At dusk, the sun sank in the west.
Five riders galloped along the broad official road on tall horses.
The dusky sunlight draped over them like a veil of gauze, casting long shadows across the ground.
Gu Cheng gripped the reins, his thoughts surging like a tide.
They had spent a full eight days on Black Wind Mountain during this mission. He wondered how the eldest Miss Xu had fared alone at home.
Had she finished copying the Mortal Breaking Realm manual she'd promised him?
Before heading to Black Wind Mountain, Gu Cheng had also given Shopkeeper Song a heads-up.
He'd asked him to deliver those few precious medicinal ingredients directly to Xiao Yun's home.
So many days had passed. The sickly young girl should have finished refining the 'Boiling Blood Powder' by now, right?
At the thought of having enough pills to push his Blood Demon Physique through reverse cultivation to the great-completion stage,
a wave of excitement surged through Gu Cheng. His heart raced toward home, and he wished he could dismount and run all the way back himself.
With the Flowing Cloud Riding Wind Art at Extreme Intent, he could travel much faster on his own than on horseback.
Just as Gu Cheng's thoughts were running wild,
a faint, watchful presence in the sky roused his vigilance.
The malicious gaze was extremely well concealed, but beneath Gu Cheng's Mortal Breaking Realm spiritual sense, it stood out as clearly as a candle flame in the dark.
"Interesting..."
A cold smile tugged at Gu Cheng's lips. He turned to the cool, elegant beauty riding beside him.
"Lord Lin, take the others back first."
"I just remembered I have something important to take care of, so I won't be returning to the city with you."
At that, Lin Qingyan looked at Gu Cheng with suspicion.
But seeing how serious he looked, she seemed to guess what was going on and asked quietly,
"Do you need help?"
"No. I'm enough on my own."
"..."
Lin Qingyan nodded silently and said no more.
Xiao Yun and the other two were completely confused. They had no idea what these two officials were speaking in riddles about.
But they kept their mouths shut and obediently followed Lord Lin as she rode away.
The two parties went their separate ways.
Gu Cheng watched the four figures disappear from view.
Then he dismounted and made his way to a patch of wasteland near the official road.
This was a desolate wilderness, with no one for ten li in any direction. The terrain was also wide open—it looked like the perfect place to kill someone and dump the body.
Gu Cheng stopped in the middle of the wasteland.
The autumn wind lifted the hem of his silver-white official robe, making it snap and ripple as though sounding the bugle for the slaughter to come.
A moment later,
a piercing eagle's cry rang out.
A huge black shadow plunged from the sky and landed opposite the young man.
Gu Cheng took a closer look and saw that the newcomer was a gigantic Eagle Demon, with a middle-aged Daoist riding on its back.
Strangely, the Eagle Demon's form was somewhat indistinct.
Its eyes, which should have been razor-sharp, were also utterly lifeless, just like the Flesh Golem he'd encountered yesterday.
Taking into account what Miss Lin had explained earlier, the identity of this strange Eagle Demon was obvious—
"Demon Servants..."
Gu Cheng mused to himself.
As he watched the Horse-faced Daoist leap down, his expression turned peculiar.
Ever since he'd force-fed the "Pure Heart Manual" all the way to Extreme Intent, Gu Cheng had been missing a follow-up method for cultivating the spirit.
He'd originally planned to keep milking Miss Xu for all she was worth, or to figure something out after joining the Demon Suppression Bureau headquarters.
But it seemed he had another way to get what he wanted now...
"You're Gu Cheng, right? Heh, you certainly look quite respectable!"
"Too bad you crossed someone you shouldn't have..."
Feng Sanshi waved away the giant Eagle Demon servant.
He looked the handsome young man up and down, then cupped his hands with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm Feng Sanshi of the Evil King Pavilion. When you reach the underworld, don't forget who sent you on your way!"
"The Evil King Pavilion?"
Gu Cheng furrowed his brows. He'd never heard of that organization.
But from the name alone, he could tell its members were no decent folk.
"Someone hired a killer to take me out? Who sent you?"
"Heh. Once I've broken all four of your limbs and dragged you and your lover back alive, you'll find out!"
The Horse-faced Daoist wore a haughty expression, as if he'd already won.
He took a bamboo flute from his waist, put it to his lips, and played a string of pleasant, lilting notes.
The next instant,
four shadows slowly appeared beside the Horse-faced Daoist.
They were burly figures, each over three meters tall, wielding ring-pommel broadswords and wearing black heavy armor. They looked like four imposing generals.
But where their heads should have been, each had an enormous dog's head, with bared fangs and a ferocious face that sent chills down the spine.
As the Horse-faced Daoist's flute music grew more urgent,
A red gleam flashed in the eyes of the four dog-headed Demon Servants.
Like fierce generals roused by the beat of war drums, their aura surged. They sprang at the handsome young man opposite them, swinging their blades!
The keen edges tore through the air with a piercing shriek, as if they would rip apart every enemy in their path.
In an instant, they hacked Gu Cheng's body into several pieces!
Yet not a drop of blood spilled from the broken body. Instead, it vanished into thin air like a reflection of flowers in a mirror or the moon in water.
"An illusion?"
Feng Sanshi's heart lurched.
The next instant, four dull thuds rang out from the battlefield ahead, one after another.
The heavy armor on the four dog-headed generals burst apart at a single blow, as if it were made of paper!
Their massive bodies flew backward like broken sacks and slammed hard into the ground.
Then they turned into specks of light and vanished completely into the air.
"That's it?"
Gu Cheng curled his lip and looked at Feng Sanshi with open disdain.
It was his first time seeing someone command Demon Servants, and on a whim, he'd decided not to summon his natal blood weapon and to fight barehanded instead.
Who knew these four pieces of junk would be so fragile? One punch, and they were dead on the spot.
The young man, who'd been rather interested in Demon Servants, couldn't help feeling sorely disappointed.
"..."
The lilting flute music stopped abruptly.
Feng Sanshi stared at his target, his expression growing steadily more serious.
Four Demon Servants, each comparable to a Mortal Breaking Realm martial artist, had been defeated by this kid so easily?
Damn it!
Those bastards must have fed me false information!
The Horse-faced Daoist seethed, deciding he'd make the Zheng Family pay more once he got back!
"Heh. I didn't expect a backwater place like this to have a hidden master like you..."
Feng Sanshi stared straight at Gu Cheng, his eyes blazing like two bronze mirrors reflecting candlelight.
"I've changed my mind.
A strong man like you is worth using my trump card on!"
With that, Feng Sanshi began playing his flute again.
The music drifted through the air, charged with a chilling killing intent!
The next instant,
the air temperature suddenly soared.
A scarlet flame sprang to life in midair.
In the blink of an eye, it swelled into a gigantic flame ape!
The demon ape stood at least seven meters tall.
Its dark, muscular frame was knotted with bulging muscles, like steel tempered a hundred times over.
Scarlet flames blazed across its body, radiating scorching heat like the Flame Demon descending upon the world!
If someone gave it a staff to hold,
it would look just like the skin of a hugely popular hero in a certain mobile game...
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