The fourth Supreme Elder of the Purgatory Sect?
Gu Jinlai’s expression was somewhat strange.
The Purgatory Sect is actually showing such great sincerity, allowing him to enter the highest echelon of the sect directly?
This approach, indeed, is genuine sincerity.
But he always felt it was very strange.
You, the Purgatory Sect...
Shouldn’t it be that if you offend me, it is a fight to the death immediately?
When an elder dies, an older elder steps up; when an older elder dies, a Supreme Elder steps in; when a Supreme Elder dies...
Annihilation of the sect.
That’s what conforms to the definition of not giving up unless one becomes undying.
He felt that ever since that Supreme Elder named Liu Jingtiao appeared, the behavior of the Purgatory Sect started to seem off.
Not just Liu Jingtiao.
Gu Jinlai recalled the information he got last night from a Meteor Star Guard...
Suddenly, he had a feeling that fortune was favoring everyone’s efforts.
Everything seemed to be developing in a good direction.
Whether it be Dragon Sparrow Manor or the Purgatory Sect, there wasn’t the slightest intention to fight him to the death.
The Cold Moon Sect and the Netherworld Sect too seemed calm, presenting an attitude unwilling to be his enemy.
He had thought that Qi Fenglei and Xue Yue of the State Lord Mansion would surely form an alliance, on one hand negotiating with Dragon Sparrow Manor to avenge the death of Wang Yinfeng and Ye Wuxia by dispatching another Supreme Elder, and on the other hand, quickly reaching out to the Cold Moon Sect.
The Cold Moon Sect is worried about not being able to hold onto Blue State, right?
The area south of Star State welcomes you!
Offering you a home of over a dozen cities.
For this, he even specifically mobilized Xuzhen Tower’s channel and utilized the privilege of being a Silver Sword Master to keep an eye on every move of the Cold Moon Sect.
As a result, the Cold Moon Sect, Dragon Sparrow Manor, the Netherworld Sect...
"Heavenly Monarch Gu, what are your thoughts?"
At this time, Lu Zhanfeng once again asked, his gaze intent as he looked at him.
"To become the fourth Supreme Elder of the Purgatory Sect..."
Gu Jinlai pondered for a brief moment, then quickly replied with a smile, "I have spent more than fifty years living in the Purgatory Sect, almost growing up listening to the legendary stories of various Supreme Elders. If I can now walk alongside the legends, that would be my greatest honor."
"Hahaha, with Heavenly Monarch Gu joining us, our Purgatory Sect will become even stronger, reaching new heights,"
Lu Zhanfeng laughed heartily, gesturing with an open hand, "Venerable Daoist Gu, please look, these are the subordinates arranged by the sect for the Supreme Elder’s command, at your disposal. Although with the power in Venerable Daoist Gu’s hands one could take over Star State without them, their help will still save some effort."
Gu Jinlai glanced behind Lu Zhanfeng.
He had brought more than three hundred people.
Among these three hundred plus, there were nine Refining God Immortals.
The rest were Hugging Pill, Gang Condensation, and Qi Refining Realm stewards and managers.
The size of the group even surpassed that which joined him from the Star Sky Alliance.
If you were to add Lu Zhanfeng, Shi Chen, and Sha Wujin, three Divinity Transformation Cultivators, the Star Sky Alliance wouldn’t stand a chance.
This scene immediately gave Zhan Hongying a sense of urgency.
The thought that Lingxiao City was short of Hugging Pill and Refining God experts, rapidly filling the gap after joining them and hoping to rise swiftly, had not turned out as expected...
The Purgatory Sect had actually sent people over.
When compared to the quantity and quality of the powerful figures from the Purgatory Sect side, the mere one hundred and thirty or so people from the Star Sky Alliance now seemed completely insignificant.
"No, we must have Alliance Leader Nie... Sect Master Nie send more people. Moreover, we must perform well in the upcoming great battle, to make Heavenly Monarch Gu see the value of the Star Sky Alliance."
Zhan Hongying resolved silently.
"With the support of the sect’s elders, protectors, and stewards, great achievements are within reach,"
Gu Jinlai spoke, looking towards Gu Chaoyang, "The upcoming actions will naturally become much easier, perhaps our men only need to take over the cities. We should set off without delay."
Gu Chaoyang bowed in acknowledgment, quickly returning among the troops.
Gu Jinlai’s gaze glanced at the Star Sky Alliance, then at the people of the Purgatory Sect, and after a moment of thought, he suggested, "Since we have greater numbers on our side, why not split our forces in two, to expel the influence of Dragon Sparrow Manor and the State Governor out at the fastest speed."
"We’ll follow any command Heavenly Monarch Gu gives,"
Zhan Hongying promptly agreed.
Lu Dengxian and others also spoke up, offering their services, "Willing to follow the Supreme Elder’s orders."
Gu Jinlai quickly made strategic arrangements.
Actually, Dragon Sparrow Manor, upon learning of the demise of Wang Yinfeng and Ye Wuxia, two Primordial Spirit Monarchs, along with four Divinity Transformation Cultivators, had already begun to withdraw their forces, exiting Star State.
They were well aware that having suffered heavy losses in Star State, they had lost the qualifications to compete with Gu Jinlai.
They even had to retract their defenses, to prevent Gu Jinlai from taking retaliation by invading Dragon Sparrow Manor.
He was a human, not a devil.
Devils, with their enormous size, cannot hide themselves.
But a human cultivator...
Especially one so powerful that he possesses the ability to slay two Primordial Spirit Monarchs, once he infiltrates Dragon Sparrow Manor quietly, if the manor doesn’t have enough force to keep him in check, the destruction he could cause would be catastrophic.
Dragon Sparrow Manor’s Divinity Transformation and Refining God experts almost all withdrew, leaving behind only a few hopeful Hugging Pill and Gang Condensation to maintain the situation.
Taking back the four cities they controlled would require hardly any effort.
On the other hand, the State Governor’s office, with the Three Great Families’ Patriarchs and the four Divinity Transformation experts including Xue Yue, would need to be approached with caution.
At that moment, Gu Jinlai arranged for Shi Chen, Sha Wujin, and Nie Shisan who also expressed a desire to contribute, asking them along with Gu Chifeng, Gu Luochen, Gu Yunxin, and a group of Demon God Warriors to head straight to Dragon Sparrow Manor’s occupied area.
Meanwhile, he and Lu Zhanfeng, Gu Chaoyang, Gu Qingmei, Gu Xiliu, and the others headed straight for the State Governor Mansion’s main base—Starlight City.
After taking over Starlight City, they would branch out to further control the surrounding cities Star Rain, Star Snow, Star Wind, and Star Frost.
After the arrangements were made, the troops split up.
One thousand elite forces were also divided, with five hundred headed in different directions.
Each team had over a hundred at the Gang Condensation and Hugging Pill stage, as well as several at the Refining God level, plus Demon God Guards led by people such as Gu Chifeng and Gu Qingmei. It was assumed that the responsibility of these one thousand elite forces would be to collect the tail, watch over prisoners, and maintain order once they had taken the city walls.
Seated atop a Mechanical Tyrannosaurus, Gu Jinlai finally had time to catch his breath.
Considering Starlight City was the State Governor Mansion’s main base with complex forces, and not knowing whether there were any hidden Primordial Spirit True Monarchs inside, it was best for him to strengthen himself first without the Heavenly Sword Missiles available.
For a moment, he diverted a wisp of Divine Sense, focusing into his Spirit World.
In the Spirit World, the Qing Lian bloomed, surrounded by light spheres representing the Cultivation Techniques.
There were over a dozen colors like the blue of Invisible Sword Qi, the purple of All Swords Return to One, the gold of Eternal Furnace, and many others.
After all, to grasp the mysteries of the Transformation Realm, he once took a path of quantity over quality.
Beyond the dozen or so light spheres, what was most eye-catching were the fifty-one beams of Qingguang.
A full fifty-one beams.
This number was a record for the most Starlight Gu Jinlai had ever obtained.
They were accumulated through painstaking search, one circle after another in Star Curtain City, and by slaying those marked with Red.
Gu Jinlai’s gaze turned to the Eternal Furnace.
This was his core Cultivation Technique.
It naturally needed to be prioritized for enhancement.
In a moment, Gu Jinlai perceived something amiss.
"Something’s not right!"
The abundance of colorful light spheres around his miniature conscious self was so great that they obscured the glow of his Karma, causing him to overlook it until he directed his attention there and realized...
"Why is my Karma decreasing so rapidly?"
Looking at the layer of Karma fire that was now tinged with a hint of white amidst the yellow, he was quite surprised.
His Karma had actually fallen to six layers!
His Karma had indeed been decreasing over time, but according to his estimate, it should have been around eleven layers by now; yet it had plummeted to six layers...
Gu Jinlai surveyed his surroundings.
He ran the Qiantian Purple Qi Technique, observing changes in the Lucky Qi surrounding Star State.
In just two days, the Lucky Qi of the entire Star State and its surroundings had undergone significant changes.
The Lucky Qi in the direction of the State Governor Mansion had dimmed to the brink of collapse.
On the other hand, another strand of Lucky Qi was rising, replacing the former State Governor Mansion’s Lucky Qi. This new Lucky Qi resonated faintly with Lingxiao City’s Lucky Qi behind him, as if they were merging into one and set to spread further, covering the entire Star State.
Add to that, the connection between his own Lucky Qi and that of the Western Purgatory Sect...
"So, because I shook the pattern of the states south of Tianhe River, and brought changes towards order, it caused my Karma to drop five levels in a very short period of time..."
Gu Jinlai realized clearly.
The changes in Karma were reflected externally, making his actions much smoother.
It was like when he first crossed over to "Gu Jinlai" in Changjun City, where various assassinations were relentless.
If he were to cripple his cultivation and fall back to the Hugging Pill stage, forces that had been staying put like Dragon Sparrow Manor, the State Governor Mansion, and Cold Moon Sect would absolutely make another move. Hugging Pill, Refining God, even Divinity Transformation Cultivators would come out to bring him to his demise.
But due to the low level of Karma on him, there would also be more people attempting to protect him.
Such as the people from the Gu family, such as Meteor Star Guard Xin Tianqi.
"Karma is just a reference. What I can truly rely on is still only myself," Gu Jinlai reflected, pulling his gaze away from the Karma around his consciousness and focusing on those beams of Qingguang instead.
With a thought, the beams of Qingguang successively poured into the light sphere representing the "Eternal Furnace."
As the Qingguang merged, Gu Jinlai closed his eyes, quietly comprehending.
The Eternal Furnace was derived from the fusion of the Grand Sun Nine Refinement Visualization Method and the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Technique, using the Power of Great Sun to temper oneself.
The essence of this technique was the recombination and repurposing of energy.
It was like changing the arrangement of atoms, transforming stone into diamond.
The Eternal Furnace rearranged the seemingly insignificant elements like the air he breathed and the liquids contained in his blood, adjusting them to release more tremendous energy.
This energy, in turn, reinforced himself, enabling him to take in more air, more blood.
"Eternal Immortal!" said Gu Jinlai.
The operation of the Eternal Furnace became almost like a passive skill; without his control, it constantly provided him with energy, reinforcing him around the clock.
Furthermore, even if he were grievously injured, the Eternal Furnace could help him recover quickly.
He and the Eternal Furnace seemed to truly have become one.
He was the Eternal Furnace.
The Eternal Furnace was him.
The sign of a Perfect Demon Body, a lineage of Devil Beast, developing a second form of life.