In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 377 That Moment of Clear Eyes
Gu Shaoan's eyes flickered slightly as he took in Yi Ye's actions.

As his thoughts raced, Gu Shaoan said in a gentle tone, "I suppose Vice Chief Yi is familiar with this token?"

Looking at the token in his hand, Yi Ye replied without hesitation, "This is the identity token of a disciple of the Thunderbolt Hall under my White Sand Gang."

Gu Shaoan said calmly, "This token was found on the bandit leader after my Emei Sect wiped out those bandits."

"How does Vice Chief Yi explain that a bandit leader possesses an identity token of a disciple of the Thunderbolt Hall of the White Sand Gang?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Ye's brows furrowed.

After observing Yi Ye's reaction, Gu Shaoan looked at Zhou Ruifu beside him, then changed the subject: "Vice Chief Zhou can also take a good look and see if this token is real or fake."

As he spoke, Gu Shaoan flicked his right sleeve, and Yi Ye immediately felt a special pulling force that pulled the token from his hand and shot it towards Zhou Ruifu.

As the token was shot toward Zhou Ruifu, Zhou Ruifu subconsciously raised one foot, but stopped a moment later.

Then, the true energy within his body surged and gathered in his right hand to catch the token.

After taking a closer look, Zhou Ruifu's expression also darkened.

After a few moments of contemplation, he said in a deep voice, "It is indeed the identity token of a disciple of the Thunderbolt Hall of the White Sand Gang."

After speaking, Zhou Ruifu handed the token in his hand to Yi Ye again.

As Yi Ye gripped the token in her hand again, Gu Shaoan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Immediately afterwards, as if sensing something, Gu Shaoan suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the bluestone street in the distance.

Noticing Gu Shaoan's reaction, Yi Ye and Zhou Ruifu also subconsciously followed his gaze and looked at the long bluestone street leading to the gate of the village.

At first, apart from a few fallen leaves swept up by the autumn wind, there was nothing unusual.

But it only took two breaths.

"call!"

A deep, resonant sound of wind breaking through the air came without warning from the sparse woodland at the end of the long street. It was not the sound of natural wind, but more like the muffled sound of some enormous thing tearing through the air at high speed.

Immediately afterwards, a dark figure, like a hawk soaring close to the ground or a dragon riding the wind and waves, appeared at an astonishing speed from the end of the street hidden by trees. In a few leaps, it had already covered a distance of dozens of feet and headed straight for the gate of Baishawu.

With each light tap of his toes on the bluestone slab, the newcomer would leap forward seven or eight zhang. What was even more striking was the imposing and domineering aura he exuded as he ran, as if the air itself became thicker wherever he passed.

In the blink of an eye, the newcomer was already upon them.

"boom!"

With a soft thud, the figure landed steadily at the edge of the small square, standing right in front of Yi Ye and Zhou Ruifu.

It was Hao Baitong, the leader of the Baisha Gang, nicknamed "The River-Turning Dragon" in the martial arts world.

Gu Shaoan's gaze fell on Hao Baitong. He saw that the man was almost as tall as Gu Shaoan. Although he was about fifty years old, he had broad shoulders and a thick back. His face was bronze from years of exposure to the river wind and sun. He was not wearing any particularly luxurious clothes, just a dark blue outfit with a wide overcoat of the same color, with silver wave patterns embroidered on the cuffs and hem.

He wore a thick cowhide belt around his waist, and on his left side hung a sheathless, thick-backed broadsword with a dark color, a heavy back, and a blade that gleamed with a cold light.

Although he didn't utter a word and just stood there, he naturally exuded a powerful aura and the domineering presence of someone who had weathered many storms in the martial world.

The White Sand Gang members, who had been terrified, were invigorated when they saw their leader arrive in person. Hope and ruthlessness rekindled in their eyes, and they all bowed to Hao Baitong.

"Gang leader."

The unified sound instantly filled the White Sand Dock.

Hao Baitong raised his hand to signal, and after Zhou Ruifu, Yi Ye and the others got up, his gaze first swept over the eight disciples who had fainted on the ground, then turned his head to look at the invitation card stuck on the plaque, and finally returned his gaze to Gu Shaoan's face.

His face was expressionless, only solemn, but his eyes held suppressed anger, scrutinizing vigilance, and a hint of gravity that was barely perceptible.

It was after Hao Baitong appeared that Zhou Ruifu's body began to show fluctuations of true essence, and it was obvious that Zhou Ruifu was transmitting his voice using true essence.

During the process, Hao Baitong's eyes flickered slightly, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Once the fluctuations of true essence within Zhou Ruifu's body subsided, Hao Baitong took the initiative to cup his hands towards Gu Shaoan and said, "I am Hao Baitong, the leader of the Baisha Gang. I greet Young Master Gu."

Faced with Hao Baitong's initiative to greet him, Gu Shaoan did not ignore him and nodded slightly in response.

"I have long admired Chief Hao's name, but Chief Hao has arrived much earlier than I expected."

Hao Baitong said in a deep voice, "It was just in time to return after we finished discussing the matter. It was a lucky coincidence, otherwise we would have missed our distinguished guest."

Although Hao Baitong smiled as he spoke, the smile did not reach his eyes.

Clearly, he was quite dissatisfied with Gu Shaoan's previous actions.

Gu Shaoan didn't waste words with Hao Baitong and said directly, "With Vice Chief Zhou's message, I don't think I need to repeat the whole story again. Now that Chief Hao is here, let's talk about how your gang should give my Emei Sect an explanation."

Hao Baitong let out a soft snort, and instead of answering Gu Shaoan's question immediately, he slowly raised his right hand.

Upon seeing this, Yi Ye immediately understood and hurriedly stepped forward, presenting the Thunderbolt Hall token in her hand with both hands.

Hao Baitong took the token, running his fingertips along its cold metal surface and unique patterns, scrutinizing it intently. After a moment, he applied slight pressure with his fingers, and the token, forged from refined iron, emitted a soft "creaking" sound, demonstrating the astonishing strength of his fingers.

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, and stared directly at Gu Shaoan: "The token is indeed an item of the Thunderbolt Hall of my White Sand Gang."

His straightforward admission made some of the gang members around him uneasy.

But then Hao Baitong abruptly changed his tone, raising his voice slightly: "Although this token is indeed the identity token of a disciple of the Thunderbolt Hall of my White Sand Gang, my White Sand Gang is spread throughout the southwest, and the Thunderbolt Hall alone has nearly a thousand disciples outside. Over the years, there have been quite a few disciples who have been killed."

"A mere identity token cannot prove that the poisoning of your elders and disciples was the work of our White Sand Gang. But is it too arbitrary for Young Master Gu to lead his men to attack our sect, injure our members, and demand an explanation based solely on a token that may have been lost or stolen?"

He practically shouted the last sentence, his powerful energy surging out with his voice, forming an invisible wave that spread outwards, causing the clothes of several nearby gang members to flutter and press towards Gu Shaoan.

But when these energies were still nearly two zhang away from Gu Shaoan, they vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

Upon noticing this, Hao Baitong's heart grew even more solemn.

At this moment, Gu Shaoan sneered: "Does Chief Hao think everyone in the world is a fool?" "The White Sand Gang's business in Tiannan Prefecture is well known, not to mention the Jianghu forces in Tiannan Prefecture, even the people of Tiannan Prefecture know it. After my Emei Sect took control of Tiannan Prefecture, we cracked down on many businesses that were under your White Sand Gang's name. After that, mountain bandits appeared outside Tiannan Prefecture, and the bandit leader even had your White Sand Gang's token on him."

"Even if someone deliberately wanted to use this incident to incite conflict between the Baisha Gang and my Emei Sect, the evidence now points to the Baisha Gang. Do you think you can clear your name with just a few words?"

Upon hearing this, Hao Baitong narrowed his eyes and said, "I wonder what Young Master Gu intends to do?"

Gu Shaoan said calmly, "When I came here, I originally thought that since this matter originated from the Baisha Gang, your gang should investigate the whole story and the identity of the person who secretly poisoned the victim. After making appropriate compensation, you should then announce the matter to the martial arts world."

Hao Baitong's expression darkened, and his smile became colder.

"What if Mr. Hao is unwilling?"

Gu Shaoan calmly looked at Hao Baitong: "From this day forward, the White Sand Gang will cease to exist in the martial world."

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar around him.

Everyone looked at Gu Shaoan with astonishment.

Even Zhou Ruifu and Yi Ye looked at Gu Shaoan in astonishment, seemingly not expecting Gu Shaoan to be so arrogant.

Faced with Gu Shaoan's words, Hao Baitong could no longer contain his anger and laughed in fury: "In recent years, I have repeatedly heard of the prestige of Young Master Gu. In the martial world, there are many people who regard Young Master Gu as the number one person below the Celestial Realm."

"As a martial artist, I have always admired a peerless genius like Gu Shaoan. Now that we have met, I wonder if I would be fortunate enough to witness the strength of Young Master Gu, the number one person below the Celestial Realm?"

Upon hearing Hao Baitong's words, Gu Shaoan smiled lightly, then tapped his toes and swung back several feet, gesturing to Hao Baitong with his right hand, "Please."

Without saying a word, Hao Baitong took off his sword and handed it to Zhou Ruifu.

Seeing this, Gu Shaoan chuckled inwardly.

Knowing that the knife was unused shows that Hao Baitong, though seemingly rough, was actually quite shrewd.

After all, taking action and using weapons are completely different things from not using weapons.

The latter can also be understood as a friendly exchange or competition.

The former, however, is already a life-or-death struggle.

After the two stepped aside, Hao Baitong looked at Gu Shaoan again, and his entire demeanor changed drastically.

Brownish internal energy surged within his body.

He stood with his feet slightly apart, his wide blouse fluttering and rustling even without wind.

The brown energy surging around Hao Baitong was like a raging river, gushing out from his dantian and roaring along his meridians, finally converging on his slowly raised right palm.

The palm, originally bronze in color, now appeared solid and heavy as iron and rock, enveloped by a dense brown aura. The air around the edge of the palm distorted slightly, emitting a low "whooshing" sound, as if an undercurrent was surging beneath the river.

This is one of Hao Baitong's signature skills.

"The Palm of the Nu River"

"Young Master Gu, be careful."

Hao Baitong let out a low shout, and his right foot suddenly took half a step forward. The hard bluestone slab under his feet was instantly cracked like a spider web. He shot out like a cannonball, his strength flowing through his arms. His right palm, full of internal energy, pushed forward with overwhelming force.

The moment the palm struck, the air seemed to be squeezed and pushed away by an invisible giant hand.

When the vital energy violently rubbed and surged, it actually condensed into a brown vital energy palm that was visible to the naked eye and extremely condensed. This palm print was only about a foot in size at first, but it grew larger and larger in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a huge vital energy palm shadow that was more than ten feet wide, enveloping Hao Baitong's hand.

Within the palm shadows, faint phantom images of the Nujiang River rushing and its turbid waves surging into the sky could be seen.

Even before it touches you, it already gives you a sense of immense, continuous, and overwhelming power.

Wherever the palm strike passed, dust and gravel were mercilessly swept up, forming a clear trench that swept straight at Gu Shaoan, who was several feet away, with overwhelming force.

This terrifying palm strike greatly excited the other White Sand Gang disciples around them.

The Baisha Gang disciples, especially those who were witnessing Hao Baitong's attack for the first time, were stunned by the destruction caused by Hao Baitong's palm strike.

However, Gu Shaoan remained calm in the face of Hao Baitong's seemingly powerful palm strike.

As the internal energy circulated within his body, a dazzling golden light suddenly shone from the palm of his hand.

As Hao Baitong approached again, when the distance between them was less than two zhang, Gu Shaoan raised his right palm and pushed it out horizontally.

The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms – The Dragon Regrets!
"Roar!!!"

A heavy, concentrated, and terrifying aura, like a mountain collapsing, instantly spread out, accompanied by a sudden and resounding dragon roar.

The solidified Qi energy, mixed with terrifying power, condensed into a golden dragon-shaped energy.

The moment the energy condensed, it seemed as if Gu Shaoan's entire body was coiled around a dragon, and the head of the golden dragon encompassed Gu Shaoan's hand.

As the momentum of a soaring dragon surged in, Gu Shaoan's palm strike instantly resembled a golden dragon rising high, arrogantly descending.

Before the palm strike even arrived, the domineering and arrogant feeling contained in Gu Shaoan's palm wind and momentum made Hao Baitong's hair stand on end.

It should be noted that even a few years ago on the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, Pang Ban was no match for Gu Shaoan when he faced the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms with the momentum of a soaring dragon. How much more so now that Gu Shaoan is stronger.

Even without drawing upon the power of heaven and earth, relying solely on the support of the forces of heaven and earth, Gu Santong, who had reached the twelfth level of the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, would still be injured if he withstood a single palm strike.

Moreover, someone like Hao Baitong is only a first-rate expert of average skill level within the entire Wei Kingdom.

As their palms met, Hao Baitong's powerful palm strike, as continuous and layered as a surging river, crumbled upon contact with Gu Shaoan's fierce and domineering palm force and internal energy, just like a wall made of sand and gravel.

Almost everything along the way was blasted away by Gu Shaoan's palm force and internal energy, unable to even stop Gu Shaoan's palm strike.

"Wait a minute..."

The moment Gu Shaoan's palm touched Hao Baitong's palm, Hao Baitong's eyes, which had just been cold with anger, instantly became clear.

(End of this chapter)