Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

The demon inside Fang Yong certainly wouldn't let such a rich blood meal as Gu Chen slip away from its sight.

This was also the real reason why Fang Yong was so enthusiastic during the day, insistently urging Gu Chen to stay. After being rejected by Gu Chen, and since Gu Chen would leave early the next day, Fang Yong devised another plan, intending to take action tonight to finish off Gu Chen for good.

What Fang Yong didn't expect was that Gu Chen's strength was so overpowering, having already exceeded the confines of the Essence-Gathering Realm. It was for this reason that he believed Gu Chen had deceived him by deliberately concealing his own strength.

In fact, Fang Yong couldn't really be blamed, as for someone of Gu Chen's age and realm to have fully mastered two low-grade martial arts, achieved great mastery in a mid-grade martial art, and with seventy-two years of inner strength cultivation, it was indeed incredibly inconceivable.

Perhaps the world would not find a second person who could achieve such accomplishments in the Essence-Gathering Realm.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, with a low growl, Fang Yong's body discharged a large amount of dark qi, similar to the state of Yin Yin, the courtesan at the Yi Xiang Building earlier.

Gu Chen knew that the demon hidden inside Fang Yong had officially awakened. As the demon revived, a dense and sinister aura poured out from within Fang Yong, giving an unpleasant and chilling sensation.

At the same time, the power within Fang Yong's body began to climb steadily, and soon surpassed the limits of the Essence-Gathering Realm, reaching the level equivalent to the fourth realm of martial arts, the Meridian-Opening Realm.

"Oh?"

Sensing this aura, Gu Chen slightly raised his eyebrows. This was his first encounter with a demon at the strength of the Meridian-Opening Realm.

No wonder it had hidden so well; even under Gu Chen's watch, he had not detected it.

Boom!

Fang Yong's expression was ferocious, like a vicious demon. Power surged throughout his body and amidst a billow of dark qi, he threw a punch at Gu Chen. The air itself seemed almost unable to withstand this force, emitting a roaring sound.

Bang!

Gu Chen held out one hand horizontally in front of himself, blocking Fang Yong's punch.

"Roar!"

Fang Yong let out a roar. At this moment, his pupils were covered by dark qi, completely losing his senses and becoming a puppet of the demon. His body, manipulated by the demon, showed black qi on his fist, attempting to take this opportunity to corrode Gu Chen's body.

Suddenly, Gu Chen's eyes darkened. He activated the Pure Yang Technique, and the seventy-two years of inner strength cultivation within him burst forth explosively. The intense aura spread out from his body in all directions, instantly incinerating the black qi.

"Die!"

With a cold shout, Gu Chen raised his hand and struck with a Red Flame Palm. His palm was enveloped in a layer of flame, the high temperature twisting the air around it.

Bang!

Fang Yong crossed his arms in front of him, the dark qi around his body gathering to form a shield. Gu Chen's palm struck down and on contact, along with a sizzling noise, countless strands of dark qi dispersed.

Despite this, Fang Yong still managed to block Gu Chen's palm. This was the first opponent since Gu Chen's transmigration who had blocked his full-strength strike.

"I wonder how many more palms you can block!"

Gu Chen's face was grim, like an indefatigable engine, continuously delivering palm strikes, one after another. His profound inner strength cultivation, combined with his fearsome power at this realm, was too much for a demon possessing the strength of the Meridian-Opening Realm like Fang Yong to withstand.

With over ten thousand jin of force and seventy-two years of inner strength cultivation, Gu Chen delivered twelve consecutive palms. Fang Yong was already trembling all over, bleeding from every orifice, foam mixed with blood at his mouth. He could only take the hits and had no chance to fight back; he looked as if he couldn't hold on any longer.

Bang!

Accompanying Gu Chen's thirteenth palm strike, Fang Yong could no longer hold on. He vomited a large mouthful of blood, and his whole body emitted a series of eerie crackling noises from his bones. His body was flung out straight away.

When Fang Yong fell to the ground, thin wisps of black qi emerged from his pores, rushing toward the outside of the county office.

"Trying to flee?"

Gu Chen's eyes turned sharp as lightning as he charged out, appearing at the door in a flash, blocking the escaping black qi. He struck out several Red Flame Palms in succession, while inner strength circulated within him, his robe billowing. The scorching aura unique to the Pure Yang Technique spread and directly incinerated the pervasive dark qi completely.

"Howl—"

Amidst the waning black qi, a faint, agonized scream echoed. As the black qi vanished, a dark and profound crystal fell from the sky, which Gu Chen caught steadily.

"Lord... Gu..."

At this time, Gu Chen heard a faint call, so weak that he might not have heard it had his hearing not been exceptional.

Turning around, Gu Chen discovered that it was in fact Fang Yong calling him.

He quickly approached Fang Yong. With the demon gone and its possession over Fang Yong's body destroyed, Fang Yong's eyes had somehow regained clarity.

Seeing this, Gu Chen let out a soft sigh, knowing it was but a fleeting return of light before death, and Fang Yong could only regain this brief moment of lucidity before dying.

"Prefecture Fang, I'm here. Do you have something to say?" Gu Chen approached Fang Yong and asked softly.

"There is... a demon... in Ning City..." Fang Yong, with blood frothing from his mouth, was at the brink of death. After stuttering out this sentence, his head tilted, and he breathed no more.

At this moment, Gu Chen's expression became somber. The message Fang Yong relayed before his death indeed alarmed him.

There was still a demon in Ning City?!

Accounting for the one in Liu family village, in just over the course of a day, he had already slain three demon ghouls, yet now Fang Yong was telling him that there were still demons lurking in Ning City?

"I hadn't expected that the demon calamity in Ning City had already reached such a level!" Gu Chen's expression was grave.

If such was the calamity that befell a single county, one could imagine that the number of demons throughout Da Xia must also be increasing rapidly.

Of course, this was not for Gu Chen to worry about, for the moment; what he needed to concern himself with was how to deal with the entire Ning City.

The last words left by Fang Yong must have come from the fusion of his memory with the demon's, after their combination, the specifics of which would need investigation to conclude.

While Gu Chen was deep in thought, a commotion arose outside the county government office; Wu Qian had returned with his subordinates.

As they entered the inner hall and saw Gu Chen, along with Fang Yong lying on the ground, covered in blood and thoroughly dead, they were all taken aback.

Clang!

In their panic, many constables quickly drew their weapons.

Wu Qian was naturally shocked, but he forcibly suppressed his desire to act, his Adam's apple moving as he carefully approached the expressionless Gu Chen and whispered, "Lord Gu, what... what has happened here?"

While they scrutinized Gu Chen, he also appraised them, looking to see if any among Wu Qian's group had been tainted or possessed by a demon.

Overall, these constables seemed normal, with nothing amiss, and so Gu Chen did not strike out immediately.

Seeing Gu Chen remain silent, Wu Qian dared not ask further questions. The constables behind him stood there trembling, unsure whether to sheathe their weapons or keep them drawn.

After a long pause, they heard Gu Chen say, "Is everything at Yi Xiang Building taken care of?"

Wu Qian hurriedly replied, "Everything has been dealt with according to your orders."

Gu Chen nodded and said, "Just like the courtesan of Yi Xiang Building, Fang Prefecture was contaminated and possessed by a demon and has been slain by me."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qian jerked his head up, his expression one of shock. He found it hard to believe, yet deep down, he also felt that Lord Gu had no reason to deceive him.

After all, if Gu Chen wanted to kill them, the group of constables combined would be no match for him.

"Believe it or not, there are still unknown demons lurking in Ning City. I declare that, as of this moment, I am temporarily taking charge of Ning City's county office," Gu Chen stated in an unquestionable tone.

Hearing this, the constables exchanged glances, unsure of what to do next.

"I believe in Master Gu!"

At this, Wu Qian suddenly spoke out. He looked at Gu Chen and said sternly, "I believe what Master Gu just said. Please give any further instructions directly, Master Gu."

In Wu Qian's view, Gu Chen's strength was more than enough to overwhelm everything; there really was no need for him to lie to these minor constables.

Hearing Wu Qian's words, the constables behind him sheathed their weapons and said in unison, "We await Master Gu's orders."

Gu Chen said, "Many constables have gone missing from the county office, but they must not have left the premises. Go and look for them."

"At once," said Wu Qian, bowing deeply and accepting the command respectfully.

Soon, they made a discovery, just as Gu Chen had anticipated; aside from the constables Wu Qian had taken with him, all the others had been drained into mummies by Fang Yong.

Throughout the night, they dealt with the bodies of Fang Yong, the county magistrate, and those of the other constables and runners.

After a thorough cleaning of the county office, having endured a night of turmoil, dawn was nearly upon them.

In the inner hall, Gu Chen sat in the seat of honor, with Wu Qian below, reporting in detail all events from Liu family village to the present, sparing no detail and recounting everything.

Gu Chen hoped to find clues about the demons among these minor details.

"Wait, you said that after the incident at Liu family village, you discussed with Fang Prefecture to request a Metropolitan Procurator from Jing Tian Department to come?" Gu Chen interrupted Wu Qian, raising his hand to ask.

Wu Qian nodded and said, "Yes, because the situation in Liu family village was somewhat peculiar, we couldn't make a decision, so we thought of reporting to Jing Tian Department, asking them to send a Metropolitan Procurator to handle the matter, which would be more secure. But we didn't expect that it would be Master Gu who came in the end."

At the end, Wu Qian let out a few dry chuckles.

Gu Chen did not respond; the dispatch he received from Jing Tian Department had not described the situation as severe. The dispatch simply noted that Ning City was suspected to have a demon causing trouble, one not very powerful but cunning, and the local county office couldn't handle it, so they reported to Jing Tian Department.

It dawned on Gu Chen, realizing the reason behind it. Undoubtedly, it was Fang Yong's doing.

The demon occupying Fang Yong's body certainly wanted to devour more martial warriors' flesh and essence. If the person Jing Tian Department sent was too strong, it would naturally be a problem, so the demon would need to find someone weaker.

If Gu Chen had perished here, Jing Tian Department would surely send another, and relying on the means Fang Yong used against Gu Chen, the demon would repeat the process, creating a cycle. In this way, the demon's strength could skyrocket in a short period of time.

By the time Jing Tian Department realized something was wrong, it would be too late; by then, the demon might have broken through the Panic Level boundary. If that happened, the entirety of Ning City could be annihilated.

By that point, it would be too late for everything.

It had to be said, it was indeed a good plan, except the demon's first encounter was with Gu Chen.

"Master Gu, you said earlier that there are still demons hiding in Ning City, is that true?" Wu Qian asked cautiously.

"Of course, it's true," replied Gu Chen. "Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, take me to Fang's place."

"This subordinate obeys!" Wu Qian bowed and acknowledged the order respectfully.