The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

An Changqing crouched down, looking at the only survivor.

"Tell me, where is your base?"

"Who sent you here?"

The assassin, whose limbs had been crippled, raised his head and revealed a sinister smile.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his voice hoarse and frantic.

"You hypocrites will never find the glory of the Holy Lord."

"This is just the beginning."

"Is that so?"

An Changqing was not surprised.

Just as the assassin was about to utter a sarcastic remark, two clusters of black flames suddenly erupted in his eyes.

"Well."

Eerie black flames filled his eye sockets and spread through his seven orifices.

An Changqing, Long Ao, and Su Yuehe all showed surprise at the same time. Su Yuehe tried to extinguish the flames, but it was completely useless.

The assassin didn't scream or struggle; his entire body quickly turned into ashes in the black flames and scattered with the wind.

Seeing that the assassin had not even left a trace of his soul, the warmth in Su Yuehe's eyes gradually faded.

Just as the ashes were about to completely dissipate, she pointed her fingers like a sword and swiftly touched her brow. A barely perceptible ray of light shot out from her fingertip, instantly entangling a wisp of invisible remnant soul in the air.

An Changqing's pupils shrank sharply. He recognized the hand seal; it was the Soul Searching Technique, which had long been listed as a forbidden art!

It is a forbidden technique because it is sinister and malicious, contrary to the laws of nature, and both the practitioner and the victim will suffer great pain.

He wasn't surprised that Su Yuehe could get her hands on this thing, but he was surprised that she had actually learned how to search souls.

Su Yuehe ignored his reaction. Blood-red light shone brightly from her fingertips, and the invisible remnant soul was forcibly pulled back, condensing into a phantom face struggling in pain in her palm.

Her eyes were tightly closed, her face turned deathly pale, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

An Changqing's heart tightened, but he saw that she had already opened her eyes, and the phantom in her palm turned into green smoke with a "whoosh".

"The slaughterhouse." Su Yuehe's voice was weak, but her eyes were colder than ever before: "Their stronghold is in the slaughterhouse."

An Changqing was shocked. He looked at Su Yuehe's pale face, his heart churning with turmoil.

He and Su Yuehe grew up together since childhood, and in his heart, she will always be that intelligent and kind girl.

He simply couldn't reconcile her with the woman before him who used forbidden techniques without batting an eye.

For the first time, An Changqing felt a chill run down his spine upon closer examination.

Given Su Yuehe's terrifying thirst for knowledge, is this really the first time she's used a forbidden technique like Soul Search, which can cause backlash against the caster?

……

The night rain pattered on the tin roofs of the old town, the noise drowning out all other sounds.

Following the clues posed by Su Yuehe, four figures stopped in front of a large, dilapidated building.

This is a meat processing and slaughterhouse that has been abandoned for many years on the edge of Taipei's old city.

An Changqing looked up at the blurry sign in the rain, his expression grave.

The massive iron gate was ajar, with only a narrow gap allowing one person to pass through, from which a thick, pungent smell of blood was constantly emanating.

The smell was a strong, pungent mixture of rainwater dampness and metallic rust.

Long Ao waved his hand in front of his nose, his brows furrowed.

The strong smell of blood clearly indicates that this is not an abandoned slaughterhouse.

We've come to the right place.

[High-energy warning ahead. Non-combatants please evacuate.]

[Isn't this the standard opening of a horror movie? An abandoned slaughterhouse, a rainy night, a half-open door.]

[All the necessary elements are there; all that's missing is the main characters entering.]

Chen Guan watched the barrage of comments scrolling across his retina, his expression unchanged, and stood silently at the back of the line.

"I'll go in and take a look first."

As Long Ao spoke, he was about to rush inside, pushing open the heavy iron gate first.

The metallic scraping produced a piercing sound as the four men slipped into the dark factory area one by one.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

The sound of raindrops falling into puddles, combined with the pervasive stench of blood, created an atmosphere of extreme oppression.

After passing through the overgrown front yard, they quickly found the main factory building.

It was a huge cold storage for raw meat.

The heavy metal door of the cold storage was also unlocked.

An Changqing and Chen Guan exchanged a glance, and together they slowly pushed the door open.

An even stronger stench of blood, accompanied by a chilling aura, wafted over.

Long Ao was about to speak, but the moment he saw the interior of the cold storage, he swallowed all his words.

Inside the enormous cold storage room, rows of metal hooks hang from the ceiling.

What's hanging above isn't the usual pork or beef.

Those were people whose clothes had been stripped off.

There are men and women, old and young.

Their limbs were impaled by iron hooks, and they were hanging upside down in mid-air, their bodies covered with wounds from their struggles.

Some of the faces were those of the association agents mentioned in the mission briefing.

"You bastard!"

Long Ao's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and his eyes instantly became bloodshot.

The warmth that had just risen in Su Yuehe's eyes cooled down again.

The metal door behind them slammed shut with a loud bang.

Dozens of high-intensity searchlights illuminated the walls above the cold storage, their blinding white light completely enveloping the four people.

"It was indeed a trap."

An Changqing's voice was calm. Now that this scene had actually happened, it actually made him feel a little relieved.

As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of dark firing ports popped open on the wall, and a dense barrage of poisoned arrows and miniature bombs shimmering with spiritual energy poured down from all directions, forming a deadly net with no blind spots.

"Good timing."

Long Ao roared angrily, just as he was about to brace himself against the attack.

"Time changes and stars shift."

An Changqing drew his sword and drew a circle in front of him. The sword light flowed, and a Tai Chi disc made of spiritual energy took shape.

All the poisoned arrows and bombs aimed at them were redirected the moment they touched the Tai Chi disc by a gentle yet irresistible force.

All attacks were reflected back at a faster speed than when they came in.

A series of violent explosions rang out in the cold storage, and flames and smoke engulfed the hidden mechanisms, leaving the walls in a state of utter devastation.

Long Ao awkwardly withdrew his hand. When he was anxious, he easily forgot his teammates' skills and subconsciously wanted to protect everyone.

Pop, pop, pop.

Before the aftershocks of the explosion had subsided, a burst of crisp applause rang out through the loudspeakers inside the factory.

A refined male voice, tinged with a smile, echoed through the empty factory.

"He truly lives up to his reputation as a prodigy of Huaqing Academy. Chairman An's son is indeed worthy of the name."

"This strength, this composure, is captivating."

Long Ao roared towards the loudspeaker: "You cowardly rat hiding your head and tail, if you have the guts, get out here!"

The voice ignored Long Ao's clamor.

Instead, he said in an aria-like tone, "Don't rush, the real show is just beginning."

"Your flesh and blood, so full of vitality, are perfectly worthy to be the first cup of wine to welcome the great Lord's return and resurrection."

As the man's voice fell, the corpses hanging on the iron hooks in mid-air above the cold storage room all convulsed violently.

They opened their eyes instantly.

Those were pairs of eyes filled with darkness, devoid of any emotion.