LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 176: The Demon Sect Reappears_1
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Hiss!
At that moment, a dazzling blade light flashed by. Xu Yan had made his move, wielding his saber with both hands, the blade light shining brightly as he ferociously chopped down towards Gu Chen.
Hum!
A layer of golden light appeared on Gu Chen's body as the protective Golden Bell Shield manifested, helping him block Xu Yan's strike. Gu Chen's figure then flashed once more, charging straight at Luo Zhong.
Seeing that Gu Chen was determined to kill Luo Zhong, Xu Yan gritted his teeth and summoned up a surge of Gangqi from within, unleashing his full strength in an attack against Gu Chen.
Boom!
The air roared as gales swirled. Xu Yan bellowed as he slashed at Gu Chen with his saber, creating countless wind blades that condensed into a sharp, three-foot-long blade light, hurtling horizontally towards Gu Chen.
Having just witnessed the terrifying close-combat abilities of Gu Chen, Xu Yan chose not to fight up close but instead stood at a distance and launched his full-powered strike.
Clang!
A magnificent bell toll resonated between heaven and earth, and ripples danced across the surface of the protective Golden Bell Shield around Gu Chen's body. Xu Yan's full force strike failed to breach the defense of the resounding Golden Bell Shield.
Witnessing this, Xu Yan's eyes widened in shock to the extreme.
At the same time, Gu Chen also reached Luo Zhong, disregarding the latter's eyes filled with horror and desperation, and directly struck towards Luo Zhong's head.
At this moment, having been hit by Gu Chen's earlier palm strike, Luo Zhong felt as if his insides were burning, with one arm already rendered useless. How could he possibly be a match for Gu Chen? Seeing Gu Chen approaching him, he was scared out of his wits.
"Manager Jiang, save me!"
Luo Zhong screamed, his face filled with terror and his features twisted. He shed all his dignity and pride, calling out for Jiang Yong's help.
He didn't want to die!
At this time, Jiang Yong, who was standing to the side and heard Luo Zhong's cries for help, was not going to stand idly by. To tell the truth, he too was frightened by Gu Chen's strength. How could a Vajra Stage martial artist be so powerful?
"Hmph!"
Jiang Yong let out a cold snort as the Gangqi inside his body converged. He raised his hand and struck out at Gu Chen, unleashing an extremely fierce palm strike with a robust aura. It was a high-grade martial arts technique from the Arsenal, and Jiang Yong had mastered it to perfection.
Simultaneously, after unleashing that palm strike, he and Xu Yan flashed to Gu Chen's side and once again struck at him with a ferocious blow.
Boom!
The attacks of the two men hit Gu Chen's protective Golden Bell Shield, immediately causing a loud explosion, as dense airwaves violently erupted and impacted the surroundings.
Surface of the Golden Bell, ripples formed layer upon layer. With the deepening of Gu Chen's cultivation, the mastery of the Golden Bell Shield martial arts became increasingly formidable.
Seizing the moment while Jiang Yong and Xu Yan tangled with Gu Chen, Luo Zhong leaped back, took out several medicinal pills, and hurriedly swallowed them down.
These were all top-quality healing medicines from within the Sunset Sword Sect. After ingesting them, Luo Zhong used his body's Gangqi to rapidly refine the medicinal power, alleviating the injuries he had just sustained.
A short time passed, and after he had suppressed the internal injuries, Luo Zhong also instantly joined the fray against Gu Chen.
For a while, vigorous winds clashed as Gu Chen fought alone against three Leaderboard of Heroes martial artists. This scene left the multitude of onlookers all around in utter disbelief, their eyes wide and jaws dropped.
"How... How can Lord Gu be so terrifyingly powerful? Could it be that he has reached the Gang Qi Stage?"
"That doesn't seem right. The aura that Lord Gu emits with every move is still undoubtedly that of internal breath."
"Could it be... that Lord Gu has reached the ultimate level of the Vajra Stage, Vajra Indestructibility?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback. Vajra Indestructibility had not been seen in the Nine Provinces for hundreds of years.
In the current martial world, if anyone had the last chance to reach this realm, everyone felt that it would be none other than Gu Chen!
Keep in mind, Luo Zhong, Xu Yan, and Jiang Yong were not weaklings; they were all renowned figures on the Leaderboard of Heroes, several times stronger than the average internal Gang martial artist.
Especially Luo Zhong and Xu Yan, who were the elites of the Sunset Sword Sect and the Heavenly Saber Sect. But now, they both became mere backdrops for Gu Chen.
And Jiang Yong, even more so, was ranked the sixty-ninth on the Leaderboard of Heroes, showcasing his strength.
"Gu Chen, hand over the Divine Weapon!" Jiang Yong shouted angrily, a palm strike blasting directly towards Gu Chen. The explosive palm force tore through the air between them, fierce and chilling.
Gu Chen's expression was cold, silent as he responded with a palm strike of his own. Not holding back, even though he did not use any martial arts, the inner strength from his 580 years of cultivation was fully activated, surging through his meridians with a roaring sound like the churning sea waves.
Boom!
Gu Chen's inner strength was as fierce as fire, his palm strike causing the air temperature to skyrocket abruptly. Jiang Yong's expression changed, clueless as to how Gu Chen, so young, could possess such profound cultivation.
Luo Zhong and Xu Yan felt the same, utterly shocked at the tremendous force of Gu Chen's power, their brows furrowed tightly.
"Gu Chen, whom do you think I am? I will show you the power of a mid-stage Gang Qi martial artist. You're just a Vajra Stage cultivator, what can you possibly use to fight me?!"
Jiang Yong's expression was fierce as he roared and, without any reservations, released a surge of Gangqi from his body. As the Gang Wind stormed, the ground began to tremble, with countless fissures spreading everywhere.
Jiang Yong's prowess was extraordinary. For many years, he had consumed numerous medicinal pills to raise his cultivation. Moreover, his Gangqi was inherently superior in quality compared to Gu Chen's internal breath.
Meanwhile, seizing the opportunity, Luo Zhong and Xu Yan put forth all their effort to pin down Gu Chen, preventing him from breaking out of their encirclement.
"Die!"
Jiang Yong's figure flashed, a flood of Gangqi billowing out. The robust aura lashed out in all directions as he used a high-grade fully mastered martial arts move that contained the true essence of martial arts. He aimed a palm strike straight at Gu Chen's head.
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He had already set his mind on killing Gu Chen. As long as he could seize the Divine Weapon, Gu Chen's death would be inconsequential. If the Jing Tian Department dared to cause trouble for him afterward, they would have to weigh the backing of the six great holy lands behind him!
Just as he had said earlier, while others feared the Jing Tian Department, he, Jiang Yong, did not.
Seeing Jiang Yong's palm strike coming at him, and with Luo Zhong and Xu Yan continuously launching harassing attacks on the side, Gu Chen's eyes turned cold as he shouted sternly, "I'll send you all on your way!"
Boom!
At that moment, Gu Chen executed his body movement, clenched into a fist seal, and struck out ferociously, moving like a snapping bowstring, the impact thunderous.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, accompanied by the motion of Gu Chen's fist seal, a heaven-shaking dragon's roar resounded, akin to thunder, causing the minds of Jiang Yong and the others to reel, and their vision to blur momentarily.
With five hundred thousand catties of strength, along with Gu Chen's five hundred and eighty years of internal breath cultivation, his punch was indeed terrifying to the extreme.
Boom!
The Golden Dragon Illusion and Gu Chen's fist seal rushed out simultaneously. A massive explosion occurred between the three of them. The rolling waves of energy burst forth with surging golden light. Clad in a black robe with his hair flowing loose, Gu Chen exhibited a stern face; at this moment, he was like a war god descending to earth.
"Pugh!"
The bodies of Jiang Yong and the others shook violently, and they uncontrollably spewed out mouthfuls of blood, as the sound of cracking echoed densely throughout their bodies.
That wasn't all. As Gu Chen continued to move, wielding his fist seal, one after another dragon-shaped force shot out from his fists. In the blink of an eye, Gu Chen had delivered a series of twelve punches!
"Ahhhh—"
Luo Zhong screamed loudly, as he was the first to bear the brunt of the attack. Being Gu Chen's primary target, as the Sunset Sword Sect had secretly placed a high bounty on him in the Blood Garb Tower, he naturally held no reservations against Luo Zhong.
The twelve dragon-shaped forces swept past, and with a bang, Luo Zhong's body exploded, turning into a shower of blood, completely and utterly dead.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Yong and Xu Yan were immediately stricken with soul-deep terror. They had not anticipated that the combined strength of the three of them would still be no match for Gu Chen!
At this moment, Jiang Yong and Xu Yan entertained thoughts of fleeing for their lives. The Divine Weapon was no longer important; without their lives, there was nothing left to consider.
With Gu Chen's current cultivation and physical strength, he was more than a match for an external Gangqi martial artist. Even with the three of them at the mid-stage of the Gang Qi Stage, they were still no match for Gu Chen.
With Gu Chen's current strength, among the internal Gangqi martial artists, truly no one could fight him.
With his profound strength, robust physique, and advanced martial arts realm, Gu Chen was far superior to other internal Gangqi martial artists. Even if Jiang Yong and his companions joined forces, it was impossible for them to be Gu Chen's opponents.
Since a fight had already broken out and grudges were formed, Gu Chen naturally would not spare Jiang Yong and Xu Yan. Just as he was about to pursue and kill the two, suddenly, large swathes of black fog drifted in from the surroundings.
Sensing this familiar cold sensation, Gu Chen's eyes sank as he looked towards the not-too-distant place.
"Ah…"
At the same time, screams could be heard. Numerous martial artists had come into contact with the black fog and in the blink of an eye, their bodies dissolved into pools of blood, the corrosive power immensely potent.
Malevolent-class specters!
Feeling this chilling aura, Gu Chen instantly identified the grade of this specter.
"Who are you?!" A martial artist cried out.
From within the black fog, one after another figure appeared, all dressed in black, their expressions cold, like killing machines.
"It's the Red Flame Demon Sect, the demon sect has come, run for your lives!" Recognizing the origins of these men in black, martial artists were terrified out of their wits and fled in complete disarray.
The atrocity committed by the Red Flame Demon Sect in Xu'an County, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians, had long been rumored throughout the land, and these martial artists of the jianghu knew well how ruthless the demon sect was. Seeing the arrival of the Red Flame Demon Sect's forces, everyone was terrified to their core.
Boom!
Suddenly, an extremely formidable presence appeared out of nowhere, pervading the heavens and the earth, and a heavy pressure settled over everyone's hearts, including Gu Chen.
"External Gangqi martial artist!"
Gu Chen's eyes narrowed as he looked towards the midst of the black fog. At this moment, several figures stepped out slowly.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with sinister pupils and a hooked nose, whose terrifying aura ebbed and flowed like the tide, emanating from his body.
Accompanying him were three others, each one with an extremely refined aura, and astonishingly, all three were internal Gangqi martial artists.
One external, plus three internal Gangqi martial artists—a total of four Gang Qi Stage martial artists—this time, the Red Flame Demon Sect had spared no expense for the sake of seizing the Divine Weapon Blood Shadow Sword.
It is known that an internal Gangqi martial artist holds a high status, like Jiang Yong. With his internal Gangqi cultivation, he could manage all of Arsenal's affairs in Qiongtian Mansion, which speaks volumes of his esteemed position.
Now, such high-ranking powerhouses, four in total, had been dispatched by the Red Flame Demon Sect, including one external Gangqi martial artist.
What Gu Chen did not know was that this external Gangqi martial artist had not appeared just for the Divine Weapon, but also for Gu Chen himself.
The Red Flame Demon Sect had recognized Gu Chen's terrifying potential. They decided that they could no longer allow Gu Chen to continue growing unchecked—they would either have Gu Chen join the demon sect or eliminate him directly.
This external Gangqi martial artist, named Zhao Xingxuan, clad in a black robe with an incisive air and a predatory gaze, addressed Gu Chen directly upon seeing him, "Submit or die!"
For a peerless genius like Gu Chen, if they could entice him to join the Red Flame Demon Sect, it would count as a great contribution for Zhao Xingxuan.
After all, everyone had acknowledged that if Gu Chen were to grow, he would at the very least be a martial arts grandmaster, and even becoming a master of the Innate Realm was a significant possibility.
Such a prodigious talent had never appeared in the Red Flame Demon Sect, and needless to say, whether a grandmaster or a master, their importance to a faction was self-evident.
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