Gu Qingzhou's Terrifying Strength

"It's over, it's over. I finally set everything up so carefully—don't tell me he's going to go dark again..."

Feeling the terrifying aura radiating from Jiang Shuyu at this moment, Gu Qingzhou's scalp went numb. Even when he faced the Lord of Cangyun City before, he hadn't felt this shaken.

Yet just as Jiang Shuyu was about to strike, dragging the entire Cangyun City down with her, a familiar voice rang out from behind her.

"What happened?"

As the words fell, Mo Shang's figure emerged from the dust and smoke, completely unharmed, only the hem of his clothes slightly dirty—nothing like someone who had just taken a slap from a Return to Origin Realm cultivator.

With Mo Shang's appearance, the surging aura around Jiang Shuyu abruptly stalled. The destructive force that had been about to engulf all of Cangyun City vanished as if someone had pressed pause.

Her eyes, once bloodshot and steeped in killing intent, trembled slightly as she made out the figure walking slowly out of the dust. Then, an indescribable joy flooded through her.

"I thought you..."

Jiang Shuyu lunged forward in a single stride, throwing herself onto Mo Shang, tears streaming down her face without warning, soaking the front of his chest.

Seeing her like this, Mo Shang couldn't help but feel a bit at a loss.

"Sorry, I made you worry..."

He had only wanted to test the effect of Death Immunity; he never expected Jiang Shuyu to react so strongly when she saw him in trouble...

"Damn, that's insane, Old Mo." By now, Gu Qingzhou had walked over as well, visibly stunned to see Mo Shang completely unscathed.

"Just basic stuff." Mo Shang waved a hand, his expression relaxed.

Through the test, Mo Shang had figured out the principle behind Death Immunity: it could negate death, but it didn't negate damage.

The reason he was unharmed now was that the opponent's attack had dealt overflow damage, instantly emptying his health bar and triggering Death Immunity.

Death Immunity was essentially like a life-saving talisman—except his talisman had no cooldown.

If that attack just now hadn't been enough to kill him outright, he would be on the verge of death right now, nowhere near this pristine state.

"If only I could draw a recovery effect trait..."

Thinking this, Mo Shang also realized his current weakness.

Right now, he had an undying trait but no corresponding recovery power. Once he lost combat capability, he'd be a sitting duck.

"How is this possible? His aura is only at the Spirit Gathering Realm, yet he took my strike without a scratch—could he be hiding his cultivation?" On the other side, the Yinming Old Man stared at the unharmed Mo Shang, his expression shifting between uncertainty and suspicion, even wondering if he was hallucinating.

"Old bastard, take this sword!"

The sound hadn't even arrived before the attack did. As the Yinming Old Man was still stunned, a sharp golden Sword Qi slashed toward him, reaching him in an instant.

"Arrogant!"

Seeing that Gu Qingzhou, a mere Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator, dared to strike at him, the Yinming Old Man flew into a rage and met the attack with a palm strike.

"Boom!"

Sword Qi and Yin Qi exploded at that moment, the shockwave sweeping outward, turning the surrounding trees into nothingness like foam.

The exchange ended in a draw; both were forced back several steps before finally stopping.

Now, when the Yinming Old Man looked at Gu Qingzhou, there was no more contempt in his eyes—only solemnity.

"What kind of monster is this? With Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation, he can match me blow for blow?!"

He couldn't understand how someone could unleash combat power rivaling the Return to Origin Realm while only being at the Spirit Gathering Realm.

Being able to fight across one major realm was already enough to be called a peerless genius. Someone who could fight across two major realms—even the word 'prodigy' wasn't enough to describe the terror of their talent!

"Old bastard, you dare get distracted while fighting me?"

Not giving the Yinming Old Man a chance to catch his breath, Gu Qingzhou charged again with his sword.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching by the author—maybe it just changed names!

"Hmph, relying on a secret technique, are you? Let's see how long you can hold out!"

The Yinming Old Man, both furious and alarmed, clenched his withered hand. The thick, ink-like Yin Qi around him churned and boiled, coalescing into countless vicious ghost claws that swiped wildly at Gu Qingzhou, their strikes sharp and aimed at vital points.

"Killing you is more than enough."

Gu Qingzhou's expression remained calm. The longsword in his hand trembled slightly, golden Sword Qi swirling around him as he advanced instead of retreating.

His figure moved like a bolt of lightning, the sword following his body. Every strike was blindingly fast, imbued with the true intent of the sword—domineering, sharp, and unyielding. In an instant, he tore through the sea of ghost claws.

"One sword, opens the Heavenly Gate!"

Gu Qingzhou let out a clear shout, his longsword slashing horizontally. Golden Sword Qi transformed into a hundred-zhang rainbow, domineeringly spanning heaven and earth, its sharp aura piercing the clouds as it descended once more toward the Yinming Old Man!

"What?!"

The Yinming Old Man's face changed drastically. This sword strike from Gu Qingzhou gave him an extremely dangerous feeling—one misstep and he might die here!

"This is impossible!"

A flicker of madness flashed in the Yinming Old Man's eyes as he stopped holding back.

The Yin Qi around him gathered into a massive Nether Ghost Blade, its body pitch-black, exuding a deathly aura that made one's heart tremble. He suddenly swung it forward in a slash.

As the Nether Ghost Blade fell, it felt as if heaven and earth were being split in two, colliding head-on with the sky-piercing Sword Qi.

"Boom!"

The moment the two forces collided, it was as if an ancient thunderclap resounded between heaven and earth, shaking the entire Cangyun City until it trembled violently.

The golden Sword Qi and the Nether Ghost Blade savagely tangled in midair, light and shadow intertwining and annihilating, the resulting energy shockwave surging outward like a furious tsunami.

"Crack! Boom!"

The next moment, with a crisp sound, the Nether Ghost Blade shattered into pieces, ground to dust by the Sword Qi and dissipating into the air. The Sword Qi, its power undiminished, slashed down once more.

The Yinming Old Man's face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with an incredulous terror. He wanted to dodge, but found himself already locked in place by the Sword Qi, unable to move.

"No—!"

A piercing scream tore through the heavens and earth. The Yinming Old Man's body was pierced clean through by the golden Sword Qi. The yin energy around him instantly scattered, and his body crashed heavily to the ground.

As the dust settled, Gu Qingzhou stood holding his longsword, his robes slightly disheveled, yet his posture remained straight and unbowed.

"What sword art is this?" At death's door, the Yinming Old Man looked at Gu Qingzhou and asked.

"Want to learn? I can teach you..." Gu Qingzhou slowly sheathed his sword, then gave a faint smile as he looked at the other man.

But the Yinming Old Man made no reply. By now, he had completely lost all signs of life.

As the battle came to an end, Mo Shang and the others walked over from a distance.

Staring at the corpse on the ground, Mo Shang's face was filled with shock: "A Spirit Gathering Realm crossing two major realms to kill a Return to Origin Realm? You're not even pretending anymore!"

A Spirit Gathering Realm killing a Return to Origin Realm—that was like an ant killing an elephant!

"Are you really just at the Spirit Gathering Realm?" Liu Ruyan also looked at Gu Qingzhou as if she were staring at a monster.

She had thought that Jiang Shuyu, an eighteen-year-old at the Spirit Condensation Realm, was already an incredibly monstrous existence. She never expected there was an even greater freak!

"Let's not talk about that for now. Shouldn't we leave this place first?"

Not continuing on that topic, Gu Qingzhou looted the Yinming Old Man's belongings, then called for the others to leave.

"Then let's go..."

The three nodded, leaped into the air, and quickly departed from the area.

After all, the commotion they had caused was so huge that someone might be drawn over...

As they left, Sword Thirteen's figure emerged from the void, his expression thoughtful:

"One after another, none of them are easy to deal with. Are all young people these days this monstrous?"