The Vermilion Bird's expression was somewhat stiff as she spoke in a low voice, "Master, are you serious?"

Zhu Wujiang frowned and said, "Nonsense, could this possibly be fake? You and I went to great lengths to enter the Secret Realm, all for Chen Mo, didn't we? It's a perfect time since Yu Youhan isn't here. Once we leave the Secret Realm, we won't have such a good opportunity..."

Knowing that Chen Mo planned to explore the Secret Realm, they arrived in Qing Province early to prepare.

Due to their special identities, they couldn't appear openly; they needed a "substitute."

This substitute had to be chosen with care, needing to have a certain connection with Chen Mo to justifiably stay by his side, without being too familiar to avoid arousing suspicion.

After careful consideration, Zhu Wujiang chose the daughter of the Prefect of Qingzhou.

She had already investigated Chen Mo's network in detail and knew he shared a life-and-death bond with Yu Hongyin. She could use this relationship to establish a connection with him.

Now that Yu Hongyin had also been dispatched, it was the perfect opportunity to "take action!"

"So what does Master plan to do?" the Vermilion Bird inquired.

Zhu Wujiang stroked her chin, pondering, "Although Chen Mo is lustful, he's not an indiscriminate lecher, and his mind is quite keen. Making a rash move would only raise his suspicions; we need to take things slowly..."

After a brief deliberation, she had a plan in mind.

"First, deal with these corpses, erase all traces, and take care not to use any Demon Energy, so he won't notice," Zhu Wujiang ordered.

"Yes," the Vermilion Bird nodded in agreement.

Zhu Wujiang looked at the two figures clashing in the distance, her brow tightly knitted, her gaze flickering.

The sword Chen Mo wielded felt familiar to her, almost as if it was connected to her by blood...

"Could it be related to Mother?"

"Never mind, now's not the time for such thoughts, better to focus on the task at hand. This place feels strange, shouldn't linger too long..."

...

...

Swish—

The sword edge fell lightly, the air stirring with ripples, as if an invisible power was cutting through the void.

Wanqi Kai's hackles rose, his pupils shrank to pinpoints!

His intuition as a First Grade Martial Cultivator told him that this strike absolutely could not be taken head-on!

In a flash, he bit his tongue hard, his cheeks flushed with blood, and exhaled forcefully:

"Take this!"

His arm muscles knotted, veins bulging, he lifted the massive Prison Monument above his head and hurled it at Chen Mo!

However, the moment it left his hand, the stone monument shrank rapidly, becoming only palm-sized, landing in Chen Mo's hand, causing no harm but buying Wanqi Kai some time to buffer.

The earth beneath his feet surged with a yellow light, continuously gathering, as if armor covering his body.

By this time, the invisible sword light had arrived, slashing directly at his abdomen. However, he was unharmed, yet the ground inexplicably disappeared, creating a dark fissure nearly a hundred yards long!

"That was close!"

Staring at the deep chasm, cold sweat drenched Wanqi Kai's back.

The power of that sword greatly exceeded his expectations, seemingly carrying some sort of special Power of Laws.

Just as he was relieved for reacting in time, avoiding disaster, a sudden sharp pain came from his left abdomen.

Looking down, he saw a large patch of flesh decaying, disappearing at a visible pace, exposing the white ribs and bloodied innards, the wound continuing to expand, nearly cleaving him in two!

"Impossible?!"

Wanqi Kai was filled with astonishment.

The Law he comprehended was called "Thick Soil," able to transform himself into a Kunyuan Spirit Body, merging with the Earth Veins, transferring all received damage away. It could be said that as long as his feet stood on the ground, he was nearly invincible!

Yet Chen Mo's sword broke through his defense!

It wasn't mere destruction, but a transformation of his flesh into nothingness!

Even though his body had turned into earth elements, it was unavoidable, his Divine Soul affected as well!

"Clearly he's only in the Dao Integration Realm, yet he can wield such techniques?"

"What Dao on earth has this guy integrated?!"

Wanqi Kai took out a white porcelain bottle, pouring all the Spirit Pills into his mouth at once.

But even so, it could only temporarily alleviate the injury. The missing flesh was beyond repair; if that sword had struck his Heart Meridian, he might indeed face calamity!

At this moment, a cold voice reached his ears:

"Is this the strength of Martial Arts First Grade? Nothing noteworthy."

"Since one sword isn't enough, here's another. I truly wonder how long you can last."

Wanqi Kai looked up, only to see Chen Mo, expressionless, raising the Dragon Marrow Sword, the invisible aura gathering, intending to repeat his previous move!

"Again?!"

He was instantly terrified, this level of Divine Skills, could they really be used continuously?

The previous sword strike was merely fortunate for not striking his Origin, but if he took a couple more, even a First Grade Grandmaster wouldn't be able to withstand it!

"No wonder Chu Heng suffered at this boy's hands, he's simply a monster!"

"The situation is against me. This Secret Realm doesn't only have this one fortune, fighting to the death is unwise; better to leave and reconsider!"

Despite his unwillingness to part with the Evergreen Branch, Wanqi Kai dared not be presumptuous, his form dissolving like flowing sand, merging into the ground, fleeing through the Earth Veins into the distance.

Chen Mo hovered in the air, quietly watching his opponent flee, with no intention of pursuing.

Only after confirming that Wanqi Kai had gone far did he exhale, putting away the tightly clutched Jade Talisman.

"This move consumes too much energy; without proper control, I overdid it somewhat..."

Earlier, he was merely bluffing, actually having no strength left to strike a second sword.