The words fell.
The surrounding atmosphere became deathly silent.
Qi Chengchu was stunned.
Hu Shan's face turned completely ashen.
No one could believe that the words just spoken by the black-dressed female cultivator were a joke.
"Tenfold repayment! Blood for blood!"
These were words only spoken to an enemy.
"You shameless wench, Gong Shulan! I, Hu Shan, helped you kill your enemy, and now you want to kill me? Very well! Very well!" Hu Shan's voice turned to a sarcastic sneer, her anger barely contained as she switched to a hoarse male tone.
At this moment, she had no time to explain that Wei Tu had not died but had likely escaped.
Though Hu Shan knew that in the Great Void Realm, it was more important to maintain peace with Gong Shulan, she could not ignore her current situation.
What mattered more to Hu Shan now, compared to her immediate safety, was her future standing in the Spirit Binding Sect.
If she did not deal with Gong Shulan now, after leaving the Great Void Realm, her prestige would greatly diminish, making it hard for her to hold her head high in the Spirit Binding Sect. Moreover, the "Five Elements Infant" might slip through her grasp.
The latter was something she could not tolerate.
The Spirit Binding Sect was not a place where the seniority system was strictly followed. It was a sect of evil cultivators within the demonic path.
Hu Shan was eager to see what Gong Shulan had to say for herself and how she dared to speak so boldly in front of her.
"Hu Shan Daoist, Gong Daoist, we are in the Great Void Realm. Please consider carefully…"
Seeing the situation, Qi Chengchu felt a headache coming on. But, for the sake of his future and survival, he had no choice but to step forward and mediate.
However, before he could even finish speaking,
Gong Shulan, at the entrance of Xieshan Ridge, made her move.
She formed a hand seal, uttered a word, "Hurry!" and, five steps ahead of her, three upside-down coffins appeared.
Each of these coffins exuded a pressure far beyond the Golden Core stage, sending a chill down everyone's spine.
The leftmost coffin opened first, revealing an elder in white martial attire holding a sword. A domineering sword intent radiated from him, and his powerful aura caused the surrounding space to shake slightly.
"The Huang Tian Sword Master?"
Qi Chengchu recognized the sword-wielding elder instantly. When he first entered the cultivation world, this "Huang Tian Sword Master" had already been an elder protecting Cangqiong City, revered by the cultivators of the entire Jing Kingdom.
But Qi Chengchu remembered that the Huang Tian Sword Master had passed away over four hundred years ago. How could he suddenly appear here?
"This Nascent Soul cultivator is merely a puppet. It can only exert about thirty percent of its former power, so there's no need for Qi Daoist to worry," Hu Shan transmitted to Qi Chengchu through voice transmission.
There was a large gap between the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages. Though their "Golden Core Peak" cultivations had almost reached the Nascent Soul realm, their combat power was still vastly different, like a chasm.
Hu Shan had to reassure Qi Chengchu to prevent him from fleeing or harboring any other intentions in the heat of battle.
"This wretched woman is controlling these Nascent Soul corpses with Spirit Binding talismans and Ghost Puppet Sect techniques."
"With her strength, controlling these Nascent Soul puppets is still a stretch. She cannot control all three at once. This is our opportunity."
"Let's seize the moment and take the other two coffins."
Hu Shan, experienced and knowledgeable about Gong Shulan's combat methods and techniques, had already found a weakness in her opponent's strategy in an instant.
And Hu Shan did not aim to capture the leader first because she knew of Gong Shulan's spiritual body's uniqueness—unless she killed the other connected puppets, Gong Shulan could never truly die.
"Alright!" Qi Chengchu, who had always trusted Hu Shan, followed her advice without hesitation. Compared to Hu Shan, Gong Shulan was not only weaker in cultivation but also just a junior sister in the sect.
Moreover, Qi Chengchu was the one most responsible for the "death" of Wei Tu, making him the prime target.
The moment the words were spoken, Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu moved forward, one after the other, to seize the other two upside-down coffins that Gong Shulan had summoned.
However, just as they approached the coffins,
The "Huang Tian Sword Master," who had been the first to break open his coffin, suddenly moved under Gong Shulan's control.
His speed was faster than both Hu Shan's and Qi Chengchu's. Like a streak of sword light, he blocked their path, easily knocking them both back with just a few punches.
At the same time, the Huang Tian Sword Master let out a cold snort and, with a flick of his sleeve, summoned the long sword at his waist and swung it fiercely toward Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu, who were attacking.
The seven-foot long sword transformed into a dazzling yellow mist as it slashed toward them.
Countless tiny yellow threads shot out of the yellow mist, resembling needle-sharp rays, sweeping in every direction toward Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu.
"It's the sword qi transformed into threads by the Huang Tian Sword Master! His swordsmanship is the best in Jing Kingdom, once called the greatest sword cultivator at the borders."
Seeing this, Qi Chengchu's expression changed slightly. While explaining the origin of the technique to Hu Shan, he quickly performed a spell, summoning an ancient lamp to block the oncoming sword qi.
Under the urging of his magical power, the ancient lamp blazed with light, forming a blue crystal shield that enveloped Qi Chengchu's body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The yellow sword qi struck the blue crystal shield. Although it did not immediately shatter the shield, the immense force behind the impact made Qi Chengchu, who was hiding inside, feel immense strain. His qi and blood fluctuated uncontrollably.
"Sword qi transforming into threads?" Hu Shan furrowed her brows tightly. She let out a soft command, and her pink and white long skirt instantly unfurled like flower petals, transforming into a massive, fluffy fox tail that tightly wrapped around her body, shielding her law body.
If Wei Tu had seen this secret technique in the Stone Caverns of the Blood Slaughter Sea, he would have immediately recognized it. It was identical to the "Beast Transformation Technique" used by Zuo Kui from the Beastmaster Sect back in the day.
However, while Zuo Kui's technique manifested a golden ape arm, Hu Shan's manifested a pink and white fox tail.
The pink and white fox tail was indestructible, even stronger than Qi Chengchu's ancient lamp magical artifact. When facing the Huang Tian Sword Master's sword qi transformation, Hu Shan, protected by her fox tail, was practically unharmed.
However—
The forced defense from both Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu gave Gong Shulan the perfect opportunity to summon the Nascent Soul puppet from the right coffin.
"Hu Yanpeng?" This time, both Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu immediately recognized the corpse in the second coffin. It was the corpse of the first Nascent Soul cultivator who had fallen in the battle between the righteous and demonic factions two hundred years ago—Hu Yanpeng, the Elder of the Beastmaster Sect.
Hu Yanpeng appeared middle-aged, wearing a pale blue robe with a faint dark red armor underneath. In his right hand, he held a golden bracelet.
"I can't believe this wretch even raided Hu Yanpeng's tomb. I wonder who's in the third coffin." Hu Shan's face darkened, her voice cold.
At this moment, she was not mourning the theft of the corpses of "Huang Tian Sword Master" and "Hu Yanpeng," but rather, worrying for her own position.
With Gong Shulan's betrayal inside and the Demon Lord Gui Luo's men lurking outside, Hu Shan feared that today might be the day she fell in the Great Void Realm.
Hu Shan did not believe that, after everything that had happened, Gong Shulan would still help her and keep the matter of their unauthorized entry into the Great Void Realm a secret from the external forces, like Gui Luo.
The Ghost Spirit body was an extremely special physical condition, and its ability to escape was unmatched. Hu Shan knew she could never compare to that.
In other words, if Gui Luo and his followers came, Gong Shulan would escape, but she and Qi Chengchu would find it much harder.
Fortunately, there was still hope.
Just as Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu thought that Gong Shulan would summon the final Nascent Soul puppet from the third coffin, it seemed that Gong Shulan's spiritual energy was faltering. She quickly performed another spell, retracting the third coffin and instead summoning four Golden Core puppets.
While the number was larger,
It was evident that these were much easier to handle than the combined strength of the three Nascent Soul puppets.
"Hu Shan! Why? Why did you have to kill Wei Daoist? He was my old friend. You should have known..."
"I told you before, I will personally seek revenge for my grievances. You shouldn't have interfered."
Gong Shulan's eyes turned bloodshot, her voice slightly cold.
Although she knew that Wei Tu regarded her as an enemy and that Hu Shan's insults were not without reason... she felt she had no right to avenge Wei Tu.
But she could not forget how Wei Tu had cared for her when she was in the Danqiu Mountain shantytown.
Wei Tu was the only cultivator who had never discriminated against her because of her "prostitute" status.
Back then, she had developed a strong affection for Wei Tu.
After developing this affection—
Even when Wei Tu and Kou Hongying had chased her down, she did not hate Wei Tu. She understood that she had deceived him using a puppet and the Blood Ghost Jade while pretending to be Hu Yao.
After all, where there is a cause, there is an effect.
Back then, Geng Wen had sent rogue cultivators to kill Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou because she had intentionally planted the Gong family's heirloom on the two sworn brothers.
In other words, she felt guilty toward Wei Tu.
Now, with Wei Tu's death, this guilt had grown even stronger.
And if it hadn't been for her secretly assisting Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu this time, perhaps... Wei Tu would still be alive.
Apart from this reason,
She could not bear to see Hu Shan bypass her and attack her "enemy." This was something she could not tolerate.
If she tolerated this time, there would be more in the future—countless times. It would mean her retreat.
And in the demonic path, the most dreaded thing between fellow cultivators was retreat.
...
Many thoughts surged in her mind.
But at this moment, Gong Shulan wasted no time in the duel. She formed another hand seal and, with her Ghost Spirit body, merged into Hu Yanpeng's corpse. After transforming, she charged directly at Hu Shan's direction, ready to strike.
"This is troublesome."
Seeing this, Hu Shan's scalp tingled, and she whispered to Qi Chengchu.
She knew her junior sister, Gong Shulan, all too well.
This ghostly spirit body, once fused with the corpse refining process, would become one with the corpse.
Unless she had the ability to destroy each of these refined corpses individually, she would not be able to harm Gong Shulan in the slightest.
But a Nascent Soul-level corpse, how could it be so easy to deal with?
"Hu Shan, do you have any method to try and persuade your fellow disciple again? These Nascent Soul-level corpses are too difficult to deal with."
"Even if we succeed in dealing with them, we can't possibly expend all of our energy here."
Qi Chengchu took a step back, retreating several hundred feet, while sending a transmission to Hu Shan.
"Qi, you know I can't persuade Gong Shulan. This girl is deeply loved by my master and regarded as his successor. She is certain that I wouldn't dare to kill her, which is why she's so bold in acting against me..."
Hu Shan's voice was heavy as she spoke.
"Moreover, Wei Tu, in my little disciple's eyes, might really be someone extraordinary."
"I've investigated her before, and I know her life wasn't easy in the righteous sect at first. Although Wei Tu is her enemy on the surface..."
"He must have provided her with a lot of help when she was just starting her cultivation."
"This kind of bond can't be compared to the one I share with her as a fellow disciple."
Hu Shan coldly said.
From her experience, after getting over her initial anger, she easily analyzed Wei Tu's special position in Gong Shulan's heart.
Demon cultivators simply walk a different path from righteous sect cultivators.
But most righteous sect cultivators who fully embrace the demonic path are often extremist individuals.
These extremists weren't born that way.
They all had a piece of pure land within them to maintain their sanity, ensuring they wouldn't be completely corrupted by demonic cultivation techniques and become mindless madmen.
At this moment, it was easy for Hu Shan to tell that Wei Tu likely represented Gong Shulan's "pure land."
Although she didn't know the exact cause of this bond, she understood that touching this pure land was akin to striking at Gong Shulan's most sensitive spot.
Now, unless Wei Tu himself appeared and told Gong Shulan that he was still alive, it would be impossible to smooth things over.
But how could that be easily accomplished?
"The only option now is to have a confrontation first. Once she's vented, we can negotiate with her," Hu Shan said flatly.
"Have a confrontation first?" Upon hearing this, Qi Chengchu's brows furrowed deeply. His purpose in coming to the Great Void Realm was to reach the Nascent Soul stage, not to get involved in the disputes between Hu Shan and Gong Shulan.
However, given the current situation, he had no choice but to agree. He sighed lightly and nodded.
"Set up the formation!"
Now that the decision was made, Qi Chengchu no longer held back. He coldly glanced at Gong Shulan, who had already fused with Hu Xuanpeng's body. With a wave of his sleeve, he summoned more than ten different glowing third-grade formation flags.
As the words fell, these flags flew out rapidly from in front of Qi Chengchu and landed in the surrounding area.
The next moment, a series of third-grade formations were set up in an instant.
These temporary formations, while not as reliable as the fixed ones set up in places like the marketplace, were more than sufficient to deal with Gong Shulan for the time being.
"Gong Shulan, I'll give you one more chance to properly apologize to your senior sister. Otherwise, when the grand formation activates, your life will be in great danger."
Before the killing formation activated, Qi Chengchu patiently asked Gong Shulan one more time.
After all, he didn't have much courage to kill a beloved disciple of the Scorpion Ancestor.
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to become an enemy to her.
But after speaking, seeing that Gong Shulan still hadn't responded, Qi Chengchu couldn't help but feel a slight anger rising within him.
He gritted his teeth and shouted lightly. The various killing formations on the ground instantly took shape, and began to attack the corpses that Gong Shulan had summoned.
This all happened in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, fierce sounds of battle echoed near the Blood Slaughter Sea, as if the heavens and earth were being turned upside down.