Wei Daoxuan and Wei Daojue were dead.
Of Ye Gong's three Ghost Kings, not one remained; all were slain by Xu Mu.
Thus, nearly everyone simultaneously ceased their fighting, staring in stunned silence at the wisps of demonic mist chuckling in the air.
"What… what is that monster!" someone cried, legs trembling with fear. They couldn't comprehend what had managed to devour their Ghost Kings.
What kind of bow was this?
Xu Mu sheathed the Bow of Spirits, his face pale. He turned and spoke softly to the assembled fighters, "All of you, surrender, and you shall live."
"You only need to hand over half your points, and you may leave."
The subordinates of the two Ghost Kings' alliance exchanged glances. Ultimately, they chose not to yield.
"Brothers, they are also at their limit. Kill them, and Shoudingshan will be ours! We'll split the points equally!"
At this moment, Ling Shu, his expression manic, shouted.
He knew this might be his last chance to turn the tide. Though the two Ghost Kings were dead, their subordinates and formidable combat power remained!
If Wei Daoxuan and Wei Daojue's men were willing to fight alongside him, their chances were still high, as the overall strength of the opposing alliance was significantly inferior.
The strongest, Xu Mu, looked pale and depleted, likely unable to fight much more. Taking down the remaining few would be child's play!
"Kill! Avenge the Ghost Kings!"
With Ling Shu's rallying cry, the remaining cultivators were unwilling to surrender their points. They echoed his call, and in an instant, they each found their opponents again, resuming the battle.
This time, they fought with even greater desperation, knowing they had no retreat. All their latent powers were unleashed, filling the valley with the furious echoes of their combat.
Xu Mu watched it all, his expression grave.
"Form the Dragon Gate Battle Array. Qian Qian and Qi Lan, provide support. Wanyan Zhenyao, you and I will take down Ling Shu."
Xu Mu spoke, suppressing the dizziness in his head, and surged towards Ling Shu. Wanyan Zhenyao, without hesitation, his fists crackling with lightning, broke through the enemy's interception and charged directly at Ling Shu.
Ling Shu stood amidst the throng, fear gripping him as he faced the pincer attack.
Both Xu Mu and Wanyan Zhenyao were stronger than him. Although both seemed heavily wounded, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse; he had to be cautious.
"They are the leaders of the alliance! Kill them, and the enemy will automatically collapse!"
Ling Shu roared, his body expanding as if he were a colossal ape. He led his numerous subordinates towards Xu Mu and Wanyan Zhenyao, his fists like massive stones.
*Boom!*
Xu Mu and Ling Shu exchanged a punch. Ling Shu's protective aura exploded, sending him staggering back several steps.
Meanwhile, Wanyan Zhenyao was held back by many potent cultivators, most of whom were at the peak of the second stage, or even the upper echelon of the second stage. Thus, Wanyan Zhenyao couldn't break free immediately.
In fact, it wasn't just him; even Xu Mu was mired in a quagmire. The dozens of people surrounding him were incredibly powerful, unleashing a barrage of diverse abilities. Even his robust body, encased in Dao Origin, cracked and bled profusely.
"Quick, go to their aid!"
Seeing this, Qian Qian and Qi Lan abandoned their current opponents and led a large contingent towards Xu Mu's aid.
Abilities roared, and blood flowed like a river.
Thus, they fought from sunset to sunrise, witnessing the moon ascend, countless cultivators fall, and the first rays of dawn pierce the darkness…
It was a battle of evenly matched forces.
Ultimately, it ended in Xu Mu's victory.
At a critical moment, he employed the "Dui" hexagram from the Innate Eight Trigrams, temporarily trapping his attackers. Then, with the combined efforts of himself and Qi Lan's containment, Wanyan Zhenyao punched through Ling Shu's chest.
Thus, the enemy's final leader also perished.
They then chose to surrender.
…
An incense stick's time later, Xu Mu slowly opened his eyes, his face etched with fatigue.
"How is it? Are you alright?" Xu Jingchu slid down from the canyon rim via a rope, arriving a little late, and asked Xu Mu with concern.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired." Xu Mu stood up, his legs giving way, nearly collapsing, but Xu Jingchu caught him in time.
They exchanged a look, and Xu Mu let out a wry smile.
The consumption from the Bow of Spirits was immense. After firing only a few arrows, his energy was nearly depleted.
And in that weakened state, he had fought for an entire night, utterly spent.
"Why don't you rest a bit longer? The enemies have surrendered now, so there's no danger," Xu Jingchu said, looking at Xu Mu with concern.
"I'd rather not. Resting here isn't safe. Let's tally the casualties first," Xu Mu replied, then, with Xu Jingchu's support, he slowly moved to the highest stone platform in the center.
From this vantage point, he could see every corner of the canyon.
"It seems everyone is at their limit."
Using his shadow abilities, Xu Mu sensed the condition of everyone in the alliance one by one, then shook his head with a hint of helplessness.
Even with his preparations, he hadn't anticipated the battle would be so difficult.
They had only barely achieved victory through a combination of favorable timing, location, and human cooperation. If the alliance of Wei Daoxuan and Wei Daojue hadn't already been through a major battle beforehand, and if they hadn't launched a surprise attack, the outcome of this battle might have been different.
Xu Mu thought of the Bow of Spirits and then silently shook his head. He wasn't suited for a bow. If he had used a saber last night, he could have saved eighty percent of his energy.
"You're awake."
From below the stone platform, Wanyan Zhenyao, supported by his brother, slowly ascended.
"Mm, is your leg alright?" Xu Mu asked, his gaze fixed on Wanyan Zhenyao's limping leg with concern.
"It's fine. One doesn't fight on the battlefield without getting hurt. I've already applied medicine; recovery is just a matter of time." Wanyan Zhenyao smiled faintly, his face pale, then turned to survey the crowd and leaned closer, asking in a low voice, "Brother Xu, didn't you say your ultimate goal was Ye Gong? What are your plans now?"
Xu Mu heard this and spread his hands helplessly. "What plans can I have? Everyone is injured like this, we probably can't make it to Tianqiong Peak."
"Then you're not going to kill Ye Gong? What about Jiang Taixu?" Wanyan Zhenyao continued, curious. In his mind, he was convinced Xu Mu was going after Ye Gong because of the Jiang family.
"That's not necessarily true; I will definitely go," Xu Mu replied with a faint shake of his head. He then said to Wanyan Zhenyao, "There are less than four days left until the competition ends."
"In these four days, I can use three to travel slowly while healing, and on the last day, once I've recovered, I'll go find Ye Gong."
Wanyan Zhenyao's eyes widened in disbelief. "Healing while traveling, and you'll be recovered in three days?"
"Roughly. At least enough to move normally," Xu Mu replied, smacking his lips.
He possessed a heart and blood like jade, and his body was resilient. When injured, he didn't even need to do anything; it would recover on its own, little by little.
Although he was exhausted this time, he hadn't sustained any serious injuries, just strained muscles and depleted spiritual energy, unlike last time when he was impaled through the chest by the Ganjiang Sword.
"You truly are a monster," Wanyan Zhenyao said, marveling at Xu Mu from the bottom of his heart. "Even my fourth-stage uncle, who could wrestle dragons with his bare hands, probably didn't have a physical body as strong as yours at this level."
"I, Wanyan Zhenyao, am truly convinced."
Xu Mu smiled slightly, saying nothing more. In terms of his physical body, he was indeed exceptionally gifted.
"You should go heal quickly. When the time is right, I'll need to be on my way."
"On my way…" Wanyan Zhenyao paused, as if remembering something, and then quickly said, "That's right, I just remembered something."
"Someone ordered that before Ling Shu died, he set up a teleportation array beneath this valley. He originally intended to use it to travel to Diliquan to seek revenge on us. We arrived just as it was nearing completion."
Wanyan Zhenyao continued, "The array's core is located in the southwest corner of the valley. It's said that once activated, it can transport a thousand people. If you can repair it, perhaps you can use it to teleport to Tianqiong Peak and won't have to rush?"
"Is that so? There's such a thing? Take me to see it." Xu Mu's eyebrows arched. Supported by Xu Jingchu, he slowly walked to Ling Shu's corpse.
Beside the body lay Ling Shu's personal array disk and the schematic for the spatial teleportation array.
"I can sense that the Great Dao of Space in this area is extremely mixed," Xu Mu said, picking up the array schematic and disk. He closed his eyes and gently touched space with his finger.
He could perceive the Great Dao of Space as if he could touch it. The array was incredibly complex, like the irregular veins on a leaf.
However, Xu Mu could sense that most of these veins were already completed and followed a pattern. Only a small part, mere wisps, remained to complete the array.
"It's close, but unfortunately, I don't understand arrays," Xu Mu said after a long silence, opening his eyes. He looked at Wanyan Zhenyao and asked, "Brother Wanyan, do you know if anyone in the alliance understands arrays? I'd like to invite him to help complete the final stroke of the array."
Wanyan Zhenyao nodded.
"There is one, but I don't know if he's capable…" Wanyan Zhenyao said, turning to look at a young man in brocade robes who was meditating.
Hesitant to disturb him, Wanyan Zhenze called out, "Ji Nian, stop sleeping and come quickly to show Grand Alliance Leader Xu the array!"
Ji Nian's eyes snapped open at the sound. After glancing at the few people, he slowly rose and walked over.
"I'm truly sorry to disturb your rest," Xu Mu said, bowing.
"Alliance Leader, there's no need for politeness. This is what I should do," Ji Nian replied earnestly, cupping his hands in return. He then took the array disk and schematic from Xu Mu, cautiously sensing the formations in heaven and earth. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly opened his eyes and retreated several steps.
"What happened? What's wrong!" Wanyan Zhenyao started, quickly asking.
Ji Nian's face was deathly pale, his body drenched in sweat and trembling.
"Why didn't you tell me this was a spatial array? You almost killed me!"