Chapter 216 – Cutting Down a True Disciple
"Nothing!"
Zero carefully probed the surroundings with his senses, but found nothing. At last, his gaze shifted toward Gu Mo not far away.
When Zero saw the calm expression on Gu Mo's face, his brow furrowed slightly. The target's reaction was far too strange.
Normally, when a Talisman of Escape's power ran out, the target would either flee in terror or launch a desperate, frenzied attack. Yet this one did neither. Instead, there was only calm.
"No matter what trump cards you're hiding, you're dead." Zero fixed his gaze on Gu Mo. In his Corpse Demon Transformation state, his strength, defense, and speed had already reached the Nascent Soul level.
He simply couldn't believe that a cultivator at the early Core Formation stage could pose a threat to him. Even against a true Nascent Soul master, he might not win—but surviving would be no problem.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zero's figure vanished. The next instant, he reappeared before Gu Mo, his fist crashing forward with terrifying might.
Clang!
Facing Zero's attack, Gu Mo raised his golden blade and unleashed Sword Reversal, intercepting the blow. Though he was forced back several steps, it still counted as successfully blocking the strike.
"What!"
Seeing Gu Mo block his attack, Zero's fanged, corpse-pale face twisted in shock. This Core Formation early stage brat actually possessed strength on par with his own.
But appearances could be deceiving. Though Gu Mo was merely at early Core Formation, ever since acquiring the Fourth-Rank Sunflower, he had begun tempering his body with Immortal Force.
The refinement wasn't complete yet, but Gu Mo's physique was already close to the level of a Nascent Soul master. With the added mystery of Sword Reversal, blocking Zero's punch was hardly surprising.
"Slash the Heavens!"
While Zero was still reeling, Gu Mo condensed the force of that punch and counterattacked with the Heaven-Cleaving Sword Art.
Pfft!
A sword light that seemed to tear open heaven and earth swept out. Unable to dodge in time, Zero's body was split open. Yet the wound swiftly knit itself back together.
In his Corpse Demon Transformation state, not only had Zero's combat power reached Nascent Soul level, he also possessed a terrifying regenerative ability. Facing such an opponent was undeniably troublesome.
"Good… good… good!"
Zero's eyes gleamed with a vicious light. From this brief exchange, he had confirmed that the target truly possessed strength not inferior to his own.
And this opponent was only at the early Core Formation stage. Thankfully, that was all—Core Formation. His attacks were sharp, but not enough to threaten Zero's life.
For a moment, Zero even felt a surge of relief. If he hadn't pursued this target and allowed such a threat to escape, it could have become a nightmare during the upcoming Heavenly Chosen Battle.
"No wonder it's called a divine ability… it really is powerful."
Gu Mo looked at the aftermath of his strike. That attack just now had been his strongest under normal conditions, and all it managed was to cut a wound in Zero's body—a wound that healed almost instantly.
Any other Core Formation cultivator in this situation would likely despair. But Gu Mo was different. For him, that blow had only been a probe.
He still had many methods left unused. "Forget it, better end this quickly—no need to let Senior Sister Ding worry." Gu Mo took a deep breath.
At once, a surge of Immortal Force ignited within him. In a flash, his aura erupted, soaring to the level of Nascent Soul.
"Immortal Force… you actually forged an Immortal Core!"
Sensing the sudden surge in Gu Mo's cultivation, Zero immediately understood. Shock filled his eyes—along with envy.
After all, even he had failed to condense an Immortal Core. To do so required immense foundations. Among the Yin Corpse Sect's true disciples, Zero was not counted among the very top. The sect's resources naturally went first to those with greater talent.
In the demonic sects, there was no such thing as equal distribution. The strong took everything. Thus, even a difference of one rank among true disciples could mean an enormous gap in resources and strength.
Because he lacked the necessary resources, Zero had never laid a solid enough foundation to condense an Immortal Core. It was a lifelong regret.
Still, in this Heavenly Chosen Battle, the most elite true disciples weren't on the list. Zero had a real chance at seizing first place. If he did, the rewards would be abundant beyond imagination.
With enough resources, even without an Immortal Core, he would have no problem breaking through to the realm of a Nascent Soul Demon Lord.
But never had he imagined that the prey he was chasing actually possessed an Immortal Core! Immediately, countless demonic secret arts for seizing such a core surfaced in his mind.
"Opportunity!"
Zero's eyes burned hotly as he stared at Gu Mo. A lone cultivator with an Immortal Core—if he could kill him, dig out that core, and use demonic methods to transplant it into his own body, he would hold a direct ticket to the Nascent Soul realm.
"Looks like I'll have to go all out."
Feeling Gu Mo's formidable aura, Zero's heart clenched. He couldn't let this prey burn through too much of that precious Immortal Force.
If he wanted to preserve as much of it as possible, he had only one option—end this fight quickly.
At that thought, a sinister gray aura burst from Zero's body. A chorus of wails erupted as the aura took form—countless vengeful spirits, howling in torment.
In moments, the spirits condensed into a gray suit of armor covered in twisted human faces, wrapping around Zero's body. With the armor in place, his aura surged even higher, surpassing even Gu Mo, despite the latter's Immortal Force. Yet Zero's face twisted with pain and savagery.
This move was powerful, but the price was to endure the gnawing of countless souls. Still, for the sake of the Immortal Core, the price was worth it.
"Die!"
Suppressing the agony, Zero charged at Gu Mo.
"Demonic tricks… there really are many of them."
Gu Mo raised his golden blade. As Zero closed in, his Great Sun Sword Intent erupted. In an instant, a blazing sun descended.
"What!"
The sudden sun left Zero horrified. Wasn't this the Heavenly Chosen of Shennong Valley? How did he wield the Extreme Yang Sword Intent of the Yin-Yang Sword Sect? No—this was stronger than the Extreme Yang Sword Intent he knew! Even the mere radiation of this sword intent incinerated many of the wailing spirits on his armor.
Of course the demonic sects knew all about the Extreme Yang Sword Intent. It was one of the most effective forces against them.
They had even developed countermeasures. Zero's Wraith Armor was designed to resist such sword intent.
After all, in the Heavenly Chosen Battle, facing disciples of the Yin-Yang Sword Sect was inevitable. If he wanted first place, he had to be prepared for this power.
Now it seemed his preparations were correct. Though Gu Mo's Great Sun Sword Intent was incredibly strong, it could not destroy the Wraith Armor in the short term.
But after this battle, the armor would likely be ruined, and reforging it would require harvesting more vengeful souls.
Still, for the sake of the Immortal Core, such a loss was acceptable.
"As expected of a true disciple of a great sect—you really are troublesome."
Gu Mo took out a fiery red chili pepper. His true body did not possess twelve Sword Pellets, so he could not deploy the Heavenly Dipper Twelvefold Sword Calamity Formation to elevate the Great Sun Sword Intent further into the form of the Golden Crow.
But his true body had its own means of battle.
"Crack!"
Gu Mo crushed the fiery red chili pepper in his hand. Instantly, a wave of scorching heat erupted, no weaker than the blazing sun itself. A moment later, a massive fire dragon surged forth.
"Ah!"
Zero let out a howl of despair as he stared at the suddenly materialized fire dragon. That dragon carried the true might of a Nascent Soul True Lord, even reaching the level of the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
"It's over. What a waste of a Fireburst Chili!" Gu Mo sighed deeply. If his sword cultivator incarnation were here, a single strike of the Great Sun Golden Crow Sword would have been enough to end this.
Unfortunately, while his true body also grasped the Great Sun Sword Intent and knew the Great Sun Golden Crow Sword, his cultivation method was never designed for swordsmanship.
Because of this, his true body could not yet unleash the Great Sun Golden Crow Sword. Only when he raised his Great Sun Sword Intent high enough to condense a Golden Crow without relying on a Sword Core would his true body finally be able to wield that technique.
"But once the cave-heaven is completed, my true body's strength will definitely surpass that of my incarnation." Gu Mo collected Zero's storage treasures, then hurried off in the direction of Ding Shiyan.
By now, Gu Mo had already opened many spiritual fields within his cave-heaven and planted them with spirit flora. However, the number of fourth-tier Sunflowers was still small. He continued accumulating more of them, waiting until he had enough to begin evolving fourth-tier battle plants.
When that time came, he would be able to summon plants from the cave-heaven directly into battle.
…
"Sister Ding, I'll hold this corpse puppet off. You two retreat." Among them, Ming Yueyue had the most battle experience. She quickly grasped their situation and made a decisive choice.
If the three of them continued clashing with the corpse puppet, they would only drain their strength further. Worse, no one knew when Zero might return. If he came back, all hope would vanish.
At least this way, two of them might still escape.
"No, that won't do. We have to think of another way!"
Ding Shiyan shook her head. Letting Ming Yueyue fight alone—yes, she could erupt with strength and hold out for a while. But once that burst ended, what would become of her?
Even if Ming Yueyue managed to stall the corpse puppet, once Zero returned, her death would be certain. Worse, she would likely suffer soul extraction and possession at the hands of a demonic cultivator. Ding Shiyan could not accept that fate for her.
Thinking of this, her thoughts turned to Gu Mo, who had drawn Zero away. She prayed that he had managed to escape. With how Elder Hou valued him, the life-preserving trump cards given to Gu Mo should not be weak.
There was at least some chance Gu Mo could get away from Zero. But Ming Yueyue—if she stayed behind, she would have no chance at all.
"Enough! If we keep hesitating, none of us will get out alive." Ming Yueyue's power surged higher, and her fighting grew increasingly ferocious.
"Then let's split up and flee. Whoever survives… will depend on fate." Ding Shiyan's eyes hardened. She didn't want Ming Yueyue to sacrifice herself, but she knew that if they didn't act now, none of them would survive.
So let each flee on their own. Who lived or died would be left to destiny.
"Junior Brother Du, you go first!"
Ding Shiyan looked toward Du Jinpeng. His speed was the slowest. If they all left together, he would definitely be the first caught. By sending him ahead alone, he at least stood a chance.
If even then he couldn't escape, well… she would have done what she could.
"Alright!"
Du Jinpeng nodded. He didn't recall the Roaring Ancient Tree either, leaving it to keep assisting Ding Shiyan and Ming Yueyue while he himself fled swiftly.
"Yueyue, it's been so long since we raced. Why don't we see who runs faster today?" Ding Shiyan sent her a voice transmission.
"Alright!"
Ming Yueyue nodded, though her strikes only grew sharper.
"Then—go!"
As Ding Shiyan gave the word, the two exchanged a look. Neither moved. Instead, both broke into smiles.
"In that case… let's fight to the death together."
Ding Shiyan gave a helpless smile. Her plan had only fooled Du Jinpeng. This old friend of hers refused to be deceived.
"Sister Ding, wait!"
Ming Yueyue suddenly stopped her.
"What is it?"
Ding Shiyan quickly retreated a step and asked.
"The corpse puppet—it stopped." Ming Yueyue swept it with her divine sense. Indeed, the puppet had completely frozen in place, though its energy remained full and vigorous.
That should have been impossible. Unless its master had ordered it to stop. But Zero would never have spared them. Unless…
"Zero is dead!"
Both Ding Shiyan and Ming Yueyue came to the same shocking realization. Zero had chased after Gu Mo, but then suddenly perished. The thought sent waves through their hearts.
"That shouldn't be possible. Maybe… a Nascent Soul True Lord intervened." Ming Yueyue offered cautiously.
"Didn't we agree to run together? You tricked me!"
Just then, Du Jinpeng reappeared, panting heavily. With him was Gu Mo.
On his way back, Gu Mo had encountered Du Jinpeng fleeing. Upon learning that Zero was dead, Du Jinpeng had immediately returned with him.
Seeing Ding Shiyan and Ming Yueyue still here, Du Jinpeng grew indignant. Didn't this make him look like a coward who had abandoned his companions? He was not someone afraid of death!
"Junior Brother Gu, what happened?"
Ignoring Du Jinpeng's complaints, Ding Shiyan turned anxiously to Gu Mo.
Gu Mo calmly repeated the explanation he had already prepared: while fleeing with a teleportation talisman, he had encountered a passing Nascent Soul True Lord. That cultivator had taken action and slain Zero.
"As expected!"
Hearing this, Ding Shiyan and Ming Yueyue nodded. It made sense. The idea of Gu Mo killing Zero himself was simply too far-fetched.
Shennong Valley.
"Whew… finally back." Qi Chunde gazed at the towering ancient tree in the distance and let out a long breath. Ever since he'd escaped pursuit, he had wandered outside endlessly.
But recently, after learning of the Heavenly Chosen War, and remembering that his name was also on the Heavenly Chosen Ranking, Qi Chunde decided to return to Shennong Valley and contribute.
After all, if he failed to make it back in time, the righteous side would be short one participant.
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