The wind at the mountaintop was fierce, rattling the wind chimes in the temple, their ding-ding-dang-dang echoing incessantly.
Neither Yaxian and the foreigner nor Su Mo and his group had gained anything substantial.
Just as they were about to resign themselves to leaving empty-handed, the familiar roar sounded again.
This time, however, two voices overlapped, and almost everyone present instantly had their eyes turn red.
Su Mo wasn’t experiencing this for the first time, so he remained remarkably calm. “Everyone, stay composed. Try to think of something happy.”
Yaxian and his group stood nearby. Though they hadn’t actively harmed Su Mo and the others, they had been closely monitoring their every move, forbidding them from stepping outside the temple.
Now, with the “red-eye effect” in play, they too were affected.
Only Yaxian remained completely unfazed, as if nothing were wrong. His crimson eyes even added a mysterious allure to him. “Students, don’t move, or I might not be able to hold back. It’d be a shame if anyone got hurt.”
He was the only person—no, the only creature—Su Mo had ever met who wasn’t affected by the red-eye effect, a testament to his formidable mental strength.
“Senior Yaxian, for your esteemed sect to dispatch a powerhouse like you to deal with us insignificant students, it seems you’ve long known about the treasures hidden in the Longshan ruins,” Su Mo said casually, though his real intention was to fish for information.
Yaxian merely glanced at him and smiled without a word.
“Senior Yaxian, earlier, three traitors were exposed in our team—apparently members of your sect. Out of respect for our friendship, I spared their lives.”
Yaxian smiled and stayed silent.
“Senior Yaxian, the fog is coming.”
“Hm?” Yaxian frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
Su Mo took a deep breath. “Believe it or not, I don’t give a damn. Stop asking stupid questions, you idiot… (500 words omitted) Phew—that felt good.”
Finally venting the frustration he’d bottled up, Su Mo felt an unprecedented sense of relief.
Yaxian was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting Su Mo to curse at him. Even he couldn’t completely suppress his irritation and blurted out, “F—”
But he quickly caught himself, taking a deep breath. “Elegance… must remain elegant. I have to stay elega—huh?”
The potency of profanity was too strong—once unleashed, it was hard to stop.
Especially under the influence of the red-eye effect, Yaxian felt an overwhelming irritation bubbling in his chest. He wanted to shout a few curses to vent, but the nature of his abilities forbade it—losing control would bring severe backlash.
Su Mo smirked in satisfaction.
Success!
As it turned out, Yaxian wasn’t immune to the red-eye effect—he just had an unusually high resistance.
But emotions weren’t something even the strongest mental fortitude could always suppress, especially when amplified infinitely.
Su Mo had gambled on one thing: that Yaxian harbored repressed negativity.
He refused to believe anyone could remain perpetually calm and elegant. Yaxian had to be forcing himself to maintain that façade, burying his true nature.
And Su Mo had bet correctly.
People like Yaxian often accumulated more negativity than the average person. Once it erupted, the backlash was even worse.
“Elegance… I must stay elegant… damn it—”
Under the red-eye effect’s rage-inducing influence, Su Mo was nearly in tears from laughter. “HAHAHAHA—!”
While others were furious, he was the only one laughing uncontrollably.
The scene quickly devolved into absurdity…
The most elegant man was having a breakdown.
The most beautiful girl was cackling wildly.
Neither cared about their image anymore—they were simply unleashing their rawest emotions.
Pfft!
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Yaxian’s lips, his face turning deathly pale. “Su Mo… you little—”
Before he could finish, a blade came slashing toward him, forcing him to dodge.
“The great Yaxian, reduced to such a pitiful state? Too scared to face a mere Qi Refining realm cultivator’s attack head-on?”
Yaxian: Elegance… elegance…
“Pfft—” Su Mo switched to full taunt mode, attacking while hurling insults—only to end up pissing himself off in the process…
Battle Heaven, Conquer Earth!
The sixth stance of the Pojun Blade Art erupted forth, fueled by his fury, unleashing power beyond his usual limits.
BOOM—
Yaxian caught the blade bare-handed, his palms clamping down on the edge. Su Mo couldn’t slash deeper, nor could he pull it free.
This is bad. Su Mo’s heart sank. This was the first time his strongest attack had been neutralized like this.
“You didn’t actually think this would be enough to defeat me, did you?” Yaxian chuckled, his elegance gone, now looking like a madman who’d escaped an asylum.
The foreigner didn’t intervene, choosing to spectate instead. Wu Heng and the others kept a close eye on him, wary of a sneak attack.
“Relax, I won’t interfere. Have your fun,” the foreigner said in flawless Mandarin.
Yaxian flew into a rage. “You really think they stand a chance against me?”
The foreigner rolled his eyes and walked away without a word.
“Fine. Fine. Everyone’s just here to piss me off, huh? Good. Very good…” As he spoke, his body suddenly bulged, muscles swelling as if pumped with air.
“Watch out!” Xia Qingqing shouted.
Su Mo swiftly withdrew his blade into the white jade ring, then gathered his energy. A towering, mountain-like aura erupted from him.
But that wasn’t all—dark cyan Yin flames burst forth with his spiritual energy, surging like a tidal wave.
“Mountain-Sea Fist!”
The departing foreigner suddenly halted, turning back with a look of astonishment. “This girl… is impressive…”
Yaxian raised a fist to meet Su Mo’s strike.
BOOM!
Su Mo was sent flying backward. Huo Jingshu reacted swiftly, catching him, while Wu Heng and the others immediately shielded him.
On the other side, Yaxian had transformed into a hulking brute, his nearly two-meter frame radiating intimidation.
Yet he seemed calmer now, no longer as frenzied as before.
He strode forward, lips curling into a grin as he stared at Su Mo with newfound interest. “Mountain-Sea Fist… To think you’ve mastered it. You’re becoming more and more intriguing…”
Then he paused, feeling a strange, tingling pain across his body. Looking down, he saw wisps of dark cyan flames slowly eating away at him.
“I didn’t notice earlier… Yin flames?”
He tried to smother them, but the flames seemed almost illusory—slapping at them did nothing.
“You—” Yaxian’s expression twisted in shock. He hadn’t expected Su Mo to use the Mountain-Sea Fist’s momentum to embed Yin flames into his body. While Su Mo’s current strength wasn’t enough to deal critical damage, the Yin flames’ corrosive effect was very real.
Unnoticed until now, the two fingers he’d used to catch the blade had already gone numb.
Unlike when he’d countered the Mountain-Sea Fist with full focus, he’d relied purely on physical strength to block the blade earlier, leaving him vulnerable to the flames’ insidious effects.
“Enjoying yourself, Senior Yaxian?” Su Mo asked weakly, forcing a smirk. “Yin flames dispel dampness—a specialty of the Ye family. Others aren’t so lucky to experience it. Care to leave a five-star review for my craftsmanship?”
He tilted his chin up with a you-know-what-I-mean look.
“What the hell…”
In just this encounter with Su Mo, Yaxian had cursed more than he had in the past decade. So much for preserving his dignity…