Gu Mo's reaction made that demonic sect prodigy hesitate. If his opponent had been an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, he would not have paused for even a mont.
After all, even if an ordinary Golden Core cultivator used every last trump card, they could not threaten him. But this ti, the target was a prodigy of Shennong Valley. Even if the other side wasn't skilled in combat, who could say whether he had so desperate killing move hidden away?
Crack!
Just as the demonic sect prodigy focused all his attention on Gu Mo, the crisp sound of a branch breaking ca from nearby. He did not imdiately look toward the sound. After all, in this place full of dry branches and fallen leaves, stepping on one was perfectly normal.
If he turned his focus away now and the target suddenly struck, that would be troubleso.
Sure enough, he quickly noticed his opponent's expression change. Yet what appeared on Gu Mo's face was not fear, but pity.
Rumble!
Before the demonic sect prodigy could figure out the aning of that expression, a wave of annihilating force burst out beneath his feet, swallowing him whole.
"Pitiful fool. You step on sothing and don't even bother to look." Gu Mo shook his head.
What the prodigy had stepped on, of course, was none other than one of Gu Mo's buried Potato Mines. He didn't have many fourth-rank mines left, but he still had plenty of peak third-rank ones. By planting them in a ring around himself, the chance of an enemy stepping on one was very high.
"What?!"
The sudden change left the other demonic sect prodigy, the one fighting Ding Shiyan, utterly shocked. One of his companions had been instantly obliterated.
Before entering the island, weren't they told no talismans or artifacts could be carried in? Yet that explosion was clearly the work of so extrely powerful treasure.
Without the slightest hesitation, the one battling Ding Shiyan chose to retreat. The intelligence was wrong—this mission clearly could not be carried out.
For her part, Ding Shiyan found it difficult to stop him. To be precise, the demonic sect prodigy also found it difficult to stop her. The only reason she hadn't already left was because she had to look after Gu Mo.
"Forget it."
Watching the retreating demonic sect prodigy, Gu Mo did not strike. If it had been his avatar, he would have pursued relentlessly. But his true body had to remain low-key.
Outside.
Everyone had thought the two Shennong Valley prodigies were dood. Yet the result was the death of a demonic sect prodigy instead. This truly left people astonished.
It was no exaggeration to say that this Gu Mo of Shennong Valley was now the second person, after Lin Wu of the Grand Yan Sword Sect, to have slain a demonic sect prodigy.
"What was that treasure just now? Its power was imnse."
"I don't think it was a talisman. It seed more like so kind of artifact."
"He's a spirit planter. Could it be so special spiritual plant?"
…
Cultivators of the Tianyuan Realm were clearly unfamiliar with Gu Mo's Potato Mines. After all, ever since he had co to Tianyuan, he had stayed holed up in Shennong Valley farming.
That was the advantage of being low-key. Others had no idea what techniques you possessed, so you could catch them off guard. Still, from now on the enemy would likely be more cautious.
But that was fine. The mines weren't ant to kill outright—they were ant to disrupt. As long as the enemy was forced to take them into account, the mines had already done their job.
"Junior Brother Gu, is this a new spiritual plant you cultivated?" With the demonic sect prodigy gone, Ding Shiyan finally let out a sigh of relief. Seeing Gu Mo digging potatoes from the ground, she couldn't help but ask curiously.
"That's right. Not bad, huh?" Gu Mo smiled.
"Not bad? It's incredible." Rembering how that demonic sect prodigy had been instantly annihilated, Ding Shiyan felt her hair stand on end. If she had suffered such an attack, her corpse would have been dust as well.
"This Gu Mo is truly a genius. First he brought the Sunlight Glazed Flower back into the world, then he cultivated the Torch Stump that greatly improves the efficiency of alchemists and smiths. And now he has yet another entirely new spiritual plant!" Gu Mo's act of digging up potatoes was, of course, seen by the outside world.
All around, people could not help exclaiming. For a spirit planter to have even one signature plant already made them exceptional. Yet Gu Mo had produced three, and each was astonishing.
Especially this Potato Plant, which could instantly kill a prodigy—its power was overwhelming.
"To think such a top-tier prodigy isn't even a true disciple yet. Shennong Valley truly deserves its place as a supre sect. If that's the case, then their two actual true disciples must be even more formidable."
Hearing the surrounding discussions, the Valley Master of Shennong Valley felt sowhat awkward. With the talent Gu Mo had already displayed, he certainly qualified as a true disciple. But since he had not grown up in Shennong Valley, the Valley Master had always hesitated.
True disciples were the very core of a sect. Any mishap with one was a grave matter for the entire sect.
In history, there had been no shortage of sects that declined—or were even destroyed outright—because of a true disciple's betrayal. Thus, large sects set extrely strict standards for selecting true disciples. The greater the sect, the stricter the rules.
Top sects did not lack for prodigies. What they needed was stability. They could not risk their millennia-old foundations being ruined in an instant.
Smaller sects, on the other hand, were more willing to gamble. Lacking resources to begin with, they saw the appearance of a prodigy as sothing that could truly raise them up.
"Very well. After this Heavenly Chosen Battle, we'll put forward Gu Mo's na as a candidate for true disciple." The Valley Master of Shennong Valley decided. As Valley Master, he had veto power, but making soone a true disciple required the approval of the other elders.
With what Gu Mo had shown, there should be no problem passing.
"This is how you've been gathering intelligence for ?"
While the outside world marveled at Gu Mo's new spiritual plant, the demonic sect's side was silent as death.
So soon, and already they had lost seven prodigies. Especially in the case against Gu Mo, this was entirely due to faulty intelligence.
Had they known Gu Mo possessed such a devastating spiritual plant, with proper preparations they could have neutralized it.
After careful study, they realized that the explosion from the Potato Mine had a very small radius. With advance warning, it could be avoided.
The intelligence officers were cursed bloody, none daring to breathe. In truth, they were aggrieved. Gu Mo had never left Shennong Valley—how were they supposed to collect information on him? Were they supposed to sneak into Shennong Valley itself? That would be suicide.
Unless they activated a planted spy within Shennong Valley. But the price of doing so was enormous. To insert even the lowest-rank spy into such a supre sect required trendous resources.
For matters not of the highest importance, such spies could not be activated.
"Sect Master, what should we do now?"
Once the scolding was over, the elder in charge of intelligence asked the question with a stiff face.
"Leave it for now. We'll have a true disciple make a move later."
Gu Mo had already demonstrated formidable combat strength. Though it wasn't his own raw power, a spirit planter's plants were just as much a part of their strength.
In this situation, letting ordinary prodigies step in again would only an slim chances of success. The best option now was to have a true disciple act, ensuring nothing could go wrong.
"Yes!"
At those words, the elder in charge of intelligence bowed and withdrew.
"Well, well, took a hit, didn't you? Seven down already—tsk, tsk!"
The Sect Master of the Taiqing Sect cast a glance at the Master of the Ten Thousand Ghost Cavern. Though this Nascent Soul True Lord looked like an immortal sage, his words were far from polite. With an old rival before him, if he didn't seize the chance to mock him a few tis, it would be a sha to waste such an opportunity.
For now, the righteous and demonic sides didn't want to break into full war. Since hands couldn't be raised, words could at least be used. To get the better of his opponent with a sharp tongue was just as satisfying.
Cultivation was, after all, about keeping one's heart clear. As long as the enemy suffered, the Taiqing Sect Master's heart felt perfectly clear.
Hearing his jibe, the Sect Masters of the Yin–Yang Sword Sect and Shennong Valley both smiled faintly. But these two were clearly more composed, not like the Taiqing Sect Master—who looked the most proper, yet always spoke with the sharpest tongue.
"Until the final mont, who dies more is far from certain." The Ten Thousand Ghost Cavern Master sneered coldly.
Even as he spoke, three of the hundred white dots vanished in an instant. Seeing this, the three righteous sect masters all stiffened. Clearly, the demonic sects had begun to exert themselves as well.
From then on, battles within the island grew more frequent. Still, casualties were few. After all, every so-called prodigy had a unique trump card. As long as the gap in strength wasn't overwhelming, even if they couldn't win, they could still retreat.
As for voluntarily quitting—none had done so yet.
The Heavenly Chosen War was perilous, yes, but the treasures within were abundant. Unless driven to desperation, no one wanted to give up.
"Quick, look—true disciples of the major sects are clashing!" soone suddenly cried out.
In this Heavenly Chosen War, the most watched battles were naturally those among the six great sects' eighteen true disciples. These duels were what would truly decide the outco.
Of course, Gu Mo's avatar was also among them. But many still felt his avatar was a shade inferior to the true disciples of those top sects.
At the shout, everyone turned their water-screen images toward the scene.
Soon, two true disciples appeared on the screen. Judging by their robes, they were quickly recognized as belonging to the Ten Thousand Ghost Cavern and the Yin–Yang Sword Sect.
And the Cavern's true disciple was none other than the one who had previously provoked Gu Mo's avatar, only to lose face in the end.
Precisely because of that initial disgrace, he was now desperate to redeem himself. Yet since he couldn't find Gu Mo, he chose to target another true disciple instead.
His chosen opponent was a Yin–Yang Sword Sect true disciple already ranked on the Heavenly Chosen Roll. Much of that man's information was publicly known. But the Cavern disciple had not made the list; his details remained hidden. This gave him a clear advantage.
"Ye Du, are you certain you want to fight ?" the Yin–Yang Sword Sect true disciple, Jian Lingchuan, asked calmly.
"Why not?"
Ye Du's pitch-black eyes fixed on him. He had been wounded earlier by Lin wu's Great Sun Sword Intent, and if he wanted to regain his lost honor, at the very least he had to defeat another sword cultivator who had also mastered Extre Yang Sword Intent. Only then could he prove he did not fear such opponents.
As true disciples of top sects, they were all proud to the extre, harshly demanding of themselves, never allowing the slightest shortcut.
"Then let's test it."
Jian Lingchuan, being a sword cultivator and a battle fanatic, naturally would not decline. In an instant, Extre Yang Sword Intent erupted from him.
At the sa ti, a ghostly light burst forth from Ye Du's dark eyes.
Thus began the first true disciple duel of the Heavenly Chosen War—yet both soon pulled back, withdrawing rapidly.
Monts later, a massive wild boar appeared. This was a Tier-4 demon king. And on its back, a small golden light point glead—a golden treasure chest. In other words, to claim it, one had to slay the Tier-4 demon king.
The boar itself knew what was on its back: a powerful human cultivator had forcibly attached the chest. The cultivator was too strong; it had been helpless to resist.
Still, if it could keep the chest safe until the war ended, it would receive half the chest's rewards as paynt.
But the boar king was hardly content with that. It longed to slaughter more human prodigies, devour their flesh and blood to grow stronger, and seize their treasures.
Unfortunately, those human prodigies were far too slippery. The mont they spotted it, they would flee. And because the powerful cultivator had placed restrictions on it, it was unable to assu human form. Otherwise, in human guise, its ambushes would have been far more effective.
Now, with its massive body, stealth was impossible. The prodigies would spot it from afar and slip away.
"A fine true disciple battle—ruined by a demon king!" The onlookers all sighed in disappointnt.
Of course, a true disciple dueling a demon king for a golden chest would still be spectacular. But with rival true disciples nearby, who would dare make a move?
"Wait—Lin Wu's heading straight into the boar's path!" soone suddenly cried, having been tracking Gu Mo's avatar.
"Is it over already?"
Gu Mo's avatar halted. He had just sensed two powerful auras, one radiating Sword Intent of the Extre Sun. After asking Ming Yueyue beside him, he confird it must be Jian Lingchuan of the Yin–Yang Sword Sect.
After wandering for so long, he had finally co across a true disciple. And from the looks of it, the two were about to fight. For one true disciple to fight with full force, the opponent could only be another true disciple.
So Gu Mo had intended to go watch the show—and if possible, take the chance to cut down a demonic true disciple. Only by killing them could the demonic sects truly feel pain.
But halfway there, the auras vanished—replaced by that of a demon king.
Soon, the boar king's colossal form ca into view. A demon king, even at the initial stage, was no easy foe. Gu Mo had no desire to waste energy on it.
But then his eyes caught the golden light gleaming on its back. His steps faltered. A golden treasure chest—tempting indeed.
For golden chests, difficulty determined contents. And one guarded by a Tier-4 demon king was at the highest level. Inside, there was sure to be sothing extraordinary.
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