Chapter 398: Farewell, Qin Liangjing

From the Earth Altar Realm's Five Qi Convergence to the Earth Altar Realm's Spirit Unbroken.

Throughout the entire process, under the power of Break Through Realm, it was silent and utterly smooth.

When the strange energy enveloping his body slowly dissipated, Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes.

His pupils glowed with clear brilliance, as if able to pierce through illusion, deeper and brighter than before.

His aura was perfectly rounded and internally contained, yet faintly radiated a vigorous, unceasing, powerful vitality.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body and the crystal-clear "spiritual form"—like another self—in his mind sea, and could not help but smile with genuine relief.

Earth Altar Realm: Spirit Unbroken!

With this step forward, his strength had increased by more than several times over.

Whether in combat perception, reaction speed, precision of true qi control, or survival capability, it was no longer comparable to before.

Even the "Soul Search Technique" could now be barely performed!

"Hu…"

He exhaled a long breath of turbid air, stood up, stretched his limbs, and every joint in his body cracked sharply.

The matter in Longdao City was settled.

Long Tutu had been safely delivered away, the Mo Sect's conspiracy to overthrow had been crushed, the traitor executed, and he himself had successfully broken through.

It was time to leave.

After a brief tidy-up, Chen Mu went downstairs, cast one final glance at this temporary lodging, pushed open the repaired gate, and stepped into the street slowly regaining life.

…

He continued south along the same route he had taken before.

First return to Jiangbei Dao, then cross the Tianmen River, and set foot again on Jiangnan Dao's soil.

He did not enter Zhenzhou's territory, but halted in a remote mountain ridge hundreds of li away from Zhenzhou.

He took out the "Tongxin Bamboo Sliver" used to contact Zhao Fuzhou and slowly infused a thread of true qi into it.

He transmitted the message that Long Tutu had been safely retrieved by his elder brother and had left Longdao City.

Moments later, the bamboo sliver flashed once more, and Zhao Fuzhou replied.

【Chen Mu, your great kindness needs no words of thanks. The Long family has learned of Tutu's safety and is deeply grateful.】

【This favor the Long family will forever remember. Should you ever travel to the "Zhongtian Dao," be sure to contact the Long family—they will repay you handsomely.】

Chen Mu smiled faintly and sent a reply.

【Brother Zhao, you're too kind. As long as Tutu is safe, that's enough. No need for repayment.】

After declining the Long family's thanks, Chen Mu put away the Tongxin Bamboo Sliver.

He confirmed the direction, rose into the air, and sped swiftly westward toward Shannan Dao.

Along the way, he instinctively activated the "Duan Tianhe Scripture," sensing the possible location of the final component of the Sword Gear—the Tianzong Yun Jian.

Unfortunately, even after crossing the provincial border and re-entering Shannan Dao's territory, he found nothing.

…

That day.

Chen Mu was flying above a rolling range of hills and valleys, below which lay lush forests and winding streams.

Suddenly, his brow twitched slightly; his spiritual sense naturally extended and detected intense combat sounds and energy fluctuations from a valley below.

One of the combatants' auras felt vaguely familiar to him.

Instantly, he halted midair and directed his spiritual sense downward for a closer look.

Below, on a patch of open ground in the valley, a fierce chase and killing was unfolding.

The pursued was a man around thirty, with a resolute face, wielding a twelve-foot spear.

His spear technique was sharp, stirring howling gales as he swung it; the spear tip sparkled like frosty stars, each strike carrying piercing force—he had clearly reached the peak of the Primordial Realm.

"Soul-Chasing Spear" Qin Liangjing!

The Qin brother who had once aided Chen Mu during his exploration of ancient ruins in Jing'an Prefecture.

Though they had not become close then, Chen Mu had remembered this debt.

He never expected to meet him again here, under such circumstances.

At this moment, Qin Liangjing's condition was clearly dire.

His body was drenched in blood, his robes torn in multiple places, his aura chaotic, blood trickling from his lips—he had clearly suffered severe internal injuries.

He fought desperately to break through, but was tightly pinned down by his pursuers.

His attackers were a group of about ten warriors, wrapped in chilling dark energy, dressed in uniform dark red robes.

Their leader was an old man with a sinister face, his eyes glowing dull gray-white; his cultivation had reached the Earth Altar Realm's Spirit Bridge level.

The old man used no weapon—only by waving his hands did his true qi condense into countless solid, disc-sized, gray-white bone claws with razor-sharp nails, striking down from the air.

"Chi la!"

"Hong!"

The bone claws tore through the air with piercing shrieks; each strike left a deep, cracked-edged claw mark on the ground, forcing Qin Liangjing to retreat repeatedly, barely escaping death.

Worse still, the other Mo Sect disciples coordinated perfectly, circling the perimeter, occasionally firing poisoned darts or launching treacherous ambushes, preventing Qin Liangjing from focusing on the Spirit Bridge elder's attacks. Several attempts to break out were blocked, worsening his injuries.

"Pu—"

Struck again by the residual force of a gray-white bone claw on his back, Qin Liangjing could no longer suppress it—he spat a gout of blood, staggered, and knelt on one knee, his spear planted firmly in the ground.

He barely held himself upright, face as pale as paper, yet his eyes still burned with unyielding fire.

"Hehe, how does it feel to be struck by Old Man's 'Corpse Wraith Claw Force'? Hand over that item, and I'll give you a quick death!"

The old man sneered, slowly advancing; a much larger gray-white bone claw coalesced above his head, thick with the stench of decay and death, about to crush down upon Qin Liangjing, now at his last breath.

Qin Liangjing gritted his teeth, attempting to raise his spear for one final resistance.

At this critical moment—

"Shhh!"

A crimson sword qi, as red as blood, refined to the extreme, yet radiating majestic righteous energy that burned away all evil, descended from the sky like a celestial swan, utterly without warning!

The sword qi struck with pinpoint accuracy at the very center of the gray-white bone claw about to descend.

"Chii—"

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

The powerful gray-white bone claw, before this crimson sword qi, was split cleanly in two as easily as a hot knife through butter!

Immediately, the blazing pure yang energy within the sword qi erupted, igniting and incinerating the shattered fragments of the bone claw into wisps of blue smoke that vanished.

The crimson sword qi did not lose momentum; it slashed violently onto the ground between Qin Liangjing and the divine bridge elder.

"Boom—"

The ground exploded into a blackened crater, a zhang across and several chi deep, its edges glazed like glass from intense heat.

The violent residual sword qi, mixed with pure yang heat, swept outward, forcing the outer Mo Sect disciples to stagger back, crying out in shock.

The sudden turn of events left everyone in the scene stunned.

The elder's cruel smile froze instantly, turning to shock and fury; he snapped his head upward, gazing at the sky from which the sword qi had come, and roared:

"Who are you! How dare you interfere in the affairs of my Yin Kui Gate!?"