Following Charles's weapon knowledge, Xu Mu casually slung a high-tech particle mortar made of bronze onto his shoulder.
The muzzle, large enough to hold two pumpkins, had already automatically charged with energy.
"Hoo."
Xu Mu took a deep breath, aimed the muzzle at the high heavens towards the Two-Sectioned True Person who was attempting to regain control of the grand formation, and his then solemn gaze suddenly turned wild.
Then, he pulled the trigger.
"Whirr whirr whirr whirr whirr!"
A charging sound arose, and countless tiny light spots appeared at the front of the particle cannon, like thousands of fireflies surrounding the sun, shining with a deep purple, gilded light.
"This... this is too heavy!"
Xu Mu's veins bulged on his forehead, his clothes instantly soaked with sweat, and his face filled with shock.
At this moment, he was kneeling on one knee, using all his strength to support the particle cannon on his shoulder. The intangible projectile, gathering billions of particles, was enough to make him kneel.
The hard rock on the peak of Tianguan Peak shattered under its weight!
"Danger!"
In the sky, the Two-Sectioned True Person's face paled in alarm, and he hastily turned to find the source of the terrifying feeling.
Then, he looked down and saw the golden particle light sphere, like a small sun, containing unimaginable energy, instantly searing his eyes.
"What is this thing!"
The Two-Sectioned True Person was startled, and during his moment of distraction, the Tongtian Grand Formation, which was about to be regained, was once again suppressed by Bixu.
"Damn it!"
The Two-Sectioned True Person had no time to think, gritted his teeth, and fully committed to the battle with Bixu, completely ignoring Xu Mu.
At this point, he believed in True Person Baoyun, and in the reinforcements sent by the latter, confident that he would be well protected and would not be ambushed by anyone.
"What terrifying energy fluctuation. If that small sphere explodes, it might be equivalent to a strike from a peak fifth-stage Domain Lord." In the Baiyun Taoist Temple, the True Person who had returned to his youth stared at Xu Mu, asking with some surprise, "Who is this person?"
"He stands within the Tongtian Grand Formation yet is unaffected. Clearly, he is from Tianshi Mountain. But when did Tianshi Mountain produce such a figure?"
True Person Yuantian heard this and turned to look at Xu Mu. Seeing the unfamiliar face, he was about to say he didn't recognize him when he noticed the Qiongqi beside him, radiating flames and with wings, standing not far away.
Then, he also spotted the Wine Immortal Daoist, standing within twenty meters of Xu Mu, separated by the Tongtian Grand Formation.
"So it's him."
True Person Yuantian raised an eyebrow in surprise. He gently stroked the elder's Taoist tablet of Tianshi Mountain within his sleeve, a hint of doubt in his heart.
"Could this person also be part of the True Person's plan?"
True Person Yuantian remained silent.
The others could not guess Xu Mu's identity either, because at this moment, who Xu Mu was was not important. What was important was what he was carrying on his shoulder; the sphere, as bright and hot as the sun, had stopped growing.
Even if no one knew what kind of weapon Xu Mu held, anyone with a bit of sense could guess that the little sun was about to be fired.
True Person Baoyun also guessed it, so disregarding the cost of being struck in the back by True Person Taiwu, he forcibly expelled the air from his mouth and shouted desperately:
"Quickly protect Erduan! That kid is holding a magical artifact, and its grade is likely no lower than fifth-stage!"
"Science knows no grade."
Xu Mu calmly released the trigger.
"Boom!"
The particle light sphere, condensed with immense kinetic and thermal energy, suddenly shot out.
"Rumble rumble!!!"
Like a meteorite descending from the heavens, the particle cannon unleashed unimaginable kinetic energy, instantly flying tens of thousands of meters away, leaving a trail of sonic booms and fiery tornadoes in its wake.
"Pfft!"
Xu Mu's pupils contracted drastically, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground with a thud as if struck by lightning.
"What happened!"
The Wine Immortal was startled, thinking Xu Mu had been ambushed. At the risk of being killed by the Tongtian Grand Formation, he directly expanded his domain.
But beneath his domain, he saw no one.
"It's fine, just a bit too much recoil..."
Xu Mu crawled out from the shattered, pit-like ground. The bones on half of his body were crushed by the recoil of the shot.
This was also normal.
Xu Mu paid it no mind, his eyes fixed on the particle cannon's trajectory in space. If the recoil was this strong, he wanted to know how powerful the projectile would be if it exploded.
Could it directly kill the Two-Sectioned True Person?
But the next second, his expression froze. The particle cannon had not killed the Two-Sectioned True Person, nor had it even grazed him.
Because he had missed.
"Boom!!"
Tens of thousands of meters away, an unknown mountain peak erupted in a mushroom cloud, and after more than ten seconds, terrifying wind currents roared in, snapping the willow branches on Tianguan Peak.
Qiongqi's crimson fur was stirred by the particle wind as it raised a claw to cover its face.
"Brother Hero, you shot a bit wide!"
"That's because the recoil was too great. The moment it left my hands, I couldn't aim the muzzle properly!" Xu Mu jumped up from the ground and climbed onto Qiongqi's back, gritting his teeth fiercely and saying, "Again!"
"Carry me up into the sky, as close as possible, otherwise, I'll still miss or get intercepted."
"Alright!"
Qiongqi roared, spread its wings, and carried Xu Mu away from the ground, soaring into the sky.
"Stop him!"
The Two-Sectioned True Person looked into the distance at the mountain peak that had been half-shaved off, his scalp tingling. He hastily swapped positions with the formation plate and eye, shouting loudly:
"Quickly stop him! I'm busy holding off Bixu and have no spare energy to intercept. Being shot means death!"
"—Swoosh swoosh swoosh!"
Several elders quickly intercepted Xu Mu and Qiongqi, unleashing terrifying innate abilities that instantly formed a sealed zone spanning tens of thousands of meters.
Xu Mu's right index finger tightened on the trigger. The Innate Bagua formation plate rotated, his senses locked onto the Two-Sectioned True Person's position. Facing the barrage of innate ability attacks, he roared:
"Qiongqi, seven thousand four hundred and sixteen paces diagonally upwards, the very top of that white cloud!"
"Understood!"
Qiongqi roared, tearing through space with its claw.
"Buzz!"
With a hum, Qiongqi, carrying Xu Mu, instantly emerged from the top of a white cloud.
Below them, the Two-Sectioned True Person was flying past, holding the formation plate in his left hand and the formation eye杵 in his right.
Xu Mu shouldered the particle cannon. At this moment, time seemed to slow down. He closed one eye, aimed the muzzle in the opposite direction of the Two-Sectioned True Person's flight path, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The terrifying recoil shook Xu Mu's cannon, whipping it from left to right. He and Qiongqi were also violently propelled downwards, plummeting over two hundred meters instantly.
With such a violent movement, the aimed location was no longer the original position. Just like the first shot, this one should not have hit either.
But this time, Xu Mu activated the Innate Bagua. Just as Grey-White Eyes had calculated the all the Domain Lords' exchanges in front of the dark palace, hitting Ji Chang with a single shot, he also calculated the cannon's tremor, their descent, the wind speed, the humidity of the air, and the Two-Sectioned True Person's subconscious reactions.
The Two-Sectioned True Person protected his body with the rules of the Great Dao, crushed a talisman, and instantly teleported two hundred and seventeen meters into the space in front of him and to the right.
Therefore, this shot hit its mark.
...