Chapter 195: One Day, Two Consecutive Kills of Golden Core Stage Masters

Wang Yu's control over the Fiendish Corpse heavily occupied his spiritual sense. He could, at most, also manage one other magical artifact in combat, which was even more mentally taxing than controlling Xueyu.

This was largely due to the Fiendish Corpse's strength; after all, it was a major cultivation realm higher than Wang Yu and a special variant.

Unlike Wang Yu's full control, traditional Corpse Dao cultivators would release the zombie's inherent bloodlust and murderous nature, merely providing guidance and crucial commands. This allowed them to employ swarm tactics with their corpses.

Wang Yu, having started late in this path, wasn't truly proficient in the combat methods of Corpse Dao cultivators. However, he possessed a strong talent for it, excelling at controlling details and performing micro-management.

Meanwhile, with the Yin Corpse Fiendish Curse as his trump card, which he intended to use in conjunction with Qing Yang, the tactic was already halfway successful. He then controlled the Lunar Fiendish Corpse to unleash the Fiend Control Art.

In an instant, corpse qi surged, and lunar fiend energy enveloped the area.

The surrounding kilometer was almost entirely covered in grayish-white lunar fiend energy. The sea of flames erupting from True Man Tuyan's palm was completely extinguished, and he couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

"So this... is your reliance, a nascent-stage Tier 3 Fiendish Corpse."

After confirming this, his attention focused more on the Fiendish Corpse and Wang Yu, gradually lowering his guard against the environment. He called out loudly:

"Lord of Guiling City, perhaps this Fiendish Corpse truly possesses the power of the early Core Formation stage, but can *you* keep up with this level of combat?"

*Whoosh—*

The Inferior-grade magical treasure, the Scarlet Serpent Sword, which was mentioned in their intelligence, appeared in True Man Tuyan's hand. As his core magical treasure, its power was even more astonishing under his control.

With a reverse slash, a scarlet streak extended for hundreds of meters, effortlessly cleaving out a flaming sword aura powerful enough to split mountains. Relying on the magical treasure's might, he actually sliced a one-third gap in the fiend-sea domain formed by the Lunar Fiend energy. This kind of power belonging to Core Formation cultivators was indeed terrifying.

Unexpectedly, True Man Tuyan's expression became even more surprised than Wang Yu's.

"An exotic Fiendish Corpse?"

He instantly became cautious, no longer spouting taunts to disturb Wang Yu's state of mind, but instead went all out, unleashing his full power!

Three crimson beads emerged from his mouth, revolving behind him in a Three Talents formation. Each bead was coated in blood-red flames. This was his strongest trump card—Three Pills of Fiery Breath!

True Man Tuyan's target was neither the Fiendish Corpse nor the half-covered lunar fiend domain, but Wang Yu himself. He clearly knew who the main target was.

With a flicker of his feet, a faint red serpent seemed to dart past. This was the Inferior-grade Tier 3 escape art, Serpent Spirit Evasion, which required refining the essence of a snake demon for cultivation. The higher the grade of the essence, the more potent the evasion technique.

As a Core Formation cultivator, even if only in the early stage, his conditions in all aspects far surpassed Wang Yu's. Even Wang Yu's body, which he was so proud of, True Man Tuyan wouldn't be much inferior; there was a high probability they were on par.

The life transcendence in the Core Formation stage was a major transformation. While most cultivators didn't actively train their physique, as their cultivation realm ascended, their bodies would naturally become stronger. After all, a cultivator capable of achieving longevity—their body must be able to contain immense and surging life force. Unless Wang Yu could raise his body tempering cultivation to the peak of Tier 2, otherwise, even in terms of physical strength, he would be inferior to True Man Tuyan.

Core Formation—was an all-encompassing power!

If Foundation Establishment cultivators could defeat thirty or forty Qi Condensation Completion cultivators, then Core Formation cultivators could defeat seventy or eighty Foundation Establishment peak cultivators. Before their magic power ran out, it was almost impossible to defeat someone from a higher major realm.

Facing an enemy that suddenly appeared before him, Wang Yu, even with confidence, couldn't help but feel nervous. Using himself as bait was still dangerous, especially when facing an elder.

The fiery pills behind True Man Tuyan accelerated their rotation, almost forming a continuous crimson fiery ring, with fire beginning to coalesce at its center.

"Now!"

With a thought, Wang Yu unleashed the Yin Corpse Fiendish Curse, which he had been accumulating for a long time. It abruptly descended upon True Man Tuyan, guided by an unseen gaze and malice.

True Man Tuyan froze.

Terrifying lunar fiend energy directly manifested within him, instantly disrupting his magic power. His divine ability failed... his meridians were clogged by the fiend qi, leaving him with only fifty percent of his usable magic power. His physical body was being corroded, and the otherworldly lunar fiend energy, which harmed life essence, seemed to bore into his bones, leaving him weak and gasping for breath like an ox. Intense pain assailed his consciousness, his vision clouded. He could only forcefully employ his spiritual sense to suppress the bitter effects of the malevolent fiend curse. As a result... fifty percent of his spiritual sense was also depleted.

The Yin Corpse Fiendish Curse.

This was a solo combat ability, a debuff so potent it defied fairness, and it was also the fundamental reason Wang Yu had judged the Lunar Fiendish Corpse to be a rare exotic species.

A fleeting opportunity.

With Wang Yu's battle instincts, he naturally wouldn't let such a perfect moment slip by.

The Demonic Flood Dragon Roared—

He pushed the power of the Nether Demonic Flood Dragon's Spine to its extreme. A twelve-to-thirteen-meter flood dragon followed closely with his palm strike, and the Perfect Profound Yin Hand was concentrated within a small, precise area.

A roar, then a backward flight...

True Man Tuyan flew backward like a broken kite, a dark palm print appearing on his face, his neck dislocated by an inch, his head twisted. Indeed, Wang Yu's strike landed squarely on his face! His already blurred vision turned completely black. The Profound Yin energy entered his brain, momentarily crippling his senses and spiritual sense.

At this moment, from a corner of the lunar fiend domain, True Man Qing Yang suddenly leaped out, spinning as he threw forth a scroll.

The Superior-grade magical treasure, the Magnificent Mountains and Rivers Scroll!

This was the core magical treasure of the Ink Painting Sect's founding patriarch. Only a successor who cultivated his dao could perfectly unleash the power of this superior-grade magical treasure.

Qing Yang instantly poured ninety percent of his magic power into it. As the Magnificent Scroll radiated spiritual light, a visible ink-wash mountain range flew out from it. In the blink of an eye, it spanned nearly ten thousand meters across the sky, pressing down heavily on the still-recoiling True Man Tuyan.

From a distance, Wang Yu couldn't help but swallow. The nearly ten-thousand-meter shadow pressing down from above, even knowing he was safe, still sent shivers down his spine. He murmured to himself:

"Is this the power of a peak Core Formation cultivator? A single strike can cover ten thousand meters; obliterating a city is effortless."

True Man Qing Yang's situation was unique; he was merely a tool providing magic power. The true might lay in the magical treasure itself. A cultivator's core magical treasure becomes more powerful as their realm increases, but it also requires the cultivator to refine stronger materials into it after each advancement. Otherwise, it would be like a child wielding a heavy hammer: while it might be swung, the child themselves would be struck by the inertia. For a magical treasure, this would manifest as it being riddled with cracks after a full-power strike. The Magnificent Mountains and Rivers Scroll was a magical treasure refined to its peak by the Ink Painting Patriarch, just one step away from advancing to Tier 4.

There were no surprises.

True Man Tuyan felt no pain in death, for on the ground, sunken more than ten meters deep, only a pool of flesh and a shattered Golden Core remained. With the Golden Core shattered, immortality was mere nonsense.

With a single strike, his soul was obliterated, and his body perished!

At this point, True Man Qing Yang flew over, panting heavily. He had accumulated power for a long time to unleash that single attack. He now spoke with a look of regret.

"His physical body is destroyed. That would have been worth quite a few spirit stones."

Wang Yu was speechless.

After finding the storage ring, he directly tossed it to Qing Yang. Wang Yu, meanwhile, picked up the shattered Golden Core, which was practically the entire essence of a Core Formation cultivator. Grinding it into powder was a favorite practice of masters cultivating the "Human Pill Art," serving as a universal, top-grade material. Adding even a little Golden Core powder to any pill refinement would significantly boost its quality and success rate. This Golden Core alone was worth over five hundred thousand spirit stones. True Man Tuyan's entire life savings might not even be as valuable as his own Golden Core.

After taking the storage ring, Qing Yang generally understood Wang Yu's intention. Opening a blind box seemed interesting too; perhaps there were items even more valuable than the Golden Core.

"—Deal!" he said. "For any texts or knowledge-based items, I'll make a copy for you later. Everything else, including this ring, is mine."

"Agreed."

This was also an unwritten rule among cultivators who explored together: shareable knowledge and inheritances were for everyone. Unless they encountered inheritance jade slips with restrictions, like the Lunar Nether Eyes, it was generally the stronger cultivators or those with greater contributions who chose first. The specifics also depended on the individuals and the team.

Driven by a no-waste mindset, Wang Yu summoned the Lunar Fiendish Corpse to clean up the enemy's remains. This was Golden Core flesh and blood, highly nourishing.

Next, Qing Yang remained on the spot, meditating to recover his magic power. Wang Yu, whose consumption was not significant, rode his Three-tailed Snow Fox to handle matters at the Yellow Crystal Iron Mine. The number of temporary miners here was considerable, at least three to four hundred. When the battle broke out, most fled, while a few hid in the mine shafts, peeking out. Wang Yu couldn't possibly let this group of people go. The large number of personnel deployed around the perimeter now came into play. Every single one of them was caught. The benevolent Lord Wang offered them two choices: leave or pledge allegiance to the Guiling City Lord's Manor. The former miners immediately prostrated themselves, not mentioning leaving at all. It wasn't because it was undignified, but because leaving would be *too* dignified; it was said that the City Lord would erect monuments for them, to sing praises of their deeds.

They tried their best to control the spread of news. It wasn't until late afternoon, nearing dusk, that True Man Qing Yang fully recovered.

"The spirit vein environment here is too poor," he said. "I need at least a Tier 3 spirit vein for my daily cultivation."

Hearing this, Wang Yu's heart stirred.

"I recall the Ink Painting Sect only has one inferior-grade Tier 3 spirit vein, right? If Daoist Brother Qing Yang doesn't hand over the patriarch's inheritance he obtained, perhaps..." That hint was enough. There was no need to be too explicit, so Wang Yu changed the subject. "Why not stay permanently in Guiling City? There are several spirit veins beneath the City Lord's Manor, with the highest reaching mid-grade Tier 3. They're more than enough to support seven or eight Core Formation cultivators."

The difference between each grade of spirit veins was far more exaggerated than that between cultivators. The sheer disparity in their radiating range alone was immense, and the pure spiritual energy at their core was a treasure trove for cultivation. Considering his future alone, Wang Yu's invitation was worth accepting.

And the conflict between him and his sect leader was indeed an issue Qing Yang had to consider. He fell silent for a moment.

"Let's discuss it after this matter is concluded," he said. "Bringing the experience from this battle into the next should make things quite a bit easier."

Indeed. Compared to the mine, the Thunder Jade Banana Garden only had one early Core Formation cultivator. The tactics perfected against True Man Tuyan were naturally successful a second time. However, a tiny mishap did occur. Wang Yu was almost burned by a divine ability's flames, and his Azure Water Sword was damaged while being used for offense instead of defense.

Thus, the campaign against the Two Pills concluded.