Chapter 108: A Hundredfold Annihilation

Seeing someone dare to kick the door open, Xu Yongchao was stunned for a moment before roaring, "Who are you? Do you have any idea where you are?"

Lu Ming glanced slowly at everyone present and said, "I just found out. You are Xu Yongchao of the Dasheng Group, aren't you?"

Xu Yongchao looked at Lu Ming, feeling a bit guilty because of the foul deeds he had committed. However, the thought of Master Wula being present immediately bolstered his courage.

"I am. Who exactly are you, and what do you want?" Xu Yongchao demanded sternly.

Lu Ming smiled and turned his gaze toward Wula, who was still flanked by two women and clearly did not take Lu Ming seriously.

"Did you plant the gu poison in Huo Yutong?"

Xu Yongchao was shocked. How did this get out so quickly? Hadn't Master Wula promised that no one would ever discover it?

Wula let out a sinister laugh. "Boy, you have some skill to identify my gu insect. Tell me your sect, and perhaps, out of respect for a fellow practitioner, I will spare your life."

"Hahahaha!" Lu Ming burst into laughter. "You think you have the power to spare my life?"

With that, Lu Ming snapped his fingers. At that very moment, the spiritual energy he had left inside Huo Yutong’s body, which had been enveloping the gu insect, tightened and crushed it instantly. The creature did not even have time to emit a whimper before it was reduced to a puddle of blood.

Wula’s expression shifted instantly as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. A gu master’s life force is tethered to the insects they raise; if a gu dies unexpectedly, the master suffers a backlash. This sudden strike left Wula wounded.

He shoved aside the two alluring women and stared fiercely at Lu Ming. "You brat, to think you could break my gu technique!"

Xu Yongchao was panicking now. His actions were malicious, and now that they had been exposed, his conscience was failing him. Seeing Lu Ming’s aggressive demeanor and the way he had made Master Wula spit blood with a single snap of his fingers, he sensed that things were going south.

"Master, he knows everything! We can't let him leave alive!" Xu Yongchao shouted in terror. Despite Lu Ming’s display of power, he had personally witnessed Wula’s formidable capabilities and believed that dealing with one young man shouldn't be a problem. Since they had already crossed the line, they might as well finish the job and eliminate this threat for good.

Wula slowly stood up and said to Lu Ming, "I had intended to let you live, but it seems you are hell-bent on seeking your own death."

With a flick of his finger, a tiny black shadow streaked toward Lu Ming. Lu Ming, however, didn't care in the slightest; he simply reached out and snatched the shadow out of the air.

Wula’s mouth curled into a cold sneer. This was his "Bone-Eating Ant," raised for years using rare iron-headed ants from the deep mountains of Miaojiang. They were fed iron and gold, making them incredibly hard and resilient. Once they touched skin, they would burrow into the body to consume the marrow, forcing the victim to die in agonizing screams. Seeing this ignorant young man try to catch it with his bare hands, Wula already imagined him writhing at his feet.

However, Lu Ming caught the ant in his palm, rubbed his hands together, and brushed them off casually. "Is that all? Use whatever other tricks you have; don't say I didn't give you a chance."

Wula was stunned, his face turning solemn. After a long pause, he asked, "I am a disciple of the Miaojiang Witch Gu Sect. May I ask which master you serve?"

"Hmph, you are not worthy of knowing my name," Lu Ming replied coldly.

Wula’s face twisted with rage. "Fine. I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. Don't think that just because you've learned a few tricks, you can run wild. Today, I will teach you what a true master is."

Wula pulled a palm-sized gray clay pot from his waist. Upon seeing it, Xu Yongchao scrambled backward in terror.

"Come on then. Let me see what kind of impressive techniques your so-called Witch Gu Sect really has," Lu Ming said lazily, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Die!" Wula roared. He raised the pot, and a massive plume of black smoke billowed out, enveloping the hall. Inside the smoke, the sound of ghosts wailing was terrifyingly sharp. The women screamed and fled in all directions. The smoke instantly surrounded Lu Ming, the shrill cries threatening to pierce one's eardrums.

Wula watched Lu Ming, now shrouded in black smoke, and shook his head with feigned pity. This was one of his sect’s most formidable ghost-raising techniques. He had spent years collecting the yin energy of the dead from ancient burial grounds, storing it in this antique clay pot he had recovered from a tomb. He had buried it in a mass grave for over a decade, only digging it up when he emerged from the mountains. It was a terrifying treasure.

The pot itself held heavy yin energy, and combined with the collected essence of the recently deceased, it had nurtured a malevolent spirit that even a grandmaster martial artist would find difficult to handle, let alone this young man.

Seeing Lu Ming trapped in the smoke, Xu Yongchao smiled. He had seen this technique before; in the suburbs, the black smoke had left nothing but blackened bones and withered plants in its wake. It was absolute destruction. Xu Yongchao stood beside Master Wula, ready to enjoy the sight of Lu Ming dying in agony.

Suddenly, a wave of fire burst out from the black fog, spiraling like a dragon. In the blink of an eye, it consumed the smoke entirely. The厉ghosts within the smoke vanished in a heart-wrenching shriek. Amidst the swirling flames, Lu Ming stood like a god, looking coldly at Wula and Xu Yongchao.

Xu Yongchao’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, his face pale with terror. Wula, meanwhile, coughed up a massive amount of blood, staining his clothes crimson.

Both men stared at Lu Ming in utter horror, unable to speak for a long time. The towering flames receded into Lu Ming’s body. He smiled and asked, "Do you have any other tricks?"

Finally regaining their senses, Xu Yongchao crawled on his knees toward Lu Ming, kowtowing frantically. "Master, this has nothing to do with me! It was all Wula! He said he could plant the gu and urged me to lure President Huo out. He promised me half the shares of the Jiamei Group if we took it over. I didn't want to, but he forced me! His methods are too terrifying; I didn't dare refuse! Now that you are here, please, kill him and save my life!"

Xu Yongchao reacted quickly; seeing Wula was no match, he immediately switched sides. He didn't care if Lu Ming believed him or not; it was better than waiting to die alongside Wula.

Wula glared at Xu Yongchao. "You double-crossing rat! I will make sure you suffer a thousand deaths!"

Xu Yongchao retorted, "You dare threaten me in front of the Master? I’m not afraid of you!"

"You..." Wula was so enraged by the traitor that he could think of nothing but the most cruel ways to make him scream for a century.

"Enough," Lu Ming commanded. Both men froze.

Lu Ming looked at Xu Yongchao. "If you had used legitimate business tactics to compete with Jiamei, I would have nothing to say. But you used such despicable means, and for that, you have brought this upon yourself."

He then pointed at Wula. "As a practitioner, you should be cultivating your character, yet you use such wicked and vicious methods to aid evil. You are beyond redemption."

Xu Yongchao went deathly pale. Wula, having exhausted all his tricks and lost his treasure, was now in a panic. His expression flickered, and he gritted his teeth. "You dare not kill me! The leader of my Witch Gu Sect is at the 'True Person' realm, and we have the legendary Gu God. With just a single thought, they can kill you from a thousand miles away!"