Lin Mu looked at the six darkly dressed individuals who were standing a hundred meters away from him. They noticed him at the same moment Lin Mu noticed them. They tensed up and then placed their hands on the hilts of the swords they were carrying.
It looked like the men were hiding something as they were trying to cover something behind them. Even Lin Mu became nervous upon seeing the men, as he could tell that something was definitely wrong.
"I thought the routes were already blocked. What do we do now first brother?" One of the darkly dressed men spoke.
"Dammit! those guys can't even do a single task correctly," Another man said.
"Silence! It's just a kid, we'll take him as well. Master will be fine with some extra goods, anyway." The man named the first brother grimly spoke.
The first person to react among the six was the man to the very right. He walked towards Lin Mu and then started running as he drew his sword from its sheath.
"Focus and brace yourself. Use your spirit sense there may be cultivators." Xukong spoke in a firm tone.
Lin Mu instinctively started chanting the calming heart sutra. His mind tranquilized and he could think clearly. The movement of the man approaching him slowed down by a notch and he could see the man's tracks.
As soon as the man got in the range of Lin Mu's spirit sense, he detected that the man was not a cultivator and was instead at the 9th stage of the body tempering realm. Felling assured Lin Mu drew his sword, set his hand straight, and entered a stance.
Lin Mu bent to the side in an effort to dodge the man's blade and barely scraped by.
"That was close." Lin Mu muttered.
"You're not gonna avoid the next one." The man spoke.
The man approached Lin Mu again and slashed at him, which he blocked with his short sword. Lin Mu then pushed back and deflected the sword.
"How?" The man exclaimed upon seeing Lin Mu's strength.
Lin Mu had an advantage over the man as he was already in the 10th stage of the body tempering realm, along with being a cultivator at the Mid-stage of the Qi refining realm.
The companions of the man noticed this and were just about to warn him when…
"AAARGH!!" the man shouted as he was stabbed through his heart.
Lin Mu took advantage of the moment when the man was shocked and stabbed through his heart. The man collapsed in the next moment, freeing Lin Mu's attention.
"Fourth brother! No!" Shouted the darkly dressed man who had spoken the first time.
"He's strong, we have to be careful. Fifth, sixth, pull his attention, third attack him from the back." First brother spoke.
"Second brother, wait for the right moment to strike. This boy is not simple." First brother spoke again.
The men named fifth and sixth advanced towards Lin Mu from the opposite side, while the man named third circled around Lin Mu. The remaining two men were glaring at Lin Mu, looking out for an opportunity.
Knowing that it will be difficult for him to go against three people at once, Lin Mu decided to split them up, beforehand. Lin Mu withdrew the hatchet from his ring and strengthened his arms with spirit qi.
Seeing that a hatchet had appeared in Lin Mu's hand out of thin, the three approaching men were a little stunned. Grasping this chance, Lin Mu hurled the hatchet at the man named as the sixth brother with all his strength.
A whirling sound could be heard as the hatched spun through the air and then buried itself in the chest of the man. Unable to utter even a single word, the man crashed to the ground; his life or death unknown.
"RETREAT! He's a cultivator, he has a spatial treasure!" The second brother yelled.
"Quick." First brother spoke, as he tensed his jaw.
Now that the battle was tilting in his favor, Lin Mu did not want to slow down and let go of the lead. He instinctively chanted the severing heart sutra and targeted the two men, fifth and third brother.
The two men slowed down as their eyes turned dull. Lin Mu 'blinked' forward and appeared at the sides of the two men. Amplifying his short sword with spirit qi, Lin Mu slashed through the two men in a single smooth stroke.
The defenses of the two men could not resist the sharpness of a spirit weapon, thus they were split into halves.
Horrified and furious at the development, the remaining two men shouted and sprinted towards Lin Mu. Rage burned in their eyes, as they regretted underestimating Lin Mu.
The man named first brother reached Lin Mu in the next moment and struck him with his sword. Lin Mu sensed his cultivation and estimated it to be at the mid-stage of the Qi refining realm. Blocking the strike with a buckler, Lin Mu twisted to the side. Suddenly Lin Mu's spirit sense detected something coming at him from the back.
Unable to dodge the incoming object, Lin Mu 'Flickered' and then the object passed through his back. He saw the object and found it to be a small dagger that was dripping with a black liquid.
"Careful! He has some mysterious martial techniques." The second brother warned.
Lin Mu blinked to the back of the man named first brother and cut at it. Second brother noticed this and jumped forward to block it.
"Dammit." Lin Mu cursed.
Lin Mu stored the short sword in the ring and seamlessly withdrew the spear from it. Having lost the force from the short sword, second brother's sword went straight ahead, through which Lin Mu flickered and moved away.
Then, using his legs as a pivot, Lin Mu twirled and pierced the spear through second brother's jaw. The spear entered at the base of his jaw and went straight through the top of its skull.
"YOU!!!" First brother said with great rage in his voice.
Not bothering with the man's words, Lin Mu lunged at him. The man's eyes flared as he bit on his tongue and spit out some blood. Gesturing with his left hand, the man drew some pattern in the air. In the next moment, veins appeared on his face as his eyes turned red.
"He's using a sacrificial technique, you need to end it quickly." Xukong spoke with urgency.
Lin Mu blocked an attack with his short sword, which made him recoil in pain. The man's strength had nearly tripled as Lin Mu was barely able to dodge it.
'I won't be able to win against him in a straight fight, I have to find some other way.' Lin Mu thought.
Lin Mu then chopped at the man's arm, which he blocked with his own sword. But at this moment Lin Mu used the skill 'Flicker' and the short sword passed through the man's sword. He then canceled the skill at the very last moment, making a deep cut appeared on the man's arm and shoulder, making him wince with pain.
Now, with his short sword stuck in the man's arm, Lin Mu was unable to withdraw it. Choosing to leave his sword behind, Lin Mu blinked to the back of the man.
Entering the stance for the Boulder collapsing fist, Lin Mu coiled his hand back. His breath melded with the stance, as the spirit qi formed a spiral in his hand. Putting all his bets on this final attack, Lin Mu executed it.
"Boulder Collapsing Fist!"
~whew~
A whistling sound could be heard as a jet of air shot forward, which made the man's clothes flutter and tear. Then, a sickening sound could be heard as Lin Mu's fist made contact with his back.
~Crack… floosh~
Lin Mu's fist broke through the man's back while turning his insides to mush. The fist then punctured through the chest and sprayed out the man's pulverized innards.
The now-dead man was stuck standing on the ground, with Lin Mu elbow deep in him.
Lin Mu then slowly withdrew his blood-drenched hand and sat down on the ground, breathless. Looking at what he had just done made him feel sick, but then the effects of the calming heart sutra resolved it for him.
"That was horrifying." Lin Mu spoke.
"You'll get used to it soon." Xukong spoke.
"At least you kept your wits. Good job defeating those men, I can certainly see the improvement." Xukong then spoke with a chuckle.
"It was all due to senior's guidance." Lin Mu politely replied.
Senior Xukong had been giving him pointers whenever he trained, which had helped him improve. Although senior Xukong himself had a completely different fighting style, he was still experienced enough to give pointers to him. Perhaps if he ever started giving lectures to the public, even immortals would attend to take benefit of it.
"Now won't you take a look at your spoils?" Xukong spoke
"Ah yes!" Lin Mu replied as he stood up.
The first thing Lin Mu did was to store the bodies inside the ring. After this, he went to the place where the six men were originally standing. There was a large rock placed at this location which seemed to be hiding something.
Lin Mu gazed at the rock and saw a small pool of blood near it. He looked behind it and saw something that shocked him.
"Gan Ma!?"