Why do people like to climb high and gaze far?
George Mallory said, ‘The mountain is there.’
Previously, reading that sentence, it felt so full of life philosophy, but now looking at it, Qin Mu only wanted to say, ‘I’m exhausted!’
There were no trees, he couldn’t even pick up a branch to use as a hiking stick. Qin Mu gritted his teeth and forced himself to climb to the mountaintop. After climbing for so long, the sky still hadn’t changed. It seemed this place really had no concept of time.
But there was also good news. After resting for so long, plus the Divine Dragon Senior’s slow conditioning, Qin Mu could finally mobilize some True Qi, but it wasn’t of much use.
Climbing to the top, Qin Mu was so tired he wanted to rest for a moment, but after experiencing the Illusion Realm just now, he didn’t dare to rest casually. He had to pull himself together and observe his surroundings.
The bare mountain range looked the same everywhere, with no obvious features. This made things difficult.
After walking for a while longer, Qin Mu once again encountered the Black-Robed Man he never wanted to meet again.
‘Damn! What kind of luck is this? Why do I run into this guy wherever I go!’
Qin Mu almost cursed aloud.
Compared to Qin Mu’s exploding mindset, Long Shengtian could be said to have swept away his gloom. The moment he saw Qin Mu, he immediately beamed with joy.
“Qin Mu! Let’s see how you escape this time!”
The next moment, Long Shengtian shot out explosively. With a flick of his wrist, a curved blade appeared in his hand.
Qin Mu quickly summoned the only True Qi in his body and took out the long sword from his Storage Pouch.
Clang! The crisp sound of metal colliding.
Since there was no Lingqi here, the consumed True Qi could not be replenished, so the two began to fight like mortal martial artists.
The long sword in Qin Mu’s hand was a thin sword, one he had obtained when he went with Miss Ruoshuang to the Sword Sect’s Sword Land.
The moment they clashed, a tremendous force came from where the curved blade met the thin sword. Qin Mu’s arm instantly went numb.
The force transmitted nearly made him lose grip of his sword. Qin Mu’s body retreated. Fortunately, his body had been soaked in Miss Mengyu’s Medicinal Bath, making his physique far superior to that of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Otherwise, with such injuries and intense combat, he really might not have held out.
Long Shengtian watched Qin Mu actually withstand his strike. Although he hadn’t used True Qi, it still showed that this kid had a decent foundation, just poor talent.
“Hehe, not bad. But I wonder if you can keep taking my moves.”
The next moment, the Black-Robed Man’s figure disappeared. Then, Qin Mu felt a chill on his back and quickly turned to defend.
Clang! Long Shengtian pressed down with his blade, and Qin Mu held it back with all his might. The blade was only a few centimeters from his cheek.
‘What the hell! Playing dirty!’ Qin Mu blocked Long Shengtian’s shameless sneak attack.
“You actually have no martial ethics.”
Damn it! If not for Qin Mu’s quick reaction, he would have been dead just now.
Hearing Qin Mu’s words, Long Shengtian grinned. “Naive. As long as you can win, who cares about martial ethics? The process doesn’t matter, as long as the result is victory!”
Bang! With a dull thud, the stone under Long Shengtian’s feet cracked, and he swung his blade at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu’s face changed drastically, and he bent down to dodge. Seeing this, Long Shengtian turned his body most of the way around and swept his blade horizontally.
Qin Mu held his sword in front of him, but the impact sent him stumbling backward.
It wasn’t over. Before Qin Mu could catch his breath, Long Shengtian charged again.
A chop came down. Qin Mu probably couldn’t block it with his sword, his arm was numb, so he rolled away to dodge.
Seeing Qin Mu roll away, Long Shengtian didn’t hesitate and delivered a whip kick.
Compared to Long Shengtian’s rich combat experience, Qin Mu seemed inexperienced, struggling to defend and unable to mount any counterattack.
Before Qin Mu could steady himself, Long Shengtian’s whip kick struck his chest.
“Pfft!” Taking that hit, Qin Mu’s body was instantly swept away until his back slammed heavily into a large rock.
“Cough, cough, cough!” Qin Mu coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. ‘Damn, that was vicious.’
He raised his sleeve to wipe the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth and stood up.
“Good! Not bad!” Long Shengtian praised. Although he wished he could kill this kid to vent his hatred, he still respected Qin Mu’s refusal to admit defeat.
“Heh, that praise sounds a bit harsh to the ears.”
Qin Mu stood again holding his sword, his eyes bloodshot. The young man’s gaze was slightly cold. This time, he chose to take the initiative.
He thrust his sword out, slicing through the air, and even the faint sound of a sword hum could be heard.
Seeing Qin Mu’s active attack, Long Shengtian curled his lips into a cold smile and directly swung his curved blade in a horizontal slash.
Qin Mu had no intention of blocking head-on. Seeing Long Shengtian’s horizontal slash, he immediately changed his sword from a thrust to an angled position. When Long Shengtian’s blade landed on his sword, he slid it upward.
Seizing the opportunity, Qin Mu took a big step forward, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, arriving right in front of Long Shengtian.
Then, a Talisman appeared in Qin Mu’s hand, with lightning flickering.
Just now, Qin Mu had used his only True Qi to take out the Talisman. He was reluctant to use even this bit of True Qi, and hadn’t even taken out any Pills to consume.
Seeing the Talisman in Qin Mu’s hand, Long Shengtian’s pupils contracted. The lightning power contained in this Talisman made even him feel a sense of dread.
‘Not good!’ Seeing Long Shengtian want to retreat, Qin Mu didn’t hesitate and immediately activated the Talisman.
Boom! A sound of thunder, followed by a bolt of lightning shooting into the sky.
“Ahh!” A scream rang out, and Qin Mu was also thrown back by the shockwave.
Crackling. The Black-Robed Man in front was still standing, but his aura was nothing like before; now he was listless and weak.
“Did I win…” Qin Mu stood up with difficulty. His True Qi was almost depleted, and his internal injuries were not light. If he didn’t fall now, he could call it GG.
“Urghhh!” A shout. In Qin Mu’s shocked gaze, the Black-Robed Man did not fall.
‘I’m doomed!’ Qin Mu immediately gripped his sword with both hands. This really would be a bad end.
“Hahaha! Is this your trump card, Qin Mu?” Long Shengtian was like an unkillable cockroach, staring viciously at Qin Mu.
Gripping his curved blade tightly, Long Shengtian immediately charged at Qin Mu.
‘Damn it!’ Qin Mu gritted his teeth. ‘Let’s go all out!’
Just as Qin Mu was about to burn his lifespan, a tall, graceful figure suddenly appeared before him. With just a wave of her hand, she sent Long Shengtian flying.
“Young Master Qin, are you alright?” A pair of fair hands extended in front of Qin Mu, with a Pill in the palm.
He looked up, and a familiar face appeared before him. Qin Mu’s lips moved. “Senior Chu…”
Chu Jiujiu looked at Qin Mu’s disheveled appearance, his weak aura, and his injuries all over. Before coming, she had sworn she would protect Young Master Qin, but she had broken her promise.
“Young Master Qin, take the Pill first. Leave the rest to me.”
Chu Jiujiu turned around, staring at the figure before her, her beautiful eyes full of coldness.