Chapter 237: Crushing, The Sole Survivor

The sudden sound startled the four, causing them to quickly huddle together.

Another period of silence followed.

"Gulp—"

Swallowing hard, the lanky man said with a hint of terror, "I can't sense any aura. Big Dog… what do your birds say?"

Big Dog replied, "...Within a thousand meters, there's no one."

Hearing this, Liu Yidao held his long saber horizontally and called out loudly.

"Sir, we have no grievances. If you desire these items, I, Liu, will gladly offer them to you. How about we become friends?"

"Friends? I wouldn't dare."

A ripple spread through the air, right in front of Big Dog.

Terrifying cold air spread, and sharp ice spikes shot up from the ground, instantly impaling three late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators like gourds. The agony was beyond inhumane.

Liu Yidao leaped up suddenly, turning to sweep his saber horizontally.

The saber aura, disturbingly familiar to Wang Yu, cleaved towards him, igniting his hatred. It was this very move that had caused him to lose his left arm years ago, a loss he only recovered from after reaching Gui Ling.

His Frost Moon Wings unfurled, glinting with a cold light.

Moving with extreme speed, he seemed to teleport dozens of meters, kicking Liu Yidao into the ground.

The earth cracked like a spiderweb.

"You… who exactly are you?"

With just that one strike, Liu Yidao felt his internal organs and spine shatter. He couldn't feel his lower body at all as he tremblingly fumbled for his spiritual saber.

But he only found scattered earth crumbs.

"Who am I? Manager Liu, how have you been?"

Wang Yu calmly lifted his Di Luo Ghost Mask. When exacting revenge, one shouldn't let their enemy die in ignorance! They had to know who killed them, or Wang Yu himself wouldn't feel satisfied.

The moment he saw Wang Yu, Liu Yidao's pupils constricted.

He immediately recalled the events of that year. It was because of this person that he was forced to flee the Rebellious Spirit Blood Sect and hide in a chaotic place like Myriad Poison Town.

How could the memory not be profound?

"It's you… Wang Yu!"

"Since you still remember me, there's no need for further words."

With a thought, Wang Yu swiftly formed finger-length ice swords, and ice pillars rose from the ground, tightly binding Liu Yidao.

His long-unused Ice Sword Art had become even more refined.

He controlled them with almost perfect precision.

Each time a small ice sword moved, it shaved off a fingernail-sized translucent sliver of flesh. Then, a drop of saltwater was dripped into the wound, repeating the cycle endlessly.

Liu Yidao, who had originally intended to say something more,

was immediately tormented by this inhumane punishment. His constant wails were agonizingly shrill.

In less than fifteen minutes, a layer of flesh slivers covered the ground. His throat was swollen from screaming, his endurance for pain reached its limit, and he fainted several times.

Seeing this, Wang Yu fed him a few healing pills, then improvised by building a human-sized steamer. He lit a fire and proceeded to steam him alive!

This time, the steaming lasted a full three hours.

When the man was taken out, his outermost layer of flesh was so soft it could be pierced with a finger. Yet, thanks to the essence of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and the effects of those healing pills,

he was still alive.

"—Continue!"

As night fell and Wang Yu suddenly realized it was dark, Liu Yidao was reduced to nothing but a head impaled on a broken tree branch, covered in ants.

"I think I overdid it… how boring."

He clapped his hands. Having arrived at the outskirts of the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, he prepared to enter the mountains. Just as he was about to release Xueyu from his spirit beast bag,

he suddenly turned his head to look at the ice-bound old Foundation Establishment cultivator. This was the only survivor they had left behind earlier; his poison had been neutralized by Liu Yidao's group, and his injuries were under control.

He had surprisingly survived.

Wang Yu thought for a moment, then put on the Di Luo Ghost Mask. Wherever he passed, the ice instantly vanished.

"Wake up!"

His divine sense swept over the bewildered Elder Ruan, who abruptly sat up. Realizing he was still in the forest, a sense of unease washed over him.

Looking around, he saw only corpses and the masked figure before him. Grief welled up within him, and he vaguely guessed what had transpired.

Such events were all too common in Chiyuan.

Life and death separations among cultivators were more frequent than among mortals. Although they claimed long lives, very few lived to their full lifespan.

"Fellow Daoist… did you save me?"

"Sort of."

"Then… my young lady…"

"The bodies are all there, including the four who attacked you."

Elder Ruan fell silent again, his clouded eyes filling with tears. Finally, he let out a long sigh, lost in thought, his eyes vacant.

Seeing this, Wang Yu spoke again.

"I have something to ask you."

At these words, Elder Ruan snapped back to reality, stumbling as he leaned on a tree trunk to stand.

"Please ask, Sir. As long as I know, I will tell you everything without holding anything back!"

"It's not that dramatic."

Wang Yu was pleased with Elder Ruan's attitude, which perfectly fit into his comfort zone for conversation.

"During your journey into the mountains, did you happen to see a peculiar mountain shaped like an inverted 'mountain' character (山)?"

"That shape… isn't that like a doorframe without a door?"

"Something like that. Have you seen it?" "No."

This clue came from a legacy jade slip Wang Yu acquired years ago during his escape from the Withered Leaf Swamp. It marked the location of the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest and included a character resembling an inverted 'mountain'.

Finding this object would lead to the ancient Heavenly Soul Sect ruins.

He thought it might be the appearance of the sect's gate or some kind of sectarian symbol. Asking Elder Ruan was simply a shot in the dark, hoping for some information.

Since he didn't know, he would simply continue deeper.

He had twenty years for this trip, a duration that could be extended or shortened depending on when the conflict in Zhuyue Prefecture concluded.

Searching for the ancient Heavenly Soul Sect ruins was one objective.

Another was to find spiritual treasures that could quickly accumulate true essence. Since he found items like Ghost Eye during his Qi Refinement stage, there should be similar treasures for the Foundation Establishment stage.

His lack of knowledge was the problem. If he could return to the Rebellious Spirit Blood Sect and consult the records in the Scripture Hall, it would be more suitable, but currently, it was inconvenient for him to go back.

Zuoqiu Ming had indeed mentioned a few locations he knew of.

Unfortunately, they were all too far away.

It was said that under the Yellow Springs Temple, there was Peach Prefecture, located south of the Dead Silent Desert, with a peach forest spanning 30,000 kilometers. A small number of peach trees there bore purple-gold peaches that could increase true essence.

However, their yield was scarce, enough only to meet the needs of their inner sect disciples.

Further south,

within the territory of the Nether Mountain Cult, in the southeastern corner of Chiyuan, there was a place called Pingbo Wharf, one of the largest sea exits in the Demonic Domain.

Near the coast lay a sea abyss, abundant with a silverfish resembling a hairtail. The hearts of these silverfish, called Silverfish Hearts, could also increase a Foundation Establishment cultivator's true essence.

The distance was too great for Wang Yu to act.

As for the four prefectures under the Rebellious Spirit Blood Sect, they also produced such spiritual items, but none on a significant scale yet.

For instance, Night Jade Prefecture had a blood clam farm producing blood jade pearls, which were even more effective than Silverfish Hearts. Unfortunately, the output was too low, supplying only core disciples.

Even the sect's treasury didn't have them for exchange.

Someone like Wang Yu could only rely on himself, seeking them in renowned dangerous places like the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, Severed Realm Mountains, Vermilion Bird Divine Mountain, or Primeval Barrens.

Returning to the main topic.

Since Elder Ruan had no information on this matter, Wang Yu intended to leave, but the elder suddenly called out to him and explained.

"Sir, if you wish to find special geographical formations, it would be best to travel with a geomancer. Venturing deep into the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest alone is very dangerous, and your efficiency won't be high.

"Within this bone forest, the outer perimeter is manageable, with occasional patches of poisonous miasma. However, once you enter the inner perimeter, three feet below the surface is almost entirely filled with the skeletons of demonic beasts and humans.

"These ancient accumulated corpses, upon decaying, intertwine and merge with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, creating extremely virulent miasma. If you encounter a Mist Demon, your survival becomes even more uncertain.

"Even Core Formation cultivators can fall victim and die inexplicably inside. Although my Ruan family has declined, we still have some connections.

"As far as I know, Geomancer Takina is also searching for something within the bone forest. This is a Ruan family jade token. If you encounter her, show her this token, and she will surely help you in your search."

Hearing this, Wang Yu was somewhat silent.

He pointed to the pile of corpses and asked skeptically.

"When your group encountered the rogue cultivators, you should have been unconscious. Do you not suspect that I was responsible?"

Elder Ruan's expression turned bitter.

"Sir, your cultivation is profound and unfathomable. How could you possibly be interested in the paltry possessions on us? I certainly trust you."

"Very well, I'll accept this."

The Ruan family of Scorpion City… Wang Yu mentally noted this family. Based on what he understood, the Ruan family's situation wasn't good.

Such a favor-token was certainly single-use and meant for critical moments. Using it now to thank him for saving a life was the most they could offer within their means.

The abilities of a geomancer could indeed save him a great deal of time.

As for the life-saving grace,

to be honest, when he arrived, he had seen the spiritual light of the formation activating from afar. By the time he got close, he had witnessed the sword piercing a heart.

He had the ability to stop it, but he didn't.

He felt unworthy of the gratitude.

He hadn't felt this emotion in many years; perhaps he had completely changed since returning from Taihu.

"The Ruan family… alas…"

Watching Wang Yu's figure disappear into the dense fog, Elder Ruan began to collect the bodies. When he saw his young lady's corpse, his tears flowed uncontrollably once more.

He could only hastily gather the remains and depart from this sorrowful place.

Several days later.

As he approached the inner perimeter of the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, the number of venomous insects and fierce beasts Wang Yu encountered rapidly increased. He maintained a low-altitude flight, hovering three meters above the ground, never touching down.

The accumulated layers of decaying leaves harbored too many poisonous insects, some of which even affected him.

Poisonous insects, venomous trees, toxic miasma… every touch required caution. He had encountered a poisonous tree once; merely standing on a branch to survey the terrain,

he felt his entire body go numb, making movement difficult.

It was only after the Immaculate Jade Toad helped him detoxify that he discovered it was a resin exuded from the tree.

It was amber-colored, without any peculiar smell, but just inhaling its fumes would cause full-body paralysis, extremely insidious!

Consequently,

he kept the Immaculate Jade Toad in his embrace, constantly monitoring his physical condition. Even with information about the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, his journey was fraught with difficulty.

This was a matter of habit and experience; many of his usual habits from the outside world were lethal here.

Flying too high risked being targeted by toad demons.

Stepping on the ground meant being stung by lurking poisonous insects.

He couldn't touch anything without risking poisoning, nor could he breathe deeply lest he inhale too much toxic miasma. After experiencing it firsthand, he had become much more adept.