The First Immortal of Destiny

"Sss—!"

Sword Light flashed across Shen Mo’s body as he activated the [Sword Escape] Skill, and his entire person vanished from where he had been standing.

In the next thought, his figure appeared in midair several thousand li away from the bitter sea, precisely at the spot where the Demon Slaying Sword had arrived after flying for a brief moment wrapped in Starfall Sword Qi!

Relying on this Skill, Shen Mo dodged the vast majority of the incoming attacks.

However, nearly a hundred strikes still failed to be avoided; among them were some Skills similar to Pure Yang Fire that, once activated, would directly affect Shen Mo’s soul and Dao Body; others were Spells that ignored distance—at the instant he disappeared from his original spot, they too spanned thousands of li and surged toward him.

"Crackle, crackle!"

All kinds of strange, distance-ignoring Spells pelted down on the Green Cloud Umbrella like raindrops, and very soon this timeworn treasured umbrella was beaten into a tattered mess.

The residual force of the Spells fell upon Shen Mo, stirring ripples through the Crystal Brahma Flame shrouding his body, while the Palm barrier it reinforced was continuously disintegrating!

Aside from these sorts of attacks, several bizarre Skills that struck instantaneously also erupted all at once.

All kinds of phenomena rapidly appeared on Shen Mo’s body, an endlessly "splendid" display—one moment his entire skin turned mottled and multicolored, the next moment roaring flames spewed from his seven orifices of eyes, ears, mouth, and nose; then his five viscera, six organs, meridians, and Chakras twisted and writhed like mating serpents; then his soul and Dao Body from inside to outside were covered over by white frost and ice crystals...

After spending quite some effort and casting Spells, Shen Mo finally dispelled all these Spells and Skills, suppressing the negative states afflicting his body.

"I did pay a hefty price, but this also proves that this method is indeed feasible!" Shen Mo tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a rather bizarre smile.

It wasn’t that his mood was complicated and thus his expression strange, but that one of the Skills that had landed on him caused his muscles to stiffen like iron and had yet to be completely purged; what showed now was merely the aftereffects!

Straightaway, he opened the Sword Zone and took out the treasure he had seized in that perilous snatch.

It was a lower-grade Spiritual Treasure in the shape of a wine gourd, carved with patterns of sun, moon, Stars, mountains, and rivers; when lightly shaken, a pleasant sound rang out, and it held within it half a gourd of Jadescent Nectar.

Only, this wine gourd had long since birthed an Artifact Spirit, and it was utterly impossible to pour out even a single drop of liquor from it;

Shen Mo needed time to "persuade" the Artifact Spirit, to let it once more recognize him as its master; only then could he smoothly open the gourd, obtain the Jadescent Nectar within, and also learn from the Artifact Spirit the function of this magic artifact and the effects of the jade liquid inside!

Generally speaking, magic treasures of this shape were unlikely to possess great offensive or defensive might; most likely, like Chen Mengze’s Yin-Yang jade disk, it was an exotic treasure that produced spiritual pulp and assisted cultivation.

At the moment, Shen Mo had no time to tame and refine this lower-grade Spiritual Treasure; he had to seize the time to extract a few more treasures from the bodies of the "Disciples of the Immortal."

Stowing the gourd back into the Sword Zone and restoring his own condition a bit, he then rode his escaping light back to the bitter sea!

The place had returned to calm.

That short, fat wealthy merchant standing atop auspicious clouds, who earlier had been subjected to Shen Mo’s fierce, repeated assaults—Shen Mo’s Universe Sword Qi had even slashed into its glabella—was at this moment wholly unscathed, not even a single wrinkle having formed on its robe; only, the wine-gourd-shaped lower-grade Spiritual Treasure hidden at its waist had already vanished, and it was glaring at Shen Mo with a face full of fury!

The other "Disciples of the Immortal," and even the thirteen "Immortals" who had been preaching without cease, all cast their Glares upon him as well.

Fortunately, just as Shen Mo had anticipated, these beings who looked like living people yet were in truth Evil Spirits still followed some kind of rule and did not take the initiative to attack him!

Shen Mo put on the [Method Eye Candle Wisp], and his gaze roamed over one figure after another; before long, he fixed on his next target... It was a "Disciple of the Immortal" in the appearance of a young Daoist nun, who in life must have been a Formless Realm powerhouse. However, her true body was not a Human Cultivator, but some kind of big demon who had cultivated to the Dao; the Demonic Aura over her body could not be concealed no matter what!

A tremendously exquisite, treasure-light–overflowing hairpin was stuck in her topknot; it was unknown what material it was forged from. Under the [Method Eye Candle Wisp] it appeared exceptionally wondrous and extraordinary, and was one of the five treasured level magic artifacts and spiritual items.

"You it is, then!"

Shen Mo muttered under his breath, then activated the [Sword Escape] Skill, sending the Demon Slaying Sword slashing out, intending to repeat his old trick.

...

A short while later, Shen Mo’s figure once again appeared outside the bitter sea, and his entire person had been frozen into a lump of ice.

The Spells and Skills that the [Sword Escape] Skill could not evade rained down upon his body; with his Dao Body and soul both in a state of being miserably frozen, the damage Shen Mo suffered this time was several times more severe than before!

On this risky attempt, Shen Mo did not manage to snatch away that hairpin Spiritual Treasure as he wished;

He had underestimated the strength of the young Daoist nun, and also underestimated the might that hairpin Spiritual Treasure could display in her hands. This demon had actually retained no small amount of combat power, needing no assistance from the other "Disciples of the Immortal"; with just a single exchange, she nearly beat Shen Mo to death!

Fortunately, these "Disciples of the Immortal" were not living people; their various reactions and behavior were all rather sluggish, leaving countless openings when facing an enemy.

Otherwise, Shen Mo might have had no choice but to use the [Reverse Yin and Yang] Skill, switching his real body and Standing, and shifting his real body back to Jade Spring Mountain to preserve his life!

Five days later, Shen Mo melted the ice that had frozen his Soul Body, and the injuries he had previously suffered had also recovered by more than half.

"Earlier, I was careless; with more preparation and a few more attempts... there should still be a chance to seize that Daoist nun big demon’s hairpin!" Shen Mo pondered inwardly, beginning to search the Sword Zone for Pills and talismans aimed at Ice-type Spells, while meticulously planning every move for his next "treasure-taking" venture!

Another day passed, and Shen Mo returned to the bitter sea for the third time.

After targeted arrangements and meticulous plotting, this time Shen Mo successfully snatched the hairpin Spiritual Treasure from the young Daoist nun’s hands, and the injuries he suffered were not as severe as they had been six days prior.

This exquisite hairpin was likewise a lower-grade Spiritual Treasure;

It was very likely refined by the young Daoist nun from some wondrous material produced by her demon body, possessing extremely formidable Ice-type might. In the hands of a suitable user, it could even freeze the Dao Body and soul of a Divine Bridge Realm powerhouse!

Although Shen Mo also grasped several Ice-type magic, his cultivation method attainment in them was not profound, and he had no Spiritual Body, Skill, or Destiny augmenting them, so he could not bring out their greatest might; in his hands it would inevitably be something of a waste. For this reason, he did not plan to tame and refine it into his Lifebound Magical Artifact.

When Shen Mo had nursed his injuries and was preparing to step into the bitter sea for the fourth time, he suddenly discovered that this Evil Spirit tableau had undergone a tremendous change;

The moment he stepped into the domain where the Evil Spirits resided, the "Disciples of the Immortal" on the auspicious clouds all flew down together, closing in to besiege and kill him, scaring him so much that he did not dare hesitate in the slightest and directly used [Sword Escape] to teleport outside the bitter sea!

It was obvious that his repeated "provocations" of this Evil Spirit had triggered some unknown transformation.