"Ha ha ha! Kid, where do you think you're going?" barked a voice, one of the cultivators from Burning Blaze Ancient Sect. His derisive laughter echoed across the space.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Dont be so hasty to kill him. Lets toy with him a bit first," another cultivator added, his words laced with sinister amusement.
"You little human runt, you better run!" A third voice joined the fray. The cultivators from Burning Blaze Ancient Sect, seized by a peculiar whim, all adopted a cat-playing-with-a-mouse mentality. Instead of immediately cornering and killing Gu Ran, they seemed to delight in the chase.
And so, these cultivators from the Burning Blaze Ancient Sect trailed behind Gu Ran, filling the air with a relentless stream of belittling and insulting words, jeering him in their game of torment.
If Jiang Chen were present, he'd instantly diagnose the situation: a classic set-up where the protagonist is cornered, only to eventually turn the tables, forcing his adversaries to eat humble pie.
'A bunch of worthless scum! If it wasnt for the powerhouse backing you, one I cant challenge, you'd be nothing more than worthless trash in my eyes!' Fueled by simmering anger, Gu Ran hissed under his breath, while continuing his flight into the distance.
Yet, the unnerving sensation of being under the watchful gaze of a formidable foe persisted.
He dared not use his powers of concealment.
If this powerful enemy were to notice his sudden disappearance, they would likely resort to a wide-sweeping assault, engulfing the vast expanse he was in.
If such an event were to occur, his demise would be all but guaranteed.
'Damn it! It must be a cultivator of the Dao Palace realm!' Gu Ran concluded bitterly, his teeth gritted in frustration. Oddly enough, he found himself longing for the presence of Wu Qian and Liu Xiong.
If Wu Qian and Liu Xiong were here, he might have been able to take down a few enemies from the Inquiring Journey realm. He wouldn't have been reduced to such a desperate flight.
Time, however, waited for no one. In just a few dozen breaths, Gu Ran had moved towards the distant peak, its colossal shadow looming large. Hot on his heels, a throng of Burning Blaze Ancient Sect cultivators followed relentlessly.
Perched high above in the sky, Ji Junhao surveyed the scene below. His gaze followed Gu Ran's route of escape, eventually landing on the imposing mountain peak. 'What mountain is that?' He thought, amazed by what he had just discovered.
'This Cave Heaven is expansive, but such a colossal mountain peak is a rarity. Moreover, it doesn't appear naturally formed.'
'We're not far from where those demonic cultivators perished earlier.
We'll dispose of those people first, then delve into the mysteries of this massive peak.' Doubt and curiosity sparked in Ji Junhao's eyes as he quickly commanded his subordinates to exterminate the 'insignificant ant' scurrying below.
Simultaneously, he retracted his divine sense, pressing onwards in his journey.
"Sect Master's orders! Kill that human runt. No more games. Take him down." The unhinged demonic cultivators of the Burning Blaze Ancient Sect sneered with malevolent delight, ready to act against Gu Ran.
But with the command from above, the task of finishing Gu Ran fell on the shoulders of a group of Inquiring Journey realm cultivators.
To everyone present, dealing with an Early-stage Inquiring Journey realm cultivator was hardly a challenge, requiring minimal effort.
It was only then that Gu Ran's attack landed, pulverizing the remains of the demonic cultivator into bits and pieces.
But the joy that had previously lit Gu Ran's face vanished in an instant, replaced first by momentary bewilderment, which rapidly gave way to unbridled fury!
'Again?!!! How can this be?!' he thought, the disbelief clear in his inner voice.
'Where are the high-ranking demonic cultivators? Where is that Dao Palace realm demon?!! Why didn't they run into the Heavenly Gu Society members?!'
'They were supposed to cross paths and engage in battle!'
'Why has it turned out like this?!'
'I was on the verge of a breakthrough after killing that demonic cultivator!' Gu Ran's internal outcry escalated into a frenzy. He clenched his teeth with such force that they made a grinding noise, the sheer intensity causing his gums to bleed.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming sense of helplessness and fear swallowed him, continually testing his fundamental beliefs. He had always adhered to the principle of not taking innocent lives - a moral cornerstone for any protagonist.
Yet, in that moment, Gu Ran felt a potent urge to kill indiscriminately, to fortify his strength. It seemed as if only by slaughtering anyone he encountered could he stand more chances of growing stronger!
The scale of the carnage could indeed be amplified.
Gu Ran deduced that whenever he harbored the intention to kill, the Heavenly Gu Society rarely intervened to halt him. Instead, they preemptively pilfered his potential victims from under his nose.
So, how would the Heavenly Gu Society react if he initiated a large-scale slaughter or razed an entire city to the ground?
Would they put a stop to him? Or would they continue their previous approach, swooping in first to wreak havoc on the city?
If the latter scenario were to unfold, it would certainly escalate the situation, inevitably drawing the attention of other major powers.
With the intercession of these significant forces, he might find a chance to extricate himself from the grips of the Heavenly Gu Society sooner, evading the perilous labyrinth he was currently navigating, where every step was loaded with challenges!
As these thoughts whirled in his mind, another crushing assault descended from the sky, laying waste to the stunned demonic cultivators in one fell swoop.
'Ah! I yearn to kill... No, I can't succumb to this, I am a human, not a demon, not a beast!' Witnessing this scene, Gu Ran roared internally, his clenched fists trembling with rage. The shadows cast by his disheveled hair masked his eyes, which flickered with a complex interplay of struggle and pain.
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