Fighting for One's Life

A sharp crack rang out.

The foremost Blood Hound, which had just leaped into the air, let out a pitiful whine. A flash of blood blossomed on its body, and its entire form was sent flying backward before being nailed firmly to a nearby small tree with a heavy thump by an arrow.

The other four Blood Hounds were startled. Before they could react, two more arrows flickered past, piercing straight through the skulls of two of the hounds, killing them on the spot without so much as a whimper.

"The Purple Steel Bow! Have the remaining Blood Hounds take cover!" Fifth Master Jin exclaimed, his gaze sweeping over the massive purple bow in Shi Mu's hands before he quickly gave the order.

Even for the Jin Family, raising these Blood Hounds was no small feat!

The Hound Servant, already pained by the instant death of three Blood Hounds, immediately let out a piercing shriek upon hearing Fifth Master Jin's command.

The remaining two Blood Hounds turned at once. One charged madly toward a nearby bush, while the other leaped directly behind a large tree.

Two more whoosh sounds of air being split.

One Blood Hound had barely reached the bush before an arrow pierced its neck, sending it flying several zhang away.

The other let out another mournful cry as an arrow punched straight through the tree trunk and pinned it to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, all five Blood Hounds had been killed by Shi Mu using the Blood Steel Bow.

"I'll kill you!"

Seeing this, the Hound Servant's eyes turned bloodshot. With a roar, he dropped to all fours like a wild beast and charged madly toward Shi Mu.

These five Blood Hounds had been raised by him since they were pups, treated like his own sons. Now, with all of them dead by Shi Mu's hand in an instant, he lost all reason, wanting nothing more than to tear Shi Mu apart with his bare hands.

"Idiot, get back here!" Fifth Master Jin roared in fury, shouting hastily.

But the Hound Servant acted as if he hadn't heard. On all fours, his movements became erratic—darting left and right, rising and falling—making him extremely difficult to track.

Shi Mu's expression turned grim. Without a word, he reached behind him with one hand and pulled out three arrows, nocking them all to the bowstring at once. His fingers slid across the string like plucking a zither.

Three explosive cracks rang out almost simultaneously. The three arrows shot from the massive bow in a near-perfect line, like a streak of black.

The Hound Servant, mid-charge, leaped high into the air, letting the first arrow pass beneath him. He twisted his body sharply, letting the second arrow graze past his ear. But the third arrow was impossible to dodge.

With a scream, the third arrow pierced straight through his left eye. His corpse flew backward a long distance before crashing heavily to the ground.

Fifth Master Jin's face turned ashen with rage.

Just then, another crack sounded from afar. Three more arrows came streaking in. This time, however, their target was the Eagle Servant standing beside Fifth Master Jin.

Having witnessed the fate of the five Blood Hounds and the Hound Servant, the Eagle Servant was already terrified. Seeing the arrows now aimed at him, he cried out, "Fifth Master, save me!" and immediately threw himself flat on the ground.

Fifth Master Jin snorted coldly. The golden short rods in his hands lashed out three times to the side with sharp shish-shish-shish sounds.

With three crisp cracks, the three arrows were intercepted mid-air, snapped into six pieces, and fell to the ground.

"Useless. Stay here. I'll deal with this bastard myself," Fifth Master Jin muttered to the Eagle Servant before his form blurred. He shot forward, each leap carrying him lightly five or six zhang, covering over twenty zhang in moments.

Shi Mu's pupils contracted slightly from a distance. He reached behind him again, grabbing three more arrows, and once more loosed all three at once.

Thump, thump, thump.

The three arrows were effortlessly knocked aside by Fifth Master Jin's short rods.

This time, Shi Mu drew in a sharp breath. He finally understood the vast gap between a Houtian initial-stage and mid-stage martial artist. But when he instinctively reached behind him again, his body froze.

His quiver was completely empty. Not a single arrow remained.

By now, Fifth Master Jin had closed the distance to just over ten zhang after a few more bounds.

Shi Mu had no time to think. Gritting his teeth, he tossed aside the massive purple bow, drew the Sun and Moon Blades from his waist, and stomped hard on the ground, charging straight at his formidable foe. With a flick of his wrist, nine blade shadows erupted outward.

"Nine slashes in one breath! You've mastered the Wind-Galloping Blade Technique. But even so, you will die!"

Amid the shroud of blade shadows, Fifth Master Jin's voice was ice-cold.

The next moment, a thunderous clang like a gong rang out. Golden staff shadows flickered wildly, and all nine blade shadows were swept away in an instant.

Shi Mu felt a searing heat in his hand. The immense force transmitted from the golden staff shadows was more than double what he had felt when fighting Wu Tong. His tiger's mouth split open again, and the Sun and Moon Blades were sent flying from his grip with a whoosh, soaring into the air.

Before he could react, a gust of wind swept before him. A golden short rod materialized like a ghost, smashing straight toward his face.

Shi Mu had no time to dodge. With a low roar, he swung his other arm and punched the golden rod with all his might.

Boom!

The golden rod was deflected slightly by the punch, sliding downward and striking him on the shoulder.

Shi Mu felt as if a massive weight had slammed into his shoulder. He staggered back several steps, a searing pain shooting through him.

"Hmph, so you're wearing my son's Golden Silk Armor. No wonder I didn't shatter your bones with that blow. Fine, then let me show you the power of my Blood Sha Palm, which I've cultivated for years!"

Fifth Master Jin was surprised that his strike hadn't crushed Shi Mu's shoulder bone. But after a closer look at the faint golden gleam showing through Shi Mu's tattered clothes, he sneered in fury.

The next moment, he tossed aside both golden short rods, his form drifting forward. In a flash, he closed the distance to Shi Mu again. A blood-red palm, swollen to twice its normal size, appeared before Shi Mu, reeking of a foul, nauseating stench as it slammed down.

Instead of dodging this bizarre attack, a mad glint flashed in Shi Mu's eyes. He let out a roar, and the arm that had been holding the Sun and Moon Blades suddenly twisted. The thin chain wrapped around his wrist jingled.

The Sun and Moon Blades, which had fallen to the side, suddenly rebounded toward Shi Mu. Mid-flight, they spun rapidly, transforming into a massive silver blade wheel that slashed viciously at Fifth Master Jin.

The ferocity of the silver blade wheel's charge suggested a suicidal intent to cut both Fifth Master Jin and Shi Mu in half.