Chapter 3: Four Perils of Star State
Looking at Gu Jinlai, who was overjoyed, the Star State Four Fierce exchanged a glance, their expressions gradually becoming solemn.
"It's not right."
The second oldest among them said, "Do you think there's a possibility that the Ancient Demon voluntarily requested to be transferred to Changjun City, then feigned Deviation, but in reality, he was showing weakness to the enemy on purpose, aiming to lure out his rival—the Purgatory Demon Sect's Deputy Sect Master Lin Xiao?"
"His Deviation isn't fake. The Sect Leader of Zhengyi Dao went to the Ancient Demon's residence and used the Mystical Mirror Technique to recreate the scene, and indeed, his power has greatly diminished. At this moment, he is at most at Hugging Pill level, and he can't even exert the full strength of the Hugging Pill. We four have cooperated for years, with tacit understanding, and even if we were to face a Hugging Pill, we could retreat unscathed. What is there to fear?"
The third oldest declared.
"Buck up. If it's not feasible, preserving our lives is the most important!"
The leader of the four said decisively.
The four were extremely resolute.
Act when it's time to act!
"Four Evil Formation! Rise!"
The four lowly shouted, reaching out at the same time, forming a Battle Formation.
And as they made their move, they gave it their all.
The four, carrying the bloodline of devils, seemed to transform into four Fierce Beasts as they struck, each one stirring up a frighteningly ferocious swirl and attacking Gu Jinlai from four directions.
Qi Refining to Gang! Gang Qi forming shape!
Before they arrived, the phantom shapes of the Fierce Beasts formed by the Gang Qi were already roaring and pouncing to kill!
Gang Qi, with its astonishing lethality.
The elite forces of Daqian could trap and kill those in the True Qi Realm, but faced with the indomitable Sword Gang, their encirclement would be easily broken like bamboo.
A peak Gang Qi Realm cultivator going all out could tear open a blood path of more than a dozen meters with a single sword strike.
At this moment, four Gang Condensation cultivators attacking ferociously from four directions could each shatter boulders weighing tens of tons with their manifested Fierce Beasts.
Unfortunately...
Just as Gu Jinlai said, it's better to arrive at the right time than early.
He, who had comprehended the mysteries of Red Lotus Sword Qi, happened to need someone to test his results.
As the four Gang Qi-formed Fierce Beasts pounced at him, his Treasure Sword swept around with him at the center, as if a lotus made up of red sword light blossomed, with a dozen lotus petal-like Sword Qi bursting forth, slicing at the Fierce Beasts manifested by the four Gang Condensation cultivators in a peculiar rhythm as if alive.
"Buzz! Buzz!"
Under an extremely rapid vibration, the four Gang Qi-formed Fierce Beasts shattered inch by inch.
"Such swordsmanship?! Not good! The old devil is crafty!"
With one strike, the depth of skills was evident.
With such swordsmanship, Gu Jinlai was outstanding even among those in the Hugging Pill Realm.
"We were careless! Let's get out of here!"
"Retreat!"
The Star State Four Fierce made a split-second decision!
"Retreat!?"
Gu Jinlai fell silent for a moment.
The next instant, a chilling killing intent burst forth from him, like a volcano erupting, carrying endless Fierce Flames, shooting straight up into Yunxiao.
"Retreat!? When you were pursuing me, you were like four mad dogs, clinging to me and refusing to let go; now, after catching up to me, you want to retreat!?"
"Clang!"
Sword breaking through the sky.
A point of frosty gleam, like a star tearing through the night sky, pierced with cold brilliance at lightning speed.
"Who gave you permission to retreat!?"
Before the men arrived, the Sword Gang got there first.
Gang Condensation in Daqian World was absolutely considered an expert.
If they charged into battle wearing mystical armor, one could break through a thousand foes.
And for those in the Hugging Pill, it was the ultimate that countless cultivators could aspire to.
Gu Jinlai's Sword Gang howling, that icy cold intention to kill, made the Star State Four Fierce's hair stand on end.
The four took a deep breath, their True Qi churning and boiling within, pulsing at a special frequency!
"Thousand Swings!"
"Buzz! Buzz!"
As the four's True Qi vibrated, Gu Jinlai felt his own Qi getting disturbed as if by something. It even became slightly chaotic for a moment, and his swordsmanship scattered a bit, exposing flaws in this lightning-fast strike that nearly got broken by the four.
"Struggling in vain!"
However, after two instances of Sudden Enlightenment, his Red Lotus Sword Qi was greatly improved, as if forged by a thousand hammers, changing as his heart willed.
True Qi going chaotic, he immediately turned it to his advantage, transforming it into colder Sword Qi, like lines of blood along the sharp sword, slashing out!
Qi Guan Changhong!
"Careful!"
"Retreat!"
The leader and second in command of the Star State Four Fierce shouted at the same time, their Battle Formation disrupted by the pressure of these blood-red Sword Qi.
"I'll see how long you can hide!"
Gu Jinlai shouted fiercely, his tattered clothes fluttering, his sword wailing like a dragon, his True Qi fierce, suppressing all directions.
His Sword Blade swiftly turned, and at the moment the formation of the four was broken, he suddenly rolled towards the closest third brother.
"Third Bro!"
"Bang!"
Frost reflected cold light, swift like a meteor.
The third oldest was directly engulfed by the Sword Light, torn to shreds.
"Gu Jinlai!"
The eldest of the Star State Four Fierce glared fiercely.
"Die!"
After slaying one, Gu Jinlai's Sword Blade turned again, like a meteor piercing the moon, rushing toward the second oldest.
Facing Gu Jinlai's meteor-like strike, the Gang Condensation strongman took a deep breath and let out a low roar at the moment the strike was about to land.
"Howl!"
True Qi violently trembled!
Secret Skill: Tiger Roar Thunder Sound!
The sound waves exploded, agitating the True Qi circulation within Gu Jinlai's body.
"Give me back my third brother's life!"
Seizing the opportunity, the other two fiercely charged in for the kill.
Among them, the eldest of the Star State Four Fierce, his arm encircled by swirling Gang Qi, transformed into the claw of a Fierce Beast, slicing in like lightning, fiercely sweeping across the Treasure Sword thrusting towards Gu Jinlai's face!
"Clang!"
The Treasure Sword cried out in anguish!
As if struck by a gigantic hammer swung 360 degrees, Gu Jinlai's Treasure Sword emitted a deafening bell-like sound as it vibrated his tiger's mouth and shook free from his grasp.
No!
As the sword vibrated out of his hand, he quickly used the momentum to hurl it, piercing through the head of the second eldest of the Star State Four Fierce in an instant.
"Second brother!"
"Stop!"
Blood splattered, accompanied by the mournful cries of the other two.
Without his Treasure Sword, Gu Jinlai didn't slow his movements; his eyes shot cold light in all directions, locking onto the fourth brother. With a diagonal turn of his body, his True Qi condensed into the form of a sword at the instant he pounced to kill, turning Qi into Gang, and Gang Condensation into Sword, like an unsheathed Supreme Divine Weapon, carrying an indomitable sharpness that tore through space!
"Boom!"
The fourth brother's head burst like a watermelon struck by a sniper's bullet, scattering everywhere.
"Whoosh!"
It wasn't until the fourth brother was instantly killed that the piercing sword shriek, formed by the friction of the Sword Gang with the air, exploded in the space less than ten meters between them, ripple outwards.
"No..."
In the blink of an eye, only one of the Star State Four Fierce remained.
This sudden blow finally snapped the remaining eldest back to his senses, with fear filling his eyes.
Gu Jinlai, drenched in blood after killing three people, erupted with ferocity.
"You liked to laugh so much, didn't you? Laugh for your lord, laugh loud for me!"
These past ten days...
The past month since his arrival had been too oppressive; it was a sign of tenacity that he hadn't been driven insane by it.
Now faced with these sin-ridden people, he let loose completely, slaughtering without reservation, venting all negative emotions to his heart's content.
Witnessing the somewhat frenzied Gu Jinlai, the leader of the Star State Four Fierce jolted with realization and didn't dare hesitate any longer, turning around to flee desperately!
"This Devil is too crafty!"
"You dare to run!?"
Gu Jinlai's murderous intent surged, his True Qi boiling over as his figure sped after the escapee like a blood cloud, covering tens of meters with each tap of his foot.
As he swept over the ground, he snatched up the Treasure Sword that had killed the second brother.
With a sword in hand, a Blood Red Lotus seemed to unfold and spin rapidly behind him in the void, shooting out thirteen strands of Sword Qi in an instant, roaring towards the eldest of the Star State Four Fierce.
Wherever the sword light went, trees were snapped, and grass flew.
Each Sword Qi left a meters-long gash in the ground as it passed.
This is Hugging Pill Realm!
If it's said that Gang Condensation could only break through and escape a thousand-man army formation, then Hugging Pill, with enough time to recover True Qi, could collapse a thousand-man army.
Under this relentless sword assault, the eldest of the Star State Four Fierce was doomed.
Firstly, a Sword Qi skimmed his waist.
Even though he protected his body with True Qi immediately, he still stumbled, immediately followed by another Sword Qi piercing his thigh, then, a third through his chest, a fourth through his throat, a fifth through his head...
"I..."
Running wildly, he continued forward a moment by inertia, but ultimately, his body, torn and dismembered by the Sword Qi, collapsed into chunks of flesh and fell to the ground.
...
The pursuing Gu Jinlai stopped in his tracks after seeing the mutilated corpse of the chief of the Four Fierce, his momentum carrying him forward for a moment before gradually coming to a stop.
He felt his own weakness clearly.
To ensure none of his enemies escaped, he had pushed his inner core to its limits, causing his condition to become somewhat unstable.
This world wasn't one where a higher realm by one level could easily crush dozens or hundreds of lower level foes. In the Cultivation World without the cultivation of movement techniques, to chase after the desperately fleeing eldest of the Star State Four Fierce, he could only use his powerful moves, leading to massive exhaustion.
"I've survived!"
Gu Jinlai looked at the body that could barely be reconstructed into a human form and murmured.
The Star State Four Fierce who tried to kill him were dead.
He had survived.
"When people are killed, they die."
Gu Jinlai looked up, gazing at the patchy sunlight filtering through the leaves, his eyes unfocused.
His mind was flooded with the experiences of the past month.
He wanted to turn away from evil and do good, and he endured and gave way when faced with those who tested him; during the ten days he was chased, he showed mercy to those from the Zhengyi Dao as well.
But it was futile. It only emboldened them, making them push him even further.
Thinking of this, he collapsed to the ground, shaking all over, even though he was a master of the Hugging Pill Realm, his hands and feet ice-cold.
Could this world ever be righted again?
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here!
How was he supposed to live to satisfy those who hunted him?
Looking at the battered corpse of the eldest Star State Four Fierce and his blood-drenched hands...
He felt lost.
This Cultivation World was rife with the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. When could he, a Blue Star person who obeyed the laws and longed to turn away from evil, ever settle down?
It took a while for Gu Jinlai to calm down from his intense emotional upheaval.
Having been hunted for so long, he understood very clearly.
Weakness would not yield any sympathy; it would only make him die faster.
He was Gu Jinlai.
One of the Ten Great Demon Sects, the Purgatory Demon Sect Elder, the monstrous Gu Jinlai of the Demon Path!
The sunlight, blocked by the dark clouds, cast a shadow over him.
"You exorcise devils and uphold justice, it's unquestioned; I explain, but you don't listen..."
Gu Jinlai stood up from the ground, shaking off the grass from his body.
"Then I fight for my life and kill to survive, with the same unquestioned righteousness."