Chapter 170 - 114: Furious Blood Three Styles! Burn the Boats!

The sky darkened into night.

Gu Sheng reached out and twisted Wang Chong’s neck with despair and fear in his eyes. A crisp crack echoed, and Wang Chong’s vitality dissipated bit by bit.

Gu Sheng stood up expressionlessly, skillfully pulling out the Corpse Dissolving Water.

Yellow smoke hissed and billowed upwards as Gu Sheng’s thoughts began to drift.

He gleaned far more information from interrogating Wang Chong than he had anticipated.

Originally, he assumed that Wang Chong, who hadn’t appeared in over two years, had probably hidden under a false identity somewhere or fled to a distant region. But unexpectedly, it turned out Zhao Honglie had captured him, and Wang Chong was now affiliated with Zhao Honglie.

He felt a sense of relief.

If he hadn’t encountered Wang Chong today, it wouldn’t have been long before Wang Chong leveraged the Black Sand Gang’s power for revenge.

This man’s nature was ruthless and overbearing—a glimpse of this could be seen in their old roadside encounter.

However, what shocked Gu Sheng most was Wang Chong’s purpose for lingering in the county today.

The Baihuo Cult!

"Ah, I see now. Back when the rebellion in Yun Province erupted, it was already intertwined with the Baihuo Cult. It’s no surprise Wang Chong has a way to make contact. But I hadn’t expected the cult’s influence to spread so widely, even extending its reach into Canghe County..."

"Midnight tonight? Should I disguise myself and go? Perhaps I can acquire some rare resources from them..."

The thought quietly surfaced in Gu Sheng’s mind.

He had already extracted the secret signal needed to make contact, as well as the time and location, during his interrogation of Wang Chong. Additionally, his mastery of high-tier Shapeshifting techniques allowed him to impersonate Wang Chong with sixty to seventy percent accuracy. If he wished, he could completely swap identities.

After all, the Baihuo Cult members were certainly unfamiliar with Wang Chong.

But Gu Sheng quickly dismissed the idea.

According to Wang Chong’s confession, the person coming to meet him might very well be a master in the Bone Refining Realm. Gu Sheng didn’t want to take the risk. Although the Baihuo Cult was indeed a good source for obtaining resources, his strength wasn’t sufficient to act recklessly yet. He decided to play it safe for the time being because running into unexpected trouble would be unfavorable.

Unless he had no other choice, he avoided utilizing the Baihuo Cult connection—for now, the cult seemed far too sinister.

As for tonight’s meeting, he decided to act as if it didn’t exist.

Thinking this way improved his mood significantly.

"Still... Zhao Honglie resorting to contacting the Baihuo Cult means that Liu Yuanhu’s pressure is indeed considerable. The Red Cloud Guard?..."

Gu Sheng muttered under his breath.

The larger world beyond Canghe County was beginning to unveil itself to him.

"Eight hundred Red Cloud Guards. Even the weakest among them are in the Blood Refining Realm, and they’re the elites within that realm. A single team of a hundred could easily sweep through Canghe County!"

"So Liu Yuanhu formed the Knife-handlers to purge Canghe County not just for appearances but to use the position of magistrate to secure the Red Cloud Guard’s backing. Right now, he’s merely stalling the Black Sand Gang..."

"This guy knows how to play his cards well."

A faint sneer crossed Gu Sheng’s heart.

As for Liu Yuanhu and Zhao Honglie’s factions, Gu Sheng didn’t have particularly positive feelings about either. Perhaps his clashes with the Black Sand Gang were more direct and hostile, but his relationship with Liu Yuanhu wasn’t friendly either.

If possible, he’d prefer both sides to suffer devastating losses so he could reap the benefits.

"Now that I’ve disrupted Zhao Honglie’s plans—his attempt to leverage the Baihuo Cult failed—he might lash out like a cornered beast. Unless he still has other cards to play, it wouldn’t be good news for me if I wanted to capitalize on this situation."

His eyes flickered thoughtfully. After a moment of deliberation, he decided to let things unfold naturally. If he attained sufficient power, he wouldn’t mind fanning the flames further.

Setting these thoughts aside.

Gu Sheng turned his attention to the biggest unexpected gain of the night.

The Fury Blood Three Forms!

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. When interrogating Wang Chong earlier, he routinely questioned him about the martial arts he practiced, and to his surprise, he stumbled upon this gem.

The body-strengthening martial art Wang Chong practiced was a fairly ordinary fist skill.

The key was this set of techniques called Fury Blood Three Forms.

It was a military-style martial art Wang Chong learned during his involvement in the war in Yun Province, specifically designed for wielding heavy weapons. Wang Chong even crafted a Wolf Fang Club tailored to this martial art.

"The Fury Blood Three Forms contains just three moves, each one fiercer than the last, and their power can stack. Even by reaching Small Success, the strength amplification is already twenty percent!"

Don’t underestimate this twenty percent—among martial artists of the same level, it created an enormous gap.

And this was merely at Small Success; if one achieved Great Success or even Perfect mastery, the power would be terrifying!

"The Fury Blood Three Forms fits perfectly with my giant axe. Not only that, but with the advanced mastery of my Chopping Wood technique as a foundation, my progress with Fury Blood Three Forms will undoubtedly be extremely rapid!"

Joy gleamed in Gu Sheng’s eyes.

He had already taken a quick glance at the Fury Blood Three Forms. It involved techniques like hacking, slicing, smashing, collapsing, and sweeping—all different methods of exerting force. The most compatible form with a giant axe was, naturally, hacking, which aligned seamlessly with his Chopping Wood technique.

"Fortunately, Wang Chong didn’t bring his weapon along. Otherwise, it might’ve been a minor hassle."

Gu Sheng glanced at Wang Chong’s ashes, silently reflecting. It would’ve been nothing more than a minor inconvenience anyway; the Fury Blood Three Forms Wang Chong practiced had only reached Small Success and posed no threat to Gu Sheng.

Once every trace was erased, Gu Sheng departed lightly and quietly.

No one knew that Wang Chong had died silently at Gu Sheng’s hands, while Zhao Honglie still awaited Wang Chong to return with good news.

...

Gu’s Manor.

Gu Sheng watched Gu Xiaojiang leave. Gu Xiaojiang had now reached the limits of his flesh and blood. Next would come breaking through those limits to produce Qi Blood Power, making him the fourth Blood Refining Realm expert in Gu’s Manor. Of course, they weren’t aware Gu Sheng had long since advanced to the Blood Refining Realm. Even if Gu Xiaojiang successfully broke through, that would make him the fifth.