Chapter 166: Blood Flows Like a River

The Grand Elder turned back with a start.

He saw a full moon hanging high and bamboo tips drooping low. A tall figure stood upon the bamboo, holding a long flute, their face shrouded in shadow by the moonlight.

"It's really you!"

The next moment, three crimson fireballs, trailing long tails of flame, spun towards him. The moon in the sky seemed to grow larger, and the sound of gurgling water filled the surroundings.

Wang Yu smiled faintly. On his backlit face, only his eyes glowed with a faint light, revealing a shimmering crescent moon pattern.

"It seems you're still not convinced. Then experience this soul-piercing pain once more."

In a blink, the spell passed through Wang Yu's figure and vanished.

The Bai family's Grand Elder was stunned to realize that, at some point, his surroundings had changed. He stood on an endless expanse of silent water, the moon behind him seemingly within reach.

He murmured, his heart pounding. "An illusion?… When did this happen?"

He instinctively looked at his reflection on the water, but it wasn't his own image. Instead, it showed countless horrifying scenes of Bai family members dying tragically. He saw the Second and Third Elders opening the treasury and slaughtering each other. He saw two middle-generation members activating formations to kill the controlled clan members. He saw himself, with crimson eyes and blood-stained lips. Behind the demonic figure were countless gnawed-clean skeletons—this was the future he feared most.

"No! This is impossible! It's all an illusion!…An illusion, damn it!"

Having fallen into the Moon Illusion of the Yin-Moon Ethereal Eyes, the scenes he feared would replay over and over until his emotions reached a critical threshold. These fearful moon-shadows would then crawl out of the reflection, delivering a painful blow to the opponent.

Wang Yu had secretly arrived and painstakingly created this atmosphere, all to trap the Bai family's Grand Elder. The opponent's cultivation at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment was troublesome for him; a direct confrontation was certainly unwinnable. However, after instilling some fear and unease, with his spiritual sense comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was possible to trap the elder using the "Moon Illusion." As long as the elder didn't rashly attack and break the mental barrier, it could delay them for a very long time.

At this moment, Wang Yu felt the activation of the Bai family's formation and couldn't help but reveal a deeper smile. Before coming in, he had learned about it from the City Lord's Mansion's records. Although the Bai family manor's formation was a top-grade Tier 2 array, it was primarily defensive. It could both resist external attacks and serve as a temporary trapping array, which was precisely the effect he wanted.

Finally, he glanced at the Bai family's Grand Elder, who was ranting wildly in the open space of the front courtyard. Wang Yu casually threw out several formation flags, activating the Blood Mist Concealment Array, which perfectly protected the elder, preventing external interference and ensuring he remained trapped in the illusion.

His figure flickered and vanished again.

At the Bai Family Ancestral Hall, by the Merit Tablet, the Second Elder had one hand pressed on it, activating the core of the hidden Mountain and Marsh Tortoise Shell Formation. As he worked, he spoke to the Third Elder, whose eyes were red-rimmed.

"Bai Zhuzhu, there's no time to grieve for your granddaughter. We must prioritize the bigger picture."

"Bigger picture?" Bai Zhuzhu glared at him resentfully and retorted with a belated realization. "I knew it… I knew we should have listened to the Ancestor. He led the Bai family from a third-rate to a first-rate clan, eventually becoming one of the Three Clans of Guiling. He has more foresight and decisive power than us. We shouldn't have listened to that scoundrel Bai Yang. Otherwise, how could my granddaughter have died? And… died by Xuan'er's hand… With such a death, how can I face my son!"

The Second Elder was speechless for a moment, but then he sternly said, "It's too late for anything you say. The tragedy has already happened. Do you want everyone in the Bai family to face the same suffering as you from now on? Do you have any loyalty to the clan left in your heart?!"

Bai Zhuzhu froze, finally startled awake from her grief. She placed her hand on the core of the formation, lending her strength to its activation.

Several breaths later, a visible aura of spiritual light formed an earth-yellow tortoise shell pattern, rapidly expanding to envelop the entire Bai family compound.

At this point, the Second Elder continued casting spells to activate mechanisms, hiding the Merit Tablet, which served as the formation's core, underground. Only then did he sigh in relief.

"Let's go, help Decai and Yihe."

"Woo~""Woo woo woo~""Hm?"

A flute sound, like a ghostly wail, was suddenly close by. The two finally realized, "The flute sound is problematic, seal your ear passages!"

But… it was too late. The flute sound was not meant for them anyway. Furthermore, sealing ear passages was useless against soul and sound dual-path spells like Mind-Controlling Demonic Sound.

In the darkness, rustling sounds grew louder and louder. Soon after, hundreds of red-eyed Bai family disciples surged from the darkness, not using spiritual power or magic artifacts, but simply their physical strength to launch suicidal attacks at the two elders.

"Why is this happening?!" The two elders dared not strike lethal blows for a moment, only using skillful force to throw away the rushing individuals one by one. With spiritual energy protecting their bodies, a few falls caused no pain whatsoever. The Bai family disciples controlled by the Mind-Controlling Demonic Sound merely shook their heads and continued to lunge like zombies, appearing as tireless puppets.

Thus, a master at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment and another at the sixth level were forcibly held in place, unable to advance even an inch.

Observing from the shadows, Wang Yu nodded in satisfaction. He swiftly moved towards his third target: the two Foundation Establishment cultivators at the third level, named Decai and Yihe.

Tonight, let the Bai family feel pain!

Bai Decai and Bai Yihe swept through room after room, only to see freely flowing blood and mutilated corpses. Their suppressed rage finally erupted.

"Yihe, this isn't working. Use our Bai family's secret technique to directly locate everyone."

"Alright, use Bloodline Tracking!"

The two stopped on a bridge over a pond, deliberately cut their palms, and used their bloodlines as a source to detect the presence of Bai family members within a certain range. After several breaths, they both opened their eyes simultaneously.

"They're all in the ancestral hall?!"

"Isn't that where the Second and Third Elders went?"

"Let's go check quickly."

"Dong———"

Suddenly, a different flute sound emerged. Just as they heard its beginning, the whooshing sound of wings flapping descended from above.

"Caw caw caw~""Caw caw caw~"

Blood-eyed crows, each the size of a human head, descended.

Soul and Sound Dual-Path Spell: Ghost Crow Soul Devouring Sound! Peak Tier 2!

Although this spell was only at the Minor Accomplishment stage, dealing with two third-level Foundation Establishment cultivators was effortless for Wang Yu. The Bai family cultivators might seem to have deep foundations, but that was only when compared to rogue cultivators. Compared to him, who hailed from the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, they were nothing. Those two were only slightly stronger than the Azure Dragon Gang Leader.

Ghost crows filled the sky, sweeping in and forming two tornado-like storms. Both men used their respective techniques, activating their magic artifacts, attempting to use spells to kill the ghost crows. Unfortunately, the ghost crows were like illusions, completely unaffected by their attacks. Instead, each time they passed through their bodies, they would take away a portion of their spiritual sense. With repeated passes, it would lead to a weakened soul, lack of vital energy causing fatigue, and even weakness in the limbs, making it difficult to precisely control their bodies, as if paralyzed.

This was the profound mystery of the Ghost Crow Soul Devouring Sound. "Sound" represented illusion, and "Soul" represented devouring. The two were distinct yet seamlessly integrated. The ghost crows were merely illusions; the true attack came from the unheard soul-devouring sound waves. Like boiling a frog in warm water, by the time they realized something was wrong, the Soul-Devouring Ghost Crows would transform into true entities, delivering a fatal blow!

"Something's wrong. Why can't these shadow crows be killed? Could they be an illusion?" Decai panted heavily, feeling his head grow severely muddled. A sharp pain throbbed between his eyebrows, accompanied by a nauseous feeling. He knew this was a sign of his spiritual sense being depleted.

"Yihe, Yihe, call out your Blast-Sound Hound to clear our heads."

Hearing this, Bai Yihe quickly patted his spirit beast bag. Immediately, an odd, plump dog appeared. Its head was almost half the size of its body, and its purple fur had numerous yellow dotted patterns. This was the "Blast-Sound Hound"! It was a creature that had received many complaints and much dislike from the Bai family. Its courage seemed to be very small; despite having early Tier 2 strength, upon emerging and seeing the sky filled with ghost crows, it was scared and shrank behind its master. Yihe quickly kicked it and reprimanded, "Bark! Don't you usually bark so much?!"

Feeling wronged, the plump purple dog barked loudly at the ghost crows.

"Woof!""Woof woof woof!"

Surprisingly, it actually had a miraculous effect. Disturbed by the chaotic sound waves, the Ghost Crow Soul Devouring Sound, which was only at the Minor Accomplishment stage, began to fluctuate. Especially many of the ghost crows formed by illusory sound directly shattered.

Seeing this, Wang Yu shook his head. A spell at the Minor Accomplishment stage was still lacking; not only did it take a long time to cast, but its structure also wasn't stable enough. However, this Blast-Sound Hound was truly an extraordinary beast. He had never seen a demon beast that excelled in sound waves, and its ancestry was hard to trace. Since one move couldn't finish them off, he had no choice but to act personally.

"Soul Shattering Finger!"

This spiritual sense secret technique had low power, only at the low-grade Tier 2 level, but for Decai and Yihe in their current state, it was truly the final straw that broke the camel's back. Spiritual sense attacks were both secretive and swift. Conventional defensive methods were completely ineffective; without suitable countermeasures, the best approach was evasion. However, with Wang Yu ambushing from the shadows, no matter how vigilant they were, there would always be a moment of negligence.

"Ah!"

As the owner of the Blast-Sound Hound, Yihe was Wang Yu's first target. The Soul Shattering Finger nearly knocked him unconscious, leaving him no time for further reaction. Wang Yu held the Ghost Wail Flute, and the Frost Moon Wings on his back flickered. His figure instantly appeared between the two. With a flying kick, "Dragon Chant, Light Melody," he sent Decai flying. Then, with the Ghost Wail Flute, he struck downward, unleashing a lethal sonic blade.

—Soul-Wailing Heart-Severing Blade!

"Puff."

With virtually no room to resist, Yihe stood frozen. A line of blood appeared down the center of his body, and the next second, he split completely into two halves, blood and organs spilling onto the ground. The spirit beast, as a familiar, wailed and rolled on the ground. With its master dead, this tamed spirit dog was also doomed. Within a few breaths, it was on the verge of death.

On the other side, in the shattered building, Decai struggled to his feet, spitting blood. He immediately saw the scene of his clansman's death and was so terrified that he shot into the air, only to be slapped down directly by a large gray-black hand. He was reduced to a pulp.

Reaching out, Wang Yu summoned two storage bags and then put the dying Blast-Sound Hound into his spirit beast bag. His figure vanished once more.