Chapter 284: Want to test me? I’ll twist your head right off!

The most mysterious and terrifying existence in the Heavenly Demon Palace—the leader of the Heavenly Demon Shadow Guards!

This person was like a faceless shadow without a physical form, quietly standing in the center of the hall of the Hidden Sword Pavilion.

He did not emit any spiritual power fluctuations, but the surrounding light seemed to be forcibly swallowed up by him, and even the temperature dropped to freezing point.

"Swish!"

The very moment Gu Lan recognized his identity, that shadow moved!

There was no opening banter, nor any warning.

The shadow directly transformed into an extremely dim stream of light, so fast that even Divine Sense could hardly capture it.

An ink-black, lightless dagger, like a poisonous snake flicking its tongue, viciously slashed toward Gu Lan's throat!

This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless, completely aimed at killing with a single blow!

"Seeking death!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang, standing behind Gu Lan, let out an angry shout, fiercely raising the soul-locking whip in her hand, about to make a move to save him.

Meanwhile, Jiang Wanqing, who had kept her head down disguised as a maid, instantly condensed an extremely chilling, invisible Sword Qi at her fingertips beneath her wide sleeves.

As long as that dagger advanced another half-inch, even if it meant exposing her identity, she would slash this assassin with a single sword!

"Don't move!"

Gu Lan suddenly let out a low roar, stopping the two women's actions.

Facing this fatal assassination that was enough to instantly kill a Mid Golden Core Stage cultivator, Gu Lan not only did not draw the soul-devouring demon sword at his waist, but he didn't even take half a step back.

In his deep peach-blossom eyes, two dazzling purple-golden divine lights instantly burst forth!

"Hum—!"

The ten-pattern purple extreme golden core inside his Dantian shook violently.

"Playing sneak attacks with me? You're still a bit too green!"

Gu Lan sneered, his right hand shooting out like lightning.

Instead of blocking the dagger, with an extremely arrogant and unreasonable posture, he directly grabbed toward the illusory shadow behind the dagger!

"Bang!"

A muffled sound of flesh colliding exploded within the Hidden Sword Pavilion.

Amidst the shocked gazes of Saintess Ji Wushuang and Jiang Wanqing, that pitch-black dagger stopped dead in its tracks just half an inch away from Gu Lan's throat!

Because the shadow guard leader's neck was tightly locked by Gu Lan's large hand, which felt like an iron clamp, lifting his entire body straight up into mid-air!

"Ugh…"

The shadow guard leader let out a painful muffled groan, his eyes beneath his hood filled with incredulous horror.

What he cultivated was the Heavenly Demon Palace's top-tier Shadow Escape Assassination Technique, and even an early Nascent Soul Stage Elder could never see through his true form so easily, let alone pinch him by one hand like catching a chick!

The newly appointed Sword-Wielding Envoy before him possessed a strength and Divine Sense perception that were terrifyingly monstrous!

"Your speed is barely passable, but this strength isn't even qualified to scratch my back."

Gu Lan pinched the shadow guard leader's neck with one hand, a cruel arc hooking at the corner of his mouth as he suddenly exerted force with his hand!

"Crack, crack, crack…"

The shadow guard leader's cervical bones emitted a series of unbearable crisp cracks, as if they would be directly crushed by Gu Lan in the next second.

"Subordinate… Yingsha…"

The shadow guard leader squeezed out a few words with difficulty through his teeth, his hands not only failing to counterattack, but instead drooping down extremely obediently.

"Greetings… Lord Sword-Wielding Envoy! My lord… spare my life!"

Hearing these words, a flash of realization crossed the depths of Gu Lan's eyes.

He let out a cold snort and casually smashed the shadow guard leader heavily onto the hard floor like throwing away trash.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The shadow guard leader named Yingsha covered his neck, coughed violently on the ground a few times, then immediately flipped over and knelt properly, his attitude extremely respectful, lowering his head with even a trace of fanaticism.

"Yingsha, what are you going crazy for?!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang finally understood at this point that this wasn't an assassination at all, but a test!

She walked forward holding the soul-locking whip, furious.

"The Cult Master let him temporarily hold the heavenly demon token, yet you servant actually dared to draw your blade against him? Believe it or not, this palace will skin you alive right now!"

"Please calm your anger, Your Highness Saintess."

Yingsha knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse, but his tone exuded a morbid sense of certainty.

"The Heavenly Demon Shadow Guards only swear allegiance to the holder of the heavenly demon token. But… the premise is that this holder must be a strong person worthy of the heavenly demon token!"

Yingsha raised his head, looking at Gu Lan with fanatical eyes.

"If Lord Gu couldn't even take this strike from his subordinate just now, then he wouldn't be worthy of wielding supreme power on behalf of the Cult Master!"

"His subordinate would have directly killed him and taken back the heavenly demon token, lest the supreme power of the Holy Cult fall into the hands of good-for-nothing trash!"

"But now, my lord has proven himself with his strength. From this moment on, the three hundred elites of the Heavenly Demon Shadow Guards are willing to go through fire and water for my lord, dying ten thousand deaths without regret!"

Hearing this extremely bizarre and extreme logic made Gu Lan roll his eyes.

These madmen of the demonic cult indeed didn't have a single normal person among them.

They used their lives to test people at every turn; if he had reacted half a beat slower just now, he would already be a corpse!

However, getting an elite assassination unit directly under the Cult Master for free—this deal wasn't a loss!

"Alright, put away that nonsense of yours expressing loyalty."

Gu Lan strode over and sat down on the grand chair, looking down at Yingsha from a superior position.

"You sneaked into my Hidden Sword Pavilion in the middle of the night and played such a testing trick; you surely didn't do it because you were bored out of your mind and looking for abuse, right?"

"Speak, what happened outside?"

Yingsha's expression turned solemn as he immediately pulled out a black Jade Slip from his embrace, presenting it with both hands.

"My lord is truly brilliant and resourceful!"

"Just as the Cult Master announced entering a closed-door life-or-death seclusion, the Grand Elder's side could no longer hold back!"

"Just half an hour ago, the Grand Elder secretly contacted the three hall masters of the Blood Fiend Hall, Netherworld Hall, and Bone-Shattering Hall, as well as eighteen Elders with real power."

"Right now, they are secretly gathering inside Senluo Hall to discuss countermeasures!"

"According to the shadow guards' eavesdropping, they think that you, my lord, are merely a… male concubine who climbed up by flattering the Cult Master."

"They plan to launch a rebellion taking advantage of tonight's darkness, not only to strip you of your heavenly demon token, but also to lock you and Her Highness Saintess together into the Myriad Snake Cave!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere inside the Hidden Sword Pavilion instantly dropped to freezing point.

"What an audacious old bastard!"

Saintess Ji Wushuang was so angry that she lashed a whip against the pillar, blazing with fury.

"This palace knew that old dog didn't harbor any good intentions! After being taught a lesson by you in the public square during the day, he actually dared to gang up and plot a rebellion at night!"

"Dunderhead! Let's take people right now and flatten Senluo Hall! This palace wants to chop off that old dog's other hand with her own hands!"

Compared to Saintess Ji Wushuang's irritability, Gu Lan appeared extremely calm.

He took the black Jade Slip, casually playing with it in his hand, and the signature villainous smile at the corner of his mouth became even more brilliant.

"Rebellion? What a well-chosen word."

Gu Lan leaned back against the chair, a dangerous red glow flickering in his eyes.

"I was just worrying that having just taken over this heavenly demon token, I didn't have enough heads to establish my authority."

"This old bone is quite considerate, directly gathering all the disobedient thorns for me, saving me from having to catch them one by one."

Not far beside Gu Lan, Jiang Wanqing, who had kept her head down acting as a foot-washing maid, upon hearing Yingsha's intelligence, experienced a burst of extremely excited light erupting within her cold eyes beneath her hood!

"Junior Brother… is finally going to strike at the upper echelons of the demonic cult!"

Jiang Wanqing screamed wildly in her heart, so excited that her hands were trembling slightly.

"Grand Elder, three hall masters, eighteen power-wielding Elders! This occupies nearly half of the core combat strength of the Heavenly Demon Palace!"

"Junior Brother intentionally angered the Grand Elder during the day just to force them into desperation, gathering together to rebel!"

"Then he could use the name of suppressing the rebellion to rightfully wipe out all these Devil Heads in one net, thoroughly weakening the Foundation of the demonic cult!"

"A bloodless victory, using force to counter force! For the grand cause of the Righteous Path, Junior Brother not only sacrificed his reputation, but actually displayed such astonishing and earth-shattering strategy!"

"I must help him! Even if my spiritual power is sealed, I must cooperate with him in secret, and absolutely cannot let his painstaking efforts go to waste!"

Under Jiang Wanqing's invincible imagination filter, Gu Lan was at this moment simply a peerless grand hero who saved all living beings under heaven and whose calculations never missed.

She even quietly gripped the half-broken piece of porcelain hidden in her sleeve, determined that once the fight started later, even if she had to stab them with the porcelain piece, she would help Gu Lan stab a few demonic cultivators to death!

Gu Lan naturally didn't know that his glorious image had been elevated by several Mount Everests in Senior Sister's heart.

He stood up and grabbed the soul-devouring demon sword on the table, that arrogant and despotic vibe practically overflowing the screen.

"Yingsha."

"Subordinate is here!"

"Assemble the three hundred shadow guards under your command and surround Senluo Hall tightly for me! Don't even let a single fly carrying Devilish Qi escape!"

Gu Lan waved his big hand, reeking of Killing Intent.

"Since they didn't call me, the acting Cult Master, to their meeting in the middle of the night, we'll proactively pay them a visit and send them some 'grand gifts'!"

"Yes! Subordinate will go do it right now!"

Yingsha's eyes were filled with bloodthirsty fanaticism as he turned into a ball of black fog and instantly disappeared in place.

"Shuanger, let's go!"

Gu Lan turned to look at Saintess Ji Wushuang, raising an eyebrow, "Tonight I'll take you out to stretch your bones, and by the way, watch how this lord acts as the person in charge."

"Hmph, consider that you still have some conscience left and didn't leave this palace behind to act alone."

Saintess Ji Wushuang gave a proud huff, but her eyes were full of excitement.

She loved following Gu Lan in doing such exhilarating things as crashing places and stepping on people.

"You, stay in the room and don't go anywhere."

Right before leaving the door, Gu Lan turned his head to give Jiang Wanqing a cold glance, deliberately putting on a fierce and vicious appearance.

"When I come back after finishing my business, if even the foot-washing water hasn't been boiled well, watch out for your skin!"

With that, he took Saintess Ji Wushuang and strode out of the Hidden Sword Pavilion.

Looking at the tightly closed door, Jiang Wanqing not only did not feel humiliated for being ordered around like a servant, but instead let out a long breath of relief, her eyes filled with a touching, gentle glow.

"Junior Brother… he did this because he was afraid I would be in danger, so he deliberately used harsh words to keep me here in the safest Hidden Sword Pavilion!"

"Go ahead with your mind at ease, Junior Brother. I will definitely make foolproof preparations and wait for your triumphant return!"

Jiang Wanqing took a deep breath and began searching the Hidden Sword Pavilion for any defensive Magical Artifacts and healing Medicinal Pills that could be utilized.

Heavenly Demon Palace, Senluo Hall.

This grand hall, usually used to discuss secrets within the cult, had its doors tightly shut at this moment, and soundproofing barriers were cast all around.

Inside the grand hall, the Grand Elder, who had lost a hand, sat in the primary seat, his expression as gloomy as if water could drip from it.

Below him sat three demonic cult hall masters full of Evil Qi, as well as eighteen power-wielding Elders with considerable influence within the cult.

"Grand Elder, say something! What on earth should we do?"

The master of the Blood Fiend Hall was a bald man with a fierce face.

He slammed a palm onto the table, making the teacups rattle noisily.

"That pretty boy named Gu Lan is simply shitting right on our necks! During the day, in order to establish his authority, he actually kicked two deputy hall masters of the Netherworld Hall to death! This is completely disregarding us old brothers!"

"That's right!"

Another Elder also stood up with righteous indignation.

"The Cult Master must have been bewitched by his good looks! To actually hand over the heavenly demon token, which symbolizes supreme power, to a Righteous Path traitor who had just joined the cult not long ago!"

"If we let him mess around like this, sooner or later, us veteran subjects who followed the Cult Master to conquer the world will be slaughtered clean by him!"

Listening to everyone's complaints, a venomous light flickered in the Grand Elder's single eye.

"Brothers, calm down and do not be impatient."

The Grand Elder slowly stood up, pressing down on the scene with his only remaining left hand.

"The Cult Master has now entered a life-or-death seclusion to charge at the Void Refining Realm, and will never come out of seclusion unless it is a matter of life and death."

"This is precisely the prime opportunity for us to purge the ruler's side!"

A cruel and ferocious light burst forth from the Grand Elder's eyes.

"Although that kid has formed a Purple Extreme Golden Core, in this old man's view, he is merely outwardly strong but inwardly weak!"

"As long as we join forces tonight, we will storm into the Hidden Sword Pavilion with lightning speed, hack him to death with random blades, and take back the heavenly demon token!"

"By then, the rice will have been cooked."

"After the Cult Master comes out of seclusion, could it be that he would kill so many of us loyal veterans for a dead male concubine?!"

Hearing this, everyone's eyes instantly lit up, and they responded one after another.

"The Grand Elder speaks with reason!"

"Kill him! Take back the heavenly demon token!"

"I'm going to use his head as a nightstool!"

Just as the rebellious atmosphere inside the grand hall reached its absolute climax, and everyone was about to smear blood on their lips to form an alliance and take action immediately, "Rumble—!!!"

an earth-shattering loud sound, like thunder from the Nine Heavens, exploded directly at the doorway of Senluo Hall!

That thick profound iron heavy door, which was reputed to be unbreakable even by Nascent Soul Stage masters with ease, was actually kicked in half by someone using extreme barbarian violence, flying backward into the grand hall like two pieces of scrap metal!

"Bang! Bang!"

The two giant iron doors heavily smashed onto the ground, stirring up dust all over the sky.

All the demonic cultivators inside the grand hall were stunned in place by this sudden turn of events.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a slender and upright black figure, carrying a dark red soul-devouring demon sword on his shoulder, stepped in from outside the shattered door step by step, as if stepping to the rhythm of the God of Death.

"You old fellows sure are having a lively chat in the middle of the night."

Gu Lan wore his signature, malevolently cold smile at the corner of his mouth, his gaze sweeping across the terrified crowd inside the grand hall like blades.

"I heard you all want to use this seat's head as a nightstool?"

"Come, this seat has now delivered it to your door personally."

Gu Lan slammed the soul-devouring sword down onto the ground, producing a deafening hum.

"Whoever wants to be the first bird to stick its head out, feel free to step forward and meet your death!"