Chapter 132: Confronting Ren Tianqi

Inside the side room, two chain scimitars, imbued with an icy chill, shot swiftly towards Daoist Yuan like venomous snakes emerging from their lair.

Daoist Yuan's expression remained impassive. His long sword suddenly flashed out, and in an instant, sword energy surged, resembling a majestic rainbow piercing the sun, exuding immense power.

With two resounding clang-clangs, sparks flew. The two chain scimitars were repelled by the sharp sword strike, flying backward.

Just then, a figure slowly appeared in the side room. It was a middle-aged man, holding two chain scimitars in his hands.

"Twin Blades Yang Wei!"

Daoist Yuan recognized him as Twin Blades Yang Wei, one of the twelve hall masters of the White Tiger Branch of the Moon Worshippers' Cult.

Yang Wei's face was devoid of expression. Behind him, faint footsteps could be heard, almost imperceptible amidst the rain. Following closely, figures slowly emerged from the darkness of the side room, all wearing the distinctive attire of the Moon Worshippers' Cult.

As everyone's attention was fixed on Yang Wei, the doors of the two side chambers slowly creaked open, and another group of Moon Worshippers' Cult members filed out. They moved swiftly and silently, settling into position, their weapons glinting coldly in the rainy night.

Simultaneously, a faint sound of shifting tiles came from the rooftop. Everyone looked up to see that the rafters were, at some unknown point, filled with Moon Worshippers' Cult members. They were concealed like specters in the darkness, looking down from above, poised to swoop down like falcons on their prey at any moment.

"Call for help!" Old Man Sang shouted. The moment his voice fell, a Canglan Sword Sect disciple, without hesitation, quickly pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the night sky.

With a loud bang, the signal flare exploded in the rainy night. Its dazzling light instantly illuminated the dark sky, like a thunderous war drum heralding the prelude to battle.

In an instant, Cangshan Town plunged into chaos and unrest. Throughout the streets and alleys, footsteps, shouts, and the clang of weapons intertwined. People from various factions poured out like a tide, surging towards the center of the conflict. Many martial artists appeared from the civilian houses surrounding the small courtyard, as numerous martial world figures had been arranged to stay in these residences.

At this moment, in the small courtyard, Yang Wei stood under the eaves, his expression grim, and lightly waved his hand. Instantly, numerous Moon Worshippers' Cult members charged forward. Concurrently, the Twin Immortals of Snowridge, Daoist Yuan, Old Man Sang, and others also made their moves.

For a moment, figures crisscrossed in the courtyard, and shouts of battle shook the heavens. The rainwater was stained red with splashing blood, and the ground was covered in messy footprints and traces of the fight.

Gu Mo and Gu Chuwinter did not make a move. Gu Chuwinter stood beside Gu Mo, holding the Autumn Water Sword, while Gu Mo remained motionless. It was not convenient for him to act in such a chaotic situation, as he could easily accidentally injure his own people.

Of course, there was also a crucial reason: he sensed the presence of a master in that side room, a very, very powerful master. The two were not face to face, yet Gu Mo knew a master was there, and the master inside was also observing Gu Mo. They had not met, but both knew of each other's existence.

Rain poured down, dripping from his hair.

At one point, the raindrops suspended in the air near the upturned eaves suddenly froze. The sudden downpour in the courtyard abruptly sounded like pearls scattering on a jade plate, and thousands of tiny silver beads seemed to roll upwards. Then, a single raindrop flew horizontally forward, gently colliding with another. A wondrous thing happened: the two raindrops did not separate but tightly fused together.

In this manner, it moved forward, continuously merging with more raindrops, gaining speed and strength. In just a moment, these coalesced raindrops formed a massive water sphere, spinning faster and faster. The surrounding rain was violently drawn into it, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a raging water vortex, surging towards Gu Mo with an earth-shattering momentum.

Gu Mo's left toe crushed half a green brick, and the accumulated water rose inverted like a dragon emerging from the sea. A three-zhang wide curtain of rain stretched across, reflecting the window lattice of the opposite side room. When the water vortex collided with this rain curtain, it produced a clangorous sound, like clashing weapons and charging horses.

The vortex hit the rain curtain with a dull thud, splashing water everywhere, but it failed to break through even an inch.

At this moment, a figure darted out from the side room like a phantom. A fiery red palm, imbued with scorching energy, aimed directly at Gu Mo's face. Gu Mo did not dodge, but met it head-on with a move called "Six Dragons Soaring Through Time." His palm wind was like thunder, colliding forcefully with the red palm.

"Boom!"

With a tremendous roar, the small courtyard seemed to be torn apart by immense force. Rain shot out like arrows, the ground trembled incessantly, and raindrops within a ten-zhang radius simultaneously exploded into fine mist.

As the mist dissipated, both figures slid backward seven zhang. Gu Mo landed on an old locust tree beside the courtyard wall, its leaves rustling and falling. The other master flew onto the rooftop, standing on the eaves with one foot.

In the rainy night, the entire courtyard was filled with fighting, yet these two seemed to be detached from the noisy world. Their two figures stood in confrontation, exuding a chilling killing intent, as if even heaven and earth held their breath at that moment.

"Bloody Fiend Divine Palm, you are Ren Tianqi," Gu Mo stated.

"As expected of the Great Hero of Yunzhou, you remembered my Bloody Fiend Divine Palm after only seeing it once."

The person on the rooftop was indeed Ren Tianqi.

"I witnessed his Bloody Fiend Divine Palm when I killed your disciple on Lying Ox Mountain. However, his was still somewhat inferior to yours," Gu Mo remarked.

Ren Tianqi calmly replied, "Therefore, I am here to kill you today."

Gu Mo nodded slightly and said, "Very well."

Immediately, Gu Mo lightly tapped his toes, and his figure, like a swallow, darted out in an instant, his robes flapping fiercely in the wind. At the same time, Ren Tianqi, like an arrow released from a bow, charged swiftly towards Gu Mo. Their figures intertwined in mid-air, moving as fast as lightning. Fists flashed and palm winds whistled; for a moment, it was difficult to distinguish one from the other.

In the blink of an eye, the two descended from their mid-air struggle to the ground. Each collision of their palm forces caused the air to vibrate, emitting dull thuds. Dozens of palm strikes passed in an instant. As their feet touched the ground, a loud "rumble" echoed. The solid ground was directly blasted into a large pit by their immense palm power, with dust swirling and gravel scattering.

Ren Tianqi seized the opportunity, lowered his head, and a cold gleam flashed from his mouth. A hidden weapon, like a meteor chasing the moon, shot straight for Gu Mo's throat.

Gu Mo's expression remained unchanged. As he raised his hand, an invisible wisp of sword energy whistled from his fingertip, which was the Lesser Merchant Finger Sword from the Six Meridians Divine Sword. With a crisp "ding," the hidden weapon was struck by the sword energy, veering off its trajectory.

Immediately after, Gu Mo tapped his foot and swiftly lunged towards Ren Tianqi. Simultaneously, his hands alternated rapidly, his fingers nimble, weaving crisscrossing sword energies that instantly formed the Six Meridians Sword Array. Within the array, sword energies resembled roaming dragons, circling and dancing, enveloping Ren Tianqi tightly with an unstoppable momentum.

Seeing this, Ren Tianqi's expression subtly changed, yet he showed no fear. He swept both hands across his waist, and in a flash, countless hidden weapons shot out like a sudden shower of pear blossoms, some flying straight, others curving, attempting to break through the sword energy blockade.

However, Gu Mo's Six Meridians Sword Array was exquisitely precise, its sword energy impenetrable. The hidden weapons Ren Tianqi launched were shredded by the sword energy, turning into a pile of scrap metal. In the blink of an eye, a sharp sword energy broke through his defense, striking Ren Tianqi directly. To everyone's surprise, although the sword energy left wounds on his body, not a single drop of blood flowed out.

"You can't kill me."

Ren Tianqi lightly tapped his foot and glided backward with extreme agility, like drifting willow catkins. His wide cloak flapped fiercely in the strong wind. With a sudden sweep, countless hidden weapons, whistling sharply, rained down on Gu Mo like falling stars from the night sky.

Immediately, Gu Mo landed on the accumulated water on the ground without a single splash. His internal energy circulated around his body, and his hands moved swiftly, tracing strange arcs. An invisible vortex seemed to form in his palms, drawing in all the incoming hidden weapons. In the blink of an eye, these hidden weapons changed trajectory, flying back towards Ren Tianqi at an even faster speed. Countless weapons struck Ren Tianqi accurately, but a bizarre sight unfolded. The hidden weapons seemed to hit a mass of soft mud or sand, sinking into his body without a single splash of blood.

"I've long heard that the Great Hero of Yunzhou possesses a technique to return an opponent's move against them. It truly lives up to its reputation," Ren Tianqi praised. As his words fell, the hidden weapons were slowly expelled from Ren Tianqi's body by an invisible force, clinking and clanking as they dropped to the ground.

Ren Tianqi stood still, his robes fluttering, completely unharmed. He chuckled softly, "It's a pity that while your techniques are rare in the world, they cannot kill me, Gu Mo. In our fight, I can make countless mistakes, but you only get one. How long can you last?"

Gu Mo calmly replied, "But before Qi Tianshu, didn't you also have only one chance for a mistake?"

Ren Tianqi smiled faintly, "However, there is only one Qi Tianshu in this world. You, Gu Mo, are not the second Qi Tianshu."

"But isn't there also only one Gu Mo in this world?"

The moment his words fell, he stomped his foot violently, sending the accumulated water on the ground splashing. His figure, like a black lightning bolt, surged towards Ren Tianqi with such speed that one could barely blink. Simultaneously, his right hand moved slightly within his sleeve, and a flying dagger appeared in his palm. This flying dagger was the Little Gu Flying Dagger. Its blade was long and slender, glinting with a cold, icy light in the dimness, as if all the world's killing intent had coalesced within it.

Gu Mo's hand gave a slight flick, and the flying dagger shot from his palm like a meteor. In that instant, time seemed to freeze, and the entire world was reduced to only the trajectory of this flying dagger. The Little Gu Flying Dagger never missed its mark. It tore through the rain curtain and ripped through the air with an unstoppable momentum, emitting a sharp whistling sound. An invisible aura seemed to surround the blade, forcing back the surrounding raindrops.

Ren Tianqi's pupils suddenly constricted. He tried to dodge but found himself seemingly locked in place by an invisible force, unable to evade no matter how he tried. He could only watch as the flying dagger drew closer and closer.

The next second, the flying dagger accurately struck Ren Tianqi's eye.

"Pffft!" The sound was like a sharp blade piercing flesh, yet also like a raindrop hitting the ground.

"I wonder if your eyes can turn into quicksand?"

Ren Tianqi's body violently shuddered. At that moment, his vision went completely black. Gu Mo had already reached him, pressing a palm against Ren Tianqi's chest. Instantly, the Flaming Sun Divine Art activated, operating at full power, and a searing aura surged from his palm.

The surrounding world seemed to be twisted by an invisible force, instantly transforming into an intensely hot furnace. Blazing heat waves rolled and surged. Immersed in it, Ren Tianqi immediately felt his meridians burning as if scorched by raging fire, and his internal organs seemed to melt from the intense heat. The scorching power engulfed him like a roaring tide.

"Ah!"

Ren Tianqi suddenly threw his head back, letting out an earth-shattering roar. That immense force actually squeezed the flying dagger out of his eye. Still, not a single drop of blood appeared, but his eye was empty; there was no eyeball. Immediately after, his palms were instantly enveloped in a layer of blood-red fiendish energy. He unleashed the Bloody Fiend Divine Palm, striking fiercely towards Gu Mo.

The palm wind whistled, carrying a bloody scent. Gu Mo met the strike head-on and retreated a few steps. Seizing this opportunity, Ren Tianqi turned and sprinted towards the side room. However, his skin displayed a bizarre, translucent reddish hue, as if scorched through by extreme heat, with flames seemingly burning wildly within. Wherever he passed, the air itself distorted, leaving behind a trail of scorching heat.