Chapter 288: Chapter 175: Slaughter Your Entire Family

Without slowing, they shot straight toward Gu Zheng like a volley of arrows.

SWOOSH~!

Gu Zheng’s figure flickered as he teleported, circling the small swarm of Iron Wire Flying Locusts, but he didn’t find an "Iron Wire Flying Locust King."

Iron Wire Flying Locusts are swarm-type insects, but their clan leader, the Iron Wire Flying Locust King, is an Exotic Insect!

The name "Iron Wire Flying Locust" came from their wings, which were as hard as iron yet as thin as wire. When they flew in a swarm, their wings aligned to form a massive net that blotted out the sky.

Their destructive power was astounding, capable of easily slicing through metal.

The Iron Wire Flying Locust King was even stronger and faster, moving through space like a single line, leaving no afterimage.

Someone at the Heroic Body Realm would naturally not fear these Iron Wire Flying Locusts, but killing them was no simple task. Getting entangled with them would be even more troublesome.

For this reason, it was best to avoid Iron Wire Flying Locusts whenever possible.

Gu Zheng had been hoping to capture another Exotic Insect, but with no Iron Wire Flying Locust King in sight, he couldn’t be bothered to tangle with these common ones.

WHOOSH!

With a flicker, his figure shot off, shaking off the Iron Wire Flying Locusts and diving into a fog-shrouded mountain peak.

WHOOSH~

A putrid stench permeated the forest.

Compared to the barren, yellow-earth region from before, the Life Qi in this mountain forest was much richer.

A deer stamped its hooves as it emerged from behind a hundred-meter-tall ancient tree.

It saw Gu Zheng, blinked its eyes, and watched him from a distance before unhurriedly turning to walk away.

Gu Zheng smiled to himself and didn’t follow. Instead, his body soared into the air.

SWISH!

He shot straight up, rising above the forest to stand in mid-air and gaze in all directions.

Within his field of vision lay a vast, lush, and verdant mountain forest.

Birds flew in the distance, and the chirping of insects was incessant.

Overhead was a gray, hazy dome, with no sun, moon, or stars.

Yet light seemed to be projecting in, as if from another world.

WHOOSH~

Gu Zheng flew over the treetops, sensing the auras on the ground for any unusual fluctuations.

He encountered many plants and animals along the way, some of which were species he had never seen before.

The dense forest was deep and vast; Gu Zheng could not see its end.

After crossing one mountain after another, his view suddenly opened up.

A stretch of collapsed and fragmented buildings appeared in the center of a valley.

An ancient, desolate aura immediately washed over him.

Ruins!

These ruins, not yet severely weathered, were overgrown with all sorts of green plants.

Vines were the most prominent, coiling like pythons around the corners and walls, loop after loop.

Gu Zheng flew over, stopping in front of a grand hall that had mostly collapsed.

He walked a few steps up the cracked stairs and entered the hall.

On a preserved section of wall, he saw three carvings. The script and patterns on them were ancient, from an unknowable number of years ago.

Gu Zheng scanned the area with his senses but found no treasures.

He passed through the hall, followed a long, half-collapsed stone corridor around a few bends, and entered a section of buildings that had not collapsed.

However, the walls were heavily cracked.

The original stone doors were all shattered and scattered across the ground.

Through a doorway, Gu Zheng saw three two-meter-long rusty spears in a stone chamber.

’Ancient weapons?’

Gu Zheng’s interest was piqued. He used Spirit Capturing to pull them over from a distance.

He didn’t touch them immediately. Instead, he released his Divine Wondrous power to cover the spears, washing them until all the rust flaked off, revealing their original form.

’Wait, these aren’t spears?’

Gu Zheng examined the three spears, which now gleamed with a faint silver light. He checked their ends and was slightly surprised.

’These are arrows? Two-meter-long arrows?’

"Those are called God-Hunting Arrows," a voice suddenly said.

Gu Zheng remained impassive, raising his head to look to the side, where a figure had appeared on the roof of a ruin dozens of meters away.

"What, never seen a God-Hunting Arrow?" Xie Manmen grinned, leaping forward and jumping down from the roof. "A Grand General of the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau who’s never seen a God-Hunting Arrow... It seems the Zhong Family doesn’t trust you subordinates very much. Then again, that makes sense. You’re just dogs raised by the Zhong Family. It’d be normal for them to be wary of you. If they weren’t, *that* would be the problem."

"Are you finished?"

Gu Zheng held the three God-Hunting Arrows and spoke calmly, "If you are, then leave."

"Leave?"

Xie Manmen let out a strange laugh. "Kid, did you not hear my introduction? God-Hunting Arrows! These things can kill Heroic Body Realm experts and threaten those at the King’s Body Realm! An Ancient Treasure that can kill a Heroic Body Realm expert with a single shot! Even the Zhong Family doesn’t have many of these."

"You want to leave? Fine. Leave the God-Hunting Arrows, and you can go wherever you please."

"And if I don’t?" Gu Zheng remained calm. "What will you do?"

"Then you leave me no choice."

Xie Manmen shouted, "If you won’t leave the God-Hunting Arrows, then you’ll leave your life behind!"

Before the last word left his mouth, his figure shot forward, pouncing viciously at Gu Zheng.

WHOOSH~!

A scorching, foul-smelling aura swept across the scene.

Terrifyingly sharp claws tore through the air, aimed straight for Gu Zheng’s vital points.

SHING SHING SHING!

Gu Zheng stood motionless as blades of cold light suddenly shot out, flying head-on toward Xie Manmen.

"PFFT~ PFFT~ PFFT!"

Caught completely off guard, Xie Manmen hastily defended himself. His hands began to glow with scorching heat as he waved and slapped at the incoming attack.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Amid the dull thuds, half of the blades were knocked away, flying off to the sides.

But the other half passed through his arms, piercing his chest, abdomen, and thighs.

His vital points were unharmed, but a great deal of blood sprayed from the wounds.

Shocked and enraged, Xie Manmen retreated, drawing upon the scarce and chaotic Power of Heaven and Earth in the surroundings. As it gathered around him, a broad Battle Blade appeared in his hand.

With his other hand, he took out several Treasure Pills and stuffed them into his mouth. The bleeding from his wounds immediately stopped, and his aura stabilized.

However...

SHING~ SHING~ SHING!

The blades that had pierced Xie Manmen and shot past him turned around in mid-air and flew back.

Even the blades that had been knocked away immediately changed direction, returning to charge at Xie Manmen once more.

"Get lost!"

Xie Manmen’s aura erupted. The pressure of the Heroic Body Realm caused space itself to ripple.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Brilliant flashes of blade light and an impenetrable Sword Gang formed a complete defense around Xie Manmen.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG~

The returning blades collided with the Sword Gang, creating a series of sharp clangs as they were once again deflected.

However, a second later, they returned to continue their assault on Xie Manmen.

This time, half of the blades abruptly vanished.

When they reappeared, they were bursting out from inside Xie Manmen’s body.

From his chest, his thighs, his head!

"PFFT~" "PFFT~" "PFFT!"

Shredded flesh and blood splattered through the air.

Xie Manmen, who had been swinging his Battle Blade to attack Gu Zheng, froze stiff. The Divine Wondrous power in his body rapidly drained away.

His head, now with a gaping hole in it, bore a stunned expression filled with utter disbelief.

SHING SHING SHING!

Gu Zheng didn’t stop, continuing to control the flying blades as they pierced back and forth through Xie Manmen’s body.

SLICE SLICE SLICE~

They crisscrossed back and forth, dicing Xie Manmen into pieces that fell to the ground before Gu Zheng finally recalled the blades.

SWOOSH!

He telekinetically retrieved the Storage Pouch from Xie Manmen’s waist.

FWOOSH~!

He used Fire Manipulation to ignite the pieces of Xie Manmen’s corpse, which went up in a blaze.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he paused and said calmly, "Come out."

Gu Zheng slowly turned his body, looking toward a patch of ruins to his rear right.

"What, do I have to invite you out?"

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare." An apologetic voice sounded as a young man with a distinctly noble air cupped his fist and walked out briskly from behind a half-collapsed wall.

"Congratulations, Grand General Gu! My sincerest felicitations on cultivating Golden Thousand Blades to the Perfection Realm and mastering Spatial Blade Intent! I, Tianlong, am truly fortunate that our Jing Country possesses a prodigy such as yourself!"

Zhong Tianlong!

The person who emerged from the ruins was none other than the Crown Prince of Jing Country, Zhong Tianlong.

Right now, Zhong Tianlong’s face was wreathed in smiles. His posture was exceedingly polite, and he even appeared emotionally stirred.

Inside, however, he was utterly shocked and horrified.

’Perfection Realm Golden Thousand Blades?’

He didn’t just recognize this Ultimate Skill; he had even cultivated it himself and knew how difficult it was.

He also knew that Gu Zheng had only obtained Golden Thousand Blades a few months ago.

In such a short amount of time, for anyone else, reaching the Mastery level in Golden Thousand Blades would have been an incredible feat.

But Gu Zheng? He had actually perfected it!