Chapter 26: Night Battle with a Powerful Enemy

  ……

  "Li Shu, do you think there's something fishy about this Fire Beast attack?" Chen Mo, dressed in a blue robe, stood in the spirit field, frowning and pondering: "Is there any basis for that?"

  "We usually set up traps for the demonic beasts in the outer gardens. But I've checked, and many of them have been deliberately destroyed." Li Qian's face was solemn with worry as he said: "Also, I found these near the collapsed city wall."

  Chen Mo took a look and found that they were several grains of crystal clear, plump and full like jade, spiritual rice.

  "I suspect someone is using spirit rice as bait, constantly luring the fire beasts to come. The purpose is to destroy our Spirit Valley and reduce our spirit rice yield." Li Qian said in a low and angry tone: "In just over ten days, the Spirit Valley will be ripe, if it suffers serious damage at this time, the yield will definitely be greatly reduced, and maybe even the clan's public grain can't be delivered. Someone must want to use this ruthless trick to force us to sell the last farm at a low price."

  Chen Mo closed his eyes for a moment, nodded and said: "Uncle Li, I understand. In the next few days, I and Wu Er will stay in the Zhuangzi to guard the spiritual field. You bring the tenants and set up more traps to prevent anyone from damaging and monster invasion. Go busy, I'll wait here for a while."

  Every time the Lingguo ripens, it emits a peculiar fragrance. If there happens to be a demonic beast nearby, it will be attracted over. The most difficult ones to deal with are actually not the Huojiao beasts, those lowly demonic beasts that crawl on the ground.

  The most cunning and elusive demon bird is the one that can come and go as it pleases.

  Monsters and demons are naturally interested in things that contain spiritual energy. Because spiritual rice is not only effective for cultivators, but also has a great effect on those monsters. Those monsters have an innate desire for their own strength, which is no less than that of humans.

  In nature, the most primitive strategy of survival of the fittest is being implemented.

  ……

  It has been calm for several days.

  This night, Chen Mo had just finished refining his Qi. He was preparing to go and patrol the spiritual fields first, then continue practicing.

  The stars are twinkling, the morning breeze is gentle, and the spiritual field emits a unique fragrance. Standing in it, one's body and mind feel relaxed and comfortable.

  Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the spiritual field.

  Chen Mo carefully observed, and saw a dark shadow flying by, sprinkling some unknown objects from the bag. When he looked closely at those dense objects, his heart suddenly cried out in alarm, someone was trying to destroy the spiritual field, scattering evil insects.

  Those tiny, winged creatures with a terrifying appearance landed on the spiritual valley. With their needle-like mouthparts, they pierced into the spiritual valley and frantically sucked out the uncondensed rice paste. These frightening and hideous little things were none other than the armored-winged insects, a pest that threatened the spiritual fields.

  "Desist, you beast!" Chen Mo's anger surged as he darted forward in a flash.

  "Hmph, I've been discovered. You little beast, enjoy playing with the demon bugs slowly, excuse me for not keeping you company." The black shadow was exposed and didn't show any fear, instead it sneered and then used its movement technique to rush out of the farm's surroundings.

  He moved with a light and airy motion, like a willow catkin drifting away on the breeze. It seemed slow, but was actually incredibly fast. In just a few breaths, he had already gone over ten zhang.

  Chen Mo wouldn't let him get away. He let out a loud whistle, startling the people in the farm, and then took off in hot pursuit.

  But Chen Mo, who had never practiced the 'Body Method', only knew how to use his Xuan Qi to infuse into his feet, achieving the goal of lightness and speed. Compared to that person, he was slightly clumsy in terms of agility and speed.

  Two people chased and ran, half a minute later, they had already gone several miles away.

  The masked man darted into a small grove of trees.

  Chen Mo pursued him without hesitation, firstly because he had recently been intensively practicing the Diamond Fist, making great progress and feeling a significant increase in his strength, already reaching the peak of the initial stage. Secondly, judging from that person's aura, at most he was just a high-ranking Spiritual Disciple.

  "Tsk, tsk, you little beast, don't you know the principle of 'don't chase when meeting Lin'? The mocking voice of the masked man seemed to come from all directions. Like a ghostly figure, he appeared behind Chen Mo and struck him with a light palm on his back, silently and stealthily."

  A perfect ambush tactic.

  Chen Mo had already sensed it, but still dodged too late. A soft and ruthless palm hit his left shoulder, causing a piercing pain that made Chen Mo grunt. His entire left arm was numb and painful to the point where he couldn't lift it up, as if there were ten thousand needle-like stings piercing through him.

  "Hmph, you little beast, you're asking for it, don't blame me later." The black-clothed man, who thought he had already crushed his opponent, looked at Chen Mo with a scornful gaze. As someone who had reached the high rank of Ling Tu and was only one step away from advancing to Ling Shi, he couldn't be bothered with this guy who was just a mid-rank Ling Tu and didn't know his own limits. Since he had chased him so far, he might as well play along.

  "Destroy my family's spiritual field, do you think you can still leave alive?" Chen Mo's left arm was piercingly painful, but he gritted his teeth and immediately separated a part of the bright and mysterious energy and green intent, which flowed into his injured left arm like a gentle stream. The faintly cool and life-giving breath dissolved the pain, nourishing the wounded flesh and meridians.

  The man in black saw his opponent close his eyes to meditate, although he was sweating profusely, but his face gradually became ruddy like a withered chrysanthemum being nourished by sweet rain. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that his opponent was still recovering and had no defense, and launch a fatal blow, which was his usual method.

  Holding his breath, he executed the Willow Twig Body Method, his body as agile as a swift swallow, nimble and quick. A sinister and ruthless cotton palm was brewing in his palm to its limit, only waiting to hit him would definitely make that ignorant little brat die on the spot.

  "Golden Road Opened." Chen Mo's eyes snapped open in anger, like a sleeping beast suddenly awakened. In an instant, he channeled all his dark energy into his right fist, which became as hard as a boulder. His furious fist, with the power of a mighty mountain, struck the black-clad man's palm, accompanied by a gust of wind that swept from his chest to the left. Although the time was brief, the Golden Fist was swift and powerful, like a dragon bursting out of the ocean, shattering rocks as it opened the way.

  A loud "slap" echoed through the forest as fists and palms collided, shattering the silence. The sleeping birds were startled into a frenzy of chirping and flapping their wings wildly as they fled in all directions.

  The black-clad man, who had thought he was sure to win, was completely unprepared for the Golden Road Opening move and was hit squarely on the palm by a fist as hard as iron. He let out a dull hum, feeling like his entire arm had been shattered and lost all sensation. He stumbled backward several steps, clutching his right arm with his left hand, staring at him with a dead gaze. Just now, he still had a face full of disdain, but now there was a hint of shock.

  "A good move, Golden Road Opener. It seems you're about to reach the stage of 'slight success', but even if you do, you'll still die at my hands." The man in black waved his gradually regaining consciousness right arm and spoke maliciously.

  Having eaten once, Chen Mo had a grasp of the man's fighting style and intentionally closed his eyes to feign an opening. While healing, he concentrated all his attention on his ears, carefully listening for changes in the surroundings. Although the black-clothed man had taken his sneak attack skills to the extreme, Chen Mo still detected it.

  Chen Mo's cautious and meticulous approach perfectly showcased the powerful and majestic Gold Fist.

  "You ruined my family's Lingtian, how can you leave alive today?" After the previous treatment, Chen Mo had largely recovered. He stood up straight with his legs together, changed his fist to a finger, pointing at the black-clothed man's face, his eyes firm and icy cold as he spoke.

  The man in black may have fallen behind, but just now he was clearly careless and let him succeed. If they had a real fight, relying on the high-ranking Lingtu, defeating him would be almost certain.

  "Hmph, you little brat, still wet behind the ears, dare to spout such nonsense. Watch as I skin you alive and break your tendons tonight." The black-clothed man's eyes twitched for a moment, and after a fierce wave of pain passed, his right arm also began to recover bit by bit.

  The man in black began to wield his willow-whipping technique, wandering around him, under the starlight, like a dark night bird, fluttering and dodging, up and down, taking advantage of his unpreparedness to launch a fatal blow.

  Chen Mo, of course, did not dare to slack off, his eyes fixed on a point, staring at him dead. Just now was also considered lucky, but after all, the opponent was a high-ranking Lingtu, if this person had close combat with himself, he might not have gained an advantage.

  "He drank ~" The black-clothed man let out a loud roar, as if riding an invisible flying dragon, pouncing towards Chen Mo. At the same time, his dark energy gathered in his left palm, and the wind suddenly picked up between the trees, with leaves swirling about.

  "The winds destroy all the trees."

  The wind destroys all the trees, and the ordinary stage of the mysterious technique is in the middle. This is a move that the black-clothed man specializes in. If he practices it to the peak of perfection, he can indeed destroy all the trees. He has only practiced it to the peak of the initial stage, but his power is still enough to destroy a hundred-year-old pine tree. For an ordinary person, it's enough to make their bones shatter and muscles break.

  Chen Mo felt a strong gust of wind rushing towards him, like an invisible massive wave was about to engulf him. Under the intense airflow, even breathing became difficult. He knew that this person had already used their ultimate move, and as long as he could withstand this round, he would have the opportunity to counterattack.

  "Long live!"

  At the same time, Chen's teeth were clenched tightly, his horse stance was stable and firm, with both fists grasped at his chest, as if he were a towering tree with deep roots firmly planted in the earth. His legs were steady like a mountain, seemingly merged into one with the ground, forming an unbreakable, unified defense. A cyan-colored aura with a hint of white light enveloped his body, shielding it from above.

  "He drank ~" The black-clothed man's left palm brought a swift and fierce gust of wind, a single slap of his palm that was full of internal force, directly hitting his back.

  Chen Mo had pushed the Evergreen to its limits, but after all, there was a huge disparity in their powers. He barely withstood the palm strike, and the defensive screen of mysterious energy shattered like a water jug that had been subjected to extreme force. The massive shockwave slammed into his own flesh, sending him stumbling backward several steps. A wave of nausea washed over him, followed by a mouthful of fresh blood spewing onto the ground.

  "Huff~" Chen Mo bowed his head and kneeled down, panting heavily, having taken the palm strike not only had his body suffered damage, but also a great deal of his Xuan Qi had been depleted. If he were to take another few strikes, even if he didn't die, his internal organs would be severely injured.

  "Hmph." The black-clad man chuckled lightly, no matter how clever the opponent was, but after all, there was a gap in strength, and with one palm strike, the scene he wanted to see appeared.

  "Although you have some talent, after all, your wings are not yet fully grown, and to die here is truly a pity. Otherwise, your future would be boundless." The black-clothed man's eyes were filled with mockery as he spoke these sharp and piercing words, his heart full of delight.

  One more slap and he would be finished.

  "The wind blows down the trees!" In an instant, the black-clad man executed a swift and agile movement, leaping high into the air. A palm strike came from above, slapping downwards towards Chen Mo's crown, sending dust, stones, and leaves flying in all directions within several meters of him. He felt his knees go weak, as if he was about to collapse.

  "Golden Pagoda!"

  Chen Mo's energy sank to the bottom of his abdomen, and his body's power burst forth. He concentrated his palms, his hands seemingly like palms yet not quite palms, like fists yet not quite fists. With a horse stance, he thrust upwards from below, like a Vajra Arhat, as if an Overlord was lifting a tripod, with unmatched ferocity, towards the person in front of him.

  This move 'Vajra Supporting Pagoda' is executed in an instant, as if it were a divine stroke of the brush, wonderful and ineffable.

  ……