Gu Yi frowned slightly as he looked at Gu Feng, whose cultivation level had greatly increased after taking the Essence-Enhancing Pill.
He had considered that if Gu Feng dared to appear in today's competition, he might have some trump card to reveal.
But he truly had not expected it to be something like the “Essence-Enhancing Pill.”
The Essence-Enhancing Pill was a profound rank, middle grade pill. Once consumed, its effects were remarkable, allowing a martial artist to greatly increase their cultivation level within a short period of time. However, this pill was far from beneficial without harm; instead, it caused tremendous damage to the body's functions!
After consumption, it would not only inflict severe injuries on the body, but also make the consumer permanently unable to break through to a higher realm!
In other words, from the moment Gu Feng swallowed the Essence-Enhancing Pill, he would remain stagnant in the True Essence Realm for the rest of his life, never again reaching the violet palace realm!
Gu Yi understood the effects and side effects of the Essence-Enhancing Pill perfectly.
However, none of that was the main point. The main point was the method of refining the Essence-Enhancing Pill!
Five thousand years ago, when Gu Yi was still the Eastern Emperor Demon Venerable, the Essence-Enhancing Pill had been explicitly prohibited in many plane worlds!
The Essence-Enhancing Pill was also known as the “Evil Pill,” because its method of refinement was utterly inhumane. Each refinement required the hearts of twelve virgin boys and girls as medicinal catalysts, and they had to possess the same bloodline as the consumer.
It was despised and hated by countless people!
Gu Yi had never imagined that, in this lower plane, someone could still refine the Essence-Enhancing Pill!
He stared coldly at the frenzied Gu Feng. He knew that this was also one of the effects of consuming the Essence-Enhancing Pill. While causing a dramatic rise in cultivation level, it would also make the consumer emotionally irritable.
“Gu Feng, I really did underestimate you. You truly had the heart to do that to the hearts of twelve virgin boys and girls!”
Gu Yi's expression darkened. He was known as the Eastern Emperor Demon Venerable and had killed countless people in his lifetime, yet he still detested such an evil pill!
After all, it required cutting open the bodies and digging out the hearts of twelve children sharing the same bloodline!
Gu Feng's expression changed drastically, and he roared, “I have no idea what nonsense you're talking about. Die!”
He suddenly leaped into the air, raising his longsword and cleaving down at Gu Yi's head!
At this moment, his cultivation level had already reached the peak of the true essence tenth stage within a short time. His attack was astonishing, far more powerful than Gu Qilun's had been yesterday!
The surrounding people were already utterly shocked. Even Gu Chengqian and the Others could no longer remain seated and rose from their chairs!
The Essence-Enhancing Pill?
The tenth level of the true essence realm?
The hearts of twelve virgin boys and girls?
Although they had never heard of the Essence-Enhancing Pill, they could tell from Gu Yi's words that something extraordinary had happened!
Gu Chengqian's expression changed dramatically as he connected this to the matter his subordinate had just reported!
Gu Manting was the youngest son born to his concubine, and he was only four years old...
Gu Feng plunged downward through the air like an eagle diving for prey, his body straight as he charged toward Gu Yi, longsword in hand, wrapped in dazzling primordial qi!
Although Gu Yi's cultivation level was at the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement, under the transformation brought by the Body-Tempering Pill, the strength of his physical body could rival that of a martial artist in the Ninth Level of True Essence Realm. He was only one minor realm behind Gu Feng.
However, besides the strength of his physical body, Gu Yi also possessed blood-qi power formed by absorbing death qi, as well as the Ancient God Tyrant Body formed by absorbing the Purple Qi of the Rising Sun!
In the eyes of others, this was a Battle of Destiny between him and Gu Feng.
Even in Gu Feng's eyes, this was a Battle of Destiny. He and Gu Yi had to fight until one of them died, which was why he had risked everything and traded the lives of twelve virgin boys and girls from his own clan for the Essence-Enhancing Pill!
But in Gu Yi's eyes, killing Gu Feng was merely something he could do along the way.
There was no Battle of Destiny, no life-or-death struggle.
There was only his one-sided, absolute crush!
Even if Gu Yi truly had a destined enemy, it was Qingyang Supreme, who had ambushed him five thousand years ago!
Furthermore, had it not been for that despicable sneak attack, even Qingyang Supreme of the Myriad Heavens and Ten Thousand Realms would not have been qualified to shout arrogantly before Gu Yi!
Gu Yi watched coldly as Gu Feng drew closer and closer, still standing with his hands behind his back, completely unmoved.
He fully circulated the strength of his physical body, condensed all the blood-qi power he had absorbed over the past few days, and circulated the faint Purple Qi of the Rising Sun he had absorbed yesterday and this morning!
Boom!
The three powers condensed together, and Gu Yi's strength instantly broke through its shackles. His black robes suddenly billowed without wind, snapping loudly!
Then Gu Yi threw a punch, like an overlord overlooking all things, regarding everything with disdain, and collided head-on with Gu Feng's sword!
All the clan disciples nearby clenched their fists nervously, staring without blinking!
Gu Feng felt ten-thousand-jun force surging from Gu Yi's fist. Compared with it, the power of his tenth level of the true essence realm was as fragile as straw, utterly incapable of withstanding a single blow!
The longsword shattered inch by inch into fragments the size of fingernails, exploding and scattering through the air. Gu Yi's fist continued forward without pause, passing straight through the fragments of the sword and smashing into Gu Feng's chest!
With a deafening bang, Gu Feng's chest caved in and a large lump bulged from his back. Then, spitting blood, he was blasted into the sky like a cannonball, flying even faster than he had dived downward!
Gu Yi stomped both feet, and the stone slabs beneath him cracked like spiderwebs across a span of ten feet. His entire body shot after Gu Feng in the sky at an even greater speed!
After two breaths, he intercepted Gu Feng more than thirty feet in the air, grabbed Gu Feng's head, and violently smashed him downward!
Gu Feng did not even have the ability to fight back before being slammed into the ground. With a bang, the entire martial training grounds seemed to tremble as the impact smashed a deep pit into the ground and sent dust flying!
Gu Yi landed lightly and stood at the edge of the deep pit, looking down coldly.
The smoke and dust gradually cleared. Gu Feng lay on the verge of death inside the deep pit, his body reduced to a puddle of mangled flesh. Not a single bone in his body remained intact, yet he was somehow still alive. He looked at Gu Yi in terror and asked in a voice harsher and more unpleasant than a cracked gong, “What exactly is your cultivation level?”
Gu Yi replied expressionlessly, “As you can see, the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement.”
“I refuse to accept this!” Gu Feng roared indignantly. “To defeat you, I did not hesitate to kill twelve children of my own clan. I consumed the Essence-Enhancing Pill and reached the peak of the true essence tenth stage. Why, why can't I defeat someone at the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement?”
Upon hearing this, how could Gu Chengqian still have any doubts?
He immediately rushed to the edge of the deep pit in furious rage and demanded, “Gu Feng, you beast! Was my youngest son, Gu Manting, killed by you?”
“Heh heh...”
Gu Feng gave a bitter laugh, his mouth full of blood, and said strangely, “Yes, I killed Gu Manting. Not just Gu Manting, but also fourth uncle's youngest son, Manting, and second grand-uncle's great-granddaughter, Shulan... There were too many. In any case, I killed twelve of them last night. Whoever among you is missing—that one was killed by me!”
“Heh heh, haha...”
“Beast!” A group of powerful figures from the Gu Clan were both shocked and furious. They all came to the edge of the deep pit and glared angrily!
Gu Feng ignored them, staring fixedly at Gu Yi with resentment. “Gu Yi, even if I die, I will not let you go. All of this is your fault!”
Gu Yi answered with a cold gaze and said indifferently, “You probably don't know this, but I have an even better way of dealing with the dead.”
“Clan patriarch!”
The man who had just reported the disappearance of Gu Manting and the other children ran over from a distance. His face was twisted with grief as he wailed, “clan patriarch, Young Master Manting and eleven other clan children had their hearts and livers dug out and were buried beneath the peach trees in the rear garden!”
Gu Chengqian's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed. With a grief-stricken howl, he raised his hand and struck fiercely into the deep pit below. His cultivation level at the seventh layer of the violet palace realm surged into motion, completely killing Gu Feng, who had been on the verge of death!