162: Chapter 162 Battle against Cao Shen

Lin Mo stepped into the air, his figure like lightning, closing in on Cao Shen.

In that instant, the entire battlefield seemed to be split down the middle by an invisible giant blade.

On one side, the army of Mimics poured down like a surging black tide, their killing intent as vast as the sea.

On the other, three Fallen Ones blocked the way, forcibly dragging the three elders into a bitter struggle.

At the very top, Cao Shen stood where the black mist and the blood array met. Watching Lin Mo charge toward him, he merely lifted his eyes slightly.

“You really did come.”

Lin Mo did not answer.

His blade arrived first.

The first form of the Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash, a diagonal downward strike.

The blade's light drew an extremely fine white line, like the moment drifting clouds are torn apart.

Cao Shen raised his hand and tapped with his fingertip.

Ding.

A soft sound rang out.

That strike was actually caught between his two fingers.

Below, the faces of several young martial artists immediately turned pale.

Gu Yunting's pupils constricted sharply.

“How is that possible?”

“He's also being suppressed, so why can he still...”

Before he could finish, he abruptly shut his mouth.

Because he saw it.

Although Cao Shen was also suppressed by the secret realm to the mid-to-late stage of the Fourth Order, he was different.

He wasn't simply relying on his cultivation level to endure.

Inside his body, there was too much “external force” forcibly accumulated from the Mimics, the Fallen Ones, and the blood sacrifice array.

These external forces were usually very unstable, but in this secret realm polluted by the evil array, they seemed to have found the most suitable soil.

In other words—

Suppression was a shackle for others.

For Cao Shen, it was instead a form of cover.

“Did you think you could still be as relaxed as you were on the Bone Platform?”

Cao Shen smiled and twisted his fingers.

Crack.

Lin Mo's blade trembled, and he was forcibly pushed back several yards.

However, he retreated extremely fast, stabilizing his figure almost while still in mid-air.

The Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps activated automatically; he tapped his feet three times in succession to discharge the force.

Almost everyone below felt their hearts tighten.

This was the first time Lin Mo had been pushed back in a direct confrontation.

But it was precisely because of this that everyone became even more aware of how terrifying Cao Shen was.

“He's even more difficult to deal with than the Martial Demon's phantom.”

Ji Wuchen said through gritted teeth.

He was actually very reluctant to say these words.

But he had to admit it.

The Martial Demon's strength lay in his purity.

Whereas Cao Shen's strength lay in his filthiness.

The former would shatter you head-on.

The latter would drag you into a quagmire and slowly crush you to death.

The Battlefields on All Four Sides Exploded Simultaneously

At the same time, the entire secret realm had completely transformed into a battlefield.

Lei Wanjun threw a punch, thunder booming as he directly met the Fallen One holding a broken halberd.

That Fallen One's halberd technique was extremely fierce; every time the broken halberd struck down, it seemed to be wrapped in countless shattered souls.

Lei Wanjun took a direct hit from the halberd, and his arm actually went slightly numb from the shock.

“Such heavy baleful qi!”

His expression darkened as he raised his fist again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder and blood collided repeatedly, and the combat zone directly exploded.

Shen Guhong's sword was steadier than Lei Wanjun's.

He didn't seek head-on collisions, but instead used extremely fast sword paths to seal off every opening of the Blood-Armor Fallen One.

However, that Blood-Armor Fallen One's defense was ridiculously strong; when the sword qi slashed against it, it could only kick up a shower of sparks.

“This person's physical body has almost been refined into an evil weapon...”

Shen Guhong's gaze turned cold, and his sword momentum suddenly changed.

The sword light was like snow, instantly slicing diagonally across the other's throat.

Daoist Master Yun Yao was facing the most eerie Fallen One, who was most integrated into the black mist.

She didn't strike rashly but first set up an array.

Array patterns fell like starlight, spreading out around her in an instant.

The moment that Fallen One approached, his figure was forcibly disrupted by the array's light.

But he seemed to have no physical form, passing through the array several times, making one's heart turn cold.

“This isn't a humanoid Fallen One.”

Daoist Master Yun Yao said softly.

“He seems to have no physical body!”

Wei Qianshan joined forces with dozens of martial artists to forcibly block the first wave of the Mimic army's assault.

These Mimics pounced like a tide, unafraid of death, and would even directly detonate their bodies upon getting close.

One young martial artist after another was shaken until they coughed up blood, their faces turning deathly pale.

But no one retreated.

Because once they retreated, the camp behind them would completely collapse.

Lin Mo and Cao Shen, the Real Clash

High in the sky, after stabilizing his figure, Lin Mo didn't pause for a moment and charged to kill once more.

This time, he wasn't in a hurry to strike with his blade but first took steps.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Cao Shen's eyes flickered slightly.

He noticed that Lin Mo's footwork had changed.

Lin Mo's Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps had been completely passivized; in high-pressure combat, he didn't need to think about where to land, as his body would choose the optimal trajectory on its own.

Just as Cao Shen raised his hand, Lin Mo had already swept past his left side.

Just as he blocked the right side, Lin Mo appeared behind him again.

With a turn of his long blade, the Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash performed three consecutive rotations, like rolling clouds and falling thunder.

Cao Shen finally raised his arm to block head-on.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three loud bangs rang out in quick succession.

A corner of the blood array beneath Cao Shen's feet instantly exploded, and his figure actually retreated once more.

“This blade technique of yours...”

His gaze finally darkened a bit.

Lin Mo did not say a word, but his blade momentum grew even faster.

Because he knew that Cao Shen wasn't just one person.

Behind him was also that Shadow of a Thousand Eyes and a Thousand Tentacles, which was currently opening its eyes.

He had to interrupt the sacrifice as soon as possible.

So he couldn't afford to delay.

Each strike of the Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash was faster than the last, the blade shadows weaving an extremely fine yet dense line of death in the air.

For the first time, Cao Shen truly felt pressured.

But he wasn't the Martial Demon after all.

He would not purely trade blows with you.

He suddenly took half a step back and formed hand seals.

“False Life Sacrifice.”

Boom!

Dozens of Mimics in the black mist below exploded simultaneously.

Blood mist rose into the sky, transforming into blackish-red Life Lines that instantly coiled toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo's pupils constricted.

These Life Lines did not attack the physical body.

Instead, they attacked one's aura, Life Line, and mind.

Once entangled, one would be pulled into Cao Shen's blood array and become part of the sacrifice.

But right at that moment, the Starlight Moon Condensation within Lin Mo's body began to circulate on its own.

A very faint silver glow lit up around him.

As soon as those Life Lines got close, they seemed to hit some kind of extremely stable cold moon barrier, their speed suddenly stalling.

Lin Mo's eyes lit up.

“So that's how it is.”

He didn't take the hits passively but used this moment to strike back with his blade.

The blade edge sliced horizontally, and the Life Lines snapped.

Cao Shen's expression turned cold, and he finally truly raised both hands for the first time.

“It seems I have to get a bit serious.”

The Descent of the Shadow of a Thousand Eyes and a Thousand Tentacles Accelerates

As the battle entered a stalemate, the giant eye in the sky also opened wider and wider.

Layer upon layer of black tentacles reached out from the depths of the rift, as if scouting the way or searching for a suitable vessel.

The temperature of the entire secret realm was dropping.

A sickening “feeling of being watched” began to appear in the air.

It was as if countless invisible eyes were staring at everyone from behind the vault of heaven.

“We can't let it descend completely!”

Daoist Master Yun Yao suddenly shouted.

“Once it crosses the boundary, everyone will die!”

But the problem was that no one could pull themselves away right now.

The elders were held back by the Fallen Ones.

The younger generation was surrounded by the army of Mimics.

Lin Mo and Cao Shen were locked in combat high in the sky, unable to pull away to sever the rift immediately.

The situation had already begun to slide toward the worst possible direction.

Cao Shen clearly understood this as well.

He looked at Lin Mo and suddenly smiled.

“Did you think that by obtaining the Martial Demon Inheritance, you could stop me?”

“Lin Mo, you underestimate sacrifices too much, and you also underestimate truly high-level existences.”

He raised his hand and pointed at the group of geniuses below.

“All of you, from the moment you stepped into the secret realm, were already materials I had selected.”

“The stronger you are, the more suitable you are to be the final fuse.”

Lin Mo's gaze was as cold as frost.

“Therefore, you must also be the first to die.”

As his voice fell, his figure suddenly sank, and he charged up to kill once more.

...