Long Tu’s sharp gaze fixed intently on his daughter, then suddenly faltered as he shook his head.

“No, that’s not right. Li Na hasn’t even mastered Chaofan-realm techniques herself.”

The six elders also came to their senses, realizing they had overlooked this detail in their agitated state.

Then, as if struck by sudden recognition, the First Elder slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “So it was him!”

Seeing Long Tu and the other elders turn to look at him, the First Elder explained, “Today when I took Ling Yin to Extreme Abyss for her advancement, we noticed the Gu God’s power in the outer regions had become unusually thin. The Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and I investigated deeper and found the same phenomenon in certain parts of the forest.”

“At the time, we thought it was caused by a powerful Gu beast emerging…” Here, the First Elder’s voice trailed off. In their haste to get home and cook the fresh meat, they had overlooked this crucial detail about a possible Gu beast emergence.

The Third Elder spoke pensively, “When did he start cultivating Force Gu? How did he reach the near-Chaofan realm? Who taught him the cultivation techniques?”

These three consecutive questions made the elders’ hearts churn with intense envy and jealousy.

Even Long Tu couldn’t help but remark, “Berserk… he’s just one step away from Chaofan realm.”

Among those present, only the First Elder could briefly employ the Berserk technique, and even then for only a short duration.

The First Elder muttered, “How long has he been cultivating? How long did it take him to reach this level? Surely not as fast as Ling Yin?”

‘Surely not as fast as Ling Yin?’ Everyone, including Clan Leader Long Tu, looked at the First Elder as if he had gone mad.

…

“Just as the intelligence reported, he indeed knows Gu’s techniques. But it’s different now. In Yong Province, when he fought with Young Master Ji Xuan and Miss Yuan Shuang, his Gu techniques were mediocre, not even reaching Fourth Grade…” Ge Wenxuan, holding a monocular, furrowed his handsome brows.

He couldn’t determine whether Xu Qi’an had deliberately concealed his true strength in Yong Province or if this was a recent breakthrough.

If it was the former, it showed how deeply calculating this young man was—a chilling thought.

If it was the latter, the speed of his cultivation progress was equally terrifying.

“If the intelligence from Yong Province was accurate, then his progress has been far too rapid. In that case, our intelligence becomes meaningless,” Ge Wenxuan’s brows nearly creased into the shape of a river.

A perfect trap, and a well-laid plan—both required accurate intelligence for support.

Someone like Xu Qi’an made such careful planning impossible.

Because any intelligence about him could become outdated at any moment.

“Can bearing the nation’s fortune be this formidable?”

Ge Wenxuan was dual-cultivated in both martial and mystic arts, a fifth-grade warrior and sixth-grade mystic. He remained at Sixth Grade because he wasn’t yet confident in weathering the calamity that Prophet-rank practitioners must endure.

As a mystic, he was no stranger to fortune. While those blessed with great fortune enjoyed profound blessings, once one reached the Chaofan realm, the effects of fortune blessing became increasingly diminished.

This was why experts above Third Grade could afford to show disdain toward the Central Plains Emperor.

For First, Second, or Third Grade experts, killing the Central Plains Emperor would result in fortune backlash.

‘I don’t want to provoke the Emperor simply because I fear the fortune backlash,’ thought Ge Wenxuan. In his view, this represented a form of balance.

Otherwise, wouldn’t those blessed by fortune be able to act with impunity?

But Xu Qi’an’s case left him puzzled.

“Is it because national fortune differs from personal fortune, or is there another reason…

“The mystic system has only existed for six hundred years, and before that, no system was so intimately connected with fortune. In these six hundred years, neither the first Overseer nor the current one ever refined national fortune and stored it within someone’s body.

“Master is the first to attempt this, and without precedent, perhaps even he doesn’t know what bearing national fortune truly means. Was this idea Master’s inspiration, or did someone else inspire it?”

As these thoughts flickered through Ge Wenxuan’s mind while observing the battle through his monocular, his spirits suddenly lifted.

The situation on the battlefield had changed again.

…

Riding atop the Third Grade corpse and freely unleashing violence, Xu Qi’an suddenly lost his sight, hearing, and smell… all five senses and six consciousness were completely suppressed.

The Hidden Gu Division leader lurking nearby had employed one of their high-grade techniques against Xu Qi’an—Shroud!

“Bang!”

Seizing the opportunity, Yu Shi controlled his puppet, attempting a head-on collision. Their foreheads crashed together violently.

Under the influence of the Star-Shifting technique, Xu Qi’an’s danger perception failed to activate, preventing him from anticipating either the Hidden Gu’s manipulation or the corpse’s attack.

The corpse puppet’s frontal bone cracked on impact, while Xu Qi’an’s pupils became vacant for an instant, temporarily losing consciousness as his mind went blank.

His body jerked backward, and fine cracks appeared in the dark golden skin of his forehead.

Yu Shi didn’t experience any dizziness—how could a dead person get dizzy?

“Now’s our chance!” he shouted in his characteristic hoarse voice.

They had underestimated their opponent. Although Shadow and Chun Yan held back, and Luan Yu and Ba Ji were merely providing support to test his capabilities, underestimation was still underestimation. This young man was no ordinary Third Grade expert—he could instantly burst forth with peak Third Grade combat power, which had directly overwhelmed Yu Shi’s corpse formation.

The other division leaders had realized this issue even before Yu Shi’s shout and had already begun to act.

From the shadows behind Xu Qi’an emerged a middle-aged man with a pale complexion, as if he rarely saw sunlight. He nimbly climbed onto the back of the golden-armored body.

The extreme yang flames scorched his body but seemed to burn only a layer of illusory shadow, without touching anything substantial.

This was Shadow—the Hidden Gu Division’s high-rank defensive technique!

A slightly curved, hook-like dagger slid from “Shadow’s” sleeve. It was completely black, neither jade nor iron.

This was the legendary weapon passed down through generations of Hidden Gu Division leaders—the Scorpion Hook.

During the Shanhai Pass campaign, “Shadow” had nearly killed a Buddhist Vajra using this divine weapon, combining it with the Hidden Gu’s specialty in ambush.

Clang!

The Scorpion Hook struck sparks from Xu Qi’an’s forehead, widening the fine cracks.

The pain brought a flash of light to Xu Qi’an’s eyes as he forcibly broke free from his daze.

The almond-eyed beauty Chun Yan stopped running and opened her mouth to release a silent screech.

Xu Qi’an was struck as if by lightning, and his gradually focusing pupils became vacant and scattered once again.

Heart Gu control technique—shocking the primordial spirit for forceful control!

This could only last less than a second, but for the naturally swift “Shadow,” this fleeting moment was enough for victory.

Clang clang clang… The Scorpion Hook struck dense sparks from the dark golden forehead.

With a “whoosh,” the slightly curved dagger penetrated Xu Qi’an’s frontal bone, stabbing into his brain and stirring violently.

Seeing this, the division leaders, including Yu Shi, brightened—as if they could see the outcome.

Even for the current Xu Qi’an, such damage would constitute a severe injury.

His brain was damaged, but his primordial spirit had fully awakened.

As if anticipating he would regain consciousness from such injury, Luan Yu arrived on the wind, her gauzy dress fluttering. She delivered herself into Xu Qi’an’s embrace.

Her slender arms encircled his neck as she gazed at him with tender eyes, half-coquettishly and half-pleadingly saying:

“Don’t…”

Enchantment!

This was an upgraded version of her charm enhancement, turning a passive skill active.

Xu Qi’an’s killing intent and rage dissipated as he gazed dazedly at the incomparably beautiful face before him, his spirit enthralled.

Luan Yu’s lips curled up as she raised her delicate chin and captured his lips, transferring child Gu and aphrodisiac vapor into his body.

The next moment, a rosy flush appeared on Xu Qi’an’s dark golden skin, and his trousers tented prominently.

Having achieved her goal, Luan Yu withdrew with a sweet smile.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

Ba Ji’s attacks followed immediately, purple arrows striking Xu Qi’an’s knees, chest, and face, staining his Vajra divine body with a deep purple hue.

Chun Yan opened her mouth again, releasing another silent screech, attempting a second control while Xu Qi’an was lost in desire.

Thud thud thud… Yu Shi summoned two bone blades and charged furiously toward Xu Qi’an.

At this point, Xu Qi’an’s forehead had been pierced through, blood and brain matter flowing from the wound, and his Vajra physique’s radiance dimmed to the brink of collapse. His primordial spirit was under Heart Gu’s control, while his blood qi had rushed to his lower body due to arousal, preventing him from employing Force Gu’s Berserk state.

Yu Shi was confident he could kill him in one combo, or at least severely wound him.

Weakening him to the point where he could no longer pose a threat.

“Ah, don’t kill him though.”

Seeing this, Luan Yu called out with furrowed brows.

She hadn’t yet experienced this nearly perfect male physique—it would be an absolute waste if he perished.

Yu Shi snickered:

“Don’t worry, I’ll turn him into a corpse puppet retaining eighty percent of his strength. Then I’ll control him to sleep with you.”

Luan Yu spat in disgust.

As they spoke, he reached Xu Qi’an, crossing his dual blades to strike forcefully at the forehead wound.

Whoosh!

The bone blades, wrapped in distorted air qi, sliced both Xu Qi’an and “Shadow” in half.

Yu Shi, who seemed to have cut through the air, made a puzzled “hmm” sound. His crossed blades formed an X, but still only cut through air, while Xu Qi’an’s body was like blue smoke or shadow, without substance.

“Shadow, what are you playing at!”

Yu Shi attributed all this to the Hidden Gu Division leader.

Unexpectedly, Shadow’s reaction was even more dramatic than his. Like a startled deer, the shadow leaped to a distance, looking at Xu Qi’an as if seeing the Gu God himself.

“You know Hidden Gu techniques too!”

Shadow’s voice was deep, his tone incredulous.

By now, Yu Shi had also realized something was wrong. His expression changed as he decisively retreated, abandoning his plan to press the advantage.

He knows Hidden Gu techniques… everyone present looked at Xu Qi’an as if viewing a monster.

After Force Gu, does he know Hidden Gu as well?

In the distance, Long Tu and the six elders watching the battle looked at each other, speechless.

Mu Nanchi sighed in relief as she bent down to pick up Bai Ji, stroking her while consoling:

“There, there, it was just a short ride. Why cry so much?”

Bai Ji sobbed, “My waist hurts so much…”

Mu Nanchi offered a few casual words of comfort before focusing her attention back on Xu Qi’an.

The battle wasn’t over yet. She hoped he could find a way to escape…

“Impossible, this is impossible…”

Luan Yu shook her head repeatedly. Throughout Gu Clan history, there had indeed been several geniuses who cultivated two types of Gu techniques, but without exception, none had entered the Chaofan realm.

But this wasn’t even the main point—the real issue was how a Central Plains person could cultivate both Force Gu and Hidden Gu and reach such a level.

To her, the absurdity was comparable to northern barbarians pushing cannons and crossbow batteries while wielding military crossbows and firearms.

“Is it the Scholar’s ability?”

Chun Yan narrowed her almond eyes, probing.

Sixth Grade Confucian—Scholar!

In this realm, one could learn an enemy’s techniques and write them down with a brush. The Scholar’s core ability was “learning.”

Luan Yu shook her head: “If he were a Confucian disciple, my enchantment wouldn’t have worked at all.”

Having not concluded their thoughts, they turned their attention back to Xu Qi’an.

I’m getting excited… Xu Qi’an poked at the wound on his forehead, his smile fierce.

He had to admit, that the Gu Clan leaders’ coordination was impeccable. With their combination of assassination and strong control, they could easily kill a Third Grade warrior.

This was just five division leaders—add in Grandmother Sky Gu and Long Tu, and they could encircle and kill even a Second Grade warrior, provided the warrior fought to the death rather than retreating.

Just now, it was the Great Wisdom dharma body within the Futu Pagoda that had awakened his consciousness, allowing him to regain clarity.

But, even if the pagoda spirit old monk had stood aside, Xu Qi’an had planned to use shadow jumping to escape the encirclement.

The Gu Clan leaders were strong, but unfortunately, their proudest techniques were barely effective against him—this was why Xu Qi’an dared to fight one against five.

“We need to change our strategy.”

Chun Yan took a deep breath and transmitted to her companions:

“Shadow, one cannot attack while shadow jumping or in shadow form, so as soon as he shadow jumps, force him out immediately. Then Luan Yu’s enchantment will coordinate with my control to forcibly restrain him.

“Ba Ji, release your poison arrows immediately, switching to the paralysis toxin. Shadow, you take that chance to assassinate, just like before. Yu Shi, you’re responsible for containment, supporting Shadow’s assassination.”

As her words fell, she saw Xu Qi’an merge into the shadows and disappear.

“Shadow!”

Chun Yan shouted.

Without needing her reminder, the moment Xu Qi’an merged with the shadows, “Shadow” lunged forward and vanished.

Two illusory shadows chased and entangled on the ground before both tumbled out of the shadow space.

When a warrior renowned for combat prowess mastered the Hidden Gu’s shadow jumping, it was enough to make experts of any system shudder just thinking about it, sending chills down their spines.

The Hidden Gu’s short-distance jumps were even faster than a mystic’s transmission arrays.

It was truly impossible to defend against or prevent.

Only Hidden Gu could counter Hidden Gu.

Seeing the two tumble out of the shadows, Chun Yan immediately opened her mouth, releasing a silent screech that was piercing the primordial spirit.

Luan Yu rode the wind, her gauzy dress dancing, like a peerless demon enchantress as she actively approached Xu Qi’an.

She opened her arms like a swallow returning to its nest, deliberately affecting a pitiful appearance with tears glistening in her beautiful eyes as she pleaded:

“Don’t hurt me…”

“Enchantment” was nearly invincible against warriors. She saw the man’s gaze become entranced as he looked at her.

Seizing this opportunity, Luan Yu smoothly delivered herself into the Vajra physique that made her salivate, her snow-white arms encircling his neck as her moist red lips pressed against his.

“Hah…”

She exhaled a sweet fragrant breath while sending over a dozen child Gu into his mouth.

At this moment, Luan Yu heard the young man say softly:

“Do you do this with every man?”

This… Luan Yu’s pupils contracted violently. The next moment, the man exhaled forcefully into her mouth, his breath scorching hot, burning her heart.

“Ah…”

Luan Yu clutched her abdomen, black veins bulging on her healthy tanned face as black blood spilled from her mouth.

The Charm Gu Division specialized in arousal, enchantment, and mind confusion—physical combat wasn’t their strength.

Though Xu Qi’an’s poison wasn’t as violent as Ba Ji’s, it was enough to deal with a “frail woman.”

He spread his arms and gave the seductive temptress a bear hug.

Crack… Over a dozen of Luan Yu’s bones broke instantly.

“Your breath can’t arouse me, but my breath can poison you half to death!”

Xu Qi’an muttered to himself.

Luan Yu’s condition stunned everyone both in and outside the battlefield. The previously invincible enchantment had lost its effect, and she had been severely injured by Xu Qi’an’s unknown technique.

Black veins covered her beautiful face as black blood seeped from her mouth and nose…

Ba Ji’s expression changed drastically as he roared:

“Poison Gu? It’s Poison Gu?!”

He shouted several times as if only this could release his inner shock.

Xu Qi’an was a Poison Gu master as well.

Long Tu turned to look at the six elders, only to find their eyes reflected the same thing as his—complete bewilderment!

A Central Plains person who knew three types of Gu techniques, each cultivated to an extremely profound level.

Could it be that Wei Yuan had once captured Gu Clan experts and extracted their secret techniques from them?

Long Tu felt he had discovered the truth.

While the Force Gu Division members had leisure to be shocked and ponder the origin of the three Gu techniques, the division leaders in the battle had no such luxury.

Though their inner shock was no less than the observers’, being in the midst of battle left no room for distraction—defeating the enemy took priority.

Once again, darkness replaced light as Xu Qi’an fell victim to Hidden Gu’s “Shroud,” all five senses and six consciousnesses blocked.

A shadow silently appeared, gripping the slightly curved dagger, striking forcefully at the dark golden brow.

Yu Shi held a bone blade in each hand, staying low as he rushed to Xu Qi’an’s front in a few steps, crossing his blades to strike at the neck.

Ba Ji knew toxins were useless now but still cooperatively spat three dark green poison arrows.

To ensure her three companions could accurately hit their target, Chun Yan screeched again, applying control with Heart Gu techniques.

The three division leaders’ attacks indeed hit their target, but it was only an insubstantial shadow.

Under the triple attack, the shadow twisted like smoke before jumping and disappearing before Shadow and Yu Shi.

“Shadow” leaped forward, merging into the darkness to give chase.

“Chun Yan, retreat quickly!”

Yu Shi roared.

The beautiful-eyed Chun Yan’s expression changed slightly. She found it hard to accept that her primordial spirit control had failed, but heeding Yu Shi’s warning, her experienced instincts made her leap upward, leaving the ground—this would prevent enemies from emerging from her shadow.

Simultaneously, she opened her mouth to release continuous silent screeches.

Hovering in mid-air, she vigilantly and calmly looked down, seeing the dark golden figure emerge from a tree’s shadow near her.

Then, this warrior bent his knees, the ground sinking with a “boom” as he shot skyward like an arrow.

Chun Yan’s heart tightened as she continuously opened her mouth to screech.

This time the screech didn’t shock the primordial spirit but rather awakened Xu Qi’an’s inner gentleness and chivalry toward women.

Heart Gu’s other technique: Empathy!

Additionally, she hastily summoned beasts from within several dozen li.

She hadn’t used Empathy before because shocking the primordial spirit and forced control were more effective, creating advantages for teammates.

Empathy was relatively less powerful—it could awaken emotions that already existed within people, but if done too extremely, the target would immediately notice something wrong and break free from the empathetic state.

For instance, trying to make a strong-willed warrior develop suicidal thoughts or become passive in a life-or-death battle would likely fail.

The current choice of awakening chivalry was much gentler, with control remaining largely with the target.

Moreover, Empathy wasn’t one-sided—it synchronized emotions between both parties.

If Xu Qi’an developed suicidal thoughts, she would too.

In the previous battle, if she had forcibly tried to make Xu Qi’an suicidal, she probably would have been the first to rush forward and fight Xu Qi’an to the death!

Under Empathy’s influence, Xu Qi’an’s expression immediately softened as he said gently:

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle and won’t hurt you. Is this your first time, miss?”

Chun Yan nodded shyly: “Yes!”

A few seconds later, both broke free from the empathetic state.

This wasn’t right—in the middle of fighting, they had started discussing that kind of thing.

The dissonance was too strong, even stronger than developing suicidal thoughts. The Empathy had failed.

Why was his chivalry like this… despair flashed in Chun Yan’s eyes.

At this moment, the Heart Gu master’s weakness was fully exposed. Not skilled in combat, she had no way to resist or hide from a Chaofan warrior’s attack.

Even her speed wasn’t enough to escape.

“Boom!”

The ground-sinking sound rang out again as Yu Shi transformed himself into an arrow to pursue, trying to prevent him from reaching his companion.

But the next moment, endless darkness enveloped him as Yu Shi experienced what Xu Qi’an had felt not long ago.

And “Shadow,” having just used “Shroud,” couldn’t cast it again so soon, only able to watch helplessly as the Central Plains youth engaged Chun Yan.

Pat pat pat!

What greeted Xu Qi’an was a familiar combo that only warriors above the Intent realm could execute.

He realized then that perhaps to compensate for individual combat weakness, this beautiful Heart Gu master was also a peak Fourth Grade warrior.

Xu Qi’an grabbed the almond-eyed beauty’s wrists, twisting both arms behind her back.

“Hiss hiss…”

Two small red snakes on Chun Yan’s earlobes loyally protected their master, striking at the man’s arm.

Xu Qi’an saw at a glance that these snakes were extremely venomous.

The two small snakes each bit Xu Qi’an’s upper arm, but then curled up in pain, as if they had broken their fangs.

“You…”

Anger and panic filled Chun Yan’s large almond eyes as she opened her pink mouth to release another silent screech.

Xu Qi’an sprayed highly concentrated aphrodisiac vapor on her face, along with a Charm Gu child Gu.

The long black child Gu instantly entered Chun Yan’s mouth and disappeared.

Within seconds, her blood began to boil, her skin flushed red as desire ignited within her body, burning away reason.

He’s a Charm Gu master too… disbelief flashed through Chun Yan’s mind.

Her remaining rationality completely collapsed as her skin flushed and her cheeks burned, her legs unconsciously rubbing together.

“Shroud’s” effect was extremely short—Yu Shi quickly regained his senses and charged in from the side with his bone blades, his fierce aura suggesting he meant to cut down both these dogs.

This was intentional, using killing intent and blade qi to help her “wake up.”

Sure enough, stimulated by the external threat, Chun Yan’s body trembled as her dreamy eyes cleared.

But it was too late…

Clang!

The bone blade struck Xu Qi’an’s head hard, throwing sparks, but he did not attempt to dodge. As the blade hit, he gave Chun Yan another crushing bear hug.

Crack crack!

A woman’s body seemed always so soft, her bones equally fragile.

Xu Qi’an casually tossed aside Chun Yan, with over a dozen broken bones and afflicted by both charm and poison. Standing proudly in mid-air, he surveyed the Hidden Gu, Corpse Gu, and Poison Gu leaders, grinning fiercely:

“Your turn.”

An inexplicable chill ran through the three division leaders’ hearts.

Taking a deep breath, he sprayed aphrodisiac vapor toward the three below.

Except for the corpse, both Ba Ji and “Shadow” tented their trousers as desire burned in their eyes, though they quickly recovered.

After all, this hadn’t reached the Chaofan realm, so its power was relatively weaker.

Xu Qi’an’s techniques naturally didn’t stop there—he immediately vanished from mid-air.

“Ba Ji, watch your feet!”

Shadow shouted.

Ba Ji understood and leaped sideways. Learning from Chun Yan’s example, he dared not take to the air.

Sure enough, Xu Qi’an emerged from his shadow.

Ba Ji calmly took out a handful of black pills from the beast-skin pouch at his waist and swallowed them whole.

His body immediately emanated black light.

“Clap!”

Ba Ji clapped his hands together, accompanied by visible black smoke.

The black smoke quickly engulfed Xu Qi’an, clinging to his skin like maggots in bone, followed by intense pain.

Indeed, the difference between long-range poison spray and close-range contact poison is completely different… Xu Qi’an thought to himself. Ba Ji’s poison was a level above his—he couldn’t neutralize it with his poison body.

Trying to force me back? The fire ring behind Xu Qi’an’s head exploded, making the black smoke flutter like a curtain, evaporating half and becoming thinner.

He opened his mouth to release a silent screech, making Yu Shi and “Shadow” who were rushing to help freeze in their tracks.

Seizing this interval, Xu Qi’an forcibly endured the violent black smoke poison, reached Ba Ji in a few steps, and attacked with hands, feet, and every joint of his body becoming weapons.

Pat pat pat…

The close combat lasted less than three seconds before Ba Ji’s arms and legs were torn off.

The price Xu Qi’an paid was half his body turning purple-black, his Vajra physique corroded by the poison, causing severe dizziness and vomiting.

For any division leader except Long Tu, having their limbs violently torn off would mean being half-crippled.

But poison bodies were different—poison bodies possessed an alternative regenerative ability.

After temporarily disabling Ba Ji, only Shadow of the Hidden Gu and Yu Shi’s corpse puppet remained. At this point, it had become very simple.

Possessing the Vajra body, a warrior’s immortal physique, and Seven Fatal Gu techniques, even without the Futu Pagoda, Xu Qi’an dealing with a Third Grade corpse and an assassination-specialized Hidden Gu master…

The outcome was self-evident.

Endless darkness once again enveloped Yu Shi as Xu Qi’an used Shroud on him.

At the same time, Xu Qi’an’s five senses and six consciousnesses were blocked by “Shadow.”

He couldn’t see or hear Yu Shi’s position, but Yu Shi couldn’t discern his location either.

Whoosh!

A dark golden blade light burst from his embrace, slashing repeatedly around the corpse with “ding ding ding” sounds.

He used the Peace Blade’s guidance to grasp Yu Shi’s position.

Berserk!

Muscles bulged one by one as his body instantly expanded nearly double in size. Xu Qi’an located by sound, seized the initiative and rained attacks on the corpse like a storm.

Clang clang clang… During this process, his brow was continuously struck by “Shadow’s” chisel attacks.

“Shadow” soon gave up, merging into the darkness and taking Luan Yu, Chun Yan, and the limbless Ba Ji away toward Grandmother Sky Gu’s location.

His decision was wise, as he realized that breaking through Xu Qi’an’s forehead would be more difficult than Xu Qi’an disabling the corpse.

“Splat…”

Finally, after one punch landed, Yu Shi’s head exploded into pieces, grey-white brain matter splattering everywhere.