Ling Jia and the others looked at the golden sword artifact. However, not a single one of them dared to take it from Gu Qinghe.

Aside from the fact that Gu Qinghe was stronger, he had also contributed the most throughout their journey. It would feel shameless if any of them tried to betray him.

"What artifact is that, Senior?"

"The Golden Sky Energy Sword. King-grade, and high quality."

"Just like the previous artifact, the power of this golden sword is unmatched."

Ling Jia did not fully understand artifacts and their power. But since Gu Qinghe said so, they believed him.

"Let’s go," Qinghe said. Ling Jia and the others nodded obediently.

They flew out of the main hall chamber and returned to the outer courtyard, arriving near the altar floor.

Gu Qinghe watched several cultivators working together to defeat a monster on top of the altar. Those who succeeded would have the chance to teleport.

His cultivation eyes activated clearly, observing that the qi aura radiating from the monster’s body was weaker.

Only at the Mid Core Formation level.

The monster was eventually defeated. Those who killed it received spiritual qi energy, increasing their reserves to attempt a breakthrough.

The white light of the rune array on the altar shone brightly, teleporting them instantly to the Fourth Mountain.

The monster disappeared along with the altar walls. Gu Qinghe looked around, seeing the other cultivators exchange glances.

"Fellow Daoists!"

"I’ll take the altar first," Gu Qinghe said.

They turned at once, then cupped their hands, allowing Gu Qinghe and his group to take the turn to fight the monster.

Gu Qinghe and the others stepped inside, activating the altar’s mechanism and watching the monster appear before them.

A snow bear emerged and roared loudly, trying to intimidate Gu Qinghe.

"You’ll gain spiritual qi energy if you defeat it."

"I’ll leave this monster to you," Gu Qinghe said.

He extended one hand forward, forming a seal and directing it ahead. A golden rune appeared on the altar floor, instantly binding the monster’s limbs.

With a pulling gesture, the chains dragged the snow bear down onto the ground, leaving it struggling to move.

Ling Jia, Yan Ran, and Liu Xi acted quickly. The three of them formed hand seals and unleashed their strongest attack techniques.

Two water spears and an iron sword shot forward, striking the snow bear directly.

BLAST!

A powerful explosion startled everyone, especially the cultivators outside the altar walls.

Smoke rose and blocked their vision, but through his cultivation eyes, Gu Qinghe could see that the snow bear no longer had the strength to resist.

The combined power of Ling Jia, Yan Ran, and Liu Xi killed it quickly.

As per the rules, the monster vanished, and its spiritual qi flowed into the three women. However, it was not enough to help them break through.

Gu Qinghe was certain they would get their chance later.

The monster was defeated, and the teleportation rune array lit up brightly. Within seconds, they were transported to the valley of the Fourth Mountain.

Out of the seven mountains, they had passed three. Now, four remained for Gu Qinghe to find the location of the Eighth Peak.

Gu Qinghe opened his eyes upon arriving at the valley of the Fourth Mountain. However, a horrifying sight greeted them.

The corpses of cultivators were scattered all over the valley. Ling Jia and the others immediately went on full alert.

A red sword shot toward Gu Qinghe, accompanied by a dense crimson aura.

He extended one hand and blocked the attack. An explosion followed.

Gu Qinghe and the others were pushed back. The three women were injured and coughed up blood, while Gu Qinghe was only slightly shaken.

Peak Core Formation?

"I didn’t expect to run into another Peak Core Formation cultivator," the man said.

The smoke cleared. Gu Qinghe looked straight ahead and saw a man in plain red robes. He was not alone, but accompanied by three other cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist! I’m not looking for trouble. Can you let us leave?" Gu Qinghe asked.

"Leave? HAHAHA!"

"Are you stupid?!"

"The soul of a Peak Core Formation cultivator is a fine item. Your body and soul are perfect for my puppet," the man said with a sinister grin.

Puppet?

"You’re from the Shikui Sect?!" Ling Jia shouted angrily.

The man turned, his grin widening when he saw Ling Jia, especially her Yunxia Sect uniform.

"A woman from the Yunxia Sect. The Sect Master will reward me greatly if I turn you into my puppet," he said. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The man formed hand seals, summoning three coffins and controlling the corpses within them.

Although his cultivation base was at Peak Core Formation, his corpse puppets were only at the Mid stage.

Their strength matched the three women.

"You have Mid Core Formation corpse puppets. Let me guess, you stole the souls of cultivators who died here, right?" Gu Qinghe said.

"You seem to know quite a lot about the soul-stealing techniques of the Shikui Sect!"

Gu Qinghe smirked and slowly flew closer. "I’m already sick of seeing your disgusting techniques!"

He raised his hand, forming a seal with one hand. A golden rune appeared behind him, and a sword floated beside his body.

That wasn’t all. He lifted his hand and touched his forehead, summoning a golden soul orb and infusing it into the core of the golden sword, greatly amplifying its qi momentum.

Gu Qinghe’s eyes opened, and he glanced to the side, looking at the corpse puppets still chasing Ling Jia, Yan Ran, and Liu Xi.

He directed the golden sword toward each puppet. The sword pierced their bodies and instantly destroyed the array cores inside them.

The man gasped in shock, trying to reactivate them, but failed. Gu Qinghe’s golden sword did not stop, striking the other puppets and bringing them down.

In an instant, they were defeated. This left the man both confused and furious.

"You! How do you know the core array mechanism of our sect?!" he shouted.

Gu Qinghe acted quickly, dismissing the golden sword and replacing it with the Golden Sky Energy Sword.

The moment the sword appeared in his grasp, cultivation pressure equal to Peak Core Formation crashed down on the Shikui Sect members.

"That... that’s an artifact from the main palace chamber?!" they exclaimed.

Gu Qinghe only smirked, swinging his arm sideways and unleashing a golden slash forward.

BLAST!

A golden explosion filled the sky. Gu Qinghe faintly heard their screams of pain.

One man, the leader of the Shikui Sect group, flew out of the smoke. He hovered weakly, clutching his bleeding arm.

"You... who are you?!" he shouted.

"You’ll never know who I am!"

Gu Qinghe shot forward, chasing him. The man tried to dodge by flying low and using all his techniques.

But it was useless. Every swing of Gu Qinghe’s sword was aimed directly at him.

He tried to defend himself with defensive techniques, but against a King-grade artifact, he was powerless.

"You’re courting death!"

A golden slash shot forward. The man’s eyes widened as he failed to defend himself.

BLAST!

A powerful explosion erupted, sending strong gusts of wind in all directions. Gu Qinghe was pushed back slightly, his cultivation eyes fully active.

From ahead, he sensed a powerful qi momentum, one level above his own.

Golden Core cultivator?

The smoke cleared, revealing that the man from the Shikui Sect had survived. He stood behind another man.

Gu Qinghe narrowed his eyes. The man looked very familiar.

"Grand Elder Ming Hui?" Gu Qinghe asked.

"Junior Gu? I didn’t expect to meet you here," Ming Hui replied.

Ming Hui’s eyes widened in shock as he sensed the qi momentum within Gu Qinghe’s body, equal to Peak Core Formation.

"It hasn’t even been eight months, yet your cultivation has improved so much," Ming Hui said, praising him.

Gu Qinghe cautiously flew forward, keeping a safe distance.

"You flatter me, Senior Ming Hui," he said.

"So, you’ve got a problem with someone from the Shikui Sect?"

"He tried to refine my soul and take my body as his puppet," Gu Qinghe replied.

"You?!" Ming Hui barked, unleashing his cultivation pressure onto the man.

"Forgive me... I didn’t know he was your junior," the man said.

Ling Jia, Yan Ran, and Liu Xi flew over to Gu Qinghe. Ming Hui glanced at them and laughed loudly.

"I didn’t expect you to have taken these beautiful women as well, Junior Gu."

"They’re my friends. We just happen to share the same goal," Gu Qinghe replied.

"I see."

"You’re aiming for the Eighth Peak, aren’t you?" Ming Hui said sharply.

"Every cultivator who comes here is aiming for that place."

"True... but only those with artifacts can enter," Ming Hui said, placing his hands behind his back.

"From that last attack, that was an artifact from the main palace chamber of a peak, wasn’t it?"

Tension filled the air between Gu Qinghe and Ming Hui. Both of them released powerful qi auras, forcing Ling Jia and the others to retreat.

"Who knows? Do you think so too, Grand Elder Ming Hui?" Gu Qinghe replied sharply.

"With four artifacts, you can reach the Eighth Peak."

Ming Hui slowly flew closer. The two of them remained tense and alert.

"How about we work together?" Ming Hui asked.

"Only one cultivator can reach the Eighth Peak. You should know that, Senior."

"Looks like we can’t cooperate. Fine!"

"I’ll just take that artifact from you!"

Gu Qinghe watched as Ming Hui summoned his sword and swung it. He immediately flew back at high speed.

He brought out the Golden Sky Energy Sword and clashed with Ming Hui’s slashing attacks. Another explosion erupted, pushing them apart.

"I knew it. That’s an artifact from the Peak Palace!"

"Hand it over if you don’t want to die, Qinghe!" Ming Hui shouted.

Gu Qinghe gripped his sword tightly, then slashed forward.

"You’re the one courting death!"