Wiped Out

One of the short men nodded and said, "Big Brother, he's just a little brat. What kind of trouble could he possibly cause? If you couldn't withstand him, could it be because you've been overworking yourself every night at Yi Hong Yuan these past few days and drained your body dry?"

The other two bandits also felt that the short man made sense. It had to be so. "Big Brother, once we take care of this kid, let's go redeem Cui Hua, the top courtesan of Yi Hong Yuan. Then we can enjoy ourselves with her every single day!"

"After this job, we'll have enough money to redeem her. I also want to redeem that girl from Zi Xuan Ge who sells her body but not her art and give her a good try. That obedient little look of hers has this old man itching unbearably!"

Before they had even defeated Xia Mo, they were already loudly planning how to squander his wealth—and in that sort of place, no less. They were practically treating someone's dark expression as thin air!

"Since you insist on seeking death, then I, Xia Mo, will grant your wish!"

At that moment, Dou Qi surged through Xia Mo's body. He crossed the dozen-odd zhang between them in a flash, his Heavy Saber slashing toward one of the men.

The man had not expected Xia Mo to be so fast. By the time the attack reached him, he could only raise a shortsword to block it!

Bang! A crisp sound rang out!

The Heavy Saber instantly cleaved through the sword, then carved a bloody line down from the center of the man's forehead.

Xia Mo did not even spare him a glance before turning and charging at another bandit.

A breath later, the martial artist whose brow had been split open collapsed face-first onto the ground, every trace of life already gone from him!

At that moment, the dark-faced man saw what had happened and hurriedly shouted, "Fourth Brother, dodge! Don't clash with this kid head-on! Third Brother already fell after exchanging blows with him..."

The man who had been about to confront Xia Mo head-on immediately looked over at his dark-faced eldest brother's warning. He saw his Third Brother lying on the ground, blood staining the earth beneath his corpse, and only then did he realize that they had badly underestimated their opponent.

With that thought, the man hurriedly retreated toward the dark-faced man. "Big Brother, let's join forces and kill him...!"

Seeing him retreat, Xia Mo naturally would not let him have his way. He moved his feet and accelerated again. Before the two could join forces, he lunged forward and brought his saber down in a fierce slash!

Seeing the attack approach, the man immediately twisted his body aside. Yet Xia Mo's Heavy Saber, which had been chopping downward, abruptly reversed course, and he smashed the broad side of its blade into the man's chest!

Boom!

The man's entire chest seemed to cave in at once, accompanied by the clear sound of bones breaking!

Pfft!

Blood mixed with internal organs sprayed through the air, and his limp body fell to the ground. Without immediate treatment, he likely would not live much longer.

Only three breaths had passed, yet of the four aggressive bandits, one was dead and one was gravely injured!

The dark-faced man had not been far from the man Xia Mo had struck. He had been about to join forces with his brother for a combined attack, but in the next instant, that brother had been badly wounded by Xia Mo.

He could only raise his broadsword and slash at Xia Mo!

Xia Mo had just sent the man at his side flying when the dark-faced man's attack arrived. It was already difficult to withdraw his saber, so he could only gather Dou Qi in his left hand, covering it with Dou Qi Armor, and directly throw an Ancient Dragon Fist at the incoming broadsword!

Boom!

Even though the broadsword struck his fist, not only was his fist completely unharmed, but the blow even knocked the broadsword off its downward trajectory and sent it swinging back!

Even the dark-faced man staggered back several steps before realizing just how terribly wrong everything had gone.

Only after exchanging that blow did he truly understand that although his opponent was merely a three-star Da Dou Shi, his actual combat strength and power were no weaker than those of an ordinary Dou Ling. He knew there was no need to continue this battle.

As the dark-faced man retreated at top speed, he warned the short man, "Second Brother, run! This kid is too powerful. We're no match for him. As long as the green hills remain, there'll always be firewood to burn. Let's escape!"

The two were quite clever, fleeing in two separate directions. Xia Mo moved his feet and chased after the dark-faced man. The two figures sprinted at high speed, and as time passed, the distance between them steadily shrank!

Sucking Palm!

Dou Qi surged violently within Xia Mo, and a powerful suction force burst from his palm, sweeping toward the dark-faced man.

Feeling the pull from behind, the dark-faced man spun around and slashed out with his saber.

Blowing Fire Palm!

Boom!

Although the Blowing Fire Palm was blocked, the delay allowed Xia Mo to catch up. Dou Qi surged along the Heavy Saber as he brought it down upon the dark-faced man.

Pfft!

After several exchanges, the Heavy Saber directly split open the man's head. Before he could even react, his life force was rapidly fading away...

Xia Mo turned and chased in the other direction. Before long, he spotted the short figure in the distance, like an ant running ahead of him.

Though the short figure was not slow, Xia Mo pursued him at full speed. After chasing him for several li, he finally closed in on him!

Whoosh!

With tremendous force, Xia Mo hurled the Heavy Saber forward, sending it flying toward the figure ahead.

Sensing the attack behind him, the short figure hurriedly dodged to the side. The distance was still considerable, and though the attack was fast enough, his timely evasion actually allowed him to avoid it.

The next moment, Xia Mo drew closer and took out another gold coin. Putting all his strength into it, he threw it at the short man. The coin shot toward the figure ahead at high speed.

Though the short figure had been constantly watching behind him, when the attack arrived, he only managed to shift slightly to the side. His right arm was grazed, and his body stumbled!

Seeing his opponent getting closer and closer, the short martial artist was terrified out of his wits. Even all of them together had not been a match for Xia Mo; now that he was alone, it was even harder for him to resist. He knew that once Xia Mo caught up, death would be his only path.

Xia Mo did not disappoint him. After catching up, he slashed down several times in succession, directly cutting him into pieces!

Seeing this, Xia Mo had no mood to loot the bodies. These people did not even have a Storage Ring—they were far too poor. He had no idea how they got by. Besides, he had run who knew how far, and there was no way he was going back to loot them. By now, the bodies might not even be there anymore. This was a primeval forest, after all.

Xia Mo took out his map and found that he had deviated slightly from his route. He could only make an adjustment and continue toward the location of the treasure.

Xia Mo continued onward toward his destination at full speed. Half a day later, he arrived at the junction between the primeval forest and a mountain range.

Before him stretched an enormous range of rolling mountains, seemingly endless and extending to some unknown place. From afar, the entire region carried an ancient, desolate air. Xia Mo knew that he had reached the mountain range marked on the map.