Gu Han was startled for a moment. Someone? Who?

He felt a sense of deja vu. Then, he immediately recalled how he had used the exact tactic to flee from Yu Hua.

Gu Han decided he couldn’t give Di Kan the slightest opening. “Are you trying to trick me? Dream on!”

Di Kan’s follower seemed panicked, his voice trembling. “Y-Young Valley Master, it... it seems to be the one I told you about, the one that moves...”

Di Kan was so angry he almost started cursing. Facing the unknown, the first reaction of any living creature was fear. Cultivators naturally were no exception.

After seeing Gu Han approaching, Di Kan’s golden fur visibly stood on end. He retreated quickly. “Your surname is Gu, right? I-I was blind and offended you—holy shit, don’t come any closer!”

When he saw Gu Han sped up, he dropped all formalities and fled, soaring through the air. “Hurry! Keep up!”

“Young Valley Master, wait for us!”

His few followers panicked even more, all soaring into the air as well.

Without hesitation, Gu Han swung his sword down. A peerless sword light, about a zhang long, shot straight after Di Kan.

In response, Di Kan roared, and a blurry projection of a great demon appeared behind him. Its two large hands clasped together, blocking the strike with raw strength.

“Break for me!”

A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Borrowing the force of the sword light, his speed increased again. He shot Gu Han a look of gratitude.

Looking at the few strands of golden fur slowly drifting down, Gu Han frowned deeply. The sheer toughness of the demon species was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Although he hadn’t gone all out, if it had been Wu Han or Qi Jun, they definitely would have been chopped half to death. Nevertheless, Di Kan was only lightly injured? Also, what had that last look in his eyes meant? Why would he thank him?

Gu Han shook his head, suppressing his doubts. He then turned to Zhao Mengyou, who stood frozen, uncertain whether to leave or stay.

Sensing her terror, Gu Han thought for a moment and decided to console her. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much. Besides, I’m someone who respects women.”

Zhao Mengyou’s heart trembled with fear. In contrast, her female followers flushed with a trace of shyness. Young Master Gu, what kind of nonsense is this?!

However, before Gu Han could make a move, Murong Yan shouted from a distance, “Brother Gu, behind you! Behind you!”

All trace of her usual forthrightness was gone, replaced by a measure of urgency and worry.

Behind? Gu Han’s heart dropped, and his divine sense swept over instantly. Nothing. He instinctively turned around and froze in shock.

A transparent, hazy humanoid was quietly floating one zhang away. Completely motionless, it was exactly one of the many figures he had seen within the plaza. It was strange, inexplicable, and somewhat sinister. Although it was just an outline, Gu Han instinctively felt that it was staring straight at him. Just like Di Kan, his scalp went numb, while his heart gave a violent lurch. Despite being at the Divine Connection realm, cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

Instinctively, he took two steps back. The humanoid figure suddenly drifted forward, making up for those two steps. Not a bit more, not a bit less. It still maintained the one zhang distance from him.

After seeing this, his scalp went numb again. He almost couldn’t resist swinging at this humanoid figure. Just then, he recalled that his attacks had no effect on these figures, so he had to give up.

He silently warned himself, Calm down!

He had witnessed the terror of these figures with his own eyes. Forget about him, even the Transcendent realm powerhouses outside wouldn’t survive if they touched one.

Suddenly, he thought of the spirit seal. Maybe the power of the Saint realm could work!

Just as this thought emerged, an immense sense of crisis arose within his spirit perception. His gut told him that if he took that thing out, it wouldn’t end well for him.

Could it be that using excessively strong power was forbidden here?

It suddenly made sense why Chu Kuang hadn’t taken out his Saint Weapon despite being cornered earlier.

Somewhat flustered, Gu Han moved a little closer to Zhao Mengyou. “Divine Maiden Zhao, how about we—”

Zhao Mengyou panicked too. “D-don’t come near me!”

Earlier, she had assumed these humanoid figures were inanimate objects. Although she was cautious, she hadn’t taken them too seriously. However, it turned out to be an existence she simply couldn’t comprehend, overwhelming her.

She soared into the air, quickly fleeing into the distance. “Y-Young Master Gu, take... take care!”

The Divine Maiden was somewhat stiff, lacking a bit of elegant grace, instead carrying a sense of hasty escape.

Gu Han’s expression turned sour. He really wanted to slash Zhao Mengyou down and drag her into this mess. At the same time, he didn’t want to risk triggering the humanoid figure, forcing him to abandon the wonderful idea.

He tried to communicate with the figure. “She’s gone. Aren’t you going to chase?”

The figure didn’t move.

“Who exactly are you?”

“...”

"What do you want?"

“...”

“Is there some enmity between us?”

“...”

No matter what he said, the figure remained completely motionless. After nagging pointlessly for a while, his fear gradually dissipated, replaced by a hint of anger.

Gu Han turned and left immediately. “You’re not talking? Then I’m leaving too!”

The humanoid figure followed as if sensing his movement. Gu Han stiffened, and that figure also immediately stopped. He fully understood now that this figure definitely had its eyes on him.

“Brother Gu, are you... alright?” Murong Yan asked.

Thanks to the Emerald Condensation Pill, the three’s injuries had mostly healed. Aside from still being somewhat listless, they had no major issues. They would be lying if they said they weren’t scared though. Not daring to come close, they could only shout a few words of concern from afar.

Instead of answering, Gu Han gritted his teeth and sped away.

Murong Yan screamed, “Brother Gu, where are you going?!”

Gu Han said through clenched teeth. “To find people! I can’t be the only one this happens to!”

***

Inside a dilapidated palace, Chu Kuang, Wu Han, and Qi Jun had gathered together again. No one said a word. They had gloomy expressions, cold light flickering in their eyes.

Off to one side, the group of followers wore dejected looks. They would be highly regarded as top-tier prodigies even in the Yuqing Sect. And yet, all twenty of them had failed to take one person down. As if that wasn’t enough, that person had broken them one by one, sending them fleeing in panic.

Is someone capable of ringing the Dao Bell nine times really that strong? This was the question in everyone’s hearts.

Chu Kuang had a much stronger mentality than the other two. Reining in his gloom, he slowly said, “Our planning was poor for this matter. We unknowingly let him exploit a loophole...”

Wu Han couldn’t help but interrupt him. “So many people surrounded him, what more planning was needed?”

Qi Jun’s expression was gloomy. “Exactly! We can’t even use our Saint Weapons in such a place! Don’t tell me you want to try surrounding and killing him again?”

Chu Kuang took a deep breath. “If both of you had been able to hold out back then—”

Wu Han’s expression turned unfriendly. “Are you saying that we’re weak?”

Qi Jun laughed coldly. “You talk as if he didn’t beat you as well! Aren’t you the one with eight rings? The so-called saint’s reincarnation?”

Wu Han shot a glance at Chu Kuang. “What reincarnation! It’s just possession. He can fool others, but he can’t fool us!”

Having been greatly humiliated by Gu Han, this matter was their sore spot. Now that Chu Kuang had ripped open the scab, they were triggered.

Chu Kuang restrained the anger. “If we fall into internal strife, trying to deal with him again—hmm?”

He seemed to sense something. Soon, the others felt it as well. A powerful aura was rapidly approaching from outside.

Wu Han was furious. “Gu Han! He’s bullying too much! We haven’t even gone to find him, yet he actually—”

Halfway through his words, the gloomy great palace flickered to light. An unrivaled sword light, one zhang long, descended!

One of Qi Jun’s followers, who happened to be standing right in front of the strike, screamed. He was instantly cleaved in two.

“Damn it! He’s taking it too far!”

The crowd’s expressions turned ashen, and they zapped outside the palace.

Gu Han flashed them a faint, ambiguous smile. “Didn’t expect to meet me again so soon, did you?”

Seeing the humanoid figure behind him, everyone’s hatred and anger were replaced by terror.

“What is that?!”

“It looks like the humanoid figures from the plaza!”

“Those things could move?! What is it doing here? Is it following him?”

When they swept the outside with their divine senses, they were certain they had detected only Gu Han. Subconsciously, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

Even Chu Kuang’s eyes widened, turning serious. He initially thought these figures were just a faint projection from the Profound Pill Pavilion’s past, under the influence of time power. Although it was somewhat strange, he hadn’t taken them seriously. Looking at it now, the figure gave him a feeling far stranger and more terrifying than before.

Gu Han grinned, appearing somewhat eerie. “I’ve made a new friend, you see! Why don’t I introduce him to you?”

He turned into a blurry afterimage, charging toward the crowd. The humanoid figure followed behind him.