[Gathering Spirit Forbidden Pill] is a low-grade Earth-tier pill. Any cultivator below the Divine Transformation stage who takes it can instantly raise their cultivation by two minor realms, greatly boosting their strength.
But in exchange, it also has extremely severe side effects, causing significant damage to the meridians and dantian, and the user’s cultivation will suffer irreversible consequences.
However, Mo Renxie, who had been forced to a dead end, no longer cared about any of that. All he wanted now was enough power to utterly tear apart the black-clad youth before him, just as he had done to weaker cultivators in the past.
“Go to hell, bastard!”
He growled through gritted teeth, both hands gripping the Bone-Crushing Demonic Blade as it spun rapidly, unleashing a howling black storm of blade energy. Having broken through to the Yuan Ying stage, the range of his Blade Intent was now vast—so much so that even the stands dozens of zhang away were laced with spiderweb cracks.
The countless illusory blades swept toward Gu Shenzhi with unstoppable force. This strike was simply unavoidable.
Blood Blade Sect, upper-grade Earth-tier blade technique, [Endless Demon Blade].
The sudden, drastic change in Mo Renxie’s aura immediately drew the attention of the hidden Yueying Sect elder. She appeared instantly behind Su Linghuang and said urgently, “Reporting to the Holy Maiden, Mo Renxie of the Blood Blade Sect has used a forbidden pill, violating the rules. Shall we step in to stop him?”
Setting her white jade teacup aside, Su Linghuang curled her cherry lips and said with a gentle smile, “No need. My husband will…”
As soon as she spoke, the Honglian Saintess realized her slip and hurriedly covered her lips with a delicate hand. In the past three months, she had almost grown used to calling him “husband,” so changing her words now felt a little awkward.
Her flawless cheeks flushed a charming red, shyness and innocence only highlighting her peerless beauty.
Su Linghuang cleared her throat, pretending nothing had happened. “Gu Shenzhi will win. Forcibly raising one’s cultivation is nothing but pulling seedlings to help them grow—it brings no real change. Besides, from the very start, Gu Shenzhi was the one who decided how long this duel would last.”
“As you command, Holy Maiden,” the Yuan Ying elder of the Yueying Sect said respectfully to the Honglian Saintess.
Though she kept up an appearance of calm, inwardly her heart was surging with waves of shock. She never would have expected that the Saintess Su truly regarded the Lingjian Sect’s Young Master as her husband, and even valued him so highly.
It seemed that from now on, she would have to treat Gu Shenzhi as the Honglian Saintess’s true, not just nominal, husband.
Gazing at Su Linghuang’s breathtakingly beautiful profile, the Yueying Sect elder couldn’t help but mutter inwardly, “He’s really lucked out.”
On the Sword Discussion Platform, facing the Blood Blade Saint Son’s almost frenzied assault, Gu Shenzhi calmly dodged each blade. Every strike flashed past his throat, missing by a hair’s breadth, but never touching him.
As the Bone-Crushing Demonic Blade pressed closer, Gu Shenzhi gradually retreated to the very edge of the high platform. One more step back and he would lose.
But at that moment, the corners of Gu Shenzhi’s mouth curled into a faint, wicked smile. He flipped his sword, and [Luomei] shone with a brilliant light. With a casual swing, a torrent of overwhelming sword energy swept out like a river of stars hanging upside down in the sky, surging forward in all directions.
Faced with the full force of Gu Shenzhi’s sword energy, the Blood Blade Saint Son’s relentless slashes were as powerless as a baby’s soft fists—unable to shake it in the slightest.
With a bang,
The surging sword energy collided with the Bone-Crushing Demonic Blade. Moments later, Mo Renxie’s face was already pale, blood constantly trickling from the corner of his mouth, yet he still couldn’t halt the sword energy’s relentless advance.
This was already the fourth round.
In an instant, a black shadow flashed behind the Blood Blade Saint Son. A sword rose and fell, slashing hard along his spine, leaving his back a bloody mess.
Five rounds!
Severely wounded, Mo Renxie could no longer hold on. He dropped to his knees, awaiting the moment the surging sword energy would cleave him in two.
But just as the sword energy was about to engulf him, Gu Shenzhi suddenly snapped his fingers. The previously unstoppable sword energy instantly vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a deep sword mark on the Sword Discussion Platform, with almost nothing else remaining.
After attaining the Renzhe Sword Heart, Gu Shenzhi’s control over sword energy had reached a miraculous level. What others saw as wild and uncontrollable sword energy was, for him, born of his will and vanished at his command—entirely at his heart’s desire.
Since he said he would win in the sixth round, it had to be precisely the sixth round. Any more or less was intolerable to Gu Shenzhi.
Geniuses have their own pursuits. For a monster among monsters like him, the pursuit of perfection and a sense of ceremony had become almost an obsession.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Gu Shenzhi reversed his grip and struck with his sword, moving even faster than lightning, aiming directly for the Blood Blade Saint Son’s neck. Of all those present, only Su Linghuang barely caught a glimpse of an afterimage; the rest didn’t even see the sword’s flash.
A mid-grade Profound-tier sword technique, [Flowing Shadow Swift Sword], also the foundational art of Yingjian Peak, one of the five peaks of Lingjian Sect.
A head fell, blood gushed forth—exactly the sixth round.
The entire arena fell silent, all eyes filled with disbelief staring at the black-clad youth on the stage. Yet Gu Shenzhi merely wiped the blood from [Luomei] calmly, still as composed and unruffled as ever, still as handsome as always.
It had been three years since so many people had looked at him like this. Three years ago, the Lingjian Sect’s Young Master had always stood center stage, the focus of all attention.
In truth, Gu Shenzhi understood why, when he was framed by his master, almost no one in the sect had pleaded for him. The reason was simple: he was simply too dazzling.
Under the bright moon, even a few fireflies can draw attention. But if the blazing sun is high in the sky, the fireflies aren’t even worthy of ornamentation.
When the Golden Crow falls, it’s only natural for the fireflies to celebrate. Even stepping on someone who’s been dragged down from the altar is normal—after all, that feeling of trampling on the once-divine is intoxicating, and such opportunities are rare.
“Members of the Blood Blade Sect!” Gu Shenzhi called out in a clear voice. “Mo Renxie was killed by me personally—it has nothing to do with the Yueying Sect. If any elder wishes to seek revenge, come find me.”
The Blood Blade Sect stewards who had accompanied him were burning with rage, but since it was their own Saint Son who had provoked things on the Yueying Sect’s turf, and given the strength Gu Shenzhi had just displayed, even if they all rushed him, they probably wouldn’t survive a single swing.
So, if they could swallow this humiliation now, all the better; if not, they’d just have to endure for now and plan their revenge another day.
Suddenly, a graceful figure in red flew onto the stage and said coldly, “Next, your opponent is me.”
Before Su Linghuang could even draw her sword, Gu Shenzhi replied casually, “Before the Honglian Saintess, I willingly concede.”
After clasping his hands and bowing, the black-clad youth jumped off the Sword Discussion Platform and left on his own, leaving the Honglian Saintess standing alone.
Watching his figure recede into the distance, Su Linghuang’s slender jade hand clenched into a fist. She resolved to confront him about this tonight; otherwise, their “cold war” would escalate, and she wouldn’t speak a word to him.
If it had been anyone else, she would have drawn her sword and attacked by now. But Gu Shenzhi was different—he was her husband, and she simply couldn’t bear to…