A young man's travels

Now that they were closer, Xu Qi'an could even see a hint of ecstatic joy in Qi Jue Gu's beady black eyes.

It felt like a spoiled brat seeing a stunning beauty. Xu Qi'an made a strange comment, and then he realized that the Seven Deadly Gu was gone.

Their sudden disappearance was as if an invisible force had wiped them away out of thin air.

This is the corpse of the Heavenly Gu Elder, and the "unknown" characteristic he used? No, it's still there. In the next moment, Xu Qi'an rejected his guess. In his line of sight, he saw a faint shadow that circled around behind him.

It looks like it's hunting.

Xu Qi'an suddenly felt an urge to protect the back of his neck and rush forward.

As this impulse surged, a sharp pain shot through the back of my neck, as if my skin had been ripped open by something.

He suddenly realized that the impulse to protect the back of his neck that he had just felt was a lingering warning of danger.

At the back of his neck, the scarlet Seven Deadly Gu used its sharp limbs to easily cut open Xu Qi'an's flesh, and bright red blood flowed out.

It pierced one of its limbs deep into Xu Qi'an's spine, seemingly connecting it to the host's nervous system.

Xu Qi'an's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and he let out a low growl uncontrollably, his face displaying a kind of madness that only comes from extreme pain.

"There are seven schools of Gu techniques in Southern Frontier, but regardless of the school, Gu masters will cultivate a natal Gu."

The supervisor raised his hand and pressed down, an invisible force descending from the sky, rendering Xu Qi'an unable to move and forcing him to endure inhuman pain.

"The natal Gu and its host have a symbiotic relationship, sharing life and death. A normal Gu master is implanted with the natal Gu from birth, and at the latest by the age of ten."

"The implanted natal Gu, like them, is in its infancy. This way, they can strengthen their compatibility through mutual growth and reduce the backlash from the Gu worms."

That's right, implanting a natal Gu will cause backlash, because the essence of this method is "human-Gu fusion," which goes against the normal state of life.

Therefore, in order to increase the success rate, Gu masters usually have their cultivation path decided when they are young.

Xu Qi'an is an adult male, and the Seven Absolute Gu is also a mature Gu, hence the backlash is extremely severe.

The second segment pierced through flesh and blood, connecting to nerves. Xu Qi'an trembled all over, the muscles in his cheeks trembled, his lips trembled, and he trembled all over in pain.

The third, the fourth, the fifth. Each segment pierces the flesh, pausing for half a quarter of an hour to give both the human and the Gu enough time to buffer.

Xu Qi'an felt pain in every part of his body, as if his cells were being torn apart. The pain was no less than that of digesting the blood pill left by Wei Yuan.

If digesting blood stasis is a form of forced catalysis of cells, compelling them to evolve.

Therefore, containing the Seven Deadly Gu would destroy cells and the genetic chain.

He should have died from genetic collapse during the process of absorbing the Seven Deadly Gu, but his extraordinary physique as a third-rank martial artist allowed him to withstand the backlash.

As the sixth segment pierced the flesh and connected to the nerves, the crimson Seven Deadly Gu contracted its six segments, its body gradually embedding itself into the flesh, clinging tightly to the spine, and hiding itself.

Seeing this, the supervisor flicked out a thin piece of catgut, which seemed to come alive, automatically sewing up the wound and even cleverly tying a bow.

How are you feeling?

The supervisor asked with a smile.

Xu Qi'an did not answer. He closed his eyes and sensed seven abilities that originated from instinct and were imprinted in his genes.

The first type is called Heavenly Gu, which can discern the timing of the heavens, know the advantages of the land, shift stars and change constellations, and peek into the secrets of heaven.

Most members of the Heavenly Gu tribe have cultivation levels hovering around the "knowing the timing of heaven and the advantages of the land" level. They work on compiling the almanac and determining the solar terms, making outstanding contributions to the Gu tribe's agricultural endeavors.

The ability to shift stars and change constellations is a skill that only Heavenly Gu cultivators at a high level possess.

Xu Qi'an had already witnessed its ability—the characteristic of "being unknown".

Back then, the Heavenly Gu Elder used the Star Shifting Technique to deceive the Supervisor's perception; this is the Heavenly Gu Clan's most core ability.

As for peering into the secrets of heaven, even those of the Heavenly Gu Clan who reach a certain level can only glimpse a corner of the future by chance; such glimpses are partial and vague.

It was this ability that led the prophets of the Heavenly Gu Clan to prophesy that the Gu God would eventually awaken and transform the Nine Provinces into a world inhabited only by Gu.

Of course, this is incomparable to the ability of a first-rank Warlock to glimpse the secrets of heaven.

If the Heavenly Gu's ability to glean secrets is likened to a photograph without cause and effect, then the First-Rank Fate Master's ability to glean secrets is like a futuristic TV drama.

There is a fundamental difference between the two.

A side effect is that the host's mood changes with the surrounding environment. For example, on rainy days, the host will feel particularly depressed, while on sunny days, the host will be cheerful and lively.

The second type is called "Power Gu," which can make the host's five senses and six perceptions exceptionally sharp, while also enhancing strength and giving them self-healing abilities.

The latter two are core competencies.

The Gu Masters of the Power Gu Clan possess unparalleled strength. Even martial artists who have honed their physical prowess would be at a disadvantage in a contest of brute strength if they were at the same level.

The most skilled Gu Masters are those who can overcome all techniques with sheer force; in addition, they possess terrifying self-healing abilities.

For those below the third rank, any injury can be healed unless they die on the spot.

However, the recovery period can vary depending on the severity of the injury.

The side effect is that the host's appetite will increase dramatically; the higher the cultivation level, the more the host will eat.

The third type is called the Love Gu. The Love Gu releases a colorless and odorless gas that arouses all living things around it, whether human, animal, or plant.

Furthermore, the Love Gu can also implant a secondary Gu within the target's body, making the target unable to leave the practitioner for life. Love Gu masters often use this method to control slaves, and even their own lovers.

Besides these, love potions can also make a person's skin smooth, enhance their temperament, and create an appearance and body that are extremely attractive to the opposite sex.

It may even specifically modify the body to make it fit perfectly, or persist in doing so relentlessly.

The side effect is that the host's libido becomes extremely strong, and their mind is consumed by nothing but the day and night.

The fourth type is called poison gu. This gu allows the host to use different environments and conditions to produce different toxins, and its effects are extremely wide-ranging.

Sometimes, certain poisons can have a life-saving effect, depending on the circumstances.

The side effect is that one has to ingest a certain amount of poison every day, such as arsenic or the venom glands of a venomous snake.

The fifth type is called "Heart Gu," the core of which is "heart-to-heart connection." A Heart Gu master can communicate with and evoke a certain emotion in the target, and then seize that emotion to influence the other party.

It can only have a temporary effect on creatures with a certain level of intelligence, but it can have a long-lasting and continuous effect on creatures with low intelligence.

The former is represented by humans, while the latter is represented by mammals.

Therefore, the Heart Gu is also known as the "Beast-Controlling Gu" by outsiders. Gu masters of the Heart Gu tribe often use it to manipulate herds of beasts, insects, snakes, and so on.

The side effect is that the host can't help but want to talk to animals and befriend them every day. Many Gu masters in the Heart Gu Clan often develop relationships beyond friendship with animals because of this side effect.

The sixth type is called Dark Gu, which can conceal its aura and form, and is adept at blending into the shadows, using shadows to leap, such as shadows.

Every Dark Gu Master is a terrifying assassin, killing without a trace; you never know when they will approach you.

It is worth mentioning that martial artists are particularly effective against dark sorcerers.

The side effect is that the host will subconsciously crawl into any dark, hidden corner they see; the host must hide themselves for at least two hours every day to avoid being discovered by anyone.

The seventh type is called Corpse Gu. The mother Gu gives birth to offspring Gu, which reside in the corpse. The host can influence the offspring Gu through the mother Gu, thereby manipulating the corpse.

The biggest difference between the former and the corpse control techniques of the Witch God Cult is that the former is usually only used once and then discarded.

In the latter case, after the offspring worm resides in the corpse, it will merge with the corpse, and the offspring worm will become stronger as the mother worm becomes stronger. Correspondingly, the corpse will also become stronger and stronger.

A third-grade Corpse Gu Master can differentiate at least twenty fourth-grade sub-Gu, and several others of other grades.

Another point is that if the Gu worm resides in a recently deceased corpse, it is similar to possession, retaining the deceased's abilities and aura. The extent to which it retains depends on the Gu master's cultivation level.

The side effect is that the host will develop an extremely strong necrophilia. Corpse Gu Masters often have indescribable relationships with corpses because of this side effect.

"Very powerful, the Seven Deadly Gu is extremely powerful. Unfortunately, it's only in its initial awakening stage, and I can only utilize some of its basic abilities. On the other hand, the Heavenly Gu seems to be developing quite well; I can directly use the Star Shift ability. However, the Seven Deadly Gu has its side effects..."

Xu Qi'an paused here, his expression complex.

The side effects of other Gu poisons are tolerable, but the side effects of Love Gu, Heart Gu, and Corpse Gu are perfectly combined, leaving no way out for anyone.

The Heart Gu and Corpse Gu will cause the host to have a strong, inappropriate urge towards beasts and corpses. Then, at this critical moment, the side effects of the Love Gu will appear.

Xu Qi'an is very worried about his future mental health.

The supervisor, with his hands behind his back, smiled and said:

"Actually, those side effects are nutrients for the growth of the Gu worm. If you maintain this routine day after day, the Seven Absolute Gu will gradually grow stronger, and your cultivation will become higher and higher. Even at the initial awakening stage, you will rarely encounter an opponent below the fifth rank."

Xu Qi'an sighed, "Life is not worth living."

Upon hearing this, the supervisor slowly lost his smile, turned around, and sighed softly.

After a long while, he took out a conch shell engraved with array patterns from his sleeve, tossed it over, and said:

"If you need any help, just contact him, my second disciple, Sun Xuanji."

What kind of eccentric character would the Supervisor's second disciple be? Xu Qi'an took the conch shell and silently glanced at the Supervisor.

His gaze seemed to pierce a deep sore spot in the old supervisor's heart. The old supervisor said calmly:

"Get out!"

The Grand Secretary affixed his official seal to the proclamation and then instructed his clerks to deliver it to the palace.

Having done all this, the Grand Secretary stood up, went to the window, opened it, and looked from the courtyard all the way to the azure sky.

The chief minister gazed silently into the distance, feeling that the sky was exceptionally clear that day.

A new era has arrived!

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, but even more urgent than this statement is to clarify the truth, send official gazettes to local governments, post the details of the turmoil in the capital, and issue notices to inform the people of the capital of what happened.

The longer this matter drags on, the more likely it is to cause trouble.

To distinguish himself from his father, the Crown Prince immediately ordered the Hanlin Academy to draft a proclamation after the meeting the previous night. After approval by the Cabinet, the proclamation was finally posted on the notice walls of various city gates in the capital at dawn today.

As dawn broke, seeing that the imperial court had finally given its result, they immediately gathered around.

"What does the notice say? Anyone who can read should take a look."

"Don't ask me. I do know some words, but I can't understand them when they're put together."

Articles are not something that can be understood simply by knowing how to read; one needs sufficient cultural background to comprehend them.

The clerk standing by the notice board shouted, "Silence!"

In those days, the general public had a low level of literacy and most people could not understand the contents of the notices. Therefore, on the day the notices were issued, the government would assign an official to read and explain the contents of the notices every half hour.

After a day, all the news would have spread throughout the capital, and there would be no need to recite it anymore.

The people, already accustomed to this, immediately stopped discussing and listened to the official read aloud.

After the official finished reading the proclamation, most of the people understood it, and the scene instantly erupted in uproar and commotion.

"What a tyrannical ruler!"

"First, he cultivated Daoism for twenty years, then he was bewitched by the Witch God Cult and brought disaster to the soldiers of the Great Feng. Such a foolish ruler is rare in the history of the Great Feng."

"It's a pity that more than 80,000 soldiers were killed by a foolish ruler. It's even more regrettable that a pillar of the state like Duke Wei was lost in vain."

"I'm ashamed to admit that I recently criticized Duke Wei. He was the true loyal minister and the true pillar of the nation."

Some people sighed with regret, while others were so angry they beat their chests and stamped their feet.

An old man carrying a load of goods, tears streaming down his face, pounded his chest and wailed:

"Duke Wei died unjustly! What a man Duke Wei was! He even won the Battle of Shanhai Pass back then, yet he ultimately died at the hands of a foolish ruler!"

Fortunately, Xu Yinluo upheld justice.

One of the people, his eyes bloodshot, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, said:

"Without Xu Yinluo, not only would more than 80,000 soldiers and Duke Wei have died in vain, but we would also have suffered. The iron hooves of the Witch God Cult would have trampled the capital sooner or later."

"Yes, thankfully we have Xu Yinluo. As long as Xu Yinluo is here, our Great Feng still has righteousness."

"Xu Yinluo can kill corrupt officials, and he can kill a tyrannical emperor too."

"I believed from the beginning that Xu Yinluo was right. He wouldn't have murdered the emperor without a reason. He even said it when he stormed the palace: the emperor is tyrannical and incompetent, and Xu Yinluo should overthrow him. You still didn't believe me."

"Who doesn't believe me? I've always believed in Xu Yinluo."

While the people hated the tyrannical emperor and lamented the loss of the 80,000 soldiers and Wei Yuan, they were also sincerely grateful that the Great Feng still had Xu Yinluo, as if he had become the embodiment of justice in the hearts of the people.

Those who were inherently conservative and had doubts about the reasons for the regicide breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Yinluo is still Xu Yinluo; he hasn't changed at all.

"If you ask me, we should just make Xu Yinluo the emperor."

A young man subconsciously blurted out his thoughts.

The noisy atmosphere immediately quieted down. The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, but no one dared to refute or reprimand them, and they fell into an eerie silence.

The notice spread rapidly throughout the capital, drawing strong reactions from the people. They gritted their teeth at the mention of the tyrannical emperor, but praised Xu Qi'an unanimously.

Some even wept bitterly, saying that Xu Yinluo was sent down from heaven to save Great Feng; he was not only the conscience of Great Feng, but also Great Feng savior.

At Yuyang Pass, one man single-handedly killed 300,000 enemy soldiers, then beheaded the tyrannical emperor, thwarting the Witch God Cult's plot to overthrow the Great Feng. Isn't he a savior?

Of course, there is no shortage of regret for Wei Yuan. Fortunately, after Wei Yuan, the Great Feng had Xu Qi'an, and the people had a new source of spiritual sustenance.

May the Great Feng have Xu Qi'an, the great Qingyi, after Wei Yuan, so that he may die without regret.

Inner city, a small courtyard.

Mu Nanzhi sat on a small stool, listening to Aunt Zhang's incessant chatter about the contents of the notice. When she mentioned the tyrannical emperor, she and Aunt Zhang both showed angry expressions and loudly criticized him.

When talking about Wei Yuan, she and Aunt Zhang lamented the collapse of this pillar of the nation and the 80,000 soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the territory of the Witch God Sect.

She looked exactly like a gossipy old woman sitting in an alleyway, chatting with other women.

When talking about Xu Yinluo, Aunt Zhang praised her highly, saying, "If I were twenty years younger, I would definitely choose Xu Yinluo, just like any other young girl."

Mu Nanzhi looked wary.

"By the way, Madam Mu, hasn't your husband been back for a long time?"

Aunt Zhang asked.

He used to come back every few days and be very affectionate with his wife, but he suddenly disappeared some time ago, and she has never seen Mu Niangzi's husband again.

"Oh, he's quite busy."

Mu Nanzhi said in a low voice.

Her mood plummeted; she wasn't happy. Resting her chin on her hand, she gazed at the flowers filling the courtyard and sighed softly.

"Knock knock knock!"

There was a knock on the courtyard door. Mu Nanzhi's gloomy face instantly brightened, but then quickly fell back down. She turned her face away and refused to open the door.

Aunt Zhang chuckled softly, thinking to herself that her husband had returned and the young woman was sulking.

He went over and opened the door.

The gate opened, and a man of average appearance but gentle demeanor stood at the entrance, leading a horse.

It was none other than Lady Mu's husband.

"I'm leaving Beijing. Would you like to come with me?"

Mu Nanzhi ignored him.

"Then, I'll be leaving?"

He took the horse's reins and turned to leave.

"Hey!" she called out.

"Um?"

I want to stay at the best inn.

"Good."

"Meat is served at every meal."

"Good."

"We need rouge and face powder."

"Good."

Don't bully me.

"Good."

"Then, I'm willing."

Dexinyuan.

Huaiqing spread out a sheet of Xuan paper, picked up his brush, and wrote, "Do not worry about having no friends on the road ahead, for who in the world does not know you?"

He also wrote, "I hope you take good care of yourself!"

After finishing writing, she went up to the attic, looked out into the distance, and silently drifted into thought.

Shaoyin Palace.

Lin'an, wearing a fox fur cloak, came to the observation deck of the pavilion. He neither spoke nor sat down, but silently gazed into the distance.

After a long while, she murmured softly, "I long for your return."

Star-Gazing Tower.

Li Miaozhen sat angrily at the bedroom table, looking sullen.

Xu Qi'an refused to travel with her, saying that the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect was too dazzling, like a torch in the darkness, and would easily attract his great enemy, Xu Pingfeng.

This reason left Li Miaozhen speechless.

"You say he's a cripple, what can he do with his meager Gu magic skills? Yet he insists on traveling the world alone," Li Miaozhen said angrily.

"That jerk, who knows, he might leave with another woman," Su Su whispered.

"Where would he get other women? Aren't all the other women staying in the capital?" Li Miaozhen pouted.

"Where is that number one beauty of the Great Feng?" Su Su asked, stirring up trouble with her petty jealousy.

Li Miaozhen's face suddenly stiffened, and her pupils dilated!

Seven floors.

At the entrance to a secret room, Master Hengyuan stood solemnly in the corridor, his expression a mixture of tension and anticipation.

Chu Yuanzhen stood beside him and said in a deep voice:

"Will Song Qing's method work?"

Hengyuan shook his head. "I don't know, but we tried anyway, and thanks to Master Li for helping to extract his soul."

He paused, then said in a low voice, "My only attachment in the capital is him. If he can be reborn, I can leave the capital, travel the world, and search for Lord Xu."

Inside the sealed room, a child opened his eyes.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering why he had suddenly appeared in this unfamiliar room.

The child sat up and, instinctively, uttered, "Congratulations on your fortune!"

He stared in surprise, his eyes wide; it wasn't his voice.

Looking around, I saw the carcass of a large black dog lying next to the flatbed.

He stared blankly at the black dog's corpse, and for a moment, tears streamed down his cheeks, indistinguishable between sorrow and joy.

The child wobbled to his feet and toddled around like an infant.

He experienced the joy of rebirth, and his courage gradually grew. He looked at another corpse in the secret room, lying on a flat surface covered with a white sheet.

The child toddled over, a hint of curiosity in his eyes, and lifted the white cloth.

Beneath the white cloth was a man dressed in blue, with graying temples and a handsome face.

He was breathing shallowly, but he could no longer wake up.

Outside the city, an ordinary-looking man led a lithe mare, with an ordinary-looking woman sitting on its back.

They complement each other perfectly; a match made in heaven.

"Let's go, let's roam the world together," he said with a smile.

The woman, of average appearance, gave a reserved "hmm".

The man laughed loudly, "The martial world, here I come!"

The woman, whose appearance was average, rolled her eyes.

How about I sing you a song?

"Don't want."

She gave a haughty refusal.

I once dreamed of traveling the world with a sword.

Take a look at the prosperity of the world

The heart of youth is always a little impetuous.

Now I wander the world.

End of volume!