Chapter 335 No Mercy

Facing Chen Fei’s mocking words, the faceless man gave a cold snort and once again raised his hand toward him.

This time, two paper puppets emerged.

What made things even worse for Chen Fei was the return of the red-eyed brute—standing behind him, eyes locked in fury.

“Found you,” the brute growled, his figure swelling once again with rage.

After this long and exhausting chase, his hatred for Chen Fei had peaked.

Seeing the slippery bastard finally standing still, how could he let such a chance slip away?

The massive cudgel in his hand howled through the air as he swung it straight at Chen Fei’s back.

Chen Fei didn’t hesitate—he dodged immediately.

Though his Void Heaven Cauldron granted him rebound force, it had a drawback: he too would be affected by the recoil.

Against pinpoint puppet attacks? Fine.

Against a mountain of muscles swinging a wrecking club? Absolutely not.

The brute was pure strength. Taking that head-on would be foolish.

Twisting his body, Chen Fei narrowly avoided the blow.

But just then—

That familiar numb, aching sensation returned to his joints.

“Damn… this is why control-type cultivators are so annoying!”

He quickly urged the Void Heaven Cauldron within his body to purge the puppet strings again.

But the brute’s cudgel was already coming down hard.

With no choice, Chen Fei crossed his Edgeless Greatsword before him.

Boom!

He was blasted backward, flying through the air.

A grin crept over the brute’s face—

But then he noticed the smirk still lingering on Chen Fei’s.

His expression instantly darkened.

“That slippery bastard! Don’t let him get away again!”

The faceless man turned his featureless face slightly toward the brute.

Immediately, cold sweat broke out across the brute’s forehead.

Luckily, the faceless man didn’t press the issue.

He simply raised his hand toward Chen Fei again, clearly unwilling to let him escape.

Chen Fei wasn’t here to fight head-on—he was here to stall for time.

He dodged the attack with a scornful smile.

But his smile froze the next second.

A dagger streaked across his chest, slicing his robes clean open.

He barely dodged in time. Had he moved even a moment slower, that silent, stealthy strike would’ve pierced his heart.

“Get lost!”

Without thinking, Chen Fei threw a punch forward.

Given his strength—strong enough to swing that massive sword like it was weightless—he wasn’t much weaker than the brute in raw force.

But the attacker, clearly an assassin, didn’t take the bait.

Dodging like a phantom, the figure danced away and slashed twice across Chen Fei’s body, drawing shallow wounds.

Not fatal—but painfully sharp.

“Chen Fei!”

Amu strode forward, face grim, her prayer beads replaced with a new string.

“Hand over Holy Maiden A-Yue and I’ll let you live!”

The new prayer beads were ancient and ominous.

The top bead—a skull—was smooth, polished, and clearly extraordinary.

“And if I don’t?” Chen Fei smiled.

Amu’s face darkened.

“Then you leave us no choice! Where is she?!”

A flicker of clarity flashed in Chen Fei’s eyes.

Bingo.

His guess had been correct.

A-Yue clearly had a high-status role in the Matriarch Cult.

Either she was of direct bloodline to a major leader… or more likely—she was a special sacrificial vessel personally cultivated by them.

Chen Fei leaned toward the second theory.

After all, evil cultivators valued power far more than blood ties.

If sacrificing a bloodline would make them stronger, they’d do it without hesitation.

“Why don’t you guess?” he grinned at Amu, bright as sunshine.

Her face twisted with rage.

She suddenly halted her bead-chanting.

Her thumb landed on the skull bead.

“Fine! If you want to die, I’ll grant your wish!”

Boom!

Her prayer beads exploded in the air.

128 blood-red beads hovered in formation, radiating a crimson glow.

“Boundless Formation—activate!”

Biting her tongue, Amu spat a mouthful of blood onto the beads.

The sky darkened as clouds swirled overhead.

The beads ascended rapidly and vanished, while the skull bead swelled to the size of a human head.

Emerald flames flickered in its eye sockets—it was now a full-blown, jade-white skull.

“Within this Boundless Formation, no one escapes! Let’s see how long you last, Chen Fei!” Amu growled.

Despite repeated attempts, she couldn’t sense A-Yue’s location.

Fortunately, her soul lamp still burned—A-Yue was alive.

That meant Chen Fei had used some unique technique to hide her.

Chen Fei glanced up at the sky.

The moment the formation activated, it locked down space entirely.

The only way to escape now would be instantaneous movement or teleportation—neither of which he could pull off.

Surrounded.

The faceless man, the brute, and the stealth assassin formed a deadly triangle around him.

It was a textbook definition of a trap.

Yet Chen Fei showed no fear—he exhaled calmly.

“So she’s really that important to you guys, huh? You brought out this many elites just to deal with me. I’m honestly flattered.”

Amu snorted.

“Good. Then be smart—release her now, and I’ll make your death… painless.”

“You’re no fun,” Chen Fei said seriously.

“You change your tune too fast.”

Just moments ago, she’d said she’d let him live.

Now, she was offering a “less painful” death.

Clearly, the Boundless Formation had given her a surge of confidence.

She huffed and glared coldly.

“You still don’t understand how serious this is. Gu Mu—don’t hold back. Restrain him. I’ll extract the truth from his soul!”

The faceless man nodded.

Blood-red gales began to swirl around his body.

Chen Fei gave him a sidelong glance.

“Gu Mu, huh? Grave Wood? That’s an unlucky name.”

Gu Mu didn’t respond, but the storm around him thickened.

Chen Fei’s expression finally grew serious.

This was getting dangerous.

He might have to use one of his trump cards.

The assassin, A’Duo, had already vanished, becoming a phantom.

Of all his foes, this one was perhaps the most dangerous.

The brute, on the other hand, laughed cruelly.

“Run! Run again, coward! This time I’ll smash your head into paste!”

Chen Fei slowly looked up, locking eyes with him, voice flat:

“You?”

Just that single word—

and the brute exploded with fury.

With a deafening roar, he launched into the air, swinging the cudgel downward like a mountain crashing from the sky.

But at that moment—

Chen Fei’s hands gripped his Edgeless Greatsword tightly.

He exhaled slowly and spoke just two words:

“Open—Heaven!”