Chapter 29: Hello, Xuan Gu
Qu Yi wielded his jade sword, slashing at the Blood Bone Duo. Just as he was about to fly back to Nan Yun City, his expression suddenly hardened.
He already had the communication token in his hand.
“Qu Yi, Master Xuan Gu has arrived in the Hundred Demons Mountain Range. From his direction, it seems he’s heading toward Nan Yun City,” came the message from Qing Wu Gui.
Qu Yi fell silent for a moment before sitting down quietly on a mountain peak. Based on Qing Wu Gui’s location, he deduced that Master Xuan Gu would pass by here on his way to Nan Yun City, so he decided to deal with him here.
“Cui Mu Xing—Master Xuan Gu has also pursued me; he’s my enemy. Now that I’m in the Hundred Demons Mountain Range, I’ve even killed several of his subordinates. This feud is now settled. Since that’s the case, there’s no need for me to hide anymore. I’ll end Master Xuan Gu’s life right here,” Qu Yi said softly.
With his strength now at the mid-Yuan Ying stage, Qu Yi was confident that he could easily defeat Master Xuan Gu with his jade sword, without having to dodge as he did on Cui Mu Xing.
In the sky, Master Xuan Gu flew alone at high speed. He could cover hundreds of miles in a single step, and ordinary cultivators couldn’t even see him.
“Who’s up there? Come down and talk,” suddenly came a voice from a distant mountain peak.
Master Xuan Gu stopped flying, turned his eyes, and instantly teleported to the source of the voice.
It was Qu Yi who had spoken.
“Fellow cultivator, you’re quite bold to invite a strong cultivator in the early Exit Stage to come down. Tell me, what could possibly be so important that it warrants my presence? If it’s some trivial matter, you might as well die right now,” Master Xuan Gu said with a faint smile as he looked at Qu Yi.
On Cui Mu Xing, Master Xuan Gu had seen a portrait of Qu Yi from Ling Huo Shang Ren’s hand, but back then Qu Yi was only at the Golden Dan stage. Now, not only had Qu Yi changed his appearance, but his strength had also reached the mid-Yuan Ying stage. Naturally, Master Xuan Gu couldn’t guess Qu Yi’s identity.
“You’re Master Xuan Gu. Heh, I know who you are. I told you to come down because I want to tell you that you must die today,” Qu Yi said suddenly before moving swiftly.
He immediately drew his top-tier treasure sword, Fu Long Jian, and flew straight at Master Xuan Gu.
“Scoundrel!” Master Xuan Gu was furious.
With an easy dodge, he stayed out of Fu Long Jian’s reach, then glared coldly at Qu Yi, his face filled with rage.
“You, a cultivator at the mid-Yuan Ying stage, dare to challenge a strong cultivator in the early Exit Stage? You really have no idea what’s possible. Today, you’ve offended the dignity of a strong cultivator in the early Exit Stage, so you must die,” Master Xuan Gu said darkly.
Then, Xuan Gu Shangren took out a magical artifact resembling jade bone from his hand. It was entirely made of a red-jade-like material, emitting a pink glow. This was Xuan Gu Shangren’s magical artifact—the Jade Turtle Relic, a mid-tier treasure. In the realm of cultivation, there existed a kind of jade turtle with a shell covered in jade-like skin. During the cultivation process, a substance similar to jade bone would gradually form within it, containing the essence of the turtle’s energy. After a cultivator killed such a turtle, they would extract this jade bone and refine it into the Jade Turtle Relic.
Upon seeing the Jade Turtle Relic, Qu Yi’s face lit up with joy. If Wu Yuan got his hands on this, even the turtle shell on Wu Yuan’s back might transform.
“Xuan Gu, so you actually possess a powerful magical artifact. But you still have to die,” Qu Yi laughed loudly and flew towards him again.
Fulong Sword extended its long finger, and then the sword was drawn, releasing thousands of golden swords the size of needles, all aimed at Xuan Gu Shangren. This was an array inherent to Fulong Sword itself—Thousand Gold Swords Sweeping Through.
Xuan Gu Shangren’s eyes lit up as he saw that Fulong Sword in Qu Yi’s hand was actually a top-tier treasure. Killing Qu Yi now would not only satisfy his anger but also allow him to acquire a top-tier treasure, making it a great gain for him.
“You mere mid-stage Yuan Ying cultivator, thinking that just because you have a top-tier treasure, you can challenge a cultivator in the early stage of exiting the body? How foolish! I’ll kill you so you won’t be so arrogant in your next life,” Xuan Gu Shangren laughed heartily.
Then, as he channeled his vital energy, the Jade Turtle Relic emitted a brilliant light, suddenly transforming into a giant turtle hundreds of meters in size. The turtle’s enormous body blocked all the thousand golden swords without any damage, before it leaped lightly and pressed down on Qu Yi.
Qu Yi quickly retreated to avoid the turtle’s pressure. Yet, the turtle’s speed was no less than Qu Yi’s. With another leap, it tried to crush Qu Yi’s body. Seeing this, Qu Yi kept flying nonstop, forcing the turtle to chase after him.
At this point, Qu Yi actually wanted to compete with Xuan Gu Shangren in terms of vital energy consumption.
Seeing Qu Yi’s actions, Xuan Gu Shangren realized that Qu Yi was afraid of being crushed by the turtle’s shell, so he intensified his efforts to drive the turtle towards Qu Yi.
In the air, fierce winds roared like dragons, stirring the surrounding space violently.
Qu Yi fled for thousands of miles before suddenly stopping. He took out Fulong Sword again and swung it forcefully.
Suddenly, a golden dragon appeared in the air, over a hundred meters long, its entire body covered in fierce golden scales. Qu Yi immediately activated the most powerful array within Fulong Sword—True Dragon Devouring Spirits—to summon a dragon made of vital energy to fight.
As soon as the golden dragon appeared, it soared into the air and flipped over the heavily pressing giant shell. Then, roaring, it rushed quickly toward Xuan Gu Shangren and charged at him fiercely.
“A true Golden Dragon Essence dragon trying to challenge me, who’s just at the early stage of leaving the body? Seeking death!” Xuan Gu Shangren was furious.
Suddenly, Xuan Gu Shangren’s body swelled, turning him into a hundred-meter-tall giant, who then used his belly to ram the golden dragon.
Boom!
The golden dragon disintegrated entirely, its essence exploding, filling the air with golden light.
Seeing this, Qu Yi immediately flew toward the ground and entered a cave in a mountain. The moment he reached the cave, he set up a spiritual confinement barrier to block Xuan Gu Shangren’s spiritual detection, then quickly took out five mid-stage Yuan Ying and swallowed them, restoring his essence.
Seeing Qu Yi enter the cave and realizing his spiritual senses couldn’t penetrate the barrier, Xuan Gu Shangren became enraged. He immediately activated the Jade Turtle Relic, summoning a giant turtle. With just one strike, the turtle shattered a mountain several kilometers tall, forcing Qu Yi to emerge.
“Hehe, Xuan Gu Shangren, you’re truly powerful—even my golden dragon was destroyed by you. You’re really fierce,” Qu Yi said as he continued to flee.
Xuan Gu Shangren frowned. He sensed that Qu Yi’s essence had recovered again, meaning it would take more time to kill him.
“Hmph, hiding in a cave—so you’re taking pills, huh?” Xuan Gu Shangren guessed.
Qu Yi had hidden in the cave and set up a barrier to conceal his ability to devour Yuan Ying. Otherwise, if this ability became known, it would attract all cultivators to hunt him, just like the Jade Sword. Who wouldn’t want such a technique? It allowed one to advance by devouring others’ Yuan Ying.
“Xuan Gu, you can’t catch me. I have plenty of pills, and you can’t afford to waste time,” Qu Yi said, guessing Xuan Gu Shangren’s thoughts and confirming his belief that Qu Yi had used pills to restore his essence.
“You brat, at mid-stage Yuan Ying, you still dare say you can’t outlast me in terms of essence? How ridiculous,” Xuan Gu Shangren sneered, speeding up further.
The giant shell’s speed suddenly increased, creating loud sonic booms as it rushed toward Qu Yi in moments.
Qu Yi suddenly stared at Xuan Gu Shangren, then vanished. The next moment, he appeared in front of Xuan Gu Shangren, his Fu Long Sword already plunged into his body.
This was a golden-element attack spell Qu Yi had recently mastered: Annihilation!
Slaughter is an attack spell combined with the Golden Speed Secret Technique; it ignores spatial disturbances. With a single strike, the user’s entire body’s speed increases by five times, making it difficult to defend against. This is the true essence of Slaughter.
Xuan Gu Shangren was also highly responsive. The moment he sensed Qu Yi disappearing, his vital energy immediately spread throughout his body, ready to defend against Qu Yi’s attacks. Naturally, when the Fulong Sword struck him, the area hit became more than twice as hard, enabling him to resist the Fulong Sword tenaciously.
Yet, after all, the Fulong Sword was a top-grade treasure, crafted by a master at the Diversion Stage, so its sharpness was sufficient to easily pierce Xuan Gu Shangren’s flesh.
As the Fulong Sword pierced Xuan Gu Shangren’s body, Qu Yi instantly injected his combined vital energy into him, destroying his internal organs.
“Go!” In agony, Xuan Gu Shangren roared loudly, unleashing all his vital energy to push Qu Yi far away.
Qu Yi immediately flew back to the ground, entered another cave, set up a Spirit Trapping Restriction, and then swallowed five Yuan Ying to restore his vital energy.
Xuan Gu Shangren struggled to mobilize his vital energy to digest Qu Yi’s combined vital energy, then arrived at the cave entrance in a fit of rage.
“You brat! You actually wounded me! Let me show you the fury of a beginner at the Outward Emergence stage!” Xuan Gu Shangren’s face turned red with anger as he shouted.
Then, suddenly, Xuan Gu Shangren transformed into a yellow sword and rushed into the cave. The Spirit Trapping Restriction was completely ineffective and shattered upon contact. Xuan Gu Shangren immediately entered the cave but found Qu Yi nowhere.
Soon, puzzled, Xuan Gu Shangren landed in the cave, looking around frantically with his spiritual sense, but could detect no trace of Qu Yi.
Suddenly, Qu Yi reappeared, holding a jade sword.
“Hello, Xuan Gu!” Qu Yi said with a smile as he swung the jade sword, channeling all his vital energy into it. A half-moon-shaped beam two palms wide shot out and entered Xuan Gu Shangren’s body.
“Ah, it’s you, Qu Yi…” Xuan Gu Shangren suddenly realized what was happening and cried out.
But by then, it was too late. He had no time to resist the beam. Once it entered his body, it caused massive destruction—his meridians, organs, and bones were all severely damaged.
Thud!
Xuan Gu Shangren’s body, as hard as black iron, collapsed heavily, but he did not die.
Qu Yi smiled as he watched Xuan Gu Shangren, walked over, and said beside him, “Xuan Gu, how about that? You didn’t expect me to have come from Cuimu Star to Tianfeng Star, did you?”
Suddenly, the entire body of Xuan Gu Shangren disappeared, leaving only a yellow mass of energy, which then rushed into Qu Yi’s head.
“Hehe, Qu Yi, you still lack experience. I’ve already devoured your soul and taken control of your body. The ultimate victor is still me,” Xuan Gu Shangren said in a dark voice as his spirit entered Qu Yi’s soul.
But before Xuan Gu Shangren could rejoice, a green sphere appeared in Qu Yi’s spirit. With a flash of green light, Xuan Gu Shangren’s spirit was controlled.
The Instrument God stepped in again, planting a soul shackle within Xuan Gu Shangren’s soul.
“Qu Yi, take out a few of the Yuan Ying from your storage bracelet to help Xuan Gu Shangren regain his body,” the Instrument God reminded before disappearing.
It turned out that all of this had been arranged by the Instrument God, aiming to prevent Qu Yi from completely killing Xuan Gu Shangren and instead controlling him, so as to have a slave in the early stages of leaving the body.
“Yes, Instrument God,” Qu Yi replied joyfully.