Staring at the mysterious figure that had suddenly appeared and then had been abruptly sliced into over a dozen pieces, the Hugging Pill Boxer from the Demon Refining Hall felt a violent shock in his heart.
"Lie Hun!?"
Lie Hun!
The top assassin in the underground world of Star State.
At least ten Hugging Pill Cultivators died at his hands.
This number exceeded that of some Refining God Immortals in their entire lifetimes.
His most glorious achievement was ambushing a major sect alone, and after a month, he forced a Refining God True Man to abandon his sect and flee.
To think that such a top-tier assassin, whose menacing presence in hiding was no less than that of a Refining God True Man, had just died like this!?
Died at the hands of this unknown powerful figure?
And died without a sound?
The Hugging Pill Boxer's mind was in turmoil, but the all-out strike from Gu Jinlai did not pause for a moment, thunderously slashing down.
"Boom!"
The Sword Gang exploded!
It was as if ten kilograms of explosives had detonated in the void.
The ferocious strike, nearly exhausting all of Gu Jinlai's True Qi, erupted and vibrated in the void.
The hurricane howled.
Sand and stones flew.
The scattering Sword Qi crazily sliced into the smooth, polished marble floor, leaving behind sword marks several meters long and wide.
The foremost Hugging Pill Boxer's body violently shook, bathed under the Sword Gang, his body seemed to be dismembered, and even with Protective True Qi, he was still torn with over a dozen sword marks.
His shoulder and thigh were even pierced by the Sword Qi, blood flowing.
The violent force impacted his internal organs, shaking his body and involuntarily made him fly backwards.
"Second senior brother!"
The other two Gang Condensation Cultivators, seeing this, did not give Gu Jinlai a chance to pursue, and struck with their swords horizontally!
But Gu Jinlai's blade moved swiftly, the lingering Invisible Sword Qi wrapping around them, instantly enveloping the two intercepting Gang Condensation Cultivators.
However, unlike the earlier assassins of Lie Hun who refrained from using much True Qi to ensure a successful assassination, the residual Invisible Sword Qi did not retain its full potency, and they managed to defend against it by shaking their True Qi at the first moment.
Although their garments were torn and their bodies gained over a dozen blood marks, these were not enough to sever their bodies.
Nevertheless, such strange and invisible attacks still drastically altered the expressions of both Gang Condensation Cultivators.
"Retreat!"
"Be careful of the Sword Qi!"
Faced with life and death, the two Gang Condensation Cultivators withdrew at their fastest speed.
The speed and agility displayed in that instant left Gu Jinlai at a loss for pursuit.
"A Light Red Name, the other two even Yellow Names."
Gu Jinlai considered that his purpose for this trip was to retrieve a belonging of his, not to vent through killing.
Having driven back the three, he turned his body, his True Qi surged, and he strode like a cannonball blasting into Yun Guantian's study.
"Bang!"
Wood chips flew.
The door was smashed to smithereens.
His eyes darting everywhere, he quickly spotted several seemingly valuable items and books, which he promptly gathered all at once.
Then, with a burst of energy from under his feet that shook the ground, his form leapt forward, fiercely slamming into the wall, collapsing both the study and bedroom walls as bricks and stones flew chaotically, and dust billowed.
Then, as usual.
He took whatever he liked.
He grabbed whatever was valuable.
A variety of items were swiftly packed up by him, then with a single motion of his sword, a virtual Blood Lotus shadow appeared behind him.
The next instant, the Blood Lotus shadow shattered, transforming into dozens of whistling Sword Qis, rampantly rushing and tearing through Yun Guantian's bedroom and study.
It felt like wielding a Gatling gun, crazily firing three hundred sixty degrees from inside out.
Whether it was cobblestone tiles, white jade flooring, dragon and phoenix carvings, or glass mirrors, all were smashed, scattered, and exploded.
Under the slashing Sword Qi, Gu Jinlai soon noticed something.
With a leap, he infused True Qi into his foot, kicking down a wall. Amid the spray of stone debris, he used True Qi to draw out a box hidden within the wall.
After confirming there were no hidden compartments or secret spaces, Gu Jinlai did not dare to linger and rapidly left the scene with large strides.
Almost right as he burst out of the house, the foundation, beams, and walls, nearly destroyed, could no longer bear the strain and collapsed thunderously, spewing up countless debris and dust.
"Damn it."
The Hugging Pill Boxer watched the scene, his eyes widening in both shock and anger.
Rampant!
These bandits, too audacious!
They barged into the Palace Master's residence, set fire, killed people, looted, and even demolished the house!
Is there no natural justice left, no laws of the king!?
"Second Senior Brother!"
At that moment, two Cultivators of Gang Condensation, covered in blood and looking wretched, came around.
"What are you still dazed about!? Chase!"
The Hugging Pill Boxer commanded harshly.
"Senior Brother, this person..."
One of the Cultivators glanced at the corpse of Lie Hun, shattered into over a dozen pieces, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes, "This person is at the Peak of Hugging Pill, he must have agile movements. Not to mention whether we can catch up; even if we do, if he turns around and shoots back, it would result in a greater loss for our master..."
"In current times we should promptly invite Palace Master Zhang; only with Palace Master Zhang's intervention can we kill this scoundrel!"
The other Cultivator of Gang Condensation agreed.
Second Senior Brother looked at the two men.
The attacker was a Peak Hugging Pill, easily capable of slaying Lie Hun.
He too was swiftly defeated, and if the two junior brothers gave chase, it would just be sending them to their deaths.
Soon, Zhang Xiu arrived at the scene, leading a group of more than ten people guided by the sixth junior brother.
"Yu Daoquan, you all..."
Zhang Xiu glanced at the boxer, then his gaze solidified upon seeing Lie Hun, his pupils suddenly constricting.
The Palace Master had covertly recruited Lie Hun, a top assassin he had heard about, who had cultivated the art of concealing to its peak perfection, becoming undetectable by a Refining God Immortal within ten steps if he did not reveal his murderous intent.
But now...
To die here!?
"Palace Master Zhang, hurry and pursue! The attacker has fled towards the south of the city!"
Yu Daoquan urged desperately.
"Have you identified his identity? Refining God Immortal? Hugging Pill Cultivator?"
"Hugging Pill, his cultivation isn't at the level of Refining God."
Yu Daoquan stated confidently.
"Not at Refining God, yet he killed..."
Zhang Xiu began, recalling Lie Hun's identity which shouldn't be exposed, and quickly corrected himself, "Not at Refining God, yet he severely injured you three?"
"We... were careless for a moment."
Yu Daoquan hesitated for a moment.
He understood Zhang Xiu's apprehension.
A thousand people have a thousand thoughts.
Even they, the direct disciples of Gantian, harbored fear of catching up to the attacker, reluctant to risk their lives to delay him, let alone others from Demon Refining Hall.
At that moment, Zhang Xiu nodded, "This person has acted so brazenly in our Demon Refining Hall without giving us any regard; I will immediately have men track him down!"
Quickly, he rallied the troops and set off in pursuit.
The movement was not minor.
But with such a delay...
The attacker had already vanished; chasing him now was wishful thinking.
...
"Having a Refining God Immortal nearby and Hugging Pill Gang Condensation visibly patrolling the house, yet still harboring a top assassin for a secret killing, this level of precaution, any Hugging Pill coming here today would have been killed. It's too dangerous," Gu Jinlai murmured as he hurriedly raced towards the outskirts of Changjun City with large and small bags in hand.
"Gone, gone, not coming back, not coming back."
Just thinking about it made his heart shudder.
He strode briskly, quickly arriving at the Jiang Family caravan stationed in South City.
At the head of the caravan, Shao Hong looked towards the city, sensing the faint stirrings within, and when he saw Gu Jinlai returning with heaps of baggage, a bad premonition immediately rose in his heart.
"Elder Gu..."
"Oh, I've finished packing my things."
Gu Jinlai replied.
Shao Hong paused for several seconds upon him, as if he hadn't seen the bloodstains and dust on his clothes, and quickly said, "Then let's set off now, please, Elder Gu, get on the carriage."
"The herbs from Fang's Garden..."
"We won't wait any longer, lest the moonlight fades diminishing other herbs' transplant success, and turn minor issues into major ones."
"Alright."
Gu Jinlai nodded and climbed into the carriage.
As soon as he was aboard, Shao Hong immediately signaled the caravan, and a group of several dozen people quickly embarked, leaving Changjun City behind.