Chương 176: Chapter 65: A Chance Encounter

Within the vast, oppressive gloom of the silent hall, a cyan teleportation array flickered into existence. As the ethereal radiance dissipated, the figure of a cultivator clad in azure robes gradually solidified. Reyn stood there, his brow furrowed in a tight knot, his sharp gaze sweeping across the shadows like a predator's. With a swift slap to his storage bag, a towering, three-zhang-tall behemoth manifested before him—the Shura Secret Bone, its skeletal frame gleaming with a sinister orange hue.

The moment it appeared, the twin orbs of orange flame dancing within its hollow sockets flared with murderous intent. It scanned the perimeter with savage alertness, but finding no immediate threat, the massive skull leaned down to nuzzle against Reyn's shoulder. Through their mental link, waves of profound gratitude and childlike affection washed over him. Reyn's lips curled into a faint smile as he reached out to pat the cold, hard bone of its head.

The Shura Secret Bone shook its massive cranium in delight, its consciousness radiating pure joy. Though its combat prowess now rivaled a Mid-stage Golden Core expert, its nascent sentience remained as innocent as a three-year-old child; it remembered every kindness shown to it. Reyn understood this bond well. Although the refinement process ensured their minds were intertwined—allowing him to monitor its every thought and negating any risk of backlash—fostering a genuine rapport was far more advantageous.

After a moment of soothing the creature, Reyn's expression darkened as he surveyed the frigid hall. The biting, sepulchral chill clinging to the air filled him with a gnawing sense of foreboding. Resting his chin in his hand, he unleashed his Divine Sense. His eyes widened in startled realization.

"My perception can actually cover a radius of fifteen li? This means the suppression here is five times weaker than in the Bone Palace!"

"It seems that cyan jade plate transported me far beyond the palace's original confines," he mused.

"Yet this chilling aura suggests this place is anything but a sanctuary. Still, with my current cultivation and the Shura Secret Bone's assistance, I should be able to hold my own. Unless I stumble upon a Nascent Soul entity, I can at least ensure my survival against a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator." Feeling a sense of clarity, he exhaled slowly. He retrieved a grain of White Jade Dragon-Whiskers Rice from his storage bag and swallowed it.

As his internal spiritual energy refined the grain, surges of vibrant vitality flooded his meridians, swiftly returning a healthy flush to his pale complexion. Clack! Clack! Clack! The sudden, rhythmic thrum of footsteps approached like a gathering storm. Reyn's face paled, his eyes turning icy. His Divine Sense had just swept the area and found nothing—was there a restriction here capable of shielding even his expanded perception?

Before he could ponder further, his Divine Sense locked onto a dozen dark silhouettes charging toward him. His pupils constricted.

"Corpse-Controlling Gu!" Back when he sought a method for Foundation Establishment, Reyn had used a Transformation Pill to infiltrate the Library Pavilion. There, he had chanced upon an ancient record detailing the Great Cataclysm that nearly annihilated the cultivation world eight thousand years ago. The infamous reputation of the Corpse-Controlling Gu was etched into his memory.

"What is this place?" Reyn muttered, his heart heavy with confusion.

"First the Bone Palace and its skeletal legions, and now the ancient Corpse-Controlling Gu?"

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

"Roar!" More than a dozen rotting corpses, their decaying husks animated by the parasitic will of the infamous Corpse-Controlling Gu, sensed the vibrant life-breath of a living cultivator. They unleashed a series of low, guttural bellows that vibrated through the stale air of the tomb, their movements jerking with unnatural, predatory speed as they closed in from the shadows.

"Hmph." Reyn let out a sharp, dismissive snort. Though the Corpse-Controlling Gu were legendary for their horrific lethality across the cultivation world, these particular husks were merely at the Qi Condensation stage. To a cultivator of his current standing, such shambling puppets were incapable of posing even a shadow of a threat. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Sensing the frigid, razor-sharp killing intent radiating from Reyn's consciousness, the Shura Secret Bone responded with a primal, resonant growl of its own. Its massive, three-zhang-tall frame suddenly ignited with a vibrant, pulsating orange luminescence, transforming into a streak of light as it charged headlong into the fray.

With a cultivation base comparable to the Mid-Foundation Establishment stage and a skeletal structure whose durability was a mere hair's breadth away from a Mid-grade Magic Treasure, the Shura Secret Bone treated these animated corpses like dry stalks before a scythe. It was a slaughter of absolute, visceral efficiency. With a single, thunderous punch that shattered the air with a booming resonance, a corpse was pulverized into a spray of putrid meat and bone shards.

The hidden Gu seed within didn't even have time to twitch before the sheer concussive force of the blow vibrated it into liquid. Within the span of a few shallow breaths, the dozen-plus corpses were utterly eradicated, leaving nothing but a littered mess of gore on the cold ground. However, just as the last husk fell, Reyn's expression shifted abruptly. A sharp, frigid light flickered in his eyes as he turned his gaze toward a distant patch of shimmering fluorescence.

There, a figure stumbled out of a spatial ripple, looking battered, disheveled, and thoroughly panicked.

"Hmm? It's him?" Reyn's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but the shock was quickly replaced by a cold, mocking curl of his lips. The irony of the situation was not lost on him. The Shura Secret Bone, perfectly attuned to the icy waves of malice emanating from Reyn's Primordial Soul, swiveled its massive, skull-like head. It fixed its hollow, glowing sockets upon the newcomer with a gaze of pure, unadulterated hostility, its orange aura flaring in anticipation.

Yang Dawei had used a Short-distance Teleportation Jade Slip to make a desperate, instantaneous escape from some unseen horror. No sooner had his physical form stabilized than a sharp prickle of crisis crawled up his spine. He whipped his head around, his eyes locking directly with Reyn's piercing, predatory stare.

"It's that brat!" Yang Dawei's face paled, his features instantly tightening with extreme vigilance. When his eyes fell upon the towering, three-zhang-tall Shura Secret Bone—its entire frame pulsing with that ominous orange light—his complexion turned from pale to a sickly, ashen hue. He recognized the creature as a guardian of immense power. After a tense moment of silence, he forced a strained, hollow smile onto his face, trying to mask his fear.

"Meeting a fellow Daoist in a place as wretched as this is truly a stroke of fortune. If the two of us join forces, our chances of escaping this tomb alive will increase exponentially. We must put aside our differences." Reyn's lips quirked into a faint, disdainful smile. His voice was flat and devoid of any warmth.

"You and I share a history of deep-seated grudges, Daoist Yang. I suspect that in your heart of hearts, you would like nothing more than to see me dead and buried. The fact that I haven't struck you down where you stand is already an act of immense mercy. Do you truly harbor the delusion that I would ever consider a partnership with a snake like you?"

"Daoist, please, listen to me!" Yang Dawei's voice rose, tinged with a genuine, frantic desperation.

"This place is a death trap. Only by combining our strengths can we hope to find even a sliver of life; otherwise, we are both doomed today! I can see you've already dealt with a few Corpse-Controlling Gu, but those are nothing. I must warn you—tens of li deeper into this cemetery, there are two Tier 3 rotting corpses. Their power is comparable to Golden Core sovereigns! My junior sister, Daoist Zi Luanxing, and I were hunted by them just moments ago. I am the only one who barely managed to escape with my life!"

Reyn's expression flickered at the mention of Golden Core-level threats. He fell into a brief, contemplative silence before letting out a sharp, derisive laugh that echoed through the hall.

"If the three of you engaged two Golden Core corpses together, why is it that you are the only one who emerged unscathed?" He leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing into slits of cold judgment.

"Heh, could it be that the moment things turned sour, you abandoned your companions to their fates and fled like a dog?"

"You!" Yang Dawei's face instantly darkened to a thunderous shade of purple. Reyn's words were a mere guess, yet they struck the nail squarely on the head, piercing through his facade and hitting his most sensitive nerve.

"That matter has nothing to do with you! You only need to tell me one thing: will you join forces with me or not?" Seeing the violent shift in the man's expression, Reyn's suspicions were confirmed. He let out a series of low, mocking chuckles.

"There is no need to mention an alliance again. A man like you, Daoist Yang—someone who discards his comrades at the first sign of trouble to save his own skin—is utterly unworthy of trust. Furthermore, given the enmity between us, if I were to turn my back on you, I would simply be inviting a knife between my ribs. I have no desire to play the fool and invite such suffering upon myself."