Outside the cave, after the Ghost Gu black robe let out a guttural cry, the person prostrated on the ground like a toad. As the cries grew louder, their body began to swell.
Within a few breaths, they transformed from a diminutive figure less than 1.5 meters tall into a colossal being over 2 meters tall and more than 3 meters long. The pockmarked craters on their body became black orifices, within which pairs of eyes occasionally flashed, making everyone's scalp tingle.
Through Yue'er's narration, I learned about the enmity between the Witch Gu and the Ghost Gu. The Witch Gu clan leader killed Ge Jun, and then his son retaliated against the Witch Gu clan. This cycle of revenge sowed the seeds of hatred between the two sides.
However, in my opinion, the Witch Gu clan was ultimately too kind. While the Gu maiden was at fault for loving the wrong person, was Ge Jun blameless? He could have left openly, but he insisted on secretly learning their Gu techniques. This alone sealed his fate. As for his son seeking revenge for him, it was entirely reasonable... It can only be described as a messy affair.
Facing the transformation of the Ghost Gu black robe, Wu Yun's expression turned solemn. With a wave of her jade hand, several more Mind-Bewildering Butterfly Gu appeared around her. Unlike the silver-white wings of the previous ones, these had golden wings, as if they were celestial spirits descended upon the mortal realm.
"Let you taste the power of my Toad Gu," the Ghost Gu black robe declared. As soon as it finished speaking, it let out another toad-like croak. Its enlarged body pulsed again, and the pits of various sizes on its body began to spray white liquid, containing many small particles, which looked quite disgusting.
As the liquid hit the ground, the particles began to wriggle. In the blink of an eye, small black dots formed within them, and they rapidly consumed the liquid. Within a few breaths, thumb-sized black toads appeared before their eyes.
I thought it was over, but these toads did not attack Wu Yun. Instead, they began to bite each other. Soon, the ground was littered with the corpses of toads, leaving only a single crimson toad.
It differed from ordinary toads, not only in color but, more importantly, it had a human-like eye on its forehead. As the central eye looked towards Wu Yun, it emitted a cry disproportionate to its size, both loud and piercing.
With a muffled cry, all the recently deceased toads revived. Following this, their skin began to rot, and their bones started to crack. In a few breaths, the scattered toad corpses dissolved, leaving behind Ghost Gu toads with bodies that were half black and half white.
"My children, devour her for me."
"Croak..."
At the Ghost Gu black robe's command, countless toad Gu swarmed towards Wu Yun like locusts.
"Excellent."
Wu Yun roared, and with another wave of her hand, the golden Mind-Bewildering Butterfly Gu surrounding her flew out. Their golden wings fluttered, releasing countless golden powders from above.
These golden powders looked beautiful, but when they landed on the ground, they ignited the dry wild grass. By the time the toad Gu charged forward, a fire wall a meter high had formed before Wu Yun.
"Has she gone mad? If this fire spreads and ignites the forest, we'll be roasted alive here." Wang Defa watched Wu Yun, who was performing the ritual, with concern.
Gui Jianchou remained silent but also showed a worried expression. The surrounding area was filled with tall trees. If the fire truly took hold, even hiding in the cave would not save them from being roasted into dried beef.
I was also a little worried, but seeing Yue'er's calm demeanor, I remained silent. In my opinion, this indicated her confidence. However, her next words almost made me choke on my own saliva.
"You can only pray the fire doesn't spread!" After saying this, she ignored our displeased faces and turned to sit back in her original position.
"She's too..."
Gui Jianchou trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, as he noticed Yue'er watching him with half-closed eyes.
"What should we do? Just watch?" Wang Defa asked me softly.
"The fire hasn't started yet, has it? Let's wait until it does..." I replied irritably. What did he expect me to know?
Facing the raging inferno, the toad Gu did not retreat, charging into the flames like moths to a flame. I thought this intense fire would kill all the live Gu, or at least cripple them.
However, to my surprise, the seemingly scorching flames caused no harm to the toad Gu. They emerged unscathed from the fire and lunged at Wu Yun.
"How is this possible?"
Wu Yun finally showed a look of terror. She threw out large quantities of various colored Gu, but none of them could withstand the attack of the toad Gu. All were bitten to death, and after their bodies died, they revived just like the toad Gu and continued their assault.
This not only filled Wu Yun with despair but also us in the cave.
"How can we fight this? Wu Yun's Gu dwindles with each battle, while the Ghost Gu black robe's Gu multiply. This is simply cheating!" Wang Defa cursed in anger.
"How about I help out and fire a shot?" Gui Jianchou gritted his teeth and said.
"No, we can't deal with the toad Gu. Your attack will definitely attract his attention, and then none of us will survive." I refused directly. In truth, I knew the best solution was to eliminate the Ghost Gu black robe, but now was not the time.
Wu Yun was struggling, but she still had a trump card, and so did the Ghost Gu black robe. If he couldn't be killed in one go, it was better not to act, lest we let the tiger return to the mountain.
"Then what do we do? Just watch like this?" Gui Jianchou was somewhat disheartened. For the first time, he found his proud firearms useless against these strange creatures, which naturally made him dejected.
I did not answer his question but instead focused on observing the changes on the battlefield. As long as Wu Yun could draw out the Ghost Gu black robe's trump card, I could launch a fatal blow. The Heavenly Retreat Seal was a powerful weapon against malevolent spirits, especially one that had already mutated.
Wu Yun was already surrounded by toad Gu. The Ghost Gu black robe, having transformed into a large toad, did not order the toad Gu to bite her to death. Instead, it moved its body closer to Wu Yun.
"Witch Gu Saintess? Nothing more than this... I'll give you a chance. If you say the Witch Gu is inferior to the Ghost Gu, I might consider sparing your life."
"Spare my life?" Wu Yun withdrew her fearful expression and said, "Those words should be directed at you."
As her voice fell, a golden light shot out from her body and instantly pierced the Ghost Gu black robe. What was originally a fine green toad instantly transformed into a comical African bullfrog.
"You can raise a Double-Life Gu?" The Ghost Gu black robe, having been struck by the Golden Silkworm Gu, did not die immediately. Its body reverted to its small, dwarfish form, but its eyes were pitch black.
"What, you're allowed to raise Toad Gu that devour their own kind, and I'm not allowed to raise a Double-Life Gu?" Wu Yun was quite smug. Among the Witch Gu maidens, not everyone could raise a Double-Life Gu, as if not controlled properly, the two Gu might fight each other, with the Gu maiden suffering the consequences. She herself had gone through life and death several times to succeed.
"Impressive!" The Ghost Gu black robe gave a thumbs-up and said "Impressive," then plunged its head into the ground. Following this, its body began to emit black smoke, and its entire being seemed to dissolve as if soaked in sulfuric acid.
"It's over just like this? Impossible?"
"Of course not. Look, those toad Gu are not dead yet..."