Packing Up

Watching the mysterious figure that had appeared abruptly, only to be sliced into over a dozen pieces just as suddenly, the Dan-holding Boxer from the Demon Refining Hall felt his heart shudder violently.

"Soul Hunter!?"

Soul Hunter!

The top assassin of Star Prefecture's underworld.

No fewer than ten Dan-holders had died by his hand.

That number surpassed the Dan-holding experts some Spirit Refining True Persons had slain in their entire lifetimes.

His most glorious achievement was ambushing a major sect alone, and after a month, forcing a Spirit Refining True Person to abandon the sect and flee.

And now, such a top-tier assassin—whose threat level in the shadows rivaled that of a Spirit Refining True Person—had died just like that!?

Died at the hands of this unknown expert?

And died without a sound?

The Dan-holding Boxer's mind reeled, but Gu Jinlai's sword strike, poured with all his strength, did not pause for even a moment as it slammed down with a thunderous crash.

"Boom!"

The Sword Gang exploded!

It was as if ten kilograms of explosives had detonated in midair.

The violent strike, infused with nearly all of Gu Jinlai's True Qi, erupted and burst forth in the void.

A hurricane howled.

Sand and stones flew.

Splashing sword qi madly carved into the smooth, polished marble floor, leaving behind crisscrossing sword scars stretching several meters, even over ten meters long.

The Dan-holding Boxer, caught at the forefront, shuddered violently. Under the torrent of Sword Gang, it was as if his entire body was being flayed alive. Even with his protective True Qi, he was torn open with over a dozen sword wounds.

His shoulder and thigh, in particular, were pierced through by sword qi, blood gushing out.

The violent force also shook his internal organs and slammed into his body, sending him flying backward uncontrollably.

"Second Senior Brother!"

The other two Gang Condensation experts, seeing this, did not give Gu Jinlai a chance to pursue. They crossed their swords to intercept!

But Gu Jinlai's sword tip flickered rapidly. The remnants of the Formless Sword Qi, like a spiderweb, were swept up by him and instantly shrouded the two intercepting Gang Condensation experts.

However, these two Gang Condensation experts were different from the assassin Soul Hunter, who had dared not use much True Qi earlier to ensure a smooth kill. The residual Formless Sword Qi had also lost its full power. As it wrapped around their bodies, they immediately shook off their True Qi to defend themselves.

Though their clothes were torn and over a dozen bloody gashes appeared on them, these wounds were not enough to sever their bodies.

Even so, this bizarre, invisible attack still made the two Gang Condensation experts' faces change drastically.

"Fall back!"

"Watch out for the sword qi!"

Facing life and death, the two Gang Condensation experts retreated at their fastest speed.

The speed and agility they displayed in that instant left Gu Jinlai far behind in admiration.

"A Light Red Name, and the other two are Yellow Names."

Gu Jinlai considered that his purpose in coming here was to retrieve his belongings, not to vent by killing.

Having driven the three back, he spun around, his True Qi surging, and strode forward like a cannonball, pounding into Yun Guantian's study.

"Bang!"

Wood chips flew everywhere.

The door was smashed to pieces.

His eyes swept around, and he quickly spotted several items that looked valuable, along with books, and bundled them all up in one go.

Then, with a burst of power from his feet, accompanied by a tremor in the ground, he leaped forward and slammed heavily into the wall, collapsing the walls of both the study and the bedroom. Bricks and stones flew wildly, dust falling in sheets.

Then, same as before.

He took whatever caught his eye.

He took whatever was valuable.

He packed a pile of miscellaneous items at Extreme Speed, then swept his sword in an arc, and a phantom of a Blood Lotus seemed to appear behind him.

The next moment, the Blood Lotus phantom collapsed, transforming into dozens of streaks of sword qi that howled and swept through Yun Guantian's bedroom and study, tearing everything apart.

It felt just like holding a Gatling and firing wildly from the inside out, three hundred and sixty degrees.

Green bricks, stone tiles, carved dragons and painted phoenixes, glazed mirrors—all of it was shattered, blasted, and scattered.

As the sword qi raged, Gu Jinlai soon sensed something.

He leaped, channeled his True Qi, and kicked a wall down. As stone chips flew, a box hidden within the wall was swept out by his True Qi.

Taking the box and confirming there were no secret passages or hidden compartments left behind, Gu Jinlai dared not linger. He strode forward and fled the scene at top speed.

Almost as he burst out of the building, the house—whose foundation, beams, and walls had been nearly completely destroyed—could no longer bear the weight and collapsed with a roar, sending countless fragments and dust flying.

"Damn it."

The Dan-holding Boxer stared at the scene, eyes wide, both shocked and furious.

Outrageous!

This bandit was too outrageous!

He had broken into their Hall Master's home, set fires, killed people, stolen goods, and even torn down the house!

Was there no justice left? Was there no law anymore!?

"Second Senior Brother!"

At that moment, two Gang Condensation cultivators, drenched in blood and looking utterly miserable, circled around.

"What are you standing around for!? Chase him!"

the Dan-holding Boxer barked.

"Senior Brother, this man..."

One of the Gang Condensation cultivators glanced at the Soul Hunter's corpse, which had been shattered into over a dozen pieces, a flicker of fear in his eyes. "This man is a Peak Dan-holding, surely swift in movement. Not to mention whether we can catch up—even if we do, if he turns back to strike us down, Master's loss will be even greater..."

"Our best course now is to summon Hall Master Zhang as quickly as possible. Only with Hall Master Zhang's intervention can we slay this fiend!"

the other Gang Condensation cultivator echoed.

The Second Senior Brother looked at the two of them.

That attacker was a Peak Dan-holding who could easily kill even a Soul Hunter.

He himself had been routed in a single exchange; sending his two junior brothers after him would only be throwing their lives away.

Soon, Zhang Xiu arrived with a dozen or so men, led by that Sixth Junior Brother.

"Yu Daoquan, you all..."

Zhang Xiu glanced at this Boxer, then his gaze fell on the Soul Hunter, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

He had heard that the Hall Master had secretly recruited the Soul Hunter, a top-tier assassin, but this assassin had honed his concealment arts to their peak—unless he revealed killing intent, even a Spirit Refining True Person couldn't detect him ten steps away.

And now...

Dead here!?

"Hall Master Zhang, hurry and chase! That attacker fled toward the south of the city!"

Yu Daoquan urged urgently.

"Did you identify his identity? A Spirit Refining True Person? A Core Formation Cultivator?"

"Dan-holding. His cultivation hasn't reached Spirit Refining."

Yu Daoquan stated firmly.

"If he's not Spirit Refining, how could he kill..."

Zhang Xiu, recalling that the Soul Hunter's identity wasn't fit for public knowledge, quickly corrected himself: "If he's not Spirit Refining, how could he gravely wound the three of you?"

"We... were caught off guard."

Yu Daoquan hesitated for a moment.

He understood Zhang Xiu's wariness.

A thousand people have a thousand thoughts.

Even they, the direct disciples of Yun Guantian, were afraid to chase that attacker, unwilling to risk their lives to hold him back—let alone the others in the Demon Refining Hall.

At that moment, Zhang Xiu nodded. "This man has run rampant in our Demon Refining Hall, showing no regard for us at all. I'll have people investigate immediately!"

With that, he quickly assembled his men and gave chase.

The commotion was considerable.

But after such a delay...

The attacker had long since vanished without a trace; catching up now was nothing but wishful thinking.

"With a Spirit Refining True Person right there, and Dan-holding and Gang Condensation patrols on the surface at home, there was still a top assassin lurking in the shadows for an ambush. With that kind of defense, any Dan-holding who came here today would have died on the spot. Too dangerous."

Gu Jinlai, carrying large bundles, sprinted at top speed toward the outskirts of Changjun City.

"I'm out of here. I'm not coming back, not coming back."

Just thinking about it made his heart race.

He strode swiftly and soon arrived at the Jiang Family Caravan in the southern city.

In front of the caravan, Shao Hong, hearing the faint commotion from within the city and seeing Gu Jinlai return with a mountain of bags, immediately had a bad feeling.

"Elder Gu..."

"Oh, I've packed up my things."

Gu Jinlai said.

Shao Hong paused on him for a few seconds, then, as if he hadn't noticed the bloodstains on his lapels, said quickly, as if brushing off dust: "Then let's set off now. Please, Elder Gu, get in the carriage."

"The herbs from Fang Jiayuan..."

"We can't wait. The moonlight might dim, making it harder to relocate the other herbs. We can't lose the big for the small."

"Alright."

Gu Jinlai nodded and boarded the carriage.

As soon as he was inside, Shao Hong immediately signaled the convoy. A group of dozens swiftly set out, leaving Changjun City behind.