Chapter 60 - 57: Discovered

Three days later.

"The heavens and the earth hold a righteous aura!"

Accompanied by a resonant, booming shout, a vast and righteous aura surged magnificently from Mo Qianqian’s body.

"Vast Firmament!"

Gathering all his strength, Mo Qianqian stepped forward and thrust his spear out in a perfectly straight line.

SWISH!

It was as if the very air had been pierced through. The powerful spear strike pointed straight ahead, carrying such immense might that it seemed to freeze the firmament itself. Right at the moment of this thrust, a formidable presence abruptly erupted from Mo Qianqian’s body.

He had broken through! Cultivating the Vast Spear Technique had allowed him to advance! From the First Realm Eighth Layer, he had broken through to the First Realm Ninth Layer!

"In just three days, this kid managed to cultivate the righteous aura and master the Vast Spear Technique?" Hidden in the dark, the middle-aged man in armor was full of astonishment. "No wonder the Ninefold Coffin chose him as its master!"

At this moment, he actually felt a hint of reluctance to kill Mo Qianqian. However, compared to the Ninefold Coffin, what did a mere genius matter?

Mo Qianqian was also swept up in a wave of joy, unable to hold back his praise. "I successfully cultivated it! It’s very strong, and it wasn’t even that difficult. Once I master the next two stances, I can consider this another powerful trump card in my arsenal!"

"Someone is coming. It is time for you to leave!" Hearing Mo Qianqian’s words, the middle-aged man in armor revealed himself, seemingly eager to kick him out.

The spear technique he had spent countless years and immeasurable effort to create had been mastered in a mere three days, and this kid even dared to call it "not that difficult" right to his face? He even spoke as if he were about to master the final two stances at any moment. It should be known that back in his time, he had passed down this very spear technique, yet barely any geniuses had managed to learn the latter two stances. As the Gun God, this was the first time he had ever suffered such a blow to his pride!

Frowning at the armored man’s words, Mo Qianqian shifted his thoughts. In the next moment, an inexplicable force yanked him out of the first spatial layer of the Ninefold Coffin. His entire body materialized above a small stream before dropping straight into the water.

SPLASH!

Water sprayed in all directions. Slightly speechless, Mo Qianqian quickly climbed ashore.

Right then, he suddenly noticed three Red Spirit Dogs sprinting wildly in his direction. Trailing closely behind the hounds were five people—three young men and two middle-aged men. Among them was a youth in blue whom Mo Qianqian recognized. He was one of the geniuses who had accompanied the Cloud Void Sect Master to the Yuling Sect last time, which meant he was undoubtedly one of the core geniuses of the Cloud Void Sect!

"Mo Qianqian, you really are in this area!" the youth in blue let out a cold shout, accelerating his pace as he lunged forward. The other four also picked up speed, heading straight for him.

Mo Qianqian furrowed his brows. How did they know he was nearby? Could it be because of the Red Spirit Dogs?

WHOOSH!

As the five rushed at Mo Qianqian, one of the middle-aged men pulled an object out and twisted it. A signal flare shot into the sky and exploded high in the air.

Mo Qianqian’s expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned and fled. Weren’t these people being a little too cautious? There were clearly five of them, and one was a genius highly regarded enough to be brought along by his Sect Master. Yet, their first move was to call for backup. This was a five-on-one! They had no sense of martial honor!

Of course, those three Red Spirit Dogs possessed little to no combat prowess; they merely had keen senses of smell and were adept at tracking down people. Mo Qianqian wasn’t actually afraid since his physical body was currently at the First Realm Ninth Layer. He was just worried that other experts would converge on this location, trapping him in a desperate situation.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The three Red Spirit Dogs and the five men pursued him relentlessly. Mo Qianqian’s speed was slightly faster than both the dogs and his pursuers, but a sudden commotion soon erupted from ahead, followed by a young man’s booming roar.

"Hou Xuanyun, ranked second among Cloud Void Sect disciples and forty-sixth on the Hidden Dragon List! I ask the number one on the Hidden Dragon List to grant me guidance!"

A youth in brown robes, wielding a massive broadsword, charged aggressively toward Mo Qianqian from directly in front.

Mo Qianqian frowned. Another genius from the Cloud Void Sect had arrived! Ranked second among the sect’s disciples and forty-sixth on the Hidden Dragon List—his strength should be even greater than Yuan Liang, who was ranked sixty-fifth. Still, he himself was now at the First Realm Ninth Layer. Back at the First Realm Eighth Layer, he could already kill those at the First Realm Fourth Level. Why would he fear the second-ranked disciple of the Cloud Void Sect?

He thought to himself, "I’ll try the Vast Spear Technique!"

Gripping the dark red spear forged from stone, he prepared to circulate the Vast Spear Technique within his body. Just at that moment, however, a female voice suddenly rang out from an angle ahead.

"Yuling Sect’s Pei Hong wishes to seek guidance from Senior Brother Hou!"

Immediately after, a woman in a red dress darted out from Mo Qianqian’s oblique front. An aura of the Spiritual Mysterious Realm Fourth Level erupted from her as she charged toward Hou Xuanyun.

CLANG!

Their sword and broadsword clashed, the single strike successfully halting Hou Xuanyun in his tracks. Mo Qianqian quickly adjusted his direction slightly to avoid running straight into the pair.

"Thanks a lot!" Mo Qianqian shouted, feeling rather speechless. He had felt a real chance to skewer Hou Xuanyun to death with a single thrust. But with Pei Hong rushing out, if he had executed his strike, he might have ended up stabbing her instead. Whether Hou Xuanyun died or not would have been uncertain, but that thrust definitely would have killed Pei Hong.

At the same time, he was astonished. Why was Pei Hong here? Had the Yuling Sect sent people to help him? And was Pei Hong’s cultivation base really this high, reaching the Spiritual Mysterious Realm Fourth Level?

"Is your Yuling Sect trying to help Mo Qianqian?" Hou Xuanyun shouted furiously.

"No, we just happened to cross paths. This is purely an exchange of pointers; it has nothing to do with Mo Qianqian," Pei Hong replied in a clear, ringing voice.

"Then I will oblige you!" Hou Xuanyun’s aura flared as he engaged in a fierce battle with Pei Hong.

The sounds of their clash gradually distanced themselves from Mo Qianqian and his five pursuers. But soon enough, another booming shout echoed from directly ahead.

"First genius of the Qin Family, Qin Long, fortieth on the Hidden Dragon List, has come to slay Mo Qianqian!"

Following the shout, a youth in yellow robes radiating an aura of the Fifth Level of Spirit Mysterious Realm sprinted madly out of the forest ahead.

Mo Qianqian frowned. Fortieth on the Hidden Dragon List, the Qin Family’s number one genius, at the Fifth Level of Spirit Mysterious Realm—his combat power couldn’t be weak, right? He really wanted to fight it out, but the problem was, why were there so many people appearing nearby? If he stopped now, wouldn’t a whole crowd swarm over in no time?

"Yuling Sect Master’s Direct Disciple Shangguan Jing, forty-third on the Hidden Dragon List, wishes to challenge Young Master Feng!"

Another female voice rang out, and another young woman appeared, rushing from Mo Qianqian’s oblique front toward the Qin Family’s first genius.

A wave of surprise swelled in Mo Qianqian’s heart once again. Shangguan Jing had come as well! This definitely had to be the Yuling Sect Master’s order; otherwise, it was impossible for them to come and help him, right?

What puzzled him was that if it were in his identity as Asura, it would be perfectly normal for the Yuling Sect Master to dispatch people to his aid. But as Mo Qianqian, he didn’t have much of a connection with the Yuling Sect, did he? Why would they risk offending two major factions just to send people to help him? Could it be because of Shi Muyao’s request? Or had Pavilion Master Wan told the Yuling Sect Master about his identity as Asura? That shouldn’t be the case. Or perhaps Pavilion Master Wan had merely asked the Yuling Sect Master for a favor?

With no time to overthink, Mo Qianqian changed direction again, breaking away and sprinting forward. He managed to put a bit more distance between himself and the Red Spirit Dogs and the five pursuers tailing him.

However, before he could dash much further, yet another figure charged toward him from ahead. This time, it wasn’t some genius, but an old man with black hair. The old man wielded a longsword, his murderous intent overflowing and his aura fully unleashed. Behind the old man were two middle-aged men, flanking him on the left and right, following about a dozen meters back.