The Fang Clan Ancestral Hall was protected by its own formation, but it was not something to be used lightly. After all, it consumed Dao Origin Stones, and the Fang family had little stock of such precious treasures; every stone used was one less in their inventory.
However, at this moment, facing the notorious Heart-Swallowing Demon, the white-haired old man dared not close his eyes even in death.
He could not imagine that if even he could be killed instantly, how much longer the rest of the Fang family could hold out. Would the various honored guests the Fang family supported truly risk their lives for them?
The figures enshrined in this ancestral hall were the ancestors of the Fang family, representing the very roots of the clan.
Therefore, even in death, he had to do something before his life truly faded.
He placed his hopes in the Crane Spirit Formation, which had guarded the Fang Clan Ancestral Hall for many years, to trap Xiong Wen.
Ideally, it could hold him until the Dao Origin Stones were depleted of their energy.
By then, news would inevitably reach the City Lord's Manor.
He believed that although Wei Quji was severe to the point of being harsh, he would not hold back in a matter of such great principle.
The Fang family would be saved!
The white-haired old man, whose heart had been gouged out, was dead, yet he remained staring straight at the night sky, his eyes unclosed.
Xiong Wen was furious, yet his mind was shaken.
Carrying a fearsome reputation, he had undergone countless pursuits. His habit was to move his hiding place randomly, because if even he did not know where he would hide next, his pursuers would have no logic to follow.
He simply never expected that a perfectly ordinary act of randomly changing his hiding place would lead to a succession of accidents.
He had memorized the face of that boy with the sword, but at this moment, he finally decided to leave first.
Being within Maple Forest City, he could only suppress his killing intent for now.
However, the Crane Spirit Formation did not care about his thoughts. Within the entire range of the formation, only Xiong Wen was this aggressive. The phantom of the Crane Spirit atop the clear light flapped its wings and charged straight at Xiong Wen with a piercing shriek.
Xiong Wen's body was instantly enveloped in a layer of blood mist.
He soared into the air, and blood-colored flames ignited upon his fists.
Wherever the blood mist touched, the ground turned black and decayed, and fallen leaves rotted. As the blood flames burned, it seemed as if even the air itself was being dissolved.
With his fists wrapped in blood flames, he collided violently and nakedly against the Crane Spirit's sharp beak!
The Crane Spirit phantom disintegrated in an instant, and the clear light enveloping the Fang Clan Ancestral Hall dissipated along with it.
The commotion from the battle in the ancestral hall alerted many people.
The first to arrive were two honored guests of the Fang family, both being Ninth-Grade Meridian-Traveling Realm cultivators, followed by the nearby Fang family guards.
But they all stood at a distance, paralyzed by the figure in mid-air who had crushed the Crane Spirit, not daring to move a step.
The powerhouse, shrouded in blood mist with blood flames encircling his fists, merely cast a glance down at them—a gaze that was suppressed, yet ferocious and brutal.
By his original nature, Xiong Wen would have certainly killed everyone in sight. But he knew how to prioritize, so suddenly, the blood flames dispersed and the blood mist vanished. He fell like a stone to the ground, crashing into the shadows, disappearing from everyone's sight just like that.
A heavy silence fell over the vicinity of the Fang Clan Ancestral Hall. No one even dared to make a hollow shout to bluff.
Fang Zethou and his son naturally arrived at the scene, but they too stood as silent as statues.
The Fang family was one of the three great surnames of Maple Forest City, possessing its own prestige and might. But to a powerhouse like Xiong Wen, they were fragile and easily broken.
Xiong Wen had broken into their clan lands and ancestral hall, killed their hall guardian, and shattered their protective formation; they could only watch helplessly.
The night was so humiliating, with vast stretches of ink-like darkness staining the sky, and everyone was as quiet as a landscape painting.
Then, a spark of light appeared.
The light was very tiny, like a single spark popping out from a piece of firewood while warming oneself by a hearth.
But it brought color to this night.
And then came the deafening roar.
Only then did the crowd see clearly that the spark was not a spark at all, but the tip of a long spear.
The entire spear pierced through the darkness, its tail held by a long, powerful hand, bringing with it a man with hair as black as ink and a countenance so sharp that one dared not look directly at him.
It was hard to tell whether the spear was carrying him or he was wielding the spear; he and the weapon crashed to the ground in a posture that seemed to pierce the very night!
The shadows were broken.
The Heart-Swallowing Demon, Xiong Wen, leaped up from the shattered shadows. Blood mist surged around him, but his voice was gritted through teeth: "Zhu Weiwu!"
He was Zhu Weiwu!
This spear was the Exhausted Embers Spear, famous throughout Qinghe County.
Xiong Wen let out a strange howl, and blood-tears suddenly dripped from his eyes.
From Sanchuan City to Maple Forest City, he had clashed with Zhu Weiwu no fewer than ten times. From his initial disdain and contempt, to later respect and vigilance, and now, he even felt a trace of terror that he would never admit to himself.
This fellow's strength was increasing too fast, climbing a level with almost every battle.
Otherwise, how could the great Heart-Swallowing Demon, Xiong Wen, be reduced to hiding and fleeing?
Now that Zhu Weiwu had forced him out with a single spear thrust, he chose to fight for his life immediately.
As the blood-tears fell, the blood flames that had originally only covered his fists suddenly surged, enveloping his entire body.
But Zhu Weiwu only responded with a flamboyant smile: "Caught you!"
Leaning forward halfway, he gave his right hand a light shake, and the spear tip embedded in the ground flicked upward.
Starting from the spear tip, the shattered floor tiles and soil rose in a straight line, as if a subterranean dragon were turning in its sleep.
Xiong Wen stepped through the air amidst the blood flames, ignoring the churning earth dragon rushing toward him. All the broken bricks and soil were corroded into nothingness the moment they touched the blood flames.
The Soul-Devouring Blood Flames of the Blood River Sect were just that eerie and domineering. Of course, its most terrifying aspect lay in the devouring of souls. And since Xiong Wen had now augmented it with the life-risking secret technique, *Cuckoo's Blood Weeping*, its power had increased sevenfold!
Facing Xiong Wen's full-strength outburst, Zhu Weiwu did not dodge or evade.
With a flick of his hand, he pointed the spear tip at Xiong Wen and faced him head-on.
"Such a fine *Cuckoo's Blood Weeping*, and you make it sound so hideous!"
Instead, he charged!
In an instant, flames exploded outward from the spear tip, creating a sea of fire beneath the night sky.
Zhu Weiwu charged forward, leading the sea of fire.
The blood flames collided with the sea of fire, and the spear tip clashed with the fist.
Zhu Weiwu and Xiong Wen fought with everything they had!
Xiong Wen's back was to the east, facing west; Zhu Weiwu's back was to the west, facing east.
Xiong Wen dove from above, while Zhu Weiwu thrust upward.
They met head-on, deciding it all in one strike!
Victory or defeat was decided in an instant.
The blood flames were "extinguished" by the sea of fire, and the sea of fire itself was mostly corroded upon contact.
But the outcome was settled.
From the moment Xiong Wen first chose to flee, the conclusion of this confrontation had already been preset.
The sea of fire rolled forward rapidly, and Xiong Wen retreated violently.
Scorched by the flames, most of his black robes were burned away, revealing his dazzling bald head.
Blood flowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth—his seven orifices—making his already ferocious face even more hideous and terrifying.
He retreated with all his strength, yet he stared directly into Zhu Weiwu's eyes.
At this moment, he dared not turn his back.
When he had caused chaos in Sanchuan City and evaded the Criminal Investigation Department, he was already heavily injured. Yet he had been dogged by this man with the single spear.
After several exchanges, he realized things were not right and decided to escape first to recover. But Zhu Weiwu was like a maggot in his bones; he could not shake him off.
Since Sanchuan City, he had been fleeing and fleeing, with no time to heal. Old wounds never healed before new ones were added, eventually leaving him this heavily injured.
He resolved that if he could escape this time, he would cast aside all dignity and forget about freedom; he would surely beg his Boss to intervene and save him. He would wash Maple Forest City in blood, kill eighteen generations of Zhu Weiwu's ancestors, and that cunning little thief with the sword—he would slaughter their entire clan!
With his mind in turmoil and an irrepressible hatred in his heart, Xiong Wen stared straight into Zhu Weiwu's eyes.
In those eyes, bright as spear light, he saw a flash of purple.
Purple Qi from the East!
The Emperor draws his sword, and as the purple qi comes from the east, the feudal lords look toward the west!