You Must Die Today

Gu Qingfeng, who was blending into the crowd, was not pleased.

Damn it, I haven’t even spoken yet, and you lot have already divided the spoils?

Not only do you want to kill my precious Golden-Winged Roc, but you also plan to seize the Ethereal Divine Water?

Gu Qingfeng immediately wanted to step forward and save the Golden-Winged Roc, but after a moment’s thought, he decided to wait a little longer.

Among the roughly 5,000 cultivators present—out of the 10,000 who had entered—half had already perished in just a few days. Some had fallen to demonic beasts, while others had died at the hands of their fellow humans.

Most of the surviving 5,000 cultivators were at the Earth Yuan Realm, with a significant number at the Heaven Yuan Realm, not to mention those few peerless geniuses whose strength far surpassed even the peak of the Heaven Yuan Realm.

When gathered together, the power they displayed was nothing short of terrifying.

Though Gu Qingfeng was confident in his invincibility at the Divine Core Realm—believing that in a one-on-one fight, none of those present could match him—he also knew that even ants could overwhelm an elephant if there were enough of them.

True, even those at the peak of the Heaven Yuan Realm couldn’t break his defenses, but he was well aware of the saying, "Constant dripping wears away a stone."

When water falls on a rock, does the rock break?

Of course not. But over time, the water will eventually carve a hole into the stone. That was the principle here.

With over 5,000 Divine Core Realm cultivators piling on their attacks, Gu Qingfeng couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be injured, let alone when facing peerless geniuses like Sword Maniac, who could unleash power far beyond the Divine Core Realm.

Gu Qingfeng estimated that if those few went all out, he’d likely lose a few strands of hair at the very least.

No, it was better to wait until they had exhausted some of their strength.

Just as Wu Qianfeng was rallying the cultivators and arranging their formation, movement came from the Golden-Winged Roc’s side. The cries of countless birds and beasts echoed through the air.

In the distance, an enormous dark cloud seemed to drift toward them.

But as it drew closer, it became clear that it wasn’t a cloud at all—it was a swarm of tens of thousands of avian demonic beasts.

Wind-Riding Divine Eagles, Crimson Flame Sky Hawks, Thunder Rocs, Golden-Winged Vultures, Giant-Beaked Fire Cranes, Storm Birds, Thunder Owls, Black-Feathered Crows, and many more...

Hundreds of different species of winged demonic beasts blotted out the sky as they approached.

Their cries merged into a deafening roar, like thunder descending upon the world.

Faced with such a horrifying sight, even the cultivators—despite their formidable numbers—felt their courage waver, with some of the more timid trembling in fear.

"Brothers and sisters, the opportunity is right before us! Attack!" Wu Qianfeng roared before leaping forward, his body radiating divine light. With a grasp at the air, a halberd shimmering with dark crimson light materialized in his hand.

Whoosh!

A single sweeping strike—

A slash of divine energy, dozens of feet long, tore through the air.

Boom—!

In that one attack, countless demonic beasts fell like rain, their corpses crashing to the ground.

Seeing Wu Qianfeng’s overwhelming might, the cultivators’ spirits soared, and they charged into battle as well.

In an instant, the sky was filled with dazzling divine and treasure lights, painting half the heavens in radiant hues.

The Golden-Winged Roc, witnessing its subordinates being slaughtered, let out an enraged roar and charged straight at Wu Qianfeng.

"Brothers, lend me your strength!" Wu Qianfeng called out to Sword Maniac and the others.

Without hesitation, Sword Maniac and the rest unleashed their full power. After all, against a being like the Golden-Winged Roc, only their combined efforts stood a chance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boundless divine light and earth-shaking might erupted from these peerless geniuses, pressing down on the Golden-Winged Roc.

The Golden-Winged Roc, unwilling to yield, shone with blinding golden radiance, condensing its power to the limit as it relentlessly attacked.

Gu Qingfeng watched this epic battle with exhilaration, his eyes fixed on the Golden-Winged Roc’s majestic form in the sky, his heart itching to join.

But moments later, when his gaze fell upon the countless corpses of cultivators and demonic beasts littering the ground, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

"The dead deserve respect. It’s only proper to store them in my Qiankun Ring."

......

Half an hour later, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

Both the demonic beasts and the human cultivators had suffered heavy losses—only Gu Qingfeng had profited immensely.

Sword Maniac and the others had also shed all restraint, revealing their trump cards one after another. Though bloodied, their eyes still burned with unyielding fighting spirit.

The Golden-Winged Roc, driven to desperation as its forces were pushed back, realized it was cornered and began fighting with the fury of a trapped beast.

Seeing this, Gu Qingfeng knew the time was ripe. If he waited any longer, the Golden-Winged Roc would either die or be severely wounded, greatly diminishing its combat prowess—which didn’t align with his interests.

"Fellow Daoists, no more holding back! This beast is at its limit—let’s end this in one strike!"

"Agreed!"

"Well said!"

"Mm."

With that, Wu Qianfeng and the others began gathering their power. A terrifying aura coalesced around them, their divine light shining so brilliantly that they almost appeared as figures of pure radiance, their features indistinct.

The Golden-Winged Roc, sensing the life-or-death moment, roared furiously, its golden light blazing like a rising sun.

Then, at this critical juncture—

A thunderous voice suddenly rang out across the battlefield.

"EVERYONE, STOP RIGHT THE HELL NOW!"

The words exploded like a thunderclap.

In the next instant, a figure seemed to teleport directly into the center of the clash between the two sides.

The entire battlefield froze in shock.

"Who goes there?!"

"How dare you interfere at such a moment?!"

The momentum of both the Golden-Winged Roc and Wu Qianfeng’s group faltered for a split second.

All eyes were now locked onto Gu Qingfeng.

"Who are you, sir? Do you mean to play the fisherman reaping the spoils?" Wu Qianfeng asked warily.

From his perception, Gu Qingfeng was only at the Divine Soul Realm, yet the speed he had just displayed surpassed even that of a Heaven Yuan Realm expert.

For someone to exhibit strength beyond their apparent cultivation level, they must either possess a secret technique or a treasure concealing their true power.

Moreover, anyone bold enough to disrupt a life-and-death battle was clearly no ordinary individual.

"Not at all," Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "If I wanted to play the fisherman, I wouldn’t have shown myself now. Waiting until you were all weakened would’ve been far more advantageous, no?"

Wu Qianfeng frowned. "Then what is your purpose in blocking our path?"

Before Gu Qingfeng could answer, the blood-robed Little Yama King, having lost all patience, snarled, "Enough talk. Either leave now, or die!"

"Keh keh keh..." A sinister grin spread across Gu Qingfeng’s face. "Brat, for those words alone, you’re dead today."

Little Yama King’s eyes turned icy, a bloody light flickering within them as an overwhelming aura of savagery and bloodlust erupted from his body.

"Kill me? You dare?!"

Without warning, Little Yama King struck—a thunderous blow, backed by the illusion of a vast river of blood stretching behind him, as if dredged from the depths of the underworld itself. The stench of blood was suffocating as the crimson tide surged toward Gu Qingfeng.

"Tch. An insignificant ant, a flickering firefly daring to challenge the moon’s brilliance!"

With a flip of his hand, Gu Qingfeng produced a flickering sphere of lightning—a Heavenly Thunder Pearl.

The moment it appeared, Little Yama King’s face paled.

"A Heavenly Thunder Pearl?!"

He let out a startled cry and instantly tried to retreat, while multiple layers of radiant protective light surged around his body—clearly, all of them were high-grade defensive divine artifacts.

"Die for this venerable one!"

Whoosh!

The Heavenly Thunder Pearl transformed into a streak of lightning, hurtling ruthlessly toward Little Yama King.

"Help me, everyone!!" Little Yama King roared desperately.

Though Sword Maniac and the others disliked Little Yama King, faced with the enigmatic Gu Qingfeng, they still chose to intervene.

BOOM—!

The entire Hanging Heaven Secret Realm seemed to tremble violently!

Endless heavenly thunder surged like liquid silver, spreading wildly and devouring everything in its path, painting a scene akin to the apocalypse.

The valley was obliterated in an instant.

A long moment later, the lightning dissipated...

The figures of Sword Maniac and the others emerged, each looking battered and covered in wounds.

Little Yama King, who had been closest to the Heavenly Thunder Pearl, was charred black, half-kneeling on the ground—clearly, he had lost half his life.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze toward Gu Qingfeng was filled with shock, though most of it was fear toward his Heavenly Thunder Pearl.

Gu Qingfeng, however, curled his lips in dissatisfaction. "Those swindlers at the Myriad Treasures Trading House—didn’t they claim no one at the Divine Core Realm could withstand this? Yet not a single one of them died!"

In truth, the Myriad Treasures Trading House hadn’t lied. The problem was that these individuals were all peerless geniuses from major factions, each possessing power that surpassed the limits of the Divine Core Realm.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Gu Qingfeng quickly turned to the stunned Golden-Winged Roc and asked, "My little treasure, did this venerable one hurt you?"

Golden-Winged Roc: "......"