[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dao-dust-pearl":3,"chapter-the-dao-dust-pearl-the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-22":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dao Dust Pearl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2359523,4614,"Chapter 22","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-22",22,"\u003Cp>“So after all that inspection, have you found anything we missed?” Xu Xiaoyang sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Chen said softly: “Master Liang is famed for swallowing Danxia qi; his Qi Refining technique is unmatched. When he acts, his true qi surges like Danxia clouds rolling across the sky, immensely powerful. He also wields the divine weapon Yunxia Dan, whose sole function is to thicken true qi. Thanks to this, combined with his own vast true qi, his protective Gang qi is among the strongest among us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why Master Liang could confidently leave his back exposed to the killer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the killer’s weapon must be powerful—and capable of breaking Gang qi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In other words… the killer’s divine weapon is a blade with the ability to break Gang qi?” Master Kongming interjected. “If so, finding the killer becomes much simpler!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly!” Daoist Wanshi agreed. “We only need to identify those whose whereabouts during Master Liang’s death remain unconfirmed, then verify whether their divine weapon can break Gang qi. The overlap should be minimal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll go first!” Kang Qian Deng rushed in: “Just now, I was with Brother Qian, Brother Fang…” He named each martial artist who had accompanied him to intercept Su Sanguan, then added: “We all went together to the back courtyard to ambush the enemy. So these martial artists are certainly innocent—we can vouch for each other.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, several who had gone with him to intercept Su Sanguan also spoke up: “Yes! We can vouch for each other.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Kongming said: “I, Daoist Wanshi, Master Xu, Master Tang, Miss Shen… remained in the Five Lakes Hall to coordinate. We never left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bi Xue Dan Xin Jian Du Zihuai spoke: “I, along with Master Liang Dou, Zhao Cheng, Chief of Changfeng Escort Agency, and Old Hero Li Qianqiu, went to confront the enemy in the east. We were lured apart by a mysterious figure, so we have no witnesses and cannot corroborate each other’s alibis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those figures were corpses bred by the Yinming Palace—possibly even the famed Yinming One Cave Ghosts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Tiger of Yuan Chen—the Ghost-Eating Divine Lord—is not one person!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems the Yinming Palace is the Ghost-Eating Divine Lord… no, the master of the Yinming Palace is the Ghost-Eating Divine Lord. All other corpses and Yinming One Cave Ghosts are his Chang ghosts!” Master Kongming declared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others also reported their whereabouts; many could not be verified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Huang Yu’s death, the Four Seas Hall’s intelligence network gradually collapsed, no longer able to effectively monitor its own members, leading to chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after analysis, they found most lacked the power to threaten Liang Dou. Only Du Zihuai, Zhao Cheng, and the Elder Jiangxiang Li Qianqiu—who had been with Liang Dou—could have successfully ambushed him. After reviewing everyone, Master Kongming looked up: “Kuai Yan Kuai Yu and the Eight Can  Elder have not returned…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had Master Kongming spoken than the Eight Can  Beggar staggered in, drenched in blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gasped one sentence: “Dragon Head… the Dragon Head has come! Kuai Yan Kuai Yu died in just a few strikes! I couldn’t beat him… Dragon Head… Dragon Head…” Before finishing, he fainted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Sihai and Master Kongming were stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had just risen when countless ghostly shadows flickered outside the hall. Soon, two bloodied heads were thrown in. Master Kongming bent down, picked them up, and examined them closely—the blood-caked skulls were unmistakably those of Kuai Yan Kuai Yu. Tears streamed down his face as he gripped his nine-ring staff tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The martial heroes had still clung to a sliver of hope after hearing the Eight Can  Beggar’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, seeing the two brothers’ heads, they realized the two martial artists—known for their sharp tongues and constant offenses, yet possessing the kindest heart in the jianghu—had truly returned with nothing but two skulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the brothers offended many with their crude speech, they were quick to aid the righteous. Whether it was a fellow martial artist, a stranger, a servant girl on the street, or a tribal chief in the fields—if they asked for help, the brothers gave everything. So while many resented them, far more remembered their kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even those they had deeply offended now recalled only their good deeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Tang! Master Tang is dead too!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd erupted. Hong Sihai spun around in fury—and saw Tang Zhen, the most outstanding young disciple of the Tang Clan, sitting calmly on his couch, utterly unresponsive to the chaos around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Kongming stepped forward, checked his breath—and found him long dead. His body was already cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Zhen specialized in hidden weapons and poison; people feared him and rarely approached him. He showed no visible wounds, dying silently. No one noticed until now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone had earlier seen the crowd in the Five Lakes Hall agitated, yet Tang Zhen remained motionless. After calling his name twice with no reply, they realized something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Tang was the brightest young talent of the Tang Clan—who could kill him silently?” Kang Qian Deng said in disbelief. “Was it man… or ghost?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Tang died without a sound, no external wounds. Could it be the Spirit of Long Life, the Mist-riding Divine Lord…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Tang was the most skilled in medicine and poison among us. If even he was silently poisoned by the Mist-riding Divine Lord, who among us can escape?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An invisible terror spread among the martial heroes. Many broke into cold sweats, terrified beyond reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Tang was known as the Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes… his thousand eyes scanned all directions. Once, the Eight-Armed Monkey Spirit committed crimes in Tianfu, and Master Tang cornered him. Within one breath, the Eight-Armed Monkey Spirit fired thirteen money daggers, nine flying knives, three flying locust stones, twenty-four heart-piercing nails, one hundred eighty-six fine hair needles, and his own secret weapon—the Soul-Stealing Heart-Piercing Arrow. Yet Master Tang caught them all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then the Thirteen Linked Fortresses of the Great River raided a batch of Tang Clan herbs. Master Tang stormed their stronghold. All nine thousand souls in the thirteen fortresses vomited and diarrhea’d, too weak to stand. Only when the Grand Chief of the Outlaws personally came to the Tang Clan to beg mercy did they escape punishment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After these two incidents, Master Tang earned his reputation as the brightest young talent of the Tang Clan—and the title ‘Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes’: his thousand eyes detect hidden weapons, his thousand hands poison all directions.” Kang Qian Deng explained to Qian Chen, his voice trembling with awe: “No matter who was targeted, it should never have been Master Tang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone speculated wildly—no one felt safe anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Sihai saw many trembling, terrified by the Twelve Yuan Chen’s methods, their fighting spirit shattered. He roared: “All of you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yu Han was assassinated in a heavily guarded funeral hall. Master Liang was betrayed by a traitor. Tang Zhen died without a trace. Kuai Yan Kuai Yu were murdered too. And my sworn brother Bi Tian Tong’s blood debt… the blood of the Sha family’s four brothers… the blood of countless Four Seas Hall disciples… every single one—I will settle with the Twelve Yuan Chen.” Hong Sihai unwrapped the bandages from his right fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I am not afraid!” Hong Sihai said. “A true man dies but once. Death is easy. Living is hard—because the living must avenge the dead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Revenge!” The remaining disciples of the Four Seas Hall roared in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, they had embraced death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Kongming lifted his staff, his resolve hardened like Vajra wrath. He clasped his palms and prayed: “Buddha, forgive this disciple for opening the gates of slaughter. The hells are empty—demons walk among men. My cultivation is shallow; I cannot redeem these demons. All I can do is send them back to hell!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Namo Doushengsheng Fo!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Buddhist chant ended, Master Kongming glanced sideways—and saw the martial heroes trembling in fear. The main hall was no longer filled only with masters; many ordinary jianghu figures who had come for the birthday banquet now sought refuge here. Master Kongming saw a martial artist known as the Iron Fist of Guanxi, now cowering in the farthest corner with his two disciples, trembling violently as they stared at the fleeting ghostly shadows outside, terrified into urinating themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To expect these men to fight was futile—better to hope they wouldn’t surrender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, most masters still had courage to fight. But they could no longer trust each other—or entrust their backs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Kongming sighed: “The martial heroes have become scattered sand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Master Kongming noticed an unexpected figure—the Heir of the Medicine King—folding his umbrella, even hanging a red gourd from it… Was he preparing for rain to go home? Or packing to leave?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Kongming nearly laughed and cried. He wanted to grab him, shake him awake, and tell him: the Twelve Yuan Chen leave no survivors!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Save your strength. When the fighting starts, you’ll need it to splash blood on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kang Qian Deng watched Qian Chen, calm and quiet, folding his umbrella behind him—and remembered how easily Qian Chen had slain the Gladiatorial Divine Lord. The suffocating pressure before battle suddenly eased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I've heard that supreme swordsmen often perform the Rite of Respecting the Sword before battle, to calm their hearts—either laying the blade across their knees and pondering long and deep, or polishing it daily, honing the sword without as well as the sword within; some burn incense to offer to the sword, others sleep with it as their pillow... Brother Qian, now you fold your umbrella before battle—this umbrella is your divine weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard that supreme swordsmen, before battle, perform the Sword-Respecting Ritual to calm their hearts. Some lay their sword across their knees, contemplating silently. Others polish their blade daily—not just the sword outside, but the sword within. Some burn incense to honor their sword. Some sleep with it beneath their pillow… Brother Qian now folds his umbrella before battle—this umbrella is his divine weapon.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1663,"2026-06-21T05:39:58.326Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d952f1900a4ab41120c96836639848f91c2199669da8df18bd83deafb1e1149a","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-23","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-21",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dao-dust-pearl-cover.jpg"]