No one expected Mu Yulong to suddenly kill, and with a single sword strike, he had slain over ten people. When they finally reacted, the hundred or so cultivators in the hall hastily retreated in fright. They were well aware of how formidable Mu Yulong's Great Nature Triple Golden Color power was. Someone immediately shouted out.
"Senior Da Qian, you are a virtuous and respected senior! It is because we trust you that we followed you here. How can you stand by and let Mu Yulong slaughter the innocent like this?"
"Seeking death!"
Mu Yulong raised his sword, intending to strike again. True Being Da Qian instantly flashed before him, blocking his path, and reprimanded, "Young Master Mu, what are you doing? The one who killed Gu Xin was that Gu Qingfeng, not these people. Why vent your anger on them? If you must hold someone accountable, then kill this old man instead!"
"Hmph!"
Mu Yulong stood there, holding a flying sword, seething with rage, his aura menacing.
"We are also deeply grieved by Gu Xin's death," True Being Da Qian continued. "However, earlier, this old man expended a great deal of spiritual power breaking the mechanisms and formations, leaving my Golden Core depleted. But rest assured, once I recover somewhat, if we encounter that Gu Qingfeng again, I will be the first to strike and eliminate him, to avenge Gu Xin!"
Seeing Mu Yulong's fury begin to subside, True Being Da Qian persuaded further, "Right now, this cave dwelling is fraught with danger. More people mean more strength. I hope you can temporarily set aside your grief."
Grief?
It could hardly be called grief.
Although Gu Xin was his junior brother, it was only in name. Their relationship was not particularly good; they were fellow disciples but also competitors. His outburst wasn't due to grief, but because now that Gu Xin was dead, when their sect investigated, he would inevitably be punished.
Nearby, Qin Wanli and True Being Ziyun stood expressionless. The arrogant Qin Wanli cared nothing for the lives of these people, and neither did True Being Ziyun. Even the hundred-plus frightened cultivators opposite them, looking at the dozen or so bodies severed at the waist on the ground, felt only panic, not a shred of grief.
Because this was a world where strength reigned supreme.
And they were all old hands who had cultivated for hundreds of years. Things like this happened every day, every moment. They had seen far too much, grown accustomed, grown numb. As long as the dead weren't their own people, no one cared about the lives of others. Taking a step back, even if the dead were their own, what could they do against Mu Yulong?
They could do nothing.
Mu Yulong was a Color-Spirit genius of the Great Nature Triple Golden Color, his strength extremely formidable. Behind him stood the Spirit-Capital Sect, one of the top powers in the Gilded Lands, teeming with experts. He had status, he had position, and he had immense power. Who could do anything to him?
"Qin Wanli, didn't you say that Gu Qingfeng couldn't withstand a single move from you?"
Staring at the pile of flesh and blood that had been Gu Xin, a calmer Mu Yulong seemed to realize something. He turned and glared at Qin Wanli, demanding sharply, "If it was truly as you said, Gu Xin's strength might not match yours, but he absolutely could not have been killed so easily by Gu Qingfeng!"
Opposite him, Qin Wanli had, at some point, taken out that short sword again and was wiping it with a piece of gauze.
To be honest, this question puzzled him too.
He had sparred with Gu Xin and knew that Gu Xin's power of one ordinary and two golden colors was also remarkably potent. In his estimation, he might be able to kill Gu Xin, but he would certainly pay a corresponding price.
That Gu Qingfeng couldn't even withstand one move from him, so how could he have killed Gu Xin?
Of course, while puzzled inwardly, he showed nothing on the surface. Facing Mu Yulong's challenge, he replied impassively, "Gu Qingfeng couldn't withstand a move from me, but that doesn't mean he couldn't withstand a move from Gu Xin. You should understand that a dual golden color is, after all, a dual golden color. It simply cannot be compared to a triple golden color; they are not on the same level."
Mu Yulong was about to say more when True Being Ziyun stepped forward. "Enough. Let's leave this matter for now. We should proceed inside first."
"True Being Ziyun, did you discover anything just now?" True Being Da Qian inquired.
True Being Ziyun glanced towards Murong Fei and the others in the distance. Taking the hint, True Being Da Qian walked over, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Murong, would you be willing to travel with our group? If Lord Murong is willing to join our team, we ask that you set aside your status and advance and retreat together with us."
"Heh heh..." Murong Fei gently fanned himself with his cyan jade fan, smiling without speaking, as if hesitating.
He suspected that True Being Ziyun might have found some spiritual treasure?
However, priding himself on his noble status, agreeing just like that seemed beneath his dignity. But just as he hesitated, True Being Da Qian spoke again, "It seems Lord Murong, with your noble status, disdains traveling with the likes of us. Then we shall part ways here."
With that, True Being Da Qian led his people away in haste.
Murong Fei's expression instantly turned icy. Gnashing his teeth, he muttered in a low, furious voice, "That sanctimonious old fool, Da Qian!"
"Young Lord, what should we do?"
Murong Fei was now filled with regret. Although the people around him were all experts, they weren't particularly proficient in mechanisms and formations. It was also his fault for rushing here too hastily. If he had an expert skilled in mechanisms and formations by his side, he wouldn't be so passive inside this cave dwelling.
"Go! Follow them. I want to see what treasure they've found!"
...
Inside the cave dwelling.
Gu Qingfeng moved swiftly, passing through one stone gate after another. The mechanisms and formations on the gates might stop others, but they couldn't hinder him. No matter how profound the mechanism, it was useless.
Gu Qingfeng did not head directly for the central grand hall. Instead, he kept opening stone gates and entering stone chambers.
The moment he entered, he had used his divine sense to carefully probe the area, clearly knowing which chambers contained resources.
In just this short while, he had entered and exited over thirty stone chambers, plundering quite a few resources: various elixirs, various flying swords, and piles of spirit stones and spirit crystals.
To be honest, these things might be priceless treasures in the eyes of others, but to Gu Qingfeng, they were little better than garbage. Yet he collected every last item into his storage, not leaving behind even a single spirit stone or crystal fragment.
It wasn't that he was greedy for wealth.
Honestly, he didn't need these things either.
The reason he did this was probably a habit formed since childhood.
He was an orphan. He knew life was hard from a young age. Later, after being expelled from Yunxia Sect, he had always wandered alone. In the past, he had suffered countless injuries fighting over a single spirit stone, and had nearly lost his life several times scrambling for spiritual treasures. Therefore, he had always cherished resources, never wasting even the most useless or worthless ones.
Even at the peak of his glory, after ascending to become the Nine Nethers Emperor, he had never wasted any resources. Otherwise, last time in that other cave dwelling, he wouldn't have so carefully picked up those spirit crystal fragments one by one.
Remembering that previous cave dwelling, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but fall into contemplation. Last time, in that cave dwelling, he had found many fragments of Purple Gold Heaven-Shining Crystals, which contained very pure Solar Spirit.
And in this cave dwelling, he had discovered many Blue Essence Condensing Frost Crystals.
The Purple Gold Heaven-Shining Crystals contained Solar Spirit, while these Blue Essence Condensing Frost Crystals contained Lunar Spirit.
Thinking about the connection between the two cave dwellings, along with Yunxia Sect's Yanyang Heart and Bingxuan Sect's Ice Heart... what kind of complex relationship existed here? Gu Qingfeng couldn't sort it out for the moment.
For such vexing problems, if he couldn't figure them out, he simply didn't bother dwelling on them. Right now, he was focused on deciphering the mechanism formation on a stone gate. When he probed with his divine sense earlier, he detected an extremely rich concentration of Lunar Spirit energy behind this gate. He wondered what treasure it might be.
Just as he was working on it, someone barged in—a fat monk in kasaya robes, munching on something delicious.
It was none other than Bu'er.
When Monk Bu'er saw Gu Qingfeng, he was first startled, then muttered something under his breath, as if he was very reluctant to see Gu Qingfeng here. But as he walked over and saw Gu Qingfeng instantly unleash hundreds of spirit hand-seals, he immediately felt a chill run down his spine.