บท 744: Chapter 744: Not a Mortal's Speed
After dodging the slash and plucking the rose, Zhong Shan felt much more at ease. The Grim-faced Daoist, with a palm brimming with deathly white energy, struck towards Zhong Shan, who held the rose carefully and gave the Daoist a mocking smile.
The next moment, Zhong Shan's figure flickered and vanished.
The Grim-faced Daoist's pupils constricted. Vanished? How?
His palm, unable to halt mid-strike, found only empty air, while Zhong Shan reappeared behind him.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
Zhong Shan's palm slammed into the Daoist's back with tremendous force, delivering a super-heavy blow.
"Pfft~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
The Grim-faced Daoist spat out a mouthful of blood, hurtling towards the summit of the sacred mountain.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
He crashed into a massive boulder, shattering it, and then rose into the air, staring at Zhong Shan in shock.
Too fast. Zhong Shan's speed was too fast. The Grim-faced Daoist, a Sky Extreme Realm expert, couldn't even see Zhong Shan's movements. One moment he vanished, the next he appeared. How was this possible? How could anyone move so quickly?
It was as if Zhong Shan's speed transcended mortal limits, leaving even a Sky Extreme Realm expert behind. Speed—this was the greatest advantage of his shadow form. Among those of the same realm, none could match it. At the Sky Extreme Realm, there were few in the world who could keep up with Zhong Shan.
"You're Zhong Shan? How are you here?" the Grim-faced Daoist asked in sudden realization.
Zhong Shan didn't bother answering. A dying man wasn't worth his breath.
With a swift motion, Zhong Shan drew a long sword—his imperial sword, the Immortal Sword.
The moment the Grim-faced Daoist saw Zhong Shan's sword, his hair stood on end, a chilling fear coursing down his spine. Instinctively, he dodged to the side.
"Shing~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
But he was a moment too slow. The sword slashed his arm, spraying blood. The strike, a perfect assassination blow, showed no outward sign until it hit, then displayed its devastating power.
The Immortal Sword? The sword from behind was Zhong Shan's Immortal Sword? Then what about the figure in front of him?
Looking back, the Grim-faced Daoist saw that Zhong Shan had already vanished from sight.
Too fast. Zhong Shan's speed was blinding, leaving only an afterimage behind, moving at a pace that mortal eyes could barely capture.
Fear gripped the Grim-faced Daoist. Such speed? Only the Realm Master at full power could possibly match this.
Too fast!
"Shing~! Shing~! Shing~! Shing~! Shing~!"
Zhong Shan did not give the Daoist any chance to react. Each sword strike was faster than the last, each movement swifter. The Grim-faced Daoist could only glimpse Zhong Shan for an instant after each strike before he vanished again.
It was a terrifying assassination. He was being attacked right before his eyes, but he couldn't see it.
Had it not been for his instincts, the Grim-faced Daoist would have already fallen to Zhong Shan's deadly blows. Even so, the Sky Extreme Realm expert was covered in blood from head to toe.
Terror filled the Grim-faced Daoist's eyes. He was utterly powerless to fight back. How could this be? Was he just going to be stabbed to death, one strike at a time?
Moreover, the Grim-faced Daoist had no chance of escaping. Every attempt to flee met with another of Zhong Shan's swift strikes. Zhong Shan was too fast.
"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
The Grim-faced Daoist let out a fierce roar as Zhong Shan's sword sliced deeply into his arm, exposing bone.
"Whoosh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
The area around the sacred mountain suddenly became a kaleidoscope of colors as the Grim-faced Daoist desperately activated the internal formations, hoping to use the array against Zhong Shan.
But the formations were useless against Zhong Shan. His shadow body moved through them as if strolling through a gentle breeze. While the Grim-faced Daoist tried to manipulate the formations, Zhong Shan's Immortal Sword shredded another third of his flesh. The scene resembled the ancient punishment of death by a thousand cuts.
The formations were completely ineffective against Zhong Shan. The Grim-faced Daoist suddenly realized how close to death he was. No wonder the Realm Master took Zhong Shan so seriously.
Fear, no, sheer terror filled the Grim-faced Daoist. The longer one lived, the more they feared death, and he was no exception.
Formations were useless? How could this be?
"Revolving Sacred Mountain!" The Grim-faced Daoist executed another technique.
At that moment, nothing else mattered. Facing imminent death, what use was a sacred mountain?
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
The sacred mountain began to collapse into the ground.
Simultaneously, the thirty-six petal-like mountains around it erupted in golden light and began to rise.
The sacred mountain descended while the petal mountains ascended, as if all the mountain's power was being transferred to them.
The Grim-faced Daoist struggled desperately.
The golden light from the petal mountains formed a lotus-like shape, emitting countless rays of golden light.
This sudden change caused Zhong Shan to pause momentarily.
"Merge~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
With a loud shout from the Grim-faced Daoist, the thirty-six petal mountains appeared above the sacred mountain, collapsing together like a closing flower.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
Massive stones crashed down, leaving no gaps. It seemed as if everything inside would be crushed to dust.
The thirty-six petal mountains disappeared, leaving behind only ruins—a ruin formed from the collision of the petal mountains and the sacred mountain, now glowing with golden light, pressing together to form a new, seemingly indestructible sacred mountain.
Everything that had been buried inside was presumably crushed to nothingness.
Zhong Shan had vanished.
"No~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
In the distance, Nian Youyou screamed in agony as she flew towards the sacred mountain.
The Revolving Sacred Mountain was not a formation but a pure physical attack. It was legendary in the Ageless Realm, known to have buried a Sky Extreme Realm expert alive. Had Zhong Shan just been buried alive as well?
The thought tore at Nian Youyou's heart. She flew frantically, her mind in a daze, crying out, "I don't want the rose anymore, I don't want the rose anymore, Zhong Shan, please be safe, please be safe…"
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
The sacred mountain was again shrouded in the multicolored array, obscuring everything inside.
Nian Youyou's heart filled with dread. She flew desperately, tears streaming down her face.
"Thud!"
She crashed into something—Zhong Shan's chest.
"Zhong Shan, are you alright?" Nian Youyou exclaimed in delight, holding Zhong Shan's face to confirm he was unharmed.
Her panicked expression, joyful eyes, and tears of relief were emotions so genuine and complex that even her training under Nu Qinghui couldn't replicate them with such authenticity.
"How could anything happen to me?" Zhong Shan smiled.
Nian Youyou hugged him tightly, as if afraid to lose him again.
Zhong Shan raised his right hand and presented the rose to Nian Youyou.
"It's been over a hundred years, and I still haven't collected all three thousand kinds. This is the 2,997th. I'll find the remaining three," Zhong Shan said softly.
Hearing this, Nian Youyou released Zhong Shan and looked at the rose in his hand, her expression blank.
Zhong Shan, puzzled, saw Nian Youyou biting her lip, tears streaming down her face.
He extended the rose closer to her. She took it mechanically, her expression a mix of gratitude, happiness, excitement, and guilt.
"What's wrong?" Zhong Shan asked.
Nian Youyou shook her head, unwilling to voice her thoughts, clutching the rose in a daze.
Zhong Shan didn't press further. The Grim-faced Daoist had been dealt with, and now they needed to see how things were elsewhere.
"Come, let's check the other areas!" Zhong Shan said.
"Okay," Nian Youyou nodded, suddenly becoming silent.
Zhong Shan led Nian Youyou to the sacred mountain where Mr. Corpse was attacking. Seeing that Mr. Corpse had the upper hand, Zhong Shan quickly moved on to the next sacred mountain.
As they approached, Zhong Shan stopped from a distance. The sky was dark, and the air thick with dense yin energy and countless tiny, poisonous microorganisms. These microorganisms had immense destructive power, corroding everything and spreading curses like a powerful plague.
It seemed these plagues were being controlled by someone. Hao Meili stood at the center, radiating the plagues in all directions. Any cultivator caught in the area fell, their bodies oozing pus, a horrifying sight.
Beside Hao Meili was a Heaven Ghost, and in front of them was an extremely sinister man, the Curse Demon.
"Hao Meili? You've grown stronger. How could your curse techniques become so powerful in just three years? Is this the Plague Sect's inheritance? Have you learned their legacy?" the Curse Demon exclaimed.
"I have become stronger. I want you to die a miserable death. I must avenge my master. But you seem weaker. Where is your Curse Flame? Why isn't it as strong as it was three years ago? I know now, you must have had some secret treasure then, and it's not with you now. Hahaha, you're finished!" Hao Meili laughed menacingly.
"This area doesn't need our help. Let's move on to the next one," Zhong Shan said, pulling Nian Youyou away.
They left swiftly, heading to the next battleground.
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