Xu Zimo figured that, in his Previous Life, Cui Yuan had definitely been some small monster sent to hand out experience.
After Chu Yang killed him, he obtained the final Prison Suppressing Pearl, which was why Xu Zimo had never known where it came from.
Yet in this life, he had inadvertently snatched the Prison Suppressing Pearl from Cui Yuan's hands. Fate truly loved to toy with people.
Watching Hei Shisan walk toward him step by step, Chu Yang hurriedly backed away. His chest burned with pain, and from the severe blood loss, his head felt heavy and dizzy.
Am I really going to die like this? Chu Yang thought unwillingly.
He had Old Mo's guidance, cultivated an Emperor's technique, and still needed to find Xiao'er.
He refused to die here. He refused!
"Little Yang, don't worry. With me here, no one can hurt you," Old Mo's voice came from the ring.
"Old Mo, you..." Chu Yang looked at the ring in confusion.
An old man's phantom slowly emerged from the ring.
The moment the old man appeared, it was as though heaven and earth had fallen silent.
The sun and moon turned, while reincarnation continued without end.
An invisible aura gathered around the old man. His hands were clasped behind his back, his temples frosted white, and he wore a blue robe.
With a long sigh, the aura of one who could rule over eternity shook the surroundings. He slowly extended his right hand, and it seemed as if time and space themselves had frozen to a halt.
"This is..." Hei Shisan stared gravely at the aged figure.
"At my peak, even Sacred Meridian experts were beneath my notice. How dare a mere ant of the Empty Meridian Realm try to kill the person this old man has chosen?" the old man said calmly.
"You said it yourself—at your peak. How much of your strength remains now?" Hei Shisan said as he slowly took out a Jade Token.
Xu Zimo had given him this Jade Token. It contained Xu Qingshan's divine consciousness, and once activated, it could unleash the strength of a Half-step Sacred Meridian.
"This is bad." The old man recognized the Jade Token's purpose at a glance.
He had not expected the other side to come prepared. He had only just made his entrance and started showing off, yet he had already run into such a thorny problem.
With a wave of his right hand, a cage descended from the sky and trapped Hei Shisan within it. Then he grabbed Chu Yang by the shoulder and shouted, "Go!"
That ordinary cage could not hold Hei Shisan at all. The old man had used up nearly all the strength he had accumulated over the years before taking Chu Yang far away.
Within a dense forest, the old man slowly set Chu Yang down. His phantom had already dimmed considerably, as though it might dissipate at any moment.
"Old Mo, are you alright?" Chu Yang cried anxiously.
"I'm fine, don't worry," Old Mo said with a smile. "I merely used too much soul power just now. A period of recuperation will be enough.
"If you come across any herbs related to the soul in the future, remember to keep an eye out for me."
After saying that, Old Mo returned to the ring.
Chu Yang nodded and let out a deep breath. The bleeding from his chest had already stopped.
But his head still ached faintly. Leaning against a large tree beside him, he wanted to rest for a while.
Another set of footsteps sounded. Chu Yang was startled. Could that person from before have chased after him?
He turned to look and saw a man carrying a longsword slowly approaching.
The man wore white robes and looked elegant and refined, a smile on his face.
Just as Chu Yang was about to speak, he felt an overwhelmingly powerful aura press down upon him.
He gave a muffled groan, feeling utterly unable to move even an inch.
This swordsman felt even more powerful than the Man in Black from before.
The swordsman walked up to him, slowly bent down, and took the Prison Suppressing Pearl from Chu Yang's chest.
"Who are you?" Chu Yang asked, his gaze sharp as a torch.
"Shili Changkong," the man replied with a smile before leaving with the Prison Suppressing Pearl.
Only after the man left did Chu Yang feel his body loosen. He could not help gasping for breath.
"Old Mo," Chu Yang called out tentatively.
"That man was very strong. I didn't dare show myself. He was at least in the Venerable Meridian Realm," Old Mo said gravely.
"Why do I feel like I've been arranged so thoroughly by someone else, as though an invisible giant hand is controlling everything?" Chu Yang said thoughtfully.
"Just who are these people?"
"Don't think so much. Focus on cultivating," Old Mo said. "You're still too weak right now. Once you grow stronger, there will come a day when you reclaim all of this.
"It's just a pity about that pearl."
Chu Yang nodded heavily, his eyes blazing.
Xu Zimo accepted the final Prison Suppressing Pearl that Shili Changkong had brought back. Suppressing the joy in his heart, he said, "Not bad. You've worked hard."
"Why didn't you let me kill him?" Shili Changkong asked in confusion.
"Don't you think it would be terribly sad if there were no true opponents in this world?" Xu Zimo smiled. "I want to give him limitless hope, then ruthlessly drive him into despair. Again and again, over and over—that is what makes it interesting!"
"What about what you promised me?" Shili Changkong asked.
Xu Zimo smiled and sent Shili Changkong two secret manuals: the Yin Tian Sword Art and the Three Talents Sword Formation.
"Don't worry. Could I possibly go back on something I promised?" Xu Zimo said with a smile.
Shili Changkong glanced at Xu Zimo but said nothing.
He suddenly felt that being Xu Zimo's friend was far better than being his enemy.
Early the next morning, the group set out and left Tianjian City.
Before leaving, Xu Zimo warned Guan Zhenhai, "Some things should stop while they're still appropriate."
"I understand," Guan Zhenhai hurriedly nodded.
He knew Xu Zimo was referring to how he had used the True Martial Sacred Sect's name over the past two years to collude with the Chang Family for personal gain.
Xu Zimo did not dwell too much on Guan Zhenhai's actions. He knew that this world was one where black and white blended together. Why insist on separating black from white so clearly?
There were no absolute good people, nor were there absolute bad people.
As long as some things stopped while they were still appropriate and remained within the rules of the game, there was really nothing much to it.
These past few days were the liveliest time at the True Martial Sacred Sect. The sect was opening its gates and widely recruiting disciples.
Across the tens of thousands of miles of territory in this remote land, countless youths were rubbing their fists and eager to try, wanting to enter this sacred land in the hearts of innumerable people.
Even some of the smaller sects nearby wanted to send their talented disciples into the True Martial Sacred Sect.
There lay a broader heaven and earth, along with more opportunities and better resources.
Before the sect stood one hundred and eighty-eight steps. Every youth who wished to join the True Martial Sacred Sect had to climb them; this counted as the first trial.
The first hundred steps carried double gravity, the next eighty steps carried fivefold gravity, and the final eight steps carried tenfold gravity.
This trial tested a disciple's perseverance. It had nothing to do with one's personal strength, because no matter how strong one was, the gravity would not change.
Those who could climb all one hundred and eighty-eight steps could only rely on their own willpower.
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