Chapter Forty: The Forbidden Array Within the Valley

Li Mu indeed could not cast Ice Crystal Art twice at the same time, but he happened to possess the Ice Crystal Ring, which only required a wisp of true power to activate as a treasure. Thus, he was able to win.

The entire process took less than five moments. With a thought, the struggle had already come to an end.

The fiend lay dead, and the net of blood pearls that had trapped Li Mie dissipated along with him. Li Mie stared at the corpse for a long while, silent. He had thought he could avenge himself, only to nearly lose his life; if not for the jade pendant and for Li Mu, he would have perished.

Li Mu found nothing to say. Such was the nature of battle: victory or annihilation, and the experience was one each person had to endure alone.

He casually summoned a Fire Spell, sending flames to consume the fiend’s body. Where the fire passed, the corpse gradually turned to ash, but from within the ashes came a crackling burst of sound.

Li Mu glanced over and was immediately startled: even a low-grade spirit crystal had burned to nothing beneath his Fire Spell.

Since when could the Fire Spell burn spirit crystals? It was a basic technique for the initial stage of Qi Condensation. Li Mu had used it many times before, never with such a result.

Puzzled, Li Mu summoned another flame.

Within the burning fire, a hint of purple surfaced again. The purple streaks were very fine, but their veins were distinct and clear.

Many days had passed since he’d absorbed the spirit of the purple peach, and all its power should have long been consumed. This could not be the lingering aura of the peach.

Now, Li Mu could be certain: during his Foundation Creation, he had truly acquired the property of the purple peach.

The fire spells he cast now carried the qualities of the purple flame. Purple flame belonged to the same category as the earth’s core fire, one of the three special types of flame, incomparably hot, dense as molten lava, with unique effects in alchemy and artifact forging.

If fire spells contained the properties of purple flame, their power was multiplied. The Fire Spell he now wielded possessed the might of a Foundation Establishment technique; if he cast the Flaming Crow Art, its force could rival even the techniques of the Vein Tempering stage.

This was truly astonishing, and Li Mu felt a sudden surge of satisfaction.

Seeing Li Mie still in a daze, Li Mu frowned and asked, “Was the one I just killed the fiend who murdered Aunt Zhao?”

Li Mie shook his head.

Li Mu spoke in a low voice, “So it was not your true foe. If you cannot control yourself now, how will you face him later?”

Li Mie pondered for a moment and nodded. “Brother Li, I can control myself.”

“Let’s hope so,” Li Mu replied, not saying much more. Li Mie was only a boy of a dozen years, and as one who had lived two lifetimes, Li Mu was of a wholly different mind; there was no need to force him. Besides, he was confident that, even without Li Mie, he could finish off the fiends of Black Mountain.

Everything was firmly under control.

After collecting their spoils, the two spoke little and headed toward the bandit stronghold.

They did not take the main road, instead circling around the back and threading their way through the forest. Li Mu walked ahead, using his spiritual sense to probe behind and around them. For an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, spiritual sense typically covered a radius of ten meters, but Li Mu’s reached nearly twenty, far surpassing the norm.

Upon reaching halfway up the mountain, Li Mu suddenly halted.

Li Mie immediately grew alert. “Brother Li, what is it?”

Li Mu whispered, “There seem to be people ahead. Be careful.” Li Mie nodded in response.

Crossing a creek, they found a valley before them, where two fiends of the Qi Condensation stage stood talking.

“Why hasn’t Lord Wang come to cultivate today?”

“I heard there are disciples from a sect here, and something important is afoot. Lord Wang is keeping them company.”

“Really? What kind of sect would come to our Black Mountain?” The speaker’s face was full of doubt.

“Who knows!” the other replied. “Deputy Lord Li said so. The visitor was dressed in purple robes, looked extremely powerful—” He pointed toward the mountaintop. “Who knows if Lord Wang can take him down. He must have some treasures on him.”

Li Mu and Li Mie exchanged a glance and leapt forward almost simultaneously.

“Earth Pit Art!” Li Mie’s blade was unavailable, so he quickly cast a spell; in an instant, a mire appeared beneath one fiend’s feet, and he fell in, unable to control his body.

“You—where are you from?” The other fiend, seeing the situation turn dire, bit his finger hard and shot off an arrow.

Li Mu ignored it, sending a sudden burst of green light from his hand, which transformed into vines that wrapped the fiend into a ball, leaving him almost immobile.

It was the Vine Art of the Foundation Establishment stage, able to restrain an enemy for a short time.

The fiend trapped in the mire tried to break free, but Li Mie, empowered by a strength spell, struck him a heavy blow to the chest, caving it in deeply—he would not survive.

The fiend ensnared by vines began to wail, “Spare me! Please, spare me!”

Li Mu glanced at the valley behind them. “What is this place? Open the barrier for me.”

He probed with his spiritual sense and found a wall blocking him. Clearly, there was a protective barrier in front of the valley.

“This is where Lord Wang cultivates. Only he can enter—I’m just a gatekeeper,” the fiend stammered, face pale. “Please, sir, spare me. I had nothing to do with what’s inside.”

Li Mu pressed, “What’s inside, then?”

The fiend stuttered, refusing to speak.

“Lord Wang? Tell me his full name. Where is he?” Li Mie shouted, his face dark.

The fiend kept begging, “His name is Wang Xiaoming, he’s in the mountains right now.”

With this information, Li Mu paid him no further heed. The Vine Art could hold a Qi Condensation cultivator for at least five moments.

Li Mu turned to Li Mie. “Do you know anything about barriers?”

Li Mie nodded. “My master taught me, and I’ve read books on them. I’m quite familiar.”

“Good,” Li Mu said with a faint smile. “Go take a look.”

Li Mie approached the entrance to the valley, which was shrouded in thick mist, making it impossible to see anything. He took out a green talisman, infused it with true power, and it glowed softly with yellow light.

Holding the talisman, he walked to several spots, but when the light faded, Li Mie shook his head helplessly, his face flushed with embarrassment. “Brother Li, I can’t break this barrier. It’s laid out extremely well. I can’t find its weakness or see any flaws.”

“No matter. We’ll deal with Wang Xiaoming and worry about it later.”

Li Mu smiled. “Don’t worry about it. He’s a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It’s normal that his barrier can’t be broken.”

“Oh, what about him?” Li Mie pointed at the fiend on the ground.

“Kill him.”

Upon hearing Li Mu’s words, the fiend’s face changed dramatically. “I’ll fight you to the death!”

With a shout, he bit his tongue hard, and his face turned purple in an instant. His body swelled, bursting through his clothes.

But the vines barely budged.

His bulging, pulsing flesh was squeezed so tightly by the vines that blood oozed out, and his bones began to show—a gruesome sight.

“Why bring such suffering upon yourself?” Li Mu shook his head. With a forceful kick, a stone the size of a head shot out, smashing the fiend’s skull to pieces.

They searched his storage pouch, then summoned a flame to erase all traces of the two fiends.