BOOM!

The moment his words fell, Patriarch Long shot into the sky. The remaining Family Heads and Clan Leaders of the Nine Villages Eighteen Caves let out a unified roar and soared into the air one after another.

At the very peak, Patriarch Long stood on the shoulders of two men. Below him, those two stood on the shoulders of three. This continued down the line, ultimately forming a human pyramid.

At the same time, the two thousand warriors from Heimiao Village sat in a circle around them. Some spat out snakes and insects, while others opened pouches to release mice and ants. In short, each of these two thousand men brought forth their own Lifebound Gu.

After releasing their Lifebound Gu, they all shouted in unison, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the Gu Insects. The countless Gu Insects shrieked as one, instantly taking flight and landing upon the human pyramid.

BOOM!

The aura of the dozen or so men in the pyramid suddenly swelled, and a brilliant green light erupted from them. From a distance, the human pyramid looked like a gigantic centipede.

"Mr. Lin, that's the Nine-Linked Centipede Formation from Heimiao Village!" Li Xuan's face paled as she warned him urgently. "It requires nine people to establish, but it has many variations. The more people involved, the stronger it becomes!"

"This centipede formation can even rival a Grandmaster!"

"Boy, I don't care if you're the real Lin Wudi or not," declared Patriarch Long, who controlled the nexus of the formation—the centipede's head—as he looked down from his lofty perch. "I'll give you one last warning: get out of here and don't meddle in the affairs of the Li Clan!"

His voice was so thunderous that it caused many in the crowd to spit up blood.

"Since you know I am Lin Wudi, you should kneel and await your death!" Lin Mu stood alone with his blade before the centipede formation. "Besides, even if you hadn't come for me, I would have come for you!"

"Mr. Lin, don't underestimate them!" Li Xuan reminded him. "With nine people, this Nine-Linked Centipede Formation is as powerful as a hundred men!"

"As powerful as a hundred men?" Lin Mu's expression was indifferent. "So what if it's as powerful as a thousand? I'll kill them all the same!"

"Today, none of you will escape!"

As his voice faded, Lin Mu moved, his foot slowly descending.

THUD!

Though it was a simple step, the moment his foot landed, the entire ground trembled violently.

"Heavenly Emperor Nine Steps—One Step, Rivers Shatter!"

Unlike the Heavenly Emperor Nine Steps previously used by Li Xiaotian, Lin Mu *was* the Heavenly Emperor. His single step instantly disrupted the flow of the Great Array's energy.

"Not good!" Patriarch Long bellowed. "Change formation!"

Immediately, the human pyramid transformed, and the giant centipede shifted along with it, rearing its head to spew a cloud of green mist.

"Be careful! That mist is highly toxic!" Li Xuan shouted another warning. Li Lai and the others clenched their sweaty fists in suspense.

"Petty tricks." Lin Mu sneered. Holding the blade in his right hand, he made a light grasping motion with his left. "First Form of Demon Slayer—Demonslaying Hand!"

RUMBLE!

A colossal black hand, crackling with immense and terrifying power, materialized and seized the centipede by the scruff of its neck.

"Rise!"

With a soft cry from Lin Mu, the massive centipede was effortlessly lifted and hurled away.

SPURT! SPURT! SPURT!

Patriarch Long and the others spat out mouthfuls of blood in unison. Just as they were about to reform the formation, a giant foot descended from the sky.

"Heavenly Emperor Nine Steps—Terrify Ghosts and Gods with the Second Step!"

The sole of the foot came crashing down. As if made of paper, the centipede was instantly obliterated. Many of the Family Heads forming it were tragically crushed to death by the stomp.

Patriarch Long coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, his face a mask of shock and despair. He never imagined that the formation they had painstakingly assembled would be shattered by just a few moves.

"Go! Split up and run!" Patriarch Long no longer had time to worry about being thrown into the Dragon Lair by the High Priest. Staying here meant certain death!

"Escape!"

The surviving Family Heads scattered and fled. As they fled, the Heimiao Village warriors, their faces pale from the formation's backlash, also began to scramble away in a panic.

"Trying to escape?" Lin Mu's eyes narrowed. "I said that none of you would get away."

He flicked the Heavenly Punishment Blade in his hand.

"If you don't want your souls to be utterly destroyed, then kill for me!"

As his voice fell, an endless white light streamed from Lin Mu's body, pouring into the Heavenly Punishment Blade.

ROAR!

After entering the blade, the once-white light turned a deep crimson. A spectral image emerged from the blade, hovering in the air. It was a colossal tiger!

Witnessing this, everyone was shocked into silence, gazing at Lin Mu as if he were a deity. In that moment, he was almost no different from the Great God Chiyou, the ancestor of the Li Clan.

"Go."

Lin Mu waved his hand. The giant tiger in the sky roared at the heavens before its form instantly dispersed, transforming into hundreds, even thousands, of tiger phantoms. The moment the phantoms appeared, they shot off in every direction.

Each phantom was a streak of blade energy!

Patriarch Long, already hundreds of meters away, instinctively glanced back and witnessed a sight he would never forget. Amidst the howling phantoms, the bodies of the Heimiao Village clansmen were pierced through one after another.

Blooms of blood blossomed in the air as life after life was mercilessly reaped. Patriarch Long and the other Family Heads could only let out a final, horrified scream before the tiger phantoms pierced their bodies, ending their lives and scattering their spirits.

Within a few short breaths, every last person from Heimiao Village was dead.

ROAR!

With a final roar, the tiger phantoms converged, reforming into the giant tiger before diving back into the Heavenly Punishment Blade and falling silent.

For a moment, the entire field was silent. Only Lin Mu stood with his blade in hand, his clothes rustling in the wind. All eyes were fixed on his figure, the shock in their hearts lingering.

The formidable forces of Heimiao Village—two thousand warriors from the Nine Villages Eighteen Caves—had been dismantled by Lin Mu alone. What was the difference between such a man and a god?

And yet, his methods were so ruthless! Over two thousand people, all dead.

As they stared at his back, the same two lines surfaced in everyone's mind:

"A glorious Heavenly Being, descending upon the mortal world!

An overwhelming killing intent, that not even the heavens can conceal!"

"Mr. Lin, please accept this old woman's bow!" Li Xuan walked over and bowed deeply to Lin Mu. "If it weren't for you today, Mr. Lin, our Bai Miao Village would have been annihilated. Your immense kindness… I…"

BOOM!

Just then, a clap of thunder echoed from the sky above.

Everyone looked up sharply. There, hidden within the dark clouds, was the face of an old man. He looked like a celestial envoy, his cold gaze sweeping over all creation.

Finally, his gaze settled on Lin Mu.

"You've gone too far, Lin Wudi!" The old man's expression contorted, his words brimming with overwhelming hatred. "You first killed my disciple and my junior martial brother, and today you've annihilated my people. This feud will not end until one of us is dead!

"I will be waiting for you in Heimiao Village. If you don't come, I will personally go to River City. I will slaughter your family and friends, and use their blood to appease the spirits of my fallen clansmen!"

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