The nighttime barren world flashed out of existence and travelled increasingly far away.
Meanwhile, the Phase Realm in front of Gu Qing Shan was approaching and would soon envelop him.
But everything paused right at this very moment.
ââeverything had stopped right at the border between the two worlds.
An old man with a wrinkled face appeared directly in front of Gu Qing Shan.
He observed Gu Qing Shan and suddenly asked: ă I know it was you who killed the old man in the Gloomy City ă
âIt was me, and you areââ-?â Gu Qing Shan admitted.
The old man followed up: ă In the past, I had actually fled to the Dusty World together with him. He was too weak, but I am not the same ă
The old man became increasingly hysterical as he talked: ă I know that you know the Sacrificial Dance. Originally, I had no intentions of doing anything to you and would have just let you go, but very unfortunately, you committed a mistake that you shouldnât have ă
Gu Qing Shan looked at him and asked with a smile: âWhatâs that?â
ă You shouldnât have converted yourself into a spirit within my world system ăthe old man declared.
âOh? Whatâs wrong with that?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
ă The ironclad rule of the Dusty Worldââ- no one is allowed to interfere with someone elseâs world system, especially not during a war between spirits within the same world system ă
ă And I have already issued a declaration of a spirit realm war! ă
The old manâs murky eyes were filled with greed.
ă From this point on, even if I kill you, it would still adhere perfectly to the Dusty Worldâs ironclad rules, no one and nothing would be able to hold me responsible! ă
Gu Qing Shan shrugged: âIâm only here to experience the power of a spirit. Thereâs no conflict between us, so how about we just call a truce?â
ă NaĂŻve! ă
The old man laughed: ă Youâre going to die very soonââ I will devour you, taking your everything for myself! ă
He began to chant an incantation.
A large clock suddenly appeared behind him.
Lines of glowing text quickly scrolled across Gu Qing Shanâs eyes:
[The other party had given up the use of all other Spirit Arts to perform the exclusive Spirit Art: Imprisonment of Myriad Spirits]
[The other party had placed a seal upon your soul, temporarily restricting the use of several abilities]
[Attention: your opponent had chosen a total of 12 abilities to seal away]
The old man pointed at Gu Qing Shan continuously from the distance while continuing his monologue: ă Even the bigshots of the Dusty World donât come to mess with me, do you know why that is? ă
Gu Qing Shan felt something disappearing from his body.
Several lines of glowing text swiftly appeared:
[Your âRealm Spirit Descentâ has been sealed]
[Your âLiving Being Sacrificial Danceâ has been sealed]
[Your âConquerâ has been sealed]
[Your âMountain Wraithâ has been sealed]
[Your âFog Realm Descentâ has been sealed]
[Your âCauseless Swordâ has been sealed]
[Your âManipulator of Song and Danceâ has been sealed]
[Your âEtherealâ fist techniques have been sealed]
[Your âForgetting River Severanceâ has been sealed]
[Your âRahuâs Eclipse of Sun and Moonâ has been sealed]
[Your dragon hexes have been sealed]
[Finally, your acting skills have been sealed]
The old man looked closely at Gu Qing Shan, wanting to see some sort of shocked expression from him.
But Gu Qing Shan simply stared coldly back at him.
â-it couldnât be helped, his acting skills have been sealed.
âAre we really going to do this?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
The old man grinned to reveal his mouth full of rotting teeth and laughed: ă You can only use the power of mortals now, and Iâve sealed even the few exceptionally powerful mortal abilities you possess ă
âBut you also canât use Spirit Artsâ Gu Qing Shan shrugged.
The old man replied: ă But I have a clock tower base! As well as numerous subordinates! I donât need to act by myself at all, they can simply do it all for me, and soââ ă
ă ââsay your last prayers, because youâre going to die ă
After saying that, the old man disappeared.
At the very next moment, the Phase Realm fully enveloped Gu Qing Shan.
...
A zone of complete darkness.
Gu Qing Shan found himself hovering in the air, so he silently examined his current state.
Iâm currently a spirit.
Whatâs the significance of a spirit to the world?
Lines of glowing text appeared on the War God UI:
[Attention, your opponent has declared a spirit realm war]
[The victor in this war will inherit this entire jurisdiction world, the loser will be completely at the victorâs mercy]
Gu Qing Shan didnât care about that at all.
He simply touched the ring on his finger and randomly selected a suit of armor inside.
This suit of armor was crimson red, which instantly separated into numerous components before donning itself onto Gu Qing Shanâs body.
ââ-this was one of the many Divine Artifact-grade suits of armor that the Bramble Bird Empress Laura had in her personal collection.
Gu Qing Shan landed on the ground and stood still.
Numerous monsters charged forward to attack himââ-
Gu Qing Shan grasped the twin swords Heaven and Earth tightly.
A strange power followed his hands to enter his swords.
Some notifications appeared on the War God UI:
[You cannot perform the two Spirit Arts that you possess]
[However, your attacks will be imbued with Realm Force, as this is the most basic characteristic of being a spirit]
[The Realm Force utilized during this spirit realm war originates from the current world system]
Gu Qing Shan silently nodded.
ââ-it seems the primary means of combat after becoming a spirit was through using Realm Force.
The reason why I couldnât do anything to the old man in the Gloomy City, in the beginning, was because the other party was using Realm Force.
And now Iâve become a similar existence.
From all around him, numerous monsters charged at him from every direction.
Suddenlyââ-
A gust of wind manifested from the ground.
The intense gust of wind rampaged and howled as it instantly flew all the way to the sky before vanishing without a trace.
A large chunk of the horde monsters had been erased, leaving the empty ground behind.
Gu Qing Shan stood in the middle of the empty field, the armor on his body had been completely broken as it fell to the ground in pieces.
From the faraway clock tower, the old manâs hysterical laughter could be heard again:
ă Fool, youâre a spirit, how could mortal armor endure the force of a spirit realm war? ă
Gu Qing Shan wholeheartedly agreed and nodded: âThatâs true, it only managed to shield me for a single second before being completely brokenâ
He completely ignored armor and let go of his swords, allowing them to disappear behind himself.
More monsters were rushing towards himââ-
But Gu Qing Shan simply stood there.
He seemed to be silently examining the power of a spirit.
The monsters surrounded him once againââ
Four swords appeared from behind Gu Qing Shan and scattered to protect him from every direction.
Slash!
Blinding sword phantoms erupted out of nowhere, leaving terrifying gashes of light on the ground.
Gu Qing Shan clasped his hands behind his back while casually strolling forward.
Slash slash slash slash slash slash slash!
Every weapon, every monster was like paper in front of him.
He was like a deity walking through the darkness while eradicating all wickedness from the world.
ă NO! YOUR ABILITIES SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN SEALED! ăthe old man angrily howled.
Gu Qing Shan casually replied: âYouâve sealed away a lot of my abilities, but very unfortunately, my old expertise was killing enemies on a battlefieldâ
ă Donât act high and mighty with me, I have a weapon of war! ăthe old man scoffed, then placed his hand against the walls of the clock tower and shouted: ă Tolling Bell of The End, awaken! ă
Boongâââ
A loud chime rang out from the clock tower.
Seeing that, Gu Qing Shan instantly vanished.
By the time he reappeared, he was already at the bottom of the clock tower.
He was now also wearing a pure-white mask.
ââthe Samsara Wicked Mask.
Lightly placing his hand on the clock tower, he said:
âWant to rampage? Thatâs not going to happenâ
Instantly, numerous patterns of various colors appeared all over the white mask, depicting a wicked mask of Occultism.
Cracks started to form all over the clock tower, which rapidly climbed up to fill the entire structure.
[Jade Cultivation Profound Shadow]!
The clock towerâs abilities had been absorbed by the Samsara Wicked Mask and upgraded by one step.
Gu Qing Shan reached his hand out and waved.
The Earth sword flew out from the horde of monsters and landed in his hand, asking with a mountainous heavy voice:
ă Crush? ă
âCrushâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
Wielding the sword with both hands, he heavily slashed the clock tower a single time before retreating several dozen meters away.
Baamââ-
The entire clock tower was completely destroyed and fell to ruins.
Numerous glowing souls emerged from the clock tower, crying loud tears of joy.
These souls drifted for a few moments before they started to fly into the sky as if they sensed something.
The old man appeared in front of the clock tower ruins.
He stared with his dead eyes towards Gu Qing Shan and questioned with a hoarse voice: ă How many abilities do you actually have? ă
Gu Qing Shan sighed and replied: âThereâs no such ability, I simply enjoy such scenes of bloody carnageâ
ă Such scenes of bloody carnage? And you like them? ă the old man exclaimed in disbelief.
âThatâs right. Iâve always had to face enemies that are overwhelmingly powerful, so Iâve come to particularly enjoy these normal battle scenesâ
After saying that, Gu Qing Shan casually brandished his sword and approached the old man.
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