Chapter 419: Stay Together!

Chen Mu's mind raced as his gaze swept back and forth between the battlefield below and the direction of Wulong Fucheng.

This place was no more than a few dozen li from Wulong Fucheng; such a massive battle and energy fluctuations could not go unnoticed.

The Giant Spirit Sect's reinforcements might already be on the way.

Chen Mu's goal was to ensure the Tianzong Yunjian was not seized by the Mo Sect before reinforcements arrived, and to create opportunities to seize or even touch it amid the chaos.

As he focused his observation and pondered his strategy, the battle below shifted again!

The withered elder of the Longevity Sect, unable to break through after prolonged fighting, lost patience and let out a shrill screech.

At the screech, dozens of Mo Sect disciples surrounding the Mo family's caravan suddenly slashed their wrists, splashing blood onto the ground while chanting a more sinister, malevolent incantation.

In the next instant, the ground violently trembled!

Countless fissures split open along both sides of the road, even within the Mo family's defensive perimeter.

Thick, spiny, sucker-covered, ink-green vines—like colossal serpents—burst forth from the earth.

These vines moved as if alive, thrashing wildly; they coiled around Mo family guards and rhino-horns alike, while several especially thick ones lashed directly toward the black carriage in the center!

"Bloodthirsty Demon Vines? Quick! Protect the carriage!"

The Mo family's Jian Shen Bu Huai elder's face turned pale; he roared in fury, trying to rush back, but the withered elder held him fast.

The guards surrounding the black carriage fought desperately—swords slashed, axes chopped, flames burned—but the demon vines were incredibly resilient, regenerating instantly after being severed, and continuously exuding a highly corrosive slime; several guards accidentally touched it and immediately suffered flesh-splitting wounds, screaming as they collapsed.

As the thickest demon vine neared the point of breaking through the defense and wrapping around the black carriage…

Chen Mu's eyes sharpened—he knew he could wait no longer!

His form blurred, like a shadow merging with the wind, streaking down the hillside.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

…

As soon as he reached the foot of the hill, he collected a pile of cards.

Instead of charging headlong into the chaotic fray, Chen Mu used terrain and confusion as cover, pushing his body technique to its limit, weaving through gaps in swordlight, axeblades, poison mist, and vines—so fast he left only a blurred afterimage.

The Mo family guards surrounding the black carriage were fully occupied repelling the Bloodthirsty Demon Vines and attacks from all sides when suddenly they spotted an unfamiliar figure hurtling toward them at astonishing speed; instinctively, they prepared to attack and block.

"Protect the carriage!"

Several guards thrust their long halberds, stabbing fiercely at Chen Mu!

Chen Mu's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not engage them head-on.

His footwork shifted with uncanny subtlety; his body slipped like a fish through the gaps between the halberds, while his left hand flicked rapidly.

"Chit-chit-chit!"

Several razor-thin sword qi streams shot out—not targeting vital points, but precisely striking the weak spots in the guards' halberd grips or their protective qi barriers.

"Hum!"

"Oof!"

The guards felt their weapons suddenly grow heavy and veer off-course, their protective qi destabilized; their stances collapsed, and Chen Mu slipped past their defense effortlessly.

They were stunned—before they could react, Chen Mu's figure had already passed them and reached the black carriage!

"Who dares intrude upon the Mo family's caravan?"

A middle-aged Mo family expert standing beside the carriage, his aura at the Earth Altar Realm's Three Flowers Converging, roared loudly and swung a massive mountain-splitting axe, its wind howling as it slashed horizontally toward Chen Mu.

He was the final line of defense for this core carriage.

This axe blow was immensely powerful, radiating a dense, weighty aura—as if a small mountain were crashing down—sealing off all escape routes around Chen Mu.

Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged; facing this mountain-shattering axe, he did not retreat or block.

At the very moment the axe was about to strike, his body twisted unnaturally, like boneless flesh, slipping perilously close along the blade's edge.

Simultaneously, his right hand extended into a finger-sword, striking like lightning at the opponent's wrist at the "Shenmen Point."

Displaying exquisite, peerless close-quarters combat skill!

The Mo family expert had never anticipated such an uncanny body technique or such rapid adaptation; his wrist went numb, and the axe nearly slipped from his grip.

He was terrified, frantically retreating and shifting his stance.

But Chen Mu had never intended to engage him.

After forcing him back, Chen Mu's form did not pause—he flowed like a wisp of smoke, already pressed against the black carriage.

At that exact moment, the thickest Bloodthirsty Demon Vine finally broke through the outer guards' defenses, lashing toward the carriage's cabin with thick, corrosive fluid and a reeking stench—like a colossal serpent striking from another angle!

Chen Mu's eyes flashed with brilliance; his qi transformed into a blade, and the Nine-You Heavenly Demon Blade struck instantly.

A cold, chilling blade of qi—like lightning cleaving the night—shot out from behind and struck the vine's midpoint with pinpoint accuracy.

"Ssschhh—"

A piercing tearing sound rang out.

The section of the thick vine struck by the blade withered instantly, then snapped apart, oozing foul, ink-green sap.

Chen Mu's clean, decisive strike not only relieved the threat to the carriage but also drew the attention of both sides in battle.

The Mo family guards were stunned and uncertain—was he friend or foe?

The Mo Sect forces, however, locked onto him with murderous intent.

Chen Mu ignored everyone else and reached out toward the carriage…

"Whelp! How dare you covet the Mo family's treasures! Die!"

A roar like thunder exploded from midair.

Accompanying the roar was a heavy, mountain-like earth-yellow fist aura—like a falling meteor—crashing down upon Chen Mu!

It was the Mo family's Jian Shen Bu Huai elder, who had been locked in combat with the Longevity Sect's withered elder.

Seeing this "uninvited guest" draw near the core carriage, he was both shocked and furious; he braved taking a direct hit from the withered elder, forcibly broke free, and unleashed a furious punch at Chen Mu!

This punch was thrown in fury, condensing the cultivation of a Mo family elder at the Divine-Indestructible Realm along with the heavy, thick nature of the Mo family's techniques. Before the fist's qi even arrived, an invisible pressure had already descended, as if the entire earth were about to flip over and utterly suppress Chen Mu.

At the same time, the withered old man from the Longevity Sect also noticed Chen Mu. He let out a strange laugh and pointed the pitch-black wooden staff in his hand at Chen Mu from afar.

"Hehehe… another one in the way! Stay with me!"

The green light in the skull atop the staff blazed brightly, spewing out a thick, cloying, foul-smelling dark-green poisonous fog. Within the fog, countless tiny phantom poisonous insects seemed to flutter and shriek, carrying a vicious power that corroded true qi and rotted the spirit, sweeping toward Chen Mu from the other side!

Before him, the Mo family elder's punch that could suppress Hua Shanhe; behind him, the Longevity Sect old demon's soul-eroding, bone-rotting poisonous fog!

Two experts at the Divine-Indestructible Realm had, at this very moment, unhesitatingly aimed their attacks at Chen Mu together.

The combined strike of two Divine-Indestructible experts possessed power enough to shake mountains.

The guards around the black carriage turned deathly pale and hurriedly retreated, terrified of being caught in the aftershock.

Chen Mu's gaze was sharp as an eagle's. Facing this double killing blow, he had long since had a plan in mind.

He had never intended to fight head-on in the first place.

At the instant when the Mo family elder's earth-yellow fist qi was about to reach him and the poisonous fog was nearly touching the hem of his clothes—

Chen Mu's figure slid forward strangely, like a swimming fish, skimming along the edge of that heavy fist qi and slipping into the narrow gap between the fist qi and the black carriage's cabin!

At the same time, a thin layer of protective true essence rose around his body, instantly pushing away and purifying the wisps of poisonous fog that had touched him.

This move was exquisite to the extreme!

Not only did he evade the most direct core of the attack, but by borrowing the air currents and energy shockwaves produced by the fist qi's impact, he skillfully deflected part of the poisonous fog's corrosion.

And the Mo family elder's furious punch had Chen Mu as its main target.

But with Chen Mu's dodge, the greater part of the fist qi inevitably slammed viciously into the defensive formation of the black carriage, which was already bearing tremendous pressure!