Chapter 354: Chapter 207: A Sensation in the Three Kingdoms
Gu Zheng continued onward, searching for the remaining members of the Changsheng Clan.
It was no wonder the other Noble Families were wary of the Changsheng Clan.
Two at the King’s Body Realm, four at the Heroic Body Realm.
And their total population was barely over a dozen.
An ordinary Noble Family truly couldn’t match such strength, nor would they dare to provoke them.
Of their two King’s Body experts, Changsheng Zhentai was now dead.
That left Changsheng Zhenlu.
Gu Zheng extended his senses and quickly locked onto a nearby mountain peak.
On the peak stood a row of buildings.
As he drew near, several figures shot into the sky.
Leading them was a bloated, fat, and ugly woman.
It was Changsheng Zhenlu, and she was unleashing the aura fluctuations of a King’s Body expert.
"You... you’re courting death!!"
Upon seeing Gu Zheng, Changsheng Zhenlu’s bloated body suddenly moved, slamming toward him with the ferocity of a mountain.
SWOOSH~
A translucent, scarlet Domain filled with vicious, fish-like forms manifested right behind her, rushing toward Gu Zheng.
BOOM!
Gu Zheng didn’t dodge or evade. He unleashed three Domains at once: Giant Wood, Hurricane, and Liaoyuan.
The Giant Wood Blade Realm met Changsheng Zhenlu’s scarlet Domain head-on, while the Hurricane and Liaoyuan Domains flanked it from the left and right in a pincer attack.
BZZZZZZ~~
Space trembled as an invisible force drew upon the Power of Heaven and Earth for dozens of miles around, gathering it together to generate terrifying might.
BOOM!
BOOM~!
Assaulted by the Giant Wood, Liaoyuan, and Hurricane Domains, the scarlet Domain spun rapidly, releasing a powerful, spiraling force that pulled and twisted, countering the three Domains one by one.
The moment they clashed, Gu Zheng sensed that Changsheng Zhenlu was several steps above Changsheng Zhentai!
In terms of controlling and maintaining a Domain, Changsheng Zhentai had operated purely on instinct, only scratching the surface of its potential.
That was why Gu Zheng had defeated him and shattered his Domain in just a few moves.
Now, facing Changsheng Zhenlu, Gu Zheng would have a much harder time finishing things quickly.
The good news was that the other three members of the Changsheng Clan who had followed her weren’t fleeing. Instead, they stood a short distance away, waiting to see the outcome.
’That’s enough.’
Gu Zheng spared a bit of his attention to retrieve some fluid secreted by the Blood River Insects and sprinkled it onto Changsheng Zhenlu’s scarlet Domain.
"HISS~!"
The moment the Blood River Insect fluid touched the Domain, it began to corrode it rapidly, leaving several pits on the scarlet surface. This disrupted the Domain’s rotation, causing the entire translucent sphere to shudder.
"You..."
Changsheng Zhenlu’s small eyes suddenly widened, astonishment flooding her gaze.
"How could you..."
SWOOSH~
Gu Zheng flicked a few more drops of the Blood River Insect fluid, splashing them onto the same corroded spots.
This time, holes immediately appeared where the pits had been on the Domain’s surface.
The Domain’s integrity was shattered on the spot. Its rotation fell into chaos, its interior churning erratically as the entire translucent sphere twisted and warped.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A series of dull thuds and muffled impacts echoed through the air.
Changsheng Zhenlu’s Domain was damaged, but Gu Zheng’s were not. He seized the opportunity, manipulating his Hurricane, Giant Wood, and Liaoyuan Domains to press the attack.
The Giant Wood Blade Realm shifted above and violently suppressed the scarlet Domain from top to bottom.
The already compromised scarlet Domain only withstood three strikes before it could take no more and exploded.
BOOM~~
"KABOOM!"
The deafening explosion, like thunder tearing through the sky, resounded throughout the entire Spirit Realm Space.
Inside her shattered Domain, Changsheng Zhenlu’s expression turned crazed as she shrieked and lunged at Gu Zheng.
"I’ll kill you! I’ll kill..."
SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!
Gu Zheng’s figure flickered, circling once around Changsheng Zhenlu.
He swung the Heaven-piercing Halberd, effortlessly hacking Changsheng Zhenlu into more than a dozen pieces.
Gu Zheng had come to a realization.
The members of the Changsheng Clan barely trained in True Skills like Saber Techniques, Fist Techniques, or Body Techniques. They relied almost entirely on the power and speed granted by their Demon Power.
If they failed to overwhelm an opponent with their cultivation realm and weren’t quick-witted, they stood no chance against an expert like Gu Zheng, who had achieved True Mastery in his skills.
Changsheng Zhenlu, a King’s Body expert, had been sliced into a dozen pieces in the span of a single breath.
Gu Zheng didn’t immediately scatter the dozen-plus pieces. Instead, he used his Divine Wondrous power to temporarily group them into three bundles, which he kept floating around him.
Then, Gu Zheng flew toward the three Changsheng Clan members in the distance, who had been watching the show and waiting for the outcome.
Seeing Changsheng Zhenlu hacked into pieces, the three finally reacted and turned to flee.
But where could they run to inside the Spirit Realm Space?
They were only at the Heroic Body Realm, after all.
Gu Zheng burst forward, catching up to the three. But just as he raised his Heaven-piercing Halberd to chop them into pieces, an idea struck him. He stopped his attack and let the three escape.
However, as the three fled into the distance, he condensed three wisps of Domain Power and attached one to each of them.
With a sliver of his Domain Power attached to them, Gu Zheng could sense their location even from a thousand miles away.
’If I let these three Heroic Body Realm members of the Changsheng Clan escape, preferably out of the Spirit Realm and into other Vassal States, I’ll have an excuse to chase them and grab the Tripod Cauldrons along the way!’
This was far more convenient than entering other Vassal States unannounced to search for the Tripod Cauldrons.
Xu Jianzhu had once said that King’s Body experts rarely set foot in other countries.
This was to prevent decapitation strikes.
If a King’s Body expert went all out on a killing spree, that Vassal State would be thrown into absolute chaos. Its royal family and government offices would collapse, and the ensuing turmoil would lead to countless deaths among the common people.
The Eight Great Vassal Kings’ "Dragon Struggle" was a fight for the ultimate imperial throne.
After winning the throne, the goal was to unify the world, rebuild the dynasty, and use the dynasty’s fortune to drive out the Demon Realm.
If all the common people were dead and only a few remained, what damn fortune would the dynasty even have?
Therefore, it had become an unspoken but well-known rule that a King’s Body expert could not enter another country without a valid reason.
Gu Zheng could move freely within the Wind Kingdom for two reasons. First, he had broken through to the King’s Body Realm within its borders. Second, his purpose was clear: to escort the Ninth Princess.
Now, his purpose was to eliminate the Changsheng Clan, which all the great Noble Families detested.
He had even discussed this specifically with Ying Jiuxin before setting out.
But going to other Vassal States was a different matter.
He needed an excuse!
Hunting down the remnants of the Changsheng Clan was the perfect excuse.
...
And so, Gu Zheng allowed the three fleeing Heroic Body Realm members of the Changsheng Clan to leave the Spirit Realm.
But he didn’t spare any of the other clan members, hunting them down and chopping them into pieces.
Carrying these chunks of flesh, Gu Zheng left the Spirit Realm. In the Si Leng Mountain Range, he dug a series of deep pits, spaced far apart, and buried the pieces one by one.
After being dismembered, the Changsheng Clan members would die for good if the pieces were too far apart or if their time limit for regeneration was up.
Those from the Changsheng Clan at the Super Body Realm and Alien Body Realm already had short time limits.
As for Changsheng Zhenlu’s remains, Gu Zheng kept the pieces with him and separated them as he chased the three fleeing Heroic Body Realm members into the Great Xin Country and the Great Li Country.
Great Feng, Great Xin, and Great Li.
These three Vassal States were neighbors.
Gu Zheng buried the pieces of Changsheng Zhenlu in various corners of the three countries.
Then, using the Human Emperor’s Seal Artifact Embryo, he sensed the locations of the Nine Tripods.
He discovered there was no Tripod Cauldron in the Great Li Country, but there was one in the Great Xin Country, located in a great river outside a city.
The Xin Country was located in the Hidden Dragon Dao.
Gu Zheng went straight there and dredged this Hidden Dragon Tripod up from the riverbed.
With the second Tripod Cauldron in hand, he then hunted down the Heroic Body Realm member who had fled into the country, chopped him into more than a dozen pieces, and buried them separately.
That was the one who had fled into the Great Xin Country.
As for the Heroic Body Realm member who fled into the Great Li Country, Gu Zheng deliberately let him stay ahead, chasing him all the way through the Great Li Country and into the Central Celestial Dao.
Upon entering the Central Celestial Dao, Gu Zheng used the Human Emperor’s Seal Artifact Embryo to sense his surroundings.
He found a Tripod Cauldron!
The Middle Celestial Tripod.
The Ten Thousand Dragons Dao and the Central Celestial Dao were still territories under the direct jurisdiction of the Great Zhou Royal Family.
The moment Gu Zheng set foot inside, still in hot pursuit of the Heroic Body Realm member of the Changsheng Clan, he was immediately detected.
In fact, Gu Zheng’s entry into the Great Xin and Great Li Countries to hunt down the Heroic Body Realm member had already attracted the attention of the Noble Families in both Vassal States.
The connections between Noble Families were such that it only took a few indirect links to get in touch with one another.
With a little bit of inquiry, they could easily find out the reason behind Gu Zheng’s pursuit.
In an instant, all the Noble Families in the three Vassal States—Great Xin, Great Li, and Great Feng included—were shaken to their core!
