Chapter 9: I Know You're Stalling for Time, You're a Good Father

At this moment, a beautiful girl dressed in a white dress emerged from the shadows, her entire being seemingly fused with the moonlight.

Zhou Yunmo looked at Mu Qingxi and smiled bitterly.

"I thought you had left, little girl."

"It's good that he left. He shouldn't have to stay here because of a useless person like me. He has his own path to follow."

Mu Qingxi gazed at Zhou Yunmo.

"Aren't you leaving too, girl? You might as well keep an eye on that brat for me."

"Why don't you watch over him yourself, Uncle?"

"I have my own matters to attend to."

After watching Zhou Yunmo's departing figure, Mu Qingxi pondered for a moment.

Then, a figure appeared behind her, kneeling down.

"Saintess, it's time for us to return."

"Alright, I know. Let's go and follow Xingchen."

Zhou Yunmo naturally sensed Mu Qingxi's departure and sighed.

At that moment, a box appeared in Zhou Yunmo's hand. He gently stroked it, his eyes filled with a sense of nostalgia.

His gaze softened.

"I may not be able to fulfill my promise to you, but I can at least protect him."

Zhou Yunmo had been keeping an eye on Zhou Xingchen, but when Zhou Xingchen attempted to kill that young man, there was a hidden protector behind him.

Zhou Yunmo secretly killed that protector.

Although he tried to cover it up by leveraging the events in the secret realm, Zhou Yunmo still had a bad feeling.

He sensed a familiar aura from that person, something he had encountered before but couldn't recall immediately. By the time he remembered, it was too late.

Thinking of that family, Zhou Yunmo's eyes were filled with helplessness. So, in the secret realm, he left behind his aura while erasing Zhou Xingchen's.

Under the cover of night, Zhou Yunmo departed.

When he arrived at the site of the previous secret realm, Zhou Yunmo took a deep breath.

"Since you're already here, why hide?"

Sensing a suppressive aura, Zhou Yunmo spoke to the empty air.

A man clad in armor appeared behind Zhou Yunmo, staring at him.

"So you're the one who killed a member of our Gu family?"

"Aren't you already aware?"

"What I didn't expect was that after killing a few ordinary people, I'd end up facing you."

"Zhou Yunmo, the Sword Lord of Slaughter, I've heard of you. I thought you were dead, but it turns out you were hiding in such a remote place."

"Why bother with all this talk? You came here for my life, didn't you?"

Zhou Yunmo sneered at the armored man, and as his words fell, the box he had been holding in his arms shattered, revealing a sword.

A blood-red sword appeared, glowing eerily under the moonlight.

"The Sword of Slaughter."

The armored man looked at it with interest.

"You are a worthy father."

At that moment, a voice came from the void.

Upon hearing this voice, Zhou Yunmo's eyes widened, and he looked up at the sky.

In the void, a jade-green qilin had appeared, pulling a massive palace behind it.

The palace was surrounded by a misty aura, obscuring its interior.

But the cold, young, and icy voice sent a chill through Zhou Yunmo.

"I don't know what you mean by that."

No further sound came from the palace.

Zhou Yunmo's expression darkened.

The armored man stared at Zhou Yunmo.

"Our Divine Son said you're a good father. It seems that you conspired together. You've come here to block our path, haven't you?"

Zhou Yunmo's pupils contracted upon hearing the armored man's words.

He then glanced toward the palace at the mention of "Divine Son."

He had roamed the outside world, with considerable strength, so he knew what it meant to be called a "Divine Son."

He never expected that the Divine Son of this family would show up.

Zhou Yunmo smiled bitterly.

"To think, after killing just two people, the Gu family's Divine Son would come. It's not a disgrace to die here."

"But I wonder, could I meet the Divine Son in person?"

The armored man stepped forward and sneered.

"Even at your peak, you wouldn't be worthy of meeting our Divine Son. A piece of trash like you isn't fit to see him."

"I know you're stalling for time."

The voice from the palace rang out again.

Zhou Yunmo's expression shifted slightly upon hearing those words.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he abruptly raised his head to look at the palace in the void.

At this moment, Zhou Yunmo was a bit frightened.

Perhaps they had been here all along, waiting to see how things would unfold.

Even though he had tricked his son into leaving, they must have witnessed everything.

Yet they still chose to ignore it.

Zhou Yunmo realized that this was a display of power, using this situation to assert dominance. This time, his entire network of relationships might be destroyed.

Why were they doing this? Wouldn't it be simpler to just kill them all? Was it really just to assert dominance?

Zhou Yunmo's expression grew serious as he looked at the palace.

He knew there was no way out now. If he could take the Divine Son hostage, there might still be a chance.

With that thought, Zhou Yunmo's sword burst with light.

He swung it at the armored man.

The armored man saw this and punched forward.

As their forces collided, a fierce killing intent erupted, creating a powerful storm. The overwhelming aura of destruction spread out in all directions.

In that moment, all the trees trembled and then were destroyed.

The armored man sneered, clasped his hands together, and tore open the storm before him.

Then, his figure appeared directly in front of Zhou Yunmo.

Zhou Yunmo's expression changed. He was already no match for the armored man, and on top of that, he was injured.

Seeing the man's palm strike toward his face, Zhou Yunmo thrust his sword forward.

The armored man noticed and his eyes glowed with a strange light, followed by a red radiance emanating from his entire body.

The red light began to swirl, forming a vortex.

Zhou Yunmo's face changed as he realized his sword was being pulled into the vortex in front of the armored man, making it impossible to withdraw.

"Smack!"

A powerful slap landed squarely on Zhou Yunmo's face.

The immense force sent Zhou Yunmo flying, and the hand that was tightly gripping the sword emitted a cracking sound.

The armored man looked at the sword before him and the severed arm still attached to it, then sneered.

With a shudder of his tiger-like body, the arm disappeared, and even the Slaughter Sword fell to the ground, where it was crushed under the armored man's foot.

"Crack, crack."

The sound of breaking echoed.

"No, no, die."

Seeing his sword shatter, Zhou Yunmo's face contorted with anger. He then pulled out a pill from his hand.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a violent wind erupted, and rocks tumbled down the mountainside.

At this moment, Zhou Yunmo's entire body began to emit a radiant light, and behind him, a massive avatar stood tall, thousands of meters high, illuminating the night as if it were day.

"Die."

The enormous avatar clenched its fist and hurled a punch at the armored man.

As the punch traveled, the void shattered, and flames shot skyward.

The armored man sneered at the sight.

Then, he clashed his fists together.

"Roar."

A colossal avatar appeared, radiating a menacing aura.