Unified Dao and below Unified Dao were two completely different realms.
In a sense, reaching Star Ruler Realm was taking a qualitative leap to become a higher lifeform, and Unified Dao was another one, with the magnitude of this leap being even greater.
There had never been a precedent for a normal Star Ruler challenging a Unified Dao cultivator. Even the most amazingly talented Star Rulers in history only managed to escape from a Unified Dao existence at most.
The last person to achieve such a feat was Li Ci, the ruler of one of the Thirteen Heavens, Myriad Laws Heaven.
Li Ci was famous for his "myriad laws", which referred to how he escaped from the hands of a Unified Dao powerhouse by virtue of his myriad cunning and frequently-changing laws back when he was still a normal Star Ruler.
But Gu Nan intended to do something even more terrifying right now—he wanted to tank an attack from a Unified Dao figure.
The ruler landed without any hindrance and hit Gu Nan square in the chest. The blow was like the collision of heaven and earth, its power having completely surpassed Gu Nan's current level. Not even the Evil God physique could resist.
Gu Nan's chest instantly cracked open, as if a cannonball hit his chest and blasted a gaping hole in his body.
But not even such an injury could stop Gu Nan from landing his punch.
Fang Chaoyun must die!
In Fang Chaoyun's pupils, Gu Nan's figure grew bigger at an incredible speed, and then his fist landed.
Indescribable power surged forth, and Fang Chaoyun felt something inside his body explode as his consciousness immediately dissipated.
Gu Nan's fist was also like a cannonball, and it was a cannonball filled with ample gunpowder. With one punch, Fang Chaoyun's whole body exploded, and blood and flesh started to rain down from the air.
"The power of the astral world can only strengthen one's laws. It's still too weak." Gu Nan retracted his fist and shook his head slightly. The injury on his chest was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if the ruler had never landed.
The next instant, Song Fei's figure appeared in front of him, staring at Gu Nan with an unprecedented grave expression.
"I should have killed you back then," he spoke his mind without hiding anything.
However, Song Fei didn't take action again. He knew that since the previous blow didn't kill Gu Nan, it was even more impossible now.
Setting aside the fact that Gu Nan would be able to escape, this scene just now was enough for Zi Luo Elder to protect Gu Nan. After this, Zi Luo Elder couldn't possibly allow Song Fei to kill him.
A Star Ruler capable of withstanding a blow from a Unified Dao cultivator would almost certainly ascend to Unified Dao; the only question was how long it would take.
Gu Nan shrugged wordlessly. Song Fei appearing so early was indeed unexpected, but in his original plan, it would be impossible to hide Fang Chaoyun's death from Song Fei anyways.
The blood sacrifice operation had entered the final stage, and Gu Nan already made plans to deal with this.
Song Fei stared at Gu Nan for a while, then suddenly asked, "Austin is here for you?"
"Hey now, don't pin all the blame on me," Gu Nan countered with a dissatisfied expression. He didn't look like he was lying at all.
Song Fei nodded, then raised his ruler again, pointing it directly at Gu Nan.
Just because he wouldn't take action for now didn't mean he would simply let Gu Nan go. Even if he really couldn't kill the other party, what must be done still had to be done!
Gu Nan didn't try to tank it this time and instantly disappeared, wandering through the boundary between shadow and reality.
But such a lowly application of laws was completely worthless in the eyes of a Unified Dao power. Song Fei turned his ruler and struck a spot in the void, directly exposing Gu Nan's location.
The strike hit Gu Nan's neck this time, blasting apart almost half of his head, but this was still not a fatal injury.
The next second, boundless purple intent descended from the sky, dyeing the entire sky purple and crushing directly down on Song Fei.
Song Fei shook his head with a faint sigh, knowing there would be no opportunity to attack Gu Nan again. His figure disappeared without a trace before the purple color landed. Immediately after, Zi Luo Elder's figure appeared next to Gu Nan.
"Austin said that you're called an Evil God on that side?" Zi Luo Elder looked at Gu Nan with a smile.
Gu Nan couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "He already visited you?"
Zi Luo Elder nodded lightly. "He brought Sylvia along and met all the Unified Dao cultivators here. However, Song Fei didn't have time to meet him yet because of Fang Chaoyun's matter."
After a pause, the old man continued with a chuckle, "Song Fei most likely asked that question because someone else notified him just now."
Gu Nan nodded silently. When he looked back at his own Divine Kingdom, he saw that Sylvia was gone. After all, Austin was Austin. Let alone three days, it didn't even take him three hours to find his target.
And quietly rescuing Sylvia without giving the Evil God Temple a blow in passing was likely because he didn't want to inadvertently alert Gu Nan. 'He wants to join forces with the Unified Dao powers on this side to capture me?'
As if he knew what Gu Nan was thinking, Zi Luo Elder twirled his beard and added, "He asked for our cooperation to kill you on the grounds that you are a public enemy of the gods. Naturally, we… rejected him."
Gu Nan finally raised his head in confusion. He, who was accustomed to being hunted by the entire world as soon as his identity was exposed, had yet to process this turn of events.
This time, Zi Luo Elder didn't say anything. Instead, another voice spoke up from behind them.
"What does the public enemy of the gods have to do with us? You are the public enemy of the gods—this just means that you are the most solid supporter of the Myriad Heavens." Yu Lian, the leader of all Daoist sects, slowly walked out and looked at Gu Nan. "I very much look forward to your ascension to Unified Dao."
...
"Brother, Gu Nan is an Evil God, the same kind of Evil God who will definitely destroy the whole world. Why don't those fools understand?!"
Sylvia couldn't help complaining while following Austin back to the World of Gods.
After Austin rescued her, he kept her with him, even taking her along to meet all the other Unified Dao cultivators. Thus, Sylvia also witnessed the Thirteen Heavens' "I refuse" attitude.
They didn't believe Austin at all. None of the Thirteen Heavens were willing to help.
She clearly knew how dangerous Gu Nan was, yet she was unable to kill him when he was still weak, all thanks to these pig teammates. This made Sylvia furious, especially since she had been trapped for so long…
Austin came here using just a clone, so his real power was barely enough to be considered a Star Ruler. However, he could still control the law of light, which allowed him to rescue Sylvia.
If his main body had come here, he would've killed Gu Nan with a slap a long time ago, and there would've been no need to ask anyone for help.
"The Myriad Heavens doesn't have any legends about Evil Gods," Austin indifferently gave the "standard answer", then shook his head. "If I'd known he was an Evil God earlier, then even if I had to force my way in, I would definitely take the opportunity to come over."
He recently realized that Sylvia was missing and just wanted to send a clone over to find his sister. Who knew that things would be so complicated?
"Then what should we do now?" Sylvia asked anxiously.
"Go back," The Ruler of Light and Justice spat out those words. "Then… slaughter our way over and kill him."