SSS rank Mother-In-Law to an Invincible Family

They had noticed the dwindling number of their comrades and were preparing to sound the alarm. But the Serpents were faster.

Before the group could react, two Shadow Serpents dropped from the rooftops, their blades flashing in the moonlight.

The first Serpent landed silently behind the nearest evil cultivator, her dagger slicing through his throat before he could even draw a breath to shout.

The second Serpent moved just as quickly, dispatching the next two with swift, brutal efficiency. The evil cultivators didn't even have time to draw their weapons.

Blood splattered across the stone walls of the alley, but the Serpents remained silent, their faces expressionless as they cleaned their blades and melted back into the shadows.

A moment later, both Serpents pulled out their vials of poison, each dropping a single bead of liquid onto the bodies. In seconds, the corpses dissolved, breaking down into tiny particles.

As the particles evaporated into the air, the Serpents slipped away, leaving no trace of the massacre behind.

Other groups of Serpents were busy at work on the edges of the city, near the formation nodes.

These evil cultivators were stationed at the heart of the formation, tasked with maintaining the flow of Spiritual Qi into the sacrificial circle.

They were more powerful and skilled than the lower-level members stationed throughout the city, but they were still no match for the Serpents.

In one node, hidden beneath the floor of a popular inn, the evil cultivators were preparing to activate the final phase of the formation.

They had no idea their comrades outside had already been eliminated.

The room was dimly lit, the air thick with dark energy as they chanted quietly, their hands moving in intricate patterns to maintain the flow of Spiritual Qi.

But just as they reached the ritual's final step, the room doors were flung open.

Before they could react, the Serpents stormed in. Their blades glinted in the dim light, and before the evil cultivators could rise to defend themselves, they were swiftly cut down.

The Shadow Serpents moved with precision, leaving no room for counterattacks. Once again, the bodies were dissolved with poison, evaporating into nothingness.

They then attacked the crystal ball—the formation's node. As the node was dismantled, the Spiritual Qi that had been feeding the formation was cut off.

This same scene played out at several other key locations throughout the city.

The formation nodes were hidden beneath seemingly innocuous places—a merchant's warehouse, a food stall, a shrine—yet all were designed to channel the city's Spiritual Qi into the sacrificial formation.

Each node was guarded by skilled evil cultivators, but none could withstand the Serpents' deadly efficiency.

However, the main node, which controlled the entire formation, was hidden beneath the city lord's mansion.

Unknown to most, the city lord was a sub-head of the evil organization. For a year, he had quietly recruited low-level cultivators from the city into the organization.

After a year of recruitment, all the willing cultivators had been brought into the fold.

But as the number of willing recruits dwindled and he could no longer find low-level cultivators willing to join his cause, he made a dark and final decision.

The city lord planned to sacrifice the entire city.

The formation would drain the life force of every resident, converting it into pure Yang energy that he would gift to the leader of his organization.

In return, he would be rewarded—either with a portion of the Yang energy or by being sent to a different continent to start a new branch.

To cover his tracks, he would fake his own death, allowing him to disappear and claim his reward without anyone searching for him. It was a foolproof plan—or so he thought.

The city lord stood in a secret chamber beneath the mansion, hidden under layers of stone.

His hands moved in intricate patterns, releasing dark spiritual energy from his body and the bodies of his subordinates, filling the air as he activated the main node of the formation.

The air around him thrummed with power as the dark energy of the sacrificial circle began to flow.

He could feel the Spiritual Qi being drawn from the other nodes around the city, slowly converging toward him.

He smirked to himself, lost in thoughts of his soon-to-be unparalleled power. "Fools," he muttered. "They celebrate while I sacrifice them. Humans are such simple creatures."

He said this because, like most evil cultivators, he did not consider himself human. They saw themselves as higher beings trapped in human bodies, waiting to emerge from their cocoons.

This mindset also explained why they felt nothing when sacrificing humans—some even sacrificed their own loved ones for a greater boost.

But such individuals were rare, as most evil cultivators had few close ties for various reasons, so few knew of this extreme method.

Unbeknownst to him, a single figure approached the city lord's mansion with purpose. But this was no ordinary Serpent.

She was the vice-leader of the Shadow Serpents, known as "The Silent Viper."

Summoned using a Myth card—one of the rarest and most powerful—her presence commanded authority wherever she went. Her name was Xu Lian.

Yes, she carried the Xu family surname, which Xu Qianghua had approved.

Not only was she a summon from a Myth Family card, but she also had the leadership qualities necessary to command the Shadow Serpents.

Xu Lian's dark robes flowed behind her as she moved silently through the city lord's estate, easily bypassing guards.

She made her way to the hidden entrance beneath the mansion, her Spiritual Sense guiding her to the secret chamber where the city lord was preparing to complete the ritual.

As she approached the chamber's entrance, she felt the heavy pressure of the spiritual energy gathering inside.

But it didn't faze her. Instead, she calmly dispelled the evil energy from the air, leaving only pure Spiritual Qi in her wake.