The five-colored great sword cleaved right through the center of the White Lotus Barbarian's body, splitting him into two equal halves.

The corpse of the White Lotus Barbarian fell to both sides.

However, right after that, a white light from the forehead of the White Lotus Barbarian, where his cultivation shone, suddenly burst forth.

As the white light shone, the White Lotus seemed to disintegrate into ash and disappeared as if it had exhausted all its power.

Xiao Mu furrowed his brow, for the death of the White Lotus Barbarian had not provided him with any Energy Points.

To the east, roughly two or three miles away, there suddenly came a disturbance, with the emergence of Curse Power.

This was undoubtedly some sort of Substitute Technique.

"You go chase!"

Xiao Mu ordered the Ghost Servant.

"Yes, my Lord!"

The Ghost Servant, after madly slashing the first barbarian a few times, swiftly disappeared into the ground and chased after the White Lotus Barbarian from below the earth.

Two or three miles to the east, the air suddenly distorted, and amidst the thick Curse Power, the pale-faced White Lotus Barbarian appeared.

Forcibly using the Substitute Technique to escape had caused him serious injuries.

As he just materialized, he revealed a Lotus Lamp in his right hand. The white light emitted from the Lotus Lamp enveloped the White Lotus Barbarian like a raincoat.

The Lotus Lamp seemed to be able to break open space, possessing extremely mystical effects. As the white light shone, ripples formed in space, as if it had been folded, greatly increasing the speed of the White Lotus Barbarian.

Holding the Lotus Lamp, the White Lotus Barbarian fled desperately to the east.

Xiao Mu didn't say much more, and against the first barbarian, he immediately used the Life-Death Step.

"You~"

The barbarian was startled and swiftly retreated backward, his feet summoning Curse Power, trying to put distance between him and Xiao Mu.

However, the barbarian clearly had not cultivated Curse Techniques related to bodily movement; his speed was far from comparable to Xiao Mu's, who instantly closed in behind him.

"Human, I'll stake everything on this fight with you!"

The barbarian screamed in fury and rage, clutching a Straw Man tightly in both hands and tearing at it with force.

Sssst!

In the hands of the barbarian, the Straw Man was torn to shreds.

Intense pain racked Xiao Mu's body, as his skin cracked inch by inch and blood seeped from every pore.

However, the Power of Blessing that the Ghost Servant had cast on Xiao Mu was still active, causing the curse of the Straw Man to deviate once again.

Buzz!

The Life Force surged through Xiao Mu's body, and his injuries healed instantly.

At the same time, above Xiao Mu's head, the Illusion of Judge Zhou, the Divine Being, appeared.

Severing Netherworld!

Upon executing the Sever the Netherworld Art, the Death Knife appeared in both of Xiao Mu's hands simultaneously.

Slash, slash, slash!

Wielding the Death Knife, he furiously hacked around the barbarian.

The link between the barbarian and life and death was severed at once.

"Human, do you dare kill me?"

The barbarian shouted in horror and retreated, sensing the threat of death.

Unaffected, Xiao Mu used the Life-Death Step to shift behind the barbarian, and with a swing of the Death Knife, the barbarian's head flew into the air.

Power +80.

"Thankfully, he didn't use the Substitute Technique to escape again!"

Having killed the barbarian, Xiao Mu let out a breath of relief.

This was his first encounter with a member of the Curse Gate, and due to his lack of experience, he hadn't anticipated their Substitute Technique, allowing the White Lotus Barbarian to escape.

Fortunately, having learned from his encounter with the White Lotus Barbarian, Xiao Mu instantly drew on his experience: Before killing the first barbarian, he used the Sever the Netherworld Art to break the connection between the barbarian and life and death, rendering the Substitute Technique ineffective.

This battle also gave Xiao Mu a relatively clear understanding of the Curse Gate.

While the Secret Arts of the Curse Gate were tricky, their actual combat strength was just so-so. As long as one could withstand the influence of their arts, it was fairly easy to kill the members of the Curse Gate.

Overall, the battle strengths of the Curse Gate were not as formidable as those of the Life and Death Sect. The only advantage was that their methods were too unpredictable and hard to defend against.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Mu squatted down and searched the corpses of the Curse Gate barbarians.

From the corpses of the two Curse Gate members, Xiao Mu found over three thousand Energy Fruits, along with several Cloth Dolls and Straw Men.

These Cloth Dolls and Straw Men were not ordinary; they were refined with Curse Power using Secret Arts.

However, for someone who had not cultivated Curse Power, these two items were obviously of little significance.

Xiao Mu casually collected them into the Earth Seal Space, thinking that even if he didn't need them, it would be nice to sell them to someone who did.

Additionally, Xiao Mu found a Ceramic Doll on the first barbarian, which looked like a porcelain figure and also bore the appearance of the barbarian.

Something clicked in Xiao Mu's mind, and he guessed on the spot that this doll must be the so-called Substitute Doll.

Since he had used the Sever the Netherworld Art to sever the connection between the barbarian and life and death, the barbarian had not had the chance to use the Substitute Doll before dying.

Crack!

Xiao Mu grabbed the Ceramic Doll and crushed it with force.

The Ceramic Doll shattered on the spot, with dazzling blood flowing out.

"If I hadn't destroyed this doll, would the barbarian still have a chance to resurrect?"

Xiao Mu couldn't help but speculate.

The Curse Gate was indeed very sinister; in some aspects, it was even more difficult to deal with than the Life and Death Sect.

A ghostly light surged from the ground, and the body of the Ghost Servant slowly rose up, bowing his head shamefully before Xiao Mu, "My Lord, I was incapable and failed to catch up with the White Lotus Barbarian. Please punish me as you see fit."

"It doesn't matter now. I was negligent before, not knowing they possessed a Substitute Technique. Next time we encounter one, he definitely won't escape."

Xiao Mu waved his hand, implying the Ghost Servant need not blame himself.

Xiao Mu glanced at He Meng's Corpse and then instructed the Ghost Servant, "Take this man's corpse with us; in case we're questioned after we leave, to avoid the accusation that I killed him."

"Yes, my Lord, your servant obeys!"

The dutiful Ghost Servant hoisted the corpse of He Meng on its shoulder and also picked up the head, grasping the hair in one hand.

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