As they spoke, those five dark shadows revealed their true forms, which were five men with somber expressions and very similar features. The leader spoke in a deep voice,
"We are carrying out orders for our sect, and we dare not slack off. These mortals were merely frightened, no one lost their lives because of it. As for those five lives before..."
He thought for a moment and said,
"Wu will compensate those mortals with spirit stones on behalf of my younger brother!"
The young cultivator heard this and cracked a faint smile,
"You five are from the Yin Evil Sect's Yin Evil Five Ghosts, indeed not unworthy of the name of a notorious evil cultivation sect in Great Yue. Killed five people, caused such a commotion, and now you just think of settling it with spirit stones. What do you take the Spirit Clearing Guard for?"
The complexion of the leading man became even darker as he said,
"Why must you be so pedantic, my friend? It's just a few mortals. If they're killed, they're killed. Just lend us a hand, and the Yin Evil Sect will surely be... grateful!"
The smiling young cultivator's smile grew even broader, but his eyes turned colder,
"Grateful! If you wish to give thanks, then do so with your lives!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the leading man's face turned ashen. He knew today's affair wouldn't end well. Without further discussion, he just opened his mouth and spat out a black dagger, which, upon leaving his lips, instantly grew with the wind, transforming into a three-meter-long greatsword.
"Go!"
He pointed with a flick of his finger, and the black greatsword chopped towards the young cultivator,
"Ah..."
Li Yaner was witnessing a bout of spell combat between cultivators for the first time. Seeing that the greatsword was ferocious, she couldn't help but let out a cry of alarm. Gu Shi Yi hurriedly said,
"Quiet down a bit, these are great cultivators with keen senses and powerful Divine Sense. A single flick of their little finger could cost us our lives!"
Li Yaner, frightened, clamped her mouth shut, huddled close to the tree branch next to Gu Shi Yi's head, and asked in a low voice,
"How did his knife grow so big?"
Gu Shi Yi replied softly,
"I don't know either, but my master said that these are cultivators who must possess a Spirit Root, so they can sense nature's spiritual energy. After learning the Cultivation Technique, they can summon nature's spiritual energy, and their magical treasures can grow big or small at will..."
"Just like Sun Wukong's Golden Cudgel?"
"Right, right, just like Sun Wukong... But Sun Wukong is a Primordial Variant born from nature, who can manipulate nature's spiritual energy without practicing any Cultivation Technique..."
According to the terms of their realm, Sun Wukong is a Primordial Variant that existed from the birth of heaven and earth, with Divine Skills so mighty, they can even swallow the cosmos and travel the universe, piercing through time and space – naturally, he wouldn't be content being a mere Pilgrim horse-warmer.
Li Yaner nodded, seeming to understand but not quite comprehending, then glanced at Gu Shi Yi,
"So... do you have a Spirit Root?"
Gu Shi Yi shook his head,
"No, when I was little, my master once disguised me and took me to the entrance test of the Heavenly Unity Sect, but I didn't pass..."
"Oh..."
Li Yaner looked disappointed but then raised her head to see the young cultivator point a finger at the black greatsword flying towards him. The greatsword immediately halted its momentum, whirling in the air before him. The young cultivator cracked a smile, showing eight snow-white teeth,
"Your dark blade must have been nourished with quite a bit of flesh and blood, right?"
The leader of the group didn't say a word, raised his hand to point again, and the greatsword, like a snake, writhed back and forth. Then it let out a ghostly, howl-like screech out of thin air,
"Ah..."
Gu Shi Yi felt a piercing pain in his eardrums, while Li Yaner felt her soul body trembling; she could no longer cling to the branch and her body began to fall. Fortunately, Gu Shi Yi reacted quickly, jumping down from the tree, and before the Little Mud Man hit the ground, he caught it in his arms,
"Such battles between cultivators are truly not something we mortals can watch!"
Despite the intense pain in his eardrums, Gu Shi Yi held the Little Mud Man close and ran toward the riverbank where the crowd was gathering. Cultivators' battles tend to avoid affecting mortals, so hiding in a crowded place should be safe!
Just as Gu Shi Yi dived into the mass of people, the Black Sword in mid-air, with a shrieking sound and ferocious momentum, chopped toward the young cultivator. The young cultivator's smile remained unchanged as he raised his hand to grab it, astonishingly catching the Black Sword in hand. The Black Sword twisted in his grip like a black snake, but with a slight application of force from the cultivator's five fingers, there was a crisp snap – the Black Sword was actually broken in half...
The five opponents were shocked at the sight, and the leading brother clenched his teeth, reached into his chest to pull out something, and threw it towards the young cultivator. That object, once released, emitted a plume of black gas that turned into a cloud of black fog above their heads. From within the black fog came a series of strange sounds,