Chapter 19: Treading on the Eight Trigrams and Stepping on the Stars

  "Yes!"

  The river was still calm and quiet, even though Huo Ran had already taken the initiative to launch a fierce attack, bursting out with a powerful sword slash.

  Facing Huo Ran's surging and turbulent blood energy, Muhe seemed to ignore it, shifted one foot to the left with his hands behind his back, barely dodging the golden great sword that was chopping down. Unsuccessful in his first strike, Huo Ran didn't slow down at all, let out a furious roar and swung his sword horizontally, the scarlet sword energy bursting out from the golden great sword was terrifyingly abnormal, blowing hair and breaking strands, extremely sharp and fierce.

  "You're not my opponent." Facing Huan Ran's sweeping attack, Mu He remained expressionless, slowly raised his right hand, and then extended two fingers to pinch the sword tip with lightning speed. With a light tap on the back of the sword, Huan Ran was sent flying three zhang away as if he had been struck by an enormous force.

  "Ah!" Without suffering any injuries, Huo Ran suddenly jumped up, let out a loud roar, and once again pounced forward. In his mind, he recalled the strange scar left by the one-armed middle-aged man's dagger that day. The golden great sword in his hand also seemed to follow the same trajectory as before, slowly but surely slashing downwards.

  Seeing Huo Ran's move, Mu He's eyes finally showed a hint of ripples, but he smiled calmly and put his right hand behind his back again. He stepped on the mysterious footwork, avoided the sword strike, and kicked out with one foot after turning around.

  Perhaps to Muhe, this kick was just a casual strike, but in Huoran's eyes, it possessed endless power! He only felt that the surroundings had rolled up a violent storm, and his face was scorching with pain.

  "Boom!"

  He barely had time to hold his sword horizontally in front of his chest, but was kicked by Muhe along with his sword and sent flying ten zhang away, heavily crashing onto the ground, fresh blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

  "Even with the Five Elements Boundary cultivation, you don't have the combat strength of the Five Elements Boundary... You're too weak!" Muhe stepped forward towards Ho Ran, who was lying on the ground, gritting his teeth and trembling, saying: "Except for that one move earlier which barely had some semblance, at other times it's all just random hacking and slashing! If you continue like this, you'll be dead sooner or later!"

  Listening to Muhe's poisonous words, Huoran was furious, but he had to admit that when it came to fighting, he didn't have any techniques at all and was just relying on brute force. It was strange to say, but in general, the Emperor's classics would have corresponding secret techniques created by the great emperors, but the Blood God Classic only had the "Blood Drop" technique that harmed both oneself and others, without any other techniques described. This also meant that Huoran had the Five Elements Boundary cultivation, but didn't have the corresponding combat power.

  "Kill if you want to kill!" Muhe's casual kick was even more terrifying than what Horan had imagined, and now he could only barely prop himself up to stand, and every time he tried to take a step forward, he would fall back down again. His body was in this state, and even if he activated the Blood Drop, it wouldn't change anything. In other words, he had already given up.

  At this, Muhe smiled lightly and took a step forward. In the midst of Huo Ran's panic, he threw out a bundle and said, "Look carefully, how much you can understand depends on your wit!" After speaking, he drew a semicircle with his leg on the ground, and then his entire body moved like a whirlwind.

  Huoran didn't have time to consider what the Mohe was, his eyes were already completely attracted by the legwork displayed by Mohe. Although all he saw were illusions, with a clever and ingenious mind, and having studied the Qiankun Tu Lu, he could still see some clues.

  All that can be seen is eight faint glows flickering in a vast expanse of shadow, each corresponding to one of the eight directions. As for Mo River at the center, he was spinning faster and faster until his speed reached a critical point, at which time it seemed as if he was just standing there with a faint smile on his face, but the storm within three zhang of him grew increasingly violent and terrifying, with numerous sand and rocks being swept in, only to be instantly pulverized into powder...

  "This..."

  Huo Ran's face was shocked, he had never seen such a strange movement. From the beginning, Muhe seemed to have stepped out of eight steps, and his whole person turned into a tornado, with an overwhelming terror. If Huo Ran hadn't been far enough away, he would have been sucked in.

  "Eight steps to the extreme, ascending to heaven and treading on stars!"

  The eight characters spat out by the Mohe River at the center of the storm echoed in Horan's heart, and then his entire body began to move left and right. Gradually, the speed of the storm's movement became faster and faster, until finally, what appeared before Horan's eyes were eight storms, still corresponding to the eight directions!

  Eight storms tore at each other, with flashes of lightning flickering between them. At some point, unknown symbols had been etched onto the surface of each storm, radiating an aura of profoundness and grandeur, as if they had existed since ancient times.

  Suddenly, he felt as if he were in the vast starry sky, among the countless stars, eight of which shone exceptionally brightly, casting a sprinkling of light into the cold and dark universe, illuminating the three thousand realms, leaving an impression for billions of years, piercing through layers of space, and arriving before him...

  "Hmm..."

  After a gust of clear wind, whether it was the divine pattern or the eight storms, all disappeared into thin air. Only Muhe remained on the spot with a faint smile, as if nothing had happened at all.

  "Eight steps to the extreme, ascending to heaven and treading on stars..." Huo Ran muttered in a low voice, if not for the divine pattern that appeared in his mind, he would have thought that everything just now was just an illusion.

  Memories of Mohe's movements flashed through his mind, and suddenly he moved in accordance with those memories. His right foot drew a semicircle on the ground, then slowly took eight steps forward, leaving behind a faint glow at each step. When he took the eighth step, he suddenly entered a strange state, feeling as if he had merged with the stars, the earth, and all living things.

  "Ah..."

  At this time, he couldn't help but let out a loud roar, his body suddenly spinning open, and the surrounding leaves and branches flying around. Then he spun faster and faster, and the withered branches and leaves around him also started spinning along with him!

  However, just as he was about to speed up, his entire body suddenly stopped, and the rotating body also came to a halt. The wind that had been brought up with great difficulty also dissipated. Before he could feel disappointed, he suddenly discovered that he had unknowingly left the original place by hundreds of feet!

  What a hundred yards! To think that just now was only an instant, actually moved a hundred yards, how terrifying is this speed!!!!

  More than a hundred feet away, Muhe took a step forward and landed next to Huoran. He nodded at Huoran, his eyes shining with admiration, saying: "The first time practicing the Eight Extremes Treading Stars has already reached this level, it seems that the Seven Clever Linglong Heart is indeed extraordinary!"

  "River Uncle, why?" At this time, if Huo Ran still didn't understand that Mu He wasn't there to kill him, then he was truly blind! Thinking back to his own reaction when he found out Mu He was going to 'kill' him, he couldn't help but lower his head and say: "River Uncle, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you..."

  "It doesn't matter!" Seeing Huo Ran's little girl-like expression, Mu He couldn't help but laugh and said: "Anyone in your situation would be the same, so there's no need to worry about it."

  He nodded and suddenly drew a diagram with his foot, saying: "River Uncle, what's the deal with this Baxing Treading Star? How did you do it?"

  Originally, Muhe wouldn't have killed him, and in exchange for the benefits promised by the four major powers, it was already strange enough. Now, he's even spreading this powerful ultimate technique, no matter how intelligent or extraordinary he is, he can't figure out what's going on.

  At this, Muhe's smile disappeared from his face, and he said solemnly: "The Eight Extremes Stepping Star is an ultimate martial art that has not been surpassed by any other martial art to date! This Eight Extremes Stepping Star not only possesses extreme speed but also has extremely powerful attacking power. If one can fully comprehend its essence, even if the opponent is of the same level and wielding the Emperor's Sword, they can still seize the Emperor's Sword with their bare hands!"

  "Of course, that's just talk, after all, even if someone else gets the Imperial Sword, it's useless without the recognition of the gods within the sword. It would be nothing but a scrap of iron! He paused for a moment, then pointed at the bundle on the ground and said: "I've done what I needed to do, you can go now!"

  He picked up his bundle, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "River Uncle, it's not that I distrust you, but I really want to know why you're so eager to help me, even teaching me the Eight Extremes Treading Star technique, which is one of the world's most extraordinary skills..."

  "Remember to use the things in your package well and cultivate in seclusion!"

  Mohe didn't immediately respond to Huoran's words, but instead reminded him and then unfolded his speed flying far away. Not long after, Mohe's ethereal voice echoed in the sky: "Practice well, I'll wait for you to truly grow up, when the time comes, I'll tell you about today's affairs!"

  Upon hearing Muhe's words, Huoran's heart became even more filled with doubts. However, this was not the time to consider such things; first, he had to hurry and meet up with the people of Tianqian Village! With that in mind, he slung his pack over his shoulder and began to use the unfamiliar Eight Extremes Treading Stars technique, taking three-yard strides as he headed south.