Encountering Qu Yi Again

Luo Mu's face was dark as he silently swore to himself. Once he reached Jinxiu City, his primary objective would be to kill Bai Lin; otherwise, he would never be able to cultivate in peace at Jinxiu Academy.

That man had harbored malicious intent from the start, tricking Xiao Ling'er into feeding Luo Mu the Heartbreak Pill in an attempt to send him to his grave. Since Luo Mu had chosen to attend Jinxiu Academy, a confrontation was inevitable. Rather than living in constant fear of being targeted, Luo Mu decided he would be better off finding a way to eliminate the threat himself.

As for Xiao Ling'er, from that moment on, Luo Mu had severed all emotional ties to her. Even if any lingering feelings remained, they were buried deep within his heart—he would never speak of them, nor would he ever touch upon them again. He trusted that as time passed, he would slowly forget her entirely.

Of course, in heading to Jinxiu Academy, Luo Mu had not given Xiao Ling'er a single thought, nor was she the reason for his choice. For the current Luo Mu, Jinxiu Academy was simply the best place for him to be.

He flew for an entire day without stopping to rest. Only when the sky began to darken did Luo Mu descend upon a hilltop, intending to rest for the night before continuing his journey. With his cultivation at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage, flying for an entire day was already pushing his limits.

After spending a little time finding a relatively quiet spot on the hill and clearing out a few fierce demonic beasts nearby, Luo Mu released all thirteen of his Plum Blossom Snakes to stand guard, just to be safe.

There were no villages for a hundred miles, and since he was deep within the mountains, there was always a risk of encountering dangerous beasts. Releasing the snakes was merely to ensure he could rest more soundly.

As soon as they emerged from the Spirit Beast Bag, the Plum Blossom Snakes vanished into the surroundings. Seeing this, Luo Mu smiled faintly, thinking that having spirit insects at his command wasn't such a bad thing, before entering a state of meditation.

A short while later, Luo Mu's face was calm, a faint green glow shimmering around his body, lending him an air of mystery. Inside his dantian, the depleted Poison Spirit Power was slowly recovering, filling the space with a pale green mist.

At this moment, Luo Mu had completely entered his cultivation state!

The night passed without incident. When the morning light spilled across the land, Luo Mu suddenly opened his eyes. A strange green light flashed through his pupils before they returned to their usual clarity.

Standing up, Luo Mu felt his body brimming with strength. The Poison Spirit Power he had exhausted during yesterday's travel had fully recovered. With a faint smile, he flicked his sleeve, and the Plum Blossom Snakes lurking nearby turned into streaks of light, darting back into the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist.

He took out his Flying Artifact and prepared to set off again, but just then, his brow furrowed, and he looked toward his side.

"Fellow Daoist in front, get out of the way! There's a peak first-rank Black Bear demonic beast behind me! Run for your life!" A young man was sprinting wildly in Luo Mu's direction, shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice laced with anxiety and deep terror.

The man was only at the second level of the Qi Refining stage; Luo Mu had sensed his cultivation level with his divine sense. Looking past the man, he saw exactly what he expected: a demonic bear, more than twice the size of an ordinary black bear, in hot pursuit.

The Black Bear was a massive, strength-based demonic beast, which meant it lacked agility. Even though the man was only at the second level of the Qi Refining stage, he had managed to avoid being caught.

It was unclear how long the chase had lasted, but the man's face was deathly pale and his body was swaying—it seemed his spiritual energy was completely exhausted. The Black Bear, however, remained full of vigor; despite its clumsy frame, its speed had not faltered in the slightest.

"Ah!" With a cry of terror, the man tripped over a vine and crashed to the ground. Under normal circumstances, he would never have been tripped by a mere vine—he was a cultivator, after all. But now, with his spiritual energy spent and a demonic beast in relentless pursuit, panic had led to this moment.

In that split second, the Black Bear caught up. With an excited roar, it bared its massive, razor-sharp teeth and lunged at the fallen man.

The man was paralyzed with fear, splayed out on the ground, his eyes filled with despair!

"Bang!" Just then, a Black Shield descended from the sky, successfully blocking the space between the man and the bear. With a deafening crash, the Black Bear slammed into the shield.

The shield erupted with black light, forcing the massive beast to recoil. The shield itself only wobbled slightly before stabilizing, shielding the bloodless man behind it.

Luo Mu had struck just as the Black Bear was about to claim the man's life. That Black Shield was none other than his mid-grade artifact. As for why he had chosen to save this man, there was a reason.

When the man had first shouted, the voice had sounded familiar. Once Luo Mu caught sight of his face, he frowned. Though he had initially wanted to mind his own business and turn away, he had been forced to abandon that thought. He not only stopped but summoned his treasure to save the man's life.

The man before him was the very person who had forged his Poison Fangs and inner armor!

Luo Mu felt a degree of gratitude toward him. Furthermore, he hadn't mentioned the Ink Jade Marrow to this man, instead keeping the windfall for himself, which had left him with a lingering sense of guilt.

Meeting him here today, with his life hanging in the balance, saving him served as both compensation and a way to settle his own conscience.

Having seen its meal fly away, the Black Bear was incensed. Its eyes shot a bloodthirsty glare at the culprit—the Black Shield—before shifting its gaze to Luo Mu, who stood not far away.

It would have been better if it hadn't looked. The moment the Black Bear locked eyes with Luo Mu, it was startled; a thick iron chain, moving like a giant python, surged toward it with astonishing speed.

The Black Bear might have looked dim-witted, but its reflexes were actually quite sharp. Seeing the incoming chain, it hesitated for a split second before immediately scrambling backward to dodge.

"Sss—" The Black Bear's movement came to an abrupt halt, and a muffled thud echoed from its back. A heart-wrenching roar erupted from its throat.

A Curved Blade, shimmering with a faint white light, had embedded itself into the bear's back. The blade then pulled itself out and struck again, burying the entire length of the steel into the beast's back until only the hilt remained, blood spraying from the wound.

During this moment of distraction, the iron chain struck with ferocious momentum, moving too fast for the bear to evade. A spray of blood erupted as the chain pierced the Black Bear's chest.

A moment later, the peak first-rank demonic beast collapsed, dead, its blood pooling on the ground.

Not far away, Luo Mu flicked his wrist. The iron chain in his hand rapidly shrank and retracted back to him. Simultaneously, a streak of white light returned to his hand—it was the white Curved Blade.

After stowing the two artifacts into his Storage Bag, Luo Mu recalled the Black Shield. For the current Luo Mu, killing a peak first-rank demonic beast was no longer a difficult task.

After all, the mid-grade artifacts in his possession were not mere trinkets; dealing with a mere first-rank beast was a simple matter.

Once he had put away his artifacts, Luo Mu looked at the man lying on the ground with a playful smile. The entire process, from attacking the beast to its death, had happened in the blink of an eye. The man on the ground hadn't even had time to scramble up before Luo Mu had finished the job.

"Many thanks... many thanks to the Fellow Daoist for your help! Thank you... wait, it's you!" The man scrambled up in a panic. Before he could even see who his savior was, he had been blurting out thanks. But once he stood up and saw his savior looking at him with that amused expression, his voice cut off abruptly, replaced by a look of shock as he recognized Luo Mu.

This man was none other than Qu Yi, the one who had forged the two mid-grade artifacts for Luo Mu!

Qu Yi was covered in grime, clearly having been chased for a long distance by the bear, his robes stained with mud from his stumbling flight. Luo Mu looked at his attire, his brow furrowing slightly as a wry smile touched his lips.

Luo Mu's wry smile wasn't because of the dirt, but because he recognized the robes Qu Yi was wearing. The men he had killed previously had all worn identical garments. However, looking closer, he noticed subtle differences in Qu Yi's attire.

Luo Mu's gaze was drawn to the robes, and just as he was about to study them to see what the differences were, Qu Yi's voice, filled with joy and utter disbelief, reached his ears.

"You! You're Luo Mu! How is this possible... It's only been a year! How did you become so powerful? Looking at the spiritual energy fluctuations you're emitting, you must have reached the fifth level!" Qu Yi stood before Luo Mu, his face a mask of shock as he shouted in disbelief.

Qu Yi clearly remembered that a year ago, Luo Mu had only been at the second level of the Qi Refining stage, while he himself had been at the first. Meeting again a year later, Qu Yi had advanced one level to the second, a speed he was quite satisfied with.

He never expected that when they met again, Luo Mu's cultivation would have reached such heights! The gap between them had been small before, but now, Qu Yi couldn't even catch up to him if he tried.

What shocked Qu Yi even more was that when he was on the verge of death, hunted by a demonic beast, it was Luo Mu who had saved him. He couldn't help but sigh at how unpredictable fate truly was.