Under the concerted efforts of numerous martial artists, the following journey went well. The number of Earth Ghosts they slew was also rising.
From the base of the mountain to its halfway point, they basically became more and more proficient in killing, and the Ghost Nuclei obtained continuously increased.
Whether if it was Gu Zuo or Princess Yaomin, they both got used to picking the Ghost Nuclei from the Earth Ghost corpses. Leaving aside that every corpse Gongyi Tianheng slew was collected by Gu Zuo, Princess Yaomin had also overcome her psychological barrier and used the Fangcun Cloth to collect Earth Ghost corpses to study them.
This activity made the children from the royal family not know whether to laugh or cry. However, they also understood that after being able to handle disgusting things calmly, she would be able to walk even further along the pharmacist's path and be better adapted to this world of martial supremacy.
Under Tianheng's suggestion, Cang Yu and the group moved around the mountain. They travelled horizontally and didn't climb up blindly anymore.
Besides Tianheng sensing a bit of danger, Gu Zuo had used his psychic power to explore further and sensed that the higher he went, the stronger the Earth Ghosts he encountered. But these weren't like the ones they ran into before, whose realms were roughly equivalent to Houtian stage seven or eight. They could basically suppress those Earth Ghosts stably.
Once they encountered the stronger Earth Ghosts, even though it was only stronger by one or two grades, they also needed to worry about the poison and speed on top of that!
Numerous martial artists quickly swept out a circle.
Suddenly, the sounds of several martial skills being released could be heard from a place not far away. They couldn't help turning their heads to look.
West Mountain was very large, and it was hard to travel all over. There were obviously many outer sect disciples entering, but unexpectedly they hadn't encountered any fellow disciples within the past couple of hours. It could be seen that this was but a single spot on the leopard.
Yet, they had an encounter just now.
There wasn't any camaraderie to speak of between fellow disciples, but if they could get a look at how others dealt with Earth Ghosts, this would also be considered a kind of experience. If the other side was friendly, then an exchange in methods of dealing with Earth Ghosts would be the correct way.
The group was, nevertheless, very careful.
Gongyi Tianheng and Cang Yu properly carried the people they cared about on their backs, the feet almost never touching the ground. They both stuck to the walls at the same time, and slowly approached the fight's obvious location.
On the contrary, Gu Zuo had already gotten a clear look ahead of time — That's right. His eyesight might not have been that good, but it was no match for his psychic power, which was too much of a cheat. While the others were still hiding behind stones, mountain walls, and grooves, his psychic power had already "whooshed" to its destination.
He was both watching and giving a live broadcast to Tianheng in his mind.
[Big brother, it's definitely a veteran disciple.]
[There's only one person, but he's very powerful.]
[His martial skills are very mighty, but the Earth Ghost he's handling is very short and small. It's only half as big as the one we just encountered. However, its strength is very high. It's at least twice as strong as the ones before.]
[It looks like that senior sect brother shouldn't be in any danger…]
As he spoke, numerous martial artists gradually got closer.
What happened next didn't require Gu Zuo to broadcast. Gongyi Tianheng could already see the one fighting the Earth Ghost like a wildfire; a handsome martial artist holding a sword in his hand.
His swordsmanship wasn't that exquisite, but strangeness aside, the sword itself was very heavy. Every time a move was made, the wind it carried could've almost been used for smashing.
However, that Earth Ghost also wasn't so easy to handle. Its body crouched low against ground, and wasn't like the ones Tianheng and the others encountered previously. A sure-strike wasn't immediately dodged. Instead, it used flexible body techniques to wrap around and fight the veteran disciple.
Not only did its appearance resemble a monkey, but even when it attacked, that fickle and unfixed style was extremely close to that of primates. Unwittingly, this was to the extent that when the veteran disciple was incautious, thin marks appeared on his body from the Earth Ghost's scratches.
The Earth Ghost was highly toxic.
The fight went on longer and the veteran disciple couldn't defeat the Earth Ghost. Because his qi and blood surged, the bits of contracted poison had continuously seeped into his body. It didn't take much time for those marks carrying a bit of black to turn into a dark black afterwards.
At the same time, the veteran disciple's complexion had become even more unsightly — If this deadlock between one man and one Earth Ghost continued, the victor would most likely be the Earth Ghost!
Right then, Gongyi Tianheng and the others were considering whether to step forward to save him.
Gu Zuo secretly transmitted: Big brother, shall I shoot that Earth Ghost?
Tianheng gave it some thought before shaking his head: There's no rush.
There were many people around, and the veteran disciple also wasn't easy to fool. It was better not to casually reveal Gu Zuo's ability. If they needed to save the veteran disciple, he would mount an ambush. On the contrary, pinning it down using Cang Yu and other's outstanding strength was more accountable.
Gu Zuo naturally listened to Tianheng's words. Since Tianheng wouldn't let him do it, he just behaved and rested against his big brother's back, silently spectating.
Just as Gongyi Tianheng and Cang Yu exchanged glances and prepared to go out and stage a rescue, that veteran disciple suddenly shook. Both of his arms swung, as he raised the heavy sword and took on a strange posture. There was a vicious bombardment —
After only hearing a loud sound, the Earth Ghost instantaneously fell to the ground, and was almost chopped into two pieces by that valiant martial skill!
However, it was clear that the veteran disciple also wasn't feeling any better.
At this moment, his complexion was flushed, and his qi and blood was boiling. That strike just now certainly exerted all his strength. In addition, although his complexion wasn't bad, there was a portion of black qi between his eyebrows. This was a sign of poisoning.
To put it briefly, he either had to go down the mountain and find a pharmacist to dispel the poison, or just wait here for a little while… En, and just wait to die. There was no other path.
The veteran disciple took out a medicinal pill and stuffed it into his mouth.
Beyond expectations, while the medicinal pills Cang Yu and the others had were all useless, the one this veteran disciple used dispersed the black qi on his face a little bit.
One couldn't look at how this little bit wasn't much. At least it suppressed the poison so that it wouldn't easily kill him.
The hearts of Cang Yu and the others moved.
They didn't know what the G.o.dly effects this poison dispelling pill were…
At first, everyone thought that this matter would end here. Since they didn't rush to help, they weren't prepared to go out. Moreover, it wasn't an appropriate matter to appear when the guy was seriously injured.
Hence, they intended to leave.
Yet, what the numerous martial artists never expected was that just as they were about to depart, a distant figure arrived extremely quickly. The figure started string of laughter, which sounded like…it was harboring malicious intentions?
Tianheng's gaze slightly moved.
Cang Yu and the others also continued to keep themselves hidden.
Gu Zuo was a little suspicious: Big brother, that person…
Tianheng transmitted an explanation: I'm afraid the one who's coming isn't good.
Gu Zuo furrowed his brows.
Weren't they both fellow disciples? Could it be that the one arriving had bad intentions?
They didn't need to guess for long.
Because that person carried a bit of insolence as he stood before that veteran disciple.
The expression of that veteran disciple changed: "You Jiong, what did you come here for, just to laugh at me?"
As he spoke, his fingers made slight movements, already grabbing that heavy sword even more tightly.
You Jiong revealed a sinister smile: "Kang Wenhong, do you think this is a laughing matter between us?"
Kang Wenhong's eyes flashed with a cold light.
You Jiong seemed in high spirits as he appreciated this frail posture of Kang Wenhong. With You Jiong's hands clasped behind his back, he paced a few steps to the side: "Looking at your sorry state now, I feel very happy. Aren't you pleased with yourself? Every time there's a small martial arts ranking list, you've stepped on my head. But now, you've become a tiny insect in my hand. I just have to think about curling my fingers to crush you.
He continued: "Just thinking about your helpless and pained appearance while you beg for forgiveness makes me especially happy. And thinking that I won't have to see your self-satisfied face in the future almost makes me want to dance."
Kang Wenhong's sternum heaved up and down. It was clear that his anger wasn't light.
You Jiong became even happier: "You never expected that I would follow after you, huh? You always were so stupid, liking to use life and death battles to advance yourself. It's obvious that West Mountain Ghost Hunting requires one to bring a pharmacist to collect Ghost Nuclei to increase one's a.s.sessment points. Nevertheless, you came alone just to fight Earth Ghosts. Yet, how would you do battle with them? Without a pharmacist on hand, no matter how much you stall for time, it'd be useless to think about recovering even a little bit."
His voice carried a prideful demeanor, "Because the longer you put it off, the deeper the toxins enter your body. Afterwards, a Poison Purification Pill would also be useless. You would only have blood leaking out of your face and die within West Mountain —"
Just as he was incessantly provoking Kang Wenhong, a streak of sword light suddenly appeared before his eyes!
You Jiong laughed heartily: "Quietly waiting would also be death. But with you attacking me like this, your qi and blood will circulate and you'll die even faster!"
Two iron hooks appeared in his hands and the sound of tinkling bells echoed. It brought that heavy sword to a halt. At this moment, You Jiong was even more arrogant, "Kang Wenhong, you haven't eaten yet? You only have this much strength?"
While he spoke, he exerted himself and threw aside the heavy sword. This even brought Kang Wenhong stumbling back several meters. He said: "Normally my two hooks can't withstand you with one sword and I have to retreat. Is it now your turn? Hahahaha!"
His voice fell as he suddenly advanced, repeatedly waving his two hooks. This dance produced many imposing traces.
There were air-breaking sounds as the noises of the weapons' collisions echoed endlessly. Under this kind of attack, Kang Wenhong was in dire straits as he was battered and exhausted.
Yet, Kang Wenhong still responded as calmly as possible. Even if it was barely enough, even if it seemed it was getting harder and harder to cope, he still wasn't willing to admit defeat. More than that, he wasn't willing to beg for forgiveness.
Instead, he barked: "A despicable peon like you can't compare to me normally. Taking advantage of me while I'm in danger basically isn't worth mentioning. If I weren't poisoned, how could you get past ten of my moves? You Jiong, you only have this much skill. It truly shames me to even be a.s.sociated with you!"
You Jiong heard this and his expression became unsightly: "Death is near at hand, and you're still reluctant to admit your mistakes!"
After that, he no longer talked big due to his hatred. The hook attacks were even fiercer, and in the blink of an eye, Kang Wenhong seemed at a disadvantage under the hooks!
Kang Wenhong also responded too late. Immediately following which, the two hooks drew near and were about to sever his throat. It would kill him —
His eyes brimmed with an intense feeling of unwillingness.
Could it be… Could it be that he was going to die under this peon's hands?!
In this moment of imminent peril, something suddenly shot out and directly struck the two hooks, sweeping them away.
At the same time, the shadows of a number of pract.i.tioners appeared.
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