Chapter 107: Another Expert Emerges

In the distance, atop a towering peak on the plain, Jiuyou gazed into the distance, his Divine Sense quietly enveloping the area.

The massive blood-red light barrier hundreds of miles away could not escape his powerful Divine Sense. With his eight hundred years of experience, he could naturally discern the grade of that formation at a glance.

"A top-tier killing formation. Looks like that old bastard Nether Luo from the Blood Abyss Sect is behind this."

His gaze sharpened as his Divine Sense meticulously swept across the edge of the light barrier.

"Judging by the aura, it seems he brought two people along, plus a Ninth-Tier Demon Beast. With the power of this killing formation, combined with three people working together, killing a Ninth-Tier Demon Beast should be more than sufficient. But this Nether Luo doesn't seem to have truly activated the formation's killing power... Is he scheming something, or waiting for something...?"

Jiuyou pondered for a moment, then his figure flickered as he concealed his aura and quietly approached the formation.

Drawing closer, he quickly hid behind a massive boulder, taking in the entire scene within the giant pit.

The entire sinkhole, spanning a hundred miles from center to edge, was shrouded in baleful poison mist, with the toxic fog even reaching several hundred zhang into the sky. The poison churned like boiling ink, obscuring the battle below in hazy glimpses.

Within the poison mist, several figures were locked in fierce combat.

Three people. Two at Peak Early Nascent Soul, one at Mid-Nascent Soul. Presumably, the one wielding the blood needle treasure was Nether Luo, that old fiend from the Blood Abyss Sect.

As for who the other two were, Jiuyou couldn't care less. As long as he knew their strength and techniques, he could plan accordingly if a fight broke out.

His gaze shifted, landing on the massive boulder at the center of the sinkhole.

Embedded within the boulder's surface were several Soul Netherstones, emanating a faint purple glow. And at the very center where those Soul Netherstones converged, a strange spiritual herb was growing, its spiritual light flowing and soul energy swirling around it.

"A ten-thousand-year spiritual herb?"

Jiuyou's heart jolted.

Ten-thousand-year spiritual herbs were extremely rare, especially in the outside world. Even with his Little Green Bottle accelerating growth, it would take him several years to cultivate just one or two, and the original herb's grade had to be extremely high, otherwise it could never reach such an age.

This herb's effects were likely extraordinary. It seemed highly probable that this spiritual herb was a companion growth to the Soul Netherstones. And old fiend Nether Luo... no, the true target of the entire Blood Abyss Sect was most likely this ten-thousand-year spiritual herb.

Jiuyou suppressed his speculation and continued observing the battlefield.

Inside the giant pit.

Nether Luo True Lord swiftly flew to the boulder, using his blood needle treasure to harass the poison scorpion while reaching out to harvest the Nether Soul Spirit Mushroom. His movements were lightning fast, paying no heed to what his two companions thought, directly stowing the mushroom into his Storage Pouch.

Then, he glanced at the Soul Netherstones on the boulder, then looked at the two people locked in battle with the poison scorpion, a cold sneer forming in his heart.

At that moment, the Elder surnamed Yu and the ugly Daoist were desperately resisting the Ninth-Tier poison scorpion's attacks. Seeing that Nether Luo had taken the spirit mushroom first, dissatisfaction welled up in both their hearts, but with death hanging over their heads, they dared not voice complaints and could only urge him repeatedly.

"Daoist Nether Luo, strike now!"

The ugly Daoist shouted urgently while channeling his treasure.

In his hands, besides a crimson red palm fan, he also summoned a blue ancient mirror.

Magical power converged within the mirror, shining toward the poison scorpion. The light landed on the scorpion's carapace, producing a sizzling sound, yet causing no real damage. The poison scorpion immediately dove back into the depths of the poison mist and vanished from sight.

The Elder surnamed Yu, meanwhile, summoned a gray longsword. Its sword light was fierce and sharp, carving hundred-zhang sword scars into the ground with each slash. But he stayed in the distance, interfering while holding back, clearly unwilling to go all out.

Within this poison mist, with only two Early Nascent Soul cultivators, they couldn't even lock onto the poison scorpion's position, let alone harm that beast. Their attacks were nothing more than wild swings based on instinct.

Just as the ugly Daoist was scanning frantically with his Divine Sense, a massive black shadow suddenly loomed before him.

The poison mist abruptly condensed into a fierce spear, stabbing toward him with murderous intent.

The Daoist swept his Divine Sense across and his face drastically changed. He hastily hurled the palm fan ancient relic from his hand. The fan traced a crimson arc through the air, colliding violently with the poison spear.

But how could a mere Early Nascent Soul cultivator block the full-powered strike of a Ninth-Tier Demon Beast?

The palm fan's spiritual light flickered unsteadily, and the Daoist himself felt his magical power waning, a wave of weakness washing over him.

Just then, Nether Luo True Lord's voice came like a savior.

"Daoist Exuan, Nether Luo is here to assist you!"

The ugly Daoist's face lit up with joy, and he opened his mouth to respond.

A flash of blood light exploded right before his eyes.

The Daoist suddenly sensed something wrong. The blood light struck less than half an inch from his head, the immense impact hurling his entire body away violently. A defensive jade pendant at his waist shattered with a crack, having absorbed the fatal blow.

In the distance, the Elder surnamed Yu saw this and his heart cried out in alarm. Without hesitation, he pulled a black talisman from his robe—it was that life-substitute talisman from the auction. He never expected it to have fallen into this man's hands.

The Elder surnamed Yu's mind stirred, and his entire body transformed into a black thread, moving at astonishing speed, no slower than Jiuyou's Blood Soul Evasion.

However, when that thread slammed into the blood-red light barrier, it came to an abrupt halt. The elder's figure materialized from within, his eyes filled with terror.

He had never imagined that the formation he had set up to trap others would become the cage that trapped him.

"Nether Luo! You..."

Before the Elder surnamed Yu could finish his words of shock and fury, he saw Nether Luo True Lord standing in mid-air, hands forming seals, blood light blazing in his eyes: "Die!"

The sky suddenly darkened.

A mass of blood-red clouds materialized out of nowhere, blotting out the sun and enveloping the entire sinkhole. The clouds churned, and one massive blood-colored hand after another emerged from within, carrying world-destroying momentum as they slammed downward.

One giant hand shot toward the Elder surnamed Yu, another struck at the poison scorpion, and two more crashed toward the direction where the ugly Daoist had been sent flying—clearly not even giving them a chance to play dead.

The Elder surnamed Yu desperately channeled his treasure to block, but the blood-colored hands were overwhelmingly powerful and blindingly fast. Palm after palm hammered down, beating him into a sorry state, blood spewing from his mouth. Within mere breaths, he was gravely wounded.

The Ninth-Tier poison scorpion fared no better. Struck repeatedly by several giant blood hands, its carapace shattered, poison blood flowing freely as it scurried frantically through the mist, letting out piercing shrieks.

The power of this killing formation was certainly evident...

In the distance, Jiuyou watched coldly from the sidelines, taking in everything.

When Nether Luo True Lord activated the killing formation, its array core was laid completely bare. Those dozen or so Formation Flags flickered with spiritual light, their positions completely exposed.

"Fool."

A cold smirk curled at the corner of Jiuyou's mouth.

He crept forward silently, inching toward the Formation Flags. Seizing the moment when Nether Luo was focused on attacking the Elder surnamed Yu and the poison scorpion, he struck.

Golden Sun Mountain flew out silently, smashing three Formation Flags to pieces in succession. The Ghost Arrow Banner fired a black arrow, destroying two more. The Nine Nether Soul-Chaining Chains shot out like a spiritual serpent, ripping the last Formation Flag out by its roots.

The blood-red light barrier trembled violently, its spiritual light rapidly dimming before shattering with a tremendous boom.

The blood-red clouds in the sky lost their support and slowly dispersed.

Nether Luo True Lord was just about to deliver the killing blow to the gravely wounded poison scorpion when he suddenly realized his painstakingly laid formation had failed. His expression shifted drastically as his Divine Sense swept outward at full power, finally detecting that distant figure in green robes.

"It's you?!"

Nether Luo True Lord's pupils contracted. He recognized Jiuyou—the rogue cultivator at Peak Mid-Nascent Soul who had bid against him for the Soul Netherstones at the Precious Heaven Pavilion auction, calling himself Gui You.

"Daoist Gui You, what is the meaning of this?"

Nether Luo True Lord spoke in a low, icy tone, but did not immediately make a move. He was sizing up his opponent's strength.

Jiuyou couldn't be bothered with pleasantries. His figure flickered as he transformed into a streak of green light, charging straight at Nether Luo.

"The meaning? The meaning of killing you."

Golden Sun Mountain, wreathed in crimson-gold flames, came crashing down fiercely.

Nether Luo True Lord's expression darkened as he raised his hand and produced a Jade Box. The lid opened, and a stream of golden spiritual sand flew out, condensing in the blink of an eye into an impenetrable golden shield before him.

Golden Sun Mountain collided with the shield in a thunderous explosion, sparks flying everywhere. The shield didn't budge an inch, and Nether Luo True Lord only swayed slightly.

"Gui You, do you truly think I fear you?"

Nether Luo True Lord sneered and was about to counterattack.

Two screams suddenly echoed from the distance.

He whipped his head around, only to see that the bodies of the two Early Nascent Soul cultivators had somehow collapsed into pools of blood. Their Nascent Souls had just flown out from their dantians when they were tightly ensnared by a sinister black mist.

The black mist clung like a parasite to bone, wrapping both Nascent Souls completely. No matter how they struggled, they couldn't move an inch. Even the magical power within the Nascent Souls seemed sealed, preventing them from even self-destructing.

"Th-this... what's going on?"

Nether Luo True Lord's face drastically changed.

His gaze swept across the area, but he saw no one there.

That black mist seemed to have appeared from nowhere, or perhaps it had been lurking in the shadows all along, waiting for this very moment.

The Nascent Souls of the Elder surnamed Yu and the ugly Daoist were filled with terror, screaming desperately but unable to make a sound. The black mist tightened its grip, the spiritual light of the Nascent Souls growing dimmer and dimmer, as if being absorbed by the black mist.

Nether Luo True Lord whirled around, staring intently at Jiuyou.

"You have an accomplice?"

Jiuyou's face remained expressionless, but inwardly he was secretly stunned.

That black mist... clearly had nothing to do with him. Could it be that there was another expert hidden in the Cold Ruins?