Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Under the cover of darkness, Gu Daozhao and Yan Wenjiu's group had sneaked close to Yangjiazhuang and spread out to conduct a series of reconnaissance missions to ensure they could infiltrate silently and kill everyone in Yangjiazhuang.

The attack on Zhou Qingfeng was undoubtedly like waving a tiger's tail, so everyone encountered in this operation had to be killed. There could be no eyewitnesses left at the scene, and no body could be left behind.

After a quick reconnaissance, the group gathered in the bushes about a hundred feet away from the back gate of Yangjiazhuang.

Gu Daozhao crouched in the grass and whispered, "The manor gates are wide open and there's not a single guard. It's like inviting us into a trap. Could it be that Zhou Qingfeng already knows we're coming to ambush us and has set a trap for us?"

Yan Wenjiu was dressed in a black robe and wore a mask, so no one could see his expression.

At this moment, Yan Wenjiu was also somewhat surprised and uncertain, unsure of what the situation was.

Leaving the back door open in the middle of the night doesn't seem right at all.

In the blink of an eye, countless possibilities flashed through my mind.

To be on the safe side, Yan Wenjiu said, "Gu Daozhao, send two skilled men in to check the situation."

Upon hearing this, Gu Daozhao beckoned to his two brothers and instructed them, "A-Jie, A-Hu, be careful."

"Don't worry, Brother Gu." A-Jie and A-Hu nodded slightly. Both of them were former guards of the prince and their cultivation was quite good. Even though they only had half of their strength left, they were still cultivators of the Devouring Fiend Realm.

The two formed hand seals, became invisible on the spot, and flew low towards Yangjiazhuang with the breeze.

Walking leaves footprints and footsteps, while flying fast, even when invisible, will stir up a gust of wind and easily attract attention. Conversely, flying slowly with the wind allows one to infiltrate silently.

After a short wait, Ah Jie and Ah Hu returned and reappeared from the bushes.

Gu Daozhao asked, "How was it? Were there any traps or ambushes?"

Ah Jie said, "Brother Gu, there's no one here, and no traps. It seems like something terrible happened in Yangjiazhuang. There's blood and fallen magical artifacts on the roads and walls inside the village, but we didn't see a single corpse."

Upon hearing this, Gu Daozhao looked at Yan Wenjiu with suspicion: "Could it be that besides us, there was a second group of people who attacked Zhou Qingfeng, and they acted before us?"

Yan Wenjiu said hoarsely, "I don't know. Let's go in and check the situation first. We'll find out by grabbing a few prisoners and asking them questions."

Gu Daozhao remained silent, then beckoned to his brothers to follow Yan Wenjiu into Yang Family Village.

Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened as soon as they stepped inside.

The heavy back door suddenly closed automatically, and a huge array pattern rose above, like a transparent cyan magic shield that fit perfectly with the edge of the manor wall. The outer wall of the manor, the main gate, the street walls, and the paving stones on the road all revealed a large number of cyan array patterns.

"Oh no, this is a trap." Upon seeing this, Gu Daozhao and his group were briefly thrown into disarray, forming hand seals to prepare for battle. However, after waiting for a while, no enemy attacked.

Everyone then realized it was just a false alarm; the clan-protecting formation in front of them wasn't aimed at them. Otherwise, the enemies lying in ambush around them would have swarmed in long ago, instead of remaining so calm and undisturbed.

Yan Wenjiu glanced around, squatted down and touched the floor tiles that shimmered with blue array patterns, and chuckled: "The Yang family is really hiding their true strength. They have actually turned the entire manor into the foundation of a clan-protecting array."

He withdrew his hand, shook his black robe, straightened up and said, "Don't panic. The people in the manor are probably facing a life-or-death crisis. Otherwise, they wouldn't have activated the clan-protecting formation. No one will care about us now."

Upon hearing this, the group adjusted their posture briefly and then cautiously continued their stealthy advance.

Yan Wenjiu and Gu Daozhao are both cultivators at the Poison Realm, so they are least affected by the Fiend-level clan-protecting formation. They can basically ignore the interference and suppression of the formation, and can even tear a gap in the formation at any time to escape.

However, cultivators like A-Jie and A-Hu, who were at the Devouring Fiend Realm, did not fare so well.

They crept forward, searching as they went, but they found no living person, no corpse. The whole village was like a dead village. Suddenly, they faintly heard a sound like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.

"There are people over there, let's go that way!" The group immediately ran quickly in the direction of the sound.

Yan Wenjiu hid at the very back, urging Gu Daozhao and his men to charge ahead.

On the other side of the sound source.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die..." Yang Dalang held his magic sword and ran wildly, leaping over walls and over courtyards. Without array talismans to protect him, he was still affected by the array and could not shake off the relentless horde of corpses chasing after him.

Fortunately, in critical moments, he was able to quickly relocate using his escape skills, narrowly escaping from the horde of corpses several times. In addition, thanks to his familiarity with Zhuangzi, he was still able to continue dancing on the edge of a knife.

But this can't go on forever, because these green-skinned zombies have countless chances to make mistakes, but he only has one life and one chance. If he makes a mistake, he will be eaten to bits by the zombie horde.

We must find a chance to shake off these zombies and go back to regroup.

As they were running, a group of strangers suddenly appeared in front of them.

Yang Dalang stopped abruptly, his face showing surprise and doubt, and asked urgently, "Who are you?"

"Catch him, don't let him get away." Yan Wenjiu raised his hand and gave the order.

Upon hearing this, Gu Daozhao calmly waved his hand: "Go!"

Upon receiving their leader's orders, Ah Jie and Ah Hu immediately swarmed forward, using either magic to trap or supernatural powers to capture Yang Dalang. Yang Dalang's expression changed drastically as he realized that these people who had infiltrated Yang Family Village were no good.

But he didn't have time to think, because not only were the people in front of him coming to capture him, but a horde of eight hundred green-skinned zombies was also rapidly chasing after him, leaving him no room to hesitate.

Yang Dalang decisively changed direction, nimbly scaling the wall to cross the courtyard, climbing onto the roof, and then turning back to look at the group of outsiders who wanted to capture him alive, leaving behind the words: "Stop chasing me, run!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the horde of eight hundred green-skinned zombies rushed out of the alley. The impact of their crashing into the walls and slamming into the ground created a vacuum in the vicinity, generating a large number of sparks.

“Awooo~~” The horde of corpses roared wildly as it charged toward Yan Wenjiu and his group.

"Damn it, where did all these Fiend-level zombies come from?!" The cultivators at the Fiend Realm present all changed their expressions drastically, some casting spells to attack and others to defend, their spells flying wildly in an attempt to stop the Fiend-level zombies.

On the contrary, when faced with such a terrifying horde of Fiend-level zombies, cultivators at the Fiend-Eating Realm would die one by one, or even two at a time. They might not be able to escape, let alone confront them head-on, which would be tantamount to courting death.

Within a breath, Ah Hu and Ah Jie, two cultivators at the Devouring Fiend Realm, were engulfed by the horde of corpses, their screams echoing across the sky.

Yan Wenjiu, wrapped in a black robe, stood at the back, showing no intention of making a move to help.

Seeing this, Gu Daozhao could not bear to watch his brother die a gruesome death. He immediately snorted coldly, stepped forward, released his magic power, his body surrounded by purple light, and formed hand seals to cast a spell: "Enemy attack, protect, no harm!"

P.S.: I can't write a 12-word chapter today. It's almost midnight, so I'll just post one chapter first.