CHAPTER 94: CHAPTER 94 ESCAPE, ENCOUNTER_1

Mountain River Realm, Southern Zone.

Lu Ming, accompanied by a group of Riverside Sect disciples, was resting by a lake. The disciples were not only from Stars Peak but also from Rising Sun and Bright Moon Peaks, all gathered together. This was unlike Shen Mo, who calmly searched for treasures.

Since entering the Mountain River Realm, most other teams of Riverside Sect disciples had encountered brutal ambushes and lootings. Therefore, many teams with insufficient strength were directly eliminated. The remaining teams began to slowly gather and move in groups. Yesterday, after the disciples from Rising Sun and Bright Moon Peaks encountered Lu Ming and the other Stars Peak disciples, they decided to act together instead of splitting up.

After the trials of the past few days, each of the three peaks had lost some disciples. Currently, including Lu Ming, only fifteen Riverside Sect disciples remained in the Mountain River Realm.

"There aren’t enough of us, even if we add Xiao Ling’er’s Profound Moon School team, to break the Prohibition over the Spirit Talisman Master’s mausoleum," Lu Ming muttered to himself. "We need more hands. Despite years of wear and tear, the Prohibition over the Spirit Talisman Master’s mausoleum has thinned. However, it’s not something we can break so easily."

"Where can we find more people?" Yang Qingshan, standing nearby, grimaced. "The only team qualified to join us is the Ghost Corpse School team led by Xun Tian, but they didn’t leave any communication talismans with us."

"The Mountain River Realm is so vast. Without any way to communicate, looking for people is like finding a needle in a haystack. We might not even find them by the time the deadline arrives."

Lu Ming shook his head. "We don’t necessarily have to find them. The pressing issue is to break this Prohibition; at this time, the more people, the better. Even ordinary disciples can be recruited. Once we enter the inner part of the tomb, there will be trials to weed out those with insufficient strength. We don’t need to worry about them taking a share of the rewards."

As he spoke, he suddenly became curious, "I wonder how Junior Brother Shen is. He’s been out of sight since we entered the Mountain River Realm."

"Senior Brother Lu, something seems to be up ahead!" Suddenly, a disciple who had been scouting returned with a report.

"What’s going on?"

"It seems like someone’s fleeing, with many people chasing them. Judging by their auras, they appear to be from the Ghost Corpse School."

"That team has many members. The only Ghost Corpse School contingent capable of assembling such a large group must be Xun Tian’s."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming was invigorated. "Xun Tian’s team? They’re nearby?" With so many of them mobilized, who could they be chasing? he wondered. As he was mulling this over, streaks of flying light appeared in the sky. Shen Mo, along with his pursuers, had arrived in the area where the Riverside Sect team was resting.

Lu Ming, still quite a distance away, took a look. That fleeing disciple’s aura... it seems like one of our Riverside Sect disciples? Could it be Junior Brother Shen? he speculated. Most of the lone disciples of the Riverside Sect had already been eliminated. There was no other candidate left who could manage on his own.

CLANG!

In the sky above, amidst the chase, the leading fleeing figure unleashed a sword Qi, attempting to hinder his pursuers. That Sword Light confirmed to the Riverside Sect disciples that the one being pursued was indeed Shen Mo. After all, during the rookie competition, Shen Mo’s Shangqing Swordplay had left a deep impression on everyone.

Yang Qingshan, however, was somewhat gloating. "This fellow insisted on being a lone wolf and didn’t team up with us sect disciples. He really thought he could survive in the Mountain River Realm all by himself. He truly brought this upon himself." After saying this, he looked towards the others, as if seeking agreement. But to his frustration, no one paid him any attention.

Because Lu Ming’s next words were—

"The Mountain River Realm is our home turf, and we can’t let outsiders bully Riverside Sect disciples! We need to go and support him!"

As the most capable disciple among this generation’s newcomers, Lu Ming naturally commanded authority. Once he spoke, the Riverside Sect disciples had no choice but to go with him. Thus, they rushed towards Shen Mo’s constantly moving position.

Above in the sky, Shen Mo’s figure moved like lightning, maintaining an exceptionally rapid escape speed. At this moment, he was fleeing in a hurry, unaware that fellow sect members had come to his aid.

"You can’t get away, brat!"

Xun Tian, Li Chen, and the others, leading numerous Ghost Corpse School disciples, had been chasing for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, yet they still hadn’t caught up. The two couldn’t help but grind their teeth in frustration.

Damn it, how can this guy run so fast?!

Curse it that I haven’t cultivated any magic techniques to boost my speed; I can’t catch him for a while!

Li Chen, standing on a black coffin, stared at Shen Mo fleeing desperately ahead without looking back, and said, "Kid, stop running. If you stop and hand over the treasures you found in the ruins, we from the Ghost Corpse School won’t give you a hard time. But if you continue to run and we catch you, we won’t even give you the chance to crush your Space Breaking Talisman to leave the Mountain River Realm. We’ll kill you on the spot!"

"You little brat..."

Facing the nagging voices from behind, Shen Mo turned a deaf ear. He simply took a handful of Great Qi Restoration Pills from his Universe Bag, specifically for restoring Spiritual Qi, swallowed them as if chewing beans, and then sped away on his sword.

Initially, Shen Mo had been somewhat anxious, afraid of being caught by them. But now it seemed these people couldn’t outrun him when he was fleeing at full speed. Ignoring their shouts, he still had a chance to escape. If he really stopped as they said, his life and death would be entirely in their hands. Shen Mo certainly wasn’t so foolish.

Watching Shen Mo speeding away, getting further and further, Xun Tian’s face turned as gloomy as water. He flipped his palm, and an Elixir appeared in it. He then swallowed the Elixir, and his aura suddenly surged.

It was a Grade I Berserker Pill. This pill could greatly enhance the user’s power in all aspects for a short time. However, after the effect wore off, there would be a period of weakness. Although Xun Tian had always kept this pill, he had never taken it lightly. But now, seeing Shen Mo about to escape, he could no longer hold back. He was determined to stop Shen Mo.

"Kid, stop right there!"

As the power of the Berserker Pill surged through Xun Tian’s body, his speed suddenly increased by more than thirty percent. With an extremely fast speed, he caught up with Shen Mo. Xun Tian, maneuvering his artifact, flew parallel to Shen Mo, then hurled the black coffin from his back, blocking Shen Mo’s path.

At this moment, Xun Tian grabbed the black coffin again, a cold look on his face. "You certainly know how to run! Today, let’s see where you can run to!"

So, I’ve been caught after all... Shen Mo thought. In that case, let’s see what you’re capable of!

He placed one hand on his Dragon Sparrow Sword, while the other was poised to retrieve the Soul Refining Flag at any moment. At this point, he couldn’t afford to worry about such things.

"Dragon-Tiger, tear him apart!" Xun Tian, seeing Shen Mo’s stance, knew he was thinking of resisting. But in his eyes, Shen Mo, all alone, had no ability to resist. He formed a hand seal and chanted.

The next moment, the lid of the black coffin on his back flew open.

Inside the coffin lay a man as burly and imposing as an iron tower. Under Xun Tian’s command, this man suddenly opened his eyes!