Arriving at the Heavenly Demon Sect

The sudden turn of events caused all the Heavenly Demon Sect disciples, who had been ready to strike, to freeze instantly. They stood rigid in place, their faces full of bewilderment, and their movements subconsciously came to a halt.

They all looked up at the black-clad man who had suddenly appeared in the center of the clearing.

He is not... an enemy.

The moment this thought surfaced, the female cultivator's heart suddenly relaxed, followed immediately by the immense joy of surviving a desperate situation.

She immediately withdrew her stance, stepped forward quickly, and bowed in respect. Her voice trembled slightly with excitement:

"Thank you, Senior, for saving us.

This junior is Fang Ranlan, an inner sect disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect. I was leading my team back from a mission in the Human Realm when we were ambushed here.

If not for Senior's divine might descending, we... would likely have met our doom today!"

After she finished speaking, the dozen or so surviving disciples behind her also struggled to their feet. Ignoring their bodies covered in scars, they bowed in unison.

Some even secretly raised their eyes to size up this Senior, their gazes filled with both the relief of surviving a disaster and a mix of awe and curiosity toward his terrifying strength.

Gu Changyuan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

With another wave of his right hand, the Three Qi were completely extracted from the shattered remains of the Ghost Race.

Three streams of energy spiraled and intersected in the air before flying accurately toward the small black gourds hanging at the waists of every Heavenly Demon Sect disciple present.

Buzz—

Over ten Three Qi Origin-Returning Gourds lit up simultaneously with profound dark-gold patterns, absorbing the surging Three Qi without leaving a single drop behind.

This scene shocked the Heavenly Demon Sect disciples even more than Gu Changyuan instantly killing all the ghosts just moments ago!

Their eyes widened, and their mouths gaped open wide enough to fit a fist. Their eyes were filled with unbelievable astonishment, and their entire bodies trembled slightly.

In terms of strength, they had all witnessed the terrifying power of the ten patriarchs of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Although they were in awe of Gu Changyuan instantly killing these low-level ghosts, they were not overly shocked.

After all, there were quite a few in the Heavenly Demon Sect who could easily crush these ghosts.

But to casually control the Three Qi and accurately guide them into the Three Qi Origin-Returning Gourds—such a maneuver might not be achievable even by the ten patriarchs.

They only knew that this Three Qi Origin-Returning Gourd was a supreme treasure left behind by the founding sect master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and it was an artifact shared among three sects.

Only those who had passed the assessments of the Heavenly Demon Sect, the Holy Land of Heaven and Humanity, and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, and become official disciples, could activate and use it.

Even if the gourd was snatched by an outsider, anyone who was not a disciple of the three sects would not be able to activate it in the slightest.

Indeed, after Gu Changyuan left the Holy Land of Heaven and Humanity and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion back in the day, he passed the refining method of the Three Qi Origin-Returning Gourd to the ten founding disciples of the three great sects.

Over the years, whenever the disciples of the three great sects convened, they established deep cooperation in various aspects, sharing resources and helping each other.

One of the most crucial cooperations was that the Holy Land of Heaven and Humanity and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion would conveniently help the Heavenly Demon Sect collect the Three Qi.

Therefore, the three parties agreed that when disciples of the Holy Land of Heaven and Humanity and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion went out on missions, the leading elders or core disciples would carry a Three Qi Origin-Returning Gourd with them. Whenever they encountered the Three Qi, they would collect it in passing and hand it over to the Heavenly Demon Sect collectively upon returning to their sects.

As for resource distribution, all sides would participate in missions and expeditions to secret realms.

Resources related to human cultivators belonged to the Holy Land of Heaven and Humanity, while resources related to demon cultivators belonged to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

And the Three Qi absorbed from deceased creatures belonged to the Heavenly Demon Sect.

This model was exactly what these grand disciples had learned from Gu Changyuan's behavioral style back in the day, and they had mastered it perfectly.

It could not be helped. Gu Changyuan was truly too poor back then. With so many founding disciples to take care of, and many new members joining later, he naturally had to be frugal.

Unlike now, where he could easily grab handfuls of storage spaces, and the concept of resource scarcity no longer existed.

...

However, Gu Changyuan's spellcasting did not end there.

At the exact same moment the three-colored energy streams fully submerged into the gourds at the disciples' waists, a wisp of pale green spiritual energy accurately entered the body of every Heavenly Demon Sect disciple.

The instant the green energy entered their bodies, there was not the slightest rejection. It transformed into the purest demonic energy, flowing directly into the disciples' meridians.

All the disciples' hideous wounds, which were still oozing blood, healed back to normal at a visible rate.

The junior brothers and sisters who were nearly drained of energy and needed their peers' support just to stand had now largely recovered.

In the next second, a scene that would make the heavens and earth change color occurred.

Gu Changyuan slowly raised his left hand.

His gaze calmly cast toward the depths of the forest, the direction from which the ghost ambushers had come.

Just now, when he casually crushed those ants, he had already turned their memories inside out through the soul fragments he had briefly touched.

There was no need for interrogation, no need for confirmation.

Knowing was enough.

He brought the five fingers of his left hand together like a blade.

Then—

He gently swung it down toward the distant horizon.

A stream of sword energy, black as ink and condensed almost to a physical state, burst forth from his fingertips.

The sword energy was initially inconspicuous, but the moment it left his fingertips, it suddenly expanded.

It tore through the air, tore through the demonic mist, and tore through all the mountains, forests, and rivers blocking its path, slashing straight toward the distant mountain range at the edge of sight.

Boom—!!!

A massive fissure, starting from beneath Gu Changyuan's feet and extending all the way to the target settlement a hundred miles away, stretched across the earth.

One sword strike, a hundred miles.

One sword strike, annihilating an entire race.

The Heavenly Demon Sect disciples even forgot to breathe.

Gu Changyuan withdrew his left hand.

He lowered his eyes and glanced at the young disciples standing frozen in place like wooden figures, his brow twitching imperceptibly.

—What, is it that strange to conveniently wipe out a race while saving and healing disciples?

He did not explain, nor did he have any intention of waiting for them to snap back to reality.

With a casual wave of his right hand, a burst of spiritual energy directly scooped up the dozen or so disciples who were still immersed in the state of Who am I, where am I, did I just see a miracle, packing them up like a small bag of luggage ready for transport.

"Let's go."

Then, a streak of light flared up, and Gu Changyuan took them away with him.

His speed was incredibly fast. In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn halfway, a giant black coffin appeared in their sight.

The Heavenly Demon Sect was right before their eyes.