Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

"Junior brother!"

When Yan Yang saw his junior brother clutching his stomach and crying out in pain, his expression changed drastically. He took a step forward, reached out and pressed his hand on the abdomen of his fallen junior brother, and inserted his Qi into it.

The Qi flowed through his internal organs, and the tactile sensation it returned made his heart sink.

My stomach was filled with countless sharp, cold, hard objects that were writhing with the spasms of my muscles. If I pressed my head against it, I could even hear a faint metallic grinding sound.

At the same time, blood was seeping from the corner of the junior brother's mouth, clearly indicating that his internal organs had been punctured by the nails, causing internal bleeding.

Seeing his junior brother writhing in pain while clutching his stomach, Yan Yang quickly held him down.

"Don't move! These are the 'Transformation Nails' from Yemao Mountain!" Yan Yang said anxiously. "It's a vicious curse technique. The nails are already in your stomach. The more you struggle, the deeper they will penetrate until your intestines are ruptured and your internal organs are shattered!"

Upon hearing this, the injured junior brother endured the excruciating pain and dared not move again, but his body still convulsed uncontrollably due to the extreme pain.

"How can we get those nails out?" another junior brother asked anxiously.

Yan Yang said, "Either find the caster to undo the spell, or go back to the sect and ask an expert in incantations."

Just then, footsteps, the clanging of gun barrels, and shouts came from just outside; the enemy was about to complete their encirclement. Seeing his junior brother's life hanging by a thread and facing a powerful enemy from the outside, the other junior brother was almost in despair.

"Senior...Senior brother...then...what do we do now?"

Yan Yang's gaze swept across the courtyard, then suddenly fixed on a relatively sturdy house not far away. He said, "Pick up Xiao Wuzi, and let's hide in that house."

Without hesitation, the junior brother scooped up Xiao Wu and rushed into the house. Yan Yang followed closely behind.

As soon as he entered the room, he used his power, and raging flames swept out from him, instantly setting everything flammable, including the doors, windows, beams, pillars, and furniture.

A blazing wave of fire, accompanied by thick black smoke, shot into the sky, forming a massive ring of fire that temporarily blocked the approaching enemies. The three of them quickly took cover behind the thickest load-bearing pillar inside the building.

"That's the only way! Use fire as a barrier to buy time! I bet Junior Brother Fengping should be arriving soon!"

Yan Yang said, panting heavily, that the successive battles had taken a toll on him.

Outside the wall of fire, the county magistrate and the group of strange people were also forced back several steps by the sudden fire.

The county magistrate asked, puzzled, "What's going on? Are these Zhang Mazi trying to commit suicide by fire?"

Ye Maoshan said, "Judging from their previous actions, those inside are from the Huode Sect. The Huode Sect are experts in fire manipulation. The fire qi they cultivate can isolate flames and thick smoke, so they certainly won't be burned to death."

"The Huode Sect?" The county magistrate asked, puzzled. "Aren't the Huode Sect our own people? My cousin said before that he hired three masters from the Huode Sect to protect him..."

He paused, then asked with a look of surprise, "You just said there were only three enemies, could it be them?"

"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, then it should be?" Ye Maoshan nodded.

The county magistrate exclaimed in shock, "Zhang Mazi is a member of the Huode Sect? You invited a bodyguard but ended up in a den of thieves?"

“It shouldn’t be like this. Huode Sect has no reason to do such a thing, and judging from the previous actions of ‘Zhang Mazi’ in various places, it doesn’t seem like the work of Huode Sect.” Ye Maoshan shook his head and said, “There must be something fishy about this.”

"Whatever the mystery, let's go in, capture those three Huode Sect disciples alive, and interrogate them, then we'll know the answer," said another swordsman.

Capture them alive… The county magistrate frowned, thinking to himself, “If I capture them alive, Huo Dezong will definitely come demanding their release. And these few people just burned so many of my men to death. Rather than capturing them alive for interrogation, I might as well turn the tables and kill them like Zhang Mazi. Afterwards, I can even claim credit with my superiors…”

Upon realizing this, the county magistrate roared, "Use grenades! Blow it up! Flatten the house and everyone inside!"

Upon hearing this, the county brigade members pulled out their grenades. They had used grenades before, but each time they were thrown back, causing considerable casualties among their own men.

Having learned their lesson, this time they were smarter. After lighting the fuse, they didn't throw it immediately, but deliberately paused for a moment in their hands, calculating the exact time before throwing it, not giving the other side a chance to throw it back.

Several grenades, emitting blue smoke, arced over the wall of fire and fell into the building.

Yan Yang wasn't stupid either. He had been secretly observing from behind the wall of fire. When he saw that they deliberately paused before throwing the grenades, he didn't even think about throwing them back. Instead, he used his Flowing Fireball to create large clusters of flames that detonated the grenades in mid-air.

"Rumble..."

Violent explosions followed one after another, flames carrying shrapnel from shattered grenades that flew in all directions. The wandering swordsman beside the county magistrate stepped forward, brandishing his long sword with crisscrossing blade energy, slicing through the flying shrapnel.

"Keep throwing them! They won't last much longer!" the magistrate roared.

More grenades were thrown in, and Yan Yang wildly waved his hands, unleashing bursts of flame that detonated them in mid-air once more.

A violent explosion resounded. Although he blocked the attack, Yan Yang staggered a step, feeling a void in his dantian. He had exhausted himself.

The Meishan naval commander, skilled in water magic, narrowed his eyes. He keenly sensed that the power of the Flowing Fireball that Yan Yang had just used had diminished considerably, and said:
"He's exhausted and can't hold on much longer!"

After saying that, he made a hand seal, and the water vapor in the air began to condense, suppressing the boiling flames, while the gunfire outside never stopped.

The strange man wielding the long sword was also eager to make his move, preparing to rush in and launch a fatal attack the moment the fire subsided slightly.

At this critical moment.

"Senior Brother Yan Yang! Hang in there!!!"

A clear, long howl, like a thunderclap, came from the direction of the outer wall of the Luo residence.

Immediately afterwards, several incredibly blazing golden fireballs roared in and crashed into the dense enemy ranks in the backyard!

"Boom!!"

A huge explosion rang out, the golden fireball burst open, and flames shot up. The people at the center of the explosion were instantly turned into charred remains, while those further away were thrown away by the shockwave, their bodies covered with terrible burns.

In an instant, the formation was thrown into chaos, and screams of agony rose and fell.

At that moment, the golden flames that were slowly dissipating in the air twisted and expanded, instantly transforming into three human figures, which quickly solidified.

The leader, dressed in a red mandarin jacket and with two topknots, looked exactly like Nezha from the legends—it was Feng Ping! The reason he was so late was that he had just arrived when he bumped into his master, Master Chu, who stopped him and asked why.

Fengping didn't hide this from his master and quickly recounted it, even sharing his own speculations about "Zhang Mazi".

Although Master Chu is the sect leader of the Huode Sect, he delegates many affairs to his fellow disciples and does not personally handle them, since he also needs to cultivate.

Upon hearing Feng Ping's words, he immediately understood the seriousness of the problem. To prevent Feng Ping from making a rash mistake, he summoned two of his personal disciples to accompany Feng Ping.

He himself convened a meeting with the high-ranking members of the Huode Sect.

The two senior brothers who came with Feng Ping were both masters of fire escape techniques. Using the fireball from before as a source of fire, they unleashed fire escape techniques and appeared suddenly in the middle of the county brigade's security team.

"You dare to hurt my senior brother?! You'd all die!"

At this moment, Fengping was surrounded by golden flames that seemed to solidify, his hair was flying, his eyes were sharp as lightning, and when he spread his arms, even more intense flames swept outwards like a tsunami.

The other two Huode Sect experts who arrived with Fengping also unleashed their skills. Huode Sect's moves have a wide range and strong destructive power. Once unleashed, they are like human-shaped cannons, with flames spreading everywhere and instantly sweeping the surroundings, creating a fire storm. One person after another was set ablaze, running away crying and scrambling for cover, before being burned into fiery skeletons.

The scene was terrifying. The already demoralized police officers and security personnel immediately fled, crying and screaming as they ran away.

During this process, several extraordinary individuals close to the county magistrate took action one after another.

The swordsman moved with lightning speed, leaping several times to dodge the incoming flames, his long sword flashing sharply as it hurtled straight towards Fengping's neck.

This was a fatal blow. Toyohira, who was setting fire to ordinary people, had no time to defend or dodge. However, he didn't need to dodge either.

A flash of light appeared, and Fengping's figure vanished in a burst of flames with a "bang."

The swordsman was stunned. Before he could react, flames gathered behind him, and a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the back of the neck. Golden flames entered his body.

A violent burning sensation swept through his body. He knew something was wrong, but before he could retaliate, his flesh rapidly charred, turning him into a charred corpse. He suddenly collapsed to the ground, shattering into pieces, his eerie black skull rolling far away.

This is the domineering nature of Fire Release Technique. When cultivated to a high level, it can not only be used as a teleportation portal, but also be transformed into an element in critical moments to avoid damage. Ordinary methods are unlikely to harm them.

The swordsman was instantly killed by Feng Ping. Seeing this, the other strange people exchanged glances, grabbed the county magistrate, and ran outside.

Feng Ping and his two other senior brothers exchanged a glance and immediately gave chase.

Flames were scattered all around. Fengping used fire escape technique again, his figure flickered and disappeared into flames. The next second, he appeared in front of the wild Maoshan monk.

The monk was terrified and was about to beg for mercy when Feng Ping pressed a palm against his crown, and scorching, domineering fire was about to surge in and burn him to a charred corpse.

Suddenly, Yan Yang shouted from inside the burning house, "Spare him! Feng Ping, spare him!"

Feng Ping was taken aback. He withdrew the fire energy in his hand, grabbed the head of the Wild Maoshan monk, and slammed his head to the ground!
Although Ye Maoshan was proficient in various Taoist and unorthodox magic, he was not strong in tempering his life force. After being hit like that, he didn't even utter a sound, his head was broken and bleeding, and he fainted on the spot.

Subsequently, Feng Ping, together with his two senior brothers, quickly captured the innate extraordinary person. Only the Meishan naval commander, along with the county magistrate, jumped into the well in the Luo family courtyard, attempting to use water magic to escape through the underground river.

But at that moment, a black hole suddenly opened at the bottom of the well, like a mouth, and swallowed them both whole.

Suddenly, a black hole appeared in the sky above a field not far from the Luo residence. The Meishan naval commander and the county magistrate slipped through it and landed on their backsides in the field. The county magistrate screamed in pain as he fell.

The naval officers knelt down and kowtowed, crying out, "Senior, spare our lives!"

This gave the county magistrate a jolt. He looked up and saw a huge figure standing in front of him. Looking further up, he saw that the figure was wearing a nine-tube mask and was looking down at him. The sunlight shone on him and cast a huge shadow. He didn't look like a human, but rather like a god reaching to the heavens.

Upon realizing the significance of the cylindrical masks associated with mahjong, the county magistrate exclaimed in shock:

"Zhang...Zhang...Ma...!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Zhiwei reached out and grabbed him and the naval officer by the throat, lifting them both up.

"Ho! Ho! Ho..."

He squeezed too hard, and the two of them couldn't breathe, struggling to hold onto his hand.

A flash of blue light appeared in Zhang Zhiwei's hands as he quickly glanced at the two men's memories. Without browsing too much, after only looking at the contents of about half a month, he sentenced them to death and was about to snap their necks.

Suddenly, he noticed the tattered scarecrows stuck in the field. On a whim, he picked up the two men and walked over, took down the tattered scarecrows, and hung the two men on them.

When he hung them up, he used a bit of his strength to sever their meridians, rendering them unable to move or speak. Then he used his Seventy-Two Interference and Change abilities to create an illusion for the two of them, making them appear to outsiders as no different from real scarecrows.

After finishing everything, Zhang Zhiwei clapped his hands: "Since you want land so much, even 10,000 mu isn't enough, then you should take good care of this land!"

Then, he looked towards the Luo residence.

At this moment, Fengping had already reunited with Yanyang and the others.

Fengping frowned as he saw Yanyang's head swollen like a pig's head and his junior brother groaning in pain on the ground.

"Senior brother, what happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Save Xiao Wu first. He's been hit by the Wild Maoshan's Transformation Nail. Quickly get that Wild Maoshan to remove the curse from him," Yan Yang said anxiously.

"No wonder you told me to spare his life!" Feng Ping grabbed the wild Maoshan monk by the hair and slapped him awake several times.

"Quickly break the curse on my junior brother!" Feng Ping shouted as he slapped the wild Maoshan monk repeatedly across the face. "Break it or not? Break it or not? Break it or not?"

The sound of slaps echoed as Feng Ping struck. Yan Yang couldn't help but squint as Feng Ping slapped him, his face stinging slightly. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but the way Feng Ping slapped him felt...so familiar!
Feng Ping struck with extreme force, and the face of the Wild Maoshan monk quickly swelled up like a pig's head, almost like Yan Yang's. But even so, he didn't say he would lift the curse.

"Junior Brother Feng...!" Yan Yang whispered a reminder: "Stop drawing your weapon for now, I think he has something to say."

"Huh?!" Feng Ping slapped her twice more before stopping and demanding, "Should I untie it or not?"

With tears in his eyes, the Wild Maoshan monk mumbled incoherently, "I... I didn't say I wouldn't untie it! Didn't you give me a chance to say it?" (End of Chapter)