Chapter 42: Mysterious Silk Manuscript

"Kill!"

Wang Yu changed his incantation, and countless sharp ice prisms pierced through the entire ice coffin, turning it into a giant sea urchin. No matter how strong Xu Jiaojiao was, she was still flesh and blood. The power of his perfected high-grade spell was almost at the pinnacle for Qi Condensation cultivators. If the Ice Coffin spell were a purely offensive technique, there would have been a high chance of an instant kill.

With most of his spiritual energy depleted, Wang Yu quickly swallowed a top-grade Spirit Recovery Pill. Over the past six months, he had also participated in alchemy trades and accumulated several bottles of first-tier top-grade elixirs. His spiritual energy recovered rapidly, and all the depleted energy was restored within a few breaths. This was the remarkable aspect of the top-grade Spirit Recovery Pill: its gentle medicinal properties were easily absorbed, and any excess continued to take effect for the next half an hour.

Xu Jiaojiao's body was now riddled with holes, but the ice prisms had avoided fatal points like her head and heart, preventing an instant kill.

"Wang Yu, I will make you die!"

"Boom—"

The ice coffin shattered!

To his astonishment, Xu Jiaojiao's massive body began to shrink. Streams of ghostly black smoke, which were actually malevolent spirits she had swallowed, poured out from her wounds and seven orifices. Though similar to the spirit-manipulating techniques of Five Yin Peak, it was fundamentally different. Her corpulent body rapidly shrunk to the opposite extreme, her skin clinging to her bones, leaving her as gaunt as an ancient corpse. These ghostly black smokes then re-attached themselves to Xu Jiaojiao's body, forming a black armor that granted her the ability to float. She charged headlong towards Wang Yu.

The sheer number of techniques and strange transformations all exceeded Wang Yu's expectations. He had never imagined that late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators could possess such a rich array of methods. He immediately conjured an Ice Shield spell, attempting to block Xu Jiaojiao's advance. But then she shook her shoulder, and a Mountain Barbarian Fiend appeared, forming a "mountain" character seal. With a fierce collision, the ice shield instantly shattered, sending out a shower of fragmented ice blocks. It was "Mountain Shaking Impact," another high-grade spell inherited from Barbarian Ghost Peak!

Swiftly retreating and creating space, Wang Yu's movement technique was exquisite. He dangerously evaded the attack by staying close to Xu Jiaojiao's movements. Although he appeared to be struggling, he was actually moving with ease. Without needing to deploy his Nine Illusions Body technique, his Illusionary Form Steps were sufficient to handle all battles in the Qi Condensation stage.

As his opponent slammed into the ground, dust billowed and debris flew everywhere. Wang Yu quickly pondered a way to break the situation. He had already used all the spells he knew. While he could suppress her, delivering a fatal blow proved difficult, revealing his shortcomings in actual combat. Fortunately, being within the sect meant that if he truly couldn't win, fleeing to a crowded area would be enough to resolve the crisis, which was a relief.

However, he didn't want to back down. With his departure from the sect imminent, and the possibility of Zhao Shang personally confronting him, defeating Xu Jiaojiao, who was at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, now would prove he had the strength to contend with Zhao Shang, a feat of immense significance.

As he pondered, Wang Yu looked down in astonishment. Two dark iron chains had erupted from the ground, firmly binding his legs.

"A high-grade magic tool?"

In a flash, Xu Jiaojiao surged forward again, a triumphant smile spreading across her gaunt face. "Didn't expect this, did you? How could your combat skills as a Spirit Slave compare to mine!"

"Rumble—"

Xu Jiaojiao unleashed Mountain Shaking Impact again, charging directly with an unbridled, unstoppable momentum. Wang Yu cast the Ice Coffin spell, this time using the ice coffin to protect himself rather than to bind his enemy. The next instant, the two collided. The incredibly hard ice crystals of the Ice Coffin spell proved effective. Xu Jiaojiao's Mountain Shaking Impact was far from perfected, and when its force was exhausted, it only left numerous cracks on one side of the coffin.

—It held!

Before Wang Yu could relax, the demonic armor on Xu Jiaojiao's body suddenly transformed into a gigantic fiend's head, opening its gaping maw and biting down.

*Crack, crack, crack...*

The ice coffin held for three breaths before completely shattering. Wang Yu tilted backward, but his legs remained bound by the chains. The fiend's massive mouth closed over his chest, a truly perilous situation! He was barely half a foot away from being bitten in two.

The more perilous the situation, the calmer Wang Yu became. Xu Jiaojiao's demonic armor was not boundless; after it transformed into the gigantic fiend's head, the black smoke that enveloped her body was gone. Wang Yu seized the opportunity to lunge forward, his body springing up like a coiled spring. His right hand became covered in Yin and Corpse Qi, causing his fingernails to rapidly extend. He aimed a claw at her heart!

Unknown to anyone, Wang Yu, possessing the incomplete Corpse Demon Bone, had zombie-like characteristics and immense strength. Xu Jiaojiao, confident in her Barbarian Ghost Peak techniques that emphasized physical prowess, did not dodge or evade. Instead, she met Wang Yu's attack head-on with her own palm. Immediately after, a look of utter horror appeared on her face. With the collision, Xu Jiaojiao's right hand was twisted 180 degrees. Wang Yu tightly gripped her wrist and violently pulled her closer. He headbutted her!

Wang Yu's iron-like head struck her forehead, immediately dazing Xu Jiaojiao to the point of nearly fainting. At that moment, his right hand released its grip, and his ruthless claw pierced straight through her chest. A small heart, dripping with viscous black blood, appeared in Wang Yu's hand. As her body hung limply from his arm, Xu Jiaojiao continuously vomited blood. The gigantic fiend's head in mid-air rapidly weakened, re-splitting into wailing ghostly black smoke.

"You... you won."

With those words spoken, Xu Jiaojiao's life force extinguished, and all the malevolent spirits linked to her life also dissipated.

With a complicated expression, Wang Yu put the corpse into his storage bag. The high-grade magic tool chains wrapped around his legs, now spoils of war, were also carefully collected. Killing Xu Jiaojiao meant his relationship with Deacon Xu had escalated into a vendetta over the death of his daughter. Although Deacon Xu was detained in the Enforcement Hall, he would certainly be released eventually. After all, Deacon Xu was the victim. Even if the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect was tyrannical, they wouldn't kill him; he would merely be detained for a while longer. The sect's rules and order were essential for the higher-ups, and they would naturally uphold them. They would not let the law lose its credibility for some minor gains.

For Wang Yu, this meant gaining a powerful Foundation Establishment enemy, which was certainly not good news. His departure from the sect was now imperative. Thinking of this, Wang Yu examined Xu Jiaojiao's storage bag as he walked towards the agreed-upon location. The inner disciple from Heaven Corpse Peak had betrayed him, and Wang Yu intended to pay them a visit to settle accounts.

As he examined Xu Jiaojiao's storage bag, he found many common items, nearly two thousand spirit stones, and a large quantity of various elixirs. She was truly wealthy. There were also several jade slips and magic tools, which described their control methods and effects.

The high-grade magic tool, Nether Spirit Iron Chains, had the ability to divide and bind. It could extend up to a hundred meters and split into three, also possessing a slight suppressive effect on spiritual energy. From Wang Yu's personal experience, the spiritual energy suppression was almost negligible, but the binding effect was exceptionally good. Given Xu Jiaojiao's highly aggressive nature, this high-grade magic tool was a perfect match for her. Now, it had become his spoils of war. The remaining magic tools were weaker, mostly mid-grade. A net and a whip were useless to Wang Yu, but he could sell them to the Ice Snow Pavilion later.

Among his many gains, only one item particularly caught Wang Yu's attention. It was a mysterious silk scroll. Black paper with blood-red characters, it was clearly an item of the demonic path. Unfortunately, the script used was ancient demonic text, which he did not recognize.