Chapter 141: Battle Demon Blade

The huge, clumsy oaf was built like a small mountain. When he ran, he seemed incredibly awkward, each heavy footstep sending a splash of mud flying. He ran, shouting frantically, "Run! Run faster! The demonic blade has gone mad! Everyone's been killed! Run! Run!"

Before Gu Mo and the others could react, the Xuan Nv Palace disciples trailing behind them were already looking around. The moment the oaf appeared, Xie Liuying quickly rushed over and angrily demanded, "What's going on here? Who did this? How could they be so cruel?"

The oaf shook off Xie Liuying's hand, panicking. "Run! Just run! I'm not lying to you! That knife is a demonic blade, an ominous artifact. My master said that once the demonic blade tastes blood, it can't be stopped... It will keep killing, keep killing..."

The oaf continued to shout as he scrambled away.

However, just as he reached the village entrance, he stopped dead in his tracks. He then slumped to the ground as if he had seen a ghost, trembling uncontrollably. He stammered, "Oh no, oh no, we can't escape now..."

Everyone looked towards the entrance.

Suddenly, a scorching aura washed over them. A white-haired man in black robes slowly emerged at the village entrance, covered in blood.

The white-haired man held a horizontal blade. Its entire body glowed fiery red, as if it had just been forged in a raging furnace. Strange, inexplicable flames flickered around him. These flames were not ordinary fire; as they danced, they seemed to possess an invisible power. Wherever they touched, puddles on the ground sizzled and instantly turned into wisps of steam, vanishing without a trace.

The white-haired man's eyes were an eerie, almost demonic red, as if soaked in blood. Streaks of crimson mist emanated from his gaze, swirling around him without dissipating. Subtly, flames also seemed to boil and surge around his body, as if he himself were a volcano on the verge of eruption, capable of unleashing world-shattering power at any moment.

Everyone felt their breath catch, their hearts heavy as if crushed by a massive boulder. The weapons in their hands trembled almost imperceptibly.

In that moment, everyone present recognized him. He was the masked man in black who had severely wounded Lin Qixia with a single strike the previous night. And the blade in his hand was, naturally, the demonic blade that the oaf had carried in his iron box.

"Run! Run! Run!"

The oaf scrambled to his feet and fled.

No one paid him any attention. Everyone present had already realized that despite the oaf's impressive external martial arts, his courage was practically nonexistent. Last night, when he first fought the Xuan Nv Palace members, he didn't even dare to use lethal moves or even hit them hard. After witnessing the demonic blade taste blood, he was utterly terrified, only capable of screaming for everyone to run.

"Bai Ying, it's you!"

Lin Qixia's voice was grim. "You're still alive! You've been stirring up trouble in the shadows all this time. The Golden Blade Sect, the Long Eyebrow Sword School, and the Chen family are all descendants of your sworn brothers. How could you wipe out their entire families?"

The white-haired man stood motionless at the village entrance.

Xie Liuying asked, puzzled, "Senior Sister, you know this man?"

Lin Qixia replied, "I've seen him. He is Bai Ying, the White-Haired Immortal, who was once renowned throughout Qingzhou. He was born with a full head of white hair, so from the moment he entered the martial world, he was mistaken for an elder and thus earned the title 'White-Haired Immortal.' He was one of the Nine Righteous of Qingzhou. However, he disappeared ten years ago, and rumors in the martial world claimed he was dead."

Xie Liuying paused, slightly stunned. "Then isn't he Grandmaster's..." She trailed off, then added, "He looks like he's not in his right mind!"

"Don't worry about that. Master once said that the White-Haired Immortal long ago succumbed to evil ways. If we encounter him, we don't need to consider any past connections; we should simply kill him."

With that, Lin Qixia gripped her sword hilt, turned to Gu Mo and the others, and waved her hand, saying, "You all go first." Then, she shouted, "Xuan Nv Palace disciples, heed my command! Form the sword array and slay the demon!"

Immediately, all the Xuan Nv Palace disciples moved in unison. In a flash, cold glints of steel flashed as they lunged towards the white-haired man. In an instant, over a dozen swords echoed each other, forming an intricate and complex sword array, their thrusts crisscrossing, leaving no gaps.

Yet, the white-haired man seemed to disregard the sword array entirely. He merely raised his head slightly, his eyes swirling with blood mist, resembling a demon from the Nine Hells.

He casually swung his blade. In that instant, the wind and clouds changed color as terrifying flames, like a raging sea, roared forth with overwhelming force. Wherever the flames passed, the air warped and shimmered from the intense heat.

With a resounding crackle, the meticulously formed sword array of the Xuan Nv Palace disciples shattered like paper. They were instantly scattered, each vomiting blood and sent flying in all directions like broken kites, crashing heavily to the ground and sending up sprays of mud.

For a moment, however, the dozen or so Xuan Nv Palace disciples showed remarkable tenacity. They quickly scrambled back to their feet; not a single one fled. They immediately reformed their array, ready to charge again.

Gu Mo seemed to understand why, in this era, the Xuan Nv Palace, composed entirely of women, could stand as one of the world's Three Sects and Four Schools.

Each of them was fearless, stubborn, and not easily provoked. More importantly, they genuinely seemed to embody justice!

"Kill!"

With Lin Qixia's fierce cry, the Xuan Nv Palace disciples charged forward once more.

However, after the white-haired man struck down Lin Qixia, who was leading the charge, he lost interest in the other Xuan Nv Palace members. His blood-red eyes, like those of a beast locking onto its prey, fixed intently on Gu Mo.

Then, he flickered, enveloped by surging flames, and shot towards Gu Mo like a blazing meteor. Wherever he stepped, the ground scorched, leaving blackened footprints, and the intense heat instantly withered the surrounding vegetation.

The white-haired man, a living volcano emitting waves of heat, suddenly leaped, menacingly. His demonic blade, imbued with endless killing intent, descended with tremendous force.

In that instant, the sky seemed to tear open as heavenly fire, like a cascading river, surged violently towards Gu Mo and his companions. Wherever the rolling flames reached, the air sizzled, the ground instantly cracked, and the scorching heat nearly suffocated everyone.

"Quick, hide!"

Lin Qixia, burning with anxiety, screamed at the top of her lungs. But before she could finish, the sight before her made her eyes widen in astonishment, freezing her on the spot.

Gu Mo, expressionless, suddenly unleashed an imposing aura. He struck out with a palm, and in that instant, a deafening dragon roar reverberated through the sky. A massive dragon-shaped qi energy materialized out of thin air.

This dragon-shaped qi energy was Gu Mo's "Dragon Fights in the Wild" technique, executed by channeling the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms with his Blazing Sun Martial Arts. The qi radiated a scorching glow, every scale on the dragon shimmering with fiery luster, so lifelike it seemed a true divine dragon had appeared.

The dragon-shaped palm energy roared skyward, charging with an unstoppable momentum like an arrow, directly towards the surging heavenly fire and the white-haired man.

As the palm wind swept through, the heavenly fire scattered to either side, as if cleaved by an invisible blade. In the blink of an eye, the dragon-shaped qi energy collided head-on with the massive flames unleashed by the white-haired man.

"Boom!"

A colossal roar reverberated, making everyone's eardrums ache as if a thunderclap had exploded beside them.

A powerful energy wave, centered on the point of impact, violently expanded outwards, kicking up a whirlwind of dust and debris.

The white-haired man was struck as if by lightning, sent uncontrollably flying dozens of feet backward, crashing heavily to the ground and splashing mud everywhere.

When he landed, there was a series of crackling sounds, like shattering porcelain. All the bones in his body seemed to break and dislocate, piercing through his skin.

However, something strange happened.

The white-haired man, as if possessing an immortal body, slowly stood back up amidst everyone's astonished gazes.

His eyes were still blood-red, like those of a ferocious beast impervious to pain. A low growl rumbled in his throat as he once again raised the demonic blade high and charged towards Gu Mo.

Blade after blade, he unleashed over a dozen consecutive strikes.

With each successive strike, the white-haired man's skin visibly began to wither and dry, as if he were dehydrating.

As these dozen or so continuous slashes were unleashed, terrifying flames surged into a sea of fire. The imposing, phantom image of a Qilin appeared, indistinct yet fierce, roaring deafeningly and charging towards Gu Mo with world-destroying momentum.

Wherever the Qilin passed, the flames intensified, and the ground glowed fiery red, as if on the verge of melting.

Seeing this, Gu Mo showed no fear. Instead, he charged directly forward, swinging both palms to unleash his most powerful technique, "Six Dragons Soaring."

Instantly, six colossal dragon phantoms roared out from around him. The six dragons echoed each other, forming an unbreakable defensive line that surged towards the Qilin phantom.

In that instant, another tremendous roar erupted, as if the heavens and earth were rending apart.

Under the attack of the six dragons, the Qilin phantom instantly disintegrated, transforming into countless flames that dispersed into the air.

The white-haired man was once again sent flying backward by the immense force.

This time, his chest was utterly mangled, his internal organs pulverized. Blood gushed from his mouth, splattering onto the scorched earth.

Yet, even so, the white-haired man did not fall. His body swayed, but he stubbornly pulled himself back to his feet.

At that very moment, Gu Mo gathered his inner energy at his fingertip, and an incomparably sharp Middle Rush Sword Qi whistled forth. The sword qi, like a bolt of lightning, instantly struck the white-haired man's arm.

With a "snap," the white-haired man's arm broke with an audible crack, and the demonic blade flew from his grasp.

The moment the demonic blade flew, the blood mist in the white-haired man's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a flicker of confusion and fear. However, before he could react further, fierce flames suddenly erupted all over his body.

These flames were eerily strange, engulfing him instantly. In a flash, he was reduced to a pile of ash, dissipating into the blood-soaked, smoky air.

At this moment, the demonic blade fell, impaling the ground. With a sizzle, the muddy puddles within several yards instantly turned into steam, vanishing without a trace.

The intense heat emanating from the blade seemed alive, still spreading outwards with a sizzling sound. Wherever it touched, the ground cracked, vegetation instantly charred, and the air filled with a pungent smell of burning.