Blind Ghostwriter: Starts with the full level of Nine Yang Magic Skill

Chapter 267 Killing Gongsun Jue and Ling Xiao (8k views, please vote)
Tian Du Peak, Ascension Platform.

Gu Mo sat under the Enlightenment Tree, but his consciousness was in a chaotic space, battling his inner demons. He didn't know how much time had passed; it seemed like ten or eight years, or it seemed like a moment.

He defeated his inner demons.

The inner demon that looked exactly like him collapsed to the ground, its body beginning to dissipate, yet it wore a faint smile and said, "Gu Mo, you defeated your inner demon, not the inner demon itself!"

Gu Mo looked at his inner demons with a furrowed brow.

Although he fought against and defeated his inner demon, he couldn't discern what it was. It seemed like a reflection of his own inner evil, yet also like an amplification of his desires.

But it is indeed as this inner demon said.
Gu Mo could clearly sense that the inner demon in front of him was born from his thoughts, and was not the forbidden inner demon of legend.

"What exactly are you?" Gu Mo asked.

The inner demon chuckled, "Whatever you think I am, that's what I am. Gu Mo, no one can escape the shackles of the inner demon. As long as you have emotions and desires, you can't escape me. This is the rule of the world. We will meet again."

Having said that, the inner demons completely vanished.

Meanwhile, on the Ascension Platform, beneath the Enlightenment Tree.

Gu Mo slowly opened his eyes. The dark mist that had been churning in his chaotic sea of ​​consciousness seemed to have never existed. Only the leaves of the Enlightenment Tree bloomed with a faint white light the moment he awoke, and tiny specks of light flowed around him like fireflies.

He slowly rose, without disturbing a single fallen leaf beneath the tree. His eyes held no sharp edge, nor any of their usual composure, only a naive clarity. It was as if, in his eyes, all things in the world had shed their complexities of techniques, realms, and cause and effect, leaving only the most fundamental principle of "existence."

He took a step forward, stepping straight onto the void at the edge of the cliff. The Taixu Sword silently landed at his feet, carrying him to the bottom of the valley. There was no dazzling light, nor the sound of wind and thunder, only a sense of natural freedom, as if "heaven and earth are the road, and my heart is the smooth path."

His clothes fluttered slightly in the mountain breeze, but unlike usual, they didn't rustle. Instead, they swayed like reeds by a stream, exuding a calm and steadfast composure. Passing birds didn't avoid him; the dewdrops they carried landed on his shoulder, condensing before finally sliding off. Fallen leaves swirled and danced around him.

As Gu Mo landed at the bottom of the valley on the Taixu Sword, Gu Chudong, who was sitting on a rock contemplating life, suddenly woke up with a start. She then jumped up with great joy and exclaimed, "Brother, your seclusion is over... Huh..."

"What's wrong?" Gu Mo asked with a smile.

Gu Chudong circled around Gu Mo and said, "You must have gained a lot from this seclusion. Before, standing in front of you, I could clearly feel your awe-inspiring presence as the number one in the world. And now, well, how should I describe it..."

Gu Chudong thought for a moment and said, "Well, you used to be Gu Mo, the number one in the world, and now Gu Mo has the title of number one in the world!"

Gu Mo chuckled and said, "It seems that having you read more books has been useful; you speak with a Zen-like quality now."

Gu Chudong curled her lip and said, "Hmph, I'm more cultured than you!"

Gu Mo chuckled and said, "Let's go... hmm?"

Suddenly, an immense pressure, heavier than ten thousand tons, exploded from the crack in the rock beneath his feet, as if a primordial beast that had been sleeping for billions of years had suddenly opened its eyes and locked onto Gu Mo instantly.

The next moment, the entire Tian Du Peak emitted a muffled rumble.

The ancient rocks on the western ridge seemed to writhe like living creatures, and brown earth vein energy gushed forth from the cracks in the rock layers, like burning earth dragons plunging down the mountainside and frantically merging into the abyss in the center of the canyon. The once beautiful valley suddenly became shrouded in dark miasma, and the winding stream at the bottom of the valley reversed its course, transforming into a soaring black python that tangled with the dark clouds pressing down from the sky.

"Om-"

Suddenly, the void cracked open with spiderweb-like patterns, and countless bronze runes surged out from the cracks, like a tide overflowing the walls of the canyon.

Gu Mo was shocked to find that the rocks beneath his feet were oozing a dark red blood light. The seemingly natural cliff walls and ravines actually formed a huge array totem - eight stone pillars stood tall and high, each surrounded by terrifying phenomena such as golden spears splitting the sky, green wood weeping blood, floods carrying corpses, raging fire burning souls, and thick earth burying bones. It was the five killing formations of "locking souls and refining spirits" in the Immortal Slaughtering Array Diagram!

At the same time, the feng shui and spiritual energy accumulated over a thousand years on Tiandu Peak were completely reversed. The waterfall in the mountain stream on the east side cascaded down into a black galaxy, and every drop of water that fell turned into the wailing of vengeful spirits; the roots of ancient trees in the dense forest on the west side broke through the soil and wrapped into countless withered skeletal hands, obscuring the sky into a dark cage; even the snow that never melted on the mountaintop turned into blood-red ice crystals, which fell with purple lightning and condensed into a ring of burning soul fire at the edge of the array.

"elder brother!"

Gu Chudong's expression changed drastically. She immediately took out the Gouchen Demon Blade from her book box and gently swung it. A blood-red mist burst forth from her eyes, and the demon blade was filled with eerie flames.

Gu Mo gently pressed down on Gu Chudong's shoulder, smiled slightly, and said, "It's alright."

Immediately, he took a step forward, and the Taixu Sword flew over and landed at his feet, carrying him into the sky. The sword was not touched by any light, but it was like a reverse-flowing stream of light that lifted him into the sky, drawing an absolutely still arc of light in mid-air.

At that very instant, thousands of bronze chains engraved with killing patterns pierced through the void from all directions; while the reversed feng shui spiritual energy transformed into a black and red chaotic storm, forming a vortex at the center of the formation that devoured everything, even distorting light into a hideous ghost face.

As the first bronze chain, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through space, pierced towards his brow, Gu Mo actually saw an illusion of his shattered Dao heart in the engravings on the chain. Those lingering demonic thoughts that had just been slain actually materialized at this moment with the power of the great formation, and let out a silent, sinister laugh at him.

As the ghostly face that covered the void emerged from the chaos, the light of the entire Tian Du Peak was absorbed into thick ink. The outline of its blue face and fangs tore through the clouds, and the blood-red color of the Immortal Slaughtering Array surged in its pupils.

At this moment,
Gu Mo reached out and the Taixu Flying Sword landed in his palm.

He flicked his wrist lightly, without drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, without gathering sword intent to deliver a killing move; he simply swung his first sword strike as casually as an ordinary person waving their sleeve.

As the sword light appeared, the void was momentarily still, then erupted with countless illusory sword intents. There were fierce sword energies capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, delicate sword threads as soft as silk, extremely fast sword shadows chasing stars and the moon, and even the clear light that had pierced through illusion when the inner demon was vanquished earlier—countless distinct sword intents merged into one at this moment, transforming into a pale white ribbon that lightly swept across the ghost face's brow.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft sound like glass shattering.

The ghostly face covering the void split open from the center with a spiderweb-like crack. The strange phenomena formed by the power of the earth veins and the array patterns instantly turned into dust. Even the chaotic dark clouds that covered the sky were cleaved open by this sword, and the morning light shone through the crack, illuminating Gu Mo's figure standing with his sword hanging.

He didn't even glance at the disintegrating ghost face before raising his wrist again.

The second sword strike was slower and lighter than the first.

As the sword tip sliced ​​through the void, it created a ripple-like pattern in the abyss at the core of the array.

The bronze chains that were just drawing on the earth's veins broke inch by inch, the black and red storm formed by reversing the feng shui suddenly surged back, and the killing patterns on the eight stone pillar array eyes melted away like ice and snow meeting the sun.

"boom--!"

The deafening roar of the Immortal Slaughtering Formation shattering occurred half a breath late.

Suddenly, thousands of golden-red cracks burst forth from the cliff face of the entire canyon. The earth's spiritual energy, forcibly distorted by the array, surged into the sky like a runaway dragon, shattering the remaining array patterns covering the peaks.

The rolling boulder was shredded into dust by the dissipating sword intent in mid-air, turning into streams of light that fell down in a flurry. Gu Mo's figure, holding the sword, remained frozen in the void amidst this bizarre phenomenon of heaven and earth being upside down.

At the moment the Immortal Slaughtering Formation shattered,

He immediately sensed that the person controlling the Immortal Slaughtering Formation was in Longhu Mountain, only about ten miles away from here.

Immediately,

He casually tossed it, and the Taixu Flying Sword suddenly left his palm, transforming into a silver rainbow wrapped in fireflies as it plunged into the canyon. The sword traced a crescent moon mark in the morning mist, and before it even touched the ground, it had already caught Gu Chudong, carrying her into the air.

Gu Mo did not turn back. He simply waved his sleeve casually, and the next moment, his figure, like a fallen leaf lifted by the mountain wind, floated lightly towards the rosy mountain ridge. He left two ethereal streaks of light in the layered sea of ​​clouds, one after the other, flying towards Immortal Water Valley.

……

At this moment, in the Immortal Water Valley, within the mandala.

As Zhang Xisu, who was sitting cross-legged, brushed the last array pattern of the sand table artifact with his fingertips, he suddenly felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a blood mist wrapped around the sand table fragments that looked like broken jade gushed out.

The magical artifact, forged from ten-thousand-year-old cold iron, exploded with a deafening roar. The violent spiritual energy tore through the ground like a spider web, sending him flying into the air. His purple Taoist robe bulged like a tattered bag, and he finally collapsed face down in the dust, a few specks of cinnabar still clinging to his disheveled hair.

"Impossible... My Immortal Slaughtering Formation is an improved version, how could Gu Mo break it so easily... Impossible... This is impossible..."

The dying Zhang Daoyi glanced at the devastated Zhang Xisu and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Senior brother... I've already told you that being narrow-minded is no good... The reason I was able to kill Ling Xiao back then wasn't mainly because of the Immortal Slaughtering Formation, but because I, Zhang Daoyi, activated it, hahaha..."

"Fake, it's all fake!"

Zhang Xisu spat out a mouthful of blood, her face was extremely pale, and her eyes were full of confusion.

And then,
Ling Xiao raised his head with a smile and said in a low voice, "They're here!"

As soon as he finished speaking
Two streaks of light appeared in the sky, plummeting down from the gap in the clouds; they were Gu Mo and Gu Chudong.

Gu Mo landed first, directly on the dilapidated altar, followed closely by Gu Chudong. She dismounted from the flying sword carrying a book box, looked around, and then locked onto the dying Zhang Daoyi. She rushed over, took out some pills, and fed them to Zhang Daoyi, saying, "Old Celestial Master, are you really going to die?"

Zhang Daoyi: "..."

At this moment,
Shen Yao quickly stood up, pointed at Zhang Xisu and said, "Hero Gu, Zhang Xisu is colluding with Gongsun Jue." He pointed to Gongsun, who was standing not far behind Ling Xiao, dressed in tattered and disheveled clothes, and said, "That is Gongsun Jue." He then pointed at Ling Xiao and said, "This is Ling Xiao, the number one in the world before Jiang Ruoxu. I wonder if he is really reincarnated!"

Gu Mo looked at Ling Xiao, cupped his hands, and said, "Are you really Ling Xiao?"

Ling Xiao returned the greeting with a cupped hand, saying, "From a worldly perspective, I am indeed Ling Xiao." As he spoke, Ling Xiao looked Gu Mo up and down, and said with some surprise, "Child, you are truly outstanding. Apart from me, you are the first person I have met who has seen through the essence of divinity and humanity."

“So the last one was you,” Gu Mo said, “What’s going on with you now? Have you really been reincarnated?”

“No,” Ling Xiao said, “I’m not sure if reincarnation really exists in this world, but I hope it doesn’t, otherwise my plan to destroy martial arts will not be able to proceed.”

Gu Mo asked in confusion, "If you're not a reincarnation, then what's wrong with you now? Weren't you killed by the Immortal Execution Formation?"

Ling Xiao chuckled and said, "Didn't you also kill Jiang Ruoxu in the capital of Jiang Kingdom?"

Gu Mo suddenly realized, "Thirty-three years ago, it was only your physical body that was killed."

Ling Xiao nodded slightly and said, "Back then, although I was the number one in the world, I had not yet reached the Ascension Realm. Well... but I was almost there. I was just one half step away from shedding my mortal body and transcending to ascend."

It wasn't that my cultivation was insufficient, but rather that I knew I couldn't defeat my inner demons. Therefore, I stopped when I was on the verge of ascension. Subsequent events proved me right; inner demons are beyond human control. A few years after my death, Jiang Ruoxu became the new number one in the world. He successfully broke through to the Ascension Realm, and the final result is well-known: he suffered a cultivation deviation.

As for me, I was trying to suppress my cultivation level while fighting, which led me to unwittingly fall into the Immortal Slaughtering Formation. Because I was suppressing my cultivation, I lost more than one-tenth of my original strength, and my physical body was destroyed by the formation. However, the impact wasn't significant. I possess a martial art called the Great Nirvana Divine Art, which allows me to resurrect. I calculated the time, and it took me exactly thirty-three years to complete my Nirvana. Therefore, I told Dao Yi that I would come back to haunt him in thirty years.

Gu Mo nodded slightly and said, "I see."

Ling Xiao smiled and asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

Gu Mo shook his head slightly.

Ling Xiao said, "Now it's my turn to ask, are you willing to become my disciple?"

Gu Mo chuckled and said, "Do you really think you can persuade me to join your plan to destroy martial arts with your rhetoric about eliminating suffering in the world?"

Ling Xiao smiled and said, "I know you don't agree with my statement that 'the suffering in the world comes from martial arts,' but it is indeed true. The suffering in the world comes from war, from division, and from this chaotic world that has been unable to be unified for seven hundred years."

Do you know why, for seven hundred years after the Qin Dynasty lost its rule, the country was plagued by chaos and could not achieve unification?

Gu Mo shook his head slightly.

“Because of the inner demon,” Ling Xiao said. “The birth of the inner demon originated seven hundred years ago when a demonic star fell to earth, carrying its own demonic nature. The three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism all realized something was wrong and intended to destroy it. However, the last emperor of the pre-Qin period, Emperor Li of Qin, was bewitched by the demonic nature and secretly replaced the demonic star.”

Soon after, Emperor Li of Qin became increasingly ambitious, cruel, and tyrannical, causing widespread suffering and chaos. The Qin dynasty was overthrown, and the world was divided. A demonic star, fueled by Emperor Li's desires, gained sentience and became a demon within him. This demon's growth was terrifying; it grew stronger by constantly devouring the minds of cultivators, with greater effects from stronger cultivators. Chaos, however, breeds heroes. Therefore, the demon would not allow unification. Whenever a person of great talent and ambition was about to unify the world and a peaceful era was approaching, the demon would tempt that person, guiding them with greed, plunging the world into war and conflict once more.

Throughout history, we can see that the more chaotic the times, the more martial arts masters there are. In the last seven hundred years, martial arts have been pushed to an unprecedented level, far surpassing any other era in history. Many masters have reached the ascension level, while the inner demons stand guard at the gates of ascension, quietly waiting for cultivators who have reached the ascension realm to provide them with nourishment.

I know that eliminating martial arts cannot change people's inherent evil nature. After all, human nature is prone to evil, and there are all sorts of inherent evils such as selfishness, greed for power and wealth. It is impossible to achieve true equality for all people and eliminate suffering in the world. However, eliminating martial arts can eliminate inner demons.

If there were no martial arts, no cultivators, and the martial arts path declined, the inner demons would lose their nourishment and disappear. The world wouldn't be in such constant chaos as it is now. The world's natural cycle of unity and division is inevitable, but looking at history, has there ever been a period of chaos lasting seven hundred years? Dynasties rarely last more than three hundred years, yet chaos has persisted for seven hundred years—how absurd!

Gu Mo nodded slightly and said, "Now that you mention it, I understand what I couldn't figure out before."

"So, do you agree?" Ling Xiao asked.

"I don't agree," Gu Mo said.

"Why?" Ling Xiao said, "I know your martial arts are very high. You might think you can kill your inner demon with your own strength, but let me tell you, that's impossible. Inner demons are formless, intangible, and invisible. There's no way to kill them. I also know that my philosophy of destroying martial arts is difficult to implement, but we have to try, don't we? Destroying martial arts is the only way to eliminate inner demons. No matter how unreasonable or absurd it may seem, we have to leave and end this chaotic world, this absurd world that has lasted for seven hundred years. This isn't just about saving the masses, it's about saving humanity for generations to come!"

Gu Mo shook his head slightly and said, "You may think you are great, or that you are bringing peace to all generations, but I always feel that you have not been able to avoid your inner demons. Your beliefs have been influenced by your inner demons, because aren't your actions just stirring up even greater conflicts?"

Ling Xiao smiled slightly and said, "One generation in chaos leads to chaos for all time; the calamity is in the present, but the benefit will last for generations!"

Gu Mo said, "But you can't unify the martial arts world, much less the world. You'll only create another force that will make the world even more chaotic. Conversely, even if you succeed in unifying the world, and peace is finally achieved, the moment you start destroying martial arts, the world will immediately fall into new chaos and enter a new era of disorder!"

Ling Xiao did not deny it, but affirmed, "You are right. That's why I thought of inviting Dao Yi, Gongsun Jue, Zhang Xisu... and now, I'm inviting you. The plan to destroy martial arts cannot be accomplished by one person alone. I need the cooperation of the geniuses of an era. I need someone with extraordinary talent like you to help me. I can't do it alone, but ten, a hundred, or a thousand like-minded people working together can complete the plan to destroy martial arts!"

Gu Mo smiled and shook his head slightly, saying, "Sorry, you can't convince me."

Ling Xiao bowed slightly and said, "It's alright. Although I want to destroy martial arts, I never deny that martial arts is a good thing. When persuasion fails, you can subdue them by force." He looked at Gu Mo and chuckled, "Child, I'm going to hit you!"

After all,

Ling Xiao looked down and casually picked up a wooden stick. It was a small, broken piece of wood that had fallen out when the altar collapsed. It wasn't big, about the size of a ruler.

The rain in the mandala was originally woven diagonally, and the water seeping from the cracks in the bluestone bricks meandered along the terrain. Ling Xiao twirled the wooden stick between his fingertips, and as his fingertips brushed against the rough texture, his wrist bone flicked slightly.

The force of the jolting was as light as flicking away dust from a sleeve, but as the stick was tossed half an inch into the palm of the hand, the slanting raindrops suddenly froze in mid-air.

Large raindrops hung three inches from the tip of Gu Mo's hair, the string of raindrops turning into sparkling glass pendants, locking the entire mandala into amber-colored silence.

The copper bells under the eaves stopped swaying, and even the wind that whistled through the distant stele forest condensed into bluish-gray patterns, sticking to the mottled stone walls.

Ling Xiao's figure dissipated into a semi-transparent phantom in place, and the next moment he was standing in front of Gu Mo's face.

The small wooden stick whistled through the air as it struck his forehead. There was no burst of lightning or howling wind; the movement was like a village boy striking a dog with a stick, so simple it was almost laughable. Yet, the air rippled as the stick passed through, as if space itself had been creased by the blunt object.

Gu Mo suddenly raised his hand that was hanging by his side.

Time seemed to stand still, raindrops hung motionless before his eyelashes, and even the reflection in Lingxiao's pupils froze into an inky silhouette.

Gu Mo's black boots left a blurry white shadow at this moment, and the toe of the boot struck Ling Xiao's heart squarely.

There was no deafening roar, only a very soft "plop" sound, like the sound of tearing silk being stretched out infinitely.

Ling Xiao's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. In the afterimage of his clothes being lifted, a few wisps of pale blue soul light could be seen, as if his soul had been kicked away from his body.

The first raindrop fell at that very moment, and the instant it hit Gu Mo's shoulder, the frozen rain curtain in the sky suddenly came to life.

The sound of rain suddenly burst forth, the copper bells rang again, and the wind swept through the forest of steles, swirling up fallen leaves—the stagnant space and time just now seemed to be merely an illusion refracted by the rain.

When Ling Xiao's back slammed against the stone wall three zhang away, a "crack" sound mixed with a muffled thud exploded out.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the bluestone bricks from the point of impact, and fine stone chips fell softly into his hair. He knelt on one knee, supporting himself with a wooden stick, blood seeping from between his fingers, dripping down the wood grain into a puddle, spreading out in a dark red circle.

"Great!"

Ling Xiao exclaimed in admiration, then flicked his finger, and the wooden stick, less than the length of a palm, shot out like an arrow.

In an instant, the fine rain seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, twisting and condensing wildly in the air. The raindrops, as big as beans, suddenly transformed into sharp, angular spikes, and the slender rain lines strangely extended into eerie wooden staffs, with thousands of "weapons" floating in mid-air, their surfaces shimmering with a dark blue-green light.

The sound of air being torn apart was like the shriek of a vengeful ghost. These wooden sticks, formed from raindrops, carved black cracks in the void, as if they were about to tear space apart.

Carrying terrifying wind pressure capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, they surged towards Gu Mo like a raging black tide.

The entire sky was covered by a dense array of wooden sticks. From a distance, it looked as if Ling Xiao had single-handedly condensed a massive army of raindrops. Each stick exuded an aura of destruction, emitting a sharp sound as it pierced the air, as if it were tearing through space, aiming to strangle Gu Mo within it.

Gu Mo raised his drooping hand and pushed it forward slightly.

A hazy, luminous mist, like crystal, spread out from the palm of his hand, causing the thousands of wooden staffs that drifted nearby to ripple with tiny waves at the edge of the mist.

The moment he gently pushed with the heel of his palm, the light mist spread out like ink drops thrown into a lake.

The wooden staff that first touched the light mist cracked and shattered, its dark black body disintegrating into silver threads. Thousands of silver threads intertwined in the air to form a flowing net of light, reflecting the dark blue color of the mandala walls.

Only the small wooden stick at the beginning was shaken back by the light mist, its shaft carrying an air vortex that left a bluish-black trail, and a shrill whistle pierced towards Ling Xiao's face like tearing silk.

Ling Xiao's toes left crescent-shaped indentations on the slippery blue bricks, his entire body twisting to the left like a broken branch. As the wooden stick grazed his cheek, drops of blood splattered like red plum blossoms in the rain. When it struck the stone wall behind him, the stick, still carrying its momentum, embedded itself in the crack of the brick.

First, spiderweb-like white marks seeped out from the bluestone wall, then fine stone dust fell down in a flurry. The end of the wooden stick embedded in the wall tapped lightly on the bluestone bricks, and the raindrops that were startled condensed into trembling water droplets on the tip of the stick.

"Suck him!"

Ling Xiao wiped the blood from his cheek, his pupils reflecting the golden elixir flowing in Gu Mo's palm.

Before the words were even finished, Gongsun Jue had already strode forward like an arrow released from a bow. His black Daoist robe billowed like sails with his roar, and the blue bricks beneath his feet cracked like spiderwebs. Behind him, twelve gray-robed cultivators simultaneously formed hand seals, blood lines shooting from their fingertips, outlining profound magic arrays on the slippery ground. Suddenly, a buzzing sound erupted, and a pitch-black vortex with a diameter of three zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) condensed in the void.

Dark black air currents churned around the edge of the vortex, and the suction force of the Taotie Formation tore through the rain like a raging torrent. The forcibly distorted raindrops condensed into silver streams in mid-air, all of which were swept back towards the vortex, even bending the icicles hanging from the eaves in the distance.

At the same time, Ling Xiao's figure disappeared into the rain.

In the next instant, he appeared above Gu Mo's head and pointed a finger at Gu Mo's forehead. His finger seemed to transform into an inverted hundred-foot-tall green peak, with clouds rising among the rugged rocks, pressing down with the force of the Five Sacred Mountains collapsing.

At this moment,

Gu Mo simply smiled slightly, reached out, and the Taixu Sword fell into his hand.

He didn't even look up at the churning black vortex before his wrist flicked out two swords as easily as if he were waving a sleeve.

When the first sword strike was unleashed, raindrops that hadn't yet fallen clung to the silver-white blade, yet it erupted with a dragon-like sword cry the instant it cleaved through the air.

The eerie vortex of the Taotie Formation ripped open like a piece of shredded silk, and sword energy transformed into a bolt of lightning that swept across the area.

Gongsun Jue's body trembled, and a line of blood seeped from his forehead. Before the blood droplet could fall, his entire body exploded in two as if cleaved by an invisible blade, and the splattered blood flowers condensed into crimson ice crystals in the rain.

In that instant, a system notification sounded in his mind:

[Slaying the Seven Most Wanted Criminals]

[Received Star Reward - Max Level Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique]

[Whether to receive it]

……

In that instant, the Great Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique was completed, and he reached the realm of Demon Immortal in one fell swoop.

……

The second sword strike was a sword strike to the sky. When the silver light shot up from the altar, it ironed the raindrops into straight silver lines.

The hundred-foot-tall inverted mountain peak conjured by Ling Xiao's finger cracked like glass the moment the sword energy touched it. In the light and dust of the collapsing mountain shadow, Ling Xiao's flying figure crashed into the rain curtain. The bloodstains on his clothes were still dripping with rainwater, but he spun in mid-air and then disappeared in an instant. He didn't even hesitate and just ran away.

Gu Mo's clothes still held the dust from the light that had shattered the mountain's shadow, but his figure had vanished as suddenly as ink drops into clear water.

A pale white ripple burst open in the rain, and he soared into the sky in an instant.

The black hem of her robes traced smooth arcs through the clouds, each step leaving glass-like cracks in the void. Ripples of space spread outwards with each step, freezing the slanting raindrops into still silver lines.

The Taixu Sword in his left hand was still dripping with rain. He flicked his wrist as if brushing away a spider web, and the silver light trailing from the tip of the sword actually split the rain curtain in two.

Before the sword energy that tore through space had dissipated, Ling Xiao's figure appeared in the streak of light. A bloody hole the size of a bowl exploded on his back, and his rain-soaked Taoist robe was shredded into pieces by the sword energy. Blood mixed with bits of flesh gushed out, leaving a scarlet trail in the air.

When he crashed into the bluestone slab like a kite with a broken string, the ground was cratered with a spiderweb-like pattern, and the mud and blood that splashed up splattered onto the stone tablet three zhang away.

Gu Mo's figure vanished again in an instant.

The instant Ling Xiao's back touched the ground, he stood frozen on the ground as if by shadow.

When the Taixu Sword thrust out amidst the cold mist, the blade didn't even make a sound; only the tip of the sword accurately pierced the left chest, right in front of the heart.

With a flick of his fingertips against the end of the sword hilt, he gently spun it. The sword vibrated and shattered his heart meridian. Blood beads gushed out along the spine of the sword, congealing into a red line under the wash of rain. Ling Xiao's body stiffened slightly, and he died instantly.

But, at that very moment,

Gu Mo suddenly sensed a peculiar energy fluctuation, quite unique, like the true meaning of martial arts, yet also like spiritual power.

In that instant, a wisp of black mist suddenly filled his pupils, like a drop of thick ink falling into clear water, instantly turning his pupils into a bottomless black pool.

At the same time, the world within a radius of thirty feet instantly turned black and white.

The slanting raindrops first condensed into silvery-white threads, and the bluish-gray of the blue bricks, the dark black of the stone tablets, and the splashed blood all faded into a pure white like a long ink painting scroll in an instant.

The blood droplets suspended in mid-air lost their fluidity, like frozen glass beads. Only the surging black mist in Gu Mo's eyes was the only unusual color in this black and white world.

When he looked up, a semi-transparent figure emerged from the rain, and it was none other than Ling Xiao.

Gu Mo appeared before Ling Xiao as if stepping into a traditional Chinese ink painting, exclaiming in surprise, "Is this what it's like after ascension?"

Ling Xiao smiled and said, "You can think of me as a ghost or a soul, Gu Mo. In this state, you can't kill me!"

(End of this chapter)