BZZZMM!!

The space suddenly trembled as if a switch had been flipped.

An invisible yet immense power rose abruptly from all directions, seeming to seal the void as it compressed toward Gu Zheng.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Sharp, whistling sounds followed closely behind the formless, oppressive force.

Five sharp, pitch-black spears with tips glinting coldly tore through the air, riding the wave of pressure and aiming for several of Gu Zheng’s vital points.

"An Array?"

Gu Zheng’s expression was calm. Sensing the formless power swarming and pressing in on him, he let out a cold shout and threw a punch straight ahead.

"BANG! BANG! BANG~!"

Empowered by his Furious Fist Intent, the brilliant edge of his fist first blasted the air apart. It pushed back against the invisible force, halting it for a moment before it exploded with a muffled boom.

Before the five charging spears could even get close, they were shattered by the Fist Force, breaking into pieces.

"WHOOSH~"

As the spears shattered, wisps of purplish-black mist suddenly billowed out from within, sweeping toward Gu Zheng.

HISS HISS~!

The mist made a strange sound upon contact with the air, and the air itself seemed to corrode, producing faint white wisps.

A chill ran down Gu Zheng’s spine as warning bells blared in his mind.

’Danger!’

’This purplish-black mist is extremely dangerous!’

Gu Zheng shifted, about to burst backward in retreat.

WHOOSH~!

But just then, the Great Sun Golden Silkworm, which had been lying motionless in his pocket, suddenly awoke. It sprang from his pocket and shot headfirst into the purplish-black mist.

In the next instant, Gu Zheng’s mind received a wave of joyful, happy emotions from the Great Sun Golden Silkworm.

Before his eyes, the wisps of purplish-black mist that had been corroding the air vanished.

No, to be precise, they were being happily devoured and absorbed by the Great Sun Golden Silkworm, one big gulp at a time!

"How is that possible!"

"What is that thing?"

"Never mind what it is, retreat!"

...

Cries of alarm and low shouts erupted almost simultaneously.

In the forest on the right side of the valley, six figures moved rapidly, rushing toward the mountaintop.

’Trying to run?’

WHOOSH-BOOM!

Gu Zheng immediately activated his Wandering God Falcon Wings, breaking the sound barrier as he caught up to the six people in a flash.

SHING!

A blade of light flashed, splitting into six.

"THWACK~" "THWACK~" "THWACK!"

Along with the strange sounds, five heads flew into the air as columns of blood shot skyward, splattering all over the ground.

When the Sword Gang swept past the sixth person, it was blocked by a screen of blue-green light. The screen shattered, and the Sword Gang dispersed.

The man protected by the light screen retreated with extreme speed.

But before he could steady himself, his arms suddenly erupted with light. Two colors, cyan and blue, burst forth from his arms and intertwined, forming a blue-green Flood Dragon in front of him.

"ROAR~~!"

The Flood Dragon let out an incredibly realistic roar.

As this Divine Strange Flood Dragon appeared, an intangible aura instantly spread out, blanketing an area a hundred zhang in radius.

Gu Zheng was right in the middle of it.

BZZM!

The Divine Strange Flood Dragon swatted at the air, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at Gu Zheng.

Faintly, a massive hammer materialized within the Divine Strange Flood Dragon’s body.

A terrifying pressure filled the hundred-zhang radius.

This appalling aura actually sealed the space completely!

Even if Gu Zheng wanted to retreat, with his third-tier speed treasure, the sealed space meant he would first have to break the seal to escape.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it if he unleashed his full power.

But there wasn’t enough time.

The Divine Strange Flood Dragon, carrying the great hammer’s projection, had already descended upon Gu Zheng’s head at incredible speed.

"BOOM!!"

Gu Zheng’s Divine Wondrous power surged. His fist erupted with light, empowered by Furious Fist Intent and infused with Barbaric Force as he met the hammer’s projection head-on.

BANG~!

RUMBLE—

A heavy, tremendous crash was accompanied by the ground sinking, and cracks spiderwebbed out in all directions.

Gu Zheng’s body shuddered, his feet sinking more than halfway into the earth.

His arm went numb, his vital energy and blood roiled, and his face flushed slightly.

Other than that, there were no other effects.

The hammer’s projection, however, shattered and dissipated completely!

"Peak Super Body?"

The plain-looking man spoke in astonishment upon seeing this.

His hands didn’t stop moving. The cyan and yellow light on his arms continued to converge, once again forming a Flood Dragon...

No, this time it wasn’t a Flood Dragon, but the great hammer’s projection in the form of a Divine Dragon.

Dragon claws, dragon horns, dragon whiskers, dragon scales, dragon eyes...

And a tyrannical, unreasonable draconic might!

It was as if a real Divine Dragon had bored out of the void in front of the man, carrying a great hammer as it roared and lunged fiercely at Gu Zheng.

It was faster than before, and the space within the hundred-zhang radius remained sealed.

"SHING~!"

Gu Zheng madly channeled his Divine Wondrous power into his Celestial Frost Blade. Facing the descending Divine Dragon hammer projection, he executed the Nine Luminaries Golden Saber, unleashing all Nine Sword Techniques and finally merging them into one.

The power of a Middle-Grade Spiritual Soldier, the power of True Mastery, pure Physical Strength, and an indomitable Sword Intent.

All these powers were combined and fused together to meet the Divine Dragon hammer projection!

"BOOOOM~~!"

An earth-shattering boom.

The Sword Gang, Sword Qi, and blade light all shattered and vanished upon impact with the Divine Dragon hammer projection.

The ground in the hundred-zhang radius sank by more than a meter.

The earth was compacted and flattened, becoming as hard as a stone slab.

Beyond the hundred-zhang radius, cracks fissured the ground, extending to the mountain path. The entire mountain was affected, showing numerous fractures.

Amidst the billowing dust and smoke, Gu Zheng’s figure flickered. He shot toward the plain-faced man, who was staggering backward and flying through the air.

The latter’s face was pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood, astonishment filling his eyes.

WHOOSH~

SWOOSH!

Before the man could hit the ground, Gu Zheng caught up and slapped him.

SMACK!

The slap was loud. The man, already flying backward, was sent crashing to the ground. His head swam, and for a moment, he forgot to dodge.

BZZM~

An invisible ripple swept through the void. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Gu Zheng planted a foot on the man’s chest and released the Nether Heart Slave Seal, implanting it in the man’s mind.

"Ugh~ You..."

Horrified, the man came to his senses with a jolt and began to struggle in resistance.

Gu Zheng immediately pressed down with his foot, making the man grunt in pain, his arms going limp.

Although he continued to struggle, his movements grew smaller and smaller.

Finally, he stopped resisting. The astonishment, horror, and anger in his eyes were replaced with obedience, clarity, and submission.

Gu Zheng timely retracted his foot and stood to the side, calming his slightly chaotic aura.

"Fu Changying pays his respects to Master!"

The man first sat up, then knelt on the ground, facing Gu Zheng and bowing respectfully.

"Fu Changying? Fu?"

Gu Zheng put away his Celestial Frost Blade and said softly, "You’re from the royal family of Kang Country?"

"Yes. My father is the White Elephant King of Kang Country. I am his third son," Fu Changying replied respectfully.

"The White Elephant King? The son of a Prince with real power. Why are you causing trouble here in Jing Country?" Gu Zheng asked. "Are you not valued by the White Elephant King?"

"Reporting to Master, my mother came from a minor family. She was favored by my father only for her beauty and taken as a concubine. Because my own talent is average, I was never well-regarded in the Prince’s Mansion since I was a child."

Fu Changying replied respectfully, "This mission to cause disruption in Jing Country was something I specifically fought to obtain."

"I see," Gu Zheng nodded. "The Dragon-shaped Projection you used just now, was that your Fu Family’s Divine Weapon, the Sky-Splitting Dragon Hammer?"

"Reporting to Master, it was indeed the Sky-Splitting Dragon Hammer."

Fu Changying answered, "My current realm is Super Body - Celestial Ladder. I can only borrow the Divine Weapon Projection twice a day."

’A Divine Weapon Projection from thousands of li away! Yet its power is terrifyingly comparable to a peak Super Body expert. If I hadn’t raised my Nine Luminaries Golden Saber to True Mastery and had the boost from my Sword Intent, relying on my realm alone, even with the Celestial Frost Blade being a Middle-Grade Spiritual Soldier, I would have been defeated just now. Of course, that’s not counting unlocking my Bronze Elephant Body or using the Sealing Sword Talisman. Those are my trump cards. The Sky-Splitting Dragon Hammer, the Divine Weapon of the Fu Family. One of the characteristics of this Divine Weapon is that when the hammer strikes, it immediately seals the surrounding space! Once the space is sealed, speed is useless. The only option is to counterattack. Of course, the fact that Fu Changying’s realm is only Super Body - Celestial Ladder is also a factor. If he were at the peak of the Super Body Realm, the Divine Weapon Power he could borrow would be even stronger, and he could use it more times.’

"What was that poison gas you used to ambush me earlier?"

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Zheng asked again, "That gas is very potent, isn’t it?"

"Yes, Master. That gas is called ’Celestial Demon Qi’. No one below the Heroic Body Realm can withstand it. After being exposed, a person will lose their sanity within a few breaths and become a Puppet," Fu Changying answered respectfully.

’Celestial Demon Qi? Unstoppable below the Heroic Body Realm?’

Gu Zheng’s eye twitched. "You guys really thought highly of me, bringing out a superweapon like that. But wouldn’t it have been easier to just kill me? If I died, the morale of the Demon Slayer Bureau in northern Fengzhou would plummet."

"Reporting to Master, we needed you alive."

Fu Changying answered woodenly, "After coming to Jing Country, we have to find ways to acquire all the resources we need ourselves. We rarely use something like Celestial Demon Qi because our supply is limited, so when we do use it, we need to get something in return."

"For capturing you alive this time, we already made a deal with Blind Chen of the ’Medicine God’ organization. Blind Chen needs you alive for Alchemy, to ’eat your flesh,’ and in return, we will get five Third-Turn Treasure Pills and one Fourth-Turn Soul Condensing Pill from him."

"...So you were planning to sell me," Gu Zheng said, his sharp brows raising. "’Medicine God’ organization? Blind Chen? What kind of power is this? Which Noble Family trained them?"

"The ’Medicine God’ organization doesn’t belong to any Noble Family. They are a massive organization formed by those who cultivated their own Divine Wondrous traits and took advantage of the once-in-a-millennium world-changing event," Fu Changying answered respectfully.

’Not a Noble Family, and not the imperial court?’ Gu Zheng’s heart stirred.

He thought of Jin Yanzi, Yang Shouyun, He Zheng, and Zheng Xiting.

"That is correct."

Fu Changying continued, "They are not a Noble Family, nor are they loyal to the imperial court. There are three other organizations like them, all born over thousands of years by taking advantage of the opportunities from the millennial world-shift. However, the ’Medicine God’ organization is the most savage, evil, and infamous, because not only do they capture people for Alchemy, eating their flesh and drinking their blood, but they also eat Demon Fiends and drink the blood of Evil Spirits."

"And yet, they are exceptionally skilled in the art of Alchemy. Their various Treasure Pills and Evil Pills are welcomed by all the major Noble Families. Although on the surface, everyone claims to kill members of the ’Medicine God’ organization on sight, countless people secretly trade with them."

"We... are among them."

After saying this, Fu Changying fell silent.

Gu Zheng was also speechless.

’The Four Major Organizations? The "Medicine God" that eats both humans and Demon Fiends? "Demon God" would be more like it!’

’I wonder which organization Jin Yanzi, Yang Shouyun... those four... belong to?’