The Spirit-Capital Sect was merely one of the top-tier major sects in the Liujin Region, while the Bingxuan Sect was a major sect that dominated seven or eight surrounding regions. It was even a sect that had once been officially graded by the imperial court. The number of experts within its ranks naturally far surpassed what the Spirit-Capital Sect could compare to.
Among these forty-plus members of the Bingxuan Sect, half were Color Spirit geniuses, and half were Golden Core True Beings of pure essence.
The lowest among the Color Spirit geniuses had all awakened at least three colors. Among them, seven had awakened three Golden Colors. Furthermore, there were geniuses who had awakened four colors, and among those, as many as five had awakened four Golden Colors.
Take Luo Jinheng of the Spirit-Capital Sect, for example—he was a genius who had awakened four Golden Colors and one of the sect's nine direct disciples. Yet, these five four-Golden-Color geniuses of the Bingxuan Sect were merely inner sect disciples. One could imagine just how many geniuses the Bingxuan Sect contained.
Each of these Color Spirit geniuses from the Bingxuan Sect was renowned far and wide; at the very least, no one in the surrounding regions was unfamiliar with them. But when it came to the one with the greatest fame and strongest strength, it had to be the man standing at the very front.
He appeared rather unremarkable in looks but wore a flowery robe. A strange, cold smile played at the corner of his mouth, and a lock of hair hung casually over his forehead.
Many recognized him.
His name was Wen Huayu.
He, too, had awakened four Golden Colors. The difference was that his Golden Core had already undergone its first revolution.
Being able to condense a single Color Golden Core was terrifying enough in itself. If it was a Golden Color Golden Core, it was even more formidable. And on top of a Golden Color Golden Core, achieving a revolution... In other words, the power of his single spirit contained the force of four Golden Colors from the Great Nature, plus the Dan Gang power from his first-revolution Golden Core. This wasn't even counting the various immortal arts he cultivated. If those were added to the mix, it would be utterly terrifying. And indeed, reality proved this to be true.
Many knew that among the seven cave dwellings where the Great Nature Spirit Treasure had manifested this time, this Wen Huayu had slain over a hundred people with a single sword inside one of the caves. Those people were all Golden Core experts, among whom were not a few with pure-essence Golden Cores.
This time, the Bingxuan Sect hadn't just brought Color Spirit geniuses; they also had over twenty Golden Core experts. Without exception, they either possessed pure-essence Golden Cores or first-revolution Golden Cores. The elder leading them, named True Being Liang Gong, even had a second-revolution Golden Core, his spiritual power profound and pure.
Wen Huayu stood at the forefront, hands clasped behind his back, a cold smirk on his lips. His eyes narrowed as he swept his gaze across the room. When he saw Luo Jinheng and the others from the Spirit-Capital Sect, a trace of disdain flickered in his cold smile. But when his eyes fell upon the white-robed man surrounded by the Spirit-Capital Sect members, his previously narrowed eyes suddenly snapped wide open.
"Master Aunt Ziyun, is that Gu Qingfeng?"
Wen Huayu asked. A woman stepped forward—it was Qin Wanli's master, True Being Ziyun, also a True Being with a pure-essence Golden Core. She glanced at the white-robed man sitting leisurely in his chair, drinking wine, then nodded.
"Wen Yu, this is Crimson-Letter Manor. Do not act rashly."
Liang Gong, the leader, stroked his beard and offered a reminder.
However, Wen Huayu didn't seem to take his words to heart. He walked straight over, his eyes fixed on his target, a smile still on his face as he said, "After the Great Calamity, you are the first person daring enough to lay a hand on our Bingxuan Sect."
He walked over, stopped, and stared at the white-robed man, the cold smirk still hanging on his lips. "Do you know I've been looking for you for two whole days?"
The vast tavern was now completely focused on the table against the western wall. On the left were the Spirit-Capital Sect members led by True Being Mingtao and Luo Jinheng. On the right were the Bingxuan Sect members led by True Being Liang Gong and Wen Huayu.
Faced with so many experts from both the Spirit-Capital Sect and the Bingxuan Sect, anyone else would have long been scared into kneeling and begging for mercy. Even if they didn't beg, they'd at least be trembling too much to stand. Yet, to everyone's astonishment, the white-robed man simply sat there in his chair, leaning sideways against the wall, one leg crossed over the other, his head tilted slightly. His cold, handsome face showed no trace of fear.
When the Spirit-Capital Sect arrived, it was like this.
When the Bingxuan Sect arrived, it was still like this.
Forget kneeling and begging for mercy, forget being unable to stand—he hadn't even blinked an eye, nor had the expression on his face changed in the slightest. He just took occasional sips of his wine, watching these people with keen interest.
Genuine interest. He looked as if he were watching a spectacle.
This left everyone utterly bewildered. You killed people from the Bingxuan Sect and Spirit-Capital Sect inside the cave dwellings, and now so many of their experts have come knocking. Not only are you fearless, you're actually watching the show?
What was wrong with this guy?
Putting on a brave front?
Bluffing?
Or was he truly without fear?
No one knew.
No one had a clue.
Just as everyone was puzzling over this, furious roars erupted from outside.
"Who is Gu Qingfeng?"
"Where is Gu Qingfeng? Come out!"
As the roars sounded, everyone looked over. Another group came charging in, also numbering several dozen. Among them were over twenty burly men, each standing over two meters tall. They wore tiger-might armor, carried broadswords at their waists, and looked fierce and imposing, their auras startling—like giants.
These were the Giant Tiger-Guard of the Nine-Hua Alliance. Rumor had it these Tiger-Guards were all from exotic races, each possessing formidable physical bodies and immense strength. A single punch from them could crush a Golden Core True Being without issue. The reason the Nine-Hua Alliance could dominate over a hundred surrounding regions was largely due to the meritorious service of these Tiger-Guards.
However, what truly shocked people wasn't these fierce-looking Tiger-Guards, but the few men leading them.
These were members of the Murong Clan from the Nine-Hua Alliance. Everyone knew the clans within the Nine-Hua Alliance were all special clans. So-called special clans might be Bloodline Clans inheriting unique bloodlines, Immortal Lineage Clans whose ancestors had produced immortals, or Graded Clans officially enfeoffed by the Immortal Court.
The Murong Clan was a Bloodline Clan inheriting a special bloodline. As for what bloodline the Murong Clan inherited, that had always been a mystery.
Nonetheless, everyone in the surrounding regions knew one thing: the Murong Clan was not to be provoked. Provoke them, and death was inevitable. Since the Great Calamity, for a hundred years, this had held true. Anyone who had ever offended the Murong Clan had never survived.
Earlier, when everyone heard that Gu Qingfeng had killed Murong Fei inside the cave dwelling, they knew he wouldn't live long.
Once found by the Murong Clan, death was certain.
Now, the Murong Clan had arrived.
And they had come in force—five members at once, each accompanied by experts and over twenty Tiger-Guards.
The cold, sinister man standing at the very front was named Murong Tai. He was among the first batch of Color Spirit geniuses after the Great Calamity, having cultivated for nearly a century. No one knew exactly what his cultivation level was, nor how many Color Spirits he had awakened.
People only knew that fifty years ago, he already possessed strength capable of crushing first-revolution Golden Core True Beings. It was said he hadn't even used his bloodline power back then. Fifty years had passed; no one knew just how formidable his strength had become.
Besides Murong Tai, there were also Murong Li and Murong He from the Murong Clan, both possessing mysteriously powerful strength.
Murong Tai was tall and large, dressed in black robes, his face gloomy. His eyes swept across the room like venomous snakes; no one dared meet his gaze. When his eyes landed on the western side of the tavern, they skipped over the Spirit-Capital Sect members led by Luo Jinheng, lingered for a brief moment on Wen Huayu of the Bingxuan Sect, then finally settled on the white-robed man.
"Are you Gu Qingfeng?"
Murong Tai's voice was as cold as his demeanor, piercing the ears with a stinging sensation.
Gu Qingfeng, leaning against the wall with legs crossed, took a sip of wine and nodded very naturally.
Murong Tai took a step forward, pointed a finger, and demanded sharply, "Did you kill my cousin, Murong Fei?"
Gu Qingfeng drained his cup of wine in one go, then nodded again.
"Good!"
Murong Tai stared at him and barked out the word. He did not make a move himself, but the Murong Li beside him took a step forward. Brilliant light erupted around him—it was the radiance of four awakened Golden Colors. He roared, "You have a death wish! Today, I will use your soul to pay tribute to my cousin!"
Whoosh!
Murong Li's figure vanished instantly, appearing before Gu Qingfeng in the blink of an eye.
The white-robed man in the corner didn't move. He remained seated, not even blinking. Just as Murong Li's sword was about to pierce between his eyebrows, a figure suddenly materialized out of thin air, using a spirit-root finger to block the tip of Murong Li's sword.