Chapter 82: Gu Can

“Eldest Senior Sister, didn’t you say spiritual power should be saved? Why didn’t I see you being this frugal in Tianyuan City?” Lin Xiao casually tore off the scythe-like leg of a monster nearby and turned to look at Wu Yan.

“It is a planned usage,” she replied. Dark green blood flowed down Wu Nian’s smooth blade, merging into a small green pool of severed limbs on the ground.

Before long, the surviving monsters were also killed under the onslaught of the two of them.

Lin Xiao took a set of loose clothes from his storage ring and put them on, then turned to Xia Lingshuang with a simple smile. “Elder Xia.”

Xia Lingshuang’s two long ribbons came with a self-cleaning function. After being cleaned, they wrapped back around her waist with a whoosh. Wu Yan was already used to this sight, but it was the first time Lin Xiao had seen it, and his eyes were fixed on them.

“How did you find this place?” Xia Lingshuang’s cold voice echoed in the ravine.

“It was the flow of demonic chi,” Lin Xiao explained. “Eldest Senior Sister said that most of the demonic chi in the air was flowing in this direction, so she brought me here. Thanks to Eldest Senior Sister, we were able to find you so quickly, Elder Xia.”

‘The flow of demonic chi.’

Xia Lingshuang’s movement toward the two of them paused imperceptibly, and her eyes subconsciously drifted toward Wu Yan’s face. She still looked as calm as ever.

“Is something wrong, Elder Xia?”

“It is nothing.” Xia Lingshuang shook her head and turned to look at Wu Yan. “Since you can perceive the direction of the demonic chi, can you continue to lead the way?”

In this situation, it was undoubtedly the best choice to have her, who was extremely sensitive to demonic chi, lead the way. Wu Yan nodded slightly. “I shall follow Master’s lead.”

Three figures moved across the wasteland at extreme speed.

Wu Yan walked at the front, holding Wu Nian in her hand as soon as they set out. The tip of the sword was pointed diagonally at the ground. The blade swayed with her pace, ready to deal with any monsters that might attack at any moment. Behind her was Lin Xiao; his strong body was best suited for the middle of the group as a meat shield to handle various emergencies. Xia Lingshuang was responsible for the rear. As a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator, she was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate. Her profound spiritual power allowed her to maintain her Divine Sense. Although it was restricted from extending too far here, it was more than enough to monitor the rear.

The journey was unusually quiet.

Occasionally, a few Vampire Bats hiding in rock crevices or Carrion Dogs lurking in stone piles would pounce out, but they were pierced through the throat by Wu Yan’s sword before they could even let out a roar. Behind her, Lin Xiao would step directly on the corpses to crush them into pulp after Wu Yan attacked, preventing them from reanimating. It was clear there were reasons why the two of them had been chosen to participate in the Five Sects Tournament.

However, this smooth cooperation did not ease the atmosphere. On the contrary, the further they went, the more silent the three of them became.

“Elder Xia…” Finally, Lin Xiao, who had been holding back, could no longer resist breaking the silence. “That thing from before — the bone hand that tore through the sky — what exactly was its origin?”

His usually loud voice was kept very low, and his deep tone carried a slight tremor. “Even a great figure like our Sect Master, who can command the winds and clouds, wouldn’t have such terrifying strength, right?”

Lin Xiao was a body cultivator, and his perception of danger was very keen. The moment that giant hand tore the Spirit Boats to pieces, his muscles had spasmed involuntarily, and his legs had felt terrifyingly weak.

Xia Lingshuang’s movements at the rear slowed slightly after Lin Xiao asked the question, but she quickly recovered. She looked up at the dim sky, her voice carrying an unprecedented gravity. “That was a cultivator in the Great Perfection Stage.”

“The — the Great Perfection Stage?!” Lin Xiao’s eyes widened, and his voice rose eight octaves. “Isn’t that the legendary Terrestrial Immortal Realm? Shouldn’t such a great figure be in a Cave-heaven or Blessed Land, meditating on the laws of Tribulation Transcendence? Why would they come to Tianyuan City?”

“It was premeditated.” Xia Lingshuang’s four words carried an immense amount of information.

“Premeditated?” Wu Yan could not help but be curious as well.

“The day after you were injured by Xie Wenyuan, I caught a demonic cultivator while I was out,” Xia Lingshuang said as she looked at the faint mark on her palm. “That bone claw only needed to press down with a little force, and not just those dozens of Spirit Boats, but the entire Tianyuan City and the surrounding 100 miles of mountains and rivers would have been reduced to powder in an instant. We wouldn’t have had the chance to fall here.”

But he didn’t. He had gone to great trouble to tear through space and use a great divine ability to sweep everyone into this Magic Cave, yet he had not immediately started a massacre.

“He threw us in here like a handful of sand into the ocean and then left us alone.” Combined with the demonic cultivator she had captured previously, Xia Lingshuang could only explain it as premeditated. Even though the Elders and Sect Masters of the major sects had made full preparations, the Great Perfection Stage was indeed a legendary level of cultivation that had not appeared for a long time.

“No, it’s not that he’s leaving us alone,” Wu Yan took over. She did not look back, her speed remaining steady as she casually swung Wu Nian to sweep away obstacles. “If he wanted to kill us, we would have died the moment the flying boat disintegrated. But he didn’t act. Instead, he threw us in here.”

Under the dim light, Wu Yan’s ink-black eyes were exceptionally bright. She pointed a finger toward the sky. “Restricted spiritual power, rampant monsters, a harsh environment, and sealed exits. This isn’t a dead land; it’s a hunting ground. Or rather, a giant Gu Jar.”

“A Gu Jar?” Lin Xiao shivered.

“That’s right,” Wu Yan continued. “Throw thousands of insects into a sealed jar, give them no food, only poison. Let them kill each other or mutate in despair. The one that survives at the end is the one the Gu raiser wants.”

“We are those insects.”

Wu Yan spoke so clearly that it was chilling.

Xia Lingshuang replied in a low voice, “It is indeed possible. The spirit chi here is thin, and the demonic chi is overwhelming. The longer a cultivator stays here, the weaker their strength will become, and their mind will become increasingly irritable. To survive, to fight for possible exits or resources, people will become more terrifying than monsters.”

That Great Perfection Stage demonic cultivator might be hiding behind the scenes, watching them struggle and kill each other in despair through the layers of the sky for amusement or for some evil sacrifice.

If this truly was a game of raising Gu, then the current peace was only temporary. When the survivors’ sanity was swallowed by fear and the first blade was swung at a companion, that was when the real Hell would descend.