Loki, who had thought victory was within his grasp, never imagined the reversal would come so suddenly.
The Space Stone, capable of immobilizing even the King of Gods for a short time, seemed to have no effect on Ji Mo. He broke free with ease.
Before Loki could even react, he lost his balance and was lifted up like a sack of rags, then slammed violently onto the ground.
*Thump, thump, thump...*
The earth trembled, and dust flew everywhere.
Accompanied by Loki's screams, Ji Mo excitedly smashed him repeatedly, leaving the ground scarred with human-shaped craters.
Finally, Loki lay slumped in the dirt, disheveled, bruised, and twitching uncontrollably.
His eyes were vacant, filled with a sense of injustice. Tears of grief and helplessness slowly trickled from the corners of his eyes.
As the God of Mischief, he had always been the one to wreak havoc on others. Never did he expect to be outsmarted in a ditch by an even more cunning trickster.
Ji Mo grinned, snatching Loki's ring embedded with the Space Stone. He happily pried the gem loose and set it into his own Moon God Ring.
The Moon God Ring now shimmered with brilliance, its quality greatly enhanced. Its internal space had expanded dozens of times, and it had gained space-elemental attack properties.
Ji Mo gazed at the revitalized Moon God Ring, feeling pleased. He couldn't help but wonder what effects he would achieve if he could gather all seven energy gems.
Would it truly be as the legends claimed, that with a snap of his fingers, he could instantly eliminate anyone he pleased?
Loki was filled with rage, his heart bleeding.
After all his painstaking efforts to obtain several Back-Pushing Charts, they had ended up benefiting Ji Mo.
And the Space Stone itself had been obtained at the cost of his life. Before he could even savor it, it had changed hands.
Loki's eyes widened in fury, his molars grinding. His eyes turned red, wishing he could devour Ji Mo alive.
He bit his tongue, using his own blood essence as a catalyst to construct a hexagram.
Brilliant light erupted, hexagram runes surged forth, and terrifying energy churned. The surrounding space shattered like glass, forming dense spatial rifts.
Ji Mo watched this scene without intervening, his face full of curiosity. He murmured, "A summoning spell? Interesting!"
"There's more to come."
Loki's face contorted, and he roared, "Come forth, Frost Dragon!"
With a thunderous roar, the void trembled, and a colossal entity slowly revealed itself.
It was a Western dragon, immense in size, like a small mountain.
The Frost Dragon was covered in thick ice crystals, emanating a bone-chilling cold. Its entire body radiated divine light, and its icy aura swept across the surroundings.
It spread its wings, stirring up torrents of frigid air. In an instant, the area was blanketed in white, turning into a world of ice and snow.
Ji Mo flicked out two balls of hellfire, shielding Qian Xianxian and Qian Heng. Otherwise, the two would have instantly turned into ice sculptures and perished.
Qian Heng's old face bloomed with a smile. His son-in-law wasn't angry with him anymore and even protected his father-in-law. Things looked promising.
Qian Xianxian, on the other hand, excitedly observed the emerging Frost Dragon, her eyes shining.
Ji Mo's gaze towards Loki softened considerably. This little curly-haired brat was quite something, actually bringing him meat. Such a massive dragon would last him ten days to half a month.
"Frost Dragon, tear him apart!"
Loki commanded, simultaneously channeling his divine power to empower the Frost Dragon, causing its size to swell significantly.
The Frost Dragon roared, its killing intent surging. With a swipe of its sharp claws, several beams of cold light sliced through the void, leaving crisscrossing claw marks on the ground.
Ji Mo sidestepped, evading the attack, and then ferociously lunged towards the Frost Dragon.
His movements were like a phantom, astonishingly fast. He reached the dragon in the blink of an eye.
*Poof...*
The Frost Dragon unleashed a torrent of icy breath, freezing everything in its path.
The breath was laced with wind blades and ice spears, possessing formidable power capable of cleaving the heavens and shredding all things.
Ji Mo's hellfire flickered around him, and his body emitted a faint, lustrous glow as he forcefully broke through the icy torrent, reaching the Frost Dragon.
"Lie down for me."
Ji Mo delivered an uppercut. The terrifying fist intent struck the Frost Dragon's jaw, and the violent impact sent the dragon flying into the air.
The power contained within this punch was truly astonishing, utterly destructive!
*Bang!*
The Frost Dragon crashed heavily to the ground, its head severed, leaving a headless corpse.
Ji Mo had killed it with a single punch to the head, easily finishing it off!
Seeing this, Loki's mouth twitched, and he gasped.
It was only then that he understood the terrifying might of Ji Mo's physical body. When Ji Mo had thrown him around earlier, he clearly hadn't used his full strength. Otherwise, he would have likely been smashed into a bloody pulp.
He dared not linger for battle. His form dissolved into countless afterimages as he hastily fled.
Ji Mo did not pursue him relentlessly, allowing him to escape.
Having gained so many benefits from the other party, it was only natural to leave a sliver of room for future encounters.
More importantly, he was playing the long game. Loki was skilled at finding treasures, and keeping him alive would undoubtedly be useful. Robbing him every time they met would surely be highly profitable.
Ji Mo walked towards Qian Heng and returned the Back-Pushing Chart belonging to the Qian family.
Although he truly desired it, he wouldn't claim it as his own.
Qian Heng, now aware of Ji Mo's identity, refused to take it back. He chuckled, "We're all family now. Just keep this old chart, don't be so formal with me."
He then informed Ji Mo of the whereabouts of another Back-Pushing Chart.
Ji Mo was pleasantly surprised. He already possessed six Back-Pushing Charts, and obtaining the seventh would grant him the complete map of the Xuanyuan Cave.
He hadn't expected things to progress so smoothly.
"Dad, you're really shameless. How could a divine being be considered family with us?"
Qian Xianxian spoke up, chiding her father for his presumptuous attempts at connection.
Saying such things could offend the divine being.
How could mortals like them get close to a celestial being like him?
Qian Heng chuckled sheepishly, then glared furiously at his daughter, rolling his eyes repeatedly.
"Honestly, with how shrewd my wife and I are, how did we end up with such a foolish daughter? Aren't I doing all this for your future?"
When Qian Xianxian had previously acted cute and confessed her feelings to Ji Mo, he had secretly given her a thumbs-up, thinking his daughter had finally succeeded. Now, it seemed he had overestimated things.
This divine son-in-law was likely destined to have no connection with the Qian family.
Ji Mo remembered he still owed Qian Xianxian a wish. He dug out a piece of divine origin from the Frost Dragon's corpse and infused it into her.
Qian Xianxian's wish was to become a Spirit King, a rather difficult request. Therefore, giving her a piece of divine origin would not only improve her physique and talent but also provide her with a continuous supply of energy to aid her cultivation.
As for what heights Qian Xianxian could reach in the future, that would depend entirely on her own efforts.
Knowing she had received an immense benefit, Qian Xianxian giggled foolishly, unable to comprehend why the divine being was so kind to her.
From now on, would she be considered the divine being's chosen one? How blissful!
Qian Heng sighed mournfully, lamenting the missed opportunity of a divine son-in-law.
Once, there was a young man riding a ghost fire who affectionately called him "Old Man." He did not cherish that opportunity and only regretted it deeply after losing it.
Ji Mo bid farewell to the two, taking the Frost Dragon's corpse with him as he set off to find the seventh Back-Pushing Chart.