Chapter 993: Illusion Cloud 5th Strike

When he took Ao Qilong's head, a beam of light shot into Mo Qianli's body. Mo Qianli saw it but remained unconcerned; clearly, this was not his first such experience.

The Illusion Cloud Exert Will strike formed a communication with each sword ray through Ye Mo's will. However, as the strands multiplied, Ye Mo began to struggle, unable even to take a spirit recovery pill. Soaked in sweat and blood, his pale face betrayed his injured spirit sense.

Finally, Ye Mo closed his eyes, abandoning the trap formation and focusing solely on escaping the endless strands. The sensation mirrored his fight with Ji Zhiyuan; he had to rely on his senses to detect and destroy the black strands. More blood flowed from his mouth, yet he remained focused, sensing the piercing strands.

Mo Qianli, too, was pale. He hadn't expected anyone to endure his black strands for so long. This Golden Core state level five cultivator was a monster. He couldn't stop either; the evil soul strands taxed his spirit sense, and forcibly stopping them would severely injure him.

Though it appeared he held the upper hand, the situation was a stalemate. Ye Mo would lose if he persisted; if Mo Qianli faltered, the destruction of his soul strands would heavily injure him, lowering his cultivation level. What truly unnerved Mo Qianli was that none of his numerous evil soul strands could harm Ye Mo. No matter their speed, Ye Mo always found and destroyed them.

Initially, the strands were close to Ye Mo, but they were gradually pushed back. Only by killing the other two and focusing all his energy on Ye Mo did the strands advance again. His invincibility stemmed from the fact that those pierced by his evil soul strands invariably died; escape was impossible.

As time wore on, fear gripped Mo Qianli. If this continued, he would lose, as Ye Mo began repelling the evil soul strands. He even regretted his involvement.

Unbeknownst to him, Shadowless lurked beneath his feet. Ye Mo hadn't forgotten Shadowless, but lacked the energy to direct it. Shadowless was powerful, but its intelligence remained completely under Ye Mo's control; it couldn't act independently. Even if he could command Shadowless, he wouldn't; he had overcome the hardest part. Though still bleeding from the strain on his spirit sense, he was elated.

He had finally grasped the essence of the Illusion Cloud 5th strike. Controlling the sword rays to form simple formations drastically reduced the black strands' threat. He continued experimenting with these control methods.

After a time, Ye Mo felt a surge of relief. The pressure vanished, his spirit sense unburdened. He opened his eyes to see his purple sword rays forming a formation that trapped the diminished black strands. A mere thought would destroy them completely.

The Illusion Cloud Formation Kill Strike flashed into Ye Mo's mind; his 5th strike was complete. It was currently a simple trap and kill formation, but as his spirit sense and control improved, it would evolve into numerous trap, kill, and even defensive formations.

Looking at the pale Mo Qianli, Ye Mo roared, waving Zi Xu in an arc before yelling, "Kill!" The black strands were instantly enveloped by the purple sword rays.

Witnessing the destruction of his black strands, Mo Qianli spat blood, his face ashen. He stared dazedly at their disappearance, incredulous that the evil soul strands that had dominated his life for two hundred years were gone. He'd believed that killing Ye Mo would restore them over time, but Ye Mo had seemingly found a counter, destroying them instantly.

Mo Qianli glared at Ye Mo, a burning desire for revenge consuming him. Two centuries of work, destroyed before he even reached Nascent Soul state. His heart ached.

He'd never encountered a Golden Core state level five cultivator as powerful as Ye Mo. If Ye Mo reached peak Golden Core state, who could challenge him? There would likely be none more powerful in the entire North Far State. Yet, he had to kill this man—but not personally. He couldn't kill Ye Mo himself, but he could spread the news of Ye Mo killing Ao Qilong; this Golden Core state level five wouldn't live long. Not everyone could hide as effectively as he did.

"You will regret this…" Mo Qianli hissed, his gaze lingering on Ye Mo.

Ye Mo smiled. "Whether I regret it or not, you won't live to see it."

"You think you can trap me with an incomplete level three trap formation? Idiot," Mo Qianli scoffed.

Ye Mo didn't respond, ordering Shadowless to attack while deploying dozens of formation flags. Simultaneously, Mo Qianli used his mobility technique, only to feel a searing pain in his meridians, revealing the ambush. He instantly enveloped Shadowless.

He was patient, but this Golden Core state level five was more so, unleashing his killing blow only as Mo Qianli attempted escape. This was terrifying.

Mo Qianli sought only escape, instantly burning his essence blood to force out Shadowless. His figure vanished.

Ye Mo admired Mo Qianli's decisiveness and the power of his essence and spirit sense. Despite the prolonged fight, Mo Qianli had forced Shadowless out with a single mouthful of essence blood, even with Shadowless's enhanced strength.

Thud

Mo Qianli was stopped a few kilometers away. He stared at Ye Mo in disbelief and horror, pointing. "You… you're a formation master as well…"

Only a formation master could have completed and activated the trap formation so quickly. For the second time, Mo Qianli felt true danger—the last time was against a Nascent Soul state level one cultivator, whom he’d tricked and heavily injured before killing with his evil soul strands.

"You said you could run. Let's see. Shadowless, go!" Ye Mo commanded, waving Zi Xu, unleashing another wave of purple sword rays.