Mei Chuan was startled and asked, raising an eyebrow,
“You mean, we fight now?”
Xu Mu nodded and smiled,
“Exactly.”
“I’m not one to procrastinate, and I’m usually quite busy. Since you’re the strongest after Zuo Mingqiu and Zhao Qingdong, if I defeat you, I presume no one will bother me unnecessarily anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Chuan quietly gripped the Profound Gold Ruler in his hand, and then from his left and right sides, two clones slowly materialized, their appearances and auras strikingly similar.
The three Mei Chuas stared at Xu Mu, speaking in unison,
“Since you’re so eager to leave the mountain, then come on. I’ll let you make the first move!”
Xu Mu, hearing this, exuded a trace of Dao Origin from his palm. Lightning elemental energy coalesced, intertwining to form an incredibly terrifying fluctuation.
Seeing this, Mei Chuan’s eyebrows lifted slightly, for within this gathered lightning, he sensed a Dao Origin of immense purity and nobility.
This sensation was something he had only felt from Zuo Mingqiu. It had nothing to do with the strength of his lightning techniques, but entirely with the density and refinement of his Dao Origin, which far surpassed that of ordinary individuals. This led to an inexplicable sense of pressure, much like how a wild beast might sense a bloodline pressure from a divine beast.
“You are indeed a genius, but unfortunately, you must leave the mountain.” Mei Chuan said with a serious expression. All three figures charged forward simultaneously, the Profound Gold Great Ruler stirring up violent thunder and a sea of fire in the space, leaving behind trails of glazed illusions.
In his view, although Xu Mu’s Dao Origin was pure and dense, his cultivation realm was certainly inferior to his. This could be discerned from the lightning he gathered, which, though powerful, could at most possess the destructive force of a Stage Three Upper Realm cultivator, posing no threat to him.
But the next second, Mei Chuan realized he was mistaken.
For reasons unknown, the lightning elemental energy in the space suddenly multiplied by nearly a hundredfold.
Xu Mu’s dark golden Dao Origin also surged, with lightning elemental energy intermingling within it, like a lake half-filled with sand and half with clear water.
“I will not leave the mountain.”
Xu Mu declared. In a fraction of an instant, he unleashed the vast quantity of lightning elemental energy from his Golden Core, then kneaded it with his Dao Origin, instantly erupting into a colossal lightning dragon.
“Boom!”
The moment the lightning dragon appeared, it devoured all the elemental energy in the space and ferociously charged towards Mei Chuan. The two clones and the sea of thunder and fire unleashed by the Profound Gold Great Ruler were pulverized almost instantly upon contact.
Mei Chuan’s expression turned to terror. In the final moments, he produced a dark cyan shield and held it before him. The Xuanwu tortoise patterns on its surface emanated the resilience of solid rock, directly resisting the lightning dragon’s impact.
“Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!”
Like a waterfall during flood season striking the rocks below, the lightning dragon’s body shortened section by section. Immense lightning explosions shook Mei Chuan’s figure, forcing him to retreat. He only managed to brace himself with his feet and back when he collided with the hard mountain behind him, but his physical body was still being eroded by the overflowing lightning energy.
The Xuanwu shield could not fully block Xu Mu’s lightning dragon. Mei Chuan resisted the impact with all his might, but his body was instantly riddled with holes from the overflow of energy!
“Bang!”
The final section of the lightning dragon shattered.
“Clang!”
Leaning against the mountain, Mei Chuan’s body slid uncontrollably to the ground, his shield clattering beside him.
His luxurious robes were torn, his entire body scorched black, bleeding all over, his pupils shrunken, his gaze vacant. In mere dozens of breaths, this second most gifted disciple of Sacred Sun Peak had completely lost his former elegance, appearing as pathetic as a beggar.
Xu Mu walked slowly to his front, picked up the shield from the ground, dusted it off, and then forcefully erased Mei Chuan’s spiritual imprint on it. He then smiled and said,
“I told you, I won’t leave the mountain.”
“As for you, whether you leave or not is irrelevant. Your shield is very good, may I have it?”
Mei Chuan stared blankly at Xu Mu, saying nothing.
Seeing this, Xu Mu smiled slightly and said,
“If you don’t speak, I’ll take it as your agreement.”
“Thank you.”
…
Xu Mu spoke, then returned to Tai Wu Zhenren’s side.
The entire place was silent, especially for cultivators from Sacred Sun Peak like Lan Qi Zhenren, who were familiar with Mei Chuan’s strength. They could not believe that Mei Chuan, ranked second and incredibly powerful, had been defeated by Xu Mu in a single move!
“Was that lightning dragon truly capable of being unleashed by a Stage Three cultivator?” Li Yuan stared intently at Xu Mu’s retreating back, his expression utterly shocked.
He had initially thought he had already overestimated Xu Mu, given that the latter was being pursued by Zhao Qingdong and had even exchanged blows with Zuo Mingqiu, his strength was surely not weak.
But Li Yuan had not anticipated Xu Mu to be this formidable.
He could sense that the moment the lightning dragon appeared, the lightning elemental energy in the space had instantly erupted a hundredfold, as terrifying as a breaching flood!
“It’s… it’s over!” Ning Yuan Chen stood in a corner, staring at the scene in a daze, as if he had been struck by lightning. It was as if Xu Mu’s lightning dragon had struck him.
He had repeatedly bullied Xu Mu before; now, it seemed, he had been digging his own grave!
On the other side, Yao Song also looked at Xu Mu with a pale face. He was also a Taoist disciple of Heavenly Master Mountain, and also at Stage Three, so he could clearly sense how powerful that lightning dragon was.
To put it bluntly, the lightning elemental energy contained within it was more than all the elemental energy and Dao Origin combined within his entire Golden Core, but how was that possible!
Unless his dantian contained no elemental energy, only lightning elemental energy!?
Bi Xu Zhenren was pondering the same question.
He looked at Xu Mu, somewhat puzzled.
Who exactly was this young man?
With so much lightning elemental energy stored within his body, had he grown up drinking water from the Lightning Pool?
As everyone’s thoughts diverged, exclamations of shock and disbelief continued to erupt, but Xu Mu paid them no mind. He stood beside Tai Wu Zhenren, reining in his aura, and calmly handed Zhao Qingdong a small medicine bottle.
“This can heal the internal injuries in your Hundred Apertures.”
Xu Mu looked at Zhao Qingdong and said with great sincerity,
“When I came up the mountain, I got lost. I truly didn’t expect to disrupt your breakthrough. Consider this as my compensation. If you develop any lingering ailments in the future, you can come find me again, and I’ll treat you free of charge.”
Zhao Qingdong looked at Xu Mu. She let the small bottle of medicine fall before her, then remained silent. She then stomped the medicinal paste, personally refined by Xu Mu, into powder, the porcelain bottle turning into debris.
“I don’t need it.”
Zhao Qingdong stated.
Xu Mu, seeing this, let out a wry chuckle.
He had spoken with genuine sincerity, but since Zhao Qingdong did not appreciate it, there was no need for him to persistently offer his goodwill.
“Are you participating in the Heaven Worshipping Assembly eleven days from now?” Zhao Qingdong asked Xu Mu.
Xu Mu first shook his head, then quickly shook it violently again, saying earnestly,
“I don’t know.”
The elder behind Zhao Qingdong looked grave upon hearing this.
By now, the conclusion was quite clear. Xu Mu, who had so easily defeated Mei Chuan, was certainly not from Heavenly Master Mountain. And judging by his terrifying lightning techniques, he must be a prodigy from another Taoist sect.
Had Zuo Mingqiu, in his bid for the position of Dao Child, even recruited reinforcements from other sects?
Zhao Qingdong looked at Xu Mu and said,
“After the Heaven Worshipping Assembly, please state your name and lineage.”
“Mei Chuan is my subordinate. You injured him and took his possessions, so I must avenge him. I will personally come to your door to challenge you then.”
Xu Mu was slightly taken aback. He scratched his head and said, “We’ll see about that then.”
“And at the Heaven Worshipping Assembly, you won’t be able to defeat Zuo Mingqiu either.”
Zhao Qingdong looked deeply at Xu Mu, then turned and left.
The other elders also dispersed, and Mei Chuan was carried away by a group of people. Before leaving, his gaze towards Xu Mu still held a mixture of unwillingness and fear.
Fear, for Xu Mu’s lightning techniques, which were indeed powerful, even to the point of exceeding his comprehension.
Unwillingness, because Mei Chuan felt that he should not have lost to Xu Mu so easily with his own strength. Even if he were outmatched, he should have been able to last for more than a hundred moves.
The swift defeat was entirely due to his underestimation, not expecting the mass of lightning in Xu Mu’s hand to suddenly multiply a hundredfold and become a lightning dragon.
If Mei Chuan had known beforehand that Xu Mu was a prodigy comparable in strength to Zhao Qingdong and Zuo Mingqiu, he would have been extremely cautious and unleashed his strongest abilities from the very beginning.
But unfortunately, there are no “ifs.”
He had underestimated his opponent and was thus instantly defeated.
“We’re leaving too. Tai Wu Zhenren, Sect Master Zhenren, you two… take care.” Fu Yuan Xian Weng and the others also led Zuo Mingqiu away, leaving only a few people in the field.
“Your identity…” Bi Xu Zhenren stared at Xu Mu, his expression slightly puzzled, then he chuckled and shook his head, “Never mind. Since Tai Wu believes you, there’s no need for me to ask further questions.”
“However, I must remind you of one thing.”
Xu Mu heard this and cupped his hands, saying,
“Please speak, Zhenren.”
“Do not do anything detrimental to Heavenly Master Mountain.” Bi Xu Zhenren said with a serious expression. “No matter who you are helping, you cannot.”
“You can only help Heavenly Master Mountain.”
Xu Mu took great effort to understand the meaning of these words, then nodded and solemnly assured,
“Please rest assured, Sect Master Zhenren, everything I do will not be detrimental to Heavenly Master Mountain.”
“Then I shall not linger.” Bi Xu Zhenren nodded, then vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving in great haste as if he had something urgent to attend to.
“Is there a need to be in such a hurry?” Xu Mu mumbled to himself, scratching his head.
“The Old Heavenly Master is about to pass away, and all the burdens have fallen upon him.” Tai Wu Zhenren looked at the retreating back of the middle-aged man, saying softly, a hint of emotion on his stern face.
Heavenly Master Mountain, unlike White Cloud Taoist Temple, aside from the reclusive elders in Hidden Peak whose lifespans were dwindling and who were merely clinging to existence, only had Bi Xu and the Old Heavenly Master openly as two Zhenren above the fifth realm. The Domain Lords were even fewer, less than thirty in total, not even rivaling the foundation of a noble family.
And among them, the Old Heavenly Master possessed the greatest strength, infinitely close to that of a Human King.
With the aid of Heavenly Master Mountain’s great formation, the Heavenly Master could even contend with those in the top ten of the World Ranking.
Bi Xu Zhenren’s strength was also formidable, and compared to the Old Heavenly Master, he was very young. Thus, in such a volatile situation, he often had to go out and interact with various top forces.
For instance, the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who greatly favored recruiting talented individuals, held him in high regard, always receiving him with the Imperial Preceptor present whenever Bi Xu visited.
Tai Wu Zhenren sighed, saying,
“Over the years, to guard against the covetous eyes of certain forces, the Sect Master has made many alliances externally.”
“He has urgent matters to attend to every moment. You should consider yourself fortunate to see him return to the mountain today.”
Xu Mu smiled faintly at this, remaining silent. His impression of this Sect Master was not good, due to his earlier inaction.
However, to be fair, if he were in the same position, he might have made the same choice. After all, it was human nature, and the general trend of events.
“Your identity has been exposed. How do you plan to investigate now?” Tai Wu Zhenren suddenly asked.
“I have my own ways.”
Xu Mu pursed his lips, then looked at Tai Wu Zhenren and said, “There is something you need to know.”
Tai Wu Zhenren frowned. “What is it?”
Xu Mu frowned and said,
“Within the Lightning Pool, there is a lightning snake.”
“It is a mutated lightning vein, and I suspect it is being artificially bred.”
Tai Wu Zhenren’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, and his gaze towards Xu Mu became peculiar before quickly returning to normal.
“I understand.”
“Do not spread this matter to others.”
Xu Mu’s back was to Tai Wu Zhenren, and for the first time in a long while, a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes. He then nodded and calmly said,
“Alright, Zhenren.”
…