Chapter 211: Taking Your Head

Under the watchful eyes of the many cultivators below, Zuo Mutang was struck by a silver ruler-shaped shadow and plummeted directly from mid-air. With a 'thud', his body slammed heavily onto the ground; had his cultivation not been quite high, this fall alone might have cost him his life!

Seeing Zuo Mutang struck down, Zhang Nuo still dared not be negligent. With a shift of his Divine Sense, he took advantage of the moment Zuo Mutang was hit to destroy both the Red Skull and the Black Giant Gate, only then landing back on the ground.

High in the sky, the destroyed Red Skull and Black Giant Gate scattered into fragments. At the same time, Zhang Nuo's many Magic Treasures flashed and vanished, all sinking into his body, leaving only one Flying Sword hovering by his hand.

Lying on the ground, Zuo Mutang felt as if every bone in his body were about to break. Despite this, he still glared viciously at Zhang Nuo.

Facing Zuo Mutang's glare, Zhang Nuo turned a blind eye. He moved his feet lightly, slowly closing in on him. The powerful Spiritual Pressure radiating from his body made the severely wounded Zuo Mutang feel as if he were suffocating.

In particular, Zhang Nuo's aura was even more terrifying, giving one the feeling that he was in the midst of reaping a life! It was cold, dreadful, and carried a trace of the uncanny.

'Clap! Clap!'

With every step Zhang Nuo took, Zuo Mutang's heart would beat violently in response. He felt the breath of death; in truth, death was not terrifying, but the only terrifying thing was the process of waiting for it. This was the method Zhang Nuo was using to slowly torture him.

"Master!"

Standing not far away, Lv Qi shouted out the moment he saw this. He had not expected that after only a few short exchanges, the overlord of Guyan City, renowned in the region, would be defeated by Zhang Nuo, and with such a miserable outcome!

Hearing his disciple's cry, Zuo Mutang did not turn his head, for he understood in his heart that at a time like this, no one could save him.

Without stopping his movement, Zhang Nuo merely glanced sideways at Lv Qi, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth. Just from being looked at, a chill ran down Lv Qi's spine, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

Ignoring the terrified Lv Qi, Zhang Nuo continued to walk slowly toward Zuo Mutang. Originally, this distance was not long, but everyone felt that this path was too long, as if a great deal of time had passed before Zhang Nuo reached Zuo Mutang's side.

"Do you have any more Magic Treasures? By all means, bring them out!"

The faint words sounded calm, without a hint of anger.

"Brat, I have entrenched myself in Guyan City for decades, and never has anyone dared to touch me! If you kill me, my master will not let you off!"

"Your master? I couldn't care less about that! Now, I shall take your head!"

Zuo Mutang had originally wanted to bring up his master to suppress Zhang Nuo, but he had not expected that the other party would not fall for it at all. He did not even ask who his master was; with a backhanded flick, the Flying Sword beside him swept across Zuo Mutang's neck.

'Roll, roll!'

Zuo Mutang's head rolled on the ground, his eyes wide open, his teeth gnashing with a 'clack' sound. The moment Zhang Nuo severed Zuo Mutang's head, a red light flew out from within his body, its speed so fast it was astonishing.

Zhang Nuo was startled, thinking this was a desperate counterattack after death, and leaped backward. However, he did not expect that this red light was not heading for him, but was fleeing in the opposite direction. The moment the red light appeared, Zhang Nuo's Divine Sense sensed a life essence hidden within it.

"Stay behind for me!"

Although he did not know what was strange about the red light in Zuo Mutang's corpse, Zhang Nuo would absolutely not let anything go. As he spoke, three white lights flew out from his body, flashing and striking the red light that had just flown not far away.

'Pop!'

The red light was not very solid and shattered upon a single strike. A phantom quickly crawled out from within; upon closer inspection, he realized it was a Remnant Soul of Zuo Mutang.

"Thinking of leaving behind a Remnant Soul to survive?"

Understanding the whole situation, Zhang Nuo flew forward, blocking the path of Zuo Mutang's Remnant Soul phantom.

"Haha! Even if your divine abilities are great, can you really extinguish this old man's remnant? I left this move behind precisely because I feared my physical body would be destroyed!"

The phantom laughed loudly, then its form flickered, and it actually split into over a dozen identical Remnant Soul phantoms. Without looking back, they fled in all different directions.

If it were any other cultivator facing this situation, there would be no way to deal with it; being unable to attend to everything at once, there would always be some that slipped through the net.

But Zhang Nuo did not even lift an eyelid. A flash of yin energy passed across his brow, and then, amidst a flicker of red light, a black, eerie butterfly flew out from within.

This butterfly was pitch-black as ink, its surface wrapped in a layer of crimson flames. With a 'swish', its form flashed and it rushed to the nearest phantom. Without any movement, it simply flapped its wings and, with a deep inhalation, the phantom formed by that Remnant Soul was sucked inside.

The next moment, the Hell Butterfly did not stop, catching up to the dozen or so phantoms one by one and consuming them in the same way. Finally, it flashed and vanished into Zhang Nuo's brow, leaving no trace!

Everything happened very quickly, before the crowd had even understood what was going on. All of Zuo Mutang's dozen or so Remnant Souls had been wiped out. Having finished all this, Zhang Nuo turned back and walked to the side of Shopkeeper Zheng and his daughter, saying in a low voice:

"Pack your things and leave quickly now! Do not stay in the city for a moment longer!"

Hearing this, the father and daughter thanked him profusely, then returned to their workshop and quietly left Guyan City through the back door. Before killing Zuo Mutang, Zhang Nuo had heard him mention a master, and in his heart, he had already guessed that this matter could not end just like that; a master who was a Golden Core Cultivator was at least a Nascent Soul Stage existence.

To be safe, he had let Shopkeeper Zheng and his daughter escape secretly first. Only when his Divine Sense felt the father and daughter had left the city did Zhang Nuo walk to Lv Qi's side.

"Trouble, Fellow Daoist Lv, to lead the way for me to your master's residence!"

Although Zhang Nuo said this with a smile, in Lv Qi's eyes, it was more terrifying than a demon.

"Zhang..., ah no! Senior! Please follow me!"

Originally, Lv Qi had wanted to call him Fellow Daoist Zhang, but upon thinking that the other party's cultivation was already above his own, he immediately changed his address to Senior.

"Very good!"

With a slight nod, Zhang Nuo followed behind Lv Qi and walked straight toward Zuo Mutang's residence. After the two of them left, the crowd watching the excitement on both sides of the street erupted in cheers.

They had been oppressed by Zuo Mutang in Guyan City for many years and had long hated him to the bone. Today, someone had finally stood up to kill this person, so they were naturally overjoyed.

However, some people with deep schemes quietly returned home, took everything they could carry, and fled Guyan City overnight. These people were afraid that Zuo Mutang's master would return for revenge and, if he could not find Zhang Nuo, would take his anger out on them.

Following Lv Qi, Zhang Nuo soon arrived at Zuo Mutang's residence. After ransacking it, he obtained a large number of Spirit Stones and several Magic Treasures.

Finally, Zhang Nuo came before Lv Qi and said with a smile:

"Who is Zuo Mutang's master?"

"I heard it is a Nascent Soul Stage old monster. I have never seen him with my own eyes, but I heard from my master that his cultivation seems to have reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage!"

Now, Lv Qi was telling everything he knew without reservation; for the sake of his life, he dared not hide anything.

His face remained expressionless, but Zhang Nuo gasped in his heart. It seemed he had poked a huge hornet's nest. He had not expected Zuo Mutang's master to be a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator. He had to return to the Nanxuan Sect as quickly as possible; at the very least, Nanxuan Laozu was there to back him up.

"What is the name of Zuo Mutang's master?"

"I really do not know this. My master never mentioned it to me even once. We disciples only know that our master has a master at the Nascent Soul Stage."

"You don't even know where he lives?"

Zhang Nuo's voice became somewhat cold. Lv Qi, who had lost his arms, was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a 'thud', kowtowing repeatedly and begging:

"Senior! I really do not know! If I had known, I would have told you long ago. Please, spare my dog's life!"

Looking at Lv Qi, who had once been arrogant and overbearing in Guyan City, Zhang Nuo let out a cold snort from his nose! Seeing his posture, perhaps he truly did not know who Zuo Mutang's master was.

With a light flick of his sleeve, a white light flew out and pierced through Lv Qi's heart. Zhang Nuo would not leave behind anyone who posed a threat to him. Since things had already been taken to the extreme, sparing the other party's life would only bring trouble upon himself later.

If you cut the grass without removing the roots, the spring breeze will make it grow again! This principle had been taught to everyone countless times through lessons of blood! Having stayed in the Cultivation World for so long, Zhang Nuo naturally understood this.

After killing Zuo Mutang and looting everything in his home, Zhang Nuo transformed into a streak of light and flew toward the direction of the Tianjiang Plain.

Zhang Nuo could not stay in Guyan City for too long; if word leaked out, Zuo Mutang's master might come hunting him down. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, Zhang Nuo increased his escape speed, activating all Four Spirit Seas within his body simultaneously, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the sight of the many cultivators in Guyan City.

Through this battle, Zhang Nuo gained quite a few insights. Generally speaking, the battles of Golden Core stage cultivators are not restricted by the reserves of Spiritual Qi in their bodies like those of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, and there is also a significant improvement in speed. The entire course of battle can almost be described as changing in an instant.

Until the moment the opponent's head is severed, no one knows what might happen. Furthermore, the Magic Treasures of Golden Core stage cultivators are even more terrifying; due to the support of powerful Spirit Power, the might of the Magic Treasures far exceeds that of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Take the battle with Zuo Mutang for example: when Zhang Nuo activated the Heaven-Turning Seal, he still used the power from his Foundation Establishment stage to trigger it, never expecting that it would have no effect at all when striking the giant black wall. If he had used seventy or eighty percent of his power to activate it, the outcome might have been completely different.

Having fought for the first time with a Golden Core stage body, Zhang Nuo felt more confident. Zuo Mutang could be considered a rather troublesome character among those at the Golden Core Initial Stage; since he could easily eliminate him, others of the same rank were simply not a concern in Zhang Nuo's eyes. Especially with his special constitution of the Four Spirit Seas, even if he encountered a cultivator at the Golden Core Late Stage, he would be able to put up a fight!

Although he dared not claim he could kill the opponent, he would definitely have no problem protecting himself!