Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

The characters were crooked and slanted, with traces of dragging between the strokes, as if a dying person had used their last strength to write a testimony.

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Everyone stared at the blood-red character, then quickly turned to look at Gu Guanqi.

The suspicion, anger, and hostility in those eyes instantly materialized.

Zhou Mingyuan shouted sternly, "Gu Guanqi, what excuses do you have? Lin Qi and I witnessed you killing the Fish Sect Leader. Before he died, he left a message in blood, identifying you as the murderer! The evidence is irrefutable. Do you still want to deny it?"

Lin Qi also drew his sword and sneered, "Gu Guanqi, I thought you were a chivalrous hero who punished evil, but I never expected you to be a lustful scoundrel, willing to be Xue Fuling's lackey. Everyone, attack together and kill him to avenge Sect Leader Yu!"

"kill!"

"Avenge our master!"

The crowd was filled with righteous indignation. The Taoists drew their swords, and the people from various martial arts sects glared angrily at them.

Gu Guanqi stared at the blood-written words on the ground, his pupils constricting slightly. He shifted his gaze from the words to Zhou Mingyuan and Lin Qi's faces. "Since it can't be explained, then let's not explain. We should start with you two bastards."

Before he finished speaking, he had already moved.

With his left hand around Xue Fuling's waist, he held her tightly to his side, while his right hand suddenly drew the Autumn Water Sword, its light flashing like a bolt of lightning across the sky.

Lin Qi and Zhou Mingyuan both hid behind the crowd.

Several constables drew their swords and rushed to the front.

"Clang clang clang—"

The three single-edged swords snapped in two, and the three constables fell to the ground, their fates unknown.

Gu Guanqi charged directly into the crowd, his sword flashing faster and faster than the last, the light of his sword weaving through the air. Blood splattered everywhere, and cries of agony filled the air. In the blink of an eye, several people fell.

"Stop him! Don't let him get away!" Lin Qi shouted.

The disciples of the Golden Saber Sect swarmed forward, their blades flashing like snow.

Gu Guanqi swept his longsword horizontally, the sword energy surged, and the three people in front were shocked and coughed up blood, flying backward and crashing down on a large group of people behind them.

The other martial arts practitioners, especially the disciples of Qingfeng Temple, rushed forward once again.

Gu Guanqi, with one arm around Xue Fuling, charged into battle wielding a sword in the other.

With each sword strike, a person falls.

Soon, he burst out of the inner room, crossed the main hall, and fought his way into the courtyard, where corpses lay scattered and blood was everywhere.

The martial arts practitioners were terrified and retreated into the courtyard.

Meanwhile, many more people were arriving from outside.

The courtyard was packed with hundreds of people.

There were Taoist priests from Qingfeng Temple, disciples of the Golden Saber Sect, members of the Siyang Gang, followers of the Funiu Sect, and many wandering martial artists who had rushed over upon hearing the news. They surrounded the entire courtyard in layers, making it impossible to move.

When everyone saw Gu Guanqi rush out carrying Xue Fuling, they all drew their swords and surrounded him.

"Gu Guanqi, how dare you act so violently!"

"You monster, how dare you commit such a heinous crime!!"

"You won't leave Qingfeng Temple alive today!"

Shouts rose and fell, swords and blades gleamed like a forest, their cold light blinding.

Gu Guanqi stood in the center of the courtyard, his long sword pointing diagonally at the ground, blood still dripping from its tip. He took a deep breath, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching the ears of everyone present: "I tried to reason with you before, but you wouldn't listen. Now, I don't want to reason with you. If you die, that's your bad luck. As long as we kill those two bastards until they can't hide anymore, they'll naturally prove their innocence."

Before anyone could react, he shot off like an arrow.

The Autumn Water Sword drew a fierce arc in the air, and where the sword light passed, blood splattered.

The sword rises, the sword falls.

Horizontal cut, vertical cut.

Blood splattered.

The cries of agony rose and fell.

A disciple of the Golden Saber Sect raised his saber to block, but was knocked away by a single sword strike. The sword tip touched his chest, and he collapsed limply to the ground. Two Taoist priests from the Qingfeng Temple attacked from the left and right, but Gu Guanqi spun his sword, drawing an arc, and the two men were struck in the wrist, their swords flying from their hands. They fell to the ground with screams.

No one could withstand a single blow from his sword.

Gu Guanqi weaved through the crowd, his sword flashing and leaving a trail of blood. His movements were nimble and ghostly; though he was carrying someone, he moved like a fish in water, darting freely among the swords.

The more they fought, the more frightened and terrified they became.

In a short while, a large number of people had fallen in the courtyard, their cries of agony filling the air. Blood flowed on the bluestone ground, forming dark red streams.

The remaining people began to retreat involuntarily.

In the retreating crowd

Zhou Mingyuan walked with Lin Qi, his face pale. He whispered to Lin Qi, "How come this isn't what I expected? Shouldn't he... he be trying to escape and prove his innocence? By continuing to kill, isn't he just confirming that he's the murderer, and then, in a fit of rage, killing to vent his anger?"

Lin Qi's lips twitched, his voice bitter: "Who knew he'd be so reckless! This madman, he doesn't play by the rules at all!"

The two looked at each other and saw deep fear in each other's eyes.

According to their plan, Gu Guanqi would definitely break through the encirclement and escape with Xue Fuling, and then be chased all the way, busy explaining to the martial arts world to prove his innocence.

But what kind of approach is this?

Just then, someone from Qingfeng Temple shouted from the crowd, "Retreat into the main hall! Quickly retreat into the main hall!"

The crowd surged into the main hall.

Immediately afterward, another Taoist priest shouted hoarsely, "Venom Array! Activate the Venom Array quickly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dull "click-clack" sound suddenly came from the courtyard.

The sound came from all directions, as if some mechanism had been triggered.

Gu Guanqi's eyes sharpened as he looked around.

The courtyard, which had originally been surrounded by several artificial hills, as well as some seemingly ordinary stone pillars and lanterns, and the doors and windows of the main hall, was now spinning rapidly, revealing copper pipes hidden beneath. These copper pipes, densely packed and about the thickness of a finger, were arranged in a fan shape with their openings facing the center of the courtyard.

Xue Fuling's expression changed drastically, and she cried out urgently, "Guanqi, retreat quickly! This is Qingfeng Temple's poison array! It's designed with special mechanisms that can spray out extremely poisonous liquid; there's no way to defend against it!"

Without hesitation, Gu Guanqi grabbed Xue Fuling's waist, pushed off with his feet, and leaped backward like a roc spreading its wings.

The moment he moved, the surrounding copper pipes simultaneously sprayed out pitch-black liquid.

"laugh--"

The sound was like countless venomous snakes simultaneously flicking their tongues.

Black venom shot out from the copper pipe, weaving into a dense net in the air, like a torrential rain, covering the entire courtyard. The venom landed on the ground, immediately causing white foam to rise from the bluestone pavement, emitting a sizzling corrosion sound, and even burning dents into the stone surface.

Several wounded who didn't have time to retreat into the main hall were splashed with venom and immediately let out a shrill scream. Their skin rotted at a visible speed, leaving them a bloody mess, a truly gruesome sight.

Gu Guanqi retreated outside the courtyard gate, where the venom array's coverage ended.

He stood still, looking at the courtyard shrouded in venom, his gaze as cold as frost.

Inside the main hall, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief when they saw Gu Guanqi leave.

however,

next moment,

Gu Guanqi stopped at the courtyard gate and said loudly, "I'm going to set a fire right now and see how long you can hide!"