Chapter 292: Chapter 177: A Blade for a Blade

BANG! BANG!

BOOM! RUMBLE!

A series of intense clashes and explosions suddenly rang out.

As Gu Zheng looked up, he sensed the Power of Heaven and Earth around him being drawn and manipulated.

Although it was chaotic and difficult to channel, the Power of Heaven and Earth was still a formidable force, one that had to be drawn upon, even by force.

This unleashed immense power.

Peering into the distance, Gu Zheng saw three figures clashing at high speed. Two of them were darting about, ganging up on the third.

’Two against one?’

Gu Zheng took a closer look at the third figure and, to his surprise, realized he knew them.

BAM! THUD!

BOOM!!

A constant stream of dull thuds echoed out.

Vast swathes of snow melted under the immense force, turning to water before quickly freezing over again.

The snowflakes drifting down from the sky were swept up by the shockwaves of the battle, creating a chaotic maelstrom.

The besieged figure let out a muffled groan as he was struck. He was sent flying backward, crashing into a snowdrift and sinking into it.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The other two figures shot forward in pursuit.

BOOM!

With a massive explosion, the snow erupted, filling the air.

Individual snowflakes were torn to shreds, only to quickly reform.

The space around the fallen figure suddenly trembled, and a vortex appeared, blocking the other two’s attacks. Then, to Gu Zheng’s astonishment, the phantom of a pale blade emerged from the void. It emanated a terrifying aura as it slashed down.

RUMBLE!

The single slash distorted space, churning the snow into nothingness.

The two attackers were hit by the impact and rapidly retreated.

But one of them stopped abruptly after retreating a dozen or so meters.

The next moment, the space around him also began to tremble, and a vortex appeared.

The phantom of a ferocious, blood-red Battle Blade emerged from the void. Wreathed in a monstrous, murderous aura, it disrupted the airflow and pulverized the snowflakes as it viciously slashed toward the pale blade’s phantom.

BOOM~~!

The two Sword Artifact phantoms collided in mid-air. The resulting shockwaves and Powerful Qi instantly swept across a radius of several hundred *zhang*, completely melting and pulverizing all the snow in the area.

"Nangong Yaoguang! If you have any other tricks up your sleeve, you’d better use them now!"

The triumphant shout carried through the swirling snow to Gu Zheng’s ears.

’Nangong Yaoguang?’

That was right. The one being besieged was none other than Nangong Yaoguang!

Nangong Yaoyue’s own brother.

Gu Zheng took in the sight of the Nangong Family’s Canglin Blade projection, as well as the projection of the other Divine Weapon, the Seven Kills Blade.

’Even within the Shadow Realm, they can still project and borrow the power of a Divine Weapon.’

’The Divine Weapon Power is truly terrifying!’

And the Noble Family that controlled the Seven Kills Blade Divine Weapon was the Baili Family.

The one attacking now was Baili Mingjing, whom Gu Zheng had met before.

Together with Baili Mingjing was a member of the Yue Country’s royal family—the Third Prince, Yong Chuanzong!

...

THUD!

With a dull thud, Nangong Yaoguang smashed into the snow, creating a large crater.

Lying at the bottom of the crater, a pale-faced Nangong Yaoguang coughed up a clot of dark blood that melted the snow it touched.

SWOOSH!

With a flicker, Yong Chuanzong appeared, holding a Three-Pointed Double-Bladed Halberd. Sinister Death Qi coiled around his body. He pointed the tip of his weapon at Nangong Yaoguang and sneered, "Nangong Yaoguang, if you don’t play your trump card now, you won’t get another chance."

"You..."

"No, he still has a chance." An indifferent voice spoke up as Gu Zheng slowly walked over.

"Who’s there!?"

Yong Chuanzong snapped his head around to look at Gu Zheng.

Baili Mingjing’s aura shifted as well, and the phantom of the blood-red Battle Blade floating above his head turned its edge toward Gu Zheng.

"It’s you!"

Yong Chuanzong frowned. "Gu Zheng of the Jing Country’s Demon Slayer Bureau? Are you planning to stand up for Nangong Yaoguang?"

"Yes," Gu Zheng admitted directly. "I am indebted to Miss Nangong. Since I’ve witnessed you trying to kill Nangong Yaoguang, I have to intervene."

"Hmph."

Baili Mingjing snorted coldly.

WHOOSH!

The phantom of the blood-red Battle Blade suddenly slashed toward Gu Zheng.

SHING!

The Chaotic Heaven Shield appeared before Gu Zheng, blocking the phantom of the blood-red Battle Blade.

BOOM!!

A deafening boom, accompanied by shockwaves and Powerful Qi, raged outward, shredding the snowflakes and clearing a large area.

Gu Zheng’s figure slid back two steps before coming to a stop, his feet not even sinking into the snow.

SHOO! SHOO! SHOO!

The moment he stopped, half of the Chaotic Heaven Shield split apart, transforming into over a hundred blades that shot toward Baili Mingjing.

The blades were so fast that Baili Mingjing barely registered a blur before the Gang Qi on the surface of his body was torn apart.

PTH! PTH! PTH!

A series of sickening thuds followed as the blades pierced Baili Mingjing’s abdomen, thigh, and shoulder. The sheer power and kinetic energy sent him flying backward several hundred meters, where he crashed into a small snow-covered hill and vanished into the drifts.

Yong Chuanzong was speechless.

’Fuck!’

’What did I just see?’

’Baili Mingjing attacked Gu Zheng, who not only blocked the blow... but Gu Zheng’s counterattack seriously injured Baili Mingjing in a single move?’

’Isn’t this Gu Zheng just a newly advanced Heroic Body Realm expert? How can he be this strong?’

’And that Sword Intent from just now was clearly abnormal!’

"...Fine."

Yong Chuanzong gritted his teeth. He glanced at the now-standing Nangong Yaoguang, then turned to Gu Zheng and said in a low voice, "I’ll give Grand General Gu some face today. Nangong Yaoguang, I hope you don’t run into us again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flickered and he shot off in the direction Baili Mingjing had flown.

RUSTLE!

On the small snow-covered hill, a large drift of snow scattered as two figures, one after the other, quickly vanished into the distance.

"Cough, cough."

Nangong Yaoguang coughed up more blood. Pale-faced, he landed on the snow and stared in the direction Baili Mingjing and Yong Chuanzong had disappeared. "Why didn’t you just kill them?" he asked in a low voice. "Gu, since you made a move, with the two of us..."

"There’s someone else nearby."

Gu Zheng interrupted Nangong Yaoguang using a Divine Strange Sound Transmission.

’Now that they’re enemies, killing them directly would naturally be the simplest, most trouble-free solution.’

’But my intuition keeps telling me that someone else is nearby!’

It wasn’t the same vague sense of being watched from the snow before. This was the gaze of a single person, filled with a playful, mocking curiosity that Gu Zheng could perceive with sharp clarity.

’Someone capable of this must be on the same level as me.’

’A Heroic Body·Divine Seed!’

A master at the third stage of the Heroic Body Realm was lurking in the shadows, watching them.

’So how could I possibly kill Baili Mingjing and Yong Chuanzong?’

’If I really killed them, I’d just be handing the "benefits" over to that hidden observer.’

"..."

Nangong Yaoguang fell silent.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath, stood up straight, and gave Gu Zheng a respectful bow. "Thank you for saving me, Gu! If it weren’t for you earlier, I’m afraid I, Yaoguang, would have already fallen."

"There’s no need for such formalities, Nangong."

Gu Zheng raised a hand and stepped aside. "What I said before was true. Miss Nangong has helped me a great deal, and I’m glad I could help you, Nangong."

"...I still must thank you."

Nangong Yaoguang bowed again. Then, he straightened up with a wry smile. "To think I’m still being looked after by Yue’Er. I’ve always been the one looking after her since we were children."

Nangong Yaoguang said with a sigh.

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added, "Baili Mingjing and Yong Chuanzong ganged up on me because I picked two Celestial Gate Snow Lotuses."

As he said this, Nangong Yaoguang took out a Snow Lotus, which was enveloped by the Divine Wondrous, and handed it to Gu Zheng.

"You may have saved me to repay your debt to Yue’Er, Gu. But my gratitude, Nangong Yaoguang’s gratitude, is a separate matter. Please, you must accept this Celestial Gate Snow Lotus!"

Nangong Yaoguang looked at Gu Zheng with a serious expression, his gaze direct.

"...Alright."

Gu Zheng hesitated for two seconds before reaching out, taking the Celestial Gate Snow Lotus, and placing it in his Storage Pouch.

’Of course, Nangong Yaoguang’s life couldn’t be repaid with a single Celestial Gate Snow Lotus.’

’This was just a token of his gratitude.’

’By accepting it, Gu Zheng was essentially accepting Nangong Yaoguang as a friend.’

Sure enough.

Seeing Gu Zheng accept the lotus, a smile spread across Nangong Yaoguang’s face. He extended an invitation, "To be honest, Gu, before I picked the Celestial Gate Snow Lotuses, I also discovered a hidden ruin. Baili Mingjing and Yong Chuanzong don’t know about it. If you don’t have other plans, why not come explore it with me?"

"Exploring a ruin is no problem, of course."

Gu Zheng nodded and used Divine Strange Sound Transmission. "The problem is that there’s still someone lurking nearby. Their strength is not to be underestimated. If they follow us..."

"I want that person to follow us!"