Chapter 58: Arcane Technique Dark Lunar Phantom Eye

"Troublesome?"

"Brother Yuan, that's a laugh. Our factions are different; why pretend anymore? Do you really think I don't know about your relationship with Liu Jin-xian?!"

Wang Yu's eyes narrowed. The Netherworld Iron Chain burst from his sleeve, rapidly extending to coil around the other person's waist.

This Senior Brother Yuan, in green robes and a jade crown, was one of Liu Jin-xian's lovers. When Wang Yu used to travel with Gu Zheng-shun, they chatted almost every day on the way to Mount Blackbone. He was quite familiar not only with Liu Jin-xian's faction but also with Situ Hong's. He asked, and Gu Zheng-shun answered. This was supposed to be another cornerstone of trust in their cooperation, yet the other party abandoned him first, even making him a public enemy. Such was the way of betraying companions.

Liu Jin-xian actually had an excellent appearance, except for her lack of a nose, which made her not look like a beauty. This was likely a side effect of cultivating Gu techniques. Her temperament was violent and overbearing, and she was self-conscious about her looks. Because of this, she used Gu worms to control multiple inner disciples of Gu Poison Peak, taking them as male consorts for daily pleasure. There was no doubt about this; this fellow disciple surnamed Yuan was one of her favorites. How could Wang Yu let him go?

Just as the Netherworld Iron Chain was about to wrap around Fellow Disciple Yuan's calf, his expression turned fierce. "I know I'm no match for you, but you're too arrogant!" He threw a pair of jade orbs, which he played with daily, with a flick of his sleeve. They flew towards the mysterious corpse by the door, exploding mid-air to release a pair of jade-like small insects. They burrowed into the corpse's nostrils, one on the left and one on the right.

Fellow Disciple Yuan landed beside the corpse, his face showing delight. "It's the corpse of a Golden Core stage cultivator at the peak! Hahahaha, my fate isn't meant to end here, my life isn't meant to end!"

"Dual Possession Gu, activate!"

Wang Yu, with the Netherworld Iron Chain coiled around his left hand, watched with a grave expression, preparing for a tough fight.

However, the air fell silent. There was no reaction at all. The person surnamed Yuan began to panic again. "Bro... Brother Wang... I'm willing to pledge allegiance to you—" Before he could finish speaking, six ice crystals converged from all directions. He turned pale with fright and quickly activated a whip-blade-like high-grade magic tool, swinging it around him. The sharp blades, resembling moss leaves, shot out numerous golden flying knives, which futilely embedded themselves into the ice crystal walls!

The ice coffin formed, and ice shards burst forth. A bloody, hedgehog-like ice sculpture immediately appeared at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion, its life force rapidly dissipating. These three were easier to deal with than he had imagined, largely due to the advantage of a preemptive sneak attack and close proximity; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so simple. He had just acquired another windfall, having collected three storage bags without yet having the chance to check them.

"Cough—"

A light cough made Wang Yu recoil sharply. He saw the corpse on the reclining chair sneeze, and the Dual Possession Gu was expelled from its nostrils. It landed on the ground, its translucent insect limbs trembling slightly twice, then died!

The corpse slowly stood up, two clusters of grayish-white flames igniting in its eye sockets. The aura of a Golden Core cultivator swept towards him, heavy with pressure, nearly forcing him to his knees. Alive? No... that's not right... The flesh had decayed to such an extent, it couldn't possibly be alive. Yet, the Golden Core aura was real.

The next instant, the corpse vanished, suddenly reappearing before him, its withered palm striking out at Wang Yu. He blocked it with his left arm. The Netherworld Iron Chain, coiled on the outermost layer, creaked loudly before shattering violently and scattering in all directions. However, the inner-layer Mountain Ridge Iron Armor was undamaged. Wang Yu flew backward, hitting his back against the black stone monument, and spat out a mouthful of blood. It looked like a severe injury, but in reality, it was only a minor one. Although the corpse had the aura of a Golden Core cultivator, its true strength should be around the early Foundation Establishment stage. Otherwise, a single slap would have killed him, not just left him with a minor injury.

"So—it's a Corpse Demon!"

Mountain spirits and monsters, all things can become demons. A Corpse Demon is the body of a powerful cultivator that, on a certain day, suddenly gains sentience. It possesses fragmented memories from the body's former life, yet it is an entirely different entity. It is closely related to zombies and often even identified as the same type of being. However, a Corpse Demon, once sentient, possesses the intelligence of a three- or four-year-old child and gradually grows over time, slowly gaining power comparable to that of the deceased before their death. The conditions for a corpse to gain sentience are strict. It's unclear how this one came into being, but it's probably recent; otherwise, its cultivation wouldn't be limited to the early Foundation Establishment stage. Even so, being in the underground palace had made it a perilous place. It was best to leave as soon as possible. No opportunities or treasures were as important as his life.

Losing his will to fight, Wang Yu took a top-grade Spirit Recovery Pill and a top-grade Healing Pill. His body blurred, instantly transforming into ten illusory figures that charged in all directions. The illusory figures, which should have been indistinguishable from the real one, appeared differently in the Corpse Demon's eyes. Its eyes were lit by soul fire, rendering its vision in black and white. Although Wang Yu's illusory figures had physical form and the aura of his true body, he only had one soul. In almost an instant, the Corpse Demon identified Wang Yu's true location. The withered, sharp claws unleashed five streaks of dark claw light, striking horizontally.

Wang Yu, soaring mid-air and treading on black silk, gritted his teeth and summoned a bronze bell for defense. However, the claw lights were ferocious, tearing the bronze bell to shreds. Two of his three refined high-grade magic tools were now broken. The remaining force struck his chest, leaving three deep, bone-exposing claw marks. His flesh was torn open, blood flowed, yet he felt no pain. Breaking out of the Scripture Pavilion had failed.

Wang Yu frowned in contemplation. The "Death Qi" he had unexpectedly cultivated through the Corpse Devil Secret Art was supposed to be his trump card, but this thing was only effective against old cultivators nearing their end. Against a Corpse Demon, its effectiveness was limited. In other aspects—strength, speed, defense, etc.—he was completely overwhelmed. Although his Divine Strength Corpse Arm was second-tier, his own cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, still far inferior to the Corpse Demon. After much thought, only one strategy seemed viable: he had to break out of the Scripture Pavilion, then use the Night Concealment Spell to hide, which might allow him to escape with his life!

As he pondered, the Foundation Establishment Corpse Demon slowly approached. On its ugly, withered face, he caught a glimpse of a mocking smile. Like a cat playing with a mouse, it was enjoying the thrill of the hunt. Wang Yu's gaze sharpened. As he observed, he noticed a black jade slip tucked within the almost weathered and tattered clothes on the Corpse Demon's chest. It was held protectively against its chest, seemingly greatly treasured.

A quick glance from the corner of his eye confirmed that the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, besides the central stone monument, contained nothing but dust. Nothing else remained. He wondered what the second and third floors held. In other words, he was basically leaving empty-handed this time. This was unacceptable. Situ Hong and Gu Zheng-shun hadn't appeared yet, and with Liu Jin-xian, the three would most likely clash at the Moon Condensing Palace at the top of the underground complex. If he arrived in time, it would be fine, but if not, he'd truly be in a fix.

"Corpse Demon, prepare to die!"

With a low roar, Wang Yu adopted a desperate stance and charged towards the Corpse Demon, his left fist already raised, aiming directly for its face. The opponent seemed slightly annoyed by the prey's resistance and likewise swung a claw, attempting a head-on confrontation with Wang Yu. However, the two passed each other. The Phantom Step was inherently a movement technique for close-quarters combat and maneuvering, not just for creating illusory figures. He feigned a direct clash, only to brush past at the crucial moment. In dangerous and fierce battles, retreating at a critical moment comes with a price.

At this moment, his Divine Strength Corpse Arm, on which he relied, was abnormally twisted; his fingers and forearm were almost broken into three sections, effectively crippled. But his right hand was still unharmed, and it even clutched the black jade slip, which bore the inscription—"Yin Nether Pupil!"