With his hunting knife held in his right hand, Hui Bai Tong swung it upwards, instantly cleaving the plump body of the golden toad in two.
Before Jin Da Fu could react, Xu Mu's body caught up with the blade's trajectory, appearing in mid-air and slashing out again.
"What!" Jin Da Fu cried out in surprise, clearly not expecting such a turn of events. Then, instinctively, he unleashed the gold elemental energy stored within his body.
*Hummm!*
The potent gold energy coalesced, crushing forward like a torrent of steel, pulverizing the golden toad's body into a paste. It clashed fiercely with the blade, erupting in countless waves, and Xu Mu's clothes instantly turned to ash.
This torrent of steel was powerful, indeed possessing the might expected of a peak Domain Lord. However, it was insufficient to block the blade, for this blade was impossibly sharp.
So sharp that even though Hui Bai Tong was merely in the Fourth Realm, he could sever it with pure physical strength and swordsmanship.
*Boom! Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!*
After a series of explosive sounds, the hunting knife cut through all the metal and landed on Jin Da Fu's face.
"No!!!"
Jin Da Fu shrieked in terror, attempting to use a spiritual artifact to escape. But his speed was too slow, not even half that of the blade.
*Clang!*
A flash of light from the blade, and a bloody line appeared from Jin Da Fu's head down to his thighs, splitting him in two.
Then, a brilliant golden light shot out from the top of his head, like a shooting star. It was Jin Da Fu's escaping soul!
"Kid, you just wait!" The soul fled into the heavens, leaving behind a fierce threat before scrambling away in utter panic.
"How could this be!" Not only the Wine Immortal Daoist, but all the ability users present, wore expressions of disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost, upon witnessing Jin Da Fu suddenly killed by Xu Mu's two swift slashes.
Xu Mu, who moments ago was heavily wounded and near death, had suddenly counter-killed the peak Fifth Stage Jin Da Fu. How was this possible?!
"His injuries suddenly healed, and he reached the Fourth Realm?" Bite Fire sensed Xu Mu's current aura, his expression turning grim. He couldn't comprehend how many trump cards Xu Mu still possessed, and why he was so difficult to kill!
"Wow, what a cool knife," Annie exclaimed. Her large eyes were filled with childlike innocence, seemingly without malice. However, the fiery giant bear she rode beneath her fully betrayed her true intentions.
"Everyone, don't be afraid. Even with his frequent displays of power, he's at most a Fourth Stage. Jin was killed because he underestimated his opponent. We just need to be careful of that knife!" Old Ancestor Wang roared sternly. Even if he hadn't said it, their pursuit didn't stop. Instead, they all began to condense their strongest abilities, wary of capsizing in a shallow ditch.
"Hurry and escape!" The Wine Immortal Daoist, who had been using his abilities to sneak attack Murphy, shouted.
"Huh?" The urgent cry of "Hurry and escape!" jolted Hui Bai Tong from the exhilarating sensation of cleaving a Domain Lord with his blade.
Gazing at the group of ability users, heavily wounded yet all radiating powerful energies as they lunged forward, he narrowed his eyes.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, he turned and fled.
"The correct choice," Charles stated.
*Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!* Hui Bai Tong moved with extreme speed, creating a thunderous whistling sound in the air.
"Trying to escape? Not so easy!" Bite Fire roared in fury, yanking two fire veins from the ground and wielding them like whips, lashing them towards Xu Mu's retreating back.
Sensing the scorching and dangerous killing intent from behind, Hui Bai Tong remained unperturbed. He abruptly stopped in mid-air and darted forty meters upwards and to the left.
*Splat!*
The whip of fire veins plunged into the black water river, splashing up a nauseating stench of decay. He had dodged the whip at an extremely tricky angle.
"Vile boy, stop!" Old Ancestor Wang's eyes turned bloodshot, his body expanding like an Asura as he took a step forward. The space before him exploded as if an invisible physical force had shattered it.
"Too slow." Hui Bai Tong flew diagonally downwards, narrowly brushing past that terrifying energy.
"Take your life!" Bite Fire pursued relentlessly, controlling his Dharma form to unleash a vast, world-ending rain of fire. The raindrops were enormous, each concealing countless elemental fire energies that would explode violently upon the slightest touch, filling the space and making evasion almost impossible.
Yet, Xu Mu's body weaved through the fire rain like an eagle soaring amongst falling feathers, effortlessly bobbing up and down, flashing continuously. Even Bite Fire was struck by the raindrops, but Xu Mu didn't touch a single one.
And this was while other ability users were also attacking. Xu Mu handled those attacks while dodging the fire rain, his speed unabated, never once being hit. He was rapidly disappearing from their sight!
"It's happening again!" Changsun Wuji, who had quietly retreated to the distant banks to observe, suddenly looked grim. He distinctly remembered Xu Mu exhibiting similar precognitive abilities when he was their alliance leader, which had allowed them to escape numerous near-death situations. But he hadn't expected Xu Mu's ability to be effective even against a world-ranking powerhouse. Did this mean he could truly escape today?!
"If he escapes, then I..." The man's face suddenly turned ashen. He had risked calculating Xu Mu's position and arranged for people to intercept him here, gambling his life on Xu Mu's brilliant future. Now, it seemed his efforts would be in vain.
"Damn it!" Bite Fire and the others could only roar in impotent fury as it seemed they couldn't catch up. They could clearly sense that Xu Mu showed no signs of exhaustion or weakness; his energy was abundant, and he would soon shake them off. This pursuit would end here today.
"I am not reconciled!" Old Ancestor Wang's face was ashen as he unleashed several punches, all to no avail. He could only roar in resignation.
"If Xu Mu doesn't die today, how can the Wang family survive in the Imperial City in the future!" Old Ancestor Wang cried out mournfully. The other Domain Lords felt the same, and even Bite Fire began to feel an involuntary sense of panic.
"Everyone, don't give up! Let's give it one last, desperate effort!" Bite Fire said sternly, unleashing the fire rain again. This time, the range and density were several times greater than before, the entire space resembling a fiery inferno, filled with terrifying fire explosions.
Amidst this chaos, Annie's fiery giant bear also refused to be outdone. It unleashed a pure, columnar beam of demonic fire towards Xu Mu, reducing everything in its path to ash.
Old Ancestor Wang threw several more punches, putting all his might into it. Murphy broke free from the Wine Immortal Daoist and hurled several mountain-sized stone shards. The other Domain Lords also gave their all... The entire space was instantly filled with those brilliant and terrifying abilities.
Changsun Wuji exaggeratedly retreated to the side. Such an attack was impossible to dodge; if he himself were to face it, he would likely be crushed by the pressure in an instant!
"Troublesome, but manageable."
Hui Bai Tong's expression turned solemn. He raised his hunting knife and instantly filtered through tens of thousands of escape routes in his mind. In the next second, he found the one with the least loss and chose it.
"Haa!"
With a low shout, he held his hunting knife horizontally across his chest. His body then instantly propelled upwards seven meters. As the beam of demonic fire approached, he was precisely at the outermost edge, bearing the least impact force.
"He's hit!" The crowd's faces lit up with joy, but then they realized something was amiss.
They saw Xu Mu's body being flung backward after being hit. However, during his flight, he perfectly avoided seven falling fire rain beads. Then, he used his hunting knife to slash through the air several times, deflecting a set of artifact ropes that flew towards him. Those ropes, imbued with a terrifying sealing aura, then collided with Old Ancestor Wang's void fist due to the explosion of the fire rain beads, detonating again. The terrifying force of that impact sent Xu Mu's body flying even further.
All their ability attacks had been used as aids for Xu Mu's escape. In other words, all of this was within his plan.
Seeing this situation, even Bite Fire felt a sense of defeat from the bottom of his heart.
Because he knew that although Xu Mu had not yet escaped his fire rain, no matter what they did next, they would not be able to keep him. He would ultimately escape!
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Hui Bai Tong was extremely cautious and meticulous. He wielded his hunting knife, shattering, evading, and utilizing each fire rain bead. Only when he broke through the coverage of the fire rain did he let out a slight sigh of relief.
But before he could exhale fully, it was forced back down.
*Swoosh!*
Because something seemed to have pierced his chest.
Hui Bai Tong's eyebrows rose, and he looked down in surprise.
Then, he saw a bronze sword, engraved with the pattern of a Xuanwu turtle, plunged straight into his chest.
It was the Gan Jiang sword.
...