Xu Mu and Qiongqi returned to the Hidden Dragon Inn.
The Wine Immortal Daoist did not accompany them.
They had not arrived at the Holy City together, and each had their own matters to attend to, so they did not force themselves to stay together.
Xu Mu did not object. He walked back to the inn, and Qiongqi, claiming to be hungry, said he would dine on the first floor. Xu Mu then nonchalantly returned to his room on the upper level.
However, the moment he pushed the door open, he instinctively sensed something was amiss.
The smell in the room had changed.
The furnishings seemed to have been disturbed as well.
Xu Mu's hand gripped the doorknob and he tentatively called out, "Charles, is that you?"
His greeting was met with a blood-soaked palm strike, filled with killing intent.
*Bang!*
Xu Mu sensed the danger and tried to retreat from the room, but at that instant, the door slammed shut. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't open it.
"It's a domain!"
Xu Mu sensed the peculiar energy in the space, his expression startled. He then instinctively threw a punch diagonally upwards.
*Boom! Crack!*
A corpulent figure emerged from the domain. That person also threw a punch, but their strength was even greater than Xu Mu's.
The moment their fists collided, the terrifying force generated by the impact sent Xu Mu crashing back against the door, creating a loud noise.
Immediately after, the figure unleashed another punch.
Xu Mu used all his strength, blocking with both palms, and shouted, "Qiongqi, hurry and save me!!!"
This shout was full of vigor, reaching the heavens, comparable to his voice when he was on guard duty. Logically, not only Qiongqi on the first floor but even others outside should have sensed something unusual and rushed to his aid. However, no one came.
Instead, he was met with the fists of the indistinct figure.
Xu Mu's face darkened. Realizing the gap in their cultivation, he quickly began to dodge, weaving within the confined space. Despite his efforts, he was hit many times, and several of his bones were instantly broken.
At this moment, Xu Mu decided to retrieve the Goblin Bow.
But then he discovered he couldn't draw the bowstring. It felt as if some strange force in the space was pulling at him, preventing him from drawing the bow.
It was then that the sudden appearance of the corpulent figure finally revealed its true face.
"Alliance Leader Xu, do you remember me!"
Nan Feng, his blood energy surging, roared and charged at Xu Mu, pinning him against the wall. The domain within the room rumbled.
*Boom! Crack!*
The wooden floorboards splintered in half under his feet, and dust rained down from the walls. Xu Mu was so shaken he almost vomited blood.
He stared intently at Nan Feng, his expression grim, and said, "It's you? This is the Hidden Dragon Inn, aren't you afraid of death!"
Nan Feng smiled sinisterly and said, "Xu Mu, no one can save you today."
"See this bronze mirror? With its cooperation with my domain, this room is completely isolated from the outside. No matter how loud you scream, not a sound will get out. And here, you cannot use your abilities!"
Nan Feng gripped Xu Mu's neck with both hands, his expression ferocious. "Haha, Alliance Leader Xu, aren't you skilled in swordsmanship? Didn't you kill my third brother? Today, I will avenge my brothers!"
"Get away from me!"
Just as his Adam's apple was about to be crushed, the blood energy accumulated within Xu Mu erupted along with the starlight, instantly breaking Nan Feng's grip.
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Mu drew the Demon God's Horn from space and thrust it directly towards Nan Feng's chest.
"Heh, you still have some strength, but it's useless. This isn't Xishan anymore. You can't use your abilities, so you can only fight me with physical strength!"
Nan Feng roared arrogantly, pulling out a large saber. His blood energy surged, and he clashed head-on with Xu Mu. Both exerted their full strength.
Xu Mu gripped the saber with both hands, his muscles bulging. Yet, as the starlight and blood boiled within him, his feet were forced to shuffle backward inch by inch, until he was finally pressed against the wall.
Nan Feng stared at Xu Mu, feeling immensely satisfied.
Even after joining the Ye family, he hadn't expected to find Xu Mu so soon for revenge, let alone to personally suppress him to this extent.
After all, that sword strike from Xu Mu had terrified him for so long, and he clearly remembered the scene of Xu Mu rescuing people from the dwarf tribe.
He was deeply afraid of Xu Mu.
He also knew that he had to kill Xu Mu as quickly as possible.
Nan Feng was unaware of what had happened to Xu Mu's body. He only knew that Xu Mu had fought evenly with Ye Gong in the preliminary rounds of the Ten Thousand Races Alliance Assembly, and his strength seemed to have weakened considerably.
Furthermore, the Ye clan had bestowed upon him a fifth-stage artifact that could not only seal space but also cooperate with his domain to forcibly create an environment where abilities could not be used.
In this context, Xu Mu was merely a third-stage physical cultivator, while he was fourth-stage. Although he still felt a sense of danger, Nan Feng had no other choice.
Because this might be his last chance to kill Xu Mu.
He had come here based on information from the Ye family.
The Ye family had instructed him to kill Mu Xu.
And he was killing Xu Mu.
These two were, in essence, the same person.
Nan Feng sneered and unleashed another punch.
Xu Mu blocked with his elbow. His internal abilities surged, and even the eyes of the Goblin Bow opened, but he couldn't use his abilities, constantly suppressed by that bronze mirror.
The Congenital Eight Trigrams technique was also unusable.
*Pfft!*
With another exchange, Xu Mu spat blood, and Nan Feng pinned him against the wall once more. Blood streamed down his forehead, blurring his vision.
He seemed to have no other options.
Xu Mu stopped resisting Nan Feng's grip and allowed himself to be held by the neck.
Seeing this, Nan Feng grinned sinisterly. "What, Alliance Leader Xu, giving up already? I must say, your physique is truly formidable, far stronger than mine at the third stage. If you were to resist stubbornly, it would take me some time to kill you."
"But this way, it's much better. I can save time, and you can reduce your suffering."
Nan Feng's face was wreathed in a smile as he tightened his grip, believing victory was assured.
However, in reality, Xu Mu's hand was already slowly closing around something, which he then quietly pressed against Nan Feng's chest.
At this moment, Xu Mu was on the verge of suffocating.
But he had successfully cocked the gun with one hand.
Then, he fired.
*Bang!*
"You're the one who should be suffering less!"
Xu Mu grunted, continuously pulling the trigger. The Browning pistol spat fire, and bullets pierced Nan Feng's body, tearing through his steel-like flesh and finally reaching his heart.
The heart was the most vulnerable.
Not everyone possessed a Pure Glass Heart.
Therefore, Nan Feng's heart was shot through.
Nan Feng's expression remained ferocious, but in the next second, a suffocating sense of powerlessness washed over him like a tide.
His expression became somewhat bewildered.
Nan Feng slowly looked down at his chest and saw a vibrant crimson flower and a black pistol stained with blood.
"This... what's happening..." Nan Feng seemed to understand what had occurred, but he refused to accept it.
With a look of shock, he stumbled back two steps. Then, using his last reserves of strength, he lunged towards the artifact, the bronze mirror, intending to disable the space's ability-sealing properties.
He was a fourth-stage Lord, just one step away from becoming a Domain Lord, and he possessed elixirs and divine medicines. Logically, no matter what kind of injury he sustained, those medicines could save his life.
But the problem was, his heart had been pierced.
Even with the potent effects of those medicines, they could not match the speed of his life draining away. Unless he could immediately use his abilities and employ a special method to prolong his life, there was a slim chance of survival.
But in this space, abilities could not be used.
So, he had to disable that bronze mirror.
Xu Mu leaned against the corner, gradually recovering from the hypoxia.
He watched Nan Feng staggering towards the bronze mirror, seeming to understand his intention. He tightened his grip on the hunting knife in his hand and slashed fiercely at Nan Feng.
Although Nan Feng's heart had been pierced, he was still a powerful fourth-stage cultivator. Before death, there was a phenomenon of returning light.
At this moment, he was no longer as sluggish as before. Facing death, Nan Feng dodged Xu Mu's strike by leaping forward precariously.
*Plop!*
Nan Feng fell before the wooden table, his round belly hitting the ground first, bouncing him a few times. Blood from his chest flowed unceasingly onto the floor.
He did not pause. Using all his strength, he pushed himself up, trying to reach the bronze mirror artifact on the table and turn it off.
As long as the artifact was disabled, he could use his abilities and control his soul to escape, even if he couldn't save his physical body.
Although his strength would be greatly diminished, he would still be alive and not dead.
But in the next moment, an action by Xu Mu shattered his hope.
Xu Mu, holding the hunting knife, no longer aimed at Nan Feng but at the bronze mirror artifact.
*Clang!*
A crisp impact sound. The bronze mirror was flicked into the air by the hunting knife. Xu Mu leaped up, caught the mirror, and landed easily on the ground.
Nan Feng, at this point, had only managed to push himself halfway up.
He stared at Xu Mu holding the bronze mirror, crawling forward, and begged in terror, "Give it to me... please, give it to me..."
Hearing this, Xu Mu raised the bronze mirror above his head.
Nan Feng despaired.
He supported his body with his hands, his movements slow, clearly nearing the end of his life. Yet, he still did not give up struggling.
"Alliance Leader Xu, I was truly wrong. Please... spare me, let me go!" Nan Feng, while using pleas to lower Xu Mu's guard, suddenly sprang up, attempting to snatch the bronze mirror.
But Xu Mu would not give him such an opportunity. Having grown up as a hunter in the deep mountains and forests, he understood the principle of giving one's all even when hunting a rabbit. Moreover, Nan Feng was now the lion, and he had been on guard the entire time!
*Boom! Crack!*
Xu Mu wasted no words. Starlight gathered at his knee, shattering Nan Feng's skull.
The latter flew backward and fell to the floor, but still seemed to want to struggle.
Xu Mu stepped forward and brought down his knife.
The head rolled from one part of the floor to another.
The floor was completely stained with blood.
A splash of blood landed on Xu Mu's face.
Nan Feng was dead.
Xu Mu stared at his wide, unseeing eyes for a long time. He then slowly shook his head, gazed at the bronze mirror in his hand for a moment, tightened the groove on the back with a slight force, and instantly, the spatial restrictions were lifted.
The moment his abilities returned to his body, Xu Mu did not relax. Instead, he instantly lunged towards Nan Feng's head and used his Origin Dao and the Intent of Death to destroy his soul as well.
With one strike, both form and spirit were annihilated.
Scorching gray mist rose, accompanied by a shrill and unwilling cry. Nan Feng was completely dead.
Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
But at this moment, footsteps echoed from the doorway.
...