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Chapter 166: Chapter 163 Dragon Sparrow Manor
Purgatory Sect.
Lu Dengxian looked at the message personally sent by Lu Zhanfeng and couldn’t help but sigh.
By his side, Shi Chen and Sha Wujin, who had once crossed hands with Gu Jinlai, were also present, and they too seemed somewhat silent at this moment.
After a while, Shi Chen, who was the first to have clashed with Gu Jinlai, lamented, "The Demon Ape Commander of Yunqi Mountain Range actually died at the hands of Gu Jinlai."
He looked at Lu Dengxian, "If I remember correctly, back then, Wang Yinfeng, Ye Qianqiu, and Ye Wuxia, three Primordial Spirit True Monarchs from Dragon Sparrow Manor, personally attempted to assassinate this Demon Ape Commander. Despite being under the bombardment of the three Monarchs’ flying swords, the Commander resiliently withstood their attacks and destroyed Ye Wuxia’s flying sword, then hid in a crevice a hundred meters deep, forcing them to dare not advance any further."
"Yes."
Lu Dengxian nodded, "Upper-level Demons, especially those with an Undying Demon Body, possess astonishing defensive and recovery powers. Even the flying swords of Primordial Spirit True Monarchs cannot kill them in one strike. Instead, if they seize the opportunity, they can destroy the Primordial Spirit True Monarch’s flying sword, rendering the Monarch powerless. Like Ye Wuxia, once her flying sword was destroyed, she actually lost her combat capability and would have been killed instantly had she come close to a Great Demon."
Unless one becomes a Deva, whose every move contains the majesty of heaven and earth.
Otherwise, for a cultivator to confront an Upper-level Demon with an Undying Demon Body head-on is tantamount to seeking death.
Even for Devas, facing a Demon King directly is still a formidable challenge.
At best, they can prevent themselves from being killed instantly in a direct confrontation.
The combat between Devas and Demon Kings also depends on manipulating the flying swords to harness the momentum of heaven and earth and remotely bombarding their targets.
The situation is somewhat like comparing archers to heavy infantry: they are hard to compare.
"Although Gu Jinlai killed that Demon Ape Commander while it was wounded by bombardments, his strength... must have already matched that of Upper-level Demons to a large extent. Moreover, he has comprehended the Mental Realm, which in some aspects makes him more difficult to deal with than Upper-level Demons. After all, Upper-level Demons cannot conceal their form to sneak into the cultivation places of Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, but Gu Jinlai can,"
Lu Dengxian explained.
"When I clashed with him back then, he was not yet this powerful..."
Shi Chen added.
"It’s only to say, his growth has been incredibly rapid,"
Sha Wujin followed with a sigh.
"Alright, you understand Lu Zhanfeng’s meaning too. Going forward, we should not treat Gu Jinlai like a common elder, or even a common Venerable Elder, but as someone on an equal footing. What do you think?"
Lu Dengxian said.
Shi Chen and Sha Wujin exchanged glances and after a moment hesitated to respond, "If Gu Jinlai has truly matched an Upper-level Demon, then by comparison, he is akin to Primordial Spirit True Monarchs among us cultivators. Even though he might not be at the level of Upper-level Demons, just his status as a Heavenly Monarch alone is enough for him to be on par with any Primordial Spirit True Monarch... I think... we might have to seek the decision from the Supreme Elders."
Lu Dengxian watched the two, sensing something vaguely.
The scene before him...
Somehow seemed familiar?
Back when Gu Jinlai first killed Tan Qingquan, displaying strength surpassing that of a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator, it seemed that the leaders of the Conquest Hall, Monitoring Hall, Elder Hall, and Guardian Hall weren’t so eager to speak either.
And now, those who hesitated to give their opinions had shifted from the responsible hall masters to the Elders who made the decisions for the Purgatory Sect.
At this moment, Lu Dengxian deeply sensed the true weight Gu Jinlai currently held.
...
Blue State.
Cold Moon Sect.
In this palace complex that occupied almost half of Blue Moon City, a middle-aged man was browsing through a report in the garden.
"The Demon Ape Commander, huh."
The middle-aged man turned his gaze towards the two individuals in front of him.
If Gu Jinlai were here, he would undoubtedly recognize them...
They were none other than White Elephant and Wuchenzi, the two Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators who tried to assassinate him with flying swords in the battle at Sunset City.
"Sect Master, Gu Jinlai was not this strong back then."
White Elephant confidently said, "That time, Wuchenzi and I together had already breached his Slaughter Spirit Artifact’s defenses and almost killed him on the spot."
The middle-aged man...
That is, Fang Linghai, the Sect Master of Cold Moon Sect, fixed his gaze on Wuchenzi.
That gaze put Wuchenzi under great pressure.
Unlike the Purgatory Sect, the Cold Moon Sect...
Or rather, most Demon Sects usually have a strong individual as the Sect Master.
Even those Sect Masters who don’t like managing affairs usually appoint a Deputy Sect Master to assist, rather than relinquish the authority of the Sect Master.
Like Fang Linghai, who is an unquestionable Primordial Spirit True Monarch.
No one in the entire Cold Moon Sect could confidently say they could defeat him.
Even the other several Primordial Spirit Realm Supreme Elders are no exception.
"I think... perhaps we were wrong at that time,"
Under Fang Linghai’s scrutiny, Wuchenzi responded thoughtfully.
"Hmm!?"
White Elephant looked at Wuchenzi in surprise.
"At that time, our flying sword did indeed break through the defensive power of Gu Jinlai’s Slaughter Spirit Artifact, but according to the information here, the weapon Gu Jinlai used to kill the Demon Ape Commander was not the Slaughter Spirit Artifact but his own strength. In other words, he is not a traditional Heavenly Monarch who solely relies on external objects."
Wuchenzi organized his thoughts and said calmly, "Like the demons, he possesses a demon body and has achieved high proficiency in it. From the fact that he could suddenly transform into a giant over three meters tall, it is evident that he has cultivated the Undying Demon Body, a transformation that requires the prowess of a Middle-Level Great Demon. In simple terms, with his physical body alone, he can compete with a Middle-Level Great Demon. We just hadn’t considered this aspect before."
"Are you saying that breaking through the defense of his Slaughter Spirit Artifact was just the beginning of another round of battle?"
White Elephant’s pupils contracted.
Wuchenzi nodded.
"How is this possible..." 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
White Elephant found it difficult to accept.
Clearly...
Last time it had seemed they were so close to killing Gu Jinlai, but now it turns out that what he considered ’close’ was just his wishful thinking. For someone possessing the body of a Middle-Level Great Demon like Gu Jinlai, such injuries were trivial.
Had they not fled quickly at that time, they would have already been killed by Gu Jinlai.
Such a huge disparity was indeed difficult for him to accept.
"This explains why Gu Jinlai was able to rise quickly after leaving the Purgatory Sect."
Fang Linghai spoke gravely, "Long ago, Gu Jinlai had already embarked on the path of the Demon Martial Artists. He left the Purgatory Sect because he was about to break through to the Great Demon realm and could no longer suppress the violent aura within him, lest the people of Purgatory Sect notice it, which is why he applied to move to Changjun City."
Upon hearing Fang Linghai’s explanation, Wuchenzi and White Elephant suddenly felt...
It was highly likely!
Gu Jinlai went to Changjun City and cultivated the Great Demon Body.
When his Lower Demon Body was refined to its peak, he ordered his disciples to continually hunt surrounding demons, accumulate resources, and break through into the Middle-Level Great Demon realm.
It was also during that time that Gu Jinlai demonstrated the Undying Demon Body, annihilating all his adversaries.
First the Red Blood Sect, then the Heavenly Gang Sect’s Venerable Daoists, the Star Master Zhang Luu, and others.
"This Gu Jinlai... now not only has the body of at least a Middle-Level Great Demon, it is said that he has also fully comprehended the Mental Realm..."
White Elephant’s face grew pale.
Combined, these attributes left someone like him, a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, almost completely at a loss against him.
If he also mastered some kind of advanced movement technique...
No!
He had already filled that gap.
Tan Qingquan and Ye Yiren, who died at his hands, were the best proof of that.
"Middle-Level Great Demon Body, comprehension of the Mental Realm..."
Fang Linghai frowned deeply.
After a while, he finally sighed.
This was a tough opponent.
"Regarding the matters in Star State, we must temporarily set them aside. From now on, our focus will only be on two things. One is the Divine Sword Convention, and the other is to quickly gather the experts who have fled from the Four Great Mu States and build fortresses at the border of the two states to prevent the demons from moving northward."
As Fang Linghai spoke, he looked towards Wuchenzi and White Elephant, "You two, head north to assist the Venerable Daoists."
Clearly, he had no intention of provoking this powerful neighbor for now.
Wuchenzi and White Elephant exchanged glances and, not daring to defy Fang Linghai’s order, complied and withdrew.
...
The Cold Moon Sect and the Purgatory Sect, including the Netherworld Sect and the Yellow Sky Sect, which did not directly border the Five Cities occupied by Gu Jinlai, had varied reactions upon receiving this news.
But Dragon Sparrow Manor and the State Governor’s Mansion were extremely shocked.
Especially Dragon Sparrow Manor.
The Manor Master of Divinity Transformation Realm went through the intelligence several times before he dared to confirm, "The overlord of Yunqi Mountain Range, that Upper-Level Great Demon, the Demon Ape Commander, was truly killed by Gu Jinlai?"
"Yes."
Opposite him sat the Sword Master Xue He, who had once nearly intervened to assassinate Gu Jinlai.
At this moment, this beautiful woman’s eyes were filled with apprehension, "We initially thought to use the power of the demons to weaken, and even kill, Gu Jinlai. When they were nearly spent, we would then descend directly south to seize cities like Taihe and Baihe. But we didn’t expect that Gu Jinlai, as well as his subordinate Lingxiao City, would be so powerful..."
As she said this, she glanced at her Manor Master, "This matter... we might have to plan for the long term."
"Plan for the long term? Why should we plan for the long term!"
Manor Master Long Yinfeng laughed loudly, "Good news, this is fantastic news!"
"Good news?"
"With the death of the Demon Ape Commander of Yunqi Mountain Range, and thousands of demons slain, how many could be left? Next, we can completely divert the forces originally designated to deter Yunqi Mountain Range to the battlefield in Star State, taking advantage of the fact that the Cold Moon Sect, the Netherworld Sect, and the Purgatory Sect are all distracted, to freely expand our territory!"
As Long Yinfeng said this, a gleam flashed in his eyes, "This is truly a godsend!"
Upon hearing this, the Sword Master Xue He seemed...
At this moment, an elder walked in, "Manor Master, the State Governor’s Mansion has sent an envoy, hoping to renegotiate a collaboration with us."
