Several black scars appeared on the snake’s tail. In addition, it scales were shattered into pieces at many places.

　　However, the burning pain seemed to have further stimulated the ominous character of the snake. It issued a hissing sound as its body rolled around the trunk of the tree a number of times. It could launch a counter-attack on Shi Mu at any moment.

　　Suddenly, a green beam of light flashed on the ground near the huge tree. Then, several thick vine canes drilled out of the earth – like lightning – and shot towards the snake. They tightly coiled around the snake’s body, and bundled it on the spot.

　　The snake’s eyes revealed the trace of a frightened expression – like a human. It started to struggle to break free. Several vine canes were snapped-off because of the huge effort it put into its struggle. In fact, it seemed that the remaining vine canes wouldn’t hold the snake much longer.

　　“Brother Shi, do it now!”

　　A crisp and tender voice was heard from the nearby woods. It was Ke’s voice.

　　Shi Mu sprang-up, and arrived in front of the black snake in a flash. Then, he wielded his sword. Suddenly, his burning blade became hazy, and transformed into thirteen red blade-shadows.

　　‘Swish!’

　　Shi Mu issued a low shout as the thirteen red blade-shadows gathered together and transformed into one incomparably thick streak of red light. Then, it started to hack the vital part of the snake’s body – like a lightning bolt.

　　Kacha!

　　The huge tree was chopped down into two halves from the middle. It was the same tree that the black snake had wound itself around. Then, the tree fell to the ground. There was a black burn-mark on the place from where it was sliced-off.

　　The body of the snake was also chopped into two pieces. It also tumbled down onto the ground. Each half of its body twisted and wriggled on the ground in a crazy manner. It continued to shudder vehemently for some time. Then, it became motionless.

　　Shi Mu exhaled a long breath. This snake’s body was unreasonably tenacious. Moreover, it was incredibly fast. Fortunately, Shi Mu had imbued the black blade with a fire-attribute magic formula to restrain such powerful enemies. In addition, Ke had showed-up at the right time to support him. Otherwise, he would’ve had to make arduous efforts to defeat this snake.

　　‘Snap!’ A soft sound was heard. Suddenly, the fire-attribute spirit stone embedded on Shi Mu’s blade broke into pieces.

　　Shi Mu wrinkled his eyebrows, and let out a gentle sigh.

　　He had forcefully increased the might of his last strike. It seemed that the energy of the spirit stone had got exhausted due to this.

　　Shi Mu didn’t have a fire-attribute spirit stone at this moment to replenish his blade. But, he had defeated a fierce enemy.

　　He slipped the black blade into its sheath. Then, he looked towards the dense forest nearby.

　　Two slender figures walked out of the forest. They were Ke Er and the inscrutable girl of the Tian Yin Sect.

　　“Sister Ke, many thanks to you for your precious assistance,” Shi Mu clasped his hands across his chest and said. Then, he greeted the girl of Tian Yin Sect with a brief nod.

　　“Brother Shi, I knew that you’ll return safe and sound. Well, what about the army provisions stored in their stronghold?” Ke’s complexion looked pale. But, she spoke with an expression of delight.

　　“Don’t ask if we burnt the army provisions or not. We could’ve never thought that there would be a Xian Tian level barbarian warrior guarding that place. We had no time to think about our mission. We were in a hurry to run away as fast as possible,” Shi Mu forced a smile and said.

　　“A Xian Tian warrior!” Ke and the other girl’s complexion changed.

　　“Perhaps… we had received incorrect information from the union. This black snake was that Xian Tian warrior’s pet,” Shi Mu sighed softly and said.

　　“What happened to the other people? Are they already…?” Ke was startled.

　　“We ran away in separate directions when we noticed that the person was a little distracted. I don’t know if anyone else was able escape. But, I’m afraid that there is little chance of their survival,” Shi Mu shook his head and replied.

　　Ke’s complexion darkened as she heard these words.

　　“We must immediately leave if this black snake was the pet-beast of that barbarian…” the other girl said hastily.

　　“Sister Qi, is there any danger?” Ke was taken aback.

　　Shi Mu was also startled by her words. He looked at the girl.

　　“I’ve heard from my mentor about the wicked methods the barbarians use to raise their pet-beasts. There’s supposed to be a connection between the beast and their owners. So, if the pet-beast dies… its owner knows about it… even if he’s hundreds of kilometers away. So, I presume that he may arrive here at any moment,” the girl explained in a sinking voice.

　　“Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s leave right now!” Ke’s face turned pale.

　　The girl surnamed Qi naturally didn’t have any objections to this. The three people were about to leave the place when an intense murderous aura burst from the forest towards them.

　　Shi Mu turned around extremely fast – like lightning. ‘Shua!’ He drew out his blade, and put it in front of his chest.

　　Ke and the other girl also prepared to face the critical situation. Ke raised her magic wand, and the other girl drew out a thin sword.

　　A silhouette flashed, and a black figure appeared in front of the three disciples. The black-robed man held a blue thing in his hand. It was as big as a person’s head.

　　Shi Mu’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at that thing.

　　The thing he held in his hand was Bai Yu Xiu’s head. His head had been frozen by blue ice-crystals. But, his face had retained the terrified and reluctant look that he must have had before his death. His eyes were still wide open, but they appeared expressionless.

　　The complexion of the two girls turned ghastly pale as they saw the head.

　　The black-robed man looked at the ground, and saw that his pet snake had been cut into two pieces. His complexion changed. A trace of agony appeared on his face as he noticed that it wasn’t moving. His fingers exerted a huge pressure on the head that he held in his hand.

　　‘Ping!’ A loud sound was heard.

　　Bai Yu Xiu’s head and the blue ice-crystals crumbled into pieces and got scattered on the ground.

　　“Well… I don’t think that I could be wrong here. It seems that you’re the one who has killed my pet. Now… you’ll be buried with it,” the man looked at Shi Mu and said in a cold voice.

　　Shi Mu felt as if he was being looked at by a venomous snake. This feeling sent a shiver down his spine. So, he started to practice the Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants to its maximum limit in order to stabilize his mind. This worked and eased his discomfort to an extent. Then, he spoke to the two girls in a low voice, “Hurry up… and run away separately — in two different directions.”

　　Ke hesitated. But, the girl surnamed Qi grabbed her arm, and rushed towards the area that lay behind them.

　　“Don’t dream on… Are you people still thinking of escaping at this critical moment? You people… do me a favor and pay tribute to my pet with your life.” The man laughed grimly. Then, a layer of dark-blue light appeared on his body. He waved his palm, and a huge amount of Xian Tian level Real Qi condensed around it. It formed a ten-feet-long blue palm in a flash. The black-robed man pounded it towards the three of them.

　　Suddenly, the air around the three of them became extremely viscous. A mountain-like formidable force gushed towards them from all sides, and wrapped them inside it.

　　Shi Mu felt his whole body’s Qi and blood surging-up violently. It seemed as if they were about to flow back towards his heart. He felt that the strength of his Qi wasn’t enough to withstand this terrific force. His body felt like a quivering paper under the effect of this strong force.

　　Shi Mu was thunderstruck by this sudden attack. He desperately stimulated the Real Qi within his body to the highest point. His body expanded as his magic power and Real Qi surged-up violently. Then, he infused his magic power into his black blade.

　　‘Bang!’ A raging flame emerged on the surface of his black blade with an explosive sound; it was nearly one foot high.

　　Shi Mu opened his eyes wide, and shouted with all his might. He flicked his blade at the same time. A bright blazing flame darted-out to welcome the approaching gigantic palm in the air.

　　A loud rumble was heard.

　　Shi Mu spouted out a mouthful of blood as the raging flame on the black blade dissipated. His body was sent flying upside-down several feet away. However, Shi Mu quickly recovered his balance by taking advantage of the countervailing force.

　　Shi Mu had managed to survive the powerful strike. But, Ke and the girl surnamed Qi weren’t that lucky. They couldn’t protect themselves, and were severely struck by the blue gigantic palm. They flew and crashed on the ground dozens of feet away, and lost their consciousness. It was hard to figure whether they were alive or not.

　　The corners of Shi Mu’s eyes twitched in pain as he saw this. But, his body didn’t budge.

　　“You’ve got some talent there. You were able to withstand my strike… it is very admirable.”

　　The black-robed man was amazed. He then sneered, and fired his second attack.

　　Shi Mu gritted his teeth as a fierce look flashed across his eyes. Suddenly, he touched his back, and threw something in the air.

　　A silver light shot-up into the air, and rushed towards the blue palm.

　　Shi Mu turned around and rolled into the nearby woods.

　　The man wrinkled his eyebrows in anger as he saw Shi Mu’s movement. The silver light Shi Mu had just shot collided with his blue palm head-on.

　　‘Bang!’ an explosive sound was heard.

　　The silver light turned into a group of dazzling rays of purple light. Then, it exploded like a small burning sun. A hot wave of scorching flames surged-out, and engulfed the blue palm-light.

　　The huge force that heat wave carried proliferated in the surrounding area. This compelled the black-robed man to go a step backwards.

　　The man found one of his arms slightly burnt.

　　The might of the silver light’s explosion could be compared with a powerful strike of a Xian Tian warrior.

　　The black-robed man was shocked and angry at the same time. He shouted, “You’re courting death.” He then took out a pair of blue gloves with a flash of red light, and exploded his fist forward.

　　He shot his fist-shadow towards Shi Mu in such a forceful manner that it seemed like a solid fist. It was so quick that Shi Mu hardly had time to defend himself.

　　Shi Mu’s countenance changed. It was too late for him to respond. But, he still managed to put his black blade in front of his chest to block the attack.

　　The blue fist-shadow plummeted down on his body heavily. Shi Mu felt as if his body was struck by a thunderbolt. He was sent flying upside-down like a worn-out sack. He finally fell on the ground after bumping against several big trees.

　　He spouted out a mouthful of blood again. He realized that several of his bones had been crushed. He might’ve been dead by now if he wasn’t physically strong.

　　However, the muscles and bone of his entire body seemed to be shattered into pieces. He hadn’t died, but he could hardly move.

　　A person’s silhouette flashed, and the black-robed man appeared before him. A vicious look flashed across his eyes as he raised his fist once again.

　　Shi Mu smiled bitterly, and closed his eyes.

　　Suddenly, an ear-piercing sound resounded in all directions.

　　The black-robed man felt that something was flashing above his head. Suddenly, an ice-crystal flower appeared above the man’s head. It started to revolve around his head rapidly.

　　The man was shocked. He hit his foot on the ground, and his body swept several feet away – like a startled big bird.

　　“Who’s hiding there?”

　　The man looked around, and shouted in a stern voice.

　　However, he didn’t get any reply. The white light continued to glisten in the air. Then, a blossoming ice crystal emerged again, and darted towards the black-cloaked men like an arrow.

　　The man’s complexion dignified. His body started to exude a layer of blue light; it was even brighter than before. He then shook his arm, and a group of dark-blue palm-shadows fled and collided with the ice crystal.

　　‘Bang!’ a loud sound was heard.

　　Two groups of light balls bumped into each other with a loud rumble. Suddenly, an icy-cold wind erupted in the air, and shrouded the surrounding trees with a layer of frost.

　　The man gave a muffled snort. He seemed to be at a disadvantage. He reluctantly drew a step backwards.

　　Shi Mu’s body shivered as he saw the ice crystals in the air. A strong emotion bubbled-up in his heart like a tidal wave. He suppressed the excruciating pain in his body, and struggled to raise his head.

　　A young girl slowly walked out of the forest with a thunderous sound. She was barefoot, and was clad in a white dress. These features contributed to her exquisite beauty, and made her look like a fairy. Her beautiful eyes glanced around. She held a short jade ruler in her slender white hand. A faint trace of white mist floated around her body.

　　Shi Mu’s facial expression froze. He glued his eyes on the white-clad girl. He just couldn’t look away from her.