Volume 1, Chapter 29 – The Might of a Single Finger

On the mountain path,

Gu Luoli was already in grave danger, forced into a dead end by the five men.

The leader gave a vicious grin and reached toward her.

Determination flashed through Gu Luoli’s eyes. Deep within her double pupils, a speck of golden light struggled to ignite as she prepared to risk everything in a final, desperate struggle!

Inside the ring, Yun Miaoyi could only sigh repeatedly. Her soul body fluctuated violently, yet she was powerless to help.

At that critical moment…

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

Five exceedingly faint, muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

The leader’s hand was only three cun from Gu Luoli’s chest when it suddenly froze.

The smile on his face stiffened, and his eyes rapidly became empty and lifeless.

Then he and his four companions beside him collapsed without a sound, like clay dolls from which all bone and blood had been drained.

They fell limply to the ground.

There was no blood, no wound, not even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power.

Five living Foundation Establishment cultivators had lost every trace of life just like that, strangely and without warning.

The mountain wind swept past, stirring several fallen leaves and dropping them onto the still-warm corpses, adding to the deathly silence.

Gu Luoli froze.

She stared blankly at the five bodies lying before her, then looked around in bewilderment.

The empty mountains were silent. Only the sound of the wind remained.

What had just happened?

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Who had acted?

She had not sensed even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power or divine sense!

Had these people simply… died?

Within the ring, Yun Miaoyi’s remnant soul also sank into extreme shock and silence.

Before her death, she had not only been an eighth-grade alchemist, but also a Mahayana cultivator. The strength of her divine soul far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators.

Yet in that instant just now, she had sensed nothing either!

There had been no spatial ripples, no disturbance in the laws, and not the slightest leakage of energy!

Those five Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed to have had the marks of their lives directly “erased” by some supreme will!

What kind of technique was this?!

To act so silently and leave no trace at all, the attacker’s cultivation had already surpassed the limits of her understanding!

“Was… was it Palace Master Gu?”

Yun Miaoyi’s voice echoed in Gu Luoli’s mind, carrying a trace of disbelief.

Other than the existence they had caught a fleeting glimpse of yesterday,

she truly could not imagine anyone else who would save Gu Luoli at this time and in this place.

Gu Luoli’s delicate body trembled slightly, and a complicated expression appeared on her pale face.

There was the dazed relief of surviving a disaster, fear of the unknown technique, and, more than anything, an indescribable excitement.

If it truly was that Palace Master…

Not only had she actually noticed Gu Luoli, but she had even intervened to save her?

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What… what did that mean?

“Senior Yun…”

Gu Luoli’s voice was dry. “We…”

“Go, quickly!”

Yun Miaoyi swiftly regained her composure and spoke in a grave voice.

“Whether it was that Palace Master or not, we cannot remain here!”

“Let us reach the city ahead first!”

“If it truly was her, then since she has already acted, we will surely have a chance to meet her!”

Gu Luoli nodded firmly, suppressing the storm raging within her heart.

She gave the strange corpses on the ground one final glance.

Forcing her weakened body onward, she quickened her pace and staggered toward Linyuan City.

In a private room at the Drunken Spring House,

Gu Han withdrew his gaze as though he had merely brushed an insignificant speck of dust from his sleeve.

He drained the wine in his cup, smiled faintly at the young musician, and set down three mid-grade spirit stones.

“Your playing was excellent, and you sang the song well. These are your reward.”

The young woman was overwhelmed by the favor and hurriedly rose to give him a graceful bow.

“Many thanks for your generous reward, Young Master.”

She raised her head and secretly studied the extraordinarily handsome and mysterious young master before her.

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His brows were relaxed, his eyes deep, and a barely perceptible smile rested at the corners of his lips. He appeared to be in an excellent mood.

Yet for some reason, the young woman always sensed something indescribable about him.

He was clearly sitting here, yet it also seemed as though he was not truly here at all.

The way he had looked out the window just now, and that casual flick of his finger…

Although she did not understand what it meant, it had inexplicably made her heart tremble.

“Young Master…”

Summoning her courage, the young woman asked softly,

“Are you waiting for someone? Or perhaps… searching for someone?”

Gu Han glanced at her in mild surprise. This young woman was rather perceptive.

“Something like that.”

He answered casually, rising to straighten his already unwrinkled robe.

“Someone… who may be fated with me.”

After saying that, she spoke no further. She gave the young woman a slight nod, then walked out of the private room, gently waving her folding fan.

The young woman stared dazedly at his departing figure.

It was not until the madam entered to clean up and cried out upon seeing the three mid-grade spirit stones on the table that she came back to her senses.

“Where is that young master?”

“He left…”

“Oh my! These are mid-grade spirit stones! That young master was truly generous!”

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“And he was so handsome… Girl, did he…”

The young woman shook her head, but her thoughts remained fixed on those deep eyes and that casual flick of a finger.

Gu Han did not go far after leaving the Drunken Spring House.

He strolled leisurely along the busiest street in Linyuan City, while his divine sense spread like an invisible net and silently covered the area around the city gates.

He was waiting for the severely injured yet stubbornly determined young woman to enter the city.

About four hours later,

Gu Han stopped inside a shop selling ancient books and leafed through an illustrated compendium of demonic beasts.

Within the range of his divine sense, a weak yet resolute aura finally appeared at the city gates.

Gu Luoli entered Linyuan City.

The noisy voices and dazzling array of shops allowed her taut nerves to relax slightly, but what followed was an even deeper exhaustion.

Her face was frighteningly pale, and her steps were unsteady. Every step seemed to drain the last of her strength.

After forcing herself to travel and fighting earlier, the damage to her Dao foundation seemed to be worsening. Waves of twisting pain radiated from her dantian.

“Senior Yun… I… I do not think I can hold on much longer…”

Gu Luoli’s consciousness had begun to blur. Supporting herself against a nearby wall, she spoke between ragged breaths.

“Luoli! Hold on! Find somewhere to stay first!”

Yun Miaoyi’s anxious voice rang out.

Gu Luoli’s unfocused gaze swept across the street and spotted a relatively clean-looking inn not far away: Yuelai Inn.

Gritting her teeth, she used the last of her strength to stagger toward it.