章 18: Chapter 16: The Truth
Gu Chen did not speak, but he observed Fang Yong. At this moment, he also understood many things.
Gu Chen had mastered Horizontal Training, his body was strong, his energy was abundant, and his blood was vigorous. In the eyes of demons, he was definitely top-quality food.
The demon inside Fang Yong naturally would not let such a plentiful blood meal like Gu Chen slip away.
This was the real reason Fang Yong was so enthusiastic and tried to keep Gu Chen during the day. After being refused, since Gu Chen would leave early the next morning, Fang Yong had another plan to act that night and completely take out Gu Chen.
But what Fang Yong did not expect was that Gu Chen's strength was so formidable, far beyond the scope of the Concealing Breath Realm. That was why he believed Gu Chen had deceived him and deliberately concealed his strength.
Actually, it was not Fang Yong's fault. It was indeed too unbelievable for someone of Gu Chen's age and realm to have mastered two low-grade martial arts to perfection, one mid-grade martial art to great success, plus seventy-two years of inner energy cultivation.
Perhaps there was no second person in the world who could achieve such accomplishments in the Concealing Breath Realm.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, Fang Yong let out a low roar, and a large amount of black gas spilled out from his body. This state was just like the courtesan Yin Yin in Yi Xiang Building earlier.
Gu Chen knew that this was the demon hidden in Fang Yong's body officially resurrecting. As the demon revived, a thick yin evil energy gushed out from Fang Yong's body, bringing with it an uncomfortable cold sensation.
Concurrently, the power within Fang Yong's body also gradually ascended, quickly surpassing the limits of the Concealing Breath Realm and reaching the equivalent level of the Martial Path's Fourth Stage: Interlinking Veins Realm.
"Oh?"
Feeling this aura, Gu Chen slightly raised his eyebrows. A demon with Interlinking Veins Realm strength, he indeed encountered for the first time.
No wonder it hid so well, even under Gu Chen's nose, he did not notice.
Boom!
Fang Yong's face was ferocious, like a fierce ghost. His entire body's power surged, and as the black gas surged, he punched at Gu Chen. The air seemed unable to withstand this power, emitting a booming sound.
Bang!
Gu Chen blocked Fang Yong's punch with one hand in front of him.
"Roar!"
Fang Yong let out a roar. At this moment, his pupils were covered by the black gas, and he completely lost his sanity, becoming a puppet of the demon. His body was controlled by the demon, and black gas appeared on his fists, trying to use this opportunity to erode Gu Chen's body.
Instantly, Gu Chen's gaze turned serious. He activated Pure Yang Skill, and the seventy-two years of inner energy cultivation within him erupted suddenly. The intense aura spread out from his body, burning those black gases to ashes in an instant.
"Die!"
Gu Chen coldly shouted, raising his hand to deliver a Red Flame Palm strike. At this moment, his palm was enveloped by a layer of flames, the high temperature scorching the surrounding air into distortion.
Bang!
Fang Yong crossed his arms, the black gas around him gathered layer upon layer in front of him, forming a shield. As Gu Chen's palm descended, the moment of contact produced hissing sounds as countless black gases dissipated on cue.
Nevertheless, Fang Yong still blocked this palm strike from Gu Chen. This was the first opponent since Gu Chen's journey through the world who had blocked his full-force strike.
"Let's see how many strikes you can take!"
Gu Chen's face was stern, like a perpetual motion machine, relentless and tireless. Palm after palm, he struck consistently. With profound inner energy cultivation and his formidable strength at this realm, even a demon with Interlinking Veins Realm strength couldn't withstand it.
With more than ten thousand pounds of force, plus seventy-two years of inner energy cultivation, Gu Chen dealt twelve consecutive Red Flame Palm strikes. Fang Yong's body trembled, blood flowed from his seven orifices, his mouth spattered with blood froth. He only took the blows without any ability to fight back, barely holding on.
Bang!
With the thirteenth palm strike, Fang Yong could not sustain himself anymore. He vomited a large mouthful of blood as his body bones made an eerie cracking sound, and his whole body was sent flying sideways.
After Fang Yong fell to the ground, wisp after wisp of black gas seeped out from his pores, rushing out of the county office.
"Trying to escape?"
Gu Chen's eyes were icy. He dashed out like lightning, blocking the black gas at the door. He struck several more Red Flame Palm strikes while circulating his inner energy, his robe billowing, and the burning aura of Pure Yang Skill scattered, directly incinerating the black gas to nothing.
"Aaahhh—"
Faintly, a miserable scream resounded in the air. As the black gas dispersed, a dark, deep crystal fell from the sky, caught steadily by Gu Chen.
"Lord Gu..."
At this moment, Gu Chen heard a weak call. The voice was so faint that, had it not been for his exceptional hearing, he probably would not have heard it.
Gu Chen turned back and found that it was Fang Yong calling him.
He quickly walked to Fang Yong's side. With the demon departing his body and being destroyed, Fang Yong's eyes actually regained clarity at this moment.
Seeing this, Gu Chen sighed softly, knowing it was just the final radiance before death. Fang Yong had only moments of consciousness before he died.
"Lord Fang, I am here. Do you have anything to say?" Gu Chen asked softly beside Fang Yong.
"Demon... Ning City... There is a demon..." Fang Yong's mouth was full of blood froth, he was at his last breath. After intermittently saying this, his head tilted, and he completely lost his voice.
At this moment, Gu Chen's eyes turned grave. The information Fang Yong revealed before his death indeed made him somewhat shocked.
"There are still demons in Ning City?!"
Counting the one from Liu Village, in just one day, he had already slain three demons, yet now, Fang Yong was telling him that there were still more demons lurking in Ning City?
"I didn't expect that the demon infestation in Ning City had reached such a level!" Gu Chen's expression was grave.
If a single county town had such a serious infestation, one could only imagine that the number of demons across the entire Da Xia was also increasing dramatically.
Of course, this wasn't something Gu Chen should worry about. Right now, what he needed to be concerned with was how to handle the situation in Ning City.
The last words Fang Yong had left behind were likely from the fusion of their memories after the demon possessed him. The specifics still needed to be verified to come to a conclusion.
As Gu Chen was deep in thought, a commotion arose outside the county office; it was Wu Qian returning with his men.
When they entered the inner hall and saw Gu Chen along with Fang Yong, who lay on the ground covered in blood and thoroughly dead, they were all shocked.
Clang!
Many constables, in their alarm, drew their weapons.
Wu Qian was also taken aback, but he forced himself to suppress his urge to act. Swallowing hard, he cautiously approached the expressionless Gu Chen and whispered, "Lord Gu, what... what happened here?"
As they scrutinized Gu Chen, he was also assessing them, trying to determine if any of Wu Qian's men had been tainted or possessed by the demons.
Upon his overall inspection, these constables all seemed normal, nothing amiss, so Gu Chen did not strike immediately.
Seeing Gu Chen's silence, Wu Qian dared not ask further. The constables behind him stood there trembling, unsure whether to put their weapons away or not.
After a while, Gu Chen finally spoke, "Is the matter with Yi Xiang Building resolved?"
Wu Qian hurriedly replied, "Everything has been handled according to your instructions."
Gu Chen nodded and said, "Lord Fang and the courtesan of Yi Xiang Building were possessed and tainted by demons. They have both been slain by me."
Hearing this, Wu Qian suddenly raised his head, shocked. He found it hard to believe, but deep down, he knew that Gu Chen had no reason to lie to him.
After all, if Gu Chen wanted to kill them, they couldn't be his match even if they all combined forces.
"Believe it or not, there are still unknown demons lurking in Ning City. I am taking temporary control of the county office," Gu Chen declared in a tone that brooked no dissent.
At this, the constables looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
"I trust Master Gu!"
Wu Qian spoke up suddenly, looking at Gu Chen, he said gravely, "I believe what Master Gu just said. Whatever orders you have next, just say the word."
In Wu Qian's view, Gu Chen's strength was so overwhelming that he had no reason to lie to them.
Upon hearing Wu Qian's words, the constables behind him all sheathed their weapons and said in unison, "We await Master Gu's orders."
Gu Chen said, "Many constables have gone missing. They must still be within the county office. You all search for them."
"Yes, sir." Wu Qian bowed and accepted the command.
Soon, they made a discovery; just as Gu Chen suspected, apart from the constables Wu Qian brought along, the rest had all been drained into dry corpses by Fang Yong.
Overnight, they dealt with the corpses of Magistrate Fang Yong and the constables.
After thoroughly cleaning the county office, by the time they finished, dawn was breaking.
In the inner hall, Gu Chen sat at the head, with Wu Qian below, reporting in detail all the events from the incident at Liu Village to the present, sparing no detail.
Gu Chen wanted to see if he could find any clues about the demon from these minor details.
"Wait, you said that after the incident at Liu Village, you and Magistrate Fang planned to have the Jing Tian Department send a Metropolitan Procurator?" Gu Chen raised his hand to interrupt Wu Qian.
Wu Qian nodded and said, "Yes, because the Liu Village incident was strange, we couldn't make a decision, so we reported it to the Jing Tian Department, hoping they would send a Metropolitan Procurator for a more reliable resolution. We didn't expect you to be the one to come, Master Gu."
Wu Qian chuckled dryly at the end.
Gu Chen didn't respond; when he received the deployment order from the Jing Tian Department, the severity wasn't described that way. The order simply mentioned that Ning City seemed to have demon disturbances, not very powerful but with strange methods, and the local county office couldn't handle it, thus reporting it to the Jing Tian Department.
With a slight movement of his mind, Gu Chen figured out the reason; it was surely Fang Yong's doing.
The demon possessing Fang Yong's body would want to consume more of the martial artists' blood and essence. If the Jing Tian Department sent someone too strong, it would be troublesome, so they needed to send someone weaker.
If Gu Chen died there, the Jing Tian Department would send someone else. Relying on the methods used against Gu Chen, they would repeat the trick, continuously increasing the demon's power in a short time.
By the time the Jing Tian Department realized something was wrong, it would be too late. The demon might even break through to Panic Level, and by then, Ning City could be entirely overrun.
By that point, it would be too late.
It was indeed a clever plan, but it was spoiled because the first person Fang Yong encountered was Gu Chen.
"Master Gu, when you said there are still demons lurking in Ning City, is that true?" Wu Qian asked, probing for confirmation.
"Of course, it is true," Gu Chen replied, "Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, take me to the Fang mansion."
"I shall obey!" Wu Qian bowed and accepted the command.
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