Overwhelming force

"Heh, worthy of a Ninth-Rank Spirit Beast of the Spirit Road. Even with the three of us joining forces, we still couldn't take it down after all this time." A strange smile appeared on Liu Qingyun's face, azure light suffusing the long halberd in his hand.

"One combined strike. I refuse to believe this beast can survive that!" Qiu Beihai's Crimson Long Sword trembled slightly, beads of blood dripping from it. Watching this, he spoke through gritted teeth.

Ji Xuan stared coldly at the spirit beast before him. The next moment, his long spear slowly turned, veins suddenly bulging on his hand. The spear instantly became like a black lightning dragon, and as he moved, a tangible blast of astral energy shot forth.

Seeing Ji Xuan attack, Liu Qingyun and Qiu Beihai unleashed their full strength as well, swinging their battle weapons at the Mountain Ghost.

"Roar!"

The Mountain Ghost's enormous body was covered in wounds, its white fur drenched in blood. Yet this only made it more ferocious, and the roars from its mouth had never ceased.

It raised both arms and clasped its coarse hands together, forming the Heaven-Crushing Hammer, making space itself seem to throb along with it.

Boom!

The two forces collided violently, erupting with a terrifying commotion. Waves of air rippled outward, buffeting the towering trees and nearby undergrowth.

But a closer look revealed that the combined strength of Ji Xuan's group had completely suppressed the Mountain Ghost. Even so, they also felt the crushing pressure of space, blood seeping from the corners of their mouths.

Still, they were far better off than the Mountain Ghost. Ultimately, its strength was insufficient to withstand their relentless assault. With a thud, it slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath it.

Watching the Mountain Ghost struggle to rise, Ji Xuan wiped a trace of blood from his mouth and snorted coldly. Then a blast of force pierced its skull.

"This Ninth-Rank Spirit Beast really was troublesome. No wonder it could condense Spirit Jade," Liu Qingyun said sincerely, holding his long halberd point-down as he watched the Mountain Ghost's corpse gradually collapse in on itself.

Qiu Beihai's expression was dark. He had suffered some injuries in this fight, but the thought of the Spirit Jade and Level-Nine Token to come made him swallow his violent anger. Still, the vicious aura around him remained palpable.

"Heh... I'll take this Spirit Core first. Afterward, we can... You're courting death!"

Dressed in white robes, Ji Xuan wore a warm smile. Yet the next instant, two black-robed figures appeared beside the Spirit Core. One of them even reached out and stowed it directly inside a Token.

His expression instantly turned sinister. Extreme fury sent his already terrifying aura erupting outward. Stamping his foot, he thrust his long spear toward the pair.

Qiu Beihai and Liu Qingyun were equally furious, killing intent spilling from their eyes.

They had actually failed to notice anyone following them, and now even the fruits of their labor had been snatched right from under their noses. How could they not fly into a rage? They followed Ji Xuan, darting toward Yun Mo and his companion.

Yun Mo put away the Spirit Core, a faint smile crossing his face beneath his cloak. His Battle Halberd appeared in his hand, and he thrust it toward Qiu Beihai and Liu Qingyun.

He had arranged this with Wen Qingxuan beforehand.

After hearing about Yun Mo's cultivation situation earlier, Wen Qingxuan had decisively chosen Ji Xuan as her opponent.

Just as she did now, her golden long spear cutting through the sky as it stabbed straight toward Ji Xuan.

Clang!

The spear tips struck each other with perfect accuracy. The golden and jet-black spears shook violently, the terrifying force surpassing every previous clash on the Spirit Road. The air currents sweeping across the land seemed to become a storm, snapping distant towering trees at their waists.

At the same time, the force sent both of them recoiling.

However, Wen Qingxuan clearly had no intention of relinquishing her advantage in strength. With a soft snort, she raised her golden spear as soon as her feet touched the ground, darted forward, and brought it down over Ji Xuan's head.

Ji Xuan's expression grew utterly grim. That last strike had left even his arms trembling. Once again, he had discovered that his strength put him at a disadvantage on the Spirit Road.

But he had no time to dwell on it. Wen Qingxuan's spear was already before him again.

Clang, clang...

The ringing of metal never stopped as they fought. Every clash was a full-force attack, their strength erupting without restraint.

Thrusting, cleaving, blocking-the spear shadows never paused.

Ji Xuan drew a deep breath. With his arms trembling, he shifted his footing and narrowly evaded Wen Qingxuan's icy spear intent.

"Who are you?" he roared, staring fixedly at Wen Qingxuan.

Anyone who could evade his senses and steal the Spirit Core right under his nose had to be among the very best on the Spirit Road. Moreover, throughout their exchange, he had remained at a disadvantage. Even when he fought back, he was beaten back down in an instant.

Now, combined with the earlier battle against the Mountain Ghost, he could already feel the injuries accumulating on his body.

"Heh." Wen Qingxuan looked at him and smiled disdainfully. If he thought he could recover his condition this way, he was being far too presumptuous.

She hesitated no longer. Her graceful figure flashed forward, and she swung her long spear down at Ji Xuan again. This blow almost made the air burst with explosive cracks, its power utterly terrifying.

Ji Xuan gritted his teeth, unable to stop the blood seeping from his mouth. Aside from Mu Chen, this was another person on the Spirit Road who had reduced him to such a wretched state.

Moreover, he realized with horror that if he fought this person to the death in his current condition, he would very likely be the one to die. That was what he could least accept.

But when he looked toward the other battlefield, he discovered that Qiu Beihai and Liu Qingyun were faring even worse.

"Die!"

Qiu Beihai's crimson sword transformed into a streak of scarlet light, flashing toward Yun Mo in the blink of an eye. On the other side, Liu Qingyun gripped his long halberd tightly and swept it toward Yun Mo's waist.

Watching their combined assault, Yun Mo remained impassive. He merely pressed his black-and-white Battle Halberd toward Qiu Beihai, forcing him back, before turning with effortless ease to meet Liu Qingyun head-on.

Boom!

The collision between their halberds instantly changed Liu Qingyun's expression, sending him hurtling backward.

He had never expected that Battle Halberd, which seemed both slow and fast, to suddenly unleash power he could not possibly match.

Just one collision immediately split the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers. Some of the fine tendons in his arms snapped as well, leaving both arms crimson with blood.

Watching the pair fly backward, Yun Mo remained calm. He stepped forward and followed, pressing them so hard they lost all will to resist. Every strike forced them

to defend together.

"Watch out! Get back!"

Liu Qingyun saw that Qiu Beihai had slowed because of his earlier injuries and shouted in alarm and fury.

Slash!

Yun Mo's Battle Halberd landed on Qiu Beihai's sword, then spun rapidly, its blade sweeping across his wrist.

"Argh..."

Qiu Beihai cried out in pain. Looking at his wrist, nearly severed clean through, he felt a terror beyond words.

Perhaps his entire hand could be reattached, but it would inevitably suffer severe lasting effects. Unless he could break through his shackles and reach the Supreme level, he could only accept reality.

Liu Qingyun was equally terrified. Where had this cloaked person come from? Even fighting together, the two of them were being completely suppressed, without the slightest room to fight back.

They had been reduced to this state in just a few moves.

He looked toward Ji Xuan, hoping to seek help, only to discover that Ji Xuan's situation was no better. In fact, their eyes met at the same moment, each hoping for the other's assistance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan were about to attack again, the sound of something cutting through the air came from the distant forest of towering trees.

Arrow after arrow pierced the sky, shooting toward Ji Xuan. This was Wu Yingying's signal after obtaining the Spirit Jade, but seeing the state of Ji Xuan and his companions, she had simply decided to join the battle directly.

However, Ji Xuan had clearly remained on guard all along. Seeing the incoming arrows, he decisively darted backward. Even Qiu Beihai and Liu Qingyun burst forth with astonishing speed at that moment, following Ji Xuan as he fled.

They now understood completely. These two or three cloaked people had deliberately concealed their presence, waiting until they had gained something before moving in to steal it.

Seeing that nothing could be done, they could only grit their teeth and accept the outcome. They certainly did not believe these people would spare their Tokens if given the chance.

"What a shame. They got away." Wu Yingying landed beside Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan, pursing her lips.

"Actually, they'd wanted to run for a while already. Besides, with the protection of the Mirror of Judgment, we couldn't kill them anyway." Wen Qingxuan paused, then continued, "I suspect he simply couldn't bear to give up the Spirit Jade in your hands and that Spirit Core."

Wu Yingying nodded and smiled. "Here. There are ten pieces of Spirit Jade altogether, enough for all of us to use."

Yun Mo took them and surveyed the surroundings. "Let's pull up the useful spirit medicines here, then set off to find more Ninth-Rank Spirit Beasts. We still need two."

"Actually, I think we could just wait along the road to the Central Divine Temple. Whenever we see someone with a Level-Nine Token, we can simply rob them."

"I'm more interested in whether that Ji Xuan can find another place like this, or another opportunity like this one. I'm very suspicious about how he discovered this place. In the final stage, the map is practically useless."

"What are you trying to say?" Wen Qingxuan glanced at him.

"Is Dean Tian Sheng of the Sacred Spirit Academy also surnamed Ji?"

"You're overthinking it."