Chapter 674 542: This Is Elder Xiao's Burial Ground

"Elder Xiao, we are here under the orders of the Tushan Grand Elder, specifically to see you off."

Jin'an and the others watched Xiao Mo coldly.

Xiao Mo chuckled softly, his smile tinged with understanding and resignation. "Just as I thought. The Grand Elder really doesn't want me going back alive."

"But if you actually kill me, do you think the Grand Elder will spare you?"

Xiao Mo's gaze swept placidly over the group, his tone so calm it was as if he were discussing a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

"Xiao Mo, are you so close to death that your brain has turned to mush?" Chen Jue stepped forward, looking down his nose at Xiao Mo as if sizing up a man already in his coffin.

"It is the Grand Elder who wants you dead! And he has personally promised me that the day you die will be the day Jing Ci and I wed."

A triumphant smile curled his lips.

"Don't you worry. I'll set up a memorial tablet for you so you can 'personally' watch our wedding ceremony!"

Xiao Mo looked at Chen Jue as if he were gazing upon a naive fool who didn't understand the ways of the world.

He ignored Chen Jue's arrogant taunts, his gaze shifting to Jin'an, Song Xiu, and Xin Xiao'er.

Jin'an and Song Xiu, after all, were not reckless brats like Chen Jue, who was young, arrogant, and ignorant of the world's complexities.

Hearing Xiao Mo's words, the two seemed to realize something. They lowered their heads in unison as a flicker of barely perceptible doubt crossed their faces.

"You two need not overthink it."

Xin Xiao'er spoke in a cold, crisp, and confident tone.

"You are simply following orders. The Grand Elder will need your services in the future, so he naturally won't treat you unfairly. As for tying up loose ends, someone will handle that properly. There is no need for you to worry."

Hearing Xin Xiao'er's implicit reassurances, Jin'an and Song Xiu nodded slightly. The weight in their hearts finally settled.

However, as they glanced at Chen Jue, an indescribable mix of amusement and pity inadvertently appeared in their eyes.

"We understand. We shall naturally carry out the Grand Elder's command." The two bowed respectfully to Xin Xiao'er, their attitudes humble and obedient.

"Then let's begin!" Xin Xiao'er's voice dropped. Before her words had faded, her figure vanished from the spot.

By the time Xiao Mo reacted, a deep void rift had already torn open in the space beside him.

Xin Xiao'er flashed out from the void, a dagger gleaming with a cold light slicing straight for Xiao Mo's throat.

Xiao Mo's body snapped back, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow. Still, the sharp dagger left a bloody line on his neck, from which crimson blood slowly trickled down the clean cut.

"This has nothing to do with Miss Gui! Please, leave at once!" Xiao Mo shouted before leaping up, his body moving like lightning as he shot toward the palace exit.

"After him!" Song Xiu ordered. The group transformed into streaks of light, chasing after Xiao Mo.

How could Gui Junmeng possibly let Xiao Mo face such a perilous situation alone?

She was about to move forward to help.

But in the next moment, Song Xiu abruptly threw out a painted scroll.

The scroll grew as it met the wind, expanding rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped both Xiao Mo and Song Xiu.

At almost the same instant, Chen Jue and the others also dove into the scroll.

Gui Junmeng's focus sharpened, and she tried to follow them into the scroll.

But the scroll snapped shut in front of her, sealing itself seamlessly.

No matter how she attacked it with Magic, she couldn't budge it in the slightest.

Inside the scroll, Xiao Mo stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze leisurely swept across the ink-wash landscape, and he couldn't help but nod slightly, a note of admiration in his voice. "Elder Song, you truly have good taste. This landscape is quite magnificent."

"Hehehe... To receive praise from Elder Xiao is a great honor indeed." Song Xiu stroked his beard and smiled, but his smile was laced with a bone-chilling coldness. "Today, I must ask Elder Xiao to be buried here."

"Then by all means, give it your best shot." Xiao Mo extended his right hand in an unhurried "after you" gesture, showing no trace of fear.

"Get him!" As Song Xiu's voice fell, the group charged toward Xiao Mo, attacking without mercy.

This scroll was Song Xiu's Lifebound Magical Treasure.

Inside this scroll, not only would Song Xiu's power increase by a full tier, but he could also command every blade of grass, every tree, every mountain, and every river within the painting for his own use. He held every possible advantage.

As for the masked woman of the Nascent Soul Realm whom Xiao Mo had encountered before, Song Xiu didn't know her true identity, nor was he clear on how Xiao Mo had managed to get involved with her.

But even if she wanted to help, being completely sealed outside by the scroll left her beyond reach and powerless to intervene.

Seeing them closing in to kill him from all sides, Xiao Mo took a single step, and two great rivers of yin and yang abruptly materialized around him.

The clear, bright white river of yang surged like a furious tide, rolling toward Song Xiu and Xin Xiao'er.

Meanwhile, the ink-black Yin River, carrying a bone-chilling cold, lunged viciously at Jin'an and Chen Jue.

"Don't let either of those rivers touch you!" Jin'an's heart seized, and he shouted sharply at his nephew.

But he was a step too late.

The instant Chen Jue's arm touched the Yin River, he felt a soul-freezing chill shoot through him, as if his very spirit was about to be frozen solid.

The biting ice spread rapidly from his fingertips, inch by inch.

In the blink of an eye, it had completely covered his entire arm.

"Uncle!"

Chen Jue let out a bloodcurdling scream, his face ashen white.