Where there were leaves, there were trees.
Sure enough, there was a forest at the edge of the area with dead leaves, where there were only a few trees with thin branches and sparse leaves.
The Taoist figures all over the Gold and Silver King’s body flickered. It shrank rapidly and perched on Li Mu’s shoulder.
“Big Brother, be careful. When we pass this forest, there will be bones possessed by Resentful Spirits ahead,” it reminded Li Mu a little nervously.
The several thousand blood bats scattered in the surroundings, ready to ambush. They were all elite “junior demons”, so they could fly during the day instead of only going out at night like ordinary bats.
The blood bats formed a net. They constantly transmitted messages with ultrasonic waves and monitored every rustling of change in the surroundings.
Once they spotted any danger, the Gold and Silver King would probably flee.
Li Mu observed the place carefully and entered the forest.
From the look of it, the trees were half-dead. The trunks were half-petrified and half-alive.
“The Soul-replenishing Heavenly Herb grows in the Land of Yin and Yang. It has the power to meddle in life and death as well as to replenish souls. This must be the right place. It has all the conditions for the Soul-replenishing Heavenly Herb to grow. The information given by the blood bats is correct.”
After walking for half an hour, Li Mu became expectant.
The environment here was very similar to the one described in that ancient book. It seemed much more likely to be the right place than the lands with white bones he had explored before.
“If we travel another ten of miles or so, we will arrive at the place where the blood bats say the magic herb grows.”
Li Mu was highly focused.
“Rumble!”
In the sky, blood-colored thunderbolts suddenly clapped.
“What’s happening?” The Gold and Silver King looked in the direction of the pillar of white bones in trepidation.
Just now, it almost flapped its wings and fled.
Li Mu didn’t know what to say to this Bat King at the peak of the King Realm.
“You are now at the top of the food chain. Why are you still so wimpy?”
This was the flaw of the bloodline power system of the fierce beasts. After the bloodline evolved, a beast’s strength could instantly soar to the peak of its realm. Because it didn’t gain the strength through cultivating step by step as intelligent cultivators did, its state of mind could hardly match its new strength.
Li Mu also looked up at the sky.
The blood-colored sea of clouds above the pillar of white bones was boiling more and more violently as if something terrible was flailing in it.
Streaks of scarlet lightning, like the broadswords of gods, tore the sky apart and kept hacking into the blood-colored sea of clouds.
“Have you ever seen such a strange phenomenon?” asked Li Mu.
The Gold and Silver King shook his head. “I’ve never seen or heard of it… It seems true that the Divine War will start. Big Brother, let’s run away…”
“Shut up.”
“Oh, okay.”
Li Mu also had a very ominous feeling.
“Gotta hurry up.
“It seems that something terrible is going to happen here.”
They continued to travel forward. Then, out of the blue, they heard a scream.
It was an elite bat that had encountered something terrible. It fell to the ground, struggled for a few moments, and turned into a skeleton at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Crap.”
Li Mu’s heart skipped a beat.
“D*mn it! Some Resentful Spirit is alarmed… Run!”
The Gold and Silver King immediately jumped up from Li Mu’s shoulder, turned into a streak of light, and fleed.
The other blood bats also followed their king and took flight.
This was a creature’s instinct to avoid death.
At the same time, with ghastly howls that sounded like the fiends in hell, countless phantoms of Resentful Spirits leaped up and madly swept toward Li Mu like a huge wave.
Li Mu frowned but did not run away.
If he escaped this time, he wouldn’t have another chance.
He was less than 100 kilometers away from the place where the Soul-replenishing Heavenly Herb grew. It could be said that the herb was close at hand. If he retreated and waited for the so-called “Divine War” to start, this place would be razed to the ground. The magic herb would probably be destroyed as well. Even if it would not be destroyed, he would have no chance to come back in time before the secret realm closed.
Therefore, Li Mu gritted his teeth and activated the Armor Pill given by Bi Yan the Green Fox Spirit. The armor quickly covered his body. Next, he turned his natural qi into the Emperors’ Fire and wrapped it around his body. Then, he directly rushed towards the countless Resentful Spirits head-on.
“Screech, screech, screech!”
Burnt by the Emperors’ Fire, the Resentful Spirits were hurt and screamed in pain.
However, the power of the Emperors’ Fire was insufficient to kill the Resentful Spirits. Although it could hold them in fear, it was not mighty enough to make them retreat.
At a glance, Li Mu knew that he could at least block these Resentful Spirits out in a short period. Overjoyed, he directly performed the Somersault Cloud and crossed dozens of miles in an instant before landing in the area where the blood bats said the Soul-replenishing Heavenly Herb grew.
“I saw it!”
He opened his Third Eye. A destructive thunderbolt shot out from it.
The power of this kind of thunderbolt carried pure Yang Qi. It happened to be the nemesis of Resentful Spirits. As he cast his Third Eye over the place, the power of the thunderbolt instantly penetrated the sea of Resentful Spirits and spotted a patch of silver magic herb swaying in the wind on a slope. It was precisely the Soul-replenishing Heavenly Herb that Li Mu had been strenuously looking for.
Li Mu rejoiced.
He directly forced his way over and reached out his hand to pluck the herb.
“Kaboom!”
Without warning, a huge force surged over and sent Li Mu flying backward.
“Sh*t, I was this close!”
Li Mu got agitated.
At that critical moment, he had almost picked up the magic herb, but a certain wave of energy knocked him away.
When he raised his head, he saw that it was an ox-shaped Resentful Spirit, which had been thrown backward as well. At this moment, it was charging toward him again.
“A high-leveled Resentful Spirit.”
When Li Mu explored the area with white bones before, he had also vaguely sensed that the strength of the Resentful Spirits also varied. The Resentful Spirits that besieged him like a tide a moment ago were low-level ones. They served as cannon fodder. However, a high-level Resentful Spirit like this one was no longer just a phantom. It was tangible in a certain sense and more lethal.
“Kaboom!”
The ox-shaped Resentful Spirit attacked again.
Li Mu saw through its movements with his Third Eye and decisively threw a punch at it. It was exactly the Cracking Sky of the Zhenwu Boxing. This ox-shaped Resentful Spirit was instantly bombarded into pieces.
At the same time, the Eye of Thunderbolts once again killed countless Resentful Spirits. Li Mu raced forward and began to collect the herb.
The Resentful Spirits around the mountain of bones were endless. There was no way to kill them all. The most frightening fact was that there were even stronger and scarier Resentful Spirits. Once they were awakened, the intruder would definitely die a horrible death.
Li Mu faintly felt that the blood and vigor in his body were being pulled by a mysterious force and about to be sucked out despite his control.
He knew it was because the endless Resentful Spirits were trying to suck his blood and vigor.
They had a primitive thirst for blood and vigor.
Once Li Mu failed to suppress the pulling force, he would end up like that elite blood bat—being reduced to a pile of bones.
“Kill!”
The Samsara Knife flew out of its case and split into 24 flying broadswords, hacking at the Resentful Spirits.
At the same time, Li Mu cast his Thunder Gazing Skill.
In an instant, Li Mu employed his strongest strength and dashed to the slope. Finally, he plucked more than a dozen blades of the Soul-replenishing Heavenly Herb.
“I made it!”
He put away the magic herb, spun around, and ran.
However, at this time, the Resentful Spirits around were alarmed. As if endless violent waves, they charged toward Li Mu from all directions at the same time.
“Kill!”
Li Mu beckoned with his right hand, and the 24 flying broadswords landed into his hand, changing back into the complete Samsara Knife.
As he struck out with his broadsword, numerous Resentful Spirits were instantly reduced to ashes.
“This broadsword is made of the silver-mountain-like strange stone. This kind of stone seems particularly destructive to Resentful Spirits, doesn’t it?”
Li Mu noticed that when the Samsara Knife charged out, the mad Resentful Spirit would become scared and dodge to the side.
Soon, dozens of high-level Resentful Spirits were killed by the Samsara Knife.
Li Mu rushed out like crazy.
However, more and more Resentful Spirits were closing in on him.
Many of them were higher-leveled Resentful Spirits. They were faster and horrifyingly strong, not weaker than those in the King Realm in the slightest.
As mighty as Li Mu was, he also felt that it was getting more and more strenuous. His speed also gradually slowed down as he strived to get out of the siege.
“Wham!”
A huge tentacle whipped over and directly sent Li Mu flying.
“What was that?”
Li Mu’s pupils suddenly contracted.
A giant octopus-like Resentful Spirit brandished its tentacles and attacked.
“How powerful it is!”
Li Mu clearly felt that this giant octopus-like Resentful Spirit was as powerful as the Gold and Silver King. That was to say, it was a Resentful Spirit at the peak of the King Realm.
“It is just appalling!”
Moreover, Li Mu was sure that it was not the only Resentful Spirit at this level.
Over the numerous years, all the creatures that died here had turned into Resentful Spirits. In other words, this giant octopus-like monster was at the peak of the King Realm when it was alive. Despite its powerful strength, it was still killed at the bottom of the pillar of white bones.
That thought alone could make one shudder in fear.
What kind of creature was capable of killing those at the peak of the King Realm?
“This won’t work. If this continues, I’ll die here.”
Li Mu realized that he had underestimated the danger here before. He also knew that he could not dawdle any longer.
The power of the white-bone right arm was activated in an instant.
“Bang!”
The mysterious power inside the Samsara Knife, which was made of the silver-mountain-like strange stone, was awakened again. The silver flame instantly burst out, covering the broadsword and his entire right arm.
He hacked with his broadsword.
The surrounding Resentful Spirits shrieked. Even higher-level Resentful Spirits retreated frantically.
About four of the octopus-like Resentful Spirit’s tentacles were cut off.
It seemed to be somewhat intimidated, too.
But soon, several absurd howls were heard from the surroundings.
Multiple giant black shadows appeared from all directions.
There came a three-headed giant black wolf, a huge bear wrapped in flames, a coiled blood-colored python the size of a hill, and a strange bird with only one leg… They were all King Realm Resentful Spirits on par with that giant octopus-like Resentful Spirit. Emitting fierce aura, they surrounded Li Mu from all sides and tightly blocked the air and all escape routes on the ground.
“Poor me…”
Li Mu groaned inwardly.
“What’s going on?
“I alarmed so many King Realm Resentful Spirits in such a short span?
“This shouldn’t be the case. Generally speaking, Resentful Spirits in this realm should live on the distant pillar of white bones. Why did they show up here?”
Countless thoughts crossed his mind in a flash.
It was absolutely impossible for him to fight his way out solely with his combat strength.
Even if Li Mu fully activated the power of the white-bone right arm and the Samsara Knife, he still did not have the strength to fight someone at the peak of the King Realm head-on.
Not to mention that there were suddenly five Resentful Spirits at the peak of the King Realm coming at him simultaneously.
“Seems that I’m heading for a dead end, aren’t I?”
