"Hmph!"
Lena Chu saw Damon Wang charging toward her. She gritted her teeth, hugged the two glass cases to her chest, and turned to run.
She had a tall, slender figure—especially those long, springy legs packed with muscle and power. As she ran, Lena's footwork was precise and light as a swallow.
"Trying to run?"
Damon Wang let out a cold laugh. He bent his knees, then suddenly shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, slicing through the air and closing in on Lena in an instant.
Evan Lin glanced at the spot Damon Wang had just left—there were two deep footprints in the ground.
"That Gu poison gave him a huge boost in strength, but it's already hollowed out his body."
"That Gu bug..."
Evan Lin pondered silently.
He'd already figured out what was going on with Damon Wang. The whole Gu thing—Evan had only seen it before in some novels he'd read.
Legend has it that most Gu parasites come from the Miaojiang region, where a hundred different poisonous insects are sealed together in a jar. After eighty-one days, only one survives—the ultimate victor becomes the Gu.
Only the Gu that survives that brutal struggle gains unique powers—some become love Gu, some poison Gu, and countless other varieties exist.
"This is actually pretty similar to the ghost bugs used by the Ghost Witch clan back on the Immortal Martial Continent. The difference is, ghost bugs are even rarer—they need a living body as a vessel, nurtured for years before finally devouring their host and manifesting in the world."
"And ghost bugs are even more powerful than Gu."
Evan Lin recalled everything up to now, then looked over to the distance again.
Over there, Damon Wang was already closing in. He thrust out his right hand and slammed a fist toward Lena Chu.
Lena tried to dodge, but Damon Wang's speed was downright absurd—his fist landed squarely on her back in the very next instant.
Her body lost balance with a jolt. She spat out blood and crashed to the ground.
"You can't run. The strongest among you was that Shaoyao, but he's already dead. Now you have no chance—why not just surrender? I'll make it quick for you." Damon Wang stepped forward, pressed his foot down, and stomped Lena Chu's head into the dirt.
"What a shame—a beauty like you. If I'd met you years ago, maybe I'd have felt some pity. But now? I don't have the time or mood for that." Damon Wang shook his head and pressed down harder with his foot. "Better to die early and reincarnate. I'll send you on your way."
Pinned under Damon's foot, Lena couldn't move. Just as he was about to finish her off, the blood-colored sand that had wormed its way into her clothes kept drilling downward—finally reaching her waist and hips, then going even deeper, until it burrowed inside her body.
Suddenly, Lena's eyes snapped wide open beneath Damon's foot. Her head jerked up as she let out a howl of pain.
"Roar!"
Lena shot upright, a surge of power forcing Damon Wang back several steps. He frowned in surprise, staring at her. "How did your strength jump so much?"
"Scram!"
Lena glared fiercely at Damon Wang, spitting out the word. But her voice was no longer alluring—instead, it was a cold, sharp man's voice, sinister and piercing.
It sounded like a broken hourglass, wind whistling through the cracks, producing a harsh, howling noise.
"Hmph, stop pretending!" Damon Wang scowled, stepped forward again, and lashed out with a powerful kick, a gust of wind whipping up as he aimed straight for Lena's head—determined to end her life.
He thought he'd finish it in one blow, but Lena seemed like a different person now. Strange blood-red light flickered in her eyes as she slapped her palm toward Damon's foot.
With a bang, Lena staggered back five steps, while Damon Wang was forced back two before he could steady himself, his face full of shock.
Before coming here, Damon Wang had already investigated everyone's strength. Lena was supposed to be only early-stage inner strength, while thanks to the Gu parasite in his body, he was at pseudo–Little Vajra Realm.
The reason he brought Evan Lin was partly to see if Evan was really that strong, and partly to avoid having an unpredictable variable around.
If he wanted to survive, he had to choose the safest approach.
If Evan Lin had lost to Shaoyao just now, Damon could've just killed Shaoyao himself, and the divine medicine would still end up in his hands.
But Evan Lin's strength had already exceeded Damon's expectations.
But how could Lena Chu be this strong now?!
Normally, Lena shouldn't have been able to withstand either Damon's punch or kick!
After knocking Damon Wang back, Lena whirled to snatch the blood jade lying on the ground. She darted forward at lightning speed, her face lighting up with delight as she reached for it.
Evan Lin calmly planted his foot on the glass case, squinting with interest at Lena Chu. "Is this a form of body-snatching possession? Rare sight. But if you want this thing, it's not going to be easy."
"Get out of my way!" Lena's face twisted in anger. She roared, clenching her fist and swinging it straight at Evan Lin.
Her punch was heavy and powerful, carrying a faint howling wind.
Evan Lin didn't flinch. He reached out with his left hand and met her punch head-on.
After the clash, Lena staggered back more than ten steps before she could steady herself, while Evan Lin remained standing, completely unmoved.
Seeing this, Damon Wang was even more shocked.
He knew exactly how strong Lena was now—even he'd suffered a small loss trading blows with her. But Evan Lin just took it head-on?
"If I'm not mistaken, this thing is your coffin, isn't it? With your flesh sealed in such a tiny piece, there can't be much left. You should've gone to reincarnation ages ago—what's the point of lingering here?" Evan Lin sneered, then stomped hard, shattering the glass case and the blood jade beneath it.
As the blood jade shattered, a shrill scream erupted. A sticky, half-palm-sized humanoid blood man crawled out from under Evan's foot—skinless, faceless, all raw red flesh, trailing a long tail of gore.
Evan glanced at it, then ruthlessly stomped again, crushing it into a puddle of blood. The blood instantly turned into streaks of scarlet light, merging with the blood sand and swarming toward Evan like a cloud of flying insects.
From a distance, it looked like a miniature sandstorm.
Meanwhile, Lena Chu's face twisted wildly, her eyes filled with murderous intent.