Trapped in the net, Mu Jinyu, who had remained quiet without any movement, chuckled lightly and applauded after hearing Gu Xunchao's words, "Indeed impressive, truly praiseworthy. Unfortunately, the person you are up against is me!"
As he spoke, he saw the spiritual energy dense net closing in, shrinking down to a distance of one meter in front of him, forming a birdcage of one-meter size and continuously contracting as if intending to slice him to death. Yet, Mu Jinyu's smile did not wane; he fearlessly reached out to pull at the dense net while calmly saying:
"Do you know? I was never serious. Our recent exchange was just for you to act as a whetstone to sharpen me, enriching my combat experience in the Divine Realm. Look at it now; it's indeed true. If I had crushed you outright from the start, I probably wouldn't have gained this much!"
"For this, I truly must thank you!"
"Rip!"
As the words of gratitude fell, the spiritual qi dense net, which could easily slice a martial artist of the Early Stage of the Divine Realm to death, was abruptly torn apart by Mu Jinyu!
With one side of the net torn, it was as if a side of the birdcage had been broken, and Mu Jinyu, the bird in the cage, leisurely flew out through the gap!
With one step forward.
Mu Jinyu had escaped the restraint and deadly confines of the dense net!
"How is that possible?!"
Gu Xunchao, seeing how Mu Jinyu had easily dismantled his trump card move, his pupils dilated in shock. Only then did he realize that although both were at the Fourth Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm, the gap between them was still significant.
He had just stepped into the Fourth Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm, while Mu Jinyu had clearly been in the Middle Stage for some time, even nearing the Fifth Layer!
Otherwise, he absolutely wouldn't have had the ability to tear apart his own spiritual qi dense net so easily!
"Escape!"
Without hesitation, Gu Xunchao turned and ran, directly abandoning Xu Changsheng and the other two who were fighting for him below!
"Whoosh..."
He, like a real eagle, let out a piercing cry, spreading his arms wide like an eagle swooping through the sky, and in an instant was a hundred meters away!
"Since you've come all this way, you might as well stay!"
Mu Jinyu, not the least bit concerned about Gu Xunchao's escape as it was within his expectations, spoke while he lightly lifted his hands, his slender fingers gently bending as if he were plucking at harpstrings!
"Swish!!"
Suddenly, a gigantic net made from nature's spiritual energy reappeared!
Only this time, the giant net was not entrapping Mu Jinyu but was trapping the fleeing Gu Xunchao within it!
And looking at the condensation of spiritual energy in the giant net and the intense murderous aura, this new spiritual qi net was far stronger than Gu Xunchao's!
Indeed, Mu Jinyu had stolen Gu Xunchao's unique skill, the Heavenly Net of Earth!
And had surpassed the master!
"How is this possible?!!"
"I don't believe it!!"
Gu Xunchao, moving extremely fast and trapped in the giant spiritual qi net, almost crashed headfirst into the net lines, nearly killing himself, but luckily he stopped in time, barely keeping himself alive!
Yet, as he watched the net that enveloped him and formed a cage-like enclosure, his heart felt stifled and uncomfortable!
His unique skill had been stolen and used against him; what a humiliating and awkward situation!
"How does it feel now? Can you perhaps invent another unique skill on the spot?"
Mu Jinyu controlled the Giant Spiritual Qi Net as it slowly contracted inward, forcing Gu Xunchao to constantly run toward the center, hoping to find a loophole to escape from the net, and he taunted.
"You!?"
Gu Xunchao stood in the center of the net, unable to find any gap that would allow him to safely leave the Heavenly Net of Earth. He felt a wave of absolute despair, and upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, he glared furiously at him!
Wishing he could devour him alive!
"Have you resigned yourself to your fate? Such a pity..."
Mu Jinyu watched Gu Xunchao's helpless demeanor and couldn't help but sigh lightly, "It seems that even though you've cultivated the Eagle Claw Technique, you are still just a little hawk, unable to qualify as a hunter and hunt your kin. Alas, what a pity..."
Having sighed, Mu Jinyu no longer wished to toy with Gu Xunchao, and he suddenly clenched his outstretched hands!
"Shoo!!"
Instantly, the Giant Spiritual Qi Net, which had been slowly contracting, sped up alarmingly. The safe space left for Gu Xunchao, originally fifty meters, dwindled to just three meters in merely three seconds!
Gu Xunchao had been on edge the whole time, and seeing this scene, his heart grew even more anxious. Then, he felt that although Mu Jinyu could use nature's spiritual energy to set up a similar Hawk Sky Net, it might not have the same lethality as his own!
Just now, he did not dare to risk everything, trying to find a flaw to safely escape, but now there was no other choice but to stake it all!
"Puff!!"
With an unyielding stance, Gu Xunchao charged fiercely toward the nearby net threads, and then...
His body was instantly sliced into countless pieces by the fine net threads!
Since the net's openings were only the size of coins, his body was brutally cut into chunks of flesh the size of tofu cubes, which fell from the sky in a clattering descent!
Among the falling pieces of flesh, there was one intact eyeball, which expressed deep terror and despair, along with endless unwillingness...
In his last moments, Gu Xunchao held no resentment towards Mu Jinyu, only a powerless despair and bitterness toward his fate!
Ever since he saw that hawk trapped in a dense net decades ago, he had always sought to escape such a fate and had strived to create the Heavenly Net of Earth, just so he could turn from a hawk into a hunter!
Yet in the end, he still could not escape his fate and died by his own unique technique, the Hawk Sky Net!
What bitter irony!
"Heh..."
Gu Xunchao quietly mocked himself as his bitter spirit finally dissipated!
Watching Gu Xunchao die by his own killing move, turning into countless chunks of flesh falling from the sky, Mu Jinyu's expression remained calm. He glanced at the remains and then no longer paid attention to the deceased Gu Xunchao!
Instead, he turned his attention to the three who were still entangled with Xiyan and her two companions below!
"Hu!"
Mu Jinyu stepped forward and immediately dove downward, quickly arriving behind the four women.
The three with Xuu Changsheng, who had been tangled up with Xiyan and her companions, had been frantic to leave when Gu Xunchao attempted to escape.
Unfortunately, with Jian Ruyan by their side forming a battle array, and since the three women had gradually gained a lot of combat experience during their fight, Xiyan was no longer in such a sorry state, hence, they had been thoroughly entangled and unable to leave!
And once Mu Jinyu descended, they were so terrified that they were almost beside themselves with fear!
Even Gu Xunchao, a Fourth Layer Martial Artist of the Divinity Transformation Realm, had died at the hands of this man. They, merely at the Third Layer, severely depleted of True Yuan, how could they possibly stand against Mu Jinyu?!
The three with Xuu Changsheng, their eyes red, started to desperately try to leave!