Chapter 120: He Has Arrived

After neutralizing several sentries, Chen Yuyi neared the perimeter of the sprawling mansion. He immediately sensed an invisible barrier; it was not a formation cast by a practitioner of the arts, but rather a high-tech defensive shield.

On a whim, he flicked a small pebble toward it. As expected, the stone was pulverized into dust upon contact with the barrier.

A faint smirk played on his lips. Then, his gaze sharpened, and he pointed a finger into the empty air.

*Crack!*

A sound like shattering glass echoed through the space. Though the shield was invisible to the naked eye, the ripples in the air were clearly visible, and now, they were visibly fracturing into pieces.

Inside a hall within the mansion:

"Rest assured, that girl has been struck by our Seven Absolute Poisons. No one can cure it; she must be a dead woman by now," an elder said calmly, sipping tea while addressing the three people before him.

Besides the elder, the three individuals standing respectfully were a middle-aged couple and a young woman with a vacant, dazed expression. That young woman was none other than Bao Yingtong, and the couple were her parents, Bao Haiyuan and Ma Huajuan.

"With Elder Ye's word, we have nothing to fear. However, this matter may involve someone rumored to be truly terrifying. Unfortunately, my daughter has been so traumatized that her mind is clouded, and she couldn't clearly identify who it was. Could we perhaps stay here under your protection for a while?" Bao Haiyuan asked, his tone respectful and cautious.

The couple had suffered the sudden loss of their beloved son. The sight of Bao Hongxuan’s gruesome death had nearly caused them to collapse from grief, and their daughter had been reduced to a catatonic state because of it.

They had spent ages investigating the cause of their son's death, but to no avail. Eventually, by piecing together the fragmented, delirious ramblings of the traumatized Bao Yingtong, they inferred that Bao Hongxuan’s death was linked to Zhu Shaoqi and involved someone incredibly formidable.

Knowing they lacked the power to seek revenge on their own, and realizing Ma Huajuan’s cousin was a disciple of the Medicine King Sect, they used that connection to find this branch elder of the sect. To secure their vengeance, they had offered their entire fortune to him.

Of course, they still did not know the identity of the "terrifying person," so they had begged the elder to deal with Zhu Shaoqi first, while also seeking his protection.

The elder, having a penchant for wealth, agreed to their request for the sake of their fortune. After all, a mere ordinary person would be easy to handle, so he had simply dispatched a low-level disciple to silently poison Zhu Shaoqi on the street. As for the "terrifying person" they spoke of, he gave it no thought.

"What terrifying person?" the elder said dismissively. "If he has the ability to find us here, I will turn him into a corpse instantly! You may stay here for a few days, but you must behave yourselves. Do not wander about; if you accidentally end up dead, that is no concern of mine!"

Bao Haiyuan and his wife expressed their gratitude repeatedly, their hearts filled with relief. They felt they had come to the right place and, believing the elder’s words about Zhu Shaoqi’s inevitable demise, they felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Just then, however, a piercing alarm sounded.

The fleeting joy in the couple's hearts turned to instant tension, and they looked toward Elder Ye. The elder continued to sip his tea leisurely, his expression unmoved. Seeing his nonchalance, the couple relaxed slightly.

"Elder Ye, it’s a disaster! We have an intruder!" a disciple of the sect rushed in to report.

"I am not deaf," Elder Ye said calmly. "That shrill alarm nearly deafened me. Can you refrain from being so hysterical in the future?"

"But..." the disciple began, only to be interrupted.

"It’s just an intruder. It’s not like we haven't encountered them before. Previous interlopers couldn't even reach the main gate, so what are you panicking about? Perhaps this is just another unlucky fool who stumbled upon our entrance, and by now, he’s likely been ground into pulp by the defensive shield."

Elder Ye had absolute faith in the defense. While this was only a small branch of the Medicine King Sect, it housed invaluable resources and was a target for many. Yet, the defenses were impregnable; the outer high-tech shield alone had cost billions, and that was merely the outermost layer. In his mind, anyone daring to break in was walking to their death.

"He’s here, he’s here, he’s here!" Bao Yingtong, who had been quiet until now, suddenly began jumping about frantically, screaming.

Bao Haiyuan and Ma Huajuan quickly restrained her. "Yingtong, calm down!"

Ever since she witnessed her brother’s death, her mental state had been severely compromised. She would alternate between absolute silence and manic outbursts. It was a testament to the parents' desperation that they had managed to deduce the link to Zhu Shaoqi from her incoherent ravings.

Elder Ye, having seen her erratic behavior before, paid no mind and continued sipping his tea.

Watching the elder’s indifference, the disciple stammered for a moment before saying, "E-Elder, the intruder has broken through the shield."

At this, Bao Yingtong broke free from her parents’ grip, her eyes wide with terror as she shrieked, "He’s not human, he’s not human! We’re all going to die, we’re all going to die!"

Elder Ye’s face darkened. He told the couple, "If you cannot control your daughter, do not blame me for throwing you out."

The couple hurriedly restrained their daughter again, even gagging her. Though she could not move or speak, her eyes remained wide, filled with terror, emitting muffled whimpers.

"This intruder seems to have some skill. Let’s go to the control room and see," the elder said, his composed expression fading. He left the hall, followed by the disciple, ignoring the Bao family.

"Haiyuan, Yingtong has been fine for days. Why is she reacting like this today? Could the person she is talking about be the one who killed our Hongxuan?" Ma Huajuan asked, a flicker of unease in her heart.

"If it is him, then so much the better! If he came today, we will make sure he never leaves!" Bao Haiyuan gritted his teeth. He had immense confidence in the defenses, believing that even an entire army would be annihilated here. In his view, no matter how terrifying an individual might be, how could they possibly surpass an army?

"But I’m still worried. What if they can't stop him?"

"Don't be hysterical. Didn't you hear Elder Ye? Anyone who dares to break in is as good as dead!"

At this moment, everyone in the branch was on high alert, as no one had ever successfully breached the first layer of the shield before.

"Elder Ye, should we awaken the others?" the disciple asked cautiously on the way to the control room.

"That is not necessary. Those 'medicine-man' warriors were cultivated at great cost and are not yet fully mature. Let them remain in the nutrient vats," Elder Ye said, striding forward with no trace of old age.

"Yes, Elder."

Soon, they reached the control room, where the core members of the branch had gathered.

"Elder!" everyone stood up and greeted him respectfully.

Elder Ye scanned the room, nodded, and walked straight to the branch leader.

"Why is there no monitor feed?" the elder asked, frowning at the pitch-black LCD screens.

"The intruder damaged some circuits when he breached. I have activated the backup lines; it will take a moment to restore the signal," a technician said, his fingers flying across the keyboard without looking back.

"Got it!" the technician shouted, a spark of surprise in his eyes.

"Put the feed on the main screen," Elder Ye commanded, a cold glint in his eyes. "Whoever is invading, they will not be leaving alive!"

"With Elder Ye here to oversee, we are naturally at ease," the branch leader said with a smile. Elder Ye was a senior figure sent personally by the sect master, possessing unfathomable power, specifically because of a secret experiment being conducted here.

The technician quickly transmitted the footage to the large screen.

As they looked at Chen Yuyi on the screen, all the core members gasped in shock.

"It's him!"