Chapter 294: Robbing and Killing Fellow Practitioners, Nascent Soul Divine Sense

He replied haltingly.

"Not really. When I bought the Nine-Curved Spiritual Ginseng, I disguised my voice."

"But you bid earlier, and the VIP box location doesn't change. You also attracted attention at the auction house entrance that day. We can't take this risk."

"Alright."

Wen Hua stopped arguing, knowing the situation was critical and there was no time to waste. After discerning their direction, the group of three circled eastward.

He was actually starting to regret it now.

However, the Nine-Curved Spiritual Ginseng was a must-have for him. He had started collecting ingredients for the Nascent Soul Pill long ago, and his father had helped him piece things together. All he lacked was this one main ingredient.

Furthermore, he knew his father's friend—Blood Pill Master!

This Nascent Soul realm elder, who specialized in the Dao of Human Pills, was a high-ranking member of the Heavenly Refinement Demonic Sect. He owed Wen Hua's father a favor from years ago and, if asked, would surely be able to refine the Nascent Soul Pill.

With just this one plant, he would have a chance to reach the Nascent Soul stage. How could he resist bidding higher? Even if it meant a loss, he had to acquire it!

For others, the Nine-Curved Spiritual Ginseng was like a chicken rib—not very useful and lacking in value.

But for him, it was the final piece of a puzzle he had painstakingly assembled over many years; he simply couldn't give it up.

And thus, the current situation arose.

"Such an opportunity, even with risks, cannot be easily relinquished."

To the east lay Golden Sword City.

The city lord there was an elder of the Sacred Sect's Cold Blood Peak. Upon receiving the message from Wang Yu, a candidate elder, he agreed after a brief consideration.

Firstly, 300,000 spirit stones was not a small sum. Secondly, he wanted to curry favor with the candidate elder, as most city lords of the Sacred Sect only had governing rights for a century.

After the century expired, they would either be reassigned to other cities or return to the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect's main gate. For a cultivator like him, who lacked a special skill—the ability to earn money—it was tantamount to cutting off his cultivation path.

Relying on his background, gaining governing rights over Golden Sword City for a century was already pushing it. The Qiao family could not expend resources solely on him.

Thus, he readily agreed to Wang Yu's message.

After receiving the message, he put aside what he was doing and flew off on an ice sword. The cultivation technique he practiced was called "Glacier Sword Canon."

His innate magic weapon was the Cold Blood Sword!

It was a popular legacy among the Xue, Chu, Qiao, and Ji families of Cold Blood Peak, as the Frost Devil Lord had achieved Nascent Soul cultivation with this very technique, demonstrating immense power.

It was highly sought after and revered by the younger generations of the four clans!

"A young man in the early to mid-Core Formation stage, two elders in the late Core Formation stage... this candidate elder certainly knows how to pick his prey," he murmured to himself.

He muttered a few words to himself as his figure swiftly cut across the sky.

The information Wang Yu provided was simple, but it was enough for the swordsman named Qiao to make an accurate judgment. Moreover, his mission was not to intercept but to track.

If he found the targets, he would transmit the message, wait for reinforcements to gather, and then launch a combined attack. Items to conceal their identities would surely be prepared.

Although it was somewhat akin to burying one's head in the sand, it didn't matter. As long as the targets remained in this land, who would know who was responsible?

Previously, Wang Yu had thought it inappropriate to actively rob others.

Now, however, he acted with extreme decisiveness. People change, and in this land, if you don't rob others, others will rob you.

It was impossible for everyone to live in harmony and ascend to immortality together. This path, whether in Taihu or Chiyuan, was exceptionally brutal.

Defeat meant death, the annihilation of one's clan, and eternal damnation.

Two hours later.

"Who's there?"

Wen Hua's group of three, who had been fleeing at high speed, suddenly stopped. The headband tied to his forehead abruptly revealed a black and white eye.

This was not a divine ability or secret art, but a special eye-type magic artifact.

"Young master, what's wrong?"

"Is someone there?"

The two elders guarded him on both sides, their eyes warily scanning the surroundings. Wen Hua frowned, looking at a dense cloud of mist further behind them, and quickly spoke.

"Elders, that location... use a wide-range spell."

"Understood."

The two exchanged glances and simultaneously took a deep breath.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—*

A sudden black wind swept across the heavens and earth, each wisp carrying yin-attributed spiritual power, as if capable of splitting rocks and piercing clouds, sweeping away all concealment.

At that moment, a sword hum resonated.

Streams of chilling sword qi suddenly erupted, blocking all the yin wind in a small area. The swordsman named Qiao's expression turned grim; he genuinely hadn't expected to be discovered so soon after beginning his pursuit.

If he alone were to face three Core Formation cultivators, especially with two of them in the late stage, it was certainly not a good situation, and he would inevitably be no match for them.

"Who are you?" Wen Hua asked himself, then said, "Never mind. Now is not the time to waste time. Both elders, attack with full force and kill this scoundrel."

"Yes!"

"Leave it to us."

The previous attack was merely a probe; they hadn't yet unleashed their full strength. Knowing the urgency of the situation, they unleashed their full power in their next strike!

The innate magic weapons they simultaneously conjured were two dark earthen jars, seemingly containing endless black water within. With their spiritual power activated, both jars were thrown into the air.

The two high-grade magic artifacts transformed into colossal black jars, hundreds of meters in size. Surging black water, carrying an aura of corrosive chill, surged towards the swordsman named Qiao.

He naturally wouldn't sit idly by and wait for death. He let out a fierce shout.

His innate magic weapon, the Cold Blood Sword, instantly radiated an even colder chill after receiving spiritual power augmentation. As its size rapidly expanded, the spreading black water began to freeze.

But after only a moment of stalemate, the ice was shattered.

The swordsman named Qiao fought with all his might but could not prevent the black water surging from the jars from engulfing him.

*Hum—*

Just as the battle seemed about to end swiftly, a spectral image of a glacier suddenly appeared in the sky—it was precisely the swordsman named Qiao's innate divine ability.

Glacier Undercurrent Sword!

The Glacier Sword Canon came with a set of combat sword arts, effective at both close and long range, embodying the subtle flow of glaciers. Superficially, glaciers appear to be solid ice, unmoving like mountains, almost imperceptibly shifting.

In reality, however, strong undercurrents surge beneath, with extreme motion hidden within extreme stillness. This was the profound mystery of this cultivation technique, and this innate divine ability contained the core essence of the Glacier Sword Canon.

The moment this technique was unleashed, it froze all the black water released by the two jars.

With a crisp *boom*, the long river of black ice shattered, turning into a river of ice shards. The bloodied swordsman named Qiao roared, brandishing the long sword in his hand, and executed a spinning jump-slash.

The river of black ice then redirected its assault, rushing towards the two elders. Both of them were astonished by the swordsman named Qiao's strength, as cultivators with such abilities were rare in the Yin-Yang Gate.

Immediately, one of them manipulated a jar, using its mouth to swallow the entire river of ice shards. The other dashed forward with an evasion technique, and the second dark jar suddenly covered the swordsman.

The tumultuous sound of flowing water within could be heard even from thousands of meters away.

The swordsman named Qiao was in a bad situation.

Although he could counterattack, he ultimately found it difficult to overcome the chasm of cultivation realms. Engaging one opponent might be manageable, but fighting two simultaneously was truly a challenge for him.

As the battle seemed to be nearing its end, Wen Hua, standing behind, furrowed his brows even deeper.

"A Core Formation cultivator from the Cold Blood Peak of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect? Why would he be tracking me...? Could it really be because of the Nine-Curved Spiritual Ginseng I obtained at the auction?"

The more he thought, the more he felt something was off. Their reaction was too fast, unless the opponent also used a short-distance teleportation array and teleported to a location near them.

Only that way could they catch up so quickly, but that possibility seemed too low.

"No... that's not right."

"Rather than believing in the coincidence of a short-distance teleportation array, it's more likely someone nearby...—it's the Sacred Sect City Lord!"

Although Wen Hua was arrogant and overbearing, he wasn't a complete fool. Without needing to fight, he naturally had time to ponder the issues he had encountered along the way.

After much thought, only this possibility remained: someone was commanding the Sacred Sect City Lord to apprehend him!

This battle had already wasted a lot of time. If the opponent had sent out a message early...

A chill ran down Wen Hua's spine at this thought.

In horror, he exclaimed, "Elders, something's wrong! I'm leaving first. Once you've dealt with this person, follow quickly, and we'll rendezvous at the Yin-Yang Gate."

"You're not entirely foolish, after all."

Wen Hua, who had just turned to flee and hadn't even gone two li, suddenly heard Wang Yu's voice beside his ear, while a terrifying, murderous gaze fell upon him.

His body stiffened, and tears, snot, and saliva poured out uncontrollably.

The enormous, blood-red, half-bodied Asura phantom pulled its arm back, then delivered a thunderous punch!

After acquiring spiritual power, this perfected divine ability had undergone a complete transformation. Its might had been tested with Luo Chen previously, and now, with Wang Yu's cultivation reaching the peak of the third layer of Core Formation, its power had significantly surged compared to that day.

The solidified killing intent and spiritual power condensed into a lethal punch, striking Wen Hua hard. This caused his consciousness to be completely engulfed by a mental image of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

He had no time to consider his physical defense.

Just then, a black and white mottled circular shield enveloped him, enduring the punch's attack aimed at destroying his physical body.

A certain will awakened from the shattered protective spirit item, and a pair of strange black and white eyes fixed on Wang Yu.

"Youngster, this is my son. Spare his life, and all the spiritual items on him will be yours. As for any grievances, I will not pursue them further."

Wang Yu scoffed upon hearing this.

He'd be a fool to believe him. Wen Hua's father was clearly the head of the Yin-Yang Gate, an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Which person who had cultivated to that realm wasn't a vindictive winner in life?

How could he possibly endure such humiliation? Moreover, Wen Hua possessed the Nine-Curved Spiritual Ginseng, a chance for Nascent Soul breakthrough—who wouldn't want to reclaim it?!

This was merely a spiritual imprint stored in a jade slip, not the actual consciousness of a Nascent Soul elder. After killing this imprint, the elder's true body might not even know what Wang Yu looked like.

He touched the Nether Demon Mask on his face.

Wang Yu scoffed, "Who are you trying to fool?!"

He slammed his fists together, unleashing the Minor Asura Killing Punch once more. The Nascent Soul cultivator's spiritual imprint, enraged, instantly fired a pillar of yin-yang light.

Wang Yu, however, seemed to transform into an aurora, swiftly bypassing the light pillar. From his glabella, another divine light shot forth—pitch black, carrying fierce malevolence, and charging forward.

This was—Soul Destruction Death Ray!

It was his strongest trump card for spiritual attacks. After leaving the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, he had mastered it during his six years of secluded cultivation. It was perfectly suited for dealing with Nascent Soul spiritual imprints!

*Sizzle~*