"Ah!—It's Interpol! Elder Andrew, we've been targeted! What do we do now?" Warren Cloud nervously whispered to Andrew Qi.
Andrew Qi stayed silent. Facing the muzzles of the SWAT officers, his weathered face shifted between gloom and resolve, his shadowed eyes glinting sharply as he surveyed the scene. Finally, he locked his gaze onto the Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon brothers and said coldly, "Hmph! I didn't expect you two to turn traitor and become police lapdogs—all buddy-buddy with the cops now, huh?"
Lean Tiger, Gavin Strong, waved his hand with righteous bravado and said, "Hey—don't put it that way! The two of us are crime-busters now, here to take down villains like you!"
Warren Cloud, standing nearby, was so furious he nearly jumped up to strangle him. "Bullshit! Save it! You two have committed just as many crimes as we have!"
At that moment, Jade Swann stepped forward, her pretty face cold as she said sharply, "Enough talk! I advise you all to surrender immediately—otherwise, don't blame us if things get rough!"
A murderous glint flashed in Andrew Qi's eyes as he replied in a deep voice, "Heh, little girl, you think you and these cops can take us down? Keep dreaming!"
Then, turning to Warren Cloud, he ordered, "Elder Warren, you and Elder Guo fall back—quickly!"
Warren Cloud nodded in understanding and was about to call out to Xiao Yuan, but suddenly noticed that Xiao Yuan, who had been beside him, had slipped away unnoticed. Looking around, he saw Xiao Yuan cautiously making his way toward Daniel Nagumo by the hot spring pool.
"Uh—Elder Andrew, Guo Linfeng just headed over there! No idea what he's up to," Warren Cloud said.
Andrew Qi paused, glancing across the hot spring pool, and saw Xiao Yuan sneaking up behind Daniel Nagumo, who was intently casting dark magic. At that moment, Daniel Nagumo was using one hand to activate the Nine-Chrysanthemum Soul Snare, while the other hand performed Corpse Control Spell incantations, commanding two Zombie Maidens to repeatedly crash into the Five Elements Demon Ward Array set up by Luna Xiao.
The two Zombie Maidens furiously charged at the barrier, clawing and snapping. Each time they slammed into the barrier, a ripple of white light would bounce them right back. But they just kept coming, looking downright savage!
Inside the barrier, Luna Xiao was running out of qi, her forced energy nearly exhausted. The 'Softbone Powder' poison she'd suppressed was spreading again, making her limbs go weak. The Zombie Maidens' attacks were relentless. May Gu, though clear-headed, was also poisoned and couldn't fight. Without the barrier, they'd already be dead. Luna Xiao had to desperately push her qi to resist Daniel Nagumo’s dark magic, barely holding on, praying for a miracle—
Andrew Qi saw Xiao Yuan’s weird moves and sensed trouble. He shouted, "Guo Fenglin! What are you doing over there?—Daniel, watch out!"
Xiao Yuan was already sneaking up behind Daniel Nagumo. Hearing Andrew Qi’s shout, Daniel spun around to see what was happening—but before he could react, Xiao Yuan darted forward, rushing to the edge of the Nine-Chrysanthemum Soul Snare and swiftly yanked out one of the dark green bamboo stakes planted in the ground.
Boom! The once-impenetrable Nine-Chrysanthemum Soul Snare burst like a broken dam, releasing a flood of black demonic energy. Luna Xiao, struggling inside the array, suddenly felt the crushing pressure lift.
"You bastard! What are you doing?! How dare you break my formation!!" Daniel Nagumo hadn’t expected someone to mess things up at this critical moment. Furious, he raised his hand to command the two Zombie Maidens to attack Xiao Yuan.
But Xiao Yuan didn’t care—he didn’t back off, he charged straight at Daniel Nagumo, bracing himself for action.
He quickly closed in behind Daniel Nagumo. Daniel’s spells were powerful, but his martial arts were nothing special. He never expected Xiao Yuan to sneak up so "shamelessly"—and now it was too late to defend himself—
Xiao Yuan raised the dark green bamboo stick. Daniel Nagumo’s eyes went wide with terror. "You, you want—"
"Yep, I want to bust your chrysanthemum!" Xiao Yuan sneered, then drove the bamboo stick hard into Daniel Nagumo’s backside—he’d aimed perfectly!
Daniel Nagumo let out a scream like a slaughtered pig—no faking it, this was pure agony straight from his soul! He felt a pain so intense it tore through his bones and spirit. He’d never felt anything like this before—his precious chrysanthemum, nurtured for over twenty years, was in full bloom! No words could describe the pain. At last, he understood the true meaning of 'busting the chrysanthemum' in Chinese culture—a lesson paid for in blood!
"Bullseye! Right in the chrysanthemum! So you’re Nine-Chrysanthemum Sect, huh? Well, I’m the Busting-Chrysanthemum Sect! Oh yeah—" Xiao Yuan cheered, struck a victory pose, and then gave Daniel Nagumo a hard kick, sending him flying.
Thud—Daniel Nagumo, poor guy, was kicked headlong into the hot spring. With his control broken, the two Zombie Maidens collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"Well, I knew I picked the right guy—" Luna Xiao smiled in relief, her nerves finally relaxing. Her body went limp and she sank to the ground. Xiao Yuan rushed over, gently asking, "Are you okay!?"
As he spoke, he reached out to help her up. But Luna Xiao quickly said, "I'm fine, just don’t touch me! My body’s off-limits to men! May Gu, help me up!"
May Gu did as asked, helping Luna Xiao to her feet. Seeing Xiao Yuan’s confused look, May Gu laughed and explained, "Don’t get the wrong idea. Chief Xiao has the 'Nine Yin Severed Veins' condition—if a regular man touches her, it’ll drain her life force!"
"Oh—so what kind of guy isn’t a regular man then?" Xiao Yuan couldn’t help but ask, curious.
"Uh—that’s a long story. Andrew Qi’s about to unleash his magic! Let’s get out of here!" Luna Xiao had already spotted Andrew Qi across the way, his hair and beard bristling, muscles flexing, and that Eight-Armed Insect God Black Rakshasa tattoo writhing like it was alive. The whole area was suddenly filled with a wicked, sinister energy.