Chapter 483: The Soul-Reaping Ghost Shadow

High in the dark night sky, Zhu He transformed into a streak of black light, flying swiftly toward the Changliu Mountain Range amidst the flowing starlight and moonlight...

This grand play he had plotted for so long had finally reached its curtain call as scheduled. Not only had he used this to wipe out Ge Rusong, but he had also further verified Duan Rong's capabilities.

This child is capable of great responsibilities!

As Zhu He thought of Duan Rong, a flash of joy crossed his aged face.

This kid's future achievements might even surpass those of himself and Gu Daoling.

Gu Daoling stood under the dim lantern in the first-floor corridor of Guanxing Ge, watching Zhu He's figure disappear into the night sky. His brows furrowed slightly, and he muttered to himself, "A unique Kongming Realm?! Can such a thing truly exist in this world?"

At this thought, Gu Daoling's figure suddenly rose into the void, streaking across the pitch-black night sky and drifting like a ghost above Shenyun Prefecture...

Soon, Gu Daoling arrived above the Separate Courtyard of Zhu Zhengfu. He was not as familiar with the terrain here as Zhu He; although Guanxing Ge was not far away, he rarely wandered about, so he traveled by Wind Riding, releasing his Divine Sense to search as he went.

Gu Daoling's gaze shifted, and he suddenly turned downward, drifting directly toward the roof of the Separate Courtyard.

At this moment, the pale light of the stars and moon spilled onto the roof. In the night, the roof reflected a beautiful, faint glimmer...

Without pausing, Gu Daoling's figure crashed directly into the glimmer on that roof.

Without a sound, he passed through the roof silently, just like a true ghost.

Gu Daoling was already a great cultivator of the late Dongming Realm, mastering Law Power. Passing through walls and roofs was no different to him than walking normally.

He drifted into the room, and under the sweep of his Divine Sense, he had already locked onto Duan Rong.

As Gu Daoling drifted down, he was already standing by Duan Rong's bed.

Although Duan Rong's six senses were sharp, how could he possibly detect Gu Daoling, a great cultivator of the late Dongming Realm?

Standing in the darkness, Gu Daoling suddenly gave a soft shout: "Get up!"

Duan Rong was sleeping soundly, but this soft shout was like a thunderclap, blasting him into a state of utter shock. The moment he opened his eyes, he vaguely saw a black shadow standing by his bed, separated by the transparent gauze curtains hanging from the canopy, looking just like a soul-reaping ghost.

Duan Rong jumped up the moment he opened his eyes, but at that very instant, one of the ghost's hands had already passed through the gauze curtains and reached for his shoulder.

Seeing that he could not dodge the figure, Duan Rong made a 'Crack!' sound as he used the Bone Shrinking Technique to collapse his shoulder. The black shadow gave a soft 'huh' but still grabbed him, pulling him out from inside the bed.

The person's technique was elusive and strange; Duan Rong had devoured the martial arts of a hundred schools, yet he could not recognize which school this Capture technique belonged to.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Duan Rong only felt a moment of dizziness before the black shadow had already grabbed him and flashed out of the room.

Once out of the pitch-black room, under the pale starlight and moonlight, Duan Rong looked at the profile of the person holding him, and a familiar feeling immediately welled up in his heart.

But before his thoughts could even turn, he had already been thrown to the ground by that person.

Duan Rong's movement technique was like a loach; the moment he touched the ground, he sprang up, stood sideways, and looked at the person before him with astonishment.

"Uncle-Master Gu!?"

In the quiet night, the moment Duan Rong spoke, Chou Luan, who was sleeping on a large bluestone in the courtyard, finally reacted. Just as he was about to jump up, he suddenly felt a trance before his eyes, and then he fell into a stupor.

Duan Rong noticed that Chou Luan, who had originally been lying on the large bluestone, had sat up, but after his body shuddered, he remained motionless.

Duan Rong's brow twitched. "It's a Divine Soul Illusion! And it's clearly far more sophisticated than Yinghuo's."

The moment Chou Luan sat up, Gu Daoling had already subdued him with a Divine Soul Illusion without making a sound.

Gu Daoling looked at the blade in his hand; it was Duan Rong's weapon, the Frost Pattern Phosphorus Crystal Blade. Duan Rong had placed this blade by his bedside, but in that instant, Duan Rong had no time to reach for it before being grabbed by Gu Daoling through the gauze curtains. Unexpectedly, when Gu Daoling grabbed him, he had also taken the blade.

In the moonlight, Gu Daoling stared blankly at the blade in his hand. The moment he touched it, he had a familiar feeling.

Gu Daoling gripped the blade, and the animal skin wrapping the blade edge fell away of its own accord, a flash of white light cutting through the night.

A strange look appeared in Gu Daoling's eyes almost simultaneously.

Two hundred years ago, this blade had also once been his weapon.

Gu Daoling gripped the blade and stood in the night, his whole body trembling slightly as if struck by electricity; his youthful days seemed to be right before his eyes...

Two hundred years, gone in an instant, like a great dream.

Gu Daoling sighed softly, the desolation in his eyes fading away, returning to a clear and limpid state.

Gu Daoling looked at Duan Rong, threw the Frost Pattern Phosphorus Crystal Blade toward him, and shouted: "Practice for me to see!"

Duan Rong reached out and caught the weapon, but his expression as he looked at Gu Daoling was somewhat strange.

He truly did not understand what was wrong with his Uncle-Master; in the middle of the night, while he was sleeping soundly, he had been dragged out of bed without so much as a greeting.

Then he was thrown a blade and told to practice; judging by the tone, he clearly wanted to see his blade technique.

What kind of hobby is this!? Can you be normal for once?!

At this moment, the night wind blew, and Duan Rong suddenly felt a chill. He looked down at his lower body and realized he was only wearing a thin top and underpants, his knees were exposed, and he was barefoot on the ground.

A flash of embarrassment crossed Duan Rong's face.

Who practices blade techniques dressed like this?

If this were being broadcast on TikTok, it might even be flagged for being suggestive?!

Duan Rong looked up at Gu Daoling and said, "Uncle-Master, can I put on my pants first?"

Gu Daoling glanced at Duan Rong's bare legs and feet and said, "Put on what? Practice quickly! Don't dawdle!"

Duan Rong sighed slightly. Gu Daoling was not only his Uncle-Master but also a great cultivator of the late Dongming Realm. Seeing Gu Daoling's unkind expression, he finally gave up the idea of putting on his pants.

Duan Rong gripped the blade and raised his hand, setting into an opening stance. Realizing that his posture might be somewhat alluring at this moment, he felt very ashamed. However, he quickly suppressed this discomfort and began to perform the Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade in the moonlit courtyard.

Watching the blade shadows flickering under the moonlight, Gu Daoling's breath hitched, his heart surged, and the look in his eyes suddenly deepened.

Naturally, it was impossible for him to be truly seduced by Duan Rong. If that were the case, that would be terrible!?

Gu Daoling had not expected that the technique Duan Rong was practicing was also the Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade!

The same weapon and the same blade technique as he had in his youth!

Watching Duan Rong, whose figure flickered under the moonlight, Gu Daoling felt as if he had traveled through a time tunnel and was seeing himself from two hundred years ago.

"Is this a coincidence?" Gu Daoling stood there, stunned, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Duan Rong had already performed nearly a third of the Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade when he heard Gu Daoling shout from the steps: "Didn't you comprehend an Artistic Conception? Where is your Blade Radiance?!"

Duan Rong's movements stalled slightly, but he recovered instantly. He thought to himself: "So you wanted to see the Blade Radiance!? You should have said so earlier!?"

Duan Rong channeled his thoughts, and in that instant, a blade shadow suddenly lit up at the center of the brows of the gray figure sitting cross-legged in the void of his Spirit Sea. The next moment, the blade edge Duan Rong swung suddenly flashed, and a solidified Blade Radiance rose like fire.

At the moment the Blade Radiance flashed out, Gu Daoling's pupils suddenly constricted; he stared blankly at the flickering Blade Radiance, unable to speak for a long time.

Duan Rong finished a set, turned around abruptly, and saw only the stone steps before him, where the moonlight was like a wash, yet it was empty; the figure of Gu Daoling was already nowhere to be seen.

Duan Rong raised his head and saw a streak of black radiance cutting across the night sky, which was like a bolt of silk under the moonlight.

"Leaving without even saying a word, really!" Duan Rong sheathed his blade and stood, unable to help but complain.

Above the night sky, a look of deep thought flashed in Gu Daoling's eyes; the Artistic Conception Duan Rong had grasped had already taken shape, and it was even more profound and vast than the one he had grasped back then.

"He hasn't even achieved the Qi Realm Great Perfection yet, and he has already grasped the Artistic Conception to this degree—what kind of freak is this?! Could it really be because of that so-called Kongming Realm?!"

In the courtyard, the moonlight was as cool as water. Duan Rong looked at the clear night sky with its sparse stars and bright moon, and suddenly his heart felt perfectly clear. The Blade Shadow of the Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade he had just practiced began to play out in his mind of its own accord...

Recently, the pressure in his heart had been quite heavy; one could say he had repeatedly broken through difficulties and repeatedly ventured into dangerous situations! Coupled with watching the battle between Gu Daoling, Chu Qiushan, and Ge Rusong last night, many things had already accumulated in Duan Rong's heart. At this moment, for some reason, it suddenly opened up with a roar, like a bursting dam... as the moonlight flowed across the sky...

Duan Rong's eyes were bright and clear, and his heart was even more limpid and thorough. He gripped the Frost Pattern Phosphorus Crystal Blade in his hand and began to practice the Roaming Dragon Clear Chant Blade, which he was already intimately familiar with, once again.

The more Duan Rong practiced, the more tranquil his heart became. Gradually, the scenery around him seemed to fade away entirely, and he felt as if this world were filled with the radiance of the stars and the moon...

Duan Rong practiced this sword art set after set. With each pass, his blade edge underwent extremely subtle changes.

When a touch of fish-belly white appeared on the eastern horizon, Duan Rong's entire body was already covered in a thin layer of sweat, and his forehead shone slightly, facing the first ray of dawn.

Duan Rong's blade edge underwent subtle changes once again, scraping against the air with a sound like a muffled sob, and at that moment, the corners of Duan Rong's mouth curled into a slight smile.

He sheathed his blade and stood; the Qi within his body surged and churned. He could not help but let out a long whistle toward the sky.

The whistling sound shot straight into the clouds, like an old ape climbing a mountain.

"The Qi Realm Great Perfection has been achieved inadvertently!"

In fact, the Great Perfection of the Qi Realm is far more difficult to achieve than the True Qi Realm Great Perfection. However, Duan Rong had recently been generating insights from his circumstances, tempering his state of mind through worldly affairs. Furthermore, many matters had come to an end, and his master-disciple relationship with Zhu He had shifted from the original resentment to meeting with sincerity. Because Duan Rong's original foundation and Divine Soul were both formidable, he was able to break through in one stroke and achieve it overnight!

Duan Rong's whistle completely startled Chou Luan, who was still sitting on the large bluestone, trapped in a nearly shattered illusion.

Chou Luan stared blankly at the courtyard, at Duan Rong who stood holding his blade, wearing only his undergarments, barefoot and with bare legs. A look of confusion flashed in his eyes, and he muttered, "Sir, what happened?"

Duan Rong wiped a layer of clear sweat from his forehead and laughed, "It's nothing, you just had a dream."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he turned and walked into the room.

Chou Luan remained dazed, a look of recollection flashing in his eyes, and he muttered, "A dream..."

When the sky was just beginning to brighten, Zhu Zhengfu struggled to climb out of his concubine's bed. He went to the study, sipping ginseng tea while looking over the documents organized by the steward, Zhu Yu.

The skin around Zhu Zhengfu's eyes was somewhat dark. There had been many things lately, and various matters were all intertwined. Just the task of investigating spies within the prefecture had consumed much of his mental energy.

He rubbed his forehead and forced himself to look at the documents in his hand.

He quickly scanned a few, and while looking, he picked up the ginseng tea beside him, just about to take another sip, when he suddenly heard a faint, long whistle. Zhu Zhengfu was startled, and the ginseng tea tilted in his hand, causing a few drops of tea to spill onto the documents, leaving a few damp spots.

He shook the water droplets from his beard, looked at Zhu Yu standing not far away, and asked, "What was that sound just now?"

Zhu Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Could it be thunder?"

"Nonsense!" Zhu Zhengfu glared at him and said, "At this time of year, where would thunder come from!? Go out and take a look!"

Zhu Yu bowed slightly and retreated.

Zhu Yu exited the study and gently closed the door. He looked at the Guard standing at the entrance and asked, "What was that sound just now?"

He and Zhu Zhengfu had been inside the room, so they hadn't heard it very clearly; the Guard, being outside, should have heard it more clearly.

"I don't know!" the Guard replied with a blank expression, then he reached out and pointed toward the southeast, saying, "It seemed to come from the direction of the Separate Courtyard."

"The Separate Courtyard?" Zhu Yu's heart skipped a beat; he hoped nothing had happened at the Separate Courtyard.

He immediately hurried toward the Separate Courtyard.

When Zhu Yu arrived at the entrance of the Separate Courtyard, he saw Chou Luan sitting on the large bluestone at the entrance drinking wine. His heart calmed slightly; Chou Luan was still sitting there drinking, which meant there shouldn't be any trouble.

Chou Luan was slightly taken aback when he saw Zhu Yu suddenly arrive.

Zhu Yu asked, "There seemed to be a strange sound just now. Is everything alright here?"

Chou Luan's expression shifted. In his half-dreaming, half-waking state just now, he seemed to have heard a whistling sound; it was that very whistle that had startled him awake from his shattered dream.

Chou Luan said, "It seems there was a sound, I don't know what it was either. But there is nothing wrong here."

"Is that so?" Zhu Yu looked at Chou Luan suspiciously.

Just then, Duan Rong walked out of the room. He wiped his sweat with a towel, put on his clothes, and was preparing to go out.

As soon as Duan Rong saw Zhu Yu standing at the entrance, his expression shifted, and he asked, "Steward Zhu, is something the matter?"

Zhu Yu bowed and said, "Reporting to you, Sir, I heard a strange sound here just now, and the Master sent me to take a look."

Duan Rong straightened his cuffs and laughed, "Oh, it's nothing. I woke up early and practiced my voice in the courtyard."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he walked past Zhu Yu with a calm and indifferent expression and left the Separate Courtyard.

"Practiced his voice?" Zhu Yu looked at Duan Rong's back, feeling completely bewildered.

Duan Rong left the Zhu residence, had morning tea at a teahouse on the street, listened to some scattered gossip, and then went to see Zhu Cheng to discuss the finishing work of capturing the spies.

Duan Rong stayed with Zhu Cheng until evening before returning to Zhu Zhengfu's residence.

Duan Rong did not go to the Separate Courtyard where he lived, but went directly to Zhu Zhengfu's reception hall.

Zhu Zhengfu had prepared dishes and wine, and the two began to eat and chat.

Zhu Zhengfu poured a cup of wine for Duan Rong, and while offering him food, said, "Sir, early this morning, just as the sky was brightening, the registers recording the officials and Gentry in Taihe Tower were already packed into crates and loaded onto carts. They were escorted by two units of Heavy Armored Cavalry from the Privy Council, with the Prefecture Master Wang Maochun leading the team personally, and have already left the city gates!"

Duan Rong asked, "Wang Maochun is escorting them personally?"

Zhu Zhengfu said, "Exactly!"

Duan Rong's expression shifted; it seemed the Sect attached great importance to the documents and materials inside Taihe Tower.

As the two were chatting, suddenly, at the entrance of the reception hall, a knocking sound rang out.

Zhu Zhengfu tilted his brow slightly and barked, "Come in!"

The door opened, and the steward Zhu Yu hurried in, saying, "Sir Duan, Master! Official Wu Shidao has arrived!"

When Zhu Yu said this, his eyes couldn't help but glance at Duan Rong.

"Official Wu!?" Zhu Zhengfu was slightly startled upon hearing this. First Duan Rong came, then Lu Geng, and now Wu Shidao had also arrived; could it be that there was another major event? A layer of gloom couldn't help but shroud Zhu Zhengfu's face.

Duan Rong set down his wine cup, his eyes brightening. Zhu He had said that Wu Shidao would bring Zhu Xiaoqi and Yang Zhen to Shenyun Prefecture to see him. It seemed they had arrived!

(End of chapter)