Shi Mu’s brows abruptly creased, and he waved his hand. The golden sword Qi flashed, and hacked the tree demon’s head. It split its head into two halves.

　　Cai stared at Shi Mu in astonishment.

　　“It couldn’t be said with certainty that this unknown species didn’t possess any special resurrection ability. So, it was better to destroy it completely in order to guard against contingencies,” Shi Mu explained.

　　Cai heard Shi Mu’s words, and stared at him in blank dismay. He then nodded repeatedly.

　　Shi Mu didn’t say anything afterwards. He turned around, and climbed up that tree. He then plucked all the peaches from the tree in a very quick and effortless manner. Then, he received them in his Vast Earth ring.

　　His gaze turned towards the depths of the valley after completing this task.

　　“Go in, and take a look at the surroundings. I think there should be other people inside. The tree-demon had said so,” Shi Mu said.

　　Cai nodded. He flapped his wings, and flew straight ahead.

　　Shi Mu also walked forward in a careful manner. He tried not to make any noise while doing so. The expression in his eyes looked unusually bright at this moment.

　　The tree-demon had mentioned the Dark Moon Cult. But, that hadn’t surprised Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu had spent the last few months with Liu An on the ship. So, he had heard a few things pertaining to the Western Dark Moon Cult. However, the tree-demon had also mentioned the barbarian race which came as a bit of a surprise to him.

　　Could it be possible that the barbarian race was present in the Western continent as well?

　　Shi Mu noticed that his field of vision had gradually widened after he had covered some distance.

　　A fierce fighting sound indistinctly reached his ears at this time.

　　His eyes flashed, and he became even more cautious while proceeding forward. He soon arrived at a considerably expansive and vacant land in the mountains. A large number of fire-like fruit-trees could be seen here. These trees were similar to the one he had seen outside the valley. However, most of these trees hadn’t borne any fruits.

　　He moved a little further, and hid behind a tree to see the situation of the battle in front.

　　There was a vacant land in the woods, and two groups of people were engaged in a fight there.

　　One group was composed of only three people. They wore strange-looking green robes. In addition, all of them had sky-blue eyes.

　　There were two middle-aged men and one twenty-year-old young girl in this group. The girl’s facial features were very delicate and pretty. Her legs were so smooth and slender that they could dazzle anyone.

　　These three people’s cultivation had reached the Xian-Tian realm. They waved their swords, and blade lights and Sword Qi burst out of them.

　　The opposite party was a group of five grey-robed people. A grey radiance was shimmering on these people’s bodies. These people had summoned a few Dead Spirit creatures for assistance. And, all of them were incessantly fighting with the three people on the opposite side.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flashed.

　　The three green-robed people didn’t appear to be ordinary humans. In fact, the aura that they were exuding was very similar to that of the barbarians. They should be the barbarians that the tree-demon had mentioned.

　　Moreover, the robes of the five grey-robed people on the opposite side bore a great similarity to the clothing of Liu An and other Palace Lords. The only difference between their clothing was in terms of details.

　　“They are the Western Dark Moon Cult’s people!” Shi Mu said inwardly.

　　Shi Mu was pleased to find out that familiar races resided in this continent. Otherwise, he would’ve found it rather difficult to adapt to his new environment.

　　The people of the Western Dark Moon Cult outnumbered the opposite party by five to three. And, their strength couldn’t be considered inferior to that of the members of the opposite party. Besides, they had also summoned demon-beast-like human skeletons and zombies in huge numbers to assist them. Those creatures gradually encircled the three barbarians. Therefore, the situation of the three barbarians had worsened.

　　“Your Dark Moon Cult mustn’t go too far! This place comes under the territory of our Giant Tree Tribe. But, you people always linger here with the intention of stealing away our fire-attribute peach fruits. And today, you have flagrantly showed up here to capture our fruits! I’ll certainly report this matter to the Chief of our tribe. And, you will beg him for mercy when that time comes,” A grey-haired middle-aged man was making moves to ward off the Dead Spirit creatures around him. Simultaneously, he said in a stern voice.

　　“He he, you need to save this life of yours if you want to go back and report this matter,” a lanky young man of the Dark Moon Cult remarked with a fiendish grin.

　　The facial expressions of the three barbarians changed as soon as this statement was made.

　　“Your Dark Moon Cult and all the barbarian tribes of the Eastern region had signed a treaty back then. According to that treaty… we must act together to deal with the Demon race. But, you dare to kill people of our Giant Tree Tribe. Don’t you fear that the treaty between the barbarian race and the Dark Moon Cult would fall apart if this matter gets leaked?” the green-robed girl shouted in her delicate voice.

　　“He he, who would ever know that this was our doing if we do everything cleanly?” the lanky man’s facial expression stiffened at first. But then, he waved his hand and said with a sneer.

　　Then, the surface of the ground emanated magnificent grey light, and two lofty carrion-wolves emerged before them. Both were Xian Tian-ranked Dead Spirit creatures. They then pounced toward the three people.

　　The carrion wolves’ skin was coarse and thick in texture. So, they weren’t afraid of swords. The three barbarians felt an increase in pressure as soon as these carrion wolves joined forces with the opposite party.

　　The green-robed barbarian girl’s cultivation was the weakest among the three barbarians. She was only at the primary stage of the Xian Tian realm. Suddenly, one of the carrion-wolves pounced toward her, and threw its hand to grab her.

　　The girl shouted loudly in her delicate voice. She held a green dagger in each of her hands. She streaked her daggers across the air, and dagger-shadows darted out to resist the wolf.

　　“Clang” a crisp sound rang out!

　　The green-robed girl’s complexion had turned deathly white. She had succeeded in warding off the attack of the carrion-wolf with her daggers. However, a few large wounds had been inflicted on her snow-white arm. And, fresh blood was gushing out of those wounds.

　　“Young Lady!” The two middle-aged men were shocked as they saw this scene.

　　The two barbarian men looked at each other. They then made a low-pitched howling sound.

　　A green halo emerged on the bodies of the barbarian men. Then, their bodies inflated to a great extent in an instant. Their skin turned green, and its texture became wrinkled like a tree-bark.

　　Shi Mu was far from this battlefield. But, a hint of astonishment appeared on his face as he witnessed this scene.

　　“They use totem to transform their bodies. That seems like… a plant’s spirit, right?” Shi Mu wasn’t unfamiliar with the body-transformation technique that these two middle-aged men had just used. But, he was rather curious to know about the beast spirits that these two men had sealed within their bodies.

　　The spiritual aura around these two barbarian men had been enhanced by a lot after they had transformed. In addition, they looked very much similar to a tree-demon at the moment. The two barbarian men’s faces got suffused with a frantic look, and they rushed straight toward the Dead Spirit creatures. These two barbarians had completely resorted to offensive methods. They had completely ignored the thought of guarding themselves even though those Dead Spirit creatures were brandishing their weapons to chop them.

　　A series of muffled sounds were heard!

　　Those Dead Spirit creatures had hacked their bone weapons at the two barbarian men’s bodies. But, their weapons could cause only a few shallow bruises on them.

　　The weapons in the two barbarians’ hands emitted an exceptionally bright green radiance. And then, they hacked and killed several evil human skeletons in a row. Their weapon possessed incredible vehemence.

　　The grey-haired middle-aged barbarian turned his hand, and took out a green animal skin magic charm. He then flung it toward the ground.

　　A ray of green light flashed on the green magic charm, and the magic charm integrated into the ground.

　　Then, the ground shook, and a sharp splinter drilled out of the ground.

　　The Dark Moon Cult’s disciples who stood in encirclement ring were alarmed when they saw the sharp splinter. They abruptly flurried backwards in response. However, their flurried movement tore open an opening in the encirclement ring.

　　“Young Lady, run fast!”

　　The grey-haired middle-aged barbarian was delighted to see the opening. He brandished his blade, and it issued a green blade light which then elongated to a few feet. Then, that blade light quivered, and drew back straight towards the carrion wolves and Dead Spirit creatures. Simultaneously, that grey-haired barbarian turned his head, and shouted to tell the girl to flee.

　　The green-robed girl’s face exposed a hesitant look at first. But then, she turned around, and disappeared in an instant. It had seemed as if she had changed into a green shadow when she had rushed out of the opening in the encirclement ring in order to gallop into the distance.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion somewhat changed as he noticed that the girl was running in his direction.

　　“You want to run away?!” the lanky disciple’s facial expression changed, and he shouted aloud. Then, he also broke into a run in pursuit of her.

　　He waved his hand, and a grey light flashed before his body. Then, a pitch-black bone-spear flashed out of it, and thrust toward the green-robed girl’s body.

　　The girl held her sword behind her back like a lightning bolt, and streaked a fan-shaped green shadow. This fan-shaped shadow then hacked at the tip of the bone-spear.

　　A “Clang” sound was heard, and the bone-spear was struck and sent flying.

　　However, the girl’s complexion turned pale. She tried to run away, but her body suddenly became weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

　　She didn’t know when a black bone-needle had stabbed her calf. Moreover, a wisp of black Qi was seeping into her body through the bone-needle.

　　“Haha! How do my dual flying needles feel?” the lanky youth burst into a laughter which was smeared with a sense of complacency. Then, he walked over to that girl in a nonchalant manner.

　　The two middle-aged barbarians were shocked to see this scene; they were far from the girl at this moment. They tried to rush over to help her with all their might. But, they were prevented from doing so by the Dead Spirit creatures and the other Dark Moon Cult disciples.

　　A trace of stubbornness peeped through the green-robed girl’s face. She took the support of the tree trunk beside her in an attempt to struggle herself into a standing position.

　　“There’s no use in making a senseless revolt. You should allow yourself to be seized obediently, and not put up a pointless fight!” the lanky man made a sarcastic tongue-clicking sound.

　　The green-robed girl exerted her full strength to stand up. However, she collapsed to the ground as her body had become very weak.

　　“The cartilage of my Yin needle had been smeared with a sinister poison. It has been made specifically to deal with your barbarian race. You will soon find yourself unable to budge.” The lanky young man stood in front of the girl. His eyes suddenly revealed a strange look. And then, it seemed as if a mass of fire had emerged in the depths of his eyes.

　　“What do you want to do…” The young girl’s eyes finally revealed a frightened look.

　　“Tsk Tsk, you are indeed a beautiful and delicate girl. It would be too regrettable to kill you…” The lanky man looked her up and down, and a sinister look flashed through his eyes. He then stretched his hand, and touched the girl’s soft and smooth face.

　　The girl screamed. She used her arms to take support from the ground, and moved her body backwards. She had done so in order to stay away from this sinister man.

　　After that, she slipped her left hand under her clothes at such a tricky angle that no one could see that. Then, she fumbled around her waist.

　　The smile on the lanky man’s face broadened even more. He was apparently enjoying this kind of malicious thrill.

　　But then, a streak of green light burst out of the green-robed girl’s body, and darted towards the lanky man. Then, it exploded with a loud rumbling sound.

　　The lanky man’s complexion profoundly changed, and he flipped backwards in order to evade the attack. However, he couldn’t remain unaffected by the explosion since it had occurred at a very short distance from him. Consequently, half of his clothes were torn to shreds, and a few wounds had burst open on his body.

　　“You bi*ch!”

　　The lanky man blazed with fury, and a bone-white sword emerged in his hand with a flash of white light. Then, a sky-soaring white light emerged on top of the sword, and condensed into a mighty blade-light. Then, he hacked his blade toward the green-robed girl.

　　The two middle-aged barbarians thundered furiously as they saw this scene. But, they were unable to make a move as they were far way.

　　Bang! Layers of smoke and dust ascended skyward from the ground.

　　However, the lanky young man’s complexion turned gloomy when the dust and smoke settled. He saw that a deep blade-trace had been split open in the ground in front of him, but there was no trace of that green-robed girl.

　　He then looked straight ahead, and saw a tall and sturdy black-robed young man stood a few feet away from him. The green-robed girl was right beside this man. It was Shi Mu!

　　The two middle-aged barbarians and the Dark Moon Cult’s disciples were left stunned. And, their hand-to-hand fight became a bit slower as a result.

　　Even the green-robed girl was dumbfounded to see Shi Mu beside her.

　　“Your Excellency, may I know who you are? You have the courage to meddle in the Dark Moon Cult’s affairs. Could it be possible that you are you tired of living? But, let me tell you one thing… your body looks strong and sturdy. I have gained expertise in bronze corpses. So, it seems that you are worthy of use.” The lanky young man ran his observant gaze over the black-robed man. Then, he said in a tone that revealed his malicious intentions.

　　But, Shi Mu didn’t utter a single word. He simply cast a glance at the lanky man, and let out a cold snort.

　　“You’re courting death!”

　　A cold gleam flashed across the lanky man’s eyes. Then, he lifted up his bone-white blade, and a layer of white light bubbled-up on its surface.

　　Shi Mu flicked his finger at the same time, and a golden light burst forth from his body. It flashed and appeared in front of the lanky man the next moment. Then, it hacked straight toward his head.

　　“A Spirit Tool!” The lanky was thunderstruck. However, he quickly moved his bone-white blade to block the sword. Simultaneously, he shot backwards to evade the attack.

　　Whiz!

　　But then, a streak of white light darted from the golden sword light… as if a poisonous snake had flicked its tongue out. The white light rushed straight ahead, and wound around the lanky man’s body with a flash of light. This streak of white light was actually the white Qi chain!

　　The lanky man was taken aback. His movement became very slow as he was bound by the white Qi chain. The golden sword again emanated a bright light. Then, it hacked directly at his head, and submerged into his body.

　　A loud scream spread from the golden light. The golden light drew back the next moment, and turned into a small golden sword. Then, it flew back to Shi Mu’s hand with a “Whoosh” sound.

　　The lanky man’s head had been separated from his body. His head had rolled down to the ground, but a petrified look could still be seen in his eyes.

　　The other four disciples of the Dark Moon Cult couldn’t have imagined that their leader would be killed on the spot… that too in a fleeting second. They gazed at Shi Mu with an appalled look on their faces. Then, the four exchanged meaningful glances, and burst into a run at the same time.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion looked cold at the moment. He flicked his finger, and the golden sword flashed out once again. Then, it dashed toward the four men as if it were a meteor, and quickly caught up with them.

　　The golden sword then released an extensive mass of light. That light flashed, and changed into four identical golden sword-shadows. Then, they hacked towards the four people to chop them down.