From Ren Tianhe's mouth, Gu Zhao learned another concept.
Cultivation Level!
The cultivation systems in this world were numerous and chaotic: demons, monsters, ghosts, gods, body refiners, contract cultivators, pure Dharma practitioners—each walked their own path, making it difficult to unify their realms. Thus, they were measured only by Cultivation Level.
After all, if one's realm was not high, one's Cultivation Level could hardly advance; but if one's Cultivation Level was high, one's realm could never be too low.
Take the Golden Wind Divine King, for example. Having stood firm in Changping Prefecture for decades and absorbed countless offerings of Incense and Fire Thought Power, he was a ferocious Ghost God with several centuries of Cultivation Level and incomparably profound Mana.
Those several centuries of Cultivation Level did not mean that the Golden Wind Divine King had cultivated for several hundred years. It meant that his Mana was equivalent to the results an ordinary person would achieve after cultivating for several hundred years.
Ren Tianhe called himself the Golden Wind Divine Cult's foremost guardian, yet his Cultivation Level had stalled at around one hundred and twenty or thirty years, unable to advance further. The other Guardian Ghost Gods barely possessed a hundred years of Cultivation Level; calling them century-old ghosts was already being respectful.
As for the Golden Wind Divine Maiden and the Sub-altar Divine Generals, their titles sounded imposing, but their Cultivation Levels were really only anywhere from a dozen to several dozen years. Without the Golden Wind Divine Cult's protection, dividing up incense offerings to stabilize their souls, they might not even be a match for other demons, monsters, and ghosts.
"So that's how it is." Gu Zhao nodded in understanding.
He had cultivated for ten years. It was not as though he fished for three days and dried his nets for two, but he had not neglected eating, drinking, having fun, or preparing for college either. No matter how talented he was, that probably amounted to less than thirty years of Cultivation Level. It was only because his cultivation efficiency here was extraordinarily high, and because he had wiped out four Golden Wind Sect guardians in succession, that the Five Thunder Token absorbed Killing Intent and accelerated his cultivation, allowing him to rise so much in such a short time.
But he cultivated orthodox Daoist methods. His Innate Qi was pure yang, his Mana spiritually refined, and he was naturally capable of restraining evil demons and Outer Dao practitioners. Coupled with the immense power of his talismans and spells, that was why he could fight above his level. Even those century-old ghosts could not withstand two authentic Supreme Pure Great Forbidden Dragon Binding Talismans.
And in this world, the greatest number were actually demons, monsters, and ghosts with less than a hundred years of cultivation. Anyone whose Cultivation Level exceeded a hundred years could basically reign supreme within a single county.
"So I'm actually this impressive!" Gu Zhao stroked his chin. Did that make him a county-town Brahmin now?
Though according to Ren Tianhe, he definitely still could not defeat the Golden Wind Divine King. After all, even fighting monsters above his level had its limits.
For instance, no matter how formidable Yan Chixia and Chan Master Baiyun were in A Chinese Ghost Story, they could only fight the thousand-year Tree Demon Granny to a draw. They were absolutely no match for the Black Mountain Old Demon.
But...
Although he had stolen the man's incense statue, killed his Golden Wind Divine Maiden and four guardians, and was about to take out another guardian deity and Sub-altar Divine General before stealing another incense statue...
The man still did not know about him!
So time was on his side. As long as he kept eliminating demons, monsters, and ghosts, absorbing Killing Intent to aid his cultivation, then the day he first arrived in Changping Prefecture would be the day the other party offered up his head!
Gu Zhao: ()
"But I still need to hurry. I need to accelerate my cultivation, and preferably find companions to help me. That means... some matters need to be put on the agenda."
Thinking this, Gu Zhao looked once more at Ren Tianhe and Hong Xin, sprawled on the ground.
Both were experienced old ghosts. The moment they saw the look in Gu Zhao's eyes, they knew he intended to silence them forever.
"If you dare kill me, the Divine King will never let you off!" Ren Tianhe roared sternly.
"Spare me, Master! This humble one is willing to surrender and serve as your slave!" Hong Xin shouted.
Unfortunately, both were bound by the iron chains of the Dragon Binding Talisman. Their voices were like mosquito buzzes, faint beyond hearing.
Gu Zhao formed the Heavenly Thunder Seal with his left hand while his right hand formed an incantation gesture. After four lines of true words, he struck Hong Xin with an upright palm. A flash of violet light passed, and Palm Thunder shot into the other man's body in an instant.
"Ah!" Hong Xin screamed miserably. The ghost creature within him tried to escape, but the iron chains of the Dragon Binding Talisman held it fast, leaving it no choice but to endure the Palm Thunder head-on.
With that single thunderbolt, the ghost body was obliterated and the soul scattered. Hong Xin and the ghost creature inside him were both killed outright by one Palm Thunderbolt. Then a strand of Killing Intent was absorbed by the Five Thunder Token, feeding back into Gu Zhao.
"Argh!" Ren Tianhe's eyes nearly split apart. With a furious roar, he drove the Mana within his body into a wild surge. His Dantian shattered, his meridians tore, his ghost body destabilized, and even his soul rippled violently.
He spat out a mouthful of black blood, smoke rose from his seven orifices, and the ghostly qi inside him descended into chaos. Yet at the cost of severe injury, he broke through the iron-chain restraints of the two Dragon Binding Talismans.
The next moment, Ren Tianhe sprang up. Black qi wrapped around him as he rushed for the door.
"Heaven's net spreads wide, covering all four quarters; seize evil demons, so no ghost may escape its form."
It was the same incantation as before. A spark burst from Gu Zhao's fingertips, tracing a thin red line that landed on Ren Tianhe in an instant. It then transformed into a net of fire, shrouding him and knocking him to the ground.
The Fire Shield Technique was the only combat-type spell within the Upper Clarity Heavenly Heart True Method. It was not purely offensive, instead slowing its target while inflicting continuous damage, which was why Gu Zhao used it as an execution tool.
With the Fire Shield Technique binding Ren Tianhe, Gu Zhao did not hesitate. He cast Palm Thunder again. "Lightning pursues lightning, Heaven and Earth bear witness. Righteous qi from all eight directions, electric light flashes!"
"Boom!"
"Ah!" Ren Tianhe wailed in agony. But he had broken free of the Supreme Pure Great Forbidden Dragon Binding Talisman. Though gravely injured, he could finally wield his Mana.
Ren Tianhe reached forward with his right hand, and a great saber appeared in his grasp. He spun around and slashed savagely at Gu Zhao. A black skull-shaped qi cleaved out from the blade, carrying saber force as it coiled toward Gu Zhao.
At the same time, Ren Tianhe hammered his chest with his left hand. A surge of mental thought power abruptly spread out as he shouted sharply, "May Golden Wind endure forever! Divine King, aid me!"
The next instant, the wooden carving in the main hall of Golden Wind Hall gave a whoosh, turning into an afterimage as it flew into the courtyard and smashed through the window.
Yet at the very instant the carving broke through the window, Gu Zhao had already waved away the black qi closing in on him. He sprang forward, reached out, and actually intercepted it between Ren Tianhe and the window, snatching the wooden carving in one hand.
But there was not the slightest alarm on Ren Tianhe's face. Instead, he gave a sinister grin. "Golden..."
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Ren Tianhe only felt his vision blur. It seemed as though the young man before him had flickered once, yet his mouth still instinctively continued casting the spell. "Golden Wind Divine King, may your divine power endure forever. I offer my loyalty—aid me against my foe!"
When Ren Tianhe finished chanting and casting, nothing happened in the quiet chamber. Only then did he realize that the wooden carving Gu Zhao had been holding had vanished, while the young man had already aimed his right palm at him.
"What is going on?"
"Boom!"
A flash of violet light passed. Thunderlight pierced through his body, and Ren Tianhe had no resistance whatsoever. His ghost body, which had nearly condensed into human form, was directly blasted apart, turning into a heap of black ash that scattered like charred bones.
Gu Zhao felt the Killing Intent being absorbed by the Five Thunder Token in his mind. "Worthy of the foremost guardian. He killed the most people, so his Killing Intent was the heaviest."
Just then, he heard the commotion outside. Clearly, Ren Tianhe's remote retrieval of the wooden carving had already stirred panic among the believers and drawn the cultists' attention.
Not to mention that he had just used Palm Thunder. That spell made no small commotion.
A burst of hurried footsteps approached. Gu Zhao sprang through the window, flipped his palm, and a Wind Thunder Talisman appeared in his hand.
"Wood Virtue Star, spirit of the east. Follow my nine qi and drive away evil essences!"
Within some palace, another furious roar rang out. "What the hell was Ren Tianhe doing?"
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