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Chapter 160: Chapter 145 Half-Step Gangqi_1
Chapter 160: Chapter 145 Half-Step Gangqi_1
On Lake of Waving Mist, a wisp of fog curled up, and in the distance, a black vessel belonging to the Red Flame Demon Sect could be seen.
At the very front of the ship stood a young man dressed in black, with a tall figure and profound eyes. He stood there in silence, quietly watching as Gu Chen crushed Xue Jun of the Sunset Sword Sect like stepping on ants.
The appearance of the Red Flame Demon Sect warriors threw the martial artists on the ten flower boats into a panic.
Just then, with a flash, Luo Feng appeared beside Gu Chen with a grave expression and said, "Brother Gu, we're in trouble. The members of the demon sect have heard the news and have come too, no doubt they plan to wipe out all the talents who will be attending the grand assembly at the Yao Platform in one fell swoop."
Gu Chen's eyebrows knitted slightly. Although he had received intelligence from the Jing Tian Department and knew that the demon sect's warriors would appear at the grand assembly at the Yao Platform, he thought the Red Flame Demon Sect would wait until the assembly started before acting. He hadn't expected the enemy to be so impatient as to prepare for a massacre tonight.
Luo Feng pointed at the young figure at the front of the black ship and said, "Brother Gu, do you see that person? His name is Lian Xing, and he is one of the most outstanding successors of his generation in the Red Flame Demon Sect, as well as the most likely candidate for the next sect leader."
Lian Xing, dressed in black with the Red Flame Demon Sect insignia embroidered on his chest, seemed to sense something and instantly directed his gaze over.
His face was calm, showing no emotion, and as the black ship drew closer, he spoke indifferently, "Submit, or die."
His voice, amplified by his internal energy, resonated continuously over Lake of Waving Mist. Such rich internal energy caused many faces to change on the flower boats of the Pavilion of Flowers.
As the black ship moved closer, the faces of the members of the demon sect became clearer, and many martial artists recognized the identities of many of the demon sect's warriors.
"It's you, Zhao Qin of the Green Stone Hand!"
"And you, Hu Jin of the Piercing Soul Sword!"
"..."
As name after name was called out, those demon sect warriors who had been named all wore mocking grins. They were all well-known figures from the underworld of Qiongtian Mansion and the other two great mansions, all wanted by Da Xia.
Without exception, after the emergence of the Six Union God Sect, they all pledged allegiance to it.
After all, in Da Xia, they were all fugitives who had to live in darkness. As long as they showed their faces, they would be hunted, leading extremely difficult lives.
The resurgence of the Six Union God Sect, in urgent need of manpower, attracted this group through various secret channels to join their ranks.
After all, the Six Union God Sect had the means to control demons and ghosts, which could extend life and greatly increase strength, helping them break through their bottlenecks, making these underworld martial artists extremely tempted.
Even though this required devouring the flesh and blood of living people, for these brutal and evil figures, human life really didn't count for much.
It was precisely because of the addition of these people that the strength of the Six Union God Sect had greatly increased in just a few months.
Zhao Qin, known as the Green Stone Hand among the martial artists, had been a notorious bandit within Qiongtian Mansion, who slaughtered several villages and was wanted by Da Xia. After joining the Six Union God Sect, he had the good fortune of successfully integrating with a demonic ghost, and since then led a prosperous life.
At this moment, he sneered and said, "Join the divine sect, and you may be spared from death."
Hu Jin also spoke in a cold voice, "Those who refuse to join, die!"
At that moment, the flower boats had been sailing for some time, at a distance from Cloud Smoke City. Even if reinforcements were to come, it would take some time.
Thus, hearing this, many martial artists started to hesitate, but after all, there were many disciples from reputable sects on the flower boats, and naturally, these people wouldn't possibly defect to the demon sect.
"You think we would join the demon sect? Dream on!"
"Even if it means death, we will not collude with demons and monsters!"
"Everyone, don't be afraid. Cloud Smoke City has several Gang Qi Stage masters stationed, along with Da Xia's troops. As long as we hold on for a while, these demon sect warriors will surely flee in defeat!"
"That's right, we mustn't fall for the demon sect's tricks. We have numbers on our side and should not falter without a fight!"
Hearing this, Zhao Qin, Hu Jin, and the rest of the demon sect warriors showed a hint of mockery on their faces, without the slightest fear.
After all, the Red Flame Demon Sect also had masters in Cloud Smoke City. Those who were waiting for rescue were merely deluding themselves.
This time, the Red Flame Demon Sect had made all kinds of preparations to hunt down the talents from the major sects on the rivers and lakes during this night banquet.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
At that moment, shades flickered as one demonic ghost after another emerged from the black ship of the Red Flame Demon Sect, charging toward the ten flower boats of the Pavilion of Flowers.
"They're demonic ghosts, everyone be careful!"
"Let's join forces against the enemy and slay these demon sect fiends!"
Suddenly, the battle began in an instant as the black ship approached the ten flower boats. Over a hundred demon sect warriors, accompanied by a dozen specter-level demons and ghosts, charged toward the crowd.
Among them, there were more than ten Vajra Stage warriors, and some of these people's bodies flickered with a faint black light, their skin tight, having reached the second level of physical realm, like bronze poured iron cast.
The Red Flame Divine Sect's purpose was to use the opportunity of this night banquet to first assassinate a part of the martial artists, then let the demonic ghosts devour them to increase their strength.
Seeing this, quite a few martial artists on the flower boats of the Pavilion of Flowers panicked.
But they were all disciples of major sects, and their strength was not weak. Although only two top sects, the Shen Martial Sect and the Sunset Sword Sect, were present here, the rest of the people also came from first-rate forces in the Nine States and were not so easily defeated. For a time, they actually fought on par with the warriors of the Red Flame Demon Sect.
Gu Chen saw the demonic ghosts appear and was immediately pleased, but just as he was about to take action, Lian Xing from the Red Flame Demon Sect moved in close to confront him.
"Brother Gu, this man has already reached the level of a 'Body as Sturdy as a Wild Dragon,' and he is not weak. He is far stronger than Feng Zhi and Xue Jun; you must not take him lightly," Luo Feng said with a serious look as he noticed Lian Xing approaching Gu Chen.
In the martial world, some forces did not believe in the authenticity of Gu Chen's battle in Xu'an County, but as a successor of the Red Flame Demon Sect, Lian Xing was very clear about Gu Chen's strength.
Moreover, he had just witnessed Gu Chen so easily slaying Xue Jun, so at the very start of the fight, Lian Xing went for Gu Chen.
Because without him, it was feared that no one from the Red Flame Demon Sect would be a match for Gu Chen.
This was also the true purpose behind the Red Flame Demon Sect sending him over.
As Lian Xing approached, Gu Chen remained calm and composed, not in a hurry to slay those ghostly demons of the ghostly rank.
Because inside Lian Xing, there resided an even stronger demon spirit!
This was Gu Chen's real target.
"The power that had been stagnant for so long can finally begin to increase again," a hint of a smile appeared in Gu Chen's eyes.
When Lian Xing saw that his approach caused no panic in Gu Chen, who instead showed a slight smile, he was somewhat puzzled.
However, he didn't care about it, nor did he choose to waste words with Gu Chen, and simply sent a light and floating palm strike toward him.
This palm strike seemed to burst forth without any force, but his palm was wrapped in a sinister power capable of instantly melting the body of a Vajra Stage martial artist.
As soon as Lian Xing made his move, he used his full power!
Upon seeing this, Gu Chen said to Luo Feng, "Brother Luo, step back further."
Luo Feng, upon hearing this, had a grave expression and retreated.
Bang!
The next moment, their palms met without any explosive force, but the composed Lian Xing frowned, his body sent flying backwards.
Seeing this, Gu Chen's figure flashed like a shadow, immediately following up with another palm.
Bang!
Lian Xing continued to match palms with Gu Chen; this time, Gu Chen increased his strength, causing Lian Xing's body to tremble and blood to flow from the corner of his mouth.
His eyes showed shock; although he had heard of Gu Chen's strength, Gu Chen had not reached the Vajra Stage at that time, so when the higher-ups of the Red Flame Demon Sect proposed this battle plan, he volunteered to deal with Gu Chen.
Lian Xing thought he had estimated Gu Chen's strength highly enough, but this exchange proved him wrong.
The speed of Gu Chen's improvement was simply too fast.
Fortunately, he had come prepared. With a long howl from Lian Xing, in the face of another palm strike from Gu Chen, a wild and sharp force burst forth from inside him, clinging to his body.
"Gangqi?"
A look of surprise flashed in Gu Chen's eyes; he hadn't expected the Lian Xing before him to have cultivated Gangqi.
Bang!
The contact between Gu Chen's palm and Lian Xing's Gangqi caused pain to surge through him, and blood flowed from his palms.
This was the power of Gangqi; even Gu Chen's physical body couldn't withstand it, because even the slightest bit of Gangqi was refined from countless internal breaths.
By comparison, the difference between internal breath and Gangqi was like that between ordinary iron and thoroughly tempered fine steel — they were incomparable.
At this moment, Lian Xing had already converted half of his internal breath into Gangqi; if not for this, he would not have dared to exchange blows with Gu Chen after witnessing his strength.
Although still not on par with a true Gang Qi Stage martial artist, with half of his internal Gangqi, Lian Xing was already a formidable opponent within the Vajra Stage.
"So you're relying on Gangqi!" Gu Chen smiled lightly, still unconcerned.
Seeing this, Lian Xing frowned, Gangqi gathered in his palms, and he used a high-grade martial art from the Red Flame Demon Sect to strike at Gu Chen.
Boom!
Facing Lian Xing's palm infused with Gangqi, Gu Chen stretched out his body, his arms turning into pillars that seemed to support the heavens as he smashed them towards Lian Xing.
Bang!
Even with Gangqi protecting him, Lian Xing couldn't resist the tremendous force from Gu Chen's arms and was sent flying once more, vomiting a large mouthful of blood.
Had it not been for the possession of a demon spirit, that one strike would have nearly taken Lian Xing's life if it didn't kill him.
If Lian Xing had truly ascended to the Gang Qi Stage, Gu Chen would definitely have been much more cautious; but now, even with half of his Gangqi cultivated, he was still no match for Gu Chen.
After all, Lian Xing still fell far short of a true Gang Qi Stage martial artist.
Boom!
Gu Chen didn't give Lian Xing a chance to catch his breath and immediately threw another punch with astonishing power, causing a thunderous sound to rip through the air.
Lian Xing's brow knit tightly; he didn't understand where this freak, Gu Chen, had come from. His cultivation of Vajra Stage perfection combined with half his Gangqi couldn't even force Gu Chen to use all his strength?
Seeing Gu Chen's nonchalant demeanor, he knew that Gu Chen did not take him seriously at all.
But luckily, he still held one last trump card — the demon spirit within him!
"Ao!"
With a fierce howl that echoed over Cloud Smoke Lake, the lake surface burst open, and four water columns soared into the sky.
At the same time, numerous martial artists who heard the howl had expressions of agony, as blood flowed from their seven orifices, and they fell to the ground, unable to rise.