"Uh, are you sure you can still use the so-called Immortal Techniques they gave you?"

Leng Jing froze when he heard this, then hurriedly tried to activate the Immortal Technique he had just learned.

Naturally, there was no response. The Immortal Technique that seemed so easy to master had completely vanished from his body.

At that, the smile on Leng Jing’s face stiffened.

Zou Feng, however, was not the least bit surprised by this.

’They were fake Immortal Venerables just trying to fool people. How could the Immortal Techniques they taught be the real deal?’

’They must be nothing more than Evil Arts that only work when the Immortal Venerables are controlling their hosts.’

It was just like what happened in Teng County before; after the host was knocked back to their senses, the learned Immortal Technique vanished into thin air.

Of course, it wasn’t a total loss. At the very least, he had briefly experienced a state of enhanced power, and his body had been strengthened to a certain degree through the Refinement of flesh and blood.

This part of the boost wouldn’t disappear completely just because the Immortal Venerable had left his body.

After Leng Jing was saved, the two True Qi Realm cultivators who had nearly fallen victim to him joined Zou Feng’s group on their own initiative once they roughly understood the situation.

It was now crucial to organize the Martial Artists from the same side and prevent them from being picked off one by one to become fodder for the Immortal Slaves. Thus, Zou Feng tacitly allowed them to join, even though their real intention was simply to latch onto someone powerful.

And so, Zou Feng continued to hunt Immortal Slaves, and the group behind him gradually grew larger.

Before long, he even met up with a fellow member of Biyou Palace, the Golden Toad Pond Master, Liang Shunan.

A few people from Rakshasa Sect, Cyan Nether Sect, and even the Martial Alliance from the Righteous Dao side also joined the group.

The Central Plains Martial Alliance was a major power, on par with the Xuanhuang Sect.

However, to witness the decisive battle at the Forbidden City Peak, the Martial Alliance had only sent a Vice Alliance Leader named Baili Qiu.

When Zou Feng heard the Vice Alliance Leader’s name was Baili Qiu, his heart sank.

’Because that guy is on the list—and he only got on it after arriving at the Glazed Immortal Palace.’

’This means that another First Grade Powerhouse has likely become an Immortal Slave...’

However, Zou Feng’s worries didn’t last long.

Because he periodically checked the List of Gods for changes, Zou Feng soon discovered that Baili Qiu’s once-brilliant name was rapidly dimming.

Before long, his name vanished from the list entirely.

’He just croaked like that!?’

’Who could take down a First Grade expert who had Fallen into Demon so quickly?’

’Did Su Qingyu and Jing Huaisong team up or something?’

Although he didn’t know the specifics of the situation for now, since Baili Qiu had Fallen into Demon, it was a good thing that he had kicked the bucket.

However...

Gongsun Xiang’s name suddenly began to shine brightly.

Even though he was number one on the list and taking all the pressure for Zou Feng, the guy’s name didn’t fade at all. In fact, it was getting brighter and brighter.

This made Zou Feng suspect that Baili Qiu’s death might have been the result of being defeated and devoured by Gongsun Xiang.

After a period of hunting, as the group following him grew larger, the areas surrounding the Glazed Immortal Palace had been almost completely searched.

When they went a long time without encountering any more Immortal Slaves, Zou Feng had no choice but to turn his attention to the cluster of buildings where the Glazed Immortal Palace was located.

There were no more sheep left to fleece in the surrounding area. The remaining Immortal Slaves should have all gathered inside the Immortal Palace.

Even setting aside the matter of hunting Immortal Slaves to strengthen himself, exploring the Glazed Immortal Palace was an unavoidable step if they wanted to escape this place.

However, the First Grade, Second Grade, and other top-tier Immortal Slaves had probably already entered the Immortal Palace area.

’To put it bluntly, even with a crowd of Martial Artists to act as shields, going to the Immortal Palace will still be fraught with danger...’

"Great Universal Hand (Peak of Perfection), Progress: 85%"

He was just five points away from reaching ninety percent progress in his Great Universal Relief Cultivation.

Zou Feng was certain his estimation was correct. He needed to reach at least ninety percent to fuse it with the Formless Divine Skill and break through to the level of Extraordinary to Saint with his Great Universal Hand in one fell swoop.

"Everyone, just wandering around out here won’t solve anything. We’ll have to enter the Immortal Palace and investigate sooner or later!"

Even though he knew the people behind him had no other choice, Zou Feng still had to be the one to start the conversation.

"Right, we have to go in eventually anyway!"

"With those First Grade experts holding the line, these so-called Immortal Venerables who can only play dirty tricks won’t be able to stir up much trouble."

"That’s right! What’s there to be afraid of? If we run into anyone who has Fallen into Demon, we’ll just kill them all!"

The crowd spoke with great fervor, but in reality, they were mostly just psyching themselves up.

After all, everyone knew that once they entered the Immortal Palace, they probably wouldn’t be able to just coast along with a group from their own side like they were now.

After a brief rest where they stood, Zou Feng led the way toward the Glazed Immortal Palace.

They had only taken a few steps when the Golden Toad Pond Master, Liang Shunan, came forward and said in a low voice, "I’m a little worried about the Palace Master..."

"With the Palace Master’s strength, she shouldn’t run into any problems, right?" Zou Feng replied casually.

Liang Shunan sighed. "I’m worried about her tendency to go crazy from time to time. What if those Immortal Venerables..."

Seeing Liang Shunan’s grave expression, Zou Feng immediately realized something was wrong.

Normally, a First Grade Expert wouldn’t be so easily bewitched. Gongsun Xiang fell for it because he had just suffered a crushing defeat and his mentality had collapsed.

The problem was, Su Qingyu had never been quite normal to begin with. She was widely known in the Jianghu as a Mad Lady...

"Let’s just play it by ear!" Zou Feng could only reply.

Liang Shunan clearly hadn’t revealed his true intentions yet. He hesitated for a moment before finally making up his mind and saying, "If... and I’m just saying if... the Palace Master falls into their trap..."

"Then the first thing we must do is take care of Bai Chen..." As he spoke, Liang Shunan made a throat-slitting gesture.

Zou Feng turned to look at Liang Shunan in astonishment.

Before he could ask why, Liang Shunan continued, "Bai Chen is absolutely loyal to the Palace Master. No matter the circumstances, he will stand by her side without hesitation."

"He wouldn’t even hesitate to act as a ’Human Gu’ for her..."

This explosive piece of news left Zou Feng utterly stunned.

But thinking back on Bai Chen’s past actions and Su Qingyu’s reckless insistence on a public duel with Gongsun Xiang this time...

For Su Qingyu, winning this decisive battle wasn’t the hardest part.

The hardest part was what would happen after she won. In her greatly weakened state, how would she deal with the other Righteous Sect experts who might seize this golden opportunity to shamelessly gang up on her?

Sure, the Evil Sects were here to support her, but if someone like the Sword Saint made a move, ordinary True Qi Realm cultivators would be nothing but cannon fodder.

Therefore, as long as Su Qingyu wasn’t a complete idiot, she had to have an ace up her sleeve.

If Bai Chen was truly Su Qingyu’s Human Gu, then it all made perfect sense.

As a combatant, Bai Chen couldn’t withstand a single blow from the Sword Saint.

But as a Human Gu for Su Qingyu to use for Refinement to restore her energy, his effect would be immediate. It could allow her to return to her peak state, or even surpass it!

In that case, she wouldn’t have to worry about the top experts of the Righteous Sects taking advantage of her weakness.

The more Zou Feng thought about it, the more he felt that Liang Shunan probably wasn’t just talking nonsense.

First, in all of Biyou Palace, only two people had originally completed the Refinement of the Poison of the five Gu Kings: Su Qingyu and Bai Chen.

He himself had only recently joined Biyou Palace, becoming the third person to have completed the Refinement of the Poison of the five Gu Kings.

’Bai Chen’s gratified expression back when I completed the Refinement of the Gu King’s Poison probably wasn’t because Biyou Palace was gaining another top expert. Was it because he felt that the supply of Human Gu available for the Palace Master’s Refinement finally had a successor?’

In short, if what Liang Shunan said was true, then Bai Chen was the ultimate simp for Su Qingyu...

If Su Qingyu really became an Immortal Slave, they would of course have to get rid of Bai Chen immediately.

Otherwise, in the middle of a fight, just when they’d finally gotten Su Qingyu down to critical health, Bai Chen would rush forward to offer himself up for Refinement. That would be like letting her enter a second, even stronger form.

But taking down Bai Chen in a short amount of time was easier said than done. That was why Liang Shunan had to risk offending Su Qingyu to give him a heads-up now, so that everyone could coordinate their actions when the time came.