Dragon Tu examined Xu Lingyin with a stern face for a moment before walking forward and firmly rubbing her head.

His palm was larger than the little bean’s entire head.

“You’re too weak right now.”

Dragon Tu’s voice was deep, but his tone was calm. He lifted the little bean high and placed her on his shoulder:

“Master will take you to watch the battle, let you witness the scenery of the Transcendent Realm. If your big brother dies, remember their faces, and dedicate your life to cultivation.”

The elders frowned at his teaching method, yet felt there was nothing wrong with it.

Meanwhile, Xu Qi’an retreated thirty li in one breath, stopping in an uninhabited mountain hollow.

No sooner had he steadied himself than Yu Shi shot over like an arrow, his cloak billowing violently.

Looking at the imposing, unstoppable cloaked figure, Xu Qi’an grinned and said:

“I merely let you have one move, and look how proud you’ve become. Do you think you can match me just because you’re relying on that Transcendent Realm corpse?”

Instead of retreating, he advanced to meet Yu Shi, pressing one arm against the cloaked figure’s head. The ring of fire behind his head exploded like a rocket’s thruster, as energy burst from his palm.

With a thunderous bang, Yu Shi flew backward, his forehead split open but no blood flowed.

As he flew backward, Yu Shi’s feet touched the ground. Thump thump thump… he retreated several steps, each step accompanied by an earth-shaking “boom.”

Just as he steadied himself, Xu Qi’an appeared behind him, his hands joined like a blade, chopping toward the neck.

“Whoosh!”

A shrill whistle came from the side as a purple shadow attacked Xu Qi’an’s face at a speed surpassing arrows.

He leaned his body back, moving his head to avoid the purple shadow, letting it brush past his nose.

Hiss… The purple shadow shot diagonally into the ground—it was a pool of poison that immediately corroded a deep pit in the earth.

Meanwhile, the tip of Xu Qi’an’s nose was tinged with a faint purple.

In the distance, Ba Ji’s cheeks were puffed up, ready to release a second shot of poison.

At the same time, Yu Shi responded, his body lunging forward with a fierce backkick aimed at Xu Qi’an behind him.

Clang!

The kick struck squarely in the abdomen, creating a ripple of energy.

Whoosh… A second poison arrow attacked, targeting exactly where Xu Qi’an had been knocked back.

There was nowhere to dodge.

At this moment, the advantage of a Transformation Realm warrior became apparent. Xu Qi’an’s body moved as if boneless, twisting into a “concave” shape to once again let the poison arrow miss.

Bang bang bang!

Yu Shi seized the opportunity to close in, using both fists and feet to create bell-like impacts on Xu Qi’an’s body.

Meanwhile, Ba Ji continuously shot poison arrows. With a “puff” sound, when Xu Qi’an violently interrupted Yu Shi’s combination attack, Ba Ji finally succeeded—a poison arrow struck Xu Qi’an’s knee.

The trouser leg was instantly corroded away, and his dark golden skin was stained deep purple.

The deep purple stain was confined to his knee by the dark golden protective light, unable to spread, but the protective light also couldn’t expel the toxin.

As the Poison Gu Division’s strongest technique, if the poison couldn’t kill experts of the same realm, it would be meaningless.

Of course, a Third-Rank warrior wouldn’t easily die from poison. Ba Ji’s goal was clear—to fight a war of attrition.

Like cutting meat with a dull knife.

At this moment, six figures emerged from the mountains. They wore cloaks with hoods and held seven bone blades.

“They’re here!”

Seeing this, Ba Ji let out a gleeful laugh.

The six cloaked figures holding blades didn’t rush into battle but instead ran toward Ba Ji.

The cloaked figures lined up in front of Ba Ji, laying their blades on the ground.

These blades had an ancient style, made from polished bone. The bone blades were covered in tiny black spots and yellow marks, showing traces of age.

The bone blades had a grand history. About thirteen hundred years ago, a Transcendent Realm Gu beast emerged from the extreme abyss. It was like an eternally hungry void, leaving extinction in its wake.

The leaders of the Gu Clan divisions joined forces to battle the beast on the wasteland in the northern part of the Southern Borderlands. After ten days of fierce fighting, they finally slew it.

Because this beast was a Force Gu beast, its physical body was incredibly tough, with regenerative abilities even surpassing warriors of the same realm and endless stamina.

The six-bone blades were made from the six hardest bones of the Gu beast, taking sixty years to complete.

The material and sharpness of the bone blades were not inferior to divine weapons.

Ba Ji gripped one blade’s edge and lightly drew it across, staining the edge with his blood.

He repeated this process with the other five blades.

“Go!” Ba Ji said in a deep voice.

“Mm, today we’ll use his blood to sacrifice to the Six Star God.”

The cloaked figures spoke with Yu Shi’s voice.

The six-bone blades entered the fray fiercely.

In an instant, Xu Qi’an felt killing intent from all directions, yet paradoxically, a warrior’s danger perception showed no response.

Heart Gu Master Chun Yan softly said:

“Seven as one, one as seven, and with weapons like the ‘Six Star God’ at their disposal. Even without our help, Yu Shi’s combat power surpasses ordinary Third-Rank warriors.”

Luan Yu licked her red lips and said coquettishly:

“Yu Shi, you’re not allowed to kill him. I want to plant a love gu in his body, make him belong only to me.”

Who was speaking—was it that incredibly shapely temptress, or the beautiful large-eyed woman with two snakes hanging from her ears… Xu Qi’an’s ears twitched.

Clang!

Two cloaked figures flashed past Xu Qi’an’s sides, their bone blades leaving two shallow purple marks on his waist.

The purple marks were like parasitic worms, impossible to dispel.

What kind of blades are these? The sharpness is somewhat inferior to the Peace Blade, but they should be at the level of divine weapons. Though they can’t break my Golden Body technique, they still hurt somewhat… Xu Qi’an frowned, feeling the burning pain on both sides of his waist, and immediately lost interest in paying attention to the beauties.

The initial pain came from the blade’s edge, while the continuing burning sensation was due to the poison.

Just as the two black-robed figures passed his waist, another two rolled on the ground, slashing at his knees.

Xu Qi’an allowed the enemy on his left to strike his knee while lifting his right leg to viciously stomp down on the enemy on his right, simultaneously surging his energy to try to shatter this walking corpse.

Surprisingly, though his foot sank into the opponent’s chest and broke the ribcage, he couldn’t shatter this corpse.

Besides the corpse fighting bare-handed, the other cloaked figures’ auras hadn’t reached the Transcendent Realm.

Xu Qi’an suddenly recalled what he’d witnessed at the Chai family, remembering how Chai Xian collected and refined corpses, gathering blood essence, intending to use the Corpse Bone Division’s secret method to create a Transcendent puppet.

He immediately realized that the six new corpses joining the battle were refined using this secret technique. Though their combat power hadn’t reached the Transcendent Realm, their physical toughness had already transcended the Fourth Rank.

“Big brother got cut!!”

In the distance, Xu Lingyin sat on Dragon Tu’s shoulder, watching the battle in the hollow clearly from her high vantage point.

Even further away was Mu Nanzhi, carefully hiding behind a tree to watch the battle, her brows tightly knitted, with the dispirited Bai Ji at her feet.

Dragon Tu patted his little disciple’s head and looked toward the First Elder and others, speaking in a muffled voice:

“Even I couldn’t quickly break Yu Shi’s Seven Corpse Formation. Combined with Ba Ji’s poison, it’s perfect for wearing down a warrior’s blood essence like a dull knife cutting meat.”

“And this is with Ba Ji not using full power, Shadow hiding in the darkness, Luan Yu standing by, and Chun Yan not using beast control to interfere.”

The First Elder slowly said:

“There’s still time to run…”

His expression suddenly changed, “They’ve made their move.”

Luan Yu, who had been observing all along, suddenly walked forward a distance and gently blew from her red, sensual lips.

It was like blowing in a lover’s ear.

But instantly, the entire hollow was filled with an aphrodisiac gas. The rustling sounds were endless as insects hidden underground crawled out of their holes, making mating calls.

Birds in the trees made excited and shrill cries, large animals’ eyes turned bright red as they frantically sought mates and began copulating. They ignored species and gender—as long as the body sizes were similar, they would immediately mount each other, thrusting madly.

“My turn!”

Ba Ji strode forward and forcefully blew out a cloud of viscous green smoke.

The green smoke was heavier than air, wreathing through the hollow like gauze, enveloping Xu Qi’an and the seven puppets controlled by Yu Shi.

This poison was different from the purple arrows—it targeted only living things. Those who inadvertently inhaled it would have the poison travel through their bloodstream to all parts of their body, killing all their internal organs.

In the hollow, the mating insects’ calls imperceptibly disappeared. Males fell from females mid-copulation, dying together in convulsions.

All living things that smelled the poison—snakes, insects, rats, birds, and beasts—died without exception.

Luan Yu and Ba Ji smiled at each other, and the latter called out loudly:

“Shadow, get ready. If that kid tries to escape, force him back immediately.”

Unless he stopped breathing, as soon as he dared to take a breath, he would face the test of both aphrodisiac gas and deadly poison.

Neither could kill a Transcendent warrior in a short time, but they would cause Xu Qi’an’s condition to deteriorate, weakening his combat power.

And the corpses, being already dead, wouldn’t feel desire or fear poison.

At this point, even the carefree Lina couldn’t bear it anymore, anxiously stamping her feet.

“Granny, Granny…”

She rushed anxiously to Granny Sky Gu’s side, tightly gripping the old woman’s arm and pleading:

“Make them stop,, I can take Xu Qi’an back to the capital, isn’t that enough? He’s my friend, don’t kill him.”

Lina had never imagined things would come to this.

Initially, when she thought of using Xu Qi’an’s name to make the elders and her father accept Xu Lingyin, Lina secretly applauded her cleverness.

Had she known things would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have brought Xu Qi’an here even if beaten to death, though coming to the Southern Borderlands’ Gu Clan was Xu Qi’an’s suggestion.

“This has nothing to do with you.”

Granny Sky Gu patted the back of her hand, with a calm and kindly smile:

“An arrow shot cannot be recalled. This battle must be fought regardless, otherwise, how will they vent their grievances? There’s a saying in the Central Plains: ‘The first drum stirs courage, the second weakens it, and the third exhausts it.'”

“The Gu Clan wants to ally with Yun Province, Xu Qi’an objects, so he chose to fight.”

She paused, then hinted: “The Gu Clan only negotiates with the strong.”

Lina completely missed the hint, stamping her foot and shouting:

“They’re bullying him! If they have the ability, fight one-on-one!”

Seeing that even Granny Sky Gu couldn’t be relied upon, Lina was at her wit’s end. Just then, a familiar heart-palpitating sensation descended—someone from the Earth Network was sending a message.

Earth Network, whenever there’s trouble, seek the Earth Network… Lina frantically fumbled in her bosom, retrieving the ground book fragment.

[Seven: Your Highness, do you have any armor or weapons? I want to arm my troops and lead them to fight in Qing Province.]

Li Lingsu sent the message.

Before Princess Huai Qing could reply, Li Miaozhen transmitted angrily:

[Two: Wishful thinking! Military supplies are scarce during wartime, how could they be wasted on your rabble? If you want weapons and armor, go kill enemies in Qing Province yourself. Besides, someone is just a powerless princess.]

She took a jab at Huai Qing in passing.

Huai Qing didn’t respond, seemingly disdaining to engage with the Heaven Sect’s young talents.

Lina steadied herself and used her finger as a pen to transmit:

[Five: Help! Xu Qi’an is about to die, our Gu Clan leaders are killing him.]

[One: What happened?]

Huai Qing was the first to respond.

[Five: People from Yun Province want to ally with the Gu Clan to attack Great Dao. Xu Qi’an happened to be in the Southern Borderlands, and the leaders are surrounding and killing him…]

Lina chaotically explained the situation.

After about ten seconds of silence, Li Lingsu transmitted:

[I stayed in the Southern Borderlands for a while. Among the seven divisions of the Gu Clan, every leader is in the Transcendent Realm. The Gu Clan’s methods are extremely bizarre—killing a Third-Rank warrior isn’t difficult. And the longer it drags on, the harder it becomes to escape.]

[Two: It’s… it’s fine… He’s a Third-Rank warrior with the Pagoda. If he wants to leave, the Gu Clan leaders can’t stop him.]

Li Miaozhen realized the dangerous situation. The Gu Clan’s leaders surrounded and killed Xu Qi’an—anyone who knew the Gu Clan’s strength would understand what this meant.

[One: Lina, what’s the current situation?]

[Five: He’s being entangled by the leaders.]

Huai Qing’s transmission followed immediately: [One: That’s not right. With his intelligence, he wouldn’t let himself fall into a death trap. Is the Gu Clan using Lingyin as a hostage to force him to stay?]

The brilliant Huai Qing immediately judged something was wrong.

[Five: Xu Ningyan wants to prevent the Gu Clan and Yun Province alliance to save Great Dao.]

Number One Huai Qing suddenly fell silent.

[Are you Gu Clan looking to die? Are you seeking death? Want me to make a Heaven’s Path oath to exterminate your Gu Clan?]

Li Miaozhen exploded in rage.

Lina had never seen Number Two lose composure like this and felt at a loss.

With Huai Qing silent and Li Miaozhen enraged, Chu Yuanzhen had to step forward to transmit:

[Lina, did you contact us seeking help?]

[Five: I don’t know what to do either.]

[Four: First tell me about Lingyin’s situation and the Princess Consort.]

He still habitually referred to Mu Nanzhi as Princess Consort.

[Five: Lingyin is beside my father, she’s his disciple—very safe. Who’s the Princess Consort?]

[Four: The woman following Xu Qi’an, um, the plain-looking one.]

Lina understood and transmitted back: [She’s safe too.]

[Four: Don’t worry, it’s fine. There aren’t many things or people Xu Qi’an would risk his life for. If it were truly a death trap, he would have fled long ago. And there’s no possibility of him being unaware of the danger—he might be more familiar with the Gu Clan’s methods than you are. You must have forgotten about the Seven Extinction Gu.

[Since he chose to fight, he must have some confidence.]

Though he said this, Chu Yuanzhen wasn’t entirely confident and added:

[Let us know when the battle ends, we’ll be waiting.]

Right, there’s still the Seven Extinction Gu… Lina brightened up as she finally remembered it.

…

The Poison Gu Division leader’s poison is much stronger than mine—truly professional.

Dark Gu’s “Obscurement” hasn’t been used on me yet. If I were just a pure Third-Rank warrior, I would be slowly worn to death here… After avoiding the six-bone blades slashing toward him and initially probing the levels of Yu Shi, Luan Yu, and Ba Ji, Xu Qi’an stopped holding back.

Neither the Love Gu nor the poison had affected him.

The proud techniques of the various leaders could only cause limited harm to an enemy whose Gu techniques weren’t much inferior to theirs.

As an experienced warrior, keeping techniques in reserve and probing the enemy’s depth was standard procedure.

Sidestepping and sliding, the muscles in his right leg burst through his trouser leg, suddenly expanding twofold. With a “crack,” it split the air, viciously whipping the corpse on his left.

The strike broke the corpse in half at the waist.

Berserker state!

Golden Body combined with berserker state—nothing could withstand it, nothing could block it.

Compared to when he fought Asura alone at the Southern Dharma Temple, his combat power had soared to another level.

After disposing of the first corpse with one whip kick, Xu Qi’an’s fire ring behind his head exploded, blasting apart the cloaked figure trying to sneak attack with a bone blade, setting their body ablaze.

The fire ring behind his head was supremely yang, specifically countering evil spirits and ghosts. Even a Fourth-Rank Yin Spirit from the Dao Sect would be severely injured if touched by these flames.

Walking corpses fell into the category of evil entities.

Xu Qi’an turned and swung his arm, his exaggerated muscles bursting through his sleeve. The corpse behind him had its head instantly explode, bone fragments and grayish-white brain matter splattering everywhere.

“Force Gu?”

Yu Shi roared in anger, somewhat caught off guard. He controlled the Third-Rank corpse to engage, trying to suppress the enemy.

Xu Qi’an reached out, perfectly gripping the Third-Rank corpse’s neck, making it look as if it had rushed into his grasp of its own accord.

The fire ring behind his head exploded with a “boom,” his dark golden body expanding a circle, like a deformed muscular giant, while internal energy surged like a wild ride through his arm.

Under the strike combining supernatural strength and energy, Yu Shi’s neck cracked, and he was immediately sent flying.

Xu Qi’an didn’t pursue, instead weaving between the corpses. Due to not being affected by inertia, his movements were agile and light, as if dancing tango or skating on ice.

The remaining four corpses fell without surprise—some had their heads removed, some had half their bodies smashed, some lost their legs…

By this time, Yu Shi’s Third-Rank corpse had barely landed after being sent flying.

Xu Qi’an’s knees bent slightly, the ground “booming” and collapsing as he transformed into a black shadow, pouncing on the Third-Rank corpse that had just steadied itself.

Straddling the Third-Rank corpse, Xu Qi’an’s arm muscles bulged, veins protruding, completely deformed.

Bang!

His right fist smashed into the Third-Rank corpse’s cheek, making its face snap violently to the right, teeth flying.

Bang!

His left fist followed up, making the corpse’s face snap to the left.

Bang bang bang!

He punched left and right, freely unleashing violence, beating the Third-Rank warrior’s face into a bloody pulp.

Outside the battlefield, seeing this scene, Luan Yu, Chun Yan, Ba Ji, and the other leaders, as well as Dragon Tu and the others in the distance, were slightly dazed.

“Force Gu…” Luan Yu suddenly looked toward Dragon Tu and the elders, raising her voice:

“Force Gu!”

“Dragon Tu, your Force Gu Division taught Transcendent Realm secret techniques to an outsider!”

The elders were dumbfounded, Dragon Tu’s face showed complete bewilderment, and then they all simultaneously turned their heads, their sharp gazes glaring at Lina.

“No, it wasn’t me…”

Lina, forced back by the sharp gazes, stepped backward repeatedly, waving her hands vigorously in protest of her innocence.