Chapter 142 Slaughtering Dan Peak, the Ruthless and Decisive Luo Li
Fu Annian took two slaps in a row, his head buzzing as he stood there completely dazed.
He knew he had embarrassed Fu Youcai. He had no talent for cultivation, no talent for alchemy, looked like a giant potato, and had no neck at all.
But was that not inherited from Fu Youcai?
"Fatty, calm down. Listen to what actually happened first."
Lin Xuan's lips curved slightly. He found Fu Youcai and his son amusing. Their bickering revealed genuine familial affection.
Not like those cultivators who only pressured their offspring's cultivation, acting like emotionless strangers.
Hearing this, Fu Youcai barked, "You unfilial brat, hurry and thank your martial uncle!"
Fu Annian snapped back to awareness and scrambled up from the ground. "Thank you, Martial Uncle, for speaking up for me."
Lin Xuan gave a slight nod. He looked at the giant potato before him, deep in thought.
He had a disciple-acceptance system. Whenever he took in a prodigy, he would receive various rewards.
He could even obtain up to ten thousandfold returns on his disciple's cultivation.
Everyone saw Fu Annian as utterly useless.
But after a system scan, Fu Annian was revealed to be a prodigy with an unawakened special constitution, possessing five-star talent and the potential of a Pill God.
He had simply practiced a cultivation method incompatible with his physique, preventing his awakening.
Lin Xuan still looked down on Fu Annian, but he needed Fu Youcai's full support right now.
Only by accepting Fu Annian could Fu Youcai devote himself completely to helping him use his connections and secure his foothold in the Star Temple.
Just as Lin Xuan was about to speak and accept him as a disciple, Fu Annian suddenly slapped his forehead and shouted.
"Dad, it's bad! Luo Li brought her followers to our Dan Peak and is killing everyone she sees…"
"What?"
Fu Youcai felt as if struck by lightning.
The alchemists of Dan Peak were not strong. Other than him, the highest cultivation among the elders was merely King Realm.
But they were alchemists with extraordinary status and the core of the sect.
How was Luo Li bold enough to do this?
Had she gone mad?
Or was Fu Annian exaggerating?
"It's true…"
Fu Annian stomped anxiously, his fat trembling.
At first, he did not believe it either. He assumed Luo Li was just boasting and even mocked her a few times.
But Luo Li simply asked one calm question: Why is your Dan Peak not giving me spiritual pills?
Once he answered her, she immediately attacked. If not for the holy artifact and the teleportation talisman Fu Annian possessed, he would already be a smear of flesh under Luo Li's palm.
"Damn it…"
Fu Youcai exploded with rage, his eyes turning blood-red.
Moments ago he had thought Gu Qing did not dare harm his people. The slap to the face came too fast.
Gu Qing not only dared—he dared too much.
He directly let Luo Li massacre the entire Dan Peak.
Gu Qing was even more deranged than Zhi Meng.
Meanwhile, upon receiving the news, Gu Qing flashed over to Dan Peak.
The place that once resembled an immortal paradise was now thick with the stench of blood, with faint red mist drifting in the air.
"Junior Sister, I…" Gu Qing faltered.
He had told Luo Li to kill Fu Youcai's disciples, but never instructed her to annihilate Dan Peak.
This had gone too far.
Luo Li's followers stood behind her trembling violently.
Their minds were filled with countless curses.
They felt finished.
Even gods could not save them now.
"Senior Brother, rest assured. I have my own judgment."
Luo Li's cold and imperious beauty revealed a faint smile, blooming like a celestial flower—beautiful and transcendent.
Wearing a phoenix coronet and a luxurious gown, her graceful figure was perfectly outlined. Her every movement carried innate nobility, as if she were a divine being.
"What judgment?" Gu Qing felt helpless. He had no idea how to explain this to Jiang Yu now that such a disaster had been created.
"Senior Brother, I originally intended to kill Fu Youcai's disciples. Who knew Dan Peak would bring ruin upon itself by refusing to provide us spiritual pills? I suspected Dan Peak of betrayal. Tell me, should they not die?"
Seeing Gu Qing's exasperated look, Luo Li felt quite pleased. Her fiery red lips curved slightly as she spoke slowly.
When she heard this news, she had been speechless.
Did Fu Youcai truly treat Dan Peak as his private property?
And those elders—were their brains broken, following Fu Youcai blindly?
Since that was the case, Luo Li had no interest in scheming. She simply killed her way in.
And while she was at it, she might as well erase Dan Peak entirely to eliminate future trouble.
After all, alchemists had wide networks. The feud was already formed. What if they invited a powerhouse to seek revenge?
"Is that so?" Gu Qing paused, then laughed aloud. "A calamity from heaven can be survived; a calamity you create yourself cannot."
Fu Youcai had clearly been peak master for too long; he no longer understood the hierarchy of authority.
Although he had never taken a single spiritual pill from Dan Peak, and never would in the future, that was his personal choice.
Perhaps precisely because of that, Fu Youcai felt severing the supply mattered little.
But whether he needed the pills was one matter; whether Dan Peak was allowed to refuse them was another.
By doing this, Fu Youcai was provoking the temple's rules. If he died because of it, it would be in vain.
"Well done," Gu Qing praised.
Leaving matters to a villain was indeed the correct choice.
After this episode caused by Luo Li, he wanted to see who else with no eyes dared side with Lin Xuan.
One could say Luo Li had completely cut off Lin Xuan's path forward.
"Of course."
Luo Li raised her small face proudly like a young phoenix.
Wang Fan and the others were stunned by their conversation.
In any sect, alchemists were treated like ancestors, revered by all.
Yet in Gu Qing's and Luo Li's words, they were reduced to disposable lackeys.
Could Gu Qing really dominate the Star Temple with impunity?
"Demon spawn, return my disciples' lives…"
Fu Youcai's roar shook the entire Star Temple.
Countless elders cast their gazes over, wanting to see what had provoked such rage.
The moment Fu Youcai triggered the Dan Peak formation and saw the scene inside, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
An entire Dan Peak—tens of thousands of disciples and servant disciples, along with many elders—was completely dead.
"Calm yourself!"
The Star Temple's great elder, Yang Maosheng, shouted. His peak Saint Realm cultivation burst forth as he shielded Gu Qing and the others.
Gazing at the furious Fu Youcai, he spoke gravely. "There must be a misunderstanding. Speak properly. Harmony is most precious."
Harmony?
His entire Dan Peak was nearly wiped out—how was he supposed to value harmony?
Fu Youcai was consumed by rage, killing intent surging, but the moment he met Yang Maosheng's icy gaze, his fury paused. Gritting his teeth, he roared,
"Gu Qing, Luo Li, why did you slaughter my Dan Peak? Do you still recognize the temple's rules?"
Gu Qing sneered. "That question should be mine. Cutting off the supply of spiritual pills—was that dissatisfaction toward me? Or toward my master? Or have you already betrayed us?"
The chain of three sharp questions hit Fu Youcai like ice water.
Only then did he realize how severe the consequences of cutting off the pill supply were.
Leaving Gu Qing aside, Zhi Meng was a divine maiden. Her status surpassed even the temple lord, comparable to the ancestor.
Cutting off pills to Gu Qing and the others was practically rebellion.
But…
Zhi Meng's disciples were all monstrous talents who did not need spiritual pills for cultivation.
Moreover, Gu Qing himself was a ninth-grade alchemy master. Why would he ever need Dan Peak's pills?
For this reason, Fu Youcai thought his action was harmless.
He never imagined Gu Qing was this ruthless—slaughtering Dan Peak outright. It was lawless.
"Gu Qing, this was merely Fatty acting on impulse. Even if he erred, the Enforcement Hall should be the one to judge him. What does it have to do with you?"
Lin Xuan stood suspended in the air, hands behind his back, his snow-white robes fluttering without wind, elegant and aloof.
His cold gaze locked onto Gu Qing, and beneath the calm tone hid a trace of satisfaction.
Now he refused to believe Jiang Yu would still shield Gu Qing.
Even if she did, the temple elders would not agree.
After all, spiritual pills concerned the disciples' cultivation. Gu Qing was effectively cutting off their path of advancement.
"Not so."
Gu Qing's tone rang like metal. "Fu Youcai's actions are equivalent to rebellion. Anyone may kill such a traitor."
Lin Xuan's mouth twitched. He always prided himself on his unbeatable skill in verbal combat, often provoking others to vomit blood.
But against Gu Qing, he was completely outmatched.
It was suffocating.
"Elder Chen, Fu Youcai and his son have ignored the temple rules and attempted to overturn the temple. What are you waiting for?"
Gu Qing turned toward the Enforcement Hall elder.
Chen Hekun's old face twitched.
No one here was a fool. A fool could not become an elder.
Except Fu Youcai.
By now, it was obvious this was a struggle between Lin Xuan and Zhi Meng.
Fu Youcai, that idiot, was the first to pick a side—and the first to get sacrificed.
This instantly extinguished the goodwill some elders had held toward Lin Xuan.
The clash between Lin Xuan and Zhi Meng was not something they could participate in. One mistake meant death, their millennia of cultivation turning to dust.
Thinking this, Chen Hekun transmitted a message to Gu Qing.
"We can capture the father and son, but what about future spiritual pills?"
He practically had "Are you going to compensate for the temple's loss?" written on his face.
Gu Qing pondered briefly before replying, "We can just invite more alchemists. Do you think our Star Temple lacks the ability to recruit them?"
The Star Temple's prestige was unmatched. Once word spread, alchemists would compete to join.
Moreover, the temple was not heavily dependent on spiritual pills.
The true disciples and personal disciples all possessed extraordinary talent.
Spiritual pills carried pill toxins, so they used natural treasures instead.
Only ordinary disciples and servant disciples occasionally exchanged one or two pills to break through bottlenecks or strengthen their bodies.
Thus alchemists were not essential to the Star Temple. Even eliminating them did not harm its foundation.
"Fine."
Chen Hekun hesitated, his expression twisted, as if constipated, reluctantly agreeing.
So Gu Qing caused this enormous disaster yet paid no price, leaving everything for them to clean up.
Were they supposed to reward him next for restoring order?
The more Chen Hekun thought about it, the more suffocated he felt.
"Fu Youcai, you attempted rebellion. The evidence is conclusive. Will you resist, or will you surrender?"
Chen Hekun's expression turned stern. His voice thundered like a great bell, his peak Saint Realm cultivation erupting. Laws surged like oceans, divine might pressing like a prison.
Hearing this, Fu Youcai and his son were struck as if by lightning, frozen in place as fear spread through their hearts.
They already understood. Regardless of right or wrong, the Star Temple had decided to abandon them.
"Brother Xuan, what do we do? Brother Xuan, you must save me…"
Fu Youcai regretted everything. Had he known Gu Qing was this vicious and decisive, he would never have cut off the pill supply.
A moment of impulse now demanded his entire family's lives.
Lin Xuan was his last lifeline.
Lin Xuan: …
You ask me—so who am I supposed to ask?
He had no idea what to do either.
He could not suddenly turn hostile and declare war on the Star Temple, could he?
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