Chapter 265: Seven Star Wanted Criminal and Gluttonous Divine Skill

Inside the inn, Gu Mo and Gu Chutong heard the innkeeper's startled cry and both looked up. They saw eight figures faintly appear at the end of the long street: seven adults and one child. All eight carried long swords on their backs, and their dark Daoist robes swayed slightly in the wind. What was somewhat peculiar was that the group of eight was led by the child.

"Brother, it looks like Daoist Huaisu!" exclaimed Gu Chutong.

Gu Mo chuckled, "It's not 'looks like,' it is him."

Although the night was dim, Gu Mo's eyesight was unaffected. From a distance, he recognized the leading Daoist priest, who appeared to be only seven or eight years old. It was indeed Zhang Daoyi's youngest disciple, Daoist Huaisu.

Last year, Gu Mo and Gu Chutong had stayed at the Imperial Preceptor's mansion in the suburbs of the capital for a long time. During that period, they interacted with Huaisu daily. Huaisu, due to a congenital condition, couldn't grow up and always looked like a seven or eight-year-old child. Later, Zhang Daoyi became capable of treating Huaisu, but Huaisu voluntarily chose to maintain his childlike appearance to preserve his innate vital energy.

The Daoist priests entered the inn, welcomed warmly by the innkeeper.

As soon as they entered, they noticed Gu Mo and Gu Chutong.

Huaisu, overjoyed, hurried to Gu Mo's side and bowed respectfully. "Great Hero Gu, Heroine Gu, when did you two arrive at Mount Longhu? My master has been mentioning every day that the Enlightenment Tree on the Ascension Platform is about to bloom, and if you two didn't come soon, you would miss it."

After speaking, Huaisu quickly motioned to the several Daoist priests behind him and called out, "Hurry and come pay your respects to Great Hero Gu! This is Gu Mo, Great Hero Gu, the foremost hero under heaven and the National Hero of the Great Qian Dynasty." He then introduced Gu Chutong, saying, "And this is Gu Chutong, Heroine Gu, Great Hero Gu's younger sister and a Sky Ranking Grandmaster from Yunzhou!"

Immediately, the seven young Daoist priests became very excited.

They all rushed over, bowing respectfully and repeatedly addressing them as "Great Hero Gu" and "Heroine Gu." Their voices became hurried, and their bodies stiff with nervousness.

Daoist Huaisu said, "Great Hero Gu, these young men are my disciples. It's their first time meeting you, so they're naturally a bit excited. Please forgive any impoliteness!"

Gu Mo smiled slightly, cupped his hands in return, and said, "Please, Daoist priests, have a seat!"

He was accustomed to such situations. From the time he gained fame in Yunzhou until he became the greatest hero under heaven, exposing his identity while traveling almost always led to similar scenes.

Seeing that his disciples couldn't calm down quickly in front of Gu Mo, Daoist Huaisu waved his hand, directing them to sit at an adjacent table. He then turned to Gu Mo and said, "Great Hero Gu, Heroine Gu, have you two come here after hearing news of Gongsun Jue?"

Gu Mo was slightly taken aback.

The name Gongsun Jue was all too familiar to him. He ranked second among the Qian Dynasty's three great evil cultivators. The first was Ye Nantian of the Moon Worship Sect, and the third was the grand manager of the Seven Absolutes Tower. Theoretically, Ye Nantian wasn't fully a Qian native, as he was active in various countries, with Qian being just one. Therefore, strictly speaking, Gongsun Jue was the Qian Dynasty's true top evil cultivator and most wanted fugitive.

If Ye Nantian was excluded, Gongsun Jue was currently the only seven-star wanted fugitive in the Qian Dynasty that Gu Mo had information on.

Originally, Gongsun Jue was the Qian Dynasty's foremost divine constable of the Six Fan Gates and ranked second on the Qian Dynasty's Sky Ranking. However, during a mission, he obtained a demonic cultivation technique. Unable to resist the temptation, he secretly cultivated it, killing countless people.

Yet, he used his identity as the Six Fan Gates' foremost divine constable as a cover, and no one ever traced him. He was eventually exposed only when he suffered qi deviation and went on a killing spree in the capital.

After escaping the capital, he simply stopped hiding, acting recklessly. He killed many martial arts masters for his cultivation, only settling down after Zhang Daoyi emerged from seclusion and pursued him for a full year. However, he only quieted down somewhat, not daring to commit major crimes, though minor incidents still occurred periodically.

Most importantly, Gongsun Jue was already the Qian Dynasty's second-ranked master. After cultivating that demonic technique, his martial arts skills surpassed his former self by far. Furthermore, as the foremost divine constable, his investigative and counter-investigative abilities were among the best in the world. Numerous imperial encirclement campaigns had all ended in failure.

Gu Mo had specifically looked into this.

Regarding the pursuit of Gongsun Jue, there was genuinely no trickery or cover-up from the imperial court. They were truly powerless to track him down. After all, most of the divine constables in the Six Fan Gates, who were best at investigating jianghu figures, had been trained by Gongsun Jue himself. These individuals were simply no match for him.

Therefore, for all these years, though Gongsun Jue occasionally reappeared to commit crimes, the imperial court remained helpless.

Consequently, the jianghu bestowed upon Gongsun Jue the moniker "Ghost Constable."

This implied both a jibe at the imperial court and an acknowledgment of his strength, like a ghost or deity.

As for the bounty for this individual, it offered a martial art technique quite tempting to Gu Mo:

Target: Gongsun JueMission Level: Seven-starReward: Full-level Dao Heart Seed Demon Grand Art

This martial art, the highest martial art from the Demonic Sect's "Heavenly Demon Compendium," has two paths: "Entering Demonic from Dao" and "Entering Dao from Demonic." It requires a "Dao Heart" as the seed and a "Demonic Seed" as the core, ultimately achieving the unity of Dao and Demonic, becoming a Demonic Immortal, and realizing the shattering of the void.

Upon grand accomplishment, it possesses many powerful effects, primarily concentrated in four areas.

First, it can merge ultimate Yang demonic energy with ultimate Yin Daoist qi, resulting in endless and inexhaustible internal energy.Second, one's spiritual power will become exceptionally potent, almost capable of manifesting a primordial spirit, forming a psychic domain, and achieving an enlightened combat awareness.Third, it can achieve life-death conversion, repairing fatal injuries, clearing impurities from the body, strengthening the physical constitution, and simultaneously extending lifespan.Fourth, it allows for control over space, capable of briefly tearing open spatial rifts for cross-dimensional movement, and can also unleash the Demonic Seed domain.

This martial art would be of significant help to Gu Mo, especially in compensating for his weakness in spiritual power.

Currently, Gu Mo's Sword Control Art lacked long-range attack methods precisely because he couldn't control his flying sword from a distance with his spiritual will. Once he achieved grand accomplishment in the Dao Heart Seed Demon Grand Art, he could imbue his flying sword with spiritual power, enabling him to "take an enemy's head from a thousand miles away" with the sword automatically returning afterward.

However,

This martial art had significant drawbacks. If the system hadn't directly rewarded him with the full-level version, Gu Mo would never have cultivated it. The cultivation process was truly somewhat perverse and could affect the practitioner's sanity.

After reviewing the wanted information on Gongsun Jue, Gu Mo asked Huaisu, "Is there news of Gongsun Jue here?"

Daoist Huaisu nodded and said, "Great Hero Gu, do you know what demonic cultivation technique Gongsun Jue practices?"

Gu Mo shook his head slightly, saying, "I've only casually glanced at some wanted information about Gongsun Jue before; I haven't looked into him in detail."

Daoist Huaisu explained, "Gongsun Jue cultivates the Gluttonous Divine Art, one of the Four Great Demonic Arts under heaven. This technique is especially sinister. It can form an 'internal sea' of qi. When it comes into contact with an opponent, it absorbs their true qi like a river entering the sea, converting it for the user's own use. When cultivated to a profound level, it can even transform flesh and blood into energy to replenish the practitioner. There are even rumors that upon grand accomplishment of the Gluttonous Divine Art, it can absorb an opponent's martial dao will!"

Gu Chutong exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean that once this martial art is cultivated to grand accomplishment, one can effortlessly acquire the lifelong efforts of others?"

"Theoretically, yes," said Daoist Huaisu.

Gu Chutong asked, "Then, if it's really that powerful, why was Gongsun Jue hunted down by the Old Heavenly Master to the point where he didn't dare to show his face again?"

Daoist Huaisu explained, "There are two issues. First, at that time, Gongsun Jue hadn't yet cultivated the Gluttonous Divine Art to grand accomplishment. Second, the Gluttonous Divine Art has a limit: it cannot absorb internal energy from those who have reached the realm of 'inner and outer impenetrability.' Similarly, when absorbing martial dao will, it cannot absorb the spiritual will of someone superior to the practitioner; attempting to do so would result in a backlash."

Gu Chutong suddenly realized, "So, generally speaking, the Gluttonous Divine Art can only be used against those at a lower cultivation level than oneself."

"That's right."

Daoist Huaisu continued, "However, this is a terrifying matter. Someone might be weaker than you today and unable to defeat you, but tomorrow that might change. They could absorb the internal energy of ten or a hundred people weaker than themselves, combine it, and then surpass you, coming back to deal with you. Those who cultivate the Gluttonous Divine Art use others' cultivation and lives for their own benefit, which is a great violation of heavenly harmony. Therefore, since its creation centuries ago, this martial art has been scorned by the righteous path of the jianghu. Once someone is discovered cultivating it, everyone unites to attack them. Only Gongsun Jue, who was already the world's top investigator and a top martial arts master, has been an exception. That's why, for so many years, neither the righteous factions of the jianghu nor the imperial court could do anything about him."

Gu Mo asked, "Has he come to Mount Longhu now?"

Daoist Huaisu nodded, saying, "We don't know if he has come, but there are clues related to him. Recently, our Mount Longhu is about to host the Grand Ritual of All Heavens, to which we have invited martial artists from various parts of the Qian Dynasty to observe the ceremony. However, recently, signs of the Gluttonous Divine Art have appeared in many places, and many jianghu peers have been murdered. Mount Longhu naturally couldn't stand by. We investigated everywhere and discovered that a large number of people cultivating the Gluttonous Divine Art were committing these crimes. Even in this small town, the so-called 'fox spirit harming people' was actually someone using the Gluttonous Divine Art to absorb people's internal energy. These ordinary folks didn't understand, so the rumor spread that a fox spirit was absorbing their vital essence and killing them!"

Gu Mo asked in surprise, "Are you saying there's a large group of people using the Gluttonous Divine Art?"

Daoist Huaisu nodded, "About a month ago, Gongsun Jue sent a letter to Mount Longhu, stating directly that his Gluttonous Divine Art had reached grand accomplishment, and he was returning to avenge his master's pursuit of him years ago. And the Grand Ritual of All Heavens is just the beginning; he wants to turn our Mount Longhu's Grand Ritual into a jianghu laughingstock, and force Mount Longhu to seal itself off forever. Since then, cultivators of the Gluttonous Divine Art have started committing crimes everywhere. Our Mount Longhu has been actively responding in conjunction with the righteous factions of the martial world. We've captured some practitioners of the Gluttonous Divine Art recently and discovered that Gongsun Jue had secretly cultivated a large number of them. However, these individuals haven't received the complete version of the art; they're only at the level where they can absorb others' internal energy. Yet, this is already terrifying. If all these individuals were to spread throughout the jianghu, it would definitely cause martial arts world chaos!"

Gu Mo nodded slightly, saying, "Gongsun Jue's move is indeed quite ruthless. If those people were to scatter, it would certainly cause great chaos in the jianghu."

"Brother," Gu Chutong said, "Actually, I'm worried he might do something even more ruthless."

"What is it?" Gu Mo asked.

Gu Chutong said, "If Gongsun Jue were to compile this Gluttonous Divine Art into a manual and distribute it throughout the entire jianghu, that would be the true catastrophe!"

Gu Mo was slightly startled. It had to be said that Gu Chutong's idea was truly insane.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Huaisu's face instantly paled. He couldn't even imagine what kind of chaos the world would descend into if Gongsun Jue actually did that.

"He wouldn't do that, would he?" Daoist Huaisu exclaimed in alarm.

Gu Mo didn't know what to say, and awkwardly replied, "Let's hope Gongsun Jue doesn't do that."

"Calm down, calm down," Gu Chutong waved her hand and said, "There's no point thinking about this now. If Gongsun Jue truly intends to do that, no one can stop him. At least, he hasn't done it yet. So, the best course of action is naturally to kill him before he does, to eliminate future troubles."

Daoist Huaisu shook his head slightly, saying, "Gongsun Jue's whereabouts are a mystery; we simply don't know where to find him."

Gu Mo said, "Gongsun Jue's purpose in causing this disturbance is to seek revenge on Mount Longhu and the Old Heavenly Master. Therefore, he is most likely hiding on Mount Longhu itself, watching you all be thrown into turmoil by him, watching you be overwhelmed and helpless because of him, and finally seeing the Grand Ritual of All Heavens become a grand laughingstock! Only by witnessing it firsthand can he satisfy his desire for revenge."

Daoist Huaisu nodded, "My master said the same thing. That's why he invited Wang Zhen'ge, the current foremost divine constable of our Qian Dynasty's Six Fan Gates, and Shen Yao, the jianghu's top divine detective."

Gu Mo had heard of both individuals. He frequently dealt with the Six Fan Gates, so he had naturally heard the name of Wang Zhen'ge, the foremost divine constable, quite often. It was quite a coincidence, in fact, that Wang Zhen'ge was Gongsun Jue's last disciple. When Gongsun Jue cultivated the demonic art and defected from the Six Fan Gates, the most affected was Wang Zhen'ge, who had always viewed Gongsun Jue as his life's aspiration. Later, Wang Zhen'ge vowed never to marry or have children, dedicating his entire life to one pursuit: tracking down Gongsun Jue. There was a strong sense of 'love-hate' between the master and disciple.

As for Shen Yao, the jianghu's top divine detective, he was a jianghu master from Hongzhou who had risen to prominence in the past decade. He was the head of the Shen family, one of the Qian Dynasty's three sects, four factions, and seven great clans. Though only in his thirties, he was already a Sky Ranking Grandmaster from Hongzhou and had repeatedly solved unusual cases, earning him the title of 'jianghu's top divine detective.' People often compared Shen Yao with Wang Zhen'ge.

"Won't those two clash when they meet?" Gu Chutong also knew of both men, so she was quite curious.

"Not to that extent," Daoist Huaisu chuckled. "However, they are indeed subtly competing. Both have uncovered many of Gongsun Jue's subordinates on Mount Longhu, but as for Gongsun Jue's whereabouts, they currently have no progress!"

Gu Mo asked, "What are Mount Longhu's plans for now?"

Daoist Huaisu replied, "We can only meet force with force as it comes. Since the people Gongsun Jue arranged are mainly concentrated around Mount Longhu, we have to deploy our Mount Longhu disciples to various market towns at the foot of the mountain, ready to respond at any time and suppress Gongsun Jue's subordinates as much as possible. I was assigned to be in charge of this market town!"

"Then Mount Longhu doesn't have many people left, does it? What if Gongsun Jue shows up?" asked Gu Chutong.

Daoist Huaisu said, "That would be excellent! Major martial arts factions from all directions are currently arriving; almost all of the three sects, four factions, and seven great clans have reached us. My master is also on the mountain. As long as Gongsun Jue dares to show himself, our Mount Longhu will ensure he never leaves the mountain!"

"That's true."

Gu Mo and Gu Chutong stayed at the inn for a night. The market town was peaceful that night; the rumored "fox spirit" did not appear, perhaps deterred by the arrival of the Mount Longhu disciples, or perhaps because it hadn't found a suitable target.

As soon as dawn broke, Gu Mo and Gu Chutong ate and left the town.

Daoist Huaisu assigned a disciple to guide Gu Mo and Gu Chutong, as he himself needed to remain stationed at the market town and couldn't leave.

By noon the next day, Gu Mo and Gu Chutong arrived at Mount Longhu.

Mount Longhu was truly magnificent, shrouded in clouds and mist, with its rolling, majestic peaks stretching far, showcasing the vastness of heaven and earth. Daoist temples dotted the mountainside like stars, their upturned eaves peeking through the green foliage. Ancient palace walls wound and intertwined, and the morning bells and evening drums echoed through the valleys. Incense smoke curled upwards, merging with the mountain mists, fully embodying the solemnity and mystery of a Daoist sacred land.

The Celestial Master's Residence showed immense respect for Gu Mo, the greatest hero under heaven and the nation's grand hero, setting up a grand reception. This also attracted many major sects who had already arrived at Mount Longhu to observe.

However, Gu Mo did not linger long in the front hall. After a brief appearance, he and Gu Chutong hurried to the back mountain, to Zhang Daoyi's residence.

Zhang Daoyi's dwelling was very simple: an ordinary small courtyard with a bamboo fence, where he kept a few chickens and had a small pond.

When Gu Mo arrived at the small courtyard, he saw Zhang Daoyi emerge with a young man. The young man, in his thirties, had a refined appearance. His brow bones were prominent, like overlapping trigrams. He wore an indigo coarse linen Daoist robe with distinctly frayed cuffs, and a half-incomplete trigram was embroidered at the collar, subtly glowing with each breath. Three bronze coins hung from his waist.

"Old Celestial Master, long time no see," Gu Mo greeted, cupping his hands.

Zhang Daoyi cupped his hands in return and said, "Indeed, it's been several months! I've missed you terribly these past few months, hahahaha! My heart was incredibly pleased when that old bastard Su Qianqiu got beaten up by you!"

"Just lucky, just lucky!" Gu Mo chuckled.

Zhang Daoyi chuckled, "No one can defeat Su Qianqiu by mere luck." As he spoke, he introduced the young man beside him, saying, "This is Shen Yao, the head of the Shen family from Hongzhou, known in the jianghu as the 'Top Divine Detective.' He's been waiting specifically for you here."

Shen Yao quickly bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Great Hero Gu."

Gu Mo cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask, Master Shen, what brings you to seek me out?"

Shen Yao smiled slightly and said, "I just wanted to ask if Great Hero Gu is prepared to eliminate the wanted fugitive, Gongsun Jue?"

Gu Mo asked, puzzled, "Why do you ask, Master Shen?"

Shen Yao chuckled, "I truly cannot find Gongsun Jue, but I've heard that no wanted fugitive targeted by Great Hero Gu has ever escaped. So, I wanted to see if Gongsun Jue's time for his demise has arrived!"

Gu Mo chuckled, "That's just a jest among jianghu friends, Master Shen. Surely you don't take such profound and mysterious words seriously?"

Shen Yao laughed, "I am a Qi cultivator; I strongly believe in destiny. Great Hero Gu's destiny might just be to be the bane of wanted fugitives. I can't find any clues about Gongsun Jue, but I believe if I can just get a word from you, Great Hero Gu, and then perform a divination, I should be able to find him!"