Chapter 146: Inferno at Jin Fang Courtyard

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—!

Countless golden fireworks erupted in a brilliant display, instantly consuming the entirety of Jin Fang Courtyard!

The ground trembled as dust billowed upward like dark, roiling clouds.

Amidst those clouds, streaks of golden lightning lashed out like furious serpents.

Sixteen Ogres lugged upgraded 【Xiangong】 Gatlings, enhanced through multiple iterations.

Using the 【Painted Immortal】 Dao Fruit to replicate and conjure Muduya, they unleashed an unrestrained bombardment!

Such overwhelming firepower meant that even cultivators at the Xū Xiang level inside Jin Fang Courtyard had no hope of escape.

It was a near-perfect, full-scale barrage.

The 【Painted Immortal】 Dao Fruit granted Li Che an almost limitless supply of Muduya—a mere brushstroke was enough to create another.

And the energy cost in both Qi and Divine Nature for a single Muduya was negligible; in fact, finishing one could restore his vital energies.

The number of Muduya he could create depended solely on his desire to produce more.

Li Che himself was a limitless arsenal.

Since he personally forged the Muduya, the entire process was his own invention.

Thus, the 【Painted Immortal】 replicated with near perfection, producing results that were virtually indistinguishable.

Couple that with six enhanced 【Xiangong】 Gatlings firing in unison!

The sheer might was far more awe-inspiring than a volley of arrows.

The rising, billowing smoke morphed into a slowly unfurling mushroom cloud.

Within moments, the entire Jingguang City trembled.

Its mighty roar rivaled the clashing of thunder in the heavens—one could not help but notice it unless deaf.

Especially at Yunfang Fang.

Many women—courtesans and flower girls alike—trembled as they rushed to the railings, witnessing the nightmarish explosion.

The sound of rupture and shattering echoed relentlessly from every direction.

Experts at the Xū Xiang level among the Five Great Families, along with the City Lord’s Divine Guard Army and the Temple Guardian Division, quickly mobilized.

……

Inside Jin Fang Courtyard.

Li Che, with an imposing build, gripped the Jiao Bone Wind and Thunder Halberd in one hand as wind and thunder crackled along its length.

He manipulated the Cosmic Chessboard to envelop the entire courtyard, leaving his aura unmistakably exposed.

To exterminate the lowly scum of the Beggar Gang, he had no need for concealment.

After all, it was his doing—there was nothing for Ogre to hide.

The Beggar Gang, with their vile deeds and corpse artistry in league with the Corpse God Sect, deserved nothing less than annihilation!

Deep within his chest, the 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit pulsed; his activation of the Cosmic Chessboard aimed squarely at the pitiful, manipulated maidens within the courtyard.

Though many had been specially trained in martial arts to satisfy perverse whims, they were far too fragile.

Under the relentless barrage of Muduya, they crumbled as if made of paper.

Guided by the Cosmic Chessboard with precise control, the Muduya swept over them automatically.

They might be startled, but it was still preferable to being shattered into pieces, right?

After three successive rounds of bombardment, even the faintest trace of life within the courtyard was utterly extinguished, as sensed by Li Che through the Cosmic Chessboard.

Only then did the sixteen Ogres cease their relentless barrage.

Crack, crack, crack!

Every movement was perfectly coordinated—cease fire, retract weapons, and stand firm.

Their synchronization was more precise than that of a meticulously drilled army.

Li Che pressed down his bamboo hat, gripped his halberd with one hand, and stepped forward to execute Cloud Yao’s Nimbus Leap!

It was as if he were riding a mushroom cloud, soaring high over Yunfang Fang.

Maintaining his Tower Ascension stance, his black hair flowed like a cape while his eyes glimmered with a faint golden mist.

He then sheathed his halberd, abruptly raised both hands, and targeted the churning mushroom cloud below.

Tower Ascension—

Thousand Analysis Hand!

Boom—!

In an instant!

Thick smoke roiled incessantly, as if countless defiant, vengeful souls from those felled in the bombardment had coalesced into twisted, tormented faces emerging from the haze.

Yet they merely surged past Li Che, unable to affect him in the slightest.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

And in the very next moment,

the sound of tearing through the air rang out as innumerable fragments of divine aura were siphoned from dismembered bodies.

They coalesced into dense, grey-black chess pieces that soared skyward, clustering before Li Che.

“These… are the raw materials to craft the Snow Avalanche Crow,” he murmured.

His jet-black hair, hanging like a cloak at his waist, whipped around fiercely.

Beneath his Cute Cow Mask, Li Che’s low voice resonated steadily.

And as that voice lingered in the air,

it was suddenly shattered by an enraged, piercing roar!

In the distance.

Patriarchs of Divine Appearance from the Five Great Families descended like deities, their immense divine aura blanketing the skies!

Their imposing presence and rank sent shivers down the spines of many cultivators.

Five mighty Patriarchs of Divine Appearance, as if borne upon the wings of gods, swept in with five venerable elders in tow!

After all, inside Jin Fang Courtyard there wasn’t even a single second-generation scion of the Five Great Families.

Indeed, many Xū Xiang cultivators were among the upper echelon of their families!

The wind howled and roared.

The mushroom cloud continued its relentless ascent.

Though diminutive, it carried an odd charm.

Ogre lightly tapped his toes, hovering like a soaring falcon.

All the approaching powerhouses halted abruptly, sensing an overwhelming threat and…

horror!

“How can there be so many Ogres?!”

Apart from the central, hovering Ogre, what were those sixteen Ogres perched atop the high walls surrounding Jin Fang Courtyard?!

Was this a brazen provocation?!

Seventeen Ogres… which one was genuine and which were mere illusions?

It was impossible to tell…

utterly impossible!

Even the formidable Divine Perception of high-level cultivators couldn’t discern the truth!

For these Ogres exhibited an unnervingly uniform aura and Qi.

Li Che observed the charging figures from the Five Great Families with calm detachment.

His eyes were deep and inscrutable.

“Ogre… have you lost your mind? Are you planning to wipe out Jingguang City?”

“You’re insane—an absolute madman!”

Qin Di Kun, head of the Qin Family, glared in disgust, gritting his teeth as he growled in anger.

“First you decimated the Fisher Gang, and now you plan to annihilate the Beggar Gang… Are you going to wipe out the Black Jiao Gang next, then the Five Great Families and the major sects, and finally slaughter the Divine Sect?”

The Patriarch of the Hai Family said coldly.

However…

the only reply was Ogre’s low, derisive laughter.

Beneath his mask, Li Che’s expression was unrestrained—he cared little for the interrogations of these noble elders.

His low laugh carried a sting of humiliation, as if lashing out at their very faces.

Fingers clenched.

Every divine chess piece was absorbed into the Cosmic Chessboard.

Then his wild gaze swept over the five family elders.

Li Che raised his hand and, one by one, pointed at each of them.

“I know all your secrets.”

“Don’t let me catch even a hint of corpse stench on you.”

Ogre’s deep, suppressed yet unrestrained voice echoed throughout the firmament.

Even as he refined the Seven Yuan Corpse Curse Seal, his sensitivity to the death aura of Corpse God Sect disciples remained undiminished.

It was still unmistakably detectable.

At once, the five elders’ faces paled as they grasped the implication of Ogre’s words.

Boom—

A streak of light shot forth at breakneck speed—first came the arrow, followed by a deafening thunderclap!

However, the arrow pierced only one Ogre, merely stirring up a cloud of black smoke.

The remaining sixteen Ogres all turned their eyes toward the distance.

There, near the City Lord’s Residence, atop a building with upturned eaves, stood a slender figure.

That figure, drawing a longbow, furrowed his brows in concentration.

“Fake?”

Sharpshooter Wen Longshan smirked, then notched another arrow as an earth-shattering roar erupted.

The five elders of the Five Great Families looked on in terror.

After all, this was Wen Longshan—the Seven Yuan Divine Archer from the City Lord’s side!

Each arrow carried an immense, terrifying power!

Yet, they all missed!

For every Ogre he struck turned into a billowing mass of black mist.

All were illusions… completely fake…

Li Che regarded Wen Longshan with calm, a cool murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

On his little notebook…

your name was already inscribed.

In the very next moment,

his fingers clenched the Feilei Chess Piece.

Before many powerful eyes, Ogre vanished into thin air.

As for the rest of the Ogres…

they exploded with successive ‘bang bang bang’, disintegrating into swirling black mist.

“They fled?”

“They just… ran away?”

How incredibly elusive is this Ogre?!

Qin Di Kun’s face turned ghastly; facing such an opponent was truly unsettling!

On the rooftop of the City Lord’s Residence.

Wen Longshan slowly lowered his divine bow.

“Ogre?”

He murmured.

From which organization did he come?

How dare he act so arrogantly…

That his clones all exhibited an identical aura and Qi was downright eerie!

And what of that Ma Mian, capable of sniping targets from tens of miles away…

What on earth does this organization represent?

Wen Longshan put away his longbow, stepped forward, and landed at The Pavilion in the courtyard, freeing his tied hair in the process.

He only bound his hair when he was about to shoot.

City Lord Su Huai Li sipped tea while reading a book.

“When did you get into such a mood as to shoot that savage Ogre?” he remarked calmly.

City Lord Su Huai Li observed.

“I just found it amusing,” replied Wen Longshan.

“It’s a pity his true form wasn’t discovered; that savage Ogre’s methods are bizarre—and intriguing.”

Wen Longshan laughed.

“That Ogre’s aura is incredibly strong; he appears to have reached the Master level, with massively robust Qi, and he even used some secret technique…”

“Yet his divine cultivation is rather average…”

Wen Longshan sipped his emerald winter tea, pondered for a moment, then laughed, “If I were to find his true form…”

“At most, two arrows should suffice to end him.”

City Lord Su Huai Li chuckled, “So you really think this Ogre deserves a second arrow.”

“Keep your arrow ready; in a few days, you’ll have the chance to shoot to your heart’s content.”

Wen Longshan raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Is that Li Qingshan attempting a breakthrough in Divine Vision?”

City Lord Su Huai Li nodded.

“Li Qingshan, wielding the Horned Hammer, is peerless in ferocity and unmatched in martial prowess. Now at a post-master level, his physical strength is formidable—but he practices Zhen Lei Zhu Xie and despises evil…”

“Nearly every major force in Jingguang City has been offended; you know larger powers breed corruption. Li Qingshan has hammered many such corrupt elements.”

“Those who’ve been hammered would never tolerate his breakthrough into Divine Vision… if he achieves it, what then?”

“Won’t it overturn the very fabric of Jingguang City?”

“Li Qingshan doesn’t hoard Xū Xiang—he strives for a direct breakthrough into Divine Vision. Ranked among Yunzhou’s top ten in the Divine Foundation roster, once he attains Divine Vision he will certainly reach mid Divine Vision; a truly troublesome foe.”

City Lord Su Huai Li stated calmly.

“But in my eyes, he’s merely an ant I can crush at will.”

“I don’t want Li Qingshan to succeed in consolidating Divine Vision… I just want to vex Nan Lihuo.”

City Lord Su Huai Li suddenly burst into laughter.

“This old fox—I wonder how long he can last.”

Wen Longshan exchanged a glance with Su Huai Li; he never truly understood the feud between Nan Lihuo and Su Huai Li.

But since he had been transferred here from Yunzhou’s military camp by Su Huai Li, he didn’t question it.

Closing his book, Su Huai Li suddenly remembered, “By the way, the young master is about to arrive. See to it that he is escorted out of the city immediately.”

“The young master has come to Jingguang City on a secret mission—to secure the inheritance of the Eight-Armed Furious Third Prince and obtain the Four-Yu Divine Weapon Set from the Temple Spirit…”

“If that succeeds, the young master’s divine embryo will flourish, and he could become a force on par with a peacemaker.”

Young Master?

Wen Longshan’s heart skipped a beat, and his expression turned solemn.

“Is that the five-year-old young master? Coming from so far away… is it really worth it?”

Wen Longshan took a deep breath.

Su Huai Li shook his head, “Longshan, you still don’t grasp the significance of this Four-Yu Bizarre Temple…”

“The Eight-Armed Furious Third Prince Bizarre Temple is no ordinary Four-Yu Bizarre Temple—it’s as unique as the [Three-Eyed True Lord] Bizarre Temple on Lingnan Path.”

“It serves as the divine foundation for an entire sect!”

“The master holds this temple in the highest regard.”

“Otherwise… would I have sent you here just because of a mere Nan Lihuo?”

……

……

The swirling smoke was suddenly swept aside by a fierce gust, revealing the scene in full.

General Zhang Lianhao of the Temple Guardian Division, clad in black and red official robes, landed in the courtyard along with the leader of the Divine Guard Army, elder members of the Five Great Families, and other experts.

The mushroom-like dust was brushed away by a wild, divinely stirred gust of wind.

At last, the true scene of Jin Fang Courtyard was unveiled.

Zhang Lianhao’s face twitched as he beheld countless scattered bones strewn across the ground.

The high-ranking members of the Beggar Gang, second-generation scions of the Five Great Families, and several high officials from Jingguang City…

All had been reduced to decaying bones!

“So brutal…”

“That Ogre is truly a peerless monster!”

“This madman treats the Temple Guardian Division and the Divine Guard Army as if they were nothing!”

……

Several family elders looked on as the bodies of their kin lay broken to pieces, their anger boiling within them.

Zhang Lianhao’s hair stood on end—this Ogre… was growing alarmingly strong!

Previously, when eliminating the Fisher Gang’s lesser factions, he’d have to take them out one by one; now he had struck directly at the headquarters of the Beggar Gang…

Zhang Lianhao remained silent, though his heart raced.

Power surged from his feet, propelling him into the battered courtyard as he inhaled the acrid scent of gunpowder.

Suddenly, he saw a number of scantily clad, terrified maidens emerging from nearby houses.

The girls, staring at the carnage of bones scattered across the courtyard…

began shedding tear-like pearls; some clapped in delirium, others covered their mouths to weep, while a few knelt and howled in despair.

Zhang Lianhao was suddenly at a loss.

His hand, usually steady on his standard Divine Weapon short sword at his waist, now trembled with uncertainty.

Was this the dark secret of the Beggar Gang?

Zhang Lianhao’s face flushed deep red as anger welled within him.

Yet he also felt utterly powerless, for the Temple Guardian Division had dedicated most of its strength to the Bizarre Temple.

Clearly, the Beggar Gang was shielded by the City Lord’s forces.

“I’m… sorry…”

Seeing the scantily clad maidens, Zhang Lianhao murmured.

The middle-aged virgin Zhang Lianhao couldn’t help but feel a surge of guilt and distress.

At the same time, he found himself respecting Ogre…

recalling what had been said about Ogre back in Feilei City…

the lone hero… Ogre?

He truly lived up to his reputation.

He envied Ogre’s unabashed audacity.

Then, he turned and ran into the conference hall.

There, he saw the beheaded Beggar Gang leader, Hong Sixi, and the decapitated Eight Extremes Corpse God Envoy!

Zhang Lianhao suddenly drew his short sword, wrath surging within.

“The Beggar Gang’s collusion with the heretical Corpse God Sect will be punished by death!”

……

……

In Luohua Alley at the Workshop Courtyard,

Li Che silently returned; snowflakes drifting from the sky landed on his shoulder, only to be instantly evaporated by surging Qi and blood.

Standing in the courtyard with his arms at his sides, Li Che closed his eyes to calm the towering killing intent within him.

The Beggar Gang…

They were no more.

Their high-ups had all been wiped out by him; in Jin Fang Courtyard, the Beggar Gang’s divine-backed leader, Hong Sixi, along with their Xū Xiang deputy leaders and the Nine-Bag Elder, had all been taken out in one fell swoop.

Their heinous deeds made their demise utterly justified!

“That Hong Sixi… practiced Yan Corpse Art, the Eight Extraordinary Corpse Art, and sacrificed 365 maids…”

Li Che realized that the darkness of this world ran even deeper than he had imagined.

The Lingying Sect in Feilei City, the Yan Corpse Art in Jingguang City…

and the root of it all lay with the Corpse God Sect!

“Old Chen’s troubles have finally been resolved.”

“The raging fury in my heart has been unleashed.”

Li Che stretched as his muscles creaked.

His mind sank into the Cosmic Chessboard, where countless divine chess pieces floated densely.

These were the remnants of divine aura from the cultivators he had bombarded to death.

To him, their effect was even inferior to the pure divine cultivation of a Divine Crystal.

Yet Li Che absorbed every last piece without waste.

“These must be put to use…”

“They can help develop the Snow Avalanche Crow Bullet—and even more fearsome shells…”

Li Che raised his hand and an implement, the Guanyin Blood Lotus, appeared before him.

For Li Che now, this implement no longer provided significant assistance.

Not even a thousand Spider Silk threads—if forged with fine materials—could deliver devastating damage.

Even if the Guanyin Blood Lotus were coated with tens of millions of poisoned wooden needles, it could hardly injure a sect master or a Xū Xiang cultivator.

It was rather useless—and had to be upgraded and improved!

Within his chest, the 【Xiangong】 Dao Fruit began to tremble softly.

In his mind, Li Che pondered an upgrade path for the Guanyin Blood Lotus, one built on all-out firepower.

“Integrate the embryonic form of Divine Technique, Chess Sage: Great Avalanche, into the Guanyin Blood Lotus?”

“The Guanyin Blood Lotus originally stored countless hair-thin wooden needles; similarly, I can replace those with divine chess pieces.”

“Store a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand divine chess pieces—and then hurl them out, letting the Guanyin Blood Lotus detonate!”

The explosive power of the divine chess pieces, channeled via Great Avalanche…

could unleash an enormous, dazzling firework display!

“I must also devise a launching device to pair with the [Nameless Xiangong Great Avalanche Guanyin Lotus Bullet]…”

Li Che fell into deep thought, weighing both the difficulty and feasibility of its creation.

“The explosive power from detonating divine chess pieces via Great Avalanche depends on the strength of the contained divine aura. There’s much to study here.”

“But I needn’t worry about every detail.”

“At most, it’s just a matter of adjusting the proportions of divine chess pieces…”

Li Che sat cross-legged on the snow-covered courtyard floor.

He raised his hand and a piece of wood flew toward him; as he gripped it, his carving knife slid out, and his true Qi surged forth, evaporating the moisture from the wood.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

Li Che concentrated entirely on his carving.

Then, inspired, he attempted to compress a divine chess piece into one of the wooden needles that made up the Guanyin Blood Lotus.

But it wasn’t easy.

In the end, Li Che enlarged some of the wooden needles so they could better house the divine chess pieces.

After several modifications, he gradually completed the prototype of the [Great Avalanche Guanyin Lotus Bullet]!

Since it was his first attempt, he managed to incorporate just over sixty divine chess pieces—all of the Divine Foundation level.

Yet their potency was far from impressive…

“Sixty pieces’ might isn’t much… imagine the potential of a hundred, a thousand, or even a million divine chess pieces…”

“Could it allow me to witness a colossal firework—one that sears itself into the soul and seizes the very order of the universe?”

Li Che couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of that towering, magnificent mushroom cloud.

He trembled all over.

Then, suddenly, a spark of inspiration ignited within him.

Before his eyes, light began to flash.

[Dao Fruit: Xiangong (LV3 90%)]

The maturity of his Xiangong Dao Fruit leaped from 86% to 90% in an instant!

Was it due to the upgraded Guanyin Blood Lotus?

Or because of that dazzling, earth-shattering vision in his mind?

Perhaps both—but it filled Li Che with boundless excitement.

“I wonder what transformation awaits once the Dao Fruit reaches LV4?”

Li Che was filled with curiosity and anticipation.

Glancing at the sky, he retrieved the Qian Kun Jade belonging to the Beggar Gang leader and the Corpse God Envoy.

Now adept at scavenging corpses, Li Che was no stranger to such tasks.

He had just gotten rich once; the Beggar Gang leader, having exhausted his resources to cultivate Yan Corpse Art, was poorer than most Divine Foundation cultivators.

The Eight Extremes Corpse God Envoy’s gains were meager indeed.

Unperturbed, such trivial riches no longer stirred Li Che’s inner tides.

Cross-legged in the courtyard, his Unsullied Heart and divine aura condensed onto paper as he began to splash ink to draft his designs.

The Great Avalanche Guanyin Lotus Bullet was complete—but the launching device still required development.

The first-generation Guanyin Lotus Battle Tank?

Li Che’s eyes glittered with anticipation…

Recalling the divine archer Wen Longshan on the rooftop of the City Lord’s Residence, who had once split the heavens with his arrows.

Divine archer?

Perhaps soon he would experience the might of the Guanyin Lotus Battle Tank’s firepower!

Is it your arrow that’s fierce…

or my Great Avalanche Lotus Bullet?

Within its range, Guanyin was the ultimate truth!

Snow drifted from the sky.

After decimating the Beggar Gang, Li Che…

driven by his grand dream of fireworks,

worked feverishly in the courtyard.

……

……

Old Chen had been waiting at Zheng Lei Peak for news.

He nervously puffed on his dry tobacco, anxiety written all over his face.

Lu Chi was training in the courtyard; watching Old Chen pace anxiously, he complained,

“Grandpa Chen, you’re disturbing my cultivation—can’t you just pace in your own courtyard?”

Lu Chi said with a hint of resignation.

Teacher Li Qingshan was in seclusion; Lu Chi knew his teacher was at a critical juncture and strove to improve his own skills so as not to hold him back.

“I’m just worried… have you heard anything about the Beggar Gang?”

Old Chen inquired.

Lu Chi rolled his eyes and patted the dust off his body, “Alright, I’ll see what I can find out.”

Moments later,

Lu Chi returned sprinting.

Chen Daba, sitting on the doorstep smoking, leapt to his feet at the sight of Lu Chi dashing over.

“Did you manage to get any news?”

Old Chen exhaled deeply, his tone anxious.

Lu Chi’s face flushed deep red, his small frame radiating sweltering heat.

It was a mix of excitement and fervor.

“I’ve got news!”

“Ogre attacked the Beggar Gang this morning…”

“Word has it the scale of the assault was overwhelming—enough to rouse the Temple Guardian Division, the Divine Guard Army, and the Patriarchs of the Five Great Families…”

“All high-ups of the Beggar Gang, scions from noble families, and prominent figures behind Jingguang City in the rear of Jin Fang Courtyard were completely annihilated!”

“The Beggar Gang leader, deputy, and the Nine-Bag Elder are dead… the entire gang has collapsed.”

“Old Chen… just as you wished.”

“The Beggar Gang… is no more!”

Old Chen was stunned.

He collapsed onto the ground, his hand clutching his tobacco, trembling uncontrollably.

No…

He had thought Ogre would merely rescue the maidens held captive in the courtyard and take out a few Beggar Gang villains to expose their misdeeds.

But instead…

Ogre had wiped out the entire Beggar Gang.

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