Liang Yi's eyes widened in terror — she hadn't expected this man to still be alive.
Her fingers curled into claws as she whipped around, slashing toward Xu Mu.
But Xu Mu had already crouched down in advance — and drove a Hidden Force-infused Thousand Years of Pain right at her rear.
"Hiss!"
Liang Yi gasped sharply, tears springing to her eyes. "You bastard! I'll kill you—kill you!!"
Gritting her teeth through the pain, her blue aura flared even brighter than before.
She spotted Xu Mu again and pounced forward, throwing all reason aside.
In any proper battle, such a reckless lunge would be suicide — she could have impaled herself on her opponent's weapon.
But now, Liang Yi wanted only to get her hands on him.
Xu Mu hadn't expected her to actually tackle him — she crashed into him and sent them both tumbling to the ground.
He stared at her hands — remembering how they carried poison. Jiang Huihui had only been scratched once and was completely paralyzed.
As they fell, Xu Mu grabbed both her wrists and kicked her hard in the chest.
Liang Yi, wincing from the pain, suddenly bit down on his calf.
"The hell?!"
Xu Mu retaliated with a kick to her face, sending her flying.
Getting back to his feet, he drew his longsword from his storage space.
He hesitated — should he kill her? He was confident enough now.
Even though this woman was at the late stage of the Mystic Art Realm's middle phase, she'd lost her composure, blinded by rage.
"I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"
Tears streamed from Liang Yi's eyes as she rubbed at the spot where she'd just been struck by the Thousand Years of Pain — it ached and tingled unbearably.
"You're nearby, aren't you? Then take this gift!"
Her energy suddenly surged.
"Rain of Ice!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
From her body burst countless ice spikes, scattering like a storm in all directions.
Except for the ground, the air before, behind, above, and around her became a field of deadly ice thorns — no blind spots at all.
Bang, bang, bang!
Xu Mu watched as the distant buildings were riddled with holes before collapsing with thunderous crashes.
He quickly leapt back to a safe distance to wait out the storm.
That technique was at least Earth-Grade — it would drain her qi rapidly.
As he waited, his senses caught movement — a black-robed figure speeding toward Liang Yi.
The newcomer landed in front of her in an instant, blocking all the flying ice spikes.
"Die!"
Liang Yi, still half-delirious, spun around and attacked.
But the man caught her wrist mid-strike.
"Liang Yi! It's me!"
"I don't care who you are!" she screamed.
Boom!
The ground beneath them collapsed, sand blasting outward like an explosion.
Liang Yi was flung backward, but the man still had her by the wrist, keeping her close.
She felt the chill of her own frost still coating her arm, and when she looked up, she saw the figure before her — glowing faintly blue, like a spectral being.
Recognition dawned.
"Master?! It's you!"
Liang Yi fell to her knees, overcome with emotion.
From a distance, Xu Mu's expression hardened.
So the Immortal Research Institute had sent a grandmaster here too.
"Looks like I need to hurry and collect the remaining bracelets — can't let them get ahead of me."
He turned and slipped away.
His spiritual perception allowed him to sense everyone's positions and their surroundings — an advantage no one else had.
Around him, countless battles raged — most of them people turning on their own allies.
Suddenly, he sensed a faint life force — someone barely hanging on.
Xu Mu dashed over and removed the bracelet from the man's wrist.
Whether that man lived or died was up to fate.
"That's four," Xu Mu murmured, continuing his search.
At this rate, he didn't even need to kill — he could simply gather enough bracelets from the fallen.
After several more minutes, however, the darkness suddenly lifted — the sky brightened again.
Xu Mu hadn't expected night to pass so quickly.
Even so, that short time had been deadly enough for everyone caught inside.
Daylight returned.
The surroundings grew calm once more. Xu Mu pulled up his hood and scanned the area with his senses.
Then, to his surprise, he spotted Shingū Fuka — she'd entered the formation too.
Just then, a powerful male voice echoed across the area:
"If you want to leave this formation, come to me!"
The voice carried with qi, like a massive bell reverberating through the air, reaching far and wide.
Xu Mu noticed Shingū Fuka heading in that direction — so he followed as well.
When he arrived, many people had already gathered, most of them in black robes concealing their identities, many visibly injured.
Xu Mu casually made his way to Chen Xuan, whose robe bulged oddly in the back from the woven bag hidden inside.
"Old Chen," Xu Mu whispered.
"Brother Mu?" Chen Xuan turned toward him.
"Come with me," Xu Mu said quietly.
The one who had summoned everyone was clearly Liang Yi's master, since Liang Yi now stood obediently beside him.
That meant danger — and since Xu Mu already knew how to leave, there was no need to follow this so-called master's orders.
Chen Xuan gave a slight nod.
Xu Mu had already sensed that Miao He wasn't among the crowd, so he and Chen Xuan began quietly moving away.
"Stop!"
Liang Yi's cold shout rang out as she blocked their path.
Xu Mu's disguise made him unrecognizable, but Chen Xuan's bulky outfit made him easy to identify.
"Fang Chu — it's you, isn't it?"
Liang Yi didn't even look at Chen Xuan; her eyes locked icily onto Xu Mu instead.
"Huh? Someone called me?"
Just then, another black-robed figure approached from the distance, speaking up in confusion.
Liang Yi's expression darkened — she instantly lunged at the voice.
Using his perception, Xu Mu saw under the hood — the real Fang Chu had actually shown up.
"We're leaving. Don't run, just walk," Xu Mu whispered to Chen Xuan.
He could feel Liang Yi's master's gaze fixed in their direction.
If they ran, it would only draw suspicion — and pursuit.
For now, acting natural was their best option.
Chen Xuan nodded slightly, and the two of them walked slowly toward the distant buildings.
Meanwhile, Fang Chu was utterly dumbfounded. He'd only replied out of instinct when he heard a woman call his name — and now this?
Swish!
Liang Yi's short sword slashed out without hesitation.
"Fang Chu — you must die!"
Fang Chu dodged and shouted angrily,
"You crazy bitch! Who the hell are you?! When did I ever mess with you?!"
He stomped hard on the ground.
Swish, swish!
The sand beneath him shot up into two sharp spikes aimed at Liang Yi's feet.
She leapt up to avoid them and, midair, swung her sword down hard.
Two arcs of blue sword qi crossed in an X-shape, slicing toward Fang Chu.
Xu Mu grinned — he'd meant to watch the chaos unfold.
But then he noticed Dai Xingluo and Meng Wanyue among the crowd — and beside them stood a man with a long sword on his back.
The man's lecherous grin as he circled Dai Xingluo made Xu Mu's stomach churn.