Luo Mu stood where he was, showing no surprise. Everything had gone exactly as he expected. The reason he hadn't attacked his opponents when he used the Phantom Movement Technique earlier, but instead circled the entire fighting ground, was to spread his Poison Spirit Power across the whole area.
The pale green mist was a form of Poison Spirit Power released from Luo Mu's dantian. Its color was so faint that Luo Mu had quietly released more than half the Poison Spirit Power in his body, letting the green poisonous mist spread. Without realizing it, everyone had inhaled the poison, and the scene before him had followed.
Still, Luo Mu hadn't expected his Poison Spirit Power to be so potent that even a man at the sixth level of Qi Refining, who shared the same cultivation realm, would have no resistance to it.
The only thing that dissatisfied Luo Mu was how slowly the poison took effect. From the moment they inhaled the mist until they died, they still had time to do plenty. If they realized they had been poisoned, they might even find a way to detoxify themselves.
The people before him were dead beyond any doubt. Black blood pooled across the ground, and their skin had taken on a faint bluish-green tint. Luo Mu walked past their bodies without expression and came to the Bronze Bell. With a slight flick of his wrist, the bell glowed with rosy light, shrank to the size of his palm, and returned to his hand.
Le Tian, trapped inside the Bronze Bell, had also lost all signs of life. His skin had turned green, clearly showing that he, too, had died of poison.
"Clatter!" The Black Iron Chain fell to the ground nearby, ringing with sharp metallic clinks. Without its master's spiritual power sustaining it, the chain could no longer hold its shape as a restraint. It shrank back to the size of an ordinary Iron Chain, revealing the Plum Blossom Snakes trapped within it.
As soon as the thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes emerged, they eagerly slithered toward Luo Mu, looking exceptionally affectionate. Luo Mu smiled faintly at the sight and waved his hand. Several streaks of light suddenly shot out from the grass around them, straight toward him.
Five White Jade Ants and three Octagonal Spikes appeared on Luo Mu's body. They crawled restlessly over him, behaving very badly.
In fact, Luo Mu had summoned the eight little creatures back much earlier and had them lie in wait around the area as a backup plan. Since he had decided to kill everyone before him, he certainly wouldn't let any of them leave, lest they seek revenge later. The eight little creatures were his trump cards. If anyone escaped beyond his range of attack, the eight lying in wait would surely leave them without a trace of bone.
Though the White Jade Ants and Octagonal Spikes weren't high-grade yet, in terms of combat strength, both far surpassed the Plum Blossom Snake, a peak first-grade demonic beast!
Judging by their cultivation levels, Luo Mu wasn't worried that any of the cultivators would escape right under his nose. He had considerable confidence in his Octagonal Spikes and White Jade Ants. Over the past year, he had watched both kinds grow, and he naturally had a good measure of their strength.
A smug smile appeared on his face. Luo Mu bent down and reached for the Storage Bag at Le Tian's waist. Suddenly, his brows lifted, and his outstretched hand stopped in midair. A trace of pain appeared on his face.
"How could this happen?" The sudden, excruciating pain throughout his body made Luo Mu's face change instantly. In barely a moment, beads of sweat as large as beans covered his forehead. He endured the agony and thought in shock. After turning it over in his mind, he understood what had happened.
His body was in this condition entirely because of the aftereffects of using the Phantom Movement Technique so frequently!
Though the Bai Family's Phantom Movement Technique was incredibly ingenious and could catch opponents off guard, striking before they could follow one's movements, it also had serious drawbacks.
Every time someone used the Phantom Movement Technique, it consumed a great deal of their spiritual power and caused some damage to their body. Use it repeatedly in quick succession, and the muscles and meridians throughout the body would inevitably strain, bringing unbearable pain. Recovery required quiet rest. What's more, using the Phantom Movement Technique too often over a long period would eventually leave lasting aftereffects that were difficult to heal.
That was why the Bai Family's disciples always chose a body-tempering cultivation method before learning the Phantom Movement Technique. They first strengthened their bodies to a certain degree, then began their training.
The Phantom Movement Technique had nine levels. Each time someone advanced a level, they had to increase their body's strength again, to keep using the technique from placing an enormous strain on them and damaging their body at its core.
Luo Mu had now cultivated the Phantom Movement Technique to the fifth level. The Bai Family had people who had reached this level, but it had been countless years since they had seen a genius who could do so in just one year.
Since the Bai Family had acquired the Phantom Movement Technique, no one had ever managed to reach the fifth level within a year without having learned any body-tempering cultivation method.
It wasn't that Luo Mu had outstanding talent. It was his extraordinary willpower that had brought him this far!
Without a body-tempering cultivation method, his body wasn't strong enough. Training in the Phantom Movement Technique under those conditions meant enduring agony that tore at his heart and lungs. Yet Luo Mu had persevered through that pain and, in a single year, pushed the technique all the way to the fifth level!
Luo Mu had not only astonishing willpower, but was also especially hard on himself. To go farther along the road of cultivation and achieve his goals, he had no choice but to be ruthless with himself.
He had been born without spiritual roots and unable to cultivate. His unexpected entry onto the path of cultivation might have been coincidence, or perhaps fate had long since arranged it. Whatever the reason, this chance had come to Luo Mu only with great difficulty, and of course he treasured it beyond measure!
"Without a body-tempering cultivation method, it looks like I can't train in the Phantom Movement Technique for now!" Luo Mu knelt on one knee, enduring the pain in his body as he thought to himself.
At the same time, he began to consider whether to continue cultivating this technique, whose advantages and drawbacks were evenly matched.
Until he obtained a body-tempering cultivation method, Luo Mu wasn't going to train in the Phantom Movement Technique any further. He would leave it at the fifth level. And from now on, it would be best to use it as little as possible.
Le Tian had just given him a warning. The Phantom Movement Technique belonged to the Bai Family, and since even Le Tian had recognized it, there was no telling when someone from the Bai Family might notice him. Even if Luo Mu didn't confess to killing Bai Shu, he could still be branded a thief who had stolen the Bai Family's secret technique. Either way, he would be doomed to die.
Besides, without a body-tempering cultivation method, even if Luo Mu had the willpower to endure further training, his body absolutely wouldn't be able to take it. He didn't want to leave himself with any aftereffects that might interfere with his future cultivation.
For these two reasons, Luo Mu had no choice but to suspend his training in the Phantom Movement Technique for the time being. And once he used this technique, it was best to leave no survivors, lest word spread and bring trouble down on him.
After a brief pause, the pain in his body slowly eased. Though it had lasted only a short moment, it had still left Luo Mu deathly pale. That showed just how intense the agony he had endured had been.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Mu's complexion gradually regained its color. The hand still suspended in midair moved, and he reached without hesitation for the Storage Bag at Le Tian's waist.
Once he had the Storage Bag, Luo Mu sent his divine sense inside to inspect it. His brows lifted involuntarily. Le Tian's Storage Bag held quite a lot, though the contents were a bit of a jumble. With time pressing, Luo Mu didn't inspect everything one by one.
Setting aside whether the people now dead before him had any family background, they had all been students currently enrolled at Jinxiu Academy. Luo Mu knew what kind of place Jinxiu Academy was: it was Wanfa Sect's direct power in Jinxiu City, under Wanfa Sect's sole jurisdiction.
Just as one of the students had said earlier, killing a Jinxiu Academy student meant making an enemy of Jinxiu Academy! Since Luo Mu had killed them here, he felt it best to deal with the bodies as soon as possible, lest another cultivator find them. After all, the people before him were wearing uniforms, making them easy to identify!
Luo Mu didn't waste any time. He removed the Storage Bags from everyone's waists one by one, tucked them away, and planned to sort through them once he returned to the Stone Chamber.
He silently issued a command. Five streaks of white light flashed from his body and shot toward the corpse of a woman!
The five streaks of white light were none other than five White Jade Ants! Having gained experience killing someone and disposing of the body once before, Luo Mu was now much more practiced. In his view, summoning the five White Jade Ants to dispose of the body was the best approach.
This way, not only could he dispose of the body cleanly, but cultivators' bodies also contained plenty of spiritual energy. To the White Jade Ants, a cultivator's body was a great tonic!
Seeing how thoroughly he was putting even the bodies of the dead to use, Luo Mu couldn't help wondering if he was really too stingy. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Luo Mu suddenly looked puzzled and turned his gaze toward the five White Jade Ants.
The White Jade Ants, normally fond of devouring corpses rich in spiritual energy, were now crouched on the woman's body, refusing to take a bite for a long time. This left Luo Mu deeply puzzled and stirred his curiosity!
At the same time, the three Octagonal Spikes on Luo Mu's body grew restless, making his brows furrow slightly.
A moment later, Luo Mu's furrowed brows relaxed, and astonishment spread across his face. After briefly communicating with the little creatures, he was shocked to discover that the White Jade Ants had hesitated to bite the woman's body because she had died after being poisoned!
The White Jade Ants seemed extremely afraid of poison. They wanted to devour the woman's corpse, but were afraid of the poison, and so had held back. Luo Mu found it amusing, but the discovery also gave him a warning: these White Jade Ants, which seemed capable of eating anything, were vulnerable to poison.
As for the Octagonal Spikes' strange behavior, it actually filled Luo Mu with delight!
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