Chapter 277: The Yin Empress Zhu Wang Yuyan

N Nixingpai 。

Gu Qing stood atop the manor, gazing down at the scattered buildings below, all shrouded in darkness.

After Xie Di, his lineage split into four branches: N Nixingpai, Ba Wang Valley, Chi Shou Jiao, and Mei Huo Zong; the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa was divided among them, with You Niao Juan, one of the Eight Great Masters of the Demon Cult, serving as leader of N Nixingpai.

With his spiritual awareness enhanced, Gu Qing leapt swiftly into the manor, undeterred by hidden sentries or lurking experts, and walked straight to You Niao Juan's bedside.

You Niao Juan, one of the Eight Great Masters of the Demon Cult known as "The Reverser," had just fallen asleep when he felt the world spin—when he opened his eyes, his bed had been overturned and he was trampled beneath Gu Qing's foot.

"Hand over the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa!"

Gu Qing interrogated without hesitation.

You Niao Juan was utterly stunned—he never imagined that as one of the Eight Great Masters, he'd be sneaked up on, his bed overturned, and himself crushed underfoot before even waking… This was an unforgivable humiliation.

"You'll never get it…"

No sooner had You Niao Juan spoken defiantly than the Ruyi Orchid Hand and Sheng Si Fu were applied to him; wracked with unbearable pain, he obediently surrendered the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa.

Xiang Xiang Yutian, drawing upon Yan Fei's peculiar insights, unraveled the core of the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa, enabling him to absorb the Yuan Jing from the Xie Di She Li to prolong his life, reaching a state where he could depart the mortal realm at any moment. To amuse himself, he entrusted the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa to four wicked men, forcing them to scheme against and distrust each other, rendering them powerless to disrupt the Jianghu.

You Niao Juan was one of those four; the portion Gu Qing obtained here was merely one-fourth.

"Xi Gong Da Fa!"

Gu Qing drew in You Niao Juan's internal energy; though he was Xiang Xiang Yutian's disciple, Gu Qing devoured his cultivation to examine You Niao Juan's unique traits through the Xi Gong Da Fa.

After absorbing the internal energy, Gu Qing casually tossed You Niao Juan aside like a rag.

The Ruyi Orchid Hand and Sheng Si Fu remained active on his body, and with his internal energy gone, You Niao Juan was now undeniably dead.

"Who are you?"

As You Niao Juan neared death, he sought to know Gu Qing's name.

"How many in the world could kill you so easily?"

The voice was both tender and decisive; You Niao Juan turned toward the door and saw it half-open, where a woman in white robes stood, her face veiled in gauze, her bearing elegant and refined, stepping slowly into the room.

"Yin Hou, Zhu Wang Yuyan."

Upon hearing that name, You Niao Juan, already in unbearable agony, could no longer speak.

Yin Hou Zhu Wang Yuyan, ranked first among the Eight Great Masters of the Demon Cult—even above the Evil King—now bowed slightly to Gu Qing, assuming a defensive posture, and said: "Grand Master Gu, I've long heard of your name."

At this title, You Niao Juan felt his death was not unjust; in his final moments, he burst into wild laughter.

"Is your death so amusing?"

Zhu Wang Yuyan spoke coldly.

"I laugh only because such a Grand Master would seek the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa."

As You Niao Juan's final breath returned, he laughed wildly: "Too bad Zhou Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen aren't here—if they were, we'd gladly offer the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa to you, Grand Master."

When Xiang Xiang Yutian died studying the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa, all within the sect regarded it as a fatal art; had Gu Qing sought it, they would have gladly surrendered it all.

"Though they're absent, the scrolls are already here."

Zhu Wang Yuyan spoke coldly, then handed Gu Qing six scrolls of the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa.

The complete Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa consists of twelve chapters: First, Entering the Dao; Second, Planting the Demon; Third, Establishing the Demon; Fourth, Binding the Demon; Fifth, Demon Calamity; Sixth, Planting the Other; Seventh, Nurturing the Demon; Eighth, Awaken the Demon; Ninth, Becoming the Demon; Tenth, Ultimate Demon; Eleventh, Realm of Demon Transformation; Twelfth, Demon Immortal.

Gu Qing obtained three scrolls from You Niao Juan; Zhu Wang Yuyan gave him six more; still, three scrolls remained missing from the complete set.

Gu Qing flipped through the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa—the text was consistent, and the annotations he cared about were densely written throughout… Xiang Xiang Yutian had played a trick in transmission; others didn't know these annotations were the true essence of the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa.

"Are the remaining three scrolls also in your possession?"

Gu Qing looked at Zhu Wang Yuyan; though veiled, her graceful contours remained unmistakable.

In the martial world, two third-generation lineages were most famed: one was Li Li Qiushui, Li Li Qingluo, and Wang Wang Yuyan from Tian Long Ba Bu; the other was Zhu Wang Yuyan, Dan Dan Meixian, and Dan Mu Wanjing. Gu Qing gazed at Zhu Wang Yuyan—beneath the Tian Mo Mi, her exposed skin was snow-white, her gaze swirling like a vortex, captivating yet cold and heartless. "Of course."

Zhu Wang Yuyan said: "After you left Yangzhou, rumors spread that the Chang Sheng Jue had vanished; then we heard you inquired about You Niao Juan, Ding Jiuzhong, and Zhou Zhou Laotan. We deduced only this secret could warrant your attention, so I took the liberty of securing it for you, hoping to negotiate with you."

"We wish to trade three scrolls for three promises from you."

Zhu Wang Yuyan had received nine scrolls but was not greedy—she gave Gu Qing six outright, seeking only three conditions.

"What conditions?"

Gu Qing asked curiously.

Zhu Wang Yuyan's brows curved slightly, as if smiling: "First, I wish to test my skills against Grand Master Gu. I ask you to hold back and not injure me, so that Wang Yuyan may verify her martial arts."

This condition meant nothing to Gu Qing; he immediately agreed. The two stepped out of N Nixingpai together, leaving You Niao Juan lying on the ground, eyes wide open, breath gone.

"Tian Mo Da Fa!"

As Zhu Wang Yuyan stepped outside, she immediately activated the Tian Mo Da Fa; the surrounding heavens and earth seemed to awaken—the space warped, distorting sight and sound, disrupting qi. At that moment, she swept her sleeve, striking at Gu Qing, aided by the Tian Mo force field.

The technique was exquisitely refined.

!

But in that instant, Gu Qing leapt upward, standing atop the wall; with a single move of the Xi Gong Da Fa, the stone lion before N Nixingpai 's gate suddenly came alive, hopping and bounding toward Zhu Wang Yuyan to tear at her.

At the end of the world's greatest martial arts, Tie Dan Shen Hou Zhu Zhu Wushi once used the Xi Gong Da Fa to control a stone dragon and directly clashed with Cheng Fei's Golden Immortal Body. Now, Gu Qing merely manipulated one stone lion, and Zhu Wang Yuyan's Tian Mo force field was severely disrupted; the lion's sudden revival was unthinkable, yet every strike Zhu Wang Yuyan landed on it—whether winning or losing—made no difference.

Zhu Wang Yuyan floated away, stepping atop the stone lion, then drew back and sighed: "Grand Master Gu, Wang Yuyan overestimated herself."

All the world said Gu Qing's martial prowess was peerless; Zhu Wang Yuyan had now witnessed it firsthand.

"Let me give you some good news."

Gu Qing looked at Zhu Wang Yuyan and said: "When I was in Daxing, I found Shi Shi Zhixuan. He struck me with two hundred and twenty-four blows of the Bu Si Yin Fa—and seeing I was unharmed, he let out a mournful cry and fled."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wang Yuyan burst into laughter.

The Tian Mo Da Fa of Yin Gui Pai required virginity before reaching the eighteenth level. Shi Shi Zhixuan once saw Zhu Wang Yuyan as a threat, tricked her into losing her virginity, then vanished—leaving her cultivation capped at the seventeenth level, forging a deep, bitter enmity between them.

Now, hearing of Shi Shi Zhixuan's misfortune, Zhu Wang Yuyan laughed with unbridled joy.

"Grand Master Gu."

Zhu Wang Yuyan said: "I can give you one more scroll of the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa. The remaining two…"

"I can help you cultivate the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa, and Wan Wan may stay by my side."

Gu Qing proposed two conditions outright.

Zhu Wang Yuyan froze upon hearing them.

Xiang Xiang Yutian's fate made Zhu Wang Yuyan dare not study this scripture; as for Wan Wan, she was Yin Gui Pai's hope—if entrusted to Gu Qing, she might never reach the eighteenth level of Tian Mo Da Fa.

These two conditions were, to Zhu Wang Yuyan, Gu Qing taking everything—Yin Gui Pai suffered a catastrophic loss.

"Jie Hui received a slash from Grand Master Gu, his hair turned white, his legs paralyzed, and nine-tenths of his spirit shattered. Why did you spare him?"

Zhu Wang Yuyan suddenly asked this.

This matter ran deep; Zhu Wang Yuyan couldn't see its full meaning, but sensed it involved Ci Hang Jing Zhai.

"Jie Hui merely acted on Fan Fan Qinghui's orders, jumping around like a fool."

Gu Qing said calmly: "I spared him so that one day, when I ride Fan Fan Qinghui, he may bring hot water for her to wash away the traces—let him feel he had a part in it."

That's how a lickspittle is used.

Hearing this, Zhu Wang Yuyan's legs went weak with excitement; she immediately moved to seal the alliance.

As long as Gu Qing rode Fan Fan Qinghui, Yin Gui Pai would be his ironclad ally.

(End of Chapter)