Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

"Gu Chen, when you severed my arm in Qiongtian City, today, I will have your life!"

A cold shout burst forth, blood-red intensity surrounding him, and the vast Gang Wind suddenly rose, as he furiously slammed his palm toward Gu Chen.

What is the Returning to True Stage?

To refine Gangqi into true essence, a martial artist condenses all the Gangqi within their body into true essence, reaching the Returning to True Stage, and can be called a true person!

Martial artists at the Gang Qi Stage manage to transform all the internal breath within their body into Gangqi. Depending on the thickness of the Gangqi, there is a distinction between internal Gangqi and external Gangqi.

At the Returning to True Stage, it is about compressing and purifying the Gangqi within the body for the second time, which is the so-called refining Gangqi into true essence!

Once successful, the Gangqi inside the body will transform into true essence, and the gap between true essence and Gangqi is as substantial as the gap between internal breath and Gangqi.

Those who reach this realm have their cultivation returned to its most natural state, quiet as a maiden when still, as thunderous as a startled dragon when in motion!

The situation was exactly like this, as soon as the palm was struck, the Blood Transforming Gangqi was incredibly concentrated, bursting forth with a sound like thunder, causing the Jing Tian Department's Song Yu and others' vision to darken instantly, blood in their bodies surged uncontrollably as if it was about to burst forth, giving them a sensation of extreme discomfort.

Gu Chen had witnessed the terror of the Blood Transforming Gangqi before, so without turning back, he immediately shouted sternly, "Retreat!"

Feeling the terror of Ananda's immense strength, upon hearing these words, Song Yu, Wang Yan, and the rest of the Jing Tian Department martial artists immediately backed away, engaging in fierce combat with the other assassins from the Blood Cloak Tower.

In this pitch-black night, the sounds of battle were incessant.

At this moment, facing Ananda's fierce palm strike, Gu Chen's expression was solemn; he stood in place, without utilizing any cultivation, a flash of golden light streaked across his body, and Gu Chen struck out fiercely with a punch.

Bang!

As fist and palm met, even with layers of Blood Transforming Gangqi in between them, Ananda still felt the overwhelming force transmitted from Gu Chen's fist; it was like a great mountain pushing forwards. His feet pressed against the ground, his body uncontrollably slid backwards, leaving deep tracks on the floor.

If not for the fact that he was protected by Blood Transforming Gangqi at the level of true essence, Gu Chen's punch could have inflicted severe injuries on Ananda, causing him to lose his fighting capacity.

But even so, Ananda felt a tremor of pain throughout his body, and only after several circulations of true essence did the sensation slightly subside.

"Rumors indeed do not lie, you've truly attained an indestructible body!" Ananda said coldly.

From the day he had his arm cut off by Gu Chen in Qiongtian City, upon returning to the Blood Cloak Tower, Ananda had reflected deeply on his pain, choosing to go into seclusion, staking everything on one throw, determined not to stop until he reached the Returning to True Stage.

Leveraging the merits Ananda had accumulated over the years for the Blood Cloak Tower, he exchanged a good number of elixirs. Although these could not regenerate his severed limb, they still enabled Ananda to break through to the Returning to True Stage.

The deeper the cultivation, the more difficult it is to achieve breakthroughs, especially for martial artists at the Gang Qi Stage who have trained in unique types of Gangqi. Recompressing and refining Gangqi within their body into true essence and breaking through to the Returning to True Stage posed an even greater challenge.

However, once successful, the enhancement was tremendous; at the very least, Ananda believed there were few at the early stages of the Returning to True Stage who could be his match.

He even dared to challenge those in the mid-stage of the Returning to True Stage.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

This was the confidence that allowed him to seek out Gu Chen once more.

Gu Chen's expression remained calm, his gaze indifferent. There was nothing much to say to Ananda. The last time in Qiongtian City, Ananda had brought Gu Chen to the brink of death. If not for acquiring the Blood Shadow Sword, Gu Chen would have been killed by Ananda then.

The sense of threat that Ananda posed to Gu Chen still vividly lingered in his memory. His opponent was indeed worthy of being the top assassin on the Black List, with formidable strength.

Yet, the situation was different now. Even though Ananda had reached the Returning to True Stage, Gu Chen was still unafraid.

Whoosh!

Gu Chen moved in a flash. With one step, he left behind an afterimage; in an instant, he appeared right in front of Ananda, raising his fist to strike.

"What incredible speed!"

Ananda was immediately startled. Even though Gu Chen's cultivation was far below his, how could he be so fast?

Having experienced Gu Chen's physical strength before, Ananda had made up his mind not to engage in close combat again. As Gu Chen arrived in front of him, blood-red true essence surged through his body, forming one blood-red python after another, lashing out at Gu Chen.

Meanwhile, he rapidly withdrew, retreating backward.

Thud!

Gu Chen circulated his strength, swinging his arm, his body's tendons suddenly tensed, then released, emitting a sound as crisp as a twanging bowstring.

At that moment, Gu Chen's fist shot out like an arrow, with resolute and unmatched fist intent nestled between his fingers, moving unstoppably forward, the power contained within the fist ready to explode with terrifying force akin to a mountain collapsing and the earth shattering!

Boom!

Gu Chen's punch directly scattered the fiercely clawing blood-red pythons that were coming at him, sending scattered Qi energies flying through the air in disarray.

Seeing this, Ananda's face sank. He made a hand seal with one hand while issuing a light shout from his mouth.

Hum!

In an instant, a blood-red illusion assaulted Gu Chen. After reaching the Returning to True Stage, Ananda could exert greater control over the power of the Blood Transforming Gangqi, and this ability to affect a warrior's mind had naturally seen a significant enhancement.

This was, indeed, one of the most enigmatic abilities of the Blood Transforming Gangqi.

Layer upon layer of the blood-red illusion encroached upon him, as if Gu Chen was sinking into a blood-colored hell. Everywhere he looked, even the ground was paved with fresh blood, flowing constantly.

Then, one after another, pale and emaciated arms with pitch-black and sharply pointed nails began to slowly emerge from the blood on the ground, resembling the hands of malevolent spirits.

"Aaah—"

Suddenly, piercing screams echoed in Gu Chen's ears, causing waves of intense pain in his mind.

Gu Chen furrowed his brows tight, and at that moment, in the outer world, as Gu Chen's mind was trapped in the blood-colored inferno with a vacant expression on his face, Ananda charged forward, closing in on Gu Chen.

"Die!"

With an intense shout, the Gangqi within his body surged, all gravitating toward his left palm, which at that moment looked so radiant it seemed as if it could drip blood.

The fully-realized Blood Transforming Palm!

With this palm strike, he was confident that he could directly evaporate more than half of Gu Chen's blood within his body!

Even if Gu Chen possessed an indestructible body, he would still suffer, as the draining of vital blood was a severe consequence for any martial artist in the world.

Hum!

But at that moment, countless golden filaments suddenly burst forth from the pores all over Gu Chen's body, coating him in a layer of faint golden luster.

Whoosh!

Immediately after, Gu Chen's eyes snapped open, his gaze as piercing as a torch, and beams of light seemed to shoot from his pupils, causing pain in his opponent's eyes.

"How is this possible?!"

His adversary was shocked, unable to comprehend how Gu Chen could so quickly free himself from his mental control.

Of course, he didn't realize that at that very moment, Gu Chen had activated his Indestructible Divine Skill; once in motion, this technique could repel all manners of forces and ward off myriad evils, with a defense that could be called supreme!

Even attacks on the spirit could be deflected by Gu Chen, whose dazzling golden radiance seemed akin to Ananda's inborn protective Buddha light, each displaying their own kind of miraculous skill.

"I really don't know where you get the confidence to come after me again!"

Gu Chen's eyes were cold as he looked at his opponent as if he were staring at a dead man. At this moment, the tendons and bones in his body resonated in unison, producing a thunderous sound like a muffled roar.

His opponent was immediately alarmed and abruptly shouted, "Burning Blood Skill!"

His body's Blood Transforming Gangqi surged, employing a special secret technique to incite the burning of Gu Chen's vital blood.

Boom!

A bright aura erupted from Gu Chen, his vigorous blood energy surged violently, resembling waves in the tide, while the sound of rushing water emanated from the void.

With a loud thump, Gu Chen punched out, and the void churned like ripples on water, raising layer after layer of ripples. His foe felt the terrifying might of this punch and knew he absolutely could not withstand it directly.

Gu Chen's physical body was simply too terrifying, as if it could collapse the void itself!

"Blood Transforming Palm!"

His opponent let out a fierce shout, his expression ferocious, as his remaining palm swept through the air towards Gu Chen. Blood-colored Gangqi burst forth from all over his body, converging together in midair to form a frightening blood-red palm imprint. Even with Gu Chen's Indestructible Divine Skill as his shield, he felt a slight stirring in his blood.

The next moment, as his nemesis willed it, the gigantic bloody hand, like a cloud of blood, descended over Gu Chen's head.

But Gu Chen remained unfazed. When it came to cultivation, even though he had reached four hundred and eighty years, he was still somewhat behind his opponent, who had achieved the Returning to True Stage.

After all, the opponent had Gangqi in his body, while Gu Chen had only Gang Wind; the quality was still as much a gap as it had been during their previous clash in Qiongtian City.

Yet, now Gu Chen was unafraid of his adversary because his physical body had grown to a terrifying extent.

He would not find himself in a passive situation like that in Qiongtian City again. Today, with his physical body alone, Gu Chen could crush his opponent.

This was the terrifying physical prowess he had achieved at the Indestructible level!

At that moment, Gu Chen moved. He transformed into a humanoid tyrannosaurus, facing his opponent's all-out Blood Transforming Palm. Golden blood energy surged throughout his body, and his entire being shone with a resplendent golden light, making him appear like a golden-armored war deity of the heavenly realm.

Swish!

Gu Chen showed no intention of dodging. He stomped his foot, shaking the ground, which then cracked and spread outwards. His body shot straight up towards the sky as if ramming directly through any obstacle.

Boom!

With just one punch, accompanied by the sound of a dragon's roar and filled with pale golden blood energy, Gu Chen's punch instantly shattered the large palm imprint. It exploded like fireworks, with blood-colored light scattering down like rain.

"Spurt!"

His martial technique broken, his adversary suffered a backlash, spewing out a large mouthful of fresh blood on the spot.

As a killer, he should not have allowed any emotions to arise, but at that moment, his face was etched with shock. Staring at Gu Chen with wide eyes, he could not believe what he saw.

It had only been about three months, and yet Gu Chen had grown to this extent?!

Initially, had it not been for the Divine weapon, the Blood Shadow Sword, Gu Chen would have been easily slain by his opponent.

In such a short time, their roles had completely reversed, and now it was he who was no match for Gu Chen and at risk of being easily killed.

"Ahhh!"

With an angry roar, still unable to accept what had happened and filled with rage, he would not find himself reduced had it not been for Gu Chen severing his right arm. His combat prowess would not have declined, and he believed Gu Chen would still not be his match today.

"Kill!"

His opponent shouted fiercely, and suddenly, a brilliant flash of sword light appeared between heaven and earth—he too had a divine weapon!

This was something Gu Chen hadn't expected, but fortunately, his reflexes were quick enough, and he had completely assimilated the Blood Shadow Sword. With a thought from Gu Chen, the Blood Shadow Sword unsheathed itself, slashing towards the splendid sword light.

The two Divine weapons immediately battled fiercely in midair.

"Sending you on your way!"

At that moment, Gu Chen's expression was cold, his eyes blazing. He clenched his fist and charged forward. With a puff, his opponent's body instantly burst open, turning into a cloud of blood mist. Blood and bones scattered, as he died on the spot.