Deep in the mountains.
Lin Zhao was slightly stunned. He took out the "Encounter Token" of the He family from Shuzhou. At this moment, the token was emitting a brilliant light, resonating strongly with a direction in the distance. As Lin Zhao gripped the token, he understood what had happened. He frowned slightly and said, "He Shufan of the He family in Shuzhou is in trouble."
"..."
Huang Tingyu said indifferently, "Hmph, didn't He Shufan tell our Villa on the Peak not to interfere in the affairs of Shuzhou? Now he's using the Encounter Token to ask for help. We don't need to pay attention!"
Ni Zhi's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she remained silent.
In fact, both Huang Tingyu and Ni Zhi were injured.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "What if He Shufan encountered Gu Yanshu? Gu Yanshu killed Xiao Cong of the Confucian School's Wenlin, and Liu Xingshu's fate is unknown. Now, the most deserving person to die in Western Shu is Gu Yanshu. No matter what, we should go and see."
"Mm."
Ni Zhi nodded, "Sir is right."
"Cun'er?"
Lin Zhao looked at Wei Huarou and asked, "What about you? Will you come with us, or...?"
Wei Huarou looked towards the vast expanse of the forest in the distance. "Although Jiuwei has fallen in realm, it is still a terrifying thirteenth realm. Moreover, Jiuwei's divine abilities are very tricky, and others would find it difficult to deal with. I intend to hunt down Jiuwei and eradicate the roots!"
"Alright."
Lin Zhao cupped his fists and said, "Then we'll leave first. We'll meet again at Lingque Lake later. Oh, by the way, if you see Xiao Jiu'er, remember to take care of her."
"I will. See you at Lingque Lake."
Wei Huarou looked up at Lin Zhao, Huang Tingyu, and Ni Zhi as they ascended into the sky on their swords. Her delicate eyebrows were furrowed. In fact, Su Qingjiu was currently on the verge of life and death. Wei Huarou had a vague premonition of this. However, only Su Qingjiu could break through her own predicament; others were powerless to help. Even if Wei Huarou were to reach the East Sea, she would likely be unable to break through the Starfall Sea Killing Array. Therefore, the only thing she could do was to kill Jiuwei and eliminate one threat at a time.
...
In the distant forest, there was a scent of blood.
When Lin Zhao, Huang Tingyu, and Ni Zhi descended from the sky, they saw a horrific scene. The ground was littered with dismembered bodies. All 500 cultivators from the He family in Shuzhou had been killed. The forest had been sliced into pieces by countless sharp sword energies, and the earth was almost dyed red with blood. Beneath a small tree, Lin Zhao saw He Shufan's corpse. His death was tragic; he had been cut in half at the waist, his blood almost drained. He still clutched the crushed Encounter Token in his hand, his eyes wide open, his spirit unappeased.
"We're late again."
Lin Zhao sighed and gently closed He Shufan's eyes. He said, "Looking at this method of killing, it's Gu Yanshu's masterpiece. Old Huang, Ni Zhi, can you sense his aura?"
"He left long ago."
Huang Tingyu frowned, "Only his residual killing intent and sword intent remain here, but there's no doubt it was Gu Yanshu's doing. The residual sword intent contains dense Xunlu Sword Qi. In this world, only Gu Yanshu could be so cruel as to slaughter all these talents from Shuzhou, leaving none alive."
Ni Zhi looked up at the sky and frowned, "Such heavy killing intent... Is Gu Yanshu trying to wipe out the entire Western Shu mountains?"
Lin Zhao frowned, saying nothing.
Among the Ten Swords of the Underworld, although Xunlu Sword ranked last, it was itself a sword of slaughter, carrying the heaviest killing intent. Now, with Xunlu Sword and Gu Yanshu, they were a perfect match, a calamity for the human world. Although He Wei was not seen here, that twelfth-realm great cultivator had likely participated, but even he could not do anything about it. This showed how powerful Gu Yanshu had become. In fact, Lin Zhao felt that neither Huang Tingyu nor Ni Zhi could suppress Gu Yanshu head-on. In their current state, they would have to join forces. Therefore, the power of the Villa on the Peak could no longer be dispersed.
"Old Huang."
He sighed, "Continue to fully track Gu Yanshu's whereabouts. We can't let him continue killing like this. If he keeps killing, he might reach the twelfth realm. By then, a twelfth-realm Gu Yanshu wielding Xunlu Sword, which has drunk countless blood, will truly be a catastrophe for the human world."
Huang Tingyu nodded in agreement.
...
Among the mountains, a series of lakes connected.
Mist permeated the area, making it look like a fairyland. On the surface of the lake, a figure holding a sword walked across the water. It was Gu Yanshu. At this moment, Gu Yanshu lowered his head, covered in bloody mist, filled with dense killing intent. The Xunlu Sword was on his back, its blade's killing intent so thick it almost pressed down. Gu Yanshu was like a god of slaughter, his heavy killing intent pressing down on the earth.
His gaze was resolute. He killed those who deserved to die, and who deserved to die? Everyone in the world deserved to die, because the world had wronged Xunlu Sword. Since that was the case, from the moment he carried Xunlu Sword out of the mountains, he was destined to stir up a bloody storm. Gu Yanshu even felt that he was not bloodthirsty, but merely avenging his master.
The more he thought, the more indignant he became. His sword intent constantly surged and churned, causing the lake water beneath his feet to boil. How far was he from the twelfth realm? Probably not much further. Gu Yanshu was even confident that once he reached the twelfth realm, with Xunlu Sword in hand, he would be the strongest sword cultivator in the mortal world, comparable to the Lord of the Fusang Great Wall.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Gu Yanshu's gaze fell upon the bottom of the lake. A beam of pure white light suddenly streaked forth.
The next moment, Gu Yanshu twisted his body, narrowly dodging the sword energy from underwater. However, his arm was still cut with a wound several inches long. The opponent's sword intent was dense, and the sword energy was sharp, no less than his own. Immediately after, dense white dots appeared at the bottom of the lake, all of which were concentrated sword energies.
"Damn it!"
Gu Yanshu soared into the air and swung his sword, unleashing a sword screen. Instantly, the sword energy from the lake rushed towards Gu Yanshu's sword screen like a reversed waterfall, shaking him so much that he vomited blood continuously and retreated dozens of feet like a falling leaf. The Xunlu Sword hung low, and his sword intent quickly condensed.
A minor injury was nothing to Gu Yanshu at this point.
In the distance, on the surface of the lake, a figure floated out. Dressed in a long green vine-colored robe, he was also a sword cultivator, the twelfth-realm demon, Lin Zhujie.
"Lin Zhujie."
Gu Yanshu's gaze was sharp, "Why are you so determined to kill me?"
"You deserve to die!"
Lin Zhujie held his blazing long sword, his eyes filled with a cold smile, "Although I, Lin Zhujie, am a wicked demon in the eyes of humans, I, Lin Zhujie, was born knowing right from wrong. I have always hated people like you who kill innocent people. Gu Yanshu, I don't care what deep-seated hatred you carry, but the people you kill should be limited to your enemies, not indiscriminate killing. People like you disgust me. Since that's the case, I'll naturally find a way to kill you."
"Can you kill me?"
Gu Yanshu sneered, "Come at me."
"Fine, I'll fulfill your wish."
Lin Zhujie soared into the air and struck down with another sword.
The lake water beneath Gu Yanshu's feet began to boil and evaporate. Lin Zhujie's sword intent was too fierce. However, Gu Yanshu himself held the Xunlu Sword and did not retreat an inch. He also swung a sword. The next moment, a faint bloodstain appeared on the back of Lin Zhujie's hand, while Gu Yanshu had a long gash across his chest. In terms of cultivation, an eleventh realm was still quite a bit behind a twelfth realm. Moreover, a twelfth-realm sword cultivator like Lin Zhujie was never a pushover; on the contrary, he was one of the strongest twelfth-realm sword cultivators among the demon race.
"You're bleeding."
Gu Yanshu looked at the bloodstain on Lin Zhujie's hand, slowly raised the Xunlu Sword, and smiled, "If you can't kill me, you'll only make me stronger, and in the end, your sword will become my collection."
"Blood Drink Reversal?"
Lin Zhujie raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Is it really Xunlu Sword... Tsk tsk, do you think Blood Drink Reversal is useful against me, Lin Zhujie? What if I give you all the twelfth-realm demon blood in me? Aren't you afraid of choking?"
Saying that, Lin Zhujie raised his sword again, and for a moment, the entire lake began to boil.
Gu Yanshu frowned. Lin Zhujie was indeed different from other sword cultivators; he was already at the level of Huang Tingyu and Ni Zhi. Moreover, Lin Zhujie was currently at his peak. If they fought head-on, Gu Yanshu might be killed by Lin Zhujie before he could absorb the karma to nourish himself. Thus, in the next moment, although Gu Yanshu appeared to be attacking with all his might, he was actually looking for an escape route.
...
As they were fighting, a ripple of thought suddenly surged through the depths of Lin Zhujie's mind, a voice from the great demon Yu Zhi: "Lin Zhujie, what are you doing?"
"Doing?"
Lin Zhujie fiercely struck Gu Yanshu, causing him to roll and retreat on the surface of the lake. He replied with a telepathic voice, "I am killing a human prodigy, eliminating a future threat to our demon race!"
"..."
Yu Zhi was stunned. When did Lin Zhujie become so concerned about the demon ancestral mountain? However, Yu Zhi still frowned and said, "Forget about killing prodigies for now. Go immediately to the depths of the eastern mountains to help Lord Qingqiu resolve a killing situation. The sect leader Wei from the Daoist ancestral lineage is pursuing her. If she doesn't have strong reinforcements, it might not be good."
"Understood."
Lin Zhujie raised an eyebrow, "If I save Lord Qingqiu, will the ancestral mountain reward me? A martial arts competition, or perhaps ten thousand Jin Zizhi coins?"
Yu Zhi was somewhat annoyed, "Is Jiuwei's life only worth ten thousand Jin Zizhi coins? If you, Lin Zhujie, truly have the ability to save Lord Qingqiu from Wei Huarou, I will petition the Demon Ancestor for ten thousand Jin Zizhi coins in cultivation resources for you!"
"Deal!"
Lin Zhujie suddenly pushed Gu Yanshu back with a sword strike and said indifferently, "What a pity, I'm going to get rich, so I don't have time to kill you. Don't let me see you again in the future, or I'll cut you down every time I see you!"
Saying that, Lin Zhujie transformed into a faint shimmer of light in the wind and left, impossible to capture.
...
"..."
Gu Yanshu, covered in blood, stood on the surface of the lake, his brows furrowed, his heart heavy.
This Lin Zhujie, was he crazy?