The Return Journey

"An individual's killing and destruction efficiency can never compare to that of a war machine."

He glanced around at the Gu Jinlai dynasties.

In that brief exchange, the battlefield spanned several miles.

For miles around, one could see layers of overturned soil and large pits ranging from several meters to tens of meters in diameter, with splattered soil flying everywhere in round shapes.

Many trees, some tens of meters tall, were snapped in mid-air, scattering wood chips everywhere.

As for the shrubs and grass clippings that were several meters tall, they were uprooted and shredded into powder.

When the energy from the polymerization of deuterium and superdeuterium in his body is released through a transfer process, it generates astonishingly strong light and high temperatures, and in some places, clumps of charred black can be seen.

Some trees still had blazing flames hanging from them.

The area within a radius of several miles looked as if it had been bombed.

If it weren't for the fact that it's early spring and the continuous rain and mist that followed, there would probably already be raging fires burning around here.

But...

Even though he had shown almost his strongest form except for his trump card, he still failed to kill all those who ambushed him.

Even among the hundreds of people in Dragon Sparrow Manor, several managed to escape with their lives.

Dozens of people scattered and fled in all directions. Even with Gu Jinlai's speed and strength, he was ultimately powerless to catch and kill them all.

"Ultimately, this world isn't a high-martial-world, or even a mid-martial-world. Cultivators have limited power, especially me. I haven't even reached the upper limit of low-martial-world. Otherwise, one punch from me could shake mountains and rivers..."

Gu Jinlai glanced into the distance and said, "Even an ordinary mountain range would be hundreds or thousands of miles long. With one punch, a thousand miles of land would be reduced to dust. Where would Yellow Heaven Sect, the Ouyang Aristocratic Clan, the Tianhai Gang, the Longxi Sect, and the Xingtian Gate hide? They would all be annihilated along with the mountains and rivers under the force of the punch."

Instead of watching helplessly as those who attacked him escaped with their lives, as is the case now.

"However, the monks may run away, but the temples cannot. Yellow Heaven Sect, right? The Ouyang Aristocratic Clan, right? The Tianhai Gang, right? And the Dragon Breath Sect and other local sects... I'll go and destroy Dragon Sparrow Manor first. After dealing with Dragon Sparrow Manor, I'll come back to collect debts one by one."

Gu Jinlai, people have turned their attention back to the battlefield and begun to assess the situation.

Spirit Transformation cultivators often go bankrupt to exchange for a single Spirit Artifact flying sword, so they have a very high rate of Spirit Artifact equipment.

Although many Spirit Artifacts were damaged in the battle, Spirit Artifact were made from extraordinary materials and were extremely valuable.

In addition, True Person have mastered the Spirit Refining often use high-grade swords, and some wealthy individuals even possess top-grade swords, sometimes paired with a high-grade armor.

Any one of these items could be sold for tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Gu Jinlai, the cost of forging the Cheng Ying mech with immortal refined gold has been in the billions.

Even if we only consider the cost, it would be over a billion.

Under these circumstances, he was eager to find ways to make money in preparation for refining this behemoth.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to collect swords and armor worth tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

After clearing the battlefield, he put away his equipment. Although it was quite heavy, with the physique of a mid-level Demonic Beasts, it didn't take him much effort to lift it all.

He quickly determined the direction and set off in the direction where Cheng Wanli, Gu Chifeng and the others were.

On the other side.

Yellow Heaven Sect's convoy was speeding along, not daring to relax for a moment.

This frantic run lasted for nearly half a day, until they were hundreds of miles away from the battlefield, at which point Yu Fan, who was leading the team, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But whenever he recalls the scene from just now, he still feels lingering fear.

"Terrible! Absolutely terrifying!"

Twelve Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators simultaneously unleashed their swords—what a magnificent sight!

Even a powerful cultivator like Primordial Spirit True Person wouldn't dare to attack a position that had twelve Spirit Transformation Grand Cultivators.

Even if we reduce the number of Spirit Transformation Primordial Spirit True Lord would still have to consider tactics. He would rely on his longer range advantage and the burst of True Qi carried by his Primordial Spirit sword to continuously break through, probe, and find opportunities for battle.

Otherwise, even True Lord might be caught off guard and suffer a setback if he were to be attacked by six Spirit Transformation cultivators simultaneously with their swords.

But Gu Jinlai...

Not only did it forcefully attack the defensive position built by the twelve Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators, it also powerfully shattered the flying swords of the twelve Spirit Transformation cultivators in a head-on attack!

This power...

It was completely beyond his imagination.

"Wrong! Wrong! Utterly wrong! Gu Jinlai, the killing Spirit Artifact Heavenly Sword may have played a significant role in enabling the killing of two Primordial Spirit True Lord, Wang Yinfeng and Ye Wuxia. However, these killing Spirit Artifact at most only gave him the ability to pursue Primordial Spirit True Lord and ensure that they could not escape by relying on aerial advantage. He himself is the most important person on the main battlefield."

Light flashed continuously in Yu Fan's mind.

The intelligence gathered over the years, combined with the scene he had just witnessed, gradually coalesced into a truth.

"I should have realized that during the Battle of White River City, Gu Jinlai was able to kill the Demon Ape Commander who had cultivated the Undying Demon Body. Even though outsiders kept spreading the rumor that it was because the Demon Ape Commander had been severely injured by a heavy war Spirit Artifact that Gu Jinlai was able to win the battle, this... might just be the fact that these forces were unwilling to accept the huge disparity in power! The real reason is that Gu Jinlai already possessed power no less than that of a high-ranking Demonic Beasts! And he had even cultivated the Undying Demon Body!"

Thinking about how their group had been misled by Ye Dongliu, and how they had participated in the assassination attempt against Gu Jinlai while Yellow Heaven Sect was still under immense pressure, and how Gu Jinlai might use this as an excuse to march north...

Caught between the Crocodile Dragon Ze Demonic Beasts and the forces from both the north and south of Star Province, Yellow Heaven Sect is in danger of annihilation.

"No, there's still room for maneuver. Although I accepted Ye Dongliu's invitation, I didn't actually make a move. Therefore, as long as Yellow Heaven Sect can show some sincerity, we might be able to turn hostility into friendship. And as long as we can hold out for this period, after the Divine Sword Tournament of the Ten Demonic Sects ends and the Demonic Beasts of Crocodile Dragon Swamp return to the Milky Way, the pressure on the Yellow Heaven Sect will be much less..."

Upon thinking about this, Yu Fan immediately made a decision.

Go back and discuss it with the elders and even the supreme elders. We must stabilize Star Province no matter what and get through these next few months.

Compared to the Yellow Heaven Sect.

The Spirit Transformation and Spirit Refining experts from other factions were equally alarmed.

However, most of them are forces north of the Milky Way, separated from Star Province, facing each other from the north and south.

Gu Jinlai, there has never been a Heavenly Emperor who would have dared to approach the Milky Way region if it weren't for the Ten Demonic Sects' Divine Sword Conference, which forced Demonic Beasts to retreat and opened up communication between the north and south.

Otherwise, if Demonic Beasts sensed the strong spiritual aura emanating from him, even the Demonic Beasts King would become restless and charge in on a wave.

The remaining Ouyang Aristocratic Clan and Tianhai gang are not only isolated overseas, located in Lizhou, but also have Primordial Spirit True Lord (a high-ranking official) behind them.

Moreover, the local forces in Lizhou are extremely xenophobic. Gu Jinlai dares to go to Lizhou to cause trouble for them, other forces may not stand idly by.

The worst outcome would be for him to escape to the depths of the sea.

They are very knowledgeable about the open sea.

They hide on a small island in the deep sea. How could a group of outsiders from Gu Jinlai and the present possibly find them?

If they just hide for a year or two, they don't believe that Gu Jinlai, the ruler of Star Province, would abandon his Star Province foundation and block them in Lizhou for so long.

In this situation, they simply returned to their respective places as quickly as possible, without having any further contact with Gu Jinlai.

Gu Chifeng, Si Tianyan, Guan Xingyun, and the others deliberately slowed down their pace.

Gu Jinlai took only one day to catch up with the convoy.

When they saw Gu Jinlai appear, carrying large bags and bundles of spoils, Gu Chifeng, Gu Qingmei, and the others were overjoyed and exclaimed excitedly, "We've won! We've won! Our ancestor has won!"

"I knew it. With the old ancestor's abilities, even if the bunch of scoundrels from Dragon Sparrow Manor had a lot of schemes and tricks, they would be crushed."

Hearing the joyful shouts of Gu Chifeng and the others, Si Tianyan, Guan Xingyun, and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they had great confidence in Gu Jinlai's strength, hearing is believing. Seeing that he had actually returned safely gave them a deeper understanding of Gu Jinlai's abilities.

Gu Chifeng and his companions quickly spurred their Tyrannosaurus Rex forward, cupping their hands in greeting from afar. "Welcome, Ancestor! You have broken through the enemy formation and returned with a full harvest."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

Without needing to be told, Gu Chifeng stepped forward and helped him collect the spoils of war.

"I have defeated the twelve Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators gathered by Dragon Sparrow Manor. I killed the three of them, led by Ye Dongliu, on the spot. You don't need to worry about the return journey."

He addressed Guan Xingyun, Si Tianyan, and especially Xiang Fengyun and a few others, from Gu Jinlai.

The Daoist priests have been hunted by Demonic Beasts for years and have a severe lack of security.

One reason why people like Xiang Fengyun were willing to serve him Gu Jinlai was that he was the first person in forty years to achieve the status of a Heavenly Lord. Another important reason was his glorious achievement of single-handedly facing attacks from two True Lords and seven Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators, killing six of them.

Otherwise, given Xiang Fengyun's status as Grand Celestial Master, which faction wouldn't welcome him with open arms?

Hearing what Gu Jinlai had said, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

"He defeated twelve Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators head-on... Gu Tianjun is truly incredibly brave. With Gu Tianjun guarding Lingxiao City, the area surrounding Lingxiao City will surely be safe and sound."

Xiang Fengyun and the others said politely.

"As you all enter my Lingxiao City, aside from everything else, I will never let you down in terms of your personal safety. If any Demonic Beasts dare to enter Lingxiao City or even act recklessly within Star Province, they will definitely be met with a thunderous strike from our Star Province forces."

This Gu Jinlai.

"We naturally trust the Ancient Heavenly Lord."

After exchanging pleasantries, the group set off again.

Gu Jinlai returned to Gu Chifeng's side and gave the order, "Use the Thousand-Mile Light and Shadow Mirror to send a message to Star Province, gather manpower, and conduct war mobilization."

He paused, then looked southeast. "Although I want to wait a little longer, Dragon Sparrow Manor has repeatedly colluded with Demonic Beasts... It's time for them to pay the price for their actions."