Gu Junshi moved like a lithe serpent, the surrounding scenery blurring into streaks of phantom images as she evaded danger, ensuring it did not touch her.
Even with her current cultivation, she had to exercise caution when facing a truly formidable demon god. However, the furious tempest of the demon god's rage was not difficult for her to evade. The downside was that this would be a catastrophe for everyone else.
With a flicker of thought, she swept her divine sense across the area, only to find the usually vigilant and cunning Tan Ya motionless in his original spot.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and saw him choosing not to protect himself. Instead, he had rushed to cast a protective circle for the disciples who had arrived from the thirteen heavens.
But it was clearly a futile effort. The demon god's descending killing intent instantly shattered his spiritual energy shield, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood. He was thus left with half his life taken.
The disciples he had saved were stunned. After exchanging bewildered glances, and seeing how badly Tan Ya was injured, they hesitantly exclaimed, "Sect Master..."
Gu Junshi was somewhat surprised by Tan Ya's actions.
She mused, wasn't he always selfish? Now, he had suddenly erupted with camaraderie.
Despite her internal musings, she still helped him out of his predicament. However, she was in the midst of battling the demon god, and a moment's carelessness could lead to eternal damnation. She had no leisure to concern herself with the lives of these people.
Thus, without a word, she directly pulled out Gu Er, who had been idle and spent his days cultivating and leveling up.
She appraised Gu Er, who looked utterly bewildered.
His complexion was no longer the sickly, gloomy green of the past. Instead, it was ruddy and moist. He was tall and sturdy. Perhaps due to the dual souls within him, his current strength far surpassed the mission objectives Gu Junshi had initially set for him.
In short, at a glance, he appeared to be someone resilient and able to withstand punishment.
"You've reached the level of an Earth Immortal now. Reborn through the blessings of heaven and earth, you were born of yin and evil, yet you possess merit and are impervious to good and evil. Protecting Fengdu City should be well within your capabilities!"
Gu Er responded a beat later.
"Oh, but sister, why protect them? They were clearly previously..."
Gu Junshi knew what he wanted to ask, but she no longer had the time to explain.
"Gu Er, this small world has nothing to do with the demon god. It can be destroyed or vanish at its whim, but you and I are different. No matter how insignificant it may be, it is our origin."
Gu Er's eyes were firm. "Sister, as long as you are here, I can consider any place my origin."
"Even if you don't care, if our things are casually touched by others, that is wrong," Gu Junshi said coldly.
Gu Er finally understood Gu Junshi's intentions. While he disliked the righteous sects of the immortal path, and even more so these ghost cultivators who practiced sinister arts, his sister's will always superseded his. He would do as she commanded.
"Sister, I, Gu Er, will not object to anything you wish to protect!"
He turned his head, a star and moon emblem on his forehead illuminating. Brilliant light enveloped his body, and amidst the boundless ferocity and malevolent aura, his form began to grow infinitely larger, expanding until his powerful physique towered between heaven and earth, like Pangu in legend.
Gu Er's head was now enshrouded in rumbling black clouds, his feet sinking into a chasm. Bearing the heavens on his back, with his arms outstretched, he let out a thunderous roar that lifted Fengdu City entirely from its foundations, cradling it before his chest.
Sand and soil cascaded down like a collapsing sky with a "shimmering" sound. The ground shook and the mountains trembled. The people within Fengdu City stared in astonishment at the "giant" before them, enveloped in its immense shadow, their hearts filled with fear and unease.
Only when they confirmed that the being had come to rescue them did they tacitly accept this as a place of safety, not a burial ground.
Tan Ya, clutching his chest, found it difficult to breathe. His spiritual body was damaged, and his spiritual energy was insufficient. He also raised his head.
Upon seeing the colossal Gu Er, he immediately guessed that this was Gu Junshi's doing.
He took a deep breath and said with a trembling voice, "She truly..."
However, because of Gu Er's grand commotion, the illusory realm established within Fengdu City was broken.
The myriad demons, fiends, ghosts, and monsters gathered around the city's outskirts suddenly revealed themselves. They had been pouring their efforts into activating the illusory realm. But now that the entire city had been moved by the reckless Gu Er, they had nowhere to hide.
With such a sudden surge of life force, the demon god naturally detected the anomaly immediately. As its all-pervasive demonic consciousness probed, it was consumed by a furious rage.
The shattering of the ethereal illusion dispelled the mist that had obscured Fengdu City. Everyone was astonished to discover that many people had been imprisoned beneath the city.
And these people were none other than those they recognized. Among them were Cheng Hong and others whom Gu Junshi had killed, as well as those who had died in previous battles. All of them were unconscious, but their lives were not in danger.
But before... during that chaotic battle, there had been countless casualties, and they had personally witnessed the opponent die at the hands of Gu Junshi and her demon horde. What in the world was going on?
"Gu Junshi—How dare you deceive me! You are incredibly bold!"
Seeing this scene, the demon god understood everything.
Gu Junshi had not killed these people at all. Her feigned surrender was merely a ploy to deceive it, to lull it into a state of relaxed vigilance before launching a heavy blow.
All those who had died in the battle within Fengdu City were alive. She had not instigated a battle between good and evil, and its own appearance here was even more peculiar. What exactly was Gu Junshi trying to do?!
It could not comprehend that Gu Junshi had set a trap for it. It could not understand why she would do this. If she had chosen those weak and insignificant beings, or the hypocritical and despicable Heavenly Dao, why then did she help it escape?
But regardless of her intentions, the demon god would not tolerate being played for a fool.
It harbored no more tolerance for Gu Junshi.
It harbored true killing intent towards her.
"Gu Junshi, I can elevate you, and I can also destroy you!"
It finally activated the restriction within her body, a hidden clause set when it had bestowed demonic essence upon her. Once activated, she would surely die.
Countless talisman chains shot down from its massive red eyes. In a very short time, they located Gu Junshi, clinging to her like barnacles and entangling her into a sphere.
Gu Junshi, of course, would not surrender meekly. Just as she was about to break free, the long, dark, and sinister talismans latched onto her like leeches, penetrating every pore. Simultaneously, a searing, intensely painful sensation struck her dantian, the very core of her cultivation.
"Ugh—"
A piercingly tragic cry, accompanied by boundless, frigid malevolence, churned the heavens and earth into a chaotic turmoil. Even those at a distance felt their skin corroding under an invisible, chilling force, suffering immense pain.
"How could this be?!"
"Look quickly, Gu Junshi's condition seems to be not right—"
Gu Junshi's body began to swell uncontrollably into a ball of flesh. Her increasingly thin skin revealed clearly visible blood vessels, while the talisman chains tightened their grip, binding her entire body. Finally, with the combined force of both, she exploded like a balloon.
"Sister—"
"Gu Junshi—"
The demonic creatures swarmed like flies attracted to a scent, consuming even the powdered remnants of her bones, leaving no chance for her resurrection.
The air seemed to be filled with a nauseating yet chilling aura. The sky completely darkened.
The wind also ceased, and all scenes and objects froze before the eyes, as if time had stopped.