Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

After the matters of the Holy Brilliance Dynasty were resolved, unexpectedly, within just a few days, Gu Chen's fame had skyrocketed and spread across more than a hundred realms surrounding it.

Meanwhile, the Seven Stars Sect, Heavenly Thunder Sect, Dragon Sparrow Clan, Fire Crow Clan, and finally, the Azure Gold Night Demon Clan also became the laughingstock of many in the world.

They had approached with great ferocity and arrogance, looking down on Gu Chen as insignificant, strong-arming their way forward, only to end up achieving nothing and having to retreat in disgrace.

It must be said that after this incident, the Seven Stars Sect among the other five major forces had indeed become something of a joke.

Primarily, their boastful words and attitudes had indeed displeased many people. Although it was the truth, speaking so bluntly still made many in the world detest them.

No matter how one puts it, Gu Chen could be said to have stepped on the heads of the five major forces of the Seven Stars Sect and risen to fame in the upper realm.

Of course, the four characters "Invincible Across a Hundred Realms" held great value and also made countless extraordinary talents and monsters extremely wary.

About Gu Chen's several battles in the ancestral land, word of mouth passed and spread far and wide. That overwhelming power had already led many to believe that Gu Chen's strength could rank him among the top fifty at least in the upper realm, at least openly.

Of course, some disagreed, believing that although Gu Chen was strong, his realm was lower, which was a significant disadvantage. There were still many hidden exceptional talents in the upper realm that hadn't yet made an appearance. Ranking in the top fifty might be a bit inflated.

But as to how it exactly was, they debated among themselves, Gu Chen himself was completely indifferent.

At this moment, he was already on his way, having departed from Saint Hua City with Princess Xidie and Yun Zishu several days ago.

In fact, Gu Chen was somewhat surprised that Princess Xidie let it go, not expecting Yun Zishu to choose not to return to the Yun family but to continue following him back to Qingyun Academy.

After all, Yun Zishu had appeared at Qingyun Academy because of Princess Xidie and the heir's identity.

"From leaving the academy to returning, it's only been three months, Brother Gu, your fame has undergone an earth-shattering change," Yun Zishu remarked.

In fact, even he himself had not realized that Gu Chen had such strength.

With such talent and strength, actually, even heading to an immortal-level Dao lineage would have been enough. Yun Zishu was somewhat puzzled as to why Gu Chen would choose Qingyun Academy in the end?

Hearing this, Gu Chen merely smiled faintly, not responding, for the world had changed much more than even he had anticipated.

When he left, he had just made it onto the Dao Gold List, but now, he was renowned throughout the world and had even acquired the title "Invincible Across a Hundred Realms"!

The name "Gu Bai" was not universally known by now, but it had certainly gained considerable fame.

However, these things were not very important to Gu Chen. What he valued more was his actual strength.

"The Great Battle of Ten Thousand Tribes in the thirty-six hundred realms of the upper realm is about to begin. Before that, I should prepare in advance, break into the perfect completion of the Huanxu Realm, and then achieve unity," Gu Chen said to himself.

According to Holy Maiden Chu Yue Ling of Taoxu Road, this edition of the Great Battle of Ten Thousand Tribes was unprecedented. If one did not have the cultivation of the Unity Realm upon entering, even Gu Chen might suffer losses.

Moreover, although his strength was very strong, Gu Chen had never underestimated the heroes of the world from the start.

Immortal-level Dao lineages, hidden Dao lineages, and even the top ten most powerful monsters—these cultivators were all extremely exceptional, not necessarily much weaker than him.

At least, in terms of cultivation realms, they certainly had an advantage over Gu Chen, considering he had only been in the upper realm for almost two years now.

However, fortunately, Gu Chen had been striving hard to catch up, and at least before the start of the so-called Great Battle of Ten Thousand Tribes, he still had confidence in reaching the Unity Realm.

...

Time flew by quickly, and soon, seven days had passed.

When they arrived, it took Gu Chen and the others half a month to travel, and naturally, the time it took to return was roughly the same.

After all, the East Profound Region and the Spirit Realm were separated by quite a few realms, and the distance was also somewhat vast.

It wasn't until the twelfth day that Gu Chen, Princess Xidie, and Yun Zishu passed through a desert. Walking three thousand miles north from the desert, there was a cross-realm transmission array that could take them to a realm adjacent to the East Profound Region.

From there, it wouldn't take them long to return to Qingyun Academy.

However, as the three of them passed through the desert, they encountered an unexpected incident and something went wrong.

"Be careful!"

Suddenly, with a loud boom, the ground shook, and dozens of figures burst forth, accompanied by a surging evil aura.

"Demons?!"

Princess Xidie and Yun Zishu's expressions changed, an indescribably chilling sensation arising with the dark energy in the air, making them both extremely uncomfortable.

Gu Chen's expression tightened and said, "Not demons, it's the Holy Gate!"

"The Holy Gate?!"

Both Princess Xidie and Yun Zishu frowned. They were naturally familiar with the Holy Gate but hadn't expected that the other party would be hiding here to ambush them.

"Could it be they're targeting me?" Princess Xidie thought with furrowed brows.

Yun Zishu thought the same, believing that these people from the Holy Gate were targeting Princess Xidie.

However, Gu Chen had a different idea; he had an intuition that these people might be targeting him.

Because, among them, many cold gazes were directed at him, which Gu Chen keenly sensed.

With a boom, the heavens and earth exploded with sound, including three great powers of the Heavenly Realm and several masters of the Unity Realm!

Such a lineup was undeniably strong, clearly waiting here for a long time for Gu Chen and his companions!

Fortunately, when Princess Xidie left the Holy Brilliance Dynasty, there were also strong protectors secretly escorting them. The void trembled, and they now appeared, protecting Gu Chen and the others.

"The grand commander of the Devil Cloud Thirty-Six Knights?!"

Suddenly, Gu Chen's eyes tightened; he recognized one of the great powers, who looked familiar—it was the same leader of the Devil Cloud Thirty-Six Knights who had kidnapped Princess Xidie.

Gu Chen, having had a feud with him, had seen his portrait before.

"It really is targeting the princess!" Yun Zishu's expression changed.

Tens of members from the Holy Sect appeared, and the weakest among them were all in the Huanxu Realm, clearly showing they were very aware of their own strength.

"Our return route was absolutely secretive, known only by the academy and the Holy Brilliance Dynasty. Yet, the people from the Holy Sect were able to anticipate and wait for us here. This level of intelligence gathering is truly astounding. Could their influence really be so pervasive?" Yun Zishu's expression was somewhat horrified.

Princess Xidie also had a solemn expression. Due to an incident that had happened before, she now kept her travels a secret. How then could these people from the Holy Sect have known?

"There's an insider!" Gu Chen's expression turned fierce as he deduced this fact.

If the secretive itinerary had been exposed, leading to someone waiting in advance here, then it meant that either Qingyun Academy or someone inside the Holy Brilliance Dynasty must be an insider, and this insider was not of low rank.

Otherwise, it would have been fundamentally difficult to know their route.

"Today, you will not escape your fate; all of you will die!" At that moment, the leader of the Devil Cloud Thirty-Six Knights spoke, his voice chilling to the extreme, causing shivers down the spine.

He was a Heavenly Realm Great Power, and it could even be said that he had one foot in the domain of giants, with extraordinary strength.

Fortunately, the Holy Brilliance Dynasty had also made preparations, with the corresponding powers to contend with it.

However, no matter what, in terms of the number of strong fighters, Gu Chen's side was still at a disadvantage. Not to mention the Heavenly Realm Great Powers, the opposing side had as many as twelve at the United Realm!

The rest were all in the Huanxu Realm!

"Princess, you must leave here first!" At that moment, one of the Heavenly Realm Great Powers of the Holy Brilliance Dynasty spoke, urging Gu Chen to take Princess Xidie and Yun Zishu to quickly retreat.

"Can you really escape?"

The leader of the Devil Cloud Thirty-Six Knights coldly shouted. At this moment, he no longer concealed his power, raising his hand to directly summon a swath of dark clouds, striking towards Gu Chen and the others.

"Vile villain, stop your rampant acts!"

The four Great Powers of the Holy Brilliance Dynasty's expressions darkened as they joined forces to meet the attack, with two of them teaming up to fight the leader of the Devil Cloud Thirty-Six Knights.

Among the three Heavenly Realm powerhouses of the Holy Sect, his strength was indeed the strongest!

"Xidie, you go first with Brother Yun. I will stop them," Gu Chen said.

"I will face the enemy with you," Princess Xidie shook her head. Her current level of cultivation was nearly at the mid-stage of the Huanxu Realm; her strength was not weak.

Moreover, with so many people eyeing them fiercely, it wouldn't be easy for her to leave, and she might encounter even greater danger.

After all, no one could be sure if there were other strong foes lurking in the area.

"Brother Yun, you stay with Xidie. I'll take the front," Gu Chen said, then quickly dashed forward with a flash of his figure.

For Gu Chen, there was no mercy towards the people of the Holy Sect. In his eyes, these people hardly counted as humans, or even living beings; they were just walking Divine Power values.

No matter what methods he used on these individuals who willingly fell into abyss, Gu Chen would not feel any guilt or self-reproach.

To deal with evil people, it is natural to use even more evil means, just as he had done in the ancestral land of the Holy Brilliance Dynasty when dealing with Ye Meng of the Azure Gold Night Demon Clan.

Bang!

When faced with three Huanxu Realm members of the Holy Sect charging towards him, Gu Chen had nothing much to say; he simply struck with his palm, and the bodies of the three immediately exploded on impact.

Buzz!

But as the black fog condensed, the figures of the three reappeared, and this time, their pupils flickered with black air, their minds completely lost, possessed by demons.

These were examples of failed demon fusion, or one might say, fusing with demons was much more difficult than merging with demon spirits during the time of the Nine States.

After all, demons have spiritual intelligence. The stronger the demon, not only is its strength formidable, but its intelligence is also top-notch, not inferior to any living creature.

Thus, even for someone like Gu Yan who had fused with a demon, it was still a state of dual existence; domination was impossible.

And many in the Holy Sect who fused with demons ended up with the demons taking control.

Yet, despite this, countless people were willing to take the risk, for the lure of an endless lifespan, endless recovery abilities, and no bottlenecks in cultivation was enormously tempting, enough to plunge one completely into corruption.

"Roar!"

Having taken over the bodies of three cultivators, the demons issued a chilling roar and charged towards Gu Chen again.

"Roar!"

However, Gu Chen remained calm, without any hesitation, he directly activated the Emperor's Extreme World-Shaking Secret to the seventh layer. Immediately, a real dragon's roar sounded, spreading royal dragon energy, which surged forth and struck out.

Spurt!

In an instant, the three demons, along with the bodies of the cultivators, exploded on the spot, turning into dust.

Gu Chen, directly suppressing them with absolute power, made it impossible for the demons, even with their immense regenerative abilities, to reassemble!