Broken limbs and severed arms floated on the river’s surface, some belonging to monsters, some to the pursuers.

A Cultivator with a broken arm was struggling in the blood, his pale face full of terror.

Another Cultivator whose abdomen had been bitten through by a monster no longer had any breath, drifting with the current...

"You brought this on yourselves."

Ling Xiao shook his head, his gaze turning to the two groups still chasing in the distance.

Wang Xiu Jie’s blood was boiling at this moment.

Looking around, Gale was already dead, Lv Feng and the others were covered in wounds, while among his own confidants, thanks to the protection of the Battle Array, the losses were the smallest.

"Brothers of ours!"

Wang Xiu Jie shouted loudly.

"Gu Sheng is right up ahead! Catch him, and we’ll share the secret on him!"

"Kill!" The man in black responded first, greed flashing in his eyes.

The other followers also sped up as if injected with chicken blood, completely ignoring the injuries on their bodies.

In their eyes, Gu Sheng was no longer a living person, but a colossal great opportunity!

Gu Sheng felt the murderous intent behind him growing ever closer, and rage blazed in his heart.

He understood clearly the gap in strength between himself and these pursuers.

Even though his strength had skyrocketed to the Heavenly Palace Realm after waking, he could only contend with ordinary Heavenly Palace Cultivators.

Yet Wang Xiu Jie and the others—among them, the lowest Cultivation was still Tribulation Crossing Realm!

"If not for the Blood River’s suppression..."

Gu Sheng glanced back.

Wang Xiu Jie’s Battle Array shone with dazzling golden light, its speed nearly doubled from before. The distance between both sides was rapidly shrinking!

"Gu Sheng! You can’t escape!"

Wang Xiu Jie grinned ferociously.

"I’m going to personally chop off your head to sacrifice to my younger brother!"

Gu Sheng snorted coldly and swung around, punching out!

"Boom!"

The force of his fist lifted up towering waves of blood, turning into a blood-colored tornado that slammed toward the Battle Array.

Caught off guard, Wang Xiu Jie’s Battle Array was shaken violently, its speed immediately dropping.

"Dying struggles!"

Wang Xiu Jie roared in fury, pulling out a Blood-colored Elixir from his chest and swallowing it.

"Blood Burning Pill! Explode for me!"

"Boom!"

The aura around his whole body surged in an instant, and the Battle Array’s speed increased again!

Gu Sheng’s heart tightened; he no longer lingered in battle and turned to charge forward once more.

Up ahead, the end of the Blood River was already within arm’s reach.

That Supreme Treasure Sword thrust into the firmament, its blade emitting a chilling light that made one’s heart quake, was now no more than a thousand meters from him!

"Heaven Slayer Sword..."

Gu Sheng could sense the terrifying power contained within the sword.

"If I can obtain this sword, my strength will at least double!"

But as soon as this thought arose, he could only smile bitterly and shake his head.

Even if he obtained the treasure sword, facing a powerhouse like Wang Xiu Jie, his hope of survival was still slim.

"No!"

"Even if I die, I’ll drag a few down with me!"

The Spiritual Power within Gu Sheng’s body circulated madly, resisting the oppression of the Blood River, and his speed increased again!

On the mountaintop at the Blood River’s starting point, Qinghe Saintess quietly watched the gradually calming river surface in the distance.

"Those terrifying auras... have disappeared."

Dragon Palace said in a low voice.

"Looks like it’s over."

The Holy Daughter did not answer; her gaze fell on the broken remains floating on the river.

Corpses drifted along with the current, some already beyond recognition.

"All of them were people hunting Gu Sheng..."

The Holy Daughter spoke softly, her voice faintly trembling.

Dragon Palace thought she was sympathizing with their fellow disciples and comforted her.

"Life and death are decreed by fate; you can’t blame anyone else."

The Holy Daughter remained silent.

She felt a burst of inexplicable stabbing pain in her chest. Even though she utterly hated Gu Sheng, the thought that he might already have been buried at the bottom of the river made her heart faintly ache.

"What’s wrong with me..."

The Holy Daughter pressed a hand to her chest, confusion in her eyes.

Dragon Palace noticed her abnormality but misunderstood the reason.

"Don’t overthink it. Gu Sheng being dead is a good thing for the Holy Land."

The Holy Daughter forced herself to nod, offering no explanation.

"Boom!"

A jet-black Sword Qi fell from the sky; wherever it passed, the Blood River exploded, and the terrifying Energy Fluctuation evaporated all the river water within a radius of a hundred meters!

Gu Sheng’s pupils contracted sharply; he hastily raised the Ancient Reincarnation Bell to block.

The bell’s body trembled, emitting a deep rumble. At the instant the black Sword Qi collided with the bell, blood overflowed from the corner of Gu Sheng’s mouth, and his body was pushed back dozens of zhang by the impact.

"Hahaha!"

Wang Xiu Jie’s laughter came from behind.

"Gu Sheng, the way you look right now, Qinghe Saintess really ought to see it!"

He stood at the very front of the Battle Array; although he hadn’t truly caught up to Gu Sheng yet, his attacks could already reach.

Watching Gu Sheng’s battered, blood-spewing appearance, a sickly excitement flashed in Wang Xiu Jie’s eyes.

He even began imagining what kind of expression Qinghe Saintess would show when she witnessed this scene.

"Again!"

Wang Xiu Jie grinned ferociously and swung his sword once more, this time deliberately holding back some of his power.

Black Sword Qi howled toward him; Gu Sheng had nowhere to dodge, and his chest took another direct hit!

"Pff—"

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body thrown backward.

Wang Xiu Jie’s lackeys let out shrill laughter as all kinds of humiliating words poured out.

"What genius? He’s nothing but a stray dog!"

"Senior Brother Wang, cut his tongue out, let’s see how tough he talks then!"

"Trash is trash, he doesn’t even dare fight back!"

Blood veins filled Gu Sheng’s eyes, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked.

A violent ferocity surged up from his heart; he wished he could turn around right now and fight Wang Xiu Jie to the death.

The Ancient Reincarnation Bell suddenly chimed of its own accord; the clear, distant bell tone flowed through Gu Sheng’s heart, slightly calming his boiling killing intent.

"Endure a little longer..."

Gu Sheng forced down the impulse to go all out.

"If there’s still no turning point even after I get the treasure sword, it won’t be too late to risk everything then!"

He swallowed his humiliation and continued fleeing forward.

On the surface he looked wretched, but Gu Sheng was not without trump cards.

The mysterious Longevity Realm within his body, and the mysterious woman sleeping inside it, were his final reliance.

If he truly was forced into a desperate corner, even if it meant exposing these secrets, even if it meant enraging that mysterious existence, he would do it without hesitation!

Seeing that Gu Sheng cared only about fleeing for his life and showed no intention of resisting, Wang Xiu Jie finally let go of his last trace of wariness.

"Trash is trash!"

He laughed wildly, his golden long saber slashing again and again, sending out one weakened Sword Qi after another, continuously hacking toward Gu Sheng.

"Come on, fight back! Weren’t you a genius?!"

Every strand of Sword Qi left a wound on Gu Sheng’s body; blood dyed his robes red.

Wang Xiu Jie’s lackeys mocked even more wantonly; someone even purposely controlled their Magic to skim past Gu Sheng’s scalp, slicing off a lock of his hair for fun.

In the distance, Lv Feng saw this scene and furrowed her brows tightly.

"Wang Xiu Jie... he’s completely lost his mind!"

And farther away, a white figure had at some point quietly leapt into the Blood River.

It was Qinghe Saintess!

She stood upon a protruding rock, gazing from afar at the scene of Gu Sheng being humiliated; at some unknown moment her eyes had already grown moist, and stabbing pain kept coming from her chest.

"Why..."

The Holy Daughter pressed a hand to her chest, her voice barely audible.

"Why does it hurt so much..."

Dragon Palace stood beside her, his face full of delight.

"How satisfying! Gu Sheng crushed our Six Great Holy Lands on the Holy Road so we couldn’t lift our heads. Seeing him end up like this now is truly exhilarating!"

The Holy Daughter did not respond, only bit down hard on her lower lip, not realizing until she tasted blood.

On the other side, Ling Xiao, hidden in the dark, wanted several times to make a move to help, yet forcibly suppressed the impulse.

"Gu, hold on a little longer..."

"If I act now, it’ll only make things worse..."

In the Blood River, Gu Sheng was struck in the back by another strand of Sword Qi and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His legs had already begun to go weak, yet his gaze remained locked dead ahead on that Supreme Treasure Sword.

Suddenly, his heart pounded wildly.

Above the sword, there was actually a familiar soul body floating! That soul body burned like Ghost Fire from the depths of hell, emanating a terrifying aura.

"That is..."

An indescribable feeling of familiarity surged into Gu Sheng’s heart.

"Could it be..."

Before he could think it through, the soul body suddenly throbbed violently, and an invisible wave entered Gu Sheng’s mind.

"Come... hurry and come..."

This voice exploded in Gu Sheng’s mind like a thunderclap! His whole body trembled, and an unprecedented, terrifying aura suddenly burst out from within him!

"Boom!"

A shockwave exploded out with Gu Sheng as the center, forcing all the surrounding blood water aside.

Under everyone’s stunned gaze, Gu Sheng’s speed skyrocketed as he charged toward the treasure sword!

"Not good!"

Wang Xiu Jie’s expression changed drastically.

"Stop him!"

Dozens of attacks blasted out at the same time, but all of them missed.

Gu Sheng bit through the tip of his tongue, spraying a mouthful of Essence Blood into his palm, then abruptly pressed his hands together.

The Essence Blood burned, turning into blood-colored flames that wrapped around his entire body; his originally utterly exhausted body actually erupted once more with a terrifying aura!

"Open for me!"