"Who are you? Attacking from behind, what kind of gentleman does that make you?" Yin Yi squinted, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Don't assassins always work in the shadows? What right do you have to call anyone a gentleman?" Wang Xinyan's voice came from the doorway.
Yin Yi tried to turn his head, but his body wouldn't move no matter how hard he tried.
"Xinyan!" Chu Mengyao finally showed a hint of a smile upon seeing Wang Xinyan.
Wang Xinyan calmly walked to Chu Mengyao's side and said, "Don't worry, you're safe now."
"Where is Ye Bufan?" Chu Mengyao asked softly.
"He said there were too many assassins outside your house and he went to clear them out," Wang Xinyan deliberately spoke loudly, ensuring Yin Yi could hear her.
"Did you do this to me?" Yin Yi's voice was filled with resentment.
Yin Yi struggled again, but his body remained immobile.
"I don't have that kind of skill," Wang Xinyan replied. "After all, you're Yin Yi from a renowned assassin organization. I'm just a frail, weak woman."
"You... you're asking for death!"
Wang Xinyan's words dripped with sarcasm, enraging Yin Yi. A killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"What? Am I wrong?" Wang Xinyan looked at Yin Yi. However, Yin Yi ignored her, closing his eyes and muttering something.
"This is bad." Chu He, who was closest to Yin Yi, recognized the incantation. He grabbed Chu Chu and Wang Xinyan, preparing to leave.
But the corpses on the ground suddenly sprang to life, blocking their path. They grabbed Wang Xinyan by the shoulders, about to bite her neck.
Seeing this, Chu He landed a punch on the corpse's face, causing its head to snap to the side.
Chu Mengyao, on the side, was trying to pry off the corpse's hands. The corpse suddenly turned and flung her aside.
"Buzz!" An astonishing energy erupted from Chu Mengyao, instantly attaching itself to the corpse. The corpse's hands bent ninety degrees downwards, then contracted and flew backward, smashing a large hole in the villa wall.
"Corpse manipulation technique!" Chu He recognized Yin Yi's move.
"Impressive, old man. You actually know about corpse manipulation," Yin Yi said with a sinister smile. Though restricted now, as a Gu master, his specialty was remote control.
Yin Yi was using his Natal Golden Silkworm Gu to control the corpses to attack. Furthermore, the Golden Silkworm Gu was also working to free him.
"Heh!" The Natal Golden Silkworm Gu moved relentlessly within Yin Yi's body, eventually entering and helping him break free from Ye Bufan's mental restraint.
Yin Yi stood up and leaped forward, his hand reaching for Wang Xinyan's neck.
"Bang—"
Just as Yin Yi was about to grab Wang Xinyan, he felt a heavy blow to his stomach. Accompanied by a dull ache, Yin Yi found himself flying backward through the air.
At that moment, someone suddenly appeared beside Yin Yi and struck his chest with a palm. Yin Yi instantly crashed back to the floor, cracking the tiles.
"Pfft—" Yin Yi coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The newcomer was Ye Bufan, who had already dealt with the assassins outside the Chu family's perimeter.
"Hmm?" Ye Bufan looked at Yin Yi, surprised that he could break free from his mental restraint. After Yin Yi fell to the floor, Ye Bufan tried the mental restraint again, but this time Yin Yi was completely immune.
However, Ye Bufan soon understood. Based on the memories from the flying dagger, Yin Yi harbored a Natal Golden Silkworm Gu, known as the king of all Gu. The conditions for refining it were extremely stringent. Ye Bufan suspected that Yin Yi's Natal Golden Silkworm Gu was the reason for his immunity to mental restraint.
Yin Yi struggled to get up from the ground. Casually, he waved his hand, and a refreshing fragrance filled the air.
"Poison!" Chu He shouted.
Yin Yi revealed a ferocious smile, looking at Ye Bufan. "Hahaha, I admit you're very powerful, but you've all fallen for my Ten Fragrance Soft Muscle Powder combined with Gu poison. This poison is colorless and odorless. Once it takes effect, your entire body will weaken, and though you'll move normally after a few days, your internal energy will be completely useless."
"Now... all of you go to hell," Yin Yi performed a hand seal, and a few green moths flew from his slightly parted lips.
"Disgusting," Ye Bufan said, seeing the green insects. With a casual wave of his hand, they instantly turned to dust.
Yin Yi's eyes widened in disbelief. "You! How can you still use true qi?"
Yin Yi rapidly performed hand seals. Ye Bufan stomped toward Yin Yi's chest. Yin Yi retreated rapidly, and in the next second, Ye Bufan vanished and reappeared beside him.
"Die!" Yin Yi summoned his Golden Silkworm Gu.
The Golden Silkworm Gu flew out from his body. Ye Bufan grabbed it with one hand and pointed at Yin Yi's head with the other. Yin Yi instantly knelt on the floor, unable to move.
"Your tricks might work on others, but they're useless against me," Ye Bufan tilted his head, his gaze shifting to the Golden Silkworm Gu.
The Golden Silkworm Gu, held captive by Ye Bufan, hissed in dissatisfaction, excreting golden viscous fluid.
The liquid was corrosive. Ye Bufan's hand began to smoke. Seeing this, Yin Yi excitedly yelled at Ye Bufan, "The Golden Silkworm Gu's bodily fluid! An ancient supreme poison! You're finished! You're finished!"
Back in the mountains, with Lin Xiaoyao's help, Ye Bufan had already cultivated an immunity to all poisons. Combined with the "Nine Revolutions Heaven-Piercing Art," Ye Bufan had achieved three revolutions of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body. Even a cultivator at the Core Formation stage would likely not be Ye Bufan's match in a pure physical confrontation.
In the next moment, Ye Bufan's entire hand was enveloped in a layer of purple flame, which burned intensely on the Golden Silkworm Gu.
"Ah—" The Golden Silkworm Gu shrieked. Yin Yi coughed up another mouthful of blood.
The Natal Golden Silkworm Gu and its host shared feelings. The severe injury to the Gu meant severe injury to Yin Yi.
Veins bulged on Yin Yi's forehead, his body feeling as if it were being roasted in a furnace.
"Ye Bufan, if you kill me, my master will surely seek revenge," Yin Yi said with difficulty.
"The Hehuan Sect said the same thing earlier," Ye Bufan replied calmly. "Do you think I care about that?"
Ye Bufan clenched his fists, and the Golden Silkworm Gu instantly turned into a pile of ashes on the floor.
"I'm different!" Yin Yi glared at Ye Bufan. "My master is the Myriad Gu Elder of Miao territory. I am his only disciple. If I die, he will definitely come for revenge."
"Everyone has a master," Ye Bufan struck from a distance with his palm. "My master taught me that it's shameful to bring up your master after losing a fight. Moreover, you were trying to kill someone and got killed instead. Your master won't be able to enjoy his twilight years; he might even die because of you."
Ye Bufan exerted a slight force, his hand forming a fist. True qi gathered instantly in Yin Yi's body, converging on his heart before exploding.
Yin Yi lay on the floor, his face contorted in a grimace, and breathed his last, his eyes fixed on Ye Bufan.
Great Xia Kingdom, Miao Territory, Savage Mountain.
"Who! Who killed my disciple!" A voice tore through the sky as a flock of crows took flight from the forest.
A middle-aged man, in his fifties, stood at the entrance of a mountain cave, clutching a broken jade token tightly. He looked towards the southeast with intense killing intent...