Chapter 175: Searching for a Person

Chapter 175: Searching for a Person

This group of people seemed to have come from who knows where.

Each of them was oddly shaped in their own way. The one speaking was short and scrawny, with chains attached to his claws, waving them in the air incessantly.

On the left rooftop stood a tall, lanky figure wrapped in white cloth. A broken chain hung from his right wrist, and the shackles remained.

A spiked iron cap covered his head, with half a white cloth draped down, concealing the right side of his face.

With a cold gust of wind, it was revealed that he had a two-toned face. The right side of his face was flushed bright red.

Next to him stood a woman, her arms hanging down, her long nails a deep red. Her arms were sleeveless, yet she wore a robe resembling an iron barrel.

Her hair was coiled behind her head, secured with no less than dozens of hairpins, making her look like a hedgehog.

Her pale face had nothing to do with the word "beautiful" — it was as if her entire face had been painted on, expressionless.

To the right of the short figure stood a cold-faced swordsman.

Dressed in black, his long sword was strapped to his back, and he stood with his arms crossed. His eyes did not fall on Su Mo and the others but instead focused on a residential house.

At that very moment, the door of the house opened, and a disheveled, clean-faced young man stepped out.

He casually adjusted his clothes, thought for a moment, and then dragged a woman out of the house.

The woman’s clothes were in disarray, her hair a mess, and she was a corpse, showing no response as she was pulled along.

"Hearing the commotion outside, have some righteous heroes come to punish evil and uphold justice?"

The young man spoke casually and walked to a spot not far from Su Mo and the others. His gaze swept over each of them before he took out a crumpled piece of paper from his chest.

He unfolded the paper and compared their appearances to the figure on the paper.

Disappointed, he muttered, "What a shame… it's not him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to leave, stuffing the paper back into his chest:

"If it's not him, then kill them."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

His entire face changed in an instant. He shrank his neck, and in the blink of an eye, only an empty robe was left behind.

At the same time, the sound of tearing through the air echoed.

Two people had made their move — the woman with the head like a hedgehog and the short, scrawny figure.

One of them had taken out a hidden weapon from who knows where, flying through the air.

The other had thrown his iron claws with a flick of his hand. The claws tore through the air, aimed at Su Mo, who had somehow already positioned himself in the line of attack.

Su Mo, holding the abandoned robe, looked slightly surprised:

"Not bad evasion skills."

The young man, now left in only his pants, turned back to glare at Su Mo:

"This is an ambush!"

The moment the voice fell, Su Mo casually flicked his hand, causing the concealed weapon that was flying through the air to instantly roll back towards its origin.

The woman, seemingly not having expected such a turn of events, froze for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, her limbs retracted, disappearing completely into the robe that resembled an iron barrel.

It was unknown what material the robe was made of, but the returning concealed weapon struck it and only produced a series of dingdingdongdong sounds, unable to pierce through for the time being.

On the other side, the flying claw did not concern Su Mo.

Liu Mo's purple-gold concave mace descended from the sky, directly smashing towards the head of the short, emaciated figure.

If he had insisted on launching that claw, he would have immediately suffered a broken skull.

The nearby swordsman should have been able to relieve the situation, but just as his sword left its sheath, a mighty dragon's roar rose up. In the blink of an eye, a speck of starlight, like a dragon's claw, had already arrived before him.

With a slight change in expression, he laughed heartily, and with a sudden flick of his sword, it made a ding sound as it precisely hit the spearhead.

At the moment of contact, Yang Xiaoyun in mid-air trembled slightly, while the swordsman retreated three steps:

"Excellent spear technique!"

With those words, he charged forward.

His sword aimed to prevent Yang Xiaoyun from ascending to the roof. Now that she had fallen to the ground, it was the moment when her old strength had just run out, and her new strength had not yet arisen.

He was on the rooftop, and by taking three steps back, he used the momentum to rise again, exploiting a critical juncture.

The short, emaciated figure, seeing that reinforcements would not arrive in time, simply waved his hand, abandoning his original attack plan. He rolled on the ground to vacate his position.

A howling gust of wind descended from the sky, and with a crash, the entire roof was shattered to pieces.

As his feet became empty and he fell down alongside Liu Mo, before he could even touch the ground, sensing the hostile wind, he immediately shook his arms, pulling on the chain in an attempt to block.

However, he had not expected that Liu Mo's mace technique was extraordinary, with astonishing strength.

This person's martial skills excelled in treachery, slipperiness, ruthlessness, speed, and agility, but when it came to 'strength,' he was far inferior.

In a moment of carelessness, attacking his opponent's strength with his own weakness, how could there be any advantage?

A powerful force surged forth, overwhelming him. The chains were unable to withstand it, and a purple-gold concave-faced mace slammed directly into his chest and abdomen.

For a moment, his bones cracked and popped, and he was sent flying at an angle.

He crashed through the window and landed on the street.

But instead of being frightened, he was delighted.

If he had fallen into the house, even with companions around, they would not have been able to save him.

Now that he was outside, let's see how you plan to kill me!

However, when his eyes swept over the rooftop, he was completely dumbfounded.

The house had collapsed at some point.

Not far from him, there was a corpse. Although the head had been smashed beyond recognition and the iron hat was twisted out of shape, the makeup indicated that it was one of his companions.

Turning his head back, the purple-gold concave-faced mace descended from the sky without any pause and landed directly on his head.

With a loud clang, he breathed his last.

These people seemed to have come out of nowhere, and their martial arts skills were indeed noteworthy.

Unfortunately, they picked a fight with the wrong opponent. Who did they think Zhen Xiaoxiao was?

With his immense strength, apart from Su Mo, how many people in the world could match him?

She couldn't get up onto the rooftop, but with a sweep of her single-footed bronze figure, how could the house withstand such force?

The roof collapsed instantly.

A tall, thin man with a yin-yang face tried to flee, but as he looked up, a palm came right at him.

He took the palm head-on and felt a chill rush into his heart.

Startled, he shivered and fell to the ground. Zhen Xiaoxiao, in the process of demolishing the house, didn't even look at him. With a casual swing of her single-footed bronze figure, the iron hat was instantly twisted out of shape, and the yin-yang face's head was smashed to pieces on the spot.

Fu Hanyuan watched and grinned. "That's my opponent."

Zhen Xiaoxiao wouldn't pay him any attention.

The woman on the rooftop, at the moment the house collapsed, turned her body and spun like a rolling top.

With a hum, her hands moved in a thousand illusions, and in an instant, countless hidden weapons flew towards them.

Zhen Xiaoxiao turned back, intending to charge forward, but Fu Hanyuan was already by her side. With a casual reach, he unleashed the Heavenly Frost True Qi.

With a whoosh, all the hidden weapons were blocked within a foot in front of them, covered in frost.

Zhen Xiaoxiao nodded repeatedly. "Not bad, not bad. When we get back, I'll ask the leader to reward you with a chicken leg."

Fu Hanyuan twitched at the corner of his mouth. "I don't need your help!"

Just as he was feeling frustrated, he saw the woman's face suddenly blur, and her entire face flew out.

Fu Hanyuan was at a loss. What kind of technique was this?

There were countless hidden weapons in the world, like willow leaf flying knives, flying locust stones, iron caltrops, heart-piercing nails, and more.

But who used their own face as a hidden weapon?

And how did the face fly out?

Not seeking to understand it for the moment, he simply drew in a breath, gathering his inner energy, and suddenly pushed out the Heavenly Frost True Qi.

With a loud explosion, the hidden weapons were scattered, embedding themselves in various parts of the surrounding houses.

At that very moment, a black-clad swordsman descended from the sky, his sword pointing downwards at Yang Xiaoyun.

The hidden weapons that flew in disrupted his rhythm.

He raised his sword, creating layers of sword light to block the incoming hidden weapons.

But then, a dragon's roar sounded. Yang Xiaoyun had already landed, her inner energy surging like a coiling dragon striking the sky.

The hidden weapons that flew towards her were deflected by the swirling energy, and with a tear through the clouds, her spear pierced the heavens.

The swordsman in mid-air had never seen such a powerful spear technique.

Startled, he tried to gather his energy, but at that moment, his old strength was exhausted, and his new strength had not yet been born.

He barely managed to cross his sword in front of his chest, but with a clang, the sword was pierced by Yang Xiaoyun's Dragon Spring Spear, the tip penetrating his chest.

As they passed each other, Yang Xiaoyun casually grabbed the spearhead protruding from his back and gave him a kick for good measure before leaping into the air. In a swift motion, she threw the spear in her hand.

A loud whoosh sounded as it flew like a dragon across the sky, straight towards the woman in exotic clothing.

She had just finished sparring with Fu Hanyuan and had retreated into her iron-like clothing when the spear pierced her forehead, pinning her to the ground at an angle.

Zhen Xiaoxiao, who was rushing forward with her single-footed bronze figure, was just a moment too late.

Fu Hanyuan chuckled behind her. "Serves you right for trying to steal my target."

"Well done, Second Leader!"

Zhen Xiaoxiao turned back and shouted words of praise.

At that moment, Yang Xiaoyun leaped down, and Zhen Xiaoxiao pulled out the Dragon Abyss Spear, carrying it as she returned to Yang Xiaoyun's side.

Liu Mo retracted his Purple Gold Concave Blade, while Fu Hanyuan shook his hand. He had to admit that the moment the woman had used her face as a weapon, it was quite impressive.

Even his own arm was slightly tingling.

Yang Xiaoyun took the Dragon Abyss Spear and looked towards Su Mo in the distance.

Being able to dodge Su Mo's grab was already a blessing from the heavens.

At this moment, the young man was grabbed by the back of his neck and pulled in front of Su Mo. After glancing at the corpses lying around, Su Mo shook his head:

"Luckily, I left one alive."

As he spoke, with a flick of his hand, the force of the Great Yang Scattering Palm instantly penetrated the young man's entire body, shattering his bones.

Throwing him to the ground casually, he asked, "Who are you people?"

The young man, looking at the corpses of his companions, twitched and said, "You didn't even figure out who we are before resorting to such brutality?"

Su Mo said calmly, "Within the territory of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance, those who slaughter innocent people are to be killed without mercy!"

"Just answer my questions directly. Once you've answered, I'll send you on your way."

"…Heh, we're all going to die anyway, so why ask so much?" the young man said through gritted teeth with a cold smile.

Su Mo nodded, "If that's the case, then you can die later."

With that, he casually pressed on the young man's Shenmen, Fushi, and Yutang acupoints.

Ignoring the man's reaction, he said, "Search around and see if there are any more survivors. Be careful; there might still be some of their people alive."

"Yes."

Including Yang Xiaoyun, everyone bowed their fists in acknowledgment and scattered to search.

Su Mo lightly pondered, tapped his toes, and landed on the roof, taking in every corner of the village.

He couldn't help but sigh softly...

After a short while, Liu Mo, Fu Hanyuan, and Zhen Xiaoxiao returned, having found nothing.

From the roof, Su Mo saw Yang Xiaoyun emerge from a large house, holding a seven or eight-year-old child, rushing over anxiously.

"Wait here," Su Mo instructed and, with a swift movement, arrived in front of Yang Xiaoyun in an instant.

"Xiao Mo, this child is still alive," Yang Xiaoyun said.

Su Mo nodded, took the child from her, and after a brief examination, his brows furrowed.

Without hesitation, he flipped his hand and pressed a palm onto the child's back.

The child had been severely wounded in the heart meridian and should have died, but somehow, he was still breathing.

Su Mo, possessing the Twelve Stages Golden Bell Jar, had a healing method within it.

Previously, when facing Duan Song disguised as Yang Yizhi, he had intended to use this method to save him, but unexpectedly, Duan Song had taken the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Pill, which could bring one back from the brink of death.

Su Mo's inner energy only catalyzed the medicine, causing Duan Song to wake up prematurely.

At this moment, as his inner energy flowed into the child, his complexion improved slightly after just a moment, and he took a deep breath, followed by a couple of coughs.

However, he did not fully wake up.

Su Mo checked his pulse and let out a gentle breath, "The pulse is steady, but his heart meridian is severely damaged. He's too young, so I can't exert too much force, or he won't be able to bear it. I'll need to channel energy into him for three days to ensure his safety."

"Yes," Yang Xiaoyun nodded, her expression grave, "These people... are utterly ruthless. They didn't spare a single soul, not the elderly, women, or children. If we had found this child a little later, he would have died on the spot."

"Xiaoyun, did you figure out these people's methods?"

Carrying the child, who was light and weightless, Su Mo asked as they headed towards where Liu Mo and the others were.

Yang Xiaoyun shook her head, "Judging by their appearance and martial arts, there's not much to go on.

"These people carried a heavy aura of killing intent and were extremely cruel and vicious.

"During the battle at Profound Theory Valley, most of the evil sects in the southwest were wiped out.

"These people... don't seem to be from our side."

As they spoke, they arrived in front of the others with the child. The village wasn't very large.

Just as Su Mo was about to speak, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the ground.

Picking it up and unfolding it, he saw a drawing of a young man.

He appeared ordinary, but his eyes were striking and unforgettable.

His eyes were slanted, and his gaze was cold.

On the other side of the painting, however, were written three words: Wan Zangxin!

“……”

Su Mo furrowed his brow slightly and approached the youth, lifting a leg to undo the Pain-inducing Scripture tied to him:

"Well? Is there anything you'd like to say?"

"Kill... kill me!!!"

The man had expected some torture, but never imagined it would be so brutal.

The sudden, intense pain that enveloped his entire body shattered all his thoughts.

Only one desire remained... a quick death!

"Who are you people, where did you come from, and what are you here for?"

Su Mo asked three questions calmly.

"We... we are the Five Ghosts of Guanchuan...

"We came from the western frontier of Guanchuan...

"The Wusheng Hall issued a decree to find Wan Zangxin. We... we were tempted by the rewards promised by the Wusheng Hall, so we... took the risk and entered the territory of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance."

"Oh?"

Su Mo glanced at the man and sneered coldly: "So, this is how you conduct yourselves in the Fallen Phoenix Alliance's territory?"

"...When we first arrived, we didn't want to cause trouble.

"But unexpectedly, the people of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance ignored us, and there weren't many skilled fighters in the jianghu, so we gradually became more reckless..."

"Do you have any clues about Wan Zangxin?"

"......”

The man hesitated slightly before continuing: "We tracked his trail and found that he most likely entered the East City."

"What is he doing in the East City?"

"I don't know."

Su Mo gave the man a thoughtful look and nodded:

"Killing you outright would be too merciful.

"It would make people think that the martial artists in our territory have no backbone.

"Old Liu, break his limbs, cripple his martial arts, take him back to Sunset City, and throw him to Wei Ruhan."

"Yes."

Liu Mo didn't hesitate and came forward to snap the man's limbs.

Su Mo had dislocated his joints, but Liu Mo broke them completely.

After destroying his dantian to nullify his martial arts, he tied him to the back of a horse with a rope.

Su Mo then helped the villagers collect the bodies, placing them all in the small plaza in the center of the village.

"Who is the mayor of Central Mansion City?"

Su Mo suddenly asked Yang Xiaoyun as he looked at the bodies covering the ground.

Yang Xiaoyun thought for a moment: "It's the fifth alliance leader, Zhou Qingchuan. The deputy mayor is the seventh alliance leader, Chi Lu."

"We'll pay a visit to Central Mansion City tomorrow..."

Su Mo rummaged through his clothes and found a token.

"Phoenix Feather Token?"

Yang Xiaoyun was somewhat surprised.

Su Mo sighed:

"Uncle Yang said that the internal strife in the Fallen Phoenix Alliance is about to come to an end.

"I didn't want to stir up trouble at this time, but this territory belongs to Central Mansion City.

"After what happened here, these two won't be able to shirk their responsibility.

"After all, the Fallen Phoenix Alliance's success isn't just due to their excellence in internal conflicts."

Yang Xiaoyun looked at Su Mo closely, her expression suddenly becoming odd:

"You're planning to get involved in this? The old you wouldn't have cared..."