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Meng Shushu looked up at the terrifying blade aura pouring down like a storm from above, while Meng Chong's figure remained sturdy, with an unparalleled dominance continually rising.

A blade light traversed the sky, as if to shatter the firmament, fiercely cutting towards the storm-like blade aura.

Boom!

The aftermath of the intense battle raged on, wreaking havoc. The large trees in the dense forest kept turning into debris, sweeping towards all directions, turning the half-sky into a hazy gray.

The fierce battle continued.

Meng Chong became more courageous as the battle progressed. Occasionally, he couldn't withstand all the attacks pouring down on him, but they were all offset by his robust physique.

There was simply no way to break through his physical defense.

"A half-step Grandmaster is indeed formidable. I've just started cultivating the Great Sun Golden Body and cannot defeat my opponent!" Meng Chong felt a sense of pressure.

He felt the pressure! However, his opponent couldn't defeat him either.

The battle would continue until one side wore the other down.

But Meng Chong believed that with his Great Sun Golden Body, his opponent couldn't outlast him!

At this moment, the man in the black robe was astonished. With his strength as a half-step Grandmaster, he couldn't defeat his opponent.

Although his opponent couldn't completely withstand his attacks, as long as he could block sixty to seventy percent of them, the remaining attacks couldn't harm him at all.

The strength of his physical body was unheard of!

Boom!

The battle continued and became increasingly intense. The man in the black robe became fierce, continuously pouring down terrifying blade auras, his figure approaching, seeking an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Meng Chong.

However, Meng Chong kept slashing with his blade. Whenever his opponent approached a bit, he couldn't advance further.

Meng Chong's expression was serious, but he showed no fear, freely displaying his martial arts. The Heaven and Earth Tyrant Blade was continuously unleashed, and his dominating blade intent seemed to be strengthening.

Every time, he only blocked sixty to seventy percent of the black-robed man's attacks, allowing the remaining attacks to crash into his body, thereby honing his Great Sun Golden Body.

With every slash he made, the black-robed man had to respond cautiously. If he couldn't withstand one of Meng Chong's attacks, it would be fatal.

After all, his physical defense was far inferior to Meng Chong's.

Boom!

After another intense collision, the black-robed man stepped back, creating some distance, gripping his curved blade, his expression dark, refraining from further attacks.

"Since you've intervened in this matter, dare you reveal your name?" the black-robed man asked coldly.

Meng Chong stood with his blade, proudly staring at his opponent, the brilliance of the Great Sun Golden Body shining, surrounded by a scorching aura.

At this moment, he appeared fierce and domineering, with an aura that could dominate the world.

"Why, since you've intervened in this matter, why not reveal your name? If you dare not even show your name, I advise you not to get involved in this matter," the black-robed man said coldly.

Meng Chong narrowed his eyes. It was impossible for him to reveal his name.

"My junior sister said that Mount Swordmaster in the Inner Domain is a top force, and as a pride of Mount Swordmaster, Brother Xie naturally has deterrence," Meng Chong muttered to himself. He remembered that Xie Lingfeng had said that in the Inner Domain, no matter what happened, he could mention his name, and it would surely resolve troubles.

Thinking like this, Meng Chong proudly said, "I'm afraid mentioning it might scare you!"

"Arrogant!" the black-robed man snorted, "Let me see how you can scare me!"

"In that case, listen carefully!" Meng Chong thumped his chest and said, "I am, Mount Swordmaster, Xie Lingfeng!"

Black-robed man: ...

Meng Shushu: ...

Mount Swordmaster, Xie Lingfeng?

Claimed to be the strongest sword genius of Mount Swordmaster in a thousand years?

Meng Shushu was dumbfounded. What did Meng Chong mean by this? Pretending to be Xie Lingfeng? He was the pride of Mount Swordmaster, the only son of the current Swordmaster, Xie Tianheng. Wasn't it more dangerous to impersonate him than to offend the forces behind the black-robed man?

Gulp!

Meng Shushu swallowed a mouthful of saliva, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He figured that after this incident, he should separate from Meng Chong, or else he might be hunted down by Mount Swordmaster someday.

And being with him would inevitably be implicated.

That was Mount Swordmaster, the top sword sect in the Inner Domain, with strength beyond imagination.

In terms of influence, perhaps not as strong as Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and Seven Star Academy, but its strength wouldn't be much weaker than them.

It was recognized as one of the top three most powerful forces in the Inner Domain.

The black-robed man was also surprised, but then he showed a skeptical expression. "Mount Swordmaster Xie Lingfeng, I have heard of him, but I have never heard that he is bald!"

Meng Chong, upon hearing this, reached into his bosom and pulled out a wig, putting it on his head.

Meng Shushu: ...

Black-robed man: ...

Now the black-robed man was a bit unsettled. If Mount Swordmaster intervened in this matter, they could only retreat.

Although Meng Chong's appearance seemed incongruous with the rumored Xie Lingfeng, the propaganda of major forces naturally wouldn't publicize any negative aspects or flaws of their own geniuses.

So, it was understandable that there were some discrepancies in appearance.

"Xie Lingfeng practices the sword, while you are using a blade!" the black-robed man gritted his teeth.

Meng Chong fell silent for a moment before speaking, "Is there a possibility that I don't want people to know my true identity, so I deliberately used a blade?"

Black-robed man: ...

After a moment of silence, whether the person in front of him was Xie Lingfeng or not, continuing the battle now wouldn't lead to victory.

Moreover, after a long battle, if the consumption was too great, he even suspected that the defeated side might be himself.

Taking a deep breath, he said in a deep voice, "In that case, I'll take my leave!"

With a movement of his body, he left directly.

Meng Chong breathed a sigh of relief, took off the wig, and tucked it into his bosom, smiling happily. Xie Lingfeng's name was really useful!

Such intimidation!

At the same time, he was grateful that he had followed Shi Er's advice and prepared a wig, which came in handy at a critical moment.

He descended from the air.

"The people from my family have been driven away by me. Let's hurry up and enter the spiritual medicine!"

Meng Shushu wore a mournful expression as he said, "Brother Meng, why are you pretending to be Xie Lingfeng? He's the pride of Mount Swordmaster, the only son of Grandmaster Xie!"

"What are you talking about? How am I pretending?" Meng Chong responded discontentedly.

"Brother Meng, Xie Lingfeng's physique is far from as robust as yours. How could I not know? Your appearance is quite different from Xie Lingfeng's!" Meng Shushu sighed.

"Is that so?" Meng Chong frowned, feeling his own head. Indeed, there was quite a discrepancy in appearance.

"Mount Swordmaster's Hushan has a sturdy build too. Although not as robust as mine, apart from the head, my appearance is closer to his. Next time, I'll use Hushan's name. Hopefully, it will work too!" Meng Chong thought to himself.

He patted Meng Shushu's shoulder and said, "Why panic? What I'm doing isn't pretending, it's borrowing, you understand? This is what Brother Xie Lingfeng promised!"

Meng Shushu was astonished. "You know Xie Lingfeng?"

"Of course!" Meng Chong nodded.

"Do you know about Mount Swordmaster's Hushan?" he continued to ask.

"Yes, I do. Master Hushan of Mount Swordmaster is Grandmaster Xie's attendant and the son of Grandmaster Hu of Hu Mountain. He's quite renowned," Meng Shushu nodded.

Meng Chong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "So Hushan also has a good reputation. That makes things easier. Next time, I'll use his name."

Meng Shushu: ...

After a fierce battle, most of the forest was destroyed, and half of the trees on the mountainside were broken. Meng Chong and Meng Shushu arrived at the entrance of a cave.

"Are we going in here?" Meng Chong asked in surprise, looking at the cave.

"Yes, behind the cave is a door that must be opened with a key. If it's forcefully broken, it might cause damage inside. If there's a sixth-grade spiritual medicine inside, the loss would be great," Meng Shushu explained.

That was also why the faction where the black-robed man belonged didn't forcefully break in.

"There's spiritual medicine here, luckily they didn't find it," Meng Shushu exclaimed excitedly, coming to the side of a large tree and taking out his pen. He carefully scraped away the soil layer by layer, looking very cautious.

"There's spiritual medicine in this soil?" Meng Chong was surprised. At first glance, there were no weeds or vines.

Meng Shushu picked up a gray withered vine from the ground, which was only slightly thicker than a hair. "See, this is the Earth Spirit Vine. It's in a withered state now. People who are not familiar wouldn't recognize it as an Earth Spirit Vine. Only during winter, when covered with snow, will it grow. If unfamiliar people pass by, they'll naturally miss it."

Digging along the Earth Spirit Vine, Meng Shushu continued, "Underneath, it's the Earth Spirit Root, an eighth-grade spiritual medicine. Now is the best time to dig up the Earth Spirit Root. If the Earth Spirit Vine grows leaves, it's not the best time to harvest, as the medicinal power of the Earth Spirit Root will be much weaker."

Meng Chong's eyes lit up. Earth Spirit Root? It was listed on the list of spiritual medicines given by Sulingxiu.

"It's here too!" Meng Chong became excited. Following a thin Earth Spirit Vine, he carefully dug downwards with a knife.

After digging more than three feet down, a white tuber-like object appeared in the soil.

This was the Earth Spirit Root!

Carefully digging out the Earth Spirit Root, which was over three inches long and about the size of a thumb, with a thin layer of white cloth-like material covering its surface.

It looked like a small white radish.

"Brother Meng, be careful. Don't damage the cloth of the Earth Spirit Root. Otherwise, if there's no container to store the spiritual medicine, once the cloth is torn, the medicinal power of the Earth Spirit Root will dissipate," Meng Shushu reminded.

"Understood!" Meng Chong carefully packed up the Earth Spirit Root in a bag. Fortunately, although the Earth Spirit Cloth was thin, it was resilient and not easy to damage.

The two of them dug around the big tree outside the cave, and they dug up a total of eight Earth Spirit Roots.

"Brother Meng, take them." Meng Shushu handed all the Earth Spirit Roots to Meng Chong.

"Got it!" Meng Chong put the Earth Spirit Roots into the bag and tucked it into his chest.

"Let's go, into the treasure trove!" Having dug up the eighth-grade spiritual medicine Earth Spirit Root outside the cave, it was evident that there must be even higher-grade spiritual medicines inside.

"Alright!" Meng Shushu nodded.

Just as they entered the cave, Meng Chong's expression suddenly changed.

Two figures suddenly appeared, emitting a terrifying pressure as if the might of heaven descended.

Grandmasters!

True Grandmaster-level experts!

Both of them were cloaked in black robes. One of them was the Grandmaster who had retreated earlier, while the other, with a hood covering his face, only revealed a pair of eyes. He was a true Grandmaster.

Upon seeing this Grandmaster, Meng Chong's expression changed. He finally understood why he felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the black-robed man. Their attire was almost identical to the Grandmaster who had gone to the Borderlands to capture Sulingxiu. And the Grandmaster before him, dressed in black robes, was completely identical in attire and appearance to that Grandmaster.

"You're Xie Lingfeng? You can't fool me!" the black-robed Grandmaster said coldly.

"Fine, I'll tell the truth. Actually, I'm Hushan from Mount Swordmaster!" Meng Chong said solemnly.

"Hmph, so what?" the black-robed Grandmaster snorted, unleashing a casual strike.

"Run!" Meng Chong had already prepared himself. He grabbed the back of Meng Shushu's collar and instantly moved sideways to evade the attack.

Boom!

His figure soared into the air, quickly distancing himself.

Angry Thunder Across the Sky Technique!

His entire body was like a raging thunder, traversing the sky with unimaginable speed.

The black-robed Grandmaster snorted, "Where do you think you're going?"

Hastily, he chased after them.

"You owe me big time! Your life is worth more than just one storage bag. You owe me two, you hear?" Meng Chong cursed angrily.

Feeling the terrifying pressure behind them, relentlessly chasing after them, Meng Chong's expression slightly changed. He quickly swung his hand backward, directly hoisting Meng Shushu onto his back.

Back to back.

In this way, Meng Shushu became the one facing the Grandmaster chasing from behind!

At this moment, Meng Shushu's face turned green.

Am I really a human shield now?

Boom!

The Grandmaster's speed was not slow, but catching up to Meng Chong was almost impossible. He immediately slashed out, and the terrifying blade energy came crashing down.

However, due to the distance between them, when the blade energy arrived, its power was nearly dissipated.

But this was still an attack from a Grandmaster!

"Quick, do something!" Meng Chong didn't look back, holding Meng Shushu by the collar and carrying him on his back, desperately fleeing.

"Kill!" Meng Shushu watched as the Grandmaster's blade energy approached, his face turning pale. He was the first to face the Grandmaster's might. At this moment, he truly became a human shield!

With all his strength, he thrust his pen forward, trying to block the blade energy that was nearly dissipated.

Splat!

Under his attack, the blade energy instantly collapsed, but the shockwave still blasted onto him.

Splat!

Meng Shushu spurted out a mouthful of blood, feeling like his internal organs were about to shatter.

"Good job!" Meng Chong praised.

With the help of the shockwave from that strike, his speed suddenly increased, pulling away from the Grandmaster!

"Meng, put me in front!" Meng Shushu gasped for breath.

"Your speed can't keep up if you're in front. You won't be able to endure the fierce Qi winds. It's safer for you to be on my back!" Meng Chong earnestly explained.

Meng Shushu's face turned black. Damn, am I really being used as a human shield?

As he watched the Grandmaster gradually closing the distance, his face turned even greener.

"Meng, hurry, run!" With a Grandmaster making a move, the first one to face his might would be him! (End of this chapter)