Ma Xiong, a cultivator capable of being dispatched to hunt and exterminate the forces of Hell’s No Gate, and holding a core position in the pursuit team, second only to Yue Leng, was naturally no weakling. Indeed, his four Divine Mansions stood tall and unyielding, his cultivation realm no less profound than Zheng Shi’s.

The instant the shadow stirred, he sensed it.

A voice boomed, “Well met!”

He countered by directly stomping a foot towards the encroaching hand. He feared not the rats of Hell’s No Gate appearing at his doorstep, but rather their elusiveness, which would only prolong the chase.

To conceal their tracks, Hell’s No Gate, after their escape from Linzi, had chosen to scatter, hoping to divide the attention of the Northern Yamen and thus ensure the escape of most of their members from the Qi Kingdom. They had not anticipated such a fierce reaction from Qi, a willingness to even seal the borders to capture and eliminate them. Sealing a nation’s border was no trivial matter; the very first act of Qi Mieyang was to seal the Yang border, highlighting the gravity of the situation. Furthermore, during Hell’s No Gate’s assassination of Zhao Xuan at Xiao Lian Bridge, even Zheng Shi lacked the authority to completely seal all gates of Linzi.

Their misjudgment stemmed from the belief that they had merely killed a surrendered Yang individual. While the Qi court might be angered, surely it wouldn’t mobilize such a large force for a mere assassin organization. However, in the Qi Emperor’s eyes, the Xiao Lian Bridge incident represented a direct challenge to the majesty of the Qi Kingdom! Someone had to pay the price.

For Zheng Shi, this was his sole opportunity for atonement, an opportunity he had to seize with all his might. Thus, he had prevailed upon Yue Leng to emerge from seclusion.

Under the relentless pursuit of the team, how much combat power could Hell’s No Gate possibly muster in Bei County at this moment? Ma Xiong did not believe that the remaining nine Great Yanluo of Hell’s No Gate could all be present. Even if they were, he was confident he could hold out until the God of Capture, Yue Leng, returned to lend aid.

Before initiating his counterattack, he had already transmitted a message to Yue Leng, who was already turning back. Yue Leng had not been gone long; how much time would a Divine Mansion realm expert at full speed require to return? Thirty breaths? Twenty breaths? Ma Xiong did not believe that their four Outer Building realm Blue Card Captors, each a cultivator who had clawed their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, could be overwhelmed within thirty breaths!

Therefore, upon facing the attack, his first thought was – Hell’s No Gate is courting death!

He stomped his foot, and the hand in the shadow swiftly retreated. Simultaneously, from the shadow behind an Inner Mansion realm Blue Card Captor, Wu Guan Wang, wearing a jet-black Yanluo mask, leaped forth, his hand reaching directly for Ma Xiong’s back. The attack was equally silent and without sound.

But here, Ma Xiong was not the only Outer Building realm Blue Card Captor. Almost at the same instant Ma Xiong spoke, the other three Outer Building realm experts also took action.

One person declared, “Ghostly and furtive, concealing tracks, their crime shall be tattooed!” An engraving knife materialized before Wu Guan Wang, aiming to pierce his mask and carve upon his face the mark signifying his crime!

Another proclaimed, “Without rank yet daring to intrude upon vital grounds, their crime shall be hamstrung!” Wu Guan Wang’s feet tightened, making movement difficult. A sharp knife seemed to appear from nowhere, poised to gouge out his kneecaps.

And another voice, cold and cruel, announced, “Transgressing law and fleeing, plotting conspiracy, their crime shall be castrated!” Wu Guan Wang’s lower body felt a chilling sensation as a small knife appeared at his vital point.

These several Outer Building realm Blue Card Captors were all disciples of the Legalist school; the techniques they cultivated were derived from the ancient Five Punishments. Ma Xiong was even more outstanding among them. After his initial stomp met only empty air, he straightened up and pointed remotely towards Wu Guan Wang: “Ignorant bandits, stabbing my great Qi officials, your crime is unforgivable, suffer the Great Execution!”

The ancient Five Punishments were tattooing, severing the nose, castration, hamstringing… and the Great Execution! Respectively, they involved piercing the face, cutting off the nose, removing the genitalia, gouging out the kneecaps, and beheading!

In the void, a guillotine seemed to descend. Wu Guan Wang’s entire head flew up! Only then did his mask shatter, revealing a black “thief” character on his face, signifying that he had received the tattooing punishment for being a thief. At the same time, his kneecaps were completely gouged out, his legs weakened, rendering him unable to stand. And between his legs, blood flowed in a stream.

As powerful as Hell’s No Gate’s Wu Guan Wang was, having suffered four of the ancient Five Punishments, he perished in an instant! All the Captors present let out a sigh of relief. Only Jiang Wang’s heart remained taut. He had seen Wu Guan Wang before, personally witnessing his might; how could such a person die so easily?

Just as Wu Guan Wang suffered the four punishments, his head separated from his body, and his body fell, a long-haired figure descended from the sky. He seemed to have suddenly dropped from the sun, no trace of him visible before. And the moment he appeared within their field of vision, he was already close. His landing point was the living room! The very living room where King Tai Mountain was imprisoned!

The entire roof was shattered, and the temporary array set up in the living room was pulverized by his fist, which was enveloped in emerald-green light. Then, Jiang Wang heard King Tai Mountain’s terrified voice: “Qin Guang Wang! I didn’t say anything! I didn’t say anything!”

The entire living room collapsed with the arrival of Qin Guang Wang of Hell’s No Gate. Amidst the falling stones and broken tiles, King Tai Mountain of Hell’s No Gate lay on the ground, desperately scrambling backward. After a night of torment, he was extremely weak at this moment, but his voice was mournful and moving.

And the figure who had descended, the Yin Guan, merely glanced at him, then pressed a palm down! In an instant, flesh and blood turned to pulp! The Yin Guan had risked coming, yet his purpose was not to save but to silence!

“You court death!” Ma Xiong was enraged beyond measure, and once again unleashed the Great Execution punishment.

“How to die?” Wu Guan Wang’s blurred, bloody head suddenly turned over, his eyes rolling to stare at him. Ma Xiong thus paused. The Outer Building realm Blue Card Captor who had performed the hamstringing punishment stepped forward, drew his waist knife, and cleaved the head into two halves.

And at this moment, the Yin Guan had already transformed into emerald light, shooting far into the sky. Ma Xiong again looked at Wu Guan Wang’s two halves of a head, only to see it “melt” away like snow under the fierce sun. Wu Guan Wang’s remaining “corpse” also began to dissolve simultaneously.

Only then did a figure shoot from the horizon. Yue Leng, with full momentum, landed in the courtyard, only to find shattered walls and ruins, a pool of bloody pulp.

Jiang Wang did not know that for this situation, Yue Leng had made early arrangements. He had even deliberately left to create an “opportunity” for Hell’s No Gate. His arrangements were twofold: one for King Tai Mountain, and one for Ma Xiong. And the Yin Guan’s direct slaying of King Tai Mountain rendered his backup plans moot. But as long as Ma Xiong and the others, following his arrangements, had delayed for even a short while, he could still have captured the leaders of Hell’s No Gate in one fell swoop.

However, though they were all peak Outer Building realm experts, with four Divine Mansions standing firm, and facing only two opponents, these individuals couldn’t even hold out for twenty breaths, allowing the Yin Guan to escape freely!

Yue Leng was silent for a while, and in the end, said nothing. Yet this wordless rebuke was more painful than a slap to the face! One could foresee that in the subsequent tasks, Ma Xiong and his team had already lost the God of Capture’s trust.

Ma Xiong, his face grim, looked back. In his shadow, a pale hand lay quietly on the ground. Wu Guan Wang’s hand! For cultivators, severed limbs and similar injuries would consume vital energy, but could also be reattached, provided… the severed limb was still there.

Pure illusion or puppet techniques could not fool the experienced fourth-grade Blue Card Captors. Thus, Wu Guan Wang had truly appeared and truly left this hand. Only then could he deceive Ma Xiong and the others, attracting their attacks the first time around, creating an opportunity for the Yin Guan to strike and kill King Tai Mountain.

Qin Guang Wang’s courage was astonishing, his purpose crystal clear. Even Yue Leng, who prided himself on being the best “fisherman,” had to admit that this was an extremely courageous and abnormally cunning fish. It had successfully bitten the bait yet escaped the hook!