As the battle in the mine raged fiercely, Xu Mu sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, his heartbeat gradually calming.
He had slept for a long time, and it was time to wake up.
So he woke up.
"Hoo."
Xu Mu exhaled a long breath but didn't open his eyes.
For he was using his divine soul to meticulously scan his body's condition:
"Heartbeat steady, blood circulation sufficient, as if my body has inexhaustible strength, and the spiritual energy in my Golden Core has even increased a bit. Is it because of that pollen?"
Xu Mu checked himself from top to bottom and, upon finding his body had indeed recovered to its optimal state, suddenly felt an itch on his scalp.
Was it because he hadn't washed his hair?
Xu Mu curiously reached behind his head to scratch.
But unexpectedly, instead of scratching his back, his hand touched something cold and dry, like the claw of an alien creature.
"What the heck!"
Xu Mu jolted, his eyes snapping open as he tried to turn his head for a clearer look.
However, halfway through turning, a sharp, tearing pain shot through the back of his neck.
Bang!
With a loud crash, Xu Mu's head, followed by his upper body, slammed forcefully into the ground.
At that instant, Xu Mu even heard the sound of his neck bones fracturing.
"Damn it, it really is a sea!"
Fang Jia, looking down at Xu Mu, whom he had knocked unconscious, cursed as he withdrew his hand.
Just a minute before, he had still been stubbornly controlling his divine soul, wandering within Xu Mu's sea of consciousness.
At this moment, Xu Mu had woken up.
As soon as he awoke, for some unknown reason, perhaps deep in thought, his thinking caused a fluctuation in the soul energy within his sea of consciousness.
And any change in the sea, however slight, was like an earthquake to his minuscule divine soul.
Fang Jia's face turned pale as he recalled the scene from just moments ago.
Fortunately, he had fled quickly. Otherwise, he would have surely lost his life in that spiritual tsunami, failing to harm Xu Mu but getting killed himself – truly humiliating!
"I didn't expect you to wake up so soon, nor did I anticipate the vastness of your sea of consciousness. I thought I could resolve it instantly. If I had known beforehand, I should have knocked you out much earlier..."
Fang Jia muttered to himself as he bent down, preparing to lift the unconscious Xu Mu and proceed with the soul-searching technique.
Everyone else was still unconscious; their injuries would take at least ten days to half a month to recover.
As long as there were no external disturbances, he had ample time to search Xu Mu's soul.
Fang Jia, suppressing the unease in his heart, reached out for Xu Mu.
Then, his hand was caught by another.
"So it was you who was wandering in my sea of consciousness for so long. That's why it felt so ticklish."
Xu Mu spoke as his left hand firmly gripped Fang Jia's wrist.
He supported his neck with his right hand and with a 'crack,' reset his bones before slowly standing up.
Seeing this, Fang Jia trembled with a look of horror:
"You... you weren't unconscious!"
"How is this possible? I definitely hit the right spot!"
Xu Mu gently rubbed the back of his head, feeling the pain, and let out an involuntary gasp before saying:
"Yes, you hit the right spot."
"But unfortunately, every nerve in my brain is enveloped by soul energy, so it's not easily damaged."
"Even if you shattered my bones into dust, I wouldn't lose consciousness."
As Xu Mu spoke, the blood within his body repaired his fractured bones, re-coalescing within seconds.
He twisted his head and smiled with satisfaction.
While not fully healed, he could at least move freely.
"This... this..."
Fang Jia's expression was one of terror, as if he had completely underestimated the situation. He appeared extremely flustered.
But Xu Mu knew Fang Jia was acting, for he could sense the fluctuations of the Bagua from the spatial energy.
Fang Jia was positioned at the position of Xun (巽).
And a slight breeze began to stir in the space.
Xu Mu shook his head slightly and asked:
"I clearly brought you all through alive. If not entirely, then at least the majority of the credit for getting this far is mine."
"You can disrespect me, but why do you want to harm me?"
"Why harm you?" Fang Jia repeated, his expression suddenly turning fierce. "Ask that in hell!"
With his roar, a gust of hurricane suddenly swept through the space.
Several massive wind blades appeared behind Fang Jia.
They condensed and flowed with immense power, seemingly ready to shoot out and slice Xu Mu into pieces in the next second.
Xu Mu sensed the might within them and gasped:
"As expected of a Level Four Lord. Even the most common wind blade from the Xun position can manifest such power. I am truly impressed."
"However, using the art of Bagua to attack me is not a wise choice."
Xu Mu's expression remained calm. Facing the wind blades, he merely flicked his finger.
This finger strike had no offensive or defensive purpose; he simply shifted the Bagua disc beneath Fang Jia's feet.
Thus, the Xun trigram that Fang Jia stood upon transformed into the Kan (坎) trigram.
And the surging wind blades behind him immediately sputtered out, losing their energy source, and quickly dissipated into the heavens and earth, unable to sustain themselves.
They turned into a gentle breeze, ruffling Xu Mu's hair.
He smiled with satisfaction and then tightened his grip on the demonic sword.
The demon god within the sword let out a bloodthirsty roar.
The primal terror descended, causing Fang Jia's face to instantly turn ashen.
Of course, the demonic sword's aura also startled the Gan Jiang sword in the distant mine.
...
Fang Jia never expected that Xu Mu could manipulate another person's Bagua disc, and seemingly with no effort.
His attack was utterly laughable in the other's eyes!
And at this moment, he was once again caught by the wrist. Physically outmatched, there was no possibility of a comeback.
"I'll ask again, why did you want to kill me?"
"Tell me, and I can give you a complete corpse."
Xu Mu's expression turned cold, his words filled with confidence.
Although Fang Jia was a Level Four异人 (Yi Ren - extraordinary person), his most skilled art, Bagua, was restrained by Xu Mu's cultivation due to the techniques involved, rendering it ineffective.
Furthermore, Fang Jia's physical condition was depleted; he hadn't rested, while Xu Mu was at his peak, had his opponent's wrist in his grasp, and the demonic sword pressed against his chest.
Under such circumstances, Xu Mu couldn't fathom how he could lose.
"A complete corpse, heh heh." Fang Jia feigned a cold laugh and then suddenly roared, "Brother, Fourth Brother, save me!"
"Xu Mu is trying to kill me!"
Fang Jia's desperate cry echoed across the entire cliff face. Simultaneously, he employed the water technique of the Kan trigram, his wrist sliding free from the iron grip.
Not only Nan Feng and Nan Tong, his brothers, but all the other Yi Ren who heard Fang Jia's shouts also woke up.
And as they opened their eyes, they saw Fang Jia with an expression of utter disbelief.
He was fleeing in disarray, pursued by a cold, terrifying sword light.
Swoosh!
The sword light flashed, and Fang Jia's body was cleanly bisected by Xu Mu's blade.
Blood spurted everywhere. Fang Jia didn't even have time to cry out before he died instantly.
"No!!"
Witnessing his brother die right before his eyes, Nan Feng let out a cry of agony. He hadn't expected Fang Jia to die so suddenly, just like Xi Du!
"How dare you do this!"
Nan Tong rose to his feet, surrounded by venomous creatures, and glared at Xu Mu through gritted teeth, as if about to strike.
But Xu Mu ignored him. He simply employed Bagua, his palm imprinted with the Qian (乾) trigram, and suddenly reached towards the sky.
"Ahhh!!!"
Xu Mu calmly looked down. In his hand, he held a small, shimmering gray soul figure – unmistakably Fang Jia's shape.
His physical body had died, but his soul remained, attempting to escape stealthily, only to be discovered and captured by Xu Mu.
"You still haven't answered my question. Why did you want to harm me?"
Xu Mu questioned coldly, his patience wearing thin.
Nan Feng, gnashing his teeth, pushed himself up, his great axe held firmly. With an imposing air, he asked:
"You've killed my brother once, are you going to kill his soul too, and let him be utterly annihilated!"
Xu Mu tightened his grip on the soul, showing no intention of letting go. He stared fearlessly into Nan Feng's eyes and said:
"He wanted to kill me, but I cannot kill him?"
"Do you know that while I was healing, he secretly infiltrated my sea of consciousness? And when I discovered him, he tried to snap my neck with a single palm strike?"
"He can kill me, but I cannot kill him."
"What kind of beings are you, the 'Four Freaks of the Northwest,' to be so arrogant? Believe me, I can kill all of you right now!"
Xu Mu's expression turned fierce, and the demonic sword was pointed directly at Nan Feng.
A terrifying aura of malevolence permeated the air, causing Nan Feng to break out in a cold sweat.
He couldn't help it; Xu Mu's confidence and presence were too overwhelming. Moreover, his leadership over the past few days had left an indelible impression of immense power on everyone, making them unable to defy him.
"This... Alliance Leader Xu, what happened should have been an accident. I believe there's been a misunderstanding."
Nan Feng's expression turned grim as he took two steps back, forcing himself to explain.
"No need to say more."
"He wanted to harm me, so he cannot live."
Xu Mu's face was emotionless as he clenched his fist. Infinite soul energy surged within it, and Fang Jia's soul was instantly crushed, leading to his complete demise.
"You!"
Nan Tong, seeing this, pointed at Xu Mu, wanting to shout but ultimately stifled the urge.
For he noticed that the other individuals on the cliff had also awakened, and they were all staring at them with murderous intent.
Nan Feng's face darkened, and he shook his head, saying no more.
CRASH!
A deafening sound emanated from the mine.
Xu Mu sensed an extremely dangerous aura and turned his head with a grave expression.
There, a beam of sword light soared into the sky, its power terrifying, tearing through the heavens.
And emerging from behind that sword light were a person and a beast.
The beast was none other than Qiong Qi.
Standing beside it was not Yan Yu, but a young general wielding a halberd.
Xu Mu's face stiffened. "Isn't that Ji Chang? What is he doing here? Where is Yan Yu?"
Upon closer inspection, Xu Mu noticed that Qiong Qi was carrying someone in its mouth – it was Yan Yu.
"I will kill you all!"
An enraged roar erupted from the mine. Xu Mu focused his gaze and discovered that the one speaking was Yan Yu's Gan Jiang sword.
Xu Mu was utterly bewildered.
Yan Yu's sword was pursuing Ji Chang and Qiong Qi?
"Good Brother!"
Seeing Xu Mu standing on the mountaintop, Qiong Qi transmitted a tearful message:
"Good Brother, this sword has become sentient."
"Help me quickly!"
...