Chapter 1135: Evil Suppressor

The night was cold

The frigid wind blew without an end.

The frontline observation tower.

Gu Qing Shan appeared out of thin air.

There was a single set of ancient metal scale armor on the ground, other than that, there was nothing else.

Gu Qing Shan crouched down on the cold stone floor and gazed outside the observation tower.

Among the cascading mountain tops, the fragmentary beacon-fire was slowly being snuffed out, leaving only a thin column of smoke that slowly rose and was blown away by the wind, displaying the same shade as the night sky.

There was nothing but the sound of howling wind.

A faint smell of blood was being transmitted through the wind, but then quickly faded away.

Roarr—–

There was the faint sound of a heavy cry, but even when Gu Qing Shan sent his inner sight to confirm, he found nothing.

——seems like it was too far from where I am.

Gu Qing Shan could only give up.

The void of space suddenly moved.

A jade badge hovered in front of Gu Qing Shan.

Gu Qing Shan infused his inner sight into the jade badge and quickly learnt everything.

—–every cultivator who arrived to face their Tribulation in Mount Sumeru will be provided a jade badge by the Laws of Mount Sumeru.

Each cultivator would obtain an identity within Mount Sumeru through this jade badge, as well as some basic information.

The beacon-fire was lit at sunset.

Two minutes earlier, the frontline had thoroughly collapsed.

In that case, the observation tower had lost its purpose.

The order to retreat had been issued.

Gu Qing Shan was stationed at this observation tower with the military rank of corporal, responsible for protecting the observation tower until his death, unable to leave without orders.

——-but since he had received his orders, he could now run away.

After receiving all of this information, Gu Qing Shan silently sighed.

After drawing the [Big Tabby Cat] epithet, I was thrown here.

This treatment is basically incomparable to every other cultivator.

—–so what if I’m a cat? Cats have rights too you know!

Gu Qing Shan sensed something and swiped the air, grabbing a 7-colored shield from the void of space.

The shield gave off a short cry before retracting all of its glow.

A line of text appeared on the War God UI;

[Svalinn’s Abyssal Pact has been forbidden]

[Attention, from this moment on, you cannot use the power of Abyssal Pact within Mount Sumeru]

Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but ask: “Why not?”

The War God UI replied: [During the Sumeru Lord realm and {Mahesvara King} realm Tribulations, a cultivator must face the secret of their true identities, because of that, the Divine Mountain of Sumeru forbids the summoning of Abyssal creatures, ensuring that they cannot participate]

“The secret of true identity? What is that?” Gu Qing Shan pursued the question.

[Regarding this, you must find out on your own] the War God UI replied.

400 Soul Points were deducted.

Gu Qing Shan frowned and silently put Svalinn back into the void of space.

That’s fine, even if I can’t summon Abyssal monsters, at least the shield’s defensive capabilities weren’t stripped away.

The sound of roaring beasts resounded from afar.

The howling wind turned even more frigid.

Gu Qing Shan looked outside the observation tower.

Chaos.

Everyone had already fled, only he remained here.

Gu Qing Shan stopped hesitating and put on the metal scale armor on the ground.

——–having a suit of armor was still better than not having anything at all.

A line of glowing text appeared on the War God UI:

[You’ve obtained a frontline soldier armor (antique, half-damaged)]

[Frontline soldier armor: A standard suit of armor that can protect against cold weapon attacks to a certain degree]

Gu Qing Shan held the Earth sword in his hand before leaping into the darkness and flying away.

…

Darkness.

Freezing coldness.

The entire world was plunged in snow and ice.

Gu Qing Shan was flying alone close to the desolate landscape.

It was currently the time of war, and their side had suffered defeat, so he was being careful to not fly too high.

———however, why were they defeated, who the enemy was, and where his own allies were located… these questions weren’t answered.

The jade badge only provided him with a very basic identity and description of the situation without mentioning anything else.

While nimbly traveling forward, Gu Qing Shan was also observing his surroundings.

The snowstorm was gradually growing stronger, not a single living creature could be seen in sight.

“Earth sword” Gu Qing Shan muttered.

「 I’m here 」

“Have you noticed that this world is completely different from the other worlds we’ve been to?”

「… Not at all 」the Earth sword replied.

Gu Qing Shan swung the Earth sword at the ground.

Bam!

A resounding sound of impact.

A small crater was carved into the ground.

「 Now I can sense it 」the Earth sword replied, 「 This world’s Foundation Laws are unimaginably powerful, so I am unable to cut through this world 」

In the past, such a slash from Gu Qing Shan would have created a canyon without any issues.

Gu Qing Shan continued: “Indeed, they said that the worlds on Mount Sumeru were all at the verge of destruction, but the world beneath us is still so incredibly solid, which is a bit strange…”

He suddenly stopped.

After waiting for a short moment.

A cautious shout sounded from in front of him in the darkness:

“Who are you?”

Gu Qing Shan clasped his fist: “This humble one is the corporal of the Southwest 15th observation tower, Gu Qing Shan, currently following orders to retreat”

The voice asked again: “I know that observation tower, but why are you alone? Where are your comrades?”

Gu Qing Shan replied: “This humble one is responsible for holding the backline during the retreat, as for them, they had most likely followed the main army and retreated from this area”

Another younger voice spoke up: “He’s telling the truth, the people of that observation tower had all returned, I saw them at the backline”

The first voice relaxed a bit and said: “So that’s how it was”

—–as the superior, the fact that he stayed behind alone to secure the retreat naturally made him respectable.

A corner of the darkness lifted up to reveal the fire within.

Two cultivators in leather armor carefully observed their surroundings.

“Come quickly, Corporal Gu”

A cultivator with a bow on his back waved him in.

Gu Qing Shan evaluated them.

Quite obviously, these two were scouts whose expertise lie in information gathering.

Gu Qing Shan entered the formation.

It then closed back up.

Once again, this area of the wilderness was covered by darkness.

“Are you resting?” Gu Qing Shan sat down by the fire and asked.

The cultivator with a bow replied: “We are. It’s been several days of running in a row with several consecutive battles, we’re exhausted”

The three of them clasped their fists to greet one another.

“Gu Qing Shan”

“Chang Yu Li” the cultivator with the bow said.

“Bai Zhuo” the teenage cultivator with a saber said.

Gu Qing Shan turned to the teenage cultivator.

“Ah, yes, I was named by my father, he was a master spirit cook who liked to use the Bai Zhuo technique, and since our surname was Bai…” the teenager explained.

Gu Qing Shan praised: “I understand completely, in truth, I was also the cook in my family”

Bai Zhuo scratched his head awkwardly and said: “Rather than cooking, I still think fighting is a lot more stylish”

He then formed a hand seal to make the fire a bit stronger.

Chang Yu Li skillfully took out a pot, propped it above the fire, and began to put ingredients inside.

“Although his father was a grandmaster spirit cook, he’s a blade user—- the kind that hunts demons and demonic beasts”

Chang Yu Li then silently made a gesture to Gu Qing Shan.

Gu Qing Shan understood.

So he learnt it to show off in front of his crush.

Ah, that truly would be something that a young man like him would prefer to do.

Gu Qing Shan smiled and reached for his Inventory Bag.

He stopped.

His Inventory Bag was currently empty.

I’ve already given everything in my Inventory Bag to the world fragments in Heaven Pillar world.

I’ve also eaten the last Azure Clear Pill.

So besides the three flying swords, I don’t actually have anything on me right now.

Without being able to deal with his appetite, Gu Qing Shan’s frame of mind was a bit off.

He begrudgingly sat there, feeling a bit lost.

Both Chang Yu Li and Bai Zhuo were scouts, so their eyes were naturally much sharper than normal people. Bai Zhuo tapped his Inventory Bag to take out a bit more ingredients, while Chang Yu Li told him with a relaxed tone: “Brother Gu, feel free to join us for a meal, there’s no need to be so distant”

Gu Qing Shan rubbed his hands, feeling a bit embarrassed: “Then I’ll trouble you. Actually, I’m quite used to cooking, so how about I give you a hand?”

Chang Yu Li’s eyes lit up: “Right, you did say that you used to be a spirit cook, then we’ll trouble you”

As Gu Qing Shan received the pot, his presence changed: “Don’t worry, we’ll eat in just 15 minutes”

Chang Yu Li and Bai Zhuo both nodded before going back to rest

—–indeed, cultivators could survive for a long time without eating anything.

But if one thought that eating was merely a way to fill one’s stomach, one would be misunderstanding the point of eating.

True grandmaster spirit cooks could allow an entire battalion of cultivators to readjust themselves to their peak with nothing but a single meal and a bit of tea.

—–no matter what cultivation realm those cultivators are.

Dinner was soon done.

And was cleaned out by the three people without leaving a scrap behind.

Chang Yu Li stood up and said: “Corporal Gu, Bai Zhuo, and I will need to re-enter the frontlines to scout the situation, so we won’t be accompanying Corporal Gu after this point”

Gu Qing Shan also stood up and said: “That’s no problem, tell me what you are looking for; after all, I was the last person to leave from the frontlines, perhaps I might be able to help”

Chang Yu Li nodded: “We are looking for a tiger”

Saying so, he handed Gu Qing Shan a Communication Talisman.

“A tiger?” Gu Qing Shan received the talisman and replied in surprise.

Bai Zhuo replied: “Yes, it inflicted huge casualties on the frontline soldiers, so the superiors sent us to the frontlines to search for its tracks”

Gu Qing Shan pondered: “When I left from the Southwest 15th observation tower, I faintly heard a roar, but couldn’t confirm whether or not it came from a tiger”

——-they specifically sent two scouts to search for a tiger.

Is this serious?

Gu Qing Shan released his inner sight to touch the two of them.

Chang Yu Li is 3 realms lower [1]than me.

Bai Zhuo is a bit weaker, 4 realms lower[2] than me.

They can be considered decently strong, and most likely had camouflage Thaumaturgies that they were chosen to return to the frontline for such a mission.

Bai Zhuo put out the fire with a fire controlling seal and cleaned up all of their traces.

It was time to leave.

“Farewell” Chang Yu Li and Bai Zhuo both clasped their hands.

“Farewell to the two of you as well” Gu Qing Shan also clasped his fist.

The two scouts nodded, then started flying deeper into the wilderness.

Gu Qing Shan turned around and kept moving forward.

There was an order for all frontline soldiers to return to the Strong Wind military camp before dawn, so Gu Qing Shan also sped up.

The cold of the night gradually became heavy.

The snowfall was getting heavier, but the wind slowly calmed down until it eventually ceased.

Gu Qing Shan continued flying without stopping.

At some point, he stopped.

A thick stench of blood washed over him.

Gu Qing Shan narrowed his eyes, turned his hands, and wielded both the Heaven and Earth sword.

Hoh hoh hoh hoh!

The heavy sound of panting resounded from afar, but quickly reached Gu Qing Shan.

The panting stopped.

A thin tiger that exuded a greyish white demonic flame showed up in front of Gu Qing Shan.

It was around 3 meters tall, almost 10 meters long, its eyes were narrowed as it approached Gu Qing Shan closer and closer.

Gu Qing Shan bit his lip.

Ah…

So it was this kind of tiger.

Who would’ve thought? I actually ran into this fierce creature.

Gu Qing Shan sensed a bit of danger, so his expression became stern.

The thin tiger observed him, then abruptly spat out something from its mouth.

That thing fell to the ground and rolled on the snow.

——-a human head.

Bai Zhuo.

His eyes were opened wide with a faint sense of unwillingness.

The unwillingness to die.

Gu Qing Shan’s eyes turned cold as killing intent flowed from all over his body.

“Beast, I’m going to skin you alive”

He raised his swords and slowly spoke.

Immediately, lines of glowing text appeared on the War God UI:

[You’ve officially participated in the battle of Mount Sumeru’s destruction, to help you in your battle, and to save itself, the Divine Mountain of Sumeru had provided your {Mahesvara King} realm Thaumaturgy ahead of time according to the epithet drawn from you]

[As you are a cultivator, as your epithet was: [Big Tabby Cat], you’ve obtained the following Mahesvara Thaumaturgy[3]:]

[Evil Suppressor – Orange Lance]

[1] Void Revolution realm

[2] Void Wanderer realm

[3] originally, it was supposed to be Ishvara instead of Mahesvara, as “Mahesvara” is the realm of freedom, whereas “Ishvara” is the overarching concept that encompasses Mahesvara. However, for ease of reading, I’ve opted for Mahesvara instead of Ishvara here