Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

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Compared to the cold and desolate land beyond the heavens, the land of the Nine Provinces truly is much, much better.

At this moment, high above the sky of the Nine Provinces, light flashed, and two figures appeared. It was none other than Wei Cang and Luo Xun, who had returned from beyond the heavens.

"The Nine Provinces—it's been a while since I've been back." Wei Cang, tall and imposing, gazed at the azure sky and the white clouds, his eyes inadvertently softening.

The young and handsome Luo Xun heard this and nodded, his expression tinged with sentimentality.

"Huh—"

Back in the Nine Provinces, both of them took a deep breath of its air, immersing in this long-missed sensation.

"Thanks to Gu Chen, the Nine Provinces were saved." Wei Cang spoke up. Even he could not help but feel deep admiration for that young man from the bottom of his heart.

"Since the East trusts him so much, and he has achieved so much, we too should trust him," said Luo Xun.

If it wasn't for Gu Chen convincing them to protect the Nine Provinces, Wei Cang and Luo Xun would have certainly followed him into the spatial passage; they would not have left him to venture there alone.

"Let's go and see some old friends first." Back in the Nine Provinces, their homeland, Wei Cang and Luo Xun were obviously in high spirits.

Afterwards, with a whoosh, the two's figures flickered and they left the place, heading towards the location of Da Xia's Tiandu Imperial Palace from memory.

However, halfway there, Luo Xun suddenly changed his mind and said, "We haven't been back for so long, and everything we know about the changes in the Nine Provinces is from hearsay. Why not witness it ourselves?"

"What do you mean?" Wei Cang arched an eyebrow.

The young and handsome Luo Xun smiled slightly. The two of them arrived at the city of Qiongtian Mansion in Shen Zhou and found a tavern where they sat down.

Both Wei Cang and Luo Xun were striking in appearance and bearing, attracting attention wherever they went.

In the past, over twenty years ago, wherever they traveled, it would stir up a huge commotion; countless citizens and martial artists would pay homage to them, watching them with utmost respect.

But now, after more than twenty years, everything had changed, and people would not so easily recognize them.

More than twenty years—indeed, it was not a short amount of time.

"This world is no longer our era." Wei Cang and Luo Xun looked around, the scenery both familiar and somewhat alien to them.

It had been over twenty years since they had seen such a scene.

At this moment, the tavern was packed. In the center, a storyteller was narrating something, and the surrounding people were enthusiastically praising it, their blood seemingly boiling as if they were on the scene themselves.

Even several young martial artists were red-faced and shouting loudly.

"What are they talking about?" Wei Cang and Luo Xun turned their gaze to the central area.

At a nearby table, a middle-aged man explained to them, "You two haven't caught on? It's the recent battle in which our Da Xia's Martial King slew the devilish sect's master Dugu Yun."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, the two were momentarily taken aback.

The middle-aged man did not notice their surprise and continued on his own, saying, "That battle fixed the gaze of the entire Nine Provinces. Even we common folk thought we were done for. Who would have thought that the Martial King could turn the tide and use the Divine Intent Realm to slay a Heaven Man Realm expert, unseen in the Nine Provinces for tens of thousands of years? Truly miraculous!"

Wei Cang and Luo Xun said nothing, merely listening quietly, and from the middle-aged man's words, they could hear his fervor for Gu Chen.

Not just the middle-aged man—all the people in the tavern, martial artists, elderly, and children alike, listened with rapt attention to the storyteller, even though they had heard the tale countless times before.

Even more so, whenever Gu Chen's name was mentioned, everyone's eyes shone with uniform frenzy and reverence.

This clearly indicated the group's deep admiration for Gu Chen.

Soon, the story of Gu Chen's battle with Dugu Yun concluded, but the people were not satisfied and urged the storyteller to continue.

"I want to hear about the battle where the Martial King annihilated the barbarians—how those barbarians were crushed!"

"I want to hear about the battle where the Martial King single-handedly subdued the Holy Land!"

"I want to hear about the Martial King's battle with Da Yuan Country's Shiba Shitu!"

As the storyteller asked the tavern's patrons which segment they wanted to hear, countless voices responded, each sharing their own choice.

This scene made the storyteller laugh and cry at the same time, for the legends of the Martial King were far too many, and each person had their own favorite story that he alone couldn't cover.

Wei Cang and Luo Xun were sitting on the side, and from the attitudes of those around them, they could clearly see just how renowned Gu Chen was in the Nine Provinces.

Such was the fervor, such the reverence, that even the Emperor of Da Xia from over twenty years ago might not have achieved this much.

"I didn't expect the Nine Provinces to truly unify." Wei Cang lamented. This was something he could not even dream of in his day. All six Holy Lands had been obliterated by that young man named Gu Chen, and not even the Holy Sons of the Upper Realms were his match.

Barbarians, Da Yuan, Holy Lands, Upper Realms, and devilish sects, all fell to a young man of just twenty-four. Something Wei Cang and Luo Xun couldn't have imagined back in their day had actually come to pass.

Originally, they thought that the Emperor of Da Xia was the strongest figure the Nine Provinces could produce, but it turned out there was always someone more formidable.

The legends Gu Chen left behind in the Nine Provinces were far too many; even Wei Cang and Luo Xun felt somewhat dizzy with it all.

Wherever they went, the most talked-about by the citizens was Gu Chen.

The two words "Martial King" were recognized everywhere, and people recounted Gu Chen's deeds in every corner.

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"This kid really gave me a huge scare. If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred letting him continue to guard Shen Zhou while we did the same," Luo Xun said with a head shake and a wry laugh as he gradually learned about Gu Chen's deeds.

Soon after, both of them disappeared in a flash and found themselves in the palace of Da Xia.

Following the trail of Qi, they arrived at the imperial study and saw the current Emperor of Da Xia.

"He really does bear a resemblance to His Majesty," Wei Cang and Luo Xun murmured subconsciously as they looked at Ji Yuan.

"Who's there?!"

Their words immediately startled Ji Yuan and Eunuch Huang, the latter quickly calling for the imperial guards. But it was as if the area was cut off from the outside world, with no guards appearing.

"Is... is it Uncle Wei and Uncle Luo?!" At this point, Ji Yuan, the Emperor of Da Xia, stood up abruptly, his face filled with intense excitement.

"We never thought that His Royal Highness would still remember us," Wei Cang and Luo Xun said with a smile, as they recognized their own identities.

"What?!" Hearing this, Eunuch Huang exclaimed in surprise, guessing the identities of the two men.

"How... How did you two appear here?" Ji Yuan hurriedly walked up to them, too emotional to contain himself.

Wei Cang smiled and said, "Gu Chen replaced us, and he sent them back to guard Shen Zhou. Although he told us what Shen Zhou looks like now, seeing it with our own eyes was indeed shocking."

"Well done," Luo Xun nodded, his remarks brief, but packed with meaning in just four words.

Ji Yuan was excited, but so were they. When they had left, Ji Yuan was still a young boy. By the time they met again, he had already become the Emperor of Da Xia, holding the National Artifacts and uniting Shen Zhou.

Ji Yuan responded with a bitter smile and a shake of his head, "Uncles, all of this has nothing to do with me. It's mostly Gu Chen's merit. I just happened to be there at the right time, and was a bit luckier."

"It's this kid again," Wei Cang and Luo Xun said, exchanging a glance and laughing helplessly as they heard Ji Yuan also held Gu Chen in such high regard.

"It seems, indeed, that our era has passed," Wei Cang lamented, and Luo Xun nodded in agreement.

"Uncles, how can you say that? I am, of course, overjoyed that you can return. From now on, Shen Zhou will have to trouble both uncles," Ji Yuan said, bowing respectfully with fists clasped.

"Your Majesty must not say such things. Now that you are the Emperor, there's no need to address us as before. Just call us by our names," Wei Cang and Luo Xun said.

However, Ji Yuan insisted on not doing so and even asked Eunuch Huang to summon Qin Wu, the deputy commander of Jing Tian Department, and the Tower Supervisor of Qintian Monitor.

"Commander!"

Qin Wu soon arrived, and when he saw Wei Cang's towering figure, tears welled up in his eyes with overwhelming emotion.

Seeing his former subordinate, Wei Cang naturally had a smile on his face as well.

As for Luo Xun, he knew that the four chief inspectors of Mingjing Department had been executed for following King Huai in rebellion.

…

At this moment, in a land beyond the heavens, in front of a spatial portal.

Gu Chen stood alone in this desolate place, gazing at the portal not far away, deep in thought.

The Taoxu Road saintess, Chu Yue Ling, once told him that to solve the calamity of demons in Shen Zhou, it was essential to remove the spatial portal.

No one knows where this space portal leads. It might be to the world of demons, or it might not.

According to Chu Yue Ling, no one knows where the demon world is, and no one has ever been there. All who entered the space portal have perished.

However, based on the speculation of Taoxu Road, the other side of the spatial portal might lead to the demon world, or it might be a spatial interlayer or a temporary dimensional plane formed, sandwiched between the world of Shen Zhou and the demon world, becoming a coordinate.

Therefore, to completely eradicate it, one must enter from within and destroy this portal or coordinate from the inside out.

The spatial portal in front of him was just that, a portal. As for the so-called coordinate, it must be destroyed from within; this place was merely an entrance and exit.

"No rules, no spiritual energy, no assistance – the so-called land of 'three nothings,' huh?" Gu Chen mused to himself.

Thanks to the introductions by Wei Cang, Luo Xun, Chu Yue Ling, and others like Zhen Yuan, Gu Chen had gained a lot of understanding about the space portal before him.

What might be a challenge for others was not necessarily one for Gu Chen.

He possessed a 'Heavenly Seed' which could conceal his presence, making him hard to detect even by demons or malevolent spirits.

Besides, the lack of spiritual energy was not an issue for the 'Heavenly Seed,' because it was a seed of the world itself, naturally abundant with the power of heaven and earth and spiritual energy.

In other words, even if he entered, Gu Chen's combat strength would not significantly diminish.

Even if the other side truly was the demon world, he was unafraid with the preparations he had made!

Since Gu Chen dared to come, he certainly wasn't courting death. He had taken complete measures and prepared thoroughly before doing so.

As for how to return to Shen Zhou after destroying the coordinate, Gu Chen had a corresponding strategy to cope with the situation.

With a hum, the Ding of the Universe emerged. Gu Chen leaped into it, and then, with a flicker, the bronze Ding moved in front of the spatial portal, plunging into it decisively.

"To the world of demons!" Inside the Ding of the Universe, Gu Chen's expression was resolute, his eyes sharp as a heavenly sword!