Chapter 518

Inside the cave.

Chen Mu retracted his spiritual awareness and spoke to Ning Zhixi.

"The Blood Refining Sect sent two Earth Altar: See the Divine Unbroken to lead them; the outsiders have already cleared the riffraff."

Ning Zhixi's face changed slightly as she gripped her sword hilt: "They're after the token. How did they find this place? Did they follow us all along?"

"Not necessarily following."

Chen Mu looked at the token in her hand and the fragment in her lap, "Perhaps the 'Xia Yao' or this fragment emitted some special fluctuation when activated, detected by their special devices. Or maybe the Cai family leaked the information. Let's leave here first."

Though this lava pool cave is a dead end, its entrance is narrow, unfavorable for combat, and if trapped inside, though not feared, it would be troublesome.

The two of them moved instantly, darting toward the cave entrance.

Just as they reached the fork, they ran straight into the Blood Refining Sect group.

A narrow path meeting—the atmosphere instantly froze.

The emaciated old man, leader of this Blood Refining Sect team, swept his deep gaze over Chen Mu and Ning Zhixi, lingering slightly on her, then rasped with a laugh.

"Little girl of the Medicine King Valley—it really is you who obtained the 'Xia Yao.' Be wise: hand over the token and whatever you found in the cave, and I'll spare you full corpses."

Beside him, another short, fat old man of Earth Altar: See the Divine Unbroken realm stared fixedly at Chen Mu, his eyes filled with shock and uncertainty.

With his Earth Altar-level perception, he could not fathom the depth of this young man in blue robes; the other's aura was nearly perfectly concealed, yet faintly gave him a prickling sense of danger.

"Why waste words with him? Just kill him!"

The short, fat old man's temperament was clearly more violent; he growled low, his body instantly turning into a wisp of black smoke, five fingers curled into claws, whipping up a storm of blood and stench, striking straight for Chen Mu's face!

The claw wind was razor-sharp, faintly echoing with ghostly wails—clearly a vicious Blood Refining Sect claw technique, specialized in piercing defensive true qi, leaving victims' flesh and blood withered.

"Watch out!"

Ning Zhixi drew her longsword, blade flashing like a ribbon, ready to meet the attack.

But Chen Mu was faster.

Facing this brutal claw capable of shattering Jin Shi, Chen Mu merely raised his right hand, index and middle fingers pressed together, and lightly tapped forward.

This finger strike was slow in speed, clear in trajectory, yet seemed to contain an ineffable mystery—delayed yet arriving first, precisely striking the Laogong point at the center of the fat old man's palm, where his claw's force was strongest yet least changeable.

Puff!

A soft sound, like popping a bubble.

The fat old man's forward momentum froze instantly; his snarling grin hardened into utter shock and agony.

He felt a vast, unstoppable yet exquisitely condensed terrifying force surge into his Laogong point, melting his decades of cultivated poisonous true qi like hot soup poured on snow—dissolving and collapsing instantly!

Worse still, his dantian was invaded.

"No—"

The fat old man barely managed a short scream before his body was flung backward like struck by lightning, slamming into the cave wall with a heavy thud.

He collapsed on the ground, blood oozing from mouth and nose, his aura instantly withered to near nothing—half his cultivation had been destroyed by Chen Mu's single finger.

Silence.

Deathly silence!

The emaciated old man's sneer froze completely; for the first time, fear flashed in his eyes.

He knew he could defeat the fat old man, but never so effortlessly, one finger crippling half his cultivation!

What realm was this young man?

Ning Zhixi also froze; she knew Chen Mu was strong, but this level of strength still exceeded her imagination.

That was Earth Altar: See the Divine Unbroken!

Not some random weakling!

Chen Mu, however, seemed to have done nothing more than brush off a speck of dust; his gaze turned calmly to the emaciated old man.

"How did you know the 'Xia Yao' was here? Who sent you? What else do you know?"

The emaciated old man's alarm bells rang loudly—he had stepped on iron, perhaps even a red-hot iron.

He reacted instantly; as Chen Mu's gaze turned toward him, he shot backward, shouting sharply.

"Form the formation! Stop him!"

The remaining five Blood Refining Sect disciples of Innate Realm, though terrified by Chen Mu's finger strike, had been brutally trained by the Mo Sect; upon hearing the order, they reflexively formed a small battle array, their blood qi linked, five dark, vicious slashes and sword shadows weaving into a crimson net, engulfing Chen Mu and Ning Zhixi, trying to buy time for the emaciated old man's escape.

The emaciated old man himself unhesitatingly threw a blood-colored bone talisman; it exploded into a sky of thick, sticky blood mist, instantly filling the entire cave passage—the mist not only blocked vision but corroded true qi and corrupted spiritual awareness, one of his escape trump cards.

He himself transformed into a faint, almost invisible blood shadow, using the mist as cover, shooting toward the cave exit like lightning!

"Child's play."

Chen Mu's voice rang clearly through the blood mist, utterly calm.

Without any visible movement, the crimson net of swords and blades, as it neared within three feet of his body, struck an invisible wall—froze, then shattered inch by inch into nothingness.

The five disciples in formation all groaned in unison, as if struck heavily, spewing blood as they flew backward, crashing into the stone walls, bones shattered, clearly dead.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes."

……

Meanwhile, Chen Mu raised a palm and struck toward the blood mist—thick enough to trouble ordinary Earth Altar martialists.

Hu!

A visible current of air instantly coalesced and surged outward; wherever it passed, the thick, filthy blood mist vanished like snow under the sun, hissing as it dissolved and purified, and within moments, the cave passage cleared entirely, vision restored.

The blood shadow, just reaching the cave entrance, was brushed by this current—delayed yet arriving first.

"Ugh—"

The blood shadow reformed into the emaciated old man's figure; he screamed as he fell from midair, rolling on the ground clutching his head, black blood seeping from all seven orifices, face twisted in pain and terror.

Chen Mu's palm had not only scattered his blood mist—it carried a trace of pure, soul-targeting shock, directly devastating his consciousness sea.

Chen Mu stepped forward and in an instant stood before the withered old man, looking down at him.

The withered old man curled on the ground, his soul damaged, his true energy chaotic, unable even to self-destruct, his eyes filled only with despair.

"You… you are truly…"

Chen Mu did not answer, only extended a hand and pressed it upon the withered old man's crown.

"No! Don't! Soul-searching…"

The withered old man seemed to understand what Chen Mu intended, letting out a shrill scream—but the sound cut off abruptly.

Chen Mu's gaze sharpened; light glowed in his palm.

Soul-Search Art!

The withered old man's body convulsed violently, his eyes rolled back, foam dripped from his mouth, and his soul sea's memories, like shattered scrolls, were forcibly extracted and read!