186: Taking a step back is a strategic move with far-reaching implications.

Atop Asura Peak, the smell of blood had not yet dissipated when the second round of war drums began to thunder.

Boom! Boom!

The drumbeats were like thunder, shaking people to their very core.

"Hehuan Sect, Su Mei, requests guidance."

A pink figure fluttered into the arena like a butterfly.

The woman wore a gossamer-thin crimson gauze dress and stepped barefoot on the blood-stained rocks. Two golden bells were tied around her ankles, emitting crisp, pleasant sounds with each step.

This sound was not simple.

Each clear chime was accompanied by a visible ring of pink soundwave that spread outwards.

Demonic cultivators in the audience with slightly weaker cultivation felt their minds ringing, visions of debauchery and excess appearing before their eyes, causing them to drool and make fools of themselves.

"Charming Sound Soul-Seizing."

Gu Changsheng picked up his teacup, his fingers lightly stroking the rim.

He did not look at the arena but instead sent an instruction directly into Chen Mu's Sea of Consciousness via Divine Sense.

[Lose.]

[But before you lose, plant this 'seed' into her Dantian.]

Chen Mu's body stiffened.

His bloodshot eyes flickered slightly before returning to a deathly stillness.

If the Old Ancestor said to lose, then he would lose.

"Hehe, such a fierce little brother."

Su Mei covered her mouth with a light laugh and waved her long sleeve.

Boom!

A sky full of crimson petals materialized out of thin air. The edges of each petal shimmered with a metallic cold light, like a pink rainstorm enveloping Chen Mu.

"Rise."

Chen Mu growled.

The vine on his left leg madly swelled, transforming into a bluish-purple wooden dragon that coiled upwards, protecting him at its center.

Clang! Clang! Ding! Dang!

The petals struck the wooden dragon, sparks flying in all directions.

This was no simple physical collision.

The moment they made contact, those petals transformed into clusters of pink phosphorescent fire, clinging to the vines and burning fiercely.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

The incredibly tough vines were scorched black, and a sweet, cloying smell of burning filled the air.

"'Red Lotus Karmic Fire'? Interesting."

Blood Fiend Master watched the scene with keen interest.

The situation in the arena changed in the blink of an eye.

Su Mei's figure flickered, transforming into twelve afterimages that attacked Chen Mu from all sides.

"Heavenly Demon Dance - Thousand Illusions Kill!"

All twelve figures simultaneously conjured a pink dagger. The tips of the daggers spat out three-foot-long spiritual energy edges, sealing off all of Chen Mu's escape routes.

There was no way to avoid it.

Chen Mu did not try to avoid it.

He abruptly withdrew his protective wooden dragon, allowing those sharp edges to pierce through his bandages and stab into his flesh.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blood splattered.

Just as Su Mei's true body thought she had succeeded and prepared to deliver a final, fatal blow...

Chen Mu's intact right hand shot out like a striking viper, passing through the layers of illusions to clamp precisely onto Su Mei's bare ankle.

"Caught you."

Su Mei's pupils constricted sharply.

An extremely insidious force, filled with an aura of death and decay, wormed its way into her body through the Meridians in her ankle like maggots clinging to bone.

It was so fast she had no time to react.

"Get away!"

Su Mei shrieked, her spiritual energy erupting around her.

Boom!

A pink pillar of light shot into the sky, directly blasting Chen Mu dozens of zhang away.

Chen Mu, like a kite with its string cut, crashed heavily at the edge of the arena. He spat out a mouthful of black blood, his aura rapidly wilting.

"I... concede."

He struggled briefly, unable to get up, then his head lolled to the side as if he had fallen unconscious.

The entire arena fell silent for a moment.

Then, thunderous cheers erupted.

"Hehuan Sect is mighty!"

"Fairy Su is amazing!"

Su Mei stood in the center of the arena, her chest heaving.

Her Face was somewhat pale as she subconsciously touched her Dantian area.

It felt empty, with nothing out of the ordinary.

That momentary chill from before seemed like just an illusion.

"I concede the victory."

Su Mei forcefully suppressed the unease in her heart, bowed gracefully towards the high platform, and turned to leave.

Only Gu Changsheng, watching Su Mei's retreating figure, had an extremely faint trace of mockery flash in the depths of his eyes.

She won Face, but lost her future.

That seed would slowly take root and sprout within her, devouring her vitality and consciousness.

Thus, he would have another pair of eyes within the Hehuan Sect.

"Chen Mu, return."

Gu Changsheng waved his sleeve.

A gentle surge of spiritual energy lifted the "unconscious" Chen Mu and sent him back behind him.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan watched this scene, his expression somewhat ugly.

"Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity, this..."

Losing one match meant losing half a share of the resources.

"Our skill is inferior, nothing more to say."

Gu Changsheng's tone was flat, as if what he had lost wasn't priceless resources but a handful of mud.

The next few matches saw victories and defeats on both sides.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's venomous insects were indeed troublesome, and the Corpse Yin Sect's corpse puppets were also quite formidable.

Until the sun set in the west.

This bloody gambling match finally came to an end.

The Wan Sha Hall, relying on its fierce reputation and the desperate fights of its other two Disciples, firmly secured first place.

The Hehuan Sect came second.

The Corpse Yin Sect, due to Chen Mu's "narrow defeat," ranked third.

"Since the outcome is decided, it's time to carve up the spoils."

Blood Fiend Master rose from his throne.

He waved his sleeve.

Hum!

A massive crimson light screen slowly unfolded in the air above the plaza.

It was a holographic map of the Blood Lake.

On the map, blood waves surged, Evil Qi coiled like dragons, meticulously divided into dozens of areas of varying sizes.

"As per the old rules."

Blood Fiend Master pointed a withered finger.

On the light screen, the central, most core area with the densest Evil Qi, the "Blood Dragon Eye," instantly turned the black-red color representing the Wan Sha Hall.

It accounted for a full forty percent.

One-tenth more than the previously agreed-upon thirty percent.

The assembled Cultivators were furious but dared not speak.

"As for the rest, you choose."

Blood Fiend Master took half a step back, putting on an air of "I'm being fair."

Crimson Powder Maiden giggled and was the first to act, claiming the "Peach Blossom Ferry" area adjacent to the core.

Thousand-Foot Old Monster was not to be outdone, seizing the "Ten Thousand Snake Pit" suitable for raising poisons.

It was the Corpse Yin Sect's turn.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan could no longer restrain himself.

His gaze was fixed on the area in the northern part of the map named "Profound Yin Beach."

That place faced away from the sun, oriented towards the Evil Qi, with a cold, Yin earth vein. It was the perfect treasure land for refining and nurturing corpses.

"My Corpse Yin Sect wants..."

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan raised his hand, his spiritual energy forming a giant hand reaching towards that area.

Tap.

A palm pressed down on his wrist without warning.

"Wait."

Gu Changsheng's voice was low.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan was startled. He turned to the shrouded figure beside him and said urgently, "Fellow Daoist, if we don't act now, the good spots will be taken!"

"That place is too clean."

Gu Changsheng shook his head.

Ignoring Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan's bewilderment, he raised his hand and pointed to the westernmost edge of the map.

There lay a stretch of turbid, yellowish-brown waters labeled "Western Desolate Marsh."

This place was located downstream of the Blood Lake, in a low-lying area.

All the waste gas, toxic residues, and various chaotic, impure currents from the entire Blood Lake would eventually converge here.

In the eyes of all the demonic Cultivators, this was a giant sewage outlet.

Though the Evil Qi was thick, it was mottled and impure. Inhaling a single breath would require three days to refine out the Impurities.

"The Corpse Yin Sect wants this place."

Gu Changsheng's finger fell, the spiritual light fixing on the spot.

Dead silence fell over the entire assembly.

Immediately after, bursts of barely suppressed snickers erupted.

"Pfft... am I seeing this right? Western Desolate Marsh?"

Crimson Powder Maiden laughed so hard her body shook, her ample bosom heaving.

"Even the fish in the water there are deformed. Does Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity plan to switch to raising toads?"

Thousand-Foot Old Monster added a sarcastic jab.

"Perhaps the Corpse Yin Sect has some secret method specifically for cultivating waste gas? How could us common folk understand."

Even Blood Fiend Master on the high platform wore a strange expression.

"Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity, are you certain?"

"Once the bet is placed, no regrets."

Gu Changsheng's expression was serene, as if he couldn't hear the surrounding mockery at all.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan was so anxious his Face turned green.

"Fellow Daoist! What is the meaning of this?! That place is utterly unfit for cultivation! What do you want it for?!"

If not for his fear of Gu Changsheng's strength, he would likely be cursing out loud by now.

Wasn't this pushing the Corpse Yin Sect into a pit of fire?

"Sect Master, remain calm."

Gu Changsheng sent a secret voice transmission, his tone carrying an indisputable authority.

"Trust me."

Just two words.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan's body stiffened.

Looking at Gu Changsheng's confident demeanor, though he had ten thousand objections in his heart, he could only grit his teeth and swallow them.

He would gamble!

At worst, he could settle accounts with this old monster after returning!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Blood Fiend Master laughed heartily three times, seemingly afraid Gu Changsheng would change his mind.

"Since Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity has such refined taste, this Western Desolate Marsh shall belong to the Corpse Yin Sect!"

He raised his hand and cast a Mantra.

On the light screen, the area representing the "wasteland" rapidly took on the purple-gray mark of the Corpse Yin Sect.

The matter was settled.

Gu Changsheng watched as the land deed fell into his hand. Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the golden system panel refreshed frantically.

[High-level spiritual resonance detected]

[Target area: Western Desolate Marsh (Blood Lake Formation Eye)]

[True Attribute: Remnant formation eye of the ancient 'Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation.' The surface is covered by ten-thousand-year filth, but beneath it lies the suppressed remains of an ancient demon from the Golden Core Stage.]

[Remains Attribute: Contains a trace of unextinguished 'Immortal golden essence,' capable of aiding Purple Mansion Cultivators in comprehending the Great Dao of the Golden Core.]

[Suggestion: Get rich quietly.]

Gu Changsheng stored the land deed, concealing a profoundly deep smile in the depths of his eyes.

Laugh now.

When we get to the place later, you'll be the ones crying.

"Since the division is finished, let's proceed to the physical handover."

Ling Yunzhi suddenly spoke.

He had remained silent the entire time and had not participated in the mockery.

Those crimson eyes of his had been fixed unwaveringly on the land deed in Gu Changsheng's hand, his brow tightly furrowed.

Something was off.

Very off.

By his intuition, this old fellow named Protracting Purity was definitely not the type to willingly suffer a loss.

For a moment, the demonic blood within him even stirred with a strange restlessness.

As if... he had missed some priceless treasure.

"What? Is Fellow Daoist Ling also interested in this wasteland?"

Gu Changsheng seemed to sense his gaze. He turned his head and asked with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"I wouldn't dare."

Ling Yunzhi suppressed the doubts in his heart and replied coldly.

"I'm merely curious what your eyes see that ours do not."

"Nothing much."

Gu Changsheng turned, his wide sleeves billowing as he walked towards the mountain path.

His voice drifted back on the mountain breeze.

"Just some... pearls covered in dust."

Hearing this, everyone took it as him being a sore loser and burst into another round of derisive laughter.

The group, in a grand procession, rode their escape lights, heading straight for the Blood Lake hundreds of li away.