Chapter 54: Schemes and Plots (Please keep reading, please vote)

The frost dispersing in the air became increasingly evident. Someone couldn't help but shiver, only feeling a sense of relief after raising a spiritual light shield.

Seeing this, Liu Jinxian frowned deeply. A blood-red mosquito beast, one Wang Yu had seen before, crawled out from her shoulder, instantly emitting a mist that enveloped her as she stepped onto the stairs and sped past!

As the crowd followed, Wang Yu took the initiative to fall to the very rear.

Having practiced the "Cold Blood Art" and undergone physical reconstruction through the "Corpse Demon Secret Method," he specialized in the yin-cold attribute and possessed an extremely high adaptability to the cold.

Without using spiritual power for protection, he could walk freely, even feeling that the spiritual power within his body had become slightly more active. However, as he climbed higher, he felt the temperature plummet; in the darkness, a crescent moon seemed to be rising above the palace.

The scattered lunar essence transformed into frost, freezing the earth.

Even he was severely affected, let alone the others. Liu Jinxian noticed this situation as well; looking back at the shivering crowd, she couldn't help but say

"If you cannot endure it, there is no need to insist on entering the main hall. The surrounding side halls and lateral halls also contain remaining treasures; you may go and claim them yourselves.

"Only one condition: upon your return, this Palace Master will inspect your storage bags. You must provide a copy of any cultivation techniques or secret arts, and surrender half of your treasures and magical artifacts.

"Violators—shall be executed!"

These terms caused the expressions of Su Qingshan and the others to change, becoming heavy and difficult to bear. However, the disciples of Gu Poison Peak acted as if they had received a massive boon, expressing heartfelt gratitude.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Liu, for the bestowal!"

Their obedience was exceptionally high. Wang Yu narrowed his eyes, suspecting whether these people were being restricted or controlled by Gu insects; otherwise, they were being far too submissive.

As the two exchanged a distant glance, Liu Jinxian gave a specific instruction.

"You as well."

Wang Yu's climbing motion came to an abrupt halt. He was currently at the one-third mark of the stairs; the distance Liu Jinxian had traveled was already more than half. Looking out from here, he could faintly discern the name of the main hall.

—【Moon-Condensing Palace】!

This attitude left Wang Yu feeling dissatisfied, yet he was unsure of what she was thinking. Speaking of which, where was Gu Zhengshun? If he knew about the underground passage of Black Bone Mountain so early, why had he not appeared yet?

…………

…………

At the bottom of the third level of Black Bone Mountain, a large fissure had opened in a place that should have been protected by the [Earth Yin Corpse Puppet Array]. Situ Hong, leading ten late-stage Qi Refinement subordinates, crawled inside.

They happened to see Gu Zhengshun standing before a crack in the earth about ten feet wide. The fissure emitted a ghostly green light, with endless cold currents and thick corpse qi drifting out from it.

Many Armored Corpses stood nearby, stretching their necks to inhale deeply. The pale yellow mountain-ridge copper armor attached to their bodies was turning a deep yellow—a sign that a Copper Armor Corpse was breaking through to the late stage of the first rank.

Looking at Gu Zhengshun again, his aura was slightly unstable, but he had already broken through the bottlenecks of the middle and late stages, reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refinement!

Situ Hong stepped forward a few paces and offered his congratulations

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Gu, on successfully breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refinement. It seems the effect of the Profound Essence Flower was quite good."

Gu Zhengshun nodded.

"The effect was indeed good, but this item is difficult to preserve for long. Even using the Pill Sealing Method, it can only maintain freshness for three years. Otherwise, this place wouldn't have fallen to us."

At the mention of this, Situ Hong's expression changed, and he said seriously

"Liu Jinxian is the daughter of True Person Bi She. The resources she can mobilize are far beyond our status. Before coming to Black Bone Mountain this time, she arranged for a cultivator surnamed Liu at the Foundation Establishment stage to apply for a long-term mission to guard Black Bone Mountain.

"I requested Mother Peach to temporarily block it. If we are lucky, we might endure through the five-year cycle, but you and I must also hurry."

Hearing this, Gu Zhengshun looked at Situ Hong's incomparably handsome face with some astonishment. He was the grand-disciple of Earth Yin Zi, relying on his ancestor's connections to join this lineage.

Situ Hong was the adopted son of Mother Peach Ghost. In reality, he relied on his face; he was a top-tier beaut, rumored to expend his energy on his bed every night.

Otherwise, given Mother Peach Ghost's resources, he wouldn't have only reached the seventh layer of Qi Refinement with a high-grade spiritual root (dual spiritual roots). To put it bluntly, he was more like a high-status male concubine.

Therefore, the two had secretly contacted each other before coming to Black Bone Mountain. After a pause, Gu Zhengshun added

"Wang Yu's combat strength is extremely high, enough to rival an inner sect cultivator at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. After obtaining the second-rank divine-strength corpse arm with my assistance, his strength will likely reach the peak of Qi Refinement.

"Unless Liu Jinxian uses her trump cards, it will be difficult to contend with him."

"Oh—is this person truly that formidable?"

"Naturally."

Gu Zhengshun let out a long sigh: "Before coming to Black Bone Mountain, I had some friction with him. I could only reach a cooperation by enticing him with benefits. Once he and Liu Jinxian have exhausted each other, we shall contend for the treasures of the underground palace. That is the best strategy."

Situ Hong nodded and smiled

"Liu Jinxian likely thinks she has gone in the wrong direction, believing the underground ruins lie beneath the endless ice plains. In reality, the local magnetism here is chaotic and directions are unclear; combined with the temperature changes, she will surely believe it.

"We only need to sit and wait for the slaughter to begin, playing the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. However... will Wang Yu really make a move?"

"He will." Gu Zhengshun pulled a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to Situ Hong to read: "Besides Wang Yu, the disciples of Gu Poison Peak, including Su Qingshan and the others, will definitely act."

After reading the letter, Situ Hong's gaze stopped at the signature.

"—Zhao Shang!

"Interesting. A fine move of 'borrowing a knife to kill.' A pillar of the True Disciple Su's subordinates, eh... tsk tsk."

At the same time.

On the climbing stairs leading to the 【Moon-Condensing Palace】, the disciples of Gu Poison Peak moved in small groups, leaving the stairs.

It could be observed that since they had stopped advancing, the temperature had ceased to drop, maintaining a constant low temperature. One by one, they raised spiritual shields or used magical artifacts to resist the cold as they headed toward the side halls.

Wang Yu glanced at Su Qingshan, gave a slightly provocative beckon with his finger, and also sped off toward one side.

From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to explore the main hall, but Liu Jinxian was intentionally exploiting them, and Gu Zhengshun and Situ Hong were nowhere to be seen. If he wanted to resist, the timing was wrong.

Therefore, the best course of action was to first eliminate Su Qingshan, who harbored ill will toward him, to further clarify the fog-shrouded situation.

Facing Wang Yu's provocation, Su Qingshan looked at the three late-stage Qi Refinement disciples he had become acquainted with during this period and whispered

"Liu Jinxian's power is great; it is difficult for us to contend with her. Why don't we kill Wang Yu first, split the Profound Essence Flower in his hands, and then seek opportunities in the side halls? What do you think?"

The three others pondered for a moment and said: "Agreed. Let strength speak. Whoever kills Wang Yu gets fifty percent of his Profound Essence Flower, how about that?"

This proposal perfectly suited Su Qingshan's intentions. Faced with immediate profit, one could become even more courageous and decisive.

"Then we shall follow Brother Li's words. Let's go, follow him."

The four moved simultaneously, trailing far behind Wang Yu, who naturally noticed them.

Since the underground ruins were the site of an ancient sect, he intended to look for buildings like a Sutra Pavilion to see if there were any ancient pill recipes passed down.

(End of Chapter)