Li Mu’s time was limited, so he didn’t want to talk too much with Elder Jian. He just wanted to settle the matter directly and quickly.
Elder Jian was slightly surprised at Li Mu’s straightforward manner.
He had lived for so long, but he had never seen a young man as confident as the one standing right in front of him. In his eyes, Li Mu didn’t look like an inexperienced young man in his twenties but was more like an old man who had gone through the vicissitudes in life and remained indifferent whether granted favors or subjected to humiliation.
“How could there be such a person in the mortal world?”
Elder Jian suddenly thought of something that he had never carefully considered before.
“Could Li Mu be the future leader of some big sect in the small world of some famous mountain?”
The thought flashed through Elder Jian’s mind.
He no longer cared too much about it.
The arrow was on the bow and had to be released.
The matter today was beyond his control.
Standing on the high platform, he looked at Li Mu with a smile on his face and said, “I have received some bad news that was related to you from Mount Shong World. I wonder...”
Li Mu said, “Save your breath. I swept across Mount Shong World and wiped out the Mind-clearing Sword Sect. Your people can’t go back to Mount Shong World, right? I sealed it... Do you have any other questions?”
The spectators burst into an uproar.
No one had expected that this young pract.i.tioner from the mortal world would be so straightforward and arrogant.
The young Taoist priest named Indestructible and the little Taoist novice next to him looked at each other as if what Li Mu said was within their expectations.
They had witnessed Li Mu’s ability and temper.
They also knew that Li Mu was a very proud person.
Proud people were often arrogant and straightforward.
Countless pract.i.tioners from various famous mountains, great rivers, seas, and continents on the scene were intrigued. They looked curiously at Li Mu and Elder Jian, waiting to see what would happen next.
“Well,” Elder Jian said in a low, cold voice, “Let me ask you something first. Is there any historic enmity between the Mind-clearing Sword Sect and you?”
“No.” Li Mu shook his head.
“Were there any recent grudges?” Elder Jian asked.
Li Mu shook his head again.
Elder Jian said angrily, “Why did you invade my base, kill my disciples, and wipe out my sect?”
Li Mu said, “I did that to uphold justice and enforce the Great Way on behalf of heaven.”
Elder Jian laughed furiously and said, “Justice? The Divine Way? What an ignorant, arrogant junior you are! Do you know what justice is? What is the Divine Way?”
Li Mu smiled and said, “I knew you would ask such meaningless questions. I don’t mind answering you.” Li Mu pointed to himself and said, “Remember this face and what I said. From now on, what I think is right will be justice, and what my knife defends will be the Divine Way.”
Those words sparked an even greater uproar among the spectators. They were boiling with excitement like hot oil in a pot.
“He’s... really arrogant!” The mouth of the Taoist priest named Indestructible mouth was agape in wonder at Li Mu’s brashness.
The little Taoist novice sat on the steps with a smile on his face, his legs dangling. “After all, he is that man’s successor.”
“It looks like there’s going to be a good show today.” The Taoist priest named Indestructible smiled expectantly.
Li Mu glanced at all the pract.i.tioners on the platform around the square and said seriously to them, “There’ one more thing. What I said just now was a warning not only for him, but also for all of you. I hope that you can put away your sense of superiority and refrain from making trouble in the mortal world again. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not having given you ample advance warning.”
Those words were like adding salt to an open wound.
All the pract.i.tioners suddenly became angry.
This was sheer active provocation.
“Who do you think you are?”
“Can I take what you just said as a challenge?”
“Humph! You’re just a dancing clown and a frog at the bottom of a well.”
“Kill him!”
“The mortal world? You ignorant mortals are like chives that would regrow even if you were cut. Can you uphold justice for the mortal world? Are you joking?”
All kinds of jeers and even surging energy waves spread throughout the swordsmans.h.i.+p contest square.
Many people had an urge to take action and punish this arrogant young man.
In the end, however, no one made a move.
Elder Jian walked to the center of the square.
“Kid, for what you said just now, you and your sect deserve to be wiped out... You are nothing, ” Elder Jian said, “Ask your master to come here so that no one will say that I am bullying a child.”
Elder Jian’s hair was gray, his face was white, and his skin was rather smooth. He must have been tall and strong when he was young, but he was a little haggard now. Time was like a ruthless carving knife. No matter how outstanding a Heavenly Legend was and how physically strong he was, he could not resist the decadence wrought about by this carving knife.
The lifespan for those from the worlds of famous mountains was limited. It was said that the utmost limit of their lifespan was one thousand years. Ancient pract.i.tioners there called this limit a curse.
It was said that Elder Jian was nearly a thousand years old, which meant that he was already on the verge of death. Logically speaking, he was a very old man for a long time already. He managed to maintain his current appearance by relying on his high cultivation level. However, no matter how high his cultivation level was, he still could not withstand the ravages of time.
Li Mu shook his head and said, “Do you want to compete with my master? You still have a long way to go before you’re qualified for that... The Mind-clearing Sword Sect had committed countless crimes in Mount Shong World. As the saying goes, ‘If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked.’ I can imagine that your character is lowly. However, taking your age into consideration, I will take one blow from you first. After that, you’d better pray for yourself.”
Elder Jian roared with laughter.
“Well, I’ll kill you first and then find your master and get even with him. You’re very young, but you’re so arrogant. I wonder just how terrible you will be when you grow up. Your master has failed to discipline you properly, so he can’t absolve himself from the blame. I’m going to send you and your master to h.e.l.l.”
Elder Jian drew his sword.
The sound of the sword suddenly rang out.
Sword Qi erupted from his body as if he were a peerless divine sword himself.
“Go to h.e.l.l!”
He opened his mouth and spat out a wisp of Sword Qi, which was as white as frost and it darted toward Li Mu like a flash of lightning.
Li Mu stood there motionless.
The wisp of white Sword Qi directly hit the area between Li Mu’s eyebrows, but it shattered and dissipated like mist cras.h.i.+ng into a hard wall.
“What?”
Elder Jian was greatly shocked.
The spectators around the swordsmans.h.i.+p contest square burst into an uproar.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that many pract.i.tioners clearly knew that there was no deep hatred between Elder Jian and Li Mu, they would have thought that the two of them were putting on a show.
“He’s become even stronger.”
The young Taoist priest named Indestructible was a little surprised.
“He seems to be growing stronger all the time.”
The little Taoist novice rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“You have made a move. Now, it’s my turn.” Li Mu slowly unsheathed his Samsara Knife.
In the battle he fought with the young Taoist priest named Indestructible that day, he activated the seventh move of the Zhenwu Boxing called “Laughing at Immortal Demons”. After that, he practiced this move to refine his body. In the past few days, he further improved his physical strength. Now, his physical body was like immortal gold and divine iron, and it was very easy for him to take a blow from Elder Jian head-on.
He could tell from Elder Jian’s move that the latter was probably at the high level of the King Realm but hadn’t reached the peak of the King Realm yet.
“The power of the top master in Mount Shong World is nothing more than this.”
Li Mu slashed at Elder Jian with his knife.
His slash was simply unstoppable.
He moved as one with his knife.
Like a gust of wind, he moved by thirty meters and appeared in front of Elder Jian in the blink of an eye.
Elder Jian initially thought that Li Mu’s move was just ordinary and its power was not surprising at all. Just when he was about to sneer at Li Mu, he found that the momentum of the knife suddenly built up, enabling it to break void barriers. Wherever the blade pa.s.sed, everything was cut into two pieces. Unprecedented alertness and fear instantly surged through him and engulfed him.
“d.a.m.n it... Soul Eater! Come out!”
Elder Jian roared angrily.
A red sword shadow appeared within his body.
It was a long sword that seemed to be made of blood and gave off evil vibes. Blood-red ripples spread out and turned into mysterious ancient runes, which formed something like a huge s.h.i.+eld which protected Elder Jian.
Bang!
Li Mu’s knife hit the giant s.h.i.+eld made of strange ancient runes.
The giant s.h.i.+eld suddenly broke into pieces.
The blood-red long sword and Elder Jian’s body were smashed into pieces at the same time.
A blood mist pervaded the air.
“Eh?”
Li Mu withdrew his knife and stood there with a surprised look on his face as he held his knife in his arms.
Although Elder Jian was dead, the energy waves of his life did not disappear, but instead, they gathered wildly like rainstorms and springs in mountains and became even stronger than they were when his physical body was complete. His aura used to be like that of the setting sun, but it was now like that of the noonday sun in the sky.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha...”
Elder Jian’s rapturous laughter rang out in the air.
At the beginning, the voice was like that of an old man, but it soon sounded like that of a strong grown-up man. In the end, it sounded like that of an energetic young man, clear and full of vitality.
The blood mist became like a cauldron of boiling water.
Then, it rapidly shrank.
In the end, it turned into a handsome young man with a tall, burly figure, black hair like a waterfall, sword-shaped eyebrows, star-like eyes, a high nasal bridge, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. He was in high spirits, surrounded by Sword Intent, like the scorching sun at noon. His Qi and blood boiled and surged like waves inside him.
“I didn’t want to regain Source Energy so early.”
He looked very confident.
“Li Mu, you forced me to execute my ultimate skill. As a pract.i.tioner from the mortal world, you should be proud of yourself for having done that. However, this matter will end today. After all, mortals will be mortals. Mortals are like wild sparrows. Even if they flew high in the sky, they would never become phoenixes.”
This handsome young man was Elder Jian in his prime.
He had regained his youthful appearance, his strength had increased exponentially, and his aura was now more than three or four times stronger than before.
At this time, he had reached the peak of the King Realm.
“The methods of an immortal sect are beyond your imagination.”
Elder Jian roared with laughter triumphantly.
“You may be invincible in the mortal world, but in the real cultivation world of immortal sects, you are not even as good as a child. How dare you call yourself an invincible master in my presence? I have seen so many arrogant young people like you who are unaware of the immensity of the heaven and earth. After so many years, they have all died. Today, you will be no exception. I...”
Elder Jian said very confidently.
Swoos.h.!.+
There was a flash of broadsword light.
A line of blood appeared on his neck.
“You talk too much.” Li Mu withdrew his broadsword and said, “The ultimate skill of an immortal sect? In my eyes, it’s no better than child’s play.”
He had seen more so-called immortal sects than the pigs he had killed before he was 14.