Bodies were strewn everywhere.
Blood flowed along the courtyard floor into the drainage ditch, trickling like a stream.
Gu Jinlai, having reverted from his Great Sun True Demon form, sat on the stone steps at the entrance of the inner courtyard, quietly basking in the sun.
The two-meter-long giant sword leaned against a nearby house pillar, flashing a cold metallic luster.
The afternoon sun was no longer as intense and scorching as it had been at noon, rather, it felt refreshingly cool on the skin.
There he sat on the stone steps, resting his chin in his hand, his expression carrying an indescribable peace and tranquility.
"My nature to be a good person has never changed."
Gu Jinlai "looked" at the more intensely red light of Karma on his Spirit World’s consciousness.
"Whether or not I am shackled by Karma, this goal will not change."
He said to himself inwardly.
"Born in the Blue Star Central Earth Country, the education I received from childhood was to obey laws and regulations, be honest and trustworthy, be civil and polite, care for the elderly, act justly and courageously, protect the vulnerable, and be a qualified successor of socialism."
Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faithfulness, filial piety, fraternity, loyalty, integrity, shame, diligence, bravery, reverence, forgiveness, caution, frugality, endurance, friendship, compassion, harmony.
He was out of sync with this world.
His journey in this world was fraught with difficulties.
Death and slaughter had become a part of daily life.
"The world should not be ."
Gu Jinlai’s gentle eyes held a glimmer of human warmth: "Because I have seen a better world, I know this world is wrong."
The world should not only be about killing, war, plunder, oppression, greed, and death.
To do so would only lead to the destruction of this world.
Through killing and war, through endless oppression and plunder, what will it eventually become?
The entire world, in the hands of a few, or even one person.
By then, everyone will act according to that person’s will.
But what if one day, the ruler of that world suddenly grows weary and troubled by it all? Then...
The world will be destroyed.
He now lived in this world.
He was a part of this world.
Although he still occasionally fantasized about whether he could one day return.
Back to the Central Earth Kingdom.
That goal was too far away, as distant as a fantasy, as extravagant as a wish.
Therefore, he had no choice but to live honestly in this world.
Given that circumstance...
He could not just sit by and watch this world be destroyed.
Then examined again the Qing Lian in his Spirit World that seemed to symbolize something.
He seemed to have found the meaning of his existence.
"I want to save this world."
Gu Jinlai stated: "This world is sick, it’s wrong, it urgently needs someone to heal it, to clear out all the parasites, viruses, once and for all..."
Gu Jinlai looked up at the sky.
The afternoon sun shone on his face, gentle and enchanting.
At this moment, he was no longer confused.
An alien soul from afar had found its motivation, found its direction.
He was no longer drifting aimlessly with the currents of this world.
Although the goal seemed out of reach, like a fool’s dream.
Yet, some things, after all, someone has to do.
Without trying, who knows whether it would succeed or not.
Gu Jinlai withdrew his gaze and lowered his head, "Qing Lian has granted me the greatest help by telling me who is evil and who is good. Well, then, the goal is set."
He slowly stood up, "Eradicate the evildoers, spare the good."
Gazing at the bloodstains in the scene that were gradually being cleaned up by Gu Chaoyang and others, a serene smile crept onto his face, "By then, when a world with only good people is achieved, the world’s sickness will naturally be cured."
For this operation, Qin Guichuan and Yang Shengping, the two vice garrison commanders, did not participate.
Although they believed that the Lord Guardian, along with several dozen masters form the Wang Family, would be more than enough to capture Gu Jinlai and his company in one swoop, out of caution, they still paid close attention to every move of the western district branch.
As soon as Fang Que’s Guardian entered the western district branch, he disappeared without a trace, much like a stone sinking into the ocean.
This eerie silence made the two of them tremendously uneasy, forcing them to order a further investigation.
After more than an hour, finally a Meteor Star Guard hurried in with news, "My lords, there’s been a terrible development. The Lord Guardian and masters from the Wang Family... have been defeated..."
"Together, Fang’s Governor and the masters from the Wang Family numbered more than sixty individuals, with eleven at the Hugging Pill stage, and Fang’s Governor himself was a force comparable to a Refining God Immortal, worth two or three Hugging Pills on his own. How could they fail to annihilate two Hugging Pills of the Ancient Demon, two at the Gang Condensation stage, several Qi Refinement stages, and dozens of Body Refinement Martial Artists not even reaching Qi Refinement?"
Qin Guichuan and Yang Shengping abruptly rose to their feet.
"There are still a dozen or so from the Wang Family and Star Guard who managed to escape the encirclement by climbing over the walls. I have received this information from them; it is absolutely true," the panting guard reported. "According to the survivors, the news of Gu Jinlai taking the path of a Demon Martial Artist is true. Not only is it true, he has achieved great success on this path, and after manifesting the Demon True Body, he possesses Great Demon Power. With this power, he mercilessly slaughtered through the crowd, killing Fang’s Governor, the Wang Family Patriarch, Wang Bo, and others with his own hands."
"He... He really is a Demon Martial Artist!?"
"At the Great Demon Level, no less!?"
Both Qin Guichuan and Yang Shengping were dumbfounded.
The Meteor Star Guards also bore the responsibility of exterminating devils, and they knew very well what a Great Demon signified!
It was equivalent to the horrific existence of two or three Refining God Giant Levels.
Only... the accusation of Demon Martial Artist was just supposed to be a charge they pinned on Gu Jinlai, wasn’t it?
And it turned out to be true!? Not only was it true, but his demon incarnation was far stronger than they had imagined.
So much so that when Gu Jinlai truly manifested his Demon True Body, he instantly slaughtered nearly all the masters including the garrison commander Fang Que and Wang Family Patriarch Wang Bo in one fell swoop.
Qin Guichuan quickly recovered from the shocking news, "This is bad."
"The Lord Guardian and the Wang Family failed to suppress Gu Jinlai... Moreover, according to the Meteor Star Guard, there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance that Gu Jinlai is now aware of our collaboration with the Red Blood Sect. If he spreads this news..."
Yang Shengping, too, realized the gravity of the situation.
If this news became widely known, everyone in Lingxiao City would be held accountable.
They would not be able to spare themselves either.
"Quick! Inform the heads of the Fang Family and the Zhao Family..." Qin Guichuan hastily said.
Furthermore, he added, "Send a messenger to the Red Blood Sect, asking the Red Saber Ancestor to enter the city!"
"Are you thinking..."
"Only a Demon Martial Artist can take on another Demon Martial Artist. If Gu Jinlai is comparable to a Great Demon, isn’t the Red Saber Ancestor just as much?" Qin Guichuan said rapidly.
At this moment, another Star Guard approached from outside, "My lords, the Ancient Town Guardian from the west has sent a message. The Wang Family and Lord Fang have in collusion with the Red Blood Sect, bringing harm to the people. Heaven cannot tolerate this. He has summoned both of you and all the Star Guards of Lingxiao City to the Wang Family’s estate to eradicate their lineage and rectify the heavens and the earth!"
Having said that, he immediately added, "The Ancient Town Guardian has already led a group towards the Wang Family’s estate, and he hopes we will bring our forces to join him there immediately!"