Yan Ran and Liu Xi nodded. Gu Qinghe raised his hand, golden qi still glowing from his palm, then swept it to the side.

It was not a gesture to activate a technique, but to deactivate the array. The moment he did, golden runes appeared in the sky, no longer hidden behind the white clouds.

The two women beside him immediately understood. Yan Ran had already suspected it. The reason they had remained unseen by other cultivators was because of Gu Qinghe’s array.

Slowly, the golden runes faded and vanished. Now the three of them were fully visible.

Even so, there was no sign anyone intended to attack. The other cultivators could sense the cultivation bases of Yan Ran, Liu Xi, and Gu Qinghe were at a level far beyond what they could challenge.

Without wasting time, the three of them flew from the waterfall valley back toward the main path leading up the second mountain.

Gu Qinghe flew in front at the center, while Yan Ran and Liu Xi flanked him on both sides. Their role was simple, remain alert for any sudden ambush.

They understood their task well. Their swords were already drawn, ready to shatter any attack aimed at them.

Gu Qinghe suddenly stopped when a blue-eyed bear monster appeared before him.

A powerful qi aura radiated from the beast, proof that it was much stronger than the Ice-Tail Wolves on the first mountain.

Stronger did not mean unkillable. Gu Qinghe’s eyes shone with golden light, and a crushing wave of cultivation pressure slammed into the beast, forcing it to its knees in pain.

Yan Ran and Liu Xi were stunned. They had not expected Gu Qinghe to suppress the bear using pressure alone.

Both of them could tell the monster’s aura rivaled an Early Core Formation cultivator.

Gu Qinghe wasted no time. He tapped his bag of holding and summoned a sword, guiding it through qi manipulation.

The sword shot forward, twisting and dancing freely in the air. With a thrusting gesture, he sent it diving down.

STAB!

With a single strike, the sword pierced through the bear’s chest. The beast immediately collapsed, powerless.

It hit the snowy ground while the cultivation pressure still crushed its body, blood pooling beneath it.

Slowly, the corpse dissolved into qi particles, along with the blood. Gu Qinghe extended his hand and absorbed the particles.

"You defeated that monster. I’m impressed," someone said.

From atop a nearby hill, Gu Qinghe and the two women looked up. Five cultivators had arrived, standing on flying swords.

Their cultivation levels varied. Three were Mid Core Formation, while the other two were Early Core Formation.

To Gu Qinghe, they were easy opponents.

Yan Ran and Liu Xi reacted immediately, stepping in front of him protectively.

"Ha! A man protected by women. Aren’t you ashamed?" one cultivator mocked.

"Attack them and take their bags of holding!"

Four of them rushed forward. Yan Ran and Liu Xi flew off to intercept those pursuing them.

At Gu Qinghe’s position, only one cultivator remained, the group’s leader.

The man acted quickly, summoning magical runes and unleashing a fire axe technique. Gu Qinghe looked up as qi manifested into a massive flaming axe.

Gu Qinghe smiled. "You think something like that can defeat me?"

He formed hand seals, summoning the projection of a giant golden bell. It expanded around him as a shield, while his raised hand sustained its power.

"You’re courting death!"

The man swung his arm downward, as though chopping through the air.

Gu Qinghe narrowed his eyes and braced against the descending fire axe.

BLAST!

Their energies collided in a massive explosion, black smoke rising high. The man grinned wickedly, convinced his ultimate technique had killed his opponent.

"HAHAHA!"

"Now all that’s left is to deal with..."

"I know this technique," Gu Qinghe said, startling him.

The man’s attention snapped forward. Gu Qinghe waved away the smoke, revealing himself unharmed.

"Impossible!"

"How are you still alive?! That was an earth-grade technique!"

Gu Qinghe rose into the sky, his eyes fixed coldly on the man.

"A technique with great potential is wasted in the hands of trash like you."

"What?!" the man roared.

Gu Qinghe formed the same seals as the fire axe technique. He recognized it because he had once used a similar art.

It was indeed earth-grade, but the technique scroll was incomplete, drastically lowering its quality.

He raised his hand as golden qi surged into the sky, splitting the clouds as thunder rumbled.

"That is not a Fire Axe Technique... but the Earth-Splitting Lightning Axe!"

The clouds tore apart as a gigantic axe formed, condensed entirely from Gu Qinghe’s golden qi and dominant lightning. Bolts crackled wildly around it.

The man’s face turned pale with terror. He could feel that Gu Qinghe’s lightning axe far surpassed his own fire axe.

Using a defensive art, he created a dome of fire to withstand the incoming strike.

A powerful qi shockwave erupted as Gu Qinghe’s attack collided with the fire dome.

But the golden lightning axe was far more terrifying than the man had imagined. He dropped to his knees, coughing blood, nearly out of qi.

"Break!"

BLAST!

A devastating explosion rocked the area, causing the other four cultivators to stop chasing and rush back to the hill.

They arrived to see a towering cloud of smoke. When it cleared, their faces turned pale.

"Senior?!" they shouted, seeing their sect elder lying dead in the snow.

One of them turned and pointed furiously at Gu Qinghe. "You’re dead, bastard!"

The man flew at him, summoning blue runes and launching dozens of flying swords.

Gu Qinghe remained calm. With only a one-handed seal, he summoned golden runes behind his back.

Yan Ran and Liu Xi arrived just in time to witness it, their eyes wide with shock. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"He can form one-handed seals?" Yan Ran whispered.

Liu Xi narrowed her eyes. "Xiao Mei... is unbelievably fortunate to have a senior like him."

At that moment, a giant golden palm descended, smashing through the flying swords and striking the Mid Core Formation cultivator.

The palm drove him into the ground below, leaving him severely injured and unable to continue fighting.

"You... who are you really?!" the man gasped.

"That doesn’t matter," Gu Qinghe said coldly. "Because you’ll die before finding out."