Not long after Mu Luo and the others breathed a sigh of relief, what they saw before them made their eyes widen.
Xu Mo, carrying the Chaos Furnace, charged towards the mountain ghost's head, completely fearless.
The pressure of the Extreme Dao Saint was entirely swallowed by the Chaos Furnace, unable to affect Xu Mo.
Black energy overflowed wildly, attempting to erode Xu Mo's physical body, but upon approaching him, it was incinerated by a mass of ink-black chaos.
Xu Mo continuously urged the Chaos Furnace, resisting the relentless attacks from the mountain ghost's head.
Finally, the mountain ghost's head seemed to enrage, ceasing to disperse black energy to erode Xu Mo. Instead, it opened its fanged maw, intending to bite Xu Mo in half.
"Now!" Xu Mo's eyes narrowed. He flicked the Chaos Furnace backward, hurling it into the mountain ghost's gaping maw.
The instant it entered the mouth, the Chaos Furnace expanded countless times, directly bursting the mountain ghost's jaws.
Several of the fangs, formed from black energy, were chipped off by the incredibly hard furnace body!
Then, countless chaotic flames began to cling to the mountain ghost's head, refining and scorching it continuously. For a time, black flames raged, spreading everywhere, creating an astonishing spectacle!
"Ah!!!" The mountain ghost's head let out a muffled roar, its mouth stuffed by the Chaos Furnace, rendering it unable to utter a sound.
The Chaos Furnace flashed, then suddenly expanded dozens of times again, engulfing the entire mountain ghost's head before returning to its normal size and back into Xu Mo's hand.
Mu Luo and the others' supposed trump card was thus easily broken by the Chaos Furnace.
Even the exotic item that bore the imprint of the mountain ghost's full-force strike was swallowed into the furnace's interior.
As the Chaos Furnace returned, Xu Mo immediately probed its interior with his spiritual sense. He discovered that the so-called 'exotic item' was indeed a skull.
It was the skull of some unknown creature, its bones a dark purple, covered in a dense array of small holes, looking incredibly eerie. It was the kind of sight that would make someone with trypophobia faint.
On the forehead of the skull, there was a clear, large hole, as if pierced by a sharp weapon.
This was likely the fatal wound inflicted upon the skull's owner during their lifetime!
A mere skull being classified as an exotic item was quite astonishing!
Furthermore, it seemed it could truly be refined and converted into imprint-less Dao Rhyme. What kind of creature was this?
An Extreme Dao Saint was likely not enough. Could it be a creature of the legendary Immortal Realm?
Xu Mo had many questions, but now was not the time to ponder them.
He looked up at the four individuals, Mu Luo among them, whose expressions were incredibly grim, and said coldly, "Now, it's time to deal with you."
Mu Luo's expression was extremely dark. The Ghost Lord's full-force strike had still been countered by the Great Qian Emperor.
He cast a wary glance at the Chaos Furnace, gritting his teeth. "This is definitely not an Extreme Dao Saint artifact! An Extreme Dao Saint artifact couldn't be this powerful. Is this a legendary semi-immortal artifact!? Or perhaps an immortal artifact!?"
"You can ask the King of Hell about the answer when you reach the underworld," Xu Mo said, wasting no more words and launching a powerful assault!
"Stop him! He can't kill us before his Dao Rhyme is depleted!" Mu Luo roared, ordering the other three Great Saints to intercept.
Without much thought, the Great Saints charged forward, wielding their sacred artifacts and unleashing their divine abilities. Gritting their teeth, they engaged Xu Mo in a fierce battle.
Mu Luo stood at the rear, his expression shifting as he watched the fight. Finally, his face darkened, and he turned to flee.
His figure vanished from the battlefield in an instant.
The three Great Saints realized at that moment that they had been betrayed by Mu Luo. He had called for them to attack together, only to turn and run. Was he selling out his teammates!?
"Damn it, Mu Luo, you treacherous dog! We are your teammates, and you still betray us!" one Great Saint exclaimed in furious disbelief. In his distraction, Xu Mo landed a punch to his face, sending teeth mixed with blood flying, leaving him in a sorry state!
"My esteemed companions, I apologize. The Great Qian Emperor is too formidable, beyond our ability to contend. My departure now is only to survive, so that I may avenge you later. Rest assured, this seat will not let you die with regrets," Mu Luo's voice echoed one last time before he truly vanished.
"Scoundrel! You were the one who wanted to hunt the Great Qian Emperor, and you're the one running away. And you still have the nerve to talk about revenge? If I survive, I will be the first to deal with you!" This Great Saint's eyes were bloodshot. By now, it was too late for him to escape; the Great Qian Emperor had already locked onto them completely.
Their only option was to fight to the death!
The three Lesser Saints battling the White Moon Old Demon Emperor had not anticipated how the situation would ultimately unfold.
Gu Lei gritted his teeth, forcing back White Moon with a purple lightning bombardment before turning to retreat!
"Don't you dare!" White Moon's eyes turned cold, and she drew her long sword to pursue, but another Lesser Saint also attempted to escape. This forced her to redirect her sword, attacking the other Lesser Saint.
This allowed Gu Lei to successfully escape.
The Lesser Saint fighting the Old Demon Emperor, seeing the unfavorable situation, turned and fled directly. No one could stop him.
The Old Demon Emperor watched the fleeing Lesser Saint with a helpless sigh.
He had done his best; it was already remarkable that he could hold back this old saint. Leaving him was truly impossible.
The Old Demon Emperor quickly turned his head and, along with White Moon, began to surround the Lesser Saint who had failed to escape.
Meanwhile, Xu Mo had already successfully killed one Great Saint!
The Chaos Furnace, like a sky-shattering hammer, smashed down heavily onto the chest of a Great Saint. Instantly, all of his internal organs were shattered. He used his luck to recover from his injuries, but the Chaos Furnace struck again, returning the damage to its original state.
"Die for me!" Xu Mo's eyes were sharp. He unleashed the Dragon Emperor's Dao Fist, suppressing the Great Saint's true spirit and shattering it directly!
"No!!!" The Great Saint let out a roar of unwillingness before his death, finally perishing completely.
His corpse was smashed into pieces on the ground by the Chaos Furnace, and his true spirit was torn into motes of dust. He could not have died any more thoroughly.
"Great Qian Emperor, spare our lives! We are willing to join your forces and serve you from now on!" The remaining two Great Saints had lost all will to resist and, steeling themselves, began to beg for mercy.
Xu Mo looked at the two and said indifferently, "Your strength is inferior to mine. What use are you to me?"
"Wait! Listen to us first before deciding whether to kill us!" the two shouted urgently. "Our strength may be inferior to yours, but we are still Great Saints! Moreover, we are old saints who have accumulated two thousand years of cultivation, stronger than ordinary new saints. You can entrust us with minor matters. After the Crossing Tribulation begins, having one more Great Saint to assist will increase our chances of victory!"
They quickly demonstrated their usefulness, fearing that the Great Qian Emperor would deem them worthless and kill them outright.
What they said was not false. During the Crossing Tribulation, the combat power of two Great Saints was very important and could, to some extent, determine the outcome of the battle!