After Ma Wei bought the formation flags, Mo Qi set up a teleportation array in a hidden location within Mount Xiaogu. Once it was done, Mo Qi couldn't help but complain that the biggest drawback of fixed-point teleportation arrays was the need to set up identical formation flags at both ends, meaning the first trip always had to be made in person.
Otherwise, he could only resort to random teleportation, but with random teleportation, he wouldn't know where he would end up.
He was hesitating whether to try random teleportation, leaving one teleportation array here, and then taking the other four formation flags and the array core artifact for random teleportation. If the destination was not the Southern Continent, he would perform a second teleportation, simultaneously sending the formation flags and array core artifact. If the destination was still wrong, he would perform a third, then a fourth teleportation… until he landed on the Southern Continent, from where he could choose to fly to the Northern Territory.
At this moment, a commotion, mixed with the sounds of fighting, came from the front mountain.
Mo Qi, filled with suspicion, sped towards the sound. From a distance, he saw a young cultivator surrounded by members of the Red Gang. The young cultivator's expression was calm, and he spoke with disdain, "None of you are my match. Call Mo Qi out. I am here to duel him today, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."
Pan Duoduo, a minor leader of the Red Gang, said, "You think you can just meet our boss whenever you want? You have to get past us first."
"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" the young cultivator chided softly. He opened his right palm, then suddenly closed it, his four fingers curling towards his palm. The air seemed to tremble as if it had wrinkled or folded. With a crisp sound, the necks of those around him snapped, their bodies contorted as they fell to the ground, lifeless.
This was too sinister, too overbearing. Mo Qi couldn't help but tremble inwardly.
It seemed to be some kind of spatial術法 (shùfǎ - sorcery/technique), the most difficult kind to defend against.
At this moment, Lin Zhentian and Ma Wei arrived with the second wave of people and surrounded them.
The cultivator's lips curled up slightly. "Why are there so many people coming to their deaths?" As he spoke, his palm curled inwards again.
Mo Qi immediately sped over. Still in mid-air, he shouted, "Stop!"
The man glanced at Mo Qi and immediately ceased his actions. He instinctively felt that the person arriving was the one he was looking for. A sinister smile played on his lips. "You finally appeared. I wondered what kind of formidable person you were, only to find you more ordinary than the ordinary."
Mo Qi landed steadily and snorted, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"I am Chen Xiemu of Golden Lion Island. Remember my name; this name will be your nightmare. Before, my name was renowned throughout the Hongmeng South Sea, thunderous and awe-inspiring. My fame even surpassed Xiao Ling's. Words like young, handsome, cultivation prodigy, and any other flowery adjective were insufficient to describe my excellence. But these past few days, you've been quite active. First, you killed Wu Cunxin, the sect leader of the Divine Crow Sect, and then you fought Shi Jinchun, the sect leader of the Divine Dragon Sect, to a draw. You are very arrogant. If this continues, you'll steal my thunder. That's why I've come to challenge you today and reclaim my spotlight."
Who is Xiao Ling? Shen Wuhai also mentioned her before.
"Uh," Mo Qi shrugged, looking innocent. "You don't need to worry. I'm leaving the Hongmeng South Sea today. I won't compete for any fame with you in the future."
"Leaving already?" Chen Xiemu frowned, then his brows shot up. "Then I apologize. If you had left a moment earlier, I wouldn't have bothered you. But now that you've been caught, you're not going anywhere. I went to all this trouble to come here; you can't let me return empty-handed, can you? Moreover, even if you leave, your fame will remain. Only by defeating you, or killing you, can my reputation overshadow yours."
Mo Qi consumed a Flash Shift Pill and said coldly, "Then there's nothing more to say. Besides, I only said I didn't want to compete for fame with you; I didn't say I would let you leave. You killed so many of my brothers; you won't be leaving alive."
"Arrogant enough. I like it," Chen Xiemu said.
Lin Zhentian and Ma Wei said in unison, "Boss, let us handle this. Someone like him isn't worthy of your attention."
Mo Qi waved his hand. "This is my business; I'll handle it. You two step back."
Lin Zhentian and Ma Wei exchanged glances and reluctantly retreated.
Chen Xiemu stared at Mo Qi, clenched his hand, and the air suddenly trembled. Mo Qi moved with extreme speed, but he still felt his neck being violently twisted, as if his head were about to be ripped off. Fortunately, his Undying Golden Body was nearing completion, and he managed to endure it.
Chen Xiemu laughed heartily. "My sorcery is all-pervasive; you can't escape. I just didn't expect you to withstand my attack. Hmm, not bad, not bad. It seems you are indeed a worthy opponent."
Mo Qi coughed, almost losing his breath. It took him a while to recover. He immediately formed a hand seal, pointed to the sky, and ten thousand bolts of lightning struck down, aimed at Chen Xiemu. Chen Xiemu flipped his palm in the air.
The ball of lightning, edged with electric light and resembling a black hole in the center, twisted through the air in an unknown manner and suddenly struck Mo Qi. Mo Qi's face turned ashen with shock. In his haste, he could only summon an ice wall and retreat rapidly.
With a thunderous explosion, fragments of lightning, energy, ice, and snow swirled around Mo Qi's body as it rolled onto the ground. Chen Xiemu laughed loudly. "My spatial sorcery is not only all-pervasive but also reflects everything. The fiercer your attack, the more you will be injured."
"Is that so?" Mo Qi scrambled to his feet, looking into his eyes.
"Of course, it is," Chen Xiemu said. A ripple went through his mind, and he suddenly felt his consciousness being pulled. He dismissed it as an illusion.
Mo Qi continued, "Some things, however, cannot be reflected."
Chen Xiemu fell into a daze. Mo Qi flicked his fingers, and two streams of energy shot out, instantly hitting Chen Xiemu. Before Chen Xiemu could react, two holes appeared in his body, and bright red blood flowed out. The intense pain jolted Chen Xiemu awake. He was shocked to see himself wounded.
"Soul Suppressing Technique!"
Amidst his shock, Mo Qi continuously unleashed more energy streams, leaving Chen Xiemu in a desperate struggle, unable to retaliate. He tried to curl his fingers into his palm, but suddenly two of his fingers were flicked off. Chen Xiemu grimaced in pain, realizing the situation was lost and he couldn't win today. The question now was whether he could escape.
"Soul Suppressing Technique!" Chen Xiemu exclaimed in alarm. He hadn't expected his opponent to know this technique. He also knew that his own abilities were vulnerable to the Soul Suppressing Technique. He realized he was not sufficiently prepared to face it today and was no match for his opponent.
In his haste, Chen Xiemu drew a line in the air with his finger. The line gradually expanded, and a red rift immediately appeared in the air. Mo Qi, suspecting it was another spatial technique, was considering how to counter it when Chen Xiemu twisted his body and entered the rift. The rift instantly closed, forming a line, then a dot, and disappeared into the air.
Chen Xiemu's voice echoed for a long time, "The green hills will not change, and the flowing water will continue. I will come back for you."
So that was an escape technique. Mo Qi was filled with regret that he had escaped in such a manner.
"It seems my presence here will also bring disaster to everyone, so I should leave sooner," Mo Qi said.
"Nonsense, how could that be? Even without you here, there are constant troubles. After all, we are a group of abandoned people," Ma Wei said.
Lin Zhentian nodded in agreement.
Mo Qi looked at the two of them and said, "After I leave, you must respect and help each other, and not engage in internal strife. If I hear in the future that someone deliberately instigated trouble, I will not spare them lightly. You must also cultivate diligently during this time and continuously improve your cultivation. I have no intention of establishing a sect myself, but I do not oppose helping you establish one. During my trip to the Southern Continent, I will also pay close attention and make every effort to create conditions for you to find a place to settle down. If the time is right, you can come with me next time, either to join a sect or to establish your own, and display your talents."
These words, like the earnest teachings of an elder of a sect to their juniors, sounded surprisingly natural coming from Mo Qi. The two listened with great respect, nodding continuously.
Feeling that all matters were arranged, Mo Qi returned to the place where he had set up the teleportation array and initiated a random teleportation. After a bout of dizziness, he found himself in a stone cave, landing on a stone bed. Beside him lay a beautiful maiden with a delicate face and skin as smooth as ice, draped in a thin, sheer veil. He was lost in admiration, thinking perhaps his luck with romance had arrived, and he had encountered such an opportunity.
However, when his gaze fell upon the maiden's lower half, he was truly startled.
She wore a skirt, but from the hem, a hint of a fish tail was visible.
A merfolk!
At that moment, the maiden turned her face and saw a man suddenly appear before her. She screamed in fright, a piercing sound.
As she screamed, her body sprang up, and she floated in the air. Startled by her scream, Mo Qi also jumped up and stood on the ground.
"Who are you? How did you get in?" the maiden asked, her eyes wide, staring at Mo Qi. When she opened her mouth, two fangs gleamed, making her look particularly willful.
Simultaneously, a maidservant-like figure in the room also screamed and froze.
Before Mo Qi could answer, a large group of people, their faces filled with anxiety, floated in. Like the maiden, they had human upper bodies and fish tails below.
The one at the front, appearing to be in her middle age, with the most urgent gaze, asked anxiously upon entering, "What's wrong, Sheng'er?" Before Sheng'er could answer, she spotted Mo Qi and immediately understood what had happened. Turning to Mo Qi, she said angrily, "Who are you, and how did you get in?"
Seeing her mother and the others arrive, Sheng'er immediately floated over and stood with them, glaring at Mo Qi.
Mo Qi was greatly shocked by this scene. How had he ended up among merfolk?
It seemed this teleportation had not been successful; he was still in the Hongmeng South Sea.
He hoped these merfolk had no connection to the ones he had encountered in the Black Water Abyss.
Mo Qi forced a smile onto his face. "I don't know if you've heard of teleportation arrays? I was in another place just now, and with a 'whoosh,' I was teleported here."
Sheng'er's mother, Madam Ji, glanced at Sheng'er. "Did he do anything to you?"
Mo Qi was somewhat bewildered. What could he do to a fish?
Sheng'er shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears, her expression deeply wronged. "But..."
"I understand," Madam Ji said, not waiting for her to finish, and waved her hand. "Take him down."
A dozen merfolk men and women on either side surged forward. Mo Qi did not want to fight and repeatedly retreated. "Let's talk. There's no need for violence. It's just a misunderstanding; we can explain it clearly."
The others completely ignored him and swarmed forward, tying Mo Qi up with their hands and feet.
Mo Qi was confident he could explain himself, so he did not resist and allowed them to tie him up.
Madam Ji waved her hand. "Let's go. Take him to the clan leader for judgment."
Thus, the group escorted Mo Qi out of the cave.
Stepping outside the cave, a sea breeze blew, bringing a refreshing coolness. Looking ahead, there was an endless expanse of sea and a clear blue sky.
The clan leader, Yu Cang, was currently perusing ancient texts in his cave dwelling. He had been feeling uneasy lately, sensing that something significant was about to happen. He had therefore sought out ancient texts concerning ancient wars, the war between witches and demons, and heavenly tribulations... He discovered that the merfolk clan had remained unscathed during the previous heavenly tribulations because they had remained hidden deep beneath the sea, avoiding the pursuit of fame and fortune.
The merfolk clan had two cave dwellings, one in the sea and one on the shore. In times of peace, they spent most of the year on land.
At this moment, Madam Ji and a large group of people pushed Mo Qi inside. Sheng'er immediately rushed forward and leaned on the clan leader's shoulder. "Father, you must help me seek justice."