The lightning snake, its scales thick as iron, tore through layer after layer of rock, its fangs bared in a terrifying roar as it spat out several bolts of lightning.
"Use fire magic!"
Xu Mu shouted, forcing down the numbness in his body as he summoned the Eight Trigram Disk, shifting the lightning snake's position to the Xun (Wind) trigram. This symbolized wind and wood, while his own position became Li (Fire).
In the principles of the Five Elements' generation and restraint, fire magic was the counter to wood. Furthermore, the convergence of wind and fire would unleash even greater power. This was why Xu Mu chose to use fire magic.
"Rumble!!"
Zuo Mingqiu formed a circle with his thumb and index finger, brought it to his lips, and then roared out a long stream of purple flames, falling like a cascading waterfall.
Upon contact with the lightning snake's body, the flames suddenly intensified. Wind and fire merged, reaching the heavens, and the wood fueled the inferno. The flames even ignited the scales on the snake's body and spread along the lightning.
"This is the Innate Eight Trigrams!"
Zuo Mingqiu gazed behind him at the lightning snake, temporarily repelled by his attack, and his heart trembled violently.
Although he had previously imagined his combat power soaring after learning the Lian Shan Yi Shu, confident he could defeat Xu Mu, he still found it incredible after personally experiencing the might of the Innate Eight Trigrams.
"This is just borrowing your strength," Zuo Mingqiu turned to look at Xu Mu, whose face was pale with shock as he manipulated the array disk. His gaze then gradually firmed.
"How long have you been practicing the Lian Shan Yi Shu?"
"About ten years," Xu Mu replied truthfully.
Zuo Mingqiu's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Did you start cultivating from a young age?"
"No, you obtained the inheritance from the depths of the western mountains in the Realm of Dark Night, after the appearance of the Dark Palace. Where did you get ten years to cultivate?"
As Xu Mu was about to explain, a series of explosions suddenly echoed in his ears. Immediately after, the underground rock layers within ten thousand meters of their vision all erupted.
The cause of this eruption was none other than the lightning serpent, transformed from a lightning vein. It had pulled its entire body from underground, its scales expanding outwards by several meters. It thrashed with all its might, churning the earth, and terrifying lightning spread indiscriminately, turning solid rock into powder.
"This snake is furious!" Xu Mu's eyes widened. He quickly circulated the Innate Eight Trigrams technique, while Zuo Mingqiu also prepared a fire spell, causing the temperature of the entire space to rise sharply, the invisible steam hazing the surrounding earth.
However, both Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu knew in their hearts that they would gain no advantage in this confrontation. The lightning snake was at the peak of the fourth stage, while they were only at the third stage.
Even with the advantage of time and place, they would be pulverized by the terrifying lightning. Their only goal was to survive, to not be crushed into dust, and to escape to the surface, attracting the attention of the Thunder Pool's guardians, only then could they be saved.
The terrifying lightning arrived, seemingly capable of destroying everything. Zuo Mingqiu's fire also spewed forth, creating a vast circle of purple fire sea around them.
Within the sea of fire, an arrow shot out.
Its surface was inscribed with the character Gen, imbued with the power of the Great Dao rules of wind and fire in space, and it flew directly towards the lightning snake's eyes.
As if sensing the threat, the lightning snake's attack abruptly halted. It roared and spat out a bolt of lightning, colliding with the Great Dao arrow.
"Boom!"
Wind, fire, and lightning flashed underground, pulverizing countless mineral ores and sending Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu flying for countless meters. The Gen formation dissipated, and both were simultaneously embedded in the underground rock layers, their mouths and noses covered in dirt.
"Pah!"
Xu Mu finally absorbed the excess lightning elements and regained his mobility. The Gen character was once again beneath his feet. He grabbed Zuo Mingqiu and continued to flee upwards.
The giant snake was still in pursuit behind them.
Xu Mu's speed underground was significantly faster than Zuo Mingqiu's, but he still couldn't outrun the snake, only barely dodging its attacks.
Soon, they were only a thousand meters from the surface.
And in the previous moment, the snake's tongue had snatched away Zuo Mingqiu's shoe. If he hadn't retracted his leg, he would have already met his end in the snake's maw!
"Faster!!!" Zuo Mingqiu roared, his face ashen. He continuously unleashed wind and fire magic, but the lightning snake seemed to have become immune, unable to hinder its progress.
At this rate, by the time the lightning snake lunged again, they would surely be devoured.
"I can't go any faster!" Xu Mu gritted his teeth, his expression grim. He had already unleashed his full speed. When Zuo Mingqiu attacked, he would shift his position to Li (Fire) to launch an attack, and the moment the attack ended, he would switch back to Xun (Wind) to accelerate. Yet, they still couldn't escape the lightning snake's pursuit.
"There's no other way. You go up first. Remember to find help quickly."
Xu Mu gritted his teeth, stomped on a rock, and hurled Zuo Mingqiu violently upwards. He himself drew his hunting knife and slashed directly at the oncoming snake's maw.
"Boom!"
With a single blow, the lightning snake cried out in pain. Its entire body trembled as if struck by true divine punishment. Its scorched black scales fell off in clumps, its aura becoming extremely weak as it descended back underground.
Xu Mu froze. Zuo Mingqiu also froze.
He knew Xu Mu's knife was powerful, but he never expected it to be this powerful. With one strike, it had resolved the lightning snake. Then why had they been running for their lives?
"It wasn't me."
Xu Mu recovered his senses and shook the knife in his hand, explaining to Zuo Mingqiu with a wry smile, "I didn't even hit it just now."
"Or rather, before I could even hit it, it had already become like this."
Zuo Mingqiu also snapped back to reality. After carefully sensing the surroundings, he said with shock, "It's a formation."
"There's a formation underground that targets only it, isolating its aura and preventing it from breaking through the earth to the outside world!"
"It truly was being kept!"
Zuo Mingqiu exclaimed in shock. This place was a hiding spot he had painstakingly found, where he had set up a spatial formation.
But he never expected there to be another formation here, one that spanned thousands of meters. No matter where the giant snake emerged, it would be stopped.
Such a terrifying sealing formation, undetected by anyone, what level of cultivation must the person who set it have possessed?
Having narrowly escaped death, Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu spoke little. They slowly ascended to the surface and sat down on a leeward slope to rest for a while.
"I need to go back and enter seclusion," Zuo Mingqiu said as he stood up.
"I came to the Thunder Pool specifically to find you. Now I have to leave too," Xu Mu said, using a water mirror to erase the traces of battle on his body, bit by bit. After confirming his disguise was flawless, he nodded with reassurance.
"Then let's part ways."
Zuo Mingqiu looked at Xu Mu with complex emotions. He knew that from this moment on, Xu Mu would revert to being Xu Mu, just like the alias Mu Xu he used at the Ten Thousand Races Assembly. He could not be recognized.
And he, perhaps, was the only one on Mount Tianshi who knew Xu Mu's true identity. If this information were to spread, no matter how talented and monstrous Xu Mu was, he would be doomed to die, as forces across the land coveted him.
Xu Mu's death would mean a significant step closer to the position of the world's number one.
But Zuo Mingqiu clearly would not do such a thing.
"Farewell."
Zuo Mingqiu turned his back and departed on the wind. He considered that Xu Mu, restricted by his identity, would be slow, so he deliberately chose a roundabout route back to the Thunder Pool entrance.
Xu Mu also concealed his aura and began to travel at "express" speed.
Another two hours later.
Xu Mu arrived at the Thunder Pool entrance.
He hadn't encountered anyone on his journey.
"There were quite a few people when I came. Is it because of the storm today? Did everyone leave?"
Xu Mu stepped out of the Thunder Pool, looking puzzled.
Then, he saw a large crowd gathered about a hundred meters away. Faces of young and old alike, they watched him with smiles.
"Has my identity been exposed?"
This was Xu Mu's first reaction. He was startled and almost fled, but he immediately calmed down.
On all of Mount Tianshi, only Zuo Mingqiu knew his identity, and the latter would never betray him.
Because he was the successor chosen by Fuxi.
"Reporting to Senior Sister, the last one is out. We can begin," Lan Yu stood beside Zhao Qingdong, glancing at Xu Mu with a sly smile, and said respectfully.
"Mmm."
Zhao Qingdong looked at the eleven people she had blocked at the entrance of the Thunder Pool, her expression somewhat grim as she said, "Come out yourself."
"I know you're in there."
...