Chapter 556

“What is it, young lady?”

Below the city gate, Gu Kong looked at Murong Yan.

“I want to know what realm the primordial cultivators from the Eight Wilderness Region have reached.”

Hearing Murong Yan’s question, Gu Kong did not answer, but asked in return: “Why do you ask this?”

“If the primordial cultivator who comes is weak, I might be able to hold him off for half an hour.”

“You can hold off a primordial cultivator?”

Gu Kong’s eyes held doubt; this woman’s realm was roughly equal to his own—both were First Rank—and to a primordial cultivator, First Rank and Ninth Rank made no difference.

He did not believe a First Rank cultivator could hold off a primordial cultivator for half an hour.

“This person must have just entered the primordial realm; if he has reached mid-Primordial First Rank, I can delay him at most for fifteen minutes.”

Murong Yan knew he would not easily believe her, and said softly: “Though I have not entered the primordial realm, I cultivate a unique spiritual soul technique that can affect a primordial cultivator’s spiritual soul, trapping them in an illusion.”

As Murong Yan finished speaking, her beautiful eyes flickered beneath her veil: “Why don’t you see where you are right now?”

“Where?”

Gu Kong froze, looked around, and his face changed instantly—he realized he was ten zhang away from the city gate.

Yet just before the woman spoke, he had been standing beneath the gate.

Illusion!

Gu Kong recalled the illusion she had mentioned—he had unknowingly fallen into her illusion. What spiritual soul technique was this, that it could ensnare him without his awareness?

Could anyone below the primordial realm even cultivate a spiritual soul technique?

But now was not the time to ponder this; the strength of this woman’s spiritual illusion gave him a bold idea.

“It won’t work. My illusion can ensnare someone without their awareness—but only if there is no immediate danger. Once danger arises, a primordial cultivator will sense it.”

Murong Yan shook her head slightly; the difference between primordial cultivators and ranked cultivators was not only in power, but also in one other thing: when facing mortal danger, primordial cultivators possessed a sixth-sense intuition.

“I can only delay him—but I need an environment where I won’t be interrupted.”

“Fine, I’ll handle that. Is there anything else you need?” Gu Kong no longer doubted the woman before him.

“If there were any pills that restore the spiritual soul, that would be better.”

Ranked cultivators did have spiritual souls—they simply could not manipulate them like primordial cultivators, because their spiritual souls were too weak.

“I’ll provide the pills.”

Gu Kong agreed immediately; as the guardian of Qianye City, under special circumstances, he could directly use any pills from the city’s apothecary—and this was such a circumstance.

……

……

That night, the moon shone brightly.

Outside Qianye City, the earth trembled.

Nearly a hundred dark dots sped toward the city gate.

Gu Kong stood atop the city wall, his sword hand trembling slightly; his gaze involuntarily flickered to Murong Yan, who sat cross-legged in a corner of the gate.

“They’re here!”

This was both a warning to those present and a signal to Murong Yan.

“Take Qianye City! Follow the rules—slaughter the entire city!”

A thousand zhang away, Xu Ke looked at Qianye City, his face twisted with cruelty; behind him, the cultivators’ eyes gleamed with greed.

The spoils of a city massacre were no secret among the Eight Wilderness cultivators—resources gained from one massacre could equal a decade, even decades, of accumulation.

“Lord Xu, leave Qianye City to us. Once the city falls, we’ll collect the city’s beauties for you.”

An old man spoke with flattery; having followed this Lord Xu for months, they knew him well—he was a lustful beast, never content without women.

“Go.”

Xu Ke’s eyes glinted with depravity; he had not slaughtered a city for the first time. Each time he broke a city, he took pleasure in raping the noblewomen of its martial families.

He was born common, and at fifty, he remained only First Rank. With such progress, he would never reach the primordial realm—but the war between the Eight Wilderness Region and Canglan Region gave him an opportunity. Through sheer desperation on the battlefield, and by looting two precious pills from the corpse of a slain primordial cultivator, he broke through into the primordial realm.

After entering the primordial realm, his first act upon returning home was to slaughter every family that had looked down on him. The women of those families? He raped them all to death.

During this process, Xu Ke discovered his own realm had slightly improved—thrilling him beyond measure.

He had never expected to reach the primordial realm, so he knew little of primordial cultivation. But he had heard one saying: for primordial cultivators, the spiritual soul is paramount.

And satisfying one’s desires was also a way to strengthen the spiritual soul.

Hundreds of Eight Wilderness cultivators surged toward Qianye City. When they saw the gate unguarded, they paused—then ignored it. With Lord Xu present, the Qianye cultivators could never rise up.

As the hundreds of Eight Wilderness cultivators entered the city, Gu Kong and the others inside revealed themselves and clashed with them.

Xu Ke looked down at the battle, sneering—mere ants still resisted desperately.

But he did not rush to act; let the ants fight on.

Xu Ke hovered in midair, like a celestial god, while below, the Eight Wilderness cultivators gradually gained the upper hand…

At the city gate, Murong Yan’s face was pale as she swallowed a pill. Beside her, Su Qin stood fully alert, watching the surroundings. Now… fifteen minutes had passed, and the primordial cultivator remained trapped in the princess’s illusion, unaware.

Fifteen minutes… thirty minutes…

Inside the city, Gu Kong had slain dozens of cultivators, gasping for breath, and immediately swallowed another pill to replenish his depleted energy.

The Eight Wilderness primordial cultivator had not intervened; their side held the advantage, and if they could just delay another thirty minutes, his senior brothers would arrive.

“Lord Xu, save us!”

The Eight Wilderness cultivators panicked. They had assumed that with Lord Xu present, the Qianye cultivators would be trembling, their strength halved. But instead, the Qianye cultivators showed no fear—and now, as their position worsened, Lord Xu remained motionless in the sky.

“Shhh!”

Gu Kong’s long sword fell—the old man who had cried for help lost his head. He looked up at the oblivious Xu Ke, then exhaled in relief—thankfully, he had not awakened the Eight Wilderness primordial cultivator.

Puff!

In the corner of the city gate, Murong Yan could no longer suppress it; her lips parted, and a jet of crimson blood spurted forth, splattering her robes and staining the green stone before her.