Chapter 33: The Trap on the Path

Murderous intent surged. Shen Mo instinctively sensed danger. He abruptly opened his eyes.

Facing the sword thrusting toward his throat, he dodged as if by muscle memory.

The sword grazed past his throat. Simultaneously, Shen Mo's palm ignited with a red flame.

With lightning speed, he struck Liu Yunxuan's chest with a fierce blow!

A full-force strike! Boom! Liu Yunxuan was sent flying backward.

The sword slipped from his hand. Before he even hit the ground, he spat out blood in mid-air.

The blood evaporated into steam in the high temperature, disappearing without a trace.

Liu Yunxuan was terrified, "Your... your realm?!" Shen Mo's eyes gradually focused.

Until now, he had been immersed in cultivation; the dodge and counterattack were purely muscle memory.

Now, he realized.

Using the Red Lotus Flame and mobilizing all his spiritual power, he had severely injured Liu Yunxuan with one strike.

Such power was beyond what the minor achievement stage of the Foundation Establishment realm could muster!

Shen Mo sensed his own state and found that the spiritual power lake in his dantian had expanded significantly.

"I've reached the major achievement stage of the Foundation Establishment realm!"

He was overjoyed.

Glancing at the sea of fire around him, he immediately understood why he had grown so quickly.

The sea of fire was filled with fire spirit energy liquid.

But it was now much less than when he first arrived—at least three-quarters had been consumed.

"No wonder my realm has improved so rapidly."

"Murong Yue underestimated me and the density of spiritual energy in the Qingxuan Cave."

Shen Mo's face lit up with joy. Meanwhile, Liu Yunxuan's expression was filled with sheer terror.

Before Shen Mo could act, Liu Yunxuan struggled to stand and fled.

Afraid that Shen Mo would kill him. Shen Mo sneered at his pathetic retreat.

He wouldn't kill Liu Yunxuan. Though it would be satisfying in the short term,

it would lead to a complete split between the faction led by the sect leader and Liu Yuanfeng's vice-sect leader faction.

This would not be good.

After all, even though Liu Yuanfeng had been flirting with the Divine Sword Sect, he still respected Murong Yue as the sect leader and maintained basic sect order on the surface.

Now, Shen Mo had surpassed Liu Yunxuan. In the future, Shen Mo had countless ways to deal with him, there was no rush.

"Now, I need to absorb all the fire spirit liquid here; I can't let it go to waste."

Shen Mo immediately sat down and continued cultivating.

Liu Yunxuan's appearance was just a minor interruption.

It didn't cause any significant disturbance. Time passed day by day.

In the blink of an eye, two months had flown by.

Shen Mo had absorbed all the fire spirit energy liquid gathered by the Red Lotus Flame.

The temperature here had significantly decreased. Shen Mo's realm hadn't increased further.

But he could feel that he had thoroughly stabilized his major achievement stage in the Foundation Establishment realm.

After leaving the Qingxuan Cave, even by accelerating his cultivation with Stabilizing Pills, it would take at most three months to reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.

"It's time to leave."

Shen Mo took out a new inner disciple robe from his storage ring, put it on, and walked toward the entrance with large strides.

He had calculated the time precisely. At full speed, it would take him only five days to return to the entrance.

Worried about unexpected events, like interference from Liu Yunxuan or Song Junjie, he had ended his cultivation a day early.

"Liu Yunxuan is seriously injured by me, and part of the Red Lotus Flame's power is still in his body. Even if he has some healing treasures, he can't recover quickly."

"He's currently at less than thirty percent of his peak strength."

"As for Song Junjie, he entered the Qingxuan Cave at the beginning stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, and now at most, he's at the small achievement stage, posing no threat to me."

Shen Mo pondered for a moment and opened his life panel.

Although he believed he could easily handle any interference from Liu Yunxuan and Song Junjie, he checked the life panel to ensure nothing went wrong.

[Name: Shen Mo]

[Realm: major Achievement Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm]

[Fate: Son of a Pharmacist, Innate Wisdom, Sword Enthusiast, Slightly Lucky, Fiery Sun Flame Body]

[Destiny: Ultimately cultivates to the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm. Forty years later, feeling too lonely in the Qingxuan Cave, he commits suicide.]

[Recent Turning Point: Today, while heading towards the Qingxuan Cave entrance, you fall into Liu Yunxuan and Song Junjie's poisoned crossbow trap at the entrance of the fourth deep cave. Your leg is severely injured, and you fail to reach the Qingxuan Cave entrance on time, becoming trapped within the cave.]

A flicker of realization flashed in Shen Mo's eyes.

It was a trap. At first, he thought those two would ambush him on his way back to the entrance.

"But now that I know the location of the trap, it won't be difficult to dismantle it."

Shen Mo smiled confidently and continued on his original path.

Before long, he arrived at the entrance of the fourth deep cave.

Upon closer inspection, he indeed found several very fine, almost imperceptible threads on the ground.

The threads extended far into the rocks on both sides. Shen Mo took a knife from his storage ring and threw it from a distance.

The knife fell onto the threads. The threads snapped.

Immediately, crossbow bolts as thick as a baby's arm were launched from the rocks on both sides.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two bolts were incredibly sharp, piercing deeply into the ground.

Shen Mo glanced around and noticed a faint green hue on the bolts.

They were indeed poisoned.

Moreover, he observed that the poison on the arrowheads was quite special, not only highly lethal but also capable of penetrating a cultivator's spiritual power.

Shen Mo's eyes gleamed. Previously, Murong Yue had given him a handwritten book.

It detailed the Qingxuan Sect's situation, its allies, and enemies.

It also elaborated on the Five Sects of the Xuanjing River.

One of these sects was named the Verdant Vine Sect.

The Verdant Vine Sect was renowned for its use of poison.

Furthermore, in the Verdant Vine Sect's territory, there was a unique plant called the "Spirit-Breaking Flower," whose venom could directly penetrate spiritual power.

They applied this venom to various weapons, including these arrowheads.

"It seems that Song Chaofeng has the backing of the Verdant Vine Sect." Shen Mo chuckled.

Cautiously, he took another weapon and threw it from a distance.

After confirming there were no more crossbow bolts, he carefully crossed the area. Before leaving, he conveniently stored the two crossbows and bolts into his storage ring.

…

At the entrance of the Qingxuan Cave.

Liu Yunxuan and Song Junjie sat cross-legged, quietly waiting for the cave to open.

They had already exchanged information. Song Junjie had long known that Shen Mo had subdued the Red Lotus Flame.

Initially, he had thought about confronting Shen Mo to see if he could snatch the Red Lotus Flame.

But after learning about Liu Yunxuan's injuries, he immediately dismissed the idea.

Liu Yunxuan's chest was still bandaged. With each breath, the bandage was stained with blood.

Clearly, his condition was not optimistic.

Every time Song Junjie saw Liu Yunxuan in such a state, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

Because he knew very well that Liu Yunxuan's strength far exceeded his own.

The fact that Shen Mo, who had subdued the Red Lotus Flame, possessed such formidable power, indicated that Song Junjie was no match for him.

At this moment, Liu Yunxuan's face had a sickly red hue.

"By my calculations, that guy should be passing by the entrance of the fourth deep cave soon," he sneered.

Song Junjie nodded, "Indeed."

"Junjie, are you sure the crossbow bolts are set up correctly? And those threads, won't Shen Mo detect them?" Liu Yunxuan asked.

Song Junjie waved his hand, "Don't worry about that. Those crossbow bolts are powerful weapons my father bought from the Verdant Vine Sect."

"A few crossbows firing in unison are enough to shatter the protective spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment great achievement cultivator."

"Moreover, the bolts are coated with the Verdant Vine Sect's Bone-Corroding Poison, for which only they have the antidote."

"As for the threads…"

Song Junjie chuckled, "They're made from the silk of a century-old ice silkworm my father acquired. Even if you get within three feet, you can't see them."

Liu Yunxuan nodded heavily upon hearing this. The arrangement was indeed very thorough.

Shen Mo would definitely be hit by the bolts and would not be able to return to the entrance of the Qingxuan Cave on time.

"What good is subduing an eternal flame, having a heavenly constitution, or a perfect Dao foundation, if you're trapped in the Qingxuan Cave for fifty years? Any genius would end up lonely enough to commit suicide!"

Liu Yunxuan sneered inwardly.

Click, clack, click, clack.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from a distance. Liu Yunxuan and Song Junjie's expressions changed abruptly.