Feeling that the two were so close to him, Wu You felt slightly puzzled.

It had been seven days since he had implanted the hidden venomous creature on those two individuals. Those hidden Gu worms should have gradually eroded their consciousness. After being tormented by the Gu worms for seven days, cultivators at the Qi Refining stage would become akin to madmen, unable to even remember their own names.

However, these two individuals had appeared in the forest where he was now.

It was quite strange.

Nevertheless, Wu You didn’t dwell on it too much. After all, they were merely two Qi Refining cultivators. Moreover, they didn’t possess the bloodline of the Immortal Emperor like the person he had just encountered.

Even though he had lost half of his cultivation, capturing these two for blood sacrifice to heal himself shouldn’t be a difficult task.

“Heh.”

He chuckled lightly, pushed himself up by his knees, and then summoned his flying sword once again. He flew towards the location he had sensed.

However, upon arriving, he only saw the young man he had previously encountered in the forest, sitting in meditation and recuperating.

Clearly, he had sensed that both gu worms were in this location, so why was there only the young man present? Where was the other Qi Refining cultivator, the girl who had reached the peak stage?

Ye Anping gathered the dispersed spiritual energy throughout his body, then opened his eyes and smiled as he greeted the descending Wu You, “Huh? Isn’t this the senior from before? What a coincidence, meeting you here again.”

Wu You furrowed his brows slightly, immediately becoming cautious.

He felt a strange sense of dissonance from Ye Anping’s presence.

Why did this young man, who should have been affected by his hidden gu worms, appear so unaffected, with a healthy and rosy complexion?

Seeing Wu You’s puzzled expression, Ye Anping smiled faintly. He reached into his storage bag and took out a cauldron, tossing it towards Wu You

“Senior Wu You, here are these two little bugs. I’m returning them to you.”

“What?”

Hearing his address, Wu You’s pupils contracted slightly. He instantly sensed that something was amiss, but quickly composed himself.

He waved his hand and took out a cauldron from his storage pouch.

“Young friend, I don’t know what you’re planning, but do you really think that a Qi Refining cultivator at the third level can withstand me?”

“Well, I alone probably can’t, but after all, I’ve been preparing for today for ten years.”

“… Ten years?”

Wu You was baffled.

But in the next moment, he felt a chilling aura behind him and immediately turned around.

Pei Lengxue, who had been lurking nearby, held a cyan longsword and had already arrived in front of him.

Wu You hurriedly mobilized his true essence, attempting to fend off Pei Lengxue.

However, the speed of Pei Lengxue’s strike far exceeded his expectations. It was not the speed that a Qi Refining cultivator should possess.

A chilly blue radiance collided directly with the cauldron in his left hand.

Ding—

Sparks flew.

The cauldron in his hand was knocked out of his grip by the sword strike.

A centipede-like worm was flung out of the cauldron and was subsequently shredded into pieces by the sword aura created by Pei Lengxue’s strike.

“This technique…” Wu You quickly retreated, “You, girl, are you a cultivator of the Frigid Heaven Kindon?”

“… …”

Pei Lengxue didn’t answer him at all. Instead, she swung her longsword in a circle, sweeping all the fallen leaves on the ground into the air.

However, seemingly ordinary leaves were suddenly floating around her in an instant.

Just as Wu You was wondering what Pei Lengxue was attempting to do, those leaves she had stirred up suddenly shot toward him.

Swoosh—

Wu You reacted quickly, leaping aside to dodge, but still, a leaf grazed his cheek.

Yet, this single leaf had left a long gash on his otherwise smooth face.

He touched his cheek, then glanced back at the leaves that Pei Lengxue had manipulated with her spiritual energy, a look of disbelief on his face.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this young girl had just used the Shadowleaf Sword Art Technique from the Shadowmoon Sword Sect.

That was a secret technique of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, the one that are said that only the Sect Master and his direct descendant are able to learn.

How could this little girl possess it?

And she also had a technique from the Frigid Heaven Kingdom?

Who taught her?!!

Wu You continued to evade the incoming leaves. He wanted to mobilize his true essence to defend himself, but Pei Lengxue didn’t give him the opportunity.

Coupled with his injuries from the golden dragon’s attack earlier, in the span of only ten breaths, his robe had been cut into pieces all over by the leaves.

“Tsk– to be forced into such a state by a Qi Refining girl!!” Wu You clicked his tongue and no longer held back.

He had to use his true essence.

As he saw that he was about to use his true essence, Pei Lengxue quickly sheathed her sword and retreated, seemingly intending to escape.

“Thinking of leaving? If you force me to use my true essence, do you think I’ll let you escape?!”

Wu You shouted loudly, and a surge of evil aura immediately converged into a gigantic hand, intending to chase after Pei Lengxue.

“Hah!!”

However, just at this moment, a chilly blue radiance shot out from the ground, creating a barrier of light within a hundred-foot radius around him.

“A formation?!” Wu You swept a glance over and his eyes filled with fear. “Hmph, what can an array set up by a mere Qi Refining cultivator do?!”

He quickly redirected the giant hand’s attack towards the upper center of the light barrier, attempting to break the formation first and then pursue the girl he had just encountered.

However, just as the malevolent spirit giant hand was about to crash into the protective barrier, a blue light pierced through the giant hand, instantly turning the malevolent aura within it into an ice sculpture.

Simultaneously, the temperature in the forest dropped dramatically, and a layer of frost covered the fallen leaves and soil on the ground.

Wu You felt the sudden wave of coldness and was momentarily stunned.

He didn’t understand.

The Cultivation Technique of the Frigid Heaven Kingdom, the Shadowleaf Sword Art, and now this unfamiliar ice array that had been set up.

Each one was attacking his weak points precisely.

Ten years…

In that moment, he seemed to grasp the meaning behind the young man’s “ten years.”

Did that young man spend ten years preparing to kill him?

But how was that possible?!

And why?

He had never seen that young man before.

“Hiss—”

Wu You clenched his teeth and took a deep breath, but soon he focused his mind again.

Although the array indeed targeted his vulnerabilities accurately, at most, it would only trap him here for a period of time.

The array was likely set up by the young man he had encountered earlier. Given his Qi Refining cultivation, he wouldn’t be able to sustain it for more than a quarter of an hour before exhausting his spiritual energy.

“Let me see what tricks you two Qi Refining kids still have up your sleeves!”

However, just as he finished speaking, a flash of cold light appeared.

A three-foot-long blue peak appeared out of nowhere, and before Wu You knew it, it was at his throat.

Furrowing his brows, Wu You immediately grabbed onto the blade with his hand.

The sword edge directly cut into his wrist, and blood dripped from the blade onto the already frosted ground.

He looked at the young girl who was swinging her sword at him and coming towards him, then smiled and said, “That young man is truly ruthless. He actually trapped you, his junior sister, within this array. Isn’t he afraid that the cold aura here will freeze you to death?”

Pei Lengxue tried to retract her sword, but she found that Wu You was incredibly strong. So, she let go of the sword and instead used her fists and feet to strike at Wu You.

However, she was only at the Qi Refining stage after all. Although the first two punches caused Wu You to dodge twice, when she threw the third punch, Wu You seized her wrist.

“Heh, I must indeed praise you for causing me such trouble at the Qi Refining stage, but…”

Wu You grabbed Pei Lengxue’s wrist, forcefully pulled her in front of him, then opened his mouth slightly and spat out a purple mist towards her.

After inhaling the mist, Pei Lengxue struggled a bit and then completely relaxed her body.

Seeing this, Wu You released his grip on her hands and shouted towards the outside of the array, “Junior, your junior sister has fallen under my illusion gu. If you care about her, remove this array.”

“…”

“I’ll count to three. If you still haven’t removed this array, when your true essence is exhausted, I’ll personally let you taste the agony of the Heartpiercing Gu-”

Swoosh—

As Wu You confidently spoke to Ye Anping outside the array, suddenly a spiritual sword pierced directly through his chest.

“Cough—”

He froze for a moment, lowered his head to look at his chest, and then turned his head to look at Pei Lengxue behind him with an incredulous expression.

“How did you…”

“My senior brother taught me.” Pei Lengxue pulled out her spiritual sword with an indifferent expression, and then thrust it through Wu You again.

Swoosh—

One strike, two strikes, three strikes-

She didn’t stop, and by the fourth strike, Wu You couldn’t maintain his balance anymore, falling to the ground with a resounding thud. Yet, his eyes continued to glare at Pei Lengxue.

At this moment, Pei Lengxue also retracted her sword and took a gentle breath. Then, she joyfully shouted towards her senior brother outside the array, “Senior Brother! It’s done!!!”

However, the array hadn’t been deactivated yet. Ye Anping, who was maintaining the array from the outside, hesitated for a moment upon hearing Pei Lengxue’s voice, then quickly shouted, “Finish him!!!”

Pei Lengxue realized what she had forgotten and took out fifty fire-type talismans that Ye Anping had given her in the morning from her storage pouch.

Wu You, lying on the ground, had initially pretended to be dead, planning to wait until Pei Lengxue’s guard was down to separate his consciousness using a demonic technique and seize her body. However, when he saw her suddenly take out a stack of fire-type talismans from her storage bag, his eyes nearly popped out in shock.

He quickly raised his hand to try to stop her.

“Wait!!”

Unfortunately, Pei Lengxue wasn’t showing any mercy. Without hesitation, she threw the stack of fire-type talismans onto him.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!—”

The sound of his screams accompanied the aroma of roasting meat as it wafted through the forest.