Chapter 47: Seizing the Stronghold

Wang Yu couldn't help but wonder if the previous round's teams developed in an environment like this. Combat practice actually greatly benefits a cultivator's strength.

If they fought like this every day for five years, it wouldn't be surprising for everyone to reach the late Qi Condensation stage. The weak would die early, and the strong would naturally become more outstanding, cultivating at an astonishing speed.

The sect's mission requires each person to excavate ten thousand jin of bone wood to turn in. If it's Tier 2 bone wood, a hundred jin would suffice.

This is a five-year quota, so there's no need to rush.

After gathering information, Wang Yu felt a deep headache. Before April next year, he would definitely need to clear out multiple strongholds where Tier 2 bone wood grew, especially those with bone pods.

The higher the elevation, the better the growth condition. Tier 2 bone wood was almost entirely concentrated in the top few dozen layers. It became sparser lower down; for example, the entire 200th layer only had one Tier 2 bone wood, which was also occupied by a swarm of bees.

When he returned to the surface, Gu Zhengshun and his group were controlling twenty-one copper-armored corpses, burying array cores at designated spots, as triangular black flags were placed one by one.

The lowest thirty layers of Mount Profound Bone were shrouded in a black mist, covering only the area where the Heavenly Corpse Peak disciples lived and cultivated daily.

"Is this to guard against Liu Jin Xian and Situ Hong?"

"Otherwise?" Gu Zhengshun retorted, then sighed, "We are few in number, so we must be cautious. I, Gu, do not wish to contend with them."

"With Junior Brother Wang, we are only twenty-two people in total. These three hundred layers of Mount Profound Bone are enough for all of us to reap immense rewards. Why should we contend for more?"

Greed would be unseemly; it's enough to guard this small patch of land. Gu Zhengshun's realization earned Wang Yu's admiration, significantly improving his impression of him.

It was good not to stir up trouble, and Wang Yu himself didn't want any. Five years of peaceful cultivation would be enough for him to undergo a complete transformation and advance further.

Clapping his hands to gather everyone, Gu Zhengshun outlined the next plans. He said, "The bone wood excavation can be disregarded for now."

"Before April next year, you must secure ten locations with Tier 2 bone wood that have bone pods. The rest will be your own, understood?"

Hearing this, Wang Yu's expression changed slightly.

"Senior Brother Gu, are you suggesting...?"

"Haha, Junior Brother Wang, don't worry. You only need to take care of yourself; don't concern yourself with me. They are all expendable resources sent by my Gu family, specifically for my service. Even their deaths hold value."

"You and I agreed to cooperate beforehand, so... we'll calculate separately."

"That works too." Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, fairly satisfied with this arrangement. Self-reliance was preferable.

"In that case, I'll take my leave first."

"Very well—"

Wang Yu once again sat on his black silk cloth and flew upwards. He was alone, and even if he managed to secure the lower levels, they were too sparse. He was aiming for the topmost layers.

There, Tier 2 bone wood grew densely, with fewer bee swarms but more Fierce Bone Lions.

His abilities were better suited for dealing with Fierce Bone Lions. Securing two layers would be enough for him. As for whether Gu Zhengshun would go back on his word later and bring people to seize his gains, based on his interactions so far, he wouldn't.

Gu Zhengshun was someone who understood how to size up a situation. It was highly probable that he had observed the battle between Wang Yu and Xu Jiao Jiao in the Corpse-Nurturing Ground. Unless he had absolute confidence in killing Wang Yu, Gu Zhengshun would not make a move.

Soon after Wang Yu's departure, a talisman message flew to the outside of the newly set up array. A disciple retrieved it and brought it to Gu Zhengshun, who muttered to himself.

"Situ Hong and Liu Jin Xian are inviting me to meet at the camp in the middle of the three Mount Profound Bone peaks? A peak master gathering, then? It makes sense, given that we've just arrived."

"But, alas—I won't go~"

With a flick of his finger, he burned the talisman message to ash, and Gu Zhengshun resumed his tasks.

Meanwhile, at the central camp, the elegant and strikingly handsome Situ Hong was seated opposite Liu Jin Xian. He said, "It seems that pig Gu Zhengshun isn't willing to come out. What do you say, Senior Sister Liu?"

Liu Jin Xian had green hair and a fairly attractive face, but unfortunately, her nose looked as if it had been gnawed by insects, revealing two dark, hollow holes, appearing both comical and repulsive. Several grey sowbugs crawled within it, making her appear like a corpse. When she opened her mouth, a sickly sweet scent emanated, causing hallucinations.

"Not coming? If he doesn't come, then kill him! I want all the Corrosive Venomous Bee swarms from the three Mount Profound Bone peaks!"

Hearing this, Situ Hong said, somewhat speechless. "He's set up an illusion array. Can Senior Sister break it?"

"Of course it's simple. Are you coming or not?"

"I'll pass. I still need to busy myself selecting suitable bone wood."

"Hmph, coward."

Such a blatant provocation had no effect on Situ Hong. He even felt like laughing. They had just arrived, and it was far from the blooming season for Profound Essence Flowers. Why would he do something that offered no benefit?

"Senior Sister Liu, do as you wish. I shall take my leave first."

The two failed to reach an agreement and parted amicably.

Mount Profound Bone Three, 290th layer.

Wang Yu stood beneath a Tier 2 bone wood, his left hand radiating ice-blue spiritual energy as he firmly gripped the throat of a Fierce Bone Lion.

*Snap—* He twisted its neck, casually discarding it on the ground. Wang Yu found it surprisingly easy. An adult Fierce Bone Lion's strength was comparable to a Qi Condensation ninth-layer cultivator, and in terms of cultivation realm, it was stronger than Xu Jiao Jiao.

However, these low-intelligence wild demonic beasts lacked varied spells and powerful artifacts, and they were solitary. With Wang Yu's strength, applying a perfected Night Concealment Curse, binding it with the Nether Spirit Iron Chain, and then using his left corpse arm for a throat grab, the immense force made it utterly no match for him. His formidable combat power and versatile methods were his fundamental reliance.

The newly acquired divine-powered corpse arm, even without utilizing its death energy, still provided him with extremely strong assistance.

Based on the Fierce Bone Lion's displayed strength, an outer disciple of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect at Qi Condensation sixth layer could kill one in a one-on-one fight, squandering the advantage of its realm. This was the difference between having a sect's heritage and simply growing wild. He should actually thank the scoundrels who sold him to the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect; otherwise, he wouldn't have grown to this extent in just over three years.

This 290th layer likely contained over twenty Tier 2 Profound Bone Wood trees, four Fierce Bone Lions, and three Corrosive Venomous Bee swarms. There were only four Tier 2 bone wood trees with flower buds, but hundreds of Tier 1 bone wood trees showed signs of growing Profound Essence Flowers.

Having temporarily secured a stronghold, Wang Yu began to set up an array he had purchased from within the sect. Named the Blood Mist Spirit Concealment Array, it was a typical top-grade Tier 1 illusion array. It could completely conceal spiritual energy fluctuations within a hundred meters, block external prying, and also isolate internal from external movements, preventing disturbances from outside.

This set of array flags was not cheap, costing a full two thousand spirit stones. Once activated, it consumed one spirit stone daily, and its spiritual energy consumption doubled when facing external enemies. Wang Yu happened to have many spirit stones on hand, so he didn't mind this small expense. His cooperation with Zhao Shang had earned him at least ten thousand spirit stones from the Ice Snow Pavilion. Several people had jointly embezzled no less than fifty thousand spirit stones from within the pavilion, which was just a small sum for True Disciple Su.

However, if this continued, they would be discovered sooner or later.