WHOOSH!!

A fierce wind swept past as the last of the Heart-Burning Demon Flame was spent.

Gu Zheng continued to take out seashells until every last trace of the Demonized Corpse Fire had been annihilated.

The entire process took only three breaths.

At that moment, Jin Pang had just plummeted from the sky. He slammed into the ground, his body wracked with excruciating pain and his face deathly pale, ready to witness Gu Zheng’s gruesome fate as the Demonized Corpse Fire consumed him.

Instead, what he saw was the complete annihilation of the Demonized Corpse Fire.

"How can this be..."

Jin Pang’s eyes widened. No one knew the terror of the Demonized Corpse Fire better than he did.

Even in Yue Country, this type of Anomalous Fire was stored with extreme care. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Those who were permitted to carry it only had very small quantities.

In truth, Eternal Star wasn’t qualified to possess Demonized Corpse Fire. The small amount he carried, only two or three wisps, was secretly given to him by his old man.

Even so, he had treated it as his ultimate trump card, ready to make Gu Zheng suffer when it was discovered.

The fact that Jin Pang carried so much Demonized Corpse Fire was a testament to his achievements and status. It was also the last bit of dignity the Yong family afforded him.

This meant that if his identity as an undercover agent was ever exposed, after releasing the Demonized Corpse Fire, he himself would fall victim to it and be transformed into a Corpse Puppet!

That’s right. Jin Pang only had the ability to release the Demonized Corpse Fire, not to retract or control it.

And yet, Gu Zheng had annihilated the Demonized Corpse Fire just like that!

Jin Pang had seen the Heart-Burning Demon Flame, but he hadn’t recognized what kind of Anomalous Fire it was.

Whatever it was, he was finished.

BANG~!

Though terrified, he didn’t stop trying to escape.

After seeing Gu Zheng annihilate the Demonized Corpse Fire, Jin Pang endured the excruciating pain and fled again, leaving behind a cloud of mist.

SWOOSH!

WHOOSH~!

The sound of something slicing through the air suddenly rang out.

"SHIK SHIK SHIK~!"

PUK PUK PUK!

Blades began to erupt from within Jin Pang’s body once again.

This time, three blades even burst out from inside his head!

THUD!

With a dull thud, Jin Pang collapsed to the ground, motionless. His aura faded, and his heartbeat and breathing all stopped.

’Is he dead?’

Gu Zheng remained expressionless. With a mere thought...

SHOO SHOO SHOO!

The three hundred and sixty blades danced through the air, continuing to shuttle in and out of Jin Pang’s body from a distance.

SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH!

"No!"

With a terrified shriek, Jin Pang suddenly rolled over, trying to drag his shattered body away in a desperate attempt to escape.

SHRED SHRED SHRED!

SPLAT~ SPLAT~ SPLAT~

The three hundred and sixty dancing blades accelerated, completely tearing Jin Pang’s blood-riddled body into a pile of mangled flesh. His head was no exception, reduced to chunks.

Red and white sprayed across the ground.

This time, he was well and truly dead.

However, just in case, Gu Zheng first performed a remote Absorption, taking the Storage Pouch from his waist. He then used Fire Manipulation, a Demon Technique, to ignite Jin Pang’s shattered corpse.

FWOOSH~

The flames raged.

Gu Zheng stood to one side and let out a long breath.

At this moment, his body was covered in bronze-colored skin, and he stood over three meters tall.

This was the result of unlocking his Bronze Elephant Body—a one hundred percent unlock, at that.

He had relied on bursts of speed and his Wandering God Falcon Wings to catch up to Jin Pang. However, simultaneously controlling three hundred and sixty blades and pushing the Golden Thousand Blades technique to its absolute limit was starting to overtax his Spiritual Power.

To compensate, Gu Zheng had augmented himself with the Spiritual Power from his Bronze Elephant Body. This expanded the range of his Golden Thousand Blades and the area covered by his Spatial Blade Intent to five hundred meters!

Only by doing so could he, while still pursuing Jin Pang, teleport the blades directly into his target’s body before expelling them outwards.

The last time he hunted Luo Cheng, he hadn’t possessed the Chaotic Heaven Shield. His Golden Thousand Blades technique was also incomplete, so he lacked any Spatial Blade Intent whatsoever.

Even augmenting himself with the Bronze Elephant Body would have been useless back then.

Furthermore, his cultivation realm wasn’t yet Heroic Body: Melting Furnace.

This time, he had everything he needed, and he successfully took down Jin Pang!

If it had been possible...

Gu Zheng would have actually preferred to place a Slave Seal on the Commander of the Guangzhou Demon Slayer Bureau.

Even though Jin Pang’s identity as a mole was a ticking time bomb...

...the benefits would have been immense.

Unfortunately, to place a Slave Seal on Jin Pang, Gu Zheng would have needed to be able to completely overwhelm him.

Haaah~

Exhaling a long breath, Gu Zheng calmed his mind and opened the Storage Pouch.

’Let’s see what the Commander of One State keeps in his Storage Pouch...’