“How dare the He family deceive my young master? Kill them all!”
Outside the grand hall, the Jade Sword Scholar’s long sword slashed through the air. In the blink of an eye, several He family servants who had remained outside the hall suddenly had red lines appear across their necks before collapsing limply to the ground.
The crowd outside immediately fell silent, and some families, their expressions flickering, slowly withdrew from the circle.
Moments later, the elderly Yun family elder with a face of utter despair and Yuan Qingye, whose eyes gleamed with excitement, also stepped back.
“Unexpected… this went surprisingly smoothly!”
Recalling Wu Ming’s promise, Yuan Qingye couldn’t help but feel exhilarated: “With the prestige of a martial cultivator, our sect can be protected for fifty years! Pity he refuses to genuinely teach the young master… However, as long as we maintain proper etiquette and continue our offerings, we can preserve goodwill and gradually achieve our goals in the future…”
Of course, he had no idea that Wu Ming had no intention of staying in this world for long and planned only to take what he could and leave.
If that were the case, naturally, he wouldn’t care much about his reputation.
As for who truly outwitted whom in this transaction, it was indeed hard to say.
Bang!
At this moment, outside the mountain gate, another young man collapsed to the ground, his cheeks sunken, his lips dry and cracked.
“Xiaoke! Xiaoke!”
A nearby martial artist was already heartbroken; seeing this, he immediately stepped forward, opened his water pouch, and poured water into the youth’s mouth.
After a flurry of activity, he lifted the young man into his arms and strode down the mountain path, his face filled with anger: “Even if you’re on the Earth-Origin List, does that give you the right to humiliate others like this?”
In his eyes, his family’s young talent was extraordinary, and if others refused to accept him, it was a grave insult, a serious injustice to the youth.
Right now, he had already come to thoroughly hate Wu Ming.
As he carried the youth and just reached the mountain path, he saw a mass of dark clouds surging toward him, within which seemed to be a human figure.
Wuwu!
Amidst the cries of ten thousand ghosts, the tall and powerful figure of Mountain Ghost Xiong rapidly ascended the mountain ridge: “Where is the martial cultivator? You have defied my taboos, so I, Shan Guixiong, cannot let you live!”
His voice rumbled like thunder, audible throughout the entire mountain.
Some disciples with lower internal cultivation skills even turned their eyes white and fainted on the spot.
“Could it be a Grandmaster of the Heaven Manifestation Tier, Ghost Mountain Xiong? Has he come to kill the martial cultivator?”
The martial artist was stunned but quickly overjoyed: “Haha… martial cultivator, your doom has arrived! Senior Ghost Mountain Xiong, I am Gui Hesheng from Zhongwu Prefecture, willing to follow in your wake, and there’s also my nephew here…”
Pah!
A giant hand descended, crushing him and his nephew into pulp.
It turned out that Ghost Mountain Xiong found him too noisy and casually slapped them both to death…
…
“Could this be… a Domain Master?”
Inside the Black Tiger Hall, Wu Ming sensed this presence earlier than the other martial artists. He stepped outside, gazing at the ghostly clouds spreading for miles, his eyes gleaming with unusual light.
“It’s Ghost Mountain Xiong… ranked 36th on the Heaven Manifestation Tier, the Master of Ten Thousand Ghosts!”
The Jade Sword Scholar and the Miao Yu Lady clattered their teeth, their bodies nearly turning into a puddle of jelly: “We’re done for!”
“Not good!”
“Quick, run!”
Panic erupted across the plaza, but Yuan Qingye quickly rushed toward Wu Ming.
“A bunch of fools!”
He looked at the fleeing crowd behind him with cold eyes: “Ghost Mountain Xiong is notorious for wanton killing. Do you think you can distance yourselves now? Our only option is to take a gamble!”
Yuan Qingye called out loudly: “Senior Martial Cultivator Wu, Yuan Qingye pledges my loyalty to stand with you against this powerful enemy!”
Others followed suit, including Lin Xinlan, though she said nothing at all, merely standing behind Wu Ming, which spoke volumes.
“Could there still be a chance for a turnaround?”
The Jade Sword Scholar and the Miao Yu Lady exchanged glances, both finding it hard to believe.
Indeed, Wu Ming’s mastery of water techniques was formidable, but since his debut, he had never once displayed Heaven Manifestation abilities.
Without the ability to invoke external heavenly phenomena, he could not be considered a Heaven Manifestation Tier expert.
In the eyes of the crowd, Wu Ming was currently only a top-tier Earth-Origin Tier expert, already an extraordinary feat for someone of his apparent age. Indeed, if he was truly as young as he looked, there was an 80% chance he would one day ascend to the Heaven Manifestation Tier!
But how could a budding Heaven Manifestation Tier seedling stand against an established Heaven Manifestation expert?
Wuwu!
At this moment, the ghostly clouds spreading for miles had completely arrived at the peak of Black Tiger Mountain, enveloping the entire headquarters.
The eerie black clouds seemed to form a funnel, and at its base, a martial artist approached leisurely. He was tall and thin as a bamboo pole, his hands like chicken claws, and his narrow eyes seemed to emit a green glow, causing an involuntary chill in anyone who looked upon him.
Ranked 36th on the Heaven Manifestation Tier! The Ten Thousand Ghosts Soul-Stealing Ghost Mountain Xiong!
“Senior Shan, we are not his accomplices; rather, we are victims forced under his tyranny!”
Upon his appearance, the previous martial artists and faction leaders quickly changed sides, immediately condemning Wu Ming.
Lin Xinlan watched as the once obsequious martial artists turned like this in an instant. For some reason, she felt like laughing, yet somehow couldn’t bring herself to do so.
“Jiejie… Do I need you all to tell me what to do?”
Ghost Mountain Xiong cackled strangely, his green eyes glowing intensely. Ghostly shadows flew from the dark clouds, instantly killing a group of clan leaders and faction heads around him.
“Martial cultivator!”
He wore a calm expression, as if he had merely crushed a group of ants, and turned his gaze back to Wu Ming.
“That’s right, you are Ghost Mountain Xiong? What grievance do we have?”
Wu Ming’s eyes shone with piercing light, a gaze that seemed to see through everything inside and out, greatly displeasing Ghost Mountain Xiong: “Kid, your eyesight is really…”
Sousou!
Before he finished speaking, two black lines shot forth like lightning, aiming directly at Wu Ming’s eyes.
Fast! So fast!
No one could have imagined that Ghost Mountain Xiong would be so undignified as to strike suddenly while talking! Moreover, these black lines were so swift that they were almost too fast to react to!
Crack!
However, no matter how fast he moved, how could he possibly escape Wu Ming’s notice?
With a flick of his spiritual power, two streams of water silently flew out, blocking three feet in front of his face, instantly clashing with the black lines.
Zila!
It seemed as if sparks flew in the void; the black and white lines vanished in an instant.
“Good…”
Ghost Mountain Xiong was slightly taken aback: “To block my move ‘Double Ghost Soul Binding,’ you indeed have the strength to contend for the top spot on the Earth-Origin List! Too bad…”
He shook his head, appearing quite regretful: “Even so, you’re still only Earth-Origin Tier. There’s an insurmountable gap between you and the Heaven Manifestation Tier! If your skills end here, next year’s today will be your death anniversary!”
However, in Wu Ming’s gaze, Ghost Mountain Xiong saw no flicker of emotion.
This was undoubtedly very unusual.
He had killed many experts before. Facing his Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Binding, they had shown despair, anger, or even various secret schemes. Yet Ghost Mountain Xiong had never seen such a pair of eyes.
High above, like a god overlooking all beings, they carried a hint of curiosity—as if a mischievous child had suddenly seen a new and interesting ant!
“You consider me an insect!”
Ghost Mountain Xiong was furious! Beyond furious!
He was no magnanimous person. Once, Feng Yingzi, a famous hero from Hexi, had angered him, and he slaughtered all seventy-two members of Feng’s family. Feng himself was flayed alive and had his tendons removed, then kept alive with a magical herb and hung at the city gate, where he wailed for three days and nights before finally dying!
“Good! Very good!”
The surrounding ghost clouds thickened to an extreme, instantly descending, making the surroundings nearly pitch-black, with only Ghost Mountain Xiong’s icy voice echoing through: “Martial cultivator… if you can withstand ten more moves from me, I will respect you!”
“Pa!”
Opposite him, Wu Ming suddenly clapped his hands: “I understand now… Heaven Manifestation Tier martial artists can already select and cultivate one pure bloodline from the mixed ones, allowing their true form to influence the external heavenly phenomena… hence the different manifestations of heavenly phenomena! No… it’s not an active choice, but entirely dependent on the martial arts technique!”
In the Divine Martial World, ordinary humans possess bloodlines of gods and demons, but they are chaotic and impure.
Various internal martial arts techniques are essentially processes of cultivating internal energy and nourishing the bloodline. This phenomenon becomes increasingly evident after reaching the fourth level of Earth-Origin, even allowing partial feedback of special abilities!
As for the Heaven Manifestation Tier, one must focus entirely on a specific bloodline that aligns with the martial arts technique, forming one’s own “true form,” which affects the external heavenly phenomena from within!
How terrifying is the power of ancient gods and demons? Even a single purified bloodline is enough to influence an area of several miles, which is known as the Heaven Manifestation!
This is the secret of the five levels of martial cultivation in the Divine Martial World!
Wu Ming originally had some doubts, but now, seeing Ghost Mountain Xiong demonstrate the technique in person, he instantly understood most of it.
“If that’s the case, then the profound internal martial arts of the Divine Martial World must resonate with certain ancient gods or divine beasts, otherwise they would eventually lose momentum… Are the Eight Supreme Techniques of the Martial Emperor the inheritances of eight ancient sixth-level gods or beasts?”
Among the wild beasts, there are also differences in strength.
The top-tier ones are certainly above the sixth level, capable of invoking the power of the world, which could be named gods or divine beasts!
The choice of martial arts techniques at the Heaven Manifestation level is particularly important.
If the chosen wild beast has limited potential, or even couldn’t break through the sixth level in ancient times, then the martial artist would certainly have no hope of breaking through. Even if they continue to accumulate enough bloodline power and enter the Nirvana Stage, they would still be unable to forge a god or demon body!
“That Martial Emperor, possessing the essence of eight supreme beasts, developed them to the extreme, forging a god or demon body with bloodline power, integrating the supernatural abilities of eight divine beasts—how unimaginably powerful must he have been?”
A question suddenly arose in Wu Ming’s mind.
“How could such an incredible power vanish without a trace? And certainly not die of old age… Even considering the time since then, it’s only been 1,500 years… Given the lifespan of ancient gods and demons, without external interference, he must still be alive!”
Wu Ming’s face was filled with excitement as he set a new small goal for himself—to find the Martial Emperor, the chosen one of the Divine Martial World! With his immortality and fortune, he must know about the whereabouts of the artifacts of the Lord’s Temple.
“You’re asking for death!”
Seeing that Wu Ming still showed no concern, instead studying the situation as if it were nothing, Ghost Mountain Xiong could no longer contain his anger. With a wave of his hand, the black clouds surged, revealing countless ghostly shadows within, snarling and roaring as if ready to devour their prey.
The surrounding plaza silently turned to dust under the dark energy, revealing terrifying destructive power.
“Ten Thousand Ghosts Soul Binding!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage