Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

Gu Chen swiftly killed the three Sacred Land elders from Burning Heaven Valley, Mount Tianzhu, and the Vault of Sky Sword Sect, then he rushed into Tiandu's dungeon, heading straight for the ninth level.

The dungeon of Da Xia had a total of ten levels, with the bottommost reserved for those sentenced to death, in conditions most grim. The fact that King Huai had locked Gu Chen's second uncle, Gu Chengfeng, and his family on the ninth level spoke volumes of his intentions.

Along the way, not a soul in the dungeon dared to stop him. Gu Chen, radiating murderous intent, caused the jailers who saw him to tremble with fear.

Soon, Gu Chen arrived at the ninth level of the dungeon. Looking at the dark, damp, and icy cells, his brows furrowed as he searched for his uncle's family.

However, after a thorough search, he found nothing, not a single person; they had all disappeared without a trace.

"Where is my uncle's family?!" Gu Chen exploded with fury, grabbing hold of a jailer with a terrifyingly icy gaze, as ghastly as hell itself, causing the man to start trembling.

"Speak!" Gu Chen demanded sharply, nearly grinding his teeth to dust with rage, his gaze fierce as a wild beast's.

Shaking with fright, the jailer, seeing Gu Chen's demeanor, seemed almost ready to cry, stuttering, "I... I don't know... Some people came and took them away not long ago..."

His whole body was shaking, dreading that Gu Chen might snuff out his life on a whim.

Fortunately for the jailer, Gu Chen did not kill him; with a casual flick, he was thrown away like trash, landing in the distance.

"Ji Xuanjing!" Gu Chen's eyes turned icy. He knew he'd been outplayed; King Huai had anticipated his arrival at the dungeon and had moved his people out in advance.

Strike while the iron is hot, for vigor wanes with delay, and strength depletes by the third effort. King Huai, a rare talent in statecraft, deeply understood this principle.

He was whittling down Gu Chen's morale and testing his strength.

But to Gu Chen, such tactics were pointless; they only served to intensify the surge of rage and murderous intent towards King Huai.

Still, Gu Chen remained calm, not allowing his anger to cloud his judgment — perhaps another outcome King Huai wished to provoke.

"I won't let you succeed. I will take back everything with my own hands," Gu Chen said coldly, never before feeling such anger or such a desire to kill.

In fact, King Huai had succeeded in elevating Gu Chen's emotions to their zenith.

Whoosh!

In the next moment, a blur of light and shadow flickered as Gu Chen vanished from the dungeon, speeding towards the imperial palace.

He knew King Huai would surely be waiting for him there.

While on his way to the palace, Gu Chen's keen senses detected an unusual presence. With a quick leap and turn of his gaze, a stunningly beautiful figure flashed by.

"Hmm?!"

Gu Chen was shocked; when he looked closely in that direction again, there was nothing there.

"She's in Tiandu too?"

Thinking of the mysterious woman, Gu Chen couldn't help but feel wary, as she was too unpredictable, and even now, Gu Chen was not confident in confronting her.

"Has she joined forces with King Huai too?"

Considering that possibility, Gu Chen's brows knitted together, yet his resolve was unshaken as he continued his rush toward the imperial palace.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Tiandu were abuzz with confusion; they had no idea what had transpired.

How could Tiandu, peaceful for so many years, suddenly be in turmoil?

"Marquis of Wuan publicly executed someone; could it really be that he intends to rebel against Da Xia?"

"Are you blind? Didn't you see that those were people from the six Sacred Lands? How could Marquis of Wuan's killing them be considered betrayal?"

"The six Sacred Lands? What are they doing in Tiandu?"

With his extraordinary hearing, Gu Chen caught all these murmurs, but he ignored them completely; he wanted nothing but was consumed with a fierce desire for vengeance.

He was intent on killing.

By the time Gu Chen reached the imperial palace, he found that quite a crowd of citizens had already gathered.

Beyond them stood civil and military officials, aristocrats, and representatives from the six Sacred Lands and various exceptional beings from the upper realms. They all looked at Gu Chen with disdainful eyes, assuming he had come to his death.

Clearly, everyone there believed Gu Chen was on a suicide mission.

"Gu Chen, I have been waiting for you for quite some time," King Huai emerged, standing in the distance, gazing at Gu Chen with murderous intent hiding in his pupils.

Upon seeing King Huai, Gu Chen barely managed to restrain himself, almost rushing over to slay him on the spot. Suppressing the raging kill intent inside, he responded coolly, "Waiting for me to send you on your way?"

The citizens nearby were taken aback by the standoffish exchange between Gu Chen and King Huai, their minds reeling from the confrontation.

To the citizens, both Gu Chen and King Huai were pillars of Da Xia, having made enormous contributions to the kingdom. Why had they turned against each other?

"Gu Chen, you have betrayed Da Xia and secretly aligned with the demonic sects. The new emperor, Emperor Ji Yuan, is in cahoots with you, and his treachery has now been exposed by His Highness. If you have a shred of conscience left, surrender yourself now!" An eminent official stepped forward, accusing Gu Chen righteously, heaping baseless charges upon him.

These words caused a great uproar.

"What?! Has Marquis of Wuan really betrayed Da Xia?!"

"Impossible, I don't believe it. Marquis of Wuan wouldn't do such a thing!"