Batu Mu was startled. He quickly retracted the saber slash aimed at Mo Shan’s waist and abdomen, blocking the incoming arrows.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

His Saber Technique was superb and his Qi Power, astounding. He somehow managed to block all four arrows in succession. Still, he was forced back, stumbling with each step. The sheer force behind the arrows had clearly caught him off guard.

"Die!"

Mo Shan’s face lit up with joy. He didn’t have time to see who had saved him; his first move was to slash at Batu Mu.

"Chief!"

Batu Mu’s men shouted, trying to intercept Mo Shan.

SCHLICK!

But before they could get near Mo Shan, an arrow sent the three closest men flying. These three were by no means weak, all having reached the level of Qi Sea Great Success.

Unfortunately, not every expert at the Qi Sea realm could successfully manifest a fifth or sixth-layer Dharma Aspect. They had only manifested the fourth-layer Bone Aspect and had only mastered True Dragon Power.

Against arrows fired from the Barbaric Bow and infused with Primitive Power, they were even more vulnerable than the Iron Wolf Eagles. Caught completely off guard, they were each killed by a single one of Chu Lingguang’s arrows.

WHOOSH!

Mo Shan seized the opportunity, bringing his saber down on Batu Mu.

Batu Mu threw everything he had into his defense, his aura surging explosively. He realized this strike from Mo Shan was even more terrifying than the four arrows from before.

It was as if he could see a blood-red arm materializing over Mo Shan’s own, a third hand joining the other two to grip the saber as it chopped down at him.

He knew this was the power awakened within Mo Shan’s Dantian. Mo Shan had already sustained severe internal and external wounds; using his awakened power like this would only aggravate his internal injuries. In the best-case scenario, he would only worsen his condition and his power would regress. In the worst, his organs would rupture, killing him instantly.

’Clearly, he’s only this desperate to kill me because I’m the one who forced him and his brothers into this corner.’

BOOM!

Batu Mu executed three slashes in the blink of an eye, but it wasn’t enough to block Mo Shan’s fatal strike. His Divine Image Small Vortex and Qi Phase Scale Armor shattered at the same time. He took another blow to the chest and was sent flying.

Chu Lingguang wanted to finish him off with an arrow, but Mo Shan was in the way. With Batu Mu having quickly found cover, Chu Lingguang could only turn his bow on the other men.

He quickly shouted, "Seniors, run!"

"Cough!"

Mo Shan coughed up a mouthful of blood, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Big Brother!"

Ignoring the injury to his right leg, Mo Zheng rushed to support Mo Shan.

"Hurry, go!"

Mo Shuang and Mo Lei hoisted up Mo Shan and Mo Zheng and ran toward Chu Lingguang.

Chu Lingguang drew his bow, nocking arrows to provide cover for Mo Shuang and the others. His Archery was impeccable, but with thirteen or fourteen men charging at once, he couldn’t possibly fire four consecutive arrows at each of them.

That strategy would have guaranteed a kill, but it would also have left Mo Shuang and his brothers vulnerable to being surrounded again.

As a result, while he succeeded in holding the pursuers back, his arrows didn’t kill many of them. The dense jungle provided too much cover. For now, all Chu Lingguang could do was ensure Mo Shuang and his three brothers didn’t sustain any more injuries.

Just then, however, a terrifying aura swept toward them.

It was Batu Mu.

Chu Lingguang knew he wasn’t dead. ’A man who can block four of my arrows in a row, even during an ambush, wouldn’t die that easily.’

Batu Mu was now charging straight for him.

As a tribal leader, Batu Mu possessed a more complete and powerful cultivation system. He was an expert with one foot in the True Martial Realm; even Mo Shan at his peak might not have been his match.

Though Mo Shan’s last strike had heavily wounded him, he still looked fierce and unstoppable. While others facing Chu Lingguang’s Archery wished they could crawl into a hole and hide, Batu Mu, after steadying himself, was now charging directly at the archer.

Even Chu Lingguang was startled by his sheer ferocity.

He hastily fired a volley of arrows at Batu Mu.

Four arrows, then another four, and another, and another—sixteen in total. Yet every single one was deflected by Batu Mu’s Saber Technique. He didn’t even seem to be pushed back.

His advance merely slowed as he drew closer.

The distance between them was rapidly closing.

"Kill!"

Seeing this, the other men charged toward Mo Shuang and his brothers.

FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH!

Chu Lingguang had to divide his attention, picking off as many men as he could while Batu Mu closed in on him like a dark shadow, pressing forward with frightening speed.

FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH!

Chu Lingguang focused completely, loosing another four arrows at Batu Mu.

He fired this volley from within a hundred meters.

Batu Mu’s advance slowed sharply, but he still forced his way forward one step at a time. Chu Lingguang’s heart pounded in his chest as he watched.

Mo Shan and his three brothers were all gravely wounded, and their warhorses were dead. Crossing South Mountain to enter the Great Yuan Region was now clearly impossible.

"Seniors, there’s a cave just outside these woods! I’ll cover you, get over there!" Chu Lingguang shouted.

’I’ve already alerted the sentries,’ he thought. ’Mr. Du will send reinforcements.’

With that, he provided cover for Mo Shan and his brothers as they ran for the cave.

Batu Mu watched all of this in silence. At this closer range, Chu Lingguang’s arrows could aggravate his internal injuries, so he didn’t dare cross a certain threshold. Instead, he ordered his men to charge forward and cut down Mo Shuang and his brothers.

In the end, only eight of his thirteen subordinates remained, and every single one was covered in wounds.

He had started out with over fifty men on horseback. Now, only eight subordinates remained, all of them wounded. If he couldn’t kill Mo Shan’s group and Chu Lingguang, Batu Mu felt he would go insane. He’d never be able to face the other warriors of his tribe when he returned.

And so, the nine of them arrived outside the cave.

Batu Mu said to his men, "He only has six arrows left. Six of you, step forward. Each of you will block a single arrow. Leave the rest to me."

"But..."