"Excuse me, are you the 'Gu King'?"
Bai Zihe stood before the blood pool, gazing at the man suspended there and asked.
"Gu King?"
Upon hearing the term, the man's eyes snapped open.
A streak of bloody light pierced the sky, and the blood pool below began to boil.
The Gu worm on his heart instantly became ferociously monstrous, baring its fangs and claws at Bai Zihe.
"There is no Gu King here."
The man's blood-red eyes fixed on Bai Zihe, his hoarse voice scraping like iron plates.
Bai Zihe narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had initially assumed the Gu King was merely imprisoned by the Evil King.
But the situation before him was different from what he had imagined.
If he were the Gu King, he shouldn't deny it.
If he wasn't, why would he be so enraged?
Bai Zihe considered a possibility.
Perhaps the man before him was indeed the Gu King, but his sanity had been lost due to the control of the Gu worm in his heart.
Moreover, upon hearing the name "Gu King,"
he would be provoked by the Gu worm's influence, causing him to fly into a rage and lose his composure!
"No Gu King?"
Bai Zihe sneered, deliberately provoking him. "You are the Gu King!"
"I am the Gu King?"
"Ah—"
A flicker of confusion crossed the man's eyes. Then, he threw his head back and let out a pained wail, "Ahhh—"
It was exactly as Bai Zihe had heard from outside earlier!
Swish!
Suddenly, the man raised his hand and flung a palm strike at Bai Zihe.
Instantly.
The palm wind stirred up boundless crimson, filling the entire cave with a腥风血雨 (bloody wind and rain).
Bai Zihe's expression shifted.
It was not much different from what he had guessed.
Facing this palm strike, Bai Zihe was undaunted and met it with a punch.
Rumble!
The earth-shattering sound echoed incessantly within the nearly enclosed cave, assaulting their eardrums.
Bai Zihe staggered slightly, a solemn expression settling on his face.
This man... was very strong!
Although Bai Zihe had only channeled a tenth of his internal energy,
the man on the cross had merely struck out casually, without any serious effort.
This astonished Bai Zihe.
Even when he fought the Japanese divine physician Okamoto Masao, he hadn't felt this pressure.
But what made Bai Zihe even more curious was:
How could someone with such immense power be nailed there?
The opponent gave him no time to ponder.
The man formed seals with his hands. The blood pool, which had been bubbling, now surged into a wave ten feet high, carrying a bloody wind and rain with boundless momentum, crashing towards Bai Zihe.
The power...
It was like waves shattering a shore, sweeping everything before it!
Bai Zihe dared not be careless.
He channeled internal energy into both fists and immediately blasted them towards the blood wave.
Splash!
Another peak confrontation.
Moments later, the blood wave dissipated, returning to the blood pool.
Bai Zihe's sword-like eyebrows furrowed.
This was the first opponent he had encountered since descending the mountain who commanded his full attention.
Seeing his attack had failed, the man launched another offensive.
His hands moved rapidly, and inexplicable energy flowed.
Soon, a massive blood-red skull palm print materialized in mid-air, descending upon Bai Zihe.
Bai Zihe wanted to dodge this attack.
But he found that the skull blood palm print covered every possible escape route. No matter where he dodged, it would catch him.
There was only one way: fight!
Since that was the case...
Bai Zihe narrowed his eyes and slowly extended his right palm.
This palm strike, seemingly slow but in reality swift, steady yet advancing, carried sounds of wind and thunder within it, exhibiting an aura of sweeping across all directions.
Then.
The two collided once more.
It was another evenly matched contest!
After he shattered the skull blood palm print, it again fell back into the blood pool.
Upon witnessing this, Bai Zihe had a flash of inspiration.
This man...
likely drew his power from this blood pool to achieve such might.
Continuing to fight him beside the blood pool was unwise.
He then began to search for a weakness.
The man continued to unleash his moves.
Bai Zihe noticed that the Gu worm in his heart, while constantly devouring the man's heart's blood, also expelled vital essence back during combat.
Furthermore, several blood threads connected the Gu worm to the blood pool below...
Bai Zihe suddenly understood.
It turned out the Gu worm was the nexus connecting the man and the blood pool.
It was by burning his life force through the blood pool that the man possessed such immense combat power and near-invincible stamina!
Now that the root cause was known, it was easier to handle.
After another exchange of blows,
Bai Zihe seized the moment when the Gu worm was expelling vital essence. He condensed golden light onto his fingertips and precisely struck the Gu worm's vital point.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
A chilling sound emanated, sending shivers down one's spine.
After wriggling for a moment, the Gu worm became completely still, clearly beyond any hope of recovery.
Bai Zihe's gaze shifted to the man.
The instant the Gu worm died, a flicker of confusion crossed the man's eyes.
"What am I..."
Soon, his eyes were replaced by a glow of clarity.
Bai Zihe knew he had likely regained his sanity. He immediately asked, "Are you senior Gu King?"
"I am Gu King. And who are you?"
"You saved me?"
"I see you are from the Central Plains. Why have you appeared in this forbidden region of Miao疆?"
With a "crack," Gu King broke free from the steel nails pinning him and then fired off a series of questions.
A hint of joy appeared on Bai Zihe's face.
His arduous journey had finally led him to find the Gu King.
Bai Zihe did not answer Gu King's questions immediately, but instead inquired, "Senior Gu King, why are you..."
He did not finish his sentence.
A cold glint flashed in Gu King's eyes.
"You wish to ask why I was nailed here, correct?"
He answered his own question.
"The Evil King and I are brothers of the same mother."
"With my strength, he would have no chance of defeating me head-on, whether it was by controlling Gu worms or his own might."
"However..."
A look of sorrow crossed Gu King's face. "He used schemes and trickery to frame me. I was momentarily careless, and thus fell into this predicament."
"Not only has Miao疆 fallen under his effective control, but he has also turned me into something neither human nor ghost."
He sighed, a look of melancholy on his face.
Bai Zihe suddenly understood.
Indeed, from their brief exchange, he could tell that the gap between the Evil King and this man was still considerable.
He then recounted his story.
"Senior Gu King, I did indeed kill the Gu worm that was consuming your heart's blood."
"I am from SuHang."
"A close relative of mine had a Gu worm planted in their head."
"I heard from my senior sister that senior Gu King's mastery of the Gu path has reached heavenly realms, so I have come to request your guidance, hoping to obtain a proper solution."
Gu King listened quietly to the end and immediately stated.
"Young brother, if it is as you say and you require control over a Gu worm in the head, this is not difficult for me."
"You have saved me once. I can agree to help you control the Gu worm in your sister's mind."
"But..."
"I have a condition."