Chapter 166: Another Battle to the Death

Gu Sha wore a somewhat solemn expression.

Without hesitation, he retrieved several exotic fruits, swallowed them to replenish his physical strength, and once again attempted to peer into the future.

This time,

the moment he arrived at that Daoist temple, he headed straight to the place where the book was hidden—a very ancient and unadorned grand hall.

The instant he stepped into that hall,

Gu Sha was gripped by a sudden chill.

He actually saw a person, or rather, a humanoid entity, extremely indistinct, standing right in the center of the hall. It was as if a wisp of white mist enshrouded the figure. No matter how hard Gu Sha focused his attention, he could not make out its form, yet he was certain it possessed a human shape. Within the white mist, faint wisps of white light radiated from the entity.

Clearly unable to see it clearly,

Gu Sha somehow felt a profound sense of familiarity, and an odd feeling that the entity was smiling at him.

It was a sensation as though they had known each other for many years.

"You... have returned." The humanoid entity emitted a calm voice.

Gu Sha frowned slightly and asked, "Do we know each other?"

"We know each other... yet we do not," the voice sounded somewhat aged, then slowly continued, "Since you have already returned, what belongs to you should be returned to you!"

With those words,

the patch of white mist directly vanished.

Amidst Gu Sha's utter bewilderment,

he saw that book once again.

Not quite a book, but a few pages. This time, Gu Sha saw them very clearly—they were simply a few pages imbued with ancient charm.

However,

just as Gu Sha reached out his hand to take them,

with a soft "hum,"

another form of invisible force surged outward.

Deep within the Kunlun Mountains, Gu Sha, currently in the midst of foreseeing the future, was once again interrupted. It felt as though he had been struck by a stealthy blow to the back of the head, leaving his mind in a daze.

Though this time he did not bleed from his orifices,

a heavy, oppressive tightness gripped his chest.

Gu Sha quickly consumed a few more exotic fruits to restore his mental energy, his heart growing even heavier.

Bizarre! It was far too bizarre!

He carefully recalled this memory. The hazy entity that had appeared within the white mist was simply too strange.

Gu Sha remembered very clearly,

that when the entity spoke, it was clearly not addressing the version of himself within the memory's vision. It seemed to know that a third-party perspective was observing, and those words appeared to be spoken directly to his present self in the real world.

"How could that be possible?"

Gu Sha felt a trace of doubt.

His time-related ability was meant to deduce the future, effectively creating a timeline. The beings within that timeline should have been entirely conjured through divination. Yet, that figure from just now seemed to have transcended the timeline itself, or rather, was conversing with his present self from the future.

It was utterly absurd!

Gu Sha took a deep breath.

However, it was not all bad; at least he could deduce that the entity harbored no malicious intent, and moreover, seemed to share some connection with him.

Yet Gu Sha could not recall ever knowing such a terrifyingly powerful figure in his life!

"Strange, utterly strange!"

Gu Sha circulated his cultivation to absorb the exotic fruits, rapidly recovering his energy. Then, donning his mask, he walked toward the Divine Sepulcher.

The Divine Sepulcher was immense.

From the outside, it appeared to be a towering mountain over ten thousand meters high, but in reality, that was merely an illusion. At the base of the mountain lay a different-dimensional space. Energy fluctuations surged like rolling wolf smoke, piercing straight into the firmament, and the turbulent primordial force churned like a vast ocean. Anyone with low cultivation who dared to cross the forbidden boundary even by a step was instantly pulverized into fine dust.

From afar, Gu Sha could already see numerous spatial rifts—these were the entrances leading into the Divine Sepulcher. However, those spatial rifts were heavily controlled by various supreme-realm factions, making it impossible for ordinary cultivators to approach. Furthermore, the guardians stationed there were exceptionally powerful, comprising no shortage of Domain Lords and even terrifying Heavenly Gods.

Gu Sha located the checkpoint controlled by the Gu family, rode his flying sword straight toward it, and after producing the token given to him by Gu Xiao, was smoothly granted passage.

Just as Gu Sha prepared to step into the spatial rift,

a sudden, crushing pressure abruptly descended. It felt as though an invisible barrier had materialized right before him, blocking his path.

Immediately following, a ripple stirred in the air, and a figure materialized out of nowhere—a middle-aged man with a pair of wings sprouting from his back, suspended in mid-air as he looked down at Gu Sha. His entire presence was as deep as an abyss, exuding boundless oppression and carrying the heavy, imposing momentum of a hundred thousand mountains, making it somewhat difficult to breathe.

Gu Sha's pupils contracted slightly.

Judging by the entity's physical traits, Gu Sha could ascertain that the other party was an expert from the Crimson Gold Crane clan. Based on the fluctuations of his energy,

Gu Sha could determine with certainty that the other's cultivation was unequivocally at the peak of the Domain Lord realm.

"Trouble has come looking for me," Gu Sha thought to himself.

The Crimson Gold Crane expert cast a cold glance down at Gu Sha, speaking in an unquestionable tone: "Take off that mask!"

Gu Sha frowned, just as he was about to speak, the air rippled once more, and another expert emerged. It was a Domain Lord from the Gu family. Appearing beside Gu Sha, he looked toward the Crimson Gold Crane expert and demanded, "What is Your Excellency trying to do?"

The Crimson Gold Crane expert stared at the Gu family Domain Lord and replied, "Nearly a hundred members of my clan were slaughtered by a human from Earth named Gu Sha. I suspect this person is none other than Gu Sha, and I am here to verify it. Is the Gu family intending to interfere in a private grudge?"

The Gu family Domain Lord had previously met Gu Sha and naturally knew his identity. However, he also knew that Gu Sha was someone Gu Xiao intended to protect, so he coldly replied, "Your Excellency is being rather rude. This is an esteemed guest of the Gu family. How could you just do as you please with him?"

The Crimson Gold Crane expert sneered, "This person carries the aura of my clan's creatures on him. My lord, are you truly willing to go to war with the Crimson Gold Crane clan over a mere Earthling?"

The Gu family Domain Lord laughed coldly in return. "Go to war? What do you Crimson Gold Cranes think you are? Are you even qualified to wage war against my Gu family?"

"The Gu family is an immortal orthodox lineage with vast resources and a grand foundation, which my Crimson Gold Crane clan indeed cannot rival. But," a terrifying burst of pressure erupted from the Crimson Gold Crane expert, "this is Earth. Just how many experts does your Gu family have stationed here? What, if we fight here, does your Gu family have the capability to cross the sea of stars to exact revenge on my clan?"

With that, the Crimson Gold Crane expert glared at Gu Sha and declared, "I will say this one last time: take off the mask, or else you will be executed on the spot!"

Just as the Gu family Domain Lord was about to retort, Gu Sha suddenly reached out a hand to stop him. In the very next instant, he pulled a horsetail whisk from his spatial ring and lashed it directly toward the Crimson Gold Crane expert. Dense bundles of white threads surged forward, transforming into a brilliant, tsunami-like tide of light that enveloped the surroundings in all directions.

"Impudent!"

The Crimson Gold Crane expert shouted in rage, instantly summoning his weapon to counter the attack. However, at that exact fraction of a second, several strands of white threads directly coiled around his arm.

"Puff!" "Puff, puff!"

Spurts of fresh blood erupted into the air.

With a miserable shriek from the Crimson Gold Crane expert, one of his arms was sliced straight into several pieces and plummeted to the ground.

"Ah!"

The Crimson Gold Crane expert wailed in excruciating pain, roaring at the top of his lungs, "The slave Gu Sha has been found! Come quickly and avenge me!"

His voice reverberated like thunder, echoing out to summon reinforcements.

Gu Sha flicked the horsetail whisk once more, and the dense threads poured forth like a reversed Milky Way. The entire heaven and earth turned blindingly white, filled everywhere with dazzling radiance, and the Crimson Gold Crane instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

Gu Sha let out a cold snort, cast his gaze toward the territory of the Crimson Gold Crane clan, and coldly declared: "Then let us fight once more!"