Chapter 850: You’re Harsh

As Li Bailsen attacked with his sword, Ye Mo's expression shifted. He hadn't anticipated such a dramatic difference between the first and second strikes. The second strike unleashed countless swirling whirlpools of Li Bailsen's sword intent.

But as the spinning vortexes formed, Ye Mo's sword blossoms transformed into hundreds of gleaming sword rays. The clash of sword rays and the second strike produced earsplitting sounds.

Li Bailsen's face changed. He realized that after consuming the burst essence pill, Ye Mo's cultivation essence had clearly reached parity with his own. Ye Mo's sword blossoms could actually halt his eddy sword chi. He found this utterly unbelievable.

Even though Ye Mo was only at Foundation Establishment Stage level 6, he was also at the False Core state. Furthermore, his cultivation essence significantly surpassed that of a typical False Core cultivator. This made Ye Mo practically invincible at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Li Bailsen resolved to kill Ye Mo immediately; otherwise, disaster would surely follow. He disregarded the risk of injury, his sword beginning to form a third strike while he produced several runes—all level 5 or 6. He knew Ye Mo wouldn't sustain the burst essence pill's effects indefinitely, but he couldn't risk letting him escape. If Ye Mo got away, even possessing his wife and sister wouldn't bring him peace of mind. His assumption, however, was based on his own self-preservation instincts; he didn't truly know Ye Mo's character, and Ye Mo would never abandon his wife and sister.

The Three Birth Sword Ray barely countered and annihilated Li Bailsen's eddy sword chi, but it vanished completely in the process. It couldn't regenerate without using his spirit sense to create new rays. He realized that, however fast his Three Birth Sword Ray was, it couldn't match the speed of Li Bailsen's sword chi.

Just as Li Bailsen was about to unleash his third strike, Ye Mo forcefully unleashed Winter's Arrival from his sea of consciousness. An overwhelming frost surged towards Li Bailsen.

Even from 300 meters away, Song Yangzhu and Ye Ling felt the bone-chilling cold and instinctively embraced for warmth. Li Bailsen, preparing to use his runes, was momentarily hampered by the frost. Recognizing it as Ye Mo's killing move, he immediately activated his cultivation essence, melting the frost.

Remarkably strong! Despite this being Ye Mo's first use of Winter's Arrival—incomplete and weak—Li Bailsen's immediate reaction demonstrated its power. Those few seconds, however, were all Ye Mo needed. His flying sword, imbued with all his cultivation essence, shot towards Li Bailsen, who hadn't yet launched his third strike.

"You're asking to die!" Li Bailsen roared, his sword clashing against Ye Mo's flying sword. Ye Mo was thrown into the air, but he simply spun, his flying sword continuing its assault. A few meters from Li Bailsen, countless sword rays erupted from the flying sword, and Ye Mo spat blood. It was his first time using both spirit sense and cultivation essence to activate the Three Birth Sword Ray.

Li Bailsen's expression turned serious. He'd only witnessed these sword rays twice, but he sensed that despite their incomplete power, they were far from negligible, even against his third strike. This was genuine sword manipulation. The previous two strikes were mortal techniques; the third was an immortal sword technique.

Li Bailsen was just about to unleash his third strike when he trembled. He felt something enter his body.

"Not good!" He instantly understood he'd been ambushed. He activated a shield and attempted to escape, prioritizing the removal of the intruder before engaging Ye Mo.

Ye Mo's sword rays sliced the shield, instantly leaving hundreds of marks. Sensing Shadowless's success, Ye Mo poured his cultivation essence into an attack on the weakened shield.

With a crack, the shield, strained by Li Bailsen's efforts to expel Shadowless, shattered under Ye Mo's assault. Multiple sword rays pierced Li Bailsen's body.

"I'll kill you, you shameless dog!" Li Bailsen, grievously wounded, attempted to use his runes. But as he turned, he froze in stunned terror, unable to activate them.

Moments later, Li Bailsen knelt, staring dazedly at Ye Mo. Despair and resentment flickered across his face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came.

Ye Mo wiped the blood from his mouth and cautiously approached, wary of a feigned death. As Li Bailsen's body rapidly desiccated, Ye Mo felt a tingling sensation in his head. Soon, a pea-sized insect flew onto his palm. It was slightly darker, the golden patch on its body more than double its previous size.

Ye Mo stared at the insect, speechless. He knew Li Bailsen's strength; even with the burst essence pill, he might not have been a match. Yet, this cultivator had been crushed by a tiny bug.

Shadowless, seeing Ye Mo's gaze, let out a growl, a clear show of pride.

"You're harsh," Ye Mo muttered, tossing Shadowless into the golden page world. What kind of ancient species was this? Terrifying even in its infancy, what would it become when fully grown? Of course, Ye Mo's distraction had played a crucial role.

"Brother, did you really kill Li Bailsen?" Ye Ling exclaimed joyfully.

"Hehehe!" Song Yangzhu, gazing at Li Bailsen's corpse, looked scared.

Ye Mo, unsure how to explain, collected Li Bailsen's storage ring and sword before incinerating the body. "Let's go; we shouldn't linger."

As they departed, a veiled woman stared dazedly at the spot where Li Bailsen had fallen.

Ten thousand kilometers away, Ye Mo announced, "The pill's effects have worn off. Let's rest. I'll check if this Li had a flying artifact."

Finding a secluded spot, they landed. Ye Mo opened Li Bailsen's storage ring, revealing nearly 3000 top-grade spirit stones, various pills, herbs, materials, several jade slips, and two jade cards—one belonging to his sect, the other bearing the character 'Li.'

"Hmmm—a flying wind pike." Ye Mo produced a pike-shaped magic artifact.

"Brother, is that a flying artifact?" Ye Ling asked, eyeing the rocket-like object.

Ye Mo nodded. "Yes, a low-grade spirit flying artifact. It wasn't even Li Bailsen's; I gather he acquired it at auction, explaining his limited spirit stones."