Chapter 653: The Death of Yuyangzi

Looking at the black-clad figure before him, Zhou Yixian wore a smile even uglier than crying, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet up to his Heavenly Spirit.

He certainly knew that the man before him was the White-robed Divine Monk, and also the Demon Sect Leader, Yu Liancheng.

Not to mention the great slaughter Yu Liancheng had committed on Liubo Mountain, where countless demons died by his hand.

Just consider how he integrated the Demon Sect, renamed it the Changsheng Tower, and swept through the Central Plains with an unparalleled presence. During this period, the number of cultivation experts who died by his hand was countless.

Moreover, most of the powerhouses in the cultivation world did not even survive a single move from him.

If the other party were to casually slap him, he feared he would have to go see his son ahead of schedule.

Beside him, Xiaohuan watched her grandfather's expression and covered her mouth to giggle.

This made Zhou Yixian both angry and anxious; good girl, his grandfather was about to be killed, and she was still sitting there laughing.

Seeing Zhou Yixian concede, Yu Liancheng paid him no further mind, instead pulling a string of candied haws out as if performing magic, handing it to Xiaohuan, and smiling: "When I passed through a small town earlier, I saw them being sold. I don't know why I bought a string; it seems there is truly a destiny in the dark."

Xiaohuan beamed as she took the candied haws: "Thank you, Divine Monk Puzhen."

Yu Liancheng rubbed her head and smiled: "I have returned to secular life. My original name is Yu Liancheng—'white jade without a flaw, worth a hundred cities.' You can just call me Brother Yu."

Xiaohuan bit into the candied haws and called out sweetly: "Brother Yu."

If Bi Yao were here, she would likely be gnashing her teeth in anger; her seniority was now actually lower than that of a little girl.

"After this old thing dies in the future, come to my Changsheng Tower. With your talent, it is not impossible for you to comprehend the Great Dao of Longevity," Yu Liancheng said.

Xiaohuan nodded, "Mm-hmm."

Zhou Yixian's face was incredibly dark, but he dared not make a sound.

Yu Liancheng continued walking toward the depths of the small shop; that four-person merchant team had long since quieted down, a sense of panic growing within their hearts.

They had heard the conversation between Yu Liancheng and the grandfather and granddaughter, Zhou Yixian, and had faint guesses about the identity of the person before them. In particular, the young man was so excited he even wanted to stand up and kowtow, but was held down firmly by the two people beside him.

Although they had heard much about the righteous deeds of the Changsheng Tower, if it were truly as that fortune-teller said—that the predecessor of the Changsheng Tower was the Demon Sect—wouldn't they be in terrible trouble?

Fortunately, Yu Liancheng ignored them and walked straight to the innermost table, took a wine pot from it, poured himself a cup of wine, drank it slowly, and then turned his gaze to the person wearing a bamboo hat: "Yuyangzi, do you have any last words?"

The man in the bamboo hat slowly raised his head; he was a rather handsome middle-aged man, though somewhat pale. It was none other than the former leader of Changshengtang, Yuyangzi. He coughed twice and smiled bitterly: "I didn't expect it would be you, Jade Tower Master, who would take action personally. Does this count as my honor?"

"Just on the way. I am heading to Tianyin Temple on this trip and sensed your aura," Yu Liancheng said slowly. "You used the forbidden 'Blood Refining' technique without authorization and injured your fellow sect members, violating the established rules. These are all capital offenses."

"Capital offenses!?" Yuyangzi suddenly slapped the table and roared ferociously: "Since when did 'Blood Refining' become a forbidden technique? How can the lives of mere mortals compare to my magic treasure, the 'Yin-Yang Mirror'? As for the so-called fellow sect members, my only fellow sect members are those of my Changshengtang. They dared to strike at me—committing insubordination—they deserved to die."

It turned out that during the battle at Liubo Mountain years ago, Yuyangzi's magic treasure, the 'Yin-Yang Mirror', had cracked, and its power was greatly reduced. He had used the heart blood of over a hundred people to perform 'Blood Refining' to make up for the gap.

This Blood Refining technique was heinous; even within the original Demon Sect, very few people used it. After the establishment of the Changsheng Tower, it was strictly prohibited.

In Yuyangzi's view, he was the former Hall Master of Changshengtang, and his cultivation was incredibly profound; how could this rule apply to him? Furthermore, he had done it in secret, thinking it was foolproof, but he did not expect to be discovered. He had struck first, killed several law-enforcement disciples, and fled to this place.

"I said that as long as you performed meritorious service, I would help you repair the Yin-Yang Mirror, but I did not expect you to be so unwise," Yu Liancheng sighed.

"Are you going to walk yourself, or shall I send you on your way?"

"You, you really want to kill me?" Yuyangzi suddenly felt a surge of intense fear; his whole body trembled, and he shouted: "I can fight for you against the sects of the Central Plains; I can guard Liubo Mountain for you. Those are just mere mortals; if they die, they die. But experts like me—in the entire Changsheng Tower, there are no more than a handful. What's more, if I die, the experts of the original Changshengtang faction will certainly..."

Initially, Yuyangzi's voice was very loud, almost a roar; not only could the whole shop hear it, it even carried far out into the curtain of rain. But under the gaze of Yu Liancheng, his voice grew smaller and smaller, until he was finally speechless.

"Are you going to walk yourself, or shall I send you on your way?" Yu Liancheng's tone was calm as he repeated his previous words.

Yuyangzi fell silent.

The atmosphere in the inn became increasingly heavy.

Everyone had the feeling that a storm was about to break.

"Go to hell!"

Suddenly, Yuyangzi let out a roar and flipped his palm, revealing a bronze ancient mirror. One could vaguely see a nearly invisible crack on the mirror surface; it was his magic treasure, the 'Yin-Yang Mirror'. Light flowed within the Yin-Yang Mirror, and an aura of destruction began to emerge.

However.

It was at this moment that Yuyangzi discovered he could not move.

It was not like a binding spell, but as if this space had completely frozen.

Within this space, even the swirling air currents were frozen in place.

"Since you don't want to walk, let me send you on your way," Yu Liancheng sighed softly and pointed a finger out slowly. It kept enlarging before Yuyangzi's eyes. From this finger, as white and lustrous as jade, he felt the aura of death.

Finally, the finger tapped his forehead, emitting a 'Crack!' sound similar to bone breaking. Yuyangzi felt the world turn upside down; all colors rapidly transformed from color to black and white, and finally, he was completely submerged by Darkness.

He was dead.

Yu Liancheng slowly withdrew his finger, turned back toward the counter, had the shopkeeper prepare a pot of wine, threw down a silver ingot, and said calmly: "Someone will deal with that corpse later; sorry for the trouble."

After the shock, the shopkeeper immediately piled on a smile: "No trouble, no trouble."

After greeting Xiaohuan again, Yu Liancheng raised the umbrella formed by the Ten Thousand Ways of Infinity and stepped back into the curtain of rain.

It was time to return to Tianyin Temple.

I wonder what attitude Brother Puhong will have when we meet again?

Once Yu Liancheng's figure had completely disappeared, Zhou Yixian let out a breath, feeling lingering fear in his heart, and broke into a cold sweat: "So close, so close. I almost lost this old life. Speaking carelessly is truly bad." He picked up the tea, not caring if it was hot or cold, and drank it in one gulp, his face changing instantly as he spat it out with a "Pfft."

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"Ha... ha... this, this water... so spicy, spicy..."

"Hee hee, it must have been Brother Yu who did it; who told you to speak ill of people behind their backs."

The young man who had argued with Zhou Yixian earlier was blushing, excited: "It was the Tower Master, the Tower Master of Changsheng Tower. I never thought I would be able to see him. Look, the Tower Master is indeed a good person; he is not some Demon Sect Leader at all. I must join the Changsheng Tower."