Amidst the thunder, upon the sacred platform.
Xu Mu stood his ground, one hand on Ye Gong’s shoulder, the other pressed firmly against Qi Sheng’s back.
Both stared at Xu Mu, their expressions a mixture of shock and horror.
“Attack!”
Qi Sheng roared, a wild surge of energy erupting from his chest, attempting to shove Xu Mu’s hand away. To his surprise, Xu Mu’s strength was immense. Not only was he unaffected by the wild energy, but he pushed against it and delivered a heavy palm strike to Qi Sheng’s chest!
*Bang!*
With the strike landed, Qi Sheng’s eyes widened to their limit. His body, like a kite with a broken string, flew dozens of meters away, landing on the edge of the sacred platform.
Simultaneously, sharp sword energy burst from Ye Gong, instantly tearing hundreds of slits in Xu Mu’s clothes, even grazing the flesh and bone beneath his tough physique.
“Die!”
Ye Gong unleashed a sword strike, his sword domain enveloping Xu Mu like an illusion. It was powerful yet incredibly sharp, impossible to evade.
But Xu Mu had no intention of dodging. After all, he had grabbed Ye Gong’s shoulder. If Ye Gong could strike him with his sword, Xu Mu could surely shatter Ye Gong’s body with a punch.
In essence, it was a test of endurance.
Ye Gong’s physique was no match for Xu Mu’s. His sword strike might injure Xu Mu, but likely not severely. However, if Ye Gong were to face Xu Mu’s full-powered, thunderous punch head-on, he would undoubtedly be sent flying off the sacred platform.
Thus, in a mere fraction of a second, Ye Gong forcefully altered the trajectory of his sword, bringing it horizontally across his chest to defend against Xu Mu’s fist.
“Crash!”
Xu Mu’s blood surged. He brought down his fist with immense force, like a charging bull. The Dao origin at his fist exploded, the space trembled, and an indescribable power was transmitted through the sword to Ye Gong.
*Crack, crack, crack!*
The intent of death, carried by the blood qi, seeped into Ye Gong’s flesh. He was forced back several steps by the punch. As he slid, his bones and flesh were ensnared by the death intent, filling him with instant dread.
“Be careful, don’t fight him in close combat!”
Qi Sheng materialized a staff from the void. It appeared to be a special artifact, capable of changing its size at will. He hurled it towards Xu Mu from dozens of meters away, its force like a collapsing mountain.
Sensing the power behind the staff, Xu Mu’s brow furrowed. He chose not to confront it head-on, instead pushing off the sacred platform with his right leg and instantly darting towards Ye Gong. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Ye Gong had just managed to steady himself when he saw Xu Mu charging at him again. Fury flared in his heart, and he swung his sword to meet Xu Mu head-on.
“I don’t believe it, can your body truly withstand my sword’s edge!”
*Crash!*
Qi Sheng, to avoid harming Ye Gong, had to hold back. At this moment, Ye Gong disregarded his advice and unleashed an incredibly sharp white beam of light, severing everything in its path, including the blood qi surging from Xu Mu.
Sensing the sharp sword intent, Xu Mu’s expression hardened. He decided he would endure no more. Drawing his hunting knife from his spatial ring, he activated his blade intent and struck at Ye Gong, knife and sheath still together.
Even with the sheath on, the lethality of the blade within, its bloodthirsty and terrifying will, pierced through all defenses and collided with the sword beam as a black streak.
*Crash!!!*
With the downward strike of the blade, all that stood in its path vanished. The sharp sword energy, like brittle winter branches, was severed. The sword was forced back by the sheath, and along with Ye Gong, both were sent flying off the sacred platform.
“Ye Gong!!!”
Qi Sheng cried out, stepping on white clouds to reach for Ye Gong. But in the next instant, Xu Mu appeared before him.
“You can go join him!”
Xu Mu, his expressionless face, unleashed a punch. Qi Sheng reacted, swinging his staff to meet the punch. With a *bang*, their bodies both halted.
“I will kill you!”
Qi Sheng’s abilities surged. He seemed to recall what had happened to Qi Ye, and his power multiplied severalfold, even pushing Xu Mu back three steps.
Meanwhile, after being thrown off the sacred platform, Ye Gong also utilized his abilities, defying the immense pressure and flying back on his sword.
“Kill him!”
Qi Sheng below, Ye Gong above, they attacked simultaneously, unleashing their most potent techniques to corner Xu Mu and eliminate him from the sacred platform.
*Bang bang bang!!*
Sword light blazed, the staff was mighty. Xu Mu, fighting two against one, wielded his knife and sheath, deflecting and dissolving their waves of energy attacks with practiced ease, occasionally finding weaknesses for counterattacks!
“This won’t do, this kid is too strong!” Ye Gong continued to slash with his sword, his sword net dense as threads, but it couldn’t penetrate Xu Mu’s sheath. Occasionally, he was even nicked by the blade intent emanating from it.
This outcome stunned Ye Gong. Xu Mu could wield a blade, and so proficiently at that. Coupled with the Daoist techniques he had previously displayed, it seemed to exceed his imagination. They were simply not on the same level!
“Daoist methods, wielding a blade, Mu Xu…” Suddenly, amidst the battle, Ye Gong seemed to recall something. A flicker of shock crossed his eyes, and goosebumps rose on his skin.
That’s right, it all added up. He finally understood where the Jiang family had found such a young prodigy. It turned out Mu Xu was Xu Mu, the person his Ye family had been searching for all along!
Perhaps sensing the change in Ye Gong’s gaze, Xu Mu felt his identity might be exposed. In that instant, he unleashed his full power.
Full power, meaning full power without drawing the blade.
Xu Mu endured a heavy blow from Qi Sheng’s staff, blood trickling from his forehead. He condensed countless dark golden Dao origins around himself and shouted, “Five Thunder Righteous Law!”
*Crash!*
As Xu Mu roared, a bolt of heavenly lightning, as thick as a large tree, descended from the distant heavens. It homed in on the aura of the Dao origins and struck with a deafening boom, illuminating the entire sacred stairway.
No one on the sacred stairway, from top to bottom, was not shocked by this bolt of heavenly lightning. Almost simultaneously, they stopped fighting and stared at the brilliant arc of lightning with stunned disbelief, their guards up.
*Bang!*
The lightning strike landed, or rather, it landed on Ye Gong. The sword in his hand instantly shattered into pieces, and his own body was severely wounded.
*Puff!*
Ye Gong used every ounce of his strength to withstand the lightning strike. He then spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale, and he instinctively turned to jump off the sacred stairway.
But Xu Mu gave him no such opportunity. Ignoring Qi Sheng, who was brandishing his staff again, he grabbed Ye Gong’s shoulder and flung him back, then smashed him with a punch onto the sacred platform.
*Thud!*
A resounding crash. It was Qi Sheng’s staff striking Xu Mu, and the sound of Xu Mu shattering Ye Gong’s chest bones.
“Ye Gong!!!”
From outside the platform, the elders of the Ye family watching this scene felt their hearts shatter, wishing they could take the punch in Ye Gong’s stead.
Ye Gong himself, his face ashen, already suffering from severe internal injuries with his organs on the verge of collapse, instantly fell unconscious from Xu Mu’s final blow.
Before he lost consciousness, Ye Gong subtly crushed the jade slip clutched in his hand. Thus, before Xu Mu could deliver another fatal punch, a cascade of light spirited Ye Gong’s body away, sending him beyond the sacred stairway.
“A pity.”
Xu Mu’s facial muscles twitched. He rolled to the side, wiping the blood flowing from his forehead and obscuring his vision, and glared at Qi Sheng like a ferocious beast.
He had dealt with the Ye family for now. Only Qi Sheng remained.
He had avenged Qi Ye, and was allied with Ye Gong, likely meaning his relationship with Qi Lan was not good. Therefore, Xu Mu intended to eliminate him next, just as he had eliminated Ye Gong.
At this moment, Qi Sheng had lost all will to fight Xu Mu. He only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible, either going up or down, as long as he wasn't on the same platform as Xu Mu.
With this thought, Xu Mu erupted once more, charging at Qi Sheng. The latter, acting decisively, knowing he was no match for Xu Mu, directly jumped down from the sacred platform.
Xu Mu, standing on the sacred platform, paused as he watched Qi Sheng descend. He lowered his gaze to the bottom, where Qi Sheng was now enduring the pressure and had landed on the thirtieth sacred platform.
“You think this will stop me from catching you?” Xu Mu smiled faintly. The reason he had lingered there for so long was to comprehend the fundamental laws governing the operation of the sacred stairway.
He couldn’t guarantee the levels above, but the pressure on the thirtieth to fortieth levels was practically nonexistent to him. In other words, if he wished, he could chase down and eliminate Qi Sheng, then return in ten seconds, without any issue.
But would he do that?
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Xu Mu would have.
However, just as Xu Mu was about to step down, seizing the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Qi Sheng, he suddenly sensed a familiar fluctuation of power.
Xu Mu abruptly looked up, and then, he saw on the fifty-ninth sacred stairway, Zhou Jie with a sinister expression, unleashing his abilities, ghostly mist surrounding Nangong’s figure.
The latter’s face was grim, desperately condensing inscriptions, but the results did not appear to be particularly ideal.
“Heh heh heh, Your Highness the Saintess, you cannot win. Just surrender to me!”
Zhou Jie laughed wildly and lewdly, enveloping Nangong in ghostly mist. The space condensed countless malevolent energy runes and barriers, identical to the method used to trap Xu Mu in the previous round.
Seeing this, Xu Mu’s expression turned cold. He immediately abandoned Qi Sheng below, turned, clenched his fist, and began to sprint upwards towards the sacred stairway.
*Bang bang bang bang bang!*
Blood qi roared, his physique powerful, Xu Mu, like a war god, took several steps in the void. His terrifying aura shattered all incoming pressure. The phản lực force of the sacred stairway seemed to not exist for him. In the blink of an eye, Xu Mu had reached the fiftieth sacred platform, but he still showed no signs of stopping!
*Crash!*
Xu Mu took another step upwards, leaving the fiftieth sacred platform. Amidst the astonished gazes of Jiang Taixu, Jiang Zheye, and Jiang Zhuo, he reached the fifty-first sacred stairway step.
But even this was far from enough.
Dark golden Dao origins flowed from Xu Mu’s eyes, the muscles in his limbs bulged. He watched as Nangong’s clone was created and then continuously attacked by Zhou Jie alone, trapped in a dangerous situation. Thus, his steps quickened.
*Bang bang bang bang bang!*
Fifty-third step, fifty-fourth step, then fifty-fifth, fifty-sixth… Xu Mu continued to ascend, his momentum growing with each step. Nothing could block his path, and all the geniuses along the way had to yield to him.
By the time he reached the fifty-seventh level, the geniuses engaged in fierce battles simultaneously stopped. They all sensed Xu Mu’s imposing presence and looked down with astonishment.
Then, they also noticed that Nangong Huaitian seemed to be in danger. Dongfang Yu Chu’s expression turned grim, and he shouted sternly, “Zhou Jie, if you dare to be the mantis behind the cicada today, I will kill you!”
Zheng Fangxing and the Yue Hengtian brothers also stopped fighting, their faces grim as they stared at Zhou Jie above. They hadn’t expected Zhou Jie to harbor ill intentions towards Nangong Huaitian, and to choose such a perfect moment; they hadn’t noticed it at all!
“Damn it!” Ji Xuansu’s face turned pale. Gripping his scripture, a powerful wave of righteousness surged from his body, and he was about to rush forward to help Nangong Huaitian escape.
He truly loved Nangong, unlike others who were merely infatuated with her beauty or power.
But Ji Xuansu didn't expect someone to be faster than him.
Xu Mu sprang up, leaping two steps at once, bypassing Ji Xuansu’s figure, forcefully breaking through the surge of righteousness, and then landing with a full-power punch on the fifty-ninth sacred stairway.
*Crash!*
One punch, like a thunderous storm.
Xu Mu descended from the heavens, shattering a path of light.
“Zhou Jie, die!”
…