Fellow Daoist, I gladly accept this heaven-defying opportunity.

"Don't just say nice things."

Feng Wubian suddenly spoke, his tone steady, "The more renowned Junior Brother Xu Mofeng becomes, the more uneasy the people of the Seven Sects of Beiling will be. Our journey back this time will likely be difficult."

Now, Feng Wubian has long lost the desire to compete with Xu Mofeng. With a more relaxed mindset, he has become more steady and prudent in his actions.

"The sect elders are already on their way here, but they definitely can't outrun the people from the Seven Sects of the Northern Ridge. My suggestion is that we split up and leave the city separately. Firstly, we'll be smaller and less likely to be spotted; secondly, we can distract them and give Junior Brother Xu Mofeng a better chance of survival."

Yan Wanxia frowned: "Xu Mofeng is now the Marquis of Dingfeng, personally appointed by the Emperor. With such an official title, how dare the Seven Sects of Beiling openly attack him?"

Xue Changhe shook his head: "You think the Seven Sects of Beiling are too reasonable. In this secret realm, Junior Brother Xu almost wiped out all the young talents of the Seven Sects of Beiling. Now he is rising in fame. With the rise and fall of the sects, they are already envious. They don't care about marquises anymore."

"Can't we wait for the elders to arrive before we leave? That would be safer, wouldn't it?"

Xue Changhe glanced at Feng Wubian but said nothing.

Yan Wanxia was incredibly clever and quickly understood the situation.

The target of the Seven Sects of Beiling is definitely Xu Mofeng, but Xu Mofeng is ultimately a member of the Biyou Sect.

The six sects of Nanling appear to be one, but in reality, each has its own agenda. The other five sects would never fight to the death with the seven sects of Beiling for the sake of disciples from other sects.

The Biyou Sect alone is no match for the retaliation of the seven sects of Beiling.

The longer we wait, the greater the risk. We can't let Xu Mofeng hide in the capital forever.

All they can do now is split up and provide cover, which is a way of fulfilling their kinship.

Feng Wubian bowed solemnly to the group: "Regardless of the outcome, on behalf of Junior Brother Xu and the Biyou Sect, I thank you all."

Xue Changhe quickly helped him up and said solemnly, "Brother Feng, you are too kind. The six sects of Nanling should help each other. It is a blessing for the entire Nanling to have someone like Junior Brother Xu in Biyou Sect."

Without saying another word, the group nodded to each other, then turned and disappeared into the bustling crowd, quickly vanishing into the streets and alleys of the capital.

Meanwhile, Xu Mofeng, disguised in a black robe, had already left the capital and was riding alone in the desolate wilderness hundreds of miles away from the capital.

His horse's hooves shattered the yellow dust on the ground. He had already made clear arrangements for what to do next. Upon returning to the sect, he immediately went into seclusion, locked the gates, and digested all the gains from the secret realm, taking the opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

"Without achieving the Nascent Soul stage, one is ultimately just an ant."

Xu Mofeng secretly made up his mind, "It can't be like this, hiding like a rat in the street."

It wasn't that Xu Mofeng was inherently timid; it was simply that he had shown no mercy in the secret realm, slaughtering wave after wave of disciples from the Seven Sects of the Northern Ridge.

Even though he was always fearless, he would have to temporarily avoid a direct confrontation if he were to face the combined forces of the elders from seven sects.

Using a Golden Core to withstand a group attack from Nascent Soul cultivators is a completely unprofitable business; only a fool would do it.

As he spurred his horse to gallop, Xu Mofeng's released divine sense suddenly stirred with a tremor, and a chilling killing intent arrived in an instant.

He reacted extremely quickly, lightly touching the horse's back with his toes, and soared into the air like an eagle.

Almost the instant he left the saddle, a mound suddenly rose from the ground beneath the horse's hooves, and a beam of light burst forth from the earth, striking the horse's belly.

The horse, which had been galloping swiftly just moments before, exploded into a cloud of blood mist on the spot, without even having time to utter a mournful cry.

Xu Mofeng landed steadily and looked up to see an old man with a sinister face standing in front of him. He wore a dark blue robe embroidered with golden star patterns and his spiritual energy was concentrated. He was obviously an old master in the Nascent Soul Realm.

"People from the Beidou Sect?"

Xu Mofeng's expression hardened, and he immediately revealed the other party's identity.

The old man gave a sinister smile: "You killed so many disciples of my Beidou Sect, and you still want to return to the Biyou Sect alive? It's laughable."

Xu Mofeng's expression darkened slightly, but he was not at all surprised by the other party's tracking methods.

He collected so many storage rings from the disciples of the Seven Sects of Beiling in the secret realm; heaven knows which one of them contained a tracking mark.

However, this elder of the Beidou Sect has no shame whatsoever. It's one thing for a dignified Nascent Soul Realm expert to deal with a mere Golden Core junior, but to resort to such despicable tactics as a sneak attack from behind is unacceptable.

Fortunately, his divine sense far surpassed that of his peers, allowing him to detect the killing intent in advance; otherwise, he would have suffered a great loss just now.

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you, just die!"

The sinister old man snorted coldly, his figure flashed and he closed the distance. His withered hand, carrying a sharp wind, grabbed straight at Xu Mofeng's crown, as if he wanted to crush him to death in one move.

Xu Mofeng took a deep breath, and the Ice Soul Blade was drawn with a clang.

"A single, devastating strike!"

One strike after another, fifteen sword lights condensed in an instant, and black sword beams wrapped in purple lightning poured out like a long river.

The old man Yin Jie hadn't taken the attack of this junior Golden Core cultivator seriously. Only when the blade light was right in front of him did he realize the intense threat. His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly changed his attack from grabbing to slapping, unleashing several palm strikes in succession. The palm winds formed layers of barriers, barely managing to obliterate the black blade light.

"Good lad, you've got some skills."

The old man's expression instantly turned serious, his heart already churning with turmoil.

He was a powerful expert at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage. Even if his Nascent Soul level wasn't top-tier, his cultivation level still far surpassed this kid's.

Given such a huge difference in strength, it's truly unbelievable that he couldn't even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes in two consecutive moves.

Before coming, he had only heard of Xu Mofeng's reputation as mere gossip and thought that no matter how talented he was, he was just a seedling that could be easily crushed before he could grow up, and that he would definitely be able to capture him easily on this trip.

But when they actually fought it, they realized that this was no seedling at all, but a ferocious beast that dared to bite even before it had grown up.

Xu Mofeng's monstrous talent far exceeded his expectations. If this kid were allowed to grow up, the Seven Sects of Beiling would face annihilation sooner or later!

"Die!"

Thinking of this, the old man Yin Jie dared not hold back in the slightest. He unleashed his full power as a seventh-level Nascent Soul cultivator, and his terrifying aura pressed down on Xu Mofeng like a mountain of immense weight.

Sand and stones flew all around, and the ground beneath their feet sank half a foot.

If it were an ordinary cultivator at the tenth level of the Golden Core stage, this pressure alone would have broken their bones and crushed them to death on the spot.

Fortunately, Xu Mofeng's physical body had been tempered by the opportunities in the secret realm, making him far stronger than others of the same level. He managed to withstand the pressure without moving an inch.

His eyes turned cold, and without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed his strongest killing move.

"The art of execution by sword, unending suffering!"

In an instant, the Avici Hell descended!

The old man felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and the next second it was as if he had stepped into the underworld.

The scene before him was one of utter carnage. In a daze, two blue-faced, fanged demons roared and pounced on him, their thick iron chains snapping around his neck with a loud clang. They hissed, "You are guilty! You deserve to die!"

The evil spirit dragged him by the iron chain to the guillotine platform, pressed his neck and forced him to kneel.

Boundless despair, pain, and fear instantly overwhelmed his mind, as if he were about to be beheaded and fall into eternal damnation in the next second.

As the guillotine was about to fall, an overwhelming sense of resentment surged in the old man's heart: No! I cannot die! I am a powerful Nascent Soul Stage 7 expert, a high-ranking inner elder of the Beidou Sect, how can I die in this mere illusion!

He mustered all his spiritual power and gave a powerful jolt, instantly regaining his senses.

But upon closer inspection, he was instantly terrified. A gleaming longsword, imbued with terrifying power, was already inches away, its blade almost touching his eyelids, about to sever his head by the slightest distance!

Cold sweat poured down the old man's forehead as he strained to turn his head to the side.

Swish!

A flash of light, and blood splattered.

A bloody ear rolled off with a thud, and the Ice Soul Blade slashed fiercely into the old man's shoulder, but it was firmly blocked by his powerful protective spiritual energy and could not advance any further.

The sinister old man was in pain and furious. He roared and slammed his palm out, hitting "Xu Mofeng" hard in the chest, who was right in front of him.

puff!

The palm strike passed right through his body, but the figure before him vanished as quickly as a bubble.

The sinister old man was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had hit an illusion.

The real Xu Mofeng had already appeared hundreds of meters away, his dark eyes coldly fixed on him, his expression calm and unwavering.

"What a pity."

Xu Mofeng sighed inwardly. If his Executioner's Blade Intent were a few degrees stronger and his strength were on another level, he might have actually been able to shave the old man's head off with that strike.

As expected of an old monster at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, his protective spiritual power was ridiculously strong. Even with my best effort, I could only cut off an ear, not kill him.

Having missed the best opportunity to launch a sneak attack, the opponent is now on guard, making it extremely difficult to kill him.

Since we can't kill it, continuing to fight is just a waste of time.

Xu Mofeng's thoughts shifted instantly, and without any hesitation, he turned and ran, his movement technique reaching its limit.

Enraged, the sinister old man clutched his bleeding ear and chased after Xu Mofeng like a madman, his roar shaking the surrounding mountains and forests: "You little beast! Still trying to run? Today I'll make sure you die a horrible death!"

Despite his roar, his heart was already in turmoil. He, a senior at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, had almost had his head chopped off by a junior at the Golden Core stage who was seven or eight levels lower.

Even now, thinking back on it, I still break out in a cold sweat.

He failed to kill the man, but instead lost an ear and suffered a serious injury; the other party, however, was unharmed and escaped without a trace.

If this gets out, where will he put his old face? He'll be laughed at by all the cultivators in the Northern Ridge.

"As expected of the Emperor's personally appointed Marquis of Dingfeng, the greatest prodigy in the Jin and Liang Kingdoms for a thousand years!"

The sinister old man was both shocked and enraged, his killing intent intensifying. "If we allow this child to continue growing, will my Beidou Sect still have a chance to survive?"

He gritted his teeth and channeled all his spiritual power, increasing his speed by another third, relentlessly pursuing Xu Mofeng ahead, determined to kill him right there.

"Damn, this is going to be tricky."

Xu Mofeng glanced back and saw that the old man Yin Jie was getting closer and closer, and he secretly worried.

His movement technique was only at the lower level of the Xuan rank, and given the difference in their cultivation levels, his speed was far inferior to that of the Nascent Soul stage elder.

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before they catch up.