Take Off the Demon Guard First and Jump a Few Times

Xu Mu and the others had originally planned to take action, but upon seeing the three new arrivals, they all stopped.

As the light faded, three figures appeared before them.

When Xu Mu saw several people in front of him, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

Beside him, Li Chenshuang and Shanyue were both stunned. The three who had just appeared were none other than themselves.

Before them now stood copies of themselves.

What caught Xu Mu off guard was that even though he himself was currently wearing a face covering, his copy was not. It revealed the same face as his own.

Based on his current understanding of formations, this proved that the formation here was connected to the one outside.

He hadn’t worn a mask outside earlier, so the formation had already copied him in advance.

Since his appearance had been exposed, Xu Mu saw no need to conceal it further.

“Kid, aren’t you good with formations? What the hell is going on?”

Shanyue looked at Xu Mu and asked.

“What? You know formations?”

Li Chenshuang looked at Xu Mu in surprise. No wonder the three of them had managed to get this far.

“I know a little.”

As Xu Mu spoke, he walked toward the fake version of Li Chenshuang.

“What are you doing?”

Li Chenshuang frowned and asked.

“I want to see how detailed this formation is. I’ll tear off this copy’s clothes and check whether the beast hidden inside has red eyes or black eyes.”

Xu Mu raised his hand and said.

“Stop! Why don’t you look at your own copy instead?”

Li Chenshuang’s face flushed with a hint of anger and embarrassment as she quickly moved to block him.

“Sister, you’re being unreasonable here. I’m not disrespecting you. Are you going to meddle with formations too?”

Xu Mu spread his hands helplessly.

“No! If you dare have any such intention again, I’ll castrate you first!”

Li Chenshuang snapped.

“Watch out!”

Xu Mu suddenly pointed behind Li Chenshuang.

“Watch out my ass…”

Before Li Chenshuang could finish, she was struck hard from behind, sending her flying forward.

But because she was facing Xu Mu at the moment, she flew directly toward him.

This time, it was a real ball-to-the-face collision—two massive impacts slammed into Xu Mu, carrying him along.

With a loud crash, Xu Mu collided with the slope behind him.

“I… I can’t breathe.”

Xu Mu raised his hand and muttered.

Li Chenshuang immediately got off him and turned sharply. Only then did she see that her own copy was the one who had attacked her.

At the same time, Shanyue’s copy was also launching an attack on him.

Meanwhile, Xu Mu’s copy was charging toward him.

Li Chenshuang furrowed her delicate brows and turned to Xu Mu. “Since you understand formations, what’s going on here?”

“Maybe it’s because you wouldn’t let me check out her... assets.”

“Get lost!”

Li Chenshuang snarled, and as she did, her copy arrived in front of her.

She quickly dodged into the distance, but the copy kept chasing her, clearly targeting her.

At the same time, Xu Mu’s copy reached him.

Xu Mu immediately tried to use a concealment formation, but his copy didn’t pause at all, continuing its assault.

“Looks like the sensing formation here has changed.”

Xu Mu threw a punch to meet his copy’s fist.

Boom!

Both sides’ qi erupted instantly.

Xu Mu was surprised to find that his copy’s power was even greater than his own.

Currently, Xu Mu was at the late Grandmaster stage, but his copy emitted qi around the perfected Grandmaster level.

He glanced around at the others—whether Li Chenshuang or Shanyue, all their copies were stronger than they were.

In just a few exchanges, Shanyue was beaten until he coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

Li Chenshuang was faring slightly better; she was trading blows evenly with her copy, roughly a fifty-fifty fight so far.

Buzz!

Suddenly, blood-red poisonous insects appeared on Li Chenshuang’s body. Clearly, she was about to get serious.

But at that moment, her copy’s body also turned blood-red.

Hiss, hiss, hiss…

The two sides’ blood-red forces clashed, producing a sound that grated on the ears.

Li Chenshuang raised her hand, and a blood-red butterfly flew from her palm.

Swish!

The butterfly cut through the air, turning into a streak of light as it shot toward her copy.

But her copy dodged and then unleashed the same move.

The two butterflies collided.

Boom!

The blood-colored force expanded dozens of meters in all directions, whipping up a fierce wind.

Whoosh!

As Xu Mu was momentarily distracted, his copy suddenly flanked him.

One hand reached toward his side.

Without even looking, Xu Mu casually grabbed the copy’s wrist.

Connecting this to his earlier thoughts, he seemed to guess the intent behind the formation.

Looking at his copy, he smirked. “This test is about combat technique—basically, the ability to fight above one’s level.”

The copy’s realm was higher than the original’s, and it could also replicate abilities.

So what it tested was combat skill and experience, wasn’t it?

His copy tried to break free, but found it couldn’t escape Xu Mu’s grip.

“In other words, you’re just a bit stronger in qi. Beating you is like playing a game to me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Mu dropped to the ground, pulling his copy with him.

With a few simple moves, he locked it into a juji gatame (armbar).

Crack!

One of the copy’s arms bent backward at an unnatural angle, rendered useless.

Xu Mu rose smoothly, moved behind the copy, and applied a rear naked choke.

The copy craned its neck, struggling violently.

Snap!

Its neck was broken too.

As the copy fell, its body dissolved back into the formation, then vanished.

In the spot where it had been, a wisp of black mist appeared.

Xu Mu reached out to touch it, then walked into the mist.

In the distance, Li Chenshuang, still locked in combat, noticed this and immediately rushed toward him.

But when she reached the spot, even though the black mist hadn’t dissipated yet, she found herself unable to enter.

It seemed only one person could enter, or perhaps it was only accessible to the one who defeated their opponent.

“That little brat…”

Li Chenshuang paused mid-sentence, glancing at Shanyue in the distance. In no time, he had been thoroughly beaten by his copy—his body was badly wounded, drenched in blood.

As Li Chenshuang hesitated, her copy attacked again.

Suddenly, her red-pupiled eyes lit up as she quickly rushed toward Shanyue’s copy instead.

Since only one person could leave and Shanyue was clearly done for anyway, his copy was manageable.

She wondered if she could use Shanyue’s copy to escape. If not… she would just kill Shanyue.

Xu Mu emerged from the black mist to find himself at the gate of a city.

If that previous trial was about fighting above one’s level, then Fu Jinyu, Chen Xuan, and Ye Chen should have had no trouble.

At the city gate, two guards wielding demonic protections stood on either side.

“You’re not from our Nine Li tribe?”

One guard spotted Xu Mu and immediately flew over.

Seeing that, Xu Mu quickly activated his own demonic protection. “We’re on the same side.”

“Inside the city is our lord. If you don’t want to die, turn back,” the guard said, ceasing his attack after seeing the move.

Xu Mu glanced back. Behind him, a black mist was forming.

But he had come this far; there was no turning back now. “I’m going in to find the treasure.”

“Then go ahead.”

The guards did not stop him.

Xu Mu walked straight through the city gate. Not long after he entered, his senses detected that Li Chenshuang had also come in.

He frowned slightly. Given the situation earlier, there was no way she could have arrived this quickly.

Li Chenshuang said nothing more. She also activated the Demonic Guardian and stepped into the city.

As soon as she entered, she saw Xu Mu ahead—or, more precisely, the Demonic Guardian he had conjured.

She gazed at the vast, blood-red markings and immediately bowed her head with respect. “Senior, could you tell me which way I should go?”

“First, take off the Demonic Guardian and jump a few times.”

Xu Mu replied in the voice of a middle-aged man.