Wanted, Gao Hu's Situation

Without the slightest hesitation, Dongfang Yueming pushed the "Cloud-Treading Steps" to its limit, his figure transforming into a streak of light and instantly disappearing at the end of the passage. He knew that killing the master of the Trial Valley was tantamount to tampering with the heavens, and he could not linger here!

The stone hall was deathly silent.

The gray mist surrounding Chi Qing, Lang Po, Lang Xiaotian gradually dissipated, restoring them to human form. However, the madness they had shown before was gone from their eyes when they looked at each other; only the shock of surviving a disaster and a deep fear of that departing figure remained.

Qiang Feng and Wei Dao exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. They understood that a storm far beyond their imagination was about to break.

Sure enough, within moments, several incredibly powerful auras descended upon this place as if tearing through space!

Leading the group were three martial arts masters whose auras were as vast as the ocean!

One of them was Grandmaster from the Chi Family. As soon as he appeared, his gaze fell on Chi Qing.

Chi Qing trembled, abandoning all his arrogance, and respectfully lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong.

"Chi Qing, you're very good!" The voice of the Chi Family Grandmaster was unreadable, but the oppressive aura contained within it made Chi Qing not even dare to raise his head.

Qiang Feng silently walked behind another imposing Grandmaster and whispered, "Ancestor."

Just then, the third Grandmaster let out a roar filled with shock and rage, "Third brother!"

He rushed to the headless corpse, staring at the familiar black robe. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and a violent killing intent swept across the entire area, almost suffocating Wei Meng and the others.

"Who?! Who did this?!"

The Chi Family Grandmaster slowly spoke, turning his gaze to Wei Meng, his voice indifferent. "Little girl, you speak."

Under immense pressure, Wei Meng recounted everything that had just happened in detail, without daring to conceal anything. When they heard that Dongfang Yueming had single-handedly killed the black-robed elder with just two palm strikes, the three Grandmaster all showed expressions of shock.

"The true meaning of the fusion of water and fire... Impossible!" the Grandmaster who had lost his loved ones roared. "Although my third brother had old injuries, he was still a genuine Grandmaster Realm! How could a junior who hadn't even Perfection his Inner Force kill him!"

A glint One Flash in the eyes of the Chi Family Grandmaster, who then addressed the other two Grandmaster and all the survivors present, saying in a deep voice, "The man beside me is an elder from the super dynasty ' Nirvana Sect ' of the Central Continent. And the one who just perished was also a deacon of the Nirvana Sect."

The Nirvana Sect! A Super Dynasty!

These words, like towering mountains, weighed down on everyone, making it hard for them to breathe.

The elder of the Nirvana Sect suppressed his grief, his cold gaze sweeping across the entire scene. "Which direction did that brat named Dongfang Ri run off to?"

Three days later.

Within the territory of the Heavenly Splendor Dynasty, and even in several surrounding higher dynasties, wanted posters jointly issued by the three major sects were plastered all over the streets and alleys.

The wanted poster featured a lifelike portrait of the protagonist, and the charges against him were even more shocking. "The villain Dongfang Ri, during the trial of the Battle of the Flood Dragon Gate, developed a twisted mentality, indiscriminately killing innocent people and slaughtering geniuses from various sects. His crimes are heinous. Anyone who provides clues will be rewarded with a high-grade Qi Refining technique; whoever can capture and kill this fiend will receive a Grandmaster martial arts manual and personal guidance from an elder of the Nirvana Sect!"

The entire region was shaken!

"Hiss! Who is this Dongfang Ri Heavenly Immortal? How dare he offend three major sects at the same time, as well as the Nirvana Sect of a super dynasty!"

"Indiscriminate killing? I doubt it; there's more to this than meets the eye. But whatever the truth, the reward is too tempting!"

"It's a pity that this year's Battle of the Flood Dragon Gate has encountered such a huge mess before it even started. But it's also good, with one less killing god, the other geniuses have a better chance!"

In a secluded tavern in a remote town, Dongfang Yueming, wearing a straw hat, listened silently to the surrounding discussions, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

[For the Heavenly Splendor Dynasty and that so-called Nirvana Sect to join forces to distort the truth and issue such an arrest warrant, it seems their scheme is quite ambitious.]

He knew in his heart that he had become the target of everyone's anger. Staying here would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

[However, the techniques and martial arts for the Grandmaster Realm are still undecided...]

He took out the ancient manual he had taken from the old man in black robes, opened it, and frowned slightly.

[The True Explanation of Gray Mist Body Forging... is a technique for forging Innate Physique.]

This technique is incredibly profound, far surpassing any method he had encountered before, but it is utterly useless to him now. It is the stepping stone to Innate Physique, while he has not even reached the end of his Martial Dao journey.

It seems I have no choice but to leave this place of trouble for now.

A bold idea popped into his mind.

Since things are so tense here, why don't we... charge back!

[Return to the Great Xia Dynasty! Go to the Earth Spirit Sect! Since they are ruthless, don't blame me for being unjust!]

[Go challenge the sects of the middle-level dynasties surrounding the Great Xia Dynasty, and use their techniques and martial arts as resources for my advancement to the Grandmaster Realm!]

[Once I truly possess the power to sweep away everything, I'll come back and settle this score with them!]

Once this thought arose, it could not be suppressed. Rather than hiding in other people's territory, it's better to return to familiar territory, take the initiative, and turn all potential enemies into nourishment for self-improvement!

He pulled down his straw hat, tossed down a few coins, and his figure quietly disappeared into the tavern.

The Great Xia Dynasty.

The night was as dark as ink, and three martial artists of true qi were idly conducting their routine patrol.

"Ugh, what bad luck, it's our turn to patrol this mass grave again." A young martial artist kicked at a pebble and complained, "Ever since we came back from the Battle of the Python Gate, the Gao Family and Xi Family have been like madmen, recruiting soldiers everywhere, causing widespread panic. Lately, more and more people are dying in this godforsaken place."

"That's right," another slightly older martial artist chimed in, a hint of lingering fear on his face. "The brothers who came back yesterday told me that the corpses they found a couple of days ago were in incredibly gruesome deaths. It was as if their lifeblood had been drained by something, leaving only human skin and skeletons. It's too eerie!"

"Alright, enough talk," the captain snapped, but his eyes betrayed his wariness. "Get your spirits up! We'll go back once we've completed the mission. I don't want to stay a second longer in this godforsaken place!"

The three quickened their pace, eager to finish their errand as soon as possible.

However, they did not notice that not far behind them, in the shadow of a withered tree, a thin, dark figure stood silently, its eyes gleaming with a scarlet light, staring intently at them like a hungry wolf in the night.

[Three Qi Refining Realm... their quality is a bit low, but it's better than nothing.]

A greedy yet chilling voice echoed in the mind of that dark figure.

Just as the three martial artists reached a corner, a sudden change occurred!

"Call out--!"

A black shadow, moving at incredible speed and accompanied by a piercing shriek that seemed to tear through the air, burst forth from the shadows beside them!

"Who goes there?!" The captain, who was in the lead, reacted the fastest. He drew his sword, channeled his inner energy into the blade, and slashed back!

However, the shadowy figure moved much faster than he had imagined.

"Pfft!"

A dull thud as a sharp weapon pierced flesh.

The captain's expression of shock and anger froze instantly. He lowered his head with difficulty and saw a thin, dark hand, like an eagle's claw, piercing through his chest and gripping his still-beating heart tightly.

"You..." His eyes were filled with disbelief.

A sinister and satisfied smile appeared on the dark figure's face; it was none other than Gao Hu, who had been missing for a long time!

"The first one." Gao Hu's voice was hoarse, and his fingers clenched tightly!

"Bang!"

My heart was instantly crushed!

The captain's body convulsed violently, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and his Vitality was extinguished.

"Team leader!"

Seeing this, the other two warriors' eyes widened in fury, and they simultaneously let out a grief-stricken roar, brandishing their weapons and launching a fierce attack on Gao Hu from two directions!

"They all have to die!" Gao Hu laughed wildly, casually tossing the captain's corpse aside. Without dodging or avoiding, he charged straight at the two men's attacks!

"Clang! Clang!"

Two longswords infused with true energy struck Gao Hu squarely, leaving only two Qianqian bloodstains!

"What?!" The two were shocked; the strength of this physical body was simply astonishing!

Gao Hu grinned maliciously, letting the blade rub against his body. His wounds, which had been slashed, began to wriggle and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"It's been so long since I've felt this kind of pain... It's really... exciting!" He stuck out his long tongue, licked his lips, and his eyes shone with even more madness and bloodlust.

[Over time, thanks to that piece of iron, I've gone from a useless nobody to someone who has broken through to the Qi Refining Realm step by step.]

[Dongfang Yueming... I wonder how you are doing now? You must still be struggling to break through to the Qi Refining Qi Refining, right?]

When I see you again, I'll make you taste what true despair is!

Thinking of Dongfang Yueming, Gao Hu's killing intent surged even more. He stopped playing around, his figure blurred, as fast as a ghost, his hands transforming into countless claw shadows, instantly enveloping the two martial artists.

"Ah! Ah!"

Screams rang out one after another.

The two martial artists fought with all their might, but their attacks had little effect on Gao Hu, while each of Gao Hu's attacks left a deep, bone-revealing wound on them. What was even more terrifying was that Gao Hu seemed tireless and recovered from his injuries extremely quickly, fighting with his life on the line!

With the balance shifting, in just over ten moves, both martial artists were covered in wounds, their true energy exhausted, and their movements slowed down.

"It's over!"

Gao Hu seized an opening, tearing one man's throat with a claw while simultaneously piercing another man's dantian with his other hand.

He gripped the three still-warm corpses like a marionette and pressed the strange piece of metal onto them.

"Zzzzz--"

A sickening sound rang out, and the three corpses visibly withered away, all their essence and blood greedily absorbed and transformed by the iron piece, ultimately returning to Gao Hu's body.

"Ughhhhh--!"

Gao Hu roared to the sky, and a powerful aura erupted from his body! His cultivation level actually surged once again at this moment, breaking through the bottleneck and reaching the Qi Refining Realm Perfection!

Feeling the increasingly solidified vortex of energy in his dantian, and the restless power about to transform into "Jin," Gao Hu revealed an extremely satisfied smile.

[The Internal Force Realm... is just around the corner!]