Chapter 97: The Gu Master’s Demise

“My… my Gu King…”

The Gu master’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the charred, massive insect corpse lying before him. After a few stunned breaths, fury twisted his face. Trembling with rage, he turned toward them and shouted, “You dare destroy my sacrifice? I’ll tear you all to pieces!”

He pulled something out of his sleeve, and at once, a thick wave of black vapor surged from his body. The miasma grew denser and denser until it completely swallowed his form.

Though it was still daylight, the sky dimmed abruptly. The air temperature plummeted, and everyone felt a chill sink into their bones—something cold, invasive, worming beneath their skin. The black mist suddenly swept forward like a living tide, and wherever it passed, the trees, the grass, even the weeds shriveled and melted into ash.

The poisonous fog was spreading too fast. In the blink of an eye, it was already upon them.

“Careful! Poison gas!” Master Chen shouted.

The group immediately reacted, drawing their spiritual power to form defensive barriers or activating protective talismans.

Except for—

Yun Jiao.

Crap. She had no spiritual meridians!

w(Д)w

Worse still, she had been standing farther away after laying down the formation—there was no way she could make it back in time. And starting another formation would take too long.

“Girl!” The old man suddenly remembered her condition and cried out, trying to rush toward her. But it was too late.

The black miasma closed in, swallowing the air. Yun Jiao could almost feel the deathly chill nipping at her skin.

Then—her waist tightened. Someone yanked her backward, and she fell straight into a broad, cool chest. A faint white glow surrounded her, and instantly, the oppressive black gas was forced away.

Blinking up, Yun Jiao found herself looking into a pair of furrowed brows and a face so divine it almost made her forget to breathe. “Master—” she began, but before she could finish, she caught a flicker of silver glinting within the retreating fog—something was darting straight toward them.

“Watch out!” she shouted.

But the man holding her didn’t even flinch. As though the incoming attack were beneath his concern, his brows merely tensed slightly. The white aura around him flared brighter, forming a barrier of pure light.

Swish—!

The silver streak shot through the air, piercing the divine glow. Yun Jiao watched, heart hammering, as it passed close to his sleeve with a sharp metallic ding before clattering harmlessly onto the ground.

“Master!” Yun Jiao gasped, grabbing his hand to check for injury. Miraculously, his robe—and skin—were completely intact. Not even a scratch.

But what was that? She had clearly seen it cut through his celestial shield. Even the Demon King himself hadn’t managed that.

“Impossible!” the Gu master snarled, momentarily startled that they had survived. His fury deepened, and the dark smoke around him billowed thicker. “Hmph, no matter! You won’t survive another strike!”

He raised his remaining hand, and this time, countless shards of silver light gathered in his palm, far denser than before.

Yun Jiao’s stomach dropped. What the hell is he doing now?

The Gu master’s killing intent surged. “All of you—DIE!”

But before the storm of silver could fly—his body suddenly froze. It was like a spell had broken mid-cast. His frame jerked once, stiffened, and the black smoke around him began to churn violently. His terrified face flickered in and out of the fog.

“Wh-what’s happening?!” He clutched his chest, coughing up several mouthfuls of black blood. Pain contorted his features as if something inside him were devouring him alive. The black aura around him thinned rapidly, leaking away like water from a cracked jar.

“No—impossible! I… I swallowed the demon core! Lord, please, give me another chance—I can still—”

His voice twisted into a strangled scream. His fingers clawed at his chest as though trying to rip something out. Then his body began to turn to stone—starting from his fingertips and spreading fast.

“Why… Lord, no—!”

His final cry cut off as the petrification reached his throat. Within three breaths, the Gu master was nothing but a gray statue—frozen mid-howl.

Everyone stood in stunned silence.

(⊙ o ⊙)

They had been bracing for a deadly attack, and he… just took himself out?

After a few uneasy moments, the group cautiously approached the crater. The air was clear again; the poisonous mist was gone. Only the enormous burnt insect and the stone figure of the Gu master remained.

“Look—his chest!” one exorcist exclaimed.

They peered closer. From the petrified man’s chest glowed a faint cyan light. A crack split the stone, and with a sharp crack, a smooth, round orb drifted free. A gentle blue-green hue shimmered across its surface, and within, a shadow of a black cat could be faintly seen.

“A demon core!” the old man blurted. “That must be the cat demon’s lost inner core!”

So the Gu master had swallowed it—yet somehow avoided being consumed by its demonic energy until now. Only after his death had the core forced its way back out. Without the demon’s aura sustaining him, his petrified body collapsed into gravel that rolled lifelessly across the ground.

Yun Jiao frowned and glanced toward something glinting amid the debris—the object the Gu master had been holding when he attacked. The silver light had come from that.

It was a small, jet-black artifact, about the size of a palm, pointed at both ends with a rounded center. Even now, faint traces of that sinister black mist coiled around it. It looked like… a tool.

She reached down to pick it up—

—but her master’s hand caught her wrist mid-motion. “Don’t touch it.”

“Eh?” Yun Jiao blinked, startled. The others also turned to stare.

“Is that… some kind of magic weapon?” asked Master Chen, frowning.

“Not a magic weapon,” the old ancestor said curtly, his brows drawing together in clear distaste. “A Nether Relic.”

“Wha—?” The group froze. “What’s a Nether Relic?”

Ye Yuan’s eyes darkened. “Trash from the underworld.”

The others collectively sucked in a breath.

The Underworld?!

Without further explanation, he flicked his hand. The black artifact burst into white flame and disintegrated into dust before vanishing entirely.

Then, as if the whole ordeal were merely an inconvenience, he turned, caught Yun Jiao by the wrist, and started walking back. Dinner awaited.

The old man stared after them, dumbfounded, before hastily scooping the recovered demon core into a talisman wrap and jogging to catch up.

“Hey—wait for me!”

Master, you’re seriously forgetting I’m a disciple too!

(End of chapter)