Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

"You..."

Zheng Yan stood frozen, a blood hole appearing in his chest, where fresh blood constantly flowed out, tinged with an eeriness of darkness. As the blood would turn completely black after the demon fully merged with Zheng Yan.

The heart is the fountain of life; once shattered, even a Panic Level Demon cannot be brought back to life.

After all, the power of a demon is not without limits, and if it could truly reverse life and death, then Shen Zhou would have been overrun by demons long ago.

Gu Chen gazed at Zheng Yan, his tone indifferent, "You don't really think I'm so foolish as to wait for your wounds to heal before coming to kill me, do you?"

"Er..."

Zheng Yan's mouth was full of blood foam, his throat convulsing as he tried to say something, but he could not utter a single word anymore.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the demon possessing Zheng Yan, seeing the dire situation, tried to escape. But Gu Chen would not allow it to have its way. In the instant that dark energy was about to surge to the sky, Gu Chen intercepted it on the spot. With a single strike, he turned it into ash, dispersing it between heaven and earth.

Fortunately, this Panic Level Demon's strength was average, and after possessing Zheng Jinan and Zheng Yan father and son, coupled with helping Zheng Yan heal, its power had already been significantly depleted. Otherwise, Gu Chen would not have been able to eliminate it so effortlessly.

Gu Chen held the soul crystal in his hand. Compared to a Panic Level Demon, the soul crystal of a Panic Level Demon was slightly larger. A soul crystal generated from a Panic Level Demon's death was roughly the size of a coin, but the soul crystal of a Panic Level Demon was about the size of a small stone.

Taking advantage of everyone's inattention, Gu Chen willed it and absorbed the soul crystal, as strands of cold energy entered his body through his pores.

Instantly, his panel increased by a full twenty-eight merit points. Seeing this number, Gu Chen was immediately startled.

Indeed, a Panic Level Demon was far stronger than a Panic Level Demon, which could be inferred from the merit points alone.

After losing the power boost from the demon, Zheng Yan's life force rapidly dissipated, and soon he followed Zheng Jinan to his demise, falling to the ground unwillingly, with eyes wide open in death.

But all of this was his own doing, truly leaving no one else to blame.

The battle had been full of twists and turns. Gu Chen first defeated Zheng Yan, then executed Zheng Jinan, and finally killed the demon. Even with Gu Chen's current physique and cultivation, he still felt a sense of depletion.

At this moment, Gu Chen's eyes shifted, looking towards Liu Tong.

"Lord... Lord Gu, this is your token, please keep it safe," said Liu Tong with a forced smile, handing back over the Jing Tian Department's token to Gu Chen.

Gu Chen looked at him emotionlessly, "You colluded with the cult martial artists; do you plead guilty?"

With a sullen face, Liu Tong knew that with the irrefutable evidence, what else could he do but whisper, "I plead... I plead guilty..."

At this moment, he was filled with regret. He didn't regret colluding with Zheng Jinan but why did he have to provoke Gu Chen? Even now, he didn't know that the purpose of Gu Chen's trip to Li Mountain County in Huaiyang City was to target Zheng Jinan, and he still thought Gu Chen was just passing by, considering himself unlucky.

"I will report this matter to Tiandu, and you'll wait for the questioning of Mingjing Department," Gu Chen said blandly. In fact, he had the authority to execute Liu Tong on the spot, but after several battles, Gu Chen was feeling tired. He decided to leave such trivial matters to the Mingjing Department to handle.

"I..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tong's face fell, and he slumped to the ground.

On the other side, Chen Song, seeing that things were going south, prepared to flee. But Gu Chen, without even turning his head, casually picked up a chopstick from the table next to him and flung it.

Thud!

Blood splattered, and Chen Song's body stiffened in place, a blood hole in his throat through which steaming blood gushed. He wore an expression of disbelief, seemingly unable to accept that he was truly going to die there.

Chen Song opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but like Zheng Yan, he couldn't speak and quickly, his life faded as his gaze dimmed, he fell to the ground, and died.

Seeing this scene, the disciples of the Sunset Sword Sect next to Chen Song all displayed faces of panic and stood frozen, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

The other martial artists trembled inwardly, counting themselves fortunate they had no collusion with Zheng Jinan, and at the same time couldn't help but remark internally that this Lord Gu's lethality was indeed no small matter.

Gu Chen remained calm. Killing Chen Song was something he had long intended to do. His principle was always not to offend others unless offended. Chen Song had provoked him repeatedly with Zheng Yan, and their fates were a result of their own actions, and no one else was to blame.

With the death of Zheng Jinan and Zheng Yan, the affairs of Huaiyang City were essentially resolved, and Gu Chen had accomplished the majority of his assessment task.

Everyone present knew that after Gu Chen executed Zheng Jinan and Zheng Yan, it wouldn't be long before Zheng Yan's ranking on the Star Ranking would be replaced by Gu Chen.

...

Diancang Pavilion.

Diancang Pavilion is the most famous information organization in the Jianghu, capable of learning about various major events occurring daily within the Jianghu almost instantaneously.

The origin of its name, "Appraising the Mortal World," speaks to its renown; the celebrated Star Ranking, as well as rankings like the "Seven Sects and Eight Factions" of the Jianghu, are all established and published by Diancang Pavilion.

The power of Diancang Pavilion is not weak, in fact, it's quite strong and not inferior to the Sunset Sword Sect. Otherwise, Diancang Pavilion wouldn't have the capability to publish various Jianghu rankings and assign places for martial artists and major sects and clans across the world.

Reputation is of utmost importance to those in the Jianghu. If Diancang Pavilion were not strong, it would have been destroyed long ago and would not have been able to reach its current level of influence.

The headquarters of Diancang Pavilion is also located in Shen Zhou, but not in Qiongtian Mansion. It's situated in another major mansion within Shen Zhou.

At this moment, within the Diancang Pavilion headquarters, pavilions, terraces, and pagodas are plentiful, with small mountains and waterside pavilions scattered throughout, creating a picturesque scene of beauty.

In a three-story small pagoda, a middle-aged man wearing luxurious brocaded clothes was sitting in a wicker chair by the window, basking in the sunlight and looking utterly content.

This person is the Deputy Pavilion Master of Diancang Pavilion, named Qi Zhen.

Diancang Pavilion has a total of three Deputy Pavilion Masters and one Pavilion Master, serving as the high-level management, orchestrating the overall operations of Diancang Pavilion.

Of course, generally speaking, the Pavilion Master seldom appears; the daily operations of Diancang Pavilion are the responsibility of the three Deputy Pavilion Masters.

And the Star Ranking is managed by Qi Zhen.

Just as Qi Zhen was lazily soaking up the sun, a Diancang Pavilion warrior walked in.

"I pay my respects to Deputy Pavilion Master Qi."

This Deputy Pavilion Master Qi, it could be said, was the most easy-going among the three deputies and, of course, he was the one who handled the fewest affairs.

His days were not spent on anything other than planting trees, watering flowers, or basking in the sun.

In Qi Zhen's own words, having worked hard for most of his life, it was finally time to enjoy himself; naturally, he wanted to fully savor life's pleasures.

If it weren't for the Pavilion Master's intervention, Qi Zhen might have already left Diancang Pavilion to wander the world.

Qi Zhen lay in the wicker chair and responded with a nonchalant "Hmm."

The middle-aged warrior didn't mind and, accustomed to Qi Zhen's demeanor, earnestly said, "Deputy Pavilion Master Qi, news has come from Li Mountain County of Qiongtian Mansion. It is said that Zheng Yan, a core disciple of the Sunset Sword Sect, has been killed."

Upon hearing this, Qi Zhen continued to lie in his chair, squinting and asking, "The Zheng Yan who is ranked twelfth on the Star Ranking?"

"Yes."

Qi Zhen, continuing to bask in the sunlight, said, "Who dared to show such disrespect to the Sunset Sword Sect by killing him outright? Over the years, the Sunset Sword Sect has grown increasingly strong and domineering, and indeed many within the Jianghu have grown discontent with them. But as long as that old guy from the Sunset Sword Sect remains alive, not many dare to provoke them."

At these words, a chill went through the middle-aged warrior. Only Qi Zhen dared to refer to the Supreme Elder of the Sunset Sword Sect as "that old guy." Such words, if heard by the Sunset Sword Sect, would surely not end well.

"Reporting back to the Pavilion Master, it was the work of someone from the Jing Tian Department of Da Xia."

"Oh?"

With that, Qi Zhen's interest was piqued. Ever since the God Emperor of Da Xia went into seclusion, the world indeed began to become tumultuous, combined with demons causing havoc, the Jianghu over these years has been anything but tranquil, even turbulent beneath the surface.

However, the major Jianghu forces have still been relatively restrained, not having any conflicts with the Jing Tian Department. This was one of the few instances, especially in recent years.

Moreover, one of the parties involved was the Sunset Sword Sect, which piqued Qi Zhen's interest even further.

"Bring the intelligence report to me," said Qi Zhen, sitting up to take the scroll handed over by the middle-aged warrior and beginning to scrutinize it in detail.

After a moment, having finished reading, Qi Zhen nodded and said, "There hasn't been much movement in the top twenty of the Star Ranking for quite some time. It's good to see new blood emerging. Moreover, it's been a long time since someone from the imperial court has made the list; the ranking is due for some changes."

The middle-aged warrior said, "I'll carry out the task now, having Gu Chen replace Zheng Yan's ranking."

"No."

Qi Zhen stopped the middle-aged warrior, a smile appearing on his face, and said, "Gu Chen, Star Ranking... number eight."