AN - Stone me; chapter 55 was a author's note
"I'll swallow you!"
"I will definitely go further!"
Patriarch Qingyang's face was ferocious, his eyes glowing green like a demon that had crawled out of hell. His shadow on the ground twisted wildly, adding to the eerie sight.
In the next instant, the figure of Patriarch Qingyang vanished from where he stood.
Almost simultaneously, Gu Qingfeng felt a strong wind in his face. Patriarch Qingyang had turned into an afterimage, moving with incredible speed.
However, Gu Qingfeng remained unafraid in the face of such an attack.
His body vibrated, and the surging energy within him was like a raging river or a blazing sun. His palms gathered terrifying, fiery power and slammed towards Patriarch Qingyang.
In less than a breath, the two had already exchanged more than a dozen blows.
With each collision, Gu Qingfeng felt a strange, cold energy trying to invade his body through his palms, as if seeking to freeze and devour his flesh and blood. But this malevolent force was quickly dispelled by his fiery energy.
On the other side, Patriarch Qingyang was also feeling the strain.
He realized that Gu Qingfeng's blood and energy were far stronger than those of an average warrior in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Additionally, the burning aura contained within Gu Qingfeng's power clashed fiercely with the dark sorcery Patriarch Qingyang practiced.
When his warlock power invaded Gu Qingfeng's body, this scorching force simultaneously invaded Patriarch Qingyang's body in return.
For a moment, Patriarch Qingyang's expression turned sour.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, the shadows on the ground suddenly shot upwards. Countless black tendrils lashed out like sharp swords, aiming for Gu Qingfeng's vital points.
As expected, Gu Qingfeng's protective aura flared to life, blocking the onslaught of shadowy attacks. However, the power of these shadow strikes was strange and formidable. Despite the strength of Gu Qingfeng's protective aura, it couldn't last more than a few breaths before showing signs of cracking.
Seeing this, Gu Qingfeng's eyes darkened. He lashed out wildly with his palms, releasing an overwhelming surge of his blood and energy. When this force collided with the shadows, they disintegrated as if they were snow melting under the spring sun.
Yet, one shadow managed to breach his defenses and pierced his arm. The skin that could withstand the blows of Bone Refining Perfection was now helpless against this sinister force.
His skin broke.
Gu Qingfeng could feel his flesh being devoured, bit by bit.
With his right hand, he grabbed hold of the shadow and unleashed the full power of his Fiery Sun Palm. The shadow, which had been greedily feeding on his flesh, shattered into pieces, accompanied by a faint, ghostly wail.
"Kill!"
With a savage expression, Gu Qingfeng lunged at Patriarch Qingyang.
The intensity of his assault made Patriarch Qingyang's expression change.
Moments later, Patriarch Qingyang also showed his ferocity. Strange power surged from his body. Under the sunlight, his terrifying shadow seemed to swell, as if an evil spirit from hell were twisting and writhing within it.
At the same time, Patriarch Qingyang's plump skin shriveled. His eye sockets sank deeper into his skull, and his ten fingernails elongated into sharp talons. The transformation made him look like a creature from the depths of the underworld.
"I'll devour you!!"
Patriarch Qingyang roared as he resumed his attack on Gu Qingfeng.
The bizarre spectacle caught the attention of everyone from both Qingyang Sect and the Gu family. Many Qingyang Sect disciples were shocked, having never expected such a sinister existence within their ranks.
The Gu family, too, was in disbelief.
"Is this what father meant by refining evil into the body?"
Watching the demonic form of Patriarch Qingyang, Gu Yang felt a shiver run down his spine.
At this point, most of the powerful Qingyang Sect warriors had already been killed by Gu Qingfeng. The remaining Qingyang Sect disciples were now evenly matched with the Gu family forces, and the two sides clashed fiercely.
Gu Yang glanced briefly towards the battlefield where Gu Qingfeng was locked in combat, before turning his focus back to his own fight with one of Qingyang Sect's Blood Refining Realm warriors.
Gu Yang's mastery of the Gu Family Fist had reached perfection, and he had also grasped some secrets of the Fiery Sun Palm. Strengthened by the Blood Refining Pill, even though Gu Yang was only in the early stage of Blood Refining, his strength was enough to contend with those in the later stages.
His current opponent was a mid-level Blood Refining expert from Qingyang Sect.
Initially, the man had underestimated Gu Yang due to his youth and special status. But he quickly realized his mistake as Gu Yang relentlessly pressed his advantage.
On the other battlefield, Gu Qingfeng and Patriarch Qingyang had both turned into afterimages, moving at blinding speeds as their battle reached its peak.
The shadow beneath Patriarch Qingyang twisted and writhed, breaking through Gu Qingfeng's protective aura and leaving cuts across his body.
Yet, Gu Qingfeng paid no attention to these injuries. His focus remained solely on Patriarch Qingyang. His relentless onslaught forced the older man onto the defensive.
"Bang!"
After a fierce exchange, Gu Qingfeng found an opening and delivered a devastating blow to Patriarch Qingyang's chest. The force of the attack, powerful enough to shatter mountains, caved in Qingyang's chest.
Under the force of the blow, all of Qingyang's internal organs were obliterated.
Blood mixed with shattered organs sprayed from his mouth.
For any ordinary warrior, such an injury would have been instantly fatal. But as a sorcerer, Patriarch Qingyang's vitality was unnaturally strong, allowing him to cling to life even after such a devastating attack.
At this moment, fear finally crept into Patriarch Qingyang's heart. The sight of Gu Qingfeng, drenched in blood yet exuding an unstoppable aura, filled him with dread.
Without hesitation, Patriarch Qingyang turned to flee.
Seeing this, a cold smile crept across Gu Qingfeng's face.
"You think you can escape now? Too late!"
As Patriarch Qingyang turned his back, Gu Qingfeng surged forward and struck him again, this time from behind. The Fiery Sun Palm force exploded within Qingyang's body, igniting all the remaining Fiery Sun energy that had been lodged within him.
"Boom!"
The scorching power erupted.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Patriarch Qingyang's meridians and bones shattered. His agonized scream echoed across the battlefield.
Gu Qingfeng wasted no time. He grabbed Patriarch Qingyang by the head with five fingers and smashed his skull into the ground.
Boom!
The ground caved in, rocks shattered, and blood poured from Qingyang's cracked skull. His already withered body looked even more grotesque with his sunken eyes and broken face.
"No… You can't kill me! If I die, the evil inside me will be unleashed! Then everyone here will die!!"
In his desperation, Patriarch Qingyang pleaded for his life.
To this, Gu Qingfeng hesitated.
Seeing this, a glimmer of hope returned to Patriarch Qingyang's eyes.