Stepping into the blood fog.
Gu Qingfeng found his vision had become much blurrier.
At the same time.
An eerie and cold aura permeated the air, giving off a chilling sensation.
"Dad!"
Gu Yang's expression was slightly panicked as he followed closely behind Gu Qingfeng, fearing that something strange might emerge from the blood fog.
"With dad here, there's no need to be afraid."
Gu Qingfeng's expression was stern. The blood fog in front could obstruct one's vision; a common person entering it would easily lose their way, but after breaking through to the Blood Refining Realm, his senses had grown much stronger, and the blood fog could not truly block his vision.
Just as Gu Qingfeng was leading Gu Yang forward, suddenly shapes began to waver in the blood fog, and upon closer inspection, they found what they thought were shadows to be bodies hanging from the trees.
Each body had its belly slit open and was hung by the neck with rope from the trees; their ferocious faces already decayed considerably, with empty eyes as if the lost souls of the abyss were looking up to the living.
Such a turn of events.
Caused Gu Qingfeng's heart to startle, while the young Gu Yang by his side was so scared that his face turned deathly pale.
Blood-colored mist.
Withered trees and dead bodies.
Anyone who stumbled upon this scene would be surprised.
However.
After the shock, as Gu Qingfeng looked at the bodies in the trees, he recognized a familiar sense in the decayed faces.
"Liu Hong!"
Gu Qingfeng's expression changed slightly.
Liu Hong.
A senior instructor at the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall.
He had joined the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall for many years and was considered a veteran Late Stage Refining Skin expert. Gu Qingfeng did not expect to find him dead here.
Clearly.
This man must have sensed that something was amiss and thus snuck away, only to die here.
Although the body was now somewhat decayed, Gu Qingfeng could still make out many details.
There were no signs of struggle.
The person had been killed with a single blow.
To kill a Late Stage Refining Skin Martial Artist instantly indicated that the being within the blood fog was no simple matter.
At this moment.
A sudden sense of alarm rose in Gu Qingfeng's heart; he yanked Gu Yang to the side and instantly activated his Iron Body Skills, his right fist, like a cannonball, blasting out and colliding with a shadow.
"Boom!!"
With the clash of forces, the shadow immediately flew sideways, and Gu Qingfeng himself also felt a tremendous force attacking him, causing him to retreat slightly.
"Hehe, a Blood Refining Realm Martial Artist, unexpected to find such in little Lin County!"
A deep voice resonated as the shadow, having flown away, attacked again. This time, Gu Qingfeng finally saw the attacker's appearance.
It was a tall and thin middle-aged man, his face covered in fresh blood, his eyes venomous as a viper. He moved with the speed of thunder, and Gu Qingfeng, realizing the gravity of the situation, did not dare to take it lightly and used all his strength to fight.
Gu Qingfeng concentrated the power of his body's qi and blood, with a column of Qi Blood Smoke rising above his head. His Mountain Shattering Fist was powerfully imposing; each punch seemed capable of rending mountains and splitting rocks, causing the air to burst with loud cracks.
"Qi Blood Smoke!"
"You're not an ordinary Blood Refining Realm practitioner!"
Shangguan Jiang, upon seeing the appearance of the Qi Blood Smoke, was also slightly taken aback. He had not anticipated that a small place like Lin County would have a Blood Refining Realm martial artist.
Unexpectedly.
The opponent was still a warrior who had cultivated the Qi Blood Smoke of the Blood Refining Realm.
Immediately,
Shangguan Jiang's eyes grew increasingly cold, his tongue licked the fresh blood at the corner of his mouth, revealing an extremely eerie expression on his face.
"An organ of a warrior who has refined Qi Blood Smoke must taste much better than that of ordinary people. Just give up struggling and accept your death, and perhaps I can make you suffer a little less!"
During the exchange,
Shangguan Jiang had already burst forth with a fierce offensive. Gu Qingfeng calmly responded, but every time his fists and feet collided with his opponent's, he could feel a bizarre aura invading his body, as if it intended to rot and freeze him.
Fortunately, Gu Qingfeng possessed vigorous vitality, surging like mighty rivers, and the utterly yang force of his Qi Blood power forcibly dispelled the chilling aura.
"The warrior with the refined Qi Blood Smoke is indeed not simple!"
Seeing that Gu Qingfeng had been fighting against him for a long while, yet still moved so deftly, Shangguan Jiang's face darkened.
"Let me show you that a martial artist ultimately cannot grace the halls of the noble—"
Shangguan Jiang's face twisted savagely, his eyes filled with a chilling bleakness. Suddenly, the flesh on his right hand withered away, transforming into a ghastly black ghost hand, enveloping that eerie force as it hammered down.
Boom—
With another punch, Gu Qingfeng felt a stabbing pain in his fist and saw several savage wounds appear on the back of his right hand, the flesh there rotting grotesquely.
"What kind of technique is this?"
Gu Qingfeng was also startled. The transformation of Shangguan Jiang was unexpected, and even the indestructible nature of his Iron Body Skills and the Mountain Shattering Fist seemed unable to defend against the opponent's attack.
Shangguan Jiang looked maniacal, his eyes filled with a brutal murderous intent, and the peculiar aura around his body grew denser.
"Kill!"
Gu Qingfeng understood; he had no room for retreat. In this battle, either he would slay the man before him, or he and his father would both perish here.
At this moment,
He no longer cared for restraint.
Either live!
Or die!
Qi Blood Smoke billowed mightily. Gu Qingfeng's fists shook the mountains, engaging Shangguan Jiang in utter combat.
Boom!
The rumbling sound of battle resounded endlessly within the blood mist. The two figures tirelessly fought, the defense of the Iron Body Skills unable to block the ghost hand's attacks, but Shangguan Jiang was not invulnerable either. As he took Gu Qingfeng's assaults, his body also accumulated many wounds.
Yet both fighters seemed utterly devoid of pain, each intent on sending the other to their grave.
"Boom—"
Shangguan Jiang's ghost hand grasped Gu Qingfeng's shoulder with ease, tearing through skin and sinking deep into flesh. The intense pain contorted Gu Qingfeng's face, but instead of retreating, he surged forward, delivering a sudden punch to his opponent's chest.
The heavy and powerful attack immediately caved in Shangguan Jiang's chest, sending his body flying like a broken weed.
Under normal circumstances,
Such a wound would be fatal on the spot.
However,
Shangguan Jiang still did not die.
Before his opponent could struggle up from the ground, Gu Qingfeng rapidly closed the distance, his fists raining down like relentless droplets on the fallen fighter.
At that moment,
A look of fear finally appeared on Shangguan Jiang's face.
"You can't kill me... I... I am from the Evil Suppression Bureau—"
Shangguan Jiang wanted to speak, hoping to deter Gu Qingfeng with the status of the Evil Suppression Bureau, but Gu Qingfeng paid him no heed. There was only one thought in his mind: to beat his adversary to death right there.
When Gu Qingfeng's final punch was thrown, Shangguan Jiang's head burst open violently, and the headless corpse twitched briefly before falling still, lifeless.