164: Gu Ling Sect, pale-faced scholar

"This is... a Void Refining Stage expert!"

After sensing this powerful aura, everyone from the Mu Family underwent a drastic change in expression; no one expected that their family's affairs would actually involve a Void Refining Stage expert.

"Who was the cash cow he just mentioned? Could it be that someone in our Mu Family has a connection with such an expert?"

"Looking at him, he doesn't seem to know Mu Qingling..."

"Are you a fool? This is clearly Patriarch Mu Xin's trump card. To think the Patriarch actually had such connections; Mu Qingling is finished."

"Something's not right. This person's aura doesn't seem like a righteous one. How can it rival that of the Demonic Cult?"

"This is the damn Demonic Cult! And it's... the Gu Spirit Sect!"

"Ah? The Demonic Cult? The Patriarch is actually involved with the Demonic Cult?"

Within the Mu Family, someone looked at the Jade Pendant at Zhao Heng's waist, their eyes filled with fear.

Since the Gu Spirit Sect was called a Sect, it naturally had tokens representing its identity; their token was a Jade Pendant made of bone, with the words 'Gu Spirit' engraved in the center.

There were also many elders in the Mu Family who still had some understanding of the Gu Spirit Sect.

The Demonic Cult!

These words instantly caused a massive uproar.

If it were an ordinary Demonic Cult, it would be one thing, but this Gu Spirit Sect was extremely powerful and struck terror into people's hearts in the region of the Cangyun Empire.

Seven years ago, the Gu Spirit Sect even attacked the imperial city of the Minghu Empire, refining all the living beings inside into Medicinal Pills before fleeing before the righteous Cultivators could arrive.

In recent years, many powerful Demon-hunting Cultivators have surrounded the neighboring Empires, so the Gu Spirit Sect had vanished for a long time.

Who would have thought that its appearance this time would be related to their Mu Family.

Some Mu Family members who had originally followed Mu Xin steadfastly underwent a drastic change in expression upon seeing his collusion with the Demonic Cult, their faces filled with unsightly looks.

No matter how fierce the internal conflict in the Mu Family was, outsiders could not be involved, especially the Demonic Cult.

If this matter were to spread, how could the Mu Family survive in the entire Eastern Region?

At this moment.

Mu Hua's eyes widened as he looked at Mu Xin in disbelief, roaring, "Mu Xin, you actually dare to collude with the Demonic Path!"

Although this was not the mortal world, the concept of righteousness and evil being incompatible still existed.

In the past, this idea wasn't particularly strong in the Eastern Region because everyone's strength was low; as long as the Demonic Cult didn't target them, they usually wouldn't go out of their way to suppress them.

But now the Eastern Region was flourishing, and many idle Cultivators had even formed Demon-hunting teams specifically to hunt down Demonic Path Cultivators.

Once tainted by the Demonic Cult, one would surely become an existence that everyone would want to destroy.

Even within these Demon-hunting teams, the figure of the Eastern Region's overlord, the Su Family, could be seen.

Mu Xin completely ignored Mu Hua's roar; his heart instantly felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, Zhao Heng had arrived, otherwise, he would have certainly died today.

However, he didn't speak either, as he still had to continue mingling within the righteous factions in the future.

Moreover, his value lay in hiding among the Cultivators to capture people for the Gu Spirit Sect to refine into Medicinal Pills; if his identity completely leaned toward the Demonic Cult, his value to the Gu Spirit Sect would become negligible.

Because the Gu Spirit Sect also had very little need for a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator.

At that time, he might even be refined into a Medicinal Pill himself.

As long as all the Mu Family members were wiped out today, no one would know about his connection with the Gu Spirit Sect.

Mu Xin's face was full of hideousness and madness; having reached this point, his mind had completely succumbed to the demonic.

Mu Qingling looked coldly toward the sky. "A demonic Cultivator?"

As her voice fell, the Void Realm around Zhao Heng trembled again, as if some terrifying existence was contained within.

In the next moment.

Three figures emerged from it. The leader looked like a young man with an extremely enchanting and somewhat pale face, and the aura on his body was terrifying to the extreme.

Return to Origin Stage!

The two people beside him were also incredibly powerful, one at the body integration realm Late Stage and one at the body integration realm Perfection.

Adding Zhao Heng from the beginning, the weakest among the four was at the Void Refining Late Stage; such a lineup was almost enough to directly destroy the entire Cangyun Empire.

The Mu Family instantly fell into a state of panic.

"This is... the White-Faced Scholar!"

Someone pointed at the pale-faced youth, their voice filled with fear, their body even trembling incessantly as if they had seen something of great horror.

White-Faced Scholar!

Someone's eyes widened immediately; this person was the Sect Master of the Gu Spirit Sect and a figure who struck terror into hearts in the surrounding area of the Cangyun Empire.

The mastermind who destroyed the Minghu Empire back then was also this White-Faced Scholar.

"Run!"

"The Gu Spirit Sect has reappeared. Could it be our Cangyun Empire's turn to suffer this time?"

The Mu Family instantly fell into chaos, and many people hurriedly fled toward the outside of the city.

Although some people in Jinling City noticed this terrifying aura, they didn't know exactly what was happening, so they only looked toward the Mu Family's direction with suspicion and uncertainty.

The White-Faced Scholar lowered his head slightly, glanced at Mu Qingling, and then directly ignored her. He turned his eyes toward Jinling City and said in a cold voice:

"We haven't made a move in a long time. Over these years, we've been hunted by those people and fled in distress. Now that I have achieved a Breakthrough to the Return to Origin Stage Middle Stage, it's time to announce the return of my Gu Spirit Sect."

"Sacrifice the entire Jinling City."

As the White-Faced Scholar's voice rang out, Zhao Heng and the other two had hideous smiles on their faces as they cupped their hands and said, "As you command!"

With that, the three of them waved their hands, and a massive Blood-Colored Compass floated into the sky, directly covering the entire Jinling City.

In an instant, a powerful refining force slowly descended. This refining force specifically absorbed essence blood. Countless streams of essence blood from across Jinling City began to float into the sky, slowly converging toward the center of the Formation.

"What's going on!"

Someone looked at all this in horror; the blood in their body kept gushing out, completely beyond their control.

"This is... the Blood Refining Grand Formation, a Formation of the Gu Spirit Sect. They have appeared again."

"The Blood Refining Grand Formation!? It's over, everything is over! I heard this Formation refined the entire imperial city of the Minghu Empire, and there were even body integration realm Cultivators inside."

"What should we do? I don't want to die yet!"

Someone in Jinling City recognized this grand Formation. For a time, sounds of crying and fear filled the city, and people scurried about like headless flies.

The entire Jinling City fell into boundless panic.

Unfortunately, the entire city was enveloped by the Formation; one would need at least the strength of the body integration realm to break out.

At this moment.

Above the Mu Family, Zhao Heng looked down at Mu Qingling with a contemptuous smile on his lips:

"If I'm not mistaken, you should also be at the Void Refining Stage, right?"

Although Mu Qingling's cultivation was somewhat hidden, it wasn't hidden very deeply, so he still sensed the aura on her body.

Definitely the Void Refining Stage!

It's just that this aura was relatively weak; it should only be a cultivation at the Void Refining Early Stage.

Void Refining Stage!

Although many people from the Mu Family had fled, a small portion still remained. Upon hearing these words, their faces were filled with shocked expressions.

Especially Mu Xin; he was even more incredulous.

Mu Qingling was actually at the Void Refining Stage!

In less than ten years, she could actually leap from the Nascent Soul Stage across the Soul Transformation Stage Realm to reach the Void Refining Stage directly.

How is this possible!

Just then, Mu Qingling raised her head slightly and looked at Zhao Heng, her eyes full of calmness.

"You're too weak. Boring."

Zhao Heng narrowed his eyes, and just as he was about to speak, a sword light suddenly struck from a distance.

"Pfft!"

A round head fell directly from the sky; Zhao Heng's face was full of doubt and confusion.

What happened?

Mu Qingling looked toward the White-Faced Scholar again, her aura gradually rising, changing from the somewhat weak aura at the beginning to one that was incomparably sharp.

Her whole being also seemed like a sharp sword, soaring straight into the sky.

"Next, it's your turn."

...