"What on earth just happened?"
"Where's Great Sage Qiongqi?"
Many of the Gods and Demons stared in bewilderment when they realized Great Sage Qiongqi had vanished.
Many of them unleashed their Divine Sense, sweeping an area a million li around them, but still found no trace of him.
Their hearts lurched.
An unbelievable possibility began to take shape.
"Human Race Gu Xi revealed two Primordial Spiritual Treasures and more than a dozen Acquired Spiritual Treasures... Great Sage Qiongqi would never have given up on them."
"But now... Great Sage Qiongqi has vanished. Could Human Race Gu Xi have killed him?"
One God and Demon voiced the question to the others.
"That can't be. Great Sage Qiongqi was a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. How could a Golden Immortal stand against him?" another said.
"It isn't impossible... Don't forget, Human Race Gu Xi brought out two Primordial Spiritual Treasures and more than a dozen Acquired Spiritual Treasures."
"Even Quasi-Saint Heavenly Venerates covet Primordial Spiritual Treasures. You know how terrifying their power is."
"With so many treasures in a Golden Immortal's hands, killing a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal isn't out of the question."
Other Gods and Demons weighed in.
At once, they all fell silent.
Shock showed on every face.
Right before their eyes, a Golden Immortal had used a host of treasures to blast a Primordial Great Sage to death.
It was a sight they would never forget.
It also made them covet Primordial Spiritual Treasures all the more.
They gazed greedily at the treasures returning one by one to the Auspicious Cloud above Gu Xi's head. They wanted to kill him on the spot and claim every last one.
But they did not dare move.
Even a Primordial Great Sage like Great Sage Qiongqi had been blasted to death.
None of them was a match for Gu Xi.
"How... how is this possible?"
"The Great Sage was killed?"
Golden Toad Demon God, still battling Teng Snake Demon God, saw Great Sage Qiongqi disappear and realized Gu Xi might have killed him. Terror nearly drove his soul from his body.
With a shriek, he struck with all his might, forcing Teng Snake Demon God back for a moment. Then he raised a streak of light and fled.
But Golden Toad Demon God had barely moved when a five-headed, nine-armed manifestation appeared above Gu Xi's head. One of its arms shot out a thousand li, fingers spread wide, and seized Golden Toad Demon God in an instant.
Boom!
The giant hand crushed Golden Toad Demon God outright.
His body burst into a rain of blood.
His Primordial Spirit had no time to escape before it, too, was crushed.
Only a Dao Seed and a steel-fork-shaped Acquired Spiritual Treasure remained. The giant hand brought them back.
At the sight of the Dao Seed, Gu Xi sneered and channeled his Magic Power to seal it away.
He wanted to convert powerful Gods and Demons into guardians of the Human Race.
But he would show no mercy to a God and Demon like Golden Toad Demon God, who had dreamed of turning the Human Race into food. He had killed him without hesitation.
As for Golden Toad Demon God's Dao Seed, it was a treasure too. Once Gu Xi had finished studying it, he could give it to Suiren Shi and the others to study.
"He's so strong... Golden Toad Demon God was a Middle Golden Immortal, yet Gu Xi killed him with one strike of a divine ability."
"I'm starting to believe he killed Great Sage Qiongqi... He's already this strong without using a single treasure. With two Primordial Spiritual Treasures and more than a dozen Acquired Spiritual Treasures, killing Great Sage Qiongqi might well have been possible."
The Gods and Demons watching from the shadows drew sharp breaths at what they had just seen.
Some who had been itching to act were secretly glad they had not attacked Gu Xi.
After killing Golden Toad Demon God, Gu Xi swept his gaze over the Guishan Mountain Range. It had been reduced entirely to ruins.
The Guishan Monster Race had scattered as well.
Aside from the hundred thousand or so members of the Demon Race killed by the battle's shockwaves, almost all the others had fled.
Gu Xi did not pursue them. He had no intention of wiping them out.
Killing Demon Race powerhouses such as Great Sage Qiongqi and Golden Toad Demon God was one thing. It could be put down to a personal feud, and the Demon Race Heavenly Court was unlikely to interfere.
The Demon Race was vast. In name, every member fell under the Demon Race Heavenly Court and revered its two great rulers, Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi, as emperors.
In practice, Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi chiefly governed the Demon Race powerhouses recruited into the Demon Race Heavenly Court.
Many Demon Race powerhouses outside its ranks, especially the Quasi-Saint Heavenly Venerates and God and Demon Dao Lords, paid it respect only on the surface. In private, they seldom obeyed its orders.
For example, the Demon Race Heavenly Court had named Nuwa and Fuxi Empress Wa and Xi Huang, yet neither ever heeded its commands.
Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi could not order them around either.
Once Nuwa attained sainthood, that was truer still.
In fact, Hong Huang was home to many Demon Race powerhouses like Nuwa and Fuxi who remained independent of the Demon Race Heavenly Court.
Otherwise, when Sect Master Tongtian later founded the Interception Sect, so many Demon Race powerhouses would not have chosen to join it instead of the Demon Race Heavenly Court.
Great Sage Qiongqi, too, had been all but independent of the Demon Race Heavenly Court.
He had even recruited members of the Demon Race himself and established the Guishan Monster Race.
Someone who operated outside the Demon Race Heavenly Court could hardly expect its protection. If he was killed, the Heavenly Court generally would not intervene.
But if Gu Xi hunted down masses of the Demon Race and exterminated them, that would be another matter.
After all, the Demon Race Heavenly Court nominally governed every member of the Demon Race and bore responsibility for them.
If Gu Xi slaughtered countless members of the Demon Race, the Demon Race Heavenly Court would have to retaliate to uphold that responsibility, at least in name.
Gu Xi knew full well he was not strong enough to stand against the Demon Race Heavenly Court yet.
So he left those fleeing the Guishan Mountain Range alone.
"Fellow Daoist Gu Xi, Great Sage Qiongqi also had a Kui Niu Demon God under his command... But it seems Kui Niu Demon God went out and isn't in the Guishan Mountain Range," Teng Snake Demon God said as he flew over.
A trace of shock still lingered in his eyes.
Even now, he could scarcely believe that Gu Xi, a Golden Immortal, had killed a Primordial Great Sage like Great Sage Qiongqi.
"If he isn't here, there's no need to bother with him."
"I killed Great Sage Qiongqi. If Kui Niu Demon God has any sense, he won't return to the East Sea Coast."
"Let's return to the Human Tribe."
With that, Gu Xi took Teng Snake Demon God and Fire Rhinoceros Daoist back to the Human Tribe.
After they left, the Gods and Demons who had watched from the shadows emerged, staring in shock at the Guishan Mountain Range, now nothing but ruins.
"Hard to believe. The Guishan Monster Race dominated the East Sea Coast for nearly ten million years, and now it's gone."
"When an old power falls, a new one rises. The Human Race will probably soon become one of the top powers on the East Sea Coast."
"Heh, the Human Race wants to rise? It's far too early. Just watch. That Human Race Golden Immortal exposed so many treasures that the entire East Sea Coast will probably be thrown into chaos soon... Whether the Human Race survives the coming calamity is still anyone's guess. They can talk about rising after they make it through."
"Exactly. Ever since Dao Ancestor Hongjun passed down the Method of Slaying Three Corpses, many Quasi-Saint Heavenly Venerates and God and Demon Dao Lords have searched all Hong Huang for Primordial Spiritual Treasures like mad. Now that Human Race Gu Xi has revealed two, once word spreads, those Quasi-Sage giants and God and Demon Dao Lords are bound to want them..."
"Hiss. If you're right, won't the East Sea Coast be terribly dangerous? If Quasi-Sage giants and God and Demon Dao Lords start fighting here... they could turn the whole coast upside down and kill countless living beings."
"Looks like I'd better hide out in the Three Islands and Ten Continents on the East Sea for a while. I'm only a Heavenly Immortal. I couldn't withstand the shockwaves from a battle between those titans."
"I'm coming too. I need to get out of here..."
The Gods and Demons continued talking as they departed one by one.
News that Great Sage Qiongqi had been killed, the Guishan Monster Race had scattered, and Gu Xi possessed two Primordial Spiritual Treasures and more than a dozen Acquired Spiritual Treasures spread across the East Sea Coast at astonishing speed.
The entire East Sea Coast erupted.
Every God and Demon there was shaken to the core.
The news also alarmed the region's most powerful factions, including the Five Elements Dharma Lineage, the Yellow Earth Tribe, and the Canglan Water Mansion.
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