Chapter 216

He swung his sword and cut.

The four of Wang Lou's faces changed slightly, but they seemed to have already prepared, each taking out their own magic treasures to defend.

Yet a flash of cunning glimmered in Mu Haitang's bright eyes; the sword light she swung seemed to cover all four, but most of it was merely a feint, and its target was only one person.

Wang Fengsong!

He is the only cultivator present with an ice-attribute variant spiritual root; though not saying how formidable he is, he is indeed one of Mu Haitang's most feared opponents.

When the sword light slashed down, the four finally sensed something amiss, especially Wang Fengbai, who was the intended target.

Damn it!

His expression instantly turned grim, but fortunately his reaction speed was decent; he unleashed his magic treasure Xuanbing Ring while hastily casting a spell to condense an ice shield.

Crack!!

A crisp sound followed, and the ice shield, as if useless, shattered instantly.

The sharp sword light struck the Xuanbing Ring, instantly sending ripples through the air, and the sword light scattered into countless smaller sharp blades that rained down on Wang Fengsong, who looked somewhat startled.

In an instant, his splendid robe tore apart, revealing the inner armor beneath, which blocked the sword light's attack.

And the places not protected by the inner armor instantly became bloody.

His whole appearance looked extremely disheveled.

Ugh!

Wang Fengsong let out a muffled groan, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

At the same time, after swinging that sword, Mu Haitang's face turned slightly pale; she gave a tight, light laugh and swiftly fled.

Fellow Daoist Wang!

Seeing this, Wang Lou shouted with a grim face.

Wang Fengsong's face remained grim, but he hurriedly said, 'I'm fine, fellow Daoists, go ahead first; I'll catch up after a brief rest—don't let this person escape!'

Upon hearing this, the three of Wang Lou exchanged glances, then again performed an evasion technique and swiftly gave chase.

That sword, Mu Haitang certainly couldn't unleash consecutively; it must have drained her greatly—now is the moment to pursue and capture her.

After the four had departed, Wang Fengbai's grim expression gradually returned to normal.

His injury wasn't as severe as it appeared.

However, whether exploring the secret realm or hunting this woman to retrieve the item, he gains nothing; if so, why does he still exert himself so desperately?

He might as well take this opportunity to rid himself of trouble; even if questioned later, he would have a plausible excuse.

Indeed, it is precisely for this reason that Mu Haitang can maneuver with ease despite being pursued by four mid-stage Golden Core cultivators.

They all know they must retrieve the item, yet none wants to be the one to stick their neck out.

Anyone with sense can see that Mu Haitang is not to be provoked; if she fixes her gaze on someone and they recklessly attack despite others' obstruction, that person will surely suffer badly.

The four of Wang Lou are all mid-stage Golden Core cultivators and seasoned veterans; they obviously wouldn't make such a foolish choice.

After confirming the four had truly left, Wang Fengbai patted his storage bag, slowly took out an elixir, swallowed it as if it were fitting, then sat cross-legged on the sea of clouds to recuperate.

Time trickled by.

The entire sea of clouds was extremely tranquil.

Yunhe, hidden within the sea of clouds, merely watched him silently, not making a move, for he could sense the intermittent sweeps of that concealed divine sense.

Thus, Wang Fengsong appeared defenseless, yet he remained vigilant.

But when he felt his wounds mostly healed and his expenditure nearly recovered, Wang Fengsong's taut nerves suddenly relaxed.

Just then, his heart suddenly jumped, and the hairs on his whole body practically stood on end in an instant.

A cultivator's spiritual awareness made him realize: danger!

Almost in an instant, Wang Fengsong mobilized all his spiritual power, driving his inner armor to its maximum; a hazy protective shroud appeared around him, and his divine sense spread out in a flash to seek the source of danger.

The next moment.

In his divine sense, he saw three swords wrapped in golden arc light shooting at him from three directions at extreme speed; combined with the ambushers' timing, Wang Fengbai could only activate his inner armor's protection besides guarding his head and dantian.

The protective shield he had erected, upon a flash of the arc light on the swords, dissolved at a speed he could not comprehend, offering no hindrance to those three swords.

Even, with a 'puchi' sound, before his disbelieving eyes, the inner armor he had high hopes for merely offered slight resistance before being pierced straight through by one of those swords!

A bloody gap remained in his chest!

Intense pain frenziedly stimulated his spirit.

Who?!

Because he protected his vital points, that blow wasn't fatal, yet it shocked him greatly.

But no one answered him; only the sound of a swarm of bees' wings trembling could be heard.

Since they had already launched a sneak attack, Yunhe naturally wouldn't waste words with him.

Wang Fengsong's reaction doesn't matter; his... seems important to himself.

Vast swarms of crimson-shadow gold-winged bees closely followed the Five Elements Thunder Sword, rushing forth in a frenzy.

Seeing this, Wang Fengsong gritted his teeth, one hand raising to drive the Xuanbing Ring into forming an ice-crystal dragon to meet one flying sword, while the other hand hastily took out two third-rank talismans, infused them with spiritual power, and sent them toward another flying sword.

For the moment he couldn't attend to the bee swarm; the greatest threat to him now remained those two flying swords.

Their slightly slower speed gave Wang Fengsong time to react.

Just that.

Soon he discovered, astonished.

Whether the Xuanbing Ring he unleashed or the talismans, they were all useless.

Because those two flying swords were actually illusions!

Like tangible illusions!

At the same time he immediately realized that the ambushers had made the speed of those two 'flying swords' relatively slow on purpose, just to confuse him.

It was precisely in this brief gap that the crimson‑shadow golden‑winged bee swarm had already closed in.

The numerous sharp stingers and pairs of fierce mouthparts made him shudder involuntarily.

「Ha!! 」

Wang Fengsong's eyes instantly turned red, his mana surged wildly from within his body, and the ice dragon formed from the Profound Ice Ring immediately turned back.

Moreover, an extreme cold aura emanated from his body and the turned Profound Ice Ring; whether in the air or the surrounding mist, ice‑crystal snowflakes formed.

Even the bodies and wings of the crimson‑shadow golden‑winged bees became coated with ice crystals, reducing their speed.

Seeing this, Wang Fengsong's eyes filled with joy.

This wave of surprise attack came too suddenly, the successive strikes followed too closely, and in just a few breaths he was already severely wounded; if given some time to catch his breath and recover, even if he couldn't win, he would still have a chance to escape.

But just as his joy welled up in his heart, he felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head.

Because those six‑winged bees of unknown species actually began to gnaw away out of nowhere!

Wang Fengsong instantly felt the surrounding extreme cold temperature rising at a speed completely beyond his control.

Cold!

This swarm of spirit bees is actually consuming the cold energy?!

What's more, the ice dragon formed from the Profound Ice Ring was now completely covered by a dense mass of spirit bees, accompanied by a fine gnawing sound, and the ice dragon shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At this moment, Wang Fengsong suddenly understood.

He had no chance or possibility of escape; the bee swarm had already broken free of the cold's restraint, and although many had frozen to death, such losses were insignificant for the enormous swarm.

What's more, the flying sword that had previously pierced his inner armor and his body had now turned back and attacked again.

In an instant, Wang Fengsong seemed to have made some decision, his eyes flashing with ferocity, and his already surging mana turned violent.

These spirit bees and that flying sword are absolutely vital to the ambushers; since he cannot survive, he will make the ambushers suffer great losses!

In Wang Fengsong's qi sea dantian, a Golden Core spun at extreme speed.

「Self‑detonate the Golden Core? 」

In the cloud sea, Yunhe's figure appeared silently.

Gazing at the violently surging Wang Fengsong, Yunhe let out a scoff.

His gaze tightened.

A domineering divine sense thrust out fiercely.

Heart‑worm Technique!

「Mmm!! 」

Wang Fengsong suddenly let out a muffled groan.

He felt as if his head had been smashed by a heavy hammer, and the Golden Core, which had been wildly accumulating mana, came to an abrupt halt.

「No!!! 」

Having come to his senses, he widened his eyes.

The next second, he was engulfed by the bee swarm.

He guessed that even to his death he would never figure out who was ambushing him and why.

He couldn't even catch a glimpse of the ambusher.

Pat.

Yunhe took the storage bag brought by the bee swarm and the inert Profound Ice Ring, retrieving the Five Elements Thunder Sword and the bee swarm.

A strange suction emanated from his palm, accompanied by a silver‑colored wind, drawing Wang Fengsong's soul together with his Golden Core.

Without lingering, he turned and flew off in another direction.

The commotion just now was not minor; although the battle from start to finish was quick, there was still a considerable chance that Wang Lou and others might notice, so they could not linger here.

As for Liu Er of the Liu Clan, Yunhe hadn't thought of instantly dealing with two mid‑Golden Core cultivators.

One would need to seize an opportunity like this.

However.

If Wang Fengsong dies, the Wang Clan of South Lodging Island will surely fall; at present, few know of this, and since he did not directly destroy Wang Fengsong's soul, the spirit tablet in the Wang Clan ancestral hall might be revealed, but not shatter immediately.

Now is the perfect time to aggressively annex the Wang Clan's properties and seize their resources.

So after flying a distance, Yunhe took out a message‑bearing Jade Slip, activated the seal, and the Jade Slip shot swiftly toward the He Clan of South Lodging Island.

How much can be consumed depends on He Yuanlin's ability.

It also determines whether he can continue to serve as the head of the He Clan.

On an inconspicuous cloud island within South Lodging Island.

Yunhe, sitting cross‑legged on the ground with eyes closed to nurture his spirit, slowly opened his eyes, looked toward the southeast, and saw a vigorous figure swiftly approaching.

It was Mu Haitang.

Seeing this person, Yunhe felt the Corpse Spirit Gu within his body become active again.

After Mu Haitang landed, keeping a certain distance, he clasped his fists in salute to Yunhe and said:

「Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist. 」

Yunhe slowly rose, brushed off the dust on his body, and said calmly:

「Fellow Daoist Mu, you're welcome; each of us just takes what we need. 」

Upon hearing this, Mu Haitang nodded, shouldered the white heavy sword, and said with a hint of surprise:

「I never expected that after decades apart, fellow Daoist, your cultivation base has already reached the mid‑Golden Core stage. 」

Indeed.

【How did this woman recognize me?】

Yunhe gave her a meaningful glance, smiled faintly, and said: 「Fellow Daoist Mu, you've also reached the mid‑Golden Core stage, haven't you? 」

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yunhe brought the topic back.

"I don't know what Fellow Cultivator Mu said about the Weeping Blood Vermilion Fruit."

Mu Haitang was not surprised either, for this was exactly the reward she had promised for Yunhe's intervention.

The Weeping Blood Vermilion Fruit is an extremely rare treasure, far rarer than Golden Core spirit objects.

Its effect is indeed very important for some body cultivators, as it can help body cultivators break through the third-stage shackles!

Although Yunhe didn't know how Mu Haitang had seen his physical strength, he naturally hadn't made much effort to conceal it, so it wasn't surprising.

"Fellow cultivator, you've surely heard of the Spirit Martial Sect, this body-cultivation sect, right? As far as I know, although the sect has declined, it still possesses a perfectly preserved Weeping Blood Vermilion Fruit."

Spirit Martial Sect?

A body-cultivation sect, Yunhe had naturally heard of it.

The body cultivator he knew, Fan Sanjin, had once mentioned it to him.

He hadn't expected that the sect would actually preserve a Weeping Blood Vermilion Fruit.

As for how Mu Haitang came to know this, Yunhe didn't ask further; as long as Mu Haitang had a bit of sense, she wouldn't deceive him about this, otherwise the next time they met, it would be a fight to the death.

No one would offend a cultivator of the same realm over something that doesn't even belong to them.

But Yunhe still furrowed his brows and spoke in a low voice:

"This probably doesn't match what you promised, Fellow Cultivator."

As soon as the words fell, Mu Haitang slapped her storage bag, tossed over a Jade Slip, and explained:

"This is the pill formula for refining the Weeping Blood Vermilion Pill, using the Weeping Blood Vermilion Fruit as the main ingredient."

Upon hearing this, Yunhe slightly relaxed his brows, and after a quick sweep of his divine sense confirmed it was correct, he put it away.

He then gave a slight nod and said:

"If that's the case, I'll take my leave now."

Watching the departing escape light, Mu Haitang's eyes flickered, and she whispered: "This person is quite a capable assistant."

In an empty place with no one around, suddenly an ancient, rasping voice sounded in her ear.

"He has discovered this old one."

Hearing these words, Mu Haitang's beautiful face stiffened slightly, her pupils contracted, and she seemed somewhat incredulous.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Without further exchange with Mu Haitang, after Yunhe obtained what he wanted, he clenched his fist in the escape light, and after distancing himself from Mu Haitang, the Corpse Soul Worm on his body gradually became obedient.

Yunhe narrowed his eyes.

'Mu Haitang truly hides an old monster on her person.'

'It seems what she stole when she first joined the Corpse Fiend Hall might not be just a simple cultivation method.'

If the Corpse Soul Worm hadn't advanced once, he really wouldn't have noticed.

But this way, many things become explicable.

For example, she was able to escape from the Corpse Puppet's grasp, detect his hiding place, and know his physical strength, etc.

'It's better to stay hidden from now on.'

As for those undying old monsters, his heart is full of apprehension.

But this time, he not only eliminated the potential threat Wang Fengsong, but also obtained the pill formula for the Weeping Blood Vermilion Pill, achieving two goals at once.

(End of chapter)