Chapter Thirty-Nine: Thousand Corpses Powder

My body went limp, and I collapsed to the ground. Hearing the silence around me, Xiao Lianshan quickly opened his eyes and helped me up. Yue Qianling and the others gathered around, seeing my pale face and heavy breathing, their anxiety was palpable as they asked urgently, "What... what happened?"

"No... nothing. As long as you're all okay," I weakly shook my head.

Su Lengyue unexpectedly smiled without a trace of worry, clapping her hands lightly as she said, "This is nothing? Heh, time is precious beyond price. Life is but a few fleeting decades. You risked everything to break my Ten-Thousand Snakes Curse—truly, you're willing to pay a heavy price."

Yue Qianling glared at Su Lengyue, filled with righteous indignation, and asked in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

"Forgot to tell you, though the Five Directions Yin Soldiers are invincible, their fierce energy and lingering grudges are heavy. Anyone who summons them shortens their life by ten years. Qin Yan Hui, you’re really sentimental, gambling ten years of your life to save them. Ha ha ha."

"Ah! Brother, how could you be so foolish?" Xiao Lianshan said in panic.

I ignored him, instead staring in shock at Su Lengyue as she approached slowly. "You... how come you—"

"You wonder why the Five Directions Yin Soldiers didn’t kill me?" Su Lengyue smiled meaningfully, relaxed, shaking something in her hand.

"A Vajra Demon-Subduing Pestle! You had a magical tool protecting you; the Yin Soldiers couldn’t get close to you. You..." My face turned even paler. Suddenly, I realized something and said in astonishment, "You... you anticipated that I would summon the Five Directions Yin Soldiers to break your curse!"

Su Lengyue’s cold smile made her aura even darker. "I didn’t just know you’d summon the Yin Soldiers; I also knew that beside losing ten years of life, your primordial spirit would suffer great damage. You wouldn’t be able to cast spells for a while. Since I’m still alive, it seems no one here can match me now."

Su Lengyue advanced step by step. I knew she was right; I was no match for her now. In my desperation to save others, I hadn’t realized I was already trapped in her scheme. There was no chance left to resist.

"He’s no match for you, but I don’t know about me."

A voice came from behind us. Su Lengyue was stunned—she hadn’t expected anyone else in the forest. Looking up, we saw two elderly men standing opposite us.

I turned to look as well.

The one who spoke was small and thin, but wherever he went, he drew attention because he had only one eye.

His right eye was just a black, hollow socket, giving him a strangely comical appearance.

But few dared to mock him, for those who dared were scarce.

The other man standing beside the speaker remained silent, his piercing gaze deep and unfathomable, matching his entire demeanor.

I had heard of these two during the contest hosted by Gu Xiaotian, from Aunt Lan. They were said to be on equal footing with Gu Xiaotian himself.

Di Xiaokongguan and Tian Ya Weiyu!

I never expected to see them here. Su Lengyue’s confident smile had vanished. She instinctively stepped back. I didn’t know their abilities, but anyone close enough to call Gu Xiaotian a brother could not be ordinary.

I gritted my teeth and stood up. Though summoning the Five Directions Yin Soldiers exhausted me greatly, my back was still straight as steel.

Yue Qianling, having grown up accompanying Yue Leiting to Gu Xiaotian’s home many times, finally relaxed when she saw Kongguan and Weiyu.

"Why have you two elders come as well?"

Kongguan’s gaze settled on me as he spoke calmly, "You underestimated Yue Leiting, thinking you could send him away with a few words while you went to find Ming Fourteen Tomb. But Yue Leiting has been in the Dao world for decades. He’s no fool. Danger loomed ahead, so when he returned to Rong City, he found Gu Ge and asked us to help."

I smiled bitterly. I’d always thought Yue Leiting was carefree, unaware he was actually meticulous. No wonder he left without a word—he sensed the peril and hurried back to seek Gu Xiaotian’s aid.

Weiyu’s lips twitched a few times. Kongguan read his lip language, then said to me worryingly, "He says that by summoning the Five Directions Yin Soldiers without permission, you lose ten years of life. But since you are acting on the emperor’s mandate, commanding the underworld army breaks the natural order. Your life is shortened not by ten, but twenty years!"

I smiled faintly, showing no surprise.

Kongguan was stunned, narrowing his eyes in shock. "So you knew! For someone so young to have such resolve, Weiyu and I are truly impressed."

Losing twenty years of life! Yue Qianling, seeing my carefree smile, grew frantic. "Are you crazy? How many twenty-year spans do you have in a lifetime? Just to borrow some troops, you risk twenty years of your life, you..."

"Heh, it’s not really a loss. I was caught between a rock and a hard place—either get crushed by a tree or bitten by snakes. Either way, death was certain. Better to pay with twenty years of life so now everyone is safe," I said casually.

Su Lengyue had retreated to what she deemed a safe distance. Unnoticed, she had acquired a sack and was pulling out a handful of fine white ash. Just as she raised it, Kongguan’s cold gaze fixed on her.

"Leave now, and I’ll pretend none of this happened. I haven’t fought anyone in over a decade. Rarely have my hands been stained with blood in all these years. I don’t want to make an exception for you today. Otherwise... you’ll beg me to kill you!"

Su Lengyue didn’t expect such commanding words from the old man opposite her. She composed herself and sneered.

"Do you know what I hold in my hand?"

"Qianshi Powder! Created by letting a thousand poisonous creatures gnaw on a single victim until poison pierces their heart and kills them, then soaking the corpse in the deadliest venomous worms, letting the poison seep into the bones, finally drying and grinding the bones into powder—that is the Qianshi Powder in your hand," Kongguan said coldly.

"Since you know what’s in my hand, you should understand the use of Qianshi Powder," Su Lengyue said with some pride.

"When scattered in the air, this powder becomes a Wind Gu. Wherever the wind blows, the poison spreads. There’s no way to avoid it. Once the poison enters the body, it’s like a thousand poisons piercing the heart. There’s no antidote, and even the caster cannot escape harm," Kongguan explained calmly.

Though I am versed in the Daoist arts, Gu techniques are beyond my usual knowledge. Hearing this, I felt unease. If Su Lengyue unleashes the Qianshi Powder, everyone here would be poisoned. I cannot cast spells now, so resistance is impossible.

"Tell me the location of Ming Fourteen Tomb, and I’ll let you go," Su Lengyue slowly raised her hand, determined.

"Looks like you still don’t understand. It’s not you letting them go; it’s me letting you go," Kongguan said as he stepped forward with ease.

Su Lengyue wasn’t sure if Kongguan was fearless or merely trying to intimidate her. Seeing his calm demeanor as he approached, her cold smile faded. She raised her hand, and the Qianshi Powder scattered wildly.

Kongguan walked into the swirling powder, his entire body covered in the deadly dust. The powder would penetrate any living being it touched, but Su Lengyue was stunned to see that Kongguan seemed like a magnet—every particle of powder in the air irresistibly gathered on him.

The powder clinging to Kongguan slowly flowed into his hand, forming a pile just like the one Su Lengyue had held, except she wore special gloves, and Kongguan had nothing on.

I was utterly shocked. Though Su Lengyue was no match for me, I never took her seriously before. Yet with such a deadly poison, even I wouldn’t dare handle it as freely as Kongguan did. He was enigmatic, but why did he seem utterly unfazed by such a vile Gu poison?

Before Su Lengyue could react, Kongguan reached her. Su Lengyue had trained with all manner of poisons since childhood, with her body infused with Gu toxins so potent no one dared touch her. Yet now Kongguan’s hand, like an iron clamp, gripped her neck tightly.

"You... how are you not afraid of the poison?!" Su Lengyue gasped, struggling for breath.

"Qianshi Powder is the most powerful Gu poison. To master it, one must endure a thousand deadly poisons biting the same person until poison pierces the heart and kills... But if that person doesn’t die from the poison piercing their heart, do you know what happens?" Kongguan’s hollow right eye no longer seemed comical, but sinister and terrifying.

"Gu King?! Impervious to a hundred poisons..." Su Lengyue’s voice trembled and faltered. She knew within Gu arts, the supreme realm was rare and almost unattainable—the Gu King. This unassuming old man before her was far more frightening than she had imagined.

Kongguan slowly opened his robe, revealing an old, shriveled, and frail body, yet his skin was marked with countless scars—signs of being bitten and torn many times over.

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