Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

Clang!

Another resonating sound, like a large bell tolling, rang out, transferring the horrifying force through the bell's body and into Gu Chen's. Gu Chen's body shook on impact; had his Golden Bell Shield strength not reached perfection and his body's toughness not increased again, he would have likely sustained serious internal injuries from this strike.

Such terrifying strength!

Gu Chen was alarmed and hastily rose to his feet, retreating backward in flight, wanting to put distance between himself and his attacker.

The assailant's cultivation was extremely profound, and their strength was formidable. Gu Chen believed it was essential to create some distance first to ascertain the attacker's capabilities.

However, the other party had no intention of letting Gu Chen go, and another wildly fierce palm struck out, the surging Gangqi overflowing in all directions, instantly collapsing the entire tavern.

Luckily, as soon as Gu Chen and his attacker had exchanged blows, countless people had started screaming and running out.

Seeing the other party relentlessly pursuing him, a cold sharpness flashed in Gu Chen's eyes. He too was riled into serious action and countered with a punch of his own.

By now, Gu Chen's strength had reached an incredibly terrifying eight hundred thousand catties, like a humanoid tyrannosaurus. He didn't believe the other's strength could surpass his own.

Just now, his disadvantage was only because the other party had seized the initiative, and because Gu Chen had been too hasty.

Thump!

As their fists and palms collided, they made a dull thudding sound, like muffled thunder, causing the void to tremble slightly as ripples spread out into the distance.

The attacker's body shook, and Gu Chen faintly heard a light exclamation from their mouth, as if they too were surprised by Gu Chen's performance.

After all, the intelligence reports suggested that, although Gu Chen's strength was formidable and his physique extraordinary, he should not possess such earth-shattering, terrifying power.

Seeing that his eight hundred thousand catties of strength poured out in one go only caused the other party to shake, Gu Chen immediately knew that this person's strength was incredibly terrifying. As he struck out with a dragon-shaped burst of energy, he quickly retreated backwards.

At the same time, his long fingers reached for his waist, trying to draw the Divine Weapon Blood Shadow Sword.

But at that moment, another sharp killing intent was released, enveloping Gu Chen entirely. Layers upon layers of blood shadows appeared before his eyes, and his consciousness blurred for an instant.

This was actually a unique move of the Blood Transforming Palm, where the release of Gangqi forms a fearsome domain that affects the opponent's spirit, dragging them into it.

The newcomer was none other than No Interstice, the number one assassin on the Black List of the Blood-Clothed Building.

Bang!

The next moment, No Interstice's pale palm reached out again as Gu Chen strained every muscle to break free from the blood-colored illusion created by the opponent. Seeing this, he hastily used the Golden Bell Shield's roar once more to block the assailant's strike.

No Interstice furrowed his brows slightly upon seeing this, not expecting Gu Chen to break free from the special domain formed by the Blood Transforming Palm so quickly.

It was known that with this move, No Interstice had never failed. Almost all his assassination targets were killed with a single strike.

What he didn't realize was that Gu Chen had grasped multiple martial truths, resulting in an extremely condensed spirit, and had been continuously tempering his mind with the master-level sword intent within the Blood Shadow Sword. Had the Blood Transforming Palm not been so powerful, ordinary mental attacks would have been unable to shake Gu Chen's mind in the slightest.

Of course, apart from Gu Chen's robust spirit, the Golden Bell Shield that formed as a protective aura around him was also causing No Interstice some irritation.

Clang, clang, clang!

It was but a moment, yet No Interstice unleashed three successive palms, each strike heavy with momentum, and his palms covered with a layer of blood-colored Gangqi.

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"Pfft!"

With three palms struck, Gu Chen felt the recoil, a stifling sensation in his chest, and he immediately spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

As for Wu Jian, he naturally felt the rebounding force coming from the echo of the Dragon and Tiger's Roar within the Golden Bell Shield, but with his profound cultivation, and protected by the Blood-Refined Gangqi, he was unscathed.

Feeling the aura of these three palms, and recalling the moments before, Gu Chen realized the enemy before him cultivated an aberrant Gangqi!

Gu Chen's heart chilled instantly, but at the same time, he felt a bit relieved because he had mistakenly thought his enemy's cultivation had reached the Returning to True Stage. Wu Jian's performance was so formidable that Gu Chen had misjudged his ability.

Of course, even so, Wu Jian's power posed a very strong threat to Gu Chen, even more so than the pressure Zhao Xingxuan had brought upon him before.

After all, even though both were at the grand completion of the Gang Qi Stage, the combat power of martial artists could vary greatly—not to mention, Wu Jian's cultivation of an aberrant Gangqi.

At that moment, seeing Wu Jian about to strike again, Gu Chen knew he could no longer remain on the defensive; otherwise, no matter how strong the defense of the Dragon and Tiger's Roar within the Golden Bell Shield was, there would come a time when it would break under the opponent's onslaught.

"Roar!"

In an instant, a dragon's roar resounded, Gu Chen clenched his fists, and as he thrust out a punch, a golden dragon-shaped energy burst forth from his fist, rushing towards Wu Jian, who was within arm's reach.

Taking hits passively was never in Gu Chen's nature, for him, the best defense was always offense.

Boom!

At this moment, with Gangqi coursing through Wu Jian's body, a formidable oppressive force approached, and his figure was covered in a layer of bright blood-colored Gangqi, looking like a flaring light. With a cold expression, he fiercely attacked Gu Chen.

At this moment, the domain formed by Blood-Refined Gangqi once again affected Gu Chen's mind, and the world before his eyes turned into a sea of blood, with visions of blood and floating corpses emerging before him.

At the critical moment, a stabbing pain surged from between Gu Chen's eyebrows, he bit the tip of his tongue, and finally broke free.

However, Wu Jian's attack was already close at hand, his palm was terrifying in its power, having transformed entirely into a blood color, flickering with an eerie red glow.

"Blood Transforming Palm!"

With a mild shout from Wu Jian, a strange luster flowed between the fingers of his palm as he struck at Gu Chen.

This was a Superior Martial Skill from within the Blood Cloak Tower, which could only be performed after cultivating Blood-Refined Gangqi, and moreover, Wu Jian had already mastered this skill to a great extent!

As the palm approached, Gu Chen felt an endless tide of blood-colored light engulfing him. The Blood Transforming Palm was named so because once struck by it, the victim's blood would evaporate in an instant, resulting in death.

At this moment, Gu Chen truly sensed a life-threatening danger; he felt pain everywhere in his body, while his brow throbbed incessantly.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a very resounding dragon and tiger roar filled the heavens and earth. Facing Wu Jian's Blood Transforming Palm, Gu Chen summoned all his power to the limit, his robust inner breath surging like tidal waves through his limbs and bones. Six hundred years of cultivated breath, Gu Chen poured it all out without reservation.

However, he was not directing his force at Wu Jian but instead used the Superior Martial Skill, Dragon and Tiger's Roar within the Golden Bell Shield, to defend.

A dazzling golden light emanated from Gu Chen's body, a majestic and archaic Protective Golden Bell appeared outside his body, enveloping him entirely. At this moment, the Protective Golden Bell also burst forth with a fierce golden radiance.

At the same time, Wu Jian's palm, during this crucial moment, struck upon the bell.

Dong!

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