"They’ve left the city."

Huang Dajin took a deep breath and answered, "Zuo and the others ran out of the city before everything happened. It seems they knew something big was about to go down. I was on patrol outside at the time, and they even asked me to go with them. I didn’t think anything of it, but then..."

’They left the city ahead of time?’

’Did Nangong Yaoyue get some kind of message?’

Gu Zheng considered this and sighed in relief.

’As long as they’re out of the city, they’ll be fine.’

’Without having to deal with Corpse Puppets and by avoiding the battle zone between the King’s Body and the Celestial Corpse, they should have no problem protecting themselves with Xiao Xianya’s and Zuo Lingfeng’s strength.’

"Thanks, Huang!"

Gu Zheng cupped his fist. "The city’s a mess. You should get out as soon as you can too, Huang. I still have things to take care of, so I’ll be going."

"Alright. Take care, Gu," Huang Dajin replied, returning the gesture.

The two parted ways.

Watching Gu Zheng disappear into the distance, Huang Dajin took a deep breath. Instead of leaving the city immediately, he rushed toward the direction of the screams.

As long as he didn’t run into an Earth Corpse, he wasn’t in any danger from Spirit or Profound Corpses.

But the common folk were different. An encounter with any Corpse Puppet was a death sentence.

There wasn’t much Huang Dajin could do, but every person he saved was one more life.

But as he emerged from the ruins and turned onto a street, the scene that greeted him left him utterly stunned.

Corpse Puppets!

Corpse Puppets covered the ground!

Only, they weren’t whole. Severed heads, arms, legs, and torsos of Corpse Puppets littered the entire street.

There were even a number of Profound Corpses among them.

"Who... who did this?"

The words slipped out before he could stop them. Then it dawned on Huang Dajin. He recalled the sight of Gu Zheng slaying the Earth Corpse just moments ago, and his heart filled with genuine admiration.

’Gu Zheng did this!’

...

...

Nangong Yaoyue, Xiao Xianya, and the others had already left the city.

So, Gu Zheng no longer headed for the eastern part of the city. Instead, he followed the nearby screams and cries, flitting toward the most populated areas.

His three hundred and sixty blades sliced and diced everything in their path.

With a series of wet squelches—SQUELCH, SQUELCH, SQUELCH—Spirit Corpses and Profound Corpses were cut to pieces, their parts raining down to the ground.

Then, Spirit Capturing! Spirit Capturing!

He continuously reaped Demon Points.

However, he never ran into Zhuge Tianxing, Chen Wuji, or Yue Zhongshi.

Of course, that was also because Gu Zheng was sticking to the outer city districts.

The sounds of battle and furious roars near the royal city shook the very heavens.

That was the epicenter of the battlefield.

Gu Zheng had no intention of joining the fray over there.

Gu Zheng didn’t care how many members of the Zhong Family lived or died.

Compared to that, slaying the Corpse Puppets that roamed the city, reaping Demon Points, and saving civilians along the way was what he preferred to be doing.

...

SWISH SWISH SWISH~

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH~

A cold glint flashed as the blades danced through the air, leaving a trail of Corpse Puppet heads, arms, and legs in their wake.

Popping a Rejuvenation Pill into his mouth, Gu Zheng continued to flit onward, heading for the next district.

Just then, his heart suddenly lurched.

SHING!

CLANG CLANG CLANG~

The sound of scraping metal erupted as the three hundred and sixty flying blades instantly assembled into a shield.

BOOM!

The moment it reformed, a terrifying force slammed into the shield from the side.

The immense power of the blow sent the shield into a series of tremors, vibrating nonstop.

Hiding behind the shield, Gu Zheng’s body went slightly numb.

And that was just the aftershock, with most of the concussive force having been dissipated by the Chaotic Heaven Shield.

"The Chaotic Heaven Shield?"

A dark, hoarse voice, dripping with cold hatred, came from the side. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You’re Gu Zheng of the Demon Slayer Bureau, aren’t you?"

The speaker’s voice was frigid, and as they asked the question, their tone suddenly sharpened.

"You’ve killed over a thousand of my Corpse Puppets. Today, you’ll stay here and become one of them!"