Reverend insanity: Heaven devouring demon venerable

A solitary figure hovered above the jagged cliffs and mist-cloaked peaks of the Meng clan's mountain stronghold. Ning Zu's piercing gaze swept across the sprawling settlements nestled against the rugged terrain. 

The Meng clan was ambitious, their influence spreading across the region like a creeping vine. From his vantage point, Ning Zu could see the intricate structure of the village below—rows of modest homes crafted from rough-hewn stone, small bustling markets, and winding paths crowded with mortals and Gu masters going about their business. 

Life buzzed below him, unaware of the storm brewing in the skies above.

Ning Zu's eyes were tired and swollen, the aftereffects of a night spent in tears. He looked down at his hand, where an imposing Gu lay.

It was a rank 5 Gu shaped like a colossal door, towering as tall as an average man. The edges shimmered with a ghostly light, almost as if it were breathing. A faint smile touched his lips, a bitter expression laced with pain and resolve. He extended his wings, and glided downward in silence, moving like a shadow across the heavens.

As he descended, his presence went unnoticed at first. The mortals and Gu masters below, consumed by their mundane tasks, were oblivious to the danger. But as he neared the ground, his figure began to take shape in their peripheral vision. Heads turned, and whispers spread like wildfire. Yet, no one dared to approach him directly. They knew that beings like him did not arrive unannounced.

Finally, a lone figure stepped forward, a rank 4 Gu master whose appearance spoke of both battle-hardened strength and cautious restraint. He was tall, with sharp, angular features and piercing eyes set deep beneath a brow marked with scars.

 With a respectful yet wary tone, he addressed Ning Zu. "What does the honorable Gu master seek here?"

Ning Zu retracted his wings, folding them into invisibility as he surveyed the man. His voice was calm, though the request itself was chilling. "I need blood, organs, bones, and souls," he stated. "And I want them to be of the Meng bloodline."

For a moment, silence hung thick in the air as the words sank in. The Gu master's expression shifted from respectful neutrality to something much darker. He blinked, then took a step back, his face hardening as he activated his defensive Gu. 

A shimmering, black armor materialized around his body, covering him from head to toe in an aura that absorbed the surrounding light. Small arcs of lightning sparked around him, buzzing like a warning. "Return to where you came from," he said, his voice laced with barely concealed fury.

Ning Zu's only response was a faint, unbothered smile. He lifted his hand, holding the enormous door-shaped Gu, and activated it. The door swung open slowly, revealing an endless black void within, an abyss that seemed to devour all hope. He drew a steal black sword from his aperture. 

A faint shimmer traced its edge, and Ning Zu's gaze fixed coldly on the Gu master. "I think I'll start with you."

Reacting with a warrior's reflexes, the Gu master summoned a swirling vortex of dark energy in his hand, lunging forward with the speed of a lightning strike. His form was a blur, almost merging with the shadows as he aimed his attack at Ning Zu. But Ning Zu's reflexes surpassed his own, and he activated his movement Gu, disappearing and reappearing in a blink in front of the Gu master.

In the final moments of his life, the Gu master saw only a thread of glistening water left in Ning Zu's wake. Then, with a swift, merciless motion, Ning Zu's blade sliced through him from crown to crotch, a clean, brutal cut that split him in half.

As the Gu master's body fell, lightning flickered across the wound, struggling to stitch him back together. But the damage was too severe. In an instant, his lifeless form was sucked into the vast, endless void behind Ning Zu, disappearing as if it had never existed. The Life and Death Storage Gu had claimed its first victim, a space that held both bodies and souls within its dark, inescapable grasp.

Ning Zu took a breath, and his gaze shifted as he considered the power of the Meng clan. Their cultivation was unlike any he had encountered. The man he had just killed had harnessed both the dark and lightning paths, a unique duality. He had used the darkness to defend and attack, and lightning for healing and moving.

Opposing elements brought into an intricate, delicate balance.

Before he could dwell on it further, a sudden rumble caught his attention. From above, two massive, twisting streams of ice and fire hurtled toward him, writhing like twin serpents. 

Their forms intertwined and clashed, a deadly display of opposing elements. With a sharp flick of his hand, Ning Zu conjured a shimmering wall of water. The serpents struck his barrier with a violent explosion, the impact creating ripples across the water's surface. Yet, the wall held firm, dissipating the attack's fury with ease.

Ning Zu looked up, seeking his new adversary. A young Gu master stood before him, no older than eight, yet his gaze was intense, calculating, and fierce. He held himself with a rigid discipline, every muscle taut with the anticipation of battle. "Where did you get that Gu?" he asked, his tone one of guarded curiosity. "It's… an expensive one."

Ning Zu chuckled softly, his voice carrying a hint of mockery. "I'm from Eastern Sea, the richest continent in this world," he replied casually. "I've been spoiled." In a fluid motion, he disappeared, leaving only a ripple in the air. 

The next instant, he appeared behind the young Gu master, delivering a fatal slice across his throat. The boy's eyes widened as he struggled, blood spilling from his mouth as he attempted to heal himself. But the wound was too deep, and his head soon detached, falling as his body slumped to the ground.

Without a second thought, Ning Zu watched as the boy's form was absorbed into the Life and Death Storage Gu, his soul now a prisoner in the endless void. 

A dark satisfaction settled on Ning Zu's face, a grim reflection of his intent. He turned, spotting a group of Meng clan elders rushing toward him. Their expressions ranged from grim determination to barely veiled terror, yet they pressed on. 

Ning Zu's eyes gleamed, and he no longer bothered to conceal his killing intent. It spilled from him like a flood, a suffocating wave of malice that seemed to thicken the very air.

Drawing another sword from his aperture, he advanced toward the elders. The closer he came, the more they faltered, their courage wavering. 

But before he could strike, a shadowy figure materialized in his path, landing a powerful left hook square on Ning Zu's jaw. The impact sent him reeling, his head snapping to the side. One of his swords slipped from his grip, clattering to the ground. He steadied himself, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at his attacker.

It was an ink man Gu master, an unusual sight even in a world of Gu cultivation. He was powerfully built, with skin that held an inky hue and hair that fell in long white braids down to his knees. His eyes were unique—one entirely black with a white pupil, the other entirely white with a black pupil, each reflecting the duality of his nature. 

As a rank 5, the ink man radiated strength, but Ning Zu's gaze remained cold, indifferent. 

He didn't care if his opponent was human, beast, or something in between. Today, all who bore allegiance to the Meng clan would face his wrath!

With a swift motion, Ning Zu drove his fist into the ink man's stomach, his hand piercing through flesh and muscle with brutal ease. The ink man choked, blood spilling from his lips as his strength faltered. He tried to pull back, but Ning Zu's grip was ironclad, holding him by the very guts. The ink man's face twisted in pain, yet he summoned the last of his strength and summoned a Yin-Yang symbol on the ground beneath them.

The symbol, mirroring the ink man's eyes, spun violently, pulling Ning Zu into its whirling vortex. The sudden motion caught Ning Zu off guard, flinging him away with a force that tore through the air. 

He flew back, though he held onto a chunk of the ink man's insides, the bloody remains absorbed into the Life and Death Storage Gu even as Ning Zu steadied himself in mid-air. He hovered, looking down at the ink man and the Meng elders with a smile, his wings spread wide and imposing.

The ink man's face was grim, his breaths labored as he tried to mend the gaping wound in his stomach. Summoning his last reserves of energy, he called out to the remaining Gu masters. "This… this demonic Gu master cultivates water path and sword path at the side," he managed, his voice strained. "He can summon walls of water, water dragons, even a lake. He possesses the rank 5 Pulling Water Gu and… the Heavenly Essence Treasure King Lotus."

Ning Zu's expression darkened, realizing the ink man had siphoned knowledge from him during their clash. His fury ignited, and he glared down at his opponent with deadly intent. 

"An information path creature," he spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "Fitting."

He raised his hands, his voice echoing through the mountains. "It doesn't matter what you know," he declared, his tone absolute. "Today, all of you will vanish from existence."

The ink man's eyes widened with fear, his body shuddering as the wound in his stomach continued to bleed profusely. The remaining Meng elders looked at Ning Zu with terror, their hopes crushed. He was a relentless force, an unstoppable storm descending upon them. 

The Meng bloodline, so proud and rooted in its mountain stronghold, would be erased from existence under the cold, ruthless hands of Ning Zu. 

"Oh, and let me correct you," Ning Zu said "I also cultivate Water path on the side, my main path is Human path."

With that, a huge phantom of a monster appeared on top of him.

It looked like an ugly monster with multiple hands and pig like head, staring down at the Gu masters.

The ink man realized what it was instantly, its appearance matched the description of the Desolated Ancient Moon when she turned into a monster in the legend of Ren Zu.

Mortal Killer Move-Desolated Ancient Self.

With that. Ning Zu advanced, as the world seemed to hold its breath, awaiting the massacre that would soon follow.