My master gave me a death mission: to go down the mountain and retrieve his granddaughter.

In order not to scare away the person who used the curse, Elder Qin did not let the troops follow, but only took Yanlong, his personal bodyguard, and went to the outskirts with Su Muchen and the others.

Twenty minutes later, Su Muchen and his group arrived at an open space in the suburbs. They got out of the car and waited quietly.

Before Su Muchen and the others had to wait long—only five or six minutes had passed—Su Muchen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked due west.

"They're here..."

As Su Muchen finished speaking, a dark figure was running rapidly towards them from a distance, at a speed of at least 100 kilometers per hour, which startled everyone else present.

Even Yanlong, a peak Martial Grandmaster, was shocked by the newcomer's methods. It was precisely because he was a martial artist that he was afraid of the newcomer.

Even if Yanlong were to run at full speed using his internal energy, his speed would only be 70 or 80 kilometers per hour at most, and he couldn't maintain that speed for long before his internal energy was completely depleted.

However, according to Su Muchen, the person who came was at least 100 kilometers away, and was running at a speed exceeding 100 kilometers per hour for more than half an hour. He was still not exhausted, which shows how powerful the person was.

As the shadowy figure drew closer, Yanlong grew increasingly tense, and even Elder Qin stared solemnly at the ever-clearing figure.

Only Su Muchen and Shen Beishan appeared relaxed. Su Muchen was self-evident, but Shen Beishan wasn't worried about the newcomer at all, which stemmed from his absolute trust in Su Muchen.

Less than a minute after the shadowy figure appeared in sight, a dirty and disheveled old man appeared before everyone.

His hunched body, pockmarked face, and clothes that looked like they'd been picked up from a junkyard, with venomous insects constantly crawling around him, made him utterly repulsive. If a child were here, they would surely be terrified and cry at his appearance.

"Hehehe... Qin Zhengyuan, long time no see, do you still recognize this old man?"

The slovenly old man's mouth, with its mouthful of black teeth and the black breath that kept coming out when he spoke, was disgusting to look at.

"You...you're a rock serpent?"

When Old Qin saw that pockmarked face, he could hardly believe that the person in front of him was actually the Miao chieftain from back then.

"It is indeed this old man. How about it? Are you surprised to see me? Hehehe..."

"Rock Serpent, why did you do this to yourself, making yourself look like this?"

"Qin Zhengyuan, stop crying like a crocodile. This is all thanks to you. If you hadn't been so ruthless back then, I wouldn't be in this mess today."

"Sigh... Rock Serpent, Rock Clan Chief, so many years have passed, and you're still dwelling on what happened back then. Your son Rock Wolf had only himself to blame. Even if I hadn't led the team, anyone else wouldn't have let him off the hook."

Old Qin sighed. Recalling what happened back then, he could only feel sorry for Rock Serpent's son. But if he had to do it all over again, he would still make the same decision without hesitation.

"Hmph, my son was just misled by others back then, and he has since repented. Why won't you let him go? Even when I knelt down before you, you still wouldn't give my son a chance, causing me to suffer the pain of losing my son in my old age. All of this is your fault."

"Rock Serpent, although your son was misled back then, his hands are stained with blood. How many innocent people died under his merciless blade? Can this crime be wiped away with a simple statement of remorse? Even if I were willing to let him go, the higher-ups wouldn't agree. I was just following orders."

The Miao rebellion back then killed thousands of people. Rock Serpent's son, Rock Wolf, was one of the planners, and no fewer than fifty people died at his hands. How could the country let such an executioner go unpunished?

"I don't care, I'm convinced that you are the murderer of my son. Over the years, I have devoted myself to studying Gu techniques, all for the sake of avenging my son one day. A few days ago, I heard that you went to Miao territory for inspection, and I knew that my chance had come."

"It's just a bit of a pity. I didn't expect that you, you old codger, would be saved after being poisoned by my Soul-Devouring Gu and even have my precious Gu worm destroyed. I have to say, your old life is indeed tough. But it doesn't matter, I'm here now. Dealing with you personally will bring my son more comfort in the afterlife."

"Rock Serpent, I advise you to give up on revenge and turn back before it's too late, otherwise you may very well die here today."

Seeing the deep resentment in Yan She's heart, Old Qin felt a pang of pity and, not wanting him to make another mistake, kindly advised him to stop.

But is that even possible? Rock Serpent's hatred for him runs deep. As long as Old Qin is alive, Rock Serpent will never sleep soundly. Every time he closes his eyes, all he sees is his son's final death. How could he possibly stop now?

"Heh heh... Qin Zhengyuan, I must say you're too arrogant. Knowing I was coming to find you, you didn't even mobilize the army and the Dragon Guard to protect you. You don't actually think that guard of yours is a match for me, do you? A mere Martial Grandmaster, I can kill him like slaughtering a dog."

Before arriving, Rock Serpent had surveyed the surroundings and found no ambushes within a kilometer radius. This meant that, apart from them, Elder Qin had no other helpers.

Qin Lao's only companion was a martial artist, but even a peak Martial Grandmaster was no match for the Rock Serpent.

The other two, one old and one young, didn't have any martial arts aura at all; in the eyes of the Rock Serpent, they were just two ordinary people.

"Hmph, Rock Serpent, although my strength is inferior to yours, if you want to touch Elder Qin, you'll have to step over my dead body first."

Sensing the growing killing intent of the Rock Serpent, Yanlong immediately displayed his loyalty as a guard, standing in front of Elder Qin with an air of heroic sacrifice.

"Hmph, since you're in such a hurry to die, then I'll send you to hell first."

After the rock serpent finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and several poisonous insects immediately flew out from his sleeve and flew straight towards the flame dragon.

Seeing the poisonous insect flying towards him, Yanlong's heart jumped into his throat, and he quickly looked to Su Muchen for help.

"Brother Yanlong, you know you're no match for him, so why bother? Just let me do it!"

Seeing Yanlong's pleading look, Su Muchen couldn't help but roll his eyes. This Yanlong was really something. Showing loyalty wasn't done in such a ridiculous way. Knowing he was no match for him, he still had to show off and provoke the other side.

If I weren't here, this Flame Dragon would really be reporting to the King of Hell.

As the poisonous insects were about to reach Yanlong, Yanlong's body was already trembling slightly. The next moment...

"Certainly……"

As Su Muchen uttered the word "freeze," the atmosphere instantly froze. The poisonous insects that were flying towards the Flame Dragon seemed to have been frozen in place, hovering motionless in mid-air in front of the Flame Dragon.

"What's going on...?"