Just as Xiong Li's fist was about to strike Bai Ningbing, both Xiong Lin and Xiong Jiang couldn't help but show looks of delight.
Only Fang Yuan, standing at a distance, had a deep, knowing light flash in his eyes.
Given what he knew about Bai Ningbing, how could the latter make such a crude mistake?
Sure enough, in the very next instant!
Bai Ningbing suddenly burst into motion. The flesh and blood of his right hand and forearm instantly transformed into translucent, pale-blue ice, so that every bone within was clearly visible from the outside.
He pressed his fingers together, forming a blade-like palm, and struck with lightning speed — plunging straight through Xiong Li's heart!
"Ugh—!" Xiong Li's hurtling body froze mid-air.
His eyes went wide as he slowly lowered his head, staring at his own chest in disbelief.
"How... how can this be?"
"Lord Xiong Li!"
The sudden reversal was too much for Xiong Jiang and Xiong Lin to accept.
"You really thought my right arm was broken by your punch? How naive! I've long since cultivated this body of ice-skin using the Third Transformation Ice Skin Gu. My defenses are exceptional. The reason I kept pretending was simply to give someone a little surprise." Bai Ningbing rose slowly to his feet, a contemptuous smile playing in his eyes. As he finished speaking, he glanced toward Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's expression remained flat as he returned the gaze.
Pfft.
"Bai... Ningbing..." Xiong Li opened his mouth, laboriously forcing out his final words. The frigid aura radiating from Bai Ningbing's icy hand had frozen his heart clean through, severing his lifeforce!
"Despicable, scheming bastard — I'll fight you to the death!" Xiong Lin had witnessed Xiong Li's death with his own eyes. Consumed by overwhelming grief and volcanic rage, he charged recklessly at Bai Ningbing.
"Xiong Lin, calm yourself!" Xiong Jiang moved swiftly, blocking him.
"The clan leader is dead — we're no match for him! Flee now! I'll cover your retreat!" Xiong Jiang fought back his sorrow and barked out the order.
"Brother Xiong Jiang..." Xiong Lin stood rooted to the spot, his eyes rimming red.
Xiong Jiang flung him backward with a swing of his arm, then stepped forward to place himself between Xiong Lin and Bai Ningbing.
Shadow Grief Gu!
The shadow beneath his feet suddenly came alive, twisting eerily as it linked to Bai Ningbing's own shadow.
"I have the Shadow Grief Gu. If I'm injured, Bai Ningbing will be injured too. He won't be able to kill me so easily. Xiong Lin, you're still young — your talent surpasses both mine and the clan leader's. You have to run!" Xiong Jiang's gaze stayed locked on Bai Ningbing as he shouted.
"Brother Xiong Jiang!" Tears welled in Xiong Lin's eyes — he knew perfectly well the limitations of the Shadow Grief Gu.
In the earlier fighting, Xiong Jiang had used this Gu Insect repeatedly, but whenever Bai Ningbing pulled far enough away, the shadow link would sever. Xiong Jiang's words were nothing more than words of comfort.
And right now, Xiong Jiang's True Essence was running critically low — he had already burned through a great deal. Even the Roaming Corpse Gu had ceased to be activated.
Xiong Lin's feet felt rooted to the ground, unable to move a single step. He turned his head and glared at Fang Yuan. "Fang Yuan, where the hell is that reinforcement you promised!?"
Fang Yuan did not answer. He simply kept his eyes fixed on Bai Ningbing.
Bai Ningbing flexed his right hand. In the span of a few breaths, it had returned to its normal flesh and blood. He let out a mocking sneer. "Reinforcement? Heh heh. If they were coming, they'd have been here by now. That whole story was a lie. Tsk tsk tsk — you two are even more naive than I thought. You actually believed a little trick like the Shadow Grief Gu could restrain me?"
He cast a disdainful glance at the shadow at his feet, completely unconcerned.
"Fang Yuan, is that true?" Xiong Lin clenched his fists, eyes blazing with fury as he roared.
Fang Yuan ignored him. Instead, he looked at Bai Ningbing, a faint smile of understanding curling at the corner of his lips. "That last move of yours consumed a fair bit of True Essence, didn't it? After fighting all the way to this point, how much True Essence do you have left in your Empty Orifice?"
The Gu Insect Xiong Li had used for defense was only marginally inferior to Fang Yuan's White Jade Gu. Yet Bai Ningbing had pierced straight through that defense. Such striking power was clearly not something Second Transformation Gu Insects possessed.
Judging from the situation, Fang Yuan surmised that Bai Ningbing must have employed the Third Transformation Frost Demon Gu.
This Gu was formidable and renowned among Third Transformation Gu Insects, but overusing it would damage the user. Joint ailments were merely the mildest symptom — in severe cases, it could freeze and destroy one's own muscles. For that reason, it needed to be used in tandem with other Gu Insect.
Just moments ago, Bai Ningbing had said that his skin had been cultivated into ice-skin, which was naturally resistant to frost and cold. Pairing that with the Frost Demon Gu was indeed a match made in heaven.
However, Bai Ningbing was using Second Transformation True Essence to forcibly drive a Third Transformation Gu Insect. His True Essence expenditure would be enormous. Yet he had no choice but to resort to such powerful measures to break the stalemate.
Bai Ningbing's expression shifted ever so slightly. That last attack had indeed drained far more True Essence than he could afford, and Fang Yuan had seen right through him.
That was precisely why, after killing Xiong Li, he hadn't pressed the attack but instead used words to buy himself time to recover.
He laughed out loud, nodded frankly, and admitted outright: "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, did you? Heh heh heh. The real fight is only just beginning, wouldn't you say?"
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.
If Bai Ningbing had denied it, he could have launched a bold offensive. But now Bai Ningbing had admitted it openly, with an air of absolute confidence... Given that Bai Ningbing was a man on the brink of death who had already made his peace with mortality, his composure suggested he still held a powerful trump card — hence his unshakable nerve.
Ordinary Gu Masters carried only three to five Gu Insect. Even someone of Qing Shu or Chi Shan's caliber was no different.
But there were always exceptions.
Fang Yuan, for instance, currently possessed the Moon Beam Gu, the White Jade Gu, the Concealed Scale Gu, the Four-Flavor Wine Worm, the Spring Autumn Cicada, the Earth-Listening Flesh Ear Grass, and the Nine-Leaf Vitality Grass. He carried a total of seven Gu Insect.
Bai Ningbing was the hope upon whom the entire Bai clan had placed its expectations — a supreme genius who possessed the Northern Dark Ice Soul Body. From the very beginning of his cultivation to the present, he had received the full backing of his clan's resources. His accumulated wealth was certainly no less than Fang Yuan's own.