Trespassers, Kill!

Gu Yuanqing saw that Void Form had failed to squeeze out a single word for quite some time and said blandly, "If you can't think of anything, there's no need to force yourself. We needn't waste any more time. It's late at night—why not rest here forever? Then I can get a good night's sleep too."

As he spoke, the longsword flew out, stabbing toward Void Form's brow like lightning.

Void Form staggered back half a step in fright. His hand rose, then fell again, and with a thud, he dropped to his knees.

The longsword followed closely, coming to a steady halt half an inch before his brow.

Cold sweat soaked his back. Void Form reached out and gently pushed aside the sword tip, swallowing hard. "Young Master Gu, don't be so quick to strike. We can talk things over."

"Why are you kneeling? Get up and speak. I don't like kneeling before others, and I'm not used to others kneeling before me either." Gu Yuanqing sounded rather surprised.

Void Form felt that the young man before him was utterly unpredictable in mood, and his heart grew even more uneasy. Afraid that one wrong word would get him cut down, he forced out a smile. "I still think it's more convenient to speak while kneeling. I've been standing too long tonight, and my legs have gone numb."

"Oh, if that's the case, then suit yourself."

The longsword flew back into its sheath. Gu Yuanqing took another sip of tea to moisten his throat, then said, "You thieves must have exceptionally well-informed sources. Let me ask you this: who do you know is planning to come to North Spring Mountain?"

Void Form calmed himself somewhat. Being questioned meant he could still live, so he promptly poured out everything he knew. "The Six Heroes of Dragon Gallbladder Mountain—the six of them are all at high True Martial levels. Their leader, Miao Lifu, is at the Profound Martial Ninth Layer. Xie Ziwei, the master of Flower Rain Pavilion, is at the True Martial Eighth Layer and arrived at North Spring Mountain the day before yesterday as well..."

Void Form named more than ten factions in succession, all of them possessing high-level True Martial experts. Seven of them even had Profound Martial Ninth Layer experts.

At high True Martial levels, one could serve as a commanding general in the army. Even Gu Yuanqing had not seen many such figures in the Prince's Mansion. Before this, these names had existed only on the Heavenly List, yet now they had all gathered outside North Spring Mountain.

"These are the people I've seen in the mountains or heard about over the past two days. There may be others concealing their tracks, unknown to anyone." Void Form's mouth felt somewhat dry. He stole a glance at the tea Gu Yuanqing was drinking and secretly regretted it. I've always been cautious. Since I already guessed this place might be an Imperial Court trap, how did I let myself become possessed by ghosts and sneak in?

Gu Yuanqing nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly turned to look toward West Cliff.

Void Form could not help following his gaze, but all he saw was the wall. Just as confusion rose in his heart, the longsword hanging on the wall rang as it flew from its sheath. His heart lurched, and he thought Gu Yuanqing meant to kill him. Yet in the next instant, the sword flew toward the window. The window opened without wind, and the sword shot out into the night sky.

Gu Yuanqing smiled. "Wait a moment. We'll continue our chat shortly."

Void Form did not dare speak. The scene before him felt fantastical beyond measure.

On West Cliff, a figure soared through the air. On the path below, several Imperial Guards lay fallen in pools of blood.

Three Divine Eagle Guard signal arrows shrieked through the night sky.

Yuan Yingsong, stationed in the military camp, sprang up in alarm and fury, rushing toward North Spring Mountain.

The tall figure had just swept onto the mountaintop and had not yet steadied himself when his expression suddenly changed. The True Qi throughout his body nearly froze solid, and a streak of sword light rushed straight at his face.

He roared in shock and rage, trying to dodge. But with his True Qi stagnant and no Profound Martial Phenomenon to empower him, his speed, relying almost solely on Physical Strength, was not even thirty percent of normal. How could he evade that sword light? He did not even have time to raise the heavy hammer at his waist, only throwing up hands trained as broad as palm-leaf fans before him.

Without True Qi empowerment and without a Profound Martial Phenomenon to fend off the enemy, even his formidable body-tempering arts could display little of their power. The longsword nimbly avoided his palm and pierced through his throat.

Blood burst forth. The pagoda-like body toppled backward and fell from the cliff.

The longsword traced an arc through the air, flew back into Gu Yuanqing's courtyard through the window, and returned to its sheath.

"Where were we? Ah, right. Have you heard of any Grandmasters coming?" Gu Yuanqing asked with a calm smile.

Void Form had no idea what had happened, but he had heard the Divine Eagle Guard's signal arrows calling for aid during the enemy attack. The sound had come from quite far away. If he had guessed correctly, Gu Yuanqing had sent his sword to kill an enemy in the distance and summoned it back.

And anyone who dared storm North Spring Mountain at this time was either a fool or an expert.

The more likely possibility, of course, was an expert who feared neither the Imperial Guards nor anyone else—someone absolutely confident in his own abilities, someone who would have a chance to escape even upon encountering a Grandmaster.

But such a man had been slain from several li away in only a few breaths?

The thought made Void Form's heart sink even deeper. It meant that even if he found a chance to escape, he would likely be cut down through the air just like that man.

He forced out a smile. "The movements of Grandmasters are not something people like us can keep track of. Even if one came to North Spring Mountain, unless he deliberately spread word of it, few would notice."

Deputy Commander of Divine Eagle Guard Yuan Yingsong stood atop a boulder halfway up the mountain, staring at the bloody corpse below. There was a huge hole in its neck, while terror remained frozen on its face and in its eyes.

"This is... Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong! His throat was pierced by a sword. No—it should be said that a sword passed straight through his throat."

He recognized the man. As Deputy Commander of Imperial Guards, he had to commit every portrait on the Black List to memory.

He looked up, recalling the cry of a sword he had heard just as he swept onto North Spring Mountain, and came to a conclusion.

"A twenty-one-year-old Grandmaster, perhaps even beyond Grandmaster?" Such a peerless prodigy made Yuan Yingsong, who had remained at the True Martial Eighth Layer for eleven years, unable to resist feeling jealous.

"General!"

Zhang Zhuo, who had followed him here, landed on a nearby boulder. The moment he saw the corpse's face, he was startled. "Shen Tu Hong, fourth on the Black List—could he have been killed by you, General?"

Yuan Yingsong glanced at Zhang Zhuo without answering. If I could kill Shen Tu Hong so quickly, I would not merely be Deputy Commander of Imperial Guards.

Zhang Zhuo knew he had misspoken and asked with some embarrassment, "Did one of the Grandmaster retainers make a move?"

"Ask no more questions. Bring the corpse back to camp. I'll go down and check on the soldiers below the mountain."

The next morning, at the foot of North Spring Mountain, a head hung from a tree beside the road roughly a li from the Imperial Guards' encampment.

Below it stood a wooden board as tall as a man, bearing several bloody characters.

Trespassers into the Forbidden Ground shall be killed without mercy!

The soldiers who had erected the board had only just left when a group of martial wanderers gathered from afar.

"Last night, I saw the Imperial Guards' signal sword at the foot of North Spring Mountain. This must have been the man who broke in. He had quite the nerve, but I didn't expect him to be killed!"

"Does anyone know who this man is?"

"Let me see... Uh, he looks somewhat unfamiliar."

"I know! I recognize him!" one man cried out.

"Who is it?"

Before he could speak, an old man standing some distance away, dressed in coarse cloth with a gourd tied at his waist, studied the head and said in mild surprise, "Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong?"

"Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong? The one ranked fourth on the Black List?"

"That's right, it's him. I saw him before in the wanted portraits posted by Heavenly Policy Mansion. I simply didn't recognize him at first."

Everyone present sucked in a sharp breath.

Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong was at the Profound Martial Ninth Layer. He had roamed the martial world for twenty years, killed countless people, and fought several of the Twelve Heavenly Catchers, yet had still remained free and unfettered. Who would have thought he would meet his end here?