"Yuhua! Screw your grandpa! You dare lay a finger on me, just try it!"
"Still stubborn even at death's door! Since you'd rather die than reveal that little bastard's whereabouts, this old woman will grant your wish."
As she spoke, True Being Yuhua raised the vial of Thousand-Spider Myriad-Venom Liquid, preparing to pour it over Huode's head. But just as her arm lifted, something strange happened—her vision blurred as if something had clamped onto her wrist. When she focused, she saw it was a hand.
A pale, fair hand.
Its owner was a young man.
A man dressed in white robes, rather handsome and clean. No one knew when he had appeared.
No one knew.
They only knew that when he appeared, the clear, sunny sky seemed to plunge instantly into dusk, filled with twilight hues as if darkness could descend at any moment. A strange aura enveloped everyone's hearts—a profound chill, bone-deep, soul-piercing.
It was him!
Gu Qingfeng!
He had come.
He had truly come!
When the surrounding crowd saw Gu Qingfeng appear, an uproar broke out.
After his appearance, his deep, dark eyes swept across the scene, and he let out a fierce roar.
"Scram!"
Boom!
The dozen or so Bingxuan Sect elders pinning down Huode had no idea what happened. In an instant, the sheer force of that single word blasted them apart, flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Realizing what had happened, the smug, sinister expression on True Being Yuhua's face vanished without a trace, replaced only by fear and terror. She wanted to flee, but her wrist was locked in Gu Qingfeng's grip, rendering her immobile.
Gu Qingfeng turned. When he saw the Thousand-Spider Myriad-Venom Liquid in her hand, his narrowed eyes suddenly snapped open, a flash of killing intent passing through them. With a fierce yank—crack!—he ripped True Being Yuhua's entire arm clean off!
"Ah—!" True Being Yuhua screamed in agony. "Sect Head, it's him! He's that little bastard surnamed Gu! It's him! Quickly, capture—" Before she could finish, Gu Qingfeng shoved the vial of Thousand-Spider Myriad-Venom Liquid into her mouth, then backhanded her across the face. With a thud, her entire head was sent flying, rolling on the ground before the venom dissolved it into a pool of bloody water.
Dead!
Just like that, she was dead.
True Being Yuhua had her head slapped off by a single blow.
The dozen-plus Bingxuan Sect elders were blasted to pieces by a single shout.
Perhaps it all happened too suddenly, leaving everyone present stunned.
They hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to actually appear, much less that he would kill so many people the moment he arrived.
Chaos erupted instantly. The surrounding crowd retreated in fear, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
"Kid Gu... you! Where have you been?"
Huode's mind was also reeling. He knew Gu Qingfeng wouldn't lie to him—that thumb ring really worked. He just hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to arrive so promptly. "If you'd been any later, this old man would've turned into a puddle."
"You wouldn't have died."
Even if Huode hadn't used the ring, Gu Qingfeng would have arrived in time. Ever since discovering Huode had been kidnapped by the two ancestral patriarchs of the Bingxuan Sect, his divine sense had been locked onto Huode. The reason for the delay was being held up by those from the Sin Edict, unable to break free immediately.
"Kid Gu, what's happened here?"
"Nothing."
Gu Qingfeng replied casually, offering no further explanation. Huode, knowing his place, didn't press further.
In the void above.
Leng Yanqiu, the Jade-Faced Young Lord Long Fei, and Si Qianhua all fixed their gazes on Gu Qingfeng below.
Their expressions varied.
Leng Yanqiu's was disdainful.
The Jade-Faced Young Lord Long Fei's was shocked and suspicious.
Si Qianhua's was cautious.
"So you're that trash waste surnamed Gu?"
Leng Yanqiu, dressed in magnificent robes, surrounded by a haze of cold mist, wore an arrogant, domineering expression on her beautiful face, her eyes filled with contempt.
Though Gu Qingfeng had effortlessly wiped out the Bingxuan Sect elders, in Leng Yanqiu's eyes, it was nothing remarkable. She didn't care, nor would she bother. Having fused both the Bingxuan Heart and the Bingxuan Source, two extraordinary treasures, her already inflated confidence had swelled to the point where she looked down on everyone.
Opposite her.
Gu Qingfeng stood quietly, his robes unmoving, his hair undisturbed, his handsome face calm.
But this calm was terrifying.
It wasn't calmness, but a stillness.
A twilight stillness, a dusk-like silence.
Not long ago, when Leng Yanqiu fused with the Bingxuan Heart, Gu Qingfeng had seen her once. At the time, he had no particular impression of this woman. But now, looking at her, he felt a wave of disgust.
Though he had been battling those from the Sin Edict high in the clouds, it didn't mean he was unaware of what had happened here. On the contrary, his divine sense had enveloped this place the entire time; he knew everything that had transpired clearly, including exactly what kind of person Leng Yanqiu was.
He didn't respond to her. Instead, he looked at Zhuxia, collapsed on the ground, and asked softly, "You cherished old ties, thought only of her well-being, yet not only did she refuse to appreciate it, she stole your Bingxuan Source to fuse with herself and even insulted you. And you still want to help such a person achieve great fortune?"
"I... I... I am guilty! So guilty!"
Zhuxia struggled to her knees, kowtowing on the ground as she wept bitterly. "I've wasted Young Lord's time, implicated Young Lord... I've failed Her Majesty, failed Young Lord... I only beg for death to atone for my sins!"
"You old, undying thing! Still putting on an act in front of me!"
Leng Yanqiu sneered coldly, killing intent flashing in her eyes as she shouted sharply, "You want to die? This Sect Head will grant your wish now!"
As her words fell, with a whoosh, Leng Yanqiu's figure vanished from mid-air, reappearing right in front of Zhuxia. In that moment, her beautiful face was twisted into a ferocious sneer. She raised her palm, intending to strike down the Bingxuan Ancestral Patriarch who had raised her for decades.
Suddenly.
A figure materialized out of thin air, blocking the path before the Bingxuan Ancestral Patriarch.
A man in white robes.
None other than Gu Qingfeng.
"Trash surnamed Gu, you think garbage like you can block this Sect Head?"
Whoosh!
The radiance around Leng Yanqiu intensified as she struck directly at the crown of Gu Qingfeng's head with her palm.
Her speed was extreme, arriving in an instant.
Yet.
Gu Qingfeng simply raised a hand. No radiant light flowed, no spiritual power surged—just a light, effortless block that stopped her palm cold.
This scene shocked everyone present.
After all, Leng Yanqiu had fused both the Bingxuan Heart and the Bingxuan Source, two extraordinary treasures. Perhaps no one knew the full power of these treasures, but everyone had clearly seen Leng Yanqiu defeat the two ancestral patriarchs of the Bingxuan Sect with a single move earlier. Now, she had been effortlessly blocked by Gu Qingfeng, who hadn't used any spiritual power—just pure physical strength.
"What?! How is this possible, you waste?!"
If anyone was more shocked, it was Leng Yanqiu herself.
But at this moment, there was no time for shock, nor any opportunity for it. Because after blocking her strike, Gu Qingfeng swung his leg and kicked out directly. With a thud, his foot connected with Leng Yanqiu's chest.
Boom!
Leng Yanqiu grunted, blood spurting from her nose and mouth. The radiance around her instantly dissipated as her entire body froze mid-air. Her once arrogant face was now filled with disbelief, her contemptuous eyes brimming with horror.
Was it over?
No!
Gu Qingfeng backhanded her across the face, sending Leng Yanqiu crashing to the ground. Her head slammed into the earth with such force that the ground cracked beneath her, and her skull split open, blood flowing freely.
When the crowd focused their gaze, they couldn't help but gasp in shock. Those with weaker nerves held their breath in terror, for they saw that half of Leng Yanqiu's face had been slapped into a bloody, mangled mess.