BZZZT!

Gu Zheng suddenly unleashed the pressure of the Heroic Body Realm, enveloping the newcomer from a distance.

"Urgh~!"

The man’s body stiffened, his expression ugly. "Eternal Star! You..."

SWOOSH~

In a flash, Gu Zheng appeared before the man.

A Nether Heart Slave Seal shot straight into the man’s brain, burrowing deep into his soul.

"You..."

The man was terrified. He struggled with all his might but couldn’t break free from the invisible bonds.

His wide eyes were filled with repulsion, resistance, anger, and indignation...

A moment later, it all melted into submission, obedience, and clarity.

Gu Zheng retracted his pressure at the opportune moment.

THUD~

He dropped straight to his knees and cried out, "Zhou Wanghai greets Master!"

"Rise."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Gu Zheng asked softly, "You know the locations of the altars?"

"Replying to Master, I know the locations of three altars," Zhou Wanghai replied respectfully as he stood up.

He completely ignored Eternal Star, who was walking over.

The Nether Heart Slave Seal prevented him from daring to harbor any thought of defiance or discontent toward Gu Zheng, but his hatred for Eternal Star was palpable.

Eternal Star, however, didn’t seem to mind.

Their relationship had been mediocre before, but now they were both Seal Slaves—allies by default.

"Very good."

Gu Zheng nodded in satisfaction. "Tell me the exact locations of these three altars."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhou Wanghai responded respectfully and named three locations: South City, West City, and one inside the Royal City.

The one inside the Royal City was out of the question, of course.

’First, to South City!’

Gu Zheng grabbed the two men, leaped into the air, and flew to the altar’s location in South City.

Guarding the surface was another squad from the City Defense Bureau.

He unleashed the second form of the Chaotic Heaven Shield. Three hundred and sixty blades descended from the sky, annihilating everyone.

He found the underground entrance, went inside, and killed an Earth Corpse guarding it, gaining 22 Demon Points.

Then, activating his Eyes of Golden Flame, he sent the blades flying to shatter the altar’s core, a cluster of light hidden underground.

The third altar was destroyed!

Next, West City.

Once again, Gu Zheng carried Eternal Star and Zhou Wanghai, leaping through the air until they arrived near the altar in West City.

As they landed, a battered group of seven people ran past them on the street.

Gu Zheng stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over them. He recognized three of them.

It was the Fifth Prince and the Heir of King Hanshan’s group!

The Heir of King Hanshan spotted Gu Zheng and shot him a glance, but didn’t stop. He kept running and quickly disappeared down the street.

Gu Zheng ignored them as well, following Zhou Wanghai’s lead directly to the altar.

As they passed through an alley, the sounds of a fight suddenly erupted ahead.

BOOM—!

A muffled boom echoed as a building collapsed, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

"ROAR!"

A familiar roar immediately followed.

’A Corpse Puppet?’

’Judging by the sound, it’s at least a Profound Corpse.’

By now, in all the chaos, nearly everyone who had been running in the streets was dead.

The survivors were all hiding in their homes, in cellars and basements.

The Corpse Puppets were sniffing out auras, hunting for people everywhere.

Anyone still fighting Corpse Puppets in the streets was at least at the Alien Body Realm, meaning they had cultivated a Divine Wondrous ability.

"...Let’s go take a look."

Gu Zheng said to Zhou Wanghai, and they quickly headed toward the sound.

Zhou Wanghai naturally had no objection and followed behind with Eternal Star.

The three of them crossed the long street and entered an area of ruins.

WHOOSH~

SWOOSH!

A cold, fetid wind suddenly kicked up.

The swiftly moving Corpse Puppet abruptly changed direction and lunged ferociously toward Gu Zheng’s group.

SHING SHING SHING~

A cold light flashed as the blades flew through the air.

One hundred blades shot forward to meet it, tearing through the air to strike the charging Corpse Puppet.

SLICE! SLICE!

"CLANG~ CLANG~ CLANG!"

’They didn’t pierce or shred it on the first strike?’

’An Earth Corpse!’

Sensing the dense Yin Qi, baleful energy, and corpse energy, and hearing the strange sound of his blades striking it, Gu Zheng realized the charging Corpse Puppet was an Earth Corpse.

WHOOSH WHOOSH~

Gu Zheng controlled the blades. His Divine Wondrous ability surged as he increased their force, enveloping the Earth Corpse to grind it to pieces.

SHRED! SHRED! SHRED!

"CLANG~ CLANG~ CLANG~"

After a series of crisp clangs came the sound of flesh being torn, "THWIP, THWIP, THWIP," as a hideous head, two arms, and two legs were successfully severed and fell away.

The remaining torso fell to the ground, bouncing with a series of thuds.

A moment later...

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +21]

"Master is mighty!"

Zhou Wanghai bowed and shouted with excitement.

Eternal Star was speechless.

’This shameless bastard. He’s reached the pinnacle of shamelessness.’

’He’s still sucking up and flattering people even after becoming a Seal Slave.’

On the surface, Eternal Star remained impassive, but a flash of contempt crossed his eyes.

Gu Zheng was also a bit surprised. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He had taken so many Seal Slaves, but this was the first one to openly suck up to him.

He ignored him. WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~ The blades flew back to him.

Gu Zheng turned to leave.

However, after taking only a few steps, he suddenly heard a faint heartbeat coming from the ruins not far away.

It was accompanied by a weak cry for help.

"Gu... Gu Zheng... save... save me..."

’Hmm?’

’Did I run into someone I know?’

Surprised, Gu Zheng turned and walked toward the sound.

Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star didn’t know what was happening, but they quickly followed.

The three of them stepped over a field of corpses, walked among severed limbs, entered the collapsed house, and found the person calling for help beneath a pile of rubble.

Jiang Hao!

It was Jiang Hao from Shuzhou, another one of the Seven from the Demon Slayer Bureau. Both of his legs were shattered, his body a mess of gruesome, overlapping wounds. A large hole was torn in his chest and abdomen. One arm was bent back at an unnatural angle, the white bone starkly visible, while his other arm was split open, a mangled ruin of flesh and blood.

His face was pale, his eyes shot with blood, completely devoid of light.

But when he saw Gu Zheng approach, a final burst of Vitality seemed to flicker within him.

His lips moved, and he struggled to speak. "Gu... Gu Zheng... save... save me! The Fifth Prince and his men... they’re not human. They didn’t care about me at all. They made me cover their retreat while they ran! And that Heir of King Hanshan! If he hadn’t pulled me in front of him as a shield, I never would have been this badly hurt!"

The more Jiang Hao spoke, the faster and more fluent his words became, and a flush of color even returned to his pale face.