Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

"Could it be the legendary imperial aura?" Tuoba Hongzhen was filled with doubt. Before he could figure it out, Su Mu had already drawn his sword and attacked!

Within the four-sided sword prison formation he had set up, the power of Su Mu's various sword techniques, such as the "Instantaneous Light Sword Technique" and the "Drifting Sword Technique," was greatly amplified. Each sword strike was incredibly sharp, accompanied by the sound of air being torn apart. The sword beams he unleashed also began to be enveloped in the golden flames of acquired essence fire. Within the flames, the shadows of dragons and rocs flew along with the sword beams, further enhancing their power.

Unfortunately, Tuoba Hongzhen's armor was of extremely high grade. Even though Su Mu's sword beam was incredibly powerful, it could only create ripples on the armor and could not cause any damage.

Even so, when Su Mu unleashed his full power, Tuoba Hongzhen could only rely on the superior defensive capabilities of his armor to barely hold on. The fiery red acquired essence fire on his body also began to gradually dim under the suppression of Su Mu's golden flames.

Tuoba Hongzhen's acquired essence fire was not weak to begin with. Although it was not as domineering as Su Mu's, it far surpassed the likes of Su Qingshan, a grandmaster. Originally, he should not have been suppressed so much. However, Su Mu's acquired essence fire was too special. With the addition of the dragon shadow and the roc shadow, its power far exceeded the ordinary, which made him gradually fall into a disadvantageous position.

"How could such a monster as you be born today, ten thousand years later?!" Tuoba Hongzhen's confidence vanished completely, replaced by shock and resentment. Under Su Mu's continuous onslaught, he was beaten so badly that he couldn't lift his head, and even his strength to defend himself gradually diminished.

Only then did he realize his mistake and try to break free of the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation, but it was too late.

In fact, it would be no easy task for him to break through whenever he wanted to—with Su Mu's soul realm and swordsmanship, he could move with the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation. As long as Tuoba Hongzhen could not get rid of Su Mu's entanglement, he would never be able to break through the sword formation's blockade.

Both of them achieved spiritual bodies, but Su Mu's spiritual body was obviously more powerful; in addition, Su Mu's acquired essence fire was stronger, and with the speed boost from the Wind Leopard Boots, even if he was not suppressed by the sword formation, Tuoba Hongzhen's speed was not as fast as Su Mu's. Moreover, as the power of the sword formation continued to increase, his speed had been greatly slowed down.

Because of his lack of speed, Tuoba Hongzhen's hammer and saber techniques, despite their astonishing attack power, could never hit Su Mu's figure. He could only miss again and again, wasting his energy.

"No, this can't go on!" Tuoba Hongzhen realized the seriousness of the problem and was extremely anxious. He then took out a fiery red pill from his storage space and swallowed it without hesitation.

After the pill entered his stomach, its medicinal power instantly spread throughout his body, nourishing his meridians and internal energy. In just two breaths, Tuoba Hongzhen's originally dim acquired essence fire regained its previous blazing intensity, and its power was even rapidly increasing. His aura also surged, his combat strength greatly improved, and his movement speed also increased significantly.

"You have pills, so why shouldn't I?" Su Mu smiled coldly, casually took out a Dragon Essence Pill from his storage space, and popped it into his mouth.

As the Dragon Essence Pill entered his stomach, its immense medicinal power erupted instantly, causing Su Mu's aura and combat strength to surge dramatically. The golden acquired essence fire burned even more intensely, and the auras of the dragon and roc shadows grew even stronger. The power of the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation also reached a new level.

Tuoba Hongzhen quickly noticed Su Mu's change and was inwardly groaning – he had thought that after taking the pill, he would be able to turn the tide of the battle, but he did not expect that Su Mu also had such a powerful pill, and the effect seemed to be even stronger than his!

He had always considered himself nearly invincible, but now he was being suppressed by a human martial artist who hadn't even reached the Grandmaster realm, filling him with resentment and frustration. He was a late-stage Grandmaster, while Su Mu was merely a Grandmaster; he had achieved a spiritual body, and so had Su Mu; yet Su Mu's acquired essence fire was stronger, his spiritual body more formidable, his martial arts more refined, and he was further enhanced by a sword formation. Even without cultivating a primordial spirit, the quality and power of Su Mu's true essence were in no way inferior to his, and perhaps even stronger.

He was completely outmatched by Su Mu! This was something he had never imagined before coming to the Great Qian Imperial City.

Unable to fight or escape, Tuoba Hongzhen was in dire straits. Was he destined to perish in the Great Qian Imperial City ten thousand years later on his very first act? He was filled with resentment and absolutely refused to die like this.

Taking advantage of his peak condition after consuming the elixir, Tuoba Hongzhen did not hesitate and immediately unleashed the barbarian tribe's unique secret technique—Burning Blood Flowing Light Escape. This technique requires one's own essence blood as a catalyst, using powerful acquired essence fire to frantically burn the essence blood in exchange for extremely fast escape ability for a short period of time. The speed is so fast that it can be described as heaven-defying.

The next second, a dense crimson light emanated from Tuoba Hongzhen's body, and he transformed into a streak of crimson light, instantly breaking through the blockade of the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation. He then sped off to the north at an astonishing speed, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Su Mu glanced at the receding streak of blood-red light and gave up the pursuit after just one look—the opponent's speed was simply too fast; even if he activated his Wind Leopard Boots at full speed, he wouldn't be able to catch up. However, Su Mu knew in his heart that using this Blood-Burning Flowing Light Escape technique would inevitably come at a heavy price. Tuoba Hongzhen's cultivation would definitely be greatly damaged after this escape, and he would be unable to fight again for a short period of time.

On the other side, Tuoba Zan was still being relentlessly entangled by the Silver Puppet, struggling to hold on. The Silver Puppet's defense was simply too strong. Tuoba Zan hit it more than once, but he could not cause any substantial damage. It could almost ignore all of his attacks. However, he could not ignore the Silver Puppet's attacks. Every time he was hit, he would suffer a considerable impact, making the fight extremely difficult and leaving him feeling extremely frustrated.

While struggling to hold on, Tuoba Zan kept a close eye on the battle between Tuoba Hongzhen and Su Mu. In his view, Tuoba Hongzhen's strength far surpassed Su Mu's, and victory was inevitable. He only needed to hold on for a little longer, and once Tuoba Hongzhen won and came to his aid, he could escape his predicament.

In his mind, even if there were some twists and turns in this siege, the final result was already determined—the barbarians would win and the Great Qian Empire would be defeated!

But when he saw Tuoba Hongzhen use the Blood Burning Light Escape technique to escape, Tuoba Zan's heart was instantly overwhelmed with endless terror. As a fellow Grandmaster of the barbarian tribe, he knew better than anyone what using the Blood Burning Light Escape technique meant—it was an escape technique used when there was no other way out. Tuoba Hongzhen had definitely been defeated by Su Mu!

This momentary lapse in concentration completely cost him his chance to escape. A golden, fiery palm print, accompanied by the shadows of a dragon and a roc, flew rapidly from afar and arrived before him in an instant.

"Not good!" Tuoba Zan thought to himself, trying to dodge, but it was too late. He was firmly grabbed by the huge golden palm print.

This golden palm print was not only incredibly powerful, but also possessed an extremely strong binding force, tightly gripping his body and preventing him from breaking free. The golden flames on the palm print, carrying the oppressive aura of the dragon and roc shadows, instantly suppressed his acquired inner fire, causing his internal energy to become disordered and unable to circulate.

Tuoba Zan had not achieved a spiritual body beforehand, and his acquired essence fire was far inferior to Tuoba Hongzhen's. In the face of Su Mu's golden flames, he was utterly vulnerable and didn't even have the strength to struggle, becoming a lamb to the slaughter. Even if he wanted to use the Blood Burning Light Escape technique, he wouldn't have the chance.

Su Mu firmly grasped Tuoba Zan with his Dragon-Capturing Hand technique. Immediately afterward, the silver puppet beside him flashed and its silver spear pierced straight through the head of the immobile Tuoba Zan.

Tuoba Zan's primordial spirit immediately emerged from his body. Before he could react, he was struck by Su Mu's Soul-Sealing Technique, and his primordial spirit was instantly severely injured and then dissipated on its own—this barbarian's apparent grandmaster thus perished in obscurity.