The others, hearing Daoist Changqing's reminder, immediately reacted. If they didn't act now, they would only end up as ashes.
They held nothing back, immediately taking out their treasured artifacts and hurling them towards Gu Li's God Slaying Furnace.
They knew their strength was insufficient, and at this moment, they only wanted to help Daoist Changqing share some of the attack so he would have time to deal with Gu Li.
However, as soon as their attacks touched the God Slaying Furnace, they were instantly entangled by the red light within and swallowed, offering no resistance at all.
Seeing the group of people before him falter, Gu Li's smile widened.
With these insignificant pests, he could fight ten at once. How laughable that these ignorant fools actually dared to try and deal with him.
However, he was well aware that this was the territory of the Five Great Immortal Mountains, filled with powerful individuals. If others sensed the abnormality here, it would be difficult for him to leave.
Therefore, he wasted no more time, increasing the output of his spiritual energy.
Immediately, the red light from the God Slaying Furnace intensified, and an even stronger suction force emerged, directly swallowing everyone's treasures into the alchemical furnace.
"Pfft." The connection between Daoist Changqing and the Mountain River Map was instantly severed. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura began to wither. Everything that had just happened had wounded him severely.
Daoist Changqing looked at Gu Li in terror, never expecting him to be so powerful.
Gu Li glanced at the injured people before him, shook his head, and said with a sigh, "I didn't want to act against you, but you were unlucky to get involved with this woman."
Hearing Gu Li mention her, Su Xi offered a polite smile. There was no despair of facing imminent death; instead, she looked relaxed, as if watching a show.
Seeing Su Xi's smile, Gu Li suddenly felt a bad premonition. He couldn't understand why Su Xi dared to be so arrogant when facing death. He was certain that Su Xi had not used a body-substitution talisman.
However, Gu Li soon cast aside his unease.
All schemes and tricks were merely paper tigers in the face of absolute power.
With this conviction, Gu Li activated the God Slaying Furnace above his head, preparing to throw everyone into it and refine them into pills.
"Ah~"
Anyone touched by the red light was instantly pulled into the God Slaying Furnace, with crackling sounds and cries of agony.
However, the moment the red light fell upon Su Xi, it was as if it had struck empty space, having no effect whatsoever.
Su Xi looked at Gu Li before her, a hint of disdain in her eyes.
Did these methods truly intend to deal with her?
"What is going on?" Gu Li's eyes widened instantly.
In all his years, the God Slaying Furnace had refined many enemies, yet it had never failed to absorb someone. What could have gone wrong?
Daoist Changqing, who had been despairing, suddenly felt a surge of hope upon seeing that Su Xi still had trump cards up her sleeve.
He had painstakingly cultivated to the Golden Core stage and did not wish to die so soon. Now, Su Xi seemed to have given him hope of survival.
Su Xi looked at Gu Li's astonished expression, chuckled softly, and proactively inquired, "Are you curious why I am unharmed?"
Though Gu Li was unwilling to admit it, he nodded.
He had to understand what had happened to avoid making mistakes in the future.
Su Xi pointed behind Gu Li and said, "All of this, of course, is because of him."
"Him?" Gu Li followed Su Xi's gaze and turned around, immediately spotting Lin Qing standing not far behind him, smiling at him.
The moment he saw Lin Qing, Gu Li's face turned ashen.
The difference in cultivation between him and Lin Qing was like that of a firefly and the bright moon; a hundred of him couldn't defeat Lin Qing.
He couldn't comprehend why Lin Qing had appeared.
Lin Qing looked at Gu Li before him, shook his head, and said, "Since you enjoy crushing others with your cultivation, I will let you experience the joy of being crushed."
With that, Lin Qing's cultivation surged towards Gu Li, enveloping him instantly.
"Crack!"
But as soon as the God Slaying Furnace came into contact with Lin Qing's surging spiritual power, it shattered into countless pieces and vanished. Then, every bone in Gu Li's body was broken inch by inch, transforming him from Yao Ming into Wu Dalang.
Gu Li desperately tried to resist, but under Lin Qing's immense pressure, his resistance was futile. In just one exchange, he was severely injured.
Su Xi watched Lin Qing's actions, her desire for strength rekindling.
Might conquers all; with such formidable power, all other techniques were merely flashy routines. Unfortunately, she didn't know how much longer she had to cultivate.
Lin Qing's gaze fell coldly on Gu Li, who had only a breath left, and asked, "Why did you do this?"
If he hadn't appeared in time today, his beloved disciple would have lost her life. Furthermore, Penglai Mountain had recruited disciples before, but all of them had suffered harm without exception.
Therefore, he intended to use this opportunity to ascertain whether this was merely a coincidence or part of a larger scheme.
Gu Li spat out a mouthful of blood and began to laugh madly, "You can kill me, but you won't get any information from me."
Hearing Gu Li's words, Lin Qing's expression instantly changed. He realized Gu Li was preparing to self-detonate his Golden Core.
The Golden Core of a Golden Core stage cultivator not only stored more spiritual energy but also allowed for rapid physical regeneration. This meant that as long as the Golden Core remained, one possessed a second life.
However, it was clear that Gu Li had abandoned any hope of survival in order to conceal the truth.
As the locus of a cultivator's compressed spiritual energy, a Golden Core, upon self-detonation, would unleash power more than triple that of the cultivator's own realm, making its destructive force impossible to resist with any artifact.
Lin Qing understood Gu Li's intention and immediately tried to stop him before he could detonate his Golden Core. However, Gu Li's actions were too sudden, and he was fully channeling his power.
Therefore, despite Lin Qing's much higher cultivation, he was unable to intervene in time.
Seeing that it was beyond his power to prevent, Lin Qing could only separate his protective light barrier to shield Su Xi.
"Boom~"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a vast aura instantly radiated outwards from Gu Li in all directions.
Daoist Changqing, caught at the center of the explosion, looked at Lin Qing's favoritism with disbelief.
(⊙▽⊙"a)
He was also a junior, couldn't he help him?
However, as a Golden Core stage cultivator, he still had means of survival.
The explosion caused by Gu Li's Golden Core self-detonation was extraordinary, reducing an entire mountain to flat ground. The immense commotion quickly attracted others.
"What happened?" The enforcement team of the Five Great Immortal Mountains, seeing Su Xi and Lin Qing looking like they had escaped a refugee camp, prepared for combat.
"Nothing," Lin Qing said, shaking the dust off his clothes, returning to his original appearance.
Seeing Lin Qing, the enforcement team dared not ask further and turned to leave.
"Cough cough." Suddenly, Daoist Changqing poked his head out from the ruins, looking disheveled.
They were fine, but he had almost lost his life.
Even if he wasn't the protagonist, couldn't they show a little compassion and help him?