Situ Zhen transformed into a streak of light, vanishing in the blink of an eye around the maze's corner. The other few ability users also turned and fled.
Left behind in the instant were Xu Mu, who didn't have time to retreat, and Hai Shan, the cultivator who walked at the forefront of the team, holding his shield and fulfilling the duty of enduring damage.
The skeletal ghost swung its bone club forward, dark energy surging out, seemingly intertwined with the power of endless resentful souls, a terrifying will of death permeating the space.
Hai Shan had no time to escape, as speed was not his forte. The ability user in the team responsible for bestowing him with speed auras had also fled with Situ Zhen.
Facing this bone club, he seemed to have no choice but to rely on the shield in his hand. Thus, Hai Shan raised it high, his muscles bulging, his ability surging into the shield. He stood unmoving, as steadfast as a mountain peak.
*Boom!*
The club of the third-stage skeletal ghost struck Hai Shan's shield. The terrifying will of death hammered and shattered, and dense cracks immediately appeared on the sturdy shield.
Hai Shan's body, which had stood like a majestic mountain, could not withstand the pressure and was sent flying backward with a crash. His shield shattered into pieces, and a powerful deathly chill struck his lower abdomen, causing him to instantly vomit a mouthful of bright red blood.
Hai Shan had been smashed away by a ghost with a single bone club.
It was no help. Even in the outside world, his realm was only at the peak of the second stage. Facing a ghost a whole major realm higher, perhaps with all his might, he might have had a slim chance to hold on for a while.
But victory was impossible. He wasn't a supreme genius. The young Sword Saint Chen Changkong might win, the two peerless women from the Xuanyuan and Nangong families might win, but he couldn't.
Moreover, at this moment, he was only at the early stage of the second stage. This was a result of his cunning.
The skeletal ghost's steps were heavy, shaking the ground as it trod. It swung its bone club, seemingly charging at Hai Shan with a degree of madness.
Leaning against a rock, Hai Shan's face was filled with despair. Next, he might not just be eliminated, but he might also die, as the death of his consciousness and soul was considered death.
At this moment, if he crushed the jade slip, could he be teleported out immediately?
Hai Shan pondered this question. As this thought arose, he missed his last chance for survival, because the bone club in the ghost's hand was already less than half a meter from him and moving rapidly.
Hai Shan had absolutely no time to crush the jade slip.
He seemed destined to die.
Hai Shan's face was etched with despair.
But at this moment, a figure suddenly appeared. Xu Mu held his hunting knife vertically against his right arm, then transformed into a human cannonball, crashing into the skeletal ghost.
*Bang!*
The powerful impact sent the ghost, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, flying dozens of meters away and embedded it into the maze wall.
Xu Mu himself felt dizzy and disoriented from the recoil, but he had no time to bother with it. He grabbed Hai Shan's arm and fled towards the rear of the maze.
"You..." A flash of shock and confusion crossed Hai Shan's eyes, but at this moment, Xu Mu spoke coldly, "Don't speak."
"Quickly use all your strength to escape, it's going to catch up!"
Following the youth's reminder, Hai Shan finally looked back and saw that the skeletal ghost had broken free from the maze wall, its eyes glowing green as it charged towards them in a rage.
It looked truly terrifying.
Hai Shan shivered and quickly activated his abilities, following Xu Mu's steps in a desperate escape.
They turned through one maze passage after another. Relying on his memory and the innate Bagua technique, Xu Mu managed to weave through the maze for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, finally encountering Situ Zhen and the other five in a spacious, hidden chamber of the maze, unsure of where they were going.
Situ Zhen's eyes showed surprise upon seeing Xu Mu and Hai Shan, but then the surprise turned into fear. He pointed at Xu Mu and shouted:
"Why did you lead that thing here!"
"We finally managed to escape here, and you want us to be buried with you!"
As Situ Zhen spoke, he led his companions in a hurried escape. However, Xu Mu followed closely behind, as did the skeletal ghost.
Sensing the powerful aura of death behind them, Situ Zhen's eyelids twitched violently. He turned back and roared at Xu Mu, "Stop following us, we don't want to die with you!"
"But we were originally a team. Shouldn't we help each other in times of difficulty?" Xu Mu said calmly, his brow furrowed. "Situ Zhen, you were the one who told Hai Shan to go ahead earlier. When danger struck, you ran off yourself, almost getting him killed.
"If I hadn't saved him, at least half of Hai Shan's death would be your responsibility!"
Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen's face turned ugly as he shouted loudly, "Ridiculous!"
"I, Situ Zhen, a direct descendant prodigy of the Situ family, should I risk my life for a useless person who can only hold a shield in front as cannon fodder? If you want to save him, save him, but don't drag us along!"
"It's impossible," Xu Mu shook his head, his expression calm. "If we stop, there will only be one outcome: death."
"But I've observed that although this skeletal ghost has powerful cultivation, it doesn't possess the intelligence of ordinary beasts, and its attack methods are singular. If our team of seven works together, killing it won't be a problem."
Situ Zhen was taken aback. He hadn't expected Xu Mu to even consider killing this peak third-stage demonic ghost.
"Kill it, how do we kill it, with your mouth? This is a third-stage skeleton, not a second-stage!"
Xu Mu said calmly, "I told you, it only has the strength of the third stage, but it's not actually that troublesome."
"There are seven of us in our team. As long as we stick to our previous roles, with the agile ability users and Hai Shan harassing and entangling it in front, and the three of us attacking, we will definitely have a chance to kill it."
"Furthermore, if you all disagree, then I will have no choice but to keep following you."
After Xu Mu finished speaking, Situ Zhen and the others' faces immediately darkened.
If they disagreed to fight together, and Xu Mu kept following them, they would eventually be caught by the skeletal ghost and killed one by one. It would be better to take a gamble now and try to kill it.
Thinking of this, Situ Zhen gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll do it!"
"But to prevent you from betraying us, you must also join in the entanglement of the skeletal ghost. Leave the main attack to us!"
Xu Mu nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay."
With their opinions aligned, the seven of them immediately stopped. Their faces were grim, waiting for the skeletal ghost to charge out from a corner of the maze.
The next second, it arrived.
Xu Mu and Hai Shan, along with two other agile ability users, exchanged glances. Then, they immediately charged towards the skeletal ghost, constantly using their speed and numerical advantage to harass it.
The skeletal ghost swung its bone club, striking Hai Shan's reinforced body again. But this time, Hai Shan withstood the blow, because at the very front of the bone club, Xu Mu's hands gripped his saber, fully resisting a significant portion of the pressure.
The two agile ability users also took the opportunity to get to the skeletal ghost's sides and rear, simultaneously attacking its most vulnerable head and abdomen. The latter cried out in pain and picked up its bone club to chase after them.
On the other side, Situ Zhen and another main attacking ability user were observing silently, accumulating their abilities, waiting for an opportunity for a killing blow.
Soon, as the four grew more strained in the fight, and the support ability user's face turned ashen, the opportunity finally arrived.
*Clang!*
Hai Shan once again blocked the skeletal ghost's club. Then, Xu Mu actually severed the skeletal ghost's arm, and the bone club dropped to the ground.
"Act!"
Situ Zhen's eyes sharpened. He seized the opportunity and unleashed his abilities with another adept attacker. Instantly, a sharp and heavy gust of wind and mist erupted, as if containing countless knives. Wherever it passed, everything was cut. Even the skeletal ghost's body became battered and bruised, being pushed against the maze wall by the powerful sharpness, with many bones falling off its body!
At this moment, Xu Mu seized the opportunity. He gripped his hunting knife tightly, and a hint of dark golden Dao Origin condensed on the blade. He rushed forward and brought it down heavily, instantly cleaving the skeletal ghost's body in half.
Then, a glowing green ring-like object erupted from the ghost's lower abdomen. Xu Mu caught it with one hand and crushed it in his palm.
The skeletal ghost was dead.
Hai Shan's expression lit up with joy. He hadn't expected that by combining their efforts, they could actually kill a peak third-stage skeletal ghost!
Situ Zhen and the others were also somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected Xu Mu to seize the final opportunity and end the third-stage skeletal ghost with a single strike.
"What is that thing? Take it out and let us see."
Situ Zhen stepped forward and commanded Xu Mu with an unfriendly tone.
Xu Mu looked at Situ Zhen and replied calmly, "Why should I show it to you?"
A hint of impatience appeared in Situ Zhen's eyes. He said, "This skeletal ghost was primarily attacked by me, which allowed you to deliver the final blow to kill it. Therefore, if any treasures were dropped, they should naturally belong to me, the captain."
"That is not the case," Xu Mu looked at Situ Zhen and shook his head calmly. "You may not be aware, but this skeletal ghost normally would not die. Even if you kill it and grind it to dust, it would resurrect in another form.
"The reason it cannot resurrect now is entirely due to my special abilities, which can kill it completely. Therefore, anything that appears should belong to me, not you."
Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen's expression became even more unpleasant.
In fact, he knew very well the peculiar nature of skeletal ghosts. They often appeared in Gui Ye Domain, one of the eight polluted lands. Even the Great Xia military had mobilized national resources but failed to eliminate them, precisely because these ghosts would resurrect in the form of white bone skeletons after being killed.
Xu Mu could kill that ghost. He saw the golden light that last emanated from the saber.
But Situ Zhen pretended not to see it.
"Stop your nonsense. I'll ask you one last time, are you handing this thing over or not!"
Situ Zhen shouted coldly, his entire aura locking onto Xu Mu. The others did the same, appearing to stand united with Situ Zhen to seize the treasure Xu Mu had obtained.
In the field, the only one supporting Xu Mu was Hai Shan, whom he had saved. He stepped forward, blocking between Xu Mu and Situ Zhen, and said, "Captain Situ, I believe Brother Xu Mu's words are reasonable. This ghost was killed by him, so anything that appears should naturally belong to him."
"Who do you think you are!"
Situ Zhen was furious. He feigned a kick, and Hai Shan instinctively reached out to defend himself in a perfunctory manner.
But at this moment, unnoticed by him, one of the agile ability users who had just fought alongside him and entangled the skeletal ghost suddenly used his ability, striking Hai Shan's neck with a palm.
*Bang!*
The incident happened suddenly, and Situ Zhen's acting was superb, so even Xu Mu didn't sense anything amiss.
And when he did realize something was wrong, the gray-robed youth with shoulder-length hair had already struck off Hai Shan's head.
In that instant, blood splattered.
Hai Shan's head spun in the air, meeting Xu Mu's gaze for a fleeting moment. In his shocked and terrified eyes, there seemed to be a trace of calm.
It was as if he was saying, "Keep going, live well."
*Gurgle...*
Hai Shan's head landed on the ground.
In the outside world, Hai Shan's sturdy body swayed and collapsed above the clouds, losing consciousness.
Hai Shan was completely dead.
At this, a hint of anger appeared in Xu Mu's eyes.
"Hand over the treasure in your hand, and I'll spare your life!" Situ Zhen roared, speaking of sparing Xu Mu's life, but his actions were not idle. He and the youth who had killed Hai Shan charged forward, their speed more than double what it was before, their auras becoming even more powerful, aiming to kill Xu Mu.
But Xu Mu was truly enraged now.
He gripped his hunting knife and unleashed a dark golden saber energy filled with the will of death. Its power was terrifying, instantly blocking the attacks of Situ Zhen and the other ability user. In fact, the two of them were repelled by Xu Mu's counter-shock.
"Be careful, this kid was hiding his strength!"
Situ Zhen's eyes widened, and he shouted in fear. He and the youth were actually fellow disciples. They did not have the surname Situ and were rogue cultivators, geniuses from a certain place, who had hidden their names and strengths to avoid revealing their true capabilities.
They had thought that by attacking together, they could instantly subdue Xu Mu, but they hadn't expected Xu Mu's strength to be so formidable!
Situ Zhen retreated, and the youth followed, his arms now bearing two bloodstains from the immense force of Xu Mu's saber.
The will of death soared into the sky. Xu Mu's black hair flew, dark golden Dao Origin flowed from his eyes. He stepped forward fiercely, like a war god, and shouted:
"Situ Zhen, you are the ones who deserve to die!"
...