Translator: CinderTL
With the power of the Blood Wraith Beast, Yang Yu gradually closed the gap to within a hundred zhang behind Gou Jun.
However, his climbing speed slowed significantly once again, no longer as agile as when he had merged with the Blood Wraith Beast.
Gou Jun sat cross-legged on the stone steps, refining pills to restore his Spiritual Power and physical strength.
As he watched Yang Yu draw closer, a trace of gloom flashed in his eyes.
His gaze shifted downward, landing on Song Wen, who was meditating and regulating his breath several li away.
Further down, Mi Hai had only climbed halfway up the path.
About two or three li behind Mi Hai were Lan Chen and the other two women.
Gou Jun's eyes returned to Yang Yu.
However, the previous malice in his gaze had vanished, replaced by a semblance of amiability.
"Fellow Daoist Yang Yu, you truly are full of surprises. I never expected that aside from the Ice Soul Spider, you also possess a peak fourth-tier Blood Wraith Beast."
Yang Yu continued climbing with his head down, responding as he went.
"The Blood Wraith Beast's advancement to the peak of the fourth tier is not solely my achievement. It is the result of the collective efforts of many predecessors in the Beastmaster Sect over the years. I merely inherited their legacy and benefited from their generosity."
"Hehe... Fellow Daoist is too modest," Gou Jun said, shifting the topic. "Fellow Daoist Yang Yu, how about we join forces to explore this mountain together?"
"Haven't we been working together all along?"
Yang Yu seemed entirely uninterested in Gou Jun's proposal, his reply coming off as perfunctory.
"What I mean is, only the two of us explore this mountain," Gou Jun clarified. "To be honest with you, this mountain is called Divine Blood Peak, the core of the Divine Blood Gate. There must be treasures of immense value here, and perhaps even the 'Blood of Fallen Immortal' that we both seek. Naturally, the fewer people involved, the better."
Yang Yu asked, "What do you intend to do?"
Gou Jun's voice turned slightly colder.
"Simply employ some means to ensure that the five people behind us cannot ascend these steps. Yin Shuo, who is closest to us, is merely a latecomer, a mere early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. He has no right to lay claim to the 'Blood of Fallen Immortal.' As for Lan Chen, Mi Hai, and the others, they are even more useless. They set out with Yin Shuo but were left far behind by him. They are even less qualified to seek the 'Blood of Fallen Immortal.'"
Yang Yu replied, "I'm afraid I'm powerless in this matter. My Spiritual Power is nearly depleted, and I have no energy to deal with others."
As the first Grand Elder of the Beastmaster Sect, Yang Yu was no fool.
At this moment, his top priority was to ensure he could successfully reach the top of the steps.
This meant conserving every ounce of strength and every wisp of Spiritual Power.
Wasting Spiritual Power on attacking others now would be unwise.
Even if he could drive the others back, it would all be for naught if he couldn't reach the summit himself.
"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting we deal with them now, but rather after we've reached the top of the steps," Gou Jun explained.
Yang Yu struggled to climb another step.
"Fine! I agree. If there are no other dangers after we reach the top, we'll work together to force them back to the foot of the mountain."
"Then it's settled," Gou Jun said.
Having reached an agreement, the two fell silent and continued their arduous climb.
In the end, Gou Jun, having climbed a dozen steps ahead of Yang Yu, was the first to reach the top of the steps.
The immense pressure instantly vanished.
Gou Jun's body relaxed, and he sprawled out on the ground.
After catching his breath for a long while, he finally recovered.
Gou Jun did not rise, instead tilting his head to glance at the stone steps below.
When he saw Yang Yu, who was only four steps away from the summit, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
He wanted to force Song Wen and the others to retreat, and he equally desired to eliminate Yang Yu.
The fewer people who ascended the Divine Blood Peak, the better—ideally, only him.
But he suddenly remembered Yang Yu's other Spirit Beast and dismissed the thought.
His current condition was already extremely poor, and there was no need to engage in a life-and-death struggle with Yang Yu.
Meanwhile, Yang Yu, perhaps worried that Gou Jun might attack him, noticeably quickened his pace after Gou Jun reached the summit. Soon, he too ascended to the top of the steps.
Upon reaching the summit, unlike Gou Jun, who collapsed weakly, Yang Yu remained alert. He cast a wary glance at Gou Jun before walking several zhang away to survey the scene before him.
What greeted his eyes was a small plaza, only a few li in area.
Opposite him stood towering cliffs, and at the base of the cliffs was a cave dozens of zhang in size.
On the stone wall above the cave entrance were carved three large characters: "Primordial Origin Cave."
The cave entrance was blocked by a barrier, preventing Yang Yu from sensing what lay inside.
The other three sides of the plaza, apart from the stone steps, were sheer cliffs. If one were to accidentally fall, given the gravity restrictions here, it would be unlikely to leave a whole corpse.
Yang Yu turned his head to glance at the few people still climbing the steps and asked, "Fellow Daoist Gou Jun, when do you plan to make your move?"
At this moment, Gou Jun had recovered somewhat and was sitting cross-legged not far from the steps.
He turned his head and glanced at Song Wen below.
Song Wen was less than five li away from the top of the steps.
Unable to bear the increasing pressure, Song Wen could only crawl on the steps.
His body, towering at three zhang, spanned five or six steps even while lying down. Using both hands and feet, he continued to inch forward slowly.
"Wait a little longer," Gou Jun said.
"Why?" Yang Yu asked.
According to Yang Yu's thinking, since they had decided to force Song Wen and the others to retreat, the sooner they acted, the better.
"Our goal is not to drive them back to the foot of the mountain but to prevent them from competing with us for the treasures on the peak. Naturally, it's best to wait until their Spiritual Power is nearly exhausted and their bodies are nearing their limits before making our move. Especially that Yin Shuo..."
At this point, Gou Jun's lips curled into a strange smile.
"Yin Shuo is almost at the summit. Wouldn't it be delightful to force him to retreat just as he's about to succeed?"
Hearing this, Yang Yu paid little attention to Gou Jun's somewhat twisted and perverse thoughts.
He dismissed the Blood Wraith Beast that had been attached to him and sat cross-legged on the ground, taking pills to regulate his breathing.
The Blood Wraith Beast was not recalled to the Spirit Beast Pouch but instead stood quietly beside Yang Yu, clearly on guard against Gou Jun.
What Yang Yu didn't notice was that, at a certain moment, a flash of fervor appeared in Gou Jun's eyes as he looked at Song Wen.
With Gou Jun's cultivation level, it was not difficult for him to see that Song Wen's transformation into a Giant Corpse was a powerful close-combat technique exclusive to Corpse Dao Cultivators.
If he could obtain it, his strength would undoubtedly reach new heights.
If he acted against Song Wen now, he could either force him back to the foot of the mountain or cause him to die directly on the steps.
In any case, he would not be able to obtain the technique from Song Wen.
He would wait—wait until Song Wen was about to reach the summit or had just succeeded in doing so before making his move.
A single strike to kill!
He wanted to obtain Song Wen's Storage Ring and perform a soul search on Song Wen's spirit.
Originally, when they were outside the Divine Blood Hall, Gou Jun had already harbored thoughts about this cultivation technique.
However, at that time, Song Wen still had some use; moreover, he didn't want to alienate other Nascent Soul cultivators by attacking Song Wen, as he needed them to scout the path and share the risks.
Thus, he decided to postpone seizing the technique.
But now, he had reached the innermost core of the Divine Blood Hall, and Song Wen, Lan Chen, and the others had outlived their usefulness.
(End of the Chapter)
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