Gou's Liver Experience in the World of Demons and Demons

Looking at the unwavering determination in her master's eyes, and considering her own meager strength, Gu Yuanyuan realized that she would indeed only be a burden.

She bit her lip, suppressing the bitterness and reluctance in her heart, and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Master! Your disciple obeys! You... must be careful!"

She took one last deep look at the ruins where she had grown up, her gaze sweeping over the familiar broken walls and rubble, her eyes filled with complex and inscrutable emotions. Then she resolutely turned around and walked towards Shen Qingtan.

Shen Qingtan reached out and pulled Gu Yuanyuan onto the flying sword, letting her stand behind her.

She glanced at Gu Sheng one last time, her eyes beneath the bronze mask filled with inquiry and concern, but ultimately said nothing, only nodding once more.

"gone!"

Shen Qingtan let out a low shout, and the sky-blue flying sword beneath her feet hummed and trembled, instantly bursting out with astonishing speed, transforming into a dazzling blue rainbow that tore through the air and shot towards the exit of the secret realm!

This flying sword was clearly no ordinary weapon; it could ignore most of the anti-air formations in the secret realm and its speed far exceeded that of ordinary flying artifacts. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the dark horizon.

Gu Sheng stood there, watching the blue rainbow disappear completely, until he could no longer sense the aura of the flying sword, before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

The solemnity on his face did not dissipate; instead, it deepened.

Sending away the Divine Craft Labyrinth and Gu Yuanyuan was a way to cut off the tail and survive, and also to leave room for the worst possible outcome.

Next, he will face the immense dangers lurking within the Thousand Souls Palace secret realm alone.

His gaze finally settled on the massive black portal deep within the ruins, suspended in mid-air and radiating an ominous aura.

That is the entrance to the core area of ​​the Thousand Souls Palace.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Sheng darted through the ruins, rushing towards the black gate.

The few Wuyai Sect evil cultivators guarding the entrance seemed to have only received orders to prevent outsiders from leaving. They merely glanced at Gu Sheng, who was clearly rushing into the secret realm, without making any move to stop him.

Gu Sheng stepped across the enormous portal that seemed to be made of solidified darkness.

The scene before my eyes suddenly changed!
The magnificent and gloomy hall I had imagined did not appear. Instead, what came into view was an incredibly empty and vast square.

The plaza is paved with dark, black boulders, cold and hard, stretching to the horizon.

The square was empty, devoid of any buildings, with only a suffocating sense of deathly stillness and oppression permeating the air.

What made Gu Sheng's pupils suddenly contract was the people in the square.

A dense crowd of people!
There were over a thousand people!
These people stood frozen in place, like statues without souls, in various parts of the square.

They were dressed in all sorts of clothes, including the blue robes of the Holy Academy disciples, as well as the attire of other sects or independent cultivators, and even quite a few people wearing the robes of the Boundless Sect.

But at this moment, regardless of which faction they originally belonged to, they all exhibited an extremely bizarrely similar state.

Their eyes were vacant and lifeless, as if their souls had been ripped out, leaving only empty shells.

His expression was frozen in numbness and confusion. He showed no reaction to the sudden appearance of Gu Sheng, the intruder, and didn't even move his eyes.

Thousands of people, like thousands of stone statues, stood in this deathly silent square, creating an incredibly eerie and chilling scene.

What made Gu Sheng's heart sink even more was that he keenly sensed that although the aura emanating from these martial artists was weak, there were many powerful ones among them!
His gaze swept quickly across the area and soon locked onto a burly man dressed in animal skin clothing.

The aura emanating from this person had clearly reached the eighth level of the Grandmaster Realm!

This person, who would be considered a master anywhere, stood frozen, his eyes vacant, oblivious to everything around him.

"This is... the sacrificial offering?"

A chill ran through Gu Sheng. Xiao Beixuan and Venerable Styx had indeed made their move!

The thousand warriors in this square, who are like walking corpses, are the "materials" they are preparing to activate the evil Thousand Soul Sacrifice Array!
He cautiously released his divine sense, like an invisible tentacle, carefully probing the desolate square.

His divine sense swept over the frozen warriors, and the feedback further confirmed his guess.

These people's souls seemed to be imprisoned and suppressed by some powerful force, and even... being slowly drawn away!

Although their life force was still there, it was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, and it was fading away at a slow but irreversible pace.

The true essence within their bodies was like a frozen river, utterly still, yet subtly drawn by some immense force beneath the plaza's surface.

Gu Sheng's gaze fell on the ground. The dark, massive stone ground was not completely smooth; instead, countless extremely fine, dark red lines, almost the same color as the ground, were faintly visible.

These intersecting lines form an incredibly complex pattern that covers the entire square!
At this moment, these dark red patterns were emitting extremely weak energy fluctuations, like countless greedy roots, silently drawing life force and true essence from those standing martial artists!

"The preparations for the sacrifice have already begun..."

Gu Sheng's heart sank to the bottom. The situation was worse than he had anticipated.

Xiao Beixuan clearly did not have the patience to wait until the three-day deadline, or rather, in order to ensure the success of the great formation, he had already begun to "process" the sacrificial offerings ahead of time!
He suppressed the shock in his heart and quickly searched among the frozen figures with sharp eyes.

Were Zhao Boyang, Jin'er, Lao Xiong, and Lao Zhen also captured here? And where is Bai Zhi?

The square was too huge, and the crowds were so dense that it was like a forest, making the search difficult.

While maintaining a high level of vigilance, wary of possible patrols or experts from the Wuya Sect, Gu Sheng quickly weaved through the still crowd, his gaze sweeping over the numb faces.

Suddenly, he stopped abruptly!
Among the relatively sparse crowd near the center of the square, he spotted several familiar faces!
It was Zhao Boyang, Lao Xiong, and Lao Zhen! And Chen Zhen (Lao Zhen), who had previously questioned him!
The four of them stood stiffly, like the other sacrificial offerings, their eyes empty and lifeless, their faces devoid of any expression.

Zhao Boyang still bore the wounds and bloodstains from the previous battle, while Lao Xiong and Lao Zhen were pale and weak, clearly having been exhausted before being captured.

Chen Zhen stood a little behind them, his gaze equally blank. Gu Sheng's heart tightened suddenly.

They were indeed captured! And judging from their condition, they had clearly suffered soul imprisonment and become part of the sacrifice!
What about Jin'er? Where did she go? Given the terrifying strength she displayed at the end, there's no way she could have been captured so easily!

He immediately expanded the search area, carefully examining the area around Zhao Boyang and the others, but found no trace of Jin'er.

The woman vanished without a trace.

"Who exactly is she? What is her purpose?"

Gu Sheng was filled with doubts.

The power that Jin'er unleashed at the end was far beyond what ordinary martial artists could possess, and even far exceeded his understanding of a Human King Realm expert.

She infiltrated Zhao Boyang's inner circle, severing her connection with the puppet at a crucial moment, yet she did not kill Zhao Boyang and the others, but instead allowed them to be captured and used as sacrifices... Her actions were full of contradictions and mysteries.

Suppressing his doubts about Jin'er, Gu Sheng's gaze fell once again on Zhao Boyang and the others.

Although they are imprisoned, they still have a faint breath of life. We must find a way to rescue them!
But right now, the thousands of imprisoned warriors in the square, and the sacrificial array that has already begun to operate, are like a huge noose, making it hard for him to breathe.

Taking rash action could not only fail to save the person, but could also endanger yourself.

He forced himself to calm down. The most urgent thing was to find Angelica dahurica!
She is the key to Xiao Beixuan's plan and the only known person who may have a deep understanding of this great formation.

Finding her might be the key to breaking the deadlock!
Gu Sheng's gaze passed over Zhao Boyang and the others, and fell into the deeper part of the square, into an area occupied by more numb figures.

He concealed his presence, blending into the shadows of the crowd, like the most cautious hunter, silently stealthily moving towards the center of the square.

He moved with extreme caution, avoiding the faint, dark red patterns on the ground. At the same time, his divine sense, like the most sophisticated radar, constantly scanned the surrounding environment and the frozen figures, searching for any clues related to Bai Zhi.

Just as he was about to approach the center of the square, his divine sense suddenly detected an extremely faint yet strangely familiar energy fluctuation!
That fluctuation... carried a pure and holy aura, completely out of place with the cold and deathly silence that permeated the square!

Gu Sheng's spirits lifted, and he immediately focused his divine sense on probing the faint fluctuation.

Passing through layers of numb figures, his "gaze" finally locked onto a rather inconspicuous corner at the edge of the central area.

There, a woman dressed in a plain white dress stood quietly.

Her eyes were also closed, and her face was blank, just like the other sacrificial offerings.

However, Gu Sheng's keen senses detected that around her, there seemed to be an extremely thin, almost imperceptible, transparent halo that was subtly flowing.

It was this halo that emitted that faint holy fluctuation, stubbornly resisting the erosion and soul-binding power from the ground array!
A small, crescent-shaped white jade pendant hung from her slender neck.

At this moment, the jade pendant was emitting an extremely faint yet continuous warm white light, like a firefly in the darkness, protecting its owner.

"Baizhi!"

Gu Sheng thought to himself, his eyes gleaming sharply. Finally found it!

Gu Sheng stood at the edge of the desolate square, his gaze sweeping over the thousands of martial artists, his eyes as cold as iron.

These warriors, whose souls were imprisoned, were the key "fuel" for Xiao Beixuan and Venerable Styx to activate the Thousand Soul Sacrifice Array.

The most direct way to thwart their plans is to make these "fuel" disappear completely!
With this thought in mind, Gu Sheng no longer hesitated.

With a slight thought, the dormant Heavenly Demon Vine on his left arm suddenly burst forth with a dazzling golden-red light!
A violent, bloodthirsty, and ferocious aura, seemingly emanating from the depths of the primordial wilderness, suddenly erupted!

As if countless ferocious beasts were roaring silently, the dark, massive stone ground beneath Gu Sheng's feet suddenly shattered!

Countless thick vines, as thick as giant pythons, covered with dark gold scales, and with metallic glints at their tips, burst forth from the ground like demonic claws reaching out from hell!

With a piercing shriek that seemed to tear through the air, they frantically pounced on the motionless figures standing in the square!
The chilling sounds of flesh being torn apart rang out in rapid succession!

Those martial artists whose souls were imprisoned and who had no power to resist were as fragile as paper in front of the vines that were as sharp as divine weapons!
His head was pierced, his chest was torn apart, and his limbs were severed... Blood gushed out, instantly staining the dark ground red!
The pungent, nauseating stench of blood swept across the entire empty square like a tangible wave!

In just a few breaths, the thousands of standing figures were reduced to a pile of broken limbs and bloody mess!
The entire plaza instantly transformed into a slaughterhouse!

As the bloody massacre unfolded, Gu Sheng keenly sensed something amiss.

As the warriors' bodies were pierced and torn apart by the vines, streams of pure and immense life force were frantically absorbed into the rampaging vines the moment their life force was extinguished!
The main vine of the Heavenly Demon Vine shone even brighter, its golden and red hues intertwined, and it even faintly revealed a dark purple hue.

The vines seemed to be undergoing subtle changes as well, with thicker scales, sharper tips, and an ever-increasing ferocity!
A strong, throbbing sensation, as if it were about to break through some kind of shackle, was transmitted from the core of the Heavenly Demon Vine to Gu Sheng's mind!
"Life force drained? Body not completely dead?"

Gu Sheng's eyes narrowed, and he instantly understood the key to it.

"Old Ghost Styx! What a skill! He actually used some kind of evil magic to forcibly strip away the souls of these martial artists, imprisoning and enslaving them, while their physical bodies did not truly die, but their consciousness was extracted, turning them into pure 'living corpses'!"
Using this as a vessel for sacrifice provides both immense life force and prevents the true resentment of death from interfering with the operation of the grand formation!

These "corpse puppets" are essentially living dead whose vital signs are maintained by special means!

The Heavenly Demon Vine strangled their bodies, which was equivalent to forcibly interrupting this maintenance. The abundant life force naturally dissipated, which became a great tonic to nourish its advancement!
"not good!"

Gu Sheng's heart skipped a beat! These corpse puppets must have restrictions on them that allow Xiao Beixuan and the others to sense their life or death!

The thousands of corpse puppets were instantly wiped out, and Xiao Beixuan's side has probably already noticed!
Deep within the main hall of the Thousand Souls Palace.

Xiao Beixuan closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, trying to suppress the anxiety in his heart.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, his eyes bloodshot!
A strong, suffocating stench of blood seemed to penetrate the barriers of space and rush directly into his nostrils!

At the same time, the countless points of light representing the offerings in the plaza on the black compass floating before him were extinguished instantly, like candle flames blown out by a gale! (End of Chapter)