Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

"Perhaps here, my physical body, primordial spirit, and even my cultivation level can all experience substantial breakthroughs," Gu Chen muttered to himself.

Of course, this was indeed the purpose of Gu Chen's foray into the ancestral lands.

These ancestral lands, although extremely conducive to cultivation, were not without their dangers.

In just half a day, Gu Chen and Zheng Zhiyuan had already encountered no fewer than four perilous areas, ranging from caves to swamps to dense forests.

These areas, while containing various treasures such as spiritual medicines and extraordinarily valuable ores among other rare items, could only be accessed by those with at least a full complement of God Transformation Realm strength.

"Brother Zheng, you've worked hard,"

Gu Chen said as he took the five-thousand-year-old spiritual medicine handed to him by Zheng Zhiyuan, storing it in his spatial treasure, and smiled at him slightly.

At that moment, Zheng Zhiyuan was covered in mud and panting heavily, looking quite disheveled.

Because he had just entered a marsh and nearly became completely mired, but fortunately, he had lifesaving tricks up his sleeve. After acquiring the treasure, he finally managed to extricate himself.

Now, Zheng Zhiyuan looked somewhat upset as he sized up Gu Chen, feeling that something was amiss.

In half a day's time, every dangerous place they encountered seemed to pose little challenge for Gu Chen, while he, on the other hand, faced life-threatening dangers each time.

"Could it be that this Gu Bai's strength is truly so formidable?" Zheng Zhiyuan wondered internally, simultaneously relieved that he hadn't chosen to attack on sight.

Seeing Zheng Zhiyuan looking him over, Gu Chen smiled and asked, "What's the matter, Brother Zheng? Is there something you need?"

"Nothing at all."

With that thought, Zheng Zhiyuan dared not turn hostile against Gu Chen and could only force a smile, pretending everything was fine.

But in his heart, he was cursing, "Damn! Such bad luck, to be so repeatedly embarrassed!"

Fortunately, the clothing and other items he had on were not ordinary; they were all spiritual treasures. As the magical power flowed through him, his entire body was cleansed once again.

"If there's nothing amiss, then let's continue on, Brother Zheng," Gu Chen said with a smile. Along the way, he had gained quite a few items, to which Zheng Zhiyuan had contributed considerably.

Having such a "worker" by his side, Gu Chen honestly felt somewhat reluctant to kill him, at least he could be useful for scouting ahead sometimes.

"Alright, I will continue," Zheng Zhiyuan nodded, though he had heard the phrase several times, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Soon, as the two traveled another five hundred li, they saw on the horizon a fierce creature enveloped in intense flames soaring across the sky.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Zhiyuan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed loudly, "Brother Huo, Brother Huo!"

Indeed, the creature shrouded in intense flames was none other than the young master of the Fire Crow Clan, the strongest monster of his generation, renowned across nearly a hundred realms, with a cultivation level reaching the beginning stages of the Huanxu Realm—Huo Ming.

Huo Ming's hearing was incredibly sharp, and he heard Zheng Zhiyuan's call in an instant. With a swoosh, a flash of light, he transformed back into his human form, appearing before the two.

"Brother Huo!" Upon seeing Huo Ming, Zheng Zhiyuan was overjoyed, knowing that his chance to kill Gu Chen had come. He had been biding his time for long enough!

"Zheng Zhiyuan?"

After Huo Ming transformed into his human form, dressed in a fiery red robe that transformed from his feathers, he looked at Zheng Zhiyuan with some surprise, not expecting to encounter him.

"Who is he?"

Then, Huo Ming's gaze shifted to Gu Chen.

Seeing this, Zheng Zhiyuan couldn't help but sneer and said, "Brother Huo, he is that Gu Bai!"

"Oh?"

At these words, Huo Ming showed interest and looked at Gu Chen with intrigue, assessing him from top to bottom, while asking, "So you're that pretty boy, Gu Bai?"

Without waiting for Gu Chen to speak, Huo Ming clicked his tongue and said, "Not long ago, I told Lu Xin that if I ever encountered you, I would take revenge on his behalf, slap you to death with one strike, but now I'm in a fairly good mood, so I'll give you a chance. End yourself."

His expression was indifferent, his head tilted upward, looking down on Gu Chen with an arrogance akin to that of a peacock.

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen couldn't help but laugh and said, "Is a mere crow fancying itself a phoenix?"

"Hmm?"

These words struck a nerve with Huo Ming, and his face immediately darkened.

The Fire Crow Clan took great offense to having "crow" mentioned in a demeaning context.

They always believed themselves to be noble, and the rise of the Fire Crow Clan was largely due to the Golden Raven Clan, one of the top ten species from before.

Many years ago, during the ancient times, a mighty warrior from the Golden Raven Clan took a woman from the Fire Crow Clan as his concubine, and she conceived, birthing a fire crow with half the Golden Raven bloodline.

But to that warrior of the Golden Raven Clan, the woman of the Fire Crow was just a plaything, and a Golden Raven with impure blood wouldn't be acknowledged by the Golden Raven Clan, naturally, that fire crow had no way to return to his ancestor's family.

Regardless, having this connection was beneficial; it's good to lean on a strong tree for support. Few dared to provoke the Fire Crow Clan, and they used this opportunity to rapidly rise, gathering resources extensively.

After the passage of countless years, they finally managed to secure their place among the top hundred powerful species, and the descendants of the fire crow with half the Golden Raven bloodline multiplied, leading to descendants of the Fire Crow Clan today having a trace of Golden Raven blood in their veins.

Because of this, the Fire Crow Clan also saw their bloodline as noble and particularly despised others invoking bloodline status to make a point.

And Gu Chen's words had deeply wounded Huo Ming.

This showed just how formidable the so-called top ten species were—possessing only a trace of the Golden Raven Clan's bloodline was enough for the Fire Crow Clan to rise from a position beyond ten thousand names to break into the top hundred of the Huanxu Realm.

After the rise of the Fire Crow Clan, the beings of the Upper Realm felt an even deeper apprehension toward the top ten species.

"Audacious!"

Before Huo Ming could speak, only his expression darkening, Zheng Zhiyuan beside him jumped out, chiding Gu Chen, "Gu Bai, you must have grown too bold, do you know who stands before you? This is the peerless prodigy Huo Ming, who has dominated nearly a hundred domain worlds. You should hurry up and come over to pay your great respects and kowtow!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen gave Zheng Zhiyuan an oddly scrutinizing look. As a fellow disciple from the same ancient spiritual family, how could Zheng Zhiyuan behave like such a lackey?

Seeing Gu Chen's reaction, Zheng Zhiyuan let out a cold laugh and said, "What, you find it strange, do you? Let me tell you, I've been deceiving you all along! Not only am I not friends with Yun Zishu, but we're actually enemies. Hahaha, bet you didn't expect that, did you?"

At this moment, after revealing the truth with a big laugh, Zheng Zhiyuan ridiculed Gu Chen, hoping to see expressions of shock and regret on his face.

Unfortunately for him, he failed. Gu Chen just quietly looked at him, with a clear smile spreading through his deep eyes.

Considering all that had happened before, Zheng Zhiyuan's face suddenly changed and he exclaimed, "Could it be... you've known all along?"

Gu Chen smiled without a word. His perception was incredibly sharp, and from the moment he saw Zheng Zhiyuan, he had sensed something was amiss and didn't believe a word he said.

Later, Zheng Zhiyuan's sorry state was all thanks to Gu Chen deliberately messing with him, intentionally sending him to explore dangerous places.

However, it must be said that Zheng Zhiyuan did have some ability to have survived successfully.

At that moment, completely bewildered, Zheng Zhiyuan had thought he was playing Gu Chen for a fool, but when the truth came out in the end, was it he who had become the joke?

With this thought, Zheng Zhiyuan's face turned beet red with fury, his eyes filled with prominent red veins, completely urgent.

"You... you damn... you damned scoundrel!"

Seeing the smile that wasn't quite a smile on Gu Chen's face, Zheng Zhiyuan could no longer contain himself and burst into furious cursing.

"Hold your tongue!"

But at that moment, Huo Ming lost his patience. With a single rebuke, he scared Zheng Zhiyuan witless.

Huo Ming then turned his chill gaze toward Gu Chen and said with an icy tone, "What did you just say? If you have the guts, repeat it for me to hear!"