Chapter 741: Extra Chapter 2: They Are Not Worthy of Sympathy

Under my gaze, Wu Ling's fingertips struck the gu vessel three times heavily, her wrist turned, and her bleeding finger pointed at me.

The birds in the black mist immediately received the order, turned their heads, and all rushed toward me.

Before I could react, Zhao Zixun's hand had already gripped my waist, lifting me up and instantly pulling me away.

As Zhao Zixun held me and we landed steadily, drops of blood fell like a light rain, dripping onto the spot where I had just stood.

Something in the blood kept wriggling, emitting an unsettling medicinal fragrance.

Zhao Zixun rebuked, "Why don't you leave? The Nine Abyss now is like purgatory; staying means certain death."

I firmly said, "Precisely because I know staying means near-certain death, I cannot abandon you to face this alone, Zhao Zixun—this is my territory, my home; if someone must stay and fight to the last moment, that person must be me."

Zhao Zixun couldn't argue with me, so he reminded, "Wu Ling is no longer the Wu Ling of before, nor the former Gu Yan; she is an enemy—remember that."

I nodded firmly.

After missing her strike, Wu Ling did not relent.

She again sacrificed her fingertip blood to the gu vessel, commanding the birds to attack us.

Beneath my feet, the sound of water grew louder; in the black mist, shadowy figures loomed everywhere.

These are the demons, monsters, and evil spirits that have entered the Nine Abyss with the River of Forgetfulness; they constitute the main fighting force.

"The key to Wu Ling's gu technique lies in that gu vessel in her hand," I said. "I have already been refined by A Cheng before coming down; I fear no Hundred Spirit Gu, and any gu technique using medicinal spirits is nothing to me. Zhao Zixun, I will oppose Wu Ling, which may require you to struggle against those filthy things."

Zhao Zixun tightened his grip on my waist, hesitated a moment, then replied, "Okay."

He then added, "Wanwan, be careful."

I nodded firmly: "You too must be extremely careful."

Zhao Zixun released me and walked toward the dark shadows in the black mist.

I, meanwhile, turned to face Wu Ling head-on.

From her previous move, I saw she used gu technique to control those birds to attack me, still a gu technique related to medicinal spirits.

Wu Ling is versed in many gu techniques; if her mind were clear, she might unleash a variety of gu arts and gu worms when attacking enemies, but now she is merely a puppet.

The one controlling her has as their greatest trump card the Hundred Spirit Gu.

That person schemed endlessly, never expecting A Cheng to still be alive, to have awakened ancient witchcraft, and, through the gu techniques Wu Ling used during her time living with the Feng Clan, to have successfully cracked the Hundred Spirit Gu.

The other side gave Wu Ling only this gu vessel; if I am not mistaken, this vessel was created specifically for the Hundred Spirit Gu.

The other side can only control Wu Ling, making her nourish the gu vessel with her own blood, even her soul.

In other words, the other side can only control Wu Ling to perform gu techniques via the gu vessel.

Once separated from this gu vessel medium, Wu Ling will become an abandoned pawn.

Having figured this out, I activated the Coffin Nail and directly attacked the gu vessel.

My goal is clear: shatter the gu vessel with the Coffin Nail, first subduing Wu Ling, then aiding Zhao Zixun.

But things will not unfold as I imagined.

Zhao Zixun and I plan to fight separately—he handles his opponents, I handle mine.

At first that was indeed the case, but soon a splashing water sound came from beneath my feet.

This water sound came from underground; it was not loud, but enough to reach my ears.

More importantly, I stepped onto a thin layer of water.

Just as Wu Ling once again summoned the flock of birds to attack me, my feet felt as if nailed to the ground, unable to move an inch.

In the River of Forgetfulness overflowing onto the ground, too many unclean things lurk.

They exist by clinging to the River of Forgetfulness; wherever the River of Forgetfulness reaches, they can reach.

My two feet were firmly trapped by those filthy things, leaving me unable to dodge, and I was scorched by the birds diving down.

The wound immediately sent out sharp pain.

The next moment, I felt something wriggling at the wound, burrowing into my flesh.

After my Soul Body fused with the Seven-Leaf Lingzhi, I gained a true form.

Perhaps also bolstered by this lifetime's Ghost Cultivation, my body underwent great change in a short time; I could feel the pain… Ghost Cultivation?

Thinking of that term, I suddenly realized that in this life I died in a heavy rain, after death I was sunk to the bottom of the Pearl Plate River, becoming a vicious ghost, and naturally I came to possess water-controlling ability.

This ability, when I was a ghost, I used to perfection.

Now the River of Forgetfulness is beneath my feet; can I try my water-control skill?

I am not sure whether, after returning to my true form, I can still control water, nor whether I can control the River of Forgetfulness, but I must give it a try.

Try it, and everything will become clear.

What if?

I stepped back a few paces to dodge Wu Ling's next attack, then swiftly activated my ghost power.

When I cast my water-control hand seal and pointed it at my feet, the water around them instantly shot up, condensing in midair, swaying with my hand seal.

Success!

I still retain the water-control ability I cultivated as a vicious ghost.

And this ability, at this moment, is sufficient to support me in turning the River of Forgetfulness from a disadvantage into my advantage.

I turned my wrist, pinched the hand seal, and pointed it at the gu vessel in Wu Ling's hand.

The black River of Forgetfulness immediately surged toward the gu vessel.

Along with the River of Forgetfulness under my control came the filthy things that cling to it and have invaded the Nine Abyss.

Wu Ling staggered.

With one hand supporting the gu vessel and the other pressing its belly, she had not yet had time to reassert control when the sudden water surge interrupted her.

She is merely a puppet controlled by gu; the true mastermind behind all this is someone else.

That person obviously did not expect me to suddenly pull this move.

I seized the opportunity, exerted force continuously, mobilized all the Wangchuan water overflowing from the ground around me, and attacked the gu urn.

Wuling's fingers pressed on the belly of the gu urn could only shift from blood‑feeding the gu spirit to using her hands to block the rushing Wangchuan water, protecting the gu urn.

Wangchuan water is no ordinary flow; it is icy and bone‑piercing, filled with yin evil killing qi; ordinary ghosts entering the Wangchuan River may instantly melt into a pool of blood.

And isn't Wuling now in a half‑human, half‑skeletal state?

Wangchuan water is also lethal to her.

I felt no pity or hesitation.

As Zhao Zixun said, Wuling is no longer the Wufu Town teahouse owner I once knew and somewhat admired.

She is merely a puppet.

Her existence threatens not only my and Zhao Zixun's lives, but also endangers the entire Nine Abysses.

The person who controls her, refining the hundred‑spirit medicinal gu, has long harmed countless medicine spirits of the Nine Abysses, not knowing how many.

They are not worthy of sympathy…