Chapter 721

Retreating directly to guard the grand formation, as long as Song Qingming and the others could protect the formation eye, Chen Yurong and the other two would certainly be unable to do anything to them in a short time, even with the help of the Yin-Yang water and fire.

Hearing Song Qingming's suggestion, Xia Mo did not pay attention and took out a silver spiritual talisman that looked ordinary from her body, placing it in front of herself and beginning to close her eyes and focus on casting spells.

"Fellow Daoist Song, my Mystic Ice Bead cannot block them for long. You had better retreat back to the grand formation first!"

Seeing that Xia Mo already had a decision in her heart, Song Qingming did not persist, directly turning into a streak of escape light and flashing back into the "Heavenly Dipper Five Elements Formation."

"Relying on a Mystic Ice Bead, you actually think you can delay time here? Junior Sister Xia, you are looking down on us too much!"

Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang, as Xia Mo's fellow sect members, naturally had some understanding of her divine abilities and magic treasures.

Seeing the "Mystic Ice Bead" magic treasure Xia Mo used, the two of them immediately took out targeted magic treasures and began to join forces to attack the weakest top part of the ice wall before them violently.

Although the "Mystic Ice Bead" magic treasure could block the Yin-Yang water and fire outside, it was difficult to stop their targeted attacks. In less than half a quarter of an hour of Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang's violent attacks with magic treasures, dozens of cracks had been beaten into the ice wall in front of them.

"Haha! Junior Sister Xia, this Mystic Ice Bead is already useless. Let's see what other means you have to block us."

Seeing the ice wall in front of them already tottering, Chen Yurong gave a loud laugh, released a third-grade mid-quality spiritual talisman from her hand, and it directly turned into a fire-red long spear in mid-air, landing on the ice wall.

Only hearing a loud "Boom" sound, the ice wall that was protecting Xia Mo shattered directly in front of Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang.

Just as Chen Yurong was controlling her flying sword magic treasure and preparing to continue attacking Xia Mo in front of her, she unexpectedly felt a somewhat strange aura coming from Xia Mo's body, which made her stop her footsteps involuntarily.

At this time, Xia Mo's pair of pitch-black eyes suddenly revealed a hint of blood red, and the white veil she had been wearing on her face was also gone, revealing a beautiful and peerless jade face.

The Yin-Yang water and fire all around, because there was no ice wall to block them, immediately surged toward Xia Mo's side, but were directly isolated outside the protective barrier by a barrier she released while casting spells, and could not get close to her body at all.

"This... could it be the Spirit-Transforming Talisman!"

"Impossible, what exactly is going on? How could Master easily hand over the Spirit-Transforming Talisman she regards as a treasure to you."

Seeing Xia Mo in front of her, Chen Yurong stood blankly on the spot, losing her focus for a moment, and dared not take another step forward.

On the other side, Wu Xiang, seeing the changes in Xia Mo's body, also had a look of surprise on his face. However, he seemed not to be very clear about what the "Spirit-Transforming Talisman" in Chen Yurong's mouth was, and was still opening his mouth to remind Chen Yurong, who dared not take action.

"Yurong, we have no way out today. No matter what divine abilities she has, we cannot stop here!"

Hearing Wu Xiang's reminder, Chen Yurong only then came back to her senses, and a very firm look immediately revealed itself in her gaze.

"You are right. She must die today. Even if it is really Master's Spirit-Transforming Talisman, it is impossible to protect her life."

After speaking, Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang both controlled their own magic treasures and launched an attack toward Xia Mo's position, but the next moment, what shocked them somewhat was that Xia Mo's figure flashed with escape light and suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Before Wu Xiang and the other could react, Xia Mo's whole person had already arrived above their heads.

At this moment, she had another flower basket magic treasure she often used in her hand, suddenly releasing thousands of petals, directly trapping Wu Xiang and the other in a sea of flowers.

Seeing this, Wu Xiang and Chen Yurong hurriedly used their magic treasures to resist these sharp petals with all their might, wanting to break free from the restraints and escape the sea of flowers.

However, what made them somewhat desperate was that the petals in the flower basket in front of Xia Mo seemed to be endless, and as she cast spells, there were actually more and more of them, making it impossible for Wu Xiang and the other to escape from it at all.

Song Qingming, who was in the "Heavenly Dipper Five Elements Formation," seeing this sudden scene, also had a look of great shock on his face, and a trace of cold sweat could not help but break out on his back.

The strength Xia Mo was showing at this moment was already worlds apart from her previous self, and her cultivation base had also exceeded the scope of Jin Dan cultivators, seemingly already close to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"What exactly is this Spirit-Transforming Talisman in Chen Yurong's mouth, that it could actually allow Xia Mo to instantly possess strength comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"Junior Sister Xia, Senior Sister was wrong. You take me back to see Master. I will definitely admit my mistake to her, the old lady, and from now on I will never fight with you for anything again."

In less than a quarter of an hour, Chen Yurong, who was trapped by the sea of flowers, had already been forced into a flurry by those sharp petals.

Having lost all ability to fight back, she actually took the initiative to beg for mercy from Xia Mo not far away, completely losing her previous fierce look.

Wu Xiang, who was beside her, was also not having a good time. At this moment, his body was already full of scars, and it was clear he could not persist for much longer.

"Yurong, since we chose this path, begging for mercy is useless now. Even if we return to the sect, with Master's temper, it is impossible for her to spare us.

All of this is ultimately our own fault; we cannot blame others.

Since Heaven has destined that we have no chance to condense the Nascent Soul, then it is just living a hundred years less; there is nothing to be afraid of.

In a moment, I will help you open a gap. If you have a chance to escape, then you must escape far away and live well!"

After Wu Xiang comforted Chen Yurong on the side, he took out a golden sphere with a resolute look in his eyes.

"Wait! If you use the Jin Guang Thunder at such close range, we ourselves will also be affected. Let me beg Junior Sister Xia again. Perhaps, for Master's sake, she will be willing to let us leave."

Chen Yurong, seeing the "Jin Guang Thunder" in Wu Xiang's hand, immediately knew what he wanted to do and hurriedly opened her mouth to stop him.

"Alas! You still don't understand Junior Sister Xia. She already gave us a chance just now, and it was we ourselves who failed to grasp it. Junior Sister Xia has always been a very decisive person in her actions. When have you ever seen her easily change her own decisions?

Yurong, you also know that this is a life-or-death struggle on the path of cultivation. Do not hold any more lucky thoughts. Rest assured, I will not let you get hurt. You just leave; don't worry about me."

After Wu Xiang shook his head slightly at Chen Yurong, he directly cast spells to pour his remaining magic power into the "Jin Guang Thunder" in his hand, controlling it to crash into the petals outside.

This "Jin Guang Thunder" was a high-tier talisman treasure with power even more fierce than a third-grade top-quality spiritual talisman. Once used, even a third-grade top-quality magic treasure would be difficult to guard against. It was something Wu Xiang had specially prepared for this attempt to kill Xia Mo.

Never did he expect that the situation would change suddenly, and Xia Mo's strength would increase suddenly, forcing the two of them into a desperate situation. Now, he could only use it to escape with his life.

Only hearing a loud noise, the cage formed by the sea of flowers was blown open a gap by this sudden explosion.

Xia Mo, who was controlling the flower basket magic treasure in mid-air, was also shaken by this sudden explosion, interrupting her spellcasting.

Just as Xia Mo had stabilized her figure and was preparing to continue casting spells to seal the gap, a streak of purple light had already flown out from the gap and flew toward the outside of the grand formation with all its might, soon drilling into a mountain wall and disappearing without a trace.

Seeing this scene, Xia Mo did not have too much surprise on her face. She saw her wave one hand and take out a flying sword magic treasure, directly breaking through the air with a sword strike upward, which tore a crack in the sky above the entire "Yin-Yang Eight Extremes Formation."

Then, Xia Mo tore a gap in the sky with another sword strike, and her figure flashed, arriving in the high sky outside the grand formation.

Seeing Xia Mo break open the grand formation with a single sword strike, Song Qingming, who was hiding in the "Heavenly Dipper Five Elements Formation," was also shocked by her divine might.

Seeing the rare opportunity to escape before him, Song Qingming did not hesitate anymore, hurriedly flying to follow behind Xia Mo and escaping from the "Yin-Yang Eight Extremes Formation."

Chen Yurong, who had just run out of the grand formation, had not run far toward the horizon when she saw Xia Mo had already appeared in mid-air. Her face was suddenly filled with great shock, and she hurriedly used a spiritual talisman to increase her escape speed.

However, although her speed was fast, it was not even half of Xia Mo's. She had only escaped less than twenty miles when she was blocked in front by Xia Mo.

Seeing Xia Mo in front of her, a look of despair suddenly appeared on Chen Yurong's face. She did not even have the courage to pick up her magic tool to resist, and could only kneel on the ground and beg for mercy: "Junior Sister Xia, I really regret it. Please, for Master's sake, spare me this once. I guarantee I will absolutely never appear in front of you again!"

"Great Senior Sister, have a safe journey. I will explain things to Master on my side!"

After Xia Mo said a sentence with a calm expression, before Chen Yurong could react, the flying sword in her hand had already turned into a streak of sword light and flew rapidly toward her position.

This strike was extremely fierce and did not have the slightest hesitation.

Even though Zhao Yurong took out a silver shield in time to protect herself, it was still pierced through by Xia Mo's flying sword, and even that defensive magic treasure was instantly destroyed.

Looking at the large hole that had already appeared in front of her body, Chen Yurong lifted her finger to point at Xia Mo with some unwillingness on her face, but in the end, she did not say a single word. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, she fell directly from mid-air to the ground.

Seeing this, Xia Mo directly released a ribbon she had already prepared in her hand, rolled up Chen Yurong's corpse, and stored it in a storage magic tool. Then, Xia Mo turned around and returned to "Fish Longshan."

Just after returning, Xia Mo saw two figures fighting together in mid-air not far away. It was none other than Song Qingming and that white-haired old man who controlled the "Yin-Yang Eight Extremes Formation."

Having seen Xia Mo break open the grand formation with two sword strikes earlier, that white-haired old man who was controlling the grand formation outside, seeing this, also hurriedly threw away the formation flag in his hand and wanted to fly away, but was just caught by Song Qingming, who had escaped a step later. Although this Jin Dan eighth-layer white-haired old man's cultivation was slightly higher than Song Qingming's, besides being proficient in the way of formations, his divine abilities and means for fighting were very ordinary among late-stage Jin Dan cultivators.

After fighting Song Qingming, who was at the seventh layer of Jin Dan, for dozens of rounds, he not only failed to gain the upper hand at all, but was instead beaten very passively by Song Qingming and could not escape at all.

Seeing that Xia Mo had already returned, this white-haired old man was even more panicked, hurriedly using a golden spiritual talisman to force back Song Qingming, wanting to escape directly.

However, he had only just escaped less than a few dozen zhang away when he was blocked in front by a big man in black clothes from head to toe. It was none other than "Jin Feng," whom Song Qingming had directed to come and block him in advance.

The white-haired old man had no choice but to engage in battle with "Jin Feng" again. Before he could beat back the opponent in front of him, Song Qingming entangled him again. Unable to escape for a time, he was soon caught up by Xia Mo, who had come to help in the battle.

Facing a Jin Dan eighth-layer cultivator, Xia Mo's gaze toward the white-haired old man was full of disdain. She turned the direction of the flying sword magic treasure in her hand and slashed toward the white-haired old man with all her might.

With just one sword strike, Xia Mo broke through the opponent's defensive divine ability and destroyed a jade tablet defensive magic treasure in the white-haired old man's hand.

Seeing Xia Mo's divine abilities and magic power suddenly become so fierce, the white-haired old man at this moment also immediately lost the courage to continue resisting. Gritting his teeth, he spat out a mouthful of blood mist, then turned into a blood-colored escape light and suddenly flashed more than a hundred zhang away.

Seeing that this white-haired old man actually still had such a powerful life-saving divine ability hidden on him, Song Qingming also had a hint of surprise on his face. Just as he was about to step forward to chase, a gust of strong wind blew past his side, and Xia Mo had already turned into a white escape light and chased after him.

Although the escape speed of the life-saving divine ability displayed by this white-haired old man was not much worse than Song Qingming's "Nine Palaces Meteor Escape," in front of Xia Mo at this moment, it was still not enough to see.

He had only escaped less than ten miles when he was caught up by Xia Mo, and before he could block two of Xia Mo's sword strikes, he was beheaded in mid-air.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I leave this to you!"

After beheading this white-haired old man, Xia Mo did not care about the things on his body. After nodding slightly to Song Qingming, who had arrived a step later, she turned around and flew back directly.

Seeing this, Song Qingming immediately nodded to her with a tacit understanding, then directly raised his hand and took the storage bag on the white-haired old man's corpse into his hand.

Although this person was not beheaded by himself, since Xia Mo was willing to let him have the things on the white-haired old man, Song Qingming was not polite to her.

This time, because of He Mengxin's disappearance, Song Qingming was groundlessly plotted against by Chen Yurong and the others and almost died here. Xia Mo's move also had some intention of compensating him.

Although this white-haired old man was a loose cultivator and did not have any powerful magic treasures on him, he was at least a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator's storage bag. The things inside should not be enough to disappoint him.

Song Qingming, holding the storage bag, searched carefully on the white-haired old man again before casting spells to spit out a mouthful of big fire, burning the white-haired old man's entire corpse into fly ash.

By the time Song Qingming returned to "Fish Longshan," Xia Mo had already completely destroyed the entire "Yin-Yang Eight Extremes Formation" and arrived in front of Wu Xiang, who had been seriously injured and had been unable to come out of the grand formation.

Previously, in order to help Chen Yurong strive for a glimmer of life to escape, Wu Xiang did not hesitate to launch the "Jin Guang Thunder" at close range, which also caused him to be backlashed by the thunder light and seriously injured, and even his right arm was blown to pieces on the spot.

Seeing Xia Mo walking toward him, Wu Xiang's face was very calm at this moment, without any fear at all.

"Junior Sister He and Junior Sister Han have both been locked by me in a hidden formation behind the mountain stronghold. After a while, you should be able to find them very quickly.

Rest assured, we did not harm the two of them; we only temporarily imprisoned their freedom of action. You only need to follow this method to remove the restrictions in their bodies, and they will wake up immediately."

After Wu Xiang finished speaking, his remaining left hand wiped on the storage magic tool, took out a bamboo scroll, and slowly sent it in front of Xia Mo.

After taking the bamboo scroll and looking at it, Xia Mo nodded slightly at Wu Xiang in front of her and asked calmly: "Does Senior Brother have anything else to say to Master?"

"Your Senior Sister and I had mutual affection back then and originally wanted to become Dao companions to accompany each other for life. As a result, Master, for the sake of her path of cultivation, never allowed this matter, which delayed our hundreds of years of time.

Now that I think about it, if Master hadn't stopped us back then, perhaps she and I could have become a loving couple. She also wouldn't have ended up with only cultivation in her eyes like she is now, and finally walked to this step today.

I don't hate Master. I know she did this for your Senior Sister's own good, but I feel that she, the old lady, really did the wrong thing in this matter.

Junior Sister Xia, finally, I want to beg you for one more thing. After returning to the sect, if Master agrees, you bury me and your Senior Sister in the peach blossom forest behind the mountain.

She liked the peach blossoms there the most when she was alive. Whenever she was upset, she always liked to go there for a walk. Let her sleep there forever in the future!"

"Senior Brother Wu, rest assured, I will try my best to help you complete this matter." Hearing Wu Xiang's dying words, Xia Mo stood on the spot and was silent for a moment before speaking softly to agree to this matter.

"Many thanks, Junior Sister Xia, for your fulfillment. In this way, I can be considered to have no regrets...

Cultivating for hundreds of years, in the end, one still has to enter this dust. The so-called Great Dao of cultivation for people like us who have no hope on the path of cultivation is nothing more than enduring hundreds of years of loneliness compared to mortals.

If there is an afterlife, I would rather just be an ordinary mortal; having a good marriage and a good partner for a lifetime is enough."

Wu Xiang, upon hearing this, suddenly revealed a smile on his blood-filled mouth, then raised his left hand and slapped his own crown of the head fiercely.

After a light sound of bones shattering, Wu Xiang's palm slowly hung down, and he soon closed his own eyes.

Seeing Wu Xiang, who had already self-disintegrated in front of her, a hint of unbearableness flashed faintly in Xia Mo's eyes, but she soon returned to clarity, casting spells to release a ribbon and directly rolling his corpse into the storage magic tool.

After putting away Wu Xiang's corpse, Xia Mo had just turned around when she saw Song Qingming, who was standing not far away and had been watching this scene just now.

"Fairy Xia, please restrain your grief!" Seeing Xia Mo's gaze suddenly fixed on himself, Song Qingming was slightly stunned for a moment, thought about it, and still spoke softly to comfort her.

Although Xia Mo was forced to take action to behead Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang, these two were after all fellow sect members who had lived with her day and night for many years. In Song Qingming's view, Xia Mo's heart should also be somewhat uncomfortable at this moment.

It was just that Xia Mo's face had always been calm.

"Regarding the matter of Senior Brother Wu and Senior Sister Chen, I hope Fellow Daoist can help me keep this secret and not mention today's matter to others. Can Fellow Daoist Song promise me?"

Song Qingming, upon hearing this, immediately nodded and said: "This matter originally had nothing to do with me. I was just groundlessly implicated here. I ask Fairy to rest assured; Song knows what he should do.

However, I have always had a question in my heart. Back then, before departing at Red Flame Square, Fairy spoke to stop me from following here. Did you already have a premonition of today's matter, which is why you opened your mouth to remind me?"

Hearing Song Qingming's question, a hint of surprise flashed faintly in Xia Mo's eyes as she stared at him. It was a long while before she nodded and spoke: "You guessed correctly. Before departing to come to the Floating Yunshan Range, I had already felt that someone was watching me from behind, but I just wasn't sure who this person was.

Along the way, Senior Brother Wu had several times borrowed excuses to leave alone to investigate the matter of Junior Sister He's disappearance, which also attracted my attention. By the time I met you, I was already very certain that something unexpected was definitely going to happen this time.

At that time, I didn't want to implicate you, so I persuaded you with kind words, not wanting you to be worried about Junior Sister He's safety and insist on following.

In order not to alert the enemy and let Senior Brother Wu and the others notice any clues, I had no choice but to agree to this matter first.

I didn't do this on purpose to not tell you and implicate you; it was just because Senior Brother Wu was always following by my side at the time, and there was no way to remind you in advance, which is why it evolved into the later situation."

"If they had succeeded this time, after killing you, would they also have needed a scapegoat to take the blame for this matter so that they could explain this matter to your Master after returning?

This matter actually started from the beginning when they chose to take action against Fellow Daoist He in Qinghe County. Wu Xiang and the others had already calculated me into it. Even if I didn't want to come that day, I fear he would not have easily let me go. I should be right about this, right!"

Song Qingming gave a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth and asked Xia Mo on the side again. After a moment, he saw her nod in silence.

Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang had managed to lure Xia Mo to the Floating Yunshan Range with great difficulty, preparing to join forces with the white-haired old man to kill her here, and then frame this matter on the nearby Song family.

They did not expect that this matter had already aroused Xia Mo's vigilance from the beginning, and in the end, she even used their own strategy against them to lure Chen Yurong and the others out, solving all the future troubles behind them at once.

Thinking of this, Song Qingming could not help but break out in a cold sweat on his back.

This person Xia Mo not only had outstanding talent for cultivation, but her personal mind was also sensitively frightening.

Such careful planning by Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang, if it were on an ordinary person, I fear they would have already died and their Dao would have vanished by now.

But Xia Mo was able to gain insight into their conspiracy from some details in advance, making them not only fail in the end, but also be wiped out by Xia Mo taking the opportunity.

It cannot be said that Chen Yurong and Wu Xiang were not well-prepared; it is just a pity that they chose the wrong opponent for themselves.

"Fellow Daoist Song, from the very beginning of entering that grand formation, I was confident that I could break the formation directly. The reason I didn't take action was just to lure them out earlier."

Hearing Song Qingming's self-mockery, Xia Mo spoke to comfort him, then waved her hand lightly on her face, put on the white veil that covered her face before, and turned into a streak of escape light, flying toward the back of the mountain stronghold. (End of chapter)