Chu Fengyang, Deceased

"Interesting." Gu Qingfeng sneered with a sinister grin.

Chu Fengyang struggled to stand upright, his appearance disheveled, yet his eyes burned with unyielding determination rather than fear.

"It seems I underestimated you. But this ends now. Once I unleash the true power of this sword, everything will be over."

Chu Fengyang's gaze sharpened as he slowly raised his immortal sword. A terrifying aura coalesced around the blade.

At that moment, a mocking voice rang out: "And this is what you call 'not relying on external tools'?"

Chu Fengyang flushed with rage. "A swordsman wielding a sword is only natural—how is that relying on external tools?"

"Prison-Demon Sword! Strike!"

Hummm!

A dark, resonant hum of the sword echoed, silencing the world.

Endless sword light cascaded like a celestial waterfall, transforming into a dazzling rain of radiance, breathtakingly beautiful.

The void shattered under the force of the strike as the sword's resonance surged toward Gu Qingfeng.

"Oh?" Gu Qingfeng's interest was piqued—this strike faintly surpassed the realm of a True Immortal, reaching the level of an Earth Immortal.

This proved that the immortal sword in Chu Fengyang's hands was an extraordinary treasure, allowing a mere mortal to challenge and even slay a True Immortal.

The trial-takers trembled with excitement upon witnessing Chu Fengyang's transcendent sword strike, crying out in relief.

Finally, someone could subdue this demonic fiend.

They saw a glimmer of hope for survival.

The scene resembled a great demon slaughtering righteous sects, only for a young hero to emerge, turning the tide and saving the masses.

And so, the sword strike carrying the hopes of all descended upon Gu Qingfeng.

Under the gaze of countless eyes—

A maniacal laugh erupted: "Kekeke... A mere speck of light dares challenge the brilliance of the full moon?"

Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng extended a slender, jade-white hand. Trillions of years' worth of mana flowed through his fingertips, the sheer energy distorting the void.

From afar, his raised palm shimmered with an obsidian-like radiance, as if carved from divine jade.

BOOM!

A deafening roar tore through the sky. The crowd turned to look—only to be struck with soul-shaking terror.

A colossal hand, vast beyond measure, materialized in the heavens like the palm of a deity descending upon the mortal realm. It descended with the grinding force of a millstone crushing the void, hurtling toward the earth.

The demonic palm imprint pressed forward, slow yet swift, meeting Chu Fengyang's sword strike head-on.

Chu Fengyang felt overwhelming pressure, his face twisting in disbelief. Yet he refused to yield, steadfast in his belief that the Prison-Demon Sword in his grasp could conquer any foe—just as it had in the lower realms.

"Break!" he howled toward the sky.

But the strike, which had never failed him before, inflicted no damage against Gu Qingfeng's palm. Instead, under its crushing weight, even his sword bent.

Chu Fengyang's expression twisted in horror. He had no time to ponder why Gu Qingfeng's strength was so monstrous, capable of overwhelming his ultimate technique.

In this life-or-death crisis, his latent potential erupted. With a furious roar, he activated a forbidden art—his lean, upright frame suddenly bulged, muscles surging like molten iron, his body expanding several meters in height.

"Futile struggle."

Gu Qingfeng's disdainful voice echoed across the battlefield. Then, under the stunned gazes of the onlookers, the demonic palm pressed forward with unstoppable force, annihilating everything in its path.

No matter how Chu Fengyang pushed his forbidden art or unleashed his full potential, he could not resist the descent of that sky-rending palm.

"No!!! I haven’t ascended to immortality yet—I can’t die!"

BOOOOM!

A thunderous explosion followed, demonic energy churning as the sound of bones shattering rang out. The despairing Chu Fengyang was crushed like grain beneath a millstone, his body fracturing inch by inch until nothing but a pulpy mass remained.

Silence. An eerie, suffocating silence.

After Chu Fengyang's death, not a single sound remained—as if time itself had frozen.

"Boring. Truly boring." Gu Qingfeng's voice shattered the stillness. Then, as if recalling something, he tilted his head toward the crowd and asked, "Now... who do you expect to save you?"

"Spare us, great one!"

"I beg you, don’t kill me! I’ll offer all my wealth!"

"Great one, this humble woman still has some beauty left—if you would not disdain me, I am willing to serve as your slave!"

The crowd wailed in terror, none willing to face death.

Gu Qingfeng ignored them, content to let them stew in their fear—after all, the dead could no longer feel terror.

He leisurely walked to Chu Fengyang's corpse and picked up the Prison-Demon Sword from the pool of blood.

A cruel smirk curled his lips.

"A prison within a sword... sealed with a demon?" Gu Qingfeng murmured.

When attacked earlier, his system had alerted him.

This confirmed that the immortal sword indeed contained a "family member" sealed within.

And this "family member" was no weakling—even in its sealed state, the power it had unleashed was enough to crush a True Immortal, granting Gu Qingfeng a substantial boost in mana.

One could only imagine how strong it would be once unsealed.

Unfortunately, Gu Qingfeng had sensed the seal's power earlier and realized he couldn’t break it yet. It would require a gradual approach.

For now, he had more pressing matters—dealing with these ants.

"Spare us!"

"Don’t kill me!"

"We were wrong to offend you, great one!"

Gu Qingfeng swept his gaze over them and scoffed, "How pathetic."

With that, the colossal demonic hand reappeared, descending like a collapsing sky, ready to crush them into paste.

But at that moment—

Five beams of multicolored immortal light erupted, shattering Gu Qingfeng's palm.

Then, five figures emerged—none other than the previous guardians: Mu Yi, Tu Fang, and the others.

The despairing crowd instantly erupted in joy.

"Guardian Lords! Save us! Please!"

Yet what awaited them were five gaping, bloodthirsty maws.

"It’s been so long since we’ve eaten humans! The dungeon’s rules used to bind us, but now—we feast!"

The five guardians dove into the crowd like tigers amidst sheep, devouring their prey with ravenous delight.