The Ice Sword Technique was rely a feint. Using his Illusory Step technique, Wang Yu had already closed the distance to the cultivator controlling the bowl-shaped artifact. With a flick of his sleeve, he unleashed a splash of vivid green poison.
This was the venom he had extracted from the corpses of the Corrosive Venomous Bee swarm. The quantity was limited, but sufficient for two or three battles.
The sudden burst of poison instantly corroded the bowl.
The artifact failed.
Wang Yu's left fist, wrapped in a swirling miniature ice storm, punched forward with full force. The enemy cultivator reacted swiftly, spitting out a white worm-shaped Gu that resembled a silkworm.
In the blink of an eye, it exploded and ford a silken cocoon shield, wrapping around Wang Yu’s fist. However, under the might of his nearly second-rank physical strength, it offered no resistance at all.
Bang!
The cultivator, who was at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, exploded like a block of tofu under the full-force strike. His internal organs shattered, bones snapped, and his body turned into a bloody mist mixed with chunks of flesh.
Wang Yu had gone for the kill.
“You’re a disciple of Barbaric Ghost Peak?!”
The other cultivator was shaken to the core. Disciples of Barbaric Ghost Peak were known for their terrifying physical bodies—within a range of ten feet, they were almost invincible against anyone at the sa cultivation level. But to kill a seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator with a single punch at the fifth layer—that was too much.
It was like facing a peak first-rank body cultivator head-on.
“Golden Serpent Gu, strangle!”
In a narrow battle, the brave wins. Even though his companion had died, he didn’t retreat. Instead, he activated his life-bound Gu insect, hoping to gain the upper hand while Wang Yu’s strength was in the process of recovery.
But he didn’t expect the broken ice swords scattered across the battlefield to suddenly reform into six heavy ice walls, closing in from all sides.
The golden serpent shadow extended outward but quickly coiled back in defense. With a flick of its tail, it pushed two of the ice walls aside slightly. Seizing the brief opening, the cultivator tried to retreat.
Just then, an iron chain shot up from underground. As agile as a snake, it wrapped tightly around his legs.
Empowered by a magical artifact, the chain flipped him upside down and flung him straight into the closing walls of ice. The situation changed drastically in an instant.
The Gu poison cultivator hastily pulled out a bronze bell to shield himself, but the chain split into another tendril and wrapped around the bell as well. This ti, the ice walls fully sealed shut.
The Ice Coffin Curse was complete. Wang Yu ford a new hand seal.
“Kill.”
Countless icy spikes grew and pierced inward. In the blink of an eye, the whole space turned into a blood-soaked gourd. The man’s vitality quickly faded. The Golden Serpent Gu on his forehead let out an unwilling hiss before dropping to the ground, frozen solid and lifeless.
Victory.
But Wang Yu’s expression didn’t ease. Killing two ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivators hadn’t changed anything. The real threat was always the group led by Liu Jinxian—not just one or two individuals.
He stored the corpses and retrieved their storage pouches.
The spiritual energy fluctuations from the fight quickly drew Liu Jinxian’s attention. The presence of three cultivators battling was too chaotic to be attributed to fighting bone lions or the bee swarm.
Monts later, she arrived riding a massive, winged mosquito beast.
The mont she saw Wang Yu, her brows furrowed deeply.
“You killed my Gu Poison Peak disciples?!”
Wang Yu looked up. His body, modified by the Corpse Demon Secret Technique, had pitch-black eyeballs and eerie green pupils. He looked utterly sinister—clearly not soone good.
“Yes.
“They tried to steal territory I claid with my own strength. They brought death upon themselves. Why should I not kill them?”
“Well, well... you dare to strike in a situation like this, even at the fifth layer of Qi Refining? Do you think you can defeat ?”
“Not at all.”
Since she hadn’t attacked imdiately, there was still room to maneuver. Wang Yu’s eyes flickered, and he quickly replied:
“I’ve long admired Senior Sister Liu’s talent and grace. I’ve always had the intention of joining your side, but my cultivation is too low. If I offered myself prematurely, I might not be taken seriously. These two simply happened to block my path.”
He started with flattery, explained his reasoning, and then shifted the focus toward Gu Zhengshun, preparing to stir things up.
“Is Senior Sister Liu not curious why Gu Zhengshun has been hiding in the lower thirty floor without making a single move?”
Liu Jinxian raised a brow.
“Oh?
“You an to say… he has other plans? That he is not simply intimidated by my presence?”
“Exactly.”
Wang Yu nodded in affirmation, then subtly guided Liu Jinxian to reflect on the matter herself.
“Senior Sister, do you really think the grand-disciple of a Golden Core elder would be so simple? There must be a far greater profit hidden beneath this Blackbone Mountain than just the Xuan Essence Flowers for him to give it up so easily.
“Otherwise, what would be the point of him going all-out to obtain the Mountain Lord Token? Just to beco soone else's lackey?!”
This explanation was far more logical and matched the undercurrents of scheming often found among demonic cultivators. It was highly plausible.
However...
Liu Jinxian suddenly smiled.
“So what? You killed a disciple from my Gu Poison Peak. That is a direct insult to my authority. You’re seeking death.”
With a cold snort, Liu Jinxian charged forward atop her mosquito beast.
Wang Yu quickly retreated, his expression cold. This Liu Jinxian was even more overbearing than he had imagined.
Well, it made sense. Out here, away from the main sect, if she commanded nearly three hundred cultivators under her, of course she could do whatever she pleased. With Gu Zhengshun's strength as backing, even if she launched an all-out attack, it wouldn’t cost her much.
Naturally, her reputation mattered more to her than the actual losses.
Given all this, it seed a fight was inevitable. She needed to be taught a lesson—only then would he have the leverage to stand against her.
Having worked out the key, Wang Yu quickly said,
“If Senior Sister insists on fighting, I’ll gladly accept.
“If I lose, the second and third floor of this mountain will be yours. But there are still five years to go. You’d best be careful—wild beasts lurk in the hills and forests.”
“You dare threaten ?”
Before she could respond, Wang Yu was already forming hand seals.
“Shua, shua—”
As before, he began with Ice Sword Technique. This perfected-level mid-grade spell imdiately drew Liu Jinxian’s attention. Coming from a more prestigious background, her eye for technique was sharper than most. She remarked in surprise,
“A middle-grade spell at perfect mastery? Impressive comprehension, but your cultivation is still lacking.”
With that, she opened her mouth and blew out a wisp of light pink smoke.
A cloying sweetness filled the air. Wang Yu instantly held his breath, but faint traces of the poisonous smoke still clung to him. Illusions began flashing before his eyes.
At the sa ti, the mosquito beast flapped its wings and darted forward, releasing a volley of blood needles from its long, narrow proboscis. They collided mid-air with the ice swords and both sides vanished into nothingness.
This was a Gu Beast—a demonic creature controlled by Gu worms, either nested inside or altered through symbiosis, resulting in rare and dangerous variants.
Their status was on par with beast tars.
More importantly, this particular mosquito beast had the cultivation level of the eighth layer of Qi Refining. The Ice Sword Technique had failed to land a single hit. Trusting his spiritual sense, Wang Yu abruptly threw a punch and t the Gu beast head-on.
The mont they clashed, the enormous insect flew off like a kite with a broken string, shooting high into the air.
Second-rank divine strength from his corpse arm—it was terrifying.
The beast’s chitinous exoskeleton was nearly completely shattered. Just as it seed about to die, Liu Jinxian shouted,
“Stop!”
To Wang Yu’s surprise, he truly did stop and did not press the attack. He watched as Liu Jinxian spat out a mouthful of blood-colored mist. The mont it touched the beast, its wounds began to heal rapidly.
Monts later.
It shed a layer of mucus-covered, damaged shell, erging completely restored.
Only then did Liu Jinxian breathe a sigh of relief, her gaze now filled with wariness as it lingered on Wang Yu’s clearly unnatural left arm.
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