The chest of Nangong Changkong pulsed with scalding crimson-gold blood, seeming to melt the Dao sword within.
His blood, nearing that of a true Phoenix, coupled with the Nirvana technique, granted him near invincibility.
Nangong Changkong expressionlessly withdrew the Dao sword from his chest, then pointed at Nangong Huaitian's dantian, sealing his acupoints.
"Think things over properly here."
Upon seeing this, Nangong Maoguan gritted his teeth and charged into the crimson sea vortex, but quickly retreated, his bones already turning a dark red from the heat.
"Stop wasting your effort," Nangong Changkong seemed to sense something, as he broke the seal and spoke with a smile. "Uncle Maoguan, your bloodline purity isn't high enough. Forcibly entering will turn you to ash."
Nangong Maoguan gnashed his teeth and roared, "That's your sister! Do you know how much she respects you? How can you bear to do this!"
Nangong Changkong shook his head. "I am not harming her."
Bai Yun, who was stalemating with the true Phoenix, turned to Nangong Maoguan and asked, "Can't your Nangong family find a Domain Lord with bloodline purity comparable to his?"
Nangong Maoguan shook his head bitterly. "No. In terms of bloodline, I am already the highest among this generation, yet I can't even reach half of his."
"His blood is infinitely close to that of a true Phoenix, especially after cultivating in the ancestral land for so many years. He's even stronger than before."
Hearing this, Bai Yun clenched his fists, his eyes cold and furious. "Are we truly to be defeated by this junior today?"
"Wine Immortal, can you find a Daoist priest with a noble bloodline in your Daoist temple to help?"
Nangong Changkong, hearing this, spoke up. "Stop wasting your effort."
"As far as I know, among all the hundred races, no family's bloodline can contend with the True Phoenix, except for the Xuanyuan family. And the Xuanyuan clan is too far away to offer timely assistance."
"Today, you will lose."
Bai Yun fell silent once more.
Tian Shui also shook his head.
Only the Wine Immortal, as if remembering something, turned to look at Xu Mu and transmitted, "He's at the Fourth Realm. Are you going?"
He asked "Are you going?" not "Can you go?"
This implied the Wine Immortal believed Xu Mu's bloodline was comparable to the True Phoenix.
Xu Mu gripped his bow and arrow, smacked his lips, and took a step forward. "I can't just watch them die."
"Senior, please help me hold off that Phoenix." Xu Mu stepped on the Xun character, turning into a swift wind that charged into the vortex. Simultaneously, the Wine Immortal attacked, his Dharma image unleashing heavenly thunder to intercept the true Phoenix circling in the sky.
Xu Mu stepped into the crimson blood vortex and instantly felt an intense burning sensation in his blood. The pure blood of the true Phoenix permeated his body, intertwining with his Glazed blood, creating terrifying fluctuations.
A trace of pain appeared on Xu Mu's face. His heart pounded, and he recklessly drew the Fey Bow, shooting an arrow towards Nangong Changkong below.
"Hmm?"
Nangong Changkong sensed danger and gathered crimson flames in his hand, reaching back to crush the incoming arrow.
But the next second, the invisible arrow, condensed by the power of Great Dao laws, exploded in his palm. The terrifying killing intent shattered the domain, and half of his arm was blown into bloody pulp.
Nangong Changkong's brows twitched slightly. He retreated three steps, his bloodline burning as his flesh regenerated.
"What a powerful bow, a magic artifact beyond the Fifth Stage?" Nangong Changkong eyed Xu Mu's bow with interest. Then he noticed the Glazed and Starlight radiance flickering on Xu Mu's body, and his expression became even more astonished.
Because he realized that the pure blood of the true Phoenix had been completely suppressed by Xu Mu's bloodline, unable to cause any disturbance.
This meant that Xu Mu's bloodline was at least on par with his own, and perhaps even stronger.
"Whose person are you?"
Xu Mu remained silent, smashing the bloodline cage that trapped Nangong Huaitian with a single punch, rescuing her.
Seeing this, Nangong Changkong calmly shook his head. "Disobedient."
As he spoke, he summoned his domain with one hand. In the surging sea of fire, a true Phoenix phantom materialized, spewing flames capable of melting steel, engulfing Xu Mu's body.
"Go quickly!"
Xu Mu gritted his teeth, throwing Nangong Huaitian out of the vortex. Simultaneously, he fully awakened the Fey Bow. As countless eyes opened, the roars of monsters shook the space, and myriad Great Dao law powers surged forth.
Hatred, killing intent, charm – various negative Great Dao laws permeated the space, influencing the ethereal true Phoenix, weakening it considerably.
Xu Mu himself seized the opportunity to charge to Nangong Changkong's front and landed a punch.
"Boom!"
This punch landed with tremendous force.
However, it failed to make Nangong Changkong take even half a step back.
Xu Mu's pupils constricted as he looked at Nangong Changkong. He had only used one palm to catch his punch.
Nangong Changkong held Xu Mu's fist and applied slight pressure, the sound of bone cracking echoing. He then smiled faintly and asked calmly, "Why the expression?"
"I am one realm higher than you. Catching your punch with one palm is quite normal, isn't it?"
Xu Mu's lips twitched. He said nothing, merely pulling back with all his might and kicking Nangong Changkong's leg, attempting to break free with martial arts.
But he didn't expect that not only could he not budge Nangong Changkong, but his kick only made his body tremble slightly.
Seeing this, Nangong Changkong let out a mocking laugh. "My physique has been tempered through ninety-seven cycles of Nirvana. How could you possibly shake it?"
"However, I must admit your physique is indeed strong. It's just that your realm is too low. Otherwise, you could at least fight me for a few rounds."
"Your bow is nice. I'll take it."
Saying this, Nangong Changkong reached out and grabbed the bow, ignoring the eyes of hatred on its surface.
Xu Mu's right hand was firmly held, unable to move. He could only grit his teeth, shatter his own wrist bone, and exert all his strength to circle outwards, thus preventing the Fey Bow from being snatched by Nangong Changkong.
"Oh?"
As Xu Mu attempted to escape, Nangong Changkong raised his eyebrows, used his domain to block him, and instantly appeared beside Xu Mu, unleashing a terrifying punch.
"Boom!"
The punch met his, and Xu Mu was sent flying back hundreds of meters, slamming against the vortex wall, half his body's bones shattered.
Seeing this, Nangong Changkong took another step forward.
Xu Mu didn't hesitate, directly pulling out his hunting knife and unleashing his blade intent.
"Crack!"
One strike, landing squarely on Nangong Changkong's fist, resonated tens of thousands of times.
At the same time, the sharpest edge sliced open his body, tempered through ninety-seven cycles of Nirvana. Blood gushed out like water from cracks in rocks.
"It hurts."
Nangong Changkong blinked in surprise. He looked at the hunting knife embedded in his arm, sensing the dark and terrifying aura emanating from it, which made his bloodline tremble slightly.
What level of magic artifact was this?
Nangong Changkong didn't know.
But he knew that with this weapon now in his hand, even if it was embedded in his own hand, it would become his.
"Thank you."
Nangong Changkong unleashed his left fist. Space folded, endless flames stacked together, incinerating the darkness instantly.
"For the sake of this bow and knife, I'll let you live."
Sensing the terrifying power of this punch, Xu Mu immediately used his Shadow ability to momentarily halt Nangong Changkong's movement, then drew his knife horizontally in front of him for defense.
"Clang!"
The fist struck the Demon God's Horn. The unimaginable heat instantly turned the blade red-hot. Xu Mu was also repelled hundreds of meters by the terrifying recoil.
"Hurry up, don't confront him head-on!"
The Wine Immortal yelled anxiously. He no longer cared if Xu Mu's identity was exposed; he only wanted Xu Mu to live.
Meanwhile, Bai Yun and Nangong Maoguan, along with others, looked at the knife in Xu Mu's hand with shock. Sensing the dark and terrifying aura emanating from it, they immediately thought of a person, or rather, a place.
The Domain of Eerie Night.
In the dark palace within the Domain of Eerie Night, a peerless genius had once appeared. He had killed Vilitan, who possessed half of the Heavenly Book, then used the Heavenly Tree to repel Bite-Fire, and finally gravely injured Jin Dafu of the Gold and Silver Merchants' Guild before being crushed to death by spatial turbulence. It was a pity.
That person wielded such a knife.
And that person's name was Xu Mu.
Nangong Maoguan had once stayed at his home for a period.
"Xu Mu, Mu Xu..." Nangong Huaitian stared at Xu Mu below the vortex, her mind going completely blank.
"No wonder, no wonder..." Nangong Maoguan also understood instantly. He had always been puzzled why a prodigy like Mu Xu would repeatedly and proactively help Nangong Huaitian, and unlike other geniuses, he never made demands.
It turned out they had known each other long ago.
This boy had likely fallen for Nangong Huaitian at first sight back then.
Nangong Maoguan's expression was complex. "I knew his talent was extraordinary and that I would see him at the pinnacle one day, but I never expected that day would come so soon."
Nangong Huaitian was also stunned.
She hadn't expected that the person who had always helped her was the mysterious youth she had seen in the Domain of Eerie Night, who, despite his low realm, was full of mystery.
The Wine Immortal gritted his teeth and said, "Stop reminiscing. He's dying!"
"Even with his immense talent and good fortune, his realm is what it is. He's no match for Nangong Changkong. We must find a way to save him!"
Bai Yun shook his head and said, "There's no way to save him."
"The three of us can barely resist the bloodline erosion, and the true Phoenix won't let us pass."
"There are very few other geniuses qualified to enter, and even if they did, they couldn't defeat Nangong Changkong."
"Those with the strength to defeat him are not qualified to enter."
"This is a dead end."
"Unless he can break through to the Lord realm."
Everyone present was stunned.
For Xu Mu, at his age, to break through to the Lord realm?
The Wine Immortal shook his head. "That's impossible."
"He only just broke through not long ago. The gap between the Lord realm and the Third Stage is too vast, requiring too much comprehension. Time is an indispensable factor; talent alone isn't enough."
Hearing this, Nangong Maoguan gritted his teeth and said, "I do have a method."
"Actually, I can forcibly replace all the blood in my body with the true Phoenix blood in the space."
"Although I will explode and die from being unable to withstand the pressure, I should have enough time before then to rescue Xu Mu."
Everyone present fell silent for a moment.
Nangong Huaitian looked at Nangong Maoguan, her eyes reddening. Just as she was about to say something, he had already begun to force out the vital blood from his body.
The Wine Immortal sighed. "This is the only way."
"If Xu Mu dies, it will be a loss to the entire cultivation world. Moreover, he is a righteous person. If he is not in the cultivation world in the future, I truly cannot imagine who among this generation will be able to contend with the grown Nangong Changkong."
Everyone fell silent.
Daoist Heavenly Water seemed to have thought of something and suddenly raised his hand, stopping Nangong Maoguan's suicidal act.
Nangong Maoguan was stunned. "You are..."
Daoist Heavenly Water took out a jade slip, on which a message was flashing.
It was a message from True Master Chongming.
It contained only two words: a person's name.
As a figure appeared and suddenly leaped off the cliff, charging into the crimson blood vortex, Daoist Heavenly Water breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's alright now."
"The one who can win against him has arrived."
Hearing this, everyone was simultaneously stunned.
Someone who could defeat Nangong Changkong?
Nangong Maoguan's face turned pale. He looked at the fleeting figure below and asked in astonishment, "Does someone who can defeat His Royal Highness the Holy Son truly exist?"
Seeing the long spear, Bai Yun suddenly remembered something and said, "Of course he exists. Don't you recall how he lost back then?"
"How he lost..." Nangong Maoguan stared at the figure below, sensing the domineering aura. His eyes widened to their maximum.
The Wine Immortal also nodded in silence. As a fellow member of the Daoist school with Tian Shui, he could also see the words on the jade slip.
The message contained only two words.
Ji Chang.
...