Chapter 8 - Jade body art

"I can't waste any more time. I've to use that move," he muttered. "Even if I fail, it's worth a try."

In this moment of life and death, he had a gut feeling he could pull it off.

'Flow… Flow… like air," his hand waved around, his head clearing of all dust.

These were the movements from the scripture. He had watched Sister Lina practice this technique countless times. He believed he could achieve the same fluidity.

His movements gradually became fluid, like a river stream, as he waved and circled. Slowly, his arms sped up, each second passing as his limbs stretched and flexed like rubber.

 "Strongest technique my as#," cursed Lin Mo realizing his conscious fading midway performing the movements.

His whole movement stopped and he stood there still.

"Brat, what are you doing? Dodge!" the old ghost warned Lin Mo of the approaching giant.

Silence.

"Brat?" The old ghost emerged from the ring, but his voice seemed to not reach Lin Mo.

Realizing Lin Mo wasn't conscious, the old ghost felt the atmosphere around him shift.

A sudden chill permeated the air as if a mere touch could prove instantly fatal.

The giant also sensed the change in atmosphere around the puny human.

It halted its charge and raised its trunk, pointing toward Lin Mo.

The surrounding air began to circulate around the giant's trunk, as if a massive hurricane was forming, and nearby trees swayed toward the giant.

A dark ball of extremely condensed air began to form around the trunk of the giant.

Intent on finishing Lin Mo in a single strike, the giant didn't wait for him to finish and shot the vortex of wind like a world-destroying cannon towards him, determined to halt whatever he was doing.

The old ghost attempted to wake Lin Mo several times but received no response. Lin Mo remained in that zombie-like state.

The vortex neared Lin Mo, just meters away from erasing him.

"It's too late…" The old ghost watched as Lin Mo remained frozen. "Are you just going to die like this, brat?"

Suddenly, the frozen Lin Mo raised his left arm, dagger in hand.

SWOOSH!

A gust of wind spread out within a mile radius of Lin Mo's location and the dark vortex disappeared.

Lin Mo stood in the same place, his hand raised, his clothes fluttering in the wind's direction.

From above, the giant witnessed its attack vanish, still in disbelief that a mere mortal could block its strike.

Then, suddenly, a one-mile area of forest surrounding Lin Mo collapsed.

All the trees and vegetation fell, severed horizontally, and the ground even caved in deeper.

Leaves from the falling trees floated near Lin Mo, but before they could reach the ground, they were slashed countless times in the air—tens, hundreds, thousands of times in a single instance while still midair.

The falling leaves all turned to dust and scattered away.

Above, the giant couldn't believe the sudden change in the puny human.

It blasted three more vortexes of air and shot them below, albeit ordinary ones. However, none of the three blasts could reach Lin Mo; they were dispersed into the air.

"This is…" the old ghost gazed at the mind-boggling sight, completely in awe.

Lin Mo appeared to be half-conscious as he raised his head, his gaze landing on the giant ahead.

As soon as their gazes met, Lin Mo vanished from the giant's sight.

The giant used its spiritual sense to search and locate Lin Mo.

In a blink, Lin Mo had appeared near the giant. Despite never training for speed, he had reached the level of Wu Di's normal speed.

The giant didn't believe a puny human could pose a threat to him, a colossal king.

It decided to crush the puny human and raised its foot.

Lin Mo, raising his right-hand dagger, made a rotating motion and disappeared from the ground.

The giant's foot missed its target.

In the next instance, a loud sound of iron colliding resounded, accompanied by a roar.

The giant trumpeted loudly, taking a step back.

It looked down at its foot and saw a puny human floating, holding a broken dagger.

The dagger in Lin Mo's right hand had shattered like glass upon contact with the giant's iron-like skin.

Even so, a ten-meter-long cut wound appeared on the giant's leg.

The old ghost watched the giant's movement, his expression akin to someone who had seen a ghost. "Brat, you made it take a step back!"

"Huh?" the old ghost noticed something and stared upward.

The large wound Lin Mo had recently inflicted closed at a visible rate.

Recalling a crucial detail about the forest tyrant—its highly regenerative body due to feeding on spiritual herbs and grass—the old ghost realized telling Lin Mo now would be useless, as he couldn't hear anything.

In the air, Lin Mo also witnessed the wound closing, but he remained unresponsive.

He raised the remaining dagger and once again executed a similar rotating motion, vanishing mid-air.

Once more, a loud collision resounded, and Lin Mo stood floating with a broken dagger.

Another large wound opened up in the giant's leg, closing just as rapidly.

Lin Mo, unarmed, floated mid-air, contemplating the two broken daggers in his hands.

Suddenly, he chose to abandon them and threw them below.

Unarmed, he floated towards the towering giant.

Seeing Lin Mo make a move, the giant unleashed its kingly might, which previously stopped Wu Di's sneak attack, similar to attempting to halt Lin Mo's advance.

However, with a wave of Lin Mo's hand, he passed through unscathed.

The forest in the direction of that wave was obliterated.

Lin Mo appeared before the giant's leg, using only his palm as a weapon, he executed a similar rotating motion.

Suddenly, a wound larger than the two before appeared on the giant's knee.

In an instant, Lin Mo appeared on the other knee, and once more, a large cut wound opened up. Unable to resist, the giant fell onto both knees, bloodied.

Lin Mo continued to move around, waving his arms. With each motion, previously closed wounds reopened. As he did so, the surrounding forest also suffered destruction along with the giant.

"Beautiful!" the old ghost couldn't help but exclaim.

This wasn't just a skill; it was an art, a canvas.

[Jade Body Art]

Created by a sage realm expert, the Jade Body Art stood among the world's top ten techniques out of hundreds.

Unable to master it in his lifetime, the old ghost marveled at Lin Mo's partial success despite being from a younger generation.

"You crazy brat. You did it." The old ghost looked overwhelmed by Lin Mo's success.

The giant knelt, its front legs rendered useless.

Suddenly, Lin Mo ceased his movements and halted his attacks on the giant.

"Are you pitying this giant?" the old ghost asked as Lin Mo stopped. "Why did you stop?"

Lin Mo stood frozen, his previous cold aura dissipated.

Approaching, the old ghost saw a deep frown etched on Lin Mo's face.

Before long, the giant regained clarity, its wounds rapidly closing.

Observing the one who inflicted such heavy wounds standing motionless, it charged toward Lin Mo with its tusks.

Its tusk met Lin Mo's body, unable to penetrate but sending him hurtling into the forest below.

"Brat, if you're alive, speak," the old ghost's voice roused Lin Mo from his stupor.

Coughing blood amidst the rubble, Lin Mo struggled. The direct hit had shattered multiple bones.

"I-I Can't move," Lin Mo barely uttered.

The giant approached, not giving Lin Mo a chance to counter as before.

Soon, its shadow engulfed Lin Mo entirely. Raising its massive foot, it prepared for the final blow.

"Is this how I die, under a beast's foot?" Lin Mo closed his eyes, unwilling to witness his end like this.

Yet, the stomp never arrived. Sensing the giant's movement, he opened his eyes to find no shadow looming over him.

Turning his gaze, he saw the giant had stepped back two paces. Its oppressive kingly aura vanished, and its charcoal skin returned to normal.

The giant's expression twisted in terror, a rare sight, especially considering its usual calm demeanor, even when Lin Mo incapacitated both of its knees.

In the next moment, the giant reverted to its normal size and swiftly fled deeper into the forest.

"It's retreating?" Lin Mo was puzzled.

Equally puzzled, the old ghost observed the giant's retreat.

"!"

"What happened? Why did the giant retreat?" Lin Mo called out, but the old ghost was nowhere to be found, remaining silent, concealed in the deepest part of the ring.

After several more calls from Lin Mo, the old ghost cautiously peeked its head outside, scanning the area.

"Is it gone?" the old ghost inquired.

"It's gone," said Lin Mo. "Do you know why the giant retreated?"

"It retreated because a strong spiritual sense locked onto this location just now."

As the old ghost watched the giant's retreat and pondered, he sensed an eerie sensation of being watched by all-seeing eyes.

A heavenly gaze descended upon its body, unsettling the old ghost. It feared that if those eyes lingered a few more seconds, they might purify him from this realm. Thus, it hid itself.

"Why would the giant be scared of someone's spiritual sense?" Lin Mo, still muddleheaded, didn't understand the old ghost's explanation.

The old ghost shook its nonexistent head. "You're still too green, brat. There are beings in the world who can kill simply with a thought."

"Strong experts possess a formidable spiritual sense known as Divine sense. They can scan the entire world from a single location," explained the old ghost. "That giant knew whoever possessed that powerful sense could kill it."

"Could it be elders have arrived in the second layer?" wondered Lin Mo.

Although the clash between the two seemed lengthy, not even half an incense of time had passed.

Worn out and bleeding, Lin Mo teetered on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. Despite having some energy pellets in his pouch, he couldn't feed himself.

His body seemed completely restrained as if bound by chains and shackles. And the old ghost couldn't help him either.

Lin Mo's vision blurred, and his breathing slowed.

The sound of swooshing filled his empty ears.

He struggled to open his eyes, seeing blurry dots in the sky gradually expanding.

Those blurry figures surrounded him, their voices arguing, before darkness overtook him, and he passed out.