Chapter 49

“Burying the corpse…”

After thinking it through, if there weren’t any hidden moves being made in secret, then this would be the only step that might hint at another arrangement.

But for disciples of the Heavenly Corpse Peak, burying corpses was actually quite normal.

After all, this place had a second-rank Yin Vein. Carrying the corpse around didn’t bring nearly as many benefits as burying it. Absorbing the Earth’s Yin Qi directly was far better and much more beneficial for refining corpses.

“Could there be something hidden beneath the Blackbone Mountain?”

After all, the formation laid by Gu Zhengshun only concealed the bottom thirty levels of the mountain, which was in stark contrast to Liu Jinxian and Situ Hong, who had covered the upper fifty levels with their formations.

“You damn bastard…

Still scheming against me!”

He didn’t believe that Gu Zhengshun had made no other arrangements. The man had shown no reaction despite being caught in such a dangerous situation, and he was even willing to give up the Blackbone Mountain’s most valuable asset — the Xuan Essence Flower. There could only be one explanation: there was an even greater benefit tying him down.

With that assumption, it made perfect sense to suspect something was off about Gu Zhengshun.

However…

Should he really switch sides to Liu Jinxian?

For Wang Yu, that was a last resort. It was simply because Liu Jinxian’s power was overwhelming. As someone only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, how could he expect to gain the same recognition or fair treatment as he had under Gu Zhengshun?

Let alone receiving any benefits — even the two floors he currently held, along with the third floor he was about to capture, might be snatched away. After all, Liu had quite a few late-stage Qi Refining cultivators under her command.

He couldn’t compete!

The thought gave Wang Yu a throbbing headache. He immediately abandoned his plan to seize the third floor and chose to hold on tightly to the two floors he already controlled, especially those nine second-rank Bonewood trees that were about to bloom. Whoever dared to take them would be his sworn enemy, one he’d fight to the death.

“Looks like I’ll have to get ruthless…”

Three days passed in this state.

Nearly three hundred cultivators arrived, led by Liu Jinxian herself, along with twenty late-stage Qi Refining experts. Among them was someone who made Wang Yu’s eyelid twitch as he observed from the shadows.

It was none other than Su Qingshan, with whom he had a personal grudge. There had been too many people around during the departure, and Wang Yu’s attention had been focused on the two mountain lords. He hadn’t noticed Su was among them.

Now that he did, he was caught a little off guard. But a moment later, a cold realization struck him: if this man said a few bad things about him to Liu Jinxian, his situation could become even worse.

“Trouble…”

Outside the black mist, Liu Jinxian openly released her aura and called out loudly, “Junior Brother Gu, I’ve come as agreed to help you clear out the problems on Blackbone Mountain. Why haven’t you come out to meet me?”

From within the mist came Gu Zhengshun’s rough and muffled voice, thick with that signature deadpan tone: “Senior Sister Liu is bold and forthright. I’m not a petty man either. Aside from the bottom thirty floors, the rest is yours to take. Whoever claims it, owns it.”

With that statement, Liu Jinxian wouldn’t need to make things too ugly. There weren’t likely to be any second-rank Bonewood trees within those thirty lower floors. Seeing his pathetic expression, she let out a mocking smile.

But on the surface, she still remained cordial.

“As fellow mountain lords, there’s no need for such formality. It’s true my people are a bit more numerous, but they’re risking their lives to help clean up Blackbone Mountain for you. It’s only fair they receive some compensation.

“How about this, the areas they take, we’ll return them to you after four years. How does that sound?”

Four years? That wouldn’t be enough to wait for the blooming season. And after five years, their posted assignment here would be over. This woman was ruthless, not planning to share even a sliver of the reward.

“I’ve already said, Senior Sister Liu, do as you please. Even if you take it for ten years, I’ve got no complaints. That’s how it should be.”

His intention to retreat was clear as day. At that moment, not just Liu Jinxian but even the cultivators by her side felt Gu Zhengshun had become useless. A supposed descendant of a Golden Core elder, reduced to a spineless coward.

Su Qingshan’s heart burned with anticipation. After taking Zhao Shang’s advice and learning about the benefits of Blackbone Mountain, he had become utterly tempted.

Though he hadn’t managed to obtain the high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, this second-rank Xuan Essence Flower wasn’t bad either. At the very least, it could boost his success rate by twenty percent. That way, even using a Blood Reversal Pill to establish his foundation might actually work.

The second-rank Xuan Essence Flowers on Liu Jinxian’s side of the mountain all belonged to her alone, but on Gu Zhengshun’s side, everything depended on one's own ability. He was confident that if it came to combat, he could seize at least one level.

“Heh.”

With no pressure at all from the mountain’s suppressive force, Liu Jinxian turned to her subordinates. Her tone was sharp and commanding.

“I always keep my promises.”

“You must also honor the agreement. Capture every last hive of the Corrosive Venom Bees. If even one escapes, don’t blame me for stripping you of your rewards.”

Everyone shuddered inwardly and bowed their heads.

“We pledge to Sister Liu to capture all Corrosive Venom Bee hives.”

“Good. Now go.”

Nearly three hundred Qi Refining cultivators rode black silk artifacts into the Bone Mountain, each heading to different levels based on their own judgment.

The top twenty floor were almost entirely occupied by late-stage Qi Refining cultivators—it was clear they had already divided the areas among themselves.

Wang Yu withdrew his gaze from the lower layers and turned his eyes toward two disciples flying toward floors 290 and 291. Both were at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

With a flick of his sleeve, a high-grade magical artifact—the Nether Iron Chains—burrowed silently into the ground, lying dormant and waiting for Wang Yu’s spiritual command.

Before long.

The two cultivators arrived side by side. As they were neighbors in terms of layer, they had both noticed something unusual: no bone lions, no bee swarms, everything looked as if it had already been cleared out.

“Qi Refining layer five? A disciple from Heavenly Corpse Peak?”

Wang Yu had already stowed away his Cold Blood Peak disciple token and wore only the outer sect robes of the Blood Reversal Sect. This was to conceal his identity. Out here, there was no use for contribution points anyway.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Wang Yu replied, then added,

“According to the rules, whoever clears a floor gets to claim it. I ask that the two of you seek another.”

Hearing this, the questioning cultivator gave a strange smile.

“You mean to say, both of these floor are yours?”

“Exactly.”

“Heh…”

“Arrogant! Gu Zhengshun only mentioned the lower thirty floors. The other two hundred and seventy weren’t promised to Sister Liu. If you leave now, we might just spare your life.”

Most of these three hundred cultivators were from Gu Poison Peak, with only a few from other peaks. These two happened to be demonic cultivators who specialized in Gu techniques.

Gu Zhengshun had deliberately left a loophole in his words.

Feigning weariness and playing dumb, Wang Yu had seen through it early on. The real intent was to push him forward, using Liu Jinxian’s hand to eliminate him.

After all, if both sides clashed, it would be hard for the other party to tell whether he had deduced the setup through subtle clues. A classic scheme—killing someone with borrowed hands.

They also assumed Wang Yu wouldn’t be willing to give up the Xuan Essence Flowers that were about to bloom.

But who was Wang Yu?

Back when he was still a spirit slave, he dared to take bold risks—publicly cutting off three limbs of an enemy. Though he lost an arm in the end, it proved how reckless and foolish he had been.

That was because he hadn’t yet developed the higher perspective to see the battles and shifting power among True Disciples. It wasn’t due to a lack of ability.

When it was time to retreat, he could be more withdrawn than a turtle.

When it was time to strike, no one was more ferocious than him!

“Such shameless boasting!”

Wang Yu made the first move. His figure split into five, and countless ice swords rained down from the sky. The two cultivators were startled but quickly unleashed their own techniques.

One produced a black alms bowl, placing it before him to ward off the icy onslaught.

The other’s brow split open, and a golden snake slithered out. With spiritual power surging, a massive golden serpent manifested around his body, coiled like a protective bell.