When Zhang Fan arrived outside the Six Royal Cities after wandering the Realm Heart Continent for several days, he was met with a scene of devastation and ruin.
The once towering city walls, reaching into the clouds like a celestial curtain, had collapsed. Even from outside, the interior of the city was clearly visible.
Most of the scattered buildings were destroyed. Amidst the rubble, numerous cultivator corpses lay strewn about, and the once bustling Black Striped Stone Road was stained with crimson blood.
Zhang Fan did not linger. He unleashed the divine ability of the Great Roc's Wings and sped towards the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range with all his might, sensing intense battle fluctuations from that direction.
...
"Boy, how dare you covate a Great Dao secret treasure! If you obediently hand it over, I might spare your corpse!" Sima Cang, wielding a Fangtian Huaji polearm three zhang long, swung it with a dazzling display of light. Each strike was like a mountain crushing down. Even with the Ten Thousand Jun Heavy Sword in hand, Liu Mu was forced to retreat, completely suppressed.
Liu Mu remained silent, a hint of struggle flickering across his handsome face. A strange light gleamed in his eyes, as if he were suppressing something.
As Sima Cang's overwhelming attacks continued to rain down, Liu Mu could no longer endure. He was sent flying, his internal energy churning, and he coughed up blood.
Seeing this, Lin Haotian and the others couldn't help but worry for him. While the Great Dao secret treasure was powerful, Liu Mu had only recently stepped into the Nine Tribulations Realm, and there was a vast chasm between him and a veteran Half-step Nascent Divinity expert like Sima Cang.
"Ling Xiu, what my Black Sand Cave Heaven lost, I will reclaim from your Six Royal Estate. I wonder how long you can hold on once both of them are defeated?" Fu Beichen was locked in a fierce battle with Ling Xiu, neither giving ground.
Ling Xiu glanced worriedly in the direction of his second brother. Although Mo Yan had also stepped into the Half-step Nascent Divinity Realm, there was still a gap between him and the sect leader Bai Mengtian. Soon after the battle began, Mo Yan found himself at a disadvantage. Despite his formidable physical body, he could only barely hold on, and defeat was only a matter of time.
"Hmph, do you think my Six Royal Estate only has two Half-step Nascent Divinity experts?" Ling Xiu's heart was filled with worry, but his face displayed a cold smile, his aura unwavering. "To destroy my Six Royal Estate? You people are not enough!"
The three opposing forces had surrounded the Six Royal Estate in the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range. However, a full-scale chaotic battle did not erupt. Instead, Fu Beichen proactively proposed that the Half-step Nascent Divinity experts from both sides decide the victor.
On the surface, this proposal seemed to favor the Six Royal Estate. After all, with the three forces united, their experts below the Half-step Nascent Divinity Realm far outnumbered those of the Six Royal Estate. A full-scale war would undoubtedly result in heavy casualties for the Six Royal Estate.
But how could Ling Xiu not see through Fu Beichen's intentions? In battles between various factions, the outcome is often determined by the clashes of the strongest individuals. Fu Beichen was confident that their side held an absolute advantage in Half-step Nascent Divinity experts. Once he and Mo Yan were dealt with, the remaining group of Nascent Soul cultivators could be easily defeated by their three Half-step Nascent Divinity experts, without sustaining a single casualty.
Despite knowing their scheme, Ling Xiu had no choice but to agree under the circumstances. Fortunately, Liu Mu's timely return provided them with a three-on-three confrontation.
However, Liu Mu and Mo Yan were ultimately too inexperienced. After a short period of fighting, both had fallen into a disadvantage, and Liu Mu had already sustained a serious injury.
Sima Cang, having just struck Liu Mu and made him spit blood, was preparing to press his advantage when he suddenly felt a tremor of unease. He looked up, meeting a pair of eyes as cold and piercing as hellfire, sending a shiver through his very soul.
The other cultivators present also noticed the change in Liu Mu. Although his appearance remained the same, his eyes and demeanor were drastically different from before.
"Putting on a show!" Sima Cang forcibly expelled the negative emotions and once again swung his Fangtian Huaji, striking at Liu Mu with the force of cleaving the heavens.
Liu Mu did not attempt to deflect the blow. Instead, he met it head-on, responding with the most direct method. His heavy sword swung, and at the moment of impact, Sima Cang felt as if he had been struck by a colossal force, sending him flying backward.
His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. As he steadied himself and prepared to attack again, he saw Liu Mu transform into a series of afterimages, his form becoming an indistinct blur in Sima Cang's vision.
"Too fast!" Sima Cang realized the situation was dire. He had no time to ponder why Liu Mu had suddenly become so powerful, and could only react in a panic.
The tide of the battle had turned, exceeding everyone's expectations. Not only were Fu Beichen and his allies bewildered, but Lin Haotian and his group were equally stunned, unable to comprehend how Liu Mu had become so powerful and so cold.
Meanwhile, Mo Yan, fighting Bai Mengtian, was beginning to falter. Several sword marks marred his body. Despite his robust physique, the sharp sword intent carried within Bai Mengtian's flying sword prevented his wounds from healing quickly.
"Die!" As Mo Yan was injured, Bai Mengtian's attacks intensified. He finally found a fatal opening and unleashed a horizontal slash, intending to decapitate Mo Yan.
At the brink of death, Mo Yan knew he could not block this sword. Just as he resigned himself to sacrificing his physical body...
*Boom!*
Limitless sword intent and lightning path rules suddenly descended upon the battlefield, engulfing everyone. Mo Yan clearly felt that Bai Mengtian's movements had slowed by a fraction. This gave him the opportunity to narrowly evade the fatal blow!
As they looked at the dense sword intent and lightning path rules surrounding them, Bai Mengtian and the others sensed trouble. However, the Six Royal Estate's members erupted in excitement.
"Master has returned!"
"Elder Zhang Fan is back! They're all doomed!"
The crowd cheered, their hearts finally at ease.
In the distance, a phantom image of a Kunpeng tore through the sky, traversing hundreds of miles in an instant to arrive before the Coiling Dragon Mountain.
Zhang Fan took in the situation at a glance. Liu Mu's transformation caught his eye the most. Previously, in the Northern Ice Plains, Zhang Fan had sparred with Liu Mu shortly after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. During that fight, Liu Mu had also exhibited such a transformation.
At the time, Zhang Fan had harbored suspicions, and seeing Liu Mu in this state again now further solidified his thoughts.
"He truly cultivated the Formless Divine Physique. Perhaps this current state is not even his true appearance?" Zhang Fan mused internally, but he had no intention of inquiring later. Everyone had their secrets, and if Liu Mu didn't wish to share, questioning him would be futile.
The Formless Divine Physique, formless and shapeless, could drastically alter a person's aura.
The current Liu Mu was like a completely different person. The chilling aura emanating from him sent a shiver through Zhang Fan's soul. Sima Cang, facing him directly, was even more terrified. He had never imagined that he would feel the presence of death from a cultivator who had only just entered the Nine Tribulations Realm.
*Boom!*
Facing Liu Mu's heavy sword, Sima Cang had no energy left to counterattack and could only weakly defend. After three consecutive blows, he was once again sent flying backward.
Sima Cang's peripheral vision caught sight of Fu Beichen and Bai Mengtian. He saw that Mo Yan, who had been struggling, was now able to barely fend off Bai Mengtian's fierce assault with the aid of the lightning sword domain.
As Sima Cang contemplated how to escape, a dazzling sword light suddenly struck from behind him, aiming to cleave him in two.
The sword strike was incredibly sudden and silent. It was only when the sharp edge pressed against his back, a zhang away, that he finally noticed it.
Sima Cang knew that evasion was impossible. At the critical moment, he forcefully twisted his body, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
*Slash!*
The sword light, like water, fell gently. With Sima Cang's cry of pain, an arm was thrown high into the air, scattering crimson blood.
Although Sima Cang had avoided a fatal strike, he paid a heavy price, his arm severed.
...