Da Xuan Martial Saint

Earlier, lying there as if he were on his last breath, he suddenly erupted with a burst of blood light at this moment. The blood-red light spread and intertwined, wrapping around his body in an instant and once again unleashing a surge of demonic might. His whole body slammed backward, shattering more than ten zhang of mud layer and momentarily creating distance between him and Chen Mu.

Crack!

It was at this time that the piece of ink-jade scale armor at the bottom of Chen Mu's palm, permeated with dark light and demonic power, finally cracked, and shattered entirely, falling and impaling itself onto a rock.

At a distance, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared beside the Demon Venerable of the Cold North Earth, covered in a layer of ink-jade-like scale armor that emanated demonic power and momentum that was many times stronger than the Demon Venerable's.

Eighth Rank Supreme of the Sky Demon Sect, Ink-Jade Demon Venerable.

Kun Wu!

The Demon Venerable of the Cold North Earth had made distant contact with him via a secret technique earlier, and as the Secluded Silent Valley fell, he too happened to escape from beneath the earth, not far from where Chen Mu and the Demon Venerable were located, and had now finally arrived in time!

"Interesting, even in such a situation, you still have the strength for one final struggle, huh? You even managed to deceive my eyes. Your skills are indeed exquisite... It seems that sometimes, the fear of death can also lead to progress," Chen Mu said calmly, still looking towards the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth, though his expression showed a contemplative mood.

In the past, he had killed Hou Liao, the Demon Venerable of the Sky Demon Sect, and Xian Yuchen, amongst many others. However, those Demon Venerables did not possess the tenacity of life shown by the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth. Although not exceptionally strong, this man was indeed as resilient as a tunnel-rat, feigning weakness and deceit even in his previously dire state, pretending to be on the brink of death.

In reality, his vitality was even more robust than Chen Mu had anticipated, and he still had the strength for one last fight, which he used to desperately pull away from Chen Mu by unleashing his final surge of demonic power after managing to stall until the Ink-Jade Demon Venerable's arrival.

"You're indeed powerful, and you almost took my life. But you're still too young, too careless... I was waiting for Kun Wu to come. Had you made your move earlier, I would have already been a corpse, but now you've lost your chance," the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth, pale and unmistakably weak, still found it difficult to stand even beside the Ink-Jade Demon Venerable. His eyes, however, shifted from their previous begging look to a hint of relief.

He had survived!

Although he had exhausted his last bit of strength and found it difficult to move, Kun Wu had arrived. So he lived, and Chen Mu, no matter how powerful, would not be able to get past Kun Wu to claim his life.

It had not been in vain that he had feigned being on his last breath, desperately pleading, and even deliberately revealing his demonic power mimicry of his heart—an alluring skill to draw Chen Mu's attention, so that Chen Mu would not strike him immediately. His efforts had paid off.

"You've tried your best to survive," Chen Mu said with a slight nod toward the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth.

Sometimes the fear of death can indeed propel progress. The skills of the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth were indeed exquisite and had provided Chen Mu with some lessons to learn from; for managing such a feat, he indeed deserved commendation.

"Qiankun Artistic Conception, it seems you must be Chen Mu?" The Ink-Jade Demon Venerable stood firm, his oppressive presence so intense that it seemed to solidify the Earth Pulse's Power nearby. He looked directly at Chen Mu until he finally spoke slowly, his gaze indifferent.

Only then did Chen Mu look towards the Ink-Jade Demon Venerable Kun Wu: "The Ink-Jade Demon Venerable? I heard that a few months ago in the Ice State, you had fought Jiang Changsheng to a standstill. There seems to be very few in the Cold Northern Path who can surpass you."

Jiang Changsheng, being a top Grandmaster, is now one of the top three Grandmasters on the Cold Northern Path, one of its strongest. With the Ink-Jade Demon Venerable being evenly matched with him, his strength is indeed second only to a pre-eminent Grandmaster.

Across the entire Cold Northern Path of the Eleven States, there are few who could pose a threat to him, aside from those in the Blood Exchange Realm.

"Since you have recognized me but have not fled, your composure is quite remarkable," said the Ink-Jade Demon Venerable coldly. "But by not escaping immediately, you've already delayed too long, and now, even if you want to leave, it won't be easy. This hundred zhang beneath the earth will be your burial ground!"

With his words falling,

The Ink-Jade Demon Venerable took the initiative to attack.

Boom!!

A shadow sped with a velocity nearly untraceable to the eye, traversing nearly twenty zhang in an instant and arriving right in front of Chen Mu, like a black spear piercing through the Earth's Veins!

Deep within a hundred zhang beneath the earth, Kun Wu's direction of cultivation was different from that of the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth, unable to fully utilize the Earth Pulse's Power, whereas Chen Mu, who cultivated the Qiankun Artistic Conception, could easily avail himself of everything above and below the earth. Once distance was established, he was not confident he could actually catch up with Chen Mu, but at this distance, in this situation, it was the perfect opportunity to kill Chen Mu!

Chen Mu must have dared to confront him without retreating immediately because he saw the Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth practically a cripple and was banking on the advantage of the terrain. That was a mistake, and he must now pay the price!

And the Ink-Jade Demon Venerable was best at speed and close-quarters ambush!

On the side,

The Demon Venerable of the Cold Northern Earth with his feeble breath, managing to support himself, watched the scene unfold with a gasp. Despite both being of the Seventh Rank, corresponding to the Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters in Martial Arts, the actual difference between the two ranks was tremendous.