Supreme Sword Exalt

Outside, Fatty was inwardly crying in bitterness as he stole another glance at Gu Tian. It’s over! It’s really over! If Gu Han dies, he’ll absolutely rip me to shreds! What? Not my fault? Hah! Uncle Gu acts without any restraint, slaughtering whoever he wants. Would he care whose fault it is?

For the first time, he actually and desperately hoped Gu Han would find the fifth hidden acupoint successfully.

***

Inside the consciousness space, the dialogue continued.

“He’s not dead?” Hearing the news that Gu Tian was still alive, the black shadow suddenly froze. After a long while, he let out a long sigh with an indescribably complex tone. “I never expected that Gu Tian would actually choose that path. I had underestimated him. He also possesses great daring and resolution!”

Gu Han’s eyes blazed with cold light. “What do you mean?! What exactly happened to my father?!”

The black shadow was somewhat sighing. “He has already entered demonhood! And he’s walking the path of the True Demon!”

“True Demon?”

“Yes! Although the paths of the demon ultimately converge at the extreme, if subdivided, they differ from each other. Heavenly Demon, Desire Demon, True Demon, Yin Demon and so on. The path Gu Tian walks is that of the True Demon.

“I believe the advantages are obvious even to you? Not only does one’s realm advance a thousand times in a single day, their combat and killing powers are exceptionally high. However, this path also has a fatal flaw.”

“What is it?”

“Without exception, all who tread the path of the True Demon become slaves to their demonic nature. They’ll lose their true selves and become monsters driven solely by slaughter and bloodlust. Still, I’m a bit puzzled as to why Gu Tian retained a trace of humanity...”

Gu Han suddenly said, “It’s because of me. Even though Father entered demonhood, he still remembers me.”

Only then did he realize his father hadn’t chosen that path solely because he hated the Gu family. Perhaps, subconsciously, there was also the intention to protect Gu Han. Precisely because of that, Gu Tian held onto a shred of obsession, and did not completely lose his humanity.

Thinking of this, he clenched his fists tightly. Gu Tian and Ah Sha were two most important people in his life. He would definitely spare no effort to protect them!

The black shadow said with a hint of mockery. “The two of you only spent over ten years together, yet shared such a deep bond! Heh, how ridiculous! Even my disciple, whom I had painstakingly nurtured for ten thousand years, didn’t bat an eye when he tried to kill me!”

Gu Han was stunned for a moment. “Your disciple? He betrayed you?”

This was the first time he had heard about the black shadow’s affairs.

The black shadow gnashed his teeth. “It wasn’t just him! And that damned woman! Back then, how much did I dote on her? Yet she colluded with that vile disciple to secretly harm me!”

The talk of the past dyed the black shadow’s heart black with overwhelming hatred.

Gu Han stared at him with a somewhat strange expression. “The two of them...”

Suddenly, he felt that the black shadow wasn’t so detestable anymore, and even a bit pitiful. Subconsciously, Gu Han glanced at the top of the black shadow’s head.

The black shadow flew into a rage. “Bastard, why are you looking at me like that?!”

Gu Han muttered softly, “The facade’s off...”

Enraged, the black shadow cursed furiously, “You bloody bastard! You’re just a tiny ant, yet you dare insult me! I swear I will definitely kill you—no, I will definitely chop you into ten thousand pieces!”

Gu Han instantly aimed a cold and gleaming sword intent at him.

The black shadow put his hands behind his back, his face a picture of aloofness. “Enough! I won’t bother with a brat like you! Just now, didn’t you say you wanted to know about the Supreme Stage? Well, ask away!”

Gu Han withdrew the sword intent. “I want to know, how exactly do I find the fifth hidden acupoint?”

The black shadow was somewhat surprised. “The fifth? You found the first four?”

Gu Han didn’t hide it from him. “Yes. I heard that this fifth hidden acupoint is extremely difficult to find. From ancient times to the present, no one has ever succeeded, right?”

The black shadow shook his head. “Yes and no. It is really difficult to find, but to say no one has ever succeeded isn’t entirely accurate. To my knowledge, there have been a few people who found it.”

“How do I find it?”

The black shadow glanced at Gu Han. “There is no way to find it. To find the fifth hidden acupoint, your soul power needs to be at least ten times what it is now.”

Gu Han furrowed his brow. “Ten times? That’s impossible!”

After encountering numerous strange fortunes and opportunities, his soul power far exceeded ordinary people. But ten times more than it already was? Could anyone in the Acupoint Unsealing realm possibly have such strong soul power?

The black shadow laughed. “Just because you can’t doesn’t mean no one can. If there’s one thing this world never lacks, it’s geniuses. Some people are born with extraordinary natural talent, their soul power at birth is ten times yours now. And some are just born with great luck, so much so that even if they do nothing, they can just find treasures for eighty to a hundred years. Have you ever met those people?”

Gu Han fell silent. Of course he hadn’t, and he was quite envious of those who could just find treasures.

The black shadow waved his hand. “Just go back. Finding four is already enough for you to be proud of.”

Gu Han didn’t move. “I heard you say before that you achieved six Supreme Stages?”

The black shadow smiled proudly. “Yes!”

“Including the Acupoint Unsealing realm?”

“Naturally!”

“Then how did you find the fifth hidden acupoint?”

The black shadow was rendered speechless, as he had actually only found four himself.

Gu Han thought for a moment. “How about... you help me find it?”

The black shadow shook his head repeatedly. “If you can’t find it, there’s no way I can!”

Gu Han frowned slightly. “Logically speaking, since you want to possess me, you should be considered half the master here. How could you have no way?”

The black shadow trembled with anger. Master? Have you ever seen a master locked in a cage in his own home?

“No way! Give up on this idea!” he said irritably.

Gu Han felt a bit regretful. “Fine. I originally thought that if I became stronger, I could help you teach that vile disciple a lesson. But if I can’t even find the fifth hidden acupoint, then let’s forget it.”

The black shadow called out to him, his voice trembling slightly, “Wait! Do you mean it?”

Gu Han suddenly turned back with a serious expression. “I won’t lie to you about this matter.”

The black shadow remained silent for a long time, before saying, “Fine! I will help you.”

Although he wouldn’t admit it, he had almost given up on seizing Gu Han’s body because it was just too difficult with the sword cage around. Hence, Gu Han’s promise was akin to a final ray of hope. Even if it was slim, he was willing to gamble.

Gu Han urged. “Don’t just stand there. Do it already.”

At this moment, the black shadow was uncharacteristically assertive in front of Gu Han. He pointed at the sword cage. “Control this thing properly. If it harms even a hair on me, you are on your own!”

Gu Han nodded. “Rest assured that it won’t harm a single hair on you.”

The black shadow no longer hesitated and closed his eyes. He transformed into a mass of black mist, continuously spreading out beyond the sword cage. Under Gu Han’s mental control, the sword cage indeed showed no reaction at all.

In an instant, the black mist expanded endlessly, engulfing most of Gu Han’s consciousness. Watching it spread, Gu Han couldn’t help feeling stirred. The black shadow’s soul power was far stronger than he had imagined.

This, from a mere remnant soul? If he was intact, how strong would he be?

Briefly, he felt a bit interested in the ’outside’ that the black shadow had mentioned.

Just then, an anxious voice came from above. “Kid, hurry!”

Gu Han subconsciously looked up. The originally empty consciousness space now had an extra wall of an unknown thickness. He understood at once: this was the fifth hidden acupoint’s barrier, and it was more than ten times thicker than the fourth.

The black shadow’s voice grew even more urgent. “Hurry! If you can’t break it within three breaths, I won’t be able to hold on!”

Gu Han’s expression turned serious. “Alright!”

He was fully confident about breaking through this final barrier only because this was his consciousness space. And also, he possessed the Great Evolution Sword Scripture.

His right hand made a grasping motion. Instantly sensing it, the sword cage trembled slightly. Countless strands of sword intent converged, condensing into an illusory sword in his hand. Like before, he used the Kill Sword to be safe. The sword disappeared with a loud roar.

Sensing the sword’s sharp and pure killing intent, the black shadow panicked. “Kid, don’t injure me—”

Before he could finish, the sword had already struck that layer of the wall, causing ripples to spread out.

There was a miserable scream, and the black shadow instantly flew back into the sword cage, lying on the ground motionless. His aura had weakened by a full third.

Looking at the wall that was slowly fading but showed no movement, Gu Han frowned deeply. “Hmm? It didn’t shatter?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, countless dense, spiderweb-like cracks abruptly appeared on the wall. Just as it was to completely fade away, it could no longer hold on, and collapsed with a thunderous roar.

Elation surged in Gu Han’s heart. “I did it!”

He quickly established a connection with the last hidden acupoint, continuously pouring his spirit power into it. Shockingly, this acupoint’s capacity nearly equaled the combined capacity of the previous four. The impulse to break through to the next realm vanished completely.

Seeing the black shadow in such a miserable state, Gu Han, for the first time ever, said a word of comfort, “A-are you alright?”

The black shadow sprang up furiously. “Alright?! I almost got myself killed helping you! Damn it, you almost chopped me up along with it! Are you even human?!”

Gu Han felt a bit guilty. “How could that be! My hand was very steady!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

The black shadow, whether he believed it or not, changed the subject to what concerned him most. “Hmph! Don’t forget your promise!”

Gu Han’s expression turned solemn. “Rest assured. I’m very familiar with matters of revenge.”

As the black shadow watched Gu Han’s departing back, he suddenly sighed, feeling a mix of envy and regret. Back then, if he had had such fortune, perhaps he could have attempted to impact the legendary nine Supreme Stages.

Unfortunately, there are no ‘if’s’ in this world.

***

Outside, Fatty was sweating bullets as he stared at Gu Han, who was motionless.

Stay calm, don’t panic! If this guy’s head explodes, how should I save myself? Kneel? Beg for mercy? But Uncle Gu doesn’t seem to buy that at all!

Just as he was tangled in a hundred ways, an extremely powerful aura suddenly erupted from Gu Han.

Caught off guard, Fatty was sent flying far away. His mouth hung wide open, his face full of horror. “My god! Did he really break through?!”