Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 74 Pingshui Villa

Just as Zhou Li and the Liu Kingdom's entourage were heading to the south of the border, the "Ping Shui Bie Yuan," with its shimmering blue waters, white walls, and black tiles, was already shrouded in an ominous gloom.

Deep within the courtyard, in a side room with its doors and windows tightly shut, Bai Gu Sanren sat naked cross-legged on the bed. His entire body was covered in hideous scars, with not a single spot unscathed.

At this moment, his hoarse chanting echoed in the room, and streams of extremely yin and cold energy penetrated his meridians.

"Ugh—!"

The veins on his neck bulged, and countless centipede-shaped scars all over his body writhed wildly.

Three clusters of emerald green will-o'-the-wisps emerged from his seven orifices, forming a three-flower-shaped pattern above his head, with each will-o'-the-wisp sealing a natal Gu.

At this moment, the three Gu worms cried out in unison, and thousands of poisonous insects crawled out from under the bed. These poisonous insects were not living creatures, but Gu spirits formed from Xuan Yin Qi.

Bai Gu Sanren bit his tongue and spat out three streams of blood essence. The Gu spirits frantically fought over these three streams of blood essence, which eventually converged into three streams of light and were injected into the three clusters of ghost fire above his head.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at Liu Xixi with a sinister gaze.

The once arrogant and radiant Princess Xiyue, Liu Xixi, now had eyes filled with terror. Her magnificent palace dress was covered in dust, her hair was disheveled, and there were still traces of tears on her face.

She was carefully moving out of the room, afraid of disturbing Bai Gu Sanren who was cultivating.

Seeing Bai Gu Sanren glare at her, Liu Xixi trembled with fear and quickly flattered him, saying, "Senior, you have already killed so many people to practice your skills, please spare my life and let me stay by your side to serve you."

Bai Gu Sanren donned a long robe and slowly emerged from the shadows. He circled Liu Xixi twice with great interest, then reached out a finger and gently picked up a strand of Liu Xixi's loose hair, sniffing it with an extremely frivolous gesture.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Princess Xiyue, the most beautiful flower of Qixia Kingdom, is now nothing more than a toy in my palm."

Liu Xixi stood frozen in place, like a clay or wooden sculpture, not daring to move an inch.

The Hundred Gu Hermit's methods of killing were so cruel that they had terrified Liu Xixi.

In the entire Ping Shui Villa, apart from her, all the palace maids and guards were tortured to death by him using Gu spirit to infuse their bodies.

"Your little maid should have succeeded by now. That disciple from the upper sect has been poisoned by my 'Shadow Puppet Gu,' and he should be unable to move. She should bring him back in a little while, right?"

Glancing at the terrified Liu Xixi, Bai Gu Sanren coldly ordered, "What are you standing there for? Keep jumping."

Liu Xixi made a dance move and began to move stiffly, while tears silently streamed down her face.

"Crying? Now you know how to cry!" Bai Gu Sanren seemed to be stimulated by the tears, his emotions suddenly agitated, and his Yin energy surged. He grabbed Liu Xixi and almost twisted her neck.

Just then...

"stop!"

A clear, cold shout rang out, and the door was cleaved open by a sharp sword aura!

Princess Liu Zhaohan stood at the doorway, holding a long sword, her pretty face frosty. She had clearly come on a long journey, her breath slightly ragged, and her palace attire was stained with night dew and dust.

Upon learning of Liu Xixi's peril, she was far more worried than anyone else. Disregarding her own safety, she left behind the King of Liu and the others, and rushed to Jingnan ahead of everyone else!

"Hundred Gu Hermit! Release Xi Xi!" Liu Zhaohan pointed his long sword straight at her, his eyes blazing with fierce anger.

"Auntie, run! He has already reached the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, you are no match for him..." Liu Xixi cried out in despair when she saw that it was Liu Zhaohan who had come.

Bai Gu Sanren paused, slowly turning around. His gaze, hidden behind his mask, fell on Liu Zhaohan, a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Oh? So this is who it is, the aloof and noble Princess. What's wrong? Instead of staying safely in your palace, you've come to this desolate wilderness to die?"

"Demonic path! Cease your rampage!" Liu Zhaohan was unwilling to say more, he only wanted to finish the battle quickly and save Liu Xixi.

With a flick of her wrist, her longsword flashed out a fiery red shadow, and a solid crimson sword aura roared out, fiercely slashing towards Bai Gu Sanren.

"A mere trick." Bai Gu Sanren sneered, neither dodging nor avoiding. As his sleeves billowed, a thick, ink-like Yin energy surged out, colliding fiercely with the crimson sword energy.

That crimson hue was swallowed up by the thick ink in a single glance, and the malevolent energy eroded it in the opposite direction along with the shadow.

Liu Zhaohan felt a chilling and vicious aura rushing upwards along her meridians, causing her blood and qi to churn. She hurriedly circulated her profound energy to forcefully suppress the discomfort, and gracefully darted away. At the same time, she made a hand seal with her left hand and erected a fiery spiritual barrier.

"Your Highness, can you still withstand my Yin Wood True Essence?" Bai Gu Sanren cackled, and with a flick of his sleeve, an even denser cloud of dark poisonous mist spread out like a tide.

Within the poisonous fog, countless tiny "Corrupting Spirit Gu" could be vaguely seen flapping their wings and hissing. The spiritual barrier erected by Liu Zhaohan was rapidly dimming under the erosion of the Corrupting Spirit Gu.

Seeing that the Hundred Gu Hermit was extremely skilled in long-range attacks, Liu Zhaohan did not entangle with the poisonous insect. Instead, he leaped up and closed to within 10 feet of the hermit, his sword wrapped in scorching flames, and thrust it at the Hundred Gu Hermit.

However, Bai Gu Sanren dealt with it more calmly. With a flick of his finger, a thin, thread-like "Bewitching Gu" shot towards Liu Zhaohan like a ghost.

Instantly, illusions appeared before Liu Zhaohan's eyes, and scorching waves of air surged into the air, directly blowing away most of the dilapidated walls and roof of Ping Shui Courtyard. When the illusions dissipated, there was no trace of Bai Gu Sanren in the house.

The Hundred Gu Hermit was floating several feet away, standing on a dark cloud, and laughed loudly: "Your Highness, you are no match for me. You should call your elder brother."

The strange techniques of Bai Gu Sanren kept Liu Zhaohan at a disadvantage. Although her flames could suppress ordinary wood, Bai Gu Sanren's method of using withered wood in conjunction with his Gu techniques was surprisingly difficult to deal with.

Liu Zhaohan gritted her teeth and forced out a mouthful of blood, spitting it onto the sword. The sword's light surged, reflecting the phantom of a fire phoenix about to take flight.

She unleashed her full power, pointing the sword tip towards the sky, drawing upon the fire element of heaven and earth, transforming it into a fiery phoenix that blotted out the sun, and pounced on Bai Gu Sanren like a shooting star chasing the moon!

This attack was the strongest divine power she could unleash at the moment!

Faced with this powerful attack, Bai Gu Sanren merely snorted coldly. He formed a hand seal and pointed at Liu Xixi from afar.

Liu Xixi cried out in surprise, her body stiffening like a wooden sculpture as she flew straight towards Bai Gu Sanren, blocking his path and facing the power of the Fire Phoenix.

As Liu Zhaohan watched the fire phoenix about to engulf Liu Xixi, his heart seemed to clench instantly, and he hurriedly forced his meridians to flow in reverse.

A reverse spiritual vortex instantly swirled within her dantian, and her fire-elemental true energy surged back like a wild horse, flowing backward along her meridians and exploding into patches of blood mist.

Fortunately, the power of the Fire Phoenix was finally stopped, and a burst of scarlet mist exploded in mid-air before slowly dissipating.

"puff--!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Liu Zhaohan staggered and knelt on the ground. His internal energy was out of control, his meridians were shattered, and he had no strength left to fight.

"Hahaha! Your Highness, how does it feel to be hesitant to act for fear of harming others?" Bai Gu Sanren's hoarse laughter echoed in the air, full of mockery and sarcasm.

Liu Zhaohan's scalding blood dripped onto the bluestone ground, sending up wisps of smoke that reflected on her ashen face.