In the blink of an eye, the flying knife was already upon him. What else could be done?
"Gen, Earth Chariot."
In that moment of crisis, Xu Mu's mind stirred, and a character appeared on his palm.
The character was Gen.
Thus, the rock beneath his feet surged upwards like an earth dragon rising, propelling Xu Mu's body a hundred meters into the sky.
Boom!
And in the very second he shot upwards, that terrifying knife struck the ascending stone dragon.
The sharp blade cut through the rock with no obstruction!
"He dodged it!"
Nan Feng wiped his eyes, his expression stunned. He hadn't even seen Xu Mu's movement clearly before the opponent was lifted into the sky by a pillar of stone. What kind of Dao technique was this!
"Good thing this is on a mountain."
Xu Mu's heart was filled with trepidation. The Gen character in his palm was still glowing. The Yi Jing, specifically Lianshan Yi, was a Dao technique created by Fuxi based on mountains, so its activation speed was naturally the fastest!
"It's not over yet!"
The black-clothed assassin, seeing his flying knife dodged, was astonished and felt a surge of shame and indignation.
He controlled the humming flying knife, guiding it against the dozen-meter-long rock, slicing upwards from the middle.
Wherever it passed, all obstacles were severed.
Xu Mu sensed the danger beneath his feet and, due to gravity, began to fall. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Xun, Wind Rider!"
The moment the knife struck the rock, Xu Mu knew he would fall. He immediately used the Innate Eight Trigrams to manipulate the directional changes.
The Gen character on his palm disappeared, replaced by Xun.
Then, a gust of wind materialized from thin air, pushing Xu Mu's body tens of meters to the side.
Simultaneously, the knife severed all the rocks. The sharp blade spun in the air, slicing through the air where Xu Mu had stood moments before.
"A multi-elemental ability user?!"
The black-clothed assassin's brother, who had been observing, was also taken aback.
He hadn't expected his brother's attack to encounter a rare multi-elemental ability user.
"No, I sense the aura of Third Brother on him!"
Nan Feng's expression grew serious. The moment Xu Mu levitated into the sky, he sensed an aura similar to Third Brother's. Their Dao techniques seemed to originate from the same source.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his flying knife miss again, the black-clothed assassin roared in anger. A dark, gloomy domain spread out, engulfing everyone.
His body then vanished from his position.
"Shadow Kill!"
Nan Feng's face was grim. He instinctively tensed, for they were all ability users who operated in the northwestern region, and he knew how terrifying the opponent's domain was.
Although it wasn't a spatial Dao technique, the domain alone granted speed equivalent to teleportation. If one was not careful, their throat could be slit.
Just as the man, with a sinister expression, retrieved his flying knife and stealthily approached Xu Mu from behind, Xu Mu sensed his presence.
This was because the opponent had been present within his invisible Innate Eight Trigrams array.
But discovering him was of little use.
Xu Mu sighed. In this situation, with his body suspended, he saw no other recourse but to escape.
However, running seemed futile. His Xun technique was not skillfully used; dodging the shadow once was his limit.
"Alas."
Xu Mu sighed.
This scenario was all too familiar to him. It mirrored the time he first met Yin Shui'er and later went to Granny Sun's, nearly having his chest torn open by a ghost infant.
Except this time, he was no longer an ordinary person, and the muscle reaction hadn't arrived. He seemed destined to take the blow!
"If all else fails, I'll take a hit, then let Gray White Eyes take over."
Xu Mu thought this, then tried his best to turn his body sideways, avoiding a fatal injury.
But at that precise moment, an unforeseen event occurred.
Crack!
The wind and clouds shifted. The black-clothed assassin's domain seemed to be struck by something. With a crack, it shattered.
The assassin suffered a backlash, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and his movements faltered for a split second. Xu Mu, thus, evaded the strike.
"Who dares!"
Nan Feng sensed the danger and reacted first. His domain spread beneath his feet, killing intent surged, and he was fully on guard.
He could sense that the opponent's strength far surpassed their own.
It seemed to be a Domain Lord!
...
"A bunch of fools! Look at what you've done!"
Thunder rolled, arriving with a person.
The speed and ferocity of the man were indescribable. Even Nan Feng only saw a blur.
He created a string of sonic booms, appearing instantly beside Xu Mu, and then delivered a kick to the black-clothed assassin's hip joint.
Crack!
The sound of his body breaking in half.
An unimaginably immense force struck the black-clothed assassin's waist.
Then, like a thin wooden stick snapped in the middle, his body folded, and his sword-holding hand met his toes in an unnatural posture.
The knife flew from his grasp, falling towards the ground.
But his body plummeted faster, smashing into the rock like a cannonball!
Rumble!
Destructive force surged downwards, crushing countless large stones and trembling the entire ground like a pangolin.
It took a full ten seconds before the earth-shattering tremor finally subsided.
"Brother!"
The black-clothed assassin standing behind, who hadn't attacked, froze. He ran to the smoke-filled crater and peered down in disbelief.
But it was only dark and deep.
Most importantly, his brother beneath the ground gave no response!
Clang!
With a light sound, the man turned his head.
And saw a short dagger, incredibly familiar, lying on the ground, its luster completely gone.
Seeing this, the black-clothed assassin's mind exploded.
This flying knife was the life-bound artifact of their brothers, one for each. If the knife broke, the person died, and likewise, when the master died, the knife would lose its sentience.
"Dead?!"
He seemed unable to believe it. After a brief period of grief, he fell into endless madness and rage, so much so that he didn't even recognize the figure, despite how familiar it was.
"Who are you!"
"You killed my brother, I will repay your blood with blood!"
The assassin's eyes turned blood red, and he unleashed a flying knife without restraint.
A dim domain spread, boundless killing intent filling the air. The flying knife grew several times its size, blinding to behold. He wanted to avenge his brother!
Facing the attack, the strong figure in the air merely frowned.
With a casual wave of his hand, the knife was sent flying, as if swatting away a fly.
"Yun Che, you damned fellow!" The man's face turned ashen. He had revealed his true appearance, yet Yun Che still attacked him?
"Can't you see who is standing next to me now?!"
Xu Mu, his feet treading on invisible wind, felt the terrifying pressure emanating from the man beside him. He turned his head, utterly bewildered.
The man was tall and burly, with a square face and bulging muscles, like a Hercules. He had never seen this person before, yet he was now helping him.
"I don't care who he is! He killed my brother, he must pay with his life!"
He roared, his abilities surging, determined to fly into the air at any cost and strike again.
But alas, his strength was too weak, for the opponent was a Domain Lord.
He was suppressed by the boundless abilities, unable to move.
The man became enraged, feeling provoked. His quasi-solidified abilities formed a phantom foot.
It was as vast as the heavens, scaring everyone in the cave into stopping abruptly.
"What's happening?!"
Someone asked in panic, but no one answered.
Boom!
The colossal foot descended. The Domain Lord's might was so terrifying that even before it touched the ground, the rocks around Yun Che crumbled under the pressure.
"No!"
Yun Che roared in anger and despair. At this point, he finally recognized who the man was.
If he had chosen to flee from the start, with his speed, he might have had a chance.
But he chose revenge, and twice he had done so.
Therefore, the man would not give him a third chance.
The great foot landed, causing mountains to collapse and the earth to split. Half of the cave's entrance turned into powder and debris, falling into the valley.
And Yun Che was crushed into a meat patty, completely dead and vanished.
The heavens and earth roared, and the ninth cave trembled violently.
"Blind fool!"
The Domain Lord spat downwards in anger. They deserved to die for daring to attack Xu Mu!
Nan Feng, who had retreated earlier, turned pale with fear upon witnessing this.
His eyes widened to their largest extent, for he recognized who the person was. Others did too.
This face was so familiar.
Although not everyone knew him, he was far more familiar than the face of that wild man.
This person was the ruler of their northwestern region.
The City Lord of the largest city, Duan Qingcheng.
"Lord... Lord Qingcheng."
Nan Feng's face turned pale, his legs felt weak. His previous imposing demeanor of robbing for points was gone, like a mouse encountering a cat!
Duan Qingcheng was, in essence, the only bane of the Northwest Four Freaks.
Because he was the City Lord, the one sent by the court to capture them.
The reason the Northwest Four Freaks had remained at large was precisely because they had secretly pledged allegiance to Duan Qingcheng, relying on his protection to repeatedly escape the court's encirclement!
Therefore, this City Lord was their true boss!
"Don't call me Lord. I don't know you!"
Duan Qingcheng, radiating killing intent, landed before Nan Feng, his body filled with rage.
The situation just now had been too perilous.
If he hadn't intervened, Xu Mu might have been seriously injured, or even killed.
If Xu Mu died, how would his superior, Yao Huo, treat him?
Thinking of that towering Dharma image, the flames that could incinerate everything in the world, he was overcome with fear.
If he failed the task assigned by Yao Huo, he would truly die!
Thus, he walked up to Nan Feng and delivered a heavy slap:
"Slap!"
"Don't tell me you didn't recognize me!"
"I..." Nan Feng covered his face, his heart filled with killing intent, but he dared not show the slightest hint of it.
He couldn't possibly say he recognized him and then deliberately didn't act.
"I have eyes but failed to see Mount Tai!"
After delivering the slap, Duan Qingcheng still felt unsatisfied. He then looked up at the dozens of leaders in the cave, gritting his teeth and shouting:
"Who participated in the siege? All of you, stand out!"
"You dare to move Lord Xu of the Demon Extermination Division? Let's see who doesn't want to live!"
...