Chapter 309: Chapter 185: The Key Is Gu Zheng

HUMM—!

The space around them rippled.

An invisible aura emanated from Xiao Xing, distorting the void.

The chaotic Power of Heaven and Earth nearby was forcibly drawn in, gathering around Xiao Xing.

The pressure of a Half-King, so tangible it was almost physical, suddenly descended upon Gu Zheng and Zuo Lingfeng.

TAK!

Faced with this oppressive force, Gu Zheng did not retreat. Instead, he took a step forward.

His Divine Wondrous surged, and his three Divine Seeds began to operate at full power.

WHOOSH—

HUM! HUM!

In that instant, Gu Zheng fully unleashed the aura of a third-stage Heroic Body.

His own invisible aura crashed against Xiao Xing’s oppressive force, sending out ripples.

As their powers clashed, Gu Zheng forcibly seized more than half of the Power of Heaven and Earth that Xiao Xing had gathered.

Although there wasn’t much of this Power of Heaven and Earth to begin with, Gu Zheng had gained the upper hand in their confrontation!

In other words, when it came to manipulating and drawing upon the Power of Heaven and Earth, Gu Zheng surpassed Xiao Xing, who was at the Half-King Cultivation level!

SWISH— SWISH—

Before anyone else could react, Gu Zheng took out three God-Hunting Arrows. With a thought, he controlled them, infused them with his Divine Wondrous, and activated them all.

HUM! HUM! HUM!

Instantly, each God-Hunting Arrow began to thrum. The light they had kept contained now burst forth completely. An ancient, cold, and unyielding aura erupted in a flash, surrounding Gu Zheng before locking onto Xiao Xing from across the distance!

All three God-Hunting Arrows were locked on to Xiao Xing.

The moment the lock was complete, the thrumming of the God-Hunting Arrows grew rapid. Though not loud, everyone present heard it clearly.

The faces of those who recognized the God-Hunting Arrows changed drastically.

"Those are God-Hunting Arrows! Three of them!"

"Where did he get such a devastatingly powerful Ancient Treasure!?"

"Isn’t the key point that this Gu Zheng has three Divine Seeds? Three Divine Seeds!"

"Right, right, three Divine Seeds! What a genius!"

"He was already a genius in the Jing Country’s Demon Slayer Bureau. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a prodigy. How old do you think this Gu Zheng is? He’s barely in his early twenties!"

"Hiss— You’re not exaggerating, are you? A third-stage Heroic Body so young, and one with three Divine Seeds at the Heroic Body Realm?"

"And Jing Country isn’t even helping a prodigy like him?"

...

The surrounding crowd erupted in discussion.

The people next to Fu Jinlong and Yong Xingdian muttered to themselves.

But Zhong Zhenghong and Zhong Tianlong did not look pleased.

This was especially true for Zhong Tianlong. He hadn’t forgotten that in the forest earlier, it was Gu Zheng who had held back the Vine Demon, allowing him to escape.

Now, Xiao Xing was intercepting Gu Zheng, attempting to forcibly search him. In response, Gu Zheng had not only revealed his true Cultivation of a third-stage Heroic Body but had also condensed three Divine Seeds and brought out all the God-Hunting Arrows he had found in the ruins!

With this level of power, even if Gu Zheng lost in a real fight against Xiao Xing, Xiao Xing wouldn’t come out unscathed.

Because of the God-Hunting Arrows!

As an Ancient Treasure capable of killing those in the Heroic Body Realm and threatening even a true King’s Body.

Once the God-Hunting Arrows locked on, they were impossible to dodge. The only option was to withstand them head-on!

Xiao Xing, who had thought he could easily handle Gu Zheng and Zuo Lingfeng, now looked utterly grim.

A moment of carelessness had allowed him to be completely cornered!

’I’m really not confident I can withstand all three of those God-Hunting Arrows.’

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

As the atmosphere grew tense, Zuo Lingfeng stepped forward and called out to Zhong Zhenghong and Zhong Tianlong.

"Prince Hanshan, Your Highness the Crown Prince, as a subject of Jing Country, this humble official implores you, my Prince and Your Highness, to lend a hand."

Zuo Lingfeng bowed, saluting Zhong Zhenghong and Zhong Tianlong from a distance.

This salute made Zhong Tianlong’s face flush red.

"Mr. Wang..." he said, turning his head to look at Zhong Zhenghong.

Zuo Lingfeng’s words and his salute laid all the cards on the table.

That’s right. Gu Zheng and Zuo Lingfeng were both people of Jing Country.

And they were Grand Generals of the Demon Slayer Bureau, no less!

Now that they were being threatened with a search, would they, the Crown Prince and a Prince of Jing Country, intervene?

If they didn’t, and word got out, who would ever take the Jing Country royal family seriously again?

If they wouldn’t even protect their own people, who would remain loyal?

"Boss Xiao!"

Without needing a reminder from Zhong Tianlong, a stony-faced Zhong Zhenghong took two steps forward and called out loudly, "In my opinion, these two don’t seem like the type to have taken anything."

"Taken anything? What was taken?"

Confused voices drifted over.

Yang Sanyue, Qing Yichan, Sang Qianying, and the others were rapidly approaching from a distance.

As they drew near and saw the situation clearly, they couldn’t help but be taken aback.

"Grand General Gu, Boss Xiao, what is... this?"

"This Boss Xiao wants to search our Storage Pouches!" Zuo Lingfeng, hearing the warmth for Gu Zheng in Yang Sanyue’s voice, answered quickly. "I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he’s guarding the exit and won’t let us leave. If we want to get out, we have to open our Storage Pouches for his inspection!"

"What?"

"How ridiculous!"

Yang Xiao and Qing Yichan scoffed and sneered.

Yang Sanyue’s expression also turned cold. She looked at Xiao Xing and said sharply, "Xiao Xing, are you going to inspect my Storage Pouch as well?"

"And mine."

Sang Qianying chimed in from behind with a smile, "Boss Xiao, are you going to inspect my Storage Pouch, too?"

"Should I open mine first?" Mu Yunfeng jeered.

...

Xiao Xing’s face was impassive, but his eyes were filled with fury.

’This situation is out of control!’

Sang Qianying was also a third-stage Heroic Body who had condensed a Divine Seed.

Adding to that were Feng Wuji and Qing Yuanfeng—two more at the Heroic Body·Divine Seed level—who had already climbed out of the pit and were slowly approaching.

And Gu Zheng still had three God-Hunting Arrows locked firmly onto him.

The situation had spiraled out of control!

With his strength alone, Xiao Xing stood no chance against so many people.

Zhong Zhenghong had already spoken. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Fu Jinlong and Yong Xingdian were just watching the show.

Force a search by himself? It was impossible now.