Chapter 360 - 191: Blood Nether Celestial

The sky was dim, the clouds as heavy as mountains. Pitch-black darkness stretched for thousands of miles. Within it, gnarled arcs of lightning flashed intermittently, radiating a terrifying might!

Northwest of Lingxiao City, the Du Mansion lay shattered and in ruins. A massive crater was imprinted upon it, with terrifying Thunder Arcs radiating from its edges—powerful enough to shatter and collapse space itself—and emitting an incredibly frightening aura of Dao Rhythm.

At this moment, within the giant crater, lay a figure mangled beyond human recognition. Soaked in blood, with ghastly white bone exposed, they were on the verge of death, seemingly about to breathe their last at any second.

"He’s... He’s just too powerful!" Suspended in the air, Du Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief. He was utterly dumbfounded, his face a mask of profound shock.

’He wiped out Wu Qianlong in a single blow! This was the same Wu Qianlong who had fought the Du Family, both openly and in secret, for centuries. His power was considerable even among those in the Tongxuan Realm, and yet... he was suppressed and killed in one move by this senior right before my eyes!’

"Wu the Dog... fell just like that?" Standing on the rubble, his wizened face pale and his injuries severe, Du Yuan stared with disbelief in his world-weary eyes. ’This young-looking expert is just too powerful!’

’Such a young Tongxuan expert must be some incredibly powerful old monster in disguise.’

Du Yuan’s perception was not lacking. Almost immediately after Gu Yun suppressed Wu Qianlong, he cupped his fists, his expression a mixture of shock and heartfelt gratitude. "I am Du Yuan. Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving my life. If you have any command for me, I will carry it out without hesitation, even if it means my death!"

’This incredibly powerful being had truly saved his life. If there was anything this person needed him to do, as long as it didn’t violate his fundamental principles, he would do his utmost, even if it meant death!’

But to his surprise, Gu Yun—who stood in the void ahead, wreathed in Thunder Arcs and radiating a terrifying aura of Dao Rhythm—simply gave a small wave of his hand. He then took a light step forward, sending ripples through the air as his figure instantly flickered to a stop before Wu Qianlong.

His profound eyes stared at the mangled, blood-soaked form of Wu Qianlong, whose white bones were exposed. There was no pity in his gaze, only indifference, as he spoke in a low voice:

"Tell me, where is that Demon Fiend?"

Lying on the shattered ground and on the brink of death, Wu Qianlong’s lips curled into a faint smile. A defiant resolve appeared in his eyes as he spoke weakly, "I... have never worked with a Demon Fiend!"

"Your... Excellency, a person of your stature... shouldn’t make... such baseless accusations."

’He knew, of course, that his collaboration with the Demon Fiend could not be exposed. Even if it was, he could never admit it. Betraying the Human Race was tantamount to treason, a crime that would earn him the scorn of countless people. If he admitted it, not only would his entire clan be implicated, but his name would go down in infamy for millennia, forever an object of universal contempt!’

When Gu Yun heard this, a chilling smile spread across his face instead.

"I like your kind—the tough ones."

"It makes no difference if you don’t talk."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yun unleashed the abyssal Magical Power within him, directly using the Soul-Devouring and Essence-Swallowing Technique. His Divine Sense instantly flooded into Wu Qianlong’s mind, searching and devouring his memories.

’Just as I thought!’

When he saw a memory of Wu Qianlong with an incredibly sinister figure—one with blood-red hair and scarlet eyes, radiating the terrifying aura of a Demon Fiend—Gu Yun understood. Wu Qianlong had truly been colluding with a Demon Fiend.

However, just as Gu Yun probed deeper into Wu Qianlong’s mind, it suddenly descended into chaos. An overwhelmingly powerful presence annihilated Wu Qianlong’s mind! At that very instant, Gu Yun withdrew from Wu Qianlong’s sea of consciousness.

"Damn it!"

Gu Yun stared grimly at Wu Qianlong, who now lay on the shattered earth with lifeless eyes, his aura completely extinguished.

’Just a moment ago, he had been on the verge of searching the depths of Wu Qianlong’s memory to capture a crucial piece of information. But then, an incredibly tyrannical soul presence had suddenly erupted and completely annihilated Wu Qianlong’s mind!’

’That information seemed to concern the Demon Race’s deployments in the Celestial Essence Realm. To think he’d missed something so critical.’

’But there was nothing to be done about it. An expert from the Demon Race had secretly tampered with Wu Qianlong’s mind, and Wu Qianlong himself likely had no idea. He had clearly been nothing more than a pawn.’

’Still, his efforts weren’t entirely without reward.’

"Blood Nether Celestial..." Gu Yun murmured, a sharp glint in his eyes.

「Meanwhile.」

The very moment Wu Qianlong died,

Hundreds of thousands of miles from Lingxiao City, a different scene unfolded. Deep within a tall mountain in a sprawling, peak-filled range, inside a cave dwelling suffused with terrifying Demon Qi, a young man sat cross-legged in the void. He wore a black robe, his features strangely handsome. His blood-red hair flowed freely, and a terrifying, blood-colored Demon Qi swirled around him, emitting an aura powerful enough to make space itself collapse. His eyes were closed.

The next instant, the strangely handsome, blood-haired man snapped open his scarlet eyes. A flash of crimson light flared from them, instantly illuminating the dim cave.

BOOM!

A terrifying explosion erupted in the air, causing the dark cave to tremble violently.

"Wu Qianlong... is dead." A flicker of surprise passed through Blood Nether Celestial’s scarlet eyes before his expression turned grave.

’Just moments ago, the restriction he had once casually placed inside Wu Qianlong’s mind had been triggered.’

’Someone had obviously performed a Soul Search on Wu Qianlong, inadvertently triggering the restriction.’