The two walked up the towering stairway on foot, as though they had come for an outing.
When they reached the gates, the two disciples guarding them blocked their way.
"This is the Gold and Jade Sect. No unauthorized entry!"
"Violators will be killed without mercy!"
These two disciples were only at the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but their manner was exceedingly arrogant.
Hearing their words, Gu Yingluo asked with a radiant smile, "Do I count as unauthorized?"
Her breathtaking beauty dazzled the two disciples. After taking a closer look, they discovered in surprise that she was none other than Gu Yingluo, whom the sect had been searching for all this time!
She was said to be connected to the young sect master's death!
"Someone come! Gu Yingluo is here!"
"Hurry, someone come! Capture Gu Yingluo!"
The two disciples shouted, intending to summon help to capture Yingluo.
Yingluo shook her head and said coldly, "I was thinking of sparing you, but you insist on seeking death."
As she spoke, she struck casually, ending both their lives outright!
After entering the Gold and Jade Sect, they drew the attention of many disciples, who learned that Gu Yingluo had actually brought an outsider to kill fellow disciples.
The Gold and Jade Sect's disciples could not tolerate this.
Whether to capture Gu Yingluo and appease the sect master or to earn merit, they attacked the two without hesitation!
"Gu Yingluo, I advise you to surrender without a fight. You're courting death!"
"The two of you dared to barge into the Gold and Jade Sect? Don't you know how to write the word 'death'?"
"Take them down! They must be the murderers! Avenge the young sect master!"
Over a hundred Foundation Establishment Realm disciples charged at the two.
At the sight, Gu Yingluo had initially felt somewhat reluctant.
After all, they had once belonged to the same sect. Some faces were quite familiar, and she did not want to slaughter them all to the last.
But their eyes brimmed with killing intent. How could she show mercy?
Still, Gu Yingluo called out, "I'm not unreasonable. I'm giving you a chance to live. Leave the Gold and Jade Sect at once, or don't blame me for being merciless!"
This was the last chance she would give these low-ranking disciples!
Yet, as she had expected, they did not listen at all. Instead, they wanted to kill her!
"Alas..."
Gu Yingluo raised her palm, crystalline spiritual power already gathering.
Just as she was about to strike, Mu Yan stopped her and smiled. "Yingluo, leave this little matter to me!"
With that, Mu Yan wasted no more words. Raising his hand, he unleashed a vast swath of golden Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame, engulfing over a hundred people!
"Ah! What kind of flame is this? Why won't it go out?"
"We're finished!"
"Run! He's a Golden Core Realm expert! Run!"
The disciples, whose minds had been filled with thoughts of earning merit, burned in the flames. Many fell silent before they could even scream.
Some tried to flee, but it was already too late. The Heavenly Emperor Divine Flame was not so easily dealt with!
In an instant, the place became a terrifying sea of fire!
Gu Yingluo knew that Mu Yan had stopped her from acting to protect the purity of her heart.
Under Mu Yan's attacks, they finally realized in despair that they were no match for him. Charging him would only mean death!
However, the commotion they caused had already attracted the attention of many sect elders.
"Who dares cause trouble in the Gold and Jade Sect? Someone, seize them at once!"
An elder at the peak of the Golden Core Realm flew into the air and issued orders. But the moment he finished speaking, a golden flame formed a spear and pierced straight through his heart!
Mu Yan's entire body was covered in flames. The fire in his hands continually formed spears, which he hurled.
Everyone he struck met the fate of being consumed by raging flames!
Mu Yan resembled an emperor of flames, clad in flaming armor and wielding a flaming spear, charging into and out of the crowd seven times over.
Gu Yingluo had also encountered opponents. More than a dozen Golden Core Realm experts surrounded her, intending to finish her off.
But as the bearer of the Supreme Immortal Physique, Gu Yingluo possessed tremendous combat strength. Even against so many Golden Core Realm experts, she did not fall behind.
She even killed several Golden Core Realm experts in return, forcing them to bring in more men!
"Go get reinforcements! These two are too strong! We can't hold them off!"
"Especially the one in flaming armor! His strength is definitely at the Nascent Soul level! Hurry and fetch the Nascent Soul elders!"
They could no longer hold out.
Terrified gazes fell upon Mu Yan and Gu Yingluo. They simply could not understand how these two, who were clearly only in the Golden Core Realm, could possess such tremendous combat strength.
The chaos continued to spread. At first, everyone had thought this was merely a minor disturbance, so they had paid it no mind.
Thus, sending a few more Golden Core Realm experts should have been enough to settle it.
If even such a trivial matter required Nascent Soul Realm cultivators to act, what was the point of having so many Golden Core Realm cultivators?
But things were different now. No fewer than twenty Golden Core Realm cultivators had already died at Mu Yan and Gu Yingluo's hands.
If this continued, they would slaughter every Golden Core Realm expert in the Gold and Jade Sect!
Finally, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator attacked in fury!
"You two villains, die!"
An old man charged at Mu Yan, wielding a treasured sword gleaming with chilling light.
This strike seemed capable of piercing heaven and earth, its power astonishing!
Many disciples recognized the sword-wielding elder and cried out excitedly.
"It's Elder Luo! Elder Luo is a genuine Nascent Soul expert! That brat in flaming armor is dead for sure!"
"No matter how strong a Golden Core is, he's still a Golden Core! He can never contend with a Nascent Soul!"
"Kill this brat first, then capture Gu Yingluo and take her to the sect master!"
The disciples cheered. Mu Yan had slaughtered them so miserably earlier; now they would finally regain some face.
"A Nascent Soul? Just what I wanted!"
Mu Yan condensed another Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus and hurled it fiercely at Elder Luo.
The little fire lotus traced a brilliant tail through the air, carrying astonishing power as it collided with Elder Luo's sword.
Boom!
An earth-shaking explosion followed. The force of the exploding flames blasted Elder Luo's sword away, and half his body was blown apart!
Watching Elder Luo fly violently backward, wrapped in flames, everyone who had been cheering fell silent!
Damn it, that was a Nascent Soul expert! He had not even withstood a single move?
Was this some kind of joke?
"Whew, still can't kill him instantly?"
Mu Yan felt somewhat regretful. His Heavenly Emperor Fire Lotus was still not powerful enough. It could only handle experts who had just entered the Nascent Soul Realm.
And it still could not kill them instantly!
When the Gold and Jade Sect's disciples heard his words, they were dumbfounded. Every one of them wished they could beat him to death!
You're a Golden Core Realm cultivator, and you've already slaughtered your way through the Golden Core Realm experts. Now you've defeated a Nascent Soul Realm expert in one strike.
Was that still not enough?
Look around. Who else could do that?
Mu Yan's actions also thoroughly enraged some of the Gold and Jade Sect's higher-ups.
In the eyes of the true experts, two Golden Core Realm cultivators like Mu Yan and Gu Yingluo causing trouble here had merely been a trivial matter.
But now, even a Nascent Soul Realm elder had been defeated. This was no longer trivial!
They could not be allowed to continue!
"The Gold and Jade Sect is no place for you to run wild! Gu Yingluo, come with me to see the sect master, and perhaps your life can still be spared!"
An exceedingly authoritative voice resounded throughout the area, followed by terrifying pressure that surged like toppling mountains and overturning seas.
This oppressive might belonged exclusively to Spirit Transformation experts!
A middle-aged man had appeared above everyone at some unknown point. He looked down at the two with utter coldness, as though watching two ants hopping about.
"Is that Elder Ding of the Spirit Transformation Realm? Even he's been alerted?"
"What else could he do? These two are far too unexpected. How could Elder Ding stand by and watch?"
"Having Elder Ding of the Spirit Transformation Realm take action is an honor for them!"
The Gold and Jade Sect's disciples all knew that with Elder Ding acting, those two were certain to die. Only Gu Yingluo still had a slim chance of survival.
"The Spirit Transformation Realm?"
Gu Yingluo looked up. Despite feeling this pressure, she did not care in the slightest.
It was only the Spirit Transformation Realm. It was not as though they had never killed one before!
Gu Yingluo took out a stone and tossed it upward under everyone's bewildered gazes.
"What is she doing? Does she plan to stone Elder Ding to death?"
"How ridiculous! Where did she pick up that random stone?"
"Gu Yingluo isn't planning to rely on that stone to fight Elder Ding, is she? What on earth is she thinking?"
Everyone burst into laughter. The disciples and elders together numbered over a thousand, and they could not stop their mocking laughter.
Elder Ding was also extremely annoyed at the sight.
Does this girl imagine she can stone me to death with a single stone?
Is she deliberately trying to humiliate me?
"I'll capture you first and hand you over to the sect master!"
Elder Ding had never taken them seriously from beginning to end. He extended his palm and reached for Gu Yingluo from a distance.
Vast spiritual power surged out, forming a celestial river that rushed toward Gu Yingluo, intending to bind her and carry her away.
In his view, it was as simple as scooping a fish out of a river, without any difficulty whatsoever.
But what he had not expected was that when the stone Gu Yingluo tossed shattered, a streak of Sword Qi would shoot out from within!
Clang!
The Sword Qi soared skyward like a true dragon, moving at an inconceivable speed as it sliced straight through the river of spiritual power Elder Ding had manifested.
Then, carrying intense killing intent, it charged toward Elder Ding!
"What?"
Elder Ding was utterly shocked. This Sword Qi was so powerful that it had already chilled him from head to toe.
If he took this Sword Qi head-on, even he did not know what the consequences would be!
In desperation, he hurriedly employed defensive measures, condensing his spiritual power into a towering wall to block the Sword Qi.
Yet when the Sword Qi struck the wall of spiritual power, he realized with horror that his defense was as flimsy as tofu!
The Sword Qi pierced his defense without the slightest obstruction, then shot through his heart with lightning speed!
Boom!
Violent Sword Qi surged into his body. Before Elder Ding even had a chance to resist, his entire body was destroyed by it!
Splash!
A rain of blood drifted down. Everyone stood frozen like wooden chickens!
Elder Ding was a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator who held a lofty position in the Gold and Jade Sect. Yet now, he had exploded right before their eyes?
No one dared believe this was real!
How could a mighty Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator possibly be killed by a Golden Core Realm cultivator?
Such an outrageous thing was unheard of!
Yet they had witnessed it!
Seeing Elder Ding annihilated by her streak of Sword Qi, Gu Yingluo also felt great anguish in her heart.
"It seems Master incorporated many Method Formulas into these stones! Each stone must have a different Method Formula sealed inside, right?"
Gu Yingluo discerned her master's painstaking intentions.
They still had a whole pile of stones like this!
Gu Yingluo had erased a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator in a single encounter, delivering an enormous shock to the people of the Gold and Jade Sect!
So much so that only after several breaths of stunned silence did they abruptly come to their senses and erupt into an uproar like a surging tide!
"D-dead? How is even Elder Ding dead?"
"Why did this happen? What exactly happened just now? Where did that Sword Qi come from?"
"It was that stone! There's something strange about that stone! That must be it!"
Everyone realized in terror that it had to be connected to the stone Gu Yingluo had thrown at the very beginning!
For a time, not a single person in the entire Gold and Jade Sect dared step forward to attack the two!
Inside the main hall, upon learning that Jin Xuan had also died, Jin Ruitian flew into an absolute fury and even killed several disciples to vent!
It was at this moment that he sensed an exceedingly powerful streak of Sword Qi appear, only to disappear again very quickly!
"What exactly is happening outside? Why is it so noisy?"
Jin Ruitian roared in displeasure.
With a flicker, he turned into a fierce gust and rushed outside to investigate.
Upon reaching the square before the sect gates, his gaze was immediately drawn to Gu Yingluo!
It's her? Gu Yingluo! She really is still alive. She definitely knows clues about the murderer. In fact, she's very likely the murderer herself, or at least an accomplice!
Upon seeing Gu Yingluo, all of Jin Ruitian's rage and hatred were finally set fully ablaze!
A boundlessly terrifying presence spread from his body, turning into endless raging winds that swept through the entire Gold and Jade Sect!
"It's the sect master! The sect master has appeared!"
"Gu Yingluo may have some strange tricks, but with the sect master appearing in person, she has no chance at all!"
"With the sect master taking action, we can finally rest easy. Otherwise, I wouldn't know who else could stop those two!"
Many people spoke with lingering fear.
Ludicrous as it sounded, the entire Gold and Jade Sect had actually been scared into trembling by two mere Golden Core Realm cultivators?
"Gu Yingluo, who exactly killed my son?"
Jin Ruitian's eyes were bloodshot as he roared.
Mu Yan flew forward, ignoring the pressure Jin Ruitian released, and called out with a flippant smile, "That trash Jin Hao died at my hands!"
"Actually, you can't blame it all on me. Who told him to try to kill me? When it comes down to it, I was only protecting myself!"
"I'm not an unreasonable person. You really can't make me take the blame for this!"
Mu Yan spread his hands and spoke with utter innocence.
However, after hearing him admit with his own mouth that he had killed Jin Hao, Jin Ruitian could no longer hear anything else.
He had only one thought: kill this brat!
"Void-Breaking Finger!"
Jin Ruitian gathered spiritual power at his fingertip, then pointed at Mu Yan from a distance!
Then a gigantic finger the size of a mountain appeared, releasing terrifying pressure that chilled everyone to the bone!
Even the Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators began trembling in fear!