Stepping into the blood mist.
Gu Qingfeng found that his vision had become significantly blurred.
At the same time,
a strange and chilling aura permeated the air, giving an involuntary shiver to those who felt it.
"Dad!"
Gu Yang's expression was a bit panicked as he stuck closely by Gu Qingfeng's side, afraid that something creepy might emerge from the blood mist.
"With me here, there's no need to fear,"
Gu Qingfeng said seriously. The blood mist could obscure vision, and if an ordinary person ventured in, they could easily lose their way. However, after breaking through the Blood Refining Realm, his senses had become much stronger, making the mist unable to truly block his sensory perception.
As Gu Qingfeng held Gu Yang's hand and continued forward, suddenly blurry shadows loomed in the mist. When they approached to see more clearly, they realized that these shadows were actually corpses hanging from the trees.
Each body had its stomach cut open, tied by the neck with a rope hanging from the tree, its ghastly face mostly rotted, empty eyes seeming to gaze up at the living like specters from the abyss.
Such a sudden scene.
It startled Gu Qingfeng, while Gu Yang, beside him, turned pale with fear.
The mist was blood-colored.
The trees bore decaying corpses.
Anyone suddenly witnessing this scene would be shocked.
However,
after the initial shock, Gu Qingfeng looked at the corpses on the trees. In their decomposed faces, he sensed a strange familiarity.
"Liu Hong!"
Gu Qingfeng's expression changed slightly.
Liu Hong,
an advanced instructor from the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall.
He had been with the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall for many years, an experienced Late Stage Refining Skin expert. Gu Qingfeng hadn't expected him to die here.
Clearly,
he must have sensed something was amiss as well, so he sneakily left, only to meet his end here.
Although the corpses had begun rotting, from the surface, Gu Qingfeng could still discern many things.
There were no signs of struggle.
The person had been killed with a single, decisive strike.
To instantly kill a Late Stage Refining Skin martial artist, it showed that whatever lurked in the mist was undoubtedly formidable.
At this moment,
a sudden alarm arose within Gu Qingfeng. He pulled Gu Yang away, instantaneously activating Iron Body Skills, as his right fist shot out like a cannonball, colliding with a shadowy figure.
"Boom!!"
As the two forces clashed, the shadow flew back instantly. Gu Qingfeng himself felt a massive force strike him, causing him to stagger back a few steps.
"Heh heh, a Blood Refining Realm martial artist, who would've thought a small place like Lin County would produce such a surprise!"
A deep voice came while the shadow that had been knocked aside lunged again. This time, Gu Qingfeng finally saw the figure clearly.
A tall, thin middle-aged man, face smeared with blood, eyes as harsh as a venomous snake, moved with lightning speed. Gu Qingfeng felt a moment of shock but dared not underestimate him; he exerted all his strength, engaging the man in combat.
Gu Qingfeng channeled the power from his body, blood energies swirling into a smoke-like cloud above his head. His Mountain Shattering Fists were powerful, each punch seemed capable of shattering mountains and rocks, causing explosive sounds in the air.
"Qi Blood Smoke!"
"You're not an ordinary Blood Refining Realm!"
Shangguan Jiang was slightly startled upon seeing the Qi Blood Smoke. In a small place like Lin County, encountering a Blood Refining Realm martial artist was already unexpected.
But unexpectedly,
this person was a Blood Refining Realm practitioner who had cultivated Qi Blood Smoke.
Immediately,
Shangguan Jiang's eyes grew colder, licking the blood from his lips with a strange expression.
"A Qi Blood Smoke martial artist's innards must be much tastier than a regular person's. Surrender and die, and I might let you suffer a bit less pain!"
As he spoke,
Shangguan Jiang unleashed a fierce onslaught, which Gu Qingfeng calmly countered. Still, with each exchange of blows, he felt an eerie energy invading his body, as if trying to corrode and freeze him.
Luckily, Gu Qingfeng's vital energies surged like a great river, the pure and vigorous force of them forcibly dispelled the chilling aura.
"A Qi Blood Smoke martial artist is indeed no simple matter!"
Seeing Gu Qingfeng endure for so long and still move effortlessly, Shangguan Jiang's face turned grim.
"Let me show you, a martial artist is never truly part of the high society—"
Shangguan Jiang's face turned menacing, his eyes icy cold. His right hand suddenly withered, transforming into a ghostly, blue-black hand, shrouded with eerie power as it attacked.
Boom—
As another punch was thrown, Gu Qingfeng felt pain in his fist. He saw new jagged wounds on the back of his hand, the flesh there rotting, gruesome and alarming.
"What kind of technique is this?"
Gu Qingfeng was also taken aback. The change in Shangguan Jiang was beyond his expectation, and even the Unbreakable nature of the Iron Body Skills and Mountain Shattering Fist couldn't defend against his attack.
Shangguan Jiang looked frenzied, his eyes filled with savage killing intent, the eerie aura around him growing stronger.
"Kill!"
Gu Qingfeng understood there was no room for retreat. In this fight, either he killed the person before him, or father and son would both perish here.
At this moment,
he no longer cared about anything else.
Live,
or die!
The Qi Blood Smoke billowed grandly, Gu Qingfeng's fists pounded like mountains, engaging Shangguan Jiang in an all-out battle.
Boom!
Rumble!
In the blood mist, the sound of explosions echoed nonstop. The two figures fought relentlessly, the Iron Body Skills unable to fend off the ghostly hand's attacks, but Shangguan Jiang himself was not invulnerable; he bore many wounds under Gu Qingfeng's onslaught.
Yet, neither appeared to feel pain, both intent on killing the other.
"Boom—"
Shangguan Jiang's ghostly hand grabbed Gu Qingfeng's shoulder, fingers easily puncturing the skin's defenses, delving into the flesh. The intense pain on his shoulder twisted Gu Qingfeng's expression, but instead of withdrawing, he pushed closer, seizing the opportunity to land a powerful punch on the opponent's chest.
The forceful attack caused Shangguan Jiang's chest to cave in, his body flying out like a rag doll.
For a normal person,
such injuries would mean death.
However,
Shangguan Jiang still lived.
Before he could struggle to his feet from the ground, Gu Qingfeng closed the gap with swift steps, his fists raining down on the man like a relentless storm.
At that moment,
fear finally appeared on Shangguan Jiang's face.
"You cannot kill me... I... I am from the Evil Suppression Bureau—"
Shangguan Jiang tried to use his status to intimidate Gu Qingfeng into stopping, but Gu Qingfeng had no intention of doing so. His mind was occupied with one thought: to kill the man right here.
When Gu Qingfeng delivered the last punch, Shangguan Jiang's head exploded, the headless corpse twitching slightly before falling completely still.