Fang Min’s taunts only strengthened Mo Qi’s resolve.

The woman had gone mad. She was lost in her pursuit of power and her so-called aura of genius, no longer the girl who used to follow him around the mountains.

’Or perhaps she’s been deceiving me from the very beginning.’

’Like father, like daughter, indeed.’

"Mo Qi, you need to think this through. Once you do something like this, there’s no turning back," Gu Dong warned.

His brow suddenly twitched. He had noticed something, but he quickly concealed his reaction.

A dark figure crept through the night, slowly closing in on Mo Qi from afar. Mo Qi remained completely unaware.

He ignored Gu Dong, dragging Fang Min along with a saber in his other hand as he walked toward Uncle Niu’s remains.

At the sight of a living person, the wild dogs, who had starved for three days, grew agitated and excited. Dozens of pairs of eyes, glowing green, were filled with savagery. Stinking saliva dripped from their maws, creating a nauseating scene.

The moment Mo Qi was within range, the wild dogs scrambled to be the first to pounce.

Mo Qi’s expression remained unchanged as he swung his saber.

A flash of light from his blade, and the sound of tearing flesh filled the air. In less than a single breath, every last wild dog was decapitated, their blood soaking the ground.

Mo Qi was no stranger to butchering dogs over the years.

The sight, and the overwhelming scent of blood, made Fang Min’s stomach churn. She wanted to vomit, but Mo Qi’s grip on her throat was so tight she couldn’t.

All she could do was open her mouth wide and gag, dry heaving over and over.

Mo Qi carefully lowered Uncle Niu’s remains from the tree. Just then, the dark figure closed to within ten feet of him.

Mo Qi sensed something.

A sword flashed through the air, aimed straight at the arm he used to grip Fang Min. He instinctively raised his saber to block.

An invisible ripple emanated from between Gu Dong’s brows and stabbed into Mo Qi’s mind.

Mo Qi grunted, a sharp pain lancing through his head as if he’d been stabbed with needles. His block was a fraction of a second too slow.

SHINK!

A short sword pierced Mo Qi’s forearm. Fang Min, startled by the sudden attack, reacted instantly. She slapped his hand away and scrambled back.

Snatching Uncle Niu’s remains as she went.

Having landed the blow and saved Fang Min, the dark figure immediately withdrew the short sword and lunged for Mo Qi’s heart, a cruel, triumphant sneer on his lips.

Gu Dong was an expert of the Refining God Realm. And what was the Refining God Realm? It was a Realm where one activated their Spiritual Power, forged their consciousness into a Sea of Consciousness, and wielded Divine Sense.

Upon reaching this Realm, a Cultivator’s power would take a qualitative leap. Divine Sense not only enhanced their perception but could also be used as a method of attack.

This was why Gu Dong had detected the dark figure while Mo Qi had not.

The piercing pain in Mo Qi’s mind was the result of Gu Dong’s Divine Sense attack.

Normally, a Cultivator just starting on the Martial Dao would have extremely weak Spiritual Power before forming their Sea of Consciousness. A Divine Sense attack would, at best, leave them disoriented and dizzy. At worst, it could render them unconscious or even turn them into a drooling imbecile.

Unfortunately for them, both Gu Dong and the dark figure had underestimated Mo Qi.

With the willpower and Spiritual Power required to split a single hair into thirteen thousand six hundred strands, how could he possibly be weak, even without a Sea of Consciousness?

Thus, Mo Qi was only disoriented for a moment before his mind cleared. By then, however, Fang Min had escaped, and the dark figure’s short sword was a mere inch from his heart.

With no time to block, Mo Qi could only twist his body aside.

SHINK!

The short sword grazed his chest and pierced his shoulder.

"It’s you!" Mo Qi recognized the figure. It was Cui Yu, the man he had spared after being given the Jade Pendant.

Cui Yu was stunned. He hadn’t expected Mo Qi to be able to dodge the fatal strike.

’But it doesn’t matter,’ he thought. ’After that Divine Sense attack, Mo Qi shouldn’t have much fight left in him.’

"Why?" Mo Qi demanded with a frown. "I let you go, and you repay my mercy with betrayal?"

Cui Yu pulled the short sword free again and sneered. "Why? We were always enemies. Only a fool like you would fall for a plea for mercy. You didn’t expect this, did you? I have a Spirit Concealing Cloak that allows for Concealing Aura. If I hadn’t underestimated you and forgotten to wear it before, do you really think you would have been able to injure me, let alone find me?"

Mo Qi took a deep breath, his expression turning cold as ice. He nodded. "I see. Uncle Niu was right. You should never show mercy to an enemy. This is the last time I make that mistake. It won’t happen again."

Mo Qi realized how naive he had been. The path of the Martial Dao was far crueler than he had ever imagined. Only two days had passed, and he had already been through so much.

"Hah," Cui Yu chuckled. "A next time? You don’t have a next time."

"Cui Yu, don’t kill him! Cripple him for me! I want to finish him off myself!" Fang Min, now a hundred feet away and thinking herself safe, shrieked.

"As you wish." Cui Yu nodded and swung his short sword, aiming to sever Mo Qi’s limbs.

Just then, Gu Dong, whose Spiritual Power was depleted from the Divine Sense attack, recovered enough to shout, "Watch out!"

To coordinate with Cui Yu and rescue Fang Min, he had just exhausted every last bit of his Spiritual Power.

The Divine Sense attack he had unleashed would have been too much for even a Qi Refining Ninth Heaven Cultivator to handle; they would have been unconscious for at least half a month.

Yet Mo Qi had only been dazed for a moment. This filled Gu Dong with a deep sense of unease.

Unfortunately, his warning came too late.

Mo Qi’s saber strike sent Cui Yu’s short sword flying.

The blade flashed again. Cui Yu felt a cold line across his neck, and a sudden drowsiness washed over him, his eyelids growing heavy.

’What’s happening to me? Why can’t I move?’

The world spun. In his last moment of consciousness, Cui Yu saw a headless corpse. It was wearing a disturbingly familiar Spirit Concealing Cloak.

’Is that... me? Am I dead?’

Then, everything went black. Cui Yu had fallen.

Mo Qi rose to his feet. His gaze was glacial—an aura Fang Min had never seen from him before. It was aloof, powerful, and kept everyone at a distance.

Fang Min shivered involuntarily, silently cursing Cui Yu for being useless.

Although Mo Qi’s current state was terrifying, the thought of Gu Dong’s identity put her at ease.

"Give me back Uncle Niu’s remains!" Mo Qi said coldly, his saber pointed at Fang Min.

Fang Min subtly moved closer to Gu Dong. Then, she used her whip to snatch up Uncle Niu’s remains and slam them viciously onto the ground.

Uncle Niu had been a mortal, dead for many years. The already incomplete skeleton shattered on impact, scattering bone fragments everywhere. Only half a spine remained somewhat intact.

"You want that old fool’s remains? In your dreams!"

A roar exploded in Mo Qi’s mind. Uncle Niu’s remains... were completely shattered.

"AHHH!" Mo Qi roared in anguish, refusing to accept what he was seeing.

His saber clattered to the ground. He collapsed to his knees before the scattered remains.

"Uncle Niu... I have failed you."

Gu Dong’s brow furrowed. He shot a displeased glare at Fang Min. Killing an enemy was one thing, but desecrating an elder’s grave was already a grave taboo. Smashing the remains to pieces was simply too much.

Even he found it abhorrent.

"I’ll take your life!"

With a furious roar, his eyes bloodshot, Mo Qi lost all reason.

He kicked off the ground and shot toward Fang Min like an arrow, moving so fast that the friction with the air produced a piercing shriek.

The powerful slipstream tore the corpses of the wild dogs and Cui Yu to shreds. Even a nearby tree was ripped from its roots and flung into the air.

Gu Dong’s pupils contracted violently. Even with his Refining God Cultivation, he was stunned by Mo Qi’s terrifying Physical Strength.

’Is he even human?’

He pulled Fang Min behind him and sent out an effortless-looking palm strike.

CRACK!

Fist met palm, the tremendous impact echoing through the Wailing Abyss with a horrifying boom.

Gu Dong stood his ground, unshaken. Mo Qi, however, was sent flying by the immense rebound force.

This was the power of the Refining God Realm. Gu Dong admitted his own physique was inferior to Mo Qi’s. But even though he could no longer use his Divine Sense, his abundant True Essence granted him immense combat power.

Moreover, he had cultivated more than one Martial Technique.

His Martial Techniques weren’t some unranked garbage like Qi Yun’s Blast Beast Fist. That so-called High-Level Martial Technique was bullshit. Truly graded Martial Techniques weren’t divided into ’low, mid, high’ ranks, but into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.

The Drifting Palm Gu Dong had just used was a Yellow Level Supreme Martial Technique. It was incredibly precious and considered a top-tier technique even within the Void Sect.

The aftershock of their clash sent a jolt through Fang Min, making her chest tighten and her face turn pale.

Only now did she truly understand how terrifying Mo Qi was.

Gu Dong was an Elite Disciple with Refining God Cultivation, yet Mo Qi had actually managed to withstand one of his palm strikes.

Blasted away, Mo Qi struggled back to his feet. His punching arm was completely numb. The bone hadn’t snapped, but it was riddled with fractures.

It was a testament to his resilience. Anyone else, even a Cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, would have been either killed or gravely wounded and incapacitated by Gu Dong’s strike.

"Kill!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Mo Qi charged again.

Gu Dong sighed. "Why bother? You are no match for me."

Another seemingly effortless palm strike, and Mo Qi was sent flying once more.

But Mo Qi was like an unkillable cockroach. He rose again and charged, covered in blood and wounds.

There was no trace of fear in his eyes, only madness and bloodlust.

"Gu Dong, stop holding back! Kill him!" Fang Min shrieked, terrified by Mo Qi’s relentless state.

Gu Dong shot her a contemptuous look. "What’s wrong? Don’t you want to kill him with your own hands anymore?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Fang Min shook her head frantically. "He’ll be a menace if we let him live! Kill him now! I can’t wait any longer!"

Just then, Mo Qi lunged again. A severe look flashed in Gu Dong’s eyes. He was reluctant, but his master’s orders were absolute. ’Mo Qi, oh, Mo Qi,’ he thought, ’if you must blame someone, blame yourself for provoking people you never should have crossed.’

He held back no longer, deciding to kill Mo Qi with a single strike.

This time, however, Mo Qi didn’t charge blindly forward. Halfway through his rush, he abruptly changed direction, a saber appearing in his hand as he slashed toward Fang Min.

Eager to witness Mo Qi’s final moments of despair, and reassured by Gu Dong’s repeated, overwhelming dominance, Fang Min had carelessly leaned out from behind him, leaving his protective range.

SWOOSH!

The blade flashed with a menacing gleam.

Gu Dong was horrified. If anything happened to Fang Min, he would be held responsible. He instantly threw himself in front of her and struck at Mo Qi’s head—a classic tactic of attacking the aggressor to save the victim.

If Mo Qi insisted on killing Fang Min, the palm strike would shatter his skull.

Mo Qi sensed the danger. He twisted his body in mid-air, wrenching his head out of the way, and with a flick of his wrist, threw his saber.

BAM!

Gu Dong’s palm slammed into Mo Qi’s chest. A surge of True Essence erupted, the immense power nearly piercing straight through his body.

His chest caved in, countless bones shattering from the impact.

Mo Qi was sent flying, spitting mouthfuls of blood. He crashed hard into the ground, gouging a five-foot-long trench in the earth.

As for Fang Min, the thrown saber had sliced off half her face, leaving her ghastly white cheekbone exposed and drenched in blood. If Gu Dong hadn’t reacted so quickly and forced Mo Qi to change his attack, she would have been decapitated.