A few minutes later, Zhou Yunyi, who had been pursuing Su Nanxing, returned.
Just as Gu Jinlai had speculated, when Zhou Yunyi realized the route of pursuit was fraught with danger, he feared it entirely a strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain and retreated after less than a mile.
In the courtyard, Hong Shan, Zhao Yiping—who had been woken up—and several disciples of Gang Condensation and Qi Refinement were present.
Looking at Fang Cai's beheaded corpse, Zhou Yunyi's face was rather unsightly.
"There are so many of you lying in ambush around here, and yet he still escaped?"
He glared at Hong Shan, visibly irritated.
"To prevent Gu Jinlai from detecting us, our encirclement was a bit distant from Guardian Fang's courtyard, but as long as Guardian Fang held on for a moment, we still could have completed the encirclement. We just didn't expect that in less than three breaths, Guardian Fang was already... We simply didn't have time to close the net."
Hong Shan looked at Fang Cai's corpse, a trace of fear in his eyes.
A clansman who had followed Zhou Yunyi couldn't help but say, "Fratricide is a taboo in any force. The Ancient Demon killing Guardian Fang – such an act has already violated the sect's rules. Why not report it to the Law Enforcement Hall and ask the experts there to capture him?"
"Fratricide?"
Zhou Yunyi glanced at his clansman and said coldly, "Which eye of yours saw the murderer was Gu Jinlai?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Gu Jinlai wore a mask."
Hong Shan responded.
"You think it's that simple to take down an elder? Without sufficient evidence and just based on suspicion, you want to deal with an elder? When the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Do you want chaos within the Purgatory Sect?"
"I..."
This junior, who had wanted to show off his cleverness, was chastised and hung his head, not daring to speak anymore.
Zhou Yunyi looked at Fang Cai's corpse, his thoughts unreadable.
After a while, he finally said, "Gu Jinlai killed Fang Cai, really in just three breaths?"
"Even less than three breaths."
Hong Shan said.
He remembered clearly when he heard Fang Cai's long cry and immediately attempted to close the net.
"As for this matter, report it to Sect Master Lin and let him handle it."
Zhou Yunyi said, then turned and left with his clansmen.
Hong Shan wanted to say something, but...
In the end, he said nothing.
He glanced at Fang Cai's body, feeling a pang of sorrow like that of the hare for the dying fox.
Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse.
Even though Gu Jinlai had fallen from Refining God, his strength was still not something that those in the Hugging Pill Realm could provoke. Seeking fortune amidst danger was true, but if one's life was lost, what use would any amount of riches be?
Fang Cai was the perfect example.
Thinking of this, Hong Shan had made up his mind to lay low for a while, not to show his face carelessly.
Let Lin Xiao and Gu Jinlai's overt and covert struggles go on without him.
Whoever wants to go, let them go.
...
At the mouth of an alley on South Street,
Su Nanxing was waiting.
Gu Jinlai discarded his mask and emerged from a shadow.
"They didn't follow?"
"No."
Su Nanxing shook his head.
"As expected."
Gu Jinlai's demeanor remained calm.
Getting older, losing the fighting spirit, everything is about playing it safe.
Not like his younger self, eager for progress, full of vitality.
It's a pity that the safety Zhou Yunyi sought might not be as secure as he thought.
Did he really think Gu Jinlai was a spent force from the past, that he could kick him when he was down yet emerge unscathed?
"Let's go back, and then, leave the city to hunt devils."
Gu Jinlai instructed.
He could no longer stay in Changjun City, for if he continued to flaunt himself and provoked Zhou Yunyi to a point of desperation...
He currently couldn't withstand it.
After all, being in the Refining God Realm, he rarely traveled alone.
He would often be accompanied by a dozen, dozens, or even a hundred disciples of Qi Refinement, Gang Condensation, and Hugging Pill Realm, fighting side by side.
"Hmm?"
Just then, Gu Jinlai seemed to hear something.
He swiftly directed his gaze toward a certain direction.
There, a dark figure flashed by.
However, that wasn't the point.
The point was that Gu Jinlai didn't see any karma on the person.
No purple, white, yellow, or red.
No karma.
Just like...
Domestic animals, objects, plants, and rocks.
Who could have no karma on their body?
"Follow him."
Gu Jinlai commanded, striding forward like a shooting star.
"Whoosh!"
Su Nanxing's movement technique unfolded, swift as a swimming dragon, quickly surpassing him and rushing toward the dark shadow to intercept and kill it.
"..."
A twitch formed at the corner of Gu Jinlai's mouth.
Movement technique.
So, this was why Gu Jinlai had sent Su Nanxing to meet with Zhou Yunyi at night.
He was fast.
"Boom!"
Ahead, the battle erupted, Gang Qi shooting out in all directions, lifting rocks into the air with the force of the shockwaves.
Yet the other side...
Wasn't using True Qi or Gang Qi, but pure physical strength.
When Gu Jinlai got close enough to see the dark shadow clearly, he was startled to find that it was a black gorilla!
A mutated beast, with claws sharp as knives, bulky arms and legs, and eyes flashing red—a demonized creature.
"Devil!"
Gu Jinlai's pupils shrank.
This was a devil.
Demon Spirits and Fierce Beasts merged, leading the beasts into evolution and mutation, strengthening their bodies to the point where every movement bore the Huge Power of thousands of pounds.
How ferocious was that!?
Gu Jinlai's sword could break the sound barrier.
The Demon Spirit's tens of thousands of pounds of Huge Power, when fully unleashed, was like striking with a thousand-pound iron pillar at supersonic speed, easily splitting rocks and breaking monuments.
Like now, with Su Nanxing's Gang Qi bursting forth and his swordlight cutting in every direction, yet it was smashed into nothing by the devil's reliance on its flesh and blood, shattering it completely.
A body that could bear tens of thousands of pounds of force already surpassed fine iron in toughness.
"Upper Demon!"
Gu Jinlai instantly judged the level of the beast from the power it demonstrated.
Linking this to the information Su Nanxing had shared with him not long ago...
Was this the devil that had been rampaging through Changjun City?
"Clang!"
Gu Jinlai instantly drew his sword!
Refining God.
The devil's body was extremely tough, as if clad in Treasure Armor—plus, it was incredibly tenacious and took quite a beating.
Invisibility and the layout of Invisible Sword Qi couldn't kill them.
He had to use another form of Invisible Sword Qi—the ripple-piercing state.
The devil, sensing the imminent danger, became increasingly agitated and growled continuously.
Finding an opening, it suddenly burst forth, smashing Su Nanxing's Sword Gang to pieces. The residual force from its stone-crushing power did not abate and slammed into his body.
"Boom!"
Gang Qi dissipated.
As pure power exploded, Su Nanxing's Protective True Qi failed to block it at all, and his entire body was sent flying, crashing into a solid, nine meter-distant wall.
Stone chips flew, and dust billowed.
Gu Jinlai could clearly see his chest caved in, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking.
Seriously injured!
This devil was extremely powerful. If Su Nanxing had encountered it alone, he might well have been killed on the spot.
Just as the devil made a bout of exertion, its old strength spent and new strength yet to emerge, Gu Jinlai, poised and ready, bravely surged forward.
Striking with the sword.
"Whoosh!"
Ripples seemed to spread through the void.
Like the thrusts of a wave-particle thruster, pushing wave after wave forward.
As the first ripple spread out, Gu Jinlai's Sword Gang had already pierced the sound barrier, forming a faint white streak at the tip of the sword. As the second ripple dissipated, the Sword Gang had already outpaced the ripple, piercing the void.
By the time the third ripple spread out, Gu Jinlai, man and sword as one, like a missile with flames spewing forth, wrapped in the sharp sword Gang at the speed of lightning, thrust into the body of the devil. The Sword Gang exploded within, instantly tearing apart the devil's internal organs, creating a bloody cavity ten centimeters in diameter.
"Roar!"
The devil let out an angry roar from the intense pain, as its fine iron-like claws harshly swiped at Gu Jinlai.
The ferocious and brutal atmosphere forced Gu Jinlai to retreat without hesitation.
Yet even so, as the claw's colossal strength scraped past him, it still tore through his Protective True Qi with ease, shredding his clothes and leaving three wounds on his chest.
The devil's ferocity and tenacity were fully displayed.
"Retreat!"
Gu Jinlai roared, his figure as fast as lightning.
He was well aware of the severity of the damage caused by the Invisible Sword Qi.
Although devils were incredibly vital and some Great Demons could even regenerate limbs, they couldn't die if not killed shortly.
But a devil with all its internal organs pulverized, its body hollowed out with a ten-centimeter diameter blood hole—how could it withstand that?
Gu Jinlai retreated quickly, as the devil roared in pursuit, its monstrous and violent aura rolling after him, enough to make any Hugging Pill practitioner's heart tremble.
But just as he had surmised, the intense roaring pursuit lasted only a moment before the devil could no longer bear its shattered internal injuries, and the roar gradually turned to a low moan.
After a dozen breaths, the devil's muscular body collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Blood dyed the earth red.
Gu Jinlai cautiously approached, sword in hand, thrusting it through the devil's head, then gripping the hilt to twist.
Assured that the devil no longer moved, he finally pulled out the sword.
"So it seems, our outing tonight was truly for the purpose of slaying devils and eradicating evil spirits."