Yin Zhongxiu stood still in silence, battered by his own people's abilities and unable to counterattack.
His strength was immense; he could have easily killed several of them, especially the fiery old man who favored close-quarters combat. Several times, a single shot would have been enough to send his head flying.
But he couldn't bring himself to do it!
Rumble!
Another concentrated barrage of abilities forced Yin Zhongxiu to take cover in a pit left by a previous attack.
"Crescent Sweep!"
The barrage of abilities continued relentlessly. Evasion seemed futile. Yin Zhongxiu gritted his teeth, burst from the pit, and with a furious roar, shattered the skies filled with abilities with a massive silver crescent moon. It even sent the charging, flame-engulfed Tuoba Xiaorong flying.
The crescent moon, carrying an irresistible might and the purest chilling intent, surged towards Vilitan. Along its path, stray lightning, gales, and even flames were frozen, turned viscous, and then shattered like willow branches in winter, all illuminated by the moonlight.
Only then did Vilitan realize that the Director of the Demon Eradication Department wielded abilities related to the Yin element.
Facing the incoming crescent, his expression grew somber, daring not to slacken.
"Torrent!"
In that critical moment, Vilitan unleashed his long-prepared ability. The next instant, his peculiar scepter spewed out a colorful beam of energy.
It contained seven or eight elemental abilities!
Yin Zhongxiu was somewhat shocked.
In this world, the chance of awakening an ability user was less than one in ten thousand. To awaken two abilities, one in a thousand of those rare individuals.
Even with his Splendor realm, his techniques were ever-changing, but his most basic ability was still Yin-attribute. All his techniques evolved from this, including his spearplay.
Abilities like speech and perception, complementing swordplay abilities, worked in tandem. But to awaken multiple elemental abilities? He had never heard of such a thing.
For elemental abilities were the most common yet the most demanding. They sometimes complemented each other, sometimes clashed.
Therefore, a torrent attack like Vilitan's, unleashing multiple elemental abilities at once, was something he had never witnessed.
With a boom, the crescent moon collided with the torrent, erupting in boundless power. The surrounding formations bore the brunt of the impact, shaking violently as if they would collapse at any moment.
"Truly powerful."
A figure in plain cloth appeared on the mountaintop where Vilitan had stood. He gazed at the pure white crescent moon below, which could suppress Vilitan's elemental torrent, and a flicker of excitement crossed his grayish-white eyes.
This was, naturally, Xu Mu.
Below, after unleashing the elemental torrent, Vilitan retreated behind the nine individuals when he saw the attack was not holding back Yin Zhongxiu.
Yin Zhongxiu's eyes were bloodshot. His previous ability attack had nearly critically injured all the controlled ability users. Their physical condition should have been dire, requiring significant recuperation.
But under Vilitan's control, they seemed devoid of pain, completely disregarding their own states, relentlessly using their abilities to break through their physical limits and attack him.
If this continued, even if they broke free from Vilitan's control, these ability users would likely suffer severe damage to their cultivation, perhaps even shattered meridians, rendering them unable to cultivate for life!
"Why hasn't he been controlled by me yet?"
At this moment, Vilitan noticed Yan Yu standing silently in the center of the pollution source, and a sudden sense of foreboding arose within him.
This fellow, being kept by the Director of the Demon Eradication Department, naturally possessed some strength. To have resisted his ability imposition for so long, the situation was becoming abnormal.
"Indiscriminate attack. Kill that brat too!"
Vilitan said in a deep voice. Simultaneously, his ability took effect. The ability users who had been attacking Yin Zhongxiu were repelled and then automatically sought the nearest target.
Two of them fixed their sights on Yan Yu, and five on Yin Zhongxiu.
Vilitan's brow furrowed. Why was the hulking man with twin axes climbing that small mountain without regard for anything else?
...
On the small mountain, Xu Mu's steps crunched on rocks, earth elemental energy swirling around him.
For some reason, he had a persistent feeling that the colossal entity beneath his feet was not dead. Although Vilitan had drained all its abilities, as a life form that had briefly reached the third stage, this mountain, weighing tens of millions of tons, still retained a sliver of consciousness.
Could Vilitan's abilities grant life?
Xu Mu sensed everything about the mountain and found that it indeed possessed vital signs, containing the purest source of darkness. In time, it would surely awaken and become a true third-stage great demon.
It might even directly become a lord.
Xu Mu frowned slightly. He glanced at Vilitan, who was currently battling Yin Zhongxiu below, and felt an irresistible urge to "borrow" that Heavenly Book for a thorough examination.
"You won't make a move tonight, will you?"
Xu Mu's shadow stood opposite his original body. The elemental energies blooming in the sky flashed continuously, making his form transparent, much like his thoughts at this moment.
He had long known that this entity lacked emotions; its arrival at Xishan could not possibly be for revenge on Wu Kui.
"Yes, I will not."
His voice was as clear as a spring, as pure as sunlight, yet his words were as cold as an icy stream.
"My not helping Vilitan escape is the greatest fairness I can offer you. Therefore, you should not expect me to do anything to help them."
Xu Mu raised a finger, pointing at the Demon Eradication Department ability users below whose thoughts were being controlled.
They had all been affected by Vilitan's abilities, madly unleashing their powers regardless of their own damage, solely to kill their Director, Yin Zhongxiu.
"But they will still affect you."
Xu Mu's shadow watched them below with a blank expression, then met Vilitan's gaze.
Vilitan's eyes narrowed. Was this not an ability Feng Tianzhu learned from the Heavenly Book? Why was it here?
Thinking of a possibility, Vilitan narrowed his eyes. Had Feng Tianzhu been killed?
This person had gone to Fengqing Village. So, the one who killed him...
"Sigh."
Sensing the fluctuations below, Xu Mu shook his head with a sigh.
"I have a question."
Xu Mu's body walked to the edge of the cliff, merging with the dark shadow.
Vilitan's pupils contracted to the extreme as he looked at the familiar figure.
"He seems eager to die. What do you think I should do?"
...