Xu Mu, riding Qiongqi, rode against the domain's blockade, soaring upward like lightning, as if he would break through to the dim yellow sky in the next second.
Yes, for the underground world, the outside ground was already the sky.
"We absolutely cannot let him escape!" Seeing this, the furious roars of countless humans and dwarves resounded, shaking the heavens like ancient bells.
"Go!" the Dwarf Domain Lord roared. His Hunk Ling, instantly extending into space, suffused with red like an ocean, then coiled and sealed the sky, descending like a giant net.
Xu Mu's expression grew solemn. This artifact could hold back the immense seal that had just appeared. If he got entangled, he would truly be unable to escape!
"Thirty-seven meters diagonally upward, that palm-sized rock protrusion. Step on it and fly five paces directly to the right, there will be a gap!" Xu Mu's mind raced. The innate Bagua array disk spun rapidly, and the golden light of the Sheng Gate flared.
"Understood!" Qiongqi roared, stepping onto the rock Xu Mu had indicated. It leaped five paces to the right, as if in mid-air.
*Puff!*
The sharp red silk sliced through Qiongqi's thigh, and its scorching divine beast blood splattered into the air.
"My good man, you weren't kidding, were you? A gap that's perfectly sized? Do you think we're playing a puzzle game here!" Qiongqi, having narrowly passed through the red silk, roared angrily at Xu Mu.
He had initially expected the gap Xu Mu mentioned to be a large opening, at least wide enough for him to pass through.
But he never imagined that the gap in the red silk would indeed allow passage, but it had to be a *perfectly* fitting one.
Qiongqi felt a sense of tragic irony. This was a battle for survival; how could he control his body with such precision? It was fortunate that he had only twitched his leg slightly, injuring his flank. If his neck had trembled even a little, he would have met his maker directly.
"Run downward, to the nearest cave. There's another passage to the surface there, and the terrain is narrow, making it difficult for them to attack!" Xu Mu commanded after a moment of silence, crouching low on Qiongqi's back, his eyes weary.
He had almost forgotten that evading the attacks of those Domain Lords was far more difficult than facing off against Bronze Wu of the same level.
Moreover, Qiongqi was not a perverted robot like Gray-White Eye or Charles, incapable of absolute control over its movements.
"There's no winning this head-on. We must find another way out!" Xu Mu's face was grave, and he then commanded in a deep voice:
"Nash, continue leading them upwards to escape. I will go and lure them away myself!" With Xu Mu's final roar, Qiongqi, as he wished, dove into the dark, black cave with his body.
"Damn it!"
The four Dwarf Domain Lords of the Black Dwarf tribe gritted their teeth in fury. That cunning human had chosen another path, splitting up from his human slaves to escape.
Were the human slaves or the divine weapons more important?
"Above is the desert. These useless freaks without cultivation won't be able to escape far. Besides, even if they all get away, we can catch them again. Let's chase that kid first!" the Dwarf Domain Lord shouted loudly. He held the Kongtong Seal and, after a three-second hesitation, followed Xu Mu's path into the cave.
"Wait for us!" The other three, unwilling to be left behind, all flew into the cave.
Even though some among them wanted to prioritize the larger objective, the thought of their old friends snatching the divine weapons if they didn't enter the cave brought them a different kind of sorrow.
After all, these were divine weapons, possibly artifacts of saints. For them, who had forged weapons their entire lives, they possessed a fatal allure.
*Hummm...*
Xu Mu piloted Qiongqi, fleeing through the dark, lightless cave. Several magic artifacts pursued him from behind. He wielded his demonic blade to resist them. After several clashes, he had already sustained internal injuries.
"According to the map, the space here is actually a closed loop." Xu Mu's voice was weak. He and Qiongqi rounded a bend, temporarily shaking off their pursuers.
At this moment, the young man was desperately trying to recall the complex network of underground roads depicted on the map of the subterranean kingdom.
Then, he clenched his fists tightly, a hint of nervousness in his expression.
"Damn it!" Xu Mu gritted his teeth. He had to escape, but not too quickly. At the very least, he had to wait until all the human slaves had successfully reached the surface.
And after that, how to help them leave Alfheim would also be a monumental challenge.
"If these people cannot survive in the end, they will not die due to the dwarves' schemes!" Xu Mu bit his lip and urged Qiongqi down into a pit, "Let's go, we'll destroy the altar."
"Even if we can't escape in the end, we'll just dive into spatial turbulence again!"
Qiongqi said nothing more, his eyes fiercely focused as he charged with all his might. There was no choice; since Xu Mu was risking his life, he could only accompany him.
"You choose the path of death when the path of life was open! This is you seeking your own demise!" The hideous Black Dwarf Domain Lord grinned sinisterly upon seeing Xu Mu's direction of travel, for he knew it was not the path to the surface, but to the altar.
"Hmm... the altar?" The Dwarf Domain Lord wielding the immortal sword felt something was amiss and suddenly realized Xu Mu's intention. His expression changed drastically. "He's going to destroy the altar! Stop him quickly!"
"What!"
The dwarves' expressions changed drastically. Instantly, the immortal sword transformed into a streak of light, slashing wildly in the narrow cave, releasing sword energy that, along with the trident, shredded countless rock walls.
The Kongtong Seal also roared forth, becoming a mobile high wall. The Hunk Ling writhed through the rock layers like an earthworm, taking a shortcut to catch up with Xu Mu.
*Rumble, rumble...*
With the full power of these four unleashed, not only the space on this level but the entire underground kingdom of the dwarves seemed to begin to shake, on the verge of collapse.
*Whoosh!*
Xu Mu's speed was incredibly fast. Before the Hunk Ling could arrive, he burst out of the cave entrance.
He had returned to the bottom of the sinkhole once more.
Gazing at the corpses scattered before him, Xu Mu unhesitatingly swung his blade towards the altar, tens of thousands of meters long and wide, and severed the crystal pillar upon it.
"Stop!"
The four pursuers from behind were a step too late. Upon seeing Xu Mu's actions, they all unleashed powerful Daoist arts, trying to stop him. However, they were surprised by the agility of Xu Mu and Qiongqi. After several exchanges, they inadvertently accelerated the destruction of the altar.
Meanwhile, the human slaves above, led by Nash, had already begun to climb to the surface.
Xu Mu's forehead was grazed by an unknown energy, blood flowing freely, even obscuring his vision. Yet, he still managed a faint smile.
For no matter whether those people could survive in the end, at least he, the Night Walker of Great Xia, had done his utmost.
And from now on, he only needed to worry about his own life and fight for survival!
"You few wastes, I was only gone for three days, and look what you've done to this place!" Just as the dwarves were helpless against Xu Mu, a more powerful figure descended from the sky.
He snorted coldly, grasping strands of Great Dao energy from afar, forcibly halting Xu Mu and Qiongqi, who were darting around the altar, for a brief moment.
"Patriarch!" The dwarves cried out in surprise, shame etched on their faces, for the newcomer was none other than the patriarch of their Black Dwarf tribe, Yabo Xi'en, a Domain Lord expert at the peak of the fifth stage.
"Fortunately, he hasn't damaged the foundation. Kill him quickly!" Yabo Xi'en roared. He had been constantly wandering outside, forging alliances for the sake of his tribe's revival. Yet, upon returning home, he found someone destroying their altar.
His home had been invaded, how could he tolerate this!
But just as these dwarves were about to employ their lifelong skills, preparing to kill Xu Mu with all their might, a tremendous explosion erupted on the other side of the altar.
*Boom!*
The violent blast wave instantly destroyed a hundred-meter section of the altar and continued to spread. It was a black-to-purple energy ripple, akin to energy surging from hell. Precious energy-gathering crystals were all vaporized by it.
"What's going on?" Yabo Xi'en's eyes widened, his heart constricting. The crystals in the altar were treasures painstakingly accumulated by his entire tribe, each one placed there. Now, a hundred of them had been instantly destroyed.
"Who exactly are you!" Yabo Xi'en roared in fury, attempting to halt the spread of the explosion. But to his surprise, despite his full power, he was unable to resist it.
"Hahahaha..."
A chilling laughter echoed throughout the entire space, and then, from within the evil black mist, the figure of Sina slowly emerged.
"It's you!" Yabo Xi'en was shocked. He recognized this person, or rather, this dark magician. She was the disciple of *that* person!
But why was she here!
Xu Mu, hearing Sina's laughter, couldn't help but feel a shiver of fear. He looked back downwards, only to see that Sina's appearance had completely changed.
The birthmark on her face was now slowly coalescing into a grotesque ghost head with an odd expression. Its tongue, flicking like a snake's, joined Sina in laughter, making the dwarves' scalps tingle!