Four Great Monster Sages

Above Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain, several streaks of light descended from the sky. Wind and rain arrived at once, and a fierce, baleful aura spread through the air as four figures emerged amid the storm.

One of them had a dragon's head and a human body, wielding a Three-Pronged Sea-Stirring Steel Fork. He was the Monster Sage Ji Meng.

The other three were all humanoid. The most eye-catching was an exquisitely beautiful woman clad in five-colored robes, idly playing with a black needle shimmering with shifting rainbow light.

The remaining two were a burly man built like a wild bull, his skin black all over, with a pair of sharp black horns and a pitch-black iron staff in hand, and a handsome young man wielding a halberd.

"Shi Mo, come out at once!" Ji Meng shouted as he stepped forward, brandishing his Three-Pronged Sea-Stirring Steel Fork.

Whoosh. The moment his words fell, starlight gathered, and a dazzling sword beam shot up from Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain below.

Clang. Ji Meng hurriedly swung his Three-Pronged Sea-Stirring Steel Fork to block it.

As Ji Meng was forced back, the dazzling sword beam immediately turned on the other three Monster Sages, forcing the beautiful woman in colorful robes to nimbly retreat first.

Puff. At the same time, the beautiful woman in colorful robes spat out a stream of black qi. As it approached the Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword, the starlight gathered around the blade immediately dimmed.

Sizzle. The weakened sword beam grazed the burly man's arm, leaving only a conspicuous white mark on his black, metal-like skin.

Then, the Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword flared brightly again and abruptly accelerated toward the handsome young man wielding the halberd.

Clang! Sizzle! With an icy expression, the handsome young man swung his halberd down with all his might, striking the Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword precisely. As the starlight scattered, the jade-glowing Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword trembled and was knocked away.

"As expected of the great sages of the Monster Clan. You do have some skill," Shi Mo said as his figure appeared amid gathered starlight, catching the Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword. His fingers brushed across the blade, and it immediately shone brightly once more, its aura turning razor-sharp.

"Shi Mo, you've finally come out. Come with us to the Heavenly Court!" Ji Meng demanded bluntly.

"All four Monster Sages came together to invite me. I, Shi Mo, truly have quite the honor," Shi Mo said with a smile as he glanced at Ji Meng. "But with such a way of inviting someone, what will you do if I refuse to go to the Heavenly Court?"

"Whether you go or not is not up to you!" A savage glint flashed in the handsome young man's crimson eyes.

"Is that so? You think the four of you can make me go to the Heavenly Court?" Shi Mo raised a brow.

"Courting death!" The handsome young man shouted coldly, wasting no more words. His figure flashed, and he appeared before Shi Mo, sweeping his halberd toward him.

What speed! Startled inwardly, Shi Mo hurriedly swung his sword and drew upon the power of the Heavenly Stars to block.

Clang. The instant the brilliantly glowing Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword collided with the halberd, the void itself shook and lit up. A pillar of light shot straight into the sky, and its surging, terrifying power directly sent the handsome young man flying.

"What?" After steadying himself, the handsome young man's expression changed, and he became much more solemn.

Ji Meng, the burly black-tower-like man, and the beautiful woman in colorful robes were also visibly moved, all taken aback.

"Join forces!" Ji Meng shouted, taking the lead as he charged at Shi Mo with his Three-Pronged Sea-Stirring Steel Fork.

The burly black-tower-like man and the handsome young man followed at once, closing in on Shi Mo together.

Yet the moment they approached Shi Mo, they felt as if the surrounding space had frozen. Not only did their movements slow, but even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth they summoned in their attacks seemed to vanish as it neared Shi Mo.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Empowered by the Heavenly Stellar Formation, the Heavenly Stellar Cloud Sword in Shi Mo's hand was immensely powerful. Its sharp sword light easily held off all three, forcing Ji Meng and the others back.

Just then, a flash of rainbow light appeared. The black needle shimmering with colored light in the beautiful woman's hand vanished in an instant and shot toward Shi Mo.

Already prepared, Shi Mo flicked his hand and unleashed the Treasure-Dropping Money.

Whoosh. A flash of golden light, and the black needle shimmering with colored light fell into Shi Mo's hand the next instant.

"What?" The woman in colorful robes was instantly shocked.

At the same time, as the black needle landed in his hand, Shi Mo felt a sharp pain in his palm. Looking down, he saw black poison qi spilling from the needle. His entire hand swiftly turned black, showing signs of corrosion.

"What potent poison!" Shi Mo's pupils constricted in alarm. Seeing Ji Meng and the other three Monster Sages charging at him again, he decisively retreated into Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.

Within the Heavenly Stellar Formation above Eight Treasures Peak, Shi Mo circulated his internal mana to expel the poison from his hand. Looking at the black needle, which leaked black qi under the starlight and continuously corroded and consumed it, he could not help but smile bitterly in helplessness.

"I never expected that the first time I used the Treasure-Dropping Money, I'd acquire such a hot potato."

"This poison is so vicious. If my true form were not jade, I fear I truly would have struggled to withstand it. Even with this jade body of mine, it is difficult to force the poison out."

Looking at his palm, which was slowly emitting black mist, Shi Mo still felt lingering fear. With a thought, he drew upon the earthfire qi beneath Eight Treasures Peak, while golden merit light surged from within his body into his hand.

The next moment, golden flame-like radiance lit up on Shi Mo's hand, and the black poison qi rose and dissipated like fog meeting sunlight.

In mere moments, Shi Mo's palm returned to its normal color.

"How should I deal with that poison needle? If not for the suppression of the Heavenly Stellar Formation's star power, it could likely turn this entire Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain into a land of deadly poison." Looking again at the black needle suspended in midair, Shi Mo's headache only worsened.

Boom. Boom! At the same time, Ji Meng and the others' relentless attacks from outside caused the Heavenly Stellar Formation to tremble faintly.

"Are you people done yet?" Shi Mo shouted irritably.

"Shi Mo, don't be so arrogant! If you have the skill, come out and fight me without relying on your formation!" Ji Meng retorted.

"Without relying on the formation? When you fight others, do you prefer to go barehanded without relying on any external aid? Then is that fork of yours for spearing fish? Do you not draw upon the power of heaven and earth in battle?" Shi Mo sneered. "My ability to borrow the power of the Heavenly Stars is my own skill. If you had that ability, you would not need to come looking for me."

Ji Meng and the others were left stifled and speechless, while the beautiful woman in colorful robes chuckled.

"Shi Mo, that poison needle is useless in your hands. If you do not wish to be poisoned to death, or have it poison your cave abode until not a blade of grass can grow, you should return it to me as soon as possible!"

"Return it to you? Dream on!" Shi Mo sneered. "It is only a poison needle. I refuse to believe its poison qi is inexhaustible. Sooner or later, I'll wear it away with the power of starlight."

The beautiful woman in colorful robes' expression changed, and she gritted her teeth in anger.

"I advise you to go back. Send someone who can actually speak properly," Shi Mo said, no longer willing to pay them any heed as he returned directly to his cave abode on Eight Treasures Peak.