“…”
After formally parting with Shen Mu, Jiang Ning’er watched his departing figure, her once gentle and clear eyes gradually darkening.
Brother Shen Mu, once I personally deal with those people, I’ll confess everything to you, and we’ll be together properly.
So, until then, you mustn’t run into any trouble.
And, of course…
You can’t go around being unfaithful.
Her peripheral vision inadvertently swept over a shadowy alley corner, revealing a trace of coldness.
“Hiss…”
Leaving Tianjian City, Shen Mu inexplicably shivered, feeling as if something was watching him.
But when he scanned his surroundings, the sensation mysteriously faded, leaving him puzzled.
Was it my imagination?
Shen Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly, his nerves tensing as a cautious expression crept onto his face.
Looks like I can’t let my guard down while out here…
He swiftly darted into a dense forest, retrieving a black robe from his storage ring that concealed his aura and donned it to mask his cultivation level.
Then, he put on a black mask that blocked divine sense, preventing others from recognizing or memorizing his true appearance.
After completing these precautions, he moved quickly through the forest, finding a secluded thicket to sit cross-legged in.
He waited for nightfall to set out under cover of darkness.
“Tch~”
“He’s really not your average cautious guy.”
On a lush, towering tree, a golden-haired girl with bright eyes stood on a branch, her golden locks swaying in the wind as she gazed into the dense forest, clicking her tongue lightly.
[You didn’t reveal yourself to him back in Tianjian City and instead followed that mysterious girl. Now you’ve lost track of both, haven’t you?]
“No choice. I didn’t expect that guy’s divine sense to be so sharp, detecting my presence from two or three miles away.”
Lin Yuhe shook her head slightly, letting out a helpless sigh.
[I told you that girl wasn’t an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but you insisted on tailing her.]
[You’re lucky she didn’t kill you with one sword strike.]
“If she truly meant to kill me, that sword would’ve come down already.”
Though recalling how that girl appeared behind her like a ghost, pressing a cold sword edge to her neck, still sent shivers down her spine.
But since the sword didn’t fall, it was clear the girl knew something about her.
Perhaps…
They had met somewhere before.
[Fine, you’ve already made your oath, so she probably won’t come after you again for now.]
[You should focus on finding a needle in a haystack. I can’t detect his aura anymore.]
“…”
Lin Yuhe silently stared at the dense forest, her expression troubled.
A few days later.
Hundred Demons Forest.
Several young men and women in white moon robes, with varying cultivation levels, were flying on swords over a spiritual lake, besieging a crimson-gold spiritual toad over ten zhang long.
They formed hand seals, unleashing a variety of colorful techniques that bombarded the toad’s body.
However, a faint, hazy light membrane covered the toad’s surface, causing their attacks to dissolve into crimson mist, unable to harm it in the slightest.
“Senior Sister! This Crimson Spirit Treasure Toad’s defense seems to directly neutralize our spiritual energy. We can’t hurt it!” a plain-looking man in a black robe shouted to a tall, blue-haired woman.
“Form the Heavenly Moon Sword Array!”
The blue-haired woman immediately issued the command, standing her sword before her and chanting an incantation. Strands of silver light appeared around her, instantly forming a sky-blue sword array spanning a hundred zhang.
The other cultivators followed suit, standing their swords and chanting incantations, blue spiritual light dots gathering into the array!
At the array’s center, a twenty-zhang-wide, radiant silver moon slowly formed, emitting chilling sword qi that pierced to the bone…
“Gu… gu…”
Sensing the icy sword qi filling the surroundings, the crimson-gold toad’s pale golden demon pupils contracted, as if realizing the array’s threat. It began puffing its cheeks, its abdomen glowing faintly red.
“Qua—!”
After a moment, the toad opened its mouth, spewing a massive cloud of crimson-black mist that spread to everyone present within three breaths!
“Not good!”
One cultivator inhaled a wisp of the crimson-black mist, cried out in alarm, his expression changing drastically. His pupils shrank, he coughed up black blood, his spiritual energy flow disrupted, and he plummeted into the lake.
“Ah!”
Another cultivator, entangled by the crimson-black mist, screamed as his body and sword fell uncontrollably into the water.
Splash!
Splash!
As the crimson-black mist spread rapidly, more array-forming cultivators fell into the lake, unconscious.
The blue-haired woman leading the array saw her fellow disciples dropping one by one, feeling her spiritual energy draining like a flood. Pressure surged, sweat beading on her forehead.
“Damn beast!”
She cursed, channeling all her spiritual energy into the array, transforming the radiant silver moon into a massive silver moon-shadow sword, slashing down as the crimson-black mist neared her!
Buzz!
The next moment, a dazzling crimson-gold glow surged from the toad’s skin, forming a scale-like crimson-gold barrier around it, forcibly blocking the moon-shadow sword’s strike!
Boom!
In an instant, a wave of spiritual energy swept outward like a tidal surge, stirring up water waves dozens of meters high, shaking the surrounding forest!
“Cough, cough!”
“Too late…”
Having inhaled some of the crimson-black mist, the woman’s face paled, coughing up a large amount of black blood. Her body fell through the air like a broken kite, her eyelids trembling as her consciousness faded.
Looks like trying to subdue this thing with Foundation Establishment cultivation was too ambitious…
Listening to the whistling wind in her ears as she fell, the blue-haired woman felt a growing sense of helplessness.
Whoosh!
But as her eyes began to close, she vaguely saw a black shadow flash past…
Then, a gentle wave of spiritual energy enveloped her, pushing her toward the grassy shore, where she landed softly, spared from plunging into the deep lake.
Immediately after, a series of loud thuds like massive impacts echoed in her ears, along with…
The toad’s wailing croaks.
“Qua—!”
In a forest one or two miles from the lake, the crimson-gold toad rolled several times, crashing into a century-old tree before stopping. It let out another pained wail, closed its eyes, and seemed to faint.
Soon after, a black-masked man in black robes appeared.
Holding a black, patterned giant ruler, he leisurely walked to the toad’s rear, aimed at the center of its backside, and gave it a light kick.
“Hey! Don’t play dead with me. Keep pretending, and I’ll make you fly again!”
“…”
The crimson-gold toad showed no reaction, maintaining its “I’m powerless” fainted act.
“Fine, fine, fine… looks like you really want to experience flying.” The man unhurriedly shifted his stance, transforming the black, patterned giant ruler into a giant hammer.
He gripped the hammer’s handle with both hands, lightly pressing its cold surface against the toad’s backside, stretching his neck a few times.
“I’ll count to three. Get ready.”
“Three…”
“Two…”
With each count, the cold hammer pressed harder against the toad’s backside, causing its body to tremble slightly.
“One!”
The man gave a light shout, swinging the giant hammer down toward the toad’s rear!
“I surrender!”