Come to think of it.

This was the second time Gu Zheng had been ambushed by a State Commander.

The last one was Jin Pang, the Commander of the Guangzhou Demon Slayer Bureau.

This time, it was Ji Tianping, the Commander of the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau.

The former had acted on the orders of the Divine Brave King of Yue Country and Yong Xingzhou, while also seeking revenge for Luo Cheng.

The latter coveted his Divine Weapon Fragment!

Ji Tianping had undoubtedly left spies behind at the Qixia Valley passage.

As soon as Gu Zheng appeared in Qixia Valley and set foot in the passage, news of his whereabouts was relayed to Ji Tianping.

That was why Ji Tianping had suddenly appeared in the Demon Realm to assassinate Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng hadn’t been able to break free from the power of the Imprisonment Space earlier.

He had to use the Equipment Effect, Electric Light Universe, to slip into the void and narrowly escape.

As for what it felt like to enter the void, there was nothing but darkness.

Deathly silence, darkness, and solitude.

Of course, there was also no air.

However, the Electric Light Universe’s Equipment Effect allowed Gu Zheng to sense the mortal realm, the connection point of the Thunder Stone, and the state of the space in that area.

He could sense whether it was turbulent, sealed, or collapsing.

So, the moment Ji Tianping lifted the seal, Gu Zheng returned to his original location, unleashing his blades and supplementing them with the Spear of the Soul. He gave Ji Tianping no time to react, inflicting one grievous wound after another.

It was all about speed!

He was so fast that Ji Tianping, despite his peak Heroic Body combat prowess, was annihilated before he even had a chance to unleash his full power.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Zheng steadied his breathing.

After a moment, Gu Zheng stood up. He recalled his blades, then collected the Giant’s Heart and the Storage Pouch Ji Tianping had been carrying.

When Gu Zheng had controlled the flying blades to pierce through Ji Tianping, he had deliberately avoided the Storage Pouch.

Now, with the Storage Pouch in hand, he first used his Divine Wondrous power to flush it, removing the brand Ji Tianping had left on it, as well as a layer of restriction.

He then placed his own mark on it. As soon as he did, Gu Zheng discovered this was no ordinary Storage Pouch.

It wasn’t just for inanimate objects; it was a Spiritual Object Pouch.

A pouch that could store living creatures!

And it had a very large internal space.

’Not bad, not bad at all.’

Gu Zheng placed the Giant’s Heart into the Spiritual Object Pouch. He then extended his senses to survey the space within.

The first thing he ’saw’ was the Divine Weapon Fragment!

The very same Divine Weapon Fragment Ji Tianping had obtained after slaying the Tier-3 Storm Bone Demon Fiend.

After all that, it still ended up in Gu Zheng’s hands.

He took out the Divine Weapon Fragment and touched it to his own Half-sized Divine Weapon, placing them together.

FLASH~

Amid a flash of light, the fragment merged into the Half-sized Divine Weapon. The blade extended by another small section, and an ancient character materialized upon it.

Gu Zheng couldn’t recognize the character right away.

He decided to put it away for now, placing it back into his Storage Leaf.

Other than the Divine Weapon Fragment, there were no other weapons in the Spiritual Object Pouch.

The rest consisted of three porcelain vials.

Gu Zheng took them out one by one to inspect them. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Two of the vials contained Profound Pills, over thirty in total.

The third vial held four Earth Pills!

’Now this is a real surprise.’

Four Earth Pills. Ji Tianping had clearly been saving these up.

Finally, there was a Secret Manual.

It was perfectly preserved, but the traces of age on the special paper indicated that the Secret Manual was ancient—at least five thousand years old.

Fortunately, the script wasn’t an ancient one.

On the cover, the six words of the title were particularly eye-catching: *Nine Breaths Nine Insect Divine Skill*.

As he flipped it open and skimmed the contents, Gu Zheng’s heart began to race.

A Divine Seed Technique!

It was actually a special type of True Skill for condensing Divine Seeds—a kind of Secret Technique.

The third stage of the Heroic Body Realm was the Divine Seed stage.

The more seeds one condensed, the stronger they would become after advancing to the King’s Body Realm.

Under normal circumstances, a cultivator in the Heroic Body Realm could condense three Divine Seeds at most.

Anyone who could form three Divine Seeds was considered an outstanding, top-tier talent.

But this True Skill, the *Nine Breaths Nine Insect Divine Skill*, could actually allow one to condense up to nine Divine Seeds!

The specific method was recorded in detail within the Secret Manual.

The most crucial component was the need for Exotic Insects!

The ’Nine Insects’ in the *Nine Breaths Nine Insect Divine Skill* referred to these Exotic Insects.

Meanwhile, the ’Nine Breaths’ referred to nine natural forces—wind, thunder, water, fire, earth, wood, metal, ice, and light—and taught how to master them with greater purity.

A smile filled Gu Zheng’s eyes as he read this.

’Pure mastery of wind, thunder, water, and fire?’

’I have Demon Techniques for that: Wind Manipulation, Thunder Manipulation, Water Manipulation, and Fire Manipulation!’

’And Earth Manipulation, too!’

Gu Zheng had already mastered five of those forces.

As for Exotic Insects, he had four types as well.

The Spirit-Eating Ants, the Divine Leech, the Mist Shadow Celestial Dragon, and the Great Sun Golden Silkworm!

Gu Zheng mused with a sigh, ’Ji Tianping really was a "good person," wasn’t he?’

In Ji Tianping’s hands, this *Nine Breaths Nine Insect Divine Skill* was something he could only stare at with envy.

But in Gu Zheng’s hands, it could be put to great use.

He already possessed several of the required Demon Techniques and Exotic Insects. All he needed was to provide enough energy, and he could condense at least four Divine Seeds!

And he could get that energy simply by slaying Demon Fiends and acquiring Demon Points!

’Such good people. They’re all such good people.’

Jin Pang had delivered a pile of Source Fruits, Marvels, and a Spiritual Soldier.

And now Ji Tianping had not only delivered a Divine Weapon Fragment but also this special True Skill, the *Nine Breaths Nine Insect Divine Skill*, giving Gu Zheng a clear path toward condensing his Divine Seeds.

With such generous gifts, how could they not be ’good people’?

As expected, State Commanders were all loaded, with vast accumulations of wealth.

’Oh, right. There’s also that Treasure Tower that creates the Imprisonment Space!’

Gu Zheng put away the *Nine Breaths Nine Insect Divine Skill*, transferring it to his Storage Leaf, and picked up the small pagoda that had fallen to the ground.

The Forbidden Sky Tower!

Refining this Marvel, this Treasure Tower, would allow him to imprison a space with a maximum radius of one li.

Ji Tianping hadn’t yet fully mastered it.

Gu Zheng decisively cleared away Ji Tianping’s brand and left his own in its place.