Shi Mu was startled. His stature flashed, and shifted to a side.

　　‘Bang!’

　　The place where he stood a moment ago had been struck. A huge pit had blown-up in the ground. Several crumbs of stones fluttered in the air by its impact.

　　Then, the green-colored shadow of a man flashed over Shi Mu’s head, and landed in front of him. Several spider’s-web-like cracks appeared on the ground as the shadow landed. Layers of dust flew in the air at the same time.

　　Shi Mu stopped; his complexion had changed.

　　Zha Gu’s silhouette appeared as the dust settled down.

　　However, Zha Gu’s appearance had changed. Green-colored snake-scales had emerged over his body. And, each of them was as big as a human-palm. Moreover, intermittent bursts of green luminescence could be seen shrouding his entire body. It seemed as if he was clad in a suit of green armor.

　　The green snake-scales were sparkling under the sunlight. They were emitting bursts of dazzling rays of light. It seemed as if they were extremely formidable.

　　Zha Gu had apparently resorted to the beast-transformation mode in order to transform his body. The aura around his body had sharply escalated; so much so that it’s oppressive pressure felt like a mighty tide. Moreover, green rays of light were flowing on the surface of the green whip that he held in his hand. A few magic characters were also curling around its surface – as if a snake was swaying nimbly from side-to-side.

　　Shi Mu’s pupils shrank. He subconsciously clenched the extended black blade in his hand firmly.

　　Zha Gu’s eyes looked as if they were smeared with a cold and gloomy look – like ice. He swept his cold eyes around a few times. Then, his gaze stopped at Shi Mu.

　　“I admit that I underestimated you. Anyways, the warm-up time is over now.”

　　Zha Gu’s lips cracked into a fiendish grin. He then took a few large strides, and walked towards Shi Mu. The long green whip in his hand was emitting an even brighter radiance than before.

　　He hadn’t intended to display his dark-green sea snake form – an Earth-ranked beast transformation – to deal with a Xian Tian warrior of the base level. After all, it required an enormous consumption of spirit power to maintain this state.

　　But, he eventually ended-up relying on the power of the green scales in order to protect his body. He had done this because it wouldn’t be easy to hurt Shi Mu if Yan Luo would try to mount a sneak attack on him once again.

　　Shi Mu’s hand flashed, and gently patted his own body at a lightning-fast speed. A golden light flashed, and his entire body was enveloped in a layer of golden light. After that, his hands extended, and divided the extended black blade into two parts – a blade and a short stick.

　　“Boy, be prepared to die!”

　　Zha Gu thundered loudly. The green whip in his hand started to exude even brighter rays of light. Then, the whip’s body began to swell-up in a crazy manner. It soon became as thick as a bucket. It was then shot out toward Shi Mu.

　　A several-feet-long whip-shadow appeared. It then transformed into a group of fuzzy green clouds with a howling-wind-like sound. It blotted out the sky as it stormed towards Shi Mu in order to trap him inside it.

　　Shi Mu knew that this attack was impossible to evade. However, his face didn’t reveal a petrified look.

　　Instead, his black blade and short stick emanated dazzling rays of light as he infused his magic power into his arms. Then, they transformed into a vast-stretched red blade shadow and a mountain-like green stick shadow.

　　The blade technique that he had displayed was the ‘Thirteen Series of Gale Force Blade Art’, and the stick technique was called ‘The Art of Seven Killer-Sticks’.

　　The overlapping layers of red blade light were surging-up in a violent manner – like the howling wind and billowing clouds. Moreover, the imposing aura of the mountain-like seven layers of the stick shadows seemed even more appalling than before. Both of them seemed to be prepared to receive the group of fuzzy blue clouds.

　　‘Boom!’ a loud sound was heard. Then, the fuzzy blue clouds submerged in the vast blade light and stick shadows.

　　Shi Mu felt that a wisp of irresistible mighty force had rushed towards him. He was alarmed. He quickly held the black blade and the short stick in front of his body in an intersecting position. He was now prepared to receive the strike.

　　‘Bang!’ a series of loud sounds rang out in the air.

　　The blade and the stick were shaken-up by the impact of this collision. They were sent flying from Shi Mu’s hands. Moreover, the tricolor lights – red, black and golden – were gleaming on the surface of Shi Mu’s body. They also trembled in a disorderly manner. Then, they were routed and dispersed almost at the same time.

　　Moreover, most of the scales on his body had shattered into pieces. Blood was gurgling out from all over his body. A few cracking sounds were heard from the bones of his entire body. His feet sank into the ground.

　　Zha Gu was dumbfounded at first. But then, he cracked into an evil grin. His green whip rolled out like a nimble python once again. It wrapped around Shi Mu’s body with a lightning speed. After that, Zha Gu raised his arm, and pulled his whip backwards. The whip rolled backwards while dragging Shi Mu’s body along the way.

　　Then, a ray of red light sparked on his left hand as a dagger appeared in it. He then pointed the tip of the dagger at Shi Mu’s throat.

　　Then, something strange happened…

　　“Go!”

　　A cold light streaked across Shi Mu’s eyes. Then, a green ray of light flashed on his left hand. The ground under Zha Gu’s feet cracked the next moment. After that, dozens of thick green vines broke out from the cracked ground, and wound around Zha Gu’s feet.

　　A red-colored paper charm fled from his right hand at the same time. It transformed into a fire spear with raging flames. The fiery spear dashed towards Zha Gu in a violent manner while blotting out the entire sky.

　　Shi Mu threw out almost all the Fire Spear Magic Charms that he had carried within a fraction of a second.

　　More than twenty middle-level fire-attributes magic charms were fired towards his enemy. All of them had been drawn on animal skins. Even an Earth-ranked powerhouse wouldn’t dare to underestimate them.

　　Zha Gu was alarmed and enraged at the same time. But then, he smiled contemptuously. He didn’t pay attention to the vine canes that had fastened his feet firmly. Suddenly, the knife in his left hand gleamed with a magnificent silver light. Then, it transformed into a dozen or more knife shadows. They then started to strike the twenty fiery spears.

　　The silver and the red lights intertwined with each other, and started to rupture. The explosion set-off multiple hot air-waves. They began to ripple all around. Suddenly, the entire area was engulfed by scorching air-waves – to the extent that it seemed to have completely transformed into a bright-red sea of fire.

　　A ray of black light darted out from the sea of fire. It was a fist-sized black iron ball that had arrived speedily while producing an ear-piercing sound.

　　Zha Gu swayed the knife in his left hand. He wanted to strike this iron ball, and send it flying.

　　A loud metal clanging sound rang out.

　　Zha Gu’s complexion changed as he felt an unfathomable force welling-up through his knife.

　　He didn’t have to worry about this force owing to his strength. But, his left arm was in an injured state as it had been stabbed by Yan Luo. It hadn’t retained its full strength as yet. Zha Gu struck the iron ball, and shook it away. However, an enormous force invaded his body by passing through his knife.

　　He would’ve seized this opportunity, and drawn a few steps backwards if there hadn’t been anything to obstruct him. But, he couldn’t dodge this force as his body was tied-up by the vines. His body received a burst of a severe jolt as a result. Even the whip in his right hand flashed. Then, its binding force was reduced by a great margin.

　　Shi Mu was exhilarated. He took advantage of this opportunity, and pulled back like a fish. Then, he scuttled out of the fetter of the green whip.

　　But, his internal injuries were badly affected, and he fell to the ground. His face contorted in agony. But, he didn’t dare to stay there even for a fleeting moment. He swallowed his pain. He then turned around, and fled away into the distance.

　　He had barely rushed for a short distance when an earth-shaking roar resounded behind him.

　　“Boy, you’re screwed!”

　　Suddenly, the green radiance on Zha Gu’s body grew even brighter than before. Then, the green vines began to explode. Zha Gu sprang forward, and chased after Shi Mu in a crazy manner. He raised the whip in his hand at the same time.

　　Suddenly, a mass of black smoke flashed behind Zha Gu’s body. It was followed by Yan Luo’s silhouette that appeared out of thin air like a ghost.

　　Its entire body was shrouded in a white flame; especially its right arm which was covered in a layer of blazing white flame. Its arm was sparkling amid those blazing flames, and was exuding dazzling rays of light.

　　Then, a ray of white light flashed in the void.

　　Yan Luo’s right hand had curled into a fist, and pounded towards Zha Gu’s back like a bolt of lightning.

　　Zha Gu felt that a terrifying cold and gloomy aura was about to attack him. His heart quivered with fear. He was about to move aside.

　　But, Yan Luo opened its mouth, and a blue soul-flame flew out from inside it. It then transformed into an arrow of light, and submerged into Zha Gu’s head like lightning.

　　Zha Gu’s body turned stiff. The green light shield protecting his body trembled in a violent manner at first. Then, it dissipated.

　　Yan Luo’s right fist transformed into a claw. It flashed and pierced Zha Gu’s heart through his back. Zha Gu’s green scales melted away like snow as it bumped into the white flames that covered Yan Luo’s palm; they simply couldn’t resist the flames.

　　A ‘puff’ sound was heard as Yan Luo’s arm penetrated deeply into his left chest, and grabbed his bright-red heart.

　　Yan Luo’s soul-flames flickered as its palm exerted strength and crushed his heart into pieces.

　　Zha Gu lowered his head, and looked at the bone-hand that had penetrated through his body from behind. Then, he turned his head, and looked towards Yan Luo.

　　Yan Luo pulled its arm back.

　　A spurt of blood gushed out from Zha Gu’s mouth. He then collapsed to the ground. Even the aura around his body had weakened by now.

　　Zha Gu was an Earth-ranked powerhouse. However, there was no possibility of his survival since his heart had been crushed.

　　“Yan Luo!”

　　Shi Mu rushed back as he saw this situation. He gazed at Yan Luo with an unbelievable look on his face.

　　Zha Gu had been conveniently defeated by Yan Luo even though he was an Earth-ranked warrior. This incident was shocking-enough to blow-up Shi Mu’s mind.

　　The white flame dissipated from Yan Luo’s body. But, the soul-flames in its eyes swayed, and became dim. Yan Luo’s body staggered at the same time, and it partly knelt on the ground.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion changed. His stature flashed, and he leapt to Yan Luo’s side.

　　“Shi Mu, be careful!” the frightened voice of the parrot Cai resounded in Shi Mu’s mind.

　　“Let’s die together!”

　　Zha Gu lay on the ground motionless. But then, he looked-up, and revealed a fiendish smile. After that, his chest, back, and neck started to exude green, red and yellow rays of light. Those three lights separated from his body, and took the form of three shadows of beast souls.

　　One of these beast souls was a snake as big as a garret. Its entire body was covered with a layer of green scales. The second one was a twenty-or-thirty-feet-long red-colored fire snake. It had a pair of wings on its back. The third one was the smallest snake among all three. It was barely one-foot-long. It was a yellow-colored snake with no eyes.

　　The three snake shadows flashed as they pounced towards Shi Mu.

　　There was only a distance of ten feet between Shi Mu and Zha Gu. Therefore, the shadows of the three beast souls arrived in front of him in a flash.

　　Suddenly, an invisible suction force was issued by Yan Luo. The smallest yellow snake among the three beast souls trembled. Then, it was pulled back by the strength of the suction force.

　　Yan Luo’s soul-flames flashed as it swallowed the smallest yellow snake’s soul.

　　However, another two beast souls advanced towards Shi Mu in order to submerge into his body.

　　Yan Lou’s soul-flames turned a lot brighter and exuberant after it had swallowed a beast’s soul. Suddenly, its arms flashed like a white shadow, and grabbed the top of Zha Gu’s head.

　　‘Ping!’

　　Zha Gu’s head burst open like a watermelon. Then, a mass of green light flew out from inside it, and fled into the distance. It was Zha Gu’s spirit.

　　The green light seemed to be contaminated with a little blue flame. It was the soul flame that Yan Luo had shot earlier.

　　Yan Luo opened its mouth, and issued a suction force once again. The group of green lights had barely covered a distance of ten feet by this time. Suddenly, it stopped moving, and was forced to fly backwards.

　　The mass of green light was struggling to break the shackles. It continued to take various shapes so as to get rid of the suction force. But, all its efforts went into vain.

　　‘Whoosh!’ the green light submerged into Yan Luo’s mouth along with the blue flame with a whistling sound.

　　After that, indistinct pitiful shrieks began to spread from Yan Luo’s body. However, they were soon silenced.

　　The soul-flames in Yan Luo’s eyes gleamed since it had devoured two spirits in succession. But, Shi Mu’s body looked stiff. In fact, it seemed as if he had fallen into a coma. His body then fell down like a piece of wood.

　　Yan Luo put out its hand in order to hold Shi Mu. It hesitated for a moment. Then, it slowly placed his body on the ground.

　　Cai also swooped down rapidly. It then received its wings, and fell beside Shi Mu as it was ten feet away from the ground.

　　“Shi Tou, what happened to him?”

　　Cai shot a glance at Yan Luo as it said.

　　But, Yan Luo didn’t pay attention to Cai’s words. It looked at Shi Mu, and the soul-flames in its eyes flickered.

　　*** ***

　　Shi Mu felt as if a curtain of darkness had spread before his eyes. He then sank into an endless darkness, and found himself in a world of chaos.

　　Everything was hazy and indistinct around him. The mist was fluttering everywhere in the vicinity.

　　Shi Mu was no longer in a human form now. He had transformed into a group of white lights. A virtual shadow of a black python also stood beside him. It had three heads. It was the shadow of the three-headed ominous python.