As Xiong Li's fist was about to smash into Bai Ningbing, both Xiong Lin and Xiong Jiang couldn't help but show joy on their faces.
Only Fang Yuan stood at a distance, a deep light flickering in his eyes.
Given what he knew about Bai Ningbing, how could he make such a low-level mistake?
Sure enough, in the very next moment!
Bai Ningbing suddenly erupted into motion. The flesh of his right hand and forearm instantly transformed into transparent pale-blue cold ice, and his finger bones were clearly visible from the outside.
He pressed his fingers together to form a hand blade, striking out with lightning speed, directly piercing through Xiong Li's heart!
"Ugh—!" Xiong Li's lunging body came to an abrupt halt.
He widened his eyes, slowly lowering his head, staring at his own chest in disbelief.
"How... how can this be?"
"Lord Xiong Li!"
The sudden reversal was something Xiong Jiang and Xiong Lin couldn't accept.
"You think my right arm was really fractured by your punch? How naive! I've already used the Third Transformation Ice Skin Gu to cultivate this body of ice skin — my defense is extraordinary. I was only pretending earlier to give someone a surprise." Bai Ningbing slowly stood up, a look of disdainful amusement in his eyes. As he finished speaking, he glanced toward Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's expression remained calm as he stared back.
*Pfft.*
"Bai... Ningbing..." Xiong Li opened his mouth, struggling to utter his last words. The cold qi emanating from Bai Ningbing's icy hand had frozen his heart directly, severing his lifeline!
"You despicable, treacherous bastard — I'll fight you!" Xiong Lin witnessed Xiong Li's death with his own eyes. Under the weight of immense grief, his fury erupted like a volcano. He charged recklessly at Bai Ningbing.
"Xiong Lin, calm down!" Xiong Jiang intervened in time, blocking him.
"The patriarch is dead. We're no match for him anymore. You run — I'll cover the rear!" Xiong Jiang forced down his grief and growled in a low voice.
"Brother Xiong Jiang..." Xiong Lin froze in place, his eyes rimming red.
Xiong Jiang flung him behind him with a wave of his hand, then stepped forward to block Bai Ningbing.
Shadow Wound Gu!
The shadow beneath his feet suddenly came alive. It twisted eerily, connecting to Bai Ningbing's shadow.
"I have the Shadow Wound Gu. If I'm hurt, Bai Ningbing will be hurt too. He won't be able to kill me so easily. Xiong Lin, you're still young — your talent is even better than mine and the patriarch's. Run!" Xiong Jiang's gaze locked tightly onto Bai Ningbing as he shouted.
"Brother Xiong Jiang!" Tears welled in Xiong Lin's eyes. How could he not know the drawbacks of the Shadow Wound Gu?
In the earlier battle, Xiong Jiang had continuously used this Gu Insect, but whenever Bai Ningbing pulled far enough away, the shadow would sever. Xiong Jiang was only saying this to comfort him.
Moreover, Xiong Jiang's True Essence was running low — he'd already depleted a great deal. Even the Roaming Zombie Gu had stopped being activated.
Xiong Lin's feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move a single inch. He turned his head and glared at Fang Yuan: "Fang Yuan, where are the reinforcements you promised?! Why haven't they arrived yet?!"
Fang Yuan didn't answer. He simply stared intently at Bai Ningbing.
Bai Ningbing flexed his right hand — in this short time, his right hand had returned to normal flesh. He sneered in a mocking tone: "Reinforcements? Heh heh heh. If they were coming, they'd have arrived by now. That was nothing but a lie. Tsk tsk tsk. You two are each more naive than the last. Did you really think a little trick like the Shadow Wound Gu could restrain me?"
He glanced dismissively at the shadow beneath his feet, utterly unconcerned.
"Fang Yuan, is this true?" Xiong Lin clenched his fists, his eyes practically shooting fire as he roared.
Fang Yuan ignored him and instead looked at Bai Ningbing, a knowing smile curling at the corner of his lips: "That move just now consumed quite a bit of your True Essence, didn't it? After fighting until now, how much True Essence do you have left in your Empty Orifice?"
The Gu Insect Xiong Li had used for defense was only slightly inferior to Fang Yuan's White Jade Gu. Yet Bai Ningbing had pierced straight through it. Such striking power clearly wasn't something a Second Transformation Gu Insect could possess.
Judging from the situation just now, Fang Yuan guessed that Bai Ningbing must have used the Third Transformation Frost Demon Gu.
This Gu was powerful and famous among Third Transformation Gu, but overusing it would damage the user. Joint pain was only a mild symptom — in severe cases, it could freeze and destroy one's own muscles and tendons. That was why it needed to be used in conjunction with other Gu.
Bai Ningbing had just said that his skin had been cultivated into ice skin, which was resistant to frost and cold. Using the Frost Demon Gu with this body was a perfect match.
However, Bai Ningbing had used Second Transformation True Essence to forcibly activate a Third Transformation Gu — his True Essence must have depleted massively. But he had no choice but to use such a powerful method to break the stalemate.
Bai Ningbing's expression shifted slightly. That move had indeed caused excessive True Essence loss, and Fang Yuan had seen right through him.
That was why, after killing Xiong Li, he hadn't attacked directly but instead used words to buy time for recovery.
He laughed out loud, nodded openly, and admitted directly: "That's right. I don't have much True Essence left. I held back my right arm to lure you into attacking. But you didn't take the bait, heh heh heh. The real battle is only just beginning, isn't it?"
Fang Yuan couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.
If Bai Ningbing had denied it, he could have attacked boldly. But now Bai Ningbing had admitted it openly, looking confident and unafraid...
Aside from the fact that Bai Ningbing was a dying man who had grown indifferent to life and death, he likely still had a powerful trump card in hand, giving him absolute confidence.
Ordinary Gu Masters only had three to five Gu Insect. Even people like Qing Shu and Chi Shan were no exception.
But there were always exceptions.