Chapter 54: Conspiracies and Schemes

The frost permeating the air became increasingly apparent. Someone shivered involuntarily, only feeling better after raising a spiritual light shield.

Liu Jinxian frowned upon seeing this. A blood-red mosquito-beast, which Wang Yu had seen before, emerged from her shoulder, immediately emitting a mist that enveloped her. She then stepped onto the stairs and sped past.

As the others followed, Wang Yu deliberately stayed at the back.

Having cultivated the Cold Blood Art and undergone physical transformation via the Corpse Demon Secret Art, he specialized in yin-cold attributes, making him highly adaptable to the cold.

He could walk freely without using spiritual power for protection, even feeling his internal spiritual energy become slightly more active. However, as he ascended, he felt the temperature plummet. In the distance, a crescent moon seemed to be rising above the palace.

The scattered Taiyin essence transformed into frost, freezing the ground.

Even he was severely affected, let alone the others. Liu Jinxian noticed this situation as well. She turned back, saw the shivering group, and said, "Those who cannot endure it do not need to press on to the main hall. There are also treasures remaining in the surrounding side and annex halls, which you may go and claim for yourselves.

"However, there is one condition: upon your return, I will inspect your storage bags. A copy of any cultivation techniques or secret arts must be made, and half of all treasures and magical artifacts must be handed over.

"Violators will be executed!"

These terms caused Su Qingshan and the others' expressions to change, becoming grim and difficult to accept. In contrast, the Gu Poison Peak disciples reacted as if they had received a great boon, expressing heartfelt gratitude.

"Many thanks for the reward, Senior Sister Liu!"

Their obedience was remarkably high. Wang Yu squinted, suspecting these individuals might be controlled or manipulated by Gu worms; otherwise, they were far too compliant.

The two exchanged a distant glance, and Liu Jinxian specifically instructed, "You as well."

Wang Yu's ascent suddenly halted. He was about a third of the way up the stairs, while the one named Liu had already covered more than half the distance. From his vantage point, he could vaguely discern the name of the main hall.

———Coagulating Moon Palace!

This behavior left Wang Yu feeling dissatisfied, but he couldn't quite discern her intentions. And speaking of Gu Zhengshun, where was he? If he had known about the underground passage beneath Mount Xuangu earlier, why hadn't he appeared yet?

At the base of the Third Profound Bone Mountain, a large opening had appeared in a place that should have been protected by the Earth Yin Corpse Puppet Array. Situ Hong entered it, accompanied by ten of his late-stage Qi Cultivation subordinates.

They found Gu Zhengshun standing before a crack in the earth, approximately a zhang wide. The fissure emitted a faint green glow, and endless cold currents along with dense corpse qi drifted out from it.

Numerous armored corpses stood nearby, stretching their heads and eagerly inhaling. The light yellow, ridge-patterned copper armor clinging to their bodies was visibly shifting to a deeper yellow, a clear sign that these copper-armored corpses were breaking through to the late first stage.

When they looked at Gu Zhengshun again, his aura was slightly unstable, but he had clearly broken through the bottleneck between the middle and late stages, reaching the seventh level of Qi Cultivation!

Situ Hong took a few steps forward and congratulated him:

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Gu, on successfully breaking through to the late Qi Cultivation stage. It appears the Profound Essence Flower had a good effect."

Gu Zhengshun nodded.

"The effect is indeed good, but this item is difficult to preserve long-term. Even sealed with a pill, it only retains its freshness for three years. Otherwise, this place would not have fallen to us."

At this, Situ Hong's expression changed, and he said seriously:

"Liu Jinxian is the daughter of True Lord Bisha, and the resources she can command far exceed what our statuses allow. Before coming to Mount Xuangu this time, she arranged for a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Liu to apply to the sect for a long-term mission to guard Mount Xuangu.

"I asked Mother Taohua to temporarily block this. With luck, we might be able to weather the five-year rotation, but we also need to act quickly."

Hearing this, Gu Zhengshun looked at Situ Hong's incomparably handsome face with some surprise. As a grand-disciple of Diyinzi, he had relied on his ancestral connections to join this lineage.

Situ Hong was the adopted son of the Peach Blossom Ghost Mother, and he primarily relied on his appearance; he was indeed a first-rate handsome man, rumored to exert his energies in bed every night.

Otherwise, with the Peach Blossom Ghost Mother's resources, someone with top-grade spiritual roots (dual spirit roots) wouldn't have only cultivated to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation. To put it bluntly, he was more like a highly placed male companion.

Therefore, the two had secretly communicated before coming to Mount Xuangu. After a brief pause, Gu Zhengshun added:

"Wang Yu's combat power is exceptionally strong, comparable to an inner sect Qi Cultivation eighth-level cultivator. After receiving the second-tier Divine Strength Corpse Arm I provided, his strength has likely reached the peak of Qi Cultivation.

"Unless Liu Jinxian reveals her trump cards, it will be difficult for her to contend with him."

"Oh..."

"Is this person truly so formidable?"

"Naturally."

Gu Zhengshun sighed deeply: "Before coming to Mount Xuangu, I had some minor friction with him. It was only by enticing him with benefits that we barely managed to cooperate. The best strategy is to let him and Liu Jinxian both suffer heavy losses, and then you and I can contend for the underground palace's treasures."

Situ Hong nodded and smiled.

"Liu Jinxian likely believes she's gone in the wrong direction, thinking the underground palace ruins are beneath the endless ice plain. In truth, the geomagnetism here is chaotic, making directions unclear, and coupled with the temperature changes, she will undoubtedly be convinced.

"You and I only need to wait for the fighting to begin, and then we can reenact the strategy of 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' However... will Wang Yu truly make a move?"

"He will." Gu Zhengshun pulled a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to Situ Hong for examination. "Besides Wang Yu, Su Qingshan and other disciples not from Gu Poison Peak will definitely make a move."

After reading the secret letter, Situ Hong's gaze settled on the signature.

———Zhao Shang!

"Interesting. What a clever 'borrowed knife' tactic. So, a key subordinate of True Disciple Su... Tsk, tsk."

Meanwhile.

On the ascending stairs leading to the Coagulating Moon Palace, Gu Poison Peak disciples, in small groups, left the main path.

It became apparent that since they had given up advancing, the temperature had stopped dropping, maintaining a constant low. Each disciple activated spiritual light shields or used magical artifacts to resist the chill, heading towards the annex halls on either side.

Wang Yu glanced at Su Qingshan, provocatively beckoned with his finger, and then darted to one side as well.

Deep down, he wanted to explore the main hall. However, Liu Jinxian clearly intended to exploit him, and with Gu Zhengshun and Situ Hong nowhere in sight, the timing was wrong for him to resist.

Therefore, the best strategy was to first eliminate Su Qingshan, who harbored ill will towards him, which would help to clarify the complicated situation.

Faced with Wang Yu's provocation, Su Qingshan looked at the three late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators he had recently become acquainted with and whispered, "Liu Jinxian's power is too great for us to contend with. How about we first kill Wang Yu, divide the Profound Essence Flower he possesses, and then go to the annex halls to seek our own opportunities?"

The three pondered for a moment before responding, "Alright, let's settle this by strength. How about whoever kills Wang Yu gets fifty percent of his Profound Essence Flower?"

This proposal perfectly suited Su Qingshan's intentions, as the prospect of profit often makes one more courageous and decisive.

"Then let's follow Brother Li's suggestion. Come, let's keep up with him."

The four moved simultaneously, trailing Wang Yu from a distance, and he naturally detected them.

Since the underground palace ruins were an ancient sect's relic, he intended to search for structures like a scripture pavilion to see if any ancient pill formulas had been preserved.