Qin Gucang was the name of the Qin Family Ancestor. He belonged to the generation four generations before Qin Huangtian. This name held no particular significance within the Qin family genealogy; it was merely mentioned in passing that he had disappeared during a training expedition long ago, never to be heard from again. He had long been presumed dead.
Ironically, this very individual, once overlooked by his own clan, returned to the Qin family over five hundred years later as a seventh-layer Divine Transformation powerhouse. It was precisely Qin Gucang's return that emboldened the Qin family to move decisively against the An family. An Xiyue's father had died at Qin Gucang's hands.
Before entering the sea, when An Xiyue met up with Lin Feng, she had mentioned escaping pursuit by the Qin family. However, it wasn't quite as she believed. At that time, there truly were no major experts from the Qin family stationed within Black Dragon City, allowing her initial escape. But soon after, Qin Gucang and Qin Huangtian, alerted to the news, tracked her down. These two old foxes, however, refrained from acting immediately because they intended to use her to lead them to the Blue Moon Sect ruins. With their cultivation level, shadowing An Xiyue undetected was effortless, so much so that even Lin Feng hadn't noticed their presence.
It wasn't until they ventured deep into the ocean, where the tracking distance shortened, that Lin Feng sensed something amiss. Finally, when a chance encounter with an early fifth-grade demon beast forced them to kill it, revealing their position to Lin Feng and Xiao Qiu, they hatched the plan to use the Hundred-Legged Blood Octopus to shake off their pursuers. Otherwise, those two might very well have followed Lin Feng and An Xiyue all the way to the Blue Moon Sect ruins, leading to a completely different chain of events.
Qin Gucang had also assumed he could follow Lin Feng's group straight to the ruins. Unexpectedly, he was intercepted midway by the Hundred-Legged Blood Octopus. That beast was at the ninth rank of the fifth grade, two levels higher than him. While this disparity might not have mattered much on land, they were deep underwater, on the creature's home turf. Not being a water-attribute cultivator, Qin Gucang's strength was severely restricted in this environment. The battle proved arduous, and he ultimately paid a significant price to shake off the tenacious beast.
But before Qin Gucang could even catch his breath, three cultivators appeared before him. He realized with a shock that he had been under observation the entire time he fought the Hundred-Legged Blood Octopus…
Naturally, another fierce battle ensued. And Lin Feng and An Xiyue arrived just in time to witness its climax.
...
Just as his enemies believed Qin Gucang was utterly spent, finally unleashing their strongest killing move to finish him off in one strike…
A cold sneer suddenly appeared at the corner of Qin Gucang's mouth. A piercing cold light erupted from his eyes. His previously feeble true essence exploded with power, surging to an utterly terrifying level in an instant. Unnoticed by anyone, his hands had already formed a complex seal, which he now thrust forward!
"HMMM..."
The seawater within a radius of several kilometers trembled violently. Qin Gucang's body seemed to transform into a golden sun. Innumerable golden rays of light instantly converged behind him, coalescing into a hundred-zhang tall Buddha's shadow. The Buddha shadow mirrored his posture, its hands also forming a seal. Before its palms, even more golden light gathered, forming a Swastika (卐) mark almost as large as Qin Gucang's own body.
This Swastika symbol, like a massive city wall, blocked Qin Gucang's front. It didn't move, but the blinding radiance emanating from it was like countless sharp golden swords. The onrushing blue dragon's head was instantly pulverized. The golden light didn't stop; it engulfed his three opponents.
"What?!" The Divine Transformation crone, caught directly in the attack, blanched instantly, her face a mask of terror. She desperately tried to form defensive seals, but it was too late. In her all-out effort to kill Qin Gucang, she had already dismissed her true essence battle armor. Reactivating it now was impossible!!
"AAARGH!!!" A blood-curdling shriek tore through the water as the old woman's figure was completely swallowed by the golden radiance.
"..." Far away, hidden behind the rocks and witnessing this dramatic reversal, Lin Feng couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He wasn't unfamiliar with this technique; he had seen Qin Huangtian use it not long ago. But comparing the power Qin Huangtian had mustered to what Qin Gucang had just unleashed was like comparing a child's toy to a divine artifact. Qin Huangtian's attempt had been an insult to the art itself. This... this is the true power a Heaven-grade technique should possess!
The state of blinding golden light lasted only a few breaths. As the radiance rapidly receded, revealing the battlefield once more, Lin Feng saw that the colossal Buddha shadow behind Qin Gucang had vanished. The Swastika symbol had mostly dissipated. Qin Gucang stood with his head lowered, his aura fluctuations settling into calmness. Opposite him, where the Divine Transformation crone had been, now lay only a mangled, bloody, and incomplete corpse...
"N-no... impossible!!"
A voice thick with terror rang out. It belonged to one of the two Nascent Soul cultivators who had accompanied the old woman. They had retreated a considerable distance earlier to avoid the backlash of her ultimate attack. Qin Gucang's technique had focused its overwhelming power almost entirely on the crone, allowing these two to narrowly escape immediate annihilation.
"Quick, let's get out of here!!" Compared to his companion, frozen in panic at the sudden turn of events, the other Nascent Soul cultivator reacted with chilling clarity. Grabbing his comrade's arm with a look of sheer terror, he decisively turned and fled.
Strangely, Qin Gucang offered no reaction to their escape. He remained motionless, as if dismissing the fleeing cultivators as unworthy insects, beneath his notice.
Only when the two Nascent Soul cultivators had vanished completely did Qin Gucang's body sway slightly. He raised his head, revealing a face completely drained of color. A flicker of relief crossed his eyes. He tried to force a cold smile, but instead, he choked, spurting a mouthful of bright red blood.
Slaying a seventh-layer Divine Transformation cultivator in a single strike looked indomitable and fierce, but the cost was immense. It had drained nearly all of Qin Gucang's remaining strength, leaving him temporarily incapacitated. Had it been otherwise, he would never have allowed those two Nascent Soul cultivators to escape.
…
Simultaneously, in the distance.
Watching Qin Gucang collect his enemy's storage ring and turn to leave, a flash of murderous intent ignited in Lin Feng's eyes. He suddenly shot out from his hiding place.
An Xiyue was still reeling from the shock of Qin Gucang's one-strike annihilation of his foe. Seeing Lin Feng dart out from under the Concealing Cloak startled her greatly. "You... what are you doing?!" she cried out urgently.
"What am I doing?" Lin Feng glanced back at An Xiyue, then turned his gaze towards the departing Qin Gucang, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Beating the drowning dog, of course..."
Before the words fully left his mouth, his figure blurred, transforming into a streak of blue light as he charged forward.
His target was already leaving. Using the Concealing Cloak would limit his speed, making it impossible to catch up. Moreover, Lin Feng had no confidence of remaining undetected at close range. Therefore, he abandoned stealth entirely, pursuing at his absolute maximum speed.
As he surged forward, he mobilized every ounce of his true essence. The Crimson Soul Flying Sword shot from his hand, his strange flames coiled protectively around his body, and his hands began weaving intricate seals...
...
"Huh?!"
Almost the instant Lin Feng burst forth, Qin Gucang spun around, his expression contorted with alarm. In his weakened state, he was like a startled bird, unable to maintain the composure befitting a Divine Transformation cultivator.
"Nascent Soul, first layer?" However, upon discerning the attacker's cultivation level, his tension eased considerably, replaced by bewilderment. Half a second later, understanding dawned. Someone else was hiding nearby, watching! Now, seeing me gravely injured, they think to seize the advantage!
"Truly overestimating yourself!!" Qin Gucang sneered inwardly. A tiger, even on the brink of death, has nothing to fear from a mere mouse. He channeled the minuscule amount of true essence he had just managed to recover into his right hand. A technique potent enough to kill an early Nascent Soul cultivator was ready in an instant.
"Eh?!" But as Lin Feng closed the distance, allowing Qin Gucang to clearly sense his aura, the old man froze, shock and doubt warring on his face. "It's him?!"
Seizing the split-second of Qin Gucang's stunned hesitation, Lin Feng, still hundreds of meters away, abruptly halted. His body surged with violently fluctuating true essence. A brilliant blue light erupted, coalescing into a crescent moon ten zhang in diameter...