The night was shrouded by darkness. A few clouds bubbled-up in the sky. It seemed like a moonless night.

　　Several tall shadows gathered and advanced in the direction of the mountain region that surrounded the rat’s nest.

　　The shadows stopped several kilometers away from the stronghold. Everyone was silent. And, it seemed that they were waiting for someone or something…

　　Several black clouds came rolling over from a distant place after a while. They were making threatening gestures. They continued to transform into tiger and leopard-like vicious beasts from time-to-time; they looked extremely evil.

　　The dark clouds fell on a hill near the stronghold and dissipated. Then, a beast adorned in a black robe appeared. It was a short barbarian man.

　　The man wore a strange black hat. It looked like a black sheep’s head. His face didn’t look old. But, his arms were quite withered. They seemed like an old tree’s roots. He held a white wand which was seemingly made-up of bones. And, there was a white human-skull on in its head. But, it had two flickering black flames for eyes.

　　Several tall barbarian men stood on the hill. They bowed down in salutation towards the small barbarian man.

　　“Sir, we’re waiting for your command.”

　　“Are you prepared?” the small barbarian man asked. He was their commander. His voice was low and hoarse.

　　“The arrangements have been made. The four exits of the stronghold have been assigned to the clansmen to guard. We’ll surely capture this stronghold today. Not a single human charm magician will be able to run away,” a brown bear-like middle-aged barbarian with two axes stepped forward, and stated in a fierce manner.

　　The barbarian commander nodded. He then looked towards the stronghold.

　　“Lord Commander, according to our information… a star-ranked magician keeps a watch on this stronghold. There’re several brave warriors in our clan… but I’m afraid that we won’t be able to withstand him,” the middle-aged barbarian hesitated for a moment and spoke.

　　“Why are you so worried if you have me? I have personally come here to take care of these so-called human warlocks,” the commander said proudly.

　　“Yes, Lord Commander. We’ll feel extremely relieved if you undertake this task,” the middle-aged barbarian man said hurriedly.

　　The Lord Commander’s white wand emitted a white light as he waved it. An ear-piercing sound was heard.

　　The barbarian men gathered near rat’s nest shouted at the same time. Then, they rushed towards the stronghold with an unquenchable intention to kill.

　　*** ***

　　Inside rat’s nest… in Shi Mu’s stone room…

　　Shi Mu sat cross-legged on his bed. He was practicing the Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants.

　　The visible black energy emerged out of his body as his real Qi revolved within his body. It floated as if a silk ribbon was revolving around his body.

　　Shi Mu had also been practicing the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape. Moreover, he was going to advance to the sixth level of the Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants.

　　Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound was heard from outside. And, Shi Mu’s stone room quivered from its impact.

　　Shi Mu felt cold in his heart. He jumped-off the bed, and grabbed his black blade. He was about to leave the room when a thought crossed his mind. He bent down to take out a case from under his bed. This case contained a thick stack of all kinds of paper charms.

　　He pulled-out those paper charms, and put them in his bosom. Then, he pushed open the stone door, and walk out of the room.

　　The rumbling sound became louder as he advanced forward. Surprisingly, it was coming from different directions.

　　“Has someone attacked the stronghold?”

　　Shi Mu was flabbergasted. He looked around, and chose a direction to move forward. He then rushed in that direction.

　　He continued to run for a short while. Then, he heard a jumble of footsteps in the passage behind him.

　　Shi Mu got scared for a moment. So, he held his black blade tightly in his hand. However, he relaxed as he saw five or six charm magicians rushing towards him. Feng Li was one of them.

　　“Brother Shi, do you know what’s happening?” Several people had been startled since they had seen someone in the passageway. However, they relaxed as they realized that it was Shi Mu. Then, a charm magician who wore the uniform of the Tian Yin Sect asked in haste.

　　“I’m not sure… but it seems that the base has been attacked,” Shi Mu shook his head and said.

　　Suddenly, a burst of yelling sounds, and the sound of magic power collision came from the front. It seemed as if someone had gotten killed.

　　The complexions of all the people changed. They looked at each other, and rushed towards the front of the base.

　　However, Shi Mu slipped a step back. He approached Feng Li to speak with him.

　　The passage turned around towards the front from there. The two charm magicians who had rushed in the front didn’t think much, and took a turn.

　　“Be careful!” Shi Mu shouted as he saw them.

　　But, it was too late.

　　Several black arrows came rushing from the opposite side with an ear-piercing sound. The arrows penetrated through the two charm magicians before they could realize what had happened.

　　The two charm magicians issued mournful cries as they got nailed to the wall behind them. Several shadows formed and started to swing rapidly as the finger-thick arrows fell to the ground.

　　One of the charm magicians stopped breathing in an instant. The other magicians fell down; but he wasn’t dead. He looked towards Shi Mu and others for help. He exerted extreme effort to lift up his arm.

　　‘Whoosh!’ a whistling sound was heard.

　　A black bone spear came flying, and pierced the throat of another charm magician. A circle of cracks appeared around the wall as the spearhead entered half-way into the wall.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion changed. A shadow flashed in front of his eyes. It turned around to bend over the corner of the wall. Shi Mu turned his hand, and took out four or five paper charms. He inclined his head, and listened carefully.

　　Several other charm magicians saw the two men getting nailed to the wall, and stepped back in fear.

　　Shi Mu felt a disturbance in the air beside him as Feng Li came and stood by his side.

　　Shi Mu looked at him. Then, he glanced at the people in the distance. He said in a low voice, “They must be barbarians… you mustn’t be…”

　　“Brother Shi, my hatred towards the barbarians is as deep as the ocean. I would never cause any harm to the humans. Moreover, I’ve handed over my life and family possession to you.” Feng Li looked at Shi Mu. He then whispered with a bitter smile.

　　Shi Mu nodded. He didn’t say anything further. He then turned his head.

　　It had become extremely important to fully understand the situation of the stronghold. Unfortunately, the curved passage in the front was the only channel that connected this place with the other ones. And, the barbarians had already blocked this place. So, it was impossible to get out from there.

　　No one even knew the number of barbarians who were there at the front. And, Shi Mu didn’t wish to make any rash decision despite his strength.

　　Shi Mu was confused. Feng Li’s eyes flickered as he saw this. He spoke in a low voice, “Brother Shi, if I’m not wrong… then there should be four barbarians at the front.”

　　“How do you know that?” Shi Mu was surprised.

　　“You already know that I have a totem on my body. It’s capable of perceiving the strength of other barbarian’s totems. But, this can work only up to a limited distance. The maximum range for this to work is only about fifty feet. But, it can’t perceive the totems who are farther than that,” Feng Li replied in an honest tone.

　　“It’s not a big deal if there are only four Hou Tian totem warriors at the front.” Shi Mu didn’t suspect Feng Li’s words.

　　‘Bang!’ a loud sound was heard.

　　It seemed that there had been a huge explosion on the peak of the stronghold. The underground passage quivered violently. Even the surrounding walls cracked open.

　　Feng Li’s feet became unsteady. He fell to the ground. Several other charm magicians also fell down.

　　Shi Mu’s pupils shrank. He didn’t wait for the vibrations to stop. Instead, he catapulted his body, and passed around the corner in a flash.

　　It turned out that Feng Li was right – there were four barbarians at the front.

　　Two of them were armed with bows and arrows. However, their bodies were shaking with the impact of the explosion. So, they couldn’t take an aim.

　　Shi Mu felt delighted. He raised his hand, and took out several paper charms.

　　Seven or eight white ice-cones emerged in a flash, and started to advance towards the four barbarians.

　　The complexion of the four barbarians changed. They hurried towards a side to dodge the attack. They were successful in dodging a few ice cones.

　　Suddenly, a person’s shadow flashed. Shi Mu had already pounced towards the front. He then moved his arm. A splendid flame was shot from his blade towards the face of a barbarian with a long green bow in hand.

　　The barbarian archer bellowed, and put the long bow on top of his head.

　　The long bow was harder than solid iron because it had been cast by a special kind of green crystal that could only be found in the barbarian race’s wasteland. So, the archer could be rescued by his companions if he could resist this attack.

　　‘Kacha!’ a snapping sound was heard.

　　The long green bow seemed as fragile as tofu under the flames of the blade. And, it was easily cut into several pieces.

　　However, the flame of the blade didn’t stop at the blade. And, the barbarian archer was cut into two halves with a ‘swish’ sound. His blood got scattered in all directions.

　　Shi Mu moved his blade in a passionate manner. A rain of blood could be seen in all directions. Shi Mu then wielded his blade. A blade light flashed, and cut another archer who had just placed an arrow on the string of his bow.

　　A blood light flashed. This barbarian was also cut into two halves. And, a rain of blood swirled in the air once again.

　　The other two barbarians finally regained their composure. They bellowed, and advanced towards Shi Mu with their weapons.

　　The arms and body of both the barbarians had begun to swell-up. This meant that they had actuated their totem power. One of the men held a black and demonic blade, and the other one had a gigantic axe. And, they both had come running towards Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu turned around, and made a horizontal cut with his black blade.

　　‘Ka! Ka!’

　　Shi Mu’s blade struck the hands of both of the barbarians. The black and demonic blade and the gigantic axe got cut into pieces in a flash.

　　A dazzling flash went past the two barbarians. Shi Mu then withdrew his blade. His face was expressionless.

　　There was a frightened look in the eyes of those two barbarians. Several red marks had appeared on their necks. The marks started to expand rapidly. Then, two heads tumbled down to one side, and two headless corpses collapsed on the ground to the other side.

　　Shi Mu had taken a few breaths’ time to kill all four of the barbarians. Then, the ground ceased to tremble.

　　Shi Mu wrinkled his eyebrows as he looked at the passage in front of him.

　　Three corpses of charm magicians lay behind the corpses of the barbarians. These three charm magicians had been killed by the four barbarians when Shi Mu and the others had heard the yelling sounds from the front.

　　The bald man — Qiu Ming — from the Tin Yian Sect was also among the dead. There was a big hole in his chest.

　　Suddenly, Shi Mu heard the sound of approaching footsteps. It was Feng Li, and he was running towards Shi Mu. A trace of surprise flashed on his face as he saw the four barbarian corpses lying on the ground.

　　Feng Li knew that Shi Mu could suppress the barbarians because he was extremely strong. However, he hadn’t expected that Shi Mu could kill four Totem warriors with such ease.

　　“Brother Shi, what are you going to do now?” Feng Li asked cautiously.

　　“The barbarians have invaded this place. This means that they’ve already occupied the entire stronghold. There’re several charm magicians in the stronghold. But, most of them aren’t capable of fighting with the barbarians. We can’t expect anything from these slaves who make charm papers. They’ll have to leave their clans if they wish to live,” Shi Mu said without any hesitation.

　　“This stronghold also has Master Fang Shang. He is a star-ranked warlock. Is he not a worthy opponent for these barbarians?” Feng Li asked after a moment’s hesitation.