Chapter 273: Laying Low

Seeing the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse, Wan Gui Lao Zu was still alright, but the Golden Core Cultivators of Jiu gui Lao guai were dumbstruck.

No one expected that Yunhe actually had a Yuan Ying Refined Corpse in his hand.

This is a Yuan Ying Refined Corpse!

Many Golden Core Cultivators of the Corpse Sect don't even have a Golden Core Refined Corpse; to possess one already counts as a relatively strong elder of the Corpse Sect.

Like the Ghost Sect, Jiu gui Lao guai's ability to securely hold the position of Supreme Grand Elder is not only because of his perfected Golden Core cultivation base, but also because he possesses nine Golden Core Old Ghosts.

This person before them repeatedly exceeded their understanding.

First, he possesses a third-stage late Cold Chant Flood Dragon, and also no fewer than three third-stage supreme-grade magic treasures, which already makes him an extraordinarily troublesome existence for Golden Core Cultivators.

Now he even brought out a Yuan Ying Refined Corpse; could he still be hiding some other means?

It's no wonder Wan Gui Lao Zu feels that Yunhe has an extremely high-level cultivation elder behind him; anyone who saw would think the same.

At this point, the ones who regret it most are undoubtedly the two Mid Golden Core Cultivators invited by the Ghost Sect.

Things were fine, yet he insisted on taking on this job—isn't that just asking for trouble?

What now?

The battle situation was suddenly pulled from the Golden Core level to the Yuan Ying level, and it's already beyond their ability to interfere.

As for Yunhe, he really isn't just boasting.

He has laid down so many formations here; even if the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse cannot oppose Wan Gui Lao Zu, it can at least delay him for a considerable time, and that time is enough for Yunhe to flee.

Moreover, Wan Gui Lao Zu is not his true body descending; how much power he can exert as a genuine Yuan Ying Cultivator is still debatable.

Yunhe cannot unleash the full power of the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse, and Wan Gui Lao Zu cannot unleash his full power either; who will win or lose remains uncertain.

Since he is already in an invincible position, Yunhe naturally has no restraints.

Wan Gui Lao Zu? Yuan Ying Cultivator? Today he will make a move!

Yunhe reflexively handed the Beast Soul Banner in his hand to the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse.

The Beast Soul Banner is his magic treasure; normally, even if the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse is his refined corpse, it cannot use his magic treasure.

But since Yunhe's means of controlling refined corpses are Corpse Soul Gu and Corpse Gu, by borrowing the power of the gu worms to attach, the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse can still control the Beast Soul Banner to a certain extent.

This is also his advantage.

Wan Gui Lao Zu's descent makes it impossible for him to bring his own magic treasure, while the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse possessing a magic treasure gains a considerable advantage.

After all, the same magic treasure exerts completely different power in the hands of a Golden Core Cultivator versus a Yuan Ying Cultivator.

As the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse infused its magic power into the Beast Soul Banner, the banner immediately surged with even more vigorous spiritual power fluctuations.

The power used by the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse is corpse qi, which is magic power blended with yin killing qi; this matches the Beast Soul Banner's traits even better, raising its power to another level.

Seeing this, Wan Gui Lao Zu couldn't help but feel a bit troubled.

Again formations, heavenly thunder power, and the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse, now even equipped with a magic treasure—even he finds it extraordinarily troublesome.

Wan Gui Lao Zu took a deep breath, stared at Yunhe for a long while, then spoke in a low voice:

"Good! Let this old ancestor test your methods!"

Yunhe narrowed his eyes, didn't respond, but his divine sense had firmly locked onto Wan Gui Lao Zu.

Only then did Wan Gui Lao Zu realize that the opponent's divine sense was almost comparable to that of a Yuan Ying Cultivator!

Purely in terms of divine sense level, facing him he truly would not be at a disadvantage.

This truly gives Yunhe the ability to duel spells with a Yuan Ying Cultivator.

Otherwise, if the divine sense gap were too great, the reaction during a spell duel would fail to keep up—then what spell duel is there to speak of?

However, the harsh words have already been spoken; next we'll see the real skill in action.

Just as Wan Gui Lao Zu's words fell, his body shuddered violently; the surging ghost mist around him, as if substantive, instantly condensed into countless fine needles like cow hairs, dense and innumerable.

Don't underestimate these needles; they are almost entirely condensed from extremely thick yin killing qi. If one is accidentally struck, setting aside pure bodily harm, it will inevitably cause stagnation of magic power flow, thereby affecting subsequent ability execution.

The next moment.

Those countless black needles densely shot out from all directions, erupting violently toward the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse, leaving no blind spot.

Puff puff!

Countless black needles nearly submerged the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse.

After everything passed, all that could be seen was that the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse's black robe was torn to shreds, yet its flesh was unusually smooth, even faintly gleaming with a metallic sheen, showing extreme toughness.

For refined corpses, the strongest aspect is the body!

It is an existence capable of rivaling a magic treasure.

Seeing this, Wan Gui Lao Zu raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.

But upon further thought, he felt it was reasonable.

He had never seen a Yuan Ying-level refined corpse before; this first encounter could be called a probe, yet it also let him understand the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse's formidable physique—if he were to get close, he likely wouldn't find it pleasant either.

Although surprised, Wan Gui Lao Zu's actions did not stop.

As he waved his hands, his body surface suddenly displayed winding deep purple patterns, while his body began to swell at a visible speed, and the surrounding ghost mist gathered toward him.

"Roar!!"

A beast-like roar emanated from that swelling body; eerie black mist kept pouring in and exploding, spreading, and in an instant transformed into a ferocious beast with four arms, a ghostly face, and fangs, emitting a heaven-shaking roar, its aura surging wildly.

Fifty zhang, one hundred zhang, two hundred zhang

In just a few breaths, this ghostly monstrous beast grew to nearly three hundred zhang, a colossal figure that blotted out the sun as it pressed down on Yunhe.

Seeing this, Yunhe's expression grew grave; the mother worm of the Corpse Soul Gu in his palm writhed, and the Yuan Ying Refined Corpse also began to move.

Whoosh—

The Yuan Ying Refined Corpse's body also stirred with hazy magic power; his form swelled like Wan Gui Lao Zu's, and in no time became a towering illusory figure a hundred zhang tall, with eight arms and four eyes, clearly wreathed in thick corpse qi yet giving the sensation of a Buddha's descent.

At the same time.

On the Nascent Soul Corpse Refiner's body also began to stir a hazy magical power, his form swelling like the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor, and in an instant becoming a towering illusory figure a hundred zhang tall, with four eyes and eight arms; though clearly wreathed in thick corpse qi, it gave the feeling of a Buddha's descent.

Sin Buddha Corpse Canon!

This is the cultivation method that the Yinming Old Ancestor once practiced; after being sacrificed and refined into a corpse-refining technique, this method and the corpse-refining body actually complement each other perfectly, as if the method itself existed solely to turn cultivators into corpse refinements.

And this is also the first time Yunhe has used the ability of that corpse refinement.

Dharma Aspect Illusory Form!

This Sin Buddha Dharma Aspect has eight arms, each holding a completely different implement, all transformed from the beast souls in the beast soul banner, facing the Four-Armed Fang-Toothed Ghost Monster of the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor, it steps forward and slashes down.

Thud!!

Two tremendous terrifying existences collide head-on, blood-colored lightning bursts forth, the heavens and earth plunge into utter darkness, as if nightfall has descended.

Scrape—scrape—scrape—

Suddenly.

The dense yin-sha qi completely dissipated; the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor's eyes showed a hint of astonishment, and he staggered backward.

At the same time, the illusory form of the Yuan Ying corpse refinement faded like a bubble, and its steps retreated a few paces in disarray.

In this head-on clash, the Yuan Ying corpse refinement actually managed to gain a slight advantage!

"You actually can really control this corpse refinement?"

The Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor guessed that Yunhe might truly possess the means to control part of the Yuan Ying corpse refinement's ability, but he never imagined he could unleash this corpse refinement to such an extent.

If he knew of the existence of the corpse soul gu, knew that the corpse soul gu had devoured the souls of Yuan Ying Cultivators, knew how much price Yunhe had paid over these decades after obtaining this Yuan Ying corpse refinement to massively cultivate the corpse soul gu, knew how countless corpse soul gu this corpse refinement now harbored, perhaps he would not be so surprised.

"Hmph! Seniors have already tried two moves with no effect; then please, senior, witness my junior's methods!"

Yunhe felt his mana rapidly draining within, and without the slightest hesitation, he formed hand seals.

"Thunder arise!"

Boom—!!

The power of the formation was mobilized by him, and Yunhe also without hesitation spat out five flying swords, which swiftly fled into the gathering thunderclouds.

The next second.

A gleaming golden bolt of lightning tore through the darkness that had not yet fully faded, as if forcibly ripping a slit in a black cloth, and it slammed fiercely toward the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor.

Heavenly Thunder Power!

Seeing this, the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor's face sank; the heavenly thunder power bolstered by the formation could not be compared to the heavenly thunder power previously displayed, and even the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor had to treat it with utmost importance.

He immediately waved his sleeves, gathering ghost mist power to resist.

Crack!!

The golden thunderbolt fell, and the ghost mist that the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor relied on instantly dissipated by eighty or ninety percent!

The might of the heavenly thunder is overly restrictive for a ghost cultivator like him.

He dare not imagine: if Yunhe successfully achieves Nascent Soul, and then enables his set of treasures to advance to the Fourth Level Tier, just how great a threat the heavenly thunder power he would unleash would pose.

Probably, once the heavenly thunder appears, he would have nothing to do but flee.

At this moment, even if the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor suspected that some old monster might stand behind Yunhe, he could not restrain himself from harboring murderous intent toward Yunhe.

This child must not be allowed to live!

But the problem is, the initiative has already shifted!

Taking advantage of the moment the heavenly thunder power restrained him, the Yuan Ying corpse refinement stepped forward and surged toward the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor like a cannonball.

Close combat!

Black claws wreathed in thick corpse qi lunged forward to meet the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor, causing his expression to drastically change.

Only now did he finally realize how great the influence of this formation was.

Although he was now slightly at a disadvantage against the Yuan Ying corpse refinement, determining victory was not easy, yet the formation and the heavenly thunder power caused this wavering balance to begin tilting significantly.

After being engaged in close combat by the Yuan Ying corpse refinement, the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor had nothing left but defensive strength, with no means to counterattack.

Bang bang bang!!

Each head-on collision was accompanied by the explosion of vast amounts of ghost mist and corpse qi.

The Yuan Ying corpse refinement, already being a corpse, need not worry at all about the erosion of the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor's ghost qi.

No wonder Yunhe looks down on ghost cultivators like that.

Because more than half of his abilities are aimed at ghost and demon cultivators.

Not far away, several Golden Core cultivators watching this scene couldn't help but stare agape.

Surely they aren't really going to reverse-slay a Yuan Ying, are they?

That is, while they were desperately coping with the aftermath of the collision.

Yunhe moved again.

If we say that aside from the heavenly thunder's restraint on ghost cultivators, which can give him some influence over the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor, what other means does he have that can threaten a Yuan Ying-level cultivator? Only one: divine sense!

If the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor's true form descended, Yunhe's divine sense, which can barely compare to that of a Yuan Ying Cultivator, could cause interference without issue, but establishing a decisive victory would be difficult.

But the problem is, the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor here is not his true form.

Therefore, Yunhe's divine sense attack has now become the final weight that completely tips the scales.

One could see rippling fluorescence appear in his eyes as his overbearing divine sense surged forth.

Seeking Immortality, Divine Bestowal!

In an instant.

The Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor, who had been sternly preparing to resist the Yuan Ying corpse refinement's claws, suddenly halted.

For cultivators of their level, even the slightest interference is extremely lethal, let alone a brief stagnation during combat.

And the Myriad Ghosts Old Ancestor only felt a momentary daze; when he regained his senses, he found that the twin claws of the Yuan Ying corpse refinement had already pierced through his body.

Although he is now a body condensed of ghost qi, such an attack is enough to deprive him of the ability to resist.

Roar!!

Just then, the Yuan Ying corpse-refining let out a beast-like low roar, its arms bursting with strength as it ripped the Wan Gui Old Ancestor's body apart at the middle, turning it into a ghostly mist that vanished.

Is it over?

Not at all!

The next moment.

Yunhe's face deathly pale, his eyes icy, he retreated rapidly by the power of the formation; raising his arm, five flying swords shot out from the thunderclouds, hovering before him and moving forward together.

「Five Elements Sword Formation! 」

Accompanied by a humming sound.

The five flying swords shone with five-colored light, actually condensing into a gigantic sword tens of zhang long.

The golden arc light bursting from it was far stronger than a mere trifle.

The opportunity existed only in a fleeting instant.

The corner behind Yunhe.

Within the ghostly mist, the Wan Gui Old Ancestor's body condensed again, coldly gazing at Yunhe within arm's reach; he no longer dodged, for his strength had dwindled to less than one-tenth, making evasion impossible.

After all, this could only be considered a clone of the Wan Gui Old Ancestor.

If the clone is destroyed, so be it; after all, the one paying the greatest price is the Nine Ghosts Old Monster.

To him, it was merely a few decades of cultivation; as a ghost cultivator, his lifespan was also extremely long.

But the strength displayed by Yunhe and the Yuan Ying corpse-refining forced him to take notice.

He could be certain that if his true body descended, he would surely defeat his opponent, but killing him would still involve great uncertainty.

At the same time he knew that Yunhe was merely an honorary Supreme Elder of the Ice Immortal Pavilion, a later recruit; if pushed to desperation, a cultivator possessing a Yuan Ying corpse-refining and with no reservations would pose an obvious threat to their Ghost Sect.

Moreover, there might be an even stronger existence behind him!

「You're excellent! 」 the Wan Gui Old Ancestor transmitted his final words, devoid of any emotion.

But before he could finish speaking, Yunhe, who was driving the Five Elements Thunderbolt Sword, grinned and said:

「Senior, you'd better get ready; my master might come to have a talk with you soon. 」

Upon hearing this.

The Wan Gui Old Ancestor's pupils contracted sharply, his face changing dramatically.

He had long suspected that Yunhe might have a powerful cultivator behind him; hearing it from Yunhe's mouth confirmed his preconceived notion.

That powerful cultivator capable of refining a Yuan Ying corpse shows that the opponent has the ability to overwhelm early Yuan Ying cultivators, and he himself is merely an early Yuan Ying cultivator; such an existence to him

This threat is far greater than losing a clone!

The longer one lives, the more one fears death.

Moreover, he is a ghost cultivator with an extremely long lifespan.

「Junior. 」 the Wan Gui Old Ancestor's tone softened considerably, 「This time I, the old ancestor, admit defeat. 」

Yunhe's Five Elements Thunderbolt Sword ultimately could not strike down; he merely held the giant sword and said:

「See you off, senior! 」

Bang!!

After giving Yunhe a deep look, the Wan Gui Old Ancestor's form vanished with a bang.

At this moment, the Yuan Ying corpse-refining flew forward swiftly.

It absorbed the remnant soul completely.

It was also a wisp of the soul of an old Yuan Ying monster.

After absorption, it could elevate the control ability of the corpse soul gu over this corpse-refining to a higher level.

Yunhe now knows that, as long as he is fully prepared, an early Yuan Ying cultivator can at most force him to flee.

【But for now, I must lay low for a while.】

Yunhe split the giant sword again into five blades, took a deep breath, and thought to himself.

However.

After this battle, if any cultivator truly intends to act against him, they must weigh the consequences carefully.

Even if they are Yuan Ying cultivators, especially those with a sect or power, they must consider whether they can bear the consequences of failure.

【I recall that the Ice Immortal Pavilion has a damaged fourth-level mountain-protecting formation, right?】

After all, it is a sect that has produced Yuan Ying cultivators before, so it still possesses some foundation.

If there is a fourth-level mountain-protecting formation, combined with the Yuan Ying corpse-refining overseeing it, even ordinary one or two early Yuan Ying cultivators could not breach it.

The pattern of the Martial Kingdom's cultivation world may well change.

【If all else fails, leaving the Ice Immortal Pavilion is also an option.】

The cultivation world is vast; there will always be a place for him to hide.

Just waiting for him to successfully condense a Nascent Soul.

But those who can successfully condense a Nascent Soul are no fools; the Wan Gui Old Ancestor's final submission is the best interpretation.

There are no endless fights to the death, only choices driven by profit.

The Snow Sword Sect certainly has no fools either.

Ghost Sect.

「Someone come! This old ancestor is going into seclusion for a period! 」

Need to lay low.

(End of chapter)