Headshot with Piercing Eyes, Seventh Woodworm Devil!

In Liang Kingdom, Ningze Prefecture, Green Ridge City, by the sea, looking east across the sea to the Fuyu states, south to Qingyu County, west to Great Xuan Mountain, north to the Black Wo frontier, there is a good port serving as a trade hub and abundant fishing resources.

"The most prosperous place in Ningze Prefecture!"

Three rivers flow through the city from the majestic Great Xuan Mountain in the west.

Thus, the city is rich in bridges and lakes, boasting the scenic beauty of three lakes, seven bays, and twelve bridges.

At the fifth watch, before sunrise, the sky was just beginning to lighten, yet pedestrians were already bustling through the city.

Laborers vied for spots at the docks, vendors sold breakfast, and weary workers from a night of toil drank a morning wine, loosening their limbs before heading to sleep.

On the side of Qingniwa Stone Bridge, one of the twelve bridges, two figures stood facing each other from a distance.

The elder, wearing a tall hat and fine robes, with an air of sanctity, was Gu Shanhe, the head shopkeeper of the Golden Merchant Shop.

He was wealthy, known for aiding the poor, and highly respected.

The small boy cornered by him wore coarse cloth, a large travel pack on his back, and held an Eyebrow-Level Staff. He looked like a naive villager fresh from Great Xuan Mountain, entering the city to make a living.

A powerful spiritual energy enveloped a three-zhang radius around the two, isolating them from their surroundings.

Under the influence of this barrier, passersby completely ignored them, their eyes and ears bypassing the field as if it weren't there, instinctively veering around it.

Gu Shanhe watched the boy struggle fruitlessly within the barrier, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

"Inside the Two Realms Talisman, shout for help all you want. You'll just end up hoarse and unable to make a sound."

The boy felt the boundless malice radiating from the cultivator before him and struggled desperately.

But he was trapped by the Two Realms Talisman, unable to escape.

He shouted loudly, but no one heard. He could only raise his Eyebrow-Level Staff, trembling, and face Gu Shanhe ten feet away.

Gu Shanhe publicly claimed to be at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, but he was actually at the eighth, wielding Geomagnetic Qi and capable of projecting magnetic pressure eight feet outwards.

He had mastered the spell Condensing Qi into a Shield, rendering him immune to all physical attacks from blades, spears, swords, halberds, bows, crossbows, and arrows that did not contain true qi, as long as they were below the Qi Condensation realm.

The boy, only at the third level of Body Tempering, was utterly defenseless.

Gu Shanhe's eyes turned bloodshot, a wicked smile on his lips as he softly said:

"Young man, it's alright. It'll be over soon, don't be afraid!"

He advanced slowly. Once within eight feet of the boy, the magnetic pressure would lock him down, allowing Gu Shanhe to do as he pleased.

This was his seventeenth victim. He was the Woodworm Devil, a cultivator who delighted in gratuitously slaughtering others.

"Scared? This feeling of fear from you... it's so exhilarating!

Little boy, don't wet yourself, alright."

Gu Shanhe deliberately moved slowly, speaking as he walked, his body radiating uncontrollable desire and excitement.

"Get close to him, lock him down, immobilize him, then crush his fingers.

Fingers are connected to the heart; the pain will be unbearable.

Watching his round fingers turn into thin slices of flesh, like paper, he won't believe it. He'll struggle desperately.

Pin him down, and by the time I crush the third finger, he'll still be hoping for a hero, for a miracle.

Kids from the mountains, unlike pampered city folk, have resilience. Only by the fifth finger will he cry, wail, beg for mercy, and wet himself.

Crushing the tenth finger, his struggles will weaken, despair will set in, and he'll slowly accept his impending death.

But he doesn't know, this is just the beginning of the pain!

Starting from the fingers, then hands, arms, feet, legs, then internal organs, bones, all crushed bit by bit into thin slices of flesh, yet unable to die. Only pain, true despair!

At that point, he'll have only one thought: beg me to kill him!

It should be about time. The sun will rise, the first rays of light will fall, and purple qi will come from the east!

Only then will he die, a humble death as a slice of meat!

Everyone thinks I, Devil of Geomagnetism Gu Shanhe, am just a parasitic cultivator who kills without reason, but they don't know this is my path of cultivation!

Early morning, stone bridge, boy, pain, begging for death!

A Devil offering ritual, tears in the mortal world, a sacrificial killing, Primal Devil Lord above, spare me five years of bitter cultivation!"

Lost in thought, Gu Shanhe continued his advance, reaching within ten feet of the boy. One more step, and he would enter the eight-foot zone, gaining complete control.

Suddenly, the boy smiled!

The hunter always appears as the prey!

He suddenly raised his Eyebrow-Level Staff in a javelin-throwing motion.

The Eyebrow-Level Staff shot out like a javelin, yet it was entirely different. The action was performed, and the impact occurred simultaneously, with no discernible flight time.

Within ten feet, it arrived instantly, impossible to dodge or block, time and space rendered meaningless.

The Eyebrow-Level Staff struck Gu Shanhe's left eye.

But Gu Shanhe showed no alarm. Condensing Qi into a Shield was constantly protecting him.

Attacks without true qi were meaningless, unable to harm him in the slightest.

"A rustic, spiritual method from the mountains?"

This was Gu Shanhe's last thought...

The Eyebrow-Level Staff struck Gu Shanhe's Condensing Qi shield, shattering it instantly.

The staff turned into wood shavings scattered everywhere, but it was a feint; a short spear hidden within the Eyebrow-Level Staff emerged.

The short spear, also known as a javelin or dart, lacked fletching and was only a foot and three inches long, yet it was crystal clear, like glass.

The entire short spear melted into a strange primal energy, converging into a single point of spiritual light that instantly pierced the shield.

It broke through Gu Shanhe's Condensing Qi shield, shot into his brain through his left eye, and then Gu Shanhe's skull was explosively pulverized from the back, with blood, brain matter, and bone fragments spraying in all directions!

It splattered a radius of nearly ten feet!

One strike, shield broken, head exploded!

The youth said coldly: "Woodworm Devil Gu Shanhe, you have abused the greedy, slaughtered the weak, and committed countless evils. You shall be punished!"

"He who does much evil will surely perish!"

With that, he took out a robe from his pack, quickly changed, and vanished silently.

Gu Shanhe lay on the ground, knowing he was dead, but his soul remained.

Vaguely, he felt as if he saw over a dozen paper-thin youths crawling towards him.

They were the young boys and girls he had abused and killed, now existing like vengeful spirits, surrounding him and tearing at Gu Shanhe madly.

Gu Shanhe let out a scream, "Don't come, don't come..."

But no sound came out. In this silence, he was slowly devoured by the dead nether spirits. Evil met its retribution!

An hour later, the power of the Two Realms Talisman dissipated. Someone then saw Gu Shanhe's corpse and cried out in alarm, while others immediately reported it to the authorities.

Soon, yamen runners and constables arrived, secured the scene, and a coroner came to examine the body.

Green Ridge City's head constable, Li Haitian, arrived slowly and looked at Gu Shanhe's corpse, asking:

"The head shopkeeper of the Golden Merchant Shop, Gu Shanhe?"

Coroner Zhang Tao nodded humbly and said:

"It is indeed him. In the early morning, his left eye was pierced and his head exploded in a single strike."

Li Haitian sighed and said:

"Another serial killer? How many have died this way? Can this be classified as a connected case?"

"Sir, forty-six days ago, the cultivator Qiu Jun was the first to be killed like this. Thirty-one days ago, Hongshan Hall's Li Feng was the second victim. Eighteen days ago, the cultivator Jiang Ziyou was the third...

This is the work of the Woodworm Devil!

The modus operandi is to specifically kill cultivators, break their Qi-refining shields, and kill them by piercing their eyes and exploding their heads.

Gu Shanhe is the fifth cultivator. According to procedure, the case can be closed!"

Li Haitian nodded and said: "I declare this a connected case. This Devil will be named the Head-Exploding Devil.

In Green Ridge City, after the Rainy Night Devil, Full Moon Devil, The 13th of the Month Devil, Devil of Geomagnetism, Eye-Eating Devil, and Yellow Earth Devil, this is our seventh Woodworm Devil.

Issue a city-wide alert for his capture. Specifically note that he differs from the other six Devils in that he specifically targets Qi-refining cultivators."

Coroner Zhang Tao said resentfully: "These Devil brats from the Mortal Dust Devil Sect are becoming more and more rampant in our Liang Kingdom.

Why doesn't the Daoist Sect send people down to clean them out?"

"I don't know. We've applied many times.

Not only has the Daoist Sect itself not sent anyone, but even the Daoist Sect's lower branch in the Liang Kingdom's capital hasn't sent anyone.

The Mortal Dust Devil Sect's infiltration and encroachment on our Heavenly and Earthly Daoist Sect is becoming increasingly rampant. I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking?"

Coroner Zhang Tao sighed again and said:

"This newly emerged Head-Exploding Devil is particularly cunning.

After killing, he doesn't take anything from the victim, not even their storage bag. The yamen's Head Wang's tracking abilities are useless.

Furthermore, my innate Qi-observing mind's eye cannot see any signs of him using true qi, making it impossible to track him.

I don't know if it's because his strength is too great and suppresses my talent, or if he truly isn't using true qi, which is why I can't see it?"

Li Haitian said slowly: "It must be suppressing your talent.

Without the circulation of true qi, how could he have broken Gu Shanhe's Condensing Qi into a Shield?

This Devilish Cultivator must be powerful, at least at the eighth level of Qi Refining, perhaps even possessing three strands of true qi and forty years of cultivation..."

He couldn't help but look to the side, where crowds had gathered, three layers deep, with dozens of academy students among them, watching instead of attending class.

Li Haitian lamented:

"Now with seven serial killing Woodworm Devils in Green Ridge City, can't these guys just take a break?!"

Coroner Zhang Tao whispered:

"Don't worry about it. In such a big city, with thousands of people coming and going from the south and north every day."

"A few deaths here and there, that's just a drizzle!"

Although the constables had cordoned off the area, quite a few people still stopped to watch from the surroundings.

Among the crowd was a group of youths, all around fifteen or sixteen years old. They were students from Green Ridge City's Heaven and Earth Dao Academy.

They were dressed in brocade robes, watching from a distance.

But they were late for class and could only give up on the excitement, rushing towards the Heaven and Earth Dao Academy in the west of the city.

Among the students was a handsome young man, slender, with fair skin and delicate features. His eyes were bright and piercing...

It was Luo Zhou, the young man who had just disguised himself as a mountain native and killed Gu Shanhe!