Longevity: Starting from Refining Gu

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The surrounding generals were shocked and quickly gathered around, supporting Chen Qing.

"Lord Wen, you're too seriously injured!"

"Lord Wen, are you alright?"

Chen Qing waved his hand slightly and said, "That Daoist Shasheng has condensed two hundred years of killing intent into a single sword, and that sword is a sword of the Grandmaster Realm."

"Although I am in the pseudo-Grandmaster Realm, it will still take some time to decipher it."

"Leave a letter for Ji Dang; we are heading to Naihe Bridge."

Wei Qingchen asked, "Lord Wen, what should be written?"

Chen Qing took a deep breath, "Just write, 'In front of Naihe Bridge, I invite you to a duel!'"

"At this moment, showing weakness would only expose my injuries."

"The only way is to openly and confidently invite him to a duel, which will cause him to be slightly apprehensive!"

"Make the Da Yan army nearby fearful and unwilling to intercept or kill us easily!"

Leaving behind a letter, he hung it above Zhou Li's head. Chen Qing sat on the Green Bull, suppressing his internal injuries, and continued heading toward Naihe Bridge.

Three days later, Ji Dang rode a dragon to White Bone Crossing. Along with him came the Daoist Shasheng, who appeared aged and frail.

The previous sword strike had nearly exhausted all his effort and was now showing some aftereffects.

Ji Dang's gaze fell upon Zhou Li's head. Ji Dang reached out and closed Zhou Li's eyes, which had remained unclosed.

Then he took down the letter, "Take it away and give it a proper burial."

Ji Dang opened the letter left by Chen Qing; it contained only a few short sentences.

[To Ji Dang, open personally:

When I was in the mortal world, I often heard of your intelligence and bravery, yet I have never met you.

Now that you long to meet me, pursuing relentlessly, I shall fulfill your wish.

In the realm of the dead, there are supposedly two Grandmasters, yet I do not believe it.

Therefore, in front of Naihe Bridge, I invite you to a duel!

Sincerely, Qingxu.]

After reading, Ji Dang handed the letter to Biyou Dragon Girl, who then passed it to Xiao and Daoist Shasheng to read.

"That day, how did you lose exactly?"

Daoist Shasheng said, "I revered the Seven Heavenly Cutting Swords for the king and presented the sword to Qingxu, who turned and left."

"However, he didn't know that once the sword is presented to the king, it doesn't end. I slashed with a sword that encapsulated two hundred years of cultivation, knocking him off his horse."

"I thought he would surely die, but unexpectedly, he was fully restored and furiously led the Dragon Cavalry to attack us."

"I used all my strength and Spiritual Energy with that one sword strike and was already exhausted, so I had to let Zhou Li lead the army to block them."

"In the end, I underestimated the Dragon Cavalry."

"Once the Qingxu-led Dragon Cavalry charged, it was indeed like a black cloud over a city, as if a fierce tiger came down from a mountain."

"He led the army in an assault, and we couldn't hold them; if we couldn't stop their charge, we'd certainly face a large defeat."

"We didn't have the ability to stop the entire army, so Zhou Li led thirty-two Mountain-opening Warriors to forcibly cut off the middle army of Qingxu, severing their main army's rear and initiating an encirclement massacre!"

"Seeing things going badly, Qingxu and his valiant general Lu Shenglong each led a troop, splitting our forces, preventing the outer army from aiding Zhou Li."

"Zhou Li resisted valiantly, killing enemies while surrounded by hundreds of Dragon Cavalry."

"Everything was going well, but according to the returning soldiers, they actually saw the headless Dragon Cavalry that Zhou Li had killed attacking him again!"

"Zhou Li didn't anticipate such a sudden change, and he was killed by the Dragon Cavalry. Wei Qingchen chopped off Zhou Li's head, leading to our great defeat."

Listening to the account by Daoist Shasheng, Ji Dang remarked, "Your strategy was not wrong; you just failed because you didn't know what Qingxu's King Gu was, nor the specific strength of the Dragon Cavalry."

"Now it seems this Dragon Cavalry is indeed unstoppable."

Ji Dang reached out to Biyou Dragon Girl, "Fetch the King's Record."

Biyou Dragon Girl rummaged at her chest and pulled out a scroll, still warm, handing it to Ji Dang.

Ji Dang unrolled it and carefully read the text on it.

After a while, he quietly said, "The thirty-sixth kingly way, Emperor Earth!"

Daoist Shasheng asked, "This King Gu is so domineering; why is it only ranked thirty-sixth?"

Biyou Dragon Girl said, "This Gu rarely appears in the world; it has always been a vague legend, never truly documented."

"The last record was during the Gods Era, and as you should know, the affairs of the Gods Era are now unclear."

"So the information about this Gu is extremely scarce; it is only roughly known that this Gu has the ability to bring the dead back to life."

"Being unharmed by a sword strike and possibly having undead soldiers under one's command should match this description."

Daoist Shasheng was slightly curious, "Then how is the Six Dao Ghosts ranked?"

Biyou Dragon Girl said, "These conclusions come after battles among various kings, so they aren't particularly accurate either."

"For instance, the Dragon Abyss King Gu ranks sixty-seventh, yet in my Dragon Palace, it once defeated the King Gu Heavenly ranked fifty-four."

"But now in your Da Yan's hands, it can't even contend with the seventy-eighth ranked Bronze Universe King Gu."

Seeing that Biyou Dragon Girl was straying from the point, Daoist Shasheng said, "Just tell me, what is the ranking of the Six Dao Ghosts?"

Biyou Dragon Girl glanced at Ji Dang, and seeing him nod, she finally said, "The fifth in the kingly way, Extreme Strength."

"According to legend, it carries the power of Heaven and Earth."

"Above it are the four pillars of the world, Cicada and Butterfly, Heavenly Destiny and Jiguang."

"Cicada and Butterfly are unknown, Heavenly Destiny is in Da Yan, hence only Da Yan has an Emperor."

"Jiguang was in the hands of the Jiguang Sect before the Gods Era, but it has never appeared since."

Daoist Shasheng said, "So, the Six Dao Ghosts is the strongest King Gu the world can attain?"

Biyou Dragon Girl said, "You could roughly interpret it that way."

Ji Dang slightly crouched and removed his cloak, covering Zhou Li.

"This is not the most terrifying thing."

Daoist Shasheng asked, "What is more terrifying?"

Ji Dang said, "The Six Dao Ghosts carries Heaven and Earth, but it didn't appear three hundred years ago."

"And now, it's very likely that the initial state of the Six Dao Ghosts is not floor one but at a higher Quality."

Only then did Daoist Shasheng finally understand why this Death Realm struggle had become so severely brutal.

Honorable Zhou Li, who had no match in the same rank in the world.

Yet here, with just one battle, he ended up in a desolate grave.

Xiao said earnestly, "Those who possess this Gu are destined to become Wen Wu, and have a chance to seek the True Monarch position."

Ji Dang waved his hand, "Those are all distant dreams."

"No matter how strong the Six Dao Ghosts is, only possessing it means strength. If you can't get it, what difference does it make?"

"Let's analyze Qingxu's actions."

Hearing Ji Dang speak, the people refocused. Biyou Dragon Girl said, "I think this letter is just to confuse us."

"Qingxu must be seriously injured at this moment; we just need to pressure on with our army, and he will surely be defeated."

Ji Dang nodded, "There is some sense in that, but the wonderful use of King Gu, I dare not speak much."

"Of course, I am certain that Qingxu's King Gu must only be on the first floor."

"With his age and cultivation, he cannot bear the cost of ascending the floors."

"Of course, that's not the most urgent matter; we need to know if he will go to Naihe Bridge."

Xiao waved his sleeve and sat down nearby, "If it truly is Naihe Bridge, why would he be so direct in telling us? This rather resembles a trick, luring us there when he is actually going elsewhere."

"My master once told me that the words of a woman and an enemy, you shouldn't believe even one."

Biyou Dragon Girl retorted, "Judging by their previous route, they were clearly heading for Naihe Bridge!"

"And moreover, we've practiced scorched earth tactics, clearing the area entirely except for Heavenly Dragon City; none of the other cities even have Merit."

"Only the Demon Clan has stored Merit at this point; this journey must be to rendezvous with the Demon Clan!"

Ji Dang slightly frowned, "Stop arguing. Others might lie to us, but intelligence won't deceive."

"Bring the Dharma Conch; I recall Wang Ji is nearby, ask about the Demon Clan's movement."

Biyou Dragon Girl took out a palm-sized conch, weaved a spell, opened it, and handed it to Ji Dang.

Ji Dang asked, "Master Wangji, what is the situation now?"

Strangely, the voice coming through wasn't Wang Ji's but a clear, loud female voice.

"Who are you?"

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