Chapter 119: You May Return Now

As the sky gradually brightened to a pale dawn, Gu Changqing felt as if he were a water-filled balloon about to burst. He knew his internal blood energy had reached its limit.

“If only I had trained a body-refining technique earlier!” Gu Changqing’s face was veined with bulging blue veins and blood vessels, giving him a fierce, almost inhuman appearance. Then he hiccupped.

“Damn it, I made it!”

Sensing his blood energy at its peak, he ceased further absorption and instead merged all the blood energy into his blood sea. At the same time, he began throwing continuous punches, consuming the surging energy within.

Each strike carried terrifying force, like a massive cauldron crashing down, sending dozens of surrounding monsters flying and leaving the city walls riddled with holes. Soon, the seven-meter-thick walls could no longer hold and collapsed with a thunderous crash. Countless clouds of dust were swept away by the wind of his punches before they could rise into the air.

Then, the walls on the opposite side also came crashing down. Only a ten-meter stretch beneath Gu Changqing’s feet remained standing, like a solitary island.

Surrounding this island was a vast river of blood, now devoid of its usual redness. Instead, it resembled a wide, turbulent river several meters across, constantly lapping around Gu Changqing. Faces twisted in agony floated within the waters, and a Taoist figure sat cross-legged atop it.

The scene struck terror into all who witnessed it.

Yet Gu Changqing paid no heed to the external world, immersing his mind wholly in each punch and kick. Initially, he had only intended to dissipate the blood energy inside him, but as time passed, he found himself deeply absorbed. Each punch shook the air with the sound of mountains crumbling and earth splitting.

Every strike bore the weight and momentum of a colossal cauldron, carrying an unstoppable force that inspired awe.

Even Gao Wenxin’s gaze sharpened.

After a long while, she nodded slightly. “Not bad.”

In her eyes, Gu Changqing’s fighting intent had already reached a minor accomplishment. Especially since he had mastered another extremely domineering fist technique. As he unleashed punch after kick, his fighting intent and technique gradually fused into one.

Time passed without anyone knowing how long. The city walls, once guarded by only a few, now held over a dozen people standing at a distance. The six-level awakened warriors among the guards had all gathered, drawn by the sight of Gu Changqing surrounded by the blood river.

But their thoughts varied. Gao Wenxin admired Gu Changqing’s fighting intent, while Yan Hao and Gu Wu felt mixed emotions.

They were pleased that Gu Changqing’s strength had soared, adding a formidable expert to Zhongchong. Yet they worried, for this troublemaker was only becoming more uncontrollable—if he caused chaos again, no one might be able to stop him.

As for the soldiers, witnessing the overwhelming, terrifying power of his punches, their pupils contracted, and their expressions darkened.

Last night, they had considered stopping Gu Changqing from continuing his absorption, having guessed parts of his abilities. They even contemplated killing most of the monsters to halt him.

However, the awakened warriors among the guards were all body-enhancement types, whose survival skills were superior in places like Danyang Mountain.

But for these monsters, which surged like tides, they had no effective means.

In the end, they had to give up on interrupting Gu Changqing. After all, Danyang Mountain was the primary objective.

Another factor was Chen Daoling behind them. No matter how fast Gu Changqing grew, he was no match for Chen Daoling at this moment. As long as Chen Daoling acted, Gu Changqing would pose no problem.

...

After an unknown length of time, Gu Changqing finally stopped, the blood vessels and veins crawling across his body receding slightly, though he was still noticeably larger than before.

His once-fitting clothes had long been shredded by the wind of his punches.

He turned to see many people watching him, then looked down casually and nonchalantly pulled out a fresh set of clothes from an empty pouch, putting them on.

“I have a great roc bird—what’s there to fear from being watched? Shocked or not?”

Throughout the city, only scattered bones remained to tell the tale of last night.

“Hic!” After changing clothes, Gu Changqing hiccupped again; the section of the wall beneath his feet trembled before collapsing in a crash.

He landed on another part of the wall and glanced fiercely at the guards.

“Think I’ll deal with you after we reach Danyang Mountain.”

“Leave the rest to you!” Gu Changqing hiccupped again and said to Yan Hao.

He had paid a great price this night.

Over five thousand spirit stones had once been on him; now only about three thousand remained, nearly two thousand consumed in a single night.

The monsters had been too numerous, surging like an endless tide, mixed with many martial artists. Even Gu Changqing could not fend them all off.

For ordinary cultivators, this number of spirit stones was astronomical.

“Rest for a while! The Qi Dynasty troops have already gone to Danyang Mountain!” Yan Hao looked northward toward the imposing mountain range.

He had spotted the Qi Dynasty forces earlier, apparently left behind to observe the situation here.

Upon noticing Yan Hao’s gaze, those troops withdrew.

This outcome was not too bad—at least they would not be caught between two forces nor be used as pawns by the Qi Dynasty.

“Let them scout ahead first.”

Gu Changqing sat aside, hiccupped once more, while Yan Hao went to confer with the guards.

Shortly after, more awakened warriors arrived, splitting into two groups.

A dozen or so stayed behind to search the city, while the rest headed straight toward Danyang Mountain.

From Wujicheng to Danyang Mountain was about a hundred li. Upon reaching the mountain’s base, the group saw many scorched marks on the ground and crushed remnants of flesh.

The monsters were infested with worms inside, meaning they had to be pulverized thoroughly.

“They’ve indeed gone up!” The group looked toward the mountain, seeing a winding stone stairway carved into the hills, much of it shattered, with large pits pockmarking the ground.

At the mountain’s summit stood vast palace-like complexes.

Suddenly, one palace collapsed with a thunderous crash, and the sky echoed with rolling thunder.

“Let’s go!” Seeing this, the group hastened toward the distant palaces.

From the foot to the peak stretched dozens of li. After traveling halfway, they spotted bodies of awakened warriors clad in deep blue uniforms lying by the wayside.

Occasionally, tiny escaped worms scurried by, but passing warriors casually dispatched them with flames, lightning, or ice spikes.

No matter what, these parasitic worms were a nightmare for humanity.

Along the way, the group noticed many pavilions for rest and leisure, various flower beds with rare and exotic plants, and strange scenic spots.

Before the great catastrophe, this place had been a sacred ground in the world.

Now, it lay in ruins, serving as a den for monsters.

“Look!” The group suddenly halted.

A mountain peak appeared to have been cleaved in half, split by a huge, perfectly smooth chasm.

“It looks like it was cut by someone!” Gao Wenxin’s brows lifted in excitement, eager to investigate.

Everyone was astonished. If this towering peak, hundreds of meters high, had truly been sliced by a single sword, it spoke of terrifying power.

Even the Qi Dynasty’s sword masters could not achieve such a feat!

However, the mountain was several li away, and a deep valley lay between, requiring considerable effort to cross.

“Now is not the time,” Yan Hao frowned, glancing upward.

If this peak had been severed by the world’s Martial Sovereign, it demanded a reassessment of the Martial Sovereign’s strength.

“Some other peaks seem cut off as well!” Others noticed nearby mountain tops appeared sliced cleanly too.

Previously, they had assumed the peaks were naturally shaped that way, but seeing the cleaved mountain shifted their thoughts.

“Let’s move! Whatever the case, we must ascend first!”

From above came the sound of collapsing buildings and fierce clashes. Some were even thrown from courtyards, plummeting down cliffs below.

Clearly, a fierce battle raged atop.

But before reaching the palace complex, dozens of awakened warriors blocked their path.

“You can turn back now!” a proud man declared.

(End of chapter)