Chapter 127: Falling Out

The Du family had relinquished control over the Great Qin, and by convention, it was the Mo family’s turn to take their place. This was standard procedure. However, the Han and Mo families harbored ulterior motives, viewing this as a perfect opportunity to squeeze out one or two rivals. They calculated that if the control of the Great Qin were split between only two families instead of three, the resulting benefits would be astronomical.

Consequently, the Han and Mo families refused to accept the standard succession. They proposed that the three families continue to jointly govern the Great Qin for the remaining two years. They reasoned that with enough manipulation, the Du family could effectively be pushed out of the arrangement entirely. The Du family, for their part, simply declared they would no longer interfere. To outsiders, the Du family’s sudden and reasonless abandonment of their stake in the Great Qin was a mystery. While some remained suspicious as to why the Du family would let go of such a lucrative piece of cake, no clear answers ever surfaced.

Once the three families agreed to divide the Du family's former share, they dispatched their elites to the Great Qin. Distrustful of one another, they reached a consensus: each house would send two First-Rank Spirit Venerables and three Peak Great Spirit Masters—a total of five per family, making fifteen in all—to depart for the Great Qin immediately. The Du family, observing these developments from afar, merely sneered, eagerly anticipating that not a single one of those sent would ever return.

Gu Feng and his three companions strolled leisurely through the woods. Though they encountered many wild beasts, the creatures were highly sensitive to danger and dared not initiate an attack. Gu Feng’s group only hunted when they felt like having wild game; otherwise, no one was bored enough to provoke the beasts. Along the way, Gu Dongliu finally achieved a breakthrough to become a First-Rank Spirit Master. As for Hanhan, despite her hard work, a breakthrough remained distant, primarily because she had advanced too rapidly in the past, leaving her foundation unstable. Long Xue’er, after refining all her Essence-Boosting Pills, had reached the Eighth-Rank of the Great Spirit Master stage. Her entire demeanor had shifted, and she was now filled with confidence for the future.

Three days passed during their journey. Just as Gu Feng was enjoying the walk, his system suddenly signaled the approach of six purple dots and nine blue dots, moving rapidly toward them. Purple represented Spirit Venerables, while blue signified Great Spirit Masters—and these nine blue dots were deep in color, indicating they were all at the peak of the Great Spirit Master stage.

Gu Feng knew exactly who these people were. He was slightly surprised that so many had been sent this time. Currently, apart from Long Xue’er, neither Gu Dongliu nor Hanhan could be of help, so Gu Feng traded for treasure to conceal their auras and told them to hide and enjoy the show. None of the three objected.

Long Xue’er whispered to herself, "One day, I will fight by your side." Gu Dongliu thought to himself that one day he, too, would be like Gu Feng, capable of conquering the world. As for Hanhan, she simply felt that as long as her master was there, everything would be fine.

Once the three were hidden, Gu Feng retrieved fifteen coffins and placed them across the path. He put up a sign that read: "Coffins Delivered, Burial Services Included," and donned a black robe.

Moments later, fifteen figures galloped into view. Seeing Gu Feng from a distance, they slowed down; upon noticing the coffins behind him, their faces filled with confusion. As they drew closer, they read the sign. Their expressions instantly darkened. Delivering coffins—was he cursing them to die? They counted them: exactly fifteen coffins. They were horrified. Who was this person? Could he know their mission?

"Who are you?"

Gu Feng, who had been looking down, suddenly raised his head, though his eyes remained closed. Upon seeing how young he was, they let out a sigh of relief. How strong could someone so young be?

Gu Feng wore a smile. "Good fortune to you all. I am Lu Mai-zang, responsible for delivering coffins and providing burial services. There are fifteen of you, and here are exactly fifteen coffins. Your luck is truly marvelous—not one too many, not one too few. Which of you would like to pick one first?"

The Great Spirit Master closest to Gu Feng turned black with rage. "I'll pick your mother! Go to hell!" He swung his blade at Gu Feng. Even though he couldn't discern Gu Feng’s cultivation level, he refused to believe such a young man could be his match. He stared into Gu Feng’s eyes, expecting to see panic, but upon closer inspection, he cursed, "Damn it, he’s blind!"

Gu Feng was deliberately rolling his eyes, wanting to toy with them. Realizing Gu Feng was blind, the attacker intentionally skewed his strike, aiming to sever Gu Feng’s arm instead of his neck. Just as the blade was about to hit Gu Feng’s shoulder, Gu Feng swayed. The blow seemed to miss, sliding past the shoulder, and because the momentum had nowhere to go, the attacker lunged forward. Gu Feng caught him, the immense force instantly shattering the man’s internal organs. Gu Feng shouted, "First one buried for free!" and casually tossed him into the first coffin.

After efficiently completing this, Gu Feng turned around, rolling his eyes at the remaining fourteen. "Next."

The fourteen men were stunned, glancing at each other, not daring to attack alone. Since the dead man was from the Mo family, one of their Spirit Venerables commanded, "Attack together and kill him!" The other two families watched with indifference, as if they were merely spectators; since it wasn’t their man who died, they felt no panic.

The Mo family representative realized their intentions. The Spirit Venerable growled, "Mo Qiong, go kill him. Remember, be extremely careful."

"Understood."

As a Spirit Venerable, Mo Qiong was bolder. He didn't get close to Gu Feng, instead slashing from a distance. Terrifying water-attributed spirit energy transformed into a massive blade of water, flying toward Gu Feng. Gu Feng picked up a coffin and, using a flash-step, appeared behind him.

The other Mo family Spirit Venerable shouted in shock, "Watch out behind you!" He lunged toward Gu Feng as well. Gu Feng threw a spirit-tool bomb toward him, while simultaneously driving a high-grade spirit-tool shuttle into Mo Qiong’s heart.

Boom! The bomb detonated, blasting back the caught-off-guard Spirit Venerable. The shuttle shredded Mo Qiong’s heart. Gu Feng snatched the man’s spatial ring, deposited him into a coffin, and returned to his original spot in a blur, calling out, "Second one."

The other Mo family Spirit Venerable retreated in a disheveled state, staring at Gu Feng in utter shock. The other two families were equally horrified. How could this young man be so powerful? That speed, comparable to teleportation, and that silver-glowing shuttle—it was clearly a high-grade spirit tool.

Who was this boy? Why was he here? Why was he killing them? They finally understood: this boy was here specifically to kill them. It was no coincidence; these fifteen coffins had been prepared for them all along.

The Mo family Spirit Venerable took a deep breath and addressed the others. "You see! He is here to kill us. If we don't join forces, we will all be slaughtered."

A Han family Spirit Venerable shouted, "Join forces! Kill him together!"