Chapter 128: The Demon Master Reaps the Benefits of Others

Beside the bustling Western Depot stood a magnificent tavern, the only building in the vicinity that could rival it in grandeur.

Penglai Tower!

Named after the lines: "Penglai Palace faces the Southern Hills, golden stems bearing dew beneath the azure sky."

The words "Penglai" exuded overwhelming majesty.

One of the most prestigious taverns in the capital!

Patrons were high officials and nobles, draped in purple robes and jade belts, radiating imperial wealth.

From its upper floors, one could overlook the entire capital.

The nearby Western Depot lay fully in view, as if all were under its control.

The Western Depot had long grown weary of this!

No building dared stand as tall as the Western Depot.

It was deemed "grave disrespect!"

The Western Depot had sent agents multiple times to conduct "baseless" inspections, but each time returned empty-handed.

Only because the power behind the tavern was no minor force—Grand Eunuch Chen Sanzhong himself had ordered no interference in its business.

In the end, they could only let it thrive.

Gradually!

The tavern's fame grew louder, becoming an unmissable destination in the capital.

Among the people, there was a saying: "To visit the capital without seeing Penglai is to have never visited at all."

On the twelfth and highest floor of Penglai Tower!

The tavern was built like a spire; the topmost level spanned only two zhang, and those who could afford to rent a seat here were the supreme nobility of the capital.

The cost of a single meal at such a table.

For common folk, might equal the labor of generations.

At this moment, three figures on the highest floor gazed downward!

Two of them.

If the Western Depot's seal-bearer, Ma Bao, saw them, he would tremble with dread.

They were the nightmares he could never shake.

The Demon Master Huang Dao.

And Xie Mu, whom he had met on Mount Zhongnan.

Huang Dao still wore the appearance of a middle-aged scholar, his demeanor exuding calm authority.

His temples were streaked with gray, and the marks of time only deepened his solemnity and allure, enhancing his Grand Master aura.

But Xie Mu!

Had undergone a radical transformation.

The former emptiness, hollowed out by wine and lust, had vanished from his body entirely.

Now, he!

Had grown a head taller, his frame lean and muscular, eyes blazing with inner light, temples slightly sunken—clearly, his internal martial arts had reached an exalted peak.

Behind Huang Dao and Xie Mu stood a mysterious woman, silent and still.

Dressed in a flowing purple gauze robe, her figure graceful and alluring.

Her beautiful eyes brimmed with seduction, as if capable of stealing souls.

The woman stood beside Huang Dao, her posture proper, daring not the slightest impropriety.

Xie Mu wore a black robe with a hood, its hem draping over half his face.

Seeing this, Huang Dao smiled and said:

"With me beside you, what do you fear?"

Xie Mu sighed and replied:

"Normally, I'm not afraid—but today in the capital, we've encountered several Grand Masters. How could I not fear?"

"As if Grand Masters were common as dirt."

Now that Xie Mu had begun cultivation, he understood the terror of a Grand Master.

Worse than demons!

In the Daqing Empire, there were only four Grand Masters.

Yet today—good heavens!

All four had gathered at the Western Depot in the capital. Such a sight was extraordinarily rare.

The four Grand Masters had come for one reason alone.

To kill Lu Chen!

Xie Mu sighed; he still believed Lu Shaobao was a good man.

But the world was this way!

"Good men die young; evil men live a thousand years."

Huang Dao smiled faintly, one hand behind his back, gazing down at the bustling crowds near the Western Depot.

A confident smile curled on his lips as he said calmly:

"Even if all three unite, I can handle them effortlessly."

The beautiful woman beside him, clad in purple gauze, immediately echoed:

"The Demon Master's cultivation has transcended mortal bounds; no one in the world can match him."

Her voice was clear and melodious, sincere and moving.

Upon hearing this, Huang Dao's face showed a rare hint of amusement.

Xie Mu then spoke to Huang Dao:

"You go and kill Lu Yu."

Huang Dao paused, startled.

Silence fell over the room.

Huang Dao drew a deep breath; the scene on Mount Zhongnan still burned vividly in his mind.

That punch!

Like the first sunrise breaking heaven and earth—even now, recalling it with his current cultivation, he felt a flicker of dread.

Over the years, after slaying the dragon on Mount Zhongnan, his cultivation had surged unprecedentedly, and he had gained Daqing's "fate-qi."

Now!

In the capital of Daqing, his cultivation accelerated terrifyingly, as if all the spiritual energy of the capital flowed toward him.

The scripture he cultivated, "The Dao Heart Sows the Demon," was an extraordinarily profound method, unlike other cultivation paths that began with the human body.

Instead!

It forged a never-before-seen path, beginning with human emotion, using extreme emotion to perceive the Dao of heaven and earth.

This method pushed emotion to its extreme, pushed the Dao to its extreme, pushed truth to its extreme—its cultivation was immensely difficult.

It was the ultimate method of ascension, discovered over a lifetime by the founding ancestor of the demonic sect in the End Dharma Era.

Without spiritual energy, a Grand Master was the pinnacle of humanity.

Beyond that, there was no path.

"The Dao Heart Sows the Demon" opened with these words:

"Of the seven emotions and six desires of man, none surpasses the madness of romantic love; when touched by the harmony of fate-qi, it speaks to spirits and gods, and through it, all under heaven serves one."

This meant the cultivator must plant a demon within a woman's pure heart, entrusting his entire being to a single person, making her thoughts his thoughts—if she wished him dead, he would willingly die!

Yet true transcendence lay in surpassing emotional bonds.

The cultivator must rise above such attachments, using extreme emotion to perceive the Dao of heaven and earth, seeking the true self.

This demanded extraordinary wisdom and unyielding will, for the slightest misstep could plunge one into irreversible ruin.

Lose the self!

Surrender one's entire life without reservation, yet "steal and seize," then transcend through murder amid endless "love."

Push human emotion to its utmost!

Huang Dao had planned everything: he used southern spirit insects to erase all memories, then sought the rarest pair of love spirit insects in heaven and earth.

He engineered the perfect encounter with the woman he desired most.

The two fell deeply in love, sharing life's joys and sorrows, bound by profound affection.

He watched with his own eyes as the woman, arranged by others, committed adultery—his rage and anguish erupted like a volcanic inferno.

In his fury, he "accidentally" killed her.

But this brought no relief—only endless regret.

His love for her had been too profound; he could not escape it for twenty years.

For those twenty years!

He had foolishly drowned in longing and pain, unable to break free.

Until Xie Mu appeared and awakened him—he finally saw clearly.

"Breaking the old chains of the past, today I know who I am."

Then came the resurgence of spiritual energy, and he finally achieved a monumental leap in cultivation.

Huang Dao's lips curled into a self-satisfied smile.

He walked a path no previous Demon Dao Ancestor had ever tread, and now he faced this resurgence of spiritual energy.

"What a tremendous heavenly rain."

Huang Dao recalled the records in the Demon Sect's Heavenly Demon Scripture:

"When spiritual energy returns, chaos begins across the land!"

Several centuries ago, when spiritual energy briefly returned for the first time, it sparked the "Warring States" era.

At that time!

The world was tangled like a knot of hemp, a hundred states burned in endless war, and lives were as worthless as grass.

Huang Dao knew full well the root of it all: the struggle over Dao lineages.

Each faction sought to impose its own doctrine upon an entire nation, aiming to seize control of the world.

Behind it all, in truth, was a struggle over destiny's qi.

Speaking of Zhu Yan, the great Confucian master of the Great Qing, he too was a Martial Dao Grand Master.

He assisted Emperor Jing, aiding the Great Qing's southern expansion and building the prosperity of the Jiangnan region.

Thus!

Zhu Yan alone controlled state affairs, wielded absolute power, entered court with sword and boots, and was greeted by kneeling ministers.

"He treated the Emperor as a child!"

Zhu Yan was granted the titles of Grand Administrative Commissioner and Duke of Anping, along with the posts of Grand General and Chancellor, concentrating almost the entire destiny of the Great Qing upon himself.

Under his influence, Emperor Jing was in truth nothing but a puppet.

Through this, Zhu Yan gathered the destiny of the entire Great Qing upon himself and reached a realm beyond Primordial Martial Dao.

It was called — "Heavenly Human"!

Huang Dao knew that in that era, Zhu Yan was not the only one who reached the Heavenly Human realm.

There were nine other masters of equal cultivation, each either a monarch or a minister wielding supreme power.

These nine men each held sway over their own territories — the nine most powerful states of the "Warring States" period.

Nine states clashed in chaos!

To determine who would truly unify the world.

The secret behind it was to channel the strength of all under heaven into one person to "shatter the void"!

But!

At that moment, spiritual energy vanished for no apparent reason.

The Heavenly Human and Primordial realms vanished!

Only "Grand Masters" remained in the mortal world.

Zhu Yan, the great Confucian master, was eventually discovered by Emperor Jing of the Great Qing, who seized the chance to surround and kill him with three thousand iron cavalry.

Zhu Yan's ten clans were exterminated; even Emperor Jing turned Zhu Yan's skull into a chamber pot and placed it beneath his bed.

Zhu Yan's death!

Sent shockwaves through the Great Qing, igniting massive unrest among the people, spawning endless rumors and speculations.

A folk rhyme went: "When birds are all gone, the fine bow is stored; when cunning rabbits die, the hunting dogs are boiled."

Yet!

Very few truly knew the hidden truth.

These secrets were passed only orally among emperors, becoming an unspoken taboo.

Now, Emperor Hui of the Great Qing has been captured in the North Wind, and the imperial clan likely knows none of these historical details.

Huang Dao snapped back to awareness!

His current cultivation base is "Primordial Completion"!

Just one step away!

From entering the Heavenly Human realm.

Huang Dao smiled faintly.

"Heaven's timing, earth's advantage, human harmony — all have fallen to me!"

Xie Mu casually grabbed a piece of roast duck from the table and ate it without any decorum.

The beautiful woman in purple gauze was greatly astonished — this young master named Xie Mu dared to mock the Demon Master so brazenly.

And the Demon Master himself seemed to regard it as perfectly natural!

It truly shocked her deeply!

Women faced the Demon Master with utmost dread, never daring the slightest disrespect.

She was the Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect's Seven Sounds Sect; for years, she had arranged his stay in the capital.

And because of this!

Her status within the Nine Paths of the Demon Sect soared.

The more she interacted with this legendary Demon Master, the more terrifying she found him.

Huang Dao's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched two men walking down the street.

Especially!

The man walking slightly behind.

Every time he recalled it, his heart still trembled.

Xie Mu rose to his feet, following Huang Dao's gaze toward the two men on the street.

He knew Huang Dao's fear of Lu Yu, so he asked: "What will you do? Four against one, or wait for the fisherman's gain?"

Huang Dao shook his head, turning his gaze toward the Western Depot, as if weighing the pros and cons.

He sighed softly and said:

"Forget it. I won't take this risk. When I was on Mount Zhongnan, Lu Yu may already have been in the Heavenly Human realm."

"Now that spiritual energy has just returned, he has reached the Heavenly Human realm directly — such a genius is rare in the world; I wonder what realm he's in now!"

"As long as he lives, my heart will never rest."

Over the years, Xie Mu had followed Huang Dao to the capital and found him genuinely kind.

He helped Xie Mu open his Ren and Du meridians and taught him the most profound techniques of the Demon Sect; in just a few years, Xie Mu was only one step away from becoming a Grand Master.

Xie Mu, however, felt some sorrow — he had not returned home in years.

He feared bringing trouble to his family!

And now the Xie family stood at the heart of the imperial court.

Xie Mu's father, Xie Chunan, held the post of Minister of Rites.

His eldest sister, Xie Lingxuan.

And a brother who also served in court as a third-rank official.

In his absence, the Xie family had grown even more illustrious.

"So this is how you play it!"

Xie Mu smiled bitterly to himself; he had often trailed his father, just to see if the old man, past sixty, was still well.

He had even infiltrated the Xie household to secretly visit his sister and mother, but always came and went in haste.

Now his identity was sensitive!

It was tied to the Emperor's death on Mount Zhongnan — he feared it would bring disaster upon his entire family.

When he was eight, his father had once calculated his birth chart and said his life would be extraordinary, destined for wealth and nobility.

Yet now Xie Mu could only weep silently. He mocked himself: "Father, you even lied to a child!"

He spent every day with Huang Dao, living in constant fear — where was his "noble destiny"?

Xie Mu asked Huang Dao:

"Of the three Grand Masters, who is the strongest?"

Huang Dao smiled:

"The strongest is naturally me."

Xie Mu sighed helplessly, "I didn't ask you."

Xie Mu's question immediately sparked curiosity in the purple-gauze maiden, for the ranking of the Great Qing's Four Grand Masters had long been a hot topic in the martial world.

Now, one of those Grand Masters, Huang Dao, sat before them — his assessment was naturally the most authoritative.

Huang Dao began evaluating the other three Grand Masters.

"Chen Sanzhong — though his body is incomplete, he forged a Vajra physique through sheer will and talent; his perseverance and genius are remarkable. But he has served the Empress Dowager for so long, he has lost the courage to press forward — he is the weakest of the three."

"Jiang Xiaoyue — his entire life has pursued the ultimate in martial technique. His palm techniques truly deserve the title of the finest under heaven; in the history of palm arts, he has reached the pinnacle. But the path of martial arts is not merely about perfecting one technique — it demands absorbing the strengths of all schools and integrating them. He has walked too narrow a path."

Finally, Huang Dao mentioned the Foolish Monk of Lingxi Temple.

Huang Dao stroked his chin, hesitating:

"Yet this Foolish Monk of Lingxi Temple — he has never killed a single person in his life. When I first became a Grand Master, I fought him — I could not fathom his depth. He is the strongest of the three."

The purple-gauze maiden's eyes flashed with surprise.

She had assumed Jiang Xiaoyue was first, Chen Sanzhong second, and the Foolish Monk third.

But Huang Dao's assessment completely overturned her assumptions.

As the purple-gauze maiden still pondered Huang Dao's words,

Huang Dao suddenly smiled and said: "They're here!"

The purple-gauze maiden and Xie Mu followed Huang Dao's gaze.

Behold!

Lu Chen and the other had entered the Western Factory.

……

……

【You and Lu Yu arrived together at the gates of the Western Factory, where Ma Bao was already waiting; the eunuchs on both sides knelt in orderly reverence, the scene solemn and grand.】

【Ma Bao bowed respectfully and said, "The Junior Protector, please enter!"】

【You sensed Ma Bao's shame, but paid it no mind.】

【Then, the two of you stepped inside.】

【The vermilion gates of the Western Factory slowly closed, sealing off the outside world.】

【At that moment, a chill appeared on Lu Yu's face!】

I'm a bit late—originally planned for two chapters, but since it was a natural breaking point, I merged them into one. Don't worry, updates will come daily, though the volume is small, sigh!

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(End of Chapter)