The Gu's maw snapped shut where his leg had been an instant before. Li Yuan slid back across the ice, his hand already unsheathing his sword.
The car sized combat Gu lunged again. Even faster this time. It's claws scraped his shoulder and a scream of metal rang out as his Soul Bound Ice armour flared into existence, blocking the attack for him.
The impact still drove him back, bruising his flesh and rattling his ribs. And he knew that if the fight went on for much longer, then the Yin Qi vapour released by the Frostfang Glacial Stalker would start to poison him. As good as his Ice armour was, his many life and death battles with Chu Tianming had taught him that it was far from perfect.
Those same life and death battles had also given him the combat experience he needed to face this 3rd Grade Combat Gu.
The Frostfang came low this time. And Li Yuan pivoted instead of retreating. His blade cut down. Aimed not at the beast, but at the space it would occupy a breath later.
His Sword intent cut a deadly arc through the air and collided with the creature mid-lunge. Targeting not its body but a single limb. Ice shattered and pale-blue blood sprayed into the air as the Gu lost one of its eight legs.
Fighting Chu Tianming had not improved his Sword Intent itself. But it had made him far better at using it.
The Gu let out a piercing shriek and twisted, landing sideways before skidding across the frost as it retreated some distance to recover.
Li Yuan didn't chase. His combat intuition had also improved greatly. And he knew that this level of injury would not be enough to force it into running away. Meaning that after it had recovered, it would be back.
His fingers flicked, and three 3rd Grade Offensive Talismans ignited in sequence.
All three were fire based Talismans, and used together, they created an inferno that even a 3rd Grade Combat Gu won't be able to dodge in time.
Sure enough, despite the Frostfang lunging to the side at the last moment, it still got hit. Steam exploded into the air as it let out another painful shriek, its form now obscured by the boiling cloud.
Li Yuan backed away from the fog and then his instincts screamed at him. He went low. And a spike of ice shot through where his head had been a moment ago, tearing through the mountain behind him.
An attack like that would not kill him, courtesy of his Soul Bound Ice armour, but it would still hurt like a bitch.
More ice spikes followed in its wake, and Li Yuan activated both Veil of Borrowed Heaven as well as Shadow Cloud Steps as he dodged from side to side.
His Veil of Borrowed Heaven didn't quite work against 3rd Grade Spirit Beasts. Or a 3rd Grade Gu in this instance. Especially once they'd already targeted him. But it did confuse them about his exact position, which was a godsend in critical moments like these.
He rolled, came up on one knee, and slashed again. This time, he aimed for the throat. The Frostfang met him head-on. Its jaws opened wide, frost condensing into a spear at the back of its mouth…
…which had been his actual target from the start.
His sword intent hit the condensing spear, and it exploded within the Frostfang's own mouth, the jagged ice shards piercing its soft mouthy insides.
Li Yuan didn't let go of this opportunity and pressed his attack.
His blade drove forward, sword intent compressing along its tip as it pierced through its Yin Qi, through its chitin armour, through flesh, and finally through its organs.
The Gu convulsed as his sword went deep into its body and then let out a piercing shriek as countless miniature sword intent attacks exploded within its body, turning its insides into a blender.
It let out one last guttural sound and then stumbled around drunkenly before it fell over. Dead.
Li Yuan panted from exhaustion as he pulled the sword out. Only to find that it had already dissolved within the Frostfang's body. Likely by its corrosive Yin Qi.
He chuckled and wiped the blade properly before placing it within his spatial ring. The blade had been with him for a few months now. And helped him kill his first 3rd Grade enemy in solo combat. So it definitely deserved some respect, even if he'd long outgrown its usage.
Then, Li Yuan picked up the corpse of the Frostfang Gu and threw it inside his Ancient Spatial Ring. Intending to feed it to his Stele later on where the Nascent Soul Elder of the Snow Peak couldn't see him doing so.
Finally he turned back to look at the underground Spirit Lake the 3rd Grade Gu had been protecting. There, half-buried in snow, a spirit herb swayed gently in the air. And he recognised it instantly.
Snowmelt Essence Bloom. A 3rd Grade spirit herb.
From what he knew of it, the delicate blue flower constantly forms droplets of liquid Qi at its core. The drops can then be harvested and used to create pure Qi recovery pills that are especially efficient for ice-aligned cultivators.
"So that's what you were guarding." Li Yuan murmured as he carefully approached the herb, his senses ready in case a second Combat Gu attacked him.
But unlike before, his halo remained radiant as ever, and showed no sign of changing. Good.
He knelt and carefully retrieved the entire spirit herb with practiced precision, sealing it immediately within his Hibernation Pouch where it would remain until he replanted it in a better place.
The moment the spirit herb disappeared… his halo flickered, and became just a tad bit brighter. After all, the fortune of gaining a 3rd Grade Spirit Herb like this was significant. Even for him. Li Yuan's lips curled into a faint smile. Fighting the 3rd Grade Combat Gu had definitely been worth it.
The smile didn't last as the exhaustion finally hit him at once. His shoulders sagged as he turned and dropped heavily against a nearby stone as the tension bled out of him. His Soul Bound Ice armour also retreated, leaving him defenceless once again.
His chest rose and fell as he panted.
'That fight had been too risky.' He thought. If his Halo hadn't already warned him about the ambush, then he might've gotten into real trouble back there.
His gaze drifted across the frozen terrain. To think there would be 3rd Grade Combat Gu in the Crystal Yin Mountain.
Then again, maybe he shouldn't be surprised. After all, he'd already found dozens of 3rd Grade Spirit Herbs in this mountain. And quite a few other Ice-type treasures that were just as valuable. So why wouldn't this mountain be able to sustain 3rd Grade Gu as well?
If anything, he'd been… 'lucky' to not have faced a 3rd Grade Gu before today.
But then again, with how his Fortune worked, maybe it wasn't such a surprise that he only faced such a powerful Combat Gu when he finally became ready to face it head on.
Chu Tianming had made a nuisance of himself by all but confining Li Yuan within the sect as long as Zi Mo wasn't there to protect him. But that bastard had also helped him greatly by making him become a far better fighter.
He lifted a head slightly, and gazed up at it halo. Thanks to the many fortunate encounters he'd had in this mountain, the halo now glowed even brighter than it had before his Special Physique Resonance with Zi Mo had drained it dry.
A slow, satisfied exhale left his lungs at the sight. Maybe with this much fortune, he would finally get another moment of Enlightenment and learn the Heaven-Breaking Titan Body Scripture.
—————
Li Yuan moved through the scattered plots with deliberate steps, sleeves rolled slightly as he began sorting the spoils of the past few days. One by one, spirit herbs left his Hibernation Pouch and were replanted on the ground, each placed within a formation where it would grow best.
A cluster of Wintercore Lotus went first—carefully lowered into the shallow basin he'd carved out earlier. The spirit lake beneath it pulsed faintly, threads of cold qi rising like mist as the delicate flowers drank it in.
He didn't linger moved onto a different plot, with a much different terrain and atmosphere thanks to the Formation he'd created around it. Here, the mist thickened to the point where seeing even a few meters ahead became difficult.
Li Yuan crouched, pressing two fingers into the soil before nodding faintly. Only then did he plant the next batch.
Icebone Tempering Grass.
The rigid blades of the grass quivered the moment they touched the earth, their crystalline edges drinking in the Yin energy greedily. Frost spread outward from their roots, claiming the surrounding soil inch by inch.
"Don't drink too much, or you'll rot," he muttered as he gently slapped the spirit herb like it was a misbehaving child before adjusting one of the formation nodes slightly.
Balance. Spirit Herbs always required a certain balance to grow. One that he was able to provide rather easily with his formations.
He moved again. This time going to a darker corner around the spirit lake that he had deliberately carved out. Shielded from direct Qi flow, or any sunlight. The Glacial Soul Orchids were planted here, their pale petals barely visible in the dimness. The moment they settled, a faint hush spread through the area, and he couldn't even hear his own footsteps.
Glacial Soul Orchids were dangerous to be around for long period of time unless you have a particularly powerful soul or a strong cultivation. So he quickly left the area.
Once outside the formation, he allowed himself a brief pause… then shook his head and moved on. There was still much work to do.
Some might think that just because all those herbs were Yin-aligned, they would need the same environment to grow. But they couldn't be more wrong. Some of the herbs, like the Wintercore Lotus, needed Yin-aligned water to grow. Some required shadow. Some needed raw Yin Qi, while others would wither if deprived of the occasional sunlight.
By the time he reached the final plot, a thin sheen of frost clung to his hair and sleeves. His mind buzzing faintly from calculations. This one spirit herb in particular mattered greatly to him for what it represented. A 50% chance to breakthrough to Golden Core realm.
Li Yuan arrived at the Isolation formation that was placed at the centre of a Top-grade Spirit herb, and entered the formation. Within, he found a Heavenfall Core Lotus spirit herb. Albeit one without the lotus itself.
The formation hummed constantly as it siphoned away the Yin energy from the ambient Qi. Constantly filtering and thinning it out before redirecting the Yin energy and letting only the Neutral Qi enter the formation for the Heavenfall Core Lotus' growth. After all, unlike the other plants in this place, this one would not grow in a Yin Qi heavy environment.
It had taken him three days to create the Formation necessary to achieve this. But he had finally succeeded. And now… the spirit herb pulsed with life.
Now… all he needed to do is wait for another 300 years for the Spirit Herb to grow another Heavenfall Core Lotus.
The thought made him let out a quiet, humourless huff.
He really needed to get his hands into a Time Acceleration Formation. Otherwise, there wasn't much point in him growing half the Spirit herbs that he was growing. Especially because the higher Grade a Spirit Herb is, the longer it takes to grow. So eventually, he would come across herbs that would take thousands or tens of thousands of years to grow.
At that point, unless he had a Time Acceleration Formation, he might as well give up on his skill as a Spirit Herb Cultivator.
Finally, after making some slight adjustments to the Isolation Formation, he returned back home. Intending to create a few more formations for the newer Spirit Herbs, only to find that he'd run out of the last of his formation plates. And formations flags as well.
"…Hah." A breath escaped him, somewhere between amusement and annoyance.
Now he would need to go back to the Nine Peak City for another round of shopping. Maybe even sell some of the excess herbs, Gu and other valuable treasures he'd collected.
Only problem was… that bastard Chu Tianming was still waiting for him. And Zi Mo was still too busy with preparations for Ning Renxue's ascension to go to the city with him these days.
His fingers tapped lightly against his arm as another thought surfaced. 'Should I go to the Formation Peak to resupply?' He wondered.
To be honest, he wasn't even sure if disciples of one peak could go to another peak. The outer disciples certainly couldn't do so. But now that he was the Inner disciple of a peak as well, would he still be barred from entering?
He supposed he would ask Zi Mo when she returns at night.
To his surprise, it was only late afternoon when Zi Mo returned home.
"Hey. Welcome back home." He said with a smile, and Zi Mo raised an eyebrow as she sniffed the air.
"You smell of blood. Fought more Combat Gu today?"
"A 3rd Grade one." He replied and Zi Mo's nonchalant expression changed in an instant to alarm as she walked over and start checking him for any injuries. "I'm fine." He assured her but she still gazed at him in worry.
"How?" She asked.
"I saw through its ambush and after a brief fight, I was able to pierce its armour and used my sword intent to destroy it from the inside."
Zi Mo stared at him in stunned silence, her eyes searching his as if wondering if he was lying or not. "You're serious."
"Of course. I don't know why you seem so surprised. You yourself told me that I could fight and perhaps even defeat early-stage Golden Core cultivators."
"Because defeating a 3rd grade Spirit Beast or Combat Gu is far harder due to their high defence and immense vitality. In comparison, a Golden Core cultivator just needs to be momentarily distracted, or look down on you because of your cultivation, and that would be it for him." Zi Mo replied before chucking to herself. "You must be the first cultivator in our sect's entire history to kill a 3rd Grade Combat Gu at Qi Condensation Realm."
He shrugged, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the praise. "You told me that you would be late helping Ning Renxue with her preparations. Are the preparations finished?" He asked, mostly to change the subject but also because he was curious about Ning Renxue's next breakthrough to Golden Core realm.
Zi Mo easily saw through his attempt to change the subject but thankfully obliged with his wishes. "No." She said. "The preparations are still going. But I asked to be let off early today."
"Really? Why?" He asked in confusion and Zi Mo looked like she wanted to facepalm herself.
"You really forgot?" She asked.
"Forgot what?"
Zi Mo huffed and then took him by the arm before dragging him over to their bedroom. Once there, she immediately turned him around to face the door. "Don't look back until I tell you to."
"Okay." He said, still confused about what he might be forgetting. Then, he suddenly remembered. Oh…
Eventually, Zi Mo spoke up again. "You can turn around now."
So he did… and his jaw almost dropped as he saw Zi Mo bent over on their bed, he ass in his direction as she used her hands to spread her ass cheeks for him.
Her pink pussy glistened deliciously but he was more interested in the buttplug current stuffed in her asshole.
A moment later, Zi Mo removed the buttplug, revealing her gapping asshole for his pleasure.
She looked back and met his eyes with a sultry smile. "Happy birthday, love. Now come, and claim my third hole for yourself as well."
He stared at her for a long moment and then let out a soft chuckle. "Don't mind if I do."