Along the entire journey, there had been no sign of any monks; the temple was eerily silent.
Once they reached the back courtyard, a pagoda built entirely of natural stone appeared, standing about ten meters tall. A massive ancient bronze incense burner sat in front of it, flames flickering within.
This had to be the place Liu Jiangxue mentioned—a repository where many urns of ashes were kept, though it required a hefty annual fee to maintain.
"This is the place?" Di Longxuan asked coldly.
The burly monk standing before him suddenly turned and offered a sinister smile. "Indeed, this is the place. Your whole family can be reunited right here!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Di Longxuan asked, his voice icy.
"It means you can die here and be stored alongside your family!"
No sooner had the burly monk finished speaking than he broke into a sinister cackle, a thick, palpable aura of murder erupting from his body.
But his laughter froze instantly.
Di Longxuan had thrown a punch. The monk raised his arms to block, but it felt as if he were trying to stop a crumbling mountain; the disparity in their strength was like the difference between heaven and earth.
*Boom!* The monk’s entire arm shattered, leaving his shoulder a mass of mangled flesh. Di Longxuan hoisted him into mid-air by the throat.
"Speak. Who all came here today, and what is the conspiracy?" Di Longxuan demanded coldly.
At that same moment, the gates to the back courtyard slammed shut. From all sides, waves of people dressed in various clothes swarmed out—there were hundreds of them!
Within ten seconds, Di Longxuan was completely surrounded.
The burly man shrieked, "I am a subordinate of the Southern Fist King! You dare touch me, and you will die a miserable death! Every enemy you have offended is here today! You cannot possibly win, so surrender!"
"Is that so? But I happen to be a man who doesn't believe in such things."
Di Longxuan tightened his grip.
*Crack!* The burly man’s neck snapped, and his heavy head fell to the ground with a thud.
Di Longxuan discarded the corpse and looked at the crowd. His eyes grew cold to the point of freezing. The killing intent radiating from his body surged; his True Yang energy was in a constant state of agitation, and he realized that wild, unrestrained slaughter was the only way to soothe it.
The appearance of this crowd didn't fill him with fear; instead, he saw them as medicine.
Before the battle could fully erupt, thirty men dressed in black emerged from behind the pagoda, all brandishing firearms. Several others carried heavy bags.
*Thud, thud, thud.* The bags were tossed onto the ground and untied.
Inside were people!
As Di Longxuan caught sight of them, he gnashed his teeth until they creaked. His eyes burned with a cold, murderous fury that seemed capable of piercing the heavens!
It was Zhang Songhe, Liu Jiangxue, Ning Tianqi, Ning Haikun, and Ning Jiuchuan!
Then, two wheelchairs were pushed forward. Chen Tianjue and Chen Haoxin sat upon them, staring at Di Longxuan with icy, hateful glares.
"Wild dog, if you have the guts, attack now! Do you really think I won't blow these people's brains out the moment you lift a finger?" Chen Haoxin said coldly, his men pressing their gun barrels against the heads of the five captives.
"Aren't you arrogant? Come on! Not only do we have these five heads as bargaining chips, but we also have the ashes of your entire family! Haha! Tell me, are you afraid now?" Chen Tianjue threw his head back in a twisted, savage laugh.
All the suppressed fury in Di Longxuan’s heart erupted at that moment.
Chen Tianjue didn't wait; he raised his hand and fired a shot into Liu Jiangxue’s pale leg!
Blood spurted out, dyeing her pants crimson.
Liu Jiangxue screamed in agony, her body trembling, but she bit her lip, refusing to cry. Instead, she shouted, "Brother Xuan, run! Don't worry about me! I would rather die than drag you down with me!"
"I won't let you be implicated either, Master Di! Run, don't worry about me!" Ning Tianqi cried out, only to be knocked to the ground by a slap from Chen Tianjue.
Seeing this, Ning Jiuchuan and Ning Haikun dared not make a sound, their faces grim and filled with terror. They both knew that whether or not they were being used as leverage, Di Longxuan could not leave. The Di family ashes were in the hands of these people!
Di Longxuan was a man of iron and blood; how could he possibly abandon his family’s remains?
Zhang Songhe’s eyes burned with rage. "I am the head of the Xuanyi Sect! If you dare treat me and my little ancestor like this, you will all die!"
The Xuanyi Sect was a major power in the regions surrounding Zhangtai City. Over the years, thanks to their profound medical arts, they had saved countless lives, accumulating a vast network of hidden influence and favor.
"So what if you have influence? I can kill you right now! Why is a dead man still barking at me?" The leader of the Blood Heaven Sect, Chen Haonan, who had been hiding in the shadows, walked over and kicked Zhang Songhe to the ground.
Even though Zhang Songhe was at the Martial Venerable level, he dared not move; he could only swallow his rage. After all, a dozen gun barrels were locked onto him, and he had been struck by a tranquilizer dart, leaving his limbs soft and devoid of strength.
Just then, more people stepped out, their eyes filled with intense hatred for Di Longxuan.
"You slaughtered my Li Family! Today, you must pay with your life, Di Longxuan!"
"My Yan Family may have wronged you, but you were too cruel! Because of what Yan Lingfei did, you killed more than half of my family!"
"I’m from the Gu Family. Do you really think we’re all dead? Today, I represent the Gu Family to kill you and eat your flesh!"
"The Zhang Family is nearly extinct because of you. Di Longxuan, you deserve to die ten thousand times!"
Amidst all the curses, a pile of urns was brought out and, right in front of Di Longxuan, doused in gasoline!
A burly, towering man held a torch in his hand and said coldly, "Di Longxuan, aren't you looking for the ashes of the Di family? They’re all right here! Do as I say now, or I will set them all on fire!"
This man was Li Chenghai, a Human-rank Martial Venerable and the special envoy sent by the Southern Fist King.
Each curse, each act of psychological torture, pushed Di Longxuan into a state of towering rage. His eyes turned blood-red, the capillaries bulging like writhing worms. His hands were clenched so tightly they turned white, his fingernails digging deep into his own flesh.
His family’s ashes were being desecrated, doused in gasoline. Ning Tianqi, Liu Jiangxue, and Zhang Songhe had been captured and tortured because of him, and might be killed at any second.
Six years ago, the tragic scenes of the Di family massacre flooded his mind, wave after wave. It made his blood boil.
"Now, drink this vial of medicine, and I will release these five hostages. I represent the Southern Fist King; my word is law, and I never go back on it!"
Li Chenghai tossed a vial of medicine, which landed steadily in front of Di Longxuan.
This was the "Ten-Step Yama," a poison concocted by the Ghost-Faced Poison King at the behest of the Southern Fist King. It was one of the nine peerless poisons recorded in ancient texts. Once ingested, it would incinerate one's meridians, destroy all cultivation, turn the internal organs to ash, and shatter bones into fine powder.
All of this would happen within ten seconds. There was no cure; it was a one-way ticket to the underworld.
"Di Longxuan, are you even a man? You're hesitating? Do you have the heart to face these two women who are so deeply in love with you?" Chen Tianjue sneered.
Chen Haoxin yelled, "Di Longxuan, haven't you always been a 'tough guy'? If you have the guts, drink it for your women!"
"If you don't drink, you're a coward, a spineless piece of trash! Haha!" Chen Haonan roared with laughter.
Li Chenghai added, "Before we came, the Southern Fist King said this brat was strong and arrogant. It seems he’s just a heartless coward after all!"
The members of the Li, Gu, Yan, and Zhang families all began to mock him.
The fire in Di Longxuan's eyes doubled in intensity. He slowly bent down, picked up the vial, and flicked the cap off with his finger. A strange, intoxicating fragrance wafted out, inducing a sense of falling into an abyss.
Zhang Songhe yelled, "Little Ancestor, don't fall for it! They're goading you! If you drink it, we're all doomed!"
"That's right, Brother Xuan, don't drink it! I'd rather die myself than see you come to harm. Run!" Liu Jiangxue screamed, enduring the agony of her gunshot wound.
Ning Tianqi was trembling, crying out, "Master Di, run! Don't drink it!"
Ning Jiuchuan and Ning Haikun felt their hearts stop. This was an impossible choice.
But Di Longxuan gave his answer quickly.
"I, Di Longxuan, walk this world with my head held high. You pieces of trash have no right to threaten or goad me! Even if I drink this, you are the ones who will die today!"
He tilted his head back and drained the vial. He held it upside down—not a single drop remained. The vial fell to the ground and shattered.
A dead silence descended, followed by an eruption of laughter and mockery. It was like a carnival of cruelty.
"He's a fool! He actually drank it! That's the Ten-Step Yama, one of the nine great poisons. He's dead!"
"Strong limbs, but a dull brain! Sacrificing himself for a woman? Haha! A true romantic fool!"
"Let's watch this killer die. They say the poison is agonizing—meridians, bones, organs, all destroyed!"
Everyone stared at him, waiting to see him die.
Ning Tianqi was shivering uncontrollably. "Master Di, you shouldn't have..."
"Brother Xuan, why? If you die, I won't go on living!" Liu Jiangxue sobbed.
Ning Jiuchuan and Ning Haikun looked on, their faces ashen. Without Di Longxuan, they had no value. And valueless hostages had only one fate: death.
*Pfft!* Di Longxuan spat out a mouthful of pitch-black blood. Then, a series of sickening cracking sounds emanated from his body. *Thud!* He dropped to one knee, trembling, as dark, violet-black veins spread across his exposed skin.
"Don't cry! Rest assured, the person capable of killing me has yet to be born!"
Di Longxuan, still on one knee, vomited more black blood. His trembling grew violent, as if death were imminent. The cracking of his bones and the spreading of the dark veins intensified.
Only his eyes remained—savage, arrogant, and fixed on the laughing crowd. Like a sword capable of severing the heavens, his sharpness never dimmed.
"The poison is taking effect throughout his body. Everyone, come closer and watch how this killer from Zhangtai City spends his final ten seconds!" Li Chenghai said coldly.
He walked over, kicked Di Longxuan to the ground, and stomped on his head with such force that half of Di Longxuan's face was driven into the dirt. Black blood continued to spray from his mouth; his breathing grew ragged.
"Haha, his organs must be dissolving, otherwise he wouldn't be spitting that black blood. Pathetic!" Chen Haonan sneered.
"The sound of his bones breaking is truly terrifying. It’s just like the ancient texts say!" a survivor from the Li family giggled.
Chen Tianjue, sitting in his wheelchair, watched with a twisted smile. Everyone was waiting for the grand finale.
Di Longxuan continued to cough up blood, his hands clawing at the dirt. Li Chenghai watched, then lifted his foot from Di Longxuan’s head.
"Trying to crawl over for a final look at your two sweethearts?"
"Haha, a true lover indeed!" Chen Haonan kicked Di Longxuan forward. Di Longxuan vomited more blood, his body now coated in a dark, oozing mess.
It was a gruesome sight. Yet, he gritted his teeth and crawled toward the others. The distance of fifty meters shrank to forty. He gritted his teeth and kept crawling.
Behind him, Li Chenghai and the others followed, mocking him, kicking him, spitting on him.
"Crawl, grandson! Crawl! Hope you get to touch your girls before you die!"
"Faster, you turtle!"
Di Longxuan took a boot to the head, then a heavy stomp to the spine. He ignored the pain and crawled on. Thirty meters left!
In his stubborn eyes, a cold, ruthless glint emerged.
Thirty meters. That was the distance he needed. Within this range, even if the thirty gunmen opened fire at once, they would never be able to kill any of them before he reached them.
Behind him, Chen Haonan and Li Chenghai were still laughing, unaware...
In the blink of an eye, a towering wave of murderous aura erupted! A shockwave swept across the courtyard, loud as a thunderclap. Before the sound could even fully register in their ears, the figure crawling on the ground vanished.
Thirty meters away, before the gunmen could react, thirty heads were reduced to mists of blood!
The five captives were instantly enveloped by five gentle gusts of force and tossed inside the stone pagoda. The massive three-meter-long incense burner was hoisted up and slammed shut to block the entrance.
Standing before the pagoda now was a single figure.
He was covered in black blood, yet he stood tall, imposing, and magnificent. It was Di Longxuan—the man who was supposed to be dead.
"Grandsons, are you ready to head to the underworld?"
The entire scene froze. Everyone was petrified. No one could accept this.
"Impossible! The poison couldn't have been swapped. The Southern Fist King gave it to me himself!" Li Chenghai’s burly body trembled, not from fear, but from the shock of seeing what he thought was a hallucination.
"He must be at his limit! He's just faking it!" Chen Haonan insisted, his voice trembling.
"He must have burned his blood or exhausted his inner strength," Chen Tianjue added.
But Di Longxuan laughed, a sound that shook the ground. A surge of powerful energy rippled from him, causing cracks to spiderweb across the earth. The black blood on his body froze, shattered, and was blown away, revealing healthy, bronze-colored skin.
"You lot know far too little about me! Since the day I came down from the mountain, there has been no one in this world who could kill me!"
"Let me tell you a secret: I am immune to all poisons!"
Di Longxuan roared, his figure launching forward like a bolt of lightning!
One punch! Li Chenghai tried to raise his arms, but Di Longxuan’s fist pierced straight through his chest, turning his heart and lungs into a rain of blood!
Li Chenghai stood there, stunned, watching his own hollow chest as his life faded. "Ah!! No! I cannot die!"
He collapsed. The others were terrified, their hair standing on end. Di Longxuan stood before them, his icy gaze locking onto each one.
"You say I shouldn't have killed the Yan family. But when the Yan family participated in the slaughter of my Di family, when they broke my bones and dug out my heart, did they not deserve to die?"
The man from the Yan family fell to his knees, kowtowing. "I was wrong! Spare me, Master Di! I’ll be your dog!"
"Sorry, I have no use for dogs."
Di Longxuan kicked out. The man was instantly turned into a spray of blood from the waist down, the remaining half of his corpse collapsing in terror.
The rest of the crowd scattered in a panic, but Di Longxuan, his killing intent fully ignited, showed no mercy. One punch, one death.
Ten seconds later, only Chen Tianjue and Chen Haoxin remained. They stared at the carnage, the bodies, and the mangled limbs, their souls shattered.
"Di Longxuan, just finish it!"
"Di Longxuan, I'll give you all my money, just spare me!"
Di Longxuan looked at them as if they were jokes. "Your money? If I wanted it, I'd just take it. Do I need you to give it to me?"
With a flick of his leg, he blew Chen Haoxin apart. The patriarch of the Chen family, a titan of business, was erased.
"You want a quick death? Aren't you being a bit greedy?"
Di Longxuan kicked again. Chen Tianjue’s lower body was instantly reduced to mist. He screamed in agony, unable to die immediately, forced to witness the mangled state of his own body. The pain, a thousand times worse than anything he had known in his life, consumed him.
The surviving thugs fled, but Di Longxuan didn't pursue them. He didn't want to stain this holy place with too much blood, and he didn't want to disturb his family.
Di Longxuan walked toward the pile of gasoline-doused urns, picked one up, and opened it. His expression changed instantly. He opened them all, one by one.
They were all empty.
"Southern Fist King... you truly deserve to die!"
Di Longxuan roared and struck out with a fist that shattered the sky and shook the surrounding mountains.