Chapter 324: Dark Heart Calculation (Three-in-One)

The Spirit Cultivator soared into the air.

His eyes were filled with terror, as if he had seen something especially terrible high in the sky.

Immediately, that fear swelled rapidly in his eyes.

It forced his two eyeballs to grow larger and larger.

The fear had no outlet, and finally:

Pop—

The two eyeballs literally burst his head open.

Flesh, bone fragments, brain matter, and so on, flew everywhere across the sky.

The fear in his eyes also exploded outward, transforming into countless black poisonous insects, bats, and venomous snakes that roamed everywhere before diving into the void, disappearing to who knows where.

The Spirit Cultivator had already released three Seventh-Rank Yin Soldiers.

One wrapped around Di Youzhi, while the other two were pursuing and killing the other Captains.

The Six-Eyed Eyed Minge slowly rose, flapping its wings.

In the four eyes on its wings, as if hidden within were whirlpools that drew the three Yin Soldiers inside.

A Wu Xiu under the Lady roared, holding up a shield and charging toward a certain spot.

His ears and eyes were keen; he had already discovered Xu Yuan's hiding place!

Xu Yuan wrapped the Skin Pill around his hand, transforming it into a gauntlet.

Then, without dodging or evading, he punched straight at the Wu Xiu.

This punch exerted seventy percent of his strength, but because he used the fighting technique of the Dragon Form Art, Xu Yuan felt he could unleash twelve percent of his previous power.

"Boom!"

Xu Yuan's fist smashed into the shield; immediately, with a "Crack," the corner shattered and flew off, and the shield caved in and broke.

The Wu Xiu let out a muffled groan, retreated three zhang, and fell to the ground, rolling twice.

Then, taking advantage of the momentum, he climbed back up.

Standing there, he struggled to take another step forward, as if he still wanted to fight Lord Xu to the death.

But immediately, unable to hold it back, he "Ugh!" and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Blood vessels all over his body popped one after another, and blood plasma burst forth.

Lord Xu's single punch had directly broken his cultivation and caused his blood to explode.

The Wu Xiu spread his arms and fell backward toward the sky.

Thud!

His massive body could never stand up again.

A Text Cultivator was locked in combat with Lang Xiao Ba.

Behind Miao Yu suppressed the Rank Dan Xiu on one side while covering Lang Xiao Ba's rear on the other.

After receiving the technique of "Small Tower Fragrance," this was the first time Lang Xiao Ba faced an opponent of equal strength.

Xu Yuan did not intervene, letting Lang Xiao Ba gain some experience.

The Lady retreated more than ten steps; the "Wang Laoshi Plague Qi" enveloping her had already formed seven or eight "qi streams" trying to drill into her orifices such as eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

Among them, faintly, vast numbers of tiny insects, only the size of a needle's tip, appeared.

Once they drilled into the body, the outcome was imaginable.

The Lady had to summon countless gray moths, then began chanting a certain "calculation method incantation."

The gray moths flapped their wings, scattering gray powder all over the sky from their wings.

The gray powder merged with the Wang Laoshi Plague Qi, with every single grain of powder accurately targeting one tiny insect.

In an instant, all the tiny insects were killed!

The Wang Laoshi Plague Qi immediately weakened by more than half.

The Lady's gray moths, however, were no longer so lively.

The "Three Hairpins" in the Lady's hand flashed, cleanly and decisively stripping the Wang Laoshi Plague Qi completely away from her body—suddenly, she noticed a thin rope appearing beneath her feet!

The Lady was startled and quickly dodged aside; sure enough, that rope was heading straight for her ankle.

"Hmph!" The Lady sneered, gently shaking the three hairpins in her hand—

Ding-ding-dang-dang...

The silver bells chimed lightly, and Xu Yuan immediately felt extremely heavy on his head.

It was as if three heavy silver beams were pressing down on the top of his head.

Pressing directly until his neck was about to break and his skull was about to crack!

Xu Yuan angrily said, "Only you have bells?"

A carriage bell appeared in Xu Yuan's hand, and he shook it with force.

"Lang-lang-lang..."

The carriage bell's sound was louder; although it could not suppress the six silver bells on the Three Hairpins, the Lady's soul still swayed.

However, those gray moths flapped their wings again, dropping more gray powder that surrounded her, actually isolating her from this entire space.

Xu Yuan's carriage bell sound could not get in—but her silver bell sound could not get out either.

The Lady threw herself forward to attack, holding one hairpin in her left hand and two in her right.

She also cultivated Wu Xiu.

The Three Hairpins in her hand were Fifth-Rank Crafted Objects!

Xu Yuan felt the same as Shen Qingpeng just now: he felt he had been calculated.

Moreover, when the Lady faced Xu Yuan, she exerted her full strength. Xu Yuan's feeling was even stronger; he felt that the Lady had calculated every single one of his possible responses.

No matter what means he used, it seemed he would end up with several bloody holes pierced into him by the Lady!

Xu Yuan simply stopped dodging.

He stood still, staring with wide eyes as the Lady's three hairpins flew and stabbed him six times in rapid succession with a "pop pop pop."

During this process, he raised his hand to toss out the tortoise shell and opened his mouth to spit a wisp of the Fu Zhong Huo from his belly.

A crackling sound erupted from the tortoise shell.

Today's divination: Great Auspiciousness!

With the three hairpins stabbing six times, there was a fifty percent chance they would pierce Xu Yuan's Skin Core.

Under normal circumstances, three bloody holes should have been left on Xu Yuan's body.

But under the divination result of "Great Auspiciousness."

None of these six stabs managed to pierce the Skin Core.

Xu Yuan drew his long blade and slashed—drawing out the electricity from the Dragon Pearl.

Fzzzt—

Amidst the electric light, gray moths fell one by one.

The Lady's calculation method was sinister; these gray moths of hers should have been in the "Turbid Realm."

Even when the calculation method was activated, they would only manifest in the Yang World, while their true bodies remained in the Turbid Realm.

However, to block the sound of the carriage bell earlier, these gray moths had scattered ash powder.

Thus, their true bodies had entered the Yang World.

The gray moths themselves were extremely weak and could not withstand the electric light at all.

The Lady was deeply pained.

The foundation of her calculation method was these gray moths; the more that died, the weaker her calculation method became.

The Lady retreated swiftly, sending all the remaining gray moths back to the Turbid Realm.

Yet her heart was filled with shock: Why did I calculate wrong?!

Once the calculation method was activated, every response of Xu Yuan's was predicted by her in advance.

But she had not calculated that he would stand motionless there and let her stab him six times.

This led to a series of subsequent failures.

The Lady quickly figured it out: "A Fate Cultivator?"

She could not guess the "No Taboos" Fate, but she could guess that Xu Yuan might be a Fate Cultivator possessing some kind of Fate capable of blinding her calculation method.

Xu Yuan did not answer, but quietly took out the Dog-Head Gold Artifact.

With this Artifact, wherever Xu Yuan went, the five zhang outside his body became his own "stall," without needing prior setup.

Xu Yuan closed in swiftly.

His "Dragon Transformation Art" and "Dragon Form Technique" stacked together, making his speed extremely fast.

A flash appeared before the Lady's eyes, and Xu Yuan was already right in front of her.

The Lady retreated swiftly.

Her heart was even more startled: "A Fate Cultivator and a Wu Xiu, both paths?"

But the Lady had great confidence in her own speed.

Her Wu Xiu focused on speed, agility, and flexibility, not being skilled in strength.

After all, she was a woman, and her beauty was one of her weapons.

She could not cultivate to be bulky and coarse.

The Lady also retreated, maintaining a distance of one zhang between them at all times.

The Lady spoke: "Are you willing to serve me?"

"As long as you agree, I, this Lady, can forgive all past matters!"

"I, this Lady, guarantee that within three years you will become a Law Keeper; within ten years, Ma Tianshou's position will be yours!"

"After twenty years, I can even make your ranking in the Northern Capital General Office enter the top five!"

"Our power is very strong, far beyond your imagination!"

A Fate Cultivator was worth a huge investment to recruit.

Even though we are currently enemies.

A hint of interest appeared on Xu Yuan's face, and his speed slowed slightly.

The Lady keenly caught the change in Xu Yuan's expression and also slowed down a bit, maintaining a distance of one zhang between them.

"You may not understand our identity, but some time ago, you should have heard about the matter at the Canal Office."

The Lady revealed her identity.

She had to make this Fate Cultivator know the power she represented!

Xu Yuan felt his "Eight Directions Injury Sha" stir slightly.

So it was you all...

No wonder such a group of powerful enemies suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

It seems... they harmed Duan He just to draw me out.

This woman cultivates the calculation method; I don't know how she calculated that I was involved with the Cocoon Eater.

But you are a bit stingy; the conditions you promised are not even as good as what I could achieve through my own struggle.

Xu Yuan lowered his voice and said: "Cocoon Eater?"

The Lady nodded: "If you took it, as long as you hand over the item, my previous promise still stands."

"Do not be greedy; that item involves too many people, and taking it will bring you no benefit."

Xu Yuan shook his head: "I didn't take it."

"Do you know who struck?"

"I don't know..." Xu Yuan seemed truly to be communicating with her about the matter of "turning enemies into friends," yet his speed suddenly surged.

The Lady instantly grew alert and flew backward—but suddenly felt as if some power had stuck to and dragged her; her speed simply could not increase!

Within Xu Yuan's "stall," Xu Yuan was the master.

Xu Yuan suddenly appeared before the Lady, thrusting out a pair of Dragon-Slaying Swords.

Sss—

Two blood trails were left on the Lady's body!

The Lady flew into a rage, swiftly calculating a way to break free; countless gray moths manifested outside her body, opening a "channel."

This channel borrowed a path through the Turbid Realm.

The Lady's strength was insufficient to stay in the Turbid Realm for long, but under the protection of the gray moths, briefly borrowing a path was no problem.

The Lady flew back ten zhang, her willow eyebrows standing upright and her apricot eyes round with anger: "Good thief!"

"You refuse the toast only to drink the forfeit!"

The gray moths fanned down a large amount of gray powder; this time, however, they did not surround the Lady, but directly enhanced the three hairpins.

The Lady let out a delicate cry; the three hairpins flew from her hand, shooting through the air like a sword pill.

At the same time, countless counting rods hid behind the gray moths.

The gray moths flew out, filling the sky, thereby avoiding the lightning attacks.

Xu Yuan was instantly plunged into a state of being surrounded.

"Let's see how many times you can get lucky!"

Having failed to wound Xu Yuan six times just now, the Lady guessed he possessed a fate pattern that enhanced luck.

But luck is still luck; even if luck is very good, it is impossible to be "lucky" every single time.

Xu Yuan laughed loudly; wasn't this a coincidence?

You have three hairpins; I have three swords.

A pair of Dragon-Slaying Swords flew out, and the sword pill rose with them.

Ding-ding-dang-dang, they clashed in the air for a while.

The Dragon-Slaying Swords did not fall behind.

But the sword pill was merely sixth-rate after all, and gradually began to struggle against them.

The gray moths fluttered as countless counting rods flew forth to stab.

This set of counting rods was also a fifth-rate artisan artifact the Lady had commissioned a craftsman to forge at great expense.

The Lady herself was a fifth-rate Dao cultivator and a sixth-rate Wu Xiu.

Every single counting rod had undergone precise calculation; launched as a linked chain, Xu Yuan could not possibly resist.

No matter what technique was used, it would fall into the counting rods' "trap," just like Shen Qingpeng just now.

Xu Yuan simply remained—unresisting, enduring the blows directly.

Just as before.

The Skin Pill covered his entire body.

A smile of triumph rose upon the Lady's face.

She had already miscalculated once just now; how could she repeat the same mistake this time?

With hundreds of counting rods, surely a few must slip past your "luck"!

But the Lady did not expect that although Xu Yuan remained motionless in place, a war chariot appeared beneath his feet.

Flames rolled upon the wheels, and the carriage was tightly defended.

The war chariot raced forward, its speed like lightning.

The carriage, modified again by the stepmother, had defense power equal to the Skin Pill, both having reached the fifth-rate standard.

Those counting rods that broke the carriage could not break the Skin Pill.

Under this double defense, the Lady's "calculation" failed once again.

And although the sword pill could not withstand that single hairpin, Xu Yuan possessed even more sinister moves.

The Sinew Pill suddenly appeared, entangling the silver chain behind the hairpin.

Once snagged, the hairpin could no longer move freely in the air.

The sword pill was infinitely agile, constantly launching sneak attacks.

Moreover, apart from the Lady, all combat occurred within a five-zhang radius outside Xu Yuan.

Constrained by the power of Xu Yuan's "stall."

Xu Yuan's speed was comparable to the Lady's, but after stepping onto the war chariot, his speed surged dramatically.

Furthermore, the war chariot driven by Fu Zhong Huo was no less agile than the Lady.

In an instant, the Lady was caught up with again; Xu Yuan, upon the war chariot, brought his blade down in a chop.

The Lady had no suitable weapon in hand; she slapped her waist—a craftsman artifact soft sword darted up like a silver snake.

With a "ding," it tapped against Xu Yuan's long blade.

Had this been Xu Yuan before obtaining the "Dragon Form Art," this sword strike, using skill to overcome force, would surely have parried the long blade aside.

But now Xu Yuan's martial arts weakness had been filled; this sword strike was utterly ineffective.

After all, a waist-wrapped soft sword facing a charging "war chariot soldier" was itself a very unsuitable weapon.

The long blade merely trembled slightly, then, its momentum unchanged, chopped down.

Swish—

Lady Fu Shuanghui swiftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the blade.

Yet a patch of skin and flesh was still directly sliced from her shoulder!

Fresh blood quickly seeped out, staining half of her body red.

Lady Fu Shuanghui let out a wretched cry, cold sweat pouring down from the pain.

And before Xu Yuan had charged far, the war chariot spun around and attacked again.

This time Xu Yuan waved his hand—

Face-Soaking Rain!

Fine raindrops struck; Lady Fu Shuanghui startled and quickly snapped open a tooth-and-bone folding fan with a "snap!"

The opened fan projected a one-zhang-wide fan-surface illusion, blocking the "Face-Soaking Rain."

But Lady Fu Shuanghui unexpectedly discovered this sinister technique was not actually that formidable.

Under Xu Yuan's previous several attacks, she had become a bird startled by a bowstring.

The moment Xu Yuan struck, she instinctively assumed it would be ferocious.

She moved the fan away from her face, looking at Xu Yuan with doubt and uncertainty, only to find her vision blurred; seven or eight Xu Yuans stood on the war chariot, raising long blades, sparks flying, charging at her with lethal speed!

Dragon Spits Mirage!

This sinister technique works even better in places abundant with water vapor.

Lady Fu Shuanghui could not distinguish which one was the real Xu Yuan.

She now had two choices:

First, calculate which one was real.

Second, scatter the counting rods to attack each "Xu Yuan" individually; the fakes could not withstand Fifth-Rank Crafted Objects and would naturally shatter, leaving only Xu Yuan.

Lady Fu Shuanghui made the correct choice, recalled the counting rods, and began calculating swiftly.

Xu Yuan's "Eight Directions of Injury and Calamity" fate pattern took effect, but had no effect.

Lady Fu Shuanghui was after all Fifth-Rank level, with a high probability of being immune to fate pattern effects.

【203】 If Lady Fu Shuanghui scattered the counting rods, then only a small portion of the rods would remain, utterly unable to form any obstruction against the real Xu Yuan.

Blood quickly seeped out, staining half her body red.

Lady Fu Shuanghui quickly calculated the true Xu Yuan, and all the counting rods shot toward him at once.

Bang bang bang...

Dense impact sounds rang out on the carriage body.

Lady Fu Shuanghui swiftly darted to one side, dodging Xu Yuan's blade strike.

Xu Yuan was not in a hurry.

Lady Fu Shuanghui already bore three wounds; relying on the effect of "Ghost Doctor Steals Life," she would continuously accelerate into weakness.

And since this was still within the city, forces from all sides would soon arrive to reinforce.

Over at Lang Xiao Ba's side, he was applying the method of "Small Tower Fragrance" with increasing proficiency.

That civil cultivator had originally held boundless confidence in Lady Fu Shuanghui; as long as she defeated Xu Yuan, victory would ultimately be theirs.

But seeing Lady Fu Shuanghui repeatedly injured while Xu Yuan remained unscathed—he panicked.

Nearby, Sixth-Rank Miao Yu was holding the line; the civil cultivator struggled desperately, and with one lapse in attention, Lang Xiao Ba's blade shattered his protective talisman, and a head shot skyward!

The civil cultivator's death also affected Lady Fu Shuanghui.

Her subordinates were already completely wiped out!

Lady Fu Shuanghui gritted her silver teeth; "As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood; I shall spare your life today!"

Xu Yuan immediately sensed that this woman intended to flee!

How could that be allowed!

Xu Yuan shifted his mind; actually, there was one move Xu Yuan had not yet used.

Xu Yuan shouted, "Minister Miao, pronounce the sentence!"

Miao Yu, guided by sudden inspiration, raised the Great Seal artifact high and shouted, "Attacking officials in the street; according to the law, execution is the penalty!"

Xu Yuan immediately summoned the Tiger-Head Cleaver!

The Tiger-Head Cleaver can slay evil spirits, and can also slay cultivators who have committed crimes.

But one must first "convict" the cultivator.

Additionally, there are some subtle distinctions: the cleaver of the Evil-Dispelling Bureau cannot kill criminals of the Shanhe Bureau.

Xu Yuan lifted the Tiger-Head Cleaver with force—

Lady Fu Shuanghui, already convicted by Miao Yu, immediately felt infinite, vast power from heaven and earth converge, binding her and forcing her toward the cleaver!

If this woman had not tried to flee, Xu Yuan would not have been willing to use this move.

This would be tantamount to admitting that his Tiger-Head Cleaver was the very one belonging to Lady Fu Shuanghui.

Lady Fu Shuanghui resisted with all her might; all the counting rods flew back, and the gray moth shook all the gray powder from its wings, condensing into a gray giant outside Lady Fu Shuanghui to help her resist the vast power of heaven and earth.

Xu Yuan gritted his teeth, pulled out the begging bowl, and began singing "Lian Hua Luo."

Once the song finished, suddenly a chaotic clatter erupted within the begging bowl.

Xu Yuan looked closely and discovered he had actually begged up Lady Fu Shuanghui's entire set of counting rods!

Tortoise-shell divination is indeed efficacious; today is extremely auspicious!

Lady Fu Shuanghui, caught off guard, without this set of fundamental Crafted Objects, relying solely on the gray moth, could no longer resist the Tiger-Head Cleaver's binding.

Ssshh—

Two long tracks were ground beneath Lady Fu Shuanghui's feet as she was forcibly pinned beneath the Tiger-Head Cleaver!

"You cannot kill me!"

Lady Fu Shuanghui cried out in terror: "Do you know who I am?"

"I am in Beidu..."

Xu Yuan would not let her speak further; actually uttering the names of several figures would only cause trouble.

Crack!

The guillotine blade fell sharply, and a beautiful head rolled away with a clatter.

The gray moths filling the sky instantly flapped their wings once and vanished, all returning to the Turbid Realm.

Xu Yuan let out a long sigh.

His first reaction was to put away both the Tiger Head Guillotine and the Begging Bowl.

Then, feigning extreme exhaustion, he sat heavily on the ground: "Lang Xiao Ba, help this lord back to rest. Di Youzhi, you clear the scene."

From start to finish, Lord Xu did not dare to look at Miao Yu even once!

Miao Yu hesitated repeatedly but still did not speak, watching Xu Yuan run away.

The Lady and her five guards possessed a vast amount of fine treasures.

Miao Yu wanted the Lady's Three-Hairpin Set, but after thinking it over, he felt that since he had contributed little to this battle, taking a set of Fifth-Rank Artisan Items would be truly greedy.

Even though he had already realized that Xu Yuan's Tiger Head Guillotine was the very one lost by the Shanhe Office.

Miao Yu unceremoniously sheathed his waist-wrapped soft sword.

This too was a Sixth-Rank Artisan Item.

Moreover, Miao Yu's family was recently arranging a marriage for him, and he was very satisfied with the bride.

This soft sword would be perfect to give to her.

Thinking of the Tiger Head Guillotine, Miao Yu still felt he had lost out.

So he said to his two subordinates: "Whatever you fancy, take it freely; that scoundrel Xu Yuan owes us!"

Xu Yuan's consumption in this battle was not great; after evading Miao Yu, he no longer needed Lang Xiao Ba's support and quickly flew back to the Nancheng Patrol Station.

Indeed, Third Sister and the entire group were all present.

Xu Yuan called Miao Yan over: "Does Shen Qingpeng have any relatives?"

Miao Yan naturally knew everything clearly: "These past years he has been single-mindedly trying to break through the Sixth-Rank barrier; he has not married and has no children.

His old mother died long ago; his father raised him, and five years ago his father also died.

Now there is only an elder brother."

Lord Xu nodded; this meant there were no more concerns: "Go confiscate all of Shen Qingpeng's assets; that is this lord's money!"

This lord promised that as long as Shen Qingpeng helped with this matter, his family assets would be returned to him.

But now that he is dead, they remain this lord's!

"Yes!" Miao Yan was overjoyed.

Just as he was about to leave, Lord Xu suddenly called him back: "How about this? Leave a small house for his elder brother, and additionally give five hundred taels of silver to ensure his food and clothing are secure."

"Very well, this humble one will certainly arrange everything properly; please rest assured, my lord."

Two hours later, Di Youzhi and the others returned.

Everything on the corpses was searched out, then burned in the belly fire right on the street.

All matters were properly handled.

The Lady's subordinates were all Seventh-Rank; the Artisan Items, pills, and such they carried were useless to ordinary Captains.

Di Youzhi and Mao Dabin sorted them together and brought them back for Lord Xu to inspect.

But they were dripping with wealth.

A total of fourteen thousand taels in silver notes were found on their persons!

There was also over three hundred taels in loose gold and silver.

Xu Yuan gave all the loose gold and silver to Di Youzhi, then took out a thousand-tael silver note: "Divide this among the group; everyone gets a share."

The crowd erupted in joy: "Thank you, my lord, for your bounty! Hee-hee, ha-ha!"

Xu Yuan beckoned Jia Yi over and took out another thousand-tael silver note: "We do not know how long it will take for the court's compensation to arrive; take this silver and deliver it to Duan He's family first."

Jia Yi's expression shifted; he spoke in a low voice: "My lord, isn't that too much?"

If one thousand taels are given to Duan He's family, then whenever another brother falls in battle henceforth, the standard must be set at this level.

Moreover, Duan He was a Captain; if a Chief Inspector were to fall, it would be at least fifteen hundred taels.

The work of the Filth-Dispelling Office often involves death...

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "It is settled. Previously, our private treasury was empty; even if we wished to subsidize the brothers' families, we lacked the means.

Last time we killed the wild boar demons and collected much material. Combined with this ten thousand-plus taels, it will all be used for the brothers.

Other offices' private treasuries are for officials to eat, drink, and play; we are different from them. The group follows me to lick blood from the blade; we must ensure everyone has no worries behind them."

Jia Yi felt warmth in his heart and clasped his fists firmly, speaking in a deep voice: "This subordinate understands!"

Xu Yuan nodded: "In the future, remember to visit Duan He's family more often."

"Yes!"

Xu Yuan then inspected the Lady's remaining belongings.

That set of "Three-Hairpin Set" was, of course, taken without hesitation.

Although he could not use it himself, it was at least a Fifth-Rank Artisan Item.

Additionally, the Lady had only two ancient booklets on her person.

The folding fan had been taken by Miao Yu's people.

One was fully three fingers thick, titled "Dark Heart Calculation," and was the inheritance of the Lady's calculation method.

Inside, it not only recorded the cultivation method for this calculation method but also detailed how to craft the "Medicinal Catalyst" for this inheritance.

(End of this chapter)