Chapter 438

News?

Yunhe came because of this news.

"It seems the hidden risk from the last Azure Sky Island mission failure has resurfaced," Yunhe said softly.

Last time, a great number of Yuan Ying Cultivators from the Eastern Realm gathered in Grand Void City; ostensibly to unify the various forces for dealing with the Yuan Clan and the Sea Clan, but in truth the real purpose was to muster manpower to handle the Yuan Clan's Cang Mo Mountain secret realm and the Sea Clan's Azure Sky Island secret realm.

Yunhe took part in the Cang Mo Mountain secret realm, and by cooperating with the Heavenly Corpse Gu, not only thwarted the Yuan Clan's scheme but also slew Yuan Clan cultivators, a great success.

But that mission was extremely difficult; it even involved six mid Fourth Level Yuan Clan cultivators, meaning that most of the Yuan Clan's top elite were deployed.

On the human cultivator side, it was a bitter victory: the physical bodies of the Yuan Ying mid-level cultivators Youlan Resident and Fushan Daoist were destroyed, and they have not yet emerged from the realm; they likely cannot emerge anytime soon.

The Purple Robe True Lord of the Formless Sword Sect destroyed his life‑bound treasure; had Yunhe not rescued him in time, his foundation would have been severely damaged.

Even though the foundation was not severely harmed, the damage to her was still considerable.

But not long ago, on the battlefield between human cultivators and Sea Clan cultivators, the Sea Clan deployed hundreds of treasure beads, forming a "Dragon Fish Ocean Great Array."

As for the storage bag Yunhe handed over, Ji Liuyun confiscated it.

Yunhe did not press the matter.

"We can only say it's fortunate the Yuan Clan's scheme was thwarted; otherwise, another defeat on the Yuan battlefield would have truly troubled us," Ji Liuyun sighed.

"Before that, I need to go somewhere to handle some matters; when I return, I'll decide whether to go."

Yunhe felt rather gratified by Baixiao Lou's strong support.

The Sea Clan fared no better: two fell, one was seriously injured!

But in the end, the Sea Clan obtained what they wanted!

It is said.

Such a major incident is undoubtedly a huge blow to the entire human cultivator side.

The peril of that secret realm is evident.

The Yuan Clan's scheme was thwarted, but the Sea Clan's succeeded.

After all.

"Are you ready to go?" Ji Liuyun asked.

To counter the Sea Clan's great array and the battlefield situation, those late Yuan Ying Grand Cultivators had to reconvene a host of Yuan Ying Cultivators and top formation masters to discuss countermeasures.

More importantly,

Guang Chengzi is not only a mid Yuan Ying Cultivator but also a formation master, and is likewise invited.

Among the five human Yuan Ying mid-level cultivators who entered the Azure Sky Island secret realm, one fell and two were seriously injured!

It was a set of hundreds of azure‑colored treasure beads.

But even so, the human cultivators then could not stop it.

"So, although the Yuan Clan and Sea Clan seem overall weaker than our human cultivators, they dare to strike proactively, which naturally means they have confidence."

It was Yunhe and the Heavenly Corpse Gu's scheming that finally managed to barely thwart the Yuan Clan's plan.

Saying that, he stood up directly.

In the end, after paying a certain price, they barely escaped the array.

Holding a grand ceremony now, while human cultivators on the Sea Clan battlefield are heavily afflicted, is rather untimely.

Ji Liuyun took the list, glanced over it, furrowed her eyebrows slightly, but quickly said:

"The items are still relatively rare, but I'll handle them as soon as possible."

The Sea Clan battlefield has now spread from Yuan Nation to Wu Nation, and within Wu Nation lie Yunhe's Ice Immortal Pavilion and the Snow Sword Sect allied with him.

"It seems it's no longer just the Yuan Clan and Sea Clan."

And also.

Although Yunhe did not participate, he learned some information from Ji Liuyun.

But this clearly has become an omen.

The great array now makes the human cultivators unwilling to act recklessly, because no one knows when the Sea Clan will activate it, and no one can guarantee 100% survival within it.

As the "top among late Yuan Ying Grand Cultivators," and a renowned formation master, Yunhe is naturally on the invitation list.

Before Yunhe could answer, Ji Liuyun said again, "If you decide to go, Baixiao Lou will fully support! Senior brother Guang Chengzi has already prepared."

But regarding whether to go, he hasn't decided yet.

Yunhe did not utter those words.

"Help me gather some things," Yunhe said, handing over a list and a storage bag.

Being invited or not is one thing.

Meanwhile, the human cultivator side completely lost the initiative on that battlefield, even losing the Yuan Nation battlefield outright, and finally had to retreat to Wu Nation.

When this array was unleashed, the human cultivator side suffered severe losses; three Yuan Ying Cultivators fell on the spot, including a Yuan Ying mid-level cultivator!

Even the late Yuan Ying Grand Cultivator, the Formless Sword Lord stationed on the Sea Clan battlefield, faced dire danger under this array.

If the Yuan Clan's scheme succeeded, they might obtain four to five Fourth Level late Abyss Beasts!

Although Abyss Beasts have low intellect, their bodies are powerful; late Fourth Level Abyss Beasts are far beyond what ordinary Yuan Ying mid-level cultivators can handle, which would exert huge pressure on the human cultivator side.

Its exact function was unclear at the time.

Thus.

The human cultivator side hides talents; even if the sky falls, someone tall will hold it up. Perhaps by the time he returns, the Sea Clan battlefield trouble will already be resolved.

Yunhe left Baixiao Lou, and after departing from Kai Ling City, flew straight toward the Heaven Ridge Mountains.

The continuation of the "Thousand Gu, Ten Thousand Insects Technique" has waited long enough; it's time to seek it.

Now his Cultivation Base has broken through the Yuan Ying mid-level, and his strength can barely compare to a late Yuan Ying Grand Cultivator, giving him some confidence in self‑preservation.

Yunhe never underestimates the Heavenly Corpse Gu; after all, it once single‑handedly eradicated the entire Great Sect Heaven Insect Sect.

This is still just the heavenly corpse gu from back then.

After such a long time, only heaven knows what abilities the heavenly corpse gu now possesses and how strong it is; being cautious is always the right choice.

As his strength grew, Yunhe became increasingly wary of the heavenly corpse gu.

Heavenly Ridge Mountain.

Concealing his aura, he avoided the fourth-level early-stage demon beast in Heavenly Ridge Mountain, and following the markers left behind, Yunhe quickly found the secret realm entrance of the Heavenly Insect Sect ruins.

"After so many years, there hasn't been much change here."

"Back when the demon beasts of Heavenly Ridge Mountain rioted, their impact on this place was actually negligible."

"Moreover"

"Back then, Yunhe's cultivation base was low, and he could not discern the peculiarity of this 'passage'."

"Now, upon returning here, he discovered that the Heavenly Insect Sect's mountain-guarding formation actually had something to it."

"With his spiritual sense and formation attainments, he actually could not detect any formation traces here; if he hadn't left markers back then, finding this entrance would have required considerable effort."

"Even ancient cultivators have their own strengths, ah."

"As a powerful sect from ancient times, the Heavenly Insect Sect, like many sects of its era, built its entire mountain domain within a single space."

"It stands apart from the cultivation world, yet maintains very close ties."

"And concealing and protecting such a sect places considerable demands on one's formation skill."

"At least."

"The formation master who set up this mountain-guarding formation for the Heavenly Insect Sect is far superior to Yunhe in skill."

"No wonder the fourth-level early-stage demon beast that has long roamed Heavenly Ridge Mountain detected nothing amiss."

"After a brief hesitation, Yunhe stepped into the passage."

"In an instant."

"It gave Yunhe the sensation of riding a teleportation formation, but the spatial fluctuations involved were much smaller than those of a teleportation formation."

"'Was this passage deliberately left behind by someone back then?'"

"He easily drove away the large swarm of black-ring hornets that had lingered at the passage entrance."

"Upon returning to the secret realm of the Heavenly Insect Sect ruins, Yunhe felt a mixture of emotions."

"Back then, he was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator; falling into this place could be described as fraught with danger."

"But now, upon returning here, his perspective on things has undergone a great change."

"This place is still quite suitable for my cultivation."

"Yunhe summoned his external incarnation, which, feeling the spiritual energy here mixed with abundant corpse qi, could not help but say."

"Having once been a refined corpse, and now cultivating the Sin Buddha Sword Canon, the rich corpse qi within the Heavenly Insect Sect ruins' secret realm is far more beneficial than harmful to him."

"'Let's go, be careful.' Yunhe said, then flew straight toward the main hall of the Heavenly Insect Sect within the ruins."

"His external incarnation nodded, likewise rose into flight, turning into a black streak and giving chase."

"But after not flying long, Yunhe sensed something amiss."

"He hovered in midair, involuntarily furrowing his brows."

"'Something feels a bit off.' His external incarnation hovered beside him and said slowly."

"Yunhe nodded."

"Just moments ago, their spiritual senses detected a Heavenly Capital Gu corpse."

"However, as this place was once the nest of the heavenly corpse gu, it's not surprising that it left a few Heavenly Capital Gu corpses to stand guard."

"What truly made Yunhe halt his flight was discovering a large number of heavenly corpse gu larvae."

"Just as when he first entered this place, large numbers of heavenly corpse gu larvae lie buried deep underground, asleep; once they sense abnormality or receive some summons, they awaken."

"Then, these heavenly corpse gu larvae will burrow into and attach themselves to skeletons reduced to mere bones, driving those corpses to attack intruders."

"This is what Yunhe experienced back then."

"But actually, in Yunhe's view, these heavenly corpse gu larvae are merely 'half-finished products,' even 'defective goods.'"

"They are not hard to detect; even though back then Yunhe was only at Foundation Establishment, and although possessing a demon beast body and cultivator body gave his spiritual sense a slight edge over peers of the same realm, it was still Foundation Establishment-level spiritual sense, yet he could sense the traces of these heavenly corpse gu larvae—showing that these larvae are far inferior to the present-day heavenly corpse gu larvae."

"'Back then, encountering these larvae felt extraordinarily troublesome and terrifying, but now it seems they might merely be byproducts of the heavenly corpse gu's metamorphosis.'"

"Regarding this, Yunhe made some speculations."

"Then the question arises."

"In his current view, the heavenly corpse gu back then, though formidable, was merely potential unrealized, and far from capable of destroying the Heavenly Insect Sect, which possessed a late Nascent Soul grand cultivator—the difference is not just a little."

"How exactly was the Heavenly Insect Sect destroyed?"

"'I'd guess the heavenly corpse gu also roughly knows you've entered this place.' said the external incarnation."

"The Heavenly Capital Gu corpse below, along with the large number of larvae, became active."

"'To be safe, you should block the entrance a bit.'"

"After a brief pondering, Yunhe took out several sets of formation compasses and flags from his storage bag and handed them to his external incarnation."

"With these formations in place, even a late Nascent Soul cultivator wishing to break through would have to spend considerable time."

"And that time should be enough for him to explore this place."

"That works."

"His external incarnation, being essentially one with him, would not have major differences in overall thoughts and judgments."

"Having his external incarnation guard the passage also means he need not worry about someone outside damaging the passage and trapping him here."

"The gap between a formation operated by someone and an unattended formation is still considerable."

"Soon after."

"Yunhe's true self and his avatar then proceeded to act separately."

The main body flew to the main hall of the Heavenly Insect Sect.

The clone flew toward the entrance of the passage.

Five Elements Mutual Generation Formation, Five Elements Inverted Formation, Solitary Offering Formation. Various formations were laid out one by one.

In the once magnificent, now dilapidated main hall of the Heavenly Insect Sect.

Boom!!

A flick of the finger shot out a sword Qi, blasting an approaching Heavenly Capital Gu corpse away.

It was merely a Jie Dan Stage Heavenly Capital Gu corpse, which couldn't pose much of an obstacle to Yunhe, yet he still frowned.

"Heavenly Corpse Gu, why don't you show yourself?"

But that Heavenly Capital Gu corpse remained unmoved.

It still let out a roar and charged at him.

Hum—

Seeing this, Yunhe no longer held back, and shot out another sword Qi.

The five-colored sharp sword Qi instantly transformed into a multitude of sword threads.

Directly pulverizing the Heavenly Capital Gu corpse into powder.

Leaving behind only a black insect and a storage bag.

The insect was drawn into his palm.

"Huh?"

Feeling the gu worm in his palm, Yunhe unexpectedly discovered that this heavenly gu worm was actually not the offspring of the Heavenly Corpse Gu he knew!

"There are two Heavenly Corpse Gu?!"

Although both are offspring of the Heavenly Corpse Gu, as the person who knows the Heavenly Corpse Gu best in the current Eastern Border cultivation world, and also possessing the unique Soul-Spirit Gu, Yunhe can clearly determine that this offspring originating from the Heavenly Capital Gu corpse does not belong to the Heavenly Corpse Gu he knows!

Therefore, the earlier Heavenly Capital Gu corpse did not react to his words.

But it is precisely because of this that Yunhe felt surprised.

According to what he had previously known, the Heavenly Corpse Gu was cultivated by the Supreme Elder Zuosi of the Heavenly Insect Sect; it could be said that it was bred by chance and coincidence to a certain extent, yet there would actually be two?!

"Getting interesting."

"There actually exist two Heavenly Corpse Gu."

"I just don't know what relationship exists between these two Heavenly Corpse Gu."

"Perhaps, that guy doesn't dare to come in, and this is also one of the reasons."

"The question that followed immediately was:"

"If there really is another Heavenly Corpse Gu hidden in this secret realm, then his exploration this time might be far more dangerous than imagined."

(End of chapter)