Shen Mu immediately wanted to argue his case.
But before he could get another word out, a thunderous collapse echoed from within the cave.
Then, a chilling gleam shot out from the dust-filled, rubble-strewn cave, carrying terrifying yin sword energy that pulverized countless rocks into powder, heading straight for Shen Mu!
“WTF!”
“It’s really coming for me?!”
Sensing the terrifying aura rapidly approaching, Shen Mu let out a colorful curse, instantly activating the Escape Spirit Talisman to flee the plaza at top speed.
Whoosh!
The next moment, a purple-black sword shadow darted out of the cave, leaving an afterimage in front of the two girls as it chased Shen Mu’s direction.
“Hm… Senior Brother really got targeted by that sword, huh?” Lin Yuhe rubbed her chin, her eyes glinting with curiosity and a barely suppressed smile.
I was still wondering how to avoid this sword in the future. Now I don’t have to think about it anymore.
“There must be something on him that’s attracting it,” Chi Ying said, her brows slightly furrowed as she recalled something.
Suddenly, she remembered Shen Mu using that strange black substance to form a giant hammer.
The ominous sword seemed to react strongly only after he used that hammer. Could it be…
“Damn it! This is too much!”
Shen Mu dashed frantically through the ruins, occasionally glancing back.
That glance was enough to make his blood run cold—seeing the Nether Phoenix Sword locked onto him like it had auto-targeting, chasing relentlessly. He was utterly dumbfounded.
“What kind of nonsense is this!” Shen Mu wailed in despair.
Whoosh!
One man and one sword raced through the ancient ruins, always maintaining about a li’s distance.
But human stamina has its limits.
Before he knew it, Shen Mu had reached an open area with broken stone statues, nearing the edge of the ruins’ cliffs.
At this point, his spiritual energy was nearly depleted.
This won’t do. This thing’s chasing me endlessly—I can’t shake it off, like a damn sticky plaster…
If this keeps up, I’ll be chased until my spiritual energy runs dry…
I need to find a way to counter it.
Shen Mu swallowed a third-grade Spirit Gathering Pill, leaped onto a broken stone statue, and hurled five Heavenly Thunder Talismans, unleashing five blue lightning bolts that blasted toward the Nether Phoenix Sword!
Then, he reversed his hand to deploy a Small Five Elements Trap Array Talisman, spreading threads of five-colored light patterns across a three-hundred-zhang radius as a final countermeasure.
“This is my only fifth-grade array talisman. If this can’t suppress you, then I…” Shen Mu had a do-or-die resolve.
If he died today, he refused to become a crazed puppet controlled by an ominous sword—that would be a fate worse than death.
Whoosh!
The purple-black sword shadow sliced through the air, facing the five interwoven blue lightning bolts without dodging, piercing through them with a single thrust and entering the array’s control range.
Buzz!!
Instantly, a hundred-zhang golden spiritual mountain materialized from the void, pressing down to pin the Nether Phoenix Sword into the ground.
But the sword merely slashed out a jet-black sword energy imbued with destructive intent, shattering the mountain in an instant.
“It’s not over yet…”
Shen Mu poured all his strength into activating the array patterns!
A blazing sea of fire engulfed…
A snowy abyss sealed…
Countless weapons surged…
Golden spiritual chains formed a net…
A five-colored cauldron pressed down…
Shen Mu unleashed every variation of the Five Elements in the array, bombarding the Nether Phoenix Sword with all sorts of suppression techniques, momentarily slowing its approach.
But in turn, his third-grade Spirit Gathering Pills were depleting rapidly.
In just the time it takes an incense stick to burn, his pills were nearly gone.
“Ha… ha…”
“Damn it…”
“This thing is ridiculously tough…”
Shen Mu was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, his body swaying slightly as his vision began to blur.
[Use that black substance you turned into a weapon to deal with it. It might be chasing you because of that stuff, breaking its seal to pursue you.]
At the critical moment, Chi Ying’s divine sense transmission made Shen Mu’s eyes widen, a spark of realization dawning as he pieced together why it was fixated on him.
So that’s it…
No wonder it’s sticking to me—it’s because of the Myriad Transformation Divine Essence.
“Phew…”
Shen Mu swallowed his last Spirit Gathering Pill, transforming the Myriad Transformation Divine Essence in his palm into a jet-black spear. A glint of determination flashed in his eyes as a faint breeze swirled around him, deciding to take a risky gamble.
“Alright… since you want it so badly, I’ll give it to you.”
Riding the wind, Shen Mu leaped forward fearlessly, thrusting his spear toward the Nether Phoenix Sword!
The sword, as if provoked, erupted with monstrous killing intent, slashing a blood-red sword light through the void, its blade reaching Shen Mu’s throat in an instant…
A mere hair’s breadth from his neck.
But at this critical moment, Shen Mu’s lips curled upward slightly.
Whoosh!
The Nether Phoenix Sword sliced through Shen Mu’s throat effortlessly, yet not a drop of blood was shed, plunging the world into a brief silence.
But…
The next moment, Shen Mu’s body, struck by the blade, didn’t split apart. Instead, it began to fade, gradually dissipating.
“A weapon full of ferocity is ultimately a beast without rational judgment, acting only on instinct…”
A faint voice echoed in the void.
Specks of strange black substance had already attached to the sword’s blade, spreading rapidly to cover its entire body, sealing it completely without a gap.
It looked as if the sword had been forced into heavy black armor, like a black cross plunged into the ground with a dull thud.
Buzz… buzz…
The Nether Phoenix Sword trembled on the ground, emitting waves of killing aura, struggling to break free from the Myriad Transformation Divine Essence’s restraint.
But no matter how it tried, it couldn’t escape the seal.
“Looks like I bet right.”
As the five-colored array patterns flickered, Shen Mu’s true figure materialized, stepping toward the “black-armored” sealed Nether Phoenix Sword.
Seeing it no longer posed a threat to his life, Shen Mu let out a long sigh of relief. “Phew~~~”
“Finally got it to calm down for a bit.”
At that moment, the two girls, who had been watching from afar, leaped over as the battle ended.
“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. You’re really something,” Chi Ying said with a slight smile, her eyes full of admiration and satisfaction.
“Thanks to Sister Chi Ying’s reminder, I was able to think of this effective countermeasure in time,” Shen Mu replied, tactfully avoiding any hint of arrogance.
Hearing this, Chi Ying was in high spirits, her tone light. “How about you just stick with me from now on? Forget those restrictive sects full of rules.”
She was growing fonder of this human.
At first glance, his cultivation aptitude seemed mediocre at best.
But his performance along the way—aside from aptitude—was nearly flawless in every other aspect.
Having someone like him by her side would make her long journey home not only easier but also far more enjoyable.
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