Chapter 93: Vital Energy Beneath the Blazing Sun (Part One)

A heavy blow struck the pile of rocks at the cave entrance. Pebbles on the ground jolted and bounced wildly from the impact.

Enduring the pain, Shu Le rose with her blade in hand and moved to Gu Yi's side.

Today, the three of them would leave this place alive.

“How are you holding up?” Gu Yi asked in a low voice.

“Six-tenths of my spiritual energy.”

Shu Le was injured, and her voice was faint. “At most four-tenths.”

The three of them had spoken at length inside, and there was one thing Gu Yi had not yet asked.

“What is Mo Chi good at?”

Shu Yu answered quickly. “Mo Chi is a strange prodigy. The Muo Clan's unending spiritual mist is innate, determined entirely by bloodline. No outsider can imitate it. That used to be an absolute truth, until Mo Chi appeared.”

Gu Yi and Shu Le both raised their brows.

“Could it be...”

“Yes.” Shu Yu nodded with a grave look. “No one knows how he did it, but after studying the Muo Clan's unending spiritual mist, Mo Chi created his own Black Serpent spiritual mist. Those black things writhing around him are the Black Serpent spiritual mist.”

Another violent crash came from the cave mouth. The rocks trembled and split open a narrow seam, letting in the damp, cold scent of the forest outside.

“Let's go out!”

Gu Yi murmured, and the three figures moved at once, flashing through the opening and soaring out into the vast between heaven and earth.

From above, it could be seen that they were deep within a forest in a mountain range that stretched to the horizon. Peaks rose and fell endlessly, reaching toward the far ends of sky and earth. No one knew how vast it was. Beneath their feet stood only towering ancient trees, thick as pillars, lifting their crowns into the clouds.

Mo Chi's body writhed with a soft, serpentine motion, as if he were swimming through the air.

After briefly surveying the surroundings, their gazes settled on Mo Chi, whose eerie laughter echoed with a sinister cackle. Shu Yu seemed to sense something amiss, and looking at Gu Yi, she felt that something about him was different.

“...How are you able to fly?” It took her a moment to realize the difference.

That question made even Mo Chi's expression shift slightly. “Several hours from Resolute Heart to Return to Simplicity? You used some underhanded trick to save your life, didn't you? Still, I suppose it shows you are clever enough to know you could not escape my grasp, and so made preparations in advance.”

“Is that really so?” Shu Le's heart tightened.

Though she did not much like Gu Yi, she acknowledged his talent. From the perspective of the Kingdom of Xu, losing him would certainly be something she did not wish to see.

“Rest assured,” Gu Yi said softly. “How could I possibly do such a thing?”

“Only three at Return to Simplicity, and two beauties are wounded besides. How could you possibly be my match?” Mo Chi's excitement grew strangely fevered.

Especially when he looked at Shu Yu, his gaze burned even hotter.

He would not kill Shu Yu.

In this world, every person has a weakness, even those at Unity with the Dao are no exception. Seeing the way Mo Chi looked at Shu Yu, Gu Yi became certain that there was no need to worry too much about her.

“Enough nonsense!” Shu Yu drew her sword and stood proudly. “Today I either die in battle or take my own life. Mo Chi, you will never get what you want!”

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Mo Chi's eyes turned instantly sinister. The black spiritual mist upon him bloomed with a piercing chill, but in the end he still decided...

To clear away the trouble first.

Naturally, Shu Yu was not his primary target.

Gu Yi understood this. He twirled the straight sword in his hand. “To be honest, I haven't properly fought a true expert in a very long time. You should give me a good bit of enjoyment.”

Since the day at Small Garden Mountain, this should count as a true battle to the death.

The earlier duel with the Handcraft Envoy was, broadly speaking, just that—a duel, not a fight to the death.

But now, Gu Yi had begun to change.

“All I have learned in my life came from Small Garden Mountain. I have not faced many enemies, and most who did cross me were defeated by my hand. Invincibility brings no joy. Today I meet one of the rare Unity-with-the-Dao experts in this world; it is truly my great fortune.”

Mo Chi frowned. “Which mountain is Small Garden Mountain?”

“It is Xu Kingdom's blessing that immortals have descended upon us. Small Garden Mountain, Green Maple Peak, where the Cloud Sage resides. Senior, have you been out of touch with the world for far too long?” Shu Le said with considerable pride.

“The Cloud Sage resides there?” Mo Chi's tone turned more serious. He murmured to himself, “So there really is a Cloud Sage in this world?”

Jingle, jingle, jingle—

Within the mist between the mountains and wilderness, all had originally been quiet save for the wind's cry, yet for some reason a clear, tinkling sound like a wind chime suddenly rang out.

What was happening?

Aside from Gu Yi, the other three all showed surprise.

Gu Yi raised a hand, his fingers moving slightly. Spiritual energies in the mountain hollow surged in waves, each one vying to respond, then rushed straight toward him with uncanny purpose!

Shu Le frowned slightly. When Gu Yi defeated the Handcraft Envoy, it had been like this as well. But how on earth did he do it, to draw forth such abundant and vast spiritual energy from between heaven and earth?

And as the spiritual energy intensified, Gu Yi's aura gradually rose, little by little overtaking the two women.

“Is he really at Return to Simplicity?” Shu Le still found it hard to believe.

“Small Garden Mountain...” Mo Chi chewed over those three words. “It seems something interesting has happened in this world. Still, do not underestimate Unity with the Dao.”

He spread his hands and thrust them upward. The black spiritual mist around him spun like a sudden storm, as if it had gained some faint intelligence—or perhaps it was only an auditory illusion.

Gu Yi heard an extremely shrill and piercing hissing sound.

Behind Mo Chi's face, the faint outline of a great serpent seemed to emerge and vanish in and out of sight.

At this point, there was no time to care about anything else. Gu Yi turned his wrist slightly, the sword tip aimed at his enemy. With a thunderous burst beneath his feet, he exploded through the air and closed in on Mo Chi.

The sword, carrying the might of the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, came down in a single cleaving strike, yet it could not split apart the black mist.

“Unity with the Dao is not so easy to deal with as you imagine.”

Mo Chi reached out and caught the multicolored spiritual energy Gu Yi had drawn forth, and astonishingly, the energy obeyed his will, slowly merging into the black mist.

Gu Yi remained calm. Aside from finding it troublesome, he was not surprised.

Mo Chi said with full disdain, “At Unity with the Dao, one may extend life, lift mountains. It already goes against the laws of heaven and earth and the fate of human life. To seize the workings of nature and reshape creation is almost to be omnipotent. Your special ability can indeed summon quite a lot of spiritual energy, but I have already united with the Dao—joined with heaven, humanity, and nature. All the spiritual energy you summon belongs to me now...”

Boom!

With a sweep of his hand, Mo Chi scattered that mass of spiritual energy and sent it surging toward Gu Yi.

Gu Yi had no choice but to retreat explosively, using spiritual energy to defend himself.

“Gu Yi!” Shu Le cried out anxiously. She was somewhat worried. She had originally thought this peculiar ability might allow Gu Yi to fight above his level, but it seemed not to work so well. “What do we do? So the Unity-with-the-Dao realm has already comprehended the laws of heaven and earth to this extent. If you keep drawing in such enormous quantities of spiritual energy, won't all of it be used by him?”

Shu Yu also found it troublesome. “Unity with the Dao... truly worthy of the name Death's Door.”

Because entering the Fivefold Realm could prolong life, Unity with the Dao was also called Death's Door. For ordinary people to pass through life and death is naturally far harder than anything else. None of them had known that Unity with the Dao could reach such a level; they had thought Gu Yi's trump card had failed, and that he had used a foolish method.

In truth, they did not know that Gu Yi also understood something of Unity with the Dao...