Aftermath, Breaking the Boundary Between Life and Death?

The moonlight poured down like water, cold and clear, casting mottled shadows in the forest.

The Flood Dragon Horse grazed idly on the grass, occasionally looking up at the black-clothed youth not far away with a puzzled expression, as if wondering what he was doing.

After an unknown amount of time, the youth finally moved.

He slowly opened his eyes, and in their deep black depths, a complex and unreadable light flashed.

"Ninth Destiny, Su Jiuer..."

Gu Cheng murmured to himself, silently sifting through the vast amount of information he had obtained from the remnant soul of the Ninth Destiny.

Su Jiuer held a significant position in the Evil King Pavilion and knew many hidden secrets, which also gave Gu Cheng a deeper understanding of this mysterious organization.

It turned out that the nine Destinies of the Evil King Pavilion were all direct disciples of the mysterious Pavilion Master.

And the previous eight Destinies were all Spirit Sea Venerables!

Adding the Pavilion Master, whose strength was unfathomable, the Evil King Pavilion was in no way inferior to the Flood Dragon Palace in terms of the strength of its core members!

This time, Gu Cheng killing the Ninth Destiny was not like killing an outer member such as Feng Sanshi, where no one cared and it was just done.

If the other Destinies found out about this, they would surely retaliate fiercely!

"In this case, I've made another mortal enemy of a powerful force..."

Gu Cheng's lips curved slightly, but there was no fear in his eyes.

His current strength was vastly different from before. Even when facing a Spirit Sea Venerable, he still had the strength to fight, not to mention the powerful trump card of his Flood Dragon Demon Servant.

Besides, it was "Blood Kirin" who killed, what did it have to do with him, Gu Cheng?

Thinking of this, Gu Cheng secretly felt fortunate. At critical moments, a pseudonym was truly useful!

In addition to information about the Evil King Pavilion, Su Jiuer also revealed quite a bit about the Rebirth Sect.

According to her, the Rebirth Sect had similar operations in all twelve prefectures of Yunzhou, just at different times.

The reason for their frequent activities recently was likely to resurrect their "Sect Master."

The Evil King Pavilion colluded with the Rebirth Sect because the mysterious Pavilion Master of the Evil King Pavilion was on very good terms with the Sect Master of the Rebirth Sect, and they had even exchanged many magic artifacts and cultivation techniques.

Su Jiuer's "Wuchang Ghost Lock" and "Crimson Ghost Manipulation" both originated from the Rebirth Sect.

"Heh, but it's precisely because of this that she was backstabbed by that Gray-robed Holy Envoy..."

Gu Cheng's expression was strange. Although the assassins of the Evil King Pavilion were ruthless, when it came to unscrupulous methods, the lunatics of the Rebirth Sect were even more formidable. It was no wonder that the Ninth Destiny, even as a ghost, would not let him go.

As for Su Jiuer's final request, Gu Cheng naturally would not refuse.

The pseudonym "Blood Kirin" had already been noted down by that Gray-robed Holy Envoy, and the two sides were already in a situation of irreconcilable enmity.

Moreover, according to Su Jiuer, the mastermind behind the Blood Sacrifice incident in Changle County was this Gray-robed Holy Envoy.

With new and old grudges combined, even without this request, Gu Cheng would have been very happy to kill that Holy Envoy.

"However, these twelve prefectures of Yunzhou are vast. Actively searching for him is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If I were to encounter him again by chance, how long would that take?"

Gu Cheng sighed helplessly, temporarily setting the matter aside, and then began to inventory the other gains from this "blind box opening."

As the Ninth Destiny of the Evil King Pavilion, Su Jiuer had been trained as a killing tool since childhood, making her a cold and emotionless killing machine.

Therefore, most of the abilities Gu Cheng obtained were related to assassination.

With his current strength, those assassination techniques were already somewhat redundant. After all, when power was sufficient to crush everything, any technique seemed superfluous; one could just charge in and unleash a massacre.

It was the secret art called "Hidden Origin Art" that made Gu Cheng's eyes light up.

With his peak Innate Realm Spirit Refinement cultivation, he could perfectly conceal his aura with his divine sense. Coupled with the assistance of the secret art "Bone-Melding Shapeshifting," he could also freely alter his physique and appearance.

However, such disguise was merely superficial. Once he encountered a special case with abilities like "Qi Gazing," he would be easily exposed.

The appearance of "Hidden Origin Art" undoubtedly added an impenetrable layer of insurance to this disguise.

Unless the opponent's strength far surpassed Gu Cheng's, it would be impossible to see through his disguise.

Gu Cheng was overjoyed and did not hesitate to spend two hundred years of lifespan to directly raise the proficiency of "Hidden Origin Art" to the Grand Perfection realm.

As for the "Carefree Wind Riding Art," which had reached Extreme Intent, it was even more formidable.

This top-tier Innate Realm movement technique was no less difficult to cultivate than Spirit Sea Realm martial arts, and could even be said to be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

If it weren't for Su Jiuer, a master of movement techniques, providing guidance, even if Gu Cheng spent ten thousand years of lifespan, he might not have been able to cultivate it to the Extreme Intent realm.

"It's different when you have a good teacher guiding you; it's much better than fumbling around on your own."

Gu Cheng was filled with emotion and his gaze fell on the Flood Dragon Horse leisurely grazing nearby. With a thought, he activated it.

-Ghostly Shadows!

In an instant, a shadow identical to Gu Cheng appeared from the Flood Dragon Horse's shadow.

The Flood Dragon Horse remained oblivious, continuing to graze with its head down.

Gu Cheng willed it again, and the shadow suddenly tugged at the Flood Dragon Horse's tail.

The Flood Dragon Horse was startled, let out a long neigh, bucked its hind legs, and looked around in panic.

The shadow, however, vanished the moment the Flood Dragon Horse was startled, leaving the Flood Dragon Horse standing there dumbfounded, as if it had seen a ghost.

"This 'Ghostly Shadows' is similar to the 'Fox Shadow Traces' before it, both capable of creating illusions to confuse enemies.

But the illusions created by 'Ghostly Shadows' are more solid, even possessing physical form, like shadow clones..."

Gu Cheng's eyes lit up. This ability was too terrifying for annoying people.

If it were combined with the perception-blocking of the 'Hidden Origin Art', with illusions and reality intertwined, the enemy would have no way to discern the truth, ultimately being toyed with in his palm.

After testing the effectiveness of 'Ghostly Shadows'.

Gu Cheng collected his thoughts and focused his attention on his biggest gain of the night.

With a flip of his palm, a black chain about thirty feet long fell into his hand.

The chain was as thick as a baby's arm, with both ends sharp as spearheads, and it was unclear what material it was made from.

Although no divine sense was infused into it at the moment, and no ghosts appeared on the chain, it still exuded a chilling ghostly aura. It was clearly no ordinary item.

As the Soul Hooking Chain appeared, the surrounding air seemed to drop a few degrees.

Even the Flood Dragon Horse leisurely grazing nearby was startled. It snorted uneasily, looking at the chain with fear, clearly intimidated by the aura it emitted.

Gu Cheng gently patted the Flood Dragon Horse with his divine sense to calm its emotions, then turned his gaze to the "Wuchang Ghost Lock" in his hand.

This signature weapon of the Ninth Destiny, once the natal artifact of a Rebirth Sect Spirit Sea Venerable, its power was naturally not to be underestimated.

Not only was its material incredibly hard, making it a powerful tool for locking down enemies, but the lingering souls on it were also terrifying.

Ordinary people who touched it would have their souls hooked on the spot. Even an Innate Grandmaster would find it difficult to escape death if entangled by it.

If Gu Cheng hadn't cultivated the 'Undying Asura Body', possessing overlord body characteristics equivalent to the 'Diamond Glazed Body', which could immunize against soul-hooking, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape either.

"According to Su Jiuer, she hasn't unleashed the full power of this artifact yet.

If the matching 'Crimson Ghost Manipulation' can be cultivated to Grand Perfection, unlocking the full might of the 'Wuchang Ghost Lock', wouldn't it be able to contend with a Spirit Sea Venerable?"

Gu Cheng pondered in his heart, his eyes flashing with anticipation.

Excluding the special factor of 'Four Spirits True Intent', the preciousness of this 'Wuchang Ghost Lock' was no less than that of a Spirit Sea Realm Demon Servant!

"It's a pity that the evil arts of the Rebirth Sect are truly too wicked..."

Gu Cheng sighed, stroking the chain in his hand, his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

Although 'Crimson Ghost Manipulation' was key to controlling the 'Wuchang Ghost Lock', it was tailor-made for the immortal and indestructible Corpse Kings of the Rebirth Sect.

For living people to cultivate this art, even a peerless genius like Su Jiuer could only reach the "Proficient" level, unable to touch the true peak.

Gu Cheng could naturally cultivate it by sacrificing his lifespan, but even if he poured ten thousand years into it, he wouldn't be able to break the boundary between life and death.

"Should I just give up? This is a Spirit Sea Realm artifact control technique!"

Gu Cheng's heart was filled with unwillingness. Letting such a treasure gather dust was something he found hard to accept.

He furrowed his brow, desperately searching for a solution.

Suddenly, a bold idea flashed through his mind like lightning...

"I am a living person myself and cannot break through the boundary of life and death, but what if I find a 'dead person' to act as an 'interface' to assist me in cultivation?"

Looking at the flashing "Can Condense" option next to his remaining lifespan on the system interface, a meaningful smile appeared on Gu Cheng's lips