Gu Qingfeng was ecstatic, but before he could even express his feelings, a surge of immense power erupted from deep within his body. The power filled his entire being, making him want to roar to the heavens.
"Ah!"
Gu Qingfeng let out a wild roar.
With all his strength, he activated the power of nine bulls and two tigers.
Instantly, the vines and branches binding him snapped and flew apart, leaving the prison cell littered with debris.
The Locust Tree Demon watched in horror, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Awesome!"
Gu Qingfeng exclaimed, eager to vent the surging power within him. But the only other being in the cell was the Locust Tree Demon.
So, he turned his fiery gaze and sinister smile towards the demon.
"You... you stay back!" the Locust Tree Demon cried out, sensing impending doom.
"Scream all you want; no one will come to save you," Gu Qingfeng sneered.
...
An hour later.
An elderly man with a bruised and swollen face extended countless vines, carefully giving a young man a full-body massage.
It was the Locust Tree Demon and Gu Qingfeng.
After an hour of "criticism and education," the Locust Tree Demon had completely reformed.
While massaging, he continued the story he had started earlier.
"So, you became a demon from an ordinary locust tree because of that spiritual weapon?" Gu Qingfeng casually asked.
The bruised Locust Tree Demon answered cautiously, "Yes, Master. When I was planted, there was a wooden spiritual weapon buried beneath me. I absorbed its essence day and night, which allowed me to take form."
"What kind of spiritual weapon is it? It must be at least a Xuan-grade weapon, right?" Gu Qingfeng exclaimed in surprise.
Spiritual weapons referred to powerful weapons with spiritual attributes, divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang.
"Master, you are indeed sharp-eyed. That weapon is called the Wood King Sword. A century ago, it was an Earth-grade upper-level spiritual weapon. However, it seems to have been damaged, and its spiritual essence has been gradually dissipating over the years, now reduced to a Xuan-grade lower-level weapon."
"Heh, it's more than just damaged. Over the past century, you've absorbed a lot of its spiritual essence for your transformation, haven't you? No wonder the Wood King Sword's grade has dropped so much."
"Master, you are indeed sharp-eyed."
"Enough with the flattery. Where is the Wood King Sword hidden?"
"When the Demon Suppression Bureau's exorcists came to capture me, I knew I couldn't resist, so I hid the Wood King Sword in a very secret place. Only I know where it is..."
Slap!
Gu Qingfeng slapped him across the face.
"I hate it when people beat around the bush. Get to the point."
"Yes, yes, Master. The Wood King Sword is hidden under the earth god temple in the back mountain of Zhang Family Village in Ji County." The Locust Tree Demon stammered.
"Why didn't you just say that from the start? You had to get hit to feel good, you're really a masochist. Alright, stop massaging. I'm off to the next place. I'll come back tomorrow."
"Yes, yes, Master, take your time. Welcome back next time."
The Locust Tree Demon quickly ran to open the cell door and bowed deeply, watching Gu Qingfeng leave.
Gu Qingfeng left, glancing at the time and cursing under his breath, "Damn it, this Locust Tree Demon talked too much, telling a story so slowly, and he's so tough, wasting so much time. It's almost dawn, and it's too late to go to the next cell now. I'd probably be halfway through when it's time to change shifts."
Gu Qingfeng had no choice but to give up.
He didn't want to be in the middle of a friendly chat with a demon when Zhang Zheng came in.
So, he returned to the Corpse Demon's cell to rest and wait for the shift change.
"Corpse Demon, give me a massage. Don't be a loli, change into an office lady outfit for me. Yes, that's it."
After a short while, Gu Qingfeng suddenly stood up.
Seeing this, the Corpse Demon quickly crouched down with her hands over her head, thinking she had massaged too hard and angered Gu Qingfeng.
But Gu Qingfeng said, "No, something's still missing."
He looked around the environment and realized what was missing.
The prison cell was too grim and oppressive.
"Wait here, I'll be right back."
With that, Gu Qingfeng left.
After about a stick of incense, Gu Qingfeng returned, dragging a despondent Eye Demon with a bleeding big eyeball.
The Corpse Demon was puzzled, not knowing why Gu Qingfeng had brought another demon.
Gu Qingfeng slapped the Eye Demon hard.
"Quick, set up the illusion as I instructed."
The Eye Demon reluctantly complied.
The blood-red big eyeball shot out a beam of blood light, and when the light dissipated, the Corpse Demon's cell had transformed dramatically!
It now had a modern look, with a hot spring, bath, tea table, sauna room, marble floor, bright chandeliers, and a luxurious bed.
Gu Qingfeng was overjoyed, "That's it! Perfect. Now I feel like getting a membership card.
Come on, Corpse Demon, continue."
...
Half an hour later, Gu Qingfeng reluctantly left the Corpse Demon's cell.
Because Zhang Zheng had come to change shifts.
This time, Zhang Zheng was in high spirits.
"Hey, why are you so happy today? Did you step in dog poop?" Gu Qingfeng teased.
Zhang Zheng rolled his eyes at Gu Qingfeng and then said excitedly, "Something big happened at the Demon Suppression Bureau."
"What happened?" Gu Qingfeng was immediately interested.
"I just heard the news. A few days ago, Lord Yang led a team of exorcists to the Bone Forest to slay demons, but they were all wiped out."
"Wiped out?" Gu Qingfeng looked at Zhang Zheng strangely.
"Why are you so excited about everyone being wiped out? Do you have a grudge against someone in there?"
"No, think about it. The Demon Suppression Bureau in Wutong Prefecture has always been fully staffed. This time, four Huang-grade exorcists and one Xuan-grade exorcist died, leaving a lot of vacancies!"
Oh...
Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood why Zhang Zheng was so happy.
In the workplace, many people are waiting for their superiors to retire or die so they can move up!
"Wait, even if there are vacancies for Huang-grade exorcists, what does that have to do with you? If I remember correctly, you're only at the fourth level of Qi Gathering, right? It's not like you're in line for it." Gu Qingfeng asked curiously.
"I know it's not my turn," Zhang Zheng said irritably.
"Huang-grade exorcists are usually only appointed to martial artists at the Internal Qi level. Among our probationary exorcists, there are four who have already reached the Internal Qi level, but there have been no vacancies, so they haven't been able to be promoted.
This time, four Huang-grade exorcists died, and these four were immediately promoted.
Now there's one vacancy left."
"Wait, didn't four Huang-grade exorcists die? That's five vacancies."
Zhang Zheng looked at Gu Qingfeng as if he were an idiot.
"Lord Yang, the Xuan-grade exorcist, also died. A Huang-grade exorcist will fill that position, so there are five Huang-grade vacancies in total."
Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood.
"What about the remaining vacancy? All the Internal Qi level probationary exorcists have been promoted."
"What to do? Of course, it's a martial arts competition! There are four Internal Qi level probationary exorcists, but five vacancies. The remaining one will go to the Qi Gathering level probationary exorcists. But there are dozens of Qi Gathering level nine probationary exorcists. Who gets it? We'll have a martial arts competition, and it's in three days!
When I arrived, the hall was packed with people signing up, and many were just there to watch."
Three days later? Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat.
"Is this competition only open to Qi Gathering level nine probationary exorcists?"
"Of course not. There are no restrictions on registration. Many Qi Gathering level eight exorcists have signed up, but they're mostly delusional, hoping to get lucky. It's not easy to challenge someone at a higher level. The winner will definitely be among the Qi Gathering level nine exorcists.
I'll tell you, the most outrageous thing is that there's even a Qi Gathering level seven exorcist who signed up. How arrogant must you be to challenge two levels above you? It's like daydreaming."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng fell into deep thought.
This seemed like an opportunity, a chance to be promoted to a Huang-grade exorcist.
Gu Qingfeng had always been eyeing the second and third floors of the Demon Suppression Prison, but only Huang-grade exorcists could enter them.
If one were to follow the normal procedures to become a Yellow Rank Demon Suppression Officer, it's uncertain when that might happen. However, there's an opportunity to rise to the top in one fell swoop right now.
But once one participates in the martial arts competition, their true strength might be exposed, inviting unnecessary trouble.
Demons can't kill me, but martial artists can. Participating in the competition and aiming to come out on top—such a high-profile act doesn't align with my low-key nature.
Gu Qingfeng found himself in a dilemma. He never once considered the possibility of losing, because losing is indeed very difficult.
With abilities like Copper Skin and Iron Bones, Perfected Iron Shirt, Illusory Vision, and the Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers, possessing just one of these would generally allow one to dominate those at the peak of Qi Gathering Stage Nine. And Gu Qingfeng has four of these abilities.
Not to mention anything else, just in terms of strength, the peak strength of Qi Gathering Stage Nine is only nine bulls, or nine thousand catties. But Gu Qingfeng possesses a staggering twenty-five thousand catties of strength!
The gap is evident to the naked eye.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
