The harsh winter arrived, and the heavy snow had fallen.

As the sun set over the distant mountains, the cold seeped into the humble white houses, and Heroic Spirit City welcomed its first snowfall of the year.

Inside the main camp of the Royal Guards.

The roaring fire in the hall of the military office of the Royal Guards brought a wave of warmth.

Gu Feng sat upright in the main seat, reviewing the various intelligence reports collected by the different divisions of the Royal Guards over the past few days.

Manager Wu and Jiu Long stood silently on either side of him, not making a sound.

Fang Feixue sat beside him, assisting in analyzing the relevant data within these reports.

The Royal Guards had now gradually infiltrated every area of Heroic Spirit City, from small taverns and tea houses to the grand City Lord's mansion. Even the Cave Heaven Blessed Lands of the Elders were key targets of the Royal Guards' attention.

It was no exaggeration to say that even if someone in an Elder's household passed gas at night, a detailed record would appear in the intelligence scroll handed to Gu Feng the next day!

The efficiency was chilling!

It had been over three months since Gu Feng last crossed a tribulation.

During this time, besides continuing to expand the market for Immortal Spirit Communication and Sharing Flying Sword, Gu Feng spent most of his time absorbing the massive amount of spiritual energy brought by the population dividend of Heroic Spirit City.

As a result, his cultivation advanced rapidly in these three months, soaring from the first level of the Golden Elixir Realm to the terrifying fifth level!

If he wasn't afraid of unexpected issues, this speed could have been even faster. However, blindly breaking through cultivation levels was not beneficial for a cultivator's Dao heart.

It was like a child getting something too easily and not cherishing it, losing reverence for everything.

Thus, after successfully advancing to the fifth level of the Golden Elixir Realm, Gu Feng deliberately slowed down the efficiency of converting True Core. Now, his cultivation was vastly different, and his control over the Innate Dao Embryo became increasingly proficient, accomplishing all this was not difficult for him.

In addition, Gu Feng spent some effort to thoroughly comprehend the Void Shattering Hand and the ancient immortal formation gifted by Ye Tianchen.

The ancient sword formation indeed required a lot of effort from Gu Feng!

It turned out that the sword formation within the Broken Sword was not complete, but like the Broken Sword, it was a fragmented version.

Yet, even this fragmented version carried an incredibly domineering Sword Sense!

This unique Sword Sense was the true treasure within!

The fragmented Broken Sword and incomplete sword formation were merely illusions. The original owner of the Broken Sword truly entrusted the supreme Sword Sense he comprehended through this sword formation.

Gu Feng spent nearly half a month, staying at home daily, observing the shadow of the sword formation with his Divine Sense, and finally, when he was about to give up, he comprehended the mysteries of the sword formation.

With the support of the seven-colored Golden Elixir within him, Gu Feng's cultivation power was extremely profound. Shortly after deducing this sword formation, he felt the terrifying nature of this Sword Sense, carrying a bit of pride, a bit of unwillingness, but more so, a sense of exhilarating vengeance!

What surprised Gu Feng even more was that after fully mastering the essence of this nameless Sword Sense, he astonishingly discovered that every time he activated the Sword Sense, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth that responded did not belong to this world!

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There was only one answer! The owner of this Broken Sword was not from this world!

But from another star domain!

After reaching this conclusion, Gu Feng did not mention it to anyone, as the matter was too bizarre. He also did not know if Ye Tianchen had discovered this shocking secret during his cultivation back then.

Fortunately, Gu Feng finally obtained what he wanted and stopped overthinking. This nameless Sword Sense could be attached to his cultivation artifact flying sword at any time, making it impossible for enemies to defend against.

To avoid drawing attention, he decided to temporarily give it a more resounding name. After some thought, since he was in Heroic Spirit City and the son of the City Lord, he might as well call it—Heroic Sword Sense!

As for the Void Shattering Hand, there was no need to elaborate. It was originally an exquisite technique of the Gu Family, and with Gu Feng's bloodline flowing with Gu Family's heritage, cultivating this divine ability was smooth and effortless, like when the water reaches, the channel forms.

Reviewing the intelligence scrolls before him, Gu Feng pondered for a moment, pointing to one of the reports, and asked Fang Feixue, "How is that kid Gu Kun doing? Any news?"

Fang Feixue shook her head and replied, "No significant movements for now, but the intelligence confirming his breakthrough to the Elemental Infant Realm last month has been verified. This report was sent by a Royal Guards spy planted in the Fifth Elder's household, so it should be accurate."

Coldly glancing at the intelligence scroll concerning Gu Kun, Gu Feng sighed helplessly.

Just last month, the sudden upheaval of spiritual energy in the direction of Silent Thought Cliff within Heroic Spirit City alarmed all the elder generation of the Gu Family.

Finally, the Royal Guards spies reported that it was Gu Kun, who was punished to meditate in silence, inexplicably breaking through his cultivation at Silent Thought Cliff, becoming a cultivator of the Elemental Infant Realm!

On that day, the tribulation of the Elemental Infant Realm descended directly on the peak of Silent Thought Cliff. All the experts of the Gu Family, including Gu Liantian, came forward to protect Gu Kun during his breakthrough.

After all, Gu Kun was the first among their generation to touch the Elemental Infant Realm.

It was imaginable how much the Gu Family in Heroic Spirit City valued this matter!

The process of crossing the tribulation was nothing to speak of. The Gu Family spared no effort to protect him, and it was in their own territory in Heroic Spirit City. If Gu Kun failed even then, he might as well not mix in the Cultivation World anymore.

Although he didn't know why this kid's cultivation suddenly advanced so rapidly, Gu Feng knew there must be some underhanded tricks involved!

A cultivator of the fourth level of the Golden Elixir Realm breaking through to the Elemental Infant Realm within a year, this speed almost caught up with Gu Feng himself!

But Gu Kun did not have his kind of heaven-defying cultivation method. How did he achieve it?

Something unusual must be going on!

"The same tribulation crossing, this kid's treatment was far better than mine."

Shaking his head helplessly, Gu Feng chuckled bitterly, placing the intelligence scroll aside, his words full of self-mockery.

Seeing Gu Feng a bit puzzled, Fang Feixue suddenly remembered something and said slowly, "There was an old piece of intelligence, thinking about it now, it seems a bit suspicious..."

Gu Feng immediately became interested and asked eagerly, "Why didn't you mention it earlier?"

Fang Feixue pouted, quickly stood up, and retrieved a dust-covered scroll from the mountain of intelligence reports.

Gu Feng took it and saw the date was from over three months ago, coincidentally the day he secretly went overseas to cross a tribulation. He immediately understood Fang Feixue's hesitation and quickly opened it to read.

This piece of intelligence was submitted by a spy lurking in Gu Huaisheng's mansion over three months ago, and its content was simple, just a few words:

On the second day of July, Elder Gu Huaisheng met with a Northern Wilderness witch cultivator at his mansion. After investigation, the person's name was Nine Tribulations Witch King. The two had a secret meeting in a room for about two hours, and the content of their discussion is unknown.

"Nine Tribulations Witch King? What the hell is that!?"

Gu Feng muttered the name, looking bewildered.

Seeing this, Fang Feixue quickly explained, "In the past, when I followed my adoptive father to campaign in the Western Barbarians, we once passed through the Northern Wilderness, and I heard of this person's name. It is said that he is a mysterious witch cultivator in the Northern Wilderness, with cultivation at the Spirit Dividing realm, specializing in the art of Gu poison. It is said that the Gu poison he refines can allow cultivators to break through cultivation barriers in a short time, but with significant side effects. Even so, the Gu poison he refines is still highly priced, and he is elusive, holding a high status in the Northern Wilderness."

Gu Feng stared at the intelligence in his hand, pondering for a long time.

The Northern Wilderness is the birthplace of ghost cultivators and witch cultivators. It is said that the Gu refining art of the witch lineage gathers all the rare treasures of heaven and earth, often harming people invisibly with Gu poison, and can also refine Gu into medicine with endless wonderful uses. Ordinary cultivators dare not easily offend them.

Gu Feng had never truly ventured beyond the ten-thousand-mile range of Heroic Spirit City, and these legends were just stories he often heard, unsure of their truth.

Rubbing his chin, Gu Feng frowned slightly, murmuring, "It seems that Gu Kun's rapid advancement in cultivation is likely thanks to this Nine Tribulations Witch King."

Regardless of the truth, Gu Kun's sudden breakthrough in cultivation must be related to Gu Huaisheng. Only he and Gu Chunfeng harbored deep resentment towards him.

They might not know that Gu Feng had already stepped into the Golden Elixir Realm. Their actions were merely to keep a trump card.

"I wonder if Third Uncle and Fifth Uncle will be so enraged when they find out I've already broken through to the Golden Elixir Realm that they'll send Gu Kun to take my life..."

Having figured this out, Gu Feng was no longer anxious. He would face challenges as they came. The final battle with these two uncles was inevitable.

With his current cultivation and skills, Gu Feng was confident that even if Gu Kun, that little bastard, broke through to the Elemental Infant Realm, he could still fight him.

Having made up his mind, Gu Feng immediately instructed, "Pass my order, from today onwards, double the number of spies in Gu Huaisheng and Gu Chunfeng's mansions! Report to me in detail everything they do, what they eat, and who they interact with!"

After a pause, Gu Feng added, "The mansions of other Elders should not be relaxed in surveillance either. If there are any suspicious individuals, and if there is absolute certainty, they can be directly captured and detained in the Royal Guards' dungeon. I will personally interrogate them later!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Feixue bowed and immediately went out to arrange the related matters.

Putting down the intelligence about the Nine Tribulations Witch King, Gu Feng stood up and walked to the fireplace in the room, extending his hands to warm them.

His mind was racing with thoughts. Regardless of who this Nine Tribulations Witch King was, he must be involved with Gu Huaisheng and the Elder faction. If he could go to the Northern Wilderness and capture this person, he would have another bargaining chip in his hand.

Unfortunately, crossing two continents, infiltrating the Northern Wilderness, and then secretly capturing a local Spirit Dividing realm expert back to the Eastern Region was as difficult as climbing to the heavens for Gu Feng at present.

This idea was just a thought, with no strength to implement it.

Looking at the vast snow outside the window, Gu Feng felt a mix of emotions.

A year had passed in the blink of an eye, and the deadline for the bet he made with Gu Huaisheng was fast approaching.