Nothing but Battle

"Then there's nothing for it but battle."

Wu Ling's grin widened. The heat in his chest made him feel as though his entire body were burning. The Thousand-Jun War Staff swept around him, and with a stamp of his foot, he charged at the Nightglow Netherworld Beast.

The Netherworld Beast watched this human who dared challenge its majesty. All eight heads roared together, their voices like cries from the netherworld, withering all things and shaking the lake behind it into rippling waves.

It raised a sharp claw, gathering towering baleful energy in its palm, then slammed it down on Wu Ling's War Staff.

Boom!

The collision produced a tremendous crash. Horror flashed in Wu Ling's eyes. The force he had unleashed with all his strength was instantly crushed by a power that swept through it like a storm through rotten wood.

Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan watched Wu Ling smash toward the ground like a cannonball, their eyes grave. They had known there would be a gap, but they had never expected this outcome. A single clash had revealed a power almost impossible to match.

Suppressing the weight in their hearts, they shot forward, striking simultaneously with the Flexible Sword and Long Spear to stop it from attacking Wu Ling again.

Yet the Netherworld Beast paid Wu Ling no further attention. Raising its sharp claws, their baleful energy shaking the heavens, it lunged straight at the two of them.

That rampaging, savage aura made Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan feel as though they truly faced a Primordial Savage Beast. The might radiating from its enormous body was enough to chill anyone's heart.

But neither felt fear. They exchanged a glance and stepped aside, dodging the Netherworld Beast's charge while firing steel needles from their hands straight at its heads.

Yet when the steel needles struck the Netherworld Beast's eight heads, they merely produced a series of metallic pings, accomplishing nothing else.

The Netherworld Beast held a claw upright before its largest head and licked it. Then it roared again, and the spikes on all eight enormous tails spread out, shooting toward Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan.

It seemed intent on seeing whose steel needles were fiercer.

Yun Mo's eyes darkened slightly. Black Cloth appeared in his hands, concealing his entire body. On the other side, Wen Qingxuan did the same, hiding her slender figure beneath Black Cloth.

The instant they covered themselves, the spikes crossed the intervening space and struck, crashing against the Black Cloth with deafening booms.

Wu Yingying stood on an ancient tree, worry in her eyes. She wanted to join them, but the battlefield was too terrifying for her to approach. She could only pray while gathering force into her Longbow, ready to fire in support at any moment.

Beneath the Black Cloth, Yun Mo gently exhaled a stale breath. Although the cloth had blocked the spikes, their force had still shaken his arms numb.

Once the barrage of spikes ceased, he withdrew the Black Cloth.

He gazed at the Netherworld Beast, and the Flexible Sword in his hand instantly became rigid. Since being thrown into the Spirit Road, he had never faced such danger.

"This is probably the first time I've fought with all my strength since entering the Spirit Road, isn't it?"

Yun Mo murmured to himself. As he finished, his aura abruptly changed. Streaks of seemingly eternal sword light emerged, transforming into sword energy that cut through everything and brought decay to his surroundings. Even if this might fell short of the Netherworld Beast before him, it was not far behind.

Then he stamped down hard and, bearing astonishing pressure, slashed viciously at the Netherworld Beast's right flank.

Now the Netherworld Beast sensed a trace of danger from this human. Its eight heads turned together, and the eyes hidden in those hideous, fang-filled faces all opened. Bloodthirsty baleful energy stained its massive body.

It unleashed another sky-piercing howl and, empowered by that bloody aura, hurled itself at Yun Mo.

The rigid sword radiated an intent of decay, while the blood-red claws carried baleful energy that blotted out the sky. They clashed fiercely, producing a collision more terrifying than any seen in the Spirit Road.

At that moment, heaven and earth lost their color, and the world seemed to have gone deaf. Not a sound escaped.

Only the swathes of shattered ancient trees and earth heaving in every direction revealed how horrifying the shock waves of that collision were.

Watching the scene before her, Wen Qingxuan gave a soft harrumph through her red lips. She seized the opening as the two remained locked together and tightened her grip on her golden Long Spear.

Like Yun Mo, she unleashed all her strength, and her aura instantly soared into the sky.

Her golden Long Spear also erupted with dazzling golden radiance, its brilliance reflecting off her Golden Armor and Red Dress.

A single step carried her into the air. Beneath the light of heaven and earth, she seemed to become a Golden Phoenix, spreading her wings and soaring high before diving toward the Netherworld Beast.

The Long Spear pierced the Netherworld Beast's back, drawing an enraged howl that shook the earth.

Its long tails lashed out, their explosive force flinging Yun Mo away. Then it turned and tore at Wen Qingxuan, sending her flying backward and coughing blood with a single blow.

But amid that mortal struggle, Wu Yingying seized her chance from afar. All the blood and vital energy in her body gathered in her hands and flowed into the Longbow.

"Die!"

She shouted in fury and released the bowstring. The Blood-Red Arrow formed from all her blood and vital energy crossed the entire valley and slammed into one of the Netherworld Beast's heads, piercing straight through.

"Aaargh!"

Struck by spear and arrow, the Netherworld Beast wailed to heaven and earth. It had suffered grievous wounds.

Yet just as it shook off Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan and tried to retreat temporarily into the lake, a War Staff descended from the sky with crushing force, savagely smashing into another of its heads and knocking it away.

"Netherworld Beast!"

"Wu Ling!"

Her strength exhausted, Wu Yingying collapsed to the ground. But seeing Wu Ling reappear on the battlefield, she could not help smiling, and inwardly let out a long breath of relief.

After that strike, the Netherworld Beast was badly wounded, its entire body stained with blood, but the others were also showing signs of exhaustion.

They gathered together and faced off against the Netherworld Beast once more.

"I don't think I can fight anymore." Wu Ling extended his trembling arm, beads of blood welling on it, and gave a bitter smile.

That blow had consumed almost all his strength. The fact that he could still stand was already the result of sheer willpower.

Wen Qingxuan was also somewhat exhausted. She panted softly, her breath fragrant as an orchid, and looked at Yun Mo's icy face. "If we're going to keep fighting, hurry up and take out the pills."

Wu Ling froze. "There are pills?"

Yun Mo's clothes were torn. His cold eyes swept over the two of them, making Wu Ling stiffen slightly. Even Wen Qingxuan was taken aback. Neither had ever seen such an expression on his face.

Yun Mo paused, then nodded and tossed them the Pill Bottle in his hand. "There are Qi Recovery Pills inside. That Netherworld

Beast is far from finished."

His words made them turn their gazes back toward the Netherworld Beast.

They saw black energy spreading all around it, filling the air. The energy enveloped it, making it impossible to tell what was happening within.

Wu Ling smacked his lips, deeply aware of his own helplessness. Had he encountered this Netherworld Beast alone, he would undoubtedly have died.

"We'll do the same as before. The three of us will spread out and take three different positions. This time, I'll lead the attack. Recover as quickly as you can."

Wen Qingxuan and Wu Ling nodded, swallowed the Qi Recovery Pills, and hurried to regain some strength while they had time.

But in the brief interval while they spoke, the black mist shrouding the Netherworld Beast began to dissipate.

The Nightglow Netherworld Beast reappeared, its appearance drastically changed and only one head remaining. Its might was even greater than before.

Yun Mo said softly, "I didn't expect it to recover so quickly. How are you two doing?"

"I've only recovered thirty percent of my strength." Wu Ling felt somewhat ashamed. That first slap had injured him badly. Although the mysterious power of the Nine-Leaf Fruit was strong, recovering was simply not something he could accomplish in so little time.

"I'll go with you," Wen Qingxuan said, turning her phoenix eyes toward Yun Mo.

Yun Mo shook his head. "Keep recovering. I'll hold it off. When its momentum starts to wane, make your move. Remember, we only have one chance. If we lose, we'll have to run."

With that, Yun Mo's icy aura emerged once more.

Watching him dart forward to resume his mortal struggle with the Netherworld Beast, Wu Ling felt utterly powerless. For the first time, a sense of defeat arose in his heart. "Do you know who he is?"

Wen Qingxuan pursed her lips, her phoenix eyes fixed on that figure. "No, but we'll find out someday."

The Flexible Sword in Yun Mo's hand swept through the air, sword shadows flowing in an unending torrent. Every strike sought the Netherworld Beast's vital points, seeking to make its blood gush without end.

But ultimately, the gap in their strength prevented him from landing a fatal blow, and the two remained locked in a stalemate.

They clashed again. With his strength beginning to fail, Yun Mo was caught by the Netherworld Beast's claw, which gouged a deep wound into him and drew a muffled grunt.

He flew backward and took a deep breath, suppressing the crimson flush on his face. As he closed his eyes and opened them again, the Flexible Sword in his hand began to blur.

The mysterious power of time and space was his greatest reliance.

Qing Yilun had judged him the most talented person he had ever seen, without exception.

The chief reason was that Yun Mo had comprehended a sliver of the mysteries of time and space at an extraordinarily young age.

"What does it matter if I can't use spiritual energy? Time and space exist within everything. No matter how high your cultivation or how great your strength, you are nothing more than a grain in the vast ocean of that endless river."

The sword tip moved with Yun Mo's will, blooming with boundless black-and-white energy. This was the mystery of decay born from the utmost Time and Space Intent.

His lips moved slightly, making this stretch of heaven and earth change color along with them:

"Great Void!"

As those two words left his mouth, an unimaginably terrifying Decaying Sword Intent emerged from the sword tip. At that instant, it seemed to take physical form as it stabbed toward the Nightglow Netherworld Beast's sole remaining head.

Fear finally appeared in the Netherworld Beast's savage eyes. It had never imagined that the human before it could unleash such a horrifying aura. That sword light made it sense an extreme danger.

It wanted to retreat and hide beneath the lake, but the sword intent had locked onto the space around it, making it thick as mire. If it retreated, defeat and death would be its only fate.

In that instant, it went mad. To survive, it had to withstand this attack at any cost. It roared, desperately drawing on every scrap of baleful energy it could summon from the basin and gathering it before its body. Every spike on its back broke free as well, merging into the baleful energy.

It reared upright, crossed its claws, and thrust out with this most powerful strike.