CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! With dull thuds, the three staggered back twenty-odd zhang, and every tree that stood in their way was inevitably uprooted.

As Li Muzhan flicked out his finger, they slapped themselves, and when the finger force struck their bodies, a flash of azure light rippled outward, sending them flying.

The moment they hit the ground, they charged at Li Muzhan, their speed like lightning; not only were they unharmed, but they seemed even more vigorous and energetic than before.

Li Muzhan drifted backward, noticing a faint glimmer of azure light flickering in their eyes, aware that they possessed another hidden trump card—this was absolutely abnormal.

The power of the three-finger strike, fueled by Star Power, was astonishing; injured as they were, they shouldn't have been able to block it, yet the inexplicable blue light had stopped the three fingers.

He guessed the blue light was a form of talisman array, powerful but unsustainable.

Seeing Li Muzhan slowly retreat, drifting like clouds, moving with electric speed, one youth cursed loudly, the muscles in his face contorted, his expression savage.

Li Muzhan remained unmoved, continuing his retreat. As they slowly closed the distance, Li Muzhan was inwardly startled; it wasn't that he was feigning weakness—his lightness skill was genuinely inferior to the trio's.

Their lightness skill was superior; to shake them off, he would need to use teleportation, which he was unwilling to reveal in front of others. Thus, he weaved left and right among the trees.

The four became a blur of escape and pursuit, circling the woods ten times with lightning speed.

Li Muzhan employed momentary teleportation during his evasions and turns; outsiders would only perceive his movement as marvelous, unable to discern anything unusual. The three showed no signs of exhaustion, yet Li Muzhan was certain, continuing to circle the woods. The trio hurled every insult they could think of, trying to enrage Li Muzhan into turning back to fight.

Li Muzhan remained unfooled, letting their tirades about his ancestors and generations pass him by like the softest breeze.

When they completed the twentieth circuit around the woods, the three suddenly spun around and left. Li Muzhan paused for a moment, but instead of pursuing, he accelerated his departure.

A moment later, the three reappeared, staring intently in the direction he had fled.

To Li Muzhan's surprise, he did not chase them but fled until he vanished without a trace.

They pursued for a time before finally giving up, their faces grim. They stopped, found a cave, sealed it, and entered seclusion.

Possessing brute strength and cultivation several times stronger than before, they found a massive boulder that required the combined effort of all three to lift, which they used to seal the cave entrance.

As dawn approached, with a muffled boom, the boulder exploded. A stream of silver moonlight fell into the cave entrance, allowing the three to see Li Muzhan's smiling face bathed in the pale light.

Li Muzhan stood at the entrance, beaming, studying the three. He let out a breath; just as he suspected, their complexions were ashen, their bodies weak, signs that would take more than a moment to recover from.

Ordinary internal injuries or energy depletion could be quickly remedied with their superior cultivation methods, but this secret art, which required overdrafting potential, did not work that way—the reward was proportional to the price paid. The greater the strength gained, the higher the cost. The fact that they weren't physically wounded already proved the marvelous nature of the secret art. The youth surnamed Zhou glanced at Li Muzhan's smiling face, his lips curling slightly: "Li, we've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Li Muzhan chuckled: "I apologize for the wait. What guidance do you seek?" The youth surnamed Zhou shook his head: "Li, no one that the Purple Star Hall targets to kill ever survives. Stop struggling; the sooner you die, the sooner you can reincarnate!"

Li Muzhan slowly approached, stopping before the trio, shaking his head with a wry smile: "Is your Purple Star Hall the Hall of Yama? Can you command who lives and who dies?"

"Our Purple Star Hall is the master of this world!" the youth surnamed Zhou stated gravely. The other two youths' eyes also shone, their ashen faces suddenly alight with vigor.

Li Muzhan shook his head and laughed: "Then can your Purple Star Hall guarantee your immortality?"

"What joy is there in life, and what fear is there in death!" the Zhou youth said solemnly: "Moreover, no one in this world can kill a disciple of the Purple Star Hall!"

Li Muzhan frowned, shaking his head. The youth surnamed Zhou glanced back at his companions, suddenly revealing a triumphant smile. The blue light flared, and Li Muzhan sensed imminent danger. The moment he circulated his Star Power, a mighty force flooded his body.

CRASH! He was driven straight into the stone wall.

Cursing under his breath, Li Muzhan suppressed the blood rising in his throat and struggled out of the wall imprint, barely dodging another flash of blue light.

The faint blue light struck the imprint, and a perfectly round hole appeared silently in the stone wall, its depth indiscernible, as if the wall had been pierced clean through.

Li Muzhan spat out blood; feeling somewhat lighter, he stared intently at the other youth, who held a jade talisman in his hand, glaring venomously at Li Muzhan.

Li Muzhan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shook his head: "What a terrifying talisman array. It's a complete waste of resources, what a pity!"

The youth surnamed Zhou and the other youth lunged forward. Their movements were spectral; their ashen complexions seemed to have been a disguise, as they showed no weakness in their actions.

Li Muzhan drifted like scattered willow catkins, maintaining distance from the two. He was certain they were at their limit, merely experiencing a brief resurgence of strength.

He suddenly flickered, and a blue light flashed past. Had it not been for his intuition, sight combined with reaction time would never have allowed him to evade that blue beam.

Where the blue light passed, another stone hole, the size of a slap, appeared. Li Muzhan sighed in relief, but the youth surnamed Zhou suddenly reached out.

Li Muzhan cried out inwardly, quickly evading. The blue light grazed his shoulder, sending a burning sensation straight to his heart. He was annoyed but still held back from delivering a fatal blow.

These three wielded formidable talisman arrays and acted with treacherous cunning. He survived only thanks to his intuition; otherwise, he would have lost his life several times over.

He withdrew his Star Power and used his inner energy to soothe the meridians in his shoulder, accelerating recovery. He looked at the trio with a faint smile: "What other tricks do you have? Bring them all forth!"

"Li, are you truly a disciple of the Bright Mirror Sect?" the youth surnamed Zhou asked slowly after his expression shifted several times.

Li Muzhan smiled: "The Purple Star Hall is formidable, but our Bright Mirror Sect is not lacking either! If you three have any final words, say them now. I will eventually seek out the Purple Star Hall, and I can deliver your message on the way!"

He was essentially asking for their final words, his expression utterly self-assured.

"Li, do you truly believe you can kill us?" the Zhou youth sneered, shaking his head: "No disciple of the Purple Star Hall can be killed!"

Li Muzhan's eyebrows twitched. He had deliberately held back, waiting for them to exhaust themselves so he could use Soul Searching techniques to probe the Purple Star Hall’s true strength.

"Senior Brothers, let's go!" the youth surnamed Zhou said calmly.

The other two glared at Li Muzhan with deep reluctance, sighed, and said: "Call... let's go!"

The youth surnamed Zhou smiled: "There is plenty of time; we will meet again someday!"

"Yes," the two youths nodded helplessly.

Li Muzhan suddenly flickered behind the Zhou youth. A blue light flashed and vanished, and the Zhou youth instantly stiffened before slowly collapsing.

Li Muzhan disappeared again, and the blue light flashed once more. With the North Star Divine Sword used to its fullest, incomparably profound Star Power condensed upon the blade, coating it in a faint azure sheen.

The three stared with wide, unwilling eyes, each clutching a jade talisman. Li Muzhan probed them with his sword. The three jade talismans were smooth and radiant. Li Muzhan frowned slightly; within the jade was a strange power, the power belonging to the Void.

His foundation was Void-Breaking Sword Intent, and through his experiences, his comprehension of Void power grew deeper and more profound. No matter the world, the Void was always the same Void; the teleportation divine ability remained usable.

This jade talisman contained Void power, analogous to teleportation.

He felt a chill in his heart. He hadn't expected to finally encounter someone using Void power in this world. He grew even more curious about the Purple Star Hall.

Guided by intuition, he struck with everything he had to finally kill the three, leaving before they could activate their talismans.

He frowned and shook his head, realizing that everything that had transpired earlier had been deliberate on their part—they were trying to gauge his limits. He had harbored the same intention. In the end, he had gained a narrow victory, partly due to luck.