Chapter 458 - 426: Chiyou, The Approaching Crisis
A colossal pillar of purplish-red flesh.
It was sharply defined, gleaming with a coppery luster.
Beside the great pillar, an elegant figure quietly emerged.
Dressed in black gauze with ink-green hair cascading down, her emerald eyes were like those of a bamboo pit viper lurking in the forest shadows, waiting to strike—eerie and deadly!
Notably, her belly was full and round, as if she were many months pregnant.
"Yingshi..."
Xuetu straightened up, his expression turning serious as ripples of unease spread through his heart.
’This woman’s stealth techniques are getting stranger and stranger. The Blood Slaughter Throne is my lair, watched at every corner, yet she can infiltrate this far?’
’Appearing and disappearing like a ghost... Truly terrifying!’
Xuetu narrowed his eyes, feeling a sense of dread.
Just then, Yingshi stepped out of the shadows. Twirling a lock of hair with her delicate fingers, her emerald eyes twinkled as she said, "I heard everything you just said."
"Who would have thought that Xuetu, whose countless slaughters are enough to stop a baby from crying at night, could be so kind-hearted?" Yingshi’s words were laced with mockery.
"What, has a newly-ascended Golden Core cultivator frightened the courage out of you?"
Hearing this, Xuetu’s face immediately darkened.
’Damn it, even if it’s true, you can’t just say it out loud! Can’t you give me some face?!’
"Hah..."
"You’re so great... but didn’t you lose a Ghost Infant yourself?"
Unwilling to be outdone, Xuetu immediately shot back a retort.
It was true that in this great defeat, he had lost more than ten Flesh Nests and millions of insectoid beasts.
But as long as his Blood Slaughter Throne was intact, it wasn’t a major problem. With the abundant supply of human and demonic beast blood-food in the Day Flame Sea Region, replenishing these losses would just be a tedious affair!
But for Yingshi, replacing a Ghost Infant was a far more difficult task!
"He killed my Ghost Infant. That Yehai must die!" At the mention of this, Yingshi’s beautiful face turned frosty, a savage look emerging.
She proposed they set up an ambush to kill him.
But Xuetu just pursed his lips, uninterested.
Contrary to popular belief,
Blood Dao cultivators, especially veteran evil cultivators like Xuetu, were exceedingly cautious by nature.
To slaughter countless beings to refine their techniques, one naturally had to learn to bully the weak, fear the strong, assess every situation, and pick only the softest targets!
Otherwise...
They would have been beaten into a pulp long ago!
"Easier said than done. It’s not like you didn’t see it. Lie Lin, that dragon-man brute, wasn’t very bright, but he was strong. Yet in front of Su Ye, he was slaughtered like a chicken!"
"His physical body and soul are probably at the late fourth-tier, comparable to a Great Cultivator... For a prodigy like him, it would be no difficult feat to fight above his level and defeat us!"
"If we want to deal with him, I’m afraid... we’ll need the Cave Master or Mrs. Qinghua to take action."
The Cave Master, of course, was Chiyou, a cultivator at Golden Core Perfection.
And Mrs. Qinghua was the most mysterious Golden Core cultivator in the Candle Python Cave.
She lived in seclusion, her origins were unknown, and few had ever seen her fight.
However, all the Golden Core cultivators of the Candle Python Cave who had dealings with Mrs. Qinghua could sense she was extraordinary and held her in high esteem.
Even Chiyou treated her differently, as an equal.
"The Mistress lives in seclusion and is difficult to persuade, and the Cave Master has to keep Zuo and Yun occupied..." Yingshi muttered to herself, her brow furrowed. ’Can I only endure this?’
Refining a Ghost Infant wasn’t easy, and it was crucial to her cultivation. She was not resigned to this loss...
Silence fell within the underground palace.
Just as Xuetu was plotting how to show his guest out,
his expression suddenly changed, as did Yingshi’s.
BUZZ.
A Jade Talisman on each of their waists flickered, emitting a soft glow.
The light swelled in an instant, manifesting the illusory figure of an old man!
The man wore a black robe and an Asura Ghost Mask. A one-handed Nail Hammer hung at his waist. His frame was lean and powerful, and his eyes glinted with a dark red light—the very image of an ancient devil!
Chiyou!
"Cave Master!"
The two Golden Core cultivators of the Candle Python Cave jolted and immediately bowed in greeting!
Xuetu kept his head bowed, his eyes sweeping over the one-handed Nail Hammer at Chiyou’s waist. It was sharply angled, a hexagonal piece of iron that glowed a dark red, like the color of dried blood.
He couldn’t help but shudder. Never mind Chiyou’s record in the Inner Sea—
in the Outer Sea alone, that Nail Hammer had bludgeoned two Golden Core cultivators to death. Its ferocious reputation was immense!
—The two Golden Core cultivators from the Flame Alliance had both fallen at Chiyou’s hands!
Evil cultivators were all treacherous, bloodthirsty, and cruel. To be able to command such a group as the master of the Candle Python Cave, one’s own ferocity and cruelty had to be peerless in the sea region!
"The battle for Yu Lan Island was lost?" Chiyou glanced at them and asked coolly.
"Er..."
"Cave Master, I am guilty."
Xuetu’s scalp tingled with fear.
But he didn’t dare make excuses. Chiyou detested silver-tongued arguments, so he could only bow his head and plead guilty.
Seeing his attitude was proper enough, Chiyou reprimanded him briefly, fined him three years’ stipend, and then changed the subject.
"Tell me."
"You, Yingshi, and Lie Lin—the strength of three Golden Core cultivators—couldn’t even take Yu Lan Island. What happened?" Chiyou asked, his hands clasped behind his back, his voice steady.
"As you command!"
Not daring to delay, Xuetu immediately recounted the details of the battle for Yu Lan Island.
Yingshi also chimed in with supplementary details to complete the picture.
"Hm?"
"Yehai?"
After listening, Chiyou frowned.
’What is this?’
’Barely entered the Golden Core realm, yet his body and soul are both comparable to a Great Cultivator’s. He fought one against three, killed Lie Lin, possesses mysterious Divine Techniques, and not even a Ghost Infant could escape him...’
’Based on this description, even the true disciples of the Nascent Soul sects in the Inner Sea are no better than this, are they?’
’How could such a figure appear in the Outer Sea?’
"Could it be..."
"He’s also here for..."
A flicker of gravity passed through Chiyou’s eyes.