Heretical Paths

"Here so soon."

Gu Jinlai was not surprised.

The words Zhao Fan had spoken to him not long ago should have been Lingxiao City's final ultimatum.

If he chose to turn a blind eye, Fang Que and the Three Great Families might still have opted to drive him away by slowly cooking the frog, but now...

"Gather everyone. Have them protect themselves while forming a perimeter outside, doing everything possible to prevent anyone from escaping."

Gu Jinlai gave the order.

"Form a perimeter?"

Gu Chaoyang was stunned.

"Is there a problem?"

"Old Ancestor, Fang Que and the Meteor Guards are coming in force. There are no fewer than ten Core Forming experts alone, along with dozens of Gang Condensing and Qi Refining experts from the Wang Family. Their strength is several times ours..."

Gu Chaoyang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Why don't we avoid their sharp edge for now and withdraw from Lingxiao?"

"Withdraw?"

Gu Jinlai thought of everything he had gone through over the past six months.

Leaving aside "Gu Jinlai's" retreat from the Purgatory Sect to Changjun City, he himself had withdrawn from Changjun City to Starlight City, then from Starlight City to Lingxiao City.

And now...

He still had to retreat again?

"I'm too lazy to retreat anymore."

Gu Jinlai rolled his neck, producing a faint crack.

He turned his head toward Gu Chaoyang. "I only retreated because I wanted to be a good person and make money through harmony. But if they take my concessions for granted and press me relentlessly because of them, heh... I, Gu Jinlai, don't need face?"

"According to what we know, Fang Que should have been planning this a month ago... Otherwise, he couldn't have mobilized more than a dozen Core Forming experts and dozens of Qi Refining and Gang Condensing experts so quickly. This lineup... might even be able to surround and kill a Spirit Refining expert head-on... Old Ancestor, temporary honor and disgrace..."

Gu Chaoyang was about to urge him again.

But before he could finish, Gu Jinlai's gaze had already fallen on him. "I understand that principle better than you do. How much is face worth?"

He slowly rose and picked up the heavy sword, which was somewhat crude and could barely be considered a rough blade blank.

"Several months ago, when I was being hunted by disciples of the Orthodox One Sect, I already considered this question. I, Gu Jinlai, am at least a Spirit Refining Giant, yet I was hunted by a group of Qi Refining cultivators. Didn't I need face? But thinking back now... this is how I lost my face, bit by bit."

He looked at the sword in his hand and flicked it with a finger.

"Dong!"

It was not a clear sword chime. Instead, the sound was deep and muffled.

"Dignity exists only above the edge of the sword; within its range, truth is everywhere!"

Holding the sword, he walked step by step toward the outer courtyard of the Meteor Guard residence, each step carrying the weight of a thousand jun.

"When I draw my sword, I am the truth!"

In the courtyard, the Meteor Guards seemed to have received word in advance. They had vanished without a sound upon returning to Lingxiao City.

As Gu Jinlai stepped out of the courtyard, the main gate of the Meteor Guard residence was suddenly kicked open.

Immediately afterward, a massive force strode out from outside, led by Garrison Commissioner Fang Que, along with Wang Bo and Wang Dang of the Wang Family. It consisted of eleven Core Forming experts, twenty-six Gang Condensing experts, and thirty-two Qi Refining experts.

Fang Que strode forward. The moment he entered, he shouted sternly, "Gu Jinlai, we have ample evidence proving that you extracted a confession through torture and murdered your fellow Wang Dongyu under a fabricated charge. This crime..."

Before he could finish, a terrifying, baleful aura came rolling toward them.

Along with it came a sharp whistle that tore through the air, followed by a low shout.

"Die!"

The giant sword, not yet fully formed but still weighing two or three thousand jin, was like a door panel as it came crashing down toward Fang Que's head.

"Ancient Demon Gu! You..."

The sudden thunderous strike caused Fang Que's expression to change drastically.

Having reached the Transformation Realm, he had honed his control over his own strength to the utmost. Even in this state, nearly indistinguishable from an ambush, he immediately employed his movement technique, slipping out from beneath the hurricane-shadow carried by the blow like a swimming dragon.

"How dare you resist? What colossal nerve! Attack! Kill without mercy!"

Wang Bo, the Wang Family patriarch, let out a sharp howl.

"Form up! North Dipper Dragon Wonder Formation!"

"Killing at the slightest disagreement—just as expected of a demonic heretic from the Purgatory Demon Sect! Against such demonic heretics, no one needs to talk about morality. Let's take him down together!"

"Kill! Slay demons and exorcise evil! Uphold justice on Heaven's behalf!"

The Core Forming and Gang Condensing experts behind him echoed his cry, swiftly forming a battle array before closing in to surround and kill Gu Jinlai.

The Qi Refining cultivators occupied the surrounding positions, skirting the battle to prevent Gu Jinlai from escaping.

Clearly, they had made every preparation and were determined to kill him here.

"Hahaha, what a fine 'slay demons and exorcise evil'!"

Gu Jinlai burst into laughter. The heavy sword in his hand swept horizontally, whipping up a fierce hurricane.

At the same time, his body began to swell and grow. In the span of a single breath, he had grown from one meter eighty-six to two meters sixty-six.

His towering body, massive frame, and bulging muscles gave the Meteor Guards and members of the Wang Family a suffocatingly beautiful sense of power.

The Great Sun True Demon Body!

"Th-this... what is this?"

"As far as I know, Ancient Demon Gu fused with demonic beast blood and embarked upon the path of the demonic martial artist. This is very likely his demonic form!"

"A demon lord paired with a demonic beast—truly birds of a feather! We haven't wronged him. Ancient Demon Gu is a humanoid demonic beast! Today, I, Wang Zhongye, will..."

"Boom!"

The earth shook violently.

The ground centered on Gu Jinlai visibly cracked, forming spiderweb-like fissures.

Amid flying stone fragments, Gu Jinlai, who had manifested the Great Sun True Demon Body, seemed like a true demon god as he charged into the crowd. Savage power surged through his body.

The two- or three-thousand-jin heavy sword was weightless in his hands. When it struck, it actually broke through the sound barrier.

At the sword's tip, white waves exploded outward, accompanied by a muffled thunderclap.

The nearest Core Forming expert had not even had time to unleash his astral energy before the sweeping blade smashed him into powder.

With an attack range of three meters once his arm's length was included, Gu Jinlai swept his giant sword across the field with the force to break a thousand troops. Three Core Forming experts who worked together in perfect coordination immediately formed a formation to intercept him.

Astral energy erupted.

The three men's strength seemed to merge into one, forming a massive, visible phantom of sword astral energy.

Yet under the strike of Gu Jinlai's giant sword, that sword astral energy shattered with a bang like glass hit by a bullet, exploding into countless streams of force that shot in every direction.

The three Core Forming experts who had joined forces to resist were directly shaken by the scattered astral energy until they spat blood.

After breaking through the combined strike of the three Core Forming experts, Gu Jinlai's force surged. He brought the giant sword down, giving the Core Forming expert whose qi and blood were in turmoil not even a chance to catch his breath before smashing him to death with a single blow.

Then he turned the blade and swept it horizontally toward another Core Forming expert.

"Stop!"

Wang Bo roared.

Astral energy erupted as a battle saber slashed toward Gu Jinlai like a ribbon tearing through the void.

The saber astral energy was icy and sharp.

Even those watching the battle could clearly feel the cutting edge of it.

"That's Saber Severing Current! That's the killing move Saber Severing Current from the Heavenly Water One-Saber Art! One saber cuts off a river! One saber severs the current! Even a True Person of Spirit Refining wouldn't dare block it head-on!"

"The Wang Family patriarch actually cultivated this saber art to such a level!"

"Good!"

A series of uncontrollably delighted cries rang out from the crowd at the same time.

However, before that saber could strike Gu Jinlai's body...

Astral energy erupted!

Gu Jinlai's basin-sized palm, wrapped in dense astral energy and qi and blood, seized the saber astral energy Wang Bo had sent slashing toward him.

"Bang!"

The astral energy shattered.

Wang Bo's saber was directly caught in Gu Jinlai's hand.

The saber strike said to be too powerful even for a Spirit Refining True Person to face head-on had been crushed head-on by Gu Jinlai.

"How is that possible..."

Wang Bo's eyes widened, his mind trembling.

But Gu Jinlai's movements did not pause in the slightest.

He planted his foot, and force surged upward.

Every muscle in Gu Jinlai's body moved in concert. The power erupting from every cell gathered wildly like a mighty river. As he leaned forward, it poured into his thigh, and he kicked fiercely at Wang Bo, whose saber had been seized.

"Not good!"

Wang Bo reacted and immediately abandoned his saber, retreating violently.

But how could the speed of his retreat compare with Gu Jinlai's kick?

"Boom!"

The instant the kick struck Wang Bo's body, waves of force exploded outward!

It was as if muffled thunder had detonated in the void.

Wang Bo's protective true qi collapsed instantly. Force violent enough to crush everything hammered into his body!

The treasured armor he had spent hundreds of thousands of gold to purchase failed to play even the slightest role.

It was as though an armor-piercing alloy shell had struck his body head-on.

His chest caved in, his ribs shattered and pierced his organs, and the terrifying force punched through his body, blasting the clothes on his back into scraps and flinging him away like a rag doll.

"I..."

Wang Bo's eyes widened in terror. Blood continuously spilled from his mouth. Before he could even hit the ground, the light in his eyes had already dimmed.

The dignified Wang Family patriarch had died without even managing to leave a final word.

"Patriarch!"

"Second Uncle!"

"No!"

A series of shrill, terrified cries of grief rang out from the crowd.

But their emotions did nothing to affect Gu Jinlai's killing efficiency.

"Die!"

Gu Jinlai let out another low roar.

The giant sword became a shield, sweeping across the eight directions.

As he deflected the treasured sabers and sharp swords, his body suddenly surged forward.

Charge!

Unstoppable Across the World!

In an instant, he appeared before another Core Forming expert. Under that man's terrified, horrified gaze, Gu Jinlai slammed his left hand down toward his head.

"Bang!"

The Core Forming expert's skull shattered completely, his entire head being driven into his chest by the savage force.

"You think you can kill me?"

He growled. Seeing two Core Forming experts summon Gang Condensing experts and prepare to form a battle array, he exploded with force beneath his feet and charged forward at full speed.

The direct, explosive charge of Unstoppable Across the World, combined with his towering physique, allowed him to break through the shackles imposed by his current cultivation realm in terms of speed.

As he leaped and pounced into the slaughter, the formation of two Core Forming and six Gang Condensing experts had yet to take shape when his entire body was already descending from the sky.

A Gang Condensing expert was directly trampled to death beneath the force of his descent.

His giant sword swept horizontally, deflecting the attacks of three people while its savage force blasted one Core Forming expert away.

Another Core Forming expert leaped back, retreating violently.

He had only just escaped the range of the giant sword's hurricane sweep when Gu Jinlai's left hand shot out like lightning. He seized the man by the thigh, then...

A tremendous force erupted!

He slammed him viciously against the ground!

"Bang!"

The floor cracked!

Stone fragments sprayed!

Blood scattered in every direction!

The Core Forming expert was smashed into a shapeless mess on the spot, like a blood pancake!

Such a savage, terrifying sight deeply shocked everyone's nerves.

Especially since, from the moment Gu Jinlai charged into the formation until now, in less than ten breaths, he had already killed four Core Forming experts and three Gang Condensing experts!

That terrifying killing efficiency and demonic brutality stunned everyone present.

"Come! Kill me!"

Gu Jinlai roared, flinging the corpse aside as he stamped down, cracking the stone slabs beneath his feet.

Unstoppable Across the World erupted once more. He became like a self-propelled cannon shell, smashing through the air and whipping up hurricanes and blood rain wherever he crashed.

"A demonic beast! A demonic beast! This is the power of a great demonic beast! This is absolutely the power of a great demonic beast!"

"A great demonic beast! Ancient Demon Gu, he... he really is a great demonic beast!"

"A single great demonic beast's combat power is equivalent to two or three Spirit Refining Giants! We can surround and kill one Spirit Refining True Person, but how can we stand against a great demonic beast equivalent to two or three Spirit Refining Giants!?"

The horrifying scene was like a nightmare enveloping everyone's hearts.

Especially the Qi Refining cultivators, whose faces were already filled with terror as their bodies involuntarily retreated.

Their retreat only opened up more space for Gu Jinlai's unstoppable charges.

He slaughtered them into collapse!

For a time, Gu Jinlai had actually used his own strength to rout the powerful formation consisting of eleven Core Forming experts, twenty-six Gang Condensing experts, and thirty-two Qi Refining experts!