Chapter 9 Every Move is Fatal
Sensing the two people were so close to him, Wu You still felt a little confused— seven days had passed since he’d infested the two with his Gu worms. The Hidden Gu should have been slowly gnawing at their spiritual sense. With the spiritual sense of a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, after being gnawed by Hidden Gu for seven days, they should have been no different from madmen, unable to even recall their own names.
Yet, these two were now appearing in the forest where he was. It was truly a bit strange. However, he didn’t think too much about it. They were, after all, just two young cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage, and not like the person from before who carried the Saint Emperor’s bloodline. Even with fifty percent of his cultivation lost, it wouldn’t be difficult to capture the two for a blood sacrifice to heal himself.
“Heh.” With a light chuckle, Wu You pushed himself up by his knees, then summoned his flying sword again and flew towards the direction he sensed them. However, upon arriving, he only saw the solitary youth from before meditating and recuperating in the forest. He had sensed both Gu worms here, so why was only the youth present? Where was the other young female cultivator at Qi Refining Completion?
Ye Anping retracted the Spiritual Energy that had spread throughout his body, then opened his eyes and looked at Wu You, who was flying down from above the forest. He greeted him with a slight smile, “Hm? Isn’t this the senior from before? What a coincidence, meeting you here again.”
Wu You furrowed his brow slightly, immediately becoming alert. He felt a very strange sense of incongruity from Ye Anping. Why was this youth acting as if nothing had happened after being infested with his Hidden Gu, with a rosy complexion and no signs of weakness?
Seeing his peculiar expression, Ye Anping smiled slightly and immediately took out a cauldron from his Storage Bag, tossing it towards him. “Senior Wu You, here are your two little worms back.”
“What?” Hearing his name called out, Wu You’s pupils constricted instantly, and he immediately sensed something was amiss, but quickly calmed himself. He waved his hand and took out his Gu Cauldron from his Storage Bag. “Little fellow Daoist, I don’t know what you’re planning, but do you think a mere Qi Refining Stage third-layer cultivator like yourself can contend with this esteemed me…”
“Hmm, I probably can’t do it alone, but after all, I’ve been preparing for this day for ten years.”
“…Ten years?” Wu You didn’t understand. In the next moment, he felt a chilling killing intent appear behind him and immediately turned around. Pei Lianxue, who had been lurking nearby, holding a green long sword, had already appeared before him.
Wu You quickly mobilized the True Essence within his body, intending to repel Pei Lianxue. However, Pei Lianxue’s sword speed far exceeded his expectations; it was nowhere near the speed a Qi Refining Stage cultivator should possess. An ice-blue radiance collided directly with the Gu Cauldron he was holding in his left hand.
*Clang—* Sparks flew. The Gu Cauldron in his hand was flicked away by Pei Lianxue’s sword. A worm that looked like a centipede or a scorpion was flung out of the cauldron and then shredded into minced meat by the sword wind brought about by Pei Lianxue’s swing.
“Such a way of manipulating True Essence…” Wu You quickly retreated. “Girl, are you a cultivator from Hantian Kingdom?”
“…” Pei Lianxue had no intention of answering him. She swung her long sword in her right hand in a circle, blowing up all the fallen leaves on the ground. However, what appeared to be ordinary leaves instantly floated around her. Just as Wu You wondered what Pei Lianxue was trying to do, the leaves she had swept up suddenly flew towards Wu You.
*Swish—* Wu You reacted extremely quickly and jumped away to dodge, but he was still grazed on the cheek by a leaf. And just a single leaf left a long gash on his smooth face. He touched his cheek, then looked back at the leaves being manipulated by Pei Lianxue’s Spiritual Energy, disbelief etched on his face. If he wasn’t mistaken, this young girl had just used the Leaf Shadow Sword Art of the Shadow Moon Sword Sect. That was a secret cultivation method of the Shadow Moon Sword Sect, something demonic cultivators had attempted to obtain for hundreds of years without success. How could this young girl know it? And also the luck cultivation method of Hantian Kingdom? Who taught her?!
Wu You continuously dodged the leaves attacking him. He wanted to mobilize his Spiritual Energy for defense, but Pei Lianxue gave him no opportunity. Coupled with the previous injury from the Golden Dragon, in just ten breaths, his robes were already riddled with holes by the leaves.
“Tsk… to be forced into this state by a mere Qi Refining Stage girl!!” Wu You clicked his tongue slightly and no longer dared to hold back. He had to use his vital blood. Seeing that he was about to use his vital blood, Pei Lianxue quickly retracted her sword and leaped backward, seemingly preparing to escape.
“Trying to run? You forced me to use my vital blood, how could I let you go?!” Wu You roared, and instantly, a giant hand formed from evil spirit energy converged and chased after Pei Lianxue.
“Haa!!” But at this very moment, a beam of ice-blue radiance shot out from underground, forming a light barrier within a hundred-foot radius around him.
“A formation?!” Wu You glanced at it, his eyes widening in fear. “Heh, what can a mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator’s formation do?!” He quickly redirected the pursuing giant hand towards the center of the top of the light barrier, intending to break this formation first before chasing after the girl.
But just as the giant hand of evil spirits was about to collide with the light barrier, a blue light pierced through the giant hand, instantly turning the evil spirit energy within into an ice sculpture. At the same time, the temperature in the forest plummeted, and the fallen leaves and soil on the ground were immediately covered by a layer of frost.
The moment Wu You felt this cold air, he froze. He couldn’t understand. The luck cultivation method of Hantian Kingdom, the Leaf Shadow Sword Art, and this current ice-cold formation whose name he didn’t know. Each one was precisely attacking his weak points.
Ten years… In that instant, he seemed to understand what the youth’s “ten years” meant. Had that youth prepared for ten years to kill him? But how was that possible?! And why? He had never seen that youth before.
“Hiss—” Wu You gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, but quickly calmed himself down. Although the formation precisely targeted his weak points, it could at most trap him here for a while. The formation must have been cast by the youth. With his Qi Refining Stage cultivation, he would definitely run out of True Essence within fifteen minutes.
“I’d like to see what other tricks you two Qi Refining Stage brats have?!” But as soon as he finished speaking, another glint of cold light flashed. A three-foot green sword appeared out of nowhere and, by the time it materialized, it was already at his throat. Wu You frowned and immediately grabbed the sword edge with his hand. The blade cut through his wrist, and blood dripped along the blade onto the ground, which had already turned into frost.
He looked at the young girl swinging the sword at him and laughed, “That youth is truly heartless, to have trapped his Junior Sister, you, inside this formation. Isn’t he afraid this Hantian cold air will freeze you to death first.”
Pei Lianxue tried to pull her sword back but found that Wu You was extremely strong. She simply let go of the sword and switched to using her fists and feet to attack Wu You. However, after all, she was only at the Qi Refining Stage. Her first two punches made Wu You dodge a couple of times, but on the third punch, he caught her wrist.
“Heh… I really should commend you. To have made this esteemed me suffer such a great loss at the Qi Refining Stage, but…” Wu You grabbed Pei Lianxue’s wrist, forcefully pulled her in front of him, and then opened his mouth slightly, spitting a puff of purple mist at Pei Lianxue. After inhaling the mist, Pei Lianxue struggled for a moment before her body completely relaxed. Seeing this, Wu You released her hands and shouted towards the outside of the formation, “Little fellow Daoist, your Junior Sister has been afflicted by my Mind-Confusing Gu. If you still care about your Junior Sister, then dismantle this formation.”
“…” “I’ll count to three. If you still don’t dismantle this damned formation, then when your True Essence is depleted, this esteemed me will personally let you taste the torment of the Heart-Piercing Gu…”
*Swish—* As Wu You confidently addressed Ye Anping outside the formation, a spirit sword suddenly pierced through his chest.
“Cough—” He paused for a moment, looked down at his chest, and then turned his head to look at Pei Lianxue behind him in disbelief. “How could you…”
“My Senior Brother taught me.” Pei Lianxue said impassively, withdrew her spirit sword from him, and then stabbed him through again.
*Swish—* One stab, two stabs, three stabs… She didn’t stop, and by the fourth stab, Wu You could no longer stand steady. He fell to the ground with a roar, but his eyes were still fixed on Pei Lianxue. At this moment, Pei Lianxue also stopped her sword, let out a light sigh, and then happily shouted to her Senior Brother outside the formation, “Senior Brother! It’s done!!!”
However, the formation was not yet dismantled. Ye Anping, who was maintaining the formation outside, heard Pei Lianxue’s voice, hesitated for a moment, and quickly shouted. “Finish him off!!!”
Pei Lianxue’s head snapped up, and she remembered the finishing blow. She quickly took out fifty Fire Element Talismans that Ye Anping had given her that morning from her Storage Bag. Wu You, lying on the ground, had been preparing to feign death, waiting for the girl to lower her guard so that his soul could leave his body to possess her. But when he saw her suddenly pull out a stack of Fire Element Talismans from her Storage Bag, his eyes widened in terror. He quickly raised his hand, wanting to stop her.
“Wait!!” But Pei Lianxue showed no mercy. Without any hesitation, she threw the stack of Fire Element Talismans in her hand onto him.
“Ahhhhhh!!!!—” Screams, accompanied by the fragrance of roasted meat, filled the forest.
…
