Reap the spoils of victory without lifting a finger

Hua Nongying's "Shadowless Talisman" was reputed to be impenetrable to anything below a Golden Core cultivator's divine sense.

Ye Guxiao's "Wood Turtle Breath Technique" was a closely guarded secret of the Heavenly Sword Sect, more than capable of fooling the perception of cultivators in the same realm.

These two individuals—one a deeply scheming venomous woman, the other a sword cultivator driven to madness.

Even at her absolute peak, facing this inescapable crossfire, she would likely have perished on the spot.

But this man...

Not only had he discovered their hiding spots early on, he had even calculated their psychological states and personality flaws down to the finest detail!

He exploited Ye Guxiao's blind thirst for revenge and Hua Nongying's guilty conscience.

He even used himself as bait.

That bag of stones, that perfectly timed call of "Senior Sister Hua," and that shout of "Hurry and run" which was dripping with framing intent.

Without using a single shred of spiritual energy, without drawing his sword once.

With just a few words and a single action, he turned two Foundation Establishment experts, who had originally aimed their blades at him, into bitter enemies locked in a duel to the death!

"What a ruthless mind... what venomous methods..."

Su Wanyin muttered to herself, the corners of her mouth curling up uncontrollably as a morbid flush spread across her cheeks.

In the demonic Joyous Union Sect, strength was certainly important, but this kind of intellect—playing with human hearts in the palm of one's hand and treating formidable enemies like weeds—was the true "strength" that made demonic cultivators tremble.

By comparison, that Wang Teng, who spouted righteousness and morality but only thought with his lower half, was nothing but a useless lump of mud.

And the man before her, who had a face so plain he would vanish in a crowd, now radiated a fatal attraction in Su Wanyin's eyes that made her very soul shudder.

It was the instinctual submission of the weak to the strong, the yearning of someone dwelling in darkness for an even deeper abyss.

"Li Feiyu..."

Su Wanyin fiercely chewed on this name in her heart, as if wanting to grind the syllables to dust and swallow them down.

"You used me as a pawn to set your trap, but it was executed so beautifully... so beautifully that I cannot even bring myself to hate you."

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the roiling blood and qi within her body, and bowed deeply toward his retreating back.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Wanyin will remember this favor. As long as the green hills remain and the rivers flow, if you can ensure my safety, Wanyin will surely offer a heavy reward..."

With that said, she hesitated no longer, turning and darting toward the teleportation array deep within the swamp.

She knew this man had no need for a burden like her.

.........

Outside the narrow canyon known as the Thread of Sky, the rain poured down like a waterfall.

Gu Yang paid no mind to Su Wanyin's internal romanticizations. He simply returned to the dead tree that offered the best vantage point.

By now, the canyon below had become a veritable meat grinder.

"Ye Guxiao!! Have you gone mad?! That bag was filled with stones!! Stones!!"

Hua Nongying's hair was a disheveled mess, and her once-exquisite makeup had been washed away by the rain and blood, making her look like a vengeful ghost.

She was in a miserable state. Her magical robes had been slashed open in several places, exposing the mangled flesh beneath.

Her "Thousand Spider Ten Thousand Poison Net" had a massive hole hacked into it, forcefully torn open by Ye Guxiao's suicidal sword qi.

"Stones? Hahahaha!!"

Ye Guxiao's eyes were bloodshot, a crazed and sinister sneer twisting his lips. The radiance of the Severing Water Sword in his grasp surged violently as he refused to listen to any explanations.

"Demonic witch, your mouth is full of lies! You still think you can deceive me at a time like this?!"

"Do you take me for a fool?!"

"Die!! Sword Sweeps the Eight Desolates!!"

Boom!

Dozens of streaks of sword qi poured down like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, sealing off all of Hua Nongying's avenues of retreat.

Gu Yang stood high above, coldly looking down upon the scene.

The rain battered against his bamboo hat with a crackling din, yet it could not mask the teeth-grinding sounds of the brutal slaughter below.

His gaze swept back and forth across the two combatants like a precision scalpel.

"Hua Nongying is an arrow at the end of its flight. Although Ye Guxiao is in a frenzied state, his spiritual energy is severely depleted; he is overdrawing his own lifeforce."

Gu Yang rapidly calculated in his mind.

At the current pace, Ye Guxiao would slay Hua Nongying within thirty breaths. Though he would be heavily injured, he might not necessarily die.

"I should give Senior Sister Hua a helping hand."

Gu Yang's fingers twitched slightly, pinching a smooth pebble he had casually picked up from the riverbank.

Spiritual energy was silently channeled into it, held back and ready to strike.

Down below, the tide of battle abruptly shifted.

"Ah!!"

Hua Nongying let out a shrill scream as a streak of sword qi cleanly severed her left arm at the shoulder!

Blood sprayed wildly into the air.

Seeing this, a brilliant light erupted in Ye Guxiao's eyes. He lunged forward with his entire body, thrusting the Severing Water Sword straight toward Hua Nongying's heart. "Go join Guhong in death!!"

This strike was as fast as a thunderbolt. Hua Nongying had no way to evade, and her eyes filled with the ashen gray of absolute despair.

Right at this hair-raising moment...

Swish!

An entirely inconspicuous pebble, masked by the curtain of rain and the rumble of thunder, shot out from the shadows at an angle.

It did not aim for Ye Guxiao's sword, nor did it aim for his body.

Instead, it struck with pinpoint precision against a loose piece of gravel right beneath Ye Guxiao's stepping right foot.

Snap.

A soft click echoed.

Ye Guxiao's otherwise flawless lunge suddenly faltered as his foot slipped. His body lost balance by an almost imperceptible margin, causing the blade's trajectory to deviate by three inches.

Squelch!

The sword that was meant to pierce her heart plunged viciously into Hua Nongying's right shoulder, pinning her securely to the rock wall.

"Die!!!"

Even though he missed her heart, Ye Guxiao still frantically attempted to twist the hilt of his sword.

But that three-inch deviation had given Hua Nongying a final sliver of survival, igniting the dying frenzy of this venomous woman.

"If I must die... then we die together!!!"

Hua Nongying's face twisted into a grotesque mask. Her sole remaining right hand violently clamped down on Ye Guxiao's throat. Opening her mouth, she spat out a pitch-black pearl that radiated an aura of absolute destruction, shooting it directly into Ye Guxiao's face.

"Heavenly Poison Pearl! Detonate!!"

BOOM!!!

A foul-smelling, pitch-black mushroom cloud erupted within the narrow confines of the canyon.

A terrifying wave of poison, interwoven with volatile sword qi, instantly swallowed the figures of both combatants.

The solid rock walls on either side crumbled like fragile tofu. Boulders and rubble came crashing down, completely burying the area.

Gu Yang watched the scene in silence, waiting until the dust settled and the auras of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators had completely vanished.

He lightly clapped his hands together, as if dusting off dirt that wasn't even there.

Then, in a flash, his figure descended upon the ruins like a scavenging vulture.

The epicenter of the wreckage was a gruesome sight.

Half of Hua Nongying's body had been blown away, and what remained was rapidly dissolving into a puddle of foul pus.

Ye Guxiao had suffered an even worse fate. Having taken the Heavenly Poison Pearl point-blank to the face, his flesh had corroded away, leaving behind only a bleached white skull. The Severing Water Sword in his grip remained lodged in Hua Nongying's shoulder, but the man himself had long since drawn his last breath.

Ah! What a tragedy... When will this endless cycle of vengeance ever end?

Gu Yang let out a remorseful sigh, before skillfully slipping on a pair of Heavenly Silkworm gloves designed to isolate all toxic substances.

He then prepared to begin collecting his spoils of war.