Deadlock

Setting aside the opponent's cultivation level, even the most ordinary Soul Saint from the Offering Hall would be more than enough for Mu Qian to handle.

In this situation, not knowing the opponent's martial soul or methods made the circumstances even more dire.

Fortunately, the opponent is equally unaware of my strength. I am not at a disadvantage in terms of the number of soul skills, so if they are even slightly careless, there is a chance.

However, one question had been lingering in Mu Qian's mind: "How did they find us here?"

"We have been away from Star Luo City for six days. Since they are blocking our path, it is clear they have known our whereabouts for a long time."

"But that shouldn't be possible..."

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head; she was just as confused.

As they spoke, the distance between the two sides closed. Seeing that there was no way to avoid them, Mu Qian helplessly came to a stop, shielding the beautiful figure in his arms tightly while watching the opponent with vigilance.

"Why does the senior wish to block our path?" Mu Qian probed. Even if the visitor was hostile, he had to know who it was.

The opponent didn't even glance at Mu Qian, his gaze fixed entirely on Zhu Zhuqing: "Little girl of the Zhu Family, it seems you have forgotten your destiny, actually running off with some wild man."

The old man's tone was frivolous, his words dripping with mockery and sarcasm.

With a single sentence, he made his intentions clear.

They were enemies, not friends.

"Old man, who are you calling a wild man?!"

It wasn't Mu Qian who spoke this time, but Zhu Zhuqing in his arms.

The look in her eyes as she stared at the man was filled with a deathly coldness, her expression dark, like a cat that had been provoked.

"It is precisely because I clearly remember my destiny that I made this choice. I have long since grown tired of that darkness where the path ahead is invisible, like duckweed without roots."

Mu Qian patted her shoulder, signaling for her to leave this to him.

"It seems you have no intention of letting us leave today."

"Leave?" The old man's lips curled upward as he turned his gaze toward Mu Qian for the first time...

High in the air, the elder from the Star Luo Offering Hall stood before them, as if he were also blocking their only path to survival.

"Do you still think you can leave today?"

"To tell you the truth, a message is currently circulating within Star Luo City: the Fourth Miss of the Zhu Family has died after suffering a cultivation deviation."

"Do you understand now?"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fists, her body trembling uncontrollably under the weight of her inner rage.

Mu Qian chuckled and said, "What a clever little rumor. The Star Luo Imperial Family is clearly worried about their reputation."

"But there is one question I still don't understand: how did you find us?"

"Why should I tell you?" The old man's face was full of mockery.

"For two people about to die, there is no need to know so much."

Zhu Zhuqing stared coldly at him, "If I recall correctly, before the successor is decided, the Offering Hall has no authority to interfere in these matters, right?"

The old man's gaze returned to Zhu Zhuqing: "Girl of the Zhu Family, don't blame me. I have no choice; who told me to owe a favor to the Eldest Prince?"

Before his words had even faded, the old man suddenly struck, lunging toward the pair.

A violent surge of soul power erupted instantly. Although the old man was not as strong as Mu Qian in terms of soul power intensity, his total volume of soul power was several times greater than his!

Mu Qian felt his scalp tingle. He abruptly flung Zhu Zhuqing away and roared, "Go! Leave this to me!"

"I'm not going!" As she fell, Zhu Zhuqing reached out, trying to grab the hem of Mu Qian's clothes.

Unfortunately, Mu Qian's force was too strong, and in the blink of an eye, he had pulled them several meters apart.

"I'm not leaving! We promised to face this together!" Zhu Zhuqing cried out, her voice choked with tears. After landing, she struggled to steady herself and ran back toward Mu Qian.

"Behave, trust me. I haven't fulfilled my promise yet."

Mu Qian urged her anxiously. Flapping his Dragon Wings to dodge the opponent's probing attack, he quickly mobilized his own soul power.

Three ink-black soul rings rose slowly from beneath his feet, pulsing rhythmically around his body.

In this situation, he could no longer afford to hide his soul rings.

His rapid flight earlier had already consumed a great deal of soul power, and facing an enemy above the level of a Soul Saint, he dared not divert any more mental energy to concealment.

"It's actually... three ten-thousand-year soul rings!" the old man exclaimed, his pupils constricting as if he were witnessing a terrifying scene that shattered his worldview.

In that moment of distraction, Mu Qian moved.

"First Soul Skill, All Living Things!"

Mu Qian extended his right hand, and the area around his first soul ring trembled slightly as a cyan-gold sacred light suddenly enveloped the old man.

"Hm? What is happening... my soul power..."

The old man felt the situation inside his body with terror; his soul power was being stripped away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although it was only a drop in the bucket compared to his massive total volume of soul power, it had already significantly hindered his ability to exert his strength.

"How truly surprising. To possess three ten-thousand-year soul rings and such a bizarre soul skill... boy, it seems I cannot let you live."

The old man felt a surge of panic; if this brat were allowed to escape, given his unconventional talent, it was impossible to imagine what might happen in the future.

Having lived for so many years, he had seen countless times the consequences of failing to pull up weeds by the roots.

Therefore, Mu Qian had to die here today.

In truth, Mu Qian was thinking exactly the same thing; from the moment he revealed his strength, he had never intended to let the other party leave alive.

He still had one final, most important trump card.

"Brat, it seems I underestimated you."

"Third Soul Skill: Greedy Wolf's Fury!"

Accompanied by a roar, the old man's body began to expand rapidly.

One white, one yellow, three purple, and two black—seven soul rings rose quickly, the third purple soul ring shining brightly.

"I wondered what it was; turns out it's just an old dog!"

The moment he saw the other party's martial soul, Mu Qian breathed a sigh of relief.

The Greedy Wolf was famous among soul beasts for its powerful searching and tracking abilities.

It stood to reason that this old dog with a Greedy Wolf martial soul had found him through his martial soul's keen perception of aura.

He had been worried that the opponent possessed a mental ability like time regression, which would have allowed him to see his appearance and the combat process.

Not only would his full strength have been exposed, but he would have faced endless pursuit.

"Second Soul Skill: Return to Void!"

Mu Qian swung his arm, and the previously calm elemental energy in the space instantly erupted.

The branches and leaves of the trees below began to twist eerily, and massive thorny vines shot into the sky, countless leaves driven by soul power as if transforming into sharp blades, surrounding the old man completely.

Unlike the last time he came here, having acquired the wood attribute, he undoubtedly held the home-field advantage in this Star Forest.

Although Mu Qian was not yet proficient in controlling the wood element he had just obtained, as long as he could stall the opponent for a moment, it would be enough.

At the same time, the rotten wood and withered leaves that had accumulated for who knows how many years at the bottom of the forest began to coalesce.