Chapter 127, Volume Three: The Ability of Anshu

That infant, though appearing like an earth bear, was ethereal and illusory—a spirit body, precisely the state of a Nascent Soul. He had actually advanced to the Nascent Soul stage under the provocation of his enemy! While his fury was the root of this breakthrough, the three peaches he had consumed while healing had also played an indispensable role.

Spiritual energy began to converge toward the Nascent Soul, and its body gradually began to solidify. Seeing this, Black Second was instantly shocked. He never expected this fellow to form a Nascent Soul just like that—this was intolerable! This man harbored a blood feud against him; how could he allow such an enemy to exist? While the enemy was still in the process of stabilizing his Nascent Soul, was this not the perfect opportunity to eliminate him?

Yu Mu knew exactly what he was thinking. Seeing the murderous glint in his eyes, Yu Mu knew he was about to strike a lethal blow. He immediately rushed in front of the earth bear and shouted, "Open your mouth!" The earth bear obeyed instantly, and Yu Mu swiftly tossed a medicinal pill into his mouth. The moment the pill entered, Black Second had already struck a palm toward the crown of the earth bear's head.

If that palm strike had landed, or even if the mere force of the palm wind had brushed against the Nascent Soul, the earth bear would not only have died, but his advancement would surely have failed. A newly formed Nascent Soul was just like a real infant—extremely fragile and incapable of withstanding any harm. For a cultivator, an injury to the Nascent Soul meant the end of everything.

In his desperation, Yu Mu suddenly transformed into his bear form and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Black Second’s thighs, dragging him to the ground, and rolling over to pin him beneath. Black Second was startled by this strange maneuver. In his panic, he lashed out with a palm, *slap*, striking Yu Mu squarely in the back and sending him flying.

"Ah—!" A piercing scream echoed, and Black Second felt a momentary wave of dizziness. By the time he recovered, a pair of blood-red eyes were already before him.

"Ah!" Black Second let out a miserable wail as a pair of broad palms plunged into his chest. He truly had not expected that the earth bear had already completed his advancement! Only then did he realize what Yu Mu had fed him, but it was already too late. Facing the red-glowing eyes in the darkness, Black Second finally betrayed his fear.

"Don't kill me..."
"Go to hell..."

With a violent tear, the earth bear ripped him in two. Blood and viscera splattered all over the bear. Ignoring it all, he threw his head back and let out a wild, heaven-shaking roar, though his eyes were brimming with tears.

With the three of them joining forces, they had finally killed the man. After venting his rage, he discarded Black Second's corpse and hurried over to Yu Mu, who was already being held in An Shu’s arms.

"Are you all right?" he asked with concern.
Yu Mu wiped the blood from his lips and said, "I'm fine."
"Are you really all right?"
"Really, I'm fine." He gestured to a leather pouch at his waist. "It has a protective function... Ouch! Why did you throw me?"

"If you're fine, why are you still clinging to me?" An Shu huffed, tossing him seven or eight meters away before turning her back on him, refusing to pay him any more mind.

The earth bear looked at the two of them and smiled knowingly. "Since you're fine, part of the plan is a success. Now, for what comes next..." Before the earth bear could finish, Yu Mu scrambled to his feet. "Right! We still have the most important thing to do. Let’s go!"

Just then, shouts of battle could be heard from afar; clearly, the bandits of Black Wind Ridge had arrived. Ignoring them, the three turned and raced back toward the water source. Upon arriving, all three were shocked.史 Da-li, who was locked in combat in the air, was clearly at a disadvantage. Looking at his distended belly, it was evident he had drunk his fill of water, but his days of exhausting travel and prolonged dehydration had severely diminished his strength.

The earth bear let out a roar, leaped into the air, and lunged at the Great Chieftain. When史 Da-li saw it was him, his spirit was bolstered, and the two immediately began to double-team their opponent. However, even with the earth bear, it remained a stalemate.

Yu Mu, watching from below, was consumed with anxiety. He could barely intervene in a fight of this level, but the shouts of the approaching bandit horde were drawing closer. If the bandits of Black Wind Ridge arrived, it would be difficult for them to achieve anything. In desperation, Yu Mu shouted, "My milk—!"

A green flash flew toward史 Da-li; the key to this battle lay with him, and if he could recover his full strength, there would be a great chance of destroying their opponent. Who would have thought that before the green light could reach him,史 Da-li would dodge it with a side-step.

"Damn it!" Yu Mu was furious, finally realizing how important trust between teammates truly was.

Just then, the sand bandits arrived, surrounding them with the water source at the center. Yu Mu drank several large gulps of wine to replenish the spiritual energy he had just lost, simultaneously preparing for battle. Yet, facing so many people, he had no confidence at all. Suddenly, a beautiful melody from a flute resonated beside him.

To Yu Mu, the flute music was exquisitely beautiful, but to the sand bandits, it was like a death-dealing demon’s song. They began clutching their heads in agony, and those with weaker cultivation rolled on the ground in pain. Soon, some began to hallucinate and started slaughtering each other.

*What a powerful area-of-effect skill!* Yu Mu realized then that An Shu was at her most effective in group battles. It wasn't just the underlings; even the leader in the sky was affected by the flute music. The scales of advantage began to tilt toward史 Da-li and the bear.

'It's truly an indiscriminate attack!' Yu Mu exclaimed to himself. He quietly moved to the windward side, spat out a cloud of pink mist, and immediately followed it with a massive blast of raging fire toward the frenzied crowd. Fueled by the gale, the flames instantly spread through the crowd. Screams and cries for help filled the night sky.

The sand bandits were thrown into chaos and fled in all directions. The reinforcements had been routed just like that. Once the bandits scattered, the Great Chieftain panicked. He began to retreat while fighting, clearly looking for a chance to escape. The earth bear immediately sensed his intent and intensified his attacks.

史 Da-li, on the other hand, was not very proactive. He had no personal feud with the opponent; as long as he secured the water, he would leave, and he was certainly not going to risk his life for this. Thus, he was now hoping the enemy would leave as soon as possible. Sure enough, taking advantage of史 Da-li’s slackened efforts, the Great Chieftain suddenly exchanged a heavy blow with the two of them. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, he utilized the recoil to retreat rapidly, breaking away from the battlefield.

Yu Mu was anxious; if the Great Chieftain escaped, it would be difficult for the earth bear to seek revenge later. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he shouted, "Watch out, he has a spirit weapon!"

At these words, everyone was startled.史 Da-li, hearing this, immediately became aggressive and lunged forward. The Great Chieftain looked at Yu Mu with surprise and suddenly unleashed a cold glimmer of light. The glint flashed, reaching史 Da-li’s chest. He dodged in a hurry, but with a *puff*, a palm-wide wound appeared on his right arm.

史 Da-li, rather than being afraid, was delighted. "It really is a spirit weapon! Haha, this spirit weapon is mine!"

The spirit weapon the Great Chieftain had unleashed was a strange, palm-wide short blade, only a few inches long. No wonder he hadn't used it to fight—it was a concealed weapon artifact! Everyone wondered how Yu Mu knew he had a spirit weapon.

In truth, it was a pure guess, intended to stir up史 Da-li’s competitive spirit. It was an impromptu gamble. However, Yu Mu had deduced that the Great Chieftain possessed such a weapon. He had seen the earth bear’s injury—a half-foot-long wound that hadn't even pierced the heart. It didn't look like a slash, but a puncture, so Yu Mu judged the weapon must be short. Coupled with the fact that the earth bear hadn't even seen what had injured him, Yu Mu surmised it must be a hidden artifact. Since the Great Chieftain hadn't used it until now, he must have been saving it as a trump card.

Sure enough, he had been baited out.

"Huh? This blade looks like... could it be you?"史 Da-li, having seen the shape of the short blade, muttered something incomprehensible. His behavior became even more aggressive; ignoring his injury, he used his spiritual energy to form a giant hand, attempting to trap the blade. But how could the Great Chieftain let him succeed? With a flick of his mind, the short blade flew back rapidly, and he channeled his spiritual energy into his feet, clearly intending to flee.

The earth bear was anxious and lunged forward regardless of the danger. But a figure was faster than him; in a blur, a ball of flesh had already attached itself to the Great Chieftain’s thigh.史 Da-li’s eyes lit up, and he too lunged forward at high speed.