The five Third-Order Spirit Swords, each releasing Sword Qi of a different attribute: the Fire-attribute Spirit Sword carried high-temperature Sword Qi, burning the Bloodline; the Metal-attribute Spirit Sword's metallic malevolence was like needles, causing intense pain upon entry; the Earth-attribute Spirit Sword was as heavy as a mountain, with great power and weight; the Water-attribute Spirit Sword was tricky and smooth, penetrating everywhere; and the Wood-attribute Spirit Sword was continuous and difficult to resist.
The five Spirit Swords were like venomous snakes, targeting vital points, incredibly formidable.
It was as if they were simultaneously facing five Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivators; they cooperated with incredible synergy, one sword strike following another, with sharp Sword Qi and mighty Sword Intent, each wave stronger than the last, pressing them until they couldn't breathe.
Too terrifying!
This Sword Control Technique was definitely beyond their ability to counter.
"Zhou Zhenren, save me!"
"Zhou Zhenren, quick, save us!"
The two Foundation Establishment Cultivators' expressions changed drastically; in just one exchange, they were covered in sword wounds, crying out for help.
"Useless things!" The Golden Core Cultivator, who was attacking the ship's cabin formation, cursed angrily upon seeing this, still thinking of providing support.
However, his action was a step too slow; at this moment, the five Spirit Swords suddenly merged into one giant greatsword, slashing and sweeping with sharp force, its sword edge like a rainbow.
With a "Puchi" sound, the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, along with their Spirit Treasures, were cut into two by the thick and sharp Sword Qi, instantly perishing.
With a series of "Pili Pala" sounds, the thick Sword Qi also severed the mast of the treasure ship; in an instant, the sails collapsed, smashing the treasures piled on the deck, and various high-grade spiritual materials scattered all over the ground.
The flying treasure ship's altitude plummeted, rapidly falling downwards.
"Hahaha! Heaven helps me!" The Golden Core Cultivator laughed instead of raging upon seeing this scene.
...
"Reckless fellow, how could he cut down a mast made of Azure Sky Spirit Wood?"
In the Heaven Spirit's captain's cabin, Captain Wang Deshan 'saw' this scene and immediately darkened his face, not knowing whether the one who acted was friend or foe!
If they could just hold on for a while longer, the treasure ship would reach the next city; the distress signal had already been sent, and Wanbao Pavilion's armed support would soon arrive; by then, the opponent, unable to break through the cabin's protective array, would naturally be forced to leave, minimizing losses.
But now!
The mast, refined from Fourth-Order Spirit Wood and treated with secret methods, was actually cut off by a reckless Cultivator's sharp sword from who knows where, destroying the overall flying array of the aerial treasure ship, making it unable to maintain its altitude.
Now it's over!
The treasure ship had to make an emergency landing in the desolate mountains and forests, and the waiting time for rescue would be infinitely extended, allowing that fellow Zhou Rong to do as he pleased; no wonder he was so happy!
A fellow who is more trouble than he's worth!
How is this help?! This is clearly their destined nemesis; now they are all completely finished!
Wang Deshan couldn't bear to watch, his face filled with despair.
In the VIP room, Li Mu knew he had inadvertently caused trouble, his expression slightly awkward.
Noticing the treasure ship's altitude rapidly decreasing, Li Mu helplessly opened the cabin door and flew out of the room.
With a loud "Boom," the flying treasure ship made an emergency landing halfway up a mountain Peak, crushing countless ancient trees, and the Yao Beasts and Yao Birds in the forest scattered in panic.
Disheveled figures were forced to fly out of the ship one after another; the cargo treasure ship, dozens of feet long, was wrecked, various sundries scattered everywhere, and the scene was a mess.
"Hand over the Myriad Spirit Treasure Tome, and I'll spare your life!" The Golden Core Cultivator stood in mid-air, fully releasing his Spiritual Pressure, intimidating the entire scene, causing Heaven and Earth to change color.
As the Golden Core Cultivator flew up, five Foundation Establishment Cultivators successively flew behind him, numerous and powerful, with strong momentum.
"You've miscalculated; the Myriad Spirit Treasure Tome was taken by Celestial Evolution Immortal Master long ago! It's not on the ship; if you know what's good for you, leave quickly, Wanbao Pavilion's battle Spirit Ship will arrive soon!" Captain Wang Deshan, leading two Foundation Establishment subordinates and a group of Qi Refining crew members, retorted defiantly.
Other Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement Stage passengers, onlookers from afar, some planned to escape, some looked desolate, preparing to wait for death... Now that the treasure ship had crashed in the wild mountains, with countless First, Second, and Third-Order Yao Beasts lurking around, even if they were lucky enough to escape from the Golden Core Cultivator's hands, they probably wouldn't escape this desperate situation.
More than twenty Cultivators of lower Realm spontaneously stood together, huddling for warmth.
"You're courting death; since that's the case, then you die!" The Golden Core Cultivator snorted coldly, waving his big hand, and a crimson Spirit Blade flew out, heading straight for Wang Deshan.
Just then, a golden shield flew out from the crowd, blocking it.
With a loud "Bang," the crimson Spirit Blade instantly plunged into the large golden shield, erupting in a violent explosion; in an instant, the golden shield flew in front of the still-shocked Wang Deshan, and the crimson Spirit Blade bounced away.
Zhou Zhenren's expression suddenly changed drastically, discovering an unexpected situation.
A square seal in the sky surprisingly and easily fell down, its figure rapidly enlarging, like thunder.
"Courting death!"
Zhou Zhenren's expression stiffened, his body suddenly transforming into a blood shadow, escaping from his original spot in the blink of an eye.
The five Foundation Establishment Cultivators looked up at the sky, their souls nearly leaving their bodies.
The giant square seal was like Mount Tai pressing down, rapidly smashing towards them; at the same time, a powerful binding force emanated from the giant square seal, binding the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi below; the heavy Earth Spirit power enveloped them, making their True Essence and spiritual power unable to be mobilized, their feet feeling as if burdened by ten thousand pounds, bound in place, unable to escape.
The five Foundation Establishment Cultivators could only watch helplessly as the giant square seal smashed down from above their heads; they desperately used their Spirit Treasures to resist, Flying Swords, Spirit Shields, fire Daoist Magic, Second-Order Spirit Talisman shields... all thrown out.
However, these attacks landed on the square giant seal like ants trying to shake a tree, unable to move the giant square seal in the slightest!
"No!"
"Senior Zhou, save me!"
"I don't want to die!"
...
The five Foundation Establishment Cultivators wailed in despair, crying for help.
With a "Boom!" the giant square seal violently smashed down, the earth cracked, rocks rolled, and the mountain Peak sank lower.
The shouts of the five Foundation Establishment Cultivators ceased abruptly.
The volume of the giant square seal rapidly shrank, becoming palm-sized in the blink of an eye; a square stone pit about four or five mu in size appeared on the ground, with a pool of blood in the center, and the five Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had been turned into meat patties.
This series of changes happened extremely quickly; everyone who had recovered from the aftermath of the explosion looked at the scene before them in disbelief.
Someone actually acted to block the Golden Core True Person's attack, and even launched a sneak attack, achieving success in one fell swoop!
Like a savior descended from heaven, they were instantly pulled out of the abyss of despair, and everyone's faces revealed expressions of wild joy.
"Damn it! Who exactly are you?!"
Zhou Zhenren glared with wide eyes, staring fixedly at Li Mu, questioning him, still shaken; if he hadn't detected the danger beforehand and used a secret art to escape from his original spot, he would have been smashed to pieces just like his five subordinates.
"You are not Zhou Zhenren, who exactly are you?!" Captain Wang Deshan, seeing the secret escape art Zhou Zhenren used, questioned him with a drastically changed expression.
Zhou Zhenren's eyes were only on Li Mu, ignoring Wang Deshan's question.
Li Mu reached out to retrieve his Ruyi Square Seal, secretly regretting that his sneak attack hadn't succeeded; next, he would have to face a Golden Core Immortal Master head-on, and the battle would be somewhat dangerous.
"You all scatter quickly, otherwise, if a fight breaks out, I won't be able to protect you!" Li Mu glanced at the 'audience' who were watching the excitement, oblivious to the danger, and warned them.
Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized and scattered, fleeing on their Flying Swords.
"Trying to run? All of you stay!" Zhou Zhenren roared, waving his big hand; dozens of blood shadows flew out, turning into blood arrows, chasing directly after each fleeing passenger.
Li Mu imitated him, casting a Five Elements Divine Ability, waving his big hand, and streams of Five Elements Spiritual Fire flew out, heading towards the blood arrows.
"Puff, puff, puff..." The blood arrows seemed to encounter a fatal nemesis, all being vaporized by the Five Elements Spiritual Fire, turning into wisps of white smoke and disappearing.
The fleeing passengers noticed the abnormality, all looked back, glanced gratefully at Li Mu, and increased their Sword Control Technique speed, accelerating their escape in all directions.
"Who exactly are you?!" Zhou Zhenren's expression was solemn; this opponent only had Foundation Establishment Realm, but the Cultivation Technique he cultivated could not be underestimated; his Blood God Finger was easily broken by him, which had never happened before.
"Blood God Daoist Magic, you are from the Blood God Sect, you are not Zhou Zhenren, who exactly are you?!" Wang Deshan, who had stayed to help, glared with wide eyes, questioning Zhou Zhenren.
Zhou Zhenren's eyes only had Li Mu as his opponent, ignoring Wang Deshan.
Li Mu was also too lazy to waste words with him; his Divine Sense entered the nine storage spiritual pearl, and the five Third-Order Five Elements Spirit Swords were released successively, flying towards Zhou Zhenren with lightning speed to kill him.
Zhou Zhenren's expression slightly changed, sensing that the five Spirit Swords had the potential to form an array, and immediately transformed into a blood shadow, fleeing rapidly.
Li Mu remotely controlled the five swords, following closely behind.
Wherever the blood shadow flew, the five Third-Order Spirit Swords pursued, sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes up, sometimes down, moving extremely fast, like thunder, relentlessly pursuing.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield became a chase between a blood shadow and five sword shadows, too fast for the naked eye to discern, making it overwhelming.
Wang Deshan, who had stayed to jointly resist the enemy, was stunned for a moment!
He never expected the battle to turn out this way; looking at the situation, it seemed like Master Li was chasing and attacking the opponent.
How could this be?
Was this Golden Core from the Blood God Sect, impersonating Zhou Zhenren, a watered-down version? He actually fell into a disadvantage when fighting a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?
Or was Master Li a Golden Core Immortal Master in disguise?
Wang Deshan looked at Master Li, only to see him concentrating on forming sword seals, while simultaneously remotely controlling the five Flying Swords to chase the blood shadow, looking calm and confident.
Wang Deshan's hanging heart immediately settled quite a bit.
"Damn it! Where did this fellow come from, able to use such a sharp Sword Formation!" Zhou Zhenren, being hotly pursued by the five Spirit Swords, cursed repeatedly in his heart; being forced to this extent by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was simply too humiliating.
However, once he stopped, and was surrounded by the five Five Elements Spirit Swords, forming the Five Elements Sword Formation, then Sword Qi would proliferate, continuous and unending; even with Golden Core Realm, Zhou Zhenren dared not risk himself.
He absolutely could not fall into the Five Elements Sword Formation; however, that person's Sword Control Technique was incredibly proficient, simultaneously controlling five Spirit Swords, like a shadow, perfectly integrated, any slight delay would result in being surrounded by the five Spirit Swords.
There was no gap for him to stop.
Zhou Zhenren was both angry and anxious, never expecting such a troublesome character to be on the ship.
What was even more terrifying was that the fellow only had Foundation Establishment Realm, yet his True Essence, spiritual power, and Divine Sense power were incredibly profound, not inferior to his at all, and he showed no signs of exhaustion even after a long time.
No, he couldn't continue to drag this out with him!
The Blood God Escape secret art he used consumed essence blood, and before, those people ran away, so he couldn't replenish it.
Zhou Zhenren thought of something, changing his strategy mid-battle, altering his escape direction, and rushing straight towards Li Mu, preparing for close combat.
The Sword Formation was too much to provoke, but in close combat, a Golden Core against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was a major Realm difference! This fighting style should definitely have an advantage!
A fierce glint flashed in Zhou Zhenren's eyes as he rushed straight towards Li Mu.
Seeing Zhou Zhenren flying towards him, Li Mu deliberately showed a panicked expression, but a hint of secret joy arose in his heart; he ordered 'Little White' through the Spirit Control Contract Seal to prepare for battle.
His entire body's Five Elements spiritual essence was drawn but not released, preparing for a close-quarters battle to completely take down the opponent.
The opponent had Golden Core Realm, with incredibly profound True Essence; continuing to drag it out with him, Li Mu was subtly starting to feel overwhelmed!
"I gambled right!"
Their figures rapidly closed in; Zhou Zhenren clearly saw the panicked expression on the opponent's face, and couldn't help but feel delighted.
Zhou Zhenren accelerated his blood escape speed, instantly closing the distance, extending a blood hand to grab the opponent's heart; the battle was about to end.
Who knew!
At the critical moment, Zhou Zhenren suddenly felt a sharp pain in his Divine Soul, as if he had been whipped by a long whip; at the same time, his Divine Sense became muddled, suffering two Divine Sense attacks at once, his mind dazed, and his body stiffened.
Little White, hidden on Li Mu's body, received its master's command and timely cast its innate Daoist Magic - Illusionary Soul Seizure on Zhou Zhenren.
At the same time, Li Mu continuously cast several Daoist Magic - Divine Sense Whip, forming a long whip of Divine Sense, fiercely lashing Zhou Zhenren's Divine Soul; the Five Elements Illusionary Body technique dodged Zhou Zhenren's blood hand, appeared to the side, and bent forward.
A Fourth-Order Spirit Sword was instantly taken out from his storage grid, and Li Mu naturally grabbed it in his hand.
"It's over!"
Zhou Zhenren, with his Golden Core Realm, quickly recovered from the two Divine Sense attacks; however, his body was already unable to make responsive changes to the enemy.
Taking advantage of the instant Zhou Zhenren's body stiffened, Li Mu's hand moved, and his sword fell; the Startled Spring Sword move of the Twenty-Four Season Swordplay, the sword like thunder, swung sixteen times in an instant, imbued with sharp Sword Intent, severing soul and life.
Zhou Zhenren and Li Mu passed each other, and in the blink of an eye, he was cut into dozens of pieces, falling to the ground with "Puff, puff, puff..." sounds, blood and flesh splattering.
...
Wang Deshan, who had been worried about Master Li's fate, was stunned upon seeing this scene.
What happened?
The scene he saw: Zhou Zhenren transformed into a blood shadow, attacking Master Li.
But Master Li used an escape technique and body movement, flexibly dodging it.
And then, with "Pili Pala" sounds, he was cut into dozens of pieces by Master Li, just like cutting vegetables; a dignified Golden Core Immortal Master just died so inexplicably in Yellow Springs!
It felt as if he was tired of living, directly crashing into Master Li's sword, without taking any reactive measures, just dying like that!
Things definitely weren't that simple; Golden Core Immortal Masters weren't that easy to deal with, let alone Master Li only having Foundation Establishment Realm; something he didn't know must have happened!
Looking at Master Li, who was collecting spoils of war on the ground, Wang Deshan's emotions became incredibly complex for a moment; there was admiration for Master Li, frustration over the destroyed treasure ship, and even more, the joy of escaping death.
He survived!
As long as he's alive, that's better than anything!
Wang Deshan plopped down on the ground, his tense nerves relaxing, overjoyed and celebrating his joy, with no mind to think about anything else.