-Tracking Jade Slip" in the hidden compartment at the bottom of the chest suddenly lit up, then extinguished in a flash.

An invisible wave had already recorded One-armed Zhang Heng's appearance at that moment, along with the black token engraved with the character "Sha" at his waist, with absolute clarity, and transmitted it back to the master disc in Liu Ruxu's hand.

One-armed Zhang Heng did not notice any abnormality; his attention was entirely on the chest.

The chest was empty, with only a thick layer of dust.

"Empty?" One-armed Zhang Heng frowned, and the feeling of unease in his heart grew stronger.

"I told you so, the Lin Family wouldn't be that stupid." Hua Sanniang giggled, about to mock him, but her expression suddenly changed.

She discovered with horror that the pink poisonous mist she had been controlling with ease was now, as if encountering a natural predator, beginning to frantically recoil and rush straight toward her!

"What's happening?!"

Hua Sanniang was terrified, staggering backward. Losing her footing, she nearly fell.

Looking down, she realized that the ground where she had just been standing had been sprinkled with an extremely fine, black-and-white powder at some point.

The powder was emitting a strange fragrance; it had both the intoxicating sweet scent of the seven-heart begonia and a hint of the cold, bone-chilling aura unique to Black Sha Stone.

It was the Poison-Attracting Powder specially made by Su Qingyao!

This powder was harmless to ordinary people but had a fatal attraction to the "Peach Blossom Miasma" she cultivated.

It could forcibly reverse the flow of the poisonous mist, causing the caster to suffer the consequences of their own actions!

"Damn it!" Hua Sanniang was shocked and angry, hurriedly forming hand seals to try and stabilize the mist, but the recoiling poisonous mist was already close at hand.

Just at this critical moment, another unexpected change occurred!

"Boom!"

A dull, thunderous sound came from beneath One-armed Zhang Heng's feet.

He felt a void beneath him, and the solid rock floor unexpectedly collapsed downward by half a foot without any warning!

The force of this collapse was extremely ingenious; it did not make him fall, but it perfectly disrupted his balance.

One-armed Zhang Heng was horrified. Looking down, he saw that the edges of the half-foot-deep pit had neat cross-sections, clearly showing the alternating traces of old and new soil layers.

This place… had been dug up and then backfilled!

A chill shot straight from One-armed Zhang Heng's spine to the top of his head.

The opponent had not only calculated that they would come and that Hua Sanniang would release poison, but had even calculated exactly where he would be standing!

This was no mere trap; this was clearly a death-dealing spider web already woven, waiting for them to walk right into it!

In the secret chamber, Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes.

It was precisely through the stone ring on his thumb that he had just channeled a trace of insignificant earth-vein power, acting precisely on the area under One-armed Zhang Heng's feet that had been "backfilled."

This power was not great, but it was enough to be the final straw that broke the camel's back at the critical moment.

"Move!"

At Lin Chen's command, the Lin Family members who had been lying in ambush outside the stone house instantly launched their attack.

But someone was faster than them!

"Hua Sanniang! You dare betray the Alliance Leader!"

A shrill, violent shout exploded in the stone house.

It was not One-armed Zhang Heng, but Wang Shu, the surrendered soldier who had been hiding in the shadows and responsible for the extraction!

He lunged out from the shadows like a madman, aiming straight for Hua Sanniang, who was struggling desperately against the backlash of the poisonous mist.

Hua Sanniang was at a moment where her old power had been spent and new power had not yet arisen. Seeing Wang Shu lunge over,

"Bang!"

Wang Shu flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into the wall and spitting out a large mist of blood.

However, at the very moment he spat blood, a roll of parchment slipped from his sleeve, landing right at the feet of One-armed Zhang Heng, who was in a state of chaos due to the ground collapse.

The parchment slowly unfurled, revealing several lines of scribbled, ferocious handwriting written in fresh blood.

The last four words were like a red-hot branding iron, searing fiercely into One-armed Zhang Heng's pupils.

—Leave no survivors!

The signature was a "Wu" character shaped like a ghost's claw!

This was Old Monster Wu's personal secret letter!

One-armed Zhang Heng's body stiffened abruptly, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Was Wang Shu sent by Old Monster Wu to monitor him and Hua Sanniang?

After the mission was completed, was Old Monster Wu going to silence them?

No wonder! No wonder this operation was so bizarre!

In a flash, One-armed Zhang Heng made his decision.

His sinister eyes turned sharply toward Hua Sanniang, devoid of any camaraderie, leaving only chilling murderous intent.

Since Old Monster Wu was unjust, he could not blame him for being unrighteous!

"Bitch! You really did collude with the Lin Family!"

One-armed Zhang Heng roared, pushing all the blame onto Hua Sanniang.

He exerted force with his left arm, and the black iron hook transformed into a deadly cold gleam, accompanied by a shriek that tore through the air, heading straight for Hua Sanniang's throat!

Hua Sanniang was currently being backlashed by the poisonous mist and had been ambushed by Wang Shu; she was already at the end of her tether.

Facing this full-force strike from One-armed Zhang Heng, she only had time to let out a desperate scream before her neck was instantly pierced by the iron hook.

Blood, mixed with pink poisonous mist, sprayed out.

The battle erupted at the most incredible moment and ended in the most bizarre circumstances.

And in this brief but chaotic slaughter, no one noticed that the stone ring on Lin Chen's thumb was emitting faint, greedy hums.

One-armed Zhang Heng's strike contained his full cultivation of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment, tearing through space and releasing extremely faint spatial fluctuations.

To others, these fluctuations were useless, but to the stone ring, they were supreme delicacies.

In Lin Chen's Sea of Consciousness, the Ring Spirit's cold notification sound rang out one after another.

[Detected unstable spatial fluctuations... Absorbing...]

[Parsing spatial Law fragments... 1% ... 3% ... 7% ...]

[New rune module unlocked...]

A burning sensation came from the stone ring, and Lin Chen instinctively raised his right hand.

He saw that on the originally dim surface of the ring, a brand-new, complex rune composed of countless tiny points of light slowly lit up.

As if possessed, he extended his index finger and gently touched the newborn rune.

In an instant, an indescribable tearing sensation came from his fingertip!

Lin Chen let out a muffled groan. His entire right arm, from palm to shoulder, instantly became like transparent glazed glass; one could clearly see the bones, Meridians, and even the flowing blood inside!

This eerie state lasted only for a brief three breaths before quickly fading.

His arm returned to its original state, but Lin Chen's heart was in turmoil.

Unstable spatial folding phenomenon... This stone ring could actually drag his arm into a spatial pocket momentarily!

Just as his mind was shaken, the battle outside had settled.

After One-armed Zhang Heng's strike succeeded, he did not linger in the fight at all. He grabbed the secret letter from Old Monster Wu on the ground, glanced at Wang Shu, who was "seriously injured and unconscious" in the corner, and his eyes flickered with uncertainty.

In the end, he did not deliver a killing blow, but his figure flickered, and like a startled leopard, he disappeared into the depths of the poisonous mist at the valley entrance after a few flashes.

Before leaving, he seemed to carelessly toss a cloth bag at the entrance of the stone house.

Soon, Chu Yun rushed in with his men, only to see Hua Sanniang's corpse, eyes wide with lingering hatred, and the mess on the ground.

"Clan Chief, the enemy has retreated." Chu Yun's voice came from outside the door, carrying a trace of solemnity, "They left behind a bag of Black Sha Stone."

Lin Chen walked out of the secret chamber and came to the entrance of the stone house. Looking at the cloth bag on the ground, his gaze narrowed slightly.

Chu Yun crouched down and carefully untied the cloth bag; a cold aura rushed toward his face.

He took out a piece of Black Sha Stone and carefully wiped it with a white silk handkerchief, but his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"Clan Chief, there is blood on this stone." He handed the handkerchief to Lin Chen, "The bloodstain is very fresh, and... I just checked Wang Shu's injuries; this blood is not his."