Gu Yingluo was very famous in the Gold and Jade Sect!
Not only was she exceptionally talented, but she was also beautiful. Many of her fellow disciples, and even elders, had designs on her.
Jin Xuan was among them!
From his very first glimpse of Gu Yingluo, Jin Xuan had desperately wanted to possess her!
Unfortunately, before he could make his move, that bastard Jin Hao had beaten him to it.
As a result, he could only bury his possessiveness deep in his heart, not daring to reveal it at all, or Jin Hao would come down on him!
Now, though, even Gu Yingluo belonged to him!
"Stop!"
Jin Xuan gave the order loudly.
The people of the Chen Household and the Mo Household immediately separated and stopped fighting.
"Junior Sister Yingluo, the sect master has been searching high and low for you! So you were here? Come back with me. I can guarantee you'll be fine!"
Jin Xuan's greedy eyes roamed over Gu Yingluo's shapely figure.
Noticing his disgusting gaze, Gu Yingluo warned him with murderous intent, "Jin Xuan, keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
"Hahaha! Junior Sister Yingluo, you really do love to joke. I'm at the Golden Core Stage Second Layer! If you can gouge them out, go right ahead!"
Jin Xuan burst out laughing as though he had heard a hilarious joke.
He knew perfectly well that Gu Yingluo was only in the Foundation Establishment Realm, far below the Golden Core Realm.
So her threat not only had no effect on him, but even seemed so innocent and adorable.
"Junior Sister Yingluo, my offer stands. Come with me, and I'll find a way to prove your innocence. From now on, just stay obediently by my side and help cool my fire now and then!"
Jin Xuan smiled with utter lechery.
Proving Gu Yingluo's innocence was actually very simple. They just needed to get their stories straight and say that someone else had killed Jin Hao, while she had been lucky enough to survive.
That would do it!
Now, it all depended on whether Gu Yingluo was willing!
Seeing his daughter return safe and sound, with Mu Yan beside her, the Household Head Gu felt relieved, but also anxiously urged her to leave at once.
"Yingluo! Hurry and go! Don't come back! Mu Yan, you brat, take her away right now! You mustn't let her come to any harm!"
The Household Head Gu's eyes reddened. He knew that after today, they might well be separated by life and death, and he would never see his daughter again.
But as long as his daughter was safe, he could die with his eyes closed!
In truth, he already regretted bringing Yingluo and Jin Hao together!
Back then, it had not been his idea to pair Yingluo with Jin Hao. Some elders in the lineage had strongly recommended it.
He himself felt that his daughter should decide her own happiness.
But regret was useless now!
The enemy had already come knocking!
Yet Gu Yingluo reassured him with a smile. "Father, don't worry. Brother Mu Yan and I came back precisely to deal with the Gold and Jade Sect!"
Everyone present froze at her words, wondering whether something was wrong with her head. How could she say something so foolish and naive?
Jin Xuan laughed so hard he rocked back and forth. "Hahaha! Deal with the Gold and Jade Sect? Junior Sister, when did you learn to tell jokes?"
"Don't you know how powerful the Gold and Jade Sect is? You think you can deal with it just by running your mouth? Junior Sister, you're adorably naive!"
Jin Xuan made no attempt to conceal his mockery.
What could such an outrageous claim from a little girl in the Foundation Establishment Realm be, if not a joke?
The people of the Chen Household and the Mo Household laughed along, their laughter shaking the heavens!
"Hahaha! This little girl really doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is, saying something so ridiculous!"
"Deal with the Gold and Jade Sect? Or be dealt with by the Gold and Jade Sect? Could you make that clear first?"
"She must have lost her head from sheer despair. Why else would she spout such nonsense?"
Everyone around them mocked her loudly and mercilessly.
Only Gu Yingluo and Mu Yan remained calm.
"Yingluo, leave that disgusting thing to me. I can't stand him anymore!"
Mu Yan said to Yingluo.
Right now, he badly wanted to kill a sleazebag like Jin Xuan, and viciously gouge out his eyeballs as well. Only then could he vent the hatred in his heart!
Unexpectedly, Yingluo said she would handle him herself.
"Brother Mu Yan, let me. I won't be satisfied unless I kill this disgusting thing with my own hands!"
Hearing that, Mu Yan could only agree.
Naturally, Jin Xuan had heard their conversation too. Seeing them actually discussing who would deal with him, he practically laughed himself silly.
"Hahaha! Junior Sister Yingluo? You say you're going to kill me? Oh, I'm so scared! Why don't you come and try killing me right now?"
Jin Xuan laughed in a mocking tone.
Unable to endure it any longer, Gu Yingluo immediately launched an attack, charging at Jin Xuan.
"Yingluo!"
The Household Head Gu cried out in worry.
He knew his daughter's strength all too well. She was only in the Foundation Establishment Realm. How could she possibly be Jin Xuan's match?
Yingluo would suffer a crushing defeat in a single exchange!
Unfortunately, the Chen Household Head and Mo Household Head were both watching him, leaving him no way to save her!
"Hahaha! Perfect timing! Let your senior brother caress you!"
Jin Xuan was surprised to see Gu Yingluo actually dare to charge at him. In his eyes, her actions were no different from throwing herself into his arms.
"Profound Jade Hand!"
Facing Gu Yingluo's attack, Jin Xuan unleashed a King Grade palm technique.
He had already cultivated the King Grade Profound Jade Hand to a very advanced level. Using it against Gu Yingluo was simply slaughtering a chicken with an ox-cleaver.
"What a formidable palm technique! Its grade definitely isn't low!"
The Mo Household Head exclaimed.
"It's at least a King Grade palm technique. Is this the Gold and Jade Sect's foundation? It's far too deep!"
The Chen Household Head also recognized the extraordinary nature of the Profound Jade Hand. Even the strongest Method Formula in his lineage was inferior to it!
"This girl really has lost her mind. With such a huge gap in strength, she still wants to fight?"
"This is called delivering herself to his door and throwing herself into his arms!"
"She probably thinks Young Master Jin Xuan won't kill her. That's why she dares to act so recklessly!"
Everyone present laughed and discussed it, treating Gu Yingluo's actions as nothing more than a little girl's mischief.
However, once Gu Yingluo drew close to Jin Xuan, her strength at the Golden Core Realm Second Layer suddenly erupted!
That powerful presence instantly changed the expressions of those who had been mocking her just moments before.
"What? She's already at the Golden Core Realm Second Layer?"
"Wasn't she in the Foundation Establishment Realm? What on earth is going on?"
"What a powerful presence! Is this the source of her confidence?"
Everyone was astonished. Who could have imagined that Gu Yingluo, who had previously been in the Foundation Establishment Realm, had reached the Golden Core Realm Second Layer in such a short time?
"Die!"
Gu Yingluo struck out with her palm!
Her terrifying power destroyed the Profound Jade Hand like a force toppling mountains and overturning seas, and all the remaining force slammed into Jin Xuan's chest.
Jin Xuan's body was hurled violently away before smashing a huge crater into the ground.
Everyone instantly fell silent, scarcely able to believe their eyes.
Gu Yingluo had actually... actually defeated Jin Xuan with a single palm strike?
"No, Jin Xuan is dead! He has no signs of life!"
At that moment, the Mo Household Head keenly noticed that Jin Xuan had no signs of life left. Clearly, he had died a terrible death.
An uproar erupted!
At last, the entire place boiled over!
Countless people cried out in shock!
Pairs of disbelieving eyes focused on Gu Yingluo, as though they still could not believe she was capable of this.
After all, Jin Xuan was a genius disciple of the Gold and Jade Sect. He was powerful and had cultivated a King Grade cultivation method.
Even among experts at the same cultivation level, few were his match!
Yet such a formidable genius had been blasted to death by a single palm strike from Gu Yingluo?
Even Jin Xuan himself had never imagined, right up until his death, that he would die so easily.
Unfortunately, he was now as dead as could be. He could not even regret it.
"Was she hiding her strength before?"
The Mo Household Head's pupils abruptly contracted. He found it inconceivable.
"What palm technique was that just now? The King Grade Profound Jade Palm was broken without even a chance to resist?"
The Chen Household Head sucked in a cold breath of shock.
What shocked him was not Gu Yingluo's soaring strength, but that seemingly unremarkable palm strike that actually possessed tremendous power!
Meanwhile, everyone on the Gu Household's side fell silent. Gu Yingluo, whom they had thought doomed to die, had instead blasted Jin Xuan to death with one palm strike.
Was... was this really still the Gu Yingluo they knew?
"Yingluo..."
The Household Head Gu murmured blankly.
After his brief daze, the Household Head Gu finally revealed a gratified, proud smile.
This was his daughter. His daughter was stronger than anyone!
"Neither of your households should expect to get off lightly, either!"
While everyone was still immersed in shock, Mu Yan unleashed the Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame and attacked the people of the Chen Household and the Mo Household!
The Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame was a terrifying flame of the utmost hardness and Yang between heaven and earth. Its might was unparalleled, and once even a trace clung to someone, it could not be shaken off.
Soon, most of the people of the Chen Household and the Mo Household were engulfed in a towering sea of fire.
"Brat, you're courting death!"
The Chen Household Head was so furious he nearly ground his teeth to pieces. These were all elites of his Chen Household! If most of them were killed or injured, the Chen Household's strength would plummet!
He hurriedly charged at Mu Yan, fully unleashing his Nascent Soul-level power, intent on killing him.
Sensing a terrifying power lock onto him, Mu Yan felt no fear. Instead, he grew excited.
"Nascent Soul? Just the thing to test the new move I comprehended in the Chaos Realm!"
Mu Yan raised his hand and unleashed a vast swath of golden Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame, which became an immense sea of fire and collided with the Chen Household Head.
The terrifying flames and extreme waves of heat proved troublesome even for the Chen Household Head, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!
He had never encountered such a strange and powerful flame!
"Wave-Breaking Fist!"
The Chen Household Head punched out, sending spiritual power surging toward the Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame like rolling tides, trying to sweep it away completely.
But to his surprise, not only were the golden flames not swept away, they burned even more fiercely!
"What's going on? Just what kind of flame is this?"
The Chen Household Head panicked. He truly panicked!
"So this is Nascent Soul-level strength? It doesn't seem all that impressive!"
Mu Yan curled his lip, then began condensing the Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame with a unique hand technique. After repeated compression, the flames became a delicate, beautiful golden lotus.
"It really works!"
Feeling the terrifying destructive power within the golden lotus, Mu Yan smiled happily.
This was the unique move he had comprehended after gaining insight into the Flame Principle in the Chaos Realm.
He had named it the "Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus"!
"Go!"
Mu Yan hurled the Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus toward the Chen Household Head. The palm-sized golden fire lotus left a brilliant trail high in the sky, like a dazzling shooting star!
It looked beautiful, but in truth, it was extraordinarily terrifying!
The Chen Household Head suddenly sensed an extremely powerful force hurtling toward him.
He focused his gaze. It was actually a tiny golden fire lotus?
"Damn it!"
The destructive power radiating from it made even a Nascent Soul expert like him shudder. If that golden fire lotus struck him head-on, his chances of survival would be slim!
He hurriedly tossed out a small shield.
The shield swelled in the wind, growing dozens of zhang tall in the blink of an eye, like a small mountain!
The instant the shield took shape, the Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus slammed into it with a brilliant tail trailing behind!
Boom!
A deafening roar spread across the heavens, shaking even the clouds apart!
The flames erupting from the fire lotus spread in every direction as well, becoming a towering sea of fire.
The shield that had taken the direct hit was blasted to pieces, rendered completely unusable.
The Chen Household Head's chest also suffered extensive, severe burns, and half his body had been charred to charcoal!
"Cough, cough... that move of yours..."
The Chen Household Head's eyes widened into circles. He simply could not believe that a junior in the Golden Core Realm had truly wounded him so severely!
Without the shield blocking it, he even suspected that he really would have died under that fire lotus's attack!
Although he had survived, his fighting strength had been reduced so drastically that he had no capacity left to continue fighting!
"My move's pretty good, right? Want to learn it? Well, I don't want to teach you!"
Mu Yan smiled teasingly.
He was very satisfied with the Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus's power.
After all, it was the first Secret Method he had created himself!
"Old Chen!"
The Mo Household Head had been locked in battle with the Household Head Gu. When the Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus erupted, they hurriedly broke apart, only to witness this horrific scene.
The Household Head Gu could hardly believe it either. The former good-for-nothing had actually come close to killing a Nascent Soul expert?
You fucking call this a good-for-nothing?
"Old Mo, do you still want to fight? I don't think there's any need anymore, is there?" the Household Head Gu asked mockingly, looking at the dumbstruck Mo Household Head.
The Mo Household Head gave a dejected smile and gave up completely. "We lost!"
What had originally been an excellent situation had undergone an earth-shaking reversal because of the arrival of two youngsters?
First, Jin Xuan had been killed!
Then, the Chen Household Head had been gravely wounded!
Was there any point in continuing this battle?
There was only one thing he wanted to know most now: just what had those two youngsters, Mu Yan and Gu Yingluo, experienced during this time?
How had they shed their old selves and been reborn?
"Old Gu, you should understand. You won today, but can you defeat the Gold and Jade Sect? They're your true enemy!"
The Mo Household Head spoke meaningfully.