Hold on a little longer, I'm almost at my limit.

Under the bright sun and clear skies, the world seemed peaceful.

Li Mo glanced sideways—Elder Qian had already hidden himself—before raising his gaze to the figure opposite him.

Clad entirely in black robes, Qiao Ziyu stood ominously. Li Mo spoke casually,

"Name your price. How much do you want?"

For someone like Li Mo, anything solvable with money wasn’t worth fretting over.

"Hmph! Who wants your filthy money?" Qiao Ziyu sneered.

"Shouldn’t your next line be something like, ‘If you want to pass, leave your toll’? That’s what bandits usually say."

"......"

Qiao Ziyu froze. That did sound about right.

He wasn’t sure why, but the words had slipped out—maybe the atmosphere had just felt right.

"Heh heh... We are demonic cultivators. What we seek is lives, not wealth..."

"That doesn’t make sense. Demonic sects are always short on money."

Li Mo waved a hand dismissively.

"The Summoning Demonic Sect releases financial reports every month. Last quarter, their net profits dropped by twenty percent, multiple business lines are shrinking, and they even lost one of their founding shareholders..."

"Demonic sects operate... this formally?"

Someone couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief.

"Ah, this gentleman asks a fine question." Li Mo raised a finger. "What you may not know is that the Summoning Demonic Sect was originally the Summoning Divine Sect—the state religion of the Great Shang Dynasty."

"How else could they have lasted thousands of years without strict systems in place?"

"That... makes sense."

The disciples of the Lingxi Sect exchanged murmurs, their confusion giving way to realization.

Now that they thought about it, it was obvious—how could a demonic sect survive so long without its own rules?

"Does it make sense, my foot! We’re the demonic ones here—why are you learning from him?!"

Qiao Ziyu finally snapped.

What the hell was going on?!

"Young Sect Master, our preparations are nearly complete. Delaying risks complications," an elder steward suddenly interjected.

"Right. Almost got sidetracked by this brat."

Qiao Ziyu’s expression sharpened.

"Formation!"

At his command, the Lingxi Sect disciples split into two groups. The majority, those of lower cultivation, moved to the perimeter to prevent outsiders from interfering.

The remaining few, all at the Observation Divine Realm, took precise positions, their auras intertwining and thickening the air around them.

"Hmph. I know you have more than just martial arts up your sleeve—that cloud-riding technique of yours, for one, lets you move at terrifying speeds and even step through the void. That’s why we prepared this especially for you!"

"Do you recognize the infamous Forbidden Mystic Array?!"

"Tsk..."

Li Mo felt the pressure around him and frowned.

With so many people activating the formation, the suppression should have been overwhelming.

So why...

Did he feel nothing? In fact, he was growing more exhilarated.

"Finally scared, aren’t you?"

Qiao Ziyu smirked. "Within this array, none of your tricks will work. I know your inner world holds four divine anomalies—but right now, you can’t even use ten percent of their power!"

"So... I’m limited to just my physical body?"

Li Mo glanced down. His Nimbus Cloud seemed to be dissipating.

No matter—at the Inner Landscape Realm, he could still fly. Falling wasn’t a concern.

"Exactly! I’ll admit, you’re a true prodigy. That’s why we’re pulling out all the stops from the start—not sending marginally stronger underlings for you to slaughter."

Qiao Ziyu’s grin widened manically.

Elder Qian, still hidden, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration.

Li Mo: "..."

You’ve clearly read too many adventure tales.

"I know your physique is formidable too! But... we have three thousand disciples, each lending me a sliver of their power!"

With a roar, Qiao Ziyu’s robes tore apart.

The Deepsea Orca Pearl embedded in his chest—a treasure that amplified strength—glowed an eerie blue. Strands of energy converged, sending his bloodline power skyrocketing.

In an instant, his physical might reached monstrous levels.

"The surge of power... intoxicating. I only meant to trap you here, but if you can’t withstand a single strike, don’t blame me."

Qiao Ziyu bared his teeth.

Li Mo studied the strange ritual with mild curiosity before shaking his head.

"Your strength did increase, but this method... doesn’t seem great for your brain."

"I’LL KILL YOU!"

Right now, Qiao Ziyu felt invincible—strong enough to wrestle calamity beasts barehanded.

So what was that look in Li Mo’s eyes? Pity? Amusement?

The technique already dulled his mind—was Li Mo mocking him on top of that?!

WHOOSH—

He lunged forward, his footfall cracking the air behind him.

Like a rampaging war elephant, he charged.

And then...

There was no "then."

A fist filled his vision, its sheer presence stabbing into his pupils like needles.

In that instant, he saw the heavens pressing down, Li Mo’s indifferent face, his long-departed grandmother waving at him, and his entire life—training, mastering esoteric arts—flashing before his eyes.

Since when did using a forbidden technique come with a life recap?

A second later, darkness swallowed him whole.

Ah. So this was death.

BOOM—

A crimson mist sprayed across the sky.

To the Lingxi Sect disciples maintaining the array, it looked like Li Mo had merely flicked a punch—and their Young Sect Master had vanished from existence.

"Strength means nothing if your body can’t handle it."

Li Mo sighed, then turned to the others.

"!"

The elder steward, an Outer Landscape Realm expert, felt his pupils tremble. He gulped.

What kind of monster was this?!

They’d deployed the Forbidden Mystic Array because Li Mo’s bag of tricks was infamous—they feared he’d escape. As for his physique? How strong could a fourth-realm cultivator really be? With three thousand disciples, even three thousand pigs could—

But reality proved otherwise.

The ones truly trapped here... were them.

"Break the formation! Everyone, attack! Avenge the Young Sect Master!"

The elder steward barked the order.

The Lingxi Sect disciples scrambled to dismantle the array as the elder summoned his Outer Landscape.

"Right! We’re demonic cultivators—who cares about honor?!"

"Charge!"

The disciples’ battle cries rose—

Just as the elder steward, having manifested his Outer Landscape, made his move.

With a sudden burst of speed, he...

Turned tail and fled without a backward glance.

Fighting Li Mo? Victory was uncertain.

But his monthly stipend was a mere few thousand taels. Why risk his life for that?

Lingxi Sect disciples: "?"

Before anyone could react, a figure—more calamity beast than man—plowed into their ranks.