The massive mountain of corpses collapsed with a thunderous roar before the astonished eyes of Xu Fan and Wang Shan.
Gu Qingfeng's casual words still echoed in their minds.
"If I destroy all its physical form with just one sword strike, wouldn't that solve everything?"
As it turned out, he had spoken the truth - it really only took one sword strike.
From this moment on, their gazes toward Gu Qingfeng were filled with awe. They had originally thought he was just a brute at Qi Gathering Fourth Level who relied on external martial arts to show off, but now they realized how terribly wrong they were.
Could a warrior at Qi Gathering Fourth Level really execute such a powerful sword technique?
Forget about those at the Body Tempering Realm - even the other Demon Eliminators at the Internal Qi Realm under He Fenghua couldn't accomplish this, yet Gu Qingfeng had done it.
"Alright, you two can stop staring. We still haven't found the person who deceived me. Keep searching."
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's grudge-holding words, their newly developed reverence instantly diminished by half, replaced by profound speechlessness.
The two exchanged glances before quickly following Gu Qingfeng to continue their search in the Forest of Dead Bones.
In truth, even Gu Qingfeng was somewhat surprised by the Yama Demon's immense power. He hadn't expected the special fire oil to be so potent.
When ignited, the special fire oil could reach temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius, far exceeding ordinary flames. It was secretly crafted by the old blacksmith of the Demon Suppression Bureau.
The three continued deeper into the Forest of Dead Bones.
The owner of the blood-red eyes watched with growing interest as Gu Qingfeng and his companions drew closer.
He had thought the mountain of corpses would be enough to finish off Gu Qingfeng, but who knew this young man would possess such a powerful sword technique.
However, the stronger Gu Qingfeng was, the more excited he became, as this meant the blood quality would be higher.
"It seems I'll need to show some real skill," muttered the blood-red eyes.
......
"Sir, we've searched almost the entire Forest of Dead Bones but haven't found any spirits. Perhaps we should..."
"Stop right there! Don't let me hear the word 'return' again." Gu Qingfeng immediately cut off Wang Fatty's complaints.
"By the way, Bookworm Xu, since you read a lot, what do you think? Could there be some mysterious force at work in this Forest of Dead Bones that's preventing us from finding Hu Liang's spirit?" Gu Qingfeng casually asked while continuing to search.
However, after waiting for two seconds, he received no response from Xu Fan.
Beside him, Wang Fatty thought Xu Fan was spacing out again and turned to remind him, "Hey, Bookworm, Sir is asking you... Huh!? Where did he go?"
Gu Qingfeng quickly turned around and discovered that Xu Fan, who had been following right behind him, had vanished!
Just like the candy-selling vendor, the three children who had swindled money, and Village Chief Hu Liang - he had mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
Gu Qingfeng's sword-like eyebrows furrowed. What kind of demon was lurking here with such terrifying abilities?
Though he prided himself on his considerable strength, the enemy had repeatedly managed to make people vanish right under his nose.
"S-s-s-sir, could it be that Bookworm just got lost? Should we go back and look for him?" Wang Fatty asked with chattering teeth.
Gu Qingfeng gave him a sideways glance. "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
Wang Fatty's psychological defenses instantly crumbled, and he wore a tearful expression. "Sir, perhaps we should..."
"Shut up. Xu Fan is my subordinate. Since I brought him here, I must take him back."
Wang Fatty felt touched upon hearing this - who wouldn't want to follow a leader who cares for his subordinates? However, Gu Qingfeng's next words instantly chilled him to the bone.
"Wang Fatty, tell me, if I turn around now and stop looking at you, would you disappear too?" Gu Qingfeng asked with a serious expression.
Wang Fatty's heart skipped a beat, remembering that this was exactly how Village Chief Hu Liang had vanished.
He forced a smile worse than crying: "Sir, my most respected Sir, I beg you, please don't turn around."
As he spoke, he tightly grabbed Gu Qingfeng's arm.
Gu Qingfeng smiled slightly and patted Wang Fatty's shoulder. "Don't be afraid. I've figured out the pattern. I'll just turn around briefly and then quickly look back. Nothing will happen. This is the only way we can find out where Xu Fan and the person who deceived me have gone."
Wang Fatty, terrified and pale-faced, tried desperately to stop him. "Sir Gu, please, please don't turn around! I'm scared, I..."
Using tremendous strength, Gu Qingfeng gently pushed away Wang Fatty's hand and quickly turned around.
Something miraculous happened - Wang Fatty's terrified voice instantly cut off.
Gu Qingfeng's heart jumped, and he whirled back around like lightning.
Finally, he saw it!
Wang Fatty had become semi-transparent!
The air behind him rippled like water, and Wang Fatty struggled like a drowning man, his face full of terror, but unable to make a sound as he was gradually swallowed by the water-like air.
Gu Qingfeng, with his supreme martial arts skills, feared no demon.
He lunged forward with a swift step, deliberately plunging into the water-like air along with Wang Fatty.
Both their figures vanished from the Forest of Dead Bones.
As Gu Qingfeng entered the rippling air, he felt the scenery around him shift, as if traveling through time and space.
When he regained his senses, he found himself no longer in the Forest of Dead Bones.
He looked at his surroundings.
Here, the sun hung high, its light flooding everything below. The scenery was beautiful, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. Not far away stood a village with well-arranged houses, smoke rising from their chimneys. Children could be seen playing in the fields.
The distant sounds of crowing roosters and barking dogs could be heard.
It was a perfect scene of pastoral tranquility, like a paradise on earth.
However, everything looked strangely familiar.
Wasn't this exactly how Black Water Village had looked when they arrived during the day?
Gu Qingfeng was stunned. He also saw Bookworm Xu and Wang Fatty, who had disappeared earlier, standing not far away, staring blankly at the smoke rising from Black Water Village.
After a moment, the three came to their senses and gathered together.
"Bookworm Xu, have you been here the whole time since you disappeared?" Gu Qingfeng asked.
Xu Fan nodded and was about to speak when Wang Fatty interrupted him, looking at Xu Fan with extreme wariness: "Be careful, Sir! We can't be sure if this is the real Xu Fan!"
Xu Fan was stunned, then pointed at his own nose in shock: "You suspect I'm a demon in disguise?"
Wang Fatty nodded: "You were gone for quite a while. Who knows what happened during that time? The demon in Black Water Village has vast powers and strange abilities. We must be careful."
"You say I'm a demon, but I could say the same about you!" Xu Fan protested indignantly.
Wang Fatty smiled smugly: "Sir Gu and I arrived here together, and neither of us left the other's side. Sir Gu can vouch for whether I'm a demon or not."
"You! But I really am Xu Fan, not a demon!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing, you two. How about this - each of you can take a slash at me first." Gu Qingfeng couldn't bear to listen anymore and stepped forward to mediate.
Both men were stunned and exclaimed in unison: "Slash you?!"
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
