Chapter 187

One incense stick?

Wang Yu stared at the black panther across from him, his eyes slightly narrowing.

As if receiving no response from Wang Yu, Tian Shixiong immediately sent another voice message:

"Wang Shidi, if you can accomplish this, you may choose any three thousand-year Foundation Establishment medicinal herbs from the Spirit Herb Garden first; with three such herbs to assist you, your chance of establishing the Foundation will be guaranteed to rise over thirty percent."

"Fine, it's a deal."

Hearing this, Wang Yu no longer hesitated; his lips moved slightly as he sent his reply, then his tall body shifted its neck, leaping high like a monkey, flipping midair to leave a string of afterimages, somehow appearing above the black panther, twisting his body with lingering traces as he brought down a golden palm-shaped phantom toward the creature below.

This was the Spirit Monkey Body Technique he had deduced from the Monkey Howl Four Forms, capable of generating afterimages to confuse opponents and leaping seven or eight zhang in a single flip to appear where the enemy least expected.

This body technique was modeled after the Spirit Monkey bloodline ability Shi Jian had used during the spirit vein struggle.

Though not identical, it was already eighty to ninety percent similar; and the palm strike he delivered now was the most ferocious technique from the Bear Embrace Four Forms.

Earlier, the opponent's Fake Mountain Monkey illusion had been shattered in one blow precisely because he had combined the Monkey Howl Four Forms with the Bear Embrace Four Forms.

Below, the black panther ignored the golden palm phantom above its head; instead, it lifted its head and spat a jet of black water straight toward Wang Yu's face.

Wang Yu tilted his head, letting the foul-smelling water stream pass just beside his ear, while the golden palm phantom slammed down onto the black panther's skull.

The panther's skull twisted grotesquely flat, silently dissipating the immense force within the golden palm.

At that moment, a glint of crystal light flashed in Wang Yu's eyes; he clenched his five fingers tightly, plunging his hand halfway into the panther's skull and dragging its body down hard toward the ground.

Only then did the black panther panic, letting out a strange shriek; its two forelimbs lashed out with a hissing sound, whipping through the air like belts, conjuring countless claw afterimages that rained down toward Wang Yu's face.

But Wang Yu's other arm blurred; amid a piercing shriek, a dense swarm of golden fist afterimages appeared, shattering the claw illusions and the remainder crashing violently into the panther's body.

"Boom."

The black panther's body crashed heavily into a patch of jagged rocks, its head pinned beneath Wang Yu's arm, driven deep into the shattered stones.

Wang Yu flipped his hand, and a green-red long knife materialized; with a single motion, a dense storm of blade afterimages swept downward, carving countless deep gashes into the panther's body.

In an instant, a wave of black light flowed over the panther's surface, and all the blade wounds vanished.

Wang Yu froze, then a flash of cold light—his long knife plunged straight into the panther's skull, pinning it firmly to the ground.

He then formed a hand seal with both hands; green-red spiritual runes flashed along the blade's surface, and with a hiss, a torrent of crimson flame erupted from the blade, engulfing the panther's head entirely.

The next instant, black aura from the panther's body surged toward its head, smothering all the flames; the skull pinned to the ground blurred, its occiput transforming into a face.

The black panther ignored the long knife embedded in its forehead, grinning mockingly at Wang Yu, strained its neck, effortlessly pulled its head free from the blade, then its four limbs moved—countless claw afterimages surged toward Wang Yu once more.

Seeing this, Wang Yu's expression darkened; he drew a deep breath, his eyes suddenly widening, every hair on his head standing on end, his beard bristling; he opened his mouth and unleashed a long howl resembling a monkey's cry, transforming into a blinding white sonic wave that crashed downward.

Where the white sonic wave passed, the claw afterimages shattered and collapsed; directly beneath it, the panther's skull was blurred by the shockwave, unable to open its mouth or reshape itself—its eyes, for the first time, revealed panic.

At that moment, a golden palm descended again onto the panther's skull; Wang Yu's other hand swiftly formed seals as he muttered incantations under his breath.

"Puff."

A pale red light barrier appeared above the panther's skull, severing its neck; twelve crimson spiritual runes surfaced on the barrier's surface, instantly igniting roaring flames within, faint purple threads of light flickering amid the blaze.

"No, I surrender!"

"Quickly dispel the spell, let me out!"

"My artifact!"

Inside the crimson barrier, the panther's skull displayed a human-like expression of terror; black aura surged wildly across its surface but could not extinguish the raging flames, only screaming in human speech.

From its severed neck, streams of black threads spewed toward its headless body, but were entirely blocked by the barrier.

On the other side, the headless panther body twisted and contorted endlessly—sometimes its limbs thrashed wildly, sometimes black spines erupted across its surface…

Within just a few breaths, the panther's skull inside the barrier fell silent, finally turning into a charred human skull, motionless and lifeless.

At that moment, the black panther's body shimmered with black light, transforming into a headless human corpse draped in panther hide, a black leather pouch hanging prominently from its waist.

Wang Yu only exhaled deeply when the skull inside the barrier turned to ash, withdrawing his hand from the barrier; the crimson light and its flames dissolved and vanished.

Wang Yu's gaze flicked once more to the storage pouch on the corpse's waist, and recalling the creature's final words, his heart stirred slightly.

At that instant, a thunderous boom echoed from the sky.

The massive blue silk net that had trapped the Black Soul Sect's true disciple suddenly split open from within by a colossal black light blade; thick black mist poured out.

The pale-faced Black Soul Sect youth stood atop the giant skull, one hand clutching a translucent bone banner, the other gripping a black talisman half-burned; he stepped out from the black mist and shouted toward Tian Shixiong, seated atop the giant octopus: "Tian Junzi."

Seeing this, Tian Shixiong's heart sank, but outwardly he merely snorted, replying coldly:

"You're decisive indeed—wasting a second-rank talisman so easily. Aren't you afraid you're just doing someone else's work?"

"As long as I kill you, the fifth-ranked true disciple of the Four Symbols Sect, what's one second-rank talisman?" the black-robed youth replied, his face brimming with malice.

"Brother Guo, you're right to do this! Now we're three against one—Tian Junzi is dead for sure." The woman, who had been continuously summoning pink mist to trap the handsome youth, exclaimed joyfully.

She flicked her jade fan; figures of beautiful women reappeared amid the pink mist, emitting sultry, seductive sounds.

The two humanoid golems also glowed with spiritual runes, blurred once, and vanished into thin air.