"Master, you really don't have to worry about ."
Seeing hesitation in Xuan Tianhen's expression, Gu Mo imdiately understood the concern behind it. Without delay, the aura of his Golden Core realm quickly fell back to Foundation Establishnt, and both his appearance and aura underwent a complete transformation.
Xuan Tianhen stared at the Gu Mo before him—whose cultivation, looks, and presence were completely different—with clear astonishnt in his eyes. If he hadn't seen it himself, he would've believed it was soone entirely different.
This ant Gu Mo's disguise was already enough to fool a Nascent Soul Swordmaster. Such was the strength of the perfected Breath Concealnt Technique.
As for the change in appearance, that was rely a basic disguise technique. With Gu Mo's Golden Core cultivation, he could easily manipulate his body to alter his looks even without mastering any disguise arts.
"In that case, do as you wish."
Knowing that Gu Mo possessed such a formidable concealnt ability that even he couldn't see through, Xuan Tianhen was much more at ease. As for complete safety—such a thing simply didn't exist.
"Yes, Master!"
With Xuan Tianhen's approval, a smile crept to Gu Mo's lips. Now, he could finally head to the cave-dwelling relic site and search for the core he had long yearned for.
But before setting out, Gu Mo had a few final preparations to make.
"Don't forget to leave a five-star review~"
Xiao Hua's figure appeared briefly, dropped off a box, then vanished again.
Gu Mo's avatar picked up the box left by Xiao Hua—it contained precisely what he needed: Grade-4 Tombstone Moss and so Sun Essence. According to Qian Tao's intel, the cave relic was riddled with formation arrays and restriction spells. To explore it safely, tools for breaking through such formations were absolutely essential.
Because of this, Gu Mo's main body had to pause the upgrading of his Solarflowers, instead preparing several batches of Tombstone Moss for his avatar. In addition to Grade-4 moss, he also readied a considerable amount of Grade-3 for various contingencies.
Gu Mo had originally intended to prepare a Grade-4 Solar yang pill for his avatar, in case of ambushes by demonic infiltrators.
But now, with his comprehension of the Great Sun Sword Intent, he no longer needed the Solar yang pill. That sword intent could directly expel demonic energy, granting Gu Mo a trendous advantage in battles against devil cultivators. Many of their underhanded techniques would no longer affect him.
Once word spread that Gu Mo had mastered the Great Sun Sword Intent, even his avatar's ranking would likely rise again.
"Well then, ti to head out."
With everything ready, Gu Mo no longer delayed and imdiately set off for the location of the cave-dwelling relic, as provided by Qian Tao. He was concerned that if he waited too long, soone else might stumble upon it.
Not long after, a Foundation Establishnt disciple from the Grand Yan Sword Sect quietly left the sect.
"Boss, we've got a target!"
As Gu Mo, now disguised as an ordinary Foundation Establishnt disciple of the Grand Yan Sword Sect, left the sect's territory, a nondescript stone nearby trembled slightly. A transmission talisman silently activated, sending out a ssage.
"Finally! After all this ti!"
In a hidden cave, an unremarkable-looking middle-aged cultivator perked up at the ssage on his talisman.
Lately, the demonic sect had suffered heavy losses among its undercover agents in the righteous faction—one Nascent Soul Demon Lord had fallen, a high-ranking mber had been captured, and all spies in the Grand Yan Sword Sect had been eliminated.
Without their spies, the demonic sect had no way to keep tabs on the sect's internal affairs.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't worry them much, but now the Grand Yan Sword Sect had produced a top-tier genius who had ford an Immortal Golden Core. If left unchecked, it could lead to a repeat of what happened a thousand years ago.
Back then, it had taken great sacrifice and a bit of luck to eliminate a Grand Yan Sword Sect genius on the verge of reaching the Nascent Soul stage. There was no guarantee they'd succeed a second ti.
To prevent such a risk, the demonic sect had to act before that genius matured. But to do that, they first needed intelligence.
Since direct infiltration was no longer viable—and trying to gain entry through sect recruitnt had also failed—it ant that Grand Yan Sword Sect likely had a thod to detect demonic energy. And that was information the demonic sect desperately wanted.
With infiltration no longer feasible, the demonic spies shifted tactics: target sect disciples when they left the sect.
By controlling those who traveled outside, they could quickly install new agents. Even if the effect only lasted until the sect used their detection thod again, it would be enough.
At worst, they'd just control more targets. No sect could function in complete isolation, especially one like the Grand Yan Sword Sect, where sword cultivators frequently left to hone themselves in battle.
So all they had to do was wait—and eventually, soone would show up.
"Lure him into the formation."
The middle-aged man swiftly issued a command. For just a Foundation Establishnt disciple, there was no need to rush—he would let his subordinates capture the target first, then personally perform the control ritual.
"As expected, those demonic infiltrators still haven't given up,"
Gu Mo thought to himself as the array formation lit up around him. As acting sect leader of the Grand Yan Sword Sect, he naturally had access to all recent intelligence.
Just a while ago, Gu Mo had received reports of demonic infiltrators sighted nearby. Although he sent elders to investigate, the spies' concealnt skills proved too formidable. The dispatched elders returned with nothing.
After that, the spies went completely silent. Many elders and disciples assud the demonic sect had given up—but Gu Mo knew better. With an Immortal Golden Core on the table, the demonic sect would be desperate. There was no way they'd simply walk away.
And as he expected, they hadn't given up. They had rely shifted from active infiltration to lying in ambush.
Now, Gu Mo had beco the "rabbit" caught in the trap. Or rather, a beast wearing a rabbit's skin.
He tapped the array barrier around him. It was a Grade-3 Superior trapping formation. With his current power, he could break it by force—but there was no need.
After all, he had a better way.
"Perfect chance to test the Tombstone Moss before heading into the relic."
He hadn't yet used it in real combat. Better to identify any issues now rather than in the middle of the cave's dangers.
As he spoke, Gu Mo took out a clump of black moss and pressed it against the array.
The mont the Tombstone Moss touched the barrier, it rapidly rooted itself and began spreading. Soon, it started to devour the formation itself—black moss creeping like a yawning mouth, gnawing a large hole into the barrier.
The entire ti, the formation remained unaware. This silent dismantling was leagues above ordinary array-breaking talismans.
Especially since many formations triggered chain reactions upon being tampered with. Even brute-force talismans could backfire by setting off traps.
But Tombstone Moss left no trace. Outside, the spies had no idea their formation had already been breached.
"Excellent."
Gu Mo stepped through the hole carved by the moss and carefully retrieved it. The moss was not single-use—it could be reclaid. However, it needed Sun Essence to be reactivated before the next use.
As the moss was removed, the hole in the array began to heal itself. Without close inspection, it would be almost impossible to tell the barrier had ever been breached.
"Oh? Looks like a big fish just arrived."
No sooner had Gu Mo left the formation than he sensed a powerful aura—a late-stage Golden Core demonic spy. That definitely qualified as a big fish.
Nascent Soul-level Demon Lords wouldn't be showing up anyti soon—after the last attempt to wipe out Grand Yan Sword Sect failed with one death and one injury, the demonic sect wouldn't risk it again. Especially now, on the eve of an all-out war between righteous and demonic factions.
These days, any Demon Lord stepping into righteous territory would be hunted without rcy.
"Boss!"
Outside the formation, the demon spies greeted a middle-aged man who had just arrived. Of course, his appearance was completely fake—no infiltrator would dare show their real face.
"Did you catch him?"
"Relax, Boss. Just a Foundation Establishnt disciple—he walked right into the trap. He's probably crying in there by now."
The formation was hidden inside a crevice, invisible from the outside. Only those who entered could see it.
Which was why none of the spies had noticed the formation had been breached.
"Good. With this one, we can…"
The leader nodded, thinking this would be the starting point for luring out more sect disciples and expanding their web of control.
But midway through his sentence, he abruptly stopped.
The formation… was empty.
"Where is he?!"
He turned toward his subordinates, his eyes filled with rage. Every ti he appeared, he risked exposure.
"Boss! He was just there!"
"We saw him get trapped with our own eyes!"
…
Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads as they frantically tried to explain.
"Then where is he now?!"
Suspicion flickered in the leader's gaze. Had one of his n betrayed him? Was this a setup?
That thought had just ford when he felt a surge of dread—and without hesitation, he dodged aside.
A dazzling sword light slashed through the air. He barely escaped thanks to his superior cultivation. But his subordinates weren't so lucky. They were all slain in a single strike.
"Who's there?!"
Their deaths didn't faze him. His eyes locked forward.
"Sharp instincts."
Gu Mo sighed. His sneak attack had failed. But that was expected—any spy daring to operate in righteous territory would be hyper-alert. The careless ones were long dead.
Since the ambush didn't work, Gu Mo would have to kill him the hard way. In any case, he couldn't let this one escape.
"No matter who you are—you'll die today!"
The man racked his brain for matching profiles, but none fit. He knew only one thing—this "Foundation Establishnt" cultivator had terrifying stealth capabilities.
After issuing his threat, he turned to flee without hesitation.
As a late-stage Golden Core, he feared no one short of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if this person was peak Golden Core, he could still escape.
His survival skills were exactly why he was chosen for this job. Power was aningless if you couldn't live long enough to report back.
But his retreat was blocked.
The mont he moved, 9 of Gu Mo's 12 Sword ford the Nine Palace Sword Formation.
As the formation activated, Gu Mo swung his sword—and the strike carried a powerful binding force. That was the power of the formation.
The Sword Formation required no extra flying swords. Gu Mo could directly channel its force through his own attacks.
"What?!"
The escaping man froze. The binding force nearly overwheld him. Realizing escape was impossible, he turned to fight.
At that mont, he sensed Gu Mo's true cultivation. Even with perfected concealnt, once Gu Mo acted, his realm couldn't be hidden—though his altered aura still worked.
"You're that Lin Wu!"
His eyes glead. Though the aura was off, only one person in the Grand Yan Sword Sect's Golden Core stage had such terrifying strength:
Lin Wu, ranked tenth among the righteous faction's top young elites. The one with the Immortal Golden Core.
This was his true target all along.
If he could kill Gu Mo, the reward would be unimaginable—enough to push him to peak Golden Core, maybe even give him a shot at the Nascent Soul stage.
The mont that thought crossed his mind, all caution vanished, replaced by madness.
If he could kill this man, everything would change.
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