Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 263 Foundation Building Artifact: Inviting a Woman into a Trap
On the wilderness.

Fang Shu hid among the insect swarm, moving hurriedly, even with a hint of panic, as if afraid of being caught up by the female Taoist Shen Yin behind him.

But in reality, he remained calm, his gaze frequently darting behind him as if scrutinizing something.

When he saw three dark figures hanging far behind Shen Yin, and there were no other bystanders nearby, he felt relieved.

"It's time to test this woman's true colors," Fang Shu thought to himself.

He immediately turned around, hovering in mid-air, facing the relentlessly pursuing female Taoist Shen Yin:

"Since Fellow Daoist Shen does not wish me to leave, then I must offend you!"

Hearing the voice, the female Taoist Shen Yin smiled and transmitted her voice: "My brother's magic power is not high, but his tone is quite arrogant."

boom!
A burst of drumbeats, accompanied by the female Taoist's words, suddenly swept over Fang Shu.

Crackling sounds!

The Gu worms protecting Fang Shu were immediately killed in large numbers.

But Fang Shu didn't even blink. He waved the Hundred Gu Banner of the Dragon Spine, and the Gu worms around him formed a large array.

The formation he set up resembled a giant insect with three heads and four claws; it was the Three Talents and Four Gu Formation, meticulously researched and developed by Fang Shu.

Since the female Taoist had already sensed something was wrong and was extremely vigilant, refusing to step into the formation, he decided not to bother trying to trick her into entering.

The moment this formation was activated, it immediately emitted a chilling aura.

This situation finally caused a change in the expression of the female Taoist priest Shen Yin.

But her voice was still teasing: "Both Gu Dao and Array Dao, little brother, you've really mixed up your cultivation quite a bit."

The woman said softly, "In cultivation, more is not necessarily better; one should specialize in one path!"

dong dong!

Her figure was ghostly as she stepped forward, each step like a lotus blossom, transforming into more than a dozen illusory figures. She was not afraid of the formation that Fang Shu displayed, but instead surrounded Fang Shu within it.

The woman's magical power was fully displayed, and the strength of her true energy far exceeded that of ordinary Qi Refining Immortals, probably around ninety-five toads!
This made Fang Shu's heart tighten, and he thought to himself, "This female Daoist is indeed a Foundation Establishment seed with a name and a reputation."

It should be known that ordinary Qi cultivators, after achieving the perfection of Qi cultivation, can only cultivate ninety toad-like true Qi to accompany them.

Immediately afterwards, the female Taoist Shen Yin raised her palm and slammed it heavily on the drum at her waist. With each slap, her figure would dance ghostly and bewitchingly.

She laughed and exclaimed:
"I won't play with you any longer, so as not to waste too much time. Most of my men have already run away."

In reality, this woman also saw that Fang Shu had many tricks up his sleeve and was worried that if she continued to delay, Fang Shu might escape or she might get hurt by him.

In an instant.

Even though Fang Shu was inside the Three Talents and Four Gu Formation, he still felt the impact of the drumbeats, causing his blood and qi to surge restlessly.

Fortunately, this disturbance was not enough to bother him.

He remained inside the Gu formation, and with a wave of his hand, dozens of talismans scattered like falling leaves, then were carried away by the Gu worms in the formation and attacked the female Taoist figures around him.

Wind blades, flames, frost swords... the spiritual light of various spells exploded thirty feet away from Fang Shu.

The illusory figures of the female Taoist Shen Yin vanished, revealing her true form.

But a cold snort rang out.

The woman strolled amidst the magical light, her body enveloped in a powerful aura. Her true form remained completely unaffected by the slightest impact from the talismans. She narrowed her eyes, and her inner energy shifted once more.

Two arms, shaped like lotus roots, suddenly sprouted from under her armpits and joined her original two arms, striking the drum in turn.

dong dong dong dong!

With all four arms striking simultaneously, the drumbeats suddenly changed!
Its sound waves were no longer simple impacts, but condensed into a substance in mid-air, turning into visible ripples that, like chains, wrapped around the Three Talents and Four Gu Formation, covering the sky and the earth.

This caused Fang Shu's pupils to shrink slightly.

He noticed that his own formation had become sluggish under the drumbeats, and some of the Gu worms seemed to be drunk, their flight paths began to veer off course, causing the formation's strict energy to become disordered.

"Little brother, how does your sister's 'Four-Armed Sound Demon Drum' taste?"

Shen Yin's laughter was clear and crisp.

The woman's figure became increasingly ghostly. As her four arms flew, the sound of drums blended together, forming a sonic cage within a radius of a hundred feet, like an array outside the array.

Fang Shu's expression was solemn.

He bit his tongue sharply, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the Hundred Gu Banner of the Flood Dragon Spine, causing the banner pole to glow with intense blood light, and the Flood Dragon Spine patterns on it seemed to come alive.

"The Three Powers return to their proper places, the Four Poisons soar to the heavens!"

With a low shout from Fang Shu, the previously chaotic Gu formation suddenly contracted.

The giant, three-headed, four-clawed insect phantom no longer emitted its aura; instead, it collapsed inward, transforming into a tight insect wall and shell that firmly protected Fang Shu within, just like a real entity.

The sonic chains lashed against the insect's shell, producing only a sickening hissing sound and billowing black smoke, but they could never penetrate it.

The female Taoist Shen Yin's smile froze slightly, and she increased the speed at which she struck the drum with her four arms:
"You coward, let's see how long you can hide!"

She moved swiftly, and in her haste, she deliberately moved closer to the cocoon, pressing all four of her hands onto the drumhead at the same time.

Boom! ! !
The sound of that drumbeat was like a thunderclap.

The surface of the cocoon instantly caved in, and dozens of Gu worms were reduced to dust by this immense force.

Fang Shu also groaned, his internal energy was injured, but he gripped the Hundred Poison Banner tightly, his eyes were bright, and he suddenly waved the banner.

Whoosh!

The Three Talents and Four Gu Formation suddenly changed. The three heads of the giant worm phantom opened their mouths at the same time and spewed out a mist of three colors.

The mist swirled and settled around the female Taoist Shen Yin, immediately corroding her protective aura.

"What!?" Shen Yin's eyelids twitched. Her protective aura was beginning to dissipate and become unstable under the erosion of the mist.

What terrified her even more was that the three-colored mist intertwined behind her and suddenly unleashed a burst of evil fire, igniting her desires and blocking her escape route.

Shen Yin stared intently at Fang Shu, who was about three zhang away. She noticed that although Fang Shu's face was pale, his expression was calm, and he even smiled and gestured for her to enter.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, please enter my formation."

Roar! The giant insect phantom formed by the Gu array lunged at the female Taoist Shen Yin, intending to swallow her whole.

Seeing that the other party dared to come forward, Fang Shu made a bold decision to forcibly drag the other party into the Gu formation.

Although his plan was good and his actions were decisive, the female Taoist Shen Yin revealed a cold smile.

The opponent turned around, and two more arms grew back from between his ribs.

"Trying to trap me?! Die!"

The female Taoist, Shen Yin, shouted coldly. She no longer dared to be arrogant and had murderous intent, determined to kill Fang Shu and settle the matter.

Just as her six arms were about to strike, Shen Yin felt a sudden tremor in her heart and quickly pulled her four arms together to protect her chest, back, face, and the back of her head.

Clang!

A yellow phantom appeared, piercing through her chaotic protective aura in a flash and successfully striking her body.

Shen Yin felt a chill run down her spine and was terrified.

Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the yellow phantom was actually a nail several inches long, heavily reinforced with restrictions—clearly a quasi-Foundation Establishment level magical artifact.

Moreover, this artifact has a sinister and eerie aura, clearly crafted using evil methods. If struck, it could potentially cause poison to enter the body.

"Not good." With a thought flashing through her mind, Shen Yin made a quick decision and blurted out.

A burst of true energy shot out, swiftly severing the arm protecting the back of her head, which then fell to the ground.

She just used this arm as a sacrifice to block the attack of the spiked arrow.

Fang Shu looked at the female Taoist's actions and his eyes showed a deep sense of regret.

He kept Huang Ding still, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

Although she had injured her opponent, the woman was indeed decisive, cutting off her arm to save her life and preventing the foul energy of the yellow nail from entering her body. As a result, Fang Shu could no longer rely on stalling for time to wear down her opponent's life force in order to defeat her.

Having learned from this experience, Shen Yin will surely become even more cautious.

as predicted.

After being injured in the arm by Huang's nail, Shen Yin's expression changed again. She no longer coveted merit and acted rashly. Instead, she used the drum in her hand to protect herself, attempting to disperse the mist behind her and escape.

But Fang Shu did not give the other party this chance. He fiercely waved the Hundred Gu Flag of the Dragon Spine, and the power of the formation continued to expand outward, continuing to forcibly pull the other party into the formation.

Shen Yin looked at Fang Shu with a dark expression and spoke through telepathy:
"You actually possess two quasi-Foundation Establishment artifacts at the same time, and wield them so skillfully. But I wonder why you have no reputation among the Five Internal Organs?"
"If I had known you were so capable, I wouldn't have treated you so frivolously."

The two were locked in a stalemate, and the woman wanted to find out about Fang Shu's background.

Fang Shu's internal energy was being rapidly depleted, but his expression remained unchanged. He chatted casually with the other party, asking with a smile:
"If you had known of my abilities earlier, would you have let my Gu Hall disciple go?"

"Ha ha!"

Shen Yin laughed loudly and replied:

"Then of course we'll kill you immediately, without hesitation!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to look at the two figures rushing towards her from behind, shouting:

"You've come at the perfect time! Quickly, help me!"

The two fought back and forth for several rounds before Du Yu'er and the others finally caught up, closing the distance to within a hundred paces.

Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili responded without hesitation:

"Yes!" "Be careful, Senior Sister Shen Yin!"

Nearby, the deer also caught up.

Shen Yin squinted at Fang Lu. She thought Fang Lu would come forward to help Fang Shu, but instead she saw Fang Lu staring intently at the two of them, her face full of hesitation and conflict.

A thought struck her, and Shen Yin immediately laughed and exclaimed:

"Sister Fang! I've treated you quite well these past few days. Do you want to help me, or do you want to die with your fellow disciple?"

As she spoke, she slammed her hand on the drum at her waist, her aura surging, showing that although she was in a stalemate, she was still in complete control.

On the other hand, Fang Shu did not try to win over Fang Lu; instead, he pursed his lips and his face became even paler.

Fang Lu's gaze kept shifting between the two of them, but in the end, she was too ashamed to look at Fang Shu and instead moved closer to Du Yu'er and the other person.

"Good sister, I, Shen, will certainly not let you down." Upon seeing this, Shen Yin immediately praised her.

After withdrawing her gaze from the three women, she turned to Fang Shu, secretly transmitting her voice and laughing loudly:
"Fellow Daoist Fang, this is the fellow disciple you wish to save!"

Fang Shu remained silent, holding the banner to maintain the formation, while simultaneously manipulating the yellow nails, striking Shen Yin unexpectedly.

Meanwhile, Du Yu'er, Xiao Lili, and Fang Lu were already casting spells to support Shen Yin and wear down Fang Shu's formation.

The stalemate lasted for more than a dozen breaths.

Fang Shu released the yellow nails less and less frequently, and his face grew paler and paler, clearly on the verge of exhaustion.

Shen Yin looked expectant. She drew the drum from her waist and shouted to the three women beside her:
"You three, come forward and help me!"

A divine sense simultaneously entered the ears of Du Yu'er and the other two women.

Shen Yin ordered the three men to stop using spells and simply to channel their true energy and blood essence into the drum.

The three women, including Du Yu'er, had slightly changed expressions, but still chose to respond: "Yes."

They lined up behind Shen Yin, some slashing their palms, others cutting their fingers, their hands glistening with blood, as they beat the drums towards Shen Yin.

Buzz!

With the blessing of the three women's essence and true energy, the power of the drum immediately increased to another level, and it spontaneously emitted a muffled thunderous sound, which also made a thumping sound in the sky above the secret realm.

The power of this foundation-building artifact was only partially revealed at this moment, yet it still triggered a reaction from the secret realm.

Shen Yin glanced disapprovingly at the sky above the secret realm, then looked at Fang Shu as if he were a dead man.

She spoke slowly: "Fellow Daoist Fang, if you surrender, you are willing to become my male concubine."

Sister, I can still spare your life.

"You lowly wench, you're asking for death!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu immediately rebuked him.

He bit his tongue again, spitting out a mouthful of blood, which caused the surrounding array to become agitated.

He suddenly opened his eyes and shouted sharply, "Attack!"

Buzz!

Right behind Shen Yin, Fang Lu, who had been channeling his essence and true energy into her, immediately stopped channeling his true energy upon hearing the shout, and opened his mouth to spit out a peach blossom.

As the peach blossoms swayed, their stamens transformed into a cluster of fine pink needles, which shot directly towards Shen Yin's back and the back of his head with considerable force, each needle a sharp, six-fold needle.

Upon seeing this, Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili quickly shouted:

"Senior Sister!"

But upon hearing the commotion behind her, Shen Yin remained completely calm, instead revealing a cold smile.

She stretched out her arms from under her armpits, and with a precognitive air, she easily caught all the fine needles that Fang Lu had shot at her.

"I've been on guard against you for a long time, you lowly servant!" Shen Yin sneered.

She channeled her inner energy and was about to strike back with the fine needle, letting Fang Lu suffer the consequences of his own actions.

At this moment, a stern shout rang out from Fang Shu's mouth: "How dare you!"

His eyes widened in anger, and a surge of array power pressed out, slowing down the movements of the female Taoist Shen Yin, and causing the yellow nail to fly out again.

But Shen Yin remained calm and composed, understanding that this was Fang Shu's last-ditch counterattack.

The woman's expression was even more sarcastic.

She swayed gracefully, dodging the yellow nails, while simultaneously relaying orders to Du Yu'er and Xiao Li beside her:
"Ignore me, seize the opportunity, and make your move!"

"Yes!"

But the next moment.

Shen Yin sensed that the sound of her family's drums had suddenly decreased, and two chills came from her left and right sides at the same time.

This is the situation.

It was Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili who unleashed their most powerful techniques, turning around and striking Shen Yin, catching her completely off guard.

In a flash, Shen Yin understood. She was instantly enraged and furious, her mind raging: "How dare you!"

Despite her anger, she was already surrounded by Fang Shu and the others on all four sides.

Then a scream rang out from the female Taoist Shen Yin.

Pfft!

Unable to maneuver left and right, and with her magical artifacts also disrupted, the woman was thrown into disarray and was immediately struck by Fang Shu's yellow nails, which found an opening in her body.

And this is not the end.

Fang Shu's eyes gleamed. Taking advantage of the moment when the other party was severely injured, he raised the banner, and the Gu formation pressed down, completely engulfing the woman in the formation.

Meanwhile, Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili, as if in perfect unison, cast a spell together, forcibly freezing the drum-shaped magical artifact in mid-air.

A buzzing sound.

The Foundation Establishment artifact shook violently, but because it was a moment too late, it ultimately failed to fly into the formation and return to Shen Yin's hand.

(End of this chapter)