Chapter 114: Reunion and Fury

Gu Xiaopang, whose combat intuition was many times sharper than the average person, kept his mental vortex locked tightly above his soul sea. Waves surged within, and the two could now reinforce each other without any conscious effort from him.

The moment the crisis arrived, Gu Xiaopang perceived it with absolute clarity.

"Bang!"

Before the middle-aged man’s broadsword could descend, Gu Xiaopang twisted his body and unleashed a powerful, charged kick. The man, whose lethal strike had missed entirely, was sent flying high into the air like a cannonball. Not giving his opponent a second to recover, Gu Xiaopang vaulted into the air, closed the distance in a flash, and slammed a fist heavy with mountain-crushing force toward the man’s face.

"How is this possible?!"

As the old saying goes, water once spilled cannot be gathered again. At that moment, while Gu Xiaopang was startled, he struggled immensely to forcibly shift the direction of his mountain-crushing strike, causing his own stance to falter.

The middle-aged man, with his blank gaze and expressionless face, was exceptionally agile. He swung his black meteorite broadsword back instantly, and with the aid of immense strength, slashed once more at the momentarily stalled Gu Xiaopang.

"Bang!"

"Pfft!"

"Xiaopang! Are you alright?! Are you hurt?!"

Although Gu Xiaopang had forcibly raised his right arm at the moment the blade descended and successfully blocked the blow with his magical vambrace, the sheer force of the impact slammed him violently into the forest floor. He crashed through a tree as thick as a man’s torso and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Bai Ling’er was frantic. She did not know why Gu Xiaopang, who had clearly held the upper hand, had shown mercy in the heat of battle. Seeing him heavily wounded and the middle-aged man continuing his relentless assault, she decisively drew a soft magical sword and lunged toward the man’s exposed guard as he closed in.

The middle-aged man, however, seemed to have eyes only for Gu Xiaopang; he ignored Bai Ling’er and her sword entirely.

"Pfft!"

"Bang!"

"Pfft!"

The soft sword successfully pierced the man’s chest, but his black meteorite broadsword also slammed into the vambrace of Gu Xiaopang, who had raised his arm again under duress. Having endured the massive force of a Nascent Soul expert twice, the spiritual energy of the right vambrace was completely exhausted and the item was ruined. Gu Xiaopang was blasted back several meters, vomiting blood once more.

"Xiaopang!"

"You deserve to die!"

Seeing Gu Xiaopang severely injured again, Bai Ling’er’s delicate eyes turned crimson. She let out an angry cry and, employing some unknown secret technique, forcibly raised her cultivation from the early Golden Core stage to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core in the blink of an eye. She flew forward, arriving ahead of the man’s next strike, and managed to force him away from Gu Xiaopang.

Though the middle-aged man was only at the early Nascent Soul stage, it was clear he possessed the power to fight two levels above his own. Bai Ling’er, despite her forced cultivation boost, was still only at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core; while she too could leap two levels in battle, she was ultimately no match for him.

Just as Gu Xiaopang finally regained his composure and snapped back to reality, he saw Bai Ling’er—covered in sword wounds and bleeding—still fighting desperately to protect him. She was struck by another blade; although she managed to partially block it, she was left with no strength to continue and plummeted to the ground, coughing up blood.

"Sister Ling’er!"

"Father?!"

Driven by a surge of fury, Gu Xiaopang borrowed power from Old Man Qin and rushed at the middle-aged man like a teleporting blur, striking him with everything he had. This time, he held nothing back. Blow after blow of immense force rained down on the man, who seemed to know no pain, until he was completely incapacitated. Gu Xiaopang then forcibly sealed the man’s cultivation.

He rushed to support Bai Ling’er, whose secret technique had faded, leaving her breath extremely faint. With tears welling in his eyes, Gu Xiaopang fed her several top-grade fourth-tier spiritual pills and channeled his own water-attribute spiritual energy into her body, guiding her chaotic, weak spiritual power to circulate through her meridians once more.

"Kid, one mile ahead!"

Hearing Old Man Qin’s warning, Gu Xiaopang looked up with hatred in his eyes toward a mountain hollow a mile away. After gently laying down the recovering Bai Ling’er, Gu Xiaopang forcibly tore open the fabric of space.

The gaunt, elderly man at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul, who had been watching the battle and preparing to launch a surprise attack on Gu Xiaopang, saw this and his rat-like eyes narrowed in shock.

"Where is he?"

"Spatial power?"

"Oh no!"

Before the old man could react, Gu Xiaopang, having torn through space, arrived instantly and struck the man with all his might, forcing him into the closing spatial rift. He then dove in after him.

"Ah..."

"Spare me!"

Spatial power is a supernatural force. Countless spatial turbulences instantly shredded the old man’s physical body into countless fragments. Only his Nascent Soul, bolstered by all his remaining spiritual energy, wailed in desperate pleas for mercy as it began to disintegrate.

Gu Xiaopang watched the gruesome scene with cold eyes. With a wave of his hand, he snatched the cracked and fading Nascent Soul and gripped it tightly in his palm.

Tearing through space again, Gu Xiaopang returned to Bai Ling’er’s side, gesturing to bring the sealed middle-aged man to his side as well.

"Sister Ling’er, how are you?"

"I... I am much better. Just a bit weak from using the secret technique."

"Sister, promise me, don’t ever risk your life like that again."

"...Mm."

"By the way, Xiaopang, I heard you call him 'Father' earlier?"

"Yes. This is my father, who went missing years ago while searching for a divine doctor to save me."

"Then, is he now...?"

"Sister Ling’er, wait a moment."

Seeing Gu Xiaopang raise his fist, which held the Nascent Soul of the sinister old man, Bai Ling’er guessed the truth. It must have been that Gu Xiaopang’s father had left his sect to save his son’s life, only to be captured on his journey and turned into this killing machine.

"Master, I wish to perform a forced soul search."

"Very well."

After receiving a surge of power, Gu Xiaopang did not give the old man’s Nascent Soul a chance to beg and forcibly began the soul search.

"There’s a restriction? Too weak!"

Breaking through the soul restriction, Gu Xiaopang browsed through every memory of the old man’s life like a movie.

As Bai Ling’er watched silently, Gu Xiaopang finished the search. With a flat expression, he squeezed his small hand, and with a crunching sound, the old man’s Nascent Soul vanished forever.

"The Puppet Sect, is it? I swear I will wipe you off the face of the earth!"

"Every name I have uncovered will be rooted out, leaving none behind!"

"From this day forward, whoever dares to threaten my family and friends will be executed!"

"I will make my name known to this world, and everyone will fear its power!"

...

"Master, please, help me restore my father."

"Very well, a simple task."

Gu Xiaopang placed a hand on the middle-aged man’s forehead. In the shadows, Old Man Qin sent a sliver of his consciousness into the man’s sea of consciousness. He easily imprisoned a strand of a Spirit Severing stage soul fragment that had been hiding deep within. No matter how it shrieked, it could make no sound. A soul fire ignited, and it was refined instantly.

The remaining trace of pure soul energy was gently pressed by Old Man Qin into the soul of the middle-aged man, which had just been freed from suppression and was currently unconscious.

One breath, two breaths...

A dozen breaths later, the man’s blank eyes gradually regained their luster, and the muscles on his expressionless face began to tremble slightly.

"Chang... Changqing?"

As the middle-aged man slowly awoke, the first thing he saw was Gu Xiaopang waiting by his side. He called out in disbelief.

"Father, it’s me. It’s your son, Changqing."

"How are you feeling now? Is there anything uncomfortable?"

...

After resting for another hour, the three of them set off once more. Over the past few years, Gu Xiaopang’s father, Gu Chenyi, had suffered immensely. From the initial years spent scouring the continent for a divine doctor, to the eventual heartbreak and decision to return to the sect to see his child one last time, he had been intercepted by the Puppet Sect and his soul had been forcibly suppressed by a Spirit Severing expert.

"Father, I’ve already sent word to Grandfather. He is already heading here from the sect. We should meet in Nanyan County."

"And you, kid—it isn't right for you and Ling’er to be alone together for so long without a title. Listen to your father, make it official."

"What a wonderful girl she is..."

"Look at her blushing, hahaha!"

Gu Xiaopang, thick-skinned as ever, winked at Bai Ling’er. Her face turned bright red and hot, and she lowered her head in shy silence.

...

The Nanyan County Governor’s mansion was incredibly lively that night. Governor Song Wuji, Master Wuying, Cang Aotian, the two Cang sisters, Captain Sun Chenghu, the three talents of the Cang family... even Xuanyuan Leng and his son, who had once offended Gu Xiaopang, were trembling as they hid in the most inconspicuous corner among the clan leaders.

Everyone was present, drinking and laughing heartily. Gu Laowu, Gu Chenyi, Gu Xiaopang, and Bai Ling’er feasted with the others until dawn before they reluctantly dispersed.

Gu Laowu took Gu Chenyi to a room for a private conversation. Bai Ling’er chatted happily with the Cang sisters. Gu Xiaopang went straight to the top of the tower to pay his respects to his master, Wuying.

"Master, I have chanced upon a method that might help with your cultivation, which has remained stagnant for a century. Would you care to try it?"

"Oh? You have a heart, kid."

"However, for those of us who cultivate spatial power, advancing—especially at higher levels—becomes increasingly difficult to comprehend..."

"I know, Master, but please, just give it a try. Who knows, it might work."

"Very well, I will listen to you."

Having sought Old Man Qin’s advice, Gu Xiaopang engraved only the mental refinement portion of the *Medicine King’s Divine Refining* and gave the one-time jade slip to Wuying.

Wuying, who had only thought to indulge his disciple’s filial piety and held little hope for the method, sat cross-legged and began to attempt it after returning to his room. To his surprise, the technique his disciple had given him truly helped him find a new path, opening up a whole new world of understanding.

Not long after, another expert at the Nascent Soul stage joined the rare ranks of spatial cultivators on this continent, and he was extremely confident that the road to the Spirit Severing stage had been successfully paved.

...

After bidding farewell to everyone, the four of them flew toward the Piaomiao Sect, laughing and joking along the way.