Screech—

A sound like tearing silk arose.

Immediately, Qian Yunfeng felt a chill on his neck, his body felt light as if he were flying, and his consciousness slowly faded away.

Bang!

As the headless body collapsed to the ground, still twitching and spraying fresh blood, the flying head also thudded to the ground, landing right at Gu Yuan's feet.

"This guy's bones are really hard..."

Gu Yuan flicked his wrist, shaking off a trace of blood from the Qiushui Sword, which shone bright and new without the slightest stain of blood or grime.

His words meant just that, literally.

Just now, when his longsword struck Qian Yunfeng's bones, it felt like it had cleaved diamond, which was quite challenging.

But since the man was dead, Gu Yuan didn't dwell on it, thinking it was probably due to practicing the Luo Sha Scripture.

He didn't bother to loot the spoils of war; instead, he first looked towards Awu, seeing it lying on the ground, injured but still able to move, without critical harm, which relieved him.

Fortunately, Qian Yunfeng had already been seriously injured and poisoned, not in peak condition.

Otherwise, Awu's injuries might have been more severe.

"You brought this upon yourself, didn't you?"

Sensing Awu's low spirits, Gu Yuan scolded:

"I warned you earlier, didn't I? But you wouldn't listen. Instead of using your magic poison arrows for long-range attacks, you went for close combat, and now you're hurt, aren't you?!"

Of course, saying that, as the master, he had to reward those under him for their merits.

Awu had rendered meritorious service and was injured, so a good reward was necessary.

When Gu Yuan promised to cut a large piece of Spirit Medicine for compensation upon their return, Awu began to twitch its antennae, cheering up.

Squeak, squeak, squeak!

At this moment, Ah Huang started squealing, its voice sharp and full of warning.

It was alerting Gu Yuan!

"Hmm?"

Gu Yuan realized something was amiss, and the Qiushui Sword in his hand buzzed as he focused his gaze on the body lying on the ground.

Only then did Gu Yuan notice that Qian Yunfeng's corpse was silently undergoing some changes!

The once sturdy body had rapidly thinned, the flesh and blood already withered, as though all moisture and essence had been lost.

The head as well had turned into a skull draped in dark yellow skin!

Strangely, its mouth was moving, looking as if it had come alive.

At the same time, the headless body twitched slightly, and the dry skin and flesh covering it began to disintegrate into powder, falling away.

When all the flesh had fallen off, only a skeleton remained, gleaming white and delicate as if carved from jade, exuding an unusual beauty.

The skull too was like this, gleaming like jade with crystalline teeth, faintly glowing under the firelight.

It didn't resemble a dead person's bones; rather, it seemed an exquisite work of art.

But in Gu Yuan's eyes, this was a set of bones, still exuding a sinister aura!

Yet he didn't rashly approach.

If something unusual happens, there's bound to be something strange!

At this moment, it was best to watch and wait; he didn't believe Qian Yunfeng could come back to life at this point!

These changes were likely due to something his master, the Mysterious Master Xuan You, had done to him.

Except for the Mysterious Master Xuan You, Gu Yuan couldn't think of who else could have such skills.

Sure enough!

The next instant, the headless skeleton stood up, its bony claws groping on the ground, finding the skull, picking it up, trying to place it on its neck bone.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a streak of black light shot over, hitting the skull with a crisp sound and sparks, knocking it aside.

The black light ricocheted to the stone wall with a clink, then dropped to the ground.

It was a black iron arrow!

The skeleton paused, seemingly not expecting such a thing to happen.

The skull clattered its jaws, and a faint ghostly light flickered in its hollow eye sockets, giving Gu Yuan the eerie feeling of being watched by something.

The skull seemed to possess a particular consciousness.

However, what intrigued Gu Yuan more was the skeleton itself!

He had used a cleverly designed sleeve arrow, obtained from the Qian Mansion's Patriarch, Qian Cheng.

Its power was enormous, capable of piercing an inch-thick iron plate from thirty meters away!

The arrows were made of refined iron, extremely sharp.

It was an excellent hidden weapon!

Yet such a thing, shot at the skull, left it totally unharmed, with not a mark left on it.

How tough was this skeleton?

Even with the Qiushui Sword, he wasn't sure if he could cut through it!

Gu Yuan wore an odd expression:

"Could this skeleton be some demonic puppet crafted by the Mysterious Master Xuan You? Like a ghost."

The thought arose because Gu Yuan observed the skeleton not only moved but was also radiating intense Spiritual Light!

This indicated that each bone in the skeleton was a Spiritual Object!

While thoughts raced through Gu Yuan's mind, the headless skeleton swiftly collected the skull and placed it on its neck bone, clicking into a complete skeleton.

It seemed to lack much awareness, ignoring Gu Yuan entirely, heading directly towards the cave exit, moving almost as fast as Ah Huang.

Gu Yuan swung his sword, intending to stop it, but the skeleton didn't dodge, letting him slash at it.

Clang!

The Qiushui Sword struck the skeleton's chest, creating sparks where the sword clashed with bone, leaving a white smear.

The skeleton merely staggered, pausing for a moment, then continued its pace, exiting the cave breath in time, vanishing from sight.

Squeak, squeak, squeak!

Ah Huang's eyes brightened, shrieking excitedly and giving chase, unwilling to let such a treasure slip away.

Evidently, its instinct to collect treasures had kicked in.

"Alright then, follow it, but remember to hide, don't expose yourself. If you encounter danger, run quickly; don't fight recklessly!"

Seeing this, Gu Yuan simply instructed, allowing Ah Huang to follow.

Qian Yunfeng was obviously caught in a trap laid by the Mysterious Master Xuan You!

He seemed to have mastered the demon technique that absorbed vitality and Life Force, yet in death, his corpse couldn't rest in peace, becoming such an ominous object!

But one thing was certain.

This skeleton was undoubtedly significant to the Mysterious Master Xuan You, otherwise… he wouldn't have schemed for over a decade!

And now, there was a ninety percent chance that the skeleton was heading to find the Mysterious Master Xuan You.

Gu Yuan knew too little about the Mysterious Master Xuan You, and such a Celestial Human Realm monster wasn't someone he could provoke.

So at this point, he should rally others!

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