Chapter 286: Looting Coins Everywhere, Senior Sister’s Overthinking Upgraded Yet Again!

"What did you just say? You wanted to use my head as a nightstool?"

"Now, how many nightstools do you think your head is enough to make for me?"

Gu Lan wore heavy black-and-gold battle boots, and the soles of his boots ruthlessly crushed the old, wrinkled, and terrified Face of the Grand Elder. With a slight application of force beneath his feet, a teeth-setting sound of bone fracturing clearly echoed inside the silent grand hall.

"Ah—–!!!"

The Grand Elder let out a miserable scream like a slaughtered pig, his nasal bone directly crushed to pieces by Gu Lan, and blood mixed with snot and tears smeared all over his Face.

"Lord… Lord Gu! Grandpa Gu, spare my life!"

The Grand Elder, who had been arrogant just moments ago and clamoring to seize the heavenly demon token, was now like a stray dog with a broken spine. His left shoulder, pinned ruthlessly to the coiled-dragon pillar by the soul-devouring sword, ached to the bone, but he didn't even have the strength to struggle, only able to desperately squeeze out sounds for mercy from his throat.

"This old man was momentarily confused! I was bewitched by those hall masters!"

"Even if this old man has no great achievements in the Sacred Cult, I have suffered through hard work. I beg you, for the sake of the Cult Leader's Face, to release this old man like letting go of a fart! In the future, this old man will be a beast of burden for you with absolute loyalty!"

Crying out, the Grand Elder tried to use his remaining right hand to grab Gu Lan's trouser legs.

"A beast of burden?"

Gu Lan sneered, his eyes filled with utter disgust as if looking at garbage.

"I find your old bones too twiggy and prickly!"

"Also, don't try to pressure me with the Cult Leader. If the Cult Leader finds out you led a rebellion in the middle of the night, she would probably personally peel off your skin to make a human-skin lantern."

Gu Lan unhurriedly pulled out the soul-devouring sword stabbed into the Grand Elder's shoulder.

"Puchi!"

"Ah—!"

The moment the sword was pulled out, a stream of dark blood gushed forth. The Grand Elder convulsed violently in pain, but before he could even catch his breath, Gu Lan's sword edge was already coldly pressed against his neck.

"In your next life, remember to keep your eyes open wider. Don't dare to target just anyone."

Gu Lan's eyes turned fierce, and without any hesitation, he abruptly waved his wrist!

"Swish!"

A dark purple sword radiance flashed past.

The Grand Elder's head, covered in white hair and with eyes still retaining extreme terror, directly soared into the sky, tracing a blood-colored parabola in mid-air, and finally rolled with a gurgling sound to the side of the door of Senluo Hall.

That headless corpse gushed out a pillar of blood, then limply slid down beneath the coiled-dragon pillar.

The Grand Elder, an Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator and a powerful faction leader of the Demonic Cult second only to one person and above tens of thousands.

Dead!

"Hoo—"

Gu Lan casually shook the soul-devouring sword, flicking the dark blood on the blade onto the ground.

He turned his head and looked elsewhere inside the grand hall.

At this time, the massacre inside the grand hall was also nearing its end.

The Heavenly Demon Shadow Guards truly lived up to their reputation as the Demonic Cult's most terrifying killing machines; hundreds of shadow guards dealing with over twenty Elders and hall masters whose guts had long been frightened out of them was simply a one-sided mowing.

"Thump!"

The last Elder attempting to resist had his throat slit by a dagger from Yingsha, and his corpse fell stiffly into the pool of blood.

"Reporting to the Sword-Wielding Envoy!"

Dressed entirely in black, Yingsha appeared before Gu Lan like a ghost, kneeling on one knee with a cold voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"Three hall masters and eighteen Elders have all been executed! Not a single living soul was left!"

"Well done."

Gu Lan nodded in satisfaction.

Looking at the corpses and blood covering the ground, not only did he feel no discomfort whatsoever, but instead felt deeply refreshed.

In the Immortal Realm, especially in a bone-eating place like the Demonic Cult, mercy was the greatest cruelty to oneself. Since these old fellows wanted to kill him, they had to be prepared to be counter-killed.

"Wash the floor clean; don't waste the vital Qi and blood all over the ground, drag them out to feed the Demonic Beasts raised by the Cult Leader."

While giving casual instructions, Gu Lan unceremoniously squatted down and began looting corpses from this group of dead ghosts.

These were the actual high-ranking figures of the Demonic Cult! The oil and fat on each of them was definitely dripping rich!

With extremely practiced movements, Gu Lan stripped the ancient-looking storage ring off the Grand Elder's hand, then walked over to the bald hall master whom he had smashed into a pulp of meat, using the tip of his sword to flick out the Storage Pouch at his waist.

Over twenty Advanced magical storage treasures piled up in front of Gu Lan, looking simply like a small, glittering mountain of gold.

"I've struck it rich! This wave of mine definitely dropped massive gold coins!"

Gu Lan's eyes shone brightly, and he immediately split off a wisp of Divine Sense to probe into the Grand Elder's storage ring.

"Holy shit!"

With just one glance, Gu Lan couldn't help cursing out loud.

This old thing, the Grand Elder, is truly fucking greedy!

The space inside the storage ring was outrageously large, packed with mountains of Top-Grade Spirit Stone, various high-tier Medicinal Pills exuding rich medicinal fragrance, as well as hundreds or thousands of Demonic Cult Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals and top-grade Magical Artifacts.

Gu Lan unceremoniously transferred all these items into his own private storage ring, and his purse instantly bulged.

Just as he was about to throw away the Grand Elder's empty ring, he discovered a black Jade Slip wrapped in heavy Restrictions in the deepest corner of the ring.

"Hmm? What kind of thing is hidden so tightly?"

Gu Lan raised an eyebrow, casually using True Qi to forcefully break through that layer of Restriction, and pressed the Jade Slip against his forehead.

A massive amount of information instantly flooded into his mind.

A moment later, Gu Lan abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of extreme shock passing deep within his pupils.

This turned out to be a secret letter!

A pledge of allegiance written by the Grand Elder to the Righteous Alliance, or rather, to the four major Sects of the Righteous Path!

The contents of the letter were very simple: the Grand Elder had long been dissatisfied with Ye Hongzhuang's tyrannical rule, and he had secretly contacted high-ranking figures of the Righteous Path, preparing to launch a coup to seize power tonight. Once he successfully captured control of Heavenly Demon Palace, he would actively close the mountain-guarding grand array, letting the Righteous Path army drive straight in and completely annihilate Ye Hongzhuang's direct forces.

In exchange, the Righteous Alliance would acknowledge his status as the new master of the Demonic Cult and carve out a territory rich in Spiritual Veins for him as his fiefdom.

"Good fellow……"

Gu Lan drew in a breath of cold air.

"No wonder this old thing dared to jump out and rebel at this time; it turns out he had already found a backing outside! This is fucking colluding with foreign enemies and betraying the cult!"

Gu Lan looked at the Jade Slip in his hand, the sneer at the corner of his mouth growing even more intense.

"These so-called famous Righteous Sects are full of benevolence and morality on the surface, eliminating demons and defending the Dao, yet behind the scenes they actually make such dirty deals with Demonic Cult traitors."

"For the sake of interests, they can even cooperate with Devil Heads who kill without blinking an eye. They are truly fucking hypocritical!"

Just as Gu Lan was holding the Jade Slip and sneering.

A slightly hurried set of footsteps came from outside the grand hall.

Only to see Jiang Wanqing draped in that gray coarse cloth cloak, having run over from goodness-knows-where. She had previously been ordered by Gu Lan to stay in Hidden Sword Pavilion, but hearing the commotion here was simply too loud, she ultimately couldn't resist following over.

The moment she walked to the entrance of the grand hall, she saw the scattered corpses and broken limbs all over the floor, as well as Gu Lan standing in the pool of blood with a black Jade Slip in hand, sneering.

The intense smell of blood made Jiang Wanqing frown slightly.

But her gaze was fixed tightly on Gu Lan.

"Junior Brother……"

Jiang Wanqing walked quickly to Gu Lan's side, her tone carrying undisguised worry.

"You're not hurt, right? These Demonic Cultivators……"

"I'm fine."

Gu Lan turned his head, looking at her nervous appearance. His eyes rolled, and he casually handed over the black Jade Slip he had just searched out.

"You came just in time, take a look at this."

Jiang Wanqing perplexedly took the Jade Slip and swept her Divine Sense across it.

The next second, her complexion instantly turned deathly pale, and an incredulous shock and anger suddenly erupted within her cool, clear eyes.

"This… This is a secret letter of the Grand Elder colluding with the Righteous Alliance?!"

Jiang Wanqing's hand holding the Jade Slip was trembling slightly.

"The Righteous Alliance…… actually secretly trades with such teacher-betraying, ancestor-destroying Demonic Path traitors? How could they do such a thing that violates morality?!"

The education she received since childhood was that righteousness and evil cannot coexist, and demons must be exterminated to the utmost. But now, this secret letter was like a resounding slap, fiercely striking against her faith.

"Very surprised?"

Gu Lan crossed his arms, looking down at her from above, his tone revealing an indifference that had seen through the secular world.

"All the hustle and bustle of the world is for the sake of profit; all the commotion of the world is for the sake of profit. Those hypocrites of yours in the Righteous Path who are full of benevolence and morality, what low-handed methods wouldn't they use to completely eradicate dissidents?"

Gu Lan's words were like a sharp knife, ruthlessly puncturing the last shred of fantasy in Jiang Wanqing's heart.

But immediately after, inside Jiang Wanqing's mind, that invincible overthinking filter began to spin frantically once again!

"Junior Brother he…… just suppressed this rebellion with thunderous means and killed the Grand Elder……"

"Others thought he was fighting for power and profit, ruthlessly eliminating dissidents!"

"Yet in reality, he was preventing a conspiracy that would plunge living beings into misery!"

Looking at the corpses all over the ground, Jiang Wanqing's eye sockets instantly reddened, and tears swirled at the bottom of her eyes.

"If the Grand Elder's conspiracy succeeded and the Righteous Alliance army slaughtered its way into Heavenly Demon Palace, this place would definitely turn into a Shura Hell! By then, not only would Demonic Cult members suffer countless casualties, but Righteous Path Disciples would also undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties!"

"Junior Brother had long seen through all of this! He would rather his hands be stained with blood, and rather bear the infamy of being brutal and bloodthirsty, just to personally sever the Grand Elder, the chief culprit, and forcefully strangle this upcoming storm of blood and wind in its cradle!"

"He is using his own way, in the boundless darkness, to silently protect the peace of this world!"

Thinking of this, the look Jiang Wanqing gave Gu Lan had completely changed.

That was no longer pure adoration and heartache, but an ultimate worship and fanaticism akin to looking up at a towering mountain!

"Master……"

Jiang Wanqing suddenly and without warning dropped to her knees, tightly hugging Gu Lan's lower leg with both hands, pressing her Face against his knee, her voice trembling violently due to extreme emotion.

"This maid understands…… This maid understands everything……"

"You have suffered a grievance! Everything you bear, this maid will not be able to repay you in this lifetime even with utmost devotion!"

Gu Lan was made stiff all over by her sudden kneeling and cheesy lines, breaking out in goosebumps all over his body.

Holy shit!

What earth-shattering and ghost-weeping plot is this woman overthinking again?!

I simply engaged in a black-market dog-eat-dog scenario to loot some coins, how did it become suffering a grievance as grand as the heavens in your mouth?!

"Ahem…… Get up quickly; the ground is full of blood, it's filthy."

Gu Lan hurriedly reached out to pull her up.

However, the moment Gu Lan bent down.

"Rumble—–!!!"

The ground of the entire Heavenly Demon Palace suddenly erupted with a tremor so violent it reached an extreme!

This tremor did not come from an earthquake beneath the earth, but from a terrifying attack from the outside!

Immediately following, a piercing alarm sound shattered the night sky of Heavenly Demon Palace.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"The Righteous Alliance army is attacking the mountain gate! The mountain-guarding grand array is suffering fierce attacks!"

The exclamations outside rose and fell in succession, clearly transmitting in through the shattered doors of the grand hall.

Gu Lan's complexion instantly changed, and he pulled Jiang Wanqing up from the ground, turning his head to look in the direction of the mountain gate.

Through the night sky outside the grand hall, it could be clearly seen that outside Heavenly Demon Palace's thick black mountain-guarding grand array, it was already brilliant with spiritual light and soaring Killing Intent. Tens of thousands of Righteous Path Cultivators, manipulating Flying Swords and magical treasures filling the sky, were crazily bombarding the array's barrier like a tidal wave.

Although the Grand Elder was dead, the Righteous Alliance army he lured over had already killed its way to their doorstep in solid reality!

"It seems these Righteous hypocrites came prepared, having calculated to make a move tonight."

Gu Lan tightened his grip on the soul-devouring sword in his hand, the Purple Extreme Golden Core roaring into motion within his Dantian, and a violent Battle Intent rose from the depths of his eyes.

"Since they delivered themselves to their deaths at my door, I might as well loosen up my muscles and bones today!"

Gu Lan turned his head, looking at the worry-filled Jiang Wanqing, a bloodthirsty, wicked smile hooking at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's go! Come outside with me and play!"