Chapter Seventy-Three: You Two Didn’t Leave Me a Single Bite

Shen Wan charged down without hesitation, shouting as he swung his long blade, hoping to scare off the black serpents with sheer force of will. Meanwhile, Yun Yi and Gu Zhiping remained completely still, seated cross-legged in the spring as if the chaos around them were nothing more than an illusion, utterly unrelated to them.

A faint tremor flickered across Yun Yi’s brow—barely perceptible—yet she did not awaken from her meditation. Spiritual energy surged wildly within her, the Hunyuan Ascension Technique doubling her absorption rate and stirring up tempests in the sea of spirit power inside her. Countless fine threads of energy rose from her spirit sea, tightly wrapping every meridian in her body.

Gu Zhiping was no different. For the first time, he felt the immense power of a celestial-grade spirit root. Spiritual energy soared within him, and though it seemed he might burst from the excess at any moment, he still frantically seized every last wisp of energy from the spring, refusing to fall behind.

At last, under their desperate absorption, the once crystal-clear spirit spring was drained completely, not a drop remaining.

By now, the hundreds of black serpents had not retreated in the slightest despite Shen Wan’s bluster. Their eyes gleamed coldly, and their blood-red tongues flickered menacingly.

“Damn it, are you done yet? If you’re not, we’re going to be finished!” Shen Wan was close now, and though his long blade danced before the serpents, these creatures showed no fear, even beginning to shift direction and hiss threateningly at him.

Hundreds of black serpents coiled, preparing to strike. Unlike cultivators, Shen Wan’s immunity was to spirit energy, not venomous fangs. Looking at their oily black scales and blood-red tongues, he felt a chill crawl up his spine. If not for the two still sitting below, he would have bolted long ago.

Just then, Yun Yi suddenly lifted her head, her body trembling violently. Her robes fluttered as if wrapped in a fierce wind, her long hair snapping the leather cord and fanning out in all directions. The tremors grew stronger, and in an instant, she threw her head back, mouth wide open, and unleashed a piercing, drawn-out howl toward the sky.

“Aaah!”

The cry startled Shen Wan so badly he stumbled and fell to the ground. At the same moment, all the black serpents snapped their attention to Yun Yi, their bodies sliding backward involuntarily—a hint of retreat at last.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhiping began to echo Yun Yi’s actions. His body trembled as if he were a revving engine—silent, but vibrating with wild, feverish energy. His robes fluttered though there was no wind. As Yun Yi’s howl lingered, his own long wail joined hers. Their mingled voices reverberated through the ravine, a man and a woman weaving a ceaseless, haunting chorus.

Shen Wan swallowed hard. He couldn’t see the spiritual light bursting from the two, but to his eyes, they looked like they were in the throes of some strange illness, an attack away from foaming at the mouth. Like a pair of spirit mediums—add a few bells and they could start charging for exorcisms.

But there was no time for jokes. Though the serpents had retreated slightly, they showed no signs of leaving. Their tongues flickered, eyes glued to the two cultivators.

Finally, the howls fell silent. The echoes slowly faded, dissipating into the quiet. The two opened their eyes in turn, breathing out a long, turbid breath.

Focus Stage, Level 8. Yun Yi felt a wave of wild joy—she had leaped from Level 4 to Level 8 in one stroke, spanning four entire sub-levels. Gu Zhiping wore an equally astonished expression.

“Focus Stage… Level 5… I’m actually at Level 5!” For years, his trash spirit root and useless talent had kept him stuck at Level 2. But now, with a single draught of the spirit spring, he had soared to Level 5—his brothers back home were only Level 5 or 6 at best. Damn! It was a gift from the heavens!

Gu Zhiping felt invincible again. He lifted his head and caught Yun Yi’s gaze across from him. Er… still couldn’t beat her. Swallowing their excitement, they finally noticed the commotion nearby.

“Shit!” Gu Zhiping jumped in fright—who would have thought so many creatures would be watching as they broke through their bottlenecks? Yun Yi merely flicked a glance from the corner of her eye and gave a cold snort.

“Ice Shatter—Break.”

With a low chant, a white frost crept over the heads of the nearest hundred black serpents. The frost spread and formed into crystal, instantly freezing the serpents solid. At the word “Break,” a series of sharp cracks sounded as the frozen serpents shattered into pieces and died on the spot.

It happened in a flash. The remaining serpents, sensing unprecedented danger, dropped their aggressive postures. Their hissing tongues flickered, sending urgent signals to retreat. In an instant, hundreds of black serpents turned and fled, vanishing without a trace.

Shen Wan gaped in astonishment. He realized his desperate, self-sacrificial rescue had been utterly unnecessary…

With the snakes gone and the spring silent, the ravine was so quiet a pin could be heard dropping.

“Senior brother! Hahaha! I broke through!” Gu Zhiping was the first to shatter the silence, bounding over to Shen Wan and throwing an arm around his shoulders. “From now on, I’m sticking with you! We’ll never be apart!”

Shen Wan kicked him aside. “Get lost. Stay away from me.”

Gu Zhiping didn’t mind at all, feeling his body’s changes with growing excitement. Yun Yi sauntered over, her enchanting figure nearly tempting Shen Wan to open his arms and celebrate with her. But Yun Yi merely gave him a curious look and asked,

“You didn’t absorb any of the spring’s energy?”

Shen Wan’s heart leapt—she’d noticed! What was he supposed to tell them—that he couldn’t see the spring at all? He quickly put on a wronged expression and said,

“I was just protecting you two, that’s all.” He gestured sadly to the serpent corpses. “Who knew you’d drain it so fast? You didn’t leave me a drop.”

He heaved a theatrical sigh, leaving Yun Yi and Gu Zhiping looking awkward.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Yun Yi murmured, glancing away in embarrassment. Her earlier greed felt excessive, but the Hunyuan Ascension Technique had made her body a bottomless pit—it was impossible to stop.

Gu Zhiping too felt guilty. After a brief struggle, he reluctantly removed his storage pouch and handed it to Shen Wan. “Senior brother, take this. It’s the least I can do.”

Shen Wan couldn’t help but laugh—it was the same pouch Gu Zhiping had shamelessly shown off back at the Inspectorate. But now, with a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones at his own waist, Gu Zhiping’s meager offerings seemed paltry.

“Forget it. It’s just a spring—no big deal.” He pushed the pouch back and didn’t mention the three black-clad men. It didn’t seem necessary.

Gu Zhiping pretended to refuse, but finally, with obvious relief, fastened the pouch back to his belt. Shen Wan, seeing this, gave him the mental equivalent of a middle finger—there was no one more shameless!

Yun Yi too wanted to offer something in compensation but was quickly waved off. To Shen Wan, these things were useless; even spirit stones would only end up benefiting a certain someone back home.

In the end, the three dropped their formalities, climbed out of the ravine, and set off in search of a new path. Shen Wan led the way, the other two following close behind. Watching his back, Gu Zhiping felt that as long as he followed Shen Wan, opportunities would be as easy as eating a meal. For the first time, he sensed that leaving the Taigu Sect might have been the best decision of his life.

On the other side, Yun Yi’s gaze grew deep and thoughtful as she looked at Shen Wan, a new and subtle feeling stirring in her heart.