The three of them froze in collective shock. Upon the jagged rocky hills, only the howling wind filled the silence.

  A moment later, the seductive woman burst into an exaggerated, mocking laugh, her frame trembling so violently that her ample chest shook like waves.

  "Little brother, what was that? My ears must be failing me; I didn't catch that correctly. Did you say... you want us to offer our life-bound spirit pets to you?"

  Beside her, the stout man spat viciously on the ground, pointing a finger at Gensheng’s nose. "What sewer did a brain-dead brat like you crawl out of? Do you really think having one decent corpse-puppet makes you invincible? Today, I’ll chop you into mincemeat and feed you—and your shriveled coffin—to my little treasure!"

  Facing their ridicule and fury, Gensheng’s expression didn't flicker.

  "Why all the noise? It’s three against one; the advantage is mine. I was merely being reasonable. You three thought your lizard, bat, and toad were the perfect counters for an Insect Cultivator, didn't you?"

  His words hit the mark with surgical precision. They had specifically pooled their resources and spirit pets to set this ambush, targeting his known weaknesses to strip him of his treasures.

  "To kill three wastes like you," Gensheng added calmly, "I don't even need to use my insects."

  The stout man and the gaunt one exploded with rage, but the woman’s eyes flickered with a strange light. She didn't get angry; instead, she found this "little brother" increasingly fascinating.

  Unable to contain himself, the stout man roared. The Red-Veined Bat on his shoulder shrieked, unleashing an invisible sonic blast.

  This time, Gensheng didn't even bother with his shield. He simply tilted his chin.

  Li Simin’s figure blurred into a white streak, ignoring the sonic waves as she lunged toward the gaunt man. Terrified, the man commanded his giant lizard to swing its massive tail. The tail cut through the air with a whistle, but Li Simin didn't dodge. Just as the scales were about to crush her, she twisted her body mid-air, her toe tapping lightly against the lizard’s tail.

  Borrowing the momentum, her speed tripled.

  The gaunt man turned pale and summoned a black bone-shield. CRACK! The shield shattered like glass. Li Simin’s fist punched through the fragments and buried itself deep in the man’s chest. He flew backward like a broken kite, spraying a mist of blood across the sky.

  The stout man hadn't even processed his comrade’s fall. "Now," Gensheng’s voice rang out, "it's your turn."

  The man spun around, seeing Gensheng still hovering in the exact same spot. But then, a sense of impending doom made the hair on his neck stand up.

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  The answer came from Gensheng’s throat—a terrifying hum of vibrating wings that could rupture a mortal's eardrums. A flood of black mist erupted from his mouth. At first, it was only the size of a fist, but once free, it expanded into a sky-blotting Black Tornado that swallowed the very light of the sun.

  Three thousand three hundred and fifty-five Corpse Wasps. Five hundred Third-rank Soul-Devouring Wasps. Two thousand Second-rank Corpse-Miasma Wasps.

  "RUN!" The man didn't think; he turned to flee, abandoning his spirit pet.

  But how could a man outrun a cloud of apex predators? A stream of the black tornado broke off, easily overtaking the Red-Veined Bat. In the blink of an eye, the massive bat was submerged in a sea of wasps. A single, shrill scream lasted half a breath before cutting off. When the swarm moved on, only a bleached-white skeleton remained, which shattered into dust upon hitting the ground.

  Seconds later, the swarm caught the stout man. His protective spiritual light was as fragile as wet parchment.

  "AAAAAAAAARGH!"

  He wailed like a slaughtered pig as his flesh and spiritual essence were devoured and corroded by the endless tide of insects. On the other side, the gaunt man, struggling to crawl away, was surrounded by another branch of the swarm and met the same fate.

  In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, two Foundation Establishment cultivators and their pets were wiped from existence—not even ash remained.

  The swarm spiraled back, merging into a black torrent that Gensheng inhaled back into his body. Only then did he turn his gaze toward the sole survivor.

  The seductive woman was still perched on her Black Jade Toad, but her flirtatious smile was gone. Li Simin appeared silently behind her, her hollow eyes locked onto the giant toad.

  "Simin. Keep the toad."

  The woman’s body shivered. "Senior... it was their idea! I was foolish, deceived by them... please, have mercy! I am willing to be your slave, your maid... anything!"

  "You can go," Gensheng said.

  Joy flared in her eyes, but it was short-lived.

  "The toad stays."

  She could leave, but the toad was her Life-Bound Spirit Pet, nurtured with half a lifetime of resources. Forcing the soul-contract open would damage her spirit so severely she would lose decades of cultivation.

  "It is linked to my life! If I lose it, I—"

  Gensheng didn't have the patience for her excuses. "Simin."

  "I’LL GIVE IT! I’LL GIVE IT!" The woman screamed in terror, fumbling through her storage bag to pull out a piece of yellowed parchment. With trembling hands, she performed a series of rapid mudras.

  Pfft! She spat a mouthful of essence-blood onto the toad. Her aura withered instantly, her face turning as white as a sheet. The mountain-sized toad let out a confused, uneasy croak.

  She offered the blood-stained parchment with both hands. "Senior... the soul-contract... the command method... it’s all yours..."

  Li Simin took the parchment expressionlessly and tucked it into Gensheng’s robe. Then, she turned to the toad. The beast sensed danger and tried to shrink back, but the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin on her back cracked open. The Black Jade Toad didn't even have a chance to struggle; it turned into a streak of light and was sucked into the dark depths of the coffin.

  The lid slammed shut. It was as if nothing had happened.

  Gensheng snapped his wings open. Li Simin followed. Just as the woman thought she had escaped and tried to crawl away, she looked up.

  The relief on her face turned to utter confusion. She saw hundreds of Ashen-Blue Butterflies fluttering down like winter snow. Silently, the grey-blue phosphorus powder fell upon her. Everything—her body, her clothes, her lingering resentment—dissolved into a faint wisp of green smoke, vanishing into the wind.