Outside Sunnywood City, Su Mo held Xi'er's hand as they walked along the mountain trail.
"Xi'er, if we encounter any demonic beasts, hide behind me," he said.
"Uh-huh!" Xi'er nodded.
After a while, they arrived and entered Breezewind Mountains.
Howl!
A Class 2 Lv 1 lion-like demonic beast lept out at them, and Su Mo easily punched it to death.
"Xi'er, close your eyes!" he said.
Xi'er was a little bit surprised but did not ask why and obediently closed her eyes.
Su Mo released his Martial Soul, which instantly devoured the demonic beast's Beast Soul, essence, and blood.
He told Xi'er to close her eyes, not because he did not trust her and did not want her to know his secret, but because he wanted to protect her.
He did not want her to be traumatized by watching a demonic corpse turn into a mummy.
"Alright, Xi'er, let's go!" said Su Mo while taking the Demonic Core out of the demonic beast.
Xi'er opened her eyes, and she was astonished to see that the corpse had been reduced to a bag of bones.
"Brother Su Mo, what happened to this demonic beast?" Xi'er asked in astonishment, and her eyes were filled with confusion.
The demonic beast had been so big and mighty, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a mummy.
She knew that Su Mo had done this.
She also knew that Su Mo had made her close her eyes, so she would not see it.
However, she still could not help but ask what had happened.
"I devoured its essence and blood. That's why it looks like this now." Su Mo admitted truthfully.
"Devoured?"
Xi'er was even more confused, for she did not understand how it could be done.
"Haha, Xi'er, if you want to how, I'll show you later," Su Mo said with a smile.
Xi'er only shook her head and said, "Since you don't want me to see it, then I won't. Let's go, Brother Su Mo!"
Most of the demonic beasts in the outskirts of the mountain were below Class 3 Lv 1.
Since Xi'er slowed him down, Su Mo killed every demonic beast they encountered and devoured their Beast Souls, essence, and blood.
Xi'er closed her eyes every time Su Mo killed a demonic beast, despite her curiosity.
Although Su Mo allowed her to watch, she insisted against it.
Because Su Mo did not want her to see, she would not do so.
Su Mo could only shake his head helplessly at her stubbornness.
Boom!
He killed a Class 3 Lv 1 demonic beast again.
Just when he was about to devour it, he suddenly sensed something and turned around.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Seven or eight men in black suddenly jumped out of the woods behind them and quickly surrounded Su Mo and Xi'er.
"What do you want?" Su Mo asked with a frown, hastily pulling Xi'er behind him and giving them a once-over.
The men held steel broadswords, and their dense aura indicated that they were all masters. They surrounded Su Mo and Xi'er without saying a word and obviously had bad intentions.
"Su Mo, give us the girl, and I might consider letting you live."
The leader of this group was a tall and strong middle-aged man with a cold face and eyes full of killing desire.
Su Mo arched his brows after hearing that.
"They're here for Xi'er, and they know my identity. It seems they came prepared," Su Mo thought.
"Who are you?" Su Mo snapped at them.
"A dying man has no business knowing." The middle-aged man sneered, and then he waved his hands and shouted, "Kill him!"
He was obviously unwilling to waste his time, so he gave a prompt order.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The others waved their long sabers and sprang toward Su Mo.
These people had a very powerful aura and were all at Lv 7.
If combined, they could even rival someone at Lv 8.
Swish!
Su Mo quickly pulled Xi'er away, and they dodged the sabers, leaving only a shadow where they had just stood.
"Xi'er, get on my back and hold tight!" Su Mo pulled her onto his back.
Although they were all at Lv 7 Qi Cultivation Realm, it was impossible for them to kill him.
Su Mo was only slightly threatened by the leader, who seemed to be at the Peak Lv 8 Qi Cultivation Realm, far more powerful than the others.
If he were fighting a master at the Peak Lv 8 Qi Cultivation Realm one-on-one, he would definitely be able to slip away easily if he could not win.
However, protecting Xi'er was his top priority.
Xi'er also understood the severity of the situation, so she obediently climbed onto Su Mo's back.
Su Mo felt the softness and fragrance of her body, but before he could enjoy it, a long saber hit toward him.
"Whoosh!"
Su Mo used his body move to dodge to the side of a man in black.
Clash!
After a long sword came out of its sheath, with a flash of sword radiance, a stream of blood sprayed out.
Killed in one move!
Su Mo stepped back rapidly after the kill.
"What?"
The men in black were so astonished that he could kill someone in such a short time.
"He's so fast!" the leader said in shock.
Just a month ago, Su Mo's strength was rarely equivalent to the Lv 7, but now, he could instantly kill a Lv 7 martial artist.
"You're still going to hell today!" the leader roared, pulling out his revolving saber and hacking toward Su Mo.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
He hacked three times in a row, and three sharp gusts of sword Qi went zig-zagging toward Su Mo.
The saber Qi blocked Su Mo from dodging, so he had to face it directly.
"Gale Blade!"
Su Mo swung his sword with the power of surging winds. Soon, the sword radiance burst out and cut the saber Qi in front of him.
Boom!
The saber Qi was shattered and turned into a fierce wind that swept around.
Uh!
Suddenly, a muffled groan escaped from Xi'er's lips.
Su Mo turned back and found Xi's face was pale as white paper. She was biting her lips so hard to hold her moans back.
Su Mo was shocked and felt guilty for not noticing.
Xi'er was so weak that she could not withstand the aftershocks of the attacks.
However, there was no time to think. As soon as he countered this attack, more attacks came from the other men.
The saber radiance shined like streaks of lightning, heading toward Su Mo's vital parts.
Swirling Winds and Clouds!
As a sword slashed, a fierce wind forced both the men and Su Mo back.
He could have beaten those men, but he had to make sure that Xi'er could avoid the aftershock of his attack.
Before Su Mo could find his footing, the saber radiance swept toward his stomach.
The leader had attacked him again.
The others also attacked him fiercely and did not give Su Mo the slightest break.
The leader struck him at his most vulnerable time, which was after Su Mo finished his last strike and before he could strike again.
In order to protect Xi'er, Su Mo had to reign in his attacks, so he could not display his full strength.
Su Mo could no longer resisting the attack and could only try his best to dodge it.
Puff!
Although Su Mo managed to dodge the blade, the saber Qi still left a deep wound on him.
His blood streamed out of the wound.
"Brother Su Mo!" Xi'er was horrified, and tears appeared in her eyes.
"Brother Su Mo, just put me down and forget about me. You should run!" Xi'er said, sobbing.
"Xi'er, don't be silly. They can't trap me if I don't want to stay."
Su Mo laughed, and then he swiftly shifted his direction and dashed deeper into the woods.
In the blink of an eye, he had run dozens of meters.
"Follow him and don't let him get away!" The leader ordered and led his men after Su Mo.