Chapter 330

At that moment, Wang Yu flipped over again.

After a series of afterimages slashed through the void, he somehow crossed seven or eight zhang in an instant, appearing directly above the dwarf.

He let out a low roar, shook both arms simultaneously, and slammed one palm downward while punching forward with the other.

"Huff—huff!"

A massive golden palm print and a golden fist-shaped phantom roared down.

The dwarf's face changed; he flicked his sleeve upward, sending over a dozen emerald-green flames streaking toward the golden palm, while the green hand clutching the black flying dagger curled inward to meet the golden fist phantom.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

The green flame clusters struck the golden palm and exploded into rolling emerald flames, causing the golden palm to stall.

When the green hand collided with the golden fist phantom, a flash of gold erupted—the golden fist shattered instantly, revealing a hidden gourd inside.

The gourd trembled once, then exploded, spewing forth countless ink-green droplets like rain falling toward the dwarf.

A foul, stinking odor filled the entire void—undeniably deadly poison.

The green-robed dwarf let out a shrill cry, spat out a silver talisman, which, as it met the wind, transformed into a vast expanse of silver light. With a single swirl, it swallowed every ink-green droplet, condensing into a silver miniature bottle phantom.

At that instant, another dull "thud" echoed.

The green hand in midair shuddered—a streak of dark light shot out from within, flashed once, and unexpectedly pierced straight through the green-robed dwarf's chest, leaving a bloody, gaping hole.

It was Wang Yu secretly activating the "Point Gold Technique," forcing the black flying dagger to break free from the green hand's control.

Severely wounded, the green-robed dwarf did not die immediately; instead, after a shriek, he flicked his sleeve and hurled out a blood-red talisman.

It was the Blood Escape Talisman!

But as the talisman began emitting blood-red light, a thunderclap suddenly rang out from afar.

A piercing whistle followed.

A streak of golden light appeared at the dwarf's forehead, flashed once, and vanished into his skull.

So fast that the naked eye could not fully track it.

A distant floating artillery platform's long barrel writhed with dense silver lightning.

"Plop."

A charred, pinpoint hole appeared on the dwarf's forehead. His face froze in terror, then his body plummeted straight to the ground—clearly dead on impact.

Wang Yu flicked his sleeve, launching seven or eight fist-sized fireballs that swarmed the falling dwarf's body.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

The fireballs exploded, engulfing the dwarf in rolling flames, ready to reduce him to ash within a few breaths.

A dull thud.

The seemingly motionless body within the flames suddenly ruptured, spraying blood, flesh, and shattered bones in all directions—forcefully extinguishing nearly half the surrounding fire.

Amid the flying gore, a green orb the size of a human head emerged, enclosing a black jade pendant. It trembled slightly, then shot away into the distance, fleeing desperately toward the horizon.

Two more thunderclaps rang out in the distance!

Two streaks of golden light flashed into existence nearby, piercing the black jade pendant within the green orb one after another.

"No!"

From within the black jade pendant came the dwarf's desperate cry.

"Crack."

The black jade pendant turned to powder, releasing a wisp of green mist that frantically coalesced into a cluster, faintly forming the twisted face of the green-robed dwarf.

"Whoosh."

Wang Yu's feet wrapped in crimson and azure light, and he appeared instantly before the green mist, uttering "Spirit-Soul" as he pointed a finger forward.

A tiny spark shot from his fingertip, drifting gently onto the green mist.

"Sizzle!"

The green mist ignited like tung oil, roaring with flame—the dwarf's screams came again, but after a few cries, they weakened, then vanished entirely.

Within moments, not a trace of the green mist remained in the flames.

Seeing this, Wang Yu exhaled deeply.

A Foundation Establishment opponent was utterly unlike a Qi Condensation one—not only did they possess rich combat experience and no shortage of artifacts and secret arts, but even after their body was destroyed, they could transplant their spirit-soul into an artifact to escape, making them far more tenacious than Qi Condensation foes.

One might easily defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but achieving complete annihilation—erasing the spirit-soul entirely—was far more difficult.

After all, as long as the spirit-soul escaped, it could return to find a suitable body and possess it, preserving its life.

Only Foundation Establishment cultivators or above possessed spirit-souls strong enough to perform possession; though fraught with limitations and flaws, it remained one of their most vital survival techniques.

The green-robed dwarf, though a mere Foundation Establishment beginner, was no weakling in terms of cultivation methods or artifacts. His ultimate defeat stemmed primarily from his frail body—he lacked any auto-activating defensive techniques, and thus could not withstand even a single close-range ambush from a second-rank flying dagger, let alone activate any defense.

It seemed that if he wished to survive battles at the Foundation Establishment level, he must cultivate second-rank body refinement—and ideally, acquire a defensive secret art that activated automatically against sudden attacks.

As Wang Yu pondered this, his gaze swept toward the dense forest below.

It was not yet time to relax—he still had a second-rank Yin Corpse Rat below. But then he let out a soft "Huh?"

The white mist in the forest was utterly silent—no sound emerged at all.

Wang Yu's face showed a flicker of surprise; he raised his hand and beckoned downward.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Three pale-blue banners flew up from the forest and landed in his sleeve. He then pinched a hand seal—within his spiritual sense sea, a blue glyph coalesced, and he launched a spell downward.

A roaring sound erupted!

A violent wind swept down, swirling and scattering the white mist, revealing the clear scene beneath the forest.

A vast open patch of ground lay strewn with toppled, broken trees and craters of varying sizes—but the massive Yin Corpse Rat was gone, its absence deeply suspicious.

Wang Yu's gaze sharpened—he seemed to have noticed something—but first turned to glance toward the ruins of the Tong family.

He could clearly see the two beasts, Da Lv and Xiao Bai, their bodies scarred but seemingly unharmed, now fiercely chasing the last few remaining Bone Rats.

Both beasts were wildly excited, like hounds chasing rabbits.

Satisfied, Wang Yu moved his body and drifted down toward the forest.

"Thud."

His feet landed beside a massive crater.

Inside the crater lay a large pool of black liquid, emitting a thick, rotting stench.

Amid the liquid lay a pair of fleshy red bat wings, motionless.

This liquid was the Yin Corpse Rat itself!

The surrounding soil had also dissolved in places—proof of the liquid's extreme toxicity.

The Yin Corpse Rat's body inherently contained potent poison.

Wang Yu thought on this, and found it unsurprising.

After all, it was a corpse beast—once its master's spirit-soul was utterly extinguished, the beast, bound by its control seal, could not survive alone. That was only natural.

Moreover, judging from what he had seen in the Tong family's secret chamber, this Yin Corpse Rat's ascent to second rank likely did not follow normal cultivation methods—it was entirely plausible that it carried grave defects.

Yet despite the entire massive corpse rat dissolving, these bat wings remained intact—suggesting they were no ordinary object!

As Wang Yu considered this, he reached out with one hand into the void.

"Puff!" The fleshy red bat wings rose from the black liquid and landed before him.

Wang Yu tapped once—clusters of clear water condensed above and rained down, washing the black sludge clean from the wings with a splashing sound.

He then slapped his waist pouch—a burst of white light shot out, sealing the wings inside.

He turned to take flight—but his gaze swept once more, and he walked instead toward another spot.

There lay a straight, deep trench, its interior unnaturally smooth, composed entirely of flat, gray-white stone.

Even stranger: the nearby broken trees, on the side facing the trench, had also turned gray-white.

Wang Yu approached one of the strange trees, studied the gray-white portion of its branches and leaves, and his expression grew grave.

After studying it for a long while, he extended one finger and tapped a gray-white branch.

"Bang!"

The surface of the branch cracked, shedding numerous stone fragments, revealing its true form—though compared to the other side, it appeared withered, yellowed, and dry.

At the same moment, a numbing sensation traveled up from his fingertip.