“A Spirit tool!”

　　The black-robed man exclaimed aloud in amazement. Then, the magic wand in his hand radiated a magnificent black radiance, and he pointed it forward in the void.

　　A large mass of black luminescence gleamed on the ground in front of him. Then, a huge carrion wolf emerged amid the black light; it was ten feet in height. In addition, it was also a Xian-Tian-ranked Dead Spirit creature.

　　The black-robed man waved his wand, and the carrion wolf issued a loud roar. Then, it pounced towards Shi Mu.

　　After that, the black-robed man pointed his foot on the ground, and whirled around. Then, he fled into the distance.

　　“Don’t run away!” Shi Mu thundered in a cold manner, and chased after him.

　　Roar! But then, the huge carrion wolf dashed over, and blocked Shi Mu’s way. Simultaneously, its big mouth moved towards Shi Mu, and it seemed as if it wanted to nip at his body.

　　“Get lost!” Shi Mu roared as his stature flashed and evaded the carrion wolf’s big mouth. Then, he pounded his fist, and a jade-like sparkling-white fist bombarded on the wolf’s head.

　　The wisp of a dreadful and gigantic force rushed through Shi Mu’s body, and gushed into the carrion wolf’s head.

　　The carrion wolf’s enormous body was sent flying backwards the next moment. Meanwhile, its head issued a “Pop” sound, and exploded into pieces. Its rotten flesh and blood bloated out the sky.

　　Hou Sai Lei was so appalled by this terrifying scene that he had almost issued a loud shout.

　　The fact was that Hou Sai Lei was fully aware of the frightening strength of a Xian Tian-ranked Dead Spirit creature. However, this Xian Tian carrion wolf had seemed like a fragile egg in front of Shi Mu. After all, Shi Mu had smashed it to pieces with a single punch.

　　Hou Sai Lei was delighted to think that he had made the right choice by surrendering to Shi Mu. In fact, Shi Mu’s strength was enough to assume that he could almost contend against an Earth-ranked powerhouse.

　　He even began to think that relying on Shi Mu was also a correct decision.

　　Shi Mu waved his hand, and finished the carrion wolf off at a stroke. After that, his stature stopped for a moment, and he pointed his foot on the ground. He turned into a black afterimage the very next moment and dashed towards the black-robed man.

　　The fighting spirit of the remaining bandits was devastated when they saw that one of their leaders had been killed… and the other had fled. Hence, a series of screams and shouts rang out as they started to disperse and flee into the distance.

　　Hou Sai Lei was overwhelmed with a sense of blissful feeling. So, he and the gigantic skeleton chased after the bandits separately. They had slaughtered a dozen of them in a fleeting moment.

　　Hou Sai Lei could enhance his strength if he used these people’s bodies to offer sacrifices.

　　Those Dead Spirit creatures that had been summoned by the black-robed man suddenly turned stiff. After that, they changed into a mass of black smoke and dissipated into the void.

　　“Senior Mu seems to have exterminated that black-robed man as well…” Hou Sai Lei beamed with happiness as he saw this scene.

　　He then read an incantation, and waved his hand. Consequently, the Dead Spirit creatures he had summoned were sent back to their dimension.

　　At the same time, the black-robed silhouette’s body got pierced by the golden sword, and got nailed to the ground somewhere in the wilderness. This place was a few miles away from the small town.

　　In fact, the black-robed man’s body had nearly been cleft into two sections. A spurt of blood gushed out of his body, and dyed the ground red in an instant. However, the man didn’t die for some time.

　　“Dark Lord… won’t let you off…” The black-robed man turned his head with difficulty, and glared at Shi Mu in a resentful manner.

　　Shi Mu snorted in a cold manner, and flicked his hand. A ray of light flashed on the golden sword, and it flew back towards him.

　　The black-robed man’s body rolled for a moment. Then, his breathing came to a halt.

　　Shi Mu received his sword, and walked over to the black-robed man’s body.

　　The cloak had fallen off the black-robed man’s head, and his face had been unveiled. The man appeared to be only twenty years old. He had ordinary facial features, but his appearance made him look very young.

　　Shi Mu sized up this person a couple of times. After that, he rummaged through his body. And, he fished out a small black package along with a blood-red token after some time.

　　This was the same token that Shi Mu had seen in Hou Sai Lei, Liu An, and many other people’s hands.

　　Shi Mu’s brows creased. It was evident that his person was also a disciple of the Dark Moon Cult. But, it was hard to tell why he had joined a gang of bandits.

　　Shi Mu collected the small package and the token into his Vast Earth Ring in a very convenient manner. Then, he waved his hand and shot two fireballs. He used those fireballs to burn the man’s body to ashes. Thereafter, he returned to the town.

　　The bandits had been driven out of the town by this time.

　　The townspeople expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Hou Sai Lei – the old Town Chief. Then, they gradually dispersed.

　　Hou Sai Lei extricated himself from these townspeople, and summoned several human skeletons once again. Then, he directed them to shift the bandits’ corpses to a remote place somewhere in this small town.

　　This place had a simple and crude black altar. Also, a magic formula was portrayed on top of the altar.

　　Hou Sai Lei directed a few of these skeletons to move those dozen or more corpses onto the altar. Then, he swept his gaze over the surrounding area, and sat down cross-legged on the altar beside the magic circle. He turned his hand, and took out the special token to offer sacrifices. Then, he started to mumble something.

　　The magic formula on the sacrificial altar slowly lit up, and condensed into a black magic circle. Then, it enveloped the corpses.

　　Hou Sai Lei was reciting an incantation at a very quick speed. Simultaneously, the token in his hand was emitting a very bright blood-red luminescence.

　　He then counted something on his fingers. And, a streak of blood-red light flew from his hand, and into the magic circle.

　　Then, a loud “Boom” sound spread from the magic circle, and a blood-red flame flared-up.

　　Hou Sai Lei continued to recite the incantation. And, he kept on brandishing his hands in a repetitive manner. A streak of blood-red light would fly out of his hand from time to time, and would then fall in the magic circle.

　　Consequently, the blood-red flame in the magic circle grew increasingly brighter. At the same time, the surrounding corpses started to disappear in this flame one after another.

　　The sacrificial altar had been emptied after some time. And, more than a dozen of corpses had disappeared without a trace.

　　Then, a streak of grey light emerged on Hou Sai Lei’s weak body, and integrated into his body.

　　He then closed his eyes, but remained in a seated position. He opened his eyes after some time, and the trace of a joyous look gleamed across his face.

　　He sensed that his magic power had increased slightly. Still, he couldn’t break through the Star-ranked magician realm. However, his magic realm had reached a considerably fuller state now; so much so that his breakthrough seemed to be around the corner.

　　“So, this is the sacrificial offerings of the Dark Moon Cult!” a voice suddenly spread from behind him.

　　Hou Sai Lei’s complexion changed. He sprang to his feet, and looked towards the source of the voice. He hadn’t notice when Shi Mu had arrived here. In fact, he hadn’t even realized that Shi Mu stood only a few feet away from the altar. Moreover, Shi Mu was gazing towards the altar in a curious manner.

　　“Senior Mu, I…” Hou Sai Lei’s complexion turned pale, and he looked at Shi Mu in a helpless manner.

　　“You don’t have to be afraid of anything. It’s your right to do whatever you want to do with these corpses. After all, you’ve killed them,” Shi Mu stated as he walked over. Then, his eyes hovered over the small altar in front of him.

　　“Thank you, Senior Mu,” Hou Sai Lei felt relieved.

　　Shi Mu looked at the magic characters in the magic formula, and his eyes gradually brightened-up.

　　“Do the disciples of the Dark Moon Cult use this magic formula to offer sacrifice to the Dark Lord?” he turned to look at Hou Sai Lei as he asked.

　　“Yes,” Hou Sai Lei replied with a nod.

　　The string of Hou Sai Lei’s life was in Shi Mu’s hands now. Also, it didn’t seem too difficult to serve Shi Mu considering his temperament. In fact, the feeling of submission had grown even more profound in Hou Sai Lei’s heart. So, he obviously couldn’t imagine concealing anything from Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu nodded in a thoughtful manner, but didn’t say anything.

　　Shi Mu had heard about this matter before. But, he had witnessed it with his own eyes now. Hou Sai Lei had sacrificed barely a dozen or more martial disciples’ corpses. However, his magic power had escalated by a lot. Shi Mu obviously couldn’t help but feel a thumping sensation in his heart at this realization.

　　He-himself was considered a half-disciple of the Dark Moon Cult. So, he could also deploy this magic formula to offer sacrifice, and enhance his strength…

　　This thought had barely bubbled-up in his mind when he dispelled it in its entirety.

　　Slaughtering other creatures including humans to offer sacrifice to the so-called Gods in order to enhance his own strength – this kind of method was very flagitious. Also, Shi Mu disdained to rely on this method.

　　In addition, one could also promote one’s strength by offering sacrifices to the so-called Dark Lord. However, a method that would render instant benefit was bound to come with some hidden dangers.

　　“Senior Mu, that magician was also killed by you, wasn’t he? That man was very powerful. In fact, he was a Star-ranked magician. Moreover, he was far better than his boss. However, he also looked so vulnerable in front of you. Your strength is…” Hou Sai Lei came close to him, and started to flatter him without a trace of shame or fear.

　　Shi Mu glanced at Hou Sai Lei with a dull face; as if he was neither pleased… nor saddened by his flattery.

　　The smile on Hou Sai Lei’s face froze, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw Shi Mu’s dull expression. He thought that he may have said something wrong.

　　“You don’t have to use the same set of flattery on me. You simply keep following me. I assure you that I won’t waste your time as long as you carry out the designated task in a diligent manner. In fact, I’ll even return the Capturing Spirit Bead to you,” Shi Mu stated.

　　“Yes,” Hou Sai Lei’s heart brimmed over with exhilaration as he replied.

　　“Tell me a few more things related to your Dark Moon Cult… such as the blood-red token in your hand. Can it be that each disciple of the Dark Moon Cult has this token?” Shi Mu asked.

　　Shi Mu’s plan was to cross the Xixia Kingdom, and head to the Yellow Sea. But, he knew that he would inevitably come in contact with the Dark Moon Cult during this period. This was one of the reasons he had decided to take Hou Sai Lei along on this journey.

　　Hou Sai Lei lowered his head. He still held that blood-red token in his hand, and it was slightly radiating a blood-red light. Then, he started to explain, “Senior, this thing is called the Dark Moon Order. It’s the identity card of the Dark Moon Cult’s disciples…”

　　Shi Mu heard his words. Then, he turned his hand. And, a blood-red order token appeared in his hand. It was the same token that he had obtained from the black-robed man’s body a while ago.

　　“This thing looks very special. It isn’t an ordinary order token, right? In fact, it seems to be a magic tool. I noticed that you were also using this thing at the time of offering sacrifices,” Shi Mu instilled a wisp of his magic power into the token. And, the token immediately exuded a faint red light as a result.

　　“That’s right. The Dark Moon Order is issued for the purpose of integration with our art. It is said that some kind of living creatures’ bones are used to make it. It’s a very special magic tool which contains the coordinates of the Western Dark Demon Territory. In addition, it must be used at the time of offering sacrifices. Otherwise, one would fail to deliver the sacrificial offerings to the Western Dark Demon Territory,” Hou Sai Lei explained.

　　“Western Dark Demon Territory’s coordinates?” Shi Mu’s eyes flashed.

　　“The Western Dark Demon Territory is enormous in size. The Dark Moon Order in each disciple’s hand contains the coordinates that serve as the connecting point between this world and the Western Dark Demon Territory. For example… the corpses I had just sacrificed would’ve been delivered to the Western Dark Demon Territory by now – the place that’s contained within the coordinates of the Dark Moon Order,” Hou Sai Lei said.

　　“So, that’s how it’s,” Shi Mu nodded in a slow manner.

　　“The Dark Moon Order is also able to restrain the negative impact of the Yin Qi from affecting our bodies,” Hou Sai Lei continued.

　　Shi Mu’s face revealed an awestruck look as he heard these words.

　　“The fact is that the Dark Moon disciples are same as ordinary practitioners. We are also divided into magicians and martial warriors. However, our magician practitioners also practice the Soul Magician cultivation arts apart from the usual five elements of magic art. However, some sinister magic arts are also practiced; they are used to cast curse-spells on others. As for the warriors — the most famous cultivation art among them is called the Zombie Art,” Hou Sai Lei explained further.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flickered as he recalled Liu An’s companion… the same one whose face was painted red. It seemed that he had also displayed the zombie art. After all, he had been able to transform into a zombie. This had not only enhanced his strength by leaps and bounds, but it had also made his skin near-impenetrable. It was indeed an extremely ferocious body tempering cultivation art.

　　“The cult’s disciples deal with the Dead Spirit creatures throughout the day… regardless of whether one practices a magic art or a martial art. So, it was essential to protect our bodies from getting contaminated with Yin Qi. However, wearing this Dark Moon Order can greatly alleviate Yin Qi’s negative effects,” Hou Sai Lei continued.

　　“So, it seems that this thing is extremely important to the Dark Moon Cult’s disciples,” Shi Mu muttered as he fiddled with the blood-red token.

　　“That’s true,” Hou Sai Lei chimed-in.