Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

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Gu Chen pondered for a moment, then set aside the exquisite invitation in his hand. To tell the truth, he wasn't very interested in the Yao Platform Sect gathering.

The event hosted by the Yao Platform Sect was scheduled for the seventh of next month, still a month away. Invitations were sent out early for fear that martial forces from the other two major mansions were too distant. It was with this consideration that the Yao Platform Sect had dispatched the invitations at this time.

Afterwards, Gu Chen continued practicing martial arts in the courtyard, familiarizing himself with the sudden sixty years' increase in his power.

To be honest, with Gu Chen's current combat prowess, if he were to attend the Yao Platform Sect gathering, he would likely be second to none.

With his current strength, even those prodigious characters from the Vajra Stage within the Seven Sects and Eight Factions were like children to him, and that with him, an adult, wielding a precious weapon—a gap too vast to draw any comparisons.

This was another reason why Gu Chen wasn't very interested.

In the following days, since the last incident, the members of the Six Union God Sect seemed to have recognized Gu Chen's strength. Knowing his presence in Qiongtian Mansion, they appeared to have become more subdued, leaving the entire mansion in tranquility.

No demon cult fiends caused trouble, nor did any evil spirits appear.

With Qiongtian Mansion at peace, the mansion's lord, Wen Ziyun, was happy, but Gu Chen felt somewhat uneasy. Simply put, without evil spirits, there were no merit points, and without merit points, he could only rely on gradual cultivation to improve his own abilities.

However, after reaching the Vajra Stage, the progress of martial cultivation became extremely slow. Even though Gu Chen cultivated relentlessly day and night, his abilities barely improved, to a pitifully negligible extent.

This was mainly because his current level of power was too profound—at over five hundred years, it was incredibly difficult to improve further through his own cultivation.

The same was true for his physical body. Without merit points, Gu Chen's strength had hit a small bottleneck in the short term.

At that moment, Gu Chen was considering whether or not to attend the so-called Yao Platform Sect gathering and use Jade Spirit Ice Liquid to enhance his physical body.

But just then, news arrived from the Jing Tian Department: they had located traces of the demon cult. Chen Yu assessed that the demon cult might also have designs on the Jade Spirit Ice Liquid and were highly likely to send people to attend the Yao Platform Sect gathering.

Upon receiving this intelligence from the Jing Tian Department, Gu Chen's spirits rose. He had already been entertaining the idea of participating in the Yao Platform Sect gathering, and now, with the possibility of demon cult members appearing, it meant there was a great chance of evil spirits being involved. For Gu Chen, attending the Yao Platform Sect gathering had now become a must.

The Yao Platform Sect was located in the western part of Qiongtian Mansion and quite a distance from the mansion city. Since the city had been peaceful recently, Gu Chen took the opportunity to inform the lord of Qiongtian Mansion, Wen Ziyun about the gathering.

Gu Chen's position in Qiongtian Mansion was implicitly higher than Wen Ziyun's, and his actions within the mansion were extremely free, with no one to restrict him.

Moreover, as this was a mission from the Jing Tian Department, Wen Ziyun had even less reason to stop Gu Chen from going. Thus, after speaking with Wen Ziyun, Gu Chen promptly set off, riding a fast horse towards the Yao Platform Sect.

The journey from the mansion city to the Yao Platform Sect required approximately ten days. With about half a month until the gathering began, there was ample time, so Gu Chen was not in a hurry. Instead, he appreciated the scenery along the way.

After all, on previous missions, he was always in a rush, traveling day and night as if it were the norm. Now, with sufficient time, Gu Chen naturally wasn't as anxious as before.

On the night of the fifth day en route to the Yao Platform Sect, a light rain suddenly began to fall from the sky. Gu Chen, in his dark robe, with a handsome face and a long sword at his waist, cut a striking figure on horseback. Not a single drop of water from the sky fell upon him.

Upon closer inspection, a faint aura could be seen surrounding his body, enveloping him and causing the rainwater to slide off. Even in the face of violent storms, Gu Chen remained untroubled.

This was a minor application of inner qi, accessible to warriors in the External Qi Stage, let alone Gu Chen, who had already reached the mid-Vajra Stage.

Since there was no rush for time, Gu Chen glanced at the sky and noticed an inn not far ahead. He decided to spend the night there.

As he entered the inn, the rain had gathered quite a few people inside. Some were martial artists from Jianghu, others were traveling merchants.

In Da Xia, merchants were numerous, and many trade routes had been established for them to peddle their goods.

The inn was sizeable, built to accommodate the needs of traveling merchants. Though large, it was nearly at capacity, with only a few tables still vacant.

Upon seeing Gu Chen enter, the crowd inside gave him a few extra glances. Noticing that he walked through the rain without getting wet, their expressions grew serious.

After all, warriors at the External Qi Stage were already considered second-tier experts in Jianghu, and most merchant caravans would invite protectors from this stage.

First-tier experts from the Vajra Stage, however, were beyond the reach of ordinary merchants; only large trading companies could afford to hire Vajra Stage warriors.

Though Gu Chen was well-known throughout the land for his deeds in Xu'an County, because it was ancient times, information did not spread as swiftly as in his previous modern life, so the people in the inn did not recognize him.

The innkeeper, noting Gu Chen's extraordinary demeanor, warmly welcomed him in. Once Gu Chen was seated, the innkeeper smiled and asked, "What would you like to have, sir?"

He then introduced the specialties of the inn to Gu Chen, who nodded slightly and ordered some dishes along with a pot of wine.

Seeing Gu Chen order quite a bit, the innkeeper's smile grew thicker and he said, "Alright, sir, just a moment, and I'll bring your food and drink to you."

With these words, the innkeeper hurried towards the kitchen.

But just then, the large doors of the inn were pushed open, and a group of more than a dozen warriors carrying long sabers entered.

Leading them were three individuals: an austere-looking elder with white hair and beard, and two young people, a man and a woman.

The man was dressed in a brocade robe, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with an extraordinary air, handsome features, a tall and slim figure, and fair skin. The woman wore a white palace gown, was beautiful, with superior looks, yet her eyes and brows carried an aura of arrogance.

Some sharp-eyed Jianghu warriors recognized the decorations on the group's attire and the emblem embroidered on their robe fronts. Their eyes widened in shock as they whispered in astonishment, "Heavenly Saber Sect?!"

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