Suddenly, a golden light shot up from the abyss like a shooting star tearing through the night sky. With a thunderous roar, it struck the point where the purple mist connected with the Nine Stars. Starlight scattered, resembling a meteor shower.
The spiritual energy flow formed by the purple mist abruptly snapped. As it fragmented, it fell onto Mo Qi's spiritual energy stream used for absorption. The spiritual energy then flowed down the purple mist.
Mo Qi sensed someone "hitching a ride," but since both were absorbing the Nine Stars' spiritual energy without interference, he paid it no mind.
Gradually, however, he noticed the other party occasionally siphoning his spiritual energy during the exchange, and he began to feel displeased.
At this moment, the Nine Stars shifted, no longer aligning perfectly, and the spiritual energy began to dissipate. The purple mist stream remained attached to Mo Qi's spiritual energy stream, attempting to completely absorb his power. Mo Qi, of course, would not allow this, nor would the Earth Arrow within his body. The Earth Arrow spun, and an arrow energy silently emerged, following the spiritual energy stream and instantly striking the unknown location.
The other party was also a rare natural treasure. As a stream of spiritual energy struck, it collided with this arrow energy. The backlash erupted violently in all directions from that point, a ripple expanding outwards. Those standing around Mo Qi were flung back, some falling directly into the abyss. In an instant, all spiritual energy bodies, including the one Mo Qi used to absorb stellar spiritual energy, shattered and dissipated into the air.
Looking into the abyss, light and energy swirled, accompanied by incessant booming explosions.
Something must have happened at the Foundation Establishment Platform! Mo Qi knew his danger was not over, but his concern for his fellow disciples' safety spurred him on. Without further thought, he turned and sped back towards the abyss.
Moments later, light and energy flowed, and figures crossed paths.
From a distance, Mo Qi saw the head of the Zuo Ci statue to the left of the Foundation Establishment Platform begin to rotate. Bursts of golden light continuously shot from its eyes, striking the ground.
Mo Qi was almost certain that it was this golden light from Zuo Ci that had thwarted the second person attempting Star-Moon Foundation Establishment.
Clusters of black mist seeped from the cracks in the sealing platform. The black mist was ethereal and varied in shape, but each cluster had a pair of eyes in the center. The eyes lacked pupils, their sockets filled with a bloody hue that seemed to slowly ooze out as they moved. Eerie cackling sounds, neither crying nor laughing, emanated from them, sending chills down one's spine.
From the blood-red eye sockets of the black mist, blood swords occasionally shot out, striking the surrounding Foundation Establishment disciples. The disciples dodged frantically. Even a slight misstep, a mere touch of the blood-light, would cause it to spread uncontrollably, rapidly corroding the victim. A large human body would instantly dissolve into a pool of blood. It was utterly terrifying!
The golden light from Zuo Ci's eyes struck these clusters of black mist, as fierce as lava, as swift as lightning. Each impact shattered the black mist, eliciting piercing screams from them.
However, even more black mist overflowed from the cracks of the Foundation Establishment Platform.
At this moment, You Shan's eyes slowly opened. Strings of golden runes flowed from his eyes, landing on the edges of the five sealing platforms and spinning rapidly before quickly disappearing into them. The sealing platforms showed no outward change, but strangely, no more black mist flowed from them.
The remaining clusters of black mist outside, which had not been dispersed, slowly converged, instantly piling together to form a massive black sphere.
The golden light from Zuo Ci's eyes continued to strike the black sphere. But the sphere rolled, skillfully evading every attack.
The black sphere was covered in blood-red eyes. The centers of these eyes were no longer just a bloody hue but were now filled with blood threads.
Thread by thread, the blood threads emerged from the blood-red eyes, like extremely fine earthworms, extending infinitely. They instantly crawled to the base of the statue and rapidly climbed upwards.
The Zuo Ci statue trembled, like an elephant's helpless struggle against ants crawling on it, unable to break free.
The blood threads reached the eye sockets of the Zuo Ci statue and unhesitatingly plunged in. Blood gushed from Zuo Ci's eyes like a spring, but no more golden light emerged.
Even more blood threads spread out in all directions. Many Foundation Establishment disciples had already fled far away, but the black sphere rolled rapidly, and the blood threads extended just as quickly, their speed surpassing even flight.
The blood threads enveloped and wrapped around the fleeing disciples, spraying blood. The remaining flesh was instantly devoured.
"Thousand Mile Ice Seal!" Xue Nu, who had awakened at some point, saw the monster's frenzied slaughter and immediately unleashed her divine ability.
Cold air descended instantly, the ground rapidly freezing. A thick layer of ice, emitting cold air, spread forward, solidifying the blood threads and freezing the sphere.
With cracking sounds, the ice layers shattered. Blood threads broke through the ice and lunged towards Xue Nu.
Xue Nu was greatly alarmed. She quickly changed her hand seals, raising an ice wall in front of her. Simultaneously, she struck the ice wall repeatedly, sending ice swords crashing into the blood threads. Ice flowers scattered, white mist rose, and the forward momentum of the blood threads was hindered and slowed, yet they still reached for Xue Nu.
Xue Nu's beautiful face paled slightly, fine sweat beading on her forehead.
At this moment, Mo Qi arrived at a gallop. He saw Chen Zui, Zhao Zhou, and others running with ashen faces. Chen Zui and the others first showed obvious smiles, then shouted, "Run!" and fled at extreme speed.
Mo Qi's response, "You all go first!" was not even finished before they had already fled far away, indicating the terror of what was below.
However, Mo Qi had already clearly seen the situation below. He saw Xue Nu struggling to hold on, seemingly buying time for everyone, and now she appeared unable to endure, in danger of being devoured at any moment.
Even though they were enemies just moments ago, he now had to acknowledge her as his teammate.
Moreover, after absorbing so much stellar spiritual energy, he faintly felt that it contained world-destroying power. If not released in time, it might destroy him!
Therefore, he flashed and appeared beside Xue Nu. He formed a hand seal, and a ripple appeared before him, expanding infinitely, connecting heaven and earth. Within the ripple, countless arrow bodies condensed. The arrow bodies were distinct yet connected, forming an impenetrable barrier. Together, they formed a colossal arrow that blotted out the sky, emitting a radiance comparable to the sun and moon, infinitely fierce, as scorching as lava. The colossal arrow hummed, as if drawn on a bowstring, poised to unleash, its distant presence already exuding a bloody, destructive aura.
Mo Qi pointed lightly, and the colossal arrow shot out. Accompanied by a sound like the sky collapsing and the earth shattering, the radiance instantly engulfed everything, flashing and disappearing in an instant. Around the light, dust and debris swirled, and a hurricane rose from nowhere, sweeping outwards. Mo Qi scooped Xue Nu into his arms and retreated rapidly.
After all the smoke and dust cleared, a crater several miles in circumference appeared on the ground. Everything that had been on the ground was reduced to ashes, including the sphere and its extending blood threads.
After landing steadily, Xue Nu realized the person holding her was Mo Qi. Astonishment, anger, and shame surged within her. She shoved Mo Qi away and turned to leave quickly.
Mo Qi glanced back. Seeing that the monster had been annihilated, he followed behind, departing rapidly.
At this moment, countless faint wisps of green smoke seemed to squeeze out of the air, gradually condensing, turning from faint to dense, becoming streams of black mist, and then gradually transforming into human figures. There were men and women. The men had ferocious visages, and the women were beautiful and lovely. Among them was a hunchback with a pair of wings on his back, his eyes glowing with a crimson light. He was slightly shorter, but the aura emanating from him surpassed everyone else's.
"I didn't expect this," sighed the winged person. "Our Asura clan, after thousands of years of lying low and recuperating, finally managed to break through the barrier, only to be severely weakened. It seems that after these thousands of years, the cultivation world of the human realm is not as weak as we thought."
A person beside him, with a face as dark as charcoal and similarly red eyes, said somewhat indignantly, "Big Brother, you don't need to praise others. If we hadn't expended so much energy breaking through the barrier, how could we not even deal with these few small fry?"
A fair-faced, petite woman, like an elf, stepped forward, saying angrily, "Yes, Brother. That person absorbed so much stellar spiritual energy. It's already a miracle that we survived with our weakened state. He was just lucky to have such a fortuitous encounter. If we chase after him now, we can crush him into powder. How about I go after him now and eliminate this scourge?" She then made a move as if to leave, eager to act.
The one called "Big Brother" immediately waved his hand. "Xiao Shuang, at this moment, it's best for us to keep a low profile. Not only that, but for a long time to come, we must remain low-profile, hide our tracks, and live like ordinary people in the human realm. Our purpose was to break through the barrier, and that mission is complete. Next, we simply need to wait for the heavenly tribulation to descend."
Xiao Shuang reluctantly abandoned the idea of chasing, still resentful, and said indignantly, "I can't let him off so easily. If I meet him again, I will definitely destroy him."
Big Brother Luohuoluo glared at her. "I've said it before, during this period, we must hide our tracks. Don't act rashly and affect the overall situation."
Xiao Shuang pouted, feigning grievance, her eyes reddening. "Big Brother, you're scolding me again. Are you going to hit me?"
Luohuoluo lost his temper and said with a wry smile, "When did I scold you? And I have no intention of hitting you."
Xiao Shuang suddenly remembered something, her eyes lighting up. "I just noticed that there's a young girl in the Divine Sword Sect who looks quite a bit like me..."
Luohuoluo glared at her. "What mischief are you planning now?"
"Big Brother, you're scolding me again. Are you going to hit me again?"
"When did I say I was going to hit you? And why do you say 'again'?"
Mo Qi reached the entrance of the abyss and was blocked again, by Hua Ci's group. They still refused to give up.
Truly like maggots on bone, a real headache.
Mo Qi glanced at the opposite side. There were probably still dozens of people here; most had already left.
"Are you all unwilling to let me go?" Mo Qi asked coldly.
"Unless we die!" Hua Ci's eyes were bloodshot. These bloodshot eyes were definitely not caused by the monster but by the mental and physical torment of these past few days.
"And you, do you all feel the same?" Mo Qi looked at the people behind him.
"We don't want to die, but we will kill you." The people behind him were even more wild.
"So, it's either I die, or you perish!"
After unleashing the Earth Arrow, Mo Qi felt his internal spiritual energy still in chaos, his body swelling as if about to burst. There was still excess spiritual energy that needed to be vented. It seemed this was the place to release it.
The next moment, after a flash of white light, everything in front of him, including those people, turned to ash.
He shook his head regretfully. "Why were you so determined to die?"
After exiting the mountain gate, except for the rogue cultivators who had already left, disciples from all other sects and factions gathered to assess their Foundation Establishment results. Nine people from the Lingxiao Sect emerged, including Huo Jianxiong and Huo Chunxiong from Shaoqing Peak, Chen Zui from Shaoyang Peak, Wang Shaozhong and Zhao Zhou from Shaoxia Peak, Bai Cheng from Shaonü Peak, Mo Qi and Shui Qianjun from Shaonian Peak, and Zha Junwei from Shaolin Peak, all successfully establishing their foundations.
Many smaller sects and factions also suffered casualties, with few survivors and even fewer successfully establishing their foundations.
Nearly half of the disciples from the four major sects perished, and most of the survivors did not establish their foundations.
In short, the four major sects were utterly defeated and lost all face. However, the sects had a prior agreement: even if they fought to the death within Mount Ashura, they had to act as if nothing had happened once they exited the mountain.
Thus, each sect harbored its own thoughts and returned to their respective mountains.
Only the Lingxiao Sect was filled with joy. Everyone's admiration for Mo Qi was boundless. Chen Zui suggested tossing Mo Qi up and catching him, but the few people lacked the strength to lift him, so they gave up.
Upon returning to the Lingxiao Sect, Mo Qi was summoned by the Sect Master.
He expected the Sect Master to praise him for his great contribution this time, or perhaps to ask him for more invisibility pills.
However, as soon as he entered, he sensed that the atmosphere was wrong. Inside, it was gloomy and overcast, with only the Sect Master Wu Fan and the four great elders of Lingxiao Sect, Wang, Kong, Xie, and Zhang, all looking dejected and sighing as if the end of the world was imminent.
Mo Qi, as the Deputy Sect Master, entered and casually sat down, crossing his legs – the posture of a high-ranking official.
Wu Fan sighed. "Mo Qi, you have made a great contribution this time!"
Mo Qi frowned. "From the feeling I'm getting, it's as if I've committed a grave mistake?"