62: Chapter 62: The Common Body

Zhou Yuande's face instantly turned from pale to ashen, his pupils contracting sharply. He instinctively took a violent step back, clutching the swaddled baby in his arms even tighter. His lips twitched as he squeezed out a smile that looked uglier than crying: "Gu... Chief Clerk Gu..."

Before he could finish his sentence,

Chief Clerk Gu Qing had already raised his hand.

A dark gray handprint shot out from his palm.

"Chief Clerk Gu, let me explain!"

"Boom!!"

The space around the handprint distorted slightly, emitting a heart-palpitating, gloomy, and cold aura.

Zhou Yuande, who had intended to beg for mercy, saw his expression change drastically. He stomped his foot hard, his figure floating backward like a startled swan, while his right hand pinched a hand seal, and he barked in a low voice:

"Green Spiritual Shield! Protect!"

A Spiritual Qi shield flowing with green light hastily condensed in front of him, with various runes appearing on its surface.

The handprint slammed into it with a roar. The green light flared brilliantly before shattering into thousands of specks of light.

The shockwave swept across, and Zhou Yuande was shaken back several steps. The blood and Qi in his chest surged, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"This is too much!"

"Attack!"

As soon as Zhou Yuande's words fell, several Qi Refining Disciples snapped back to their senses. They unleashed their respective Magical Artifacts, spiritual light flashing, as Sword Qi, fireballs, and ice spikes blasted toward Chief Clerk Gu Qing in unison.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing didn't even spare them a glance. With a wave of his sleeve, several blades of light shot out silently from his hand. Fast as lightning, they precisely pierced through everyone's protective spiritual light. Blood splattered, and they fell to the ground before they could even scream.

Zhou Yuande's eyes threatened to split at the sight: "Chief Clerk Gu Qing! Why must you be so ruthless and wipe us out completely? What difference does it make who this child is given to!"

Chief Clerk Gu Qing did not answer at all. Taking a step forward, his figure closed in like a phantom, and he struck down with another palm.

Wherever the wind of his palm passed, the air froze.

Zhou Yuande gritted his teeth and flipped his left hand. A yellowed Talisman flew out from his sleeve, igniting upon meeting the wind and turning into a golden light barrier in front of him.

"Boom!!!"

That was his life-saving Talisman which he had treasured for many years, the Vajra Protection Talisman.

"Bang!!"

The gray handprint descended, and the golden light exploded. It forcibly withstood Chief Clerk Gu Qing's palm strike, but it also exhausted all the spiritual power of the Talisman.

"How is this possible?!"

Zhou Yuande's pupils shrank violently as he stared intently at the dark gray light in Chief Clerk Gu Qing's palm. Then, as if remembering something, his voice changed pitch,

"This is... the Heluo Yuan Palm? How... how do you know the techniques of the demonic Heluo Sect! Who on earth are you!"

Chief Clerk Gu Qing still did not reply.

One dark gray handprint after another blasted toward Zhou Yuande like a tempest.

Each handprint precisely blocked his retreat. The fluctuations of spiritual power were like a mountain collapse or tsunami, making it hard to breathe.

Zhou Yuande desperately circulated his spiritual power, his spiritual sword dancing with streaks of Sword Qi in an attempt to parry, while his feet trod a profound footwork to dodge left and right.

But his cultivation was, after all, two minor Realms lower than Chief Clerk Gu Qing's. After a few moves, his spiritual power was already failing, and his footwork began to grow messy.

"Boom!"

A handprint pierced through the sword light and slammed solidly onto his right shoulder. The sound of bones fracturing was clearly audible, and his entire arm hung limply.

Zhou Yuande groaned, his figure staggering.

Immediately after, another handprint blasted his chest. His ribs broke, and blood sprayed wildly. He flew backward like a broken kite, crashing heavily onto the ground, and the swaddle in his arms flew out of his grasp.

The moment the child fell, Chief Clerk Gu Qing flicked a gentle stream of spiritual power from his fingertip, steadily supporting the swaddle and gently placing it on the ground.

The child wailed loudly but was completely unharmed.

Zhou Yuande struggled to crawl up. His chest had already collapsed, and blood kept gushing uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. Lying on the ground, he looked up at Chief Clerk Gu Qing, his eyes filled with fear, unwilling resentment, and a trace of pleading.

"Chief Clerk Gu... I... I also did it for the Sect... As long as you show mercy, our Yunshan Sect in the future..."

"Noisy."

Chief Clerk Gu Qing calmly spat out two words, raising his hand and striking down with a palm.

The dark gray handprint blanketed down, and the scream cut off abruptly.

Zhou Yuande's eyes bulged, his pupils dilating. A thread of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth as he slowly collapsed.

Dead silence returned to the mountain path, with only the night wind wailing and the hoarse crying of the child.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing stood where he was, his gaze falling upon the swaddle, motionless.

The child's crying was like needles pricking into his ears and into his heart. His face remained expressionless, but his clenched hands were trembling slightly.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing walked over, squatted down, and looked down at that wrinkled little face.

The child's face was smeared with tears and snot, and its voice was already hoarse from crying, letting out a raspy whimper. Chief Clerk Gu Qing reached out, hesitated for a moment, but still picked the child up.

The child struggled a few times in his arms before gradually quieting down, only sobbing occasionally, its tiny fists clenched tightly.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing looked at the child, his gaze extremely complex.

In his eyes, there was hesitation, struggle, ruthlessness, and a trace of inexplicable... pain.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing's hands were shaking—not from the cold, but because he was indecisive in his heart.

"Sigh..."

Finally,

Chief Clerk Gu Qing closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the trace of struggle in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a near-indifferent resolve.

"Child, don't blame me."

Chief Clerk Gu Qing murmured softly, not knowing whether he was speaking to the child or to himself.

He freed one hand and took out a palm-sized disc from his sleeve.

The disc was pitch-black all over, its surface covered with dense runes, and a ring of small characters on the edge faintly emitted a dim spiritual light.

He bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of fresh blood onto the center of the disc. The blood seeped into the runes, and the disc vibrated slightly, emitting a low humming sound.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing aimed the disc at the child, slowly scanning from head to toe.

The runes on the disc lit up one by one, their glow turning from dim to bright, until finally, the entire disc was reflecting a pale golden color. The ring of small characters on the edge began to spin, eventually stopping on two characters: Mortal Shedding.

"The Mortal Shedding Physique..."

"As expected..."

Chief Clerk Gu Qing murmured in a low voice. Although he tried his best to restrain his calm voice, he still could not hide the abnormality in it.

The Mortal Shedding Physique could only be born among Mortals, one in tens of millions.

This spiritual body was born to shed mortality. Once they began cultivating, their future would be boundless. Moreover, as their cultivation progressed, they could undergo a true 'Mortal shedding'.

Like a silkworm, with each Mortal shedding, the power of the spiritual body would grow thirty percent stronger, and at the same time, all previous internal injuries and lingering ailments would completely disappear.

This was a true late-blooming constitution. It might be unremarkable in the early stages, but each Mortal shedding would be a complete rebirth.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing put away the disc and looked down at the child in his arms, falling into a long silence.

"Perhaps, this is the second chance heaven has given me."

Once Chief Clerk Gu Qing's words fell, he hesitated no longer.

As he raised his hand, the Spiritual Qi within his body surged. A dark gray light condensed in his palm, casting his face in half-light and half-shadow.

The night wind blew through his hair. No expression could be seen on his square face, but the waves deep in his eyes could not be suppressed no matter what.

Chief Clerk Gu Qing...

...was once the eldest son of the Gu Family lineage in Shanhe County of the Dachuan Dynasty, born standing above tens of thousands.

Exceptionally intelligent since childhood, he began his education at age three, read through the classics and histories by five, and had his spiritual body detected at seven, bringing joy to the entire clan. At that time, Chief Clerk Gu Qing was a true favored son of heaven.