Chapter Ninety-Four: Thoroughly Framed

Li Mu halted.

The immortal cultivator who had arrived so suddenly was none other than the senior disciple of the Wood Crab, and also the chief disciple of Wood Dragon. It was indeed worth a look.

"Mu Xiaolong!"

A San's face twitched uncontrollably, his fury plain to see.

Amid the billowing sand and dust, Mu Xiaolong descended slowly. Tall and handsome, he glanced at A San with a trace of contempt in his eyes.

"So it is you, A San. What, are you planning to return under the Wood Ancestor's banner?"

A San stared fixedly at Mu Xiaolong, his eyes nearly spitting fire. "Mu Xiaolong, come and die."

The black-gold spear shot through the air, bursting with golden light. Compared to before, its power was far greater than doubled, its violent force shaking the thunder overhead as it struck.

Mu Xiaolong did not so much as move. He merely waved a hand, and the sand and dust beneath him surged upward at once, becoming a natural barrier in an instant.

Boom!

The black-gold spear slammed heavily into the wall of sand, producing a sound like iron striking iron before being flung straight back.

Yet those scattered grains of sand were harder than black gold.

"The senior brother's sand-dust array is truly formidable. It really is the third-tier mid-grade treasure bestowed by the Wood Ancestor!" Mu Xie cried out in admiration again and again.

A San drew his black spear back and said through gritted teeth, "That immortal bastard even gave you this treasure."

Mu Xiaolong smiled, his expression cold. "I merely contributed by killing the members of the A clan. It is only right that the Wood Ancestor gives me some reward. Besides, if you had wiped out the A clan back then, this treasure would have originally been yours. But now, it's mine."

Every word struck like a knife.

At Mu Xiaolong's words, A San looked as though flames might burst from his entire body.

Mu Xiaolong, the chief disciple of the Wolf Plains Ancestor, possessed cultivation only slightly below the Wood Ancestor's, already at the late Spirit-Building stage and very close to Meridian Refinement. Yet A San was only at the mid Spirit-Building stage and was no match for him. Not to mention that Mu Xiaolong also had a third-tier treasure, the Sand-Dust Array. It had once been the famed treasure of the Wolf Plains Ancestor, forged from refined sand grains fused with strange fire; unpredictable in form and by no means weak in power.

Right now, A San knew very clearly that revenge was impossible.

His original plan had been to destroy Mu Xiaolong's things and wait for an opportunity to kill him alone to vent his hatred. Now that he had run into Mu Xiaolong head-on, despite the rage burning in his heart, he still decided to flee.

"Don't be too pleased with yourself."

A great hollow suddenly opened beneath A San's feet, and his entire body sank into it. In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

Mu Xie rushed forward a few steps, stamping in anger. "He used that trick again. Who knows where he learned it from? Every time it's the same, and every time he gets away."

Mu Xiaolong smiled, but his face was dark. "Not this time."

True enough, only a few breaths later, A San actually burst back out of the depression in the ground, his face filled with anger and even more fear.

"What did you do? Why is the soil here like this?"

Mu Xiaolong did not bother answering his question. "Within several dozen meters of this place, I laid a Solid Stone Restriction. The ground here is as hard as iron. You want to flee with earth-escape art? Don't even think about it."

"Damn it!"

A San's body trembled, and even his voice shook slightly. He knew that this time, he might truly not be able to escape.

Earth-escape art was not an ordinary earth-type technique that could be used merely by relying on true power. It required extremely special training before one could master it. After his tribe was destroyed, in order to hate the Wolf Plains Ancestor with every fiber of his being, he had soaked himself in medicinal broth every day and endured excruciating pain. His body was covered in medicinal scars and his face was disfigured, and only then had he grown proficient in earth-escape art. It was his greatest means of both fleeing and ambushing others.

He had never imagined it would be broken so directly by Mu Xiaolong.

Mu Xiaolong gave a sinister smile. "Trying to run now? A San, and that idiot Xu Hua—I'm sure you were the one who killed them all. But I'm not some fool."

"What?"

A San was startled. "Mu Hu, Xu Hua... all dead?"

"Still pretending? If you hadn't killed them, Master wouldn't have sent me to capture you. Hand over that Spirit-Sealing treasure, and then you may die." Mu Xiaolong stepped forward a few paces. The surrounding sand and dust seemed to answer his call, surging toward him in endless spirals.

"What Spirit-Sealing treasure?" A San became even more bewildered. He truly had no idea what was being spoken of.

A hundred meters away, Li Mu, hearing Mu Xiaolong's words, was slightly taken aback.

He had assumed that the Wolf Plains Ancestor might not know of his disciples' deaths. He had thought that while he spent these months raising his cultivation, the Wolf Plains Ancestor would still be in the dark. Yet unexpectedly, the ancestor had already learned the truth and had simply pinned the deaths of those people, and even the matter of the evil god idol, onto A San.

Originally, Li Mu had not intended to interfere, because A San was also a disciple of Wood Dragon and held no low status; he had also done monstrous things, such as murdering common folk to help others ascend. It was a case of wolves turning on one another, and that seemed to be heaven's own arrangement.

But now he had to step in, because A San could not die.

If the black pot was already in his hands, then it could not be lost. Once the blame was firmly fixed, the longer it lingered, the more advantageous it would be for Li Mu.

So Li Mu moved.

The instant he did, Mu Xiaolong sensed it. His spiritual sense could cover several dozen meters and ranked first among the Wood Ancestor's disciples. Even so, he was still one step too slow compared with Li Mu.

"Who is there?"

Before the words even landed, Li Mu was already before him.

A hundred meters in a single instant. Such terrifying speed made Mu Xiaolong feel a chill of fear.

"What speed is this? Who are you? Only cultivators at the Meridian Refinement stage could move like this. Yet without even meeting the Wood Ancestor face to face, to have such speed and cross a hundred meters in an instant—how is that possible?"

The Sand-Dust Array rapidly contracted around his body until not even the slightest gap remained.

Even A San and Mu Xie at the side did not realize that there had actually been another person standing there all along.

"What expert are you? I am the chief disciple of the Wolf Plains Ancestor. Do not wound me, and all may still be discussed."

Mu Xiaolong hid within the sand-dust array, retreating rapidly as he shouted.

But in an instant, Li Mu had already vanished, and so had A San.

A hundred meters apart, the two of them crossed repeatedly in a blur, disappearing from the vast Wolf Plains.

"What is going on? Where did A San go?"

Only then did Mu Xie recover his senses. He stared blankly at the empty ground before him, then lifted his head to look toward Mu Xiaolong.

Mu Xiaolong sensed that the danger had passed and withdrew the Sand-Dust Array. His face was filled with bewilderment. "Who exactly was that? Such speed, yet he rescued A San without striking at me?"

A few breaths later, Li Mu had already dragged A San several miles away.

He was clearly somewhat tired. Letting out a light breath, he hurriedly swallowed a qi-restoring pill.

Beside him, A San hastily bowed in gratitude. "Thank you... for saving me!" He had originally wanted to call him "sir," but after taking a look, he saw that Li Mu was only at the mid Spirit-Building stage, and so the word would not come out.

Li Mu looked at A San, his expression cold and sincere, without the slightest pretense. "If I were you, I would find a place to hide for several months. Wait until my cultivation is higher, and only then seek blood vengeance."

A San was an intelligent man and nodded repeatedly. "I understand. Before reaching Meridian Refinement, I will not go looking for revenge."

He understood very well that the Wolf Plains Ancestor now truly hated him and had even sent disciples to kill him. If he fought back now, he would have a very hard time escaping.

Li Mu looked at him and felt relieved. He sat down on the spot, preparing for the coming hard battle.

Since enmity had already been formed, then fight. Crush the bandits. Everyone under the Wolf Plains Ancestor must die.

The "Void Escape Art" he had just used had lasted only a few fleeting moments, yet it had consumed nearly a third of his true power. He needed to recover at once.

Void Escape Art was one of the techniques within Li Mu's Green Edge Armor.

It originated from the Void Escape Butterfly, an extremely rare third-tier spirit pet. Its body was weak, and it had few means of offense. But when danger arose, a single flap of its wings could carry it far away, leaving an enemy with nothing but a distant gaze.

By a stroke of luck, Li Mu had obtained a pair of Void Escape Butterfly wings and refined them into the Thousand-Transforming Steel, allowing the Green Edge Armor to gain the special technique known as Void Escape Art.

By using Void Escape Art, one could obtain a tremendous burst of speed for a short time and cross a hundred meters in an instant. Its weakness was severe true-power consumption. For an ordinary Spirit-Building cultivator, true power would be exhausted in just over ten breaths. Even for Li Mu, it could last at most fifty breaths.

Moreover, when using Void Escape Art, one could not employ other techniques or magical treasures, so the limitations were enormous. Most of the time, it was used only for intervention or for escape.