The Bagua Dao disk spun, and Xu Mu, standing on a great seal, shifted his hand gestures. In an instant, he unleashed hundreds of different spells derived from the formation disk, directly engulfing Zhou Jie's body.
Zhou Jie's expression changed dramatically. He hastily swung his bone saber to resist, but it proved utterly useless. He could only watch helplessly as the torrent swept him away.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, and the darkness in space was vaporized and burned by fire and thunder. Ice and snow mixed with blizzards and fierce winds stirred the white clouds, while a dark golden Dao source reflected in Xu Mu's eyes.
Sixteen pairs of eyes, all equally calm.
Yes, facing Zhou Jie's unbelievable special ability, Xu Mu did not panic. Instead, he immediately devised a strategy to counter it.
According to Zhou Jie, the clones he created with his special ability would evenly distribute Xu Mu's various energies. This meant that even though Xu Mu possessed a third-stage realm, after being split into eight parts, each clone's strength would be at most equivalent to the middle stage of the second stage.
What could a middle-stage second-stage realm do against the strongest Earth Fiend of the Ghost Domain? If he couldn't react in time, he might lose half his strength in a single encounter. Mu Longcuo, and other powerful individuals killed by Zhou Jie, likely died in a similar fashion.
They couldn't control too many bodies simultaneously, making them easily vulnerable. But Xu Mu was different. He controlled the Innate Bagua and mastered the five arts of mountain, medicine, fate, physiognomy, and divination. Within his divine soul's perception, there existed heaven and earth.
Back then, he was able to lead so many people to survive the pursuit of the bronze red crow tribe. This was thanks to his absolute control. Today, he could naturally control his own body at will.
If coordinated well, Zhou Jie's special ability would actually benefit Xu Mu. However, the latter was unaware of this. He simply roared in defiance and charged out of the cloud that had been pierced, slashing towards one of Xu Mu's clones.
Hum!
The malevolent energy of heaven and earth converged on the bone saber with terrifying might. Xu Mu, holding the Li trigram, had calm eyes. As the formation disk spun, the position he stood on had already turned into the Kun trigram.
"Lianshan Yi Shu!"
Xu Mu roared. The other three clones shifted their positions, stepping on the Kun trigram Dao art, connected to each other. Unlike mountains, it was imposing and ethereal, appearing to intend to block Zhou Jie's strike head-on.
Seeing this, Zhou Jie's slightly disheveled face revealed a cruel smile. Although he could feel that Xu Mu's Dao art's defensive power was strong, the difference in realms was there. His strike should be able to cleave through the opponent's mountain range and destroy a few clones.
At that point, Xu Mu would no longer be able to suppress him with numerical superiority, and the outcome would be the same as those before him: struggling fruitlessly, becoming isolated, and then dying.
But the problem remained: Xu Mu was not among the people he had killed before.
Zhou Jie did not notice that while four of Xu Mu's clones were performing Lianshan together, the other four Xu Mu clones had also moved. The palms of their hands bore the Li trigram, symbolizing fire.
"Li Palace position, Ignite!"
Xu Mu's four figures shifted positions, encircling Zhou Jie. They simultaneously spewed forth surging pillars of crimson fire, interspersed with dark golden Dao source. The flames burned the malevolent energy in space, incredibly brilliant.
"What!"
Zhou Jie's expression changed dramatically, as he felt a suppression from his origin. He naturally dared not charge with his full might and thus wanted to retreat.
But who would have thought that, at some unknown time, the two mountain-like Xu Mu figures, now holding the Xun trigram, had arrived at his sides with swift winds? They then simultaneously unleashed a palm strike, accompanied by thunder and fire, hitting Zhou Jie's body once more.
Boom!
Zhou Jie swung his bone saber with all his might, his malevolent energy erupting completely. He forcefully took Xu Mu's lightning-fire technique, but his own bone armor cracked with countless fissures, and blood began to flow from his body. He was clearly not lightly injured.
"Quite a quick reaction."
Xu Mu's main body said faintly. At the same time, the Bagua under the feet of his seven clones shifted again. They connected their positions, seemingly forming some kind of formation, and different Dao arts were continuously unleashed, locking Zhou Jie firmly in the center.
Zhou Jie held his bone saber, his malevolent techniques endless, blocking all the Dao arts coming from all directions. Several times he tried to break free, but he was always preempted by Xu Mu and confined to the center again.
Thus, the two were locked in a stalemate for nearly half an hour.
Clang!
A ray of light pierced through the covering of the white clouds. Both Xu Mu and Zhou Jie simultaneously sensed an irresistible force upon them, causing them to stop.
Zhou Jie's special ability space was shattered by the light, and Xu Mu's clone phantoms also dissipated. The energy drawn from his body slowly flowed back, and Xu Mu immediately felt his realm recover to the third stage, as if rising with the tide.
Zhou Jie also returned to his initial state. He took off his tattered bone armor, his body a mess of wounds. The green birthmark on his face was no longer menacing.
"The battle time has passed. Neither of you has determined a victor. It is a draw."
The adjudicator responsible for the Ten Thousand Races Assembly spoke with a majestic voice that echoed throughout the holy city.
Rumble!
Hearing this result, the atmosphere in the arena instantly ignited. Countless people exclaimed in shock.
Zhou Jie, the strongest Earth Fiend of the Jiālán Clan, a prodigy vying for the Supreme position at the Ten Thousand Races Assembly, who had slain countless third-stage powerhouses, had now fought to a draw with an outsider from the Jiang family?
"This is impossible!" Jiang Zhu's face turned pale. He gasped in disbelief. Zhou Jie had actually fought to a draw with that Mu Xu. Did that not mean that the outsider was indeed stronger than him, and what Qian Qian had said was true?
And he, was he slapping his own face?
On the other side, Jiang Taixu and Jiang Zheyue's expressions were also remarkable. They too had not expected Xu Mu's strength to be so formidable, to suppress Zhou Jie to a draw under such absolute disadvantage.
"Previously, we all thought he was purely a physical cultivator, but now it seems we have all underestimated him." On the spectator stands outside the battlefield, a group of Jiang family powerhouses couldn't help but sigh. Xu Mu's strength surprised everyone.
Regardless of the combat style or intensity, Xu Mu and Zhou Jie's battle could be described as perfect. Especially Xu Mu's reaction and control ability, which had reached an astonishing level.
"The Ye family and Qi family will have a headache!"
Outside the arena, countless people turned their gaze towards the Ye and Qi clans' locations. They saw that the people of those two families, young and old, now had very grim expressions, clearly affected by Xu Mu's battle.
Because the strength displayed by the latter was definitely stronger than all the geniuses currently possessed by their two families, as none of them could fight Zhou Jie to a draw.
Xu Mu had achieved it. Although Zhou Jie did not seem to have used his full power, who knew if he had held back? After all, before this, everyone had assumed Xu Mu was a pure physical cultivator.
"Putting aside other things, I'm curious now, who exactly is this Mu Xu?" Among the hundred clans, an elder asked with curiosity.
As soon as this was said, it immediately drew many affirmations. Countless powerful cultivators engaged in heated discussions among themselves, and soon, they reached a conclusion.
Xu Mu was from the Baiyun Daoist Temple.
On the judge's bench, the half-step Human King from the Baiyun Daoist Temple was stared at by countless eyes for a long time, becoming somewhat uncomfortable. He could only cough and say:
"This child, I do not recognize him."
"He might be a junior of my Daoist lineage, but he is likely not from my temple."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression became even more solemn.
Not from the Baiyun Daoist Temple, but from another Daoist lineage? But considering the countless Daoist branches in the world, besides the Baiyun Daoist Temple, which other force could cultivate such a genius?
This question, everyone was pondering, but they could not arrive at an answer.
Nangong Mao Guan frowned, staring at Xu Mu in the arena with suspicion. Like everyone else, he was filled with curiosity about the latter's identity.
"This kid... why does he always seem a little familiar?"