My little sect, which disappeared a thousand years ago, has become a sacred site!

With a slight thought, Gu Changyuan sent the spirit creature flying up again, landing precisely in front of the five spirit chefs who were still in a daze.

His gaze fell on the Thousand-Faced Ghost Hand again, his tone icy.

"In your next life, remember, there are some things you shouldn't touch."

After he finished speaking, Gu Changyuan didn't even make any extra movements.

The Thousand-Faced Ghost Hand in the deep pit suddenly stiffened, its pupils dilating instantly, filled with extreme pain and resentment. Then, its entire body, along with its soul, was as if it had been completely gripped and crushed by an invisible giant hand.

With a soft "poof" sound.

A notorious bandit who had roamed Fengling City for hundreds of years and caused headaches for countless forces was reduced to dust right before everyone's eyes, leaving not a trace or a wisp of soul behind, completely disappearing into the world.

Truly, both body and soul were destroyed.

Sensing that the Thousand-Faced Ghost Hand had no chance of survival, Gu Changyuan spoke:

"The matter is settled. You can proceed with the rest of the procedures."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and disappeared from the spot, leaving Chen Qianzhen to finish what he had to do.

......

Back at the Su family's Tingzhu Pavilion, Gu Changyuan finally let out a soft breath. The invisible, imposing aura emanating from him that made people afraid to look directly at him slowly dissipated, and he relaxed, leaning back in the comfortable chair.

It must be said that compared to the interpersonal interactions we have now, where we are constantly surrounded by awe-inspiring gazes, have to be careful about our words and actions, and even our breathing can make others nervous, this is a far cry from the realities of modern life.

Gu Changyuan still misses the days when he spent time with his disciples.

Although there was a distinction between elders and disciples at that time, there was no need for such formality.

Now, their identity is unknown, and their strength is unpredictable. If they don't reveal their abilities, those who are handling the matter will inevitably have many doubts and won't wholeheartedly help them.

But once strength is demonstrated, awe follows, and an invisible wall called "gap" is erected between people, making it difficult to have equal and natural exchanges.

In addition, the deep-seated vigilance and defensiveness he developed over a thousand years in the Chaotic Ruins made it impossible for him to completely let down his guard and show his true nature in front of these "strangers" in the Nine Heavens Realm.

In the evening, the Su family specially invited the five spirit chefs from earlier that day to each prepare a signature spirit dish and send it to Tingzhu Pavilion.

The five people were overjoyed to learn that they were cooking for Senior Gu, and they put in their best effort, making the finished product even better than the one from the daytime finals.

Gu Changyuan enjoyed it all by himself, quite content.

......

The next day, in the afternoon.

Gu Changyuan remained lying on the rocking chair in the courtyard of Tingzhuxuan, resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

Northwest of Fengling City, a large-scale and extremely violent and chaotic surge of spiritual energy erupted suddenly, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

Inside the Su family mansion, Su Yunhao also noticed the abnormality immediately and summoned a group of elders for a meeting, his expression solemn.

The fact that such a large-scale fluctuation of spiritual energy could be caused in Fengling City must mean that something extremely serious has happened.

Since we have nothing else to do, we might as well go and see what's going on.

Gu Changyuan didn't move, but he had already disappeared from the rocking chair.

The next moment, Gu Changyuan appeared on the eaves of the tallest restaurant in the northwest area of ​​Fengling City, standing with his hands behind his back, looking down.

A region in the southwest corner of Fengling City was shrouded by a pitch-black array barrier.

The barrier's surface was covered with eerie dark red runes, completely isolating the interior from the outside world, making it impossible for ordinary cultivators to see what was inside.

But this posed no obstacle for Gu Changyuan.

His divine sense easily penetrated the barrier, allowing him to see the scene inside clearly.

The once-prosperous family mansion has long been reduced to a sea of ​​fire, with raging flames engulfing the buildings and thick smoke billowing into the sky.

The ground was littered with mutilated corpses, and blood stained the bluestone path, forming a winding stream of blood. The air was thick with the stench of blood and burnt flesh, a scene of utter devastation.

In the arena, ten cultivators dressed in identical black patterned Daoist robes stood amidst a pool of blood, their auras powerful and intimidating.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a sinister face and a calm, heavy aura, who was at the mid-stage of the Mahayana realm.

Two elderly men stood on either side of him, their auras slightly weaker, but they were indeed at the early stage of the Mahayana realm.

The remaining seven were all at the peak of the Integration Realm. Each of them held a blood-stained weapon and coldly surveyed their surroundings, as if they were cleaning up the remaining survivors.

Through the system's real-time information detection, Gu Changyuan instantly knew the identities of both parties.

The family slaughtered below was the Wei family of Fengling City, while the invading cultivators were all from the Tianxiao Sect of the Southern Continent's Northern Region.

The Northern Region of the Southern Continent, being closer to the Central Continent which is richer in resources and has more powerful factions, is indeed stronger overall than the Eastern Region of the Southern Continent.

The Heavenly Cloud Sect is considered a powerful force in the Southern Continent and Northern Regions, surpassing the Su family in strength.

Perhaps that's why they dared to be so arrogant, directly infiltrating Fengling City and exterminating the Wei family.

In their view, even if the Su family found out later, they might not dare to completely break ties with the Tianxiao Sect for the sake of a middle-class family that had already been destroyed.

Such dramas of sectarian infighting, the survival of the fittest, and the frequent extermination of clans are commonplace in the vast and cruel world of cultivation.

Having witnessed far more brutal bloodshed in his thousand years of killing, Gu Changyuan felt little emotion. He had no intention of getting involved in this conflict that had nothing to do with him.

Just then, a system notification sounded in his mind, and Gu Changyuan's eyes lit up instantly.

The system detected that there is still one survivor inside the barrier, an eight-year-old girl from the Wei family, whose talent has been assessed as level ten!

Unexpectedly, in Fengling City in the eastern region of the Southern Continent, amidst a tragedy of clan annihilation, he actually encountered a peerless gem with a talent of tenth rank, which surprised him greatly.

Gu Changyuan's gaze instantly locked onto the center of the open space within the barrier.