139: Chapter 139 Reencounter with Xu Mo

The clearing of the devil threat was smoother than expected.

The Disciples of the Seven Great Factions dispersed into the Eastern Mountains, dragging out and slaying the demonized Cultivators and demonized Yao Beasts hiding in various places one by one.

Within just a few months, the devilish creatures scattered across the eastern region were mostly cleared out, and the situation in the Southern Wilderness gradually stabilized from the chaos.

And in this clearing operation that lasted several months, the performance of the Kunlun Disciples was particularly outstanding.

In the Eastern Southern Wilderness, there was a valley eroded by Devilish Qi.

With his hands behind his back, Ao Qin stood at the mouth of the valley, golden Dragon-shaped Qi energy swirling around his body like a god of war descending from the heavens.

Before him were three demonized Yao Beasts at the Peak Soul Transformation stage, massive in size, with dark red light gleaming in their eyes and foul-smelling saliva dripping constantly from their mouths.

The three Yao Beasts pounced simultaneously, their speed astonishingly fast, carrying dense Devilish Qi as they besieged Ao Qin from three directions.

Ao Qin's expression remained unchanged, and he did not even take half a step back.

Lifting his right hand, a golden Dragon-shaped Qi energy gushed from his palm, transforming into a golden Dragon several Zhang long that bared its claws and fangs as it pounced toward one of the Yao Beasts.

The golden Dragon collided with the Yao Beast, erupting in a deafening roar.

The Yao Beast was sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the rock wall. Blood sprayed wildly from its mouth, and after struggling a few times, it could no longer climb back up.

At the same time, Ao Qin shot forward like lightning, evading the pounce of the second Yao Beast, and struck its head with a backhand palm.

The force of his palm was fierce and overbearing, directly shattering the Yao Beast's skull, sending red and white matter splashing everywhere.

Seeing things turn bad, the third Yao Beast turned and fled.

Ao Qin did not pursue. He merely waved his hand, and a golden spiritual light flew from his fingertip, precisely sinking into the back of the Yao Beast's heart.

The Yao Beast let out a shrill scream, ran for dozens of Zhang, and then collapsed heavily to the ground, showing no more signs of life.

At the valley entrance, several Disciples from other factions of the Southern Wilderness watched in dumbfounded shock.

"Is... is this the strength of a Kunlun Disciple?"

"Three demonized Yao Beasts at the Peak Soul Transformation stage, defeated by him alone in three moves? No, two and a half moves?"

Ao Qin stood with his hands withdrawn, his expression calm, as if the battle just now was nothing more than a trivial warm-up.

Turning around, his gaze swept over the dumbfounded Cultivators. With a slight nod, he transformed into a streak of golden light and swept toward his next target.

Similar scenes were constantly playing out in every corner of the Eastern Mountains.

Mu Qingxue's Ice Heart Spiritual Body Art showed amazing results when dealing with the demonized Yao Beasts.

She had once fought five demonized Yao Beasts at the Peak Soul Transformation stage alone, slaying them all in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, without even a single drop of blood staining her own robes.

Although Baili Qingfeng was not skilled in direct combat, his deduction technique played a massive role in searching for traces of the devilish creatures.

By deducing the diffusion trajectory of the Devilish Qi, he could precisely locate the hiding places of the demonized Yao Beasts, making the clearing operation twice as effective with half the effort.

Although the other Kunlun Disciples were not as dazzling as Ao Qin, Mu Qingxue, and Baili Qingfeng, every single one of them displayed combat power far exceeding Cultivators of the same rank during battle.

Their Cultivation Techniques, Magical Artifacts, and combat awareness left the Disciples of the various major factions in the Southern Wilderness in awe.

"Kunlun indeed lives up to its reputation."

This was the sigh of admiration that the Elders of the various major factions in the Southern Wilderness uttered in unison after witnessing the performance of the Kunlun Disciples.

Months later, the devil plague in the Eastern Mountains was finally completely cleared.

The demonized Cultivators and demonized Yao Beasts scattered in various places were all eliminated, leaving behind not a single hidden danger.

The situation in the Southern Wilderness completely stabilized, and the Disciples of the various major factions withdrew one after another, returning to their respective Sects.

Yet, Venerable Lingyun never appeared.

The three Elders, Qingxuan, Elder Cangwu, and Cang Song, searched deep within the Eastern Mountains for months, turning over almost every inch of land, yet they still failed to find any trace of that Devil Head.

His aura had completely vanished, as if he had never existed.

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu and the other Tribulation Transcenders of the Southern Wilderness were also unwilling to give up. They joined forces to set up an inescapable net in the eastern region, patrolling in shifts day and night, but that Devil Head seemed to have vanished into thin air, never leaving behind any clues.

Some suspected he had already fled the Southern Wilderness for the other Four Regions; others guessed he had hidden in some ancient Secret Realm that not even Tribulation Transcenders could enter to heal his wounds.

Opinions varied, but not a single speculation could be confirmed.

As time passed, the tense situation in the Southern Wilderness gradually eased, and the attention of the major factions began to shift from the eastern devil threat to other matters.

After the clearing of the devil threat ended, Zhou Tianchen returned to Kunlun to continue immersing himself in his cultivation of the Dao of Alchemy.

Lu Jinghan did not return to the mountain; he chose to remain in the Southern Wilderness to continue tempering himself.

On this day, in the central region of the Southern Wilderness, there was a desolate and uninhabited mountain wilderness.

Lu Jinghan walked out of a Yao Beast's nest. The blood on the Jinghan Sword was not yet dry, slowly sliding down the blade and dripping onto the withered leaves beneath his feet with a faint sound.

His robes were covered in dust and dark red beast blood, yet his expression remained calm, as if slaying that Yao Beast of the Void Refinement Stage just now was merely a casual effort.

Over the past few months, he had traveled alone to various places in the Southern Wilderness, tempering himself while searching for traces of Venerable Lingyun.

His cultivation also steadily rose through repeated life-and-death battles, breaking through from the Peak Soul Transformation stage to the Early Stage of Void Refining.

Since slaying his Heart Demon, Lu Jinghan's cultivation speed had progressed by leaps and bounds.

With the Space-Time Dao Body paired with the Time-Space Derivation Sutra, along with the top-tier cultivation resources provided by Jiang Changge, Breakthroughs were as simple as drinking water.

Sheathing the Jinghan Sword, he was about to leave this mountain wilderness when his footsteps suddenly halted.

On the mountain path ahead, a figure was slowly walking over.

The appearance of this person startled Lu Jinghan slightly.

Xu Mo, the madman from his past life who had challenged the Three Great Holy Lands with his Void Refining body, giving even the Five Great Sacred Lands of the Middle Continent a massive headache.

When they last met, he was only at the Peak Golden Core stage, but at this moment, he had already reached the Early Stage of Void Refining.

This cultivation speed, even if placed in Kunlun, was enough to leave the vast majority of Disciples far behind.

"We meet again, Fellow Daoist," Xu Mo spoke first.

A faint, half-smiling expression appeared on his face as his gaze fell upon Lu Jinghan, as if he were sizing up an interesting object.

Lu Jinghan did not speak, merely watching him silently, his hand resting on the hilt of the Jinghan Sword as spiritual energy slowly circulated within his body.

"Seeing your fierce swordplay before, I have never been able to forget it." Xu Mo stopped, standing a few Zhang away from Lu Jinghan, the smile in his eyes deepening slightly. "I wonder if I might ask for some guidance now?"

Before his voice could fade, Xu Mo's figure had already vanished from the spot.

With a grave expression, Lu Jinghan unsheathed his sword almost instinctively, holding the Jinghan Sword horizontally before him.

"Clang—!"

With a crisp clang of clashing metal, a pitch-black short saber appeared in Xu Mo's hand at some unknown moment, its blade striking right against the body of the Jinghan Sword, sending a shower of dazzling sparks flying.