On the arena of the Three Clans Grand Competition at Qing Mao Mountain.
"Gu Yue Mo Yan versus Bear Strength!"
Just as the referee finished speaking, a burly Xiong family Gu Master stepped onto the stage. Every step he took caused the ground to tremble—this person was the number one Rank Two of the Xiong Family Village, Bear Strength, whose cultivation had already reached Rank Two Peak.
In the original work, Bear Strength already possessed the strength of two bears, but this time, because the Gu Yue Village suddenly produced two A-grade Geniuses, the Xiong Family Village, in order to nurture their new generation of Gu Masters, added the strength of one bear to him.
Now possessing the strength of three bears, Bear Strength had also used the Family's Rank Three Iron Skin Gu to modify his Physical Body; dealing with Gu Yue Mo Yan was as easy as picking up a chicken.
Gu Yue Mo Yan was the granddaughter of the person in power, Gu Yue Mo Chen, and also the older sister of the Mo faction heir, Gu Yue Mo Bei.
She was female and served as an investigative Gu Master, possessing neither powerful attack Gu nor strong defense Gu.
As soon as Bear Strength attacked, he beat her until her head was bloodied and sent her flying straight off the arena.
"Hahaha! Our clan's Bear Strength has won fourteen matches in a row!"
The Xiong Family Clan Leader laughed loudly, while Clan Leader's face was so dark it looked like water could drip from it.
If not for Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng, Qing Shu, and Red Mountain progressing too quickly and having already been promoted to Elders, if even one of them had remained on the field, the Xiong Family Clan Leader would not have been allowed to be so smug.
"Eh? Isn't that Lord Fang Yuan of our clan?"
Suddenly, a Gu Master pointed toward a distant hillside. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Fang Yuan activating the blood wing gu, flying rapidly toward the arena.
"Is it really him? Eh? Lord Fang Yuan... seems to be running away?"
Amidst everyone's surprise and doubt, a blue tornado dozens of meters high rose from the ground behind Fang Yuan.
The cold wind swirled with frost and snow, following Fang Yuan's figure. From within the tornado, ice spikes, snowballs, and ice blades shot out continuously; the momentum was grand and utterly terrifying.
"What... what the hell is that thing!"
Exclamations rose one after another. Fang Yuan had already skimmed over everyone's heads, and the giant tornado approached along with him.
Over a dozen Rank One Gu Masters and ordinary clansmen were sucked into the tornado. Both people and Gu were instantly torn to pieces by the ice, snow, and ice blades.
All the flowers, grass, and dust on the ground were swept into the air. Those sucked in were bombarded by ice blades, snowballs, and ice spikes in turn, their corpses shattering into over a dozen pieces on the spot.
"Holy crap! Run! Escape, quickly!"
Everyone fled in all directions in terror, but some were still sucked into the tornado, eventually leaving only scraps of skin and bone shards dancing wildly in the air, swept by the gale.
"Hahaha! Splendid! Simply too splendid!"
Bai Ning Bing was suspended in the center of the tornado, laughing maniacally.
Nearly a hundred lives were lost to his Killer Move; this was his modified Ice Blade Storm. In the original work, Bai Ning Bing's Ice Blade Storm was only a Rank Two Killer Move, composed of Fierce Wind Gu, Ice Blade Gu, and Pivot Gu, barely able to fight a Rank Three Gu Master.
But this time, his Ice Blade Storm was already a Rank Three Killer Move—formed by the Fusion of Frost Demon Gu, Ice Blade Gu, Gale Gu, Snowball Gu, Ice Spike Gu, and Pivot Gu, possessing the three capabilities of movement, defense, and attack. Its power was far more formidable than Fang Yuan's Killer Moves.
It wasn't that Fang Yuan didn't know how to construct Killer Moves, but rather that he had never spent much time researching them; moreover, although he had many Gu worms, their paths were diverse and disorganized, making it difficult to put together a Killer Move combination that could fit perfectly.
"Truly a Genius, to be able to multitask for so long," Fang Yuan sighed inwardly.
In the original work, Bai Ning Bing had once modified this Killer Move at Shang Liang Mountain, reconstructing it with Ice Crystal Gu, Ice Blade Gu, Fierce Wind Gu, and Frost Breath Gu, allowing him to fight a Rank Four expert to a draw while being a major Realm below.
But this time, his Ice Blade Storm was even better than before, its power likely sufficient to kill a Rank Four expert.
"Fang Yuan, this time you've really hit a steel plate."
Yuan Fang said to him in his mind. Fang Yuan remained silent, but his eyes grew deeper, as if he was calculating something again.
Just then, a Rank Three Clan Elder of the Gu Yue Clan activated a Rank Three Steel Garment Gu. Covering his face with his hands, he braved the sky full of shooting ice blades, snowballs, and ice spikes. With a loud shout, he exerted force in his legs and sprinted, charging straight into the Ice Blade Storm.
BOOM—!"
A world-shaking explosion erupted, and the Ice Blade Storm suddenly ceased. However, the price of this calm was the life of an Elder.
Everyone looked and saw Bai Ning Bing in white clothes as white as snow. The ice blade in his palm had actually pierced through that Elder's steel garment, flesh, and bone.
"How... how is it possible..."
The old Gu Master suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his still-warm body crashed straight to the ground, completely devoid of life. Seeing this, Bai Ning Bing sneered incessantly:
"Hahaha! Old man, there's still a lot you don't know!"
At that moment, a cunningly aimed blood-colored moonblade suddenly shot toward Bai Ning Bing's head. He tilted his head slightly, and the moonblade skimmed past his ear.
Bai Ning Bing turned his head to look, and Fang Yuan's fingertip condensed another moonblade that slashed over, which he again dodged nimbly.
"Hahaha! You really did come back!"
Bai Ning Bing's voice was full of madness:
"Let the ants wail in the sand, let the earth tremble in fear, let life be watered into splendor by blood! Come, fight a hearty death-match with me! You come to kill me, and I shall kill you too; let us slaughter each other!"
Bai Ning Bing laughed towards the sky, condensing a deep blue ice blade in each hand, and charged straight at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan showed no fear and activated the Serrated Gold Centipede with his right hand. The Serrated Gold Centipede shook its head, the silver-edged serrations on both sides spinning rapidly like a chainsaw.
One black and one white figure collided with a bang, ice blades and the Serrated Gold Centipede clashing intensely with a series of pings and clangs. Bai Ning Bing's sword technique was wild and uninhibited, while Fang Yuan's Serrated Gold Centipede exuded an overbearing aura.
"Hahaha! Splendid! Too splendid!"
Bai Ning Bing laughed, his blue eyes bursting with deep blue light. Dozens of ice spikes instantly condensed behind him, shooting toward Fang Yuan like raindrops.
"Heavenly Canopy Gu, direct impact gu!"
Fang Yuan shouted low, activating the Heavenly Canopy Gu to set up a defense, and the phantom of boar strength appeared behind him. That phantom shot out like a cannonball, braving the sky full of ice spikes and slamming heavily into Bai Ning Bing.
"Frost Demon Gu, Water Shield Gu, water vapor gu!"
Bai Ning Bing immediately activated his Gu worms, transforming into a Frost Demon form. Billowing water vapor erupted from his nostrils, turning into a water vapor barrier, and he also activated the Water Shield Gu to set up a layer of water curtain defense.
But even so, the impact of the direct impact gu still shattered the water vapor and water shield, slamming Bai Ning Bing hard against a tree trunk behind him.
"Fortunately, I have the defense of the Ice Skin Gu, plus the resistance of the Frost Demon body... This fellow must have cultivated strength, otherwise it would be impossible to break my defense. I have never cultivated strength; close combat is definitely not the best strategy."
Bai Ning Bing thought to himself and quickly flipped up from the ground.
"Ice Spike Gu!"
He shouted, and a sky full of ice spikes instantly shot out from behind him, whistling as they slammed into Fang Yuan's Heavenly Canopy defense.
These ice spikes, amplified by the Frost Demon Gu and refined by him into Rank Three Gu, actually managed to penetrate the Heavenly Canopy defense, but ultimately failed to break through Fang Yuan's copper skin defense.
"Is it a defense Gu similar to the Ice Skin Gu? Hahaha! It's getting more and more splendid. Snowball Gu!"
Before his voice had even faded, a small snowball was suspended in Bai Ning Bing's palm, spinning faster and faster and growing larger and larger until it swelled to the size of a water buffalo before being violently thrown by him.
"blood wing gu!"
With a thought, Fang Yuan took to the air to avoid the snowball and slashed out three blood-colored moonblades in succession, but they were all blocked by Bai Ning Bing with his ice blades.
At that moment, Bai Ning Bing suddenly opened his mouth, and a small blue bird flapped its wings and flew out from his mouth.
"Let me show you, this is my Blue Bird Ice Coffin Gu!"
"Go!"
With a cold shout from Bai Ning Bing, the blue bird shot toward Fang Yuan like lightning. Fang Yuan vibrated his Blood Wings, circling around the blue bird to dive straight at Bai Ning Bing, the Serrated Gold Centipede in his hand buzzing.
This Blue Bird Ice Coffin Gu was definitely no ordinary Rank Three Gu; besides its amazing power, it also had the ability to lock on and track, clinging stubbornly to Fang Yuan.
"Not good! This fellow has closed in! Water Shield Gu!"
Bai Ning Bing hurriedly activated his water shield defense and swung his ice blade to clash violently with the Serrated Gold Centipede.
Ice shards on the ice blade instantly splattered. In the blink of an eye, the Serrated Gold Centipede sawed the ice blade, which was also Rank Three, into crushed ice, and the water shield also shattered. The silver-edged serrations almost sawed through Bai Ning Bing's arm on the spot.
Fang Yuan skimmed past Bai Ning Bing's side, and that blue bird still pursued relentlessly, also skimming past Bai Ning Bing.
Bai Ning Bing endured the intense pain of his arm almost being sawed off. A cool breeze blew past, and he suddenly felt a bad premonition. Looking at the blue bird beside him like a time bomb, he just wanted to activate the water vapor gu for defense.
"blood moon gu!"
Fang Yuan suddenly turned his head, raised his left hand high, and slashed down hard. A cunningly aimed blood-colored moonblade brushed past Bai Ning Bing's shocked gaze and accurately struck that small blue bird.
BOOM—!"
A world-shaking explosion erupted, and the sky instantly rained down ice, snow, and water droplets. This anomaly immediately drew the attention of the Gu Masters from the three clans.
Everyone saw Bai Ning Bing, his face full of shock and disbelief, actually frozen inside a giant ice coffin.
"LORRRRD BAAAAI NIIIIING BIIIIING!!!"
A group of Bai Family Gu Masters wailed heart-wrenchingly, while the Gu Yue Clan Gu Masters on the other side cheered loudly, shouting that Lord Fang Yuan's divine power was peerless and he was invincible in the world.
"Gu Yue Clan Chief, you'd better give me an explanation!"
The Bai Family Clan Leader stood on the observation platform, trembling with rage, his Golden True Essence representing Rank Four cultivation erupting like a volcano.
Clan Leader was ecstatic in his heart—Fang Yuan had actually suppressed Bai Ning Bing! Previously, there were rumors that Bai Ning Bing had modified the Ice Blade Storm and could challenge the Rank Four Bai Family Clan Leader, which had frightened Clan Leader quite a bit.
"An explanation? Your clan's Bai Ning Bing intruded into the Three Clans Grand Competition without permission and slaughtered over a hundred people from the three clans. In the end, it was our clan's Fang Yuan who acted to restrain him!"
Clan Leader did not back down either, fully revealing his Rank Four high stage cultivation.
"Hmph! Dammit! I've long found you an eyesore! Water Dragon Gu!"
The Bai Family Clan Leader shouted angrily and struck out with a palm. A five-clawed water dragon dozens of meters long condensed into form behind him, pouncing toward Clan Leader with bared fangs and claws.
"shape shifting gu!"
With a thought, Clan Leader's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, swapping positions with the Bai Family Clan Leader and narrowly dodging that five-clawed water dragon.
Clan Leader was a Space Path Gu Master, and his vital Gu was the Rank Four Shock Gu, which could intimidate enemies with the power of space.
"Killer Move, Heaven Shaking Earth Moving!"
As his voice fell, the ground shook violently, as if an earth dragon was rolling underground.
All the Gu Masters in the Three Clans Grand Competition turned pale. The Xiong Family Clan Leader was even knocked to the ground, and some Mortals and Rank One Gu Masters even fainted on the spot.
"You use a Killer Move, then I shall counter with a Killer Move! Killer Move, Arrow Wave!"
The Bai Family Clan Leader roared, and the hundred-meter area around him instantly turned into a water domain. Waves surged on the water's surface, and countless water arrows shot out from the waves like a torrential rain howling in a gale, covering the hundred-meter range and shooting straight ahead.
Clan Leader could only hastily activate a defense Gu, and the screams of Gu Masters from the three clans being hit by water arrows soon followed from behind him. The Xiong Family Clan Leader was wise, immediately leading his clansmen to quietly withdraw from the battlefield.
"Fang Yuan! Forget about Bai Ning Bing! Quick... come help!!!"
Clan Leader forced himself to sustain his defense but was beaten by the enraged Bai Family Clan Leader until he had no power to strike back. Meanwhile, in the distance, Fang Yuan held the Serrated Gold Centipede and was desperately hacking at the ice coffin trapping Bai Ning Bing.
"This might be my last chance to kill Bai Ning Bing. If I wait for him to break out of the ice, the Northern Darkness Ice Soul Body will surely break free from its suppression. At that time, what I will have to face is the Bai Ning Bing with the Northern Darkness Ice Soul Body and its world-defying talent."
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Fang Yuan's mind, and the Serrated Gold Centipede in his hand spun even more swiftly, with ice chips and shards flying everywhere.
Yuan Fang was also extremely anxious in his mind, secretly cheering for him—in Yuan Fang's memories, in the original work, Bai Ning Bing fully unleashing the Northern Darkness Ice Soul Body could, with only Rank Three cultivation, fight two against one and battle two Rank Five experts.
Just then, a scene appeared that was hard for both Fang Yuan and Yuan Fang to accept:
Bai Ning Bing broke out of the ice, his entire body's flesh and blood having turned into ice and snow, and his eyes had transformed into ice pupils. The scars left by the Serrated Gold Centipede on the ice coffin earlier also melted into snow in an instant.
Everyone was shocked, but Bai Ning Bing laughed loudly:
"Hahaha! Splendid! Truly too splendid!"
As his laughter subsided, he suddenly recited aloud:
"Ten thousand feet of the Mortal World, vibrant and colorful,"
"The road to the horizon's clouds and waters is long and far."
"At this moment, elegance returns to heaven and earth,"
"Better than the bright moonlight in the water."
After finishing his recitation, he looked at Fang Yuan, his gaze cold as ice:
"You must be Fang Yuan, right? Fang Yuan, you and I are the same kind of person. Keeping you around makes my life more flavorful and adds more splendor."
Saying this, Bai Ning Bing looked up at the sky, a trace of attachment to the world actually flickering through his ice pupils.
He sighed softly, but what came out of his mouth was not warm water vapor, but bone-chilling cold air mixed with ice shards:
"Life is short, and eventually returns to the dust. Fang Yuan, what exactly is the purpose of living?"
"I imagine you already have the answer by now. Everyone has their own path, and I have already been on my way for a long time."
"Hahaha! Hahahaha! I want to witness with my own eyes all the splendor of this world!"
Bai Ning Bing laughed wildly toward the sky, his laughter full of madness and arrogance.
"Heh, this man."
Fang Yuan looked at his back, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.