Chapter 326

Almost all of these demonic rat corpses were incomplete.

Some had lost both eyeballs, leaving only two black hollows.

Some had lost one forelimb, leaving only three legs.

Some had their abdomens slit open, their hearts vanished.

The largest demonic rat corpse, though its limbs were intact, bore two long blood grooves along its back—as if something vital had been removed.

Wang Yu studied these corpses for a moment, a hunch forming in his mind; he slapped his waist pouch, and a white mist burst forth, sucking all the corpses inside.

After checking the underground hall once more and finding nothing else, he formed a hand seal, white clouds sprouting beneath his feet as he rose into the air and vanished into the mist above.

A soft "whoosh."

Wang Yu flew out of the well and landed lightly in the courtyard, then tilted his head and let out a long howl.

The howl echoed like a dragon's roar, yet also like an ape's cry, ringing through the entire sky.

In moments, Xiao Bai shot out from the nearby dense forest, wrapped in a cloud of cold energy, darted a few times, then plopped onto the ground beside him, shaking its head repeatedly at its master—as if it had found nothing.

Wang Yu remained expressionless, waited another cup of tea's time, then a shadow flickered from the other forest—Da Lv burst forth, its back barely carrying something.

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes.

The next instant, Da Lv leaped several times and landed steadily before Wang Yu, its back revealing a unconscious girl, thirteen or fourteen years old.

"Wu wu."

Da Lv crouched down on all fours, emitting "wu wu" sounds toward Wang Yu, as if trying to say something.

"Put her down first—I'll check her."

Da Lv shuddered, flinging the unconscious girl off its back.

Wang Yu flicked his sleeve, an invisible force surging out to catch the girl's body, gently lifting it forward.

He glanced at her.

Though her hair was wild and her robes tattered, her delicate features were still discernible—her eyes tightly shut, face pale, visibly emaciated.

Wang Yu's gaze shifted to a character " Tong " stitched on the hem of her skirt.

"Tong family."

Wang Yu murmured, a glimmer flashing deep in his pupils—as if pondering something—then reached out to grasp her wrist, as if to take her pulse.

The next instant, the girl's eyes snapped open, revealing eerie green vertical pupils; in her hand appeared a short green dagger, stabbing toward Wang Yu's abdomen with lightning speed.

A sharp "crack."

A large hand wrapped in pale golden mist had already settled behind her neck; five fingers tightened, snapping her neck outright—her arm froze mid-thrust.

But terrifyingly, though her head hung limply, her eyes did not blink, and a strange smile surfaced on her face as a violent aura erupted from her body.

Wang Yu shuddered without hesitation and kicked out.

"Whoosh."

The girl's body was struck hard, launching like a cannonball into the distant forest.

"Boom!" Her body exploded midair, a mushroom-like fire cloud surging upward, engulfing everything within several zhang.

Wang Yu watched this shocking scene, his face darkening; he flicked his sleeve, and a black light shot out.

"Bang!" A black flying dagger embedded itself into a large tree at the edge of the ruins.

The tree trunk, once seemingly empty, blurred—then a green lizard, about a foot long, emerged beneath the dagger, writhing violently, its mouth clutching a blood-red talisman.

"Hmph, the Sunset Sect sent a clever one this time—apparently a single puppet won't be enough."

No sooner had the voice spoken than a figure surged forward like a gale, standing before the tree, staring at the giant lizard pinned by the black dagger, coldly asking:

"Who are you? What's your connection to the Tong family's annihilation?"

The figure was Wang Yu.

This lizard beast had appeared silently when Da Lv returned with the girl—but thinking its concealment could fool his spiritual sense was naive.

As for the self-destructing girl, though she appeared normal, the faint, irreducible stench of decay on her body could not escape his hyper-attuned sense of smell.

"Heh, who I am doesn't matter—you'll meet us soon enough." A man's cold laugh echoed from the talisman.

Then—"puff!"—the talisman exploded into a fireball, reducing the lizard to ash.

Wang Yu's eyes flickered.

This man's methods were ruthless and decisive—he was no easy opponent. The three Sunset Sect disciples were likely slain by him.

Indeed, external forces had intervened in the Tong family's destruction.

He released several spiritual senses, scanning every corner within several li, confirming no other threats remained, then strolled slowly to the spot where the girl had exploded.

The fire cloud had vanished entirely, leaving only a massive crater, scattered with fragments of flesh and blood.

He reached out with a void-like hand.

A chunk of charred arm shot up from the soil's edge, landing squarely in his palm.

Wang Yu's gaze sharpened.

The arm's surface was charred, but the blood oozing from it was black; deep within the flesh, dense clusters of white hairs filled the stumps like a nest.

"Corpse refinement? Mo Luo Sect?" Wang Yu murmured, a cold smile touching his lips.

"Da Lv, where did you find this corpse? Take me there."

The black-green iron-headed crocodile hissed, then dissolved into a shadow and darted into the forest.

Wang Yu formed a hand seal, white clouds forming beneath his feet, lifting himself and Xiao Bai as he followed leisurely behind.

Da Lv raced like a small monstrous beast, plowing straight through trees, crushing them into crooked heaps, carving a direct path through the forest.

Wang Yu, seeing this, felt a thought stir.

As Da Lv's cultivation advanced, its hide grew thicker and tougher. The Four Symbols Sect was famed for beast-taming—many secret techniques enhanced a spirit beast's physicality. I should learn some, if the chance arises.

The black-green iron-headed crocodile sprinted eight or nine li, bursting out of the dense forest into a field of white, jagged rocks, stopping before a stone cave a zhang tall.

Wang Yu scanned the interior with his spiritual sense, then walked in without hesitation.

The cave was small—only thirty to forty square paces—containing nothing but three large white oval stones standing upright near the walls.

Wang Yu's gaze fixed on one of the stones.

Its surface bore a patch of black bloodstain.

Stranger still—his spiritual sense was blocked entirely by the three stones, unable to penetrate them.