Chapter Nine: The Power of the Null Zone

“At the very least, I have…” Mo Xuan didn’t know where his courage came from as he declared he could protect them. “Most of you are members of the Mo family. Throughout history, whether internal clansmen or direct relatives, the Mo family has always considered the collective interest as much as possible. I understand the family is facing an unexpected crisis now. Please believe me—I will do everything in my power for the family…”

As he spoke, Elder Wu responded with a barrage of scornful remarks, chattering incessantly. After all, such a significant matter couldn’t be decided by a mere child.

“Who can’t talk big!”
“He’s only thirteen. What strength could he possibly have?”
“Young master, it’s not that we don’t believe you, but you can see for yourself—our family barely has the resources or the energy to protect these assets right now.”
...

At this moment, a cold smile crept across Elder Wu’s face, echoed by Elder Chen Ang beside him. Mo Xuan felt a surge of provocation and locked eyes with Elder Wu, unleashing a powerful mental force. This time, he held nothing back. Elder Wu had prepared, but he still couldn’t withstand the overwhelming psychic assault, staggering back two and a half steps. This scene shocked many present—if the previous incident was an accident, this one certainly bolstered the confidence of the family members. It was just a mental attack, yet Elder Wu looked stunned, unable to fend off such a force. He quickly stabilized his emotions using spiritual energy.

For a moment, no one knew how to respond, and the atmosphere turned eerily cold. The advantage held by Elder Wu’s side quickly diminished.

This was far from a good sign. Elder Chen Ang, unable to contain himself, stepped forward. His heavy footsteps sounded low and solemn, his powerful spiritual energy blocking Mo Xuan’s psychic bombardment. “You are Mo Xuan, huh? I am an elder of the Chen family. You Mo family, a mediocre second-rate clan, occupy such a prime location. Do you truly think you can protect it? I doubt you even have the strength to defend yourselves. We sincerely wish to assist and manage this together, at most taking a small share of the profits!”

“Assist? Is this how you ‘assist’? Do you think I’m stupid? If we followed your plan, do you really think you’d honor the agreement? You’re just waiting to pocket everything yourselves. In the end, there won’t be much left for us. Even if our development is slow, it’s our decision. Our possessions, our rights—and we won’t let you interfere!”

Mo Xuan’s words were sharp but truthful. When two powers jointly control a resource and one is significantly stronger, the stronger party inevitably seeks to dominate and claim all profits. The weaker side can only swallow their pride, eventually being divided and destroyed—this outcome was inevitable.

The elder from the Chen family was provoked, angry yet impressed by the boy’s intelligence and maturity. “Fine, fine. I don’t believe you. Let’s see if you can walk out of here alive today!”

In fact, from his first words, everything had entered a carefully crafted illusion by Mo Xuan. It was a gamble—if he could severely injure this elder without him realizing, everything would be easier.

Elder Chen suddenly struck with incredible speed, his palm piercing straight toward Mo Xuan’s heart, and then he laughed heartily!

In reality, Elder Chen stood there, laughing maliciously. This behavior puzzled many who expected him to attack fiercely after his harsh words, but instead, he laughed loudly, causing confusion. Even Elder Seven was ready to take Mo Xuan away.

Lin Mengyao, watching from the side, understood this scene well. It was the same trick that had allowed her to defeat thirteen desperados of similar strength before. Now, even those at the Earth Soul realm were caught off guard, which made her uneasy—she hadn’t expected Mo Xuan’s mental power to be so formidable.

However, mental power alone wasn’t enough to achieve all this.

Only Mo Xuan knew that the elder was trapped in an illusion, enjoying this pleasant moment, but it could not last long.

“Reality and illusion intertwine, dreams linger within the mirage!” Within this illusion, aside from the mental assault, the opponent had difficulty breaking free under Mo Xuan’s overwhelming pressure—unless he exhausted his spiritual energy entirely.

Most importantly, the illusion also contained subtle spiritual attacks which, if they struck vital points, could deal heavy damage.

Elder Wu likely suspected that Mo Xuan was behind this, but he didn’t believe Mo Xuan had the strength to oppose such a superior opponent, so he held back and waited. After an hour, Elder Chen coughed up blood, severely wounded and nearly collapsed.

Impossible!

Everyone present was stunned, especially those wavering members of the Mo family who now saw Mo Xuan’s strength and gained courage and resolve to follow him.

Only then did Elder Chen realize he was trapped in an illusion and had been careless. Though mentally wounded, his physical strength remained largely intact. Furious, he growled, “Bastard! I’ll kill you!”

Mo Xuan quickly retreated, entering a recovery state to avoid the blow. There was no other choice—the strength gap was too great to confront head-on. Still, the earlier illusion had worked well. Elder Chen no longer possessed much power, and having just forcibly used spiritual energy, he was likely exhausted.

Initially, Mo Xuan thought the matter would soon be resolved, but Elder Chen then employed a sound transmission technique.

A buzzing arose as hidden assailants in the surrounding forest closed in. Two men supported Elder Chen, tending to his wounds, yet the elder’s anger burned fiercely as he pointed at Mo Xuan and shouted, “Attack! Kill them all! Especially him—he must be killed!”

“How despicable, hiding so many people!” Elder Zi Xiao cursed bitterly. They hadn’t expected such a blatant attempt to seize control.

Because their own strength was stretched thin and Elder Zi Xiao’s earlier wounds hadn’t fully healed, he still tried his best to protect Mo Xuan. But one man’s efforts were limited, and they found themselves trapped, unable to advance.

Mo Xuan had poured all his strength into severely wounding Elder Chen Ang and now lacked sufficient power to handle the ambush. He had overlooked this, not expecting the enemy to hold a hidden advantage in what seemed a winning battle—a grave oversight.

Lin Mengyao used a magical artifact to block an attack for Mo Xuan, but this battle was beyond her capabilities.

The attackers hesitated when they saw Lin Mengyao wielding such an advanced artifact. Just as a deadly strike was about to land on Mo Xuan, a graceful figure suddenly descended from the sky, effortlessly intercepting the fatal blow.