The power of a single palm strike

"Storage Bag?" Gu Yuanqing glanced down at it, then realized, "So that's what it was for? You've been following Miaoxuan the whole time, haven't you?"

Yue Hong's gaze towards the Storage Bag revealed a barely perceptible fervor deep within his eyes. He had entered the Lingxu Sect precisely for the path beyond the Dao Fire Realm, and perhaps this Storage Bag contained the answer.

"Young Master Gu, this item belongs to someone who participated in the Celestial Trial. He was killed by our Lingxu Sect, which already violated the law. This item must not be allowed to remain unclaimed. Please return it; otherwise, it will only cause trouble for Daoist Friend Miaoxuan."

Gu Yuanqing turned back to look in the direction Li Miaoxuan had left, as if he could see her looking back from afar. Suddenly, he realized that perhaps she gave him this item because it was indeed useless to her, and also because she didn't want the person in front of her to follow behind her.

In the distance, Li Miaoxuan smiled slightly as she looked towards North Spring Mountain. She didn't know if Gu Yuanqing had guessed her intentions, but doing something for her was his duty.

Ever since Yue Hong attacked the Zhou Kingdom, he had been following her around, which annoyed her. If it weren't for his Mountain Patrol Supervision Token the Lingxu Sect of the mountain, she would have already lost patience and attacked him.

Now that she had finally shaken them off for the time being, she used her movement technique to head towards the capital. Now that she had descended the mountain, she couldn't resist the urge to go back and take one last look...

"Young Master Gu?" Yue Hong frowned.

Gu Yuanqing smiled calmly, "Since this item is so important, why didn't you take it from her? Why did you have to ask me?"

Yue Hong's face flushed slightly. It was Li Miaoxuan's palm strike that had completely shattered all his thoughts, but the fact that this treasure had fallen into Gu Yuanqing's hands had rekindled those thoughts. The reason he hadn't made a move yet was precisely because he wanted to wait and see if Li Miaoxuan would change her mind.

"Young Master Gu, it is my duty; please do not make things difficult for me."

Gu Yuanqing looked at Yue Hong, and this disgusting feeling was strangely familiar. He suddenly thought of Gu Wenqi from the North Spring Mountain Sword Sect. Yes, Yue Hong at this moment was exactly the same as Gu Wenqi back then. The only difference was that this person had the strength of the Dao Fire Realm.

A soft sigh escaped his lips, "Indeed, strength and temperament are not so closely related, even those Beyond Grandmaster are not immune."

Yue Hong sensed the sarcasm in his words, and his expression darkened slightly. "Young Master Gu, I Old Man no intention of fighting you. Don't make a mistake."

Gu Yuanqing chuckled and said, "Self-inflicted trouble? Do you even know where you are?"

"I know there's something strange about this Within North Spring Mountain. Zuo Qiu and Gong Xin are both Dao Fire Realm Cultivator, yet they couldn't do anything to you?"

Gu Yuanqing chuckled, "So you stopped me outside North Spring Mountain?"

Yue Hong sneered, "Although this place is only a hundred feet from the Within North Spring Mountain, Young Master Gu don't doubt that if you don't hand over your Storage Bag, you won't be able to return. Although I don't want to hurt you, swords have no eyes."

Gu Yuanqing sighed softly, "It seems we still have to take action!"

As the words fell, a tremendous sense of crisis rose in Yue Hong's heart. His first reaction was: Could it be that Li Miaoxuan has returned? But the next second he accurately realized that this sense of crisis actually came from Gu Yuanqing in front of him.

Clang!

The long sword on his back was drawn, Dao Fire rose from his body.

Yue Hong's blade did not strike Gu Yuanqing; instead, he turned and held it horizontally behind him.

As they turned around, they saw a powerful Sword Qi slashing down.

Boom!

Amidst the deafening roar, countless flying stones scattered, and blinding light flashed, engulfing Yue Hong's figure.

Gu Yuanqing chuckled, used his movement technique to bypass the battlefield, and headed towards Within North Spring Mountain.

Suddenly, Gu Yuanqing retreated three zhang, and a blade of energy swept past him. On the ground, a trench twenty zhang long and three zhang deep appeared before him.

Without any grand display, the original soil and rocks have all turned into fine sand.

Yue Hong's expression was cold and stern as he pointed his knife at the distance. His clothes were slightly torn and his hair was disheveled, but he was not injured.

"Young Master Gu, this is just a warning."

The Blade Intent was chilling, enveloping Gu Yuanqing as if the slightest movement from Gu Yuanqing would bring the blade down.

Gu Yuanqing turned around, his smile fading, and said seriously, "My friend, you just stood in front of me without any murderous intent. So, my previous sword strike was just to show you that even outside North Spring Mountain, I am not someone to be slaughtered. But if you continue like this, you are forcing me to really kill you!"

Yue Hong stepped forward slowly with a gloomy expression. He said coldly, "I have been in the Martial World for over two hundred years. How could I be intimidated by words? If Young Master Gu questions and refuses to hand it over, even if it offends Daoist Friend Miaoxuan, I will have no choice but to capture you first. Young Master, you are so young yet your cultivation is rare in this world, but I'm afraid you don't quite understand the difference between the Dao Fire Realm and the Dao Embryo Realm!"

With each step Yue Hong took forward, the Blade Intent around him intensified. After three steps, the trees around Gu Yuanqing had all fallen backward, and countless small knives seemed to be flowing in the Void. Occasionally, power would burst forth, turning trees and rocks into powder.

Gu Yuanqing's clothes fluttered in the wind, and the icy Blade Intent seemed to freeze his blood.

The pulsation of the Dao Embryo and the warning from the mind both indicate that the Yue Hong before them is different from the one before.

Gu Yuanqing remained calm and said indifferently, "Since Miaoxuan knew you were following her, why did she still give me this treasure outside the mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Hong's pupils suddenly contracted.

His emotions fluctuated, and a crack appeared in his otherwise perfect State of Mind. At this moment, Gu Yuanqing's aura also changed abruptly.

In an instant, the young man standing in front of him was no longer just a Cultivator at the Dao Embryo Realm, but transformed into a majestic Great Mountain, whose aura was remarkably similar to that of the North Spring Mountain behind him!

" Those at the Grandmaster Realm or above can act on impulse, their Dao Heart issuing a warning to avoid danger. But if greed takes hold, any warning is useless!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yuanqing raised his hand and placed a Palm Seal down from afar.

He held nothing back with this palm strike, just as Yue Hong had said, there is a whole realm difference between the Dao Fire Realm and the Dao Embryo Realm.

The method he's using right now is the first time he's used it, so he doesn't actually know how powerful it is!

Yue Hong's expression changed drastically, his Dao Fire Flame blazed up, and he transformed into a giant blade, slashing upwards!

In his perception, what fell was not the force of a palm strike, but the crushing force of a Great Mountain.

The next second, the knife in his hand let out a mournful cry and shattered into pieces.

Yue Hong's eyes widened in anger as he continuously tried to circulate his Dao Embryo True Essence, but to no avail. At this moment, it was as if all his power was imprisoned, his Dao Fire was extinguished, and his muscles and bones shattered under immense pressure.

Gu Yuanqing raised his hand in astonishment, trying to withdraw his power, but it was too late!

Yue Hong's figure, which had rushed forward, plummeted back to the ground at an even greater speed, sinking deep into the earth with a thunderous crash.

The invisible energy transformed into Shockwave that spread outwards, snapping all the surrounding trees. However, upon Within North Spring Mountain, it transformed back into Qingfeng.

After a long while, the Heaven and Earth finally quieted down. Gu Yuanqing stood motionless, blinked a few times, shook his head, and smiled bitterly.

"Just now... I think I used too much force! But it's not my fault. Yesterday, I used all the power of North Spring Mountain to slash at Zuo Qiu and the others with one sword, and it wasn't this exaggerated, was it?"