“I’m just here to see what’s going on.”
Lin Yuhe shifted her gaze to the hooded man inside the barrier. “This guy’s a rogue cultivator, right?”
“Whether he is or not, we’ll know once we ask.”
Shen Mu waved his arm, and the thunder talisman in his fingers transformed into streaks of electric light, forming thunder patterns that hovered above the man’s head, ready to unleash bolts at any moment.
“Explain clearly why you’re following me and why you’re showing killing intent, and I might spare your life.”
The man’s eyes darkened, a defiant glint in them, showing no intention of yielding.
“Winner takes all. Since I’ve been outsmarted by a junior like you, I have nothing to say…” His voice turned low and hoarse as he burned his blood essence, his eyes taking on a blood-red hue…
His body was enveloped in a bloody aura, his violent energy surging, unleashing a ripple of crimson energy!
For a moment, it broke through the spirit-suppressing toxin’s effect on his meridians!
“I admit I was careless this time, not expecting a Qi Refining kid like you to have such guts and tricks.”
“But… with just this, you can’t take me down!”
A strange fire-patterned blood seal appeared on the man’s forehead, his green-patterned spiritual sword turning blood-red, his eyes glowing with an eerie crimson light.
Burning blood essence…
Shen Mu’s expression turned grave. He immediately activated the thunder patterns, sending several arm-thick sky-blue thunderbolts crashing down on the man!
Then, he pushed Lin Yuhe behind him, urging in a low voice, “Junior Sister, you won’t get to watch the show this time. Get out of here!”
“What about you, Senior Brother?”
Shen Mu looked at the blood-red figure still standing under the barrage of thunderbolts, a faint smirk of growing interest forming on his lips.
“I told you… let me have the experience.”
This was his first time facing an opponent burning their blood essence in a life-or-death fight—perfect for honing his current skills.
Plus, he needed to get a feel for a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s strength in advance.
“…”
“Alright, take it easy.”
Lin Yuhe knew he wasn’t one to gamble with his life recklessly, so she quickly leapt away while the man was still trapped.
After all, her body was still in a weakened state, and joining a cross-realm battle like this wasn’t wise.
A while later.
As the thunder patterns faded, the lightning striking the man dissipated.
Yet the man’s bloody aura remained, still brimming with ferocity, seemingly unscathed by the third-grade thunder talisman.
“Such arrogance. Let’s see how much strength you, a Qi Refining kid, really have!”
He refused to believe that, even after burning his blood essence with a trump-card secret technique, he couldn’t handle a cocky Qi Refining brat.
If he couldn’t win, his century of cultivation would be for nothing.
Swish swish!
The man’s blood-red eyes gleamed coldly as he slashed out two crimson strikes, instantly cracking the sky-blue barrier like a spiderweb.
Then, his figure surged, becoming a blood-red blur in an instant!
A lethal sword strike, like a red thread of death slicing through the void, pierced the barrier and aimed straight for Shen Mu’s head!
Shen Mu focused intently, his gaze calm, faint breezes stirring silently at his feet. His figure flickered, moving with incredible speed, like an elusive phantom wind, passing the man…
Perfectly dodging the blood-red sword laced with deadly intent.
But the man’s assault didn’t stop.
Missing his strike, he immediately cast a spell, splitting two sword-wielding blood shadows from his body. Locking onto the fast-moving Shen Mu with divine sense, they chased and flanked him!
“He’s really a guy who loves high-stakes thrills.”
Lin Yuhe, riding a small flying spiritual boat high in the sky, looked down at the forest battle, rivaling one between Foundation Establishment cultivators, murmuring with a hint of awe.
[Oh my… but he’s got real skills to dare face an enemy like this.]
“Hey, who do you think has the upper hand?” she asked curiously.
[By common sense, a Foundation Establishment cultivator against a Qi Refining one is a guaranteed crushing victory.]
[But your Senior Brother defies common sense in every way.]
[So, I can’t say who’ll win, but with his current speed, escaping shouldn’t be an issue.]
“…”
Seeing him hold his own against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Lin Yuhe began to ponder.
I wonder what would happen if he went all out against Jiang Ling.
He’d probably… have a shot at winning, right?
Swish!
In the forest, the plain-clothed man rode his sword, his two blood-red shadows rapidly closing in on Shen Mu, unleashing dozens of sharp blood-red sword qi!
Each strike was razor-sharp, cutting through nearly anything.
But Shen Mu, riding the wind, moved with incredible agility, dodging like a nimble monkey, every sword qi narrowly missing him.
“All you do is dodge like a rat!” Frustrated that his attacks were effortlessly evaded, the man’s already foul mood grew angrier.
“If you can’t even hit a rat, doesn’t that make you worse than one?”
Shen Mu switched to taunt mode, reaching back to flash a gesture the man didn’t understand but felt deeply insulted by.
“You sharp-tongued punk!”
The man’s anger flared, veins bulging on his forehead as he grew increasingly heated.
He intensified his blood essence burning, his blood shadows and sword speed surging, covering hundreds of meters in an instant, catching up to Shen Mu.
But Shen Mu suddenly leapt upward, a pitch-black spiritual sword appearing in his hand. Crushing a divine-shielding talisman, his figure vanished from the man’s sight.
“What!”
The man’s pupils contracted, his divine sense unable to track Shen Mu.
“Ah!”
The next moment, a whooshing sound passed his ear, and a sword mark appeared on his back, seeping blood, making him cry out in pain.
“Damn you!”
“All you’ve got are these sneaky, lowlife tricks!?”
The man scanned his surroundings, his furious words tinged with a sense of being pushed to his limit.
This sword didn’t do much damage, but it was highly insulting.
“In a life-or-death fight, what’s lowlife or not?”
Shen Mu lightly stepped onto a nearby giant tree’s branch, his expression cold, a drop of blood sliding down his black sword.
His physical strength is high—tougher than that corpse ghost…
Is it because of that strange blood-burning secret technique?
Sigh…
Looks like crossing a major realm to fight still requires relying on high-tier treasures or secret techniques.
“…”
“If you’ve got the guts, stop running!”
The man realized he couldn’t stop Shen Mu if he chose to escape.
No wonder the bounty on him was unusually high—this Qi Refining kid was a real challenge.
At this moment, he regretted taking this bounty mission.
“I never planned to keep running.”
As he spoke, Shen Mu’s eyes flickered with gray-white spiritual patterns, his spiritual energy surging. His figure flashed, actively attacking.
Seeing this, the man was elated, quickly activating a third-grade trapping array talisman, instantly enveloping a three-hundred-meter radius in array patterns.
“You’re not escaping this time!”
“…”
Shen Mu said nothing, his pitch-black spiritual sword clashing directly with the man’s blood-patterned sword, shedding its black guise to reveal the Nether Phoenix Sword’s true form!
A wave of eerie, mind-disturbing incantations rippled from the blade, instantly seizing control of the man’s mind.
His blood-red eyes dulled, losing their spark…
His arms went limp, hanging like a puppet on strings.