The piercing cries echoed through the woods.
The noise made Gu Qing's eardrums ache.
This woman wasn't giving him the chance to explain himself at all.
His gaze darkened, and he reached out with his right hand.
A long, slender whip of Blue Silver Grass appeared in his palm.
Gu Qing swung his arm without mercy.
Crack!
The sharp snap of the whip rang out.
It landed squarely on Dugu Yan's pert backside.
"Ow!"
Dugu Yan grimaced in pain and sucked in a sharp breath.
She'd been spoiled rotten since childhood. When had she ever suffered like this?
Crack! Crack!
Gu Qing showed no mercy, lashing her two more times.
After those strikes, Dugu Yan quieted down.
She bit her lip, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she stared fearfully down at Gu Qing. She didn't dare make another sound.
"You're bathing out here in the middle of nowhere all alone, and you didn't even leave anyone on watch."
"Good thing you ran into an upright gentleman like me."
"If you'd run into someone else, they'd have had their way with you by now."
Gu Qing tossed the whip aside and folded his arms.
"I just happened to stumble in here."
"Can you listen to me now?"
Feeling the burning pain on her body, Dugu Yan could only nod silently, looking aggrieved.
Her soaked clothes clung to her skin. Paired with her pitiful expression, she had a charm all her own.
Gu Qing was about to let her down.
Just then—
Roar—!
A terrifying roar that shook the heavens and earth suddenly erupted from deep within the forest.
A violent shock wave swept over, visible to the naked eye, making the leaves around them rustle.
The earth began to tremble violently, as if struck by a powerful earthquake.
Crack! Crack!
Ancient trees, so massive that ten people could barely encircle their trunks, were smashed down in droves.
The absolute pressure of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast locked onto the area.
The terrifying beast had sensed the trace of Level 90 Soul Power Gu Qing had released just moments before.
The aura of this exceedingly dangerous human had enraged the ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest.
It was coming to wipe out the intruder!
Hanging from the tree, Dugu Yan trembled under the pressure, her face white as paper.
Gu Qing reacted at once.
He immediately withdrew his Soul Power and released the Blue Silver Grass restraints.
Dugu Yan dropped from the air.
Gu Qing opened his arms and caught her soft body in one smooth motion.
With a single flash, he carried Dugu Yan behind a boulder nearby.
"Stay here. Don't move."
Gu Qing gave her a quick instruction.
Dugu Yan was already scared out of her wits. She could only nod frantically and curl up behind the rock.
Boom!
A colossal figure, like a mountain, crashed down beside the hot spring.
It was a terrifying giant ape more than ten meters tall.
Its muscles bulged like granite, its eyes burned red, and thick white vapor poured from its nostrils.
The Titan Giant Ape!
Without the slightest hesitation, the Titan Giant Ape launched a lethal attack against Gu Qing.
A dense, earthy-yellow halo burst from its body.
The Gravity Domain activated instantly.
The weight of the surrounding air increased exponentially, pressing down until the ground began to crack.
Then the Titan Giant Ape raised its enormous fists, each bigger than a water vat, and slammed them down at Gu Qing's head with enough force to destroy everything.
Facing a blow that could split mountains and shatter boulders, Gu Qing didn't retreat to avoid its edge.
He charged straight at it!
His left hand shot up.
Vast quantities of Life Blue Silver Grass surged out, rapidly weaving themselves into an incredibly sturdy green net in midair.
Boom!
The giant fist smashed into the net with a muffled crash.
The extraordinary resilience of the Life Blue Silver Grass was on full display as it absorbed the entire impact.
The ground beneath Gu Qing's feet sank deeply, but he himself didn't budge an inch.
At the very same moment he blocked the attack, Gu Qing curled his right hand into a claw.
Dark Blue Silver Grass, black as ink, erupted in a frenzy.
It transformed into more than a dozen thick, thorny whips that swiftly coiled around the Titan Giant Ape's limbs.
The black barbs ignored the giant ape's tough hide and sank deep into its flesh.
A highly destructive, corrosive toxin poured into its body.
Sss—
The Titan Giant Ape's rocklike skin immediately hissed as it corroded, sending up clouds of black smoke.
The pain sent the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast into a frenzy.
It struggled wildly, trying to tear the black vines from its body.
"Perfect. Let's see how this new skill performs."
Gu Qing calmly took half a step back.
He slowly raised his right hand.
The black Soul Power around him swirled rapidly into his palm like a vortex.
A black sword, formed from Dark Blue Silver Grass compressed to its utmost, appeared in his hand.
Dark red lightning, radiating an aura of destruction, coiled around the blade.
The God-Slaying Blue Silver Sword!
Gu Qing turned his wrist, and his Soul Power erupted in full.
Dark Night Blood Storm!
The sky above the hot spring dimmed in an instant.
A terrifying storm of crimson and pure black roared from the sword's tip.
Space twisted faintly wherever it passed, and the towering trees around it were instantly shredded into a storm of splinters.
Gu Qing gripped the sword in both hands and leapt high into the air, his figure like a black bolt of lightning.
He fixed his gaze on the Titan Giant Ape's neck and brought his sword down with a mighty slash.
Whoosh!
A streak of dark-red sword energy, dozens of meters long, tore through the sky.
The sight was like divine retribution.
The razor-sharp sword energy sliced through the Titan Giant Ape's toughest muscles without resistance.
Its enormous head separated from its body and soared into the air.
Scalding beast blood poured down like a torrential rain.
The Titan Giant Ape's headless corpse crashed to the ground, leaving a huge crater.
One-sword kill!
At that moment—
Dugu Bo, who had rushed over at full speed after hearing his granddaughter's cries for help, burst out of the bushes.
The usually haughty Poison Douluo nearly buckled at the knees at the sight before him.
He stared, dumbfounded, as the Hundred-Thousand-Year Titan Giant Ape fell.
Then he looked at the handsome young man in midair, holding a black sword like a demon god descended upon the world.
Dugu Bo swallowed, his mind completely blank.
Who was this kid?
Gu Qing landed slowly and casually recalled the God-Slaying Blue Silver Sword.
A dazzling red Soul Ring, so brilliant it stung the eyes, slowly condensed above the Titan Giant Ape's corpse and floated free.
Gu Qing paid no attention to Dugu Bo in the distance.
He sat cross-legged and drew the precious Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring into his body.
As he absorbed the Soul Ring, a dense, earthy-yellow light suddenly shimmered from part of the giant ape's corpse.
A crystalline bone shot out and fused directly into Gu Qing's right arm.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Right Arm Soul Bone!
Gu Qing slowly clenched his right fist, feeling the surging power within him—power enough to destroy the heavens and earth.
This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest had been more than worth it.
The air around him reeked of blood.
Gu Qing slowly opened his eyes. A dim glint passed through his deep pupils.
The Titan's power, enough to shake mountains, had fused into the bones of his right arm.
He moved his wrist slightly, and his knuckles popped like beans roasting in a pan.
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