Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Blazing Sand and the Phantom Blade

“Then, do you truly refuse to obey me?”

The crimson energy condensed once more, then dispersed and condensed again, as if toying with foolishness.

Dust swirled like a rolling tide. Li Mu let out a short snort, suddenly sending several streams of sand racing from his hands directly toward the crimson energy.

With a sharp whistle, the sand dust passed straight through the crimson energy, weaving in and out, then emerged before circling back to fly into Li Mu’s hand.

The crimson energy did not condense again; instead, those streams of sand returned back to it.

After all, this was a treasured artifact refined through numerous cycles, ranked above the third tier. No matter how dense the corruption within the crimson energy, it could not taint the sand array. The sand moved back and forth leisurely and unperturbed.

Similarly, the sand’s simple method of attack caused no lasting harm to the crimson energy, quickly returning to its original form.

Like a phantom, even as the crimson energy was cut apart and scattered, the figure of Ru Xiucheng showed no sign of injury, smiling with eerie delight.

“Heh heh, futile effort. That ‘hehe’ is still useless. My crimson energy can only be dispelled by someone at the Refining Veins stage of cultivation. Don’t bother trying anymore. Come on, come on!”

Like a game, Ru Xiucheng’s joy was dark and sinister, and deeply terrifying.

Li Mu stepped back several paces, lips pressed into a thin line, his sharp face now marked with determination and strength.

The sand moved slowly before him, gradually forming a handful of sand rings, unbroken and continuous. Upon closer look, one could see they were adorned with tiny purple specks—many moving souls.

Echoes rippled continuously.

Ru Xiucheng seemed to sense something amiss. Suddenly, the crimson energy flared, rushing fiercely toward Li Mu.

“No more playing around!” A deep, sinister shriek echoed from within the crimson energy.

“Likewise!” Li Mu roared in fury.

The sand rings leapt upward, soaring and spinning in the air—then exploded!

Countless purple flames danced upon the sand, flying relentlessly toward the crimson energy, dispersing and blooming into extraordinarily beautiful fireworks.

“Blazing Flame Sand!”

Gathering the purple flames upon the sand, they transformed into tear-shaped strikes—each a scorching blaze of sand. Even with the power of the sand array and the purple flames combined, a high-grade third-tier treasure forged with special refining fire, and even the black blood ring formed from countless gathered blood, could not withstand it.

It was like releasing a small fiery rain, each fiery streak splashing onto the charging crimson energy.

Ru Xiucheng panicked.

If the rare flames were scattered alone, the crimson energy could very quickly absorb them elsewhere and extinguish them. But now, it was impossible.

The number of blazing flames was countless, burning in many places, almost impossible to put out.

He could not react in time. In the blink of an eye, the crimson energy was pierced through by the blazing flame sand, covered in scorched marks.

“Puchi!”

A sudden sound rang out, and a shadow dashed out from within the crimson energy.

It was Ru Xiucheng, but he knew the black blood ring was completely useless now and had to be discarded.

“Removing my black blood ring that’s been with me for over ten years? Fine!”

Behind that face was a ruthless, furious expression, utterly enraged. The earlier confidence was gone. He had thought that merely collecting multiple corpses and souls would be enough, but now, standing before him was a formidable opponent he could not resist.

The sand array remained active, yet Li Mu was unwilling to lose the opportunity.

At the very moment Ru Xiucheng stepped out of the crimson energy, defenseless, Li Mu launched a fiery gourd and swiftly executed a bloodsucking technique.

Crimson flickered in an instant.

Ru Xiucheng’s fierce expression shifted as he realized one of his legs was missing.

Below the thigh was nothing but bare bone, smooth and pale, like a skeleton.

“Ah... ah...” Ru Xiucheng was forced back dozens of meters, speechless as he glared at Li Mu.

“Is that bone material? You too, then.”

Li Mu reined in the fiery gourd, laughing heartily.

Ru Xiucheng was furious. Suddenly, he bit his tongue, blood spilling and dripping onto his leg.

The bone-like limb absorbed the blood nourishment and rapidly began to restore itself, regaining its former appearance.

“Do you think I can’t dispel your bloodsucking technique?” Ru Xiucheng shouted fiercely. “But you—you’ll die unwillingly next time. You’ll regret it for all eternity. That girl inside, I’ll turn her to bone material too, make her a cushion for me to sit on every day.”

Li Mu’s face remained cold and indifferent, ignoring the nonsense.

“Don’t anger me. To die is your only fate. That’s all I have to say. Now go to your death.”

Ru Xiucheng was enraged and exasperated, unable to reply.

He raised the bony hand. Without any clear motion, a dark, pitch-black spear silently materialized in his grasp.

The spear was dark and indescribable, seeming to swallow all darkness itself. Even a brief glance felt like being dragged underground, unable to see a single ray of light. A thick mist surrounded the spear, exuding a deep sinister aura, constantly trembling.

“A ghost weapon...”

Li Mu spoke cautiously, his expression grave.

He was wielding a ghost weapon.

Besides the black blood ring, Ru Xiucheng had this secret weapon as a last resort.

Ghost weapons were spiritual crystal artifacts used by cultivators, but instead of relying on spiritual crystals, they were powered by souls. Their strength differed vastly from ordinary weapons, entirely dependent on the power of the soul within. The stronger the soul, the greater the weapon’s power.

Ordinary people’s souls were weak and could not forge ghost weapons; only cultivators could.

Moreover, only those at the Refining Veins stage could forge ghost weapons. And the soul-sealing arts required to bind the souls were only mastered by those at Refining Veins, often by evil cultivators. It was unimaginable that someone at the Spirit Building stage like Ru Xiucheng possessed everything.

“Be afraid! You never expected me to bring out this soul spear. This is my first time using it. Sealed inside are seventeen souls, mostly cultivators at the Spirit Building stage. You can become the eighteenth.”

Upon hearing these words, Li Mu’s grave expression completely faded. He concealed several poisonous miasma beads in his palm, revealing a strange smile.

“What are you laughing at!” Ru Xiucheng growled in anger.

“Ha ha!”

Ru Xiucheng’s face grew uglier. “Watch me wield my spear!”

The soul spear trembled ominously, emanating relentless killing intent, as if black smoke surged within.

Its tip suddenly emitted a crimson glow, resembling the evil eye of the ghost realm, staring directly forward.

Li Mu did not move.

He understood well that the killing intent on the soul spear was like a mind of its own, crazily crawling along Ru Xiucheng’s hand, wrapping him completely.

The killing aura was tangible.

Like a physical entity, the killing intent dripped downward, forming a black pool several meters wide.

“Are you really using a ghost weapon?”

Li Mu shifted slightly, his eyes filled with pity. “I don’t understand much, but I do know that cultivators with insufficient strength usually only bind one soul to a ghost weapon. Too many souls risk the souls devouring their master. You have seventeen—it’s truly powerful.”

Enveloped in the killing aura, Ru Xiucheng sensed something unusual. The soul spear had just attacked Li Mu, so why was it wrapping around him now?

Behind that face was clear shock. “Why do you only say this now?”

Ru Xiucheng and Mu Long had been in this Great Wolf Plateau since the Qi Condensation stage, one openly, one secretly. Neither knew this. Perhaps Mu Long knew but had never told him.

“Seventeen souls. Now is the time for revenge. By your own words, you might die unwillingly.”

Li Mu gave Ru Xiucheng a pitiful look, then turned without another word, stepping into a cave.

Boom! The sand array formed a solid, tangible wall, firmly sealing the exit.

“Ah, it hurts! Don’t do this, don’t bite...”

“Please... kill me!”

“Open it! We’ll die together!”

Suddenly, ghostly cries echoed, unbearable to hear.

Li Mu and Shen Bingxue faced each other in silence.

Victory without honor, yet it was fitting. Ru Xiucheng had brought this upon himself and met his deserved end.