However, since he had not stated it openly, that meant it was something that could not be spoken of.

While pondering this, Wang Yu had already left his cave abode and descended from the Blood Demon Hall.

After giving the hall one final glance and thinking of the sect master cultivating within the inner secret realm, he quickened his pace, uncertain what might happen next. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

By the time he reached the end of the Blood Reversal Ten Markets, he used his spiritual power to write a letter and entrusted someone to deliver it to Tantai Chan’s residence.

Only then did he transform into a streak of brilliant auroral light, slipping out between the nine twisted mountain peaks in an instant, moving as if something were chasing him from behind.

And in fact, that was exactly the case.

As the streak of light cut across the sky, a jade-green escape light suddenly gave chase from a spirit mountain near the sect’s main entrance, its speed not the slightest bit slower than Wang Yu’s.

It clung to him relentlessly.

After discovering this, Wang Yu abruptly changed direction toward Tianbao City several thousand miles away. He still had a batch of spirit stones entrusted to Situ Hong for transfer.

By his calculations, they should have arrived long ago.

He would not forget such a matter.

If Fu Xiao lacked Zhuo Shouyun’s assistance, he would be nothing more than a minor nuisance in Wang Yu’s eyes. With sufficient preparation, failure would be impossible. However, Old Yu had even handed over a Great Teleportation Talisman to him.

This matter might contain variables. If he could stay close to Tianbao City, then at a critical moment he could flee inside to save his life. Heading north, on the other hand, would leave him utterly without resistance. Thus, this was his way of preserving a final sliver of possibility.

Better safe than sorry.

Both streams of escape light were at the absolute peak of the Core Formation stage, their speed astonishing. The distance between them never exceeded five li. After less than half a day of pursuit, they had completely left the Exalted Sect behind.

They soon arrived at a desolate plain near the border of Blood Abyss Prefecture.

Wang Yu suddenly came to a halt. From within his sleeve, a yellow escape light drilled deep into the ground and vanished in an instant. Three breaths later,

Fu Xiao arrived.

He wore a robe of golden-threaded brocade with wide sleeves, his hair loose and unbound. His otherwise ordinary face bore a saber scar running vertically through his right eye, stretching from his forehead to his chin.

His eyes brimmed with savage ferocity.

He hovered a hundred paces away, likewise sizing up Wang Yu.

Wang Yu’s Three Foot Snow Dao Robe radiated nobility and splendor. Ethereal snow-white streamers drifted lightly, and ancient silver-inlaid phoenix craftsmanship complemented the silver-threaded high crown atop his head.

It completely concealed the bloody killing intent clinging to him.

Instead, he looked like a banished immortal who had stepped out from a flourishing celestial palace. With his handsome features, upright posture, and gentle smile, he would not seem out of place at all if described as a righteous cultivator from Taihu.

“We finally meet, Wang Yu.”

“I kept you waiting.”

The two had never met before, and this was their first exchange of words.

But that was all.

In the blink of an eye, an exaggerated staff-blade over three meters long appeared in Fu Xiao’s hands. He dragged it forward, as though carrying ten thousand jin of force, tearing white waves through the air itself.

It slashed out in an instant.

A several-hundred-meter-long azure dragon spiraled forth with the blade aura, accompanied by a thunderous dragon’s roar.

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes, keenly sensing that Fu Xiao had also cultivated in a Body Refining path, and a pure one at that. His realm was not low. He had already condensed divine marrow.

“However… I am stronger!”

Demonic Dragon Fist!

Qi and blood took form as a Nether Demonic Dragon burst forth, its body even more colossal, shrouded in a thin layer of pale white flames. This was the Ice Chi Pill Flame.

With this clash, Fu Xiao’s azure dragon, formed from his life-bound treasure combined with a divine blade art, was smashed into a sky full of spiritual light. Amid the explosive shockwave, the Nether Demonic Dragon surged forward.

At the instant it was about to strike Fu Xiao, he produced a massive azure-wood cauldron, forcibly blocking the blow.

Even so, he could not help but spew a mouthful of blood.

His expression immediately darkened.

“Fourth-rank spirit flame? No wonder you’ve been thriving in the Dao of alchemy.”

“This is talent, not the merit of the flame itself.”

Wang Yu replied calmly. At the same time, the surrounding air trembled as pitch-black ice chains extended out from the void. It was the Ice Chain Divine-Binding Spell at the minor accomplishment stage.

Once infused with Ice Chi Pill Flames, its power was far beyond what an ordinary Core Formation cultivator could withstand.

Fu Xiao swung his staff-blade. The Azurewood Cauldron shrank to half a man’s height and rotated around him, slicing through the ice chains with the blade. Any chains that slipped through were blocked by the cauldron itself.

Both were third-rank high-grade magic treasures.

Yet what Wang Yu used was merely a minor technique. After being amplified by Three-Foot Snow and Ice Chi Pill Flames, it had already become Fu Xiao’s greatest defensive struggle.

“If this is all you have, then this ends here.”

The Glazed Iceheart Pagoda flew out from Wang Yu’s Qi sea.

The pagoda’s tip rotated.

Ice Soul Divine Light shot forth. Fu Xiao’s expression darkened. He had underestimated Wang Yu’s methods and strength, but he still had a trump card.

When Zhuo Shouyun left, acknowledging Fu Xiao’s outstanding merits, he did not leave manpower behind, but instead gave him an absolute trump card.

Fourth-rank talisman treasure, Instant Blood God Sword.

Under normal circumstances, when two Core Formation cultivators fought, if one side possessed Nascent Soul level methods, the outcome was already decided. Moreover, this talisman treasure had been bestowed by Zhuo Shouyun himself.

It was a top-tier item among talisman treasures.

The moment it was activated, a blood sword shot out like lightning, tearing through the Ice Soul Divine Light and deflecting it far from its original trajectory, like refracted light from a shattered mirror.

Wang Yu, who had been on guard all along, found this trump card strangely familiar. Was this not the same move Su Yulong had used before dying?

However, its power now far surpassed its former strength.

In a split second.

Wang Yu reversed his grip on the Yellow Springs Demonic Sword and slashed out a sword fiend aura to attack while defending. The Demonic Dragon Armor wrapped itself around Three Foot Snow, forming dual-layer protection.

At the same time, the Aurora Escape Technique was activated, carrying him as far as possible away from the talisman treasure’s power.

The blood sword advanced with unstoppable momentum.

It directly cleaved the Yellow Springs sword fiend aura in two, deviated from the heart, and stabbed toward Wang Yu’s shoulder. His true essence barrier was pierced first, followed by the Demonic Dragon Armor.

This bloodline true artifact, which Wang Yu originally intended to use for defense, seemed destined to break. Time and again it underperformed, causing him to doubt where the dragon vein treasure had actually fused, as it showed no sign of its supposed strength.

Fortunately, Three Foot Snow proved reliable.

Although his shoulder was stained with blood, it was only a minor injury. The most troublesome foreign energy of the technique did not invade his body.

This result caused Fu Xiao’s eyes to widen.

He simply could not believe it.

Boom.

The air exploded with sound. In combat, the Aurora Escape Technique was unsuitable for full light-transformation, but its speed enhancement was still extreme. Wang Yu seemed to step on the air itself.

He forcibly accelerated again using brute strength.

Killing intent transformed into a sea of blood, instantly dyeing half the sky red.

The Asura raised his fist. His arm drew back like a fully drawn bow, then shot forward violently, like a cannon firing.

Fu Xiao’s face turned pale as the Azurewood Cauldron rapidly expanded.

Clang.

After a thunderous impact and a brief delay, countless cracks spread across the high-grade magic treasure before it exploded outright. It was smashed apart by Wang Yu’s divine strength and divine technique.

Within the explosion’s smoke, gray deathly light pierced through everything and swept across. Fu Xiao’s body, already vomiting blood repeatedly, instantly froze as sealing runes crawled over him.

Fierce cold winds howled across the sky, dispersing the smoke and dust.

At that moment, Wang Yu drifted down and landed lightly.

“I overestimated you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced underground. The Yellow Springs Earth Resentment Puppet had not been used. No other unexpected developments had occurred. Had it failed to keep up because he acted too suddenly?

Or was there another reason, and the real danger was not on Fu Xiao’s side?

There were many possibilities.

Wang Yu would not remain here for long to avoid unforeseen changes. He quickly approached, and the Demonic Thought Seed in his hand flew out and drilled into Fu Xiao’s body.

He immediately sensed the same-origin Demonic Embryo.

Fu Xiao also possessed Wasted Spiritual Roots. According to this world’s classification, he had all five elements, but after four to five hundred years of effort, only the earth, wood, and fire attributes had reached Heavenly Spiritual Root level.

Water and metal remained at the three-spirit-root grade, with little improvement.

This was clearly due to the restrictions of the Demonic Embryo secret art. Without being blood relatives of the same lineage, even devouring others with a demonic embryo could only yield marginal aptitude gains.

Fu Xiao’s outcome was the normal result of cultivation.

Wang Yu was different. Ever since he devoured the spiritual roots of the Bai family’s Grand Elder, he had discovered his own uniqueness.

A heaven-chosen Demonic Embryo cultivator.

This secret art was fated to him.

Any description fit.

The instant Wang Yu touched Fu Xiao’s shoulder, his pupils shrank. A familiar black talisman appeared there, instantly forming a pitch-black sphere of light.

The terrifying annihilation sphere expanded violently.

Great Black Heaven Talisman.

The signature technique of Black Heaven Talisman Lord. Wang Yu had considered whether the hidden mastermind might be him, but an existence that even the Blood-Eyed Demonic Flood Dragon could not speak of was clearly not merely an early Nascent Soul cultivator.

He had already witnessed how powerful this talisman was when it was used on Luo Chen.

It absolutely could not be touched.

At the critical moment, the long-prepared backup finally came into play. The Yellow Springs Earth Resentment Puppet burst out from underground and violently flung both Wang Yu and Fu Xiao backward.

The puppet itself was swallowed by the annihilation black sphere formed by the Great Black Heaven Talisman. That power, capable of erasing all things, inflicted severe damage upon it.

Fortunately, only the outer and middle layers had suffered severe damage. The puppet’s core, the “Yellow Spring Demonic Bone,” had not been seriously harmed.

It was still usable, though its energy consumption had increased significantly.

Wang Yu reached to his waist.

The low-grade magic treasure he had prepared long ago, the “Human Seed Pouch,” finally came into play. He stored the unconscious Fu Xiao inside. This was his destined opportunity, and he absolutely could not allow it to be destroyed by villains.

After the chain of changes ended, Black Heaven Talisman Lord finally appeared, holding a black banner. He deliberately stood at a high vantage point, looking down upon Wang Yu’s rather disheveled figure.

He spoke arrogantly.

“Wang Yu, you killed my disciple and trampled on my dignity. Do you really think you can survive?”

Wang Yu frowned deeply and looked up.

“I thought this matter was already settled. From now on, you walk your broad road, I cross my single-plank bridge. If you refuse to let me go, are you not afraid that someday I will refuse to let you go as well?!”

“A joke!”

Black Heaven Talisman Lord slammed his life-bound spirit banner. Talisman papers with blood-red characters on a black background surged forth, transforming into rings upon rings. Within a hundred-mile radius, everything turned pitch-black.

A pair of blood-red ghostly eyes manifested high in the sky.

At the same time, a crescent-moon mark lit up in Wang Yu’s eyes as he poured spiritual power into his pupils as if it cost nothing.

With the quality of his current spiritual power, the Moonfall Eye Art he unleashed would be even more terrifying than during the Blood Abyss period. However, it required some time to charge.

Fortunately, Black Heaven Talisman Lord seemed eager to talk.

It was as if he wanted Wang Yu to die with understanding.

“Zhuo Shouqing is going to die. Even if he survives, he will never be able to compare to Yun’er again. Without this protective talisman, you are nothing.”

“I am the exclusive alchemist of Lord Blood-Eyed Demonic Flood Dragon. Are you not afraid of offending him?”

Wang Yu did not believe the other party was unaware of this.

If Black Heaven Talisman Lord truly harbored hatred over the death of his disciple, he would certainly have investigated Wang Yu’s backing thoroughly. Yet his words sounded like posturing while deliberately avoiding the key issue.

He could not even fake it properly. That was exactly the kind of person Black Heaven Talisman Lord was, as he snarled in response.

“What do you know? You are just a brat carrying a treasure that brings calamity. How dare you bark wildly at me here?!”

“Hahaha.

“You are about to kill me anyway. What would I dare not say?”

Wang Yu said this aloud, but his mind was already racing at full speed. Black Heaven Talisman Lord seemed unwilling to kill him. There were holes and clues in his words.

For a Nascent Soul cultivator who had lived for many years, such mistakes should not exist.

A treasure bringing calamity?

What treasure did he have? The Idle Slot was known to no one and could not be seized by anyone. The most widely known thing about him was his cultivation of the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse.

This curse had been passed down since the time of the Nine-Evil Sword Lord. It had existed for quite some time. Fu Xiao was among the early cultivators who had successfully mastered it. Considering that he began with Wasted Spiritual Roots, without the recognition of a powerful benefactor, how could he have accessed such a high-end secret art? Moreover, four or five hundred years ago, this secret art had likely only just been excavated from ancient ruins.

Fu Xiao’s allegiance to Zhuo Shouyun happened during the height of his rising fame.

If Fu Xiao belonged to the Nine-Evil Sword Lord, and Black Heaven Talisman Lord was also a Nascent Soul cultivator of Evil Sword Peak, one at the mid-stage and one at the early stage, then encountering them would mean near-certain death.

Senior Yu giving him the Great Teleportation Talisman was likely related to this matter. However, since it had not been explained clearly, Wang Yu could not yet discern the full reason.

Thinking along this line, the methods used on Fu Xiao suddenly made sense. Black Heaven Talisman Lord did not want to offend the Demonic Flood Dragon, which explained his seemingly “intelligence-reducing” behavior. Everything fit perfectly.

In just a few breaths,

after connecting cause and effect, the only one who had yet to appear was the Nine-Evil Sword Lord. His objective was unclear, but even without thinking, one could guess it had something to do with the Demonic Embryo Physique.

Wang Yu’s heart stirred, and the Great Teleportation Talisman in his robes activated directly. He had no intention of confronting a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator head-on. Do not be fooled by how domineering he had been in front of Fu Xiao.

Even trading verbal barbs with Black Heaven Talisman Lord was one thing, but if the Nine-Evil Sword Lord launched a sneak attack, only a madman would not run.

Each level of the Nascent Soul realm came with a massive gap.

The strength of demonic essence alone determined a heaven-and-earth difference in divine ability power. It was not something one could touch even slightly.

The Moonfall Eye Art, charged to its absolute limit, arrived as scheduled.

The spiritual power within Wang Yu was nearly exhausted, but the talisman formation obscured this fact from detection.

In Black Heaven Talisman Lord’s eyes,

darkness descended.

He had been urging Wang Yu internally to use any trump card he had, preferably an escape-type trump card. He had even gone so far as to hint at it verbally.

He had no desire to be targeted by a great cultivator like the Demonic Flood Dragon over trivial gains. In his eyes, Wang Yu’s life was worth less than one of his fingers.

There was no need to offend such a figure.

But being caught between both sides left him unable to voice his suffering. He even had to use his dead disciple as an excuse, leaving him deeply dissatisfied.

At this moment, the meteor transmitted by the immense power of the Lunar Star had a diameter exceeding a hundred miles, even more exaggerated than the Great Black Heaven Curtain Talisman Formation he had deployed. Although its force was somewhat dispersed,

it was undoubtedly a peak-tier divine ability that required serious effort to resist.

Especially the gravity and attraction imposed by the falling star. Aside from spatial escape techniques, it was almost impossible to dodge.

“This should be enough to muddle through.”

Just as he thought this, a cold snort sounded from the void.

A sword came from the west. In an instant, the meteor shattered into countless motes of dust. Not even a palm-sized fragment remained. It was as if sand and dust filled the sky, only to be swept completely clean by a violent storm.

Just like:

A streak of meteor-white light leaves the scabbard, a single sword without a trace, snow covering the mountains.

Only that this “snow” was yellow-black dust.

A handsome cultivator carrying a sword on his back stood in the void. At a single glance, he became the most eye-catching presence in any crowd.

Black Heaven Talisman Lord was utterly shocked. His gaze tightened, and he nearly cried out.

“You… you have broken through to the seventh layer of the Nascent Soul realm?”

So that was the reason he had arrived late.