Gu Zheng’s body dipped as he plummeted toward the ground.

But in midair, his form flickered and shot sideways.

At the same time, the Chaotic Heaven Shield broke apart, transforming into three hundred and sixty blades that danced and spiraled through the air.

SWISH SWISH SWISH~

The blades glinted with a cold light, drawing upon the Power of Heaven and Earth.

"Haha!"

Jin Pang roared with laughter. "That trick is useless against me! Even the Golden Thousand Blades at the Great Success stage can’t harm me!"

BOOM! BOOM!

Jin Pang’s aura surged as a golden light erupted from his body. His arms turned the color of pure gold as he smashed them through the air.

A single punch distorted space and scattered the Power of Heaven and Earth.

But unfortunately for him...

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Most of the three hundred and sixty dancing blades abruptly vanished, only to reappear directly inside Jin Pang’s body!

With Spatial Blade Intent, under the absolute control of one’s Spiritual Power, one could break through space and reappear directly inside an enemy’s body.

This was the true power of the Golden Thousand Blades at the perfection stage.

Disappear and reappear.

The point of reappearance was entirely subject to Gu Zheng’s will!

"SQUELCH, SQUELCH, SQUELCH~"

It was so sudden that Jin Pang had no time to defend. He was struck, and bloody holes erupted all over his body.

The agony of the blades tearing their way out from within him was nothing compared to the shock of the attack itself.

"You... you actually mastered the Golden Thousand Blades to the perfection stage?"

Jin Pang dodged frantically, desperately mobilizing the Power of Heaven and Earth around him to disrupt the void and create ripples in space.

His face was a mask of horrified disbelief as he shouted, "How is this possible? How long have you been practicing the Golden Thousand Blades? How... how could this be..."

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

The three hundred and sixty blades danced through the air, giving Jin Pang no time for idle talk before vanishing once more.

The corner of Jin Pang’s eye twitched uncontrollably.

WHOOSH!

He burst forward with sudden speed, sprinting over a thousand meters away.

Flee!

At this moment, Jin Pang, a cultivator at the peak of the Heroic Body Realm, chose to run for his life.

As he fled, Jin Pang finally realized that something was wrong with Gu Zheng’s realm as well.

He wasn’t at the Heroic Body Union stage he’d just broken through to. He was at the Heroic Body Melting Furnace stage!

The power unleashed by these two stages was on completely different levels.

The auras they generated were utterly incomparable.

’Heroic Body Melting Furnace... Perfection in the Golden Thousand Blades... Mastery of Spatial Blade Intent!’

’And he has a high-grade Spiritual Soldier, the Chaotic Heaven Shield.’

Jin Pang admitted to himself that he had gravely misjudged.

He’d been caught completely off guard, and his internal organs were severely damaged.

’My only option now is to flee. It won’t be too late to settle the score with Gu Zheng once I’ve recovered!’

It was just as Gu Zheng understood the third stage of the Heroic Body Realm: Heroic Body·Divine Seed.

The Divine Seed stage was more about gathering energy and gaining a profound comprehension of the Power of Heaven and Earth.

In a battle of attrition, Gu Zheng would naturally be no match for Jin Pang.

Jin Pang would have worn him down and killed him.

But Gu Zheng had unleashed the full potential of his perfected Ultimate Skill, combined with the second form of his Chaotic Heaven Shield.

Even though he was temporarily unable to borrow the Power of Heaven and Earth, Jin Pang was still at a disadvantage. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The Spatial Blade Intent gave him no chance to circulate his energy or mobilize his power!

Whether it was divine abilities or the Power of Heaven and Earth, both required time to manifest.

And though that time was but a mere instant...

...for experts at the Heroic Body Realm, an instant was long enough to kill someone several times over.

Such was the case now.

Jin Pang was injured first, leaving him unable to circulate the Inner Qi within his body.

These were internal injuries.

Externally, he couldn’t dodge the three hundred and sixty blades that pierced through space without pattern or warning, only to materialize inside his body!

This was the deadliest part.

Not unless Jin Pang could seal the surrounding space!

Either by sealing it with his own power or with the help of a treasure.

Unfortunately for him, he could do neither.

So what could he do?

Only flee!

’Flee back to the passage! Run back to Dahuashan!’

’I am a Commander of the Demon Slayer Bureau! If Gu Zheng dares to kill me in front of others...’

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

"SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH... GAH!"

Blades erupted from inside his body once more. As searing pain washed over him and overwhelmed his mind, Jin Pang spat out a large mouthful of dark blood.

His fleeing form faltered and began to fall toward the ground.

WHOOSH!

The wind howled.

The three hundred and sixty blades vanished once again.

When they reappeared, they once again tore their way out from within Jin Pang’s body.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

Blood gushed from one gory hole after another.

Jin Pang’s armor, his Gang Qi, and his formidable physical body were all utterly useless.

The blades emerged from within, shredding his internal organs into pieces.

In the span of a single breath, Jin Pang was riddled with holes like a sieve, becoming a man drenched in his own blood.

FWOOSH~

WHOOSH!

Just then, Jin Pang flung a small cluster of grayish-white flame from his hand, sending it high into the air.

FWOOM!

The grayish-white flame suddenly swelled and exploded outward.

The flames danced, and the very air sizzled as they burned.

Demonized Corpse Fire!

Facing a mortal threat, Jin Pang could no longer hold back and finally played his last trump card.

The Demonized Corpse Fire, from the Yong Family of Yue Country!

The moment the flames appeared, they scattered in all directions, lunging toward the nearest living beings.

Gu Zheng was the closest, and thus attracted the most flames.

But he didn’t dodge. He simply took out two seashells.

SWISH! SWISH!

Two clusters of Heart-Burning Demon Flame shot out to meet the advancing Demonized Corpse Fire.

BANG! BANG!

SSSSSS!

Smoke billowed and space warped.

As the Heart-Burning Demon Flame and the Demonized Corpse Fire collided, they began to consume one another.

In this clash of Anomalous Fires, the former held a slight advantage!

Thanks to his Eyes of Golden Flame, Gu Zheng could see the origin of this special Anomalous Fire, the Demonized Corpse Fire, and knew its weakness at a glance.

The Heart-Burning Demon Flame wasn’t its direct counter, but it was still effective.

The only issue was the high rate of consumption.

The contents of one shell could only destroy a small portion of the Demonized Corpse Fire.

But that was enough.

Gu Zheng quickly took out two more shells, releasing more Heart-Burning Demon Flame to annihilate the Demonized Corpse Fire dancing in the air.

SSSZZZ~