I Still Have to Protect You for a Lifetime

In the mountains.

Su Mo carried Xi'er on his back as he swiftly darted through the dense forest.

Over a hundred meters behind them, the group of black-clad men pursued closely.

Even after Su Mo pushed his movement technique to its limit, he had only barely widened the distance between them.

The Phantom Steps Su Mo cultivated was a close-combat movement technique. Its effectiveness for long-distance travel was considerably lacking.

Of course, the main reason was that the mountains were high, the forest dense, and thorns spread everywhere. There was simply no room to fully unleash his movement technique.

Besides, Xi'er was still on his back.

"Su Mo, you can't escape!"

The black-clad middle-aged man shouted from behind.

Su Mo sneered. If he were not concerned for Xi'er's safety, it was uncertain who would be running away!

"Brother Su Mo, I'm begging you, put me down!"

Xi'er's voice came from his back.

"Xi'er, say no more. Unless I die, I will never leave you behind!"

Su Mo said firmly.

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Xi'er's body trembled. The softest place in her heart had been deeply stirred.

Su Mo continued sprinting with Xi'er on his back. The violent exertion caused the wounds on his body to bleed without stop.

"This won't do!"

Su Mo frowned. If he kept bleeding like this, his body would only grow weaker and weaker.

"I've got it!"

Immediately, an idea came to Su Mo. He changed direction and fled another way.

A moment later, a small cave appeared in his sight.

This was precisely the cave where he had once obtained the Purple Spirit Fruit.

With Xi'er on his back, Su Mo slipped into the cave in a flash.

After entering the cave, Su Mo hurriedly looked around. There was nothing inside. Even the corpses of Wei Long and the other man, whom he had killed before, had been eaten by demonic beasts, leaving behind only a pile of scraps of cloth.

"Xi'er, wait here. I'll go out and wipe out those bastards."

Su Mo set Xi'er down.

"Brother Su Mo!"

Xi'er tightly grabbed Su Mo's hand, her face full of worry.

"Don't worry! I still have to protect you for a lifetime! I won't die so easily!"

Su Mo smiled as he squeezed Xi'er's jade-like hand, giving her a relaxed smile.

Then he turned and left.

Xi'er froze, standing blankly where she was.

I still have to protect you for a lifetime!

Feeling the lingering warmth in her hand, Su Mo's words echoed endlessly through her heart.

Xi'er cried!

Tears streamed down her face.

Yet a happy smile appeared on her face.

As soon as Su Mo stepped out of the cave, he saw several black-clad men surrounding its entrance.

At that moment, Su Mo stood at the cave mouth, blocking it off. Xi'er was safe inside the cave.

With Xi'er no longer on his back, he could finally unleash a slaughter.

"Su Mo, let's see where you can run now!"

The black-clad middle-aged man sneered. He had not expected Su Mo to be so foolish as to hide in a cave.

Now, he had become a turtle trapped in a jar.

"Who said I was running? You're the ones who should run!"

Su Mo scoffed. These few men wanted to kill him? What a joke!

"Death is at your doorstep, yet you still dare talk tough!"

The black-clad middle-aged man looked disdainful. Then he shouted, "Attack!"

As soon as he spoke, he took the lead and charged out first, swinging his longsaber down in a fierce slash.

Buzz!

The refined steel sword in Su Mo's hand vanished, replaced by a gleaming Silver Long Sword.

This sword was called the Spirit Severing Sword.

"Courting death!"

Su Mo roared. Rather than dodge, he met the opponent's saber head-on.

Divine Wind Kill!

The moment Su Mo attacked, he used his strongest move.

This man was their leader. So long as he killed him, the others would be nothing to fear.

The peerless sword light rose into the sky like a dazzling star, tearing through the air.

The next instant, saber and sword crashed together fiercely.

Boom!

Violent Forceful Energy exploded in all directions.

Crack!

The black-clad middle-aged man's saber broke in response. The sword light only paused slightly before continuing unabated toward his face.

What?

The black-clad middle-aged man was horrified. He had no time to dodge and could only twist his body as much as possible to avoid a vital blow.

Swoosh!

The sword light flashed past. A perfectly good arm flew into the air, scarlet blood spraying out like a rain of blood.

Aah!

The black-clad middle-aged man let out a miserable scream. The intense pain twisted his face.

He hurriedly retreated, widening the distance between himself and Su Mo.

Su Mo did not pursue him. His body spun, his longsword sweeping out as he attacked the remaining black-clad men.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A cold gleam flashed in Su Mo's eyes. His figure flickered ceaselessly, leaving behind a string of afterimages as his longsword struck again and again.

Gale Edge!

Wind Sweeps Clouds!

Wind Howls Nine Heavens!

These black-clad men were only at Qi Cultivation Level Seven. Their strength did not even match Wei Liang's back then. They were simply no match for Su Mo now.

With the Spirit Severing Sword in hand, Su Mo's strength surged dramatically. He killed one man with every step, ten men in ten steps.

In the blink of an eye, he had slain all the remaining black-clad men.

"This..."

The injured black-clad middle-aged man was utterly shocked, his gaze toward Su Mo filled with terror.

He knew it was impossible to kill Su Mo today. Without hesitation, he turned and fled.

Whoosh!

Su Mo's figure shot forward and blocked his path.

"Do you think you can still leave today?"

Su Mo's face was cold and indifferent.

"Su Mo, you... spare my life."

The black-clad middle-aged man had lost an arm and bled heavily. His face was pale as paper.

"Oh? Tell me who you are and why you want to kill me. Then I can consider sparing your life."

Su Mo wore a teasing expression.

"We are guards of the City Lord's Mansion. The Young City Lord was the one who wanted to kill you! He also wanted to seize Miss Xi'er."

The black-clad middle-aged man did not hide anything and told him everything.

He was precisely the City Lord's Mansion guard who had previously reported Su Mo's whereabouts to Lin Xiao.

He knew he had failed his mission and lost an arm. He could no longer return to the City Lord's Mansion; returning would only lead to a dead end.

Therefore, he had no intention of concealing anything.

Whoosh!

The moment the middle-aged man finished speaking, he saw Su Mo lower his head in thought and immediately turned to flee.

Having watched Su Mo kill several men in the blink of an eye, he knew Su Mo was decisive and ruthless in killing. He did not believe Su Mo would spare him.

Whoosh!

He had barely fled a few steps when a sharp sword light shot toward him and instantly pierced through his heart.

Cold light flickered in Su Mo's eyes. He would never show mercy to his enemies.

"Lin Xiao? You will pay a price in blood for what you did today."

Su Mo murmured to himself.

With everyone slain, Su Mo hurried toward the cave.

At that moment, Xi'er had already walked out of the cave. She stood prettily at the entrance, gazing at Su Mo.

"Xi'er!"

Su Mo called out.

"Brother Su Mo!"

Xi'er suddenly ran toward Su Mo and tightly embraced him.

A faint, elegant fragrance drifted into his nose. Feeling the softness in his arms, Su Mo's heart swiftly calmed down.

"Xi'er, don't be afraid! It's all right now! I've killed them all."

Su Mo gently patted Xi'er's back and comforted her.

Only after a long while did Xi'er leave Su Mo's embrace, a faint blush on her small face.

"Xi'er, weren't you curious why the demonic beasts turned into dried corpses after I killed them?"

Su Mo suddenly said to Xi'er, "Actually, people are the same. Wait for me a moment. I'll go devour their essence blood now."

Su Mo walked over to the corpses, sat down cross-legged, and released his martial soul.