“Poof!”
Under the sharp attack of the sound blade, Li Mu’s figure turned into countless wood shavings and ashes.
“Wood Clone! When did this happen?!”
Venerable Tianyin’s face turned incredibly ugly. He hadn't even noticed when his opponent secretly used a wood escape substitute. He quickly used his Divine Sense to search all around.
“Found you!” Venerable Tianyin quickly locked onto Li Mu, and with a forceful pluck of his ten fingers on the guqin.
With a “Zheng” sound, countless zither notes, in the form of sound blades, surged from all directions towards Li Mu, who was hidden in an ancient tree.
Li Mu had already anticipated this. With a wave of his hand, five five-tier spiritual swords flew out from the nine storage spiritual pearl, quickly forming the ‘Five Elements Sword Formation’, releasing sharp Five Elements Sword Qi, and engaging the sound blades transformed from zither notes.
“Bang bang bang…,” a series of intense collisions erupted.
Streaks of Five Elements Sword Qi violently collided with the invisible sound blades, unleashing a powerful energy that swept out with immense power. The ancient trees, which had endured countless Years, were directly snapped in half by this violent energy, and endless flying sand and stones, and raging winds ensued…
The area where the two were located suddenly collapsed, and the dense forest within dozens of miles around was instantly leveled by countless Sword Qi and sound blades.
“He blocked it!” Venerable Tianyin’s expression changed drastically as he looked at Li Mu, who was controlling the Five Elements Sword Formation, his face filled with disbelief.
He had originally thought that with his Late Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator, he could completely crush this ‘Li Jianxian’, but he never expected this fellow to be so formidable, able to use a sword Formation to neutralize his sound blade Cultivation Technique.
This Cultivator, this combat power, was not inferior to a Transformation God cultivator at all. Venerable Tianyin’s face showed a solemn expression, and he began to take it seriously.
“Very good, with this ability, Venerable Tianyun’s death at your hands was not unjust!” Venerable Tianyin stared intently at Li Mu, and said with hatred, “Today, I shall let you see clearly that between a Soul Transformation expert and a Nascent Soul True Lord, there is, after all, an unbridgeable chasm!”
As his voice fell, Venerable Tianyin placed the guqin he was holding on the ground, sat cross-legged, and began to play music.
Li Mu’s face revealed a vigilant expression, his gaze fixed on the guqin Magical Artifact in Venerable Tianyin’s hands.
It was the first time Li Mu had seen a guqin used as a weapon.
Under the Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits, the detailed information of the guqin Magical Artifact was clearly presented.
【Nine Yin Demonic Zither (Damaged)】
【Grade: six-tier spirit treasure】
【Properties: Disturbs Divine Soul, severs Spiritual Qi, controls five senses, enters Dao through sound, demonic sound enters spirit, summons zither demons.】
【Status: Spirit Artifact damaged, tier dropped, Artifact Spirit dormant.】
【The Nine Yin Demonic Zither, crafted with the Dragon whiskers of a Xuanhuang True Dragon as strings, Dragon bones as the frame, combined with six-tier Dark Profound Stone and six-tier West Moon Dyed Wood, and then with the True Dragon’s Soul as the Artifact Soul. Qingxuan can transform into endless killing moves with various played melodies, capable of seizing souls, suppressing Divine Soul, controlling others’ five senses, a powerful Spirit Treasure that kills invisibly. It was damaged in a major battle, and although subsequently repaired, its tier still dropped, becoming a six-tier pseudo-Spirit Treasure, with greatly reduced power. Currently, it can only control people's five senses, deter Divine Soul, and summon demons with its zither sound.】
This guqin Magical Artifact was a Magical Artifact that combined sound and Divine Thought attacks, with quite rare attack methods and attributes.
With Li Mu’s current Artifact Refining technique, after observing it and understanding its characteristics, there was a certain probability that he could replicate and refine one.
Upon learning the attributes of the Nine Yin Demonic Zither, Li Mu immediately understood its attack method and quickly fully activated his Divine Sense Cultivation Technique - Nebula Stargazing Art, employing the Divine Thought Divine Ability, Gathering Star Condensing Spirit, to resist the impending Divine Thought attack.
“Then allow me to observe it thoroughly!” Li Mu remained still, smiling leisurely.
“Boastful!” Venerable Tianyin’s eyes were as cold as ice, glinting with a chilling light. His slender fingertips were placed on the zither strings, and his ten fingers danced like flying, plucking the strings, and the zither music spread out endlessly.
“Zheng zheng…,” a rapid burst of zither notes instantly permeated the air.
The zither music was melodious and beautiful, as if a beautiful woman was dancing gracefully in a sea of flowers, intoxicating, yet it concealed infinite killing intent.
The moment Li Mu heard the zither music, he suddenly found the scenery before his eyes changed. He seemed to be in a sea of flowers, where myriad flowers swayed, and a delicate fragrance assailed his nostrils. Moreover, there were thousands of graceful women, dressed in flowing silk, dancing among the flowers, appearing and disappearing, making one’s heart flutter.
Over these Years, Li Mu had long since severed mortal ties for his cultivation, becoming tempered steel. However, at this moment, he felt his entire body burning with fire, his throat dry, and his reason seemed to be swallowed by that sea of flowers. His body began to involuntarily open its arms to embrace those women.
Divine Thought Divine Ability - Gathering Star Condensing Spirit, was surprisingly difficult to resist this illusion, and Li Mu was showing signs of losing control.
At this moment, those women giggled and tightly embraced Li Mu. Their jade-like hands were soft as tender shoots, their fragrant cheeks like peach blossoms, yielding to his embrace. Li Mu felt his soul melt away.
And in the outside world, Venerable Tianyin’s zither music became even more melodious and charming, as if whispering among flowers, softly humming.
Venerable Tianyin smiled, looking at Li Mu who was trapped in the illusion. His expression was already lost in it, sinking into a sea of desire, unable to extricate himself!
“Hmph, merely a hundred-year-old child, after all, still unable to break free from mortal thoughts, unable to sever the entanglement of these seven emotions and six desires. Life in this world is truly a boundless sea of suffering. Today, I shall let you die in joy.” Venerable Tianyin smiled, and the melody suddenly changed. The originally pleasant zither music abruptly became eerie and terrifying.
In that illusion, Li Mu suddenly found that the naked beauties he had embraced earlier had all transformed into grotesque monsters. They bared their fangs and claws, lunging at him.
“Such a beautiful scene, why rush to end it!”
Li Mu sighed softly, looking at the grotesque monsters lunging at him with bared fangs and claws, his expression unchanged.
As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, a brilliant white beam of light suddenly descended in this vast illusion, like a milky way hanging upside down. As endless white light surged and rolled, the countless originally ferocious grotesque monsters instantly vanished into ashes under this scorching white light, leaving only mournful wails, echoing like specters throughout the entire space.
“Master!”
A soft cry rang out, and the tender and lovely Little White appeared out of thin air, lightly landing on Li Mu’s shoulder. Its pure, tender little body, surrounded by Spiritual Qi, was like the essence of heaven and earth, agile and natural.
“Little White, it’s up to you now. The enemy is not easy to deal with. Protect my Divine Soul.”
Li Mu smiled at Little White, gently stroking its jade-like, clean little head, and softly instructed.
“Okay! Master!” Little White nodded happily, its dark eyes staring at Venerable Tianyin opposite.
Li Mu’s mind shifted, and the surrounding illusion shattered like a mirror, then gradually returned to its original state.
“What is that? It can actually break my demonic sound illusion?”
Venerable Tianyin’s face showed a trace of astonishment. He had clearly controlled all of his opponent’s five senses, trapping him deep within the demonic sound illusion, so why did he suddenly break free?
What is the Origin of that little ghost?
Venerable Tianyin noticed the palm-sized figure on Li Mu’s shoulder. Meeting its gaze, even as a Late Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator, he felt a fear originating from his Divine Soul!
Venerable Tianyin’s mind trembled, and he stared intently at Little White, his heart filled with confusion.
“A bit interesting. Your guqin Magic Treasure is not bad. If possible, hand over this Spirit Treasure to me, and I’ll spare your life, how about it?” Li Mu quite approved of the power of this Nine Yin Demonic Zither. Such a treasure that controls people’s minds and leads them into illusions was truly unexpected. If it were to return to its Peak state, its power would probably be even stronger.
“Hmph! Boastful!”
Venerable Tianyin was furious, and once again plucked the zither strings. This time, it was even more ruthless and decisive, his ten fingers dancing continuously, like night ghosts intertwining.
In an instant, the illusion changed again. The mountain forest before Li Mu’s eyes turned blood-red, as red as fire, as red as blood. This was a world of slaughter, with human bones piled up like mountains, and Wraith wailing.
Endless seas of blood rolled, and those human bones were swept into them, surging towards Li Mu’s direction.
“Trifling skill!”
Although Little White was also caught in this illusion, as a Divine Soul-type insect spirit, it was not afraid of it. It was closely connected to Li Mu’s Divine Soul and could awaken Li Mu at any time, helping him escape the illusion.
With a crisp cry, the illusionary sound realm before Li Mu’s eyes shattered.
However, as soon as the illusion was broken, dozens of terrifying sound blades assailed him.
Li Mu’s figure flickered, employing the Five Elements Earth Escape, to avoid the wind blade attack from afar. Immediately after, his Divine Sense entered the nine storage spiritual pearl, taking out Magical Artifacts to face the enemy.
With a “Whoosh,” five Dragon bones flashed out in response, circling above Li Mu’s head, their skeletal Dragon heads staring intently at Venerable Tianyin below.
“These are… Flood Dragon skeletons?”
Venerable Tianyin was slightly stunned, his vigilance heightened. He was a bit unclear about ‘Li Jianxian’s’ actions. Why did he suddenly summon five Flood Dragon skeletons? The Dragon bones before him were of varying grades, one six-tier and four five-tier.
“You use demonic sound, I use Formation. It’s not too much, right!” Li Mu smiled calmly. He now possessed many methods, and dealing with a Transformation God cultivator did not require a major conflict.
Li Mu was not very proficient with the Nine Dragons Immortal Slaughtering Formation and rarely used it in combat. Now, it was time to test the power of the Five Dragons Trapping Formation.
“Formation?”
Venerable Tianyin frowned slightly. According to the information from Tianji Pavilion, he did know that ‘Li Jianxian’ could use Formations, but it was merely a sword Formation. What use could these Dragon bones, which had long lost their vitality, be?
Li Mu flicked his finger, and the nine storage spiritual pearl flew out sixteen Formation Flag radiating crystal clear light, instantly transforming into an invisible golden light that enveloped the heavens and earth.
Venerable Tianyin only felt the surrounding aura suddenly condense, as if he himself was confined. He felt a great sense of unease, a feeling of being unable to control the situation.
Venerable Tianyin did not believe that a Nascent Soul True Lord could defeat him by crossing tiers, but the current situation had clearly changed.
Venerable Tianyin suddenly launched an attack, all ten fingers plucking simultaneously. The zither notes transformed into Dragon-shaped phantoms, baring their fangs and claws. The terrifying sound waves condensed into a hundred-zhang giant Dragon, its power vast and awe-inspiring, opening its huge mouth and suddenly attacking Li Mu.
Li Mu quickly formed hand seals, then threw out thousands of High-Grade Spirit Stone.
He saw the vast Spiritual Qi soar upwards, transforming into an endless torrent of Spiritual Qi that submerged the five giant Flood Dragon skeletons. The five Dragon bones were immediately enveloped in a layer of golden light.
“Go!”
Li Mu flicked his finger, and the five Flood Dragons circling in the sky immediately roared and flew.
Li Mu then took out five Dragon Souls, which were instantly released: Bihai Mad Flood Dragon, Fire Python Flood Dragon, Bloodthirsty Rampage Flood Dragon, Twin-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon… the Flood Dragon Souls injected into the Dragon bones.
In an instant, flesh grew on the five Dragon bones, giving birth to life. The Formation absorbed vitality, and endless vigorous life force drilled into the Dragon bones.
The next moment, the five Dragons roared in unison, their Dragon might vast and boundless.
As soon as the five Dragons appeared, they immediately charged towards the oncoming wind Dragon, fearless of death.
The five Flood Dragons instantly shattered the invisible wind Dragon into pieces. The newly condensed flesh of the five Flood Dragons was also torn to shreds, but in the blink of an eye, they underwent Nirvana and Rebirth, reforming their flesh and circling in the sky.
“What?!”
Venerable Tianyin was greatly alarmed, never expecting his full-force attack to be so easily resolved.
At the same same time, he felt the Formation of the five Flood Dragons, which had clearly trapped him within the Formation, making it difficult to escape for a while.
Venerable Tianyin’s expression was solemn, and he would certainly not sit idly by.
Li Mu’s Divine Sense moved, and the five Dragons bared their fangs and claws, descending with immense Dragon might.
Although Flood Dragons were not True Dragon Clan, they possessed Dragon might. As the five Dragons roared, shaking the heavens and earth, three types of attribute Dragon breath spewed forth.
The power of destruction gathered and poured down with a roar.
Venerable Tianyin dared not be careless and immediately released two five-tier Spirit Treasures from his beast-taming bag—a Shadow Rhino and a Winged Mad Eagle—to meet them.
Venerable Tianyin’s ten fingers quickly plucked, and the zither music suddenly became sharp.
The Shadow Rhino and Winged Mad Eagle, guided by the sound of the guqin, suddenly became agitated and launched an attack on the two Flood Dragons.
The Shadow Rhino and Winged Mad Eagle, having been invaded by the demonic sound of the Nine Yin Demonic Zither, had completely lost their sense of pain and charged at the two Flood Dragons, fearless of death.
These two five-tier Peak Spirit Treasures, when combined, were enough to withstand a half-step six-tier existence!
Venerable Tianyin separated a wisp of Divine Sense, continuously plucking the guqin.
As the zither music sounded, Venerable Tianyin’s figure also transformed into a demonic state, becoming burly, with veins bulging all over his body, appearing insane!
“I have to say, you truly deserve the title of Sword Immortal! With Nascent Soul strength, you actually forced me to use demonic zither transformation. After this battle, I will need a century to recover. I originally intended to spare your life, but now you are seeking your own death!”
Before Venerable Tianyin finished speaking, he secretly manipulated a poisonous needle hidden weapon to attack Li Mu, who was controlling the Formation.
Such an action also had considerable drawbacks, namely damage to the Divine Soul Origin! But at this moment, Venerable Tianyin could no longer care so much. A dignified Late Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator being forced to this extent was simply unforgivable.
“Interesting!”
Li Mu’s pupils slightly contracted. This Venerable Tianyin was indeed a remarkable person! Not only did he develop the various wonderful uses of the Nine Yin Demonic Zither to the extreme, but he could also separate his Divine Soul to control hidden weapons during battle.
Li Mu retracted his Thunder Wings, unleashing countless thunder Origin to form a thunder spirit barrier, blocking the incoming hidden weapon.
With a “Boom!” Li Mu was blown away.
“Roar!”
Li Mu, multitasking, controlled the five Flood Dragons, baring their fangs and claws, to attack Venerable Tianyin.
