Sensing the two surging, scorching auras, the middle-aged man in a dark red Daoist robe, Ancestor Minghe, couldn't help but grow even more sullen.
"Hmph!" Minghe gave a cold snort, then blurred into a streak of blood-red light and plunged downward.
"Hm? He actually left? That's not like Minghe at all." After the enormous creature resembling a Great Peng beat its wings and descended, it transformed into a man in a black robe with a hooked nose.
Kunpeng, whose gaze was just as cold and sharp, couldn't help but look surprised and puzzled.
Right after that, two imposing men in red-gold brocade robes appeared nearby, their bodies radiating scorching auras. One of them grinned and said, "Looks like he knew he wouldn't get the better of us!"
"Minghe would never act rashly, and he wouldn't be afraid of us, either. Judging by how hurriedly he left, could it be..." The other imposing man shook his head slightly, pondering.
Meanwhile, Shi Mo, who had plunged from the Ninth Heaven, fell much faster than he had risen. Before long, the vast, boundless lands of the Primordial World came into view below.
Shi Mo poured all his strength into using the Wind-Fixing Pearl to dispel the strange deathly aura in his body. After speeding up his descent, he went straight underground with an earth escape technique and fled swiftly through the network of earth veins.
Having witnessed Ancestor Minghe's strength, Shi Mo couldn't yet be entirely certain of his identity, but he didn't want to clash with him head-on. If he could avoid him, he would.
There was no shame in taking a loss when you were weak! He could settle the score when he got the chance.
Ancestor Minghe landed almost right behind him. Seeing that Shi Mo was nowhere to be found and that even his aura had vanished, he furrowed his brows. "He sure ran fast!"
"I couldn't have sensed it wrong! That aura... The spirit pearl on him is definitely a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. What a pity!"
Minghe narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. Then, as if sensing something, he looked up and frowned. "Those three troublesome fellows!"
After Minghe blurred and disappeared, Kunpeng and the two imposing men in red-gold brocade robes appeared shortly afterward.
"To escape Ancestor Minghe's grasp... It seems the person he was chasing was no ordinary figure," one of the men in red-gold robes said, looking surprised.
Kunpeng furrowed his brows and murmured curiously, "Why was Minghe chasing him?"
Meanwhile, after escaping far away through the network of earth veins, Shi Mo keenly noticed a problem:
"Why is the network of earth veins so dense here? The earth-vein spiritual energy is so abundant it's frightening. Where in the world did I end up?"
In a lush valley, Shi Mo carefully sensed his surroundings. Only after confirming that there were no powerful lifeforms anywhere in the broad area around him did he sit down on the grass and calmly begin dispelling the deathly aura still lingering in his body.
"This deathly aura is a real nuisance! That Black Divine Sword is filled with a sharp, deathly stillness. It's practically a sword of death—definitely an Innate Spiritual Treasure." Shi Mo sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his thoughts racing.
"My Wind-Fixing Pearl could barely hold it back. It must be a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. A divine sword of that level... Could it be Ancestor Minghe's Yuantu?"
"Damn it! Just you wait! I'll make you pay for this!" Shi Mo gritted his teeth in resentment. Golden light flowed over him, and wisps of faint gray-black deathly aura seeped from his body. When they touched the plants nearby, the vegetation withered before his eyes.
"What overbearing deathly aura! Thankfully, the merit power in my body can suppress it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to dispel."
Shi Mo sighed with relief and opened his eyes. Seeing the withered plants around him, he was about to get up and leave when he sensed a vast, ethereal aura drawing near. He looked up sharply.
"That's not Minghe. Who is it? How did they sense my aura so quickly? Could I have happened to end up near some great power's cave abode? This aura is almost as strong as Minghe's. Are there really so many mighty figures in the Primordial World?"
Before long, red clouds gathered, and a plump old man in a bright red Daoist robe descended from the sky. Seeing Shi Mo, he smiled kindly and curiously.
"I am Hong Yun. May I ask how I should address you, fellow Daoist? What brings you to the lands of Longevity Mountain?"
"Hm? This is... deathly aura? Did you encounter Ancestor Minghe and get hurt? Could you have mistakenly wandered into the Nether Blood Sea? Given Ancestor Minghe's nature, the fact you made it here means your methods must be impressive!"
As he spoke, Hong Yun noticed the withered plants around them and sensed the lingering aura of deathly stillness. His expression changed, and he looked at Shi Mo in surprise.
Hong Yun? Longevity Mountain? Shi Mo was startled to hear that this place was in the lands of Longevity Mountain. No wonder the network of earth veins was so dense and the earth-vein spiritual energy so abundant.
After all, Zhen Yuanzi was known in later generations as the Ancestor of Earth Immortals. His companion treasure, the Earth Book, was a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure capable of mobilizing the power of the earth veins. It had been transformed from the Earth Fetal Membrane, and was among the very finest top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
"So you're Daoist Brother Hong Yun. I'm Shi Mo." Shi Mo recovered and gave Hong Yun a slight bow, then couldn't help asking, "Daoist Brother Hong Yun, do you know Ancestor Minghe?"
"Know him? More than that! Shi Mo, my young brother, you don't know this, but I can't sit still. I love wandering all over the Primordial World. Once, out of curiosity, I went to the Nether Blood Sea and met Ancestor Minghe there."
Hong Yun spoke, gritting his teeth in resentment. "You have no idea. That Minghe is an unreasonable madman, an absolute bully."
Once Hong Yun started talking, he just kept going. Shi Mo couldn't help thinking to himself that the man was quite the chatterbox. They'd only just met, yet he was telling him so much. Wasn't this a bit too familiar, too soon?
Still, Shi Mo also wanted to learn more about Ancestor Minghe, so he didn't interrupt Hong Yun. He even asked questions from time to time, learning more about the Nether Blood Sea and Ancestor Minghe from Hong Yun's account.
"Shi Mo, my young brother, since you've angered Ancestor Minghe, you must be careful. Once that fellow latches onto you, he won't let go," Hong Yun said, then continued:
"Before, if Brother Zhenyuan hadn't helped me, Ancestor Minghe wouldn't have let it go so easily!"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Brother Zhenyuan said he had a guest, and asked me to invite you. But I got to chatting with you instead." Hong Yun suddenly remembered and tugged Shi Mo along.
"Come with me to meet Brother Zhenyuan first. His Ginseng Fruit Tree has borne ripe fruit recently, so you're in for a treat, Shi Mo."
Zhen Yuanzi invited me? Shi Mo was slightly taken aback. He was being so warm and courteous?
After encountering someone like Ancestor Minghe, who would try to kill him and seize his treasure at the slightest disagreement, Shi Mo didn't dare put too much faith in the character of these mighty figures of the Primordial World.
Even if Zhen Yuanzi seemed to have a good reputation, who knew how much of the mythology was true?
But when Hong Yun mentioned the Ginseng Fruit Tree, Shi Mo couldn't help feeling curious and tempted. At the same time, he privately grumbled:
"Hong Yun is such a chatterbox. He's practically revealed all of Zhen Yuanzi's secrets. How did Zhen Yuanzi ever become friends with him?"
Before you continue