CHAPTER 93: CHAPTER 93 INTENSE BATTLE_1

"Shen Mo, are you out yet?"

"There are people at the entrance to the ruins; they’re about to go in!"

Just as Shen Mo was troubled by the Spirit Storage Rat’s faint, Cao Ren’s voice suddenly came through the talisman he carried.

"People are here?"

His face darkened, and he quickly asked through the talisman, "How many people are there?"

"More than twenty, all of them seem to be from the Ghost Corpse School. They are all wearing black robes and carrying coffins on their backs."

"I didn’t dare get close. Judging by their appearance, they must be planning to search the ruins for treasure. You better not let them discover you."

"If there’s a way to escape in the ruins, you’d best take it! Don’t confront them directly; these people seem rather ruthless."

Over twenty disciples from the Ghost Corpse School?

A cold feeling settled in Shen Mo’s heart. This could be a problem.

Disciples from an external sect, relying on their numbers, certainly wouldn’t let him walk away with the treasure easily if they encountered him.

If he wanted to get away safely, his options were to face them head-on and defeat them, or... to hide from them and hope not to be discovered.

As for escaping... there was simply no other pathway leading out of these ruins.

I’ll stay put for now and hope they don’t discover this place.

Shen Mo paced the dark chamber a couple of times, ultimately deciding not to rush out.

Even though his combat capability had seen a dramatic increase after cultivating his Dragon Body, at most, he was confident he could single-handedly defeat about ten cultivators of the same level.

There were twenty people from the Ghost Corpse School, and among them, there could well be exceptionally talented individuals.

A direct confrontation wasn’t the best choice.

Though the Prohibition around the dark chamber had been cracked, an illusion technique still concealed it.

These people might not even be able to find it.

Within the passage of the ruins left by the Barbarian Bull Venerable, a group of disciples from the Ghost Corpse School, led by Xun Tian and Li Chen—the two shining stars of their new generation—arrived on an upper walkway.

When they looked down and saw such a majestic and vast palace complex within the ruins, they, like Shen Mo before them, were overjoyed.

"Looks like our luck on this trip is truly exceptional!"

"To leave behind such vast ruins, its master must have been an expert at or above the Spirit Sea Realm when alive! As long as it hasn’t been plundered before, the various treasures left inside will make every one of us rich, even if we divide them among the entire team!"

Xun Tian glanced at the excited disciples and instructed, "You all go search the cubbyholes and side halls. If you find any treasures, you may each take one item. Do not hoard anything else; bring all other findings to a central point for later distribution."

"As for the main hall, Li Chen and I will check it out," Xun Tian said, looking at the equally formidable, slender man beside him.

Usually, a ruin’s main hall held its most precious treasures.

He and Li Chen were the top talents among the new Inner Door disciples of the Ghost Corpse School, having tied for first place in the sect’s latest competition. He relied on a Molted Ghoul that had completed four celestial sacrifices and possessed Spirit Sea Realm potential, while Li Chen had a Dark-type Spiritual Body and had cultivated multiple high-class forms of magic.

With the two of them taking on the exploration of the main hall, no one in the team dared to object.

"We will follow Brother Xun’s orders."

The disciples of the Ghost Corpse School replied respectfully.

Then, they excitedly streamed into various parts of the ruins, looking for treasures.

「An hour later—inside the main hall of the ruins.」

Everyone had regrouped, each wearing a gloomy expression.

"We thought we’d struck gold, stumbling upon unexplored ruins... but who knew all the treasures had already been plundered!"

"Such misfortune."

The Ghost Corpse School members were all greatly disappointed, but Li Chen, at that moment, narrowed his eyes and murmured, "There’s a cultivator’s presence to the southwest. The aura is orthodox, not from our Ghost Corpse School’s cultivation method."

"Someone from another sect got here before us."

What? Xun Tian and the others looked stupefied.

「On the other side, inside the dark chamber.」

Shen Mo carefully used his sense to observe the movements of the Ghost Corpse School members.

When he sensed them moving towards the dark chamber, the last shred of hope vanished.

It appears... there’s no avoiding it.

His hand slowly closed around the Dragon Sparrow Sword, prepared for the worst.

THUD, THUD, THUD.

The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.

Eventually, Xun Tian, Li Chen, and the other Ghost Corpse School disciples found the dark chamber.

"Someone really did get here first." Seeing Shen Mo, Xun Tian’s face lit up with delight; he was quite impressed by the perceptive power of Li Chen’s sense.

"Boy, you’re a disciple of the Riverside Sect, aren’t you?" Xun Tian asked. "How many items have you taken from these ruins?"

Upon seeing Shen Mo’s attire, the Ghost Corpse School disciples instantly recognized his affiliation.

"What I’ve harvested here is none of your business." Shen Mo tucked the Spirit Storage Rat into his sleeve and said nonchalantly, "If you fellow daoists wish to hunt for treasure, please go elsewhere."

We’ll stick to our own paths.

Shen Mo didn’t want to clash with them, but he would certainly not let them threaten him.

If I can’t defeat them, can’t I at least escape?

"I see this site is quite large and impressive. The opportunities within must be considerable." A faint smile touched Li Chen’s lips. "These opportunities... are more than you can handle alone."

"If you hand over all the treasures you found, we won’t make things difficult for you."

He didn’t specify what would happen if Shen Mo didn’t voluntarily hand over the items, but the situation spoke for itself.

It seems a fight is inevitable.

These Ghost Corpse School disciples were different from the Profound Moon School members who had previously robbed Shen Mo. They were far more numerous. Moreover, Shen Mo vaguely sensed that the leading pair was extremely strong, far surpassing a normal Qi Gathering Realm Layer I cultivator.

He didn’t have much confidence in taking on such a crowd alone, but at this moment, there was no room for compromise. After all, even if he handed over his findings as requested, these people might not believe he had only taken items from the dark chamber. If forced to use the Space Breaking Talisman to leave, he wouldn’t be able to take the many spiritual medicines he had harvested over the past few days.

Given that, I might as well go all out.

"Quite courageous, aren’t you? Planning to clash with our entire team all by yourself?" one of them sneered.

"It seems the treasures you’ve found are so precious they’ve blinded you with greed, making you overestimate your own capabilities."

Xun Tian and Li Chen exchanged a look. Instead of anger at Shen Mo’s refusal to compromise, they were pleased, further convinced that he was hiding significant treasures found in the ruins. As for his unwillingness to hand them over voluntarily, that wasn’t a major concern for them. With the elite team of the Ghost Corpse School gathered, how could they let a lone person escape?

"Strike!"

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Shen Mo suddenly drew his sword, breaking the deadlock. As the Sword Light surged, a torrent of Mana swirled. He stepped forward, and the three Ghost Corpse School disciples closest to him were instantly sent flying by the sword Qi.

"Damn it!"

The others, seeing Shen Mo actually dare to attack first, were furious.

"Capture and kill him!"

In an instant, the remaining twenty or so people unleashed their techniques, striking at Shen Mo. Blade energy, sword intent, spear light, wind, lightning, water, fire—various Dao Methods were all unleashed.

Faced with the combined force of these numerous attacks, even Shen Mo felt his scalp tingle.

My body may be as tough as that of a demonic beast of the same level, but it definitely can’t withstand this kind of power.

I must fight while retreating and look for an opportunity to escape!

Alone with his sword, his movements as swift as lightning, he quickly darted through the dark chamber and rushed towards the exit passage. After using his sword light to neutralize the majority of the attacks, Shen Mo withstood several direct assaults. He had made it out of the enclosed dark chamber.

"Trying to run!"

Xun Tian saw his intention, his eyes filled with killing intent, and his entire aura instantly changed.

This aura... is not from an ordinary Qi Gathering Realm cultivator; he must be a top genius from the Ghost Corpse School.

His heart trembled upon sensing Xun Tian’s aura. He channeled energy into his hands, and with a CRACK, the Earth Escaping Talisman he had prepared shattered.

In the next instant, Shen Mo’s figure transformed into flowing sand, dissipating on the spot.

"Earth Escaping Talisman? Chase after him! Don’t let this kid escape!"

Li Chen, Xun Tian, and the other Ghost Corpse School disciples were furious when they saw Shen Mo’s figure disappear and hastily gave chase.

Meanwhile, using the Earth Escaping Talisman, Shen Mo reappeared at the Green Mountain entrance to the ruins.

"Dragon Sparrow Sword, Flying Escape!"

He left the ruin passage, and the outside world suddenly opened before him. He summoned his Flying Sword, which transformed into a streak of light, carrying him away at high speed.

Green light and purple lightning arced across the sky as he fled, like a brilliant meteor streaking past.

Behind him, numerous streaks of light followed closely—clearly the pursuing Ghost Corpse School disciples.

I don’t know... if I can escape.

But... I must try!

Shen Mo glanced back at the dense cluster of lights trailing him, his scalp tingling. Regardless of whether they would help or not, he took out the remaining eight Lightness Talismans from his Universe Bag and stuck them all over his body.