Bai Ningbing broke free from the ice earlier than anyone had anticipated.
The ice crystal first began to crack, fissures spreading and widening, before finally shattering apart completely.
The Elder, Gu Yue Qingshu, Gu Yue Yaohong, and two others — five in total — had already surrounded him on all sides. Meanwhile, Gu Yue Fang Zheng stood on a distant hillside, watching the battle from his elevated vantage while keeping vigil. If any Bai family Gu Master squad appeared, he was to raise the alarm immediately.
"Bai Ningbing, you dare kill the Gu Masters of our clan and openly violate the Three Stronghold Alliance? A life for a life — it's the law of heaven and earth! What else do you have to say for yourself?" the Elder snorted coldly.
Bai Ningbing ignored him, lowering his gaze to his right arm.
He extended his left hand in vain, but on his right side, he grasped only empty air.
His brows slowly furrowed, his expression dark as murky water, thunder and lightning brewing between his eyes.
"To think he forced me to sever my own right arm... that person — his name is Fang Yuan, isn't it..." From the way Xiong Li and Qingshu had referred to him, Bai Ningbing had already learned Fang Yuan's name.
At the thought, Bai Ningbing's pair of blue crystalline eyes filled with an extremely cold killing intent.
His entire body radiated the aura of a Third Transformation Gu Master. Just as Fang Yuan had expected, if he could suppress his cultivation, he could naturally undo such a seal as well. It was just that during the previous battle, he never had enough time to break free of these shackles.
Now, his Third Transformation Silver True Essence completely filled his Empty Orifice.
The heavy True Essence exerted tremendous pressure on the surrounding walls of the orifice. Bai Ningbing knew: right now, he was marching toward destruction.
A Gu Master's Empty Orifice produced True Essence, and in turn, True Essence nourished the Empty Orifice.
In fact, as long as True Essence existed within the Empty Orifice, it had a nourishing effect on the orifice walls. It was just that this effect was not obvious — far less prominent than when a Gu Master actively consumed True Essence.
Like calm seawater that still erodes the surrounding reef rocks. It was just that this effect was not as obvious as waves crashing against the reef.
But for the Northern Underworld Ice Spirit Body, once it reached the Third Transformation, even without actively consuming True Essence, as long as True Essence existed within the Empty Orifice, the nourishing effect on the orifice walls was the same as what an ordinary Gu Master achieved through active consumption.
This was the secret behind how the Northern Underworld Ice Spirit Body allowed a Gu Master's cultivation to advance at terrifying speed.
Moreover, this nourishing effect grew stronger as the True Essence increased. At the Fourth Transformation, merely having True Essence within the Empty Orifice would be enough to nourish it, with effects several times better than an ordinary Gu Master actively consuming True Essence.
For ordinary Gu Masters, the higher their realm, the slower their cultivation advancement. But the Ten Extremity Bodies were exactly the opposite — the further they progressed, the more powerful their Aptitude became, and the faster their cultivation advanced. Until the Gu Master self-destructed and perished.
To paint a vivid picture, it was like someone in freefall from a great height. The further they fell, the faster their speed, and the harder the impact when they hit the ground.
A Ten Extremity Body's cultivation was like falling from the highest point. The speed of cultivation grew ever faster, but it only brought a brief brilliance during the descent and the terror of approaching death. Like a meteor crashing to earth, like a moth flying into flame — when the moment of greatest brilliance arrived, that was the moment of their extinction.
This was precisely why Bai Ningbing had previously diluted his Silver True Essence into Red Iron True Essence.
Now that his Empty Orifice was once again filled with Silver True Essence, Bai Ningbing could feel his cultivation accumulating and advancing bit by bit, every minute and every second.
"He actually forced me to use Silver True Essence, and even made me sacrifice my Frost Demon Gu! Where is Fang Yuan?" Bai Ningbing's killing intent intensified as he asked, his blue eyes scanning the surroundings, yet he could not find any trace of Fang Yuan.
The Frost Demon Gu he had detonated was a Third Transformation Gu Insect. He had failed three times before, expending vast amounts of resources to finally refine it successfully. Now that it had been detonated, it was a tremendous waste.
Although Bai Ningbing had advanced to the Third Transformation, it had not been long. Despite his family's support, resources could not possibly be monopolized by him alone. As a result, he had only two Third Transformation Gu Insects. Now that the Frost Demon Gu was sacrificed, only the Blue Bird Ice Coffin Gu remained.
The more he thought about it, the more he seethed with hatred. From childhood to now, he had never suffered such a tremendous loss!
If Fang Yuan were here, he would have already launched a frenzied assault, and no one would have been able to stop him.
Bai Ningbing's dismissal felt like a tremendous humiliation to the Guye Clan's Elder.
"You insolent brat, take this Moon Blade Strike from me!" he bellowed, lunging forward.
"Hmph!" Bai Ningbing flicked his left arm, and the surging cold energy instantly coalesced into a slender ice blade.
The ice blade he had previously condensed had been just over a meter long, but now it stretched to two meters, and it was far sharper, with cold energy radiating in all directions.
Clang.
The Elder's raised hands shimmered with moonlight as they collided with the ice blade, producing the screech of metal meeting metal.
Astonishment surfaced on the old man's face. He stepped back, pressed his palms together into a single edge, and slashed diagonally.
Golden Moon Strike!
A curved moon blade, well over a meter long, entirely golden in color, exuding an air of domineering force, shot out in an instant.
The golden moonlight illuminated Bai Ningbing's pale face. He smiled coldly, raised the ice blade in his left hand, and slashed it forward with full force.
Clang!
The moon blade and ice blade collided. The golden moon vanished, and the ice blade shattered into countless tiny fragments.
"Is this what a battle between Third Transformation Gu Masters looks like? It really is powerful. Whether it's the ice blade or that golden moon blade, I couldn't withstand either!" In the distance, Fang Zheng watched in dazzling fascination, understanding only a fraction of what he saw.
"How is this possible? This is clearly a Second Transformation Ice Blade Gu, yet it managed to block both my Third Transformation Moon Hand Blade and Golden Moon!" The Elder's eyes were wide with disbelief, his tone one of sheer incredulity.
The Northern Underworld Ice Spirit Body had an amplifying effect on ice- and water-related Gu Insects. And this amplification grew more powerful as the Gu Master's cultivation level increased.
When Bai Ningbing was at the Third Transformation, he could make a Second Transformation Gu Insect display the might of a Third Transformation one. When he reached the Fourth Transformation and used a Fourth Transformation Gu Insect, the effect could even surpass that of the Fifth Transformation.
Previously, when Bai Ningbing had suppressed his cultivation, only his True Essence recovery ability had remained. Now that he had released the suppression and returned to his Third Transformation cultivation, the Northern Underworld Ice Spirit Body's true power was finally on display.