MTL NOVEL Chapter 51: Gu's Death
Chapter 51: Gu’s Death
Gu… is dead?
How could he die?
Who could possibly kill a cultivator of the Feather Transformation Realm?
As one’s cultivation level increases, the gap between realms grows exponentially, making it increasingly difficult to bridge the difference through combat prowess alone.
Within a hundred mile radius, the highest cultivation level belongs to City Lord Liu, who has been stuck at the peak of the Water Condensation Realm for decades. Next is Guardian Firmament Sect’s Sect Leader Qi Daodong, followed by the other sect leaders in descending order.
Obviously, none of them had the strength to kill Gu, nor did they have any reason to do so.
The flicker of hope that You Su had just managed to ignite was ruthlessly extinguished by last night’s torrential downpour. Death, thick fog, and the city’s lockdown – all of this happened just as he had decided to set out for the Divine Mountain. Truly, fate was playing with him.
At this moment, he was following behind Wu Cheng on the way to the city lord’s mansion. They walked slowly, and You Su felt that his mind was in turmoil. No matter how hard he tried to calm himself down, he couldn’t.
Because You Su was blind, he couldn’t see the empty streets or the thick fog that permeated the air.
The world seemed to be enveloped in this fog. The nearby flowers, trees, and distant rooftops all lost their distinct outlines, appearing and disappearing within the fog.
From a distance, the two figures looked like they were wandering in an ethereal fairyland, or perhaps like bewitched fools heading toward a mirage…
“When was Gu’s death discovered?” You Su asked suddenly, his brow furrowed tightly.
“At the hour of Yin,” Wu Cheng replied, walking ahead. Due to the fog obstructing his vision, he didn’t dare to walk too fast. He added, “There was a heavy downpour last night. According to the night watchman, it didn’t stop until the hour of Chou. After that, the fog began to spread throughout the city. Fog after rain is not unusual, so no one paid much attention at first. But now it’s clear that the fog is seeping into the city from all directions in a strange manner. It’s speculated that Gu was the first to notice something unusual about the fog, so he went out alone to investigate. It wasn’t until the city gates were opened this morning that Gu’s body was found lying outside the gates. City Lord Liu immediately ordered the gates closed, restricted movement, and summoned everyone who attended last night’s banquet to the city lord’s mansion for a meeting.”
Hearing this, You Su reached out and waved his hand in the air, trying to sense the strange fog that Wu Cheng had described. Wu Cheng, noticing You Su’s actions, reminded him:
“Try to release your divine sense.”
You Su was momentarily stunned. He had been so absorbed in thinking about Gu’s death that he hadn’t bothered to sense his surroundings, simply following Wu Cheng blindly.
Following Wu Cheng’s suggestion, You Su focused his mind and released his Divine Sense. To his surprise, he discovered that the fog not only blocked his physical sight, but also obstructed his divine sense!
The world in his spiritual perception was hazy, as if he had returned to the day he had just entered the Meridian Opening Realm and could barely sense the world around him.
After realizing the strangeness of the fog, the two fell into a long silence, continuing their journey to the city lord’s mansion without further conversation.
Inside the city lord’s mansion, everyone stood solemnly and silently around a body covered with a white cloth.
No one could accept the fact that the person who had been the center of last night’s joyous banquet was now lying dead in the same hall. What was even more horrifying was that the deceased was a cultivator of the Feather Transformation Realm, a figure they had never imagined could be killed.
A thin mist seeped into the room, drifting through the crowd like a tangible manifestation of the fear in their hearts.
“Is everyone here?” City Lord Liu asked, his face lowered, his white eyebrows covering his cloudy eyes.
“Yes, everyone is here,” Qi Daodong replied after scanning the room, his expression grave.
“Good. Then uncover it,” City Lord Liu said, raising his hand to signal.
Qi Daodong’s face darkened, as if he was making an extremely difficult decision. He raised his right hand and slowly lifted the white cloth, using his spiritual energy.
Under the sheet, Gu’s body was unrecognizable. His eyes were wide open and bulging, as if he was about to jump out of fear or shock.
His upper body was covered in messy bloodstains, with several bite marks revealing white bone. The lower half of his body was even more gruesome, with only thin strips of flesh connecting his legs to his skeletal frame.
Everyone gasped in horror. The state of Gu’s corpse was far more gruesome than they had imagined, leaving them wondering what kind of creature he had encountered…
If even a cultivator of the Feather Transformation Realm couldn’t withstand it, what hope did they have?
Only You Su remained relatively calm. His limited divine sense could only vaguely outline the shape of Gu’s body, so the visual impact was less severe for him.
“Did any of you notice anything unusual last night?” City Lord Liu asked coldly after giving everyone some time to process the scene.
Everyone shook their heads in silence. City Lord Liu stroked his white beard and let out a long sigh.
“It was an evil entity.”
The expressions of the crowd turned to terror and disbelief. They had always thought that such things were far removed from their lives. Even after Gu had shown them the tragic events happening on the other side of the Central Realm Continent, most of them never believed that such a calamity would actually befall them.
The Great Hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. A sense of impending death gripped everyone’s throats, rendering them speechless.
City Lord Liu’s expression darkened as he pulled out an Evil Repelling Token from his robe. The jade token, which should have been a clear green, was now completely black, with no trace of its original color.
“This is the Evil Repelling Token that Senior Brother Gu always carried with him. It’s a magical tool specifically designed to detect evil energy. It is supposed to be emerald green, but in the presence of evil, it turns black. When I took it from Senior Brother Gu’s body, it was completely black. This means that the evil entity he encountered…”
City Lord Liu suddenly looked up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and said, “Is far more terrifying than we imagined!”
As soon as he finished speaking, several of the younger cultivators whose mental fortitude was weaker turned pale as death. Their minds went blank, and their legs trembled uncontrollably. Some even collapsed to the ground, unable to stand, as if they could see their own fate in Gu’s mutilated corpse.
Even the sect leaders, who prided themselves on having weathered many storms, were left speechless.
“City Lord Liu, could there be a mistake? Perhaps he was ambushed by an enemy. After all, the last time an evil entity appeared in Chuyun City was 190 years ago. How could it…” Qi Daodong asked hesitantly.
City Lord Liu gently shook his head. The usually smiling city lord seemed like a completely different person now.
“The Evil Repelling Token doesn’t make mistakes. Moreover, Senior Brother Gu was a righteous man who rarely made enemies. Even if he did, no one would be so vengeful as to kill him in such a manner. Therefore, it’s almost certain that he was killed by an evil entity.”
“Then… shouldn’t we flee? Are we supposed to sit here and wait for death?” a burly old man retorted. This was Zhou Yichang, the Sect Leader of the Wind and Thunder Fist Sect.
To everyone’s surprise, City Lord Liu shook his head again. His entire body seemed to deflate as he slumped back in his seat.
“It’s no use… When I carried Senior Brother Gu’s body back through the city gates, I glanced outside. The endless white fog obscured everything, but I could vaguely see some black shapes in the distance. At first, I thought they were the mountains of Qiongshan, but then…”
“It opened its eyes.”