Celestial Crane Master's face was twisted with ferocity, his eyes suddenly flashing with killing intent. Without warning, he struck, unleashing a downpour of feather-blade arrows.
The rain of arrows was not aimed at Gu Yue Yidai. Having transformed into a blood ghost corpse, his defenses were already extraordinary — attacking him would yield little effect.
The feather-blade arrows rained down, piercing through countless Gu Masters, killing them in an instant!
At the same time, Celestial Crane Master's eyes erupted with white light. Two beams of white radiance swept across the stockade, shredding bamboo towers and crumbling street stones wherever they passed. When the light fell upon people, their flesh and bone melted away like snow under the sun.
A Fifth Transformation Gu Master's assault caused massive casualties in the blink of an eye.
Screams of agony, cries of terror, and desperate shouts blended into a deafening chorus.
One feather-blade arrow shot toward Fang Yuan. He casually grabbed someone nearby and hurled them far away. The arrow pierced through that person's skull and lodged there. Fang Yuan rolled with the momentum, narrowly evading a strike from an iron-beaked flying crane.
The gap between the Third and Fifth Transformations was simply too vast — there was nothing he could do. Even Bai Ningbing, at this very moment, was forced to dodge continuously. Every time he took a wound, his Northern Underworld Ice Soul Body regenerated, but it also pushed him one step closer to his death limit.
A Fifth Transformation Gu Master had already reached the absolute pinnacle of the mortal world.
"Stop!" Gu Yue Yidai roared, watching the Gu Masters below being slaughtered in droves. His heart ached so badly it felt like it was dripping blood.
He had built this stockade and passed down his bloodline for something far deeper than merely living in obscurity — he harbored grand ambitions. The clan members were the bountiful fruit he had been cultivating for centuries. Now Celestial Crane Master was destroying them all — centuries of Gu Yue Yidai's painstaking effort, wiped out before his eyes.
Left with no choice, Gu Yue Yidai abandoned his assault on Celestial Crane Master. Both the Blade-Wing Blood Bat Gu and the Blood Droplet Gu changed course, flying down toward the stockade to defend against Celestial Crane Master's attacks.
Celestial Crane Master burst into hearty laughter. The Blood Sea legacy prioritized offense over defense — by pulling back, Gu Yue Yidai was abandoning his greatest strength and trying to fight him with his weakest hand.
He knew Gu Yue Yidai inside and out. He knew exactly what the man was scheming. That was precisely why he had spared those Guye Clan members in the first place. Now, attacking them forced Gu Yue Yidai to try to protect everything at once, throwing him into disarray — and his own crisis evaporated in an instant.
"Not good!"
Just as the battle had settled into a stalemate, Gu Yue Yidai suddenly let out a sharp cry. Iron chains of dark shadows surfaced across his entire body.
The shadows solidified in an instant, forming real chains of linked iron that coiled around Gu Yue Yidai like serpents, binding him tight.
A long, narrow yellow paper talisman gradually materialized as well, plastered squarely between his eyebrows.
Thud.
With his body bound by iron chains, his wings could no longer spread. He lost all ability to fly and crashed to the ground.
This sudden turn of events shocked not only Gu Yue Yidai — even Celestial Crane Master was stunned for a moment. But the latter immediately erupted into wild laughter. "So it was the Demon-Sealing Iron Chain Gu, along with the Talisman Stripping Gu! Hahaha — it seems that so-called Divine Catcher wasn't entirely useless after all. My dear senior brother, today you're certain to die!"
These two Gu insects were signature gu of the Iron Family Stronghold.
The Demon-Sealing Iron Chain Gu could bind a Gu Master's movements, rendering them completely immobile and helpless. The Talisman Stripping Gu could extract the Gu insects from within a Gu Master's body and seal them away.
Tie Xue Leng had used these two Gu to capture countless Demonic Path Gu Masters — and now they were being deployed against Gu Yue Yidai.
"When did this happen?!" Gu Yue Yidai was simultaneously alarmed and furious. His mind replayed the final moment when he had killed Tie Xue Leng.
The bronze mask had flown off, revealing a square-jawed face.
Though certain of his death, there had been no trace of fear in those eyes. They were weathered yet resolute. The blood-covered palm had delivered a light, subtle tap against Gu Yue Yidai's chest.
The force had been so slight that Gu Yue Yidai hadn't paid it any mind at the time.
"So that was when! Damn it — if I still had a living body, I would have noticed immediately. But this zombie form, while tough and superbly defended, lacks sensitivity." Gu Yue Yidai seethed with hatred.
There were many drawbacks to becoming a blood ghost corpse. By his original lifespan, he should have long since died — defying heaven to extend one's life never came without a price.
"Hahahaha!" Celestial Crane Master laughed aloud, his aura surging as he charged at Gu Yue Yidai for the kill.
Gu Yue Yidai could only fight back defensively, falling into a completely dominant inferior position.
The Demon-Sealing Iron Chain Gu didn't just bind his physical form — dark chain projections also appeared within his Empty Orifice, attempting to suppress and seal the entire space.
His Yuan Sea churned like boiling water as countless Gu insects flew about inside the Orifice, resisting the Demon-Sealing Iron Chain Gu's suppression.
Under this combined pressure, Gu Yue Yidai's True Essence was being consumed at a terrifying rate.
"You're finished today — die!" Celestial Crane Master pressed his assault like an unrelenting tide, fighting with reckless abandon.
Gu Yue Yidai was covered in wounds. His chest was split open, exposing ghastly white bone, and both arms had been severed at the shoulder.
Just as Celestial Crane Master was about to achieve victory, Gu Yue Yidai suddenly opened his mouth and let out a strange, piercing cry.
"Yang—!"
The sound wave formed into a concentrated beam, ear-splittingly shrill, and struck Celestial Crane Master in an instant.
The moment Celestial Crane Master heard the sound, he reeled as though struck by a massive blow, staggering back dozens of steps — even his white brows were pulled taut. Then he crumpled to the ground.
He struggled to rise. Blood was gushing from his eye sockets, nostrils, both ears, and the corners of his mouth. The lingering resonance still rampaged through his body, reversing the flow of his blood and causing violent internal turmoil, leaving him temporarily unable to move.
Many Gu Masters...