Chapter 322: Chapter 191: Nationwide Sensation, Enfeoffed as a Marquis

Gu Zheng had a busy day, slaying over ten thousand Demon Fiends.

He harvested a total of 7,300 Demon Points, which included two third-rank Snow Demons that yielded two Demon Pills.

Then, pursued by a fourth-rank Wind Demon, he returned to the passageway.

...

After leaving Shuzhou, Gu Zheng entered Muzhou. Through an introduction from the frank and generous Zhao Danv, he paid a visit to the Commander of the Muzhou Demon Slayer Bureau.

The two sides shared a friendly meal, after which Zhao Danv personally led him to a third-rank passageway.

Muzhou had three third-rank passageways.

The other side of the first passageway opened into a body of water—a large, dark, and deep lake, to be precise. The Demon Fiends in the water were primarily a school of Sharp-beaked Scale Demons that resembled ribbonfish.

They were fast, powerful, and venomous.

When they swarmed, even a ten-meter-long Giant-toothed Crocodile Demon was torn to shreds and devoured in the space of three breaths.

Faced with such Demon Fiends, Gu Zheng immediately activated the Forbidden Sky Tower, freezing the water currents in an area. Then, his blades shot out and danced through the water, annihilating the Sharp-beaked Scale Demons.

Spirit Capturing! He harvested over five hundred Demon Points.

...

While Gu Zheng was busy slaying the aquatic Demon Fiends and continuously reaping Demon Points...

...news of his deeds—of him constantly storming third-rank passageways, killing Demon Fiends, and taking Demon Pills—reached the outside world. It spread to the Commanders and Demon-slaying Grand Generals of the Demon Slayer Bureaus in every state of Jing Country, and even to the highest echelons in the Royal Capital: the Demon Slayer Bureau, the Dragon Guard, the Observatory, the Divine Capture Bureau, the Imperial Cabinet, and the royal family.

"It wasn’t enough for him to clear out the third-rank passageway in Fengzhou, he actually went to Luozhou? And Hongzhou?"

"He’s in Muzhou now! Haha, Grand General Gu is truly diligent. A third-rank passageway a day, that’s incredible!"

"You’re telling me. Grand General Gu wiped out an entire tribe of Demon Fiends on the other side of my local third-rank passageway."

"Old Meng got off easy, taking Grand General Gu as a student so early on. Right, and that Old Scoundrel Xie, he lucked out too!"

"In a word, your envy is pointless."

"Haha, Old Scoundrel Xie put it well! Old Wang, if you’re so jealous, go pick a student or disciple from the Demon Suppression Guard. If one isn’t enough, take two. If two aren’t enough, take three. Take your pick! Hahaha..."

In Fengzhou, at the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters, Meng Taiqi held the Commander’s Seal and laughed heartily over the communication network it created. A wide smile spread across his face as well.

After finishing the communication, he couldn’t help but exclaim, ’That kid Ping’an really gets around! Luozhou, Hongzhou, Shuzhou, Muzhou... Don’t tell me he’s planning to hit every third-rank passageway in all Seven States?’

A similar conversation was taking place at the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters in the Royal Capital.

After listening to Elder Yang’s report, the Grand Director of the Demon Slayer Bureau, Xu Jianzhu, put down his documents and asked with great interest, "Is Gu Zheng planning to clear out every third-rank passageway in the Seven States?"

"Judging by Grand General Gu’s current actions, that’s more than likely," Elder Yang said with a sigh. "Only someone with his power could pull this off. One third-rank passageway a day, with no need for rest and rarely getting injured. While slaying Demon Fiends, he’s also honing himself, not to mention reaping the rewards of Demon Pills."

"He’s preparing to break through to the King’s Body."

At this, even Xu Jianzhu couldn’t help but sigh. "It’s so fast. How long has it been since Gu Zheng advanced to the Heroic Body Realm? And now he’s already aiming for the King’s Body." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Indeed." Envy was plain in Elder Yang’s eyes. "I wonder what fortunate encounter Grand General Gu had in the Nine Heavens Shadow Realm. It allowed him to cross two stages in such a short time and reach the peak of the Heroic Body Realm. Hmm, perhaps he’s not at the peak just yet, but he’s close. It’s right around the corner!"

Hearing this, Xu Jianzhu glanced at Elder Yang and said calmly, "The shift that comes once a millennium is a great opportunity for everyone. It all depends on who can seize it and make use of it."

Elder Yang tensed up and quickly bowed. "You are right, my lord!"

「Royal Palace.」

Zhong Yi, the ruler of Jing Country, let out a soft chuckle after hearing the Chief Eunuch’s report. "That’s Ping’an for you."

After a pause, a glint in his eye, Zhong Yi announced in a clear voice, "Issue a decree! Ennoble Gu Zheng’s father, Gu Sihai, as the Marquis of Qingshi County. This is to commend the merit of Gu Zheng, Grand General Gu, for tirelessly traveling the Seven States, storming third-rank passageways, slaying countless Demon Fiends, and quelling the disaster of the passageways. As for his fief, it shall be Qingshi County!"

"Yes, Your Majesty~!"

The Chief Eunuch replied with a deep bow.

As his head was bowed, a look of confusion crossed his face.

’If someone is to be made a marquis for Gu Zheng clearing the third-rank passageways of the Seven States, shouldn’t it be Gu Zheng himself? Why his father?’

’And he even gets a fiefdom? The entirety of Qingshi County has been carved out for him.’

’This is equivalent to saying Qingshi County will belong to the Gu family from now on!’

’Besides, while clearing the passageways in the Seven States is meritorious, it doesn’t seal them completely.’

’If he had used an Earth Spirit Cover and Heavenly Spirit Cover to completely seal a passageway for a hundred years, like with the Lu Shou Pit in northern Fengzhou, then that achievement would certainly be enough to be made a marquis. Even a king wouldn’t be out of the question.’

’But he only cleared them out for now. That’s enough to become a marquis?’

The Chief Eunuch was bewildered, but he didn’t let it show.

After leaving the grand hall, he immediately summoned someone to draft the decree, had it stamped with the seal, and presented it to Zhong Yi. Once Zhong Yi had reviewed it, it was sent express to Fengzhou.

...

「Muzhou.」

Gu Zheng was currently unaware of the stir he was causing in the outside world, or of Zhong Yi’s decree.

He had already moved on to another passageway—the third one in Muzhou.

He had already conquered the second passageway, harvesting 5,500 Demon Points and one Demon Pill.

The third passageway opened into a region of the Demon Realm dotted with a chain of volcanoes.

The active Demon Fiends in this area were old "acquaintances" of Gu Zheng’s: Purgatory Bone Demons.

Hordes of White Bone, Iron Bone, and Steel Bone Purgatory Bone Demons moved through caves flowing with lava.

Outside the caves, the sky was filled with dark, heavy clouds that obscured everything for hundreds of miles.

Billowing smoke surged into the sky, and volcanic ash rained down everywhere.

The ground trembled and rumbled intermittently.

SWISH SWISH SWISH~

Gu Zheng controlled his 360 blades, sending them flying through the air. They warped through space to shatter the hard skulls of the Purgatory Bone Demons and extinguish their Soul Fires.

Then, Spirit Capturing, Spirit Capturing!

The Demon Points piled up, surpassing one thousand, then two thousand...

A third-rank Silver Bone Purgatory Bone Demon leaped from the mouth of a volcano, charging straight at Gu Zheng. In an instant, Gu Zheng summoned the Heaven-piercing Halberd and swung it forward. With a sharp HISS, he cleaved the Demon Fiend in two. As its body split and its Soul Fire was extinguished, a tiny, crimson crystal the size of a fingernail suddenly shot out from within its corpse.

Gu Zheng’s gaze was immediately drawn to it.

’Fire Soul!’

With his Eyes of Golden Flame, Gu Zheng recognized the origin of the small, crimson crystal.

Flame Essence, a top-tier energy body containing a trace of Fire Origin.

Fire Soul!

It was the very Fire Soul that the Heaven-piercing Halberd needed to repair its core—one half of the Thunder Essence and Fire Soul.

SHWIIING~

He used Absorption to pull it over from a distance, guiding the crimson crystal to land on the Heaven-piercing Halberd.

The moment it touched the halberd’s shaft, the crimson crystal was devoured, vanishing instantly.

He sensed the Heaven-piercing Halberd. There was no major change in its internal space, nor any strange activity where the shattered core was located. However, through the mental connection formed by refining the weapon, Gu Zheng could still perceive that this crimson crystal was indeed the Fire Soul needed to repair the Divine Weapon’s core.

’Fire Soul from the body of a third-rank Silver Bone Purgatory Bone Demon?’

Gu Zheng’s interest was piqued.

Holding the Heaven-piercing Halberd, he leaped into the volcano’s crater.

WHOOSH~

A rolling heat wave surged up from below.

Gu Zheng controlled his descent, a swirling Sword Gang around his body resisting the high temperature.

As he descended, he scanned the walls of the volcanic shaft.

He could occasionally see Purgatory Bone Demons poking their bodies out of caves in the rock face, roaring at him.

He descended to the lowest safe altitude and hovered above the churning lava. A scan of his surroundings revealed no more Fire Souls.

However, Gu Zheng did sense a mass of energy constantly gathering beneath the lava.

It had the exact same aura as the Fire Soul from before!

’The Fire Soul is under the lava?’

Just as he was pondering this, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A series of explosions erupted from beneath the churning lava as three Silver Bone Purgatory Bone Demons shot out.

"ROAR!"

The moment they appeared, the three Silver Bone Purgatory Bone Demons roared at Gu Zheng, their thick, long silver claws swiping and grabbing as they lunged at him.

WHOOSH~~

Gu Zheng swung the Heaven-piercing Halberd. Empowered by Divine Wondrous, the Divine Weapon cut through the air, leaving a membrane of light in its wake. SHINK! SHINK! SHINK! It severed their claws.

A fleeting flash of light then streaked across the three Silver Bone Purgatory Bone Demons’ hideous skulls.

SHIING!