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Gu He felt that things had been going very badly for him lately. He had wanted to cooperate with those boys' elders, only to work for nothing for a while; he had wanted to take disciples, but soon after parting ways, he realized those boys had merely been humoring him; after finally stumbling upon a ruin, the exit had been blocked by a Dou Emperor from an enemy nation.

Gu He's face was livid as he stared fixedly at the four figures standing at the entrance to the ruin, each radiating hostile intent.

"Ha ha, I never expected that coming to the Magic Beast Mountain Range to gather herbs would bring me such an unexpected harvest." Among the four people blocking the ruin's exit, a gray-haired old man at the front threw back his head and laughed.

"You are Pill King Gu He of the Jia Ma Empire, are you not? I hear you are a sixth-tier alchemist. Surrender now and hand over everything you found in the ruins, and I can spare your life. You may continue being your Pill King in our Chu Yun Empire."

"In your dreams! If you dare kill me, the Misty Cloud Sect will never let this go." Gu He had become a sixth-tier alchemist and a high-level Dou Wang before reaching middle age, so he naturally possessed a genius's pride. Rather than live on so disgracefully, he would rather self-destruct.

Fortunately, Gu He had obtained a puppet in the ruins whose strength rivaled that of a Dou Emperor. Together with the spiritual artifact longsword Huo Yuhao had gifted him, he barely managed to hold off these people from the Chu Yun Empire. However, the puppet could not use Dou Qi and could only fight with its physical strength. Among the other three opponents were a Dou Wang and two Dou Lings. Thus, Gu He had no way to force his way out by relying on the puppet, yet his opponents could not defeat him for the time being either, so they tried to shake his resolve with words.

"This one is Xie Hua, an elder of the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect. Our Supreme Elder is a Dou Zong expert. Why would we fear a mere Misty Cloud Sect?" The gray-haired old man, Xie Hua, sneered. "Your Misty Cloud Sect has not produced a single Dou Zong in all these years since Yun Potian died, has it? How laughable! Ha ha ha!"

While Xie Hua was laughing loudly, a sharp glint flashed through Gu He's eyes as he controlled the puppet to launch a sudden attack. The puppet wielded the spiritual artifact longsword Huo Yuhao had given him. As it swung the blade, a cold gleam flashed, and one strike forced Xie Hua back.

"You old fossil with one foot in the grave still has the nerve to keep calling yourself 'this one'? A dignified four-star Dou Emperor who cannot even deal with a puppet—if I were you, I'd find a block of tofu and smash my head into it!"

In a dense forest not far from them.

"Teacher, has the Dou Zong that person mentioned arrived?"

"How could one have come? I sensed the surroundings. Apart from us, there are only some magic beasts left."

"Dou Ling, Dou Wang, and Dou Emperor?" Huo Yuhao lay prone in the dirt, maintaining Simulation while tapping the ground lightly with his fingers.

"Looks like your teacher still has to make a move! To be safe, Little Yuhao, hand your body over for your teacher to use. Heh heh heh!" Yao Chen issued an invitation to use the "Heaven-tier Dou Skill—Ghost Possession."

"Master, can you manage it? I have an idea." Xiao Yan, lying beside him, proposed a battle plan.

"I'll just walk straight out. Seeing that I'm only a Dou Zhe, they'll definitely lower their guard. They might even capture me and use me to threaten Brother Gu He. Then, Master, you can possess me and launch a surprise attack."

"Use you... to threaten Senior Gu He?" Xiao Yi Xian glanced at him with a face full of doubt.

"As long as I call him 'Brother Gu He,' they'll definitely misunderstand!"

"I never thought you, Little Yan, could actually use your brain?" Yao Chen looked astonished.

"You weird old man, what do you mean by that?!"

After listening to Xiao Yan's plan, Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before refusing. "The risk is too great. It won't work. We'll do it my way."

Huo Yuhao then explained his plan. Without giving the others time to object, he left them with, "Teacher, disguise yourself and lead them back here." On the small map provided by Spiritual Detection Sharing, he circled an area. Then his figure flashed, and he left their hiding place without making a sound.

Xie Hua was very patient. He had realized that if he forcibly took down Gu He and the puppet, there was a high chance he would be seriously injured. At that point, who knew what thoughts the Dou Wang beside him might have? Such things were common in the Chu Yun Empire.

Thus, he was in no rush and merely dragged things out with Gu He. While the two exchanged insults, he noticed Gu He's body suddenly stiffen. Then, as though some seal had been lifted, the Pill King of the Jia Ma Empire began cursing even more viciously, so viciously that even an old man like him, who had lived so long, could barely take it.

What was that just now? A trace of wariness arose in Xie Hua's heart.

At that moment, a formidable aura erupted, sweeping toward this place from afar.

"That aura... the Amethyst Winged Lion King?" The Chu Yun Empire Dou Wang's voice was filled with uncertainty.

"Retreat first!" Xie Hua immediately said in a low voice.

"Are we just letting Gu He go?" The Dou Wang was unwilling to accept it.

"No. We'll lie in ambush nearby. This old man brought medicinal powder that conceals one's aura. Let's see what this Amethyst Winged Lion King intends to do. If it can leave Gu He mutually wounded, that would be best." Perhaps because Gu He's insults had embarrassed him somewhat, Xie Hua changed how he referred to himself and no longer called himself "this one."

With that, Xie Hua and the Chu Yun Empire Dou Wang each took one subordinate and flew toward the top of a nearby cliff.

Very soon, the Amethyst Winged Lion King appeared. The aura it released made even Xie Hua, a four-star Dou Emperor, feel somewhat afraid.

"When did this beast become so powerful? How does it possess such an aura?" Xie Hua muttered to himself.

The Lion King appeared to be foraging and flew leisurely through the air. At that moment, Gu He seemingly considered it a good opportunity to escape. He spread his pink Flame Wings and flew out from the ruin's entrance, with the puppet following beside him. Unfortunately, his luck was truly terrible. The instant he rushed out, he met the Lion King's gaping maw.

The Lion King opened its huge mouth, and a powerful suction force surged from within. Gu He instantly lost control of his body and shouted loudly as he, together with the puppet, was swallowed by the Amethyst Winged Lion King. The Lion King paused, as though it had eaten its fill, then left the area and flew into the sky above the dense forest. Its speed seemed to have increased considerably.

"How could the Amethyst Winged Lion King be this strong?! Gu He could not even last a single move?" The Chu Yun Empire Dou Wang's voice was filled with unwillingness and confusion.

"This..." Xie Hua's gray brows twisted together as he watched the scene, which even he could not understand. Suddenly, he recalled Gu He's earlier stiffening body.

"Something is wrong! We were fooled. It is a deception—chase him!"

At that moment, the Lion King's body dispersed like bubbles, leaving only Gu He flying through the sky at full speed. His right hand was clenched around empty air, as though he were holding something.

"Damn it, he actually has such a method." The Chu Yun Empire Dou Wang was instantly consumed by rage and rapidly pursued Gu He. Yet he failed to notice that Xie Hua, the Dou Emperor, was trailing behind him rather than flying at full speed.

Just as the two flew over the canopy of a giant tree, they heard a clear shout: "Rise!"

Strands of spiritual light flashed across the giant trees around them. In an instant, a hexagram shining with strange radiance appeared beneath them, and a powerful suction force surged up from the forest below. Xie Hua and the Chu Yun Empire Dou Wang were both startled and hurriedly activated their Dou Qi in an attempt to break free.