Evil Gu Enters the Heart

Because of the gap in their strength, Yulan still couldn't defeat Lu Yan quickly, even though he only defended and never attacked.

Lu Yan was no fool, either. As time passed, he gradually noticed that something was wrong and grew eager to turn the tables and attack.

Just then, Yulan suddenly used the Dual-Sound Cicada's other skill again—Penetration!

The moment Penetration came out, Lu Yan felt his eardrums tremble and his internal organs resonate. Unable to hold it back, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"How can you still use Gu skills beyond your rank?!"

His psychological defenses collapsed once more, and this time they crumbled completely.

At the same time, an ethereal ringing sounded.

"Jingle~"

Jiang Yiming had heard that familiar sound before. It was the sound of the Armor Bell Gu!

The moment the bell rang, an illusion appeared in full.

Lu Yan was already in a daze. How could he withstand an illusion? His mind fell instantly.

While he was dazed, Yulan's flexible sword stabbed precisely into his heart.

"It's over?" Jiang Yiming couldn't believe it from a distance.

He had been worried about Yulan just a moment ago. He never expected it to end so suddenly.

Defeating Lu Yan had also cost Yulan a great deal of Gu Essence. Her legs gave way, and she nearly fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Jiang Yiming reacted quickly and caught her from behind before she fell.

"Are you all right?" Jiang Yiming slowly bent down and helped Yulan sit on the ground.

"I'm fine. I just used up too much Gu Essence," Yulan said once she had caught her breath.

Jiang Yiming sat down beside her. "I thought your trump card was the Dual-Sound Cicada. I never expected it to be the Yellow Rank Armor Bell Gu."

Yulan nodded and explained, "My sister once told me that if you want to win a duel, you must never let your opponent know your real strategy. Catching them off guard is the best way."

"For some special reasons, I can use Gu beyond my rank a few more times than most people, but that's far from enough."

"So from the beginning, I never planned to win with the Dual-Sound Cicada. Instead, I used it to break down his psychological defenses. Once his mind wavered, the power of the Armor Bell Gu's illusion could be magnified without limit and catch him completely off guard!"

Only then did Jiang Yiming understand. From the start, Yulan had planned to attack her opponent's mind and create an opportunity for the Armor Bell Gu.

That was her real strategy.

"You were well prepared. Lu Yan deserved to lose this time," Jiang Yiming said in sincere praise.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Lu Yan move behind him!

Red Tail, Ghost Face, Iron Back, and the others hadn't been recalled yet. The divine skill Ten Thousand Gu Communication gave Jiang Yiming a 360-degree view!

With that view, he saw one of Lu Yan's fingers move behind him!

Danger!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he scooped up Yulan without a word and ran several steps forward as fast as he could.

Yulan was startled by his sudden movement. When she felt his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, her face instantly turned bright red. She wanted to resist, but she had used up so much Gu Essence that she couldn't muster the slightest strength!

"How dare you!"

All she could do was scold him weakly.

Before her words had faded, a tremendous crash came from behind them.

Boom!

A huge hole had been blasted into the spot where the two of them had been sitting.

Yulan turned around in surprise and discovered that Lu Yan had actually stood up!

"You react quickly!" After getting up, Lu Yan didn't look at Yulan, focusing only on Jiang Yiming before him.

Jiang Yiming gently set Yulan down on a nearby chair and left her with just one instruction: "Stay seated. Once you've recovered your strength, leave at once!"

Then he stepped forward, all his attention fixed on Lu Yan.

Lu Yan had torn off his outer robe. The black stripes on his face writhed as though they had come alive, converging on his heart. His pupils gradually turned crimson as well!

"Someone whose heart was pierced actually came back to life! I've learned something new again." Jiang Yiming remained on guard.

"Hmph! It's just a heart. Since it was injured, I only had to feed it to Lord Gu." Lu Yan's face stiffened, devoid of expression. "Lord Gu ate my heart and will grant me even greater power!"

Only then did Jiang Yiming realize that the black stripes writhing on Lu Yan's face were Gu worms!

[Eight-Tailed Earthworm: Yellow-Rank Gu worm. Main skills: "Regeneration" and "Yellow Springs Water".]

It was actually a Yellow-Rank Gu worm with two skills!

Generally, only Mystic-Tier Gu Worms had two skills. Most Yellow Rank Gu had only one skill, or none at all.

Still writhing, the Eight-Tailed Earthworm had crawled along the sword wound and into Lu Yan's heart.

Once its last tail had entered, the sword wound miraculously healed.

Immediately afterward, the blood vessels all over Lu Yan's body bulged, looking ready to burst at any moment!

"Kill!" His voice had changed. It was deep and hoarse, as though it came from his belly...

Then Jiang Yiming felt a fierce gust rush toward his face. Lu Yan's black claw was already right in front of him.

So fast!

Jiang Yiming ducked and barely dodged it. His opponent's other claw came at him, and he pushed off with both legs to open up some distance.

After the Eight-Tailed Earthworm occupied his heart, Lu Yan had become much faster, but his eyes had lost their spark. He seemed able to see only Jiang Yiming and paid no attention at all to Yulan on the chair.

Yulan was right in front of him, yet he turned and continued charging at Jiang Yiming.

After taking the Agility Pill, Jiang Yiming had become much faster. Even at Lu Yan's current speed, Jiang Yiming would surely win if the two raced.

But fighting wasn't running. Although Jiang Yiming was fast, his eyes weren't quick enough to see Lu Yan's movements clearly.

If Yulan had been in his place, she could have used set sword moves to ward off a few attacks even without seeing her opponent's movements clearly. Jiang Yiming, however, knew no moves at all and had no idea how to respond.

As Lu Yan charged at him again, Jiang Yiming could only recall the Iron-Backed Black Scorpion first.

Bang!

The Iron-Backed Black Scorpion transformed into a shield, but it had barely moved in front of Jiang Yiming when a claw struck it.

The force of that strike was heavier than an iron hammer, knocking him straight back five or six steps.

Although Yulan was First Grade, she had already reached Late First Grade. Jiang Yiming, on the other hand, had only recently reached First Grade, and the difference in their Gu Essence was too great. On top of that, he knew no martial skills, so he found the fight especially difficult.

No, I can't hold out! After steadying himself, Jiang Yiming decisively recalled Red Tail and Ghost Face to help defend.

That, however, cost him his view from above.

To maintain his view, he thought briefly, then released the Three-Legged Golden Toad, which had never shown itself before.

The fellow was slow and clumsy and usually couldn't help much at all, but it had a great talent for cultivation, so Jiang Yiming had always let it cultivate inside the Yellow Gu Lotus Platform.

Now he had no choice but to bring it out to provide a view.

"Climb up to the ceiling!"

He sent the command through his mind, and the Three-Legged Golden Toad obediently made a jump.

It would have been better if it hadn't jumped. That one jump nearly made Jiang Yiming die of anger.

You call that a jump? You didn't even get five centimeters off the ground, and you call that a jump? The ceiling's over three meters high. What do you mean by jumping like that? Are you brushing me off?

Although he cursed the Three-Legged Golden Toad to pieces in his heart, he knew it wasn't brushing him off. It really couldn't jump any higher.

You're the most useless one of all!

With no other choice, Jiang Yiming grabbed the Three-Legged Golden Toad and tried to send it up to the ceiling.

But Lu Yan's black claw was already right in front of him.

"Void Spiderweb!"

In his haste, he flung out the Void Spiderweb.