154: Chapter 154 This is what you call a "reputable sect"

"Bang!" A dull, explosive sound rang out.

Gu Yan's fist did not smash Lin Canghai's skull as he had hoped.

The moment the soul-shattering knuckles touched his hair, a dark red Protective Aura erupted from within the Golden Core Elder's body.

The Protective Aura was as hard as a solid object; when the soul-shattering knuckles struck it, they stirred up a visible ripple.

The Protective Aura shattered.

Although Lin Canghai's head was saved, his entire body was forcefully smashed down from mid-air by this terrifying, monstrous strength.

Boom.

He crashed into the obsidian floor like a meteorite, causing gravel to splatter and dust to rise everywhere.

Gu Yan used the force of the rebound to flip in mid-air and land steadily.

He landed right on the chest of a Lin family deacon who was still clutching his head and screaming.

"Snap."

His sternum collapsed, and the broken ribs pierced directly into his heart.

The deacon's screams stopped abruptly. A large mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments gushed from his mouth. He kicked his legs twice and then stopped moving.

Gu Yan didn't even glance at the corpse beneath his feet; he simply shook off the residual Protective Aura from his soul-shattering knuckles.

"The Golden Core Stage turtle shell is indeed a bit tough."

His voice was calm, emanating from behind the ghost-face mask with a dull, metallic quality.

The dust settled.

Lin Canghai slowly stood up from the pile of rubble.

He was in a sorry state.

His meticulously styled hair bun was undone, and his hair was disheveled.

The red robe on his left shoulder had burst open, revealing a dark gold soft armor underneath. At this moment, five deep indentations were clearly imprinted on the armor, and the surrounding skin was bruised.

What made him even more frantic was that the shock to his Divine Soul from the earlier bell chime had not yet fully subsided; his head was still buzzing as if hundreds of flies were crashing around inside.

"Gu... Yan!!!"

Lin Canghai's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the masked man in black before him.

He didn't need to see his face; based solely on that sickening arrogance and the style of that punch, he would recognize him even if he were turned to ashes.

"Why are you shouting so loudly?"

Gu Yan tilted his head and pointed to the ghost statue in the corner that was still emitting a red glow: "Do you think the bell chime from earlier wasn't loud enough?"

"Good! Very good!"

Lin Canghai laughed out of extreme rage and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Colluding with the Demonic Path, ambushing an Elder, slaughtering fellow Disciples! Gu Yan, even if that old madman Elder Su Ming came in person today, he wouldn't be able to save you!"

"The Demonic Path?"

Gu Yan sneered and flicked his toe, kicking the corpse beneath his feet. It collided with a Lin family Disciple who was trying to sneakily crawl up, and the two rolled into a heap.

"Raising hundreds of Loose Cultivators like pigs and draining their blood to consecrate a banner—is this what you call a 'Righteous Sect'?"

"Setting a trap within the Sect to force a female Cultivator to hand over her family's exotic fire—is this what you call a 'Righteous Sect'?"

Gu Yan took a step forward, the spikes on his soul-shattering knuckles glinting coldly under the blood-red light: "Since your Lin family likes to label others with the Demonic Path so much, today I will let you witness what true... dog-eat-dog looks like."

"Brazen words!"

Lin Canghai roared, and the long blade still dripping with blood in his hand shook violently.

Hum!

A thick scent of blood instantly filled the entire great hall.

Countless twisted ghost faces appeared on the surface of the long blade, and the blade itself surged to three zhang in length, transforming into a crimson river of blood that slashed down directly at Gu Yan.

"blood-drinking mad blade! Slash!"

This blow, delivered in fury by a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, was astonishingly powerful.

The air was torn apart, emitting a series of explosive sounds.

Before the blade even arrived, the obsidian slabs on the ground could not withstand the pressure and began to crack.

Gu Yan did not take the blow.

He was not a fool; although his Physical Body was formidable, taking a direct slash from a Magic Treasure-level weapon head-on was suicide.

The ground beneath his feet exploded, and Gu Yan's figure turned into an afterimage, shifting three zhang to the right.

Boom!

The blood-red Saber Qi slashed into the spot where he had just been standing, leaving a trench several feet deep and over ten zhang long.

The rocks at the edge of the trench all melted, turning into pools of dark red magma.

"Dodging? Let's see where you can hide!"

Lin Canghai flipped his wrist, and the long blade swept horizontally.

The crimson blade light spread out like a fan, sealing off all of Gu Yan's retreat paths.

Gu Yan's eyes were cold.

The moment the blade light reached him, he suddenly leaned backward, sliding with his back almost touching the ground.

Sizzle.

The Saber Qi grazed the tip of his nose, slicing off a lock of his black hair and leaving a white mark on the ghost-face mask.

"Right here."

Gu Yan slid behind a massive stone pillar and kicked off it with both legs. Like a cannonball leaving the barrel, he did not retreat but instead advanced, shooting toward Lin Canghai while hugging the ground.

Close quarters.

The battlefield for a Body Cultivator is always within three steps.

"Seeking death!"

Seeing this, a trace of contempt flashed in Lin Canghai's eyes.

Although he was a Spell Cultivator, by the Golden Core Stage, his Protective Aura was sufficient to withstand the attacks of top-grade Spiritual Artifacts.

A little brat at the Foundation Establishment Stage wanted to engage in close-quarters combat?

He formed a seal with his left hand, and a blood-red light shield instantly formed before him.

However.

The moment Gu Yan rushed to the light shield, he pulled his right hand back sharply, and the eerie light on the soul-shattering knuckles surged, emitting a "woo-woo" ghost wail.

"Break!"

He punched out.

This punch did not land on the light shield, but instead hit—the ground.

Bang!

The obsidian ground shattered, and countless fragments of stone shot out like buckshot.

At the same time, using the force of this rebound, Gu Yan forcibly changed direction in mid-air, weirdly bypassing the front of the light shield and appearing on Lin Canghai's left side.

This was the injury spot left by his previous ambush.

The indentation on the soft armor was still there, and the bones inside must have already cracked.

"What?!" Lin Canghai was greatly alarmed; it was too late to turn his blade around.

Bang!

Gu Yan's left elbow slammed heavily into Lin Canghai's left ribs.

Snap.

The crisp sound of bone cracking was clearly audible amidst the chaotic battlefield.

Lin Canghai let out a muffled groan and stumbled to the right.

He had not expected Gu Yan's combat instincts to be this terrifying; he completely ignored conventional strategies.

"It's not over yet."

Gu Yan landed, stomped his right foot on the ground, and pressed the attack again.

The soul-shattering knuckles aimed directly for Lin Canghai's throat.

"Get lost!"

Lin Canghai was, after all, a Golden Core Cultivator with rich combat experience.

In the moment he lost his balance, he opened his mouth and spat out a blood arrow.

Swish!

The blood arrow expanded in the wind, turning into a blood nail an inch long, stabbing straight at the center of Gu Yan's brow.

This was formed from his natal essence blood, specifically designed to break Protective True Qi.

Gu Yan tilted his head.

Pfft.

The blood nail flew past his cheek, tearing away a piece of flesh.

Blood instantly stained half of his mask red.

But his movements did not pause in the slightest, and the soul-shattering knuckles slammed heavily against the hilt of the blade Lin Canghai held across his chest.

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere.

The immense force caused the webbing between Lin Canghai's thumb and forefinger to split, and the long blade nearly slipped from his grip.

He was blasted away by this monstrous force, crashing into a group of Lin family Disciples behind him.

"Ah!"

Several unlucky Disciples had their bones broken and tendons snapped by their own Elder, screaming as they flew away.

Gu Yan stood in place, not pursuing.

He reached up to touch the wound on his cheek, looked at the bright red blood on his fingertips, and licked the salty, fishy taste that had seeped into the corner of his mouth.

"Golden Core Stage..."

Gu Yan looked at Lin Canghai, who was climbing out of the pile of people looking disheveled, his voice raspy: "The feel of fighting you is nothing special."

Above the crossbeams of the great hall.

Jiang Wanrou covered her mouth tightly, watching the man below who was tearing into the Golden Core Elder like a mad dog; her heart was beating so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.

Was this what Gu Yan meant by "adding some seasoning"?

This was clearly intending to wipe out the entire Lin family!

She took a deep breath, clutching three cyan-colored Medicinal Pills in her palm.

Those were her specially made "Explosive Flame Pills." Although their power was not as vicious as the yin thunder bead, they excelled in creating a loud commotion and strong interference.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the signal from Gu Yan.

Below.

Lin Canghai pushed away the Disciple who was supporting him, his eyes having turned a pure blood-red.

The Golden Core within his body spun crazily, and a terrifying aura far exceeding the previous one was brewing.

"Good... very good."

Lin Canghai gritted his teeth, his voice sounding like an evil ghost crawling out of Hell: "Gu Yan, since you want to play with your life, this old man will grant your wish!"

"All Disciples, hear my command! Form the 'Blood River Formation'! Refine this little beast into blood!"

"Yes!"

The remaining dozen or so Lin family elites, though afraid, forced themselves to endure their injuries and quickly scattered. As they changed their hand seals, pillars of blood-red light shot into the sky, weaving into a massive blood net above the great hall.

Gu Yan looked up at the suffocating blood net above his head; not only was he not afraid, he laughed instead.

He raised his right hand, pointing the soul-shattering knuckles toward Lin Canghai from afar.

"Formation?"

"What a coincidence, I've prepared one for you too."

Gu Yan snapped his fingers.

"Unit Two, activate."

In the corner, the modified version of the funeral bell had the red light in its eye sockets suddenly become blinding, emitting a sound that was sharp to the extreme—a screech.