At Li's Treasure Pavilion, Li Mu's figure quietly appeared.
"Pavilion Master!"
"Master Li!"
Liu Yalan, the shop assistants, and several customers greeted Li Mu.
Li Mu smiled and nodded in response, then led Xue'er directly to the inner hall and upstairs.
"Chirp!"
Just as Li Mu stepped onto the stairs, noob in his pocket suddenly struggled and let out a warning chirp.
Li Mu immediately became vigilant, sensing an unusual aura; having experienced many life-and-death situations, he had a keen intuition for danger, so he immediately released his Divine Sense, scanning his surroundings, trying to find the source of the danger.
However, there seemed to be nothing unusual around him, only the interwoven sounds of people's greetings and conversations.
noob would not chirp a warning for no reason, and it had taken a defensive stance. Li Mu did not stop, pretending to converse casually with Xue'er, continuing to ascend the stairs, and at the same time, casting the Divine Ability of Spirit Soul Communion.
The mysterious enemy's stealth ability was extremely strong; even a Divine Thought scan could not find his trace. However, noob was a sixth-tier Gu Spirit, extremely sensitive to powerful spiritual force. No matter how strong the concealment technique, it could not hide the spiritual force from it.
As Li Mu slowly ascended the stairs, he cast the Spirit Soul Communion Divine Ability, instantly establishing an invisible connection with noob, their perceptions intertwining.
Through the sensation of the Soul Communion Technique, Li Mu discovered a powerful aura quietly hidden at the stairwell, as if concealed within a spatial fissure, poised and ready, awaiting his arrival.
This bloody soul body exuded an incredibly powerful aura, clearly of the Void Refining Realm, which startled Li Mu. He instantly understood why his Divine Thought couldn't detect its trace.
Without hesitation, Li Mu decisively acted, extending a hand to push Xue'er beside him away. This action happened almost simultaneously. He unleashed a Divine Thought Divine Ability—the advanced Divine Ability "Gathering Star Strike," rapidly gathering powerful Divine Thought, transforming it into an invisible whip that fiercely lashed out at the bloody soul body.
At the same time, Li Mu waved his hand, summoning the Painting World Treasure Mansion. The Painting World Treasure Mansion instantly appeared in his palm, releasing an endless devouring power. That power transformed into a massive vortex, sweeping towards the bloody soul body.
Behind him, Li Mu's wings suddenly unfurled, the Thunder Wings flickering with dazzling electric light, like a natural barrier capable of withstanding any attack.
In an instant, Li Mu multi-tasked, simultaneously activating several offensive and defensive measures, unleashing a powerful assault, directly counter-attacking the enemy who was lurking, preparing to assassinate him.
And just as Li Mu made his move, Mo Qian also reacted, transforming into a streak of blood and rushing out from the shadows, directly pouncing on Li Mu to kill him, regardless of how the opponent discovered his whereabouts, the gap in Realms was difficult to bridge.
Mo Qian's speed was astonishing, like a crimson lightning bolt. He held a crimson short dagger, fiercely and ruthlessly lunging towards Li Mu, leaving trails of afterimages in the air, making him impossible to grasp.
Li Mu had anticipated the assassin's attack; his Divine Thought arrived first, causing the Void Refining assassin's figure to pause slightly. In that instant, a powerful suction force suddenly erupted, instantly engulfing him.
With a "whoosh," the scenery before Mo Qian's eyes suddenly changed. He found himself in a spiritual domain space filled with spiritual bamboo.
This space was rich in spiritual energy, making one feel refreshed, yet a powerful suppressive force gathered from all directions, making his movements somewhat sluggish.
"Not good! It's a spatial Magic Treasure!" Mo Qian's face changed drastically as he exclaimed, immediately realizing his predicament was dire. He flew away, trying to find a way to escape this dangerous place.
However, at this moment, Li Mu had already used the Spirit Contract Technique to inform Azure Moon True Dragon and Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix to engage the enemy.
"Where do you think you're going!"
A blue wave of water appeared out of thin air, engulfing Mo Qian. The blue wave churned, its momentum vast and awe-inspiring. Immediately after, a hundred-zhang Azure Dragon appeared before his eyes, its Dragon roar deafening and incomparably majestic. The Azure Dragon's scales shimmered brilliantly, exuding endless power.
Mo Qian's face changed drastically. He immediately transformed into a streak of blood to evade the Azure Dragon's attack. However, due to the suppressive force of the Painting World Treasure Mansion, his speed became extremely slow, as if he had fallen into a quagmire.
Mo Qian struggled desperately, trying to break free from this restraint, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape. His heart was filled with terror, knowing that he had fallen into the opponent's trap.
Just as Mo Qian despaired, a purple-gold wall of fire appeared ahead, blocking his path. Immediately after, a Fire Phoenix with spread wings appeared in his sight. The Phoenix's cry was sharp and piercing, and as its wings flapped, the scorching flames seemed to incinerate everything.
Mo Qian's heart pounded with fear. He turned to flee, but found himself surrounded by forces from all directions, as if caught in a net.
In other directions, sixth-tier spiritual bamboos, stimulated by powerful wood elemental spiritual energy, transformed into tens of thousands of wooden vines, dancing like spiritual snakes in the air. Their tips emitted a faint green light, as if possessing the power to penetrate metal and shatter stone.
In another direction, a fully armed golden giant ape, empowered by the spatial metal element, raged with monstrous ferocity. It swung its massive golden fists, each impact causing spatial tremors.
In yet another direction, the earth cracked open, and a giant Earth Dragon crawled out from the ground, its body immense. Wherever the Earth Dragon passed, the ground split into deep fissures, as if to swallow everything.
Enemies were everywhere, as if he had fallen into a net, and he also had to endure the constant suppression of this spatial Magic Treasure. Mo Qian immediately realized he was in big trouble; the assassination had failed, and he had instead fallen into the opponent's trap.
The sudden huge commotion at Li's Treasure Pavilion frightened the shop assistants and customers.
"Xue'er is fine! Go comfort everyone, and also, help me put away this spiritual item!" Li Mu looked at the pale-faced Xue'er and gestured.
"Yes, Lord Li!"
Xue'er also understood what had happened at this point; the assassin must have been dealt with by Li Mu.
Li Mu smiled slightly, his figure flickered, and he entered the Painting World Treasure Mansion, disappearing without a trace.
Immediately, the Painting World Treasure Mansion transformed into a small jade Ruyi, slowly flying into Xue'er's hand.
Xue'er quickly put it away, calmed her emotions, and went downstairs to comfort the shop assistants and customers.
Painting World Treasure Mansion.
Under the siege of several powerful Spirit Beasts, Mo Qian was forced to reveal his figure, shrouded in a crimson mist, appearing mysterious and eerie. His eyes gleamed with a sinister, fierce glint, clearly prepared for a desperate struggle.
Azure Moon True Dragon, Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix, and the other Spirit Beasts merely surrounded him, preventing him from running around. Their eyes showed a hint of vigilance, as if waiting for something, and they were not in a hurry to act.
"Who are you? Why did you try to assassinate me?"
Li Mu's figure suddenly appeared inside the Painting World Treasure Mansion, floating in the air. Guarded by the Spirit Beasts, he looked down at Mo Qian, his gaze cold and questioning.
The assassin before him was not of the Human Race; he had two horns on his head, blood-red skin, and was filled with a bloody and evil aura. The threat of such a Void Refining Devil Head was immense. Suddenly being targeted by such a creature, feeling the strong hostility and intense killing intent emanating from him, Li Mu's spirit involuntarily tensed up.
Mo Qian glared at Li Mu, his eyes filled with hatred and anger. He had been lurking for two months for this assassination plan, but he never expected such an outcome.
The assassination failed, and he instead fell into the opponent's trap. Mo Qian's heart was filled with unwillingness and hatred.
Mo Qian raised his head, staring sharply at Li Mu, and said, "Who I am is not important. What's important is that you took something you shouldn't have."
Li Mu frowned, secretly puzzled. He didn't understand the meaning of Mo Qian's words, nor did he know who he had provoked. He knew that this matter was by no means simple; there must be a deeper background and reason.
"What thing?" Li Mu looked at the other party in confusion, coldly saying, "I don't care who you are, or what power you represent, but I warn you, you shouldn't provoke me!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Qian, instead of getting angry, laughed, as if Li Mu's unease pleased him. He mocked, "Who do you think you are? Don't be naive! If I fail to assassinate you today, more, even more powerful people will come knocking!"
The other party's tone was full of provocation and threat, as if telling Li Mu that no matter how he struggled, he couldn't escape this trouble.
Li Mu's heart tightened, knowing that the other party's words were not empty threats.
This power should be related to the Nine Demon Sect. The problem was, Li Mu felt very puzzled. What did he take to provoke the other party to such an extent that they would pursue him relentlessly?
Seeing Li Mu's confusion, at this moment, the other party spoke again, staring sharply at Li Mu, warning, "If you don't want to cause trouble, hand over that Water Mansion Key and let me leave. Then no one will come to assassinate you again. Otherwise, no matter where you hide, our clan will pursue you endlessly!"
"Water Mansion Key? What Water Mansion Key?"
Li Mu was slightly stunned, unable to recall it for a moment.
"Master, he's talking about the Water Mansion Key I took from the White Whale Clan last time!" At this moment, Azure Moon True Dragon quickly interjected, explaining.
"Yes, that's right, quickly hand over that Water Mansion Key!" Mo Qian's spirit lifted, his scarlet bloodshot eyes fixed on Azure Moon True Dragon, urging him.
"Master, this person is extremely evil. The words of such a Devil Head cannot be trusted," Azure Jade Ginseng King quickly reminded Li Mu, saying, "Even if you hand over the Water Mansion Key, they definitely won't let it go."
Li Mu nodded after hearing this, understanding Azure Jade Ginseng King's meaning, knowing that there must be greater trouble and danger behind this Water Mansion Key. He couldn't easily hand over this hot potato.
"Heh! Our clan is determined to obtain this Water Mansion Key. If you hand over this key, our clan won't have time to bother a mere Soul Transformation cultivator. If you don't hand it over, even if you hide in the heavily guarded territory of an Immortal Sect, our clan will pursue you relentlessly!" Mo Qian sneered, refuting.
"If that's the case, I'll just hand this key over to Xuantian Sword Sect!" Li Mu chuckled, indicating.
"You dare!" Upon hearing this, Mo Qian became furious and roared, "You want to give such a precious treasure to others! Our clan will not let you off either!"
Seeing the other party's intense reaction, Li Mu smiled slightly, confirming that the other party was indeed after the Water Mansion Key, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
Suddenly seeing Li Mu's smiling face, Mo Qian immediately realized that he had fallen into the other party's trap.
The other party was not an easy person to deal with; how could he be willing to hand over the Dao Monarch Water Mansion Key to Xuantian Sword Sect!
"It's not impossible to hand over the key," Li Mu slowly began, "but you must first tell me, what secret is hidden in this Water Mansion Key? Why is your clan so anxious about it?"
Mo Qian's eyes changed, clearly not expecting Li Mu to make such a request.
"Quickly hand over the Water Mansion Key and let me go! I can guarantee that our clan will not try to kill you again!" Mo Qian glared at Li Mu, saying decisively.
Li Mu sneered upon hearing this: "I've heard too many empty promises like that! I want to know the secret of this Water Mansion Key, otherwise, there's nothing to discuss!"
Confirming that the Water Mansion Key was indeed in this kid's hands, Mo Qian laughed disdainfully after hearing this, and said nothing more.
Mo Qian began to survey his surroundings, looking for an opportunity to escape. He looked around, only to find himself trapped in a sealed space.
After observing for a while, Mo Qian frowned. The strength, spiritual energy quality, and suppressive power of this spatial Magic Treasure far exceeded his imagination. Escaping under the combined attack of so many transformed Spirit Beasts would be extraordinarily difficult.
"Don't bother looking, you can't escape without my permission, unless you tell me the secret of the Water Mansion," Li Mu said with a deep chuckle, continuing to stall for time.
Mo Qian cursed inwardly, but he had to admit that Li Mu's words were true.
"You're from the Demon Abyss, aren't you! And that Water Mansion Key is related to the Demon Abyss, right!" Li Mu looked at the other party, guessing with a smile.
The Treasure Mansion Space was planted with many spiritual plants. Once a fight broke out, it would inevitably cause serious damage. Having learned from previous lessons, Li Mu dared not be careless. While communicating with him to stall for time, he secretly had his wood-element Clone collect those high-tier spiritual plants.
"If you don't want to become a short-lived ghost, don't ask so many questions! If you hand over the Water Mansion Key and let me leave, you and I will have no further entanglement. I advise you to be sensible." Mo Qian coldly replied to Li Mu.
Mo Qian also wasn't in a hurry to act, fully releasing his Divine Thought to continue searching for a loophole to break open this space. Fighting in this enclosed Magic Treasure space was clearly disadvantageous to him; he had to find a way to escape as quickly as possible.
However, this space seemed unusually stable, and he couldn't find any flaws for a while.
And so, the two sides went back and forth, probing each other, falling into a stalemate.
Azure Moon True Dragon, Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix, and other Spirit Beasts guarded Li Mu, while Mo Qian was trapped in the middle. They were all waiting for the other side's next move, and the air was already filled with a chilling aura.
The situation at this moment was extremely tense; any small movement from either side could trigger a large-scale battle. The confrontation between Li Mu and Mo Qian also grew more intense; their gazes met, as if sparks could fly. (End of Chapter)
