Chapter 126: Delivering the Coffin, Including Burial Services

For them, the catastrophe had only just begun. Those blood-sucking bats were actually venomous; while the toxin was not lethal, it possessed a paralyzing effect.

The two First-Rank Spirit Venerables, their bodies riddled with hundreds of puncture wounds, were now unable to circulate their spiritual energy to withstand the shockwaves of the spirit bombs, and they lay there at death’s door. At this rate, they would surely perish.

The Du family had already lost one Spirit Venerable; if two more were to fall, the family could not bear the loss. These were Spirit Venerables, not mere Great Spirit Masters. For a Great Spirit Master, breaking through to the rank of Spirit Venerable was an arduous task of immense difficulty; only by condensing spiritual energy into a Spirit Pill—ensuring the spiritual energy within the dantian flowed in an endless cycle—could one truly be called a Spirit Venerable. Yet, condensing that Spirit Pill was incredibly difficult. In the entire Du family, while there were forty or fifty peak Great Spirit Masters, there were only thirteen Spirit Venerables.

The Third-Rank Spirit Venerable, driven mad with rage, roared at Gu Feng, "Who on earth are you people? How has the Du family ever offended you?"

Gu Feng sneered coldly, "It is not just your Du family that has offended us; every faction in Wanfang City that participates in dominating Great Qin has offended us. You treat Great Qin as your personal pasture, and for that, you deserve to die."

"You are from Great Qin? How is that possible? How could Great Qin produce a monster like you?"

"You have oppressed Great Qin far too much, so the heavens have sent me to settle the debt."

"Do you truly believe you can kill me?"

"I have always been that confident. Of course, before you die, those two will surely perish first."

"Damn you!" the two men cursed, wishing they could slaughter Gu Feng on the spot.

"Fine! Let me play with you."

To the astonishment of the Third-Rank Spirit Venerable, Gu Feng began to walk toward them, his speed increasing with every step. The Third-Rank Spirit Venerable was overjoyed, never expecting his opponent to deliver himself right to his doorstep. He prepared to capture Gu Feng, intending to wait until his clansmen were safe before torturing him to death.

As Gu Feng drew near, he dropped over a dozen spirit bombs. At that moment, the Third-Rank Spirit Venerable struck, fully confident that he would secure Gu Feng. A mocking smile appeared on Gu Feng’s face as he whispered, "Instant Flash."

Exhausting every ounce of his spiritual energy, Gu Feng blinked back to his original position. "Explode!"

In an instant, Gu Feng detonated the dozen spirit bombs.

The simultaneous explosion of over a dozen spirit bombs unleashed such immense power that it instantly obliterated the two severely wounded First-Rank Spirit Venerables, turning them into experience points for Gu Feng. The massive commotion startled the high-level beasts in the mountains, though they were uninterested and quickly retracted their divine senses. Having lived in these mountains for so long, they were too lazy to move unless absolutely necessary. Some smaller beasts were curious but lacked the strength to approach.

To Gu Feng’s surprise, the Third-Rank Spirit Venerable had not died; not only was he alive, he wasn't even severely injured. A yellow rune—a Grade-Earth Absolute Defense Rune—was glowing on his body.

The Third-Rank Spirit Venerable charged, his heart bleeding as he realized he had been forced to use an ancient relic obtained from an old tomb—an absolute defense—just to deal with a lowly Great Spirit Master. "Go to hell!"

"Ding! Du Xuebing's murderous intent toward you has reached three hundred percent. Activating the twentieth Second-Level Death Contract."

Gu Feng felt a surge of excitement. Only now did he realize that Death Contracts were categorized by levels. Gu Feng roared with a voice even more thunderous than the Third-Rank Spirit Venerable's: "Self-Destruct!"

The Third-Rank Spirit Venerable was startled, then sneered; even if a Great Spirit Master were at their peak, a self-destruction wouldn't cause him much damage.

BOOM!

However, when Gu Feng exploded and the terrifying, destructive force engulfed him, the Spirit Venerable was left with a thousand questions: How could a Great Spirit Master's explosion have such horrifying power? It was surely no less than that of a Spirit Venerable!

"Ding! Completed the twentieth Second-Level Death Contract. Obtained fixed strengthening of weaknesses. The system is scanning the host; discovered a severe discrepancy between physical body and cultivation level. Commencing physical reinforcement."

As his body was reinforced, Gu Feng was shocked to find that while his raw strength hadn't increased, his physical defense had reached an abnormal level. He could stand there without fear of being attacked by ordinary Spirit Masters; he could now defend against half a million points of damage—a level of output most Great Spirit Masters could not even reach. Gu Feng estimated that his own strength had now become his greatest weakness.

Gu Feng resurrected on the spot.

Long Xue'er, Gu Dongliu, and Hanhan watched as Gu Feng returned to life. They had always been curious about how he managed this feat. They didn't believe his perfunctory explanations, but they had no way to force the truth out of him.

Long Xue'er asked symbolically, "Are you alright?"

Gu Dongliu complained, "Boss, next time you self-destruct, could you at least leave the spatial rings behind? Those are the rings of Spirit Venerables; they must contain plenty of treasures."

Gu Feng gave a bitter smile. "I'd like to, but I can't control the power of the explosion."

"Master, are you immortal? Can you self-destruct infinitely?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Yay! Hanhan has such a powerful master, let's see who dares to bully Hanhan now!"

Gu Feng looked at Gu Dongliu. "Are you not interested in the spatial rings of those two Spirit Venerables?"

"How could I not be?"

Gu Dongliu rushed over, and the other three followed. Picking up the rings, Gu Dongliu said excitedly, "Boss, we've hit the jackpot! Between the two rings, there are eight hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, fifty thousand medium-grade spirit stones, and various spirit artifacts, herbs, and pills..."

"Boss, how should we split this?"

Gu Feng took them and said, "I’ve already given you everything you need for your cultivation; what use do you have for these?"

"Boss, you at least have to give me a decent weapon!"

Gu Feng rolled his eyes, casually exchanged for a high-grade spirit artifact, and tossed it to him. He then exchanged for another one for Long Xue'er, who was eyeing him with fiery anticipation.

"Hanhan’s staff is already the best. When Hanhan’s cultivation improves, I will give you an even better weapon."

Hanhan looked slightly disappointed. "Alright then."

The four of them set off on their journey toward the Sun-Moon Empire.

Meanwhile, the Du family in Wanfang City was shrouded in an atmosphere of fury, everyone wearing a dark expression. The contingent sent to Great Qin—three Great Spirit Masters, including one genius, and four Spirit Venerables, one of whom was a Third-Rank—had all perished. The other families were still unaware of this, but news could not be contained forever. Once they learned the Du family had lost four Spirit Venerables, it wouldn't just be a matter of them gloating; the Du family’s control over Great Qin would likely be stripped away.

Even now, they were still obsessed with controlling Great Qin. The Du family was incensed, wondering how such a thing could happen precisely when the control had fallen to them. They even suspected the other three families of foul play. The Du family was at a loss; if they investigated, who should they send? Even a Third-Rank Spirit Venerable had gone and never returned. If they didn't investigate, they would remain in the dark. Could they really just swallow such a bitter loss?

One elder suggested, "Perhaps we should notify the other three families and join forces to send someone to investigate."

Another elder countered, "No, I think that... what do you all think of this?"

That day, the Du family suddenly announced that they were relinquishing their control over Great Qin.