Supreme Sword Exalt

Gu Han shook his head. “Your home? Forget it. I’m plagued by bad luck. I might end up harming you.”

The youth hesitated for a moment before reassuring, “I’m not afraid. I have to repay you for saving me!”

Gu Han also hesitated. Ah Man was one of the only two barbarians he could stand to look at, and he really did not want to drag the other party down.

The demoness sighed softly. “Let’s go take a look. Just rest for a while, then we’ll leave. You won’t last much longer like this... Besides, don’t you think he’s a very suitable candidate?”

Gu Han understood what she meant. “That works too. Then, we’ll leave after resting a while.”

Ah Man had no idea that a tremendous stroke of fortune awaited him. He pointed at the demonic beast’s corpse, looking a bit embarrassed. “Benefactor, do you still want these spoils of war?”

Gu Han’s face showed disdain. “I don’t want them.”

Why would I want a Tier 4 demonic beast? he asked inwardly.

The demoness watched him with a smile. “What happened to the guy who was as poor as a beggar, shamelessly mooching off someone’s inn and didn’t want to give a single essence crystal?”

She had seen Gu Han’s memories, so she knew about these embarrassing incidents.

Gu Han glared at her. That’s called mooching? What kind of friendship do I have with Sister Murong?! Do we need to be so clear-cut?

After seeing that Gu Han did not want them, Ah Man eagerly took out a knife and prepared to cut up the demonic beast. “This big one will be enough for my mother and me to eat for a long time...”

Gu Han shook his head inwardly. Too slow!

By the time Ah Man finished cutting the beast’s meat, he feared tens of thousands of barbarians would have surrounded them. In an instant, he arrived beside the demonic beast’s corpse. With a light stroke of his sword, a beam of bright light flashed, dicing the extremely tough remains into several hundred neat cuts. He put them into a storage ring, gathered the spoils from all the barbarians, and casually tossed them to Ah Man.

Ah Man was overwhelmed by happiness.

Gu Han asked again, “Where’s your home?”

Ah Man instinctively pointed in a direction.

Immediately after, Gu Han swept him up with spirit qi, and they vanished from their original spot.

Along the way, he also learned of Ah Man’s background. Ah Man’s father had been a lowest-tier barbarian. Ten years ago, his father offended a mid-tier clan barbarian, who beat him to death on the spot. To avoid disaster, Ah Man’s mother fled with him. He was only a few years old when they went deep into the Great Lu Mountains to settle down, where they had lived ever since.

Gu Han appeared thoughtful. Ah Man’s home was clearly deep in the Great Lu Mountains, where the demonic beasts that appeared were at least Tier 5 or above. The fact that he was able to live there in peace seemed to have something to do with the formidable friend he mentioned.

Ah Man was a man of his words. He kept silent regarding his mysterious friend’s matters. Gu Han greatly admired the youth. The more he looked at Ah Man, the more agreeable he found him. Given Gu Han’s speed, a journey that would normally take Ah Man several days now took only a moment.

“Oh?”

Then, an extremely dense gray mist unfolded before them, seemingly having a hallucinatory effect. Even if an ordinary Heavenly Tribulation realm cultivator came, they would likely get lost inside if they were unfamiliar with the path.

Moreover, the concentration of demonic qi within the mist was over ten times greater than outside.

Gu Han thought to himself, Could this be the ancient relic site of some ancient great demon?

Nevertheless, the mist had little effect on the two of them. After all, he had supreme divine sense, while the demoness had the Heavenly Demon Physique. Without needing Ah Man to guide them, they reached their destination in just a short while. Before them stood a rather crude hut built of huge rocks. There was no mist around here.

Ah Man relaxed considerably upon reaching home. He ran into the hut and helped a female barbarian out. “Mom!”

She was much taller and stouter than Murong Yan. Her waist was slightly stooped, her hair dry and graying. Moreover, her face bore a dark and dull color, as if she had hidden injuries.

Ah Man pointed excitedly at Gu Han. “Mother, this is my benefactor. He also gave me a storage ring. There’s a lot of food and resources inside! It will last us a few years!”

The youth seemed to inherit his simplicity from the female barbarian. Her gratitude was even greater than Ah Man’s.

Without caring about Gu Han’s identity, she crossed her hands over her chest and performed the highest barbarian courtesy. “Benefactor, I’m Tai Ji. Thank you for saving my son.”

“There’s no need for that. It was just a casual sword strike,” said Gu Han.

This scene seemed to remind the demoness of the past, which put her in an exceptionally good mood.

Tai Ji had learned from Ah Man about Gu Han’s predicament. “Benefactor, this mist is very powerful. Ordinary people cannot find this place at all. Since you’ve saved Ah Man, you’re a great benefactor to my family. Please rest well here.”

Having lost her husband, her son was her entire world. Gu Han’s favor was greater than the heavens. On the contrary, Gu Han felt a bit embarrassed. Saving Ah Man truly cost him nothing.

He touched his nose and, under the demoness’ eager gaze, took out a bottle of Emerald Condensation Pills. “This pill can help you. I’ll only stay a little while, then I’ll leave.”

Tai Ji’s injuries had been left behind from years of fighting demonic beasts. To her, this Emerald Condensation Pill was no different from a life-saving miracle medicine. After all, she couldn’t even attain the most ordinary pill, let alone such a heaven-defying pill.

For a time, the mother and son expressed endless gratitude, almost wanting to worship Gu Han as if the barbarian ancestor had returned to life.

After giving a few more instructions, Tai Ji went into the stone hut to heal her injuries.

Ah Man was shedding tears of gratitude. “Benefactor, wait for me. I’ll go find my friend...”

Gu Han stared oddly into the distance. “I don’t think there’s a need for that. I think your friend is already here.”

A moment later, a rustling sound came over, and a giant python appeared. More than ten zhang long, its thick, bucket-like frame was covered in dark and fiery red scales. A scorching intent emanated from the creature, mixed with a faint hint of lightning. Its long forked tongue constantly flickered in and out. Reflected within its vertical pupils was a hint of human-like wariness and vigilance.

Ah Man was overjoyed. “Lord Python? I was just about to go find you...”

The giant python gave a cold laugh and said in human language, “I was wondering why I suddenly smelled the scent of strangers. So it was you! Ah Man, didn’t I tell you not to bring strangers here?!”

“They are my benefactors...”

“Ah Man, you’re too young! What benefactors? They came here clearly because they want to eat my flesh!” the giant python scolded vehemently, before fixing its gaze at Gu Han. “Hey! For Ah Man’s sake, I’ll spare your lives today! Go back to wherever you came from, or I will swallow you whole!”

It opened its maw wide, revealing scorching intent coiling within, faintly laced with traces of lightning.

Ah Man quickly stood in front of Gu Han and the demoness. “Lord Python, you can’t eat them! They saved me and my mother!” ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Not far away, Gu Han watched on, utterly confused. “It can talk? Wasn’t it said that demonic beasts can only speak after they undergo the heavenly tribulation and take human form?”

The demoness also appeared perplexed. “How strange... This python doesn’t seem like a mutant species. It looks very ordinary. Why would it—”

The giant python was so angry it roared repeatedly, “Outrageous! Outrageous! I am a mutant species! A naturally born one, at that! If you dare spout nonsense again, I’ll swallow you whole even if Ah Man begs for mercy!”

With its cultivation level, it could not see through Gu Han’s depth.

Its vertical pupils shifted to a nearby green boulder about a zhang high. “Watch closely!”

With a light tap of its long tail, the boulder shattered into pieces.

It looked at Gu Han again and asked proudly, “Between your head and that boulder, which one is harder?”

Gu Han casually swung his sword outward, sending strands of sword qi everywhere. The broken stones were cut into countless pieces, their shapes and sizes exactly the same, not a hair’s breadth off. Even the cut surfaces were smooth as mirrors.

Gu Han turned to the snake. “What do you think? Which one is harder?”

The giant python trembled and smashed its head to the ground, creating a deep pit.

It cried heartbreakingly, screaming miserably, “Have mercy! Don’t eat me! My family has only one inheritance for seven generations! I’m the only one left! Besides, my meat is sour, stinky, and hard on the teeth! It doesn’t taste good at all!”