Chapter 201: Beauty

Boom—Boom—Boom

In the cultivation world, thunder spheres have this advantage: they can be activated by a martial artist's true Qi even without spiritual power.

Of course, the effect is greatly reduced, but against cultivators who also lack spiritual power, it is undoubtedly one of the best weapons.

At this moment, Wen Lan, who was fleeing using light skill, was bombarded by successive thunder spheres that slammed into the ground, leaving her right arm a bloody mess.

Jiang Yu and her two companions seized the chance as she fell, cutting off her path, and when she leapt, they re‑formed a surrounding formation.

"Amitabha, benefactor…" the young monk Guo Jue was about to utter a warning, when Jiang Yu's long rope spear swooped down like a swimming dragon.

Wen Lan saw the spear tip heading for her brow; she switched to a long sword to block, and with a clang she was knocked back several steps.

Qian Shiqi's sword swung into the spot where she retreated, instantly slashing her back; in the place of absolute spirit, the ritual robe under the ritual sword offered no more protection than ordinary clothing.

When she tried to pursue a second slash, Wen Lan tossed out two pills and smashed them, instantly releasing black fog and foul stench that choked onlookers, making eyes water and throats burn.

"Hold your breath; the souls inside are extinguished and scattered," Guo Jue said swiftly.

While Jiang Yu and Qian Shiqi dodged, she smoothly shifted position and attacked the young monk.

She saw that the young monk's side was the weakest since he hadn't yet struck, so she immediately rushed at him.

Guo Jue's sword technique was indeed ordinary, but not clumsy; he met the incoming sword blade head‑on.

Unexpectedly, Wen Lan moved, feigned a swing, and slipped away from his left side, leaving Guo Jue's block empty.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yu wiped away tears, and the long spear slipped from her hand, flying straight to pierce the calf she had leapt two zhang onto.

Qian Shiqi's long sword followed immediately, thrusting into the back of Wen Lan's heart.

Thump.

Wen Lan fell again; her great life force kept her from dying, and she turned to say, "Qian Shiqi, after centuries of brotherly ties, you cared not a bit."

"When you led people to kill my teammate, you showed no warmth either," Qian Shiqi drew his sword, ready to strike again.

Wen Lan chuckled lightly, "Do you want to know where the troops I led are hiding now?"

Qian Shiqi's sword halted midway, and Wen Lan, rolling over, launched two more pills, but Guo Jue kept a close eye; as soon as she moved, his blade decisively swung.

That swing not only sliced away the poisonous pill No. 9, but also cut off Wen Lan's palm; she spat blood in fury.

Qian Shiqi's sword instantly pierced her heart, and Jiang Yu, who had retrieved the long spear, also thrust a spear into her brow, stirring forcefully.

"Ah! Little girl, you will one day be devoured by demon corruption," a wisp of black smoke erupted from Wen Lan's head, trying to flee; Qian Shiqi and Guo Jue slashed together, and the black smoke instantly split into three clusters, flying in three directions.

Jiang Yu's swift hands launched three more thunder spheres, chasing the three black smoke clusters as they burst.

Amid the rumbling, a final scream echoed; a flurry of snow rose, and soon the smoke was diluted.

"Senior, is she truly dead?" Jiang Yu examined carefully left and right.

Guo Jue also used a flint to ignite a piece of soul‑searching incense, letting its smoke drift over the explosion sites to check for lingering souls.

Qian Shiqi examined Wen Lan's corpse for any remaining soul, "She is truly of the Demon Race; I don't know how many incarnations she has.

Back then my mortal body perished with hers; I could only pursue her in original‑spirit form to the Tian Yuan Continent, intending to set a formation to lure and kill her, but she led me into a trap."

"What level of cultivation are you? The Great Vehicle realm?" Jiang Tu poked his head out and asked.

Qian Shiqi coughed a few times, blood spattered before him, but he pushed aside Jiang Yu's support, "Great Vehicle cultivators are top‑tier beings of the spirit realm, tasked with fully guarding against the Demon Race; we don't handle such petty tasks.

The demoness before us is already dead, and I…

Before he could finish, he fell and lay prone.

"Senior," Jiang Yu quickly took a pill from her pouch, and Guo Jue rushed over to take the pulse.

Qian Shiqi shook his head, his face lifeless, "The pill is useless; take me to the Ghost Realm quickly."

The land of ice and snow suppresses souls and demons to some extent, and it is a desolate place devoid of any spiritual energy.

"The pill can stop bleeding and pain," Jiang Yu forced it into his mouth; she wasn't at the pinnacle, and the spirit realm mattered little to her, but she glanced at the corpse on the ground, "She can't stay here, lest she become a stiff, mutated corpse."

"I'll carry the senior, you carry her?" Guo Jue thought it reasonable; a body possessed by the Demon Race is better burned.

"No, you stay here; I'll hunt a few wolves for stamina," Jiang Yu said, having seen wolf silhouettes hiding in the snow during the fight.

She gathered true Qi and leapt ten zhang away, heading toward the wolf silhouettes.

Guo Jue thought for a moment, pulled out a pill and fed the emerald net in his sleeve pouch, "Wake up quickly, find a way to contact the nine‑grade emerald‑scaled snake and have it send us straight to the Ghost Realm."

Having taken the pill, Qian Shiqi's breath improved a bit, "The cave‑heaven guardian spirit beast you saw is only nine‑grade?"

"Yes, I always suspected it was that little snake, never expecting a nine‑grade one."

Did the senior mean the guardian spirit beast's cultivation is higher? Guo Jue, seeing no sign of the emerald net waking, kindly retrieved Wen Lan's severed hand and found fine needle‑thread on his body to stitch it back.

Qian Shiqi watched amusedly, yet repeatedly nodded at his kindness, "The previous guardian spirit beast had reached the peak of Divine Spirit, but fell when battling the Demon Race with us.

Its successor, sigh, may be unable to reach the Divine Spirit realm due to the impact.

"Perhaps the cave‑heaven was harvested too harshly, unintentionally lowering it.

When I was a poor monk in East Continent, I heard that a thousand years ago this place could no longer admit Nascent Soul cultivators," Guo Jue added, noting that on this trip he had only gathered some spirit pills and a Tai Ji fish token, never obtaining other high‑grade treasures.

The legendary pill‑artifact formation was still not found near Tai Ji Dian, and the demonic beasts fought along the way were all fifth‑grade, not worth mentioning.

The young monk didn't even count the seventh‑grade emerald net, because that little snake differs from ordinary spirit beasts and he couldn't control it.

He looked up, gazing toward Jiang Yu's direction, wondering if she had found a wolf pack.

Of course she did; Jiang Tu, who was with Jiang Yu in the absolute spirit land, is still a seventh‑grade little demon king, and those fifth‑grade ordinary demonic beasts are now no different from mortal beasts, which he can see through.

Thus a pack of ice wolves sunning themselves in a snow trench heard his deep roar and scattered like a swarm.

Jiang Yu slapped Jiang Tu back, chasing the strongest alpha wolf: "Without spiritual power, how can your tiny body hold back a pack of wolves?"

Finishing her words, her long spear whirled with her body, thudding into the alpha wolf's head; the spear tip rebounded instantly, and a second spear thrust quickly into its mouth.

The alpha wolf tried to retreat, but Jiang Yu's speed was swift; the spear tip had already pierced its throat, and any movement caused blood to gush from its mouth.

"Hey, tell your subordinates there's medicine to eat; if they resist, they'll eat the spear tip," Jiang Tu emerged to persuade surrender, while Jiang Yu shot a pill to the alpha wolf.

One pill entered, and the burst of spiritual energy instantly healed the wound; the alpha wolf's eyes brightened, showing allegiance to the two Jiangs.

It led the pack into the absolute spirit land, apparently to scavenge; the legendary cultivator's pills truly are delicious.