BOOM!
The hotel collapsed as a black fog giant stomped the ground, kicking up a circular dust storm. The black fog instantly expanded, then rapidly contracted as it shot straight for the sky!
But under that cyan shockwave, its massive body, along with the surrounding corroded space, was like a stain wiped away by an invisible eraser. It was annihilated without a sound—no explosion, no remains, as if it had never existed.
The moment Black Tuo made his move, however, Wuwang didn’t fight back. Instead, he instantly vanished into a Spatial Rift.
’He’s courting death.’ Qing Cang was completely unfazed.
In an instant, within a thousand-meter radius around the giant snake, all the air, Energy, and even the faint light were instantly extracted, compressed, and tamed.
It transformed into a sky-blotting, cyan giant hand, formed entirely from condensed, raging Wind Element. The giant hand closed its five fingers and squeezed lightly.
"CRACK—"
With a crisp sound like shattering ice crystals, the thousand-meter-long giant snake was effortlessly crushed by the giant hand of wind, turning into a sky full of harmless, glittering specks of light.
Then, it was blown away by the swirling air currents, vanishing without a trace.
THUD!
Two figures plummeted straight down, smashing into the ground and kicking up dust before falling silent.
’It was that simple?’ Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat. With a push of his feet, he shot across nearly a thousand meters, quickly arriving near the battlefield.
The dust began to settle. Qing Cang’s attack had been extremely precise. Though it looked immensely destructive, its effects were actually confined to a limited area.
Moreover, the other people in the building had been enveloped in currents of wind. They weren’t harmed in any way and looked bewildered and horrified as they were moved to safety.
Amidst the ruins, Su Chen could only see a swaying figure wailing two words, "Master Qing," as he stumbled to his knees.
"Master Qing! Master Qing!" Fang Luoxun repeated the name over and over, weeping his eyes out.
’This guy...’ Su Chen walked over from the side, looking at Fang Luoxun. His disguise was gone, but his face was completely unfamiliar.
Two corpses lay nearby, their surfaces covered in fine cracks. They showed no signs of life.
’For these Divine Sons, leaving them alive is useless. They might just use some trick to cause more trouble. It’s better to just kill them outright and annihilate the life force in their flesh-and-blood bodies.’
"It’s him." Ming Lin, who had arrived a step late, recognized the kneeling figure at a glance and whispered, "That’s Fan Zhao’s second disciple, Meng Shiyu’s junior brother."
As an enemy, he had paid close attention to Qin Yun’s faction and recognized all its key members.
"Someone from Fan Zhao’s side? Fan Zhao was the one who contacted the Black Tuo Divine Son?" Su Chen was stunned. He had assumed the two were here purely for him.
It seemed things weren’t that simple.
Qing Cang had already returned to his human form and was looking down coldly at Fang Luoxun. "Colluding with a Deceitful God’s Son and plotting to assassinate a Star Seed. Think carefully about whether you can truly bear the weight of that crime."
’Assassinate a Star Seed, or was it targeted at me specifically?’
Su Chen couldn’t help but be surprised. ’For Fan Zhao to go to such lengths to kill me, he’s a bit too loyal to Qin Yun.’
"Master Qing!" Fang Luoxun suddenly looked up, his face filled with panic. "No, I... I was just... I was just relaying a message..."
"Watch him." Qing Cang pointed a finger. The air before his fingertip warped, and a wisp of pure, cyan wind-breath manifested at his command.
It rapidly expanded and elongated, emitting a clear hum as it solidified into three thumb-thick, translucent chains that shimmered with a tangible radiance. They wrapped around Fang Luoxun, instantly immobilizing him.
At the same time, Qing Cang’s figure suddenly dispersed. A gale erupted in all directions, sweeping out for an unknown distance.
...
On a high floor of another hotel, far from the scene, Fan Zhao’s face was filled with horror as he stumbled backward. "Why is Qing Cang here?"
"Could it be that the Black Tuo Divine Son was discovered long ago?"
He couldn’t help but think, ’This is clearly a trap.’
"Is that Divine Son really that stupid?"
"Thankfully, I didn’t show up in person." At this thought, Fan Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression turned grave. "No, I have to get out of here. Fang Luoxun won’t hold out for long."
"Only by returning to the Sect can I argue that I knew nothing of this."
He didn’t dare hesitate and turned to leave.
But just as he opened the door, the curtain hanging inside the window suddenly trembled as if stirred by a breeze, even though the window was shut tight.
Fan Zhao froze. A gust of wind roared in his ears, and a deep, haunting voice spoke, "Found you."
...
’They were almost beaten to a pulp.’ Su Chen crouched before the two corpses. Various items were scattered around them.
It was likely because the life force in their flesh-and-blood bodies had dissipated, causing their personal Storage Space to collapse and spill its contents.
"Lord Su Chen, please! Let me explain! I was only a messenger! It was all Fan Zhao! He threatened me, I had no choice..."
Fang Luoxun wailed repeatedly. Su Chen glanced at him and gestured for Teng Liang to take him away. The cries gradually faded into the distance.
In the distance, several streaks of light were rapidly approaching—likely the local guardians of Canglan Star.
The moment Su Chen placed his hand on one of the corpses, he felt something surge out from within it and into his own body. A panel immediately popped up—
[Faceless Ghost Essence discovered. Taming successful!]
[...]
Two prompts appeared one after another. Su Chen was quite surprised. ’To think I extracted two portions of essence. These flesh-and-blood bodies are really something else.’
This was a truly unexpected gain.
However, after the essence vanished, the scattered pieces of the corpses on the ground seemed to lose a certain luster, though it was difficult to perceive with the naked eye.
Immediately after, his gaze fell upon the items scattered around—some miscellaneous objects and some things he couldn’t identify.
Acting on the principle of ’might as well take what I can get,’ Su Chen began picking them up one by one.
"Su Xingzhong."
Outside the ruins, several figures landed. The leader was a middle-aged man with a grave expression tinged with apprehension. He glanced around before heading straight for Su Chen.
"And you are?" Su Chen asked as he continued to clean up the items.
"I’m the guardian here, Song Gang. Was that Master Qing just now?"
Song Gang asked tentatively. He knew Su Chen had arrived, but since Su Chen hadn’t paid him a formal visit, he hadn’t sought him out either.
But he never expected such a huge disturbance to erupt after only a few days.
The Energy fluctuations from that giant face had been so intense that the entire Canglan Star was alerted, and he had rushed over immediately.
Su Chen picked up a fist-sized black skull, felt it over, set it aside, and nodded. "That’s right. He is my senior brother."
Song Gang paused for a moment before asking tentatively, "Then what happened here was because of..."
Su Chen replied nonchalantly, "We discovered two Divine Sons. They’ve been eliminated."
"Two Divine Sons?" Song Gang’s face stiffened, his mind in turmoil. Canglan Star wasn’t far from the core of the Bronze Sect.
The last time Deceitful God’s Followers were discovered was decades ago, let alone two Divine Sons.
’This is a huge deal...’ Song Gang’s expression shifted several times. Seeing Su Chen still bent over, cleaning up, he quickly said, "Please, don’t trouble yourself. We’ll take care of this."
"No need. I prefer to do it myself." Su Chen refused. ’If I don’t go through these things myself, I’ll feel like I missed something.’
Song Gang’s expression changed slightly as he secretly wondered: ’Does he suspect Canglan Star has an inside man for the Deceitful God? Is that why he didn’t notify us, and why Master Qing came to handle it directly?’
’This is trouble...’
Su Chen had no idea that his casual remark had sent the guardian before him into a spiral of speculation. He just continued cleaning up.
Soon, his expression flickered. He touched something that looked like a piece of black charcoal, only the size of a fingernail. A prompt popped up on his panel—
[Fog Ashes (Weak)—Special Item: A Fog Blossom that can only be born in the depths of the Nether Fog, condensed with the power of a certain Deceitful God. Seems to have a special effect on professions. (Note: Please purify before use.)]
’Fog Ashes, purify?’
Su Chen read the description. ’This thing seems very unusual, not a simple item.’
As he was pondering, more text appeared on the panel—
[The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator desires the Fog Ashes. If you can purify it and give it to him, he may give you some rewards.]
"Oh?" Su Chen was inwardly shaken. ’Even a Great Venerable wants this thing.’