"Let them fight it out first!"
Leave the fighting to them—Lin Chang’sheng planned to study this array first.
By the time his research was almost done, they’d probably have duked it out and decided the winner.
At that point, he could step in, crush the victor, and scoop up all the benefits for himself.
"You’ve really got some patience!"
Guo Yunchu curled her lip as she spoke.
The treasure was right there, but Lin Chang’sheng wasn’t even tempted—he even planned to hide?
If it were her, she’d have lost her composure a long time ago.
Lin Chang’sheng didn’t respond to Guo Yunchu and started to study the grand array, while Gu Shan, per Lin Chang’sheng’s instructions, began to clean up the bloodstains on the ground.
...
Two days later.
Mou Yuntao, relying on his years of experience, finally managed to purge the Immortal Corpse Insects. His body was more or less fully recovered.
The average person probably couldn’t have gotten rid of this deadly poison.
But Mou Yuntao had been in Blood City for years and mastered a blood-exchanging technique.
That was how he managed to expel the poison.
"Congratulations, City Lord Mou, on your recovery. Shall we go take the treasure now?"
Lu Shan spoke up.
Mou Yuntao nodded. "Tang Zhongming is incredibly powerful. I admit, I don’t have much chance of winning. I’ll hold him back—you all go after the treasure. As soon as we get it, we withdraw!"
Mou Yuntao laid out the plan.
He also understood that Tang Zhongming had come here just to slay Lin Chang’sheng, not for treasure hunting.
He’d only ended up in the Secret Realm by accident.
Tang Zhongming was definitely not going to risk his life fighting them over the treasure.
"Alright! If we get the treasure, we’ll split it evenly!"
Lu Shan agreed readily.
The group then made their way toward the Blood Evil Hall.
When they arrived at the entrance to the Blood Evil Hall, they saw that Gao Zhan had become one of Tang Zhongming’s flunkies, standing guard for him.
Mou Yuntao’s fists clenched tight at the sight.
"Well, City Lord Mou, you’ve really got a monstrous fate! Still alive, after all that?"
Seeing Mou Yuntao and Lu Shan’s group arrive, Gao Zhan felt no fear. Instead, a cold sneer crept onto his lips.
"Gao Zhan, you betrayed me and hurt me. Today, you will pay back double."
Mou Yuntao barked, his primordial power surging uncontrollably around him.
"Even if you can beat me, can you handle Elder Tang? Not to mention, he’s gotten his hands on two treasures—his power’s skyrocketed! You could come at him with a hundred people and still die, every last one of you!"
Gao Zhan boasted arrogantly.
He thought he had Tang Zhongming backing him up.
But honestly, Tang Zhongming couldn’t care less about traitors like him.
"Traitor, die!"
Old Wu was the first to lose patience and make a move. He couldn’t stand the sight of a traitor like Gao Zhan for even a second.
He’d love nothing more than to kill Gao Zhan on the spot.
As soon as he finished speaking, primordial power gathered in Old Wu’s palm and thunder boomed all around him.
It was obvious this palm strike packed a serious punch.
"Old bastard, you wanna die!"
Seeing Old Wu coming at him with a deadly palm strike, Gao Zhan naturally wouldn’t just stand there. He returned fire with a palm strike of his own.
But Gao Zhan unleashed a searing wave of flames—he was using the Celestial Fire Divine Palm.
BOOM—
The next instant, the two palm prints smashed together in midair, creating a deafening explosion.
In the violent aftermath, Old Wu was the one who lost—he was knocked backward several steps.
If Mou Yuntao hadn’t caught him, Old Wu would’ve hit the ground hard.
There’s truth to the saying: "The old fear the strong."
Both of them were at the same realm, but Gao Zhan was younger and his primordial power was even stronger.
"Your days of arrogance are over!"
Mou Yuntao started walking toward Gao Zhan step by step, his primordial power erupting and the crushing pressure shattering the stones in front of him.
Just seconds ago, Gao Zhan had been cocky as hell, but Mou Yuntao’s terrifying pressure now locked him in place—he couldn’t even move, or breathe properly.
The weaker Blood Guards nearby instantly burst apart, turning into bloody smears.
"T—Tang... Elder Tang... help... me—!"
Gao Zhan reached toward the great hall where Tang Zhongming was, desperately begging for help.
No matter how he screamed, though, there wasn’t so much as a peep from inside.
Mou Yuntao calmly walked right up to Gao Zhan. Under the overwhelming pressure, Gao Zhan couldn’t get out a single word. His eyes were bloodshot, his body wracked with extreme pain.
BANG—
Mou Yuntao threw a punch and blasted a hole straight through Gao Zhan’s chest.
One punch—dead on the spot.
Even at the moment of death, Gao Zhan couldn’t believe Tang Zhongming just ignored whether they lived or died.
He’d guarded Tang Zhongming all this time, and this was the thanks he got.
Maybe at the very end, he finally understood what it’s like to be abandoned.
"Reap what you sow!"
Old Wu approached Gao Zhan’s corpse and spit on it. That’s exactly the kind of ending such people deserve.
The rest of the Blood Guard didn’t fare any better than Gao Zhan.
Even begging for mercy didn’t save them from death.
Mou Yuntao, Lu Shan, and the others strode into the Blood Evil Hall again.
There stood Tang Zhongming, still atop the altar, the two treasures apparently untouched, sitting right where they were.
"Tang Zhongming, since you don’t care about these treasures, why not just hand them over to us?"
Lu Shan asked bluntly.
Tang might not care—but he sure as hell did.
"It’s true, I’m not interested in these treasures. But right now, they belong to me. If you want them, you’ll have to trade me something I care about."
Tang Zhongming replied slowly. What he really wanted was Lin Chang’sheng.
"If you want Lin Chang’sheng so bad, go find him yourself. We’ve got better things to do. If you won’t move, don’t blame us if things turn ugly!"
As soon as Lu Shan finished, he summoned his Upper Grade Celestial Spirit Treasure and got ready to fight.
"You can’t beat me. If you throw hands with me, you’re just asking to die!"
Tang Zhongming stood there on the altar without a care in the world, but his entire body radiated a terrifyingly powerful aura.
"Is that so? Then I’d like to see for myself!"
Mou Yuntao swept his hand, summoning a Heaven-Reaching Immortal Treasure.
This Immortal Treasure was called the Nine-Star Divine Halberd—a Lower Grade Celestial Immortal Treasure.
When Tang Zhongming saw Mou Yuntao wielding the Heaven-Reaching Immortal Treasure, he finally looked serious.
He knew just how deadly a Celestial Immortal Treasure could be.
Mou Yuntao signaled Lu Shan with his eyes, then gripped the Nine-Star Divine Halberd and shot toward Tang Zhongming like a meteor.
"Sword Qi Four Directions!"
As the attack came, Tang Zhongming shouted furiously. Sword Qi surged explosively around him, and his sword flashed from its sheath.
Wave after wave of wild Sword Qi tore through the air, slashing straight at Mou Yuntao.
BANG BANG BANG—
Up in midair, Mou Yuntao and Tang Zhongming’s attacks collided again and again.
With each fierce clash came thunderous booms.
There was no denying it—Tang Zhongming’s sword technique was truly masterful.
Solely by his blade skills, he actually managed to counter the power of Mou Yuntao’s Immortal Treasure.
Seeing Tang Zhongming and Mou Yuntao fighting, Lu Shan instantly sprang into action, darting for the two treasures behind Tang Zhongming.
He wanted to grab the treasures while Tang Zhongming was distracted.
But even locked in fierce combat, Tang Zhongming still had a free hand. As he fired off a palm attack, Lu Shan—who was halfway to the altar—had to dodge frantically, his eyes going wide in shock.
BOOM—
The devastating palm strike blasted into the wall of the Blood Evil Hall, shaking the entire building and sending rubble everywhere.
Old Wu, seeing Lu Shan’s failed attempt, immediately charged forward himself.
No way Tang Zhongming had a third hand, right?
But to Old Wu’s shock, Tang Zhongming really didn’t have a third hand—but he still had both legs.
With a sweeping kick, Tang Zhongming unleashed a barrage of leg shadows.
"Old Wu, fall back!"
Mou Yuntao barked out a warning.
Old Wu was only at the Early Stage of Tribulation Crossing and already old—how could he compete with Late Stage Tang Zhongming?
As the waves of leg shadows came flying in, Old Wu had nowhere to run. He just sighed with resignation.
BANG BANG BANG—
The next instant, the leg shadows hammered into Old Wu, crushing parts of his body inward.
PUH—
In midair, Old Wu spat out a mouthful of blood. When he hit the ground, his aura was already extremely feeble.
He was clearly at death’s door.
Power at the Early Stage of Tribulation Crossing was still nothing against a Late Stage powerhouse.
Off in the distance.
After sensing the explosions from the Blood Evil Hall, Lin Chang’sheng knew that Mou Yuntao and Tang Zhongming were fighting fiercely for the treasure.
And now was his best chance to strike.
Without hesitation, he left his hiding spot and headed for the Blood Evil Hall.