Chapter 269: The Ninth Level of Tianlao, Gu Santong

Rumble.

The sound of horse hooves thundered.

A squad of Eastern Depot agents galloped wildly; whether they were commoners or martial artists from the Edo, everyone retreated to give them a wide berth.

This pair of agents rushed to the city wall, and one of them immediately raised his voice: "The Demon Sect has been revived. The Demon Sect Leader Yu Liancheng and the Heavenly Maiden Liusheng Piaoxu have entered the Capital with malicious intent, seeking to stir up a bloody storm. If any of you know the whereabouts of these people, report to the Eastern Depot to claim a reward of one thousand taels of gold. Anyone who knows but fails to report, or harbors these fugitives, will have their entire family executed."

The agent shouted this several times, and other agents posted two wanted posters on the wall.

Only after this group of agents left with an aggressive air did the commoners and martial arts heroes swarm forward.

"Demon Sect Leader? Heavenly Maiden? After the battle at Taihu, hadn't the Demon Sect already declined? It was torn apart; when did a new Demon Sect Leader and Heavenly Maiden emerge?"

"You just came out of seclusion, so you don't know that the Demon Sect has been integrated by a master named Yu Liancheng using powerful means, and he has renamed the Demon Sect 'Heaven Beyond Heaven,' styling himself the 'First Heavenly Venerable.' Currently, 'Heaven Beyond Heaven' has annexed multiple forces and recruited a large number of masters, already showing signs of sweeping through the Edo."

"Then what conflict does this Heavenly Venerable Yu have with the people of the Eastern Depot? If you're saying these agents of the Eastern Depot have found their conscience and want to maintain peace in the Edo, I absolutely cannot believe it."

"That, I do not know."

"Heh, I have heard of this news. It is said that Cao Zhengchun wanted to recruit Heavenly Venerable Yu, but as the leader of a faction, Heavenly Venerable Yu is of noble status and righteous spirit, so how could he be willing to be a lackey for the Eastern Depot? The two had a great fight and even collapsed the White Cloud Tower."

"What was the final result? Which of the two is more powerful?"

"Looking at the current situation, is it not obvious? How could that mere eunuch dog Cao defeat the awe-inspiring Heavenly Venerable Yu? Heavenly Venerable Yu wounded the eunuch dog Cao and left calmly. The eunuch dog Cao was furious and mobilized his forces to search for Heavenly Venerable Yu. In my opinion, even if they find Heavenly Venerable Yu, he still won't get the better of him."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion; among them were even a few martial artists who knew the ins and outs and were not afraid of the Eastern Depot, discussing it wantonly and attracting many onlookers.

But there were also those who slipped away quietly to report to the Eastern Depot agents.

"Yu Liancheng? Worth a thousand taels of gold; if I, Cheng Shifei, got this money, I'd be rich." In the crowd, a young man with a lazy appearance seemed to be talking to himself.

"You brat, if you really found Yu Liancheng, he could poke you to death with a single finger." Beside the youth was a middle-aged man with a wretched appearance; he rubbed his hands like a fly eating and said: "Let's go, let's go do business first. After we finish this business, we'll go to the gambling den. I have a premonition that my luck will be especially good today."

This man was called Zhang Laosan, a gambler and a rogue. As for the business he spoke of, it was pretending to be father and son with the young man named Cheng Shifei—one would beat the son, the other would take the beating and pretend to cry, tricking the crowd into watching, then using sleight of hand to steal purses.

"You're right, let's finish the serious business first." Cheng Shifei nodded: "But I'm too lazy to go to the gambling den; I lose every time. After finishing this job, I'm going to eat a good meal first, then go to the Spring Fragrance Courtyard to whore."

"Brother."

Just as the two were about to leave, a hand had already grabbed Cheng Shifei's shoulder.

This hand was broad and powerful; Cheng Shifei felt his whole body go limp from the grip. He turned his head and saw several men, the very same three Edo travelers who had been holding forth earlier.

"What do you three big brothers want with this little one? Did you mistake me for someone else? I, Cheng Shifei, have no silver, no martial arts, and I'm illiterate. Even if you made me into meat buns, there'd be more bone than meat." A fawning smile immediately appeared on Cheng Shifei's face, his tongue very slick.

As for Zhang Laosan, seeing the situation was wrong, he had already greased his heels and run.

"Brother Cheng, no need to worry. We aren't here to harm you; it's the Heavenly Venerable who wants to see you." The leading man in green clothes smiled.

"Heavenly Venerable? Who is the Heavenly Venerable?" Cheng Shifei asked blankly.

"You'll know once you meet him."

Rumble!

Just at this moment, another burst of horse hooves sounded, but it was a group of Eastern Depot agents rushing over. The fierce gaze of the man in the lead shot directly at the three men in green, clearly having already received the news.

"The lackeys are here. Brothers, let's go."

"Right, take Brother Cheng to see the Heavenly Venerable."

Seeing the wolf-like and tiger-like Eastern Depot agents, these three were not afraid and laughed heartily.

One of them struck Cheng Shifei's acupoint, grabbed him by the collar, and used light-foot skills to fly away. The other two scattered a handful of hidden weapons, leaving behind agents who fell from their horses screaming, before following closely behind.

The Capital, Xijiao.

The courtyard was deep.

Yu Liancheng stood in the courtyard, and before him was a human-shaped target cast from pig iron.

He slowly raised a palm, his palm filled with True Qi, his five fingers clenched into a fist, and he suddenly struck out with a punch.

This punch was rigid, fierce, and overbearing; with a muffled "bang," the entire iron target was pierced through by his punch.

"Was this punch of yours driven by the True Qi of the 'Tiangang Childish Skill'?" Liusheng Piaoxu, who was to the side, asked curiously.

Yu Liancheng nodded and said: "Correct. When I fought Cao Zhengchun, I intercepted a strand of his Tiangang True Qi."

Liusheng Piaoxu said: "That Cao Zhengchun was not your match to begin with. Now that you have thoroughly studied his Tiangang Childish Skill, it will be even simpler to deal with him."

"Zhengchun's fifty years of Childish Skill are powerful, but they are definitely not my match."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "However, he is still a major figure of great importance to the Imperial Court. If he dies, the whole city will be under martial law, adding unnecessary trouble. When the time comes to leave the Capital, I'll just take his head then."

Just at this moment, several figures flew over and said respectfully: "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable. Cheng Shifei has been brought. Furthermore, just as the Heavenly Venerable expected, wanted posters for the Heavenly Venerable and the Heavenly Maiden have been posted on the city walls, and there are patrolling Eastern Depot agents and Embroidered Uniform Guards everywhere."

These people were naturally disciples of Heaven Beyond Heaven.

As one of the Eight Great Sects, the Demon Sect had vast power and intricate connections, and its influence had long since permeated the Capital.

It was not an easy task for Cao Zhengchun to find him.

"Good, you may all withdraw."

"Yes."

After the Heaven Beyond Heaven disciples had left, Yu Liancheng turned his gaze toward Cheng Shifei, whose acupoints were still sealed and whose eyeballs were rolling around incessantly. He wore a smile and flicked a strand of energy, restoring Cheng Shifei's freedom.

Cheng Shifei immediately retreated and yelled: "You, you, you are the Demon Sect Leader Yu Liancheng?! I, Cheng Shifei, was just joking. You are a great person with a great heart, don't hold a grudge against a small person like me. Just pretend I never did anything and never said anything."

Yu Liancheng couldn't help but rub his temples, feeling a great headache: "I am the Heavenly Venerable of Heaven Beyond Heaven, not the Demon Sect Leader. Can you remember that clearly?"

Cheng Shifei nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable. Long live the Heavenly Venerable, may the Heavenly Venerable let me, Cheng Shifei, go like a fart."

Yu Liancheng said indifferently: "Rest assured, I do not intend to harm you; in fact, I have a great opportunity to bestow upon you."

A fawning smile appeared on Cheng Shifei's face: "Heavenly Venerable, you are joking. I, Cheng Shifei, dare not ask for any great opportunity. As long as you spare my life, that is enough, I..."

Seeing Cheng Shifei's endless stream of chatter, Yu Liancheng glanced at him indifferently and said: "If you say one more word of nonsense, I will slaughter you and chop you into meat buns to feed the dogs."

"I'm very thin, I have no meat... Mmph, mmph." Cheng Shifei was used to his oily tongue and hurriedly covered his mouth.

Yu Liancheng turned to Liusheng Piaoxu and said: "I am going to take this brat to the Tianlao. Take care of yourself and don't get caught."

Liusheng Piaoxu huffed delicately: "I know. I am not a woman without the strength to truss a chicken. Even if Cao Zhengchun takes action personally, although I cannot beat him, relying on Dongying ninjutsu, it will not be difficult for me to escape."

Yu Liancheng shrugged, looked at Cheng Shifei again, and smiled: "You kid have made a huge profit this time, haven't you?"

"What huge profit..." Cheng Shifei replied subconsciously, then immediately covered his mouth.

"You'll know when the time comes, follow me."

Tianlao.

This is the most terrifying forbidden place in the entire Capital, and even the entire Great Ming.

Whether they are high-ranking officials and nobles, or evil Demon heads, once locked into Tianlao, there is little hope of ever turning things around; in folk rumors, it is even considered an existence comparable to the Nine Nether Hells.

Yu Liancheng has already entered Tianlao.

Tianlao is controlled by the Eastern Depot.

So he disguised himself as a Chief Thousand-Household of the Eastern Depot, and with the influence of his mind-controlling technique, no one suspected him, allowing him to pass through layers of guards and walk toward the ninth level of Tianlao.

Cheng Shifei also disguised himself, posing as an ordinary agent following behind him.

He had naturally heard the rumors of "Tianlao"; the moment he stepped into Tianlao, he felt a chilling cold, as if countless wronged souls and evil ghosts were crying and wailing in his ears.

If not for Yu Liancheng's prior warning, he would likely have already collapsed to the ground in terror by now.

But even so, by the time Cheng Shifei reached the fourth or fifth level of Tianlao and saw the various torture instruments along the way, as well as prisoners tortured beyond recognition, he was almost scared to death; every step he took felt extremely heavy.

Suddenly, Yu Liancheng turned his head, his eyes seemingly carrying a power that struck directly at the spirit.

In that instant, Cheng Shifei only felt his consciousness struck by a Hammer, violently shattering. And his body, like a marionette, moved according to Yu Liancheng's will, following closely behind him.

The identities and statuses of those imprisoned on each level of Tianlao are never the same.

For every level one descends, the status and martial arts of the imprisoned figures are higher.

By the time they reached the eighth level, the number of prisoners had dropped sharply, with only a few people, but each one was a long-time Demon who had once stirred up bloody storms; now, each of them had their shoulder blades locked, their breath weak.

Yu Liancheng looked around and even spotted a missing Supreme Elder of the Demon Sect.

He couldn't be bothered to pay attention and continued walking downward, finally arriving at the ninth level of Tianlao.

This is a huge stone grotto, the surroundings of the grotto are constructed of stone walls as hard as Iron, and the light is dim.

And directly in front of the grotto stands a half-person-high Iron stele, on which four large characters are engraved with Iron strokes and Silver Hook—Divine Marquis of Iron Gall.

Inside the grotto, one can see an old man wearing a tattered gray robe, his hair a mess, head lowered, seemingly gnawing on something. Looking closely, it is a spider.

This old man is locked by Iron chains on his hands and feet, and the black Iron chains make sounds from time to time when he moves. The chains are thick and heavy, weighing at least several hundred catties.

But this gray-robed old man moves freely, as if the chains were no heavier than a speck of dust.

And around the old man are a dozen white human skeletons and various weapons, most of which are in the attire of the Eight Great Sects.

Yu Liancheng has already stepped into the ninth level of Tianlao, his gaze cast upon one of the corpses; the ink Peach Blossom on the clothing is already covered in dust. He sighed: "The Demon Sect truly has a rough fate. In the battle of Taihu in the past, the Sect Leader died in battle, and the Demon Sect fell apart. Thirteen years ago, it was not easy for a peerless Demon to emerge, who had the power to integrate the Demon Sect, but unfortunately, he was captured by Zhu Wushi and thrown into Tianlao, his life or death unknown."

"Oh, could it be that Yang Wuji who cultivated the 'Indestructible Divine Gang' to perfection that you are talking about?"

The old man in the tattered gray shirt ate the spider clean and licked the spider juice on his hand, still wanting more: "This Yang Wuji indeed had some skills. Among the experts that old pig caught, only he lasted thirty moves under my hands, but in the end, he was still drained of all his internal energy by me and died."

The voice of this person speaking was very low and obscure, as if he had not spoken for a long time.

But every word sounded like a muffled thunderclap exploding, and the depth of his internal energy was something no ordinary person could imagine.

Yu Liancheng clapped his hands and smiled: "Good riddance. If he didn't die, even if I could control the Demon Sect, I'm afraid it would be much more troublesome than it is now."

A divine light flashed in the eyes of the gray-clothed old man, and he suddenly raised his head to look at Yu Liancheng: "Oh, so that means you are the current Sect Leader of the Demon Sect?"

Yu Liancheng said indifferently: "Wrong, the Demon Sect has been renamed Heaven Beyond Heaven, you should call me Heavenly Venerable, Heavenly Venerable Yu."

"What kind of bullshit Heavenly Venerable, once you enter the ninth level of Tianlao, you are all provisions for me, Gu Santong."

The gray-clothed old man suddenly grinned, and a monstrous aura suddenly erupted from his body. His gray and white hair flew about, as if an ancient beast had awakened: "Twelve years, that old pig has finally sent me another expert. Come, let me see what skills you have?!"

He saw the gray-clothed old man open his large hand, the palm of his right hand seemingly turning into a huge vortex, and the surrounding airflow immediately surged toward it.

Under this powerful suction, Yu Liancheng remained motionless, as steady as Mount Tai, while Cheng Shifei behind him was pulled toward the old man's palm.