Let's Do This

Gu Jinlai's team was the convoy transporting Moonlight Grass from the Jiang family to the Capital City.

This herb was one of the auxiliary ingredients for refining Spirit Nurturing Pills. It could only be transplanted at night under the moonlight, so the convoy would not only push forward at full speed but also travel by night and rest by day for the next several days.

"When does the team set out?"

Gu Jinlai asked.

The team leader was the middle-aged man in the Gang Condensation Realm who had been at Jiang Xiyu's side during the day, named Shao Hong.

"We'll depart once Fang Jiayuan's herbs arrive. Should be about an hour or so."

Shao Hong said.

Gu Jinlai nodded.

He cast another glance at Changjun City, shrouded in darkness.

He was about to leave.

A dignified Spirit Refining True Person, slinking away in disgrace—not only that, but he couldn't even remain a Spirit Refining Titan and had to switch careers to become a Celestial Master.

Though Celestial Masters held high status, refining artifacts and taming beasts brought in a steady stream of wealth, yet each Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation left the physical body frail, even inferior to a Body Tempering martial artist, far from matching a Spirit Refining True Person who gathered all power in one body.

He could practically serve as a cautionary tale in the Spirit Refining world.

"I will return."

Gu Jinlai murmured to himself.

He looked at Changjun City under the night sky, a faint melancholy rising in his eyes.

This departure...

Gazing at the endless road of separation, knowing not when the return date would come.

Sigh.

Gu Jinlai let out another sigh.

But before the breath was fully spent, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Since he was leaving anyway.

Since he had already decided to abandon evil and turn to good.

Since he didn't even want to bother with the Purgatory Demonic Sect's mess anymore.

Since he was about to change professions to become a Celestial Master.

Then...

How about, before he left, he pulled off a heist at the Demon Refining Hall?

Not that he had to go killing.

Just to "take" what was rightfully his.

The people at the Demon Refining Hall had swallowed the lion's share of his contributions—at least he deserved a taste of the leftovers.

Besides, refining artifacts required raw materials, and those were expensive.

With that thought, Gu Jinlai couldn't sit still.

He got off the carriage and said to Shao Hong, "I forgot something. I'll be back in half an hour."

Shao Hong was taken aback. "Then please hurry, Elder Gu."

"I won't make you wait."

Gu Jinlai said, then quickly slipped into the night, heading toward the Demon Refining Hall.

The Demon Refining Hall had three Hall Masters at the Spirit Refining realm, and the Six Halls and Twelve Courtyards were quite perilous.

Gu Jinlai wore a Demon Beast mask and cautiously infiltrated under cover of darkness.

He prowled the outer courtyards, trying to pinpoint Zhang Xiu's residence, but unexpectedly discovered...

The Hall Master wasn't there?

The Demon Refining Hall's Hall Master, Yun Guantian, was nowhere to be seen. His courtyard was quiet, with only a few disciples around, no activity.

Of the three Hall Masters of the Demon Refining Hall, one had left for the Star Prefecture Capital a month ago and hadn't returned.

Now Yun Guantian was also absent, leaving only Zhang Xiu in the entire Demon Refining Hall.

"When it comes to wealth, how can Deputy Hall Master Zhang Xiu compare to the main Hall Master Yun Guantian? Besides, the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Diagram requires Yun Guantian to open it personally. He must have been involved in swallowing my contributions and offering the Great Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method in return."

Gu Jinlai shifted his target.

He hadn't come for slaughter, only to vent the bitterness in his heart.

Naturally, he would hit the Demon Refining Hall where it hurt the most.

This time, no one would divert the Spirit Refining True Person Zhang Xiu's attention for him.

But on the way here under the night, Gu Jinlai had already prepared himself.

Attack where he must defend.

Heaven and Earth Qiankun Diagram!

The Heaven and Earth Qiankun Diagram was located in the rear hall, requiring a formation to sustain its operation.

Otherwise, even a Spirit Refining True Person could not support the consumption of a Dao Artifact.

Gu Jinlai headed toward the rear hall, already carrying a number of fireworks and firecrackers in his hands.

There were quite a few guards in the rear hall.

Over a dozen in the Qi Refining Realm, and surely one or two Dan-holding experts stationed there.

Using fireworks and firecrackers to burn the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Diagram was a pipe dream.

But Gu Jinlai only needed to draw attention. The Heaven and Earth Qiankun Diagram was of utmost importance. Once the firecrackers went off, no matter how confident Zhang Xiu was in the rear hall's defenses, he would have to go investigate and eliminate the threat.

With that, he took the fireworks and firecrackers he had swiped along the way, found a hidden spot in a corner of the rear hall, set up a simple trigger mechanism, lit the fuse, and hurried toward the Hall Master's courtyard.

"Chirp! Crack!"

By the time he had infiltrated the area outside Hall Master Yun Guantian's courtyard, a piercing sound tore through the night sky, accompanied by a dazzling burst of firelight.

"On guard! Watch for enemies!"

"Fire in the rear hall!"

"The rear hall!? Hurry! Move! Protect the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Diagram!"

Chaos and clamor quickly spread from within the Demon Refining Hall.

The Demon Refining Hall, composed of six palaces and twelve courtyards, instantly became a hive of activity.

Deputy Hall Master Zhang Xiu also noticed the commotion outside, but such fireworks and flames were clearly a diversion. His first move was to gather his disciples, ordering them to guard their own courtyards and ensure no one broke in, before hastily rushing to the rear hall.

As for Hall Master Yun Guantian's courtyard...

It never crossed his mind.

Just as in a sudden fire, anyone's first concern is their own losses. Even if others in the household had their private property burned, they wouldn't make the connection in such a short time.

Not to mention that Zhang Xiu and Yun Guantian's relationship was far from that of a family.

Gu Jinlai had been sneaking toward the courtyard before the fire started.

But he had never trained in movement techniques and was unfamiliar with the layout of Yun Guantian's residence. Less than a breath after slipping into the courtyard, a sharp shout rang out.

"Who goes there!"

Immediately after, a Dan-holding expert charged out with three Gang Condensation cultivators.

Gu Jinlai was not surprised by this.

He drew his sword without hesitation.

This was the high-grade treasure sword Jiang Xiyu had given him.

He had ultimately felt too embarrassed to take back something already given away. How could the value of such external objects compare to his life?

Thanks to his generosity, Gu Jinlai's poorly maintained low-grade treasure sword was now retired.

The high-grade treasure sword made his Sword Gang even sharper.

Gu Jinlai drew his sword and charged, Sword Gang sweeping in all directions. The Dan-holding expert who met him unleashed a fist Gang, but it was cleaved apart on the spot by the Sword Gang.

"Boom!"

Gang Qi burst forth, and as the shockwave scattered, the expert was forced back several steps.

"Peak Dan-holding!? Sixth, go seek aid. Third, Fourth, fall back into the house and hold the line until reinforcements arrive!"

Having instantly assessed Gu Jinlai's level, the fist technique expert gave his orders.

One of them, skilled in movement techniques, sped off into the distance, while the other two formed a pincer formation with him, retreating swiftly.

This was the Demon Refining Hall!

They only needed to hold out for a moment, and reinforcements would come. The leading Dan-holding expert had chosen the safest tactic.

Gu Jinlai strode forward boldly, charging with his sword. True Qi surged within him like a blazing sun, fierce and explosive.

But just as he was about to unleash another burst of Sword Gang to shatter or even severely wound these three, the corner of his eye caught something.

Light!

Karma, like fire, a dark crimson glow!

That dark crimson karma was less than twenty steps away, right in the direction the Dan-holding expert was retreating.

If he unleashed his Sword Gang in a violent strike against the Dan-holding expert and his two companions, that mysterious existence would surely strike with lethal force, killing him in an instant.

What baffled Gu Jinlai most was that his peripheral vision had already "seen" this dark crimson karma, and the distance between them was less than twenty steps...

Yet he sensed no aura at all.

Nor could his naked eye detect where that figure was hiding.

This technique of concealing aura and hiding traces...

Gu Jinlai's heart turned cold.

Clearly, that Embryonic Pill expert's so-called retreat and defense was merely a feint.

Providing the perfect killing opportunity for that hidden assassin was the true key.

If it had been any other peak Embryonic Pill expert, in the next second, they would likely already be dead.

At this moment, Gu Jinlai's thoughts raced to the extreme.

The Sword Gang slashing toward that fist technique Embryonic Pill expert did not change in the slightest—in fact, it grew stronger!

The True Qi cultivated from the Great Sun Demonic Radiance Technique within his body was squeezed out to the utmost, churning and surging, flooding his entire being like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

To an outsider, it seemed he feared that the longer the delay, the more perilous the situation, so he poured all his True Qi into a single sword strike. As this sword slashed out, its speed skyrocketed, and the Sword Gang shook the heavens.

The violent friction between the Sword Gang and the air produced a thunderous roar like muffled thunder.

A ring of white air, visible to the naked eye, exploded from the tip of the sword, spreading out in ripples, whipping up a gale that scattered in all directions.

"Die!"

Just as Gu Jinlai unleashed this thunderous, match-deciding sword strike, the figure that had still not appeared in his "perception" moved.

"Swish!"

Soundless, like a specter shuttling forth from the depths of Jiu You, it thrust out a deadly gleam of cold light with inconceivable speed.

In the next instant, the dagger in its hand, shimmering with a dark glow, would graze his throat and sever his head.

But...

There was no next instant.

Just as that figure's dagger was about to slice off Gu Jinlai's head, a net silently wove itself beside him.

A net of death, composed of formless, shadowless sword qi.

As that ghost-like figure charged at Gu Jinlai, it was like a sedan car hurtling headlong into a razor-sharp steel wire.

Under the relative speed between the two, in the end...

"Shiiish! Shiiish! Shiiish!"

Sword qi interwove.

Blood mist filled the air.

The ghost-like figure's dagger stopped less than three centimeters from Gu Jinlai's throat.

Abruptly, its body collapsed.

It was directly sliced into over a dozen pieces by the formless, shadowless sword qi, scattering to the ground.

It, which had hidden itself without a sound, died just as silently.