Chapter 7: The Death of Zhu Juan (Part 2)

The man held a whip and whipped it across, producing a series of crackling sounds. Only then did he notice the six people standing in the crowd. With just one glance, his soul trembled. The six were dressed in splendid attire and carried an air of dignity, clearly outsiders. The man shouted, “Who are you?”
Eagle Demon cursed, “Who dares to be so arrogant? Come here!” He reached out and grabbed at them, as if the man were tied by an iron chain and dragged straight over. Eagle Demon stepped on his chest and asked indifferently, “Who the hell are you?”
The crowd around them grew restless.
The man screamed in terror, “I’m a disciple of the Gu Mi family! How dare you arrest me?”
Eagle Demon stepped down hard, and the man spat out a mouthful of blood. Eagle Demon then said, “Arrest you? What kind of creature are you? Answer! Better be honest, or you’ll regret it…” He stepped on the man’s arm, and with a crack, the man let out a agonized cry.
His arm was broken; he couldn’t clench his fist, and a bead rolled out of his palm. Eagle Demon laughed, “A one-time explosion bead? Do you really bring something like this out to embarrass yourself?”
With a gesture, he caught the bead in his palm. He squeezed it tightly, and the bead flashed rapidly before exploding with a loud noise in his hand.
Eagle Demon twirled his fingers; his hand remained unharmed. He said, “See? This thing can’t hurt anyone.”
The man’s eyes almost popped out—part from the pain, part from fear. He knew well how powerful explosion beads were. If one exploded near him, it would at least cause minor injuries; if it hit a vital spot, it could even cost him half his life. Yet this giant who stepped on him dared to hold it in his hand and activate it—such strength was terrifying. He realized he had encountered a truly formidable professional.
Eagle Demon asked, “What’s your name?”
The man, terrified, replied, “Mi Zhuangchen! My name is Mi Zhuangchen! I’m the manager here!”
Guo Shier pointed at the ordinary people lying on the ground and asked, “Who are they?”
Mi Zhuangchen said, “They’re all slaves! Slaves of the Gu Mi family!”
Guo Shier became furious at hearing this. He stepped down and broke Mi Zhuangchen’s other arm. He asked, “Where is the headquarters of the Gu Mi family?”
Aah!
Mi Zhuangchen screamed in agony. In truth, he could endure such pain—a great talisman martial artist had strong pain tolerance. But due to extreme fear, he still couldn’t help screaming.
The ordinary people lying on the ground trembled in terror.
Qi Nanshan cursed, “Weaklings!”

At that moment, some professionals from the Gu Mi family rushed over. They realized something was wrong—no one was working here anymore, and Mi Zhuangchen’s agonized screams were extremely loud. In just a short while, over a dozen people arrived at high speed.

Guo Shieru shouted, “Uncle Luo, kill them!” Luo Zhan immediately rose and charged like a whirlwind. A long sword appeared in his hand, and with successive thudding sounds, he returned within less than a minute. With his first-level altar strength, dealing with those master-level professionals was as easy as chopping vegetables—without any effort at all.

People were being killed!

The ordinary people still working in the distance became utterly panicked and ran around in chaos. A few master-level professionals, seeing the slaughter from afar, immediately sent rescue signal tokens before turning and fleeing. Guo Shieru glanced at them but had no intention of stopping them, waiting instead for more skilled opponents to arrive.

Luo Zhan sheathed his long sword and said, “They’re all low-level guys.”

Guo Shieru turned to the people lying on the ground and asked, “Where are you from?”

A few bolder ordinary people mustered their courage and said, “We’re from Li Family Village…” Others said, “We’re from Xianshui Town…” There were all kinds of answers. They were ordinary people with no concept of continents. Unless there was a special reason, an ordinary person might never leave their hometown in their lifetime.

Guo Shieru shook his head slightly, knowing he wouldn’t get any valuable information from them.

Luo Zhan asked, “Does anyone here know about the North Talisman Gate?”

Silence reigned around; no one answered. Guo Shieru said, “Uncle Luo, they might be people captured from other places.”

Luo Jie asked, “Kid, where is the headquarters of the Gu Mi family?”

Mi Zhuangchen was drenched in sweat from the pain. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I don’t know! It’s not on this continent… We all use teleportation arrays… We can’t get there on our own! Ugh…”

Luo Jie nodded and said, “Then… you’re useless!” A wisp of black Soul Flame descended, and in an instant, Mi Zhuangchen turned to ashes. With a gesture of his hand, Luo Jie drew that finger-sized flame back into his palm.

The ordinary people around trembled even more. A living person could be completely burned to ashes by just a wisp of flame, leaving only a hint of grayish residue—it was terrifying.

Guo Shieru hated the Gu Mi family deeply, so his face showed no expression. If someone died, so be it—even if Luo Jie didn’t act, he would. His bottom line was to kill only professionals, never ordinary people. Even if that ordinary person belonged to the Gu Mi family, he wouldn’t kill them. This was the normal mindset of most professionals, though there were a few outliers among them who would kill anyone.
“Disperse! Don’t stay around here. Find a place farther away to hide. Battle is about to break out soon!”
Guo Shieru waved his arm to drive everyone away.
The ordinary people, as if granted amnesty, got up and ran frantically outward. They might not understand much else, but they knew full well what happened when professionals fought—once the battle started, even a slight involvement could be fatal. The wars between professionals were terrifying.
All six flew into the air. Guo Shieru asked, “Master, how should we fight?”
Luo Jie laughed and said, “You’re the captain—your call!” Even when Guo Shieru was still a spellcaster, Luo Jie and the others had let him lead the team, and that was even more true now. He knew Guo Shieru had many clever ideas and was excellent at leading troops.
Guo Shieru wasn’t modest either. “Alright, then I’ll take command. Let’s first test how strong those who are coming will be. We’ll eliminate some of them first to vent our anger!”
Qi Nanshan clapped and said, “Good! I like that—kill a bunch first to establish our dominance!”
Eagle Demon seemed excited. He said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper fight. I keep running into powerful professionals. Even if I want to fight, I can’t win. Hehe.”
Luo Zhan teased, “Aren’t you into challenges?”
Eagle Demon replied, “Challenges depend on the opponent… Damn it, if you bring a sacrificial altar-level expert beyond the ninth layer, I’m not going to challenge them—I’m just seeking death! Rather than being tortured to death, I might as well use my own sacrificial artifact to end it!”
Guo Shieru laughed, “Not to mention me and you, even the master can’t resist when controlled by others.”
Eagle Demon said, “Yeah, in the face of absolute power, you either run or act stupid… Old Luo, we were all harmless good people back then.”
Guo Shieru burst into laughter, and Eagle Demon also became more talkative.
Luo Zhan said, “Forget it. I’m too lazy to argue with Eagle. This guy is learning from you… and he’s already quite good at it.”
Guo Shieru suddenly said, “They’re coming. Everyone, get ready. Um, if it’s just a Great Sage, leave it to Uncle Eagle Demon. The others shouldn’t use their sacrificial altars, or else they’ll scare everyone away.”

Luo Jie nodded and said, “If we can lure them into traps, do so more often.”
Guo Shier said, “Master, if there are altar-level experts, leave them to you. It’s best to capture them alive—many secrets are unknown to ordinary disciples; only altar-level experts can understand them. We need a lot of intelligence; otherwise, it will be hard to fight. After all, it’s an ancient clan, so their strength shouldn’t be too weak.”
Luo Jie agreed and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the altar-level experts. I’ll personally capture the strongest one, and eliminate the rest! We don’t need too many captives!”
Guo Shier said, “We don’t have to exterminate the lower-level professionals, but not a single one of the high-level ones should be spared! I want the Gu Mi clan to lose its ancestral strength.”
Qi Nanshan said, “Good. First, kill their top warriors. Once the altar-level experts are gone, then kill their Grand Masters and Masters. Damn it… I not only want to wipe out their leaders but also steal all their supplies! Even if we can’t take them away, we must burn them… Turn the Gu Mi clan into an ordinary clan and see if they can still be that ruthless!”
Dark hunting vehicles appeared on the horizon—thousands of them, flying over with fierce momentum.
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Heh, these hunting vehicles are actually of the Fu Ye clan’s design. Are they treating us as prey again?”
Everyone present, except Nan You, was familiar with these hunting vehicles. Back then, in the Tongyou Secret Realm, they had been chased by such vehicles.
Luo Jie said calmly, “It seems they take this very seriously. They’ve sent thousands of hunting vehicles at once. Eagle Demon alone might not be enough…”
Luo Zhan said, “I’ll go with Eagle. Nan You, do you want to take action too?”
Nan You nodded and said, “No problem. The three of us are enough. I’ll block the escaping hunting vehicles from the outside, while you two fight inside.” Having gone through countless battles, it was easy for them to divide the tasks.
Eagle Demon didn’t like sitting on an altar. He summoned one and placed it atop his head to protect his body, holding his life-preserving sacrificial treasure in his hand. He planned to engage in close combat. Luo Zhan and Nan You also summoned altars and sat on them.
The group of hunting vehicles quickly surrounded the six of them. Guo Shier said carelessly with a laugh, “Back then, just seeing such vehicles gave me a headache. Heh, Uncle Eagle Demon, ignore what they say and just keep killing!”