"CREAK!"

"CREAK!"

He continued to climb!

Not until he climbed another hundred steps did Shen Mo finally see Meng Sanchi, Li Chen, and Yang Chi.

As he had surmised, these three were not in the midst of confrontation!

Meng Sanchi led the way.

Followed by Li Chen in the second position.

Then came Yang Chi.

But between them, the distance was no more than ten steps.

Only when one of them felt incapable of climbing further would they start the battle!

Seeing Shen Mo catching up, the trio appeared somewhat astonished.

"Brother Shen, please!" Yang Chi, who was in the third position, quickly regained his composure and moved aside with a smile.

Shen Mo shook his head, serene, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Yang. I have exhausted much on my journey. I need to rest a bit here!"

Yang Chi's intentions were obvious. He didn't want to be the first to fight Shen Mo and waste his vitality, allowing Meng Sanchi and Li Chen to take advantage. It would be best for Shen Mo to fight Meng Sanchi and Li Chen first. He could reap the benefits then!

"Brother Shen, your actions put me in a difficult position!" Yang Chi's smile didn't fade, but an unusual tone entered his voice.

He reached for his waist.

A simple, unremarkable bronze bell appeared in his hand.

From Yang Chi's perspective, if Shen Mo had no intention of pursuing Meng Sanchi and Li Chen, it would be better to take advantage of his currently weakened state and knock him down now.

"CLANG!"

The Demon Slaying Sword traced an afterimage, ringing crisply.

Shen Mo didn't respond, but his meaning was clear: if you want to fight, then let's have a duel first!

"TING!"

"TING-A-LING!"

The bronze bell in Yang Chi's hand emitted a clear and pleasant metallic ring.

His voice echoed along with it, "Brother Shen, it's better to recover your Mana as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the fighting starts, you might accidentally get injured by Brother Meng and Brother Li!"

In Shen Mo's Mind Sea, the Scorching Sun Soul Phase radiated warmth.

The faint trace of curse power that had already tainted his soul was burned away by the warmth, dissipating into wisps of smoke.

At the same time, a sword hum resonated from within Meng Sanchi's body.

As for Li Chen, he was manipulating seals, transferring the Spell hidden in Yang Chi's bell sounds onto the black coffin on his back.

"Yang Chi! Do you intend to fight us now?"

Li Chen glanced at Shen Mo, then his gaze fell on Yang Chi.

Meng Sanchi's sword intent grew sharper, like a treasured sword about to be unsheathed, silently responding to Yang Chi's machinations!

"I saw Brother Shen rapidly closing in and couldn't resist the itch to test him. Please excuse me, Brother Meng, Brother Li!"

Yang Chi pocketed his bell, explaining with a cheerful smile.

Just now, this Proud Disciple of Seven Stars Altar had been secretly casting a Spell through the bell's ringing.

It didn't harm the soul or vitality!

But if one was unaware, the curse would quietly grow, affecting a cultivator's thoughts and intentions.

He attempted to use this Spell to make Shen Mo and the other two see each other as their greatest rivals.

When the fighting started, he could then sit back and watch them tear each other apart, maintaining his peak condition to compete for the top position on Tianshan Mountain!

However, Shen Mo and the others were no ordinary individuals. In the blink of an eye, they broke Yang Chi's Spell and scheme.

Afterward, to avoid angering both Meng Sanchi and Li Chen simultaneously, Yang Chi used Shen Mo, their common competitor, as an excuse for his spellcasting.

Why are they all so crafty? Can't they just climb the mountain honestly?

Shen Mo's figure abruptly moved upward, ascending several stone steps.

To Yang Chi's astonished expression, he had already swung his sword towards him, "Since you've made a move against me, let's settle it here and now!"

"WHOOSH!"

Resplendent sword Qi charged straight at Yang Chi.

Yang Chi's expression quickly shifted from surprise to mild annoyance; he found it both irritating and somewhat amusing.

"Rushing to catch up without taking the time to recover, and then recklessly initiating combat? Brother Shen, you're greatly overestimating yourself!"

The bronze bell he had just put away was summoned again.

He shook it fiercely!

"CLANG!"

"CLANG CLANG CLANG!"

As this top-grade magic artifact resonated loudly, it sent out rippling layers of dark cyan halos.

The Shangqing Sword Qi plunged into it, as if trapped in an incredibly viscous mire. It was heavily impeded by the dark cyan ripples and ultimately dissipated.

Using magic in this place really consumes a terrifying amount of energy! Shen Mo thought to himself, feeling the rapid depletion of Mana within his body.

Even ordinary sword Qi consumed as much of his Purple Knack Mana as a highly potent killing move from the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique would at the foot of the mountain.

Shen Mo was not the only one; the same applied to Yang Chi and the other two.

Every action here consumed far more energy than usual—by several tenths, or even by multiples!

A quick battle to decide this! Even I cannot maintain my peak state for long.

If I clash with them and consume too much...

I'm afraid it will be difficult to continue climbing and benefit from the tempering of the Heavenly Monarch's sword Qi!

Once his decision was made, Shen Mo held back no longer. He opened with a killing move!

"Shangqing Swordplay, slash!" Muttering the incantation for the seal, incredible power surged forth from the Demon Slaying Sword.

The sky-lifting sword, empowered by profound magic cultivation methods, Carefree Sword Intent, Nether Fire, and other such augmentations, slashed towards Yang Chi once more with terrifying momentum!

Has this kid gone insane?

Yang Chi's expression changed drastically. He tossed the bronze bell up, and it hovered before him, clanging loudly.

Simultaneously, he quickly shed his outer robe and spread it on the ground. Its inner side was inscribed with numerous complex patterns, clearly a magic altar of no low grade.

"Soul-Wounding, Spirit-Weakening, Evil-Dispelling! Go!"

Shen Mo had seen this Spell before.

However, when the Seven Stars Altar disciple he previously encountered cast it, setting up the altar, chanting incantations, and forming seals had taken a considerable amount of time.

If Xiao Ling'er hadn't delayed him, that disciple would probably have been cut down by Shen Mo's sword the moment the magic altar was established.

The same Spell, when cast by Yang Chi, was almost instantaneous.

The blood imprints that met Shen Mo's eyes were even more solid and formidable.

The crimson color was so deep, it seemed almost to drip fresh blood!

Alas, such a Spell might achieve miraculous effects when used for the first time.

But Shen Mo had encountered this Spell before; facing Yang Chi, also from Seven Stars Altar, how could he be unprepared?

"BUZZ!"

His Purple Knack Mana surged.

The Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand Energy hidden in his Chakras, amplified by the Mana, formed a crystalline film over Shen Mo's skin.

The Bloody Seal Curse landed instantly on Shen Mo's brow.

"SIZZ!"

"SIZZ!"

"SIZZ!"

The Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand Energy's brilliance flowed, blocking all the blood imprints.

To restore the power of this high-grade profound level artifact, Shen Mo had invested a significant amount of rare spirit gold.

Based on its properties, it was indeed excellent for defending against Spells!

Under the attrition of countless spiritually imbued particles of Crystal Sand Energy, the Blood-Imprinted Spell dissipated into wisps of sweet, acrid white smoke before it could penetrate Shen Mo's body.

"Cough!"

Yang Chi, who had attempted to severely injure Shen Mo with the Spell, couldn't help but cough harshly.

He soon realized that his junior brother, who had been providing support, had previously used this Spell against Shen Mo.

But at this moment, he had no time for regrets!

The frightening Sword Light had already broken through the obstruction of the bronze bell magic artifact.

The brilliant cutting edge illuminated his face, making it deathly pale!

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.