Deep into the Inner World

"So you are Mr. Soul's man. Understood, then you can die!"

The woman in the black robe raised her hand. A branch spike the size of a fist flew from her palm, shooting toward Xu Mu's neck at blinding speed.

Looking at the size of the spike, Xu Mu guessed that the corpses from earlier must have died by her hands.

Xu Mu immediately dodged, and the spike flew rapidly past him.

The black-robed woman stood completely still opposite him.

Xu Mu's perception already caught it: after the spike passed him, it swiftly changed direction and continued to attack him.

Just as the spike was about to strike his back, Xu Mu suddenly executed a spatial displacement technique.

He and the woman swapped positions in an instant, leaving her standing exactly where he had been.

The black-robed woman stiffened slightly and immediately raised her hand, catching the spike.

It should be known that those at the Transcendent level could manipulate worldly elements.

For example, they could use Qi to condense moisture from the air, and this water could be drunk directly.

They could use the earth element to build houses. These structures were neither illusions nor temporary formations.

Even after the Qi was withdrawn, the buildings would remain permanently.

Imbuing attacks with elements had an advantage: it enhanced one's destructive power.

But it also had a disadvantage: it could harm the user.

One's own Qi could not harm oneself, but once combined with elemental power, it could.

Of course, for most people, the attacks they unleashed could usually be blocked by their own strength.

"Interesting. This cultivation method is quite powerful too."

The woman across from him was full of surprise. Then, she stomped her foot on the ground.

The earth around Xu Mu began to shake violently. Soon after, countless vines burst from the ground, weaving together to form a birdcage that trapped him completely.

"Hey beautiful, let me out! We're on the same side!"

Xu Mu threw a punch at the cage, but it didn't budge at all.

"With your Grandmaster-level strength, you won't be able to break out in a lifetime. You only have two choices now: give me the cultivation method immediately, or die."

The black-robed woman stood outside the cage, speaking in a calm tone.

"Senior beauty, how could I carry such a precious cultivation method on me? Why don't you let me out, and I'll go home and get it for you."

"I knew you would say that. From now on, every time I count to ten, I will break one of your legs. When both your legs are broken, I will take off your head."

The black-robed woman held up three fingers. "In other words, you only have thirty seconds to consider."

Xu Mu could sense that this woman was as calm as water; she wasn't joking in the slightest.

Boom!

Just then, a violent tremor suddenly echoed from the distance.

The black-robed woman looked in that direction, her body jolted, and she immediately flew over there.

Through his perception, Xu Mu realized she had gone to find Wu Tian.

The power that erupted just now was at least at the Realm-Breaking stage. Clearly, the strength of the old grandpa inside him had recovered quite a bit again.

"As expected of the male protagonist. My current strength is still not enough."

Xu Mu shook his head slightly and looked through the birdcage at the Boundary Fire floating in the air in the distance.

The small flame burning inside the crystal ball distorted the surrounding air.

Swish!

A dark shadow slipped through the gaps of the birdcage. In the next moment, Xu Mu merged with the shadow and easily escaped the cage.

This was the reason he had intentionally attacked the cage earlier.

The goal was to give the opponent the illusion that he was trapped and couldn't leave.

He walked briskly to the Boundary Fire, raising his hand to take it away.

However, at this moment, he hesitated.

The black-robed woman had placed the Boundary Fire here but hadn't gone any deeper herself. This proved one thing: someone else had already gone inside.

She was only responsible for guarding the outside.

After a moment of thought, Xu Mu decided to brave the danger and go inside to see what was happening.

So, following the passage established by the Boundary Fire, he walked to the other side of the Inner Realm.

Then, he grabbed the Boundary Fire and slowly backed toward the Inner Realm.

Until the barrier was restored.

Having learned his lesson from last time, he didn't dare to suddenly put this thing into his storage space while inside the barrier.

The instant disappearance of the Boundary Fire would cause the surrounding spatial pressure to surge abruptly.

Last time, he had been hit so hard by this force that he coughed up blood.

Only after confirming that the surrounding barrier had returned to normal did Xu Mu store the Boundary Fire in his spatial storage.

He looked at Second Elder Zhang Shanhu, who was only five or six meters away, and took a few steps toward him.

The frontal pressure on his body grew stronger and stronger, until he could no longer advance, having encountered an invisible wall of air.

"It looks like I've arrived in the Inner Realm. The people here might be even stronger."

Xu Mu activated his Heaven-tier cultivation method, Formless Entanglement.

It completely sealed off his aura, power, and presence.

Finally, he opened his perception and walked deeper inside.

After walking for about ten minutes, Xu Mu spotted a person flying toward his direction.

The other party was a black-robed figure whose face couldn't be seen, but there was a high probability they belonged to the Abyss Chapel.

"Is it over? Looks like I'm late."

Xu Mu muttered softly.

Based on the other party's flight trajectory, he quietly hid behind the side of a large tree.

From this spot, the person couldn't see him, and coupled with his Heaven-tier technique, the opponent couldn't sense him either.

Sure enough, the black-robed figure flew past Xu Mu's side without paying any attention to him down in the forest.

Xu Mu hesitated for a moment before continuing deeper. Anyway, he had the Boundary Fire, so he wouldn't be trapped here forever.

...

On the other side.

The black-robed figure landed at the previous exit, only to find that the passage had disappeared.

Opposite him was the black-robed woman who had dealt with Xu Mu earlier. Right now, she was gesturing wildly with her hands and feet.

However, the black-robed man on the other side couldn't hear her at all. He took out a black cloth bag from his clothes, which contained another Boundary Fire.

He took it out and placed it against the invisible barrier in front of him.

As time passed, the surrounding air gradually twisted, and the man left the Inner Realm.

"Something happened! My Boundary Fire was stolen."

The black-robed woman spoke in Latin. She turned and pointed to the birdcage not far behind her. "I clearly trapped that man, but somehow he managed to escape without damaging the cage."

"Foolish! Why didn't you eliminate him completely? Do you not know about the Yanhuang transfer arrays?"

The middle-aged man in the black robe spoke in a cold tone.

"I just wanted his cultivation method..."

The black-robed woman sounded displeased. "Uce, we are of the same rank. You have no right to scold me."

"Then just wait for the Silent Prophet to punish you!"

Uce said coldly. "Hurry up and leave! Since that man has escaped, he might have already notified the experts of Kunlun Mountain. When they arrive, neither of us will be able to get away!"

The black-robed woman snorted softly, and an eerie green light emanated from her body.

Zhang Shanhu, who was standing there, also had a faint green light flashing in his lifeless eyes.

Then, he released his Qi and accompanied the two black-robed figures as they left.

Just as the two of them left the Inner Realm and arrived outside the palace, they noticed several people in the distant sky bursting with Qi energy, flying straight toward their direction.

Uce looked up, his tone instantly turning grave. "It's Jiang Zhenqi. Something's happened!"

"Split up!"

After saying this, the black-robed woman parted ways with Uce and flew off in another direction.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a burly man with a full white beard flashed in front of her. Standing at one point nine meters tall, he loomed like a solid wall.