The bone-python occupied most of the space in the living room as soon as it appeared.

　　Then, it bellowed loudly while swinging its tail in the air. Its sturdy bone tail looked like an extremely heavy steel-whip. It swept toward Shi Mu while carrying a force so overwhelming that it seemed as if it could even move a mountain.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion changed, but he wasn’t scared of the imminent danger. A green light flashed on the short stick that he held in his other hand. Then, the stick transformed into overlapping layers of stick-shadows like a mountain, and pounded the bone python’s tail.

　　A loud sound resounded!

　　The overlapping layers of stick-shadow dissipated. And, Shi Mu shot backwards and landed on the ground. Then, he drew two steps back in order to stabilize his body. His complexion had turned slightly pale. But, he hadn’t received any injuries.

　　The massive body of the bone-python had also withdrawn a step. But, it suddenly issued a loud roar since a section of its tail had broken and fallen down onto the ground.

　　The python was enraged. It wanted to pounce toward Shi Mu once again.

　　But, a streak of black light flew out from inside at this moment. It then submerged into the python’s body, and made it stop on the spot.

　　It couldn’t be said when a black-dressed woman had appeared from the place where the black light had been shot from. She was tall and her face was covered with the layer of a veil. She also held a dark grey-colored bone-wand in her hand. Also, a black light was lingering on the stick’s head.

　　The veiled woman’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Shi Mu.

　　“Who are you? Where is Liu An? Ask him to come out!” Shi Mu flicked his hands, and held the blade and the short stick in front of his body in a horizontal position. He then shouted to clear the way.

　　The masked woman was emitting undulating waves of magic power that seemed incomparably intense… especially the ones close to her body.

　　“Star-ranked Magician!” Shi Mu was startled, but he didn’t reveal it on his face.

　　“Not bad. You were able to injure my bone-python. But, you still seem to have concealed much of strength. Come on… display it now,” a layer of silver light emerged in the masked woman’s eyes as she opened her mouth to speak.

　　Her words had barely faded when she waved her bone-wand.

　　A vast-stretched black light-beam emerged on the bone python’s body as a result. The python issued an unwilling roar. Then, its massive body slowly integrated into the void and disappeared from the sight.

　　A black light-beam also flashed in front of Shi Mu as this happened. And, five human skeletons began to emerge from the ground.

　　Two of these skeletons were similar to the armored skeleton that had been chopped down by Shi Mu a moment ago. One of these two armored skeletons held a huge sword in its hand, and the other held a wide-brimmed blade.

　　However, the aura around the other three skeletons seemed slightly weaker. A green-colored soul flame could be seen in their eyes. Also, they held a bone-bow in their hands.

　　“You step away, and leave the rest to me,” the masked woman said to the nearby man who had a red-painted face.

　　The red-faced man complied with her words, and waved his bone-wand. A layer of black light spurted out on the two sections of the skeleton’s body that lay on the ground, and both sections disappeared without a trace.

　　After that, the man shot a glaring look at Shi Mu in a resentful manner. Then, he turned around and returned to the inner room.

　　However, Shi Mu didn’t pay any attention to him since his eyes were fixated on the five skeletons and the masked woman who stood in front of him.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flashed. He issued a loud shout, and the layer of red light turned even brighter on his body. After that, a burst of blazing flame and a green light spurted on the surface of his black blade and short stick respectively.

　　The soul flame in those five skeleton’s eyes flickered, and they raised their respective weapons.

　　However, Shi Mu suddenly whirled around like a lightning, and swooped toward the entrance door that was positioned behind him.

　　A half-moon-shaped blade light flashed out, and hacked at the door.

　　The black light screen – that was cast on the door – flashed in a violent manner in response. But, it was so tenacious that it easily resisted the blade light.

　　Shi Mu was alarmed. He wanted to continue bombarding his black blade on the light screen. But, three shrill whistling sounds were passed-on from behind him.

　　His complexion changed, and he shifted to the side in a horizontal manner to dodge the attack.

　　Tut Tut Tut!

　　Three black light beams nailed to the ground back-to-back. Then, the black light dispersed and exposed three arm-thick bone-arrows. Also, the arrows’ tails were trembling endlessly.

　　However, Shi Mu didn’t even get enough time to heave a sigh of relief since a big black sword and a huge chopper hacked toward him in an intersecting manner the next moment.

　　Shi Mu shouted aloud, and the black blade and the short stick in his hand exuded bright rays of light. Then, he brandished them to block the attack.

　　Two loud sounds rang out!

　　Shi Mu’s body received a severe jolt, and he was forced two steps back by its impact. But, he stabilized his body and stood firm. Even those two armored skeletons were forced one step back by this impact.

　　Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!

　　Those three bone-arrows – that seemed to have formed the shape of a character – again flew to shoot without taking the slightest pause.

　　Shi Mu’s brows creased. He hit his foot on the ground, and evaded the three bone-arrows.

　　Meanwhile, Shi Mu waved his hand and took out a green magic charm while being in the air. He then pinched it between his fingers and crushed it into pieces. A layer of green radiance bubbled-up on the surface of his body. And, his body became a lot faster the next moment.

　　Chi Chi!

　　Two white Qi-chains fled from his hands, and bundled the two armored skeletons on the spot.

　　The Qi-chains could only fetter these Xian Tian middle-stage armored skeletons for a couple of seconds. But, this little time was still enough for Shi Mu to make his move since he had the support of the Body-Lifting Magic Charm at this time.

　　The elegant eyebrows of the masked woman wrinkled. She mumbled something, and the bone-wand in her hand emanated a grey light. Then, a few partly-visible magic characters emerged amid the grey light.

　　She waved her wand, and grey rays of light brightened up.

　　Shi Mu had been fighting with these five skeletons for some time. But, a part of his mind still focused on the masked woman’s movement. So, his complexion changed when he saw the light screen.

　　The grey rays of light brightened. Then, it dimmed and gradually faded away without a trace… as if nothing happened.

　　Shi Mu was dumbfounded at first. Suddenly, the grey rays of light emerged in the void around him, and enveloped his body.

　　He felt that his body had become as heavy as an iron slab. His four limbs had become powerless, and his mind had seemingly been put under a spell of dizziness. His body also slowed down as a result.

　　The two armored skeletons issued a low roar out of excitement. Then, they caught up with Shi Mu in a flash, and wielded their sword and chopper towards him.

　　Shi Mu was profoundly shocked by this. However, he stimulated his magic power at this critical juncture. A beam of white light flew out from his hand, and condensed into a shell-like pale-white protective shield in front of his body.

　　Two loud sounds were heard as Shi Mu was struck to fly in the air. He then fell to the ground and rolled for a while.

　　However, the feeling of numbness and dizziness had begun to subside little by little.

　　Shi Mu crawled up to his feet. He hadn’t sustained any injuries owing to the Qi-Spirit Shield and his Real Qi that had been protecting his body.

　　“Alright, stop it now,” a voice resounded. Liu An walked out from the inner room. There was a dull look on his face.

　　“Yes, Big brother,” the masked woman complied and waved her bone wand. Those five skeletons submerged into the void, and disappeared the next moment.

　　Four more silhouettes also walked out behind Liu An in quick succession. There was a short and stout man in addition to that red-faced lofty man. A silver-haired young man and a red-dressed beautiful maiden were also present.

　　“Brother Shi Mu, I’m very sorry. My female friend is very stubborn and disobedient. She was fixated on testing your strength. Still, I would request you to not get offended,” Liu An crossed his hands on his chest and bowed.

　　Shi Mu’s brows tightly creased as he swept his gaze over the surrounding people one by one.

　　“Your Excellency, may I know why you deceived me to bring here? What’s your true intention?” Shi Mu remained silent for a moment. Then, he opened his mouth and spoke-up.

　　“Cult member Shi Mu, don’t misunderstand me. We don’t hold any grudge or evil intentions against you. It’s just that we became a little curious when we heard Big Brother talk about you. So, we made him lead you over here,” the masked woman crossed her hands before her body and explained in an apologetic manner.

　　“Cult member…? Are you guys misunderstanding something?” Shi Mu hesitated for a moment. Then, he said.

　　“Cult member Shi Mu, why do you say that…? Oh, that’s right… It’s been a while since we’ve met. But, I never asked which Branch of our Dark Moon Holy Cult you belong to…?” Liu An asked.

　　“Dark Moon Cult…? Never heard of it. I’m genuinely not a disciple of that Cult you just mentioned.” Shi Mu was surprised, but he retained his composure on the surface.

　　The masked woman and the other people shifted their gaze towards Liu An as they heard his reply.

　　“I had obviously seen you summoning a dark thing from the Cult’s Dead Spirit World that day in the wilderness. Also, the strength of that thing wasn’t weak. You couldn’t have developed it overnight by yourself,” Liu An replied.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flashed, and it seemed as if he had vaguely understood what Liu An wanted to say.

　　Shi Mu didn’t open his mouth for a long time. So, Liu An flipped his hand, and a square-shaped blood-red token appeared in his hand with a flash of red light.

　　After that, Liu An read an incantation, and the square-shaped token exuded a burst of red luminescence. Then, the light began to spin in his hand.

　　Shi Mu was shocked. An oddly pattern was drawn on one of the sides of the blood-red token that Liu An held in his hand. In fact, it seemed as if it was a human-shaped monster. And, the token’s other side had a few small characters that were as tiny as a fly.

　　An electric current flashed across Shi Mu’s mind as he recalled that he had already seen this order token on Young Master Ju’s corpse. Moreover, the pattern drawn on that token was exactly the same as that of Liu An’s.

　　The token in Liu An’s hand suddenly emitted even brighter red light, and a red radiance emerged on the body of Liu An and his five friends. Then, the red radiance dissipated the next moment.

　　Liu An looked at Shi Mu in stupefaction since Shi Mu’s body hadn’t shown any change from the beginning to the end.

　　“Your body didn’t respond to my Cult’s token. It seems that you are indeed not a follower of my Cult. Then, how did you learn about the dark matter of the Dead Spirit?” Liu An’s complexion turned cold, and he began to emit a burst of cold waves. In fact, it seemed as if the cold waves were proliferating in all directions.

　　Shi Mu’s body started to tremble. He felt as if he was standing naked in a world of snow and ice. Even the body-protecting Real Qi seemed like a paper paste since it couldn’t resist these cold waves.

　　Even Shi Mu’s heart shivered with cold. Hence, he began to operate Real Qi within his body.

　　“I’m a native of the Da Qi Kingdom. It is located in the eastern peninsula of the continent. There was an elder master in my sect. He imparted me some soul magician’s spells to summon the creatures from the Dead Spirit World. But, he never mentioned anything related to Dark Moon Cult,” Shi Mu considered this matter for a moment. Then, he opened his mouth and explained.

　　“Eastern Peninsula…? I have heard about this place. It seems to be a remote area in the Eastern continent,” Liu An’s eyebrows wrinkled upward as he spoke-up in a somewhat uncertain manner. He then shifted his vision and looked at the black-robed masked woman.

　　“The eastern peninsula that Shi Mu just mentioned is very far from here. It’s also separated by a vast-stretched barbarian Wasteland from the middle. The people who live there are divided into Da Qi Country, Yan Country, and Huang Country. There are seven big sects across these three nations – Tian Yin Sect, Wonderful Sound Sect, Black Turtle Sect, Black Demon Sect, Wind and Fire Sect, Yin Fu Palace, and Heavenly Sword Sect. They possess ordinary strength,” the masked woman elaborated a manner that made it seem as if she was quite familiar with these things.

　　Shi Mu felt surprised. He looked towards the masked woman with amazement.

　　This woman clearly knew the peninsula region even though it was located in a remote area.

　　“The Holy Cult had also once dispatched the cult’s envoy to do some missionary work over there. But, they couldn’t yield great success. The most recent missionary work was carried out one-hundred-and-twenty-three years ago,” the masked woman gestured between her eyebrows as she said.

　　Liu An groaned as he looked Shi Mu up-and-down once. Then, a light flashed on his body and the cold waves were suppressed.

　　“Brother Shi Mu, it seems like you weren’t lying after all. You should have mistakenly bumped into the secret art of our Holy Cult. In fact, you can be considered a half-follower of our Holy Cult now,” Liu An spoke-up with a gentle smile.

　　Shi Mu retained his silence. He didn’t insert his words.

　　“Brother Shi, you genuinely possess formidable strength. In addition, you practice both martial and magic arts. You are a very talented person. My Dark Moon Holy Cult would earnestly crave for you. Besides, you already practice the secret art of my Holy Cult. What do you think? Wouldn’t it be good to join our Holy Cult?” Liu An suggested.