Chapter 123: Land of Death

One month later, around a small hill somewhere in the Trial Ground, a gloomy aura constantly drifted over; not far from this place, piles of white bones would appear, and these bones belonged either to human cultivators or to demonic beasts.

Although this place appeared somewhat gloomy, the Spiritual Qi was exceptionally abundant, and compared to the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the outside world, there was almost no difference.

A woman wearing white palace attire walked cautiously through the trees around the small hill; sensing the Spiritual Qi around her, a look of astonishment appeared on her face—to be able to find a place with such dense Spiritual Qi in the Trial Ground was truly incredible.

The woman in the white palace attire looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and was quite attractive; she walked forward for another stretch of distance and finally sat down under a large tree.

It seemed she had experienced a great battle, as the Divine Sea within her body was nearing exhaustion; encountering such dense Spiritual Qi, she naturally would not let it pass. She swept her Divine Sense around and, finding no danger, sat cross-legged under the tree and began to regulate her breathing and perform cultivation.

Feeling a large amount of Spiritual Qi being absorbed into her body and continuously replenishing her Divine Sea, a slight joy appeared on the woman's face.

But just at this moment, on a small hill peak far away from the woman, a man in a black robe with small eyes was looking with a fierce glint toward the place where the woman was meditating.

The corners of his mouth suddenly turned up, and a strange, gloomy smile appeared on the black-robed man's face.

"Kill her!"

The black-robed man's emotionless voice suddenly rang out, and at the same time, a red figure underground was rapidly rushing toward where the woman was.

A moment later, behind the woman, a blood-red head emerged silently from the ground; this head looked very much like a human head, but it lacked a single hair, and even the skin was incomparably blood-red. If Zhang Nuo were here at this moment, he would recognize at a glance that this was the Blood Corpse belonging to Gu Yu of the Corpse Refining Sect!

The woman's cultivation had neared the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage; although she was in deep meditation, her Divine Sense still sensed the movement behind her, and in great alarm, she just wanted to stand up and leave this place.

Suddenly, the Blood Corpse drilled rapidly out of the ground and, in a flash, arrived behind the woman. Not giving the woman any time to react, the Corpse clasped its hands together and grabbed the woman firmly. At the same time, its large mouth, reeking of a bloody stench, bit down onto the woman's shoulder.

With a scream of "Ah," the woman was scared out of her wits. As she was bitten by the Blood Corpse, the Spiritual Qi in her body broke through her skin and flowed continuously into the Corpse's body.

In the blink of an eye, the Spiritual Qi the woman had just absorbed from the outside world was sucked dry by the Blood Corpse, and even the little bit of Spiritual Qi remaining in her own exhausted Divine Sea could not escape the fate of being sucked away! Having lost all her Spirit Power, her body collapsed limply to the ground.

Seeing this scene, the Blood Corpse did not move to kill her, but simply stood by the woman's side, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Before long, a black shadow flashed out from the forest; with just a few drifts, it arrived in front of the woman. It glanced sideways at the woman on the ground and let out a faint cold snort.

When the woman saw the black shadow, her heart turned completely cold. She looked at the shadow with pleading eyes, and as her red lips parted, she said with extreme difficulty:

"So... so it is Fellow Daoist Gu of the Corpse Refining Sect! This concubine has offended you greatly; I beg you, Fellow Daoist, to spare me!"

Because all the Spiritual Qi in her body had been drained by the Blood Corpse, the woman was now like an empty shell, lacking even the strength to lift a finger.

"You recognize me?"

"This concubine has long heard of Fellow Daoist Gu's great name and admires you greatly!"

In order to survive, the woman deliberately flattered Gu Yu, her words as sweet as if they had been smeared with honey.

"Hehe, I didn't expect my fame to be so high, but blame yourself! The Trial Ground is so large, why did you have to come here?"

After Gu Yu finished speaking with a cold laugh, his Divine Sense stirred, and the Blood Corpse beside the woman suddenly raised its index finger. A foot-long Bone Spike slowly grew from the fingertip; the Bone Spike emitted a ghostly blue light and stabbed directly toward the woman's head.

"Fellow Daoist, stop!"

Seeing that Gu Yu had murderous intent, the woman gathered all her strength and shouted loudly.

"What? Do you have any last words you want to say?"

At the same time the woman shouted, the Bone Spike in the Blood Corpse's hand also stopped.

"If Fellow Daoist Gu can spare this concubine's life, this concubine is willing to do anything! Furthermore, this concubine is also extremely proficient in matters between men and women; I believe I will not disappoint you!"

The woman's bright eyes swirled; in this situation, she actually put on a charming appearance, her soul-snatching eyes releasing two beams of light as she stared fixedly into Gu Yu's eyes.

"Hmph!"

Suddenly, Gu Yu let out a cold snort, and his expression became even gloomier!

"I didn't expect that even with your Spirit Power drained, you could still launch a Charm Technique; truly remarkable! But this trick is useless on me, because I am not interested in women at all!"

As he spoke, a ferocious grin appeared on Gu Yu's face. With a light wave of one hand, the Blood Corpse beside the woman thrust the Bone Spike on its index finger forward rapidly. Accompanied by a scream, the Bone Spike pierced directly through her head.

Until the moment the woman died, she still kept her eyes wide open, looking at that face under the black robe with unwillingness; her Charm Technique had actually had no effect on Gu Yu at all.

Walking lightly to the woman's side, Gu Yu leaned over and untied the Storage Bag from her waist. After opening it and sweeping it with his Divine Sense, he nodded in satisfaction and muttered to himself:

"Better than the last one! I wonder which one this is! I hope the next one to be killed will also have such family assets!"

Turning his head, Gu Yu looked at the Blood Corpse. As his eyebrows lifted slightly, the Corpse sank silently into the ground. He looked up at the nearby small hill, his eyes revealing endless anticipation.

"Tie Lin! You had better not disappoint me! If I have waited here in vain for so long, I will definitely turn you into a Corpse!"

A flash of murderous intent crossed his small eyes as Gu Yu spoke in a very sinister voice. Looking at him, it did not seem like he was joking at all.

Inside a cave on this hill, the Spiritual Qi was as dense as a vast ocean. Eight black-robed cultivators formed a Dharma Array, and under the shroud of a five-colored light screen, a large man in a black robe sat in the very center of the array; the Spiritual Qi gathering from the outside world was all being absorbed by his body.

This person was Tie Lin, who was attempting to break through to the Golden Core stage within the Trial Ground! After more than a year of bitter cultivation in the cave, Tie Lin had already succeeded by nearly seventy or eighty percent. A white, transparent, water-like False Core was slowly rotating above the Divine Sea in his body. If given a few more months, this Golden Core would certainly be formed!

The eight black-robed cultivators forming the 'Spirit Gathering Array' all had their eyes closed, their hands pinching strange Dharma seals, but none of them noticed that, hidden by their black robes, their bodies were rapidly aging.