"It must have been you!"
"You're the only one who wanted the Rule Array Hub destroyed and the Domain to disappear!"
Dongfang He's eyes were bloodshot. He glared at Gu Zheng, approaching as he roared, "You son of a bitch, do you have any idea what I lost? Magic Gold, a huge piece of it…"
BANG!
With a dull thud, Dongfang He's shouting stopped abruptly as his entire body was sent flying sideways.
While he was mid-air, the flesh on his face wobbled, teeth flew from his mouth, and a spray of saliva filled the air.
He flew for more than ten meters, snapping a large tree and shattering a five or six-meter-tall boulder before slamming into the side of the mountain. He came to a stop embedded deep in the rock face, spread-eagled.
"What's his problem?"
Gu Zheng retracted the right arm he'd used to send Dongfang He flying and looked at Nangong Yaoyue, his eyes questioning.
"...Don't mind him."
Nangong Yaoyue's beautiful eyes swept over Gu Zheng as she said softly, "Let's get out of the mountains first."
"Alright."
Gu Zheng nodded. With a stomp of his foot, he leaped into the air, jumping toward the base of the mountain.
'That guy...'
Liangqiu Changkong, who had witnessed the entire exchange, felt his eyelid twitch. He followed Nangong Yaoyue and Jiang Mingjiu, flying down the mountain.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
THUD!
Facing the strong wind, he descended from the sky again, landing on the ground and creating a crater.
Amidst the flying dirt and rocks, Gu Zheng slowly rose. He stood on a barren slope, gazing toward Great Dragon Mountain.
Above Great Dragon Mountain, clouds churned. The dim twilight receded as chaotic streams of qi filled the sky and saturated the ground, colliding, pulling at each other, and dissipating.
As Nangong Yaoyue, Liangqiu Changkong, and the others rushed to the foot of the mountain, massive boulders, bones, and withered logs were flung into the air from the depths of Great Dragon Mountain.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
They streaked through the void like falling meteors.
The flung boulders, bones, and Giant Wood carried a ferocious momentum, whistling as they crashed to the ground and gouged out craters, sending huge amounts of dirt and rock flying into the air.
SWOOSH!
Gu Zheng dodged a gray-black piece of bone as large as a house that was falling right toward him.
The surface of this bone was also pitted and cratered, with cracks visible in several places. The aura it invisibly radiated, though not freezing cold, pierced straight to the heart, making one tremble and feel an instinctive fear.
[Equippable Item Discovered]
[Nine Nether Heart Tiger Claw]
[Equipment Requirement: Strength 30, Constitution 30, Spirit 40, Agility 30]
[Equipment Effect: Nether Heart Slave Seal]
[Nether Heart Slave Seal: Use will as the guide, the heart as the furnace, and the spirit as the fuel to forge a Soul Lock Seal and enslave all living things.]
[Equip?]
...
'A second equippable item?'
Gu Zheng was pleasantly surprised.
He had searched all over before and hadn't found a single other equippable item.
He never expected one to fall right in front of him now.
Last time, it was the tusk of a Heaven-Stepping Demon Elephant that gave him the Bronze Elephant Body, granting him cheat-like defense and strength.
This time, it was the claw of a Nine Nether Heart Tiger…
'Alright, this bone fragment must be part of the claw. Though it's damaged, cracked, and even decayed, it still carries a trace of the Nine Nether Heart Tiger's enslavement power.'
This trace of power was something others couldn't obtain or even perceive.
But the equipment slot could restore it!
'The Nether Heart Slave Seal? Is it a strengthened version of acting as a tiger's accomplice?'
As he understood the Equipment Effect, Gu Zheng became thoughtful.
'Unlike being a tiger's accomplice, this doesn't require devouring the target's flesh. Instead, it can enslave both their body and soul.'
Of course, forging a Nether Heart Slave Seal was also much more difficult.
It required one to quiet their mind and focus their spirit for several days just to forge a single seal.
When branding it onto a target, their Spiritual Power could not be higher than Gu Zheng's own.
Even so, this Equipment Effect was incredibly domineering. It was a foolproof method for controlling subordinates, with no need to ever worry about betrayal.
...
"Gu, that's more than just bronze arms. You have a Bronze Body and Bronze Legs too."
While he was lost in thought, Nangong Yaoyue approached, followed by Jiang Mingjiu, Liangqiu Changkong, and a dejected, head-hanging Dongfang He. She smiled as she walked and said, "The Qing King's Body I've seen looks exactly like you do now."
"Haha, Gu, you can't deny it now," Liangqiu Changkong added with a laugh.
Dongfang He glanced up at Gu Zheng but said nothing, turning his swollen face to the side.
Jiang Mingjiu was silent as ever, studying Gu Zheng with a complex expression.
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Gu Zheng just smiled. "It must be a coincidence."
'No matter what they say, I won't admit it.'
'Perhaps the origin of the Qing King's Body is related to the Heaven-Stepping Demon Elephant, but the Qing King's bloodline has absolutely nothing to do with me.'
"...Alright, have it your way."
Nangong Yaoyue shook her head, took a folded silk garment from her pocket, and tossed it to Gu Zheng.
"What's this?"
Gu Zheng caught it, a look of confusion on his face.
"It's a set of Stretchable Clothing made from Hollow Silk. It belonged to my brother."
Nangong Yaoyue explained, "He left it with me and never asked for it back, so it's mine now. If you don't mind, Gu, please take it."
"When the Qing King's Body transforms, its size is like a giant's. Wearing Stretchable Clothing made from Hollow Silk will save you a lot of trouble."
"...It is indeed a bit troublesome." Gu Zheng hesitated for a couple of seconds, then cupped his fist in thanks. "In that case, it would be rude of me to refuse!"
"It's just a small trinket. No need for such formal thanks, Gu."
Nangong Yaoyue returned the gesture with a smile.
WHOOSH WHOOSH!
BOOM!
Just then, a fierce gale raged above Great Dragon Mountain, and a thick bolt of lightning tore across the sky.
The rolling shockwaves it generated spread out with the force of a landslide and a tsunami.
When Gu Zheng looked up, the gloomy twilight that had enveloped the sky and ground was gone.
In the direction of Great Dragon Mountain, the chaotic qi and the overwhelming presence from a moment ago had vanished.
The great mountain had returned to its original state. The snow that had filled the sky was also gone.
A bright crescent moon hung high in the firmament, casting down a silvery glow.
"It's over."
Liangqiu Changkong sighed. "I wonder who found the Rule Array Hub so quickly and destroyed it. In all this time, I only found two Source Fruits."
"I found three," Nangong Yaoyue said softly. "Dongfang found two."
Gu Zheng remained silent.
His hands were empty, and he was bare-chested with bare thighs. He clearly had nowhere to hide anything.
He hadn't found any Source Fruits, let alone the Rule Array Hub.
In the eyes of Liangqiu Changkong and Nangong Yaoyue, although Gu Zheng possessed a Qing King's Body, he was only at the Alien Body Xianfeng stage. Even if he found the Rule Array Hub, he wouldn't have been able to destroy it right under the nose of the guardian Demon Fiend.
Dongfang He felt the same way. Venting his anger was one thing, but deep down, he also didn't believe Gu Zheng was capable of it.
"The Domain has disappeared. Yuan and the others should be out by now, right?"
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Zheng spoke up. "If they were still in the mountains…"
"Don't worry. With Yuan Qianjun and his group's strength, no Demon Fiend in a newly opened Domain could trap them, except for those in the central area."
Liangqiu Changkong replied, "Since they haven't appeared here, they obviously exited from another direction."
"That's good."
Gu Zheng nodded, then cupped his fist. "The Domain is gone, but the Demon Fiends that came out of the mountain haven't all been eliminated. I'll be taking my leave first. Miss Nangong, Liangqiu, we'll meet again!"
"We'll meet again!"
Liangqiu Changkong and Nangong Yaoyue returned the salute.
Gu Zheng then nodded to Jiang Mingjiu.
Immediately, he turned and sped away.
'I still need Demon Points to equip the Nine Nether Heart Tiger Claw!'