Chapter 69: Sacrifices Made for Mutual Benefit

Just as Gu Feng was about to explode, both Liu Anhua and his master were seized by fear. Especially Liu Anhua, who, in his despair, saw Gu Feng as a madman—one even more ruthless than any demonic cultivator.

Liu Anhua’s master had no choice but to retreat in fury. He vowed that, once he uncovered Gu Feng’s family, he would annihilate them in the cruelest manner as a sacrifice to his disciple’s departed soul.

The system detonated Gu Feng with astonishing speed. The explosion was immediate and devastating.

With a thunderous roar, Gu Feng exploded, the shockwave rolling out like a tempest, echoing for miles and startling everything within a dozen leagues.

Liu Anhua, without a doubt, was obliterated along with Gu Feng, dispersed into a mist of blood.

Because Gu Feng’s strength had increased, the blast radius had expanded to thirty meters.

Liu Anhua’s master, Dao Xiaoyao, also found himself within the range of destruction.

Within the resurrection space, Dao Xiaoyao gazed at his grievously wounded self and sighed. Gu Feng regretted that Dao Xiaoyao had reached Spirit Master level eight, just surpassing the threshold of his own level ten explosive limit.

Even so, Dao Xiaoyao was severely injured by the blast and would need at least half a year to recover before venturing out again.

“Ding! Mission accomplished: Killed an evil cultivator. Reward: One Evil Qi Medal.”

“Ding! Completed the sixth death opportunity. Reward: All attributes increased.”

Without a body, Gu Feng could not sense exactly how much his physical capabilities had improved, but his soul had grown markedly stronger—he could feel it distinctly.

Upon checking his attribute panel, Gu Feng was astounded by his own strength. At Spirit Adept level seven, his strength had already surpassed ten thousand?

Even Gu Feng found it unreal. Normally, to achieve such power, one would need to reach at least Spirit Master level. Now, having broken through this threshold, by the standards of body cultivators, he was already a Spirit Master.

With just one death opportunity, he felt his power surge.

The idea of these death opportunities once again ignited a fire within Gu Feng. If gaining strength was simply a matter of dying a few more times, then so be it.

Gu Feng chuckled to himself. “Now I don’t have to worry about being overtaken by my little sister.”

Truth be told, no man enjoys being surpassed by a woman close to him. It was the same for Gu Feng—he hoped Gu Yan would grow stronger, but didn’t want to be overtaken by her. After all, men have their pride, just as women have their vanity.

In a rather good mood, Gu Feng still harbored a question: Why did he grow stronger every time he blew up an enemy? He understood only the system could answer this.

“System, old man, I have a question for you,” Gu Feng said.

The system, sensing Gu Feng’s thoughts, retorted with disdain, “For ten million points, I’ll answer your question.”

“What... what... what?” Gu Feng couldn’t believe his ears and shouted three times, feeling utterly wronged by the system.

Points were the system’s main currency. To acquire anything worthwhile required points. For example, the two divine artifact blueprints Gu Feng had received—all the required materials could be found in the system, but only for points, and at exorbitant prices. The cheapest items went for a few thousand points, while more valuable ones could cost tens or even hundreds of thousands.

And Gu Feng had only seventy points, not even a hundred.

Dejected, Gu Feng complained, “System, are the items in your shop just there to taunt me?”

The system replied scornfully, “You’re overthinking things. First, your level is too low; you can’t unlock the points shop until level thirty. Even with points, you couldn’t exchange them for anything yet. Second, you haven’t activated the points task system, so you can’t earn points through missions. Of course, you could also exchange high-value items for points.”

Now Gu Feng understood. He said to the system, “Then I want to take the mission to activate the points task system.”

“Ding! Your level is below twenty. You cannot accept this mission.”

Gu Feng was exasperated. After all that, the good stuff was still out of reach. He gave up arguing with the system and, using Gu Yan’s resurrection marker, locked onto her position.

At this moment, under the guidance of Xue Ziyan, Gu Yan and her group were flying at full speed toward Shangzhong City.

Unexpectedly, Gu Xueyuan and Gu Dongliu were also with them. However, being the weakest among them, they had to rest for an hour or two to recover their spiritual energy after flying for just over an hour.

As a result, Gu Feng witnessed their being left behind.

Following Xue Ziyan’s arrangements, they were told to make their own way to Shangzhong City, while Xue Ziyan carried Xue Wen at full speed, with Gu Yan keeping pace effortlessly. An imperial expert trailed them, his eyes frequently flickering over Gu Yan.

Gu Feng observed carefully and saw that the expert’s gaze held no improper intentions, but he could tell the man was hiding something.

Moryuan Town was still far from Shangzhong City. The four of them traveled for eleven and a half hours, with Gu Feng monitoring their progress the entire way.

Even for a Spirit Master going at full speed, eleven and a half hours was a gruelling journey. For a Spirit Adept, it would have taken two or three days.

Only Spirit Masters could constantly draw in spiritual energy to sustain long-distance flight. Even so, such travel was exhausting for them.

When the city walls of Shangzhong City finally appeared before them, only Gu Yan was unfamiliar with the sight; the other three knew it well.

Shangzhong City was a second-tier city with a population of over ten million and a bustling commercial scene. The Xue family was the dominant force here, their power even surpassing that of the City Lord’s mansion.

Of course, compared to the Feng family, the leading clan in the first-tier city of Bailin, the Xue family was much weaker.

The reason the Fengs sought an alliance through marriage with the Xue family was precisely because of the Xue family’s dominance in Shangzhong City—they coveted that strength.

Though the Fengs were much stronger than the Xue family, their influence paled in comparison. Thus, they hoped that by uniting with the Xue family, they could elevate their status, just as the Xue family had, and become the unchallenged power, even suppressing the City Lord’s mansion.

Shangzhong City was no Bailin, and for the Xue family, marrying into the Feng family was like clinging to a powerful patron. It would make their hold on Shangzhong City even more unshakeable.

Therefore, the Xue family supported the marriage alliance wholeheartedly. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, with Xue Wen merely a sacrificial pawn.

The Feng family’s marriage envoys had already been waiting at the Xue estate for five days, just waiting for Xue Ziyan to bring Xue Wen home so the betrothal could be finalized.

Both sides agreed that the sooner the marriage, the better.

On the way, Xue Ziyan had already explained everything to Xue Wen. Though nervous, she knew she had to face it. She believed Gu Feng would find a way. She believed he would never let her be given to another.

So all she could do was trust Gu Feng.

As soon as Xue Ziyan and Xue Wen landed, one of the Xue family’s spies at the gate excitedly rushed back to report.

Meanwhile, the Xue household was far from calm.

The Feng family’s envoys, eager to return home, had been kept waiting for five days, and tempers were flaring.

Worse yet, the Feng family in Bailin was pressing them hard.

So the Feng envoys vented their anger on the Xue family.

In the Xue family’s reception hall, every member stood with heads bowed, enduring a barrage of scolding from the Feng family, all the while forcing themselves to maintain a respectful demeanor.

Unable to vent their anger on the Feng envoys, the Xue family directed all their resentment toward Xue Wen, and even toward Xue Ziyan, who had gone to fetch her.

At that moment, a spy hurried into the hall and whispered a few words to Xue Wuwei.

Upon hearing the report, Xue Wuwei beamed and announced to the Feng envoys, “My daughter has returned.”