Tang Bai Li

Chapter 97 Drawn Sword, Severed Heads, Return

In the dark but not silent forest, Xu Mu, covered in wounds, fled, with Wei Daolin and his four ghost generals in hot pursuit.

"You can't escape. Surrender obediently, and perhaps I'll leave you with a whole corpse," Wei Daolin said, looking at Xu Mu's retreating back with an unconcealed greedy smile.

Such a powerful physical body was simply a perfect vessel for him to refine ghosts. If successful, he would undoubtedly become the strongest among the three ghost kings, even approaching Ye Gong's level!

"Boss, stop wasting your breath on him. This brat is stubborn. Please let the four of us use our sealing technique to trap him, and then you can finish him off," said one of the four ghost generals, a user of abilities. With their combined Night Cage technique, they were certain to trap Xu Mu.

"Then let's do that. Although this body will be damaged, it will suffice," Wei Daolin said. The four ghost generals immediately took action.

Buzz!

Thick ghost mist surged from their bodies. The surrounding night suddenly became even darker, and the natural night elements present in the darkness converged, slowly forming a prison.

Xu Mu was advancing rapidly when he suddenly felt a heavy sensation from his surroundings, as dark elements climbed onto his body.

"The Night Cage can only be unleashed in the deepest night, and it is absolutely inescapable because dark elemental abilities are everywhere. No matter how fast you run, you cannot escape the night," Wei Daolin said. The ghost under him increased its speed by another thirty percent, charging rapidly towards Xu Mu, who was slowing down and eventually frozen in place, as if stuck in a quagmire.

The four ghost generals stopped, maintaining the Night Cage. Their abilities were unleashed without restraint, trapping Xu Mu in place. They were confident that this time, he would not escape, and Wei Daolin would kill him.

However, what they didn't expect was that Xu Mu had no intention of running from the start. He had entered this forest precisely to avoid the attention of the outside world.

After all, the night was also his domain.

At night, his hunting knife was difficult to spot, as it was as black as ink.

So, Xu Mu took out his hunting knife from his spatial ring. After counting to three, the blade was drawn.

Clang!

The blade struck an iron wall, scraping off a long streak of sparks. Xu Mu unleashed all his strength, forcibly breaking free from the dark shackles, and then, facing Wei Daolin who was charging at him, he swung his blade.

Whoosh!

Within the ink-black blade light, mixed with a deadly intent of black and red, the primal terror of the Demon God's Horn and demonic power were condensed on the surface of the blade.

Wei Daolin, known as the Ghost King and a practitioner of ghost arts, naturally sensed this pure demonic intent of terror the fastest. The moment Xu Mu drew his blade, he felt his soul tremble with fear of death, fear of darkness, and a longing for that primal power.

But longing quickly turned into dread.

Because he was charging too fast, the ghost beneath him was running too fast, and Xu Mu, who was coming at him, was also too fast. The blade light was impossibly swift. He had no way to dodge.

So, when the blade pierced his body, and also bisected the ghost beneath him, Wei Daolin was utterly dead.

Boom!

The blade light plunged into the undergrowth and then exploded with a roar, spreading terror throughout the space.

"What!" The four ghost generals were stunned simultaneously, even forgetting to control the dark prison. They had never expected Xu Mu to break free from their control, nor that he could kill Wei Daolin with a single strike. That was their elder brother!

"This is bad, this brat intentionally lured us here. He's on the same level as Young Master Ye Gong. Everyone, run!" one ghost general exclaimed, and the four of them immediately darted off in different directions, their speed even faster than when they were chasing Xu Mu.

But how could Xu Mu let them escape so easily? The fact that he could wield a blade must absolutely not be known by a second person.

Therefore, he swung his blade again at the backs of the four fleeing figures.

Buzz—

This strike manifested countless illusory statues in space, hovering above, each a hundred meters away from Xu Mu, rotating in a circle.

Each statue contained the power of a different Great Dao, but that power would eventually transform into blade intent. As Xu Mu's strike landed, these statues automatically launched attacks at the four ghost generals.

In an instant, the space was filled with a chaotic interplay of zither, blade, lightning, fire, and water. Various blade lights flashed back and forth, heaven's thunder ignited earth's fire. Everything within hundreds of meters was reduced to powder by the blade's edge.

Thus, the four ghost generals also died.

Xu Mu stood there in silence for a moment, then slowly recalled the statues.

"Hoo, it's still more comfortable holding a blade," he murmured, then used his hunting knife to sever Wei Daolin's head. After wrapping it in cloth, he returned the knife to his spatial ring and retraced his steps.

...

Meanwhile, the battle on Wan Yan Zhenyao's side had reached a fever pitch. All three factions were fighting with genuine ferocity, determined to fight to the death.

"Report, the seventh battle formation can't hold, requesting formation merge!"

"Report, the sixteenth battle formation has been breached, requesting support!"

"Report, the main operator of the Two Forms Array has been heavily injured, the formation is about to collapse, the Black Tortoise Array has been breached, the formation is routed, with heavy casualties!"

Wan Yan Zhenyao, at the center of the battle formation, listened to the reports from all sides with a hint of helplessness and despair.

There was nothing he could do. The numerical disparity between the two sides was too great. Even though he could temporarily replicate a small army with excellent tactics, it couldn't overcome the fundamental disadvantage.

Now that the battle had reached this point, many formations had been broken. Without the support of the battle formations, it had devolved into a direct test of individual strength. But the problem was that their opponents outnumbered them by a factor of two. They had no way to resist!

"Qian Qian, can that Mu Xu still return? We can't hold on!" Wan Yan Zhenze coughed up blood after being struck by Ling Shu's fist, and then, forcing himself to retreat into the formation, asked.

Qian Qian's eyes flickered, but in the end, he said nothing, only nodding silently.

"Forget it, we can't wait any longer. The losses are too heavy if this continues. I can't bear this responsibility," Wan Yan Zhenyao said, and then loudly commanded, "Everyone listen to my order, form the Three Divisions Long Dragon Formation, and follow me to break out!"

"We don't want this place anymore, but as long as we're alive, we'll reclaim it one day. Let's break out together!"

"Hahaha, breaking out isn't that easy. Wan Yan Zhenyao, you think too little of me, Ling. Open your eyes and look carefully, what are you surrounded by!" As Ling Shu's wild laughter echoed, Wan Yan Zhenyao suddenly noticed four transparent light screens rising around them, enclosing them.

"A formation?!" Qi Lan exclaimed, his expression grave. When had the enemy set up this formation? Why hadn't they noticed anything at all!

"Hahaha, you all think I, Ling Shu, am just a brute force cultivator. You don't know that I am also a remarkably talented formation master." Ling Shu's true form hovered in mid-air, holding a formation disk. With a casual flick, a colossal fire dragon erupted from one of the light screens and roared towards Wan Yan Zhenyao's group.

"Retreat quickly!" Wan Yan Zhenyao shouted, intending to rush into the sky to intercept the attack for his team, but Qi Lan was one step ahead.

"Wrathful Sea Serpent Technique!" Qi Lan roared, and countless water elements surged from behind him. The rushing river flowed into the sea and transformed into a sea beast, swallowing the fire dragon in one gulp.

Boom!

The fire dragon exploded instantly, its dazzling golden-red light illuminating the night sky. Countless water elements were vaporized by it, and the recoil from the explosion sent Qi Lan crashing into the ground, creating a massive crater!

"Qi Lan!"

Jiang Sheng cried out in alarm and, ignoring the abilities surging from all directions, rushed into the pit to embrace him. However, his own right leg was struck by a dark green ability, immediately paralyzing his entire body and rendering him immobile.

"Hahaha, what does it matter if you can block one attack? This is a third-stage formation disk, specially made for me by the family. I didn't think I'd have a chance to use it, but you are too foolish, allowing me to succeed in setting up the formation." Ling Shu sneered, and then once again controlled the formation to gather abilities, various elemental energies of heaven and earth intertwined, as if intending to annihilate Wan Yan and the others in one fell swoop.

Wan Yan Zhenyao's expression was grim. He hadn't expected Ling Shu to be a formation master capable of controlling a third-stage great formation. Trapped within this formation, they had no chance of defeating Ling Shu unless they could find the formation's core and break it.

But the problem was that none of them understood formations.

Moreover, even if they attempted to break the formation, by the time it was broken, they would likely all be dead.

"Everyone, I apologize to you all. It seems we cannot escape together." Wan Yan Zhenyao said helplessly, then pulled out a jade slip from his embrace and said, "Let's all crush our jade slips together. With great numbers comes great power. The Dao energy generated by the jade slips will surely send us out of here. Although we will be eliminated, at least we can save our lives!"

"Eliminated..." Wan Yan Zhenze's face turned pale upon hearing this. He absolutely could not accept this fact, as he was supposed to be on the stage of the Myriad Races Assembly. How could he be eliminated in a place like this!

"Brother, we still have that move. Let's give it our all, and we can definitely break this great formation. Why give up!"

"That move can help us break the formation, but you know the consequences of forcing a breakthrough. It will cause an explosion!"

Wan Yan Zhenyao said, his expression helpless.

His strength was formidable, capable of controlling lightning techniques. Naturally, he could also unleash third-stage abilities. Working with his brother to break through the formation wasn't exactly difficult.

But the problem was, their lightning techniques were too ferocious. They would collide with the abilities condensed by this formation. Even if the formation was truly broken, the immense explosive force generated would kill half, or even more, of the energy users present.

To ensure their own advancement, he, Wan Yan Zhenyao, could not sacrifice the lives of so many brothers!

"But—" Wan Yan Zhenze wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Wan Yan Zhenyao.

"Alright, my decision is final. I will count down from three, two, one, and everyone crush their jade slips together!"

Wan Yan Zhenyao looked up at the accumulating killing move of the great formation, his face solemn, and shouted:

"Three!"

"Two!"

"Wait!"

Just as Wan Yan Zhenyao was about to finish his countdown, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in space.

Then, with a bang, Ling Shu's body suffered a heavy blow, crashing to the ground. The formation disk in his hand was also shattered by the figure, and the formation dissolved.

"Why are you here? Where is the Ghost King!" Wen Boye asked Xu Mu with a look of terror.

Then, his gaze quickly fell on the blood-stained object Xu Mu was carrying.

"Wei Daolin is here."

Xu Mu's eyes were calm as he casually revealed the head from the cloth bag.

The head's expression was contorted in a mask of terror, but even so, they could still recognize it as Wei Daolin's head.

Wei Daolin was dead.