Chapter 125 - 123: Birthday, a Good Day to Kill
"The Yin Ghost Fighting and Killing Technique?"
Seeing Qiu Sheng unleash his full power, Liu Suifeng instantly recognized the true cultivation technique he practiced.
This cultivation technique was a Celestial Level one, the ultimate skill of the Ghost Tomb Ancestor, an Evil Dao master from Ning Province.
After the Celestial Martial Alliance rose to power, Chao Hongtu slew the Ghost Tomb Ancestor, and the Yin Ghost Fighting and Killing Technique fell into his hands.
However, while the technique was powerful, its yin energy was overwhelming. Most Martial Artists who practiced it would suffer from depleted Qi and Blood, and even premature aging.
Only someone with an Innate Yin Evil Body, a constitution fated for an early death, could unleash its true power. By cultivating this technique, they could even achieve a Yin-Yang Transformation, using the yin energy to extend their lifespan.
This cultivation technique had always been in Chao Hongtu’s possession, yet now, a young Martial Artist who practiced it had appeared among the Celestial Martial Guard.
Liu Suifeng had always thought Chao Hongtu was neglecting the Zhenwu Hall’s affairs. ’It now seems that while that was true, he certainly hadn’t neglected to build up his own personal power.’
Back in the Martial Arts Arena, two forces—one black, one red—collided. The immense True Qi unleashed a series of booming explosions, even tearing the arena’s floor tiles apart.
As the Horizontal Blade Celestial Edge clashed with the two short blades, Qiu Sheng felt a tremendous force slam into him.
He swung both hands in rapid succession, his Sword Momentum creating a blur of afterimages as he frantically struck the Celestial Blade. Simultaneously, an extreme Yin Evil Power erupted to resist the astonishing Blood Qi emanating from the Blood Refining Divine Saber.
In the next instant, Qiu Sheng parried Chen Yuan’s Celestial Blade with one of his daggers while the other, a black afterimage, lunged diagonally toward Chen Yuan’s ribs.
The strike was incredibly fast, but the moment it touched Chen Yuan’s armor, a brilliant golden Buddha Light erupted.
Sutra of the Pure Glazed Vajra!
The black gleam struck the golden Buddha Light, producing a resonant, metallic CLANG.
Chen Yuan formed a seal with his hands, and the power of the Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava erupted.
The sound of Buddhist Chanting, like thunder piercing the ears, rushed straight toward Qiu Sheng.
Qiu Sheng had seen this move before. The moment Chen Yuan began the Seal Formation, black patterns abruptly appeared on his face, instantly contorting his features into something resembling a Ghost Mask.
Qiu Sheng let out a shriek like the wail of a vengeful spirit, a sound that echoed between heaven and earth. A black aura erupted from him, resisting the power of the Brahma Sound from the Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava.
But the instant the Brahma Sound’s power dissipated, Chen Yuan pointed a finger, and the Power of Nine Heavens descended.
Under the tyrannical Finger Strength of the Profound Celestial Finger, the last remnants of black energy around Qiu Sheng’s body were shattered.
The cry of a blade rang out. Like a fleeting shadow, a Sword Aura wreathed in monstrous Demonic Qi struck. Qiu Sheng could only hastily swing his short blades in a desperate defense.
But he excelled at offense, not defense. In battle, he always relied on unorthodox, preemptive strikes to suppress his opponent, looking for a single weak point to deliver a killing blow—just as he had done against Lin Poyan.
However, against Chen Yuan—who was balanced in both offense and defense, with no discernible weaknesses—Qiu Sheng was instantly overwhelmed.
Just as an ultimate wave of Yin Ghost Qi was about to erupt from Qiu Sheng, Chao Hongtu, who was watching from the stage, suddenly said, "Stop. Qiu Sheng has lost this match."
Liu Suifeng gave Chao Hongtu a long, meaningful look.
’It seems Qiu Sheng really was personally cultivated by the Grand Commandant. He cares about him a great deal. Earlier, when Lin Poyan was clearly no match for Qiu Sheng, he didn’t intervene at all.’
Hearing Chao Hongtu speak, Qiu Sheng felt a flicker of unwillingness.
’I still have trump cards to play. Even though Chen Yuan is suppressing me, the outcome is far from decided.’
But the Grand Commandant had spoken. He had no choice but to withdraw, cupping his fist toward Chen Yuan with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Brother Chen, your strength is formidable. I concede."
After the two left the stage, Chao Hongtu announced, "The final victor is Chen Tian. Therefore, Chen Tian will represent our Zhenwu Hall at the Furnace Opening Convention."
As he spoke, Chao Hongtu had a Guard bring a small, palm-sized box to Chen Yuan.
Chao Hongtu looked at Chen Yuan and said in a heavy tone, "Inside is a Top Grade Spiritual Medicine, a Thousand Fragrance Snow Lotus. Consider it your ticket to the Furnace Opening Convention.
"Our Zhenwu Hall guards Ning Province, so its disciples rarely venture out into the world.
"Military Advisor Liu gave you the courtesy name Jiutian, meaning ’Nine Heavens,’ so that you might one day soar through them. I hope you will not disappoint his expectations.
"For this Furnace Opening Convention, I don’t expect you to achieve a high rank, but you must not tarnish the reputation of our Zhenwu Hall."
Chen Yuan accepted the Thousand Fragrance Snow Lotus and cupped his fist. "Grand Commandant, rest assured. I will not fail to meet your expectations."
Once the matter was settled, the crowd dispersed.
There was still a long time before the Furnace Opening Convention, more than enough for the journey.
But since Chen Yuan also needed to retrieve the Celestial Fire Hall’s inheritance, he immediately bid farewell to Liu Suifeng and the others and set off for Medicine King Valley.
As for Kaiping Prefecture, the situation was largely stable, so Chen Yuan didn’t need to concern himself with it.
The Guan Family now followed Chen Yuan’s lead unquestioningly and was deeply grateful to him.
If any Jianghu Forces within Kaiping Prefecture tried to cause trouble, the Zhenwu Hall wouldn’t even need to intervene—the Guan Family could suppress them on their own.
Medicine King Valley was in Ping Province, with Qing Province separating it from Ning Province.
Once he entered Qing Province, he was under the Court’s jurisdiction. Chen Yuan could clearly sense the difference compared to border regions like Ning Province and You Province.
In Youning, the smaller towns and Prefecture Cities teemed with Jianghu Forces.
In the cities of Qing Province, however, most were merely small, ordinary factions. The slightly more powerful groups, in contrast, established themselves outside the city walls.
In key cities, in particular, the Court’s power was completely dominant, with heavy garrisons of troops standing guard.
Qing Province was not Chen Yuan’s destination, so he didn’t linger there. He traveled swiftly along the main roads, stopping only for a night at post stations to rest himself and his horse.
Half a month later, Chen Yuan finally arrived at the border between Qing Province and Ping Province.
’In the original story, just before his death, Pang Xizhen left his inheritance on Shanyang Ridge, located on the border of Qing and Ping provinces, and sealed it with an Array.’
’However, Pang Xizhen had entrusted the specific location only to his servant.’
’He left the man his cultivation techniques and elixirs that weren’t from the Great Brightness Sect, instructing him to establish a family there and wait for another successor of the Sect, or a fated person holding the Celestial Fire Hall’s Crimson Gold Waist Token, to claim the inheritance.’
’Pang Xizhen, however, never imagined that the Great Brightness Church, which had once stood at the apex of the Jianghu, would be so utterly annihilated that no one would come to claim the inheritance for decades, or even centuries.’
’Back then, Pang Xizhen’s servant had been unfailingly loyal, guarding his master’s inheritance until the day he died.’
’His descendants, however, developed other ambitions. They even tried to seize the Celestial Fire Hall inheritance for themselves but were forced to give up, unable to break the Array.’
’But thanks to the cultivation techniques and elixirs from Pang Xizhen, the descendants of a servant who hadn’t even been qualified to formally join the Great Brightness Sect had become the Qiu Family of Red Sun Manor, a locally famous power in the border region of Qing and Ping Provinces.’
’The Qiu Family had long since disregarded their ancestor’s oath. They deliberately concealed the existence of Pang Xizhen’s inheritance, sealed off its location completely, and removed all the signal markers he had left behind, terrified that someone from the Great Brightness Sect would come knocking.’
’In the original story, Zuo Feiyu only obtained the inheritance because of a conflict between the Qiu Family’s Side Branch and Direct Lineage. A member of the Side Branch betrayed the family, met Zuo Feiyu, became his good friend, and revealed the secret to him.’
’Only then did Zuo Feiyu realize the incredible significance of the Crimson Gold Waist Token. He gathered the members of the Nine Swords Alliance and, under the pretext of helping the Side Branch member, annihilated the Qiu Family’s Direct Lineage and seized the Celestial Fire Hall’s inheritance.’
’I, however, don’t need to go to all that trouble. I can just storm the Qiu Family estate, find the location of Pang Xizhen’s inheritance, and be done with it.’
So, upon arriving at the border of Qing and Ping Provinces, Chen Yuan headed straight for Shanyang Ridge.
At the foot of Shanyang Ridge lay not a city but a small town, which was currently bustling with activity.
It was the Qiu Family patriarch’s birthday, and they had procured many fine goods from the surrounding major cities. Countless traveling merchants were coming and going.
The Qiu Family’s Red Sun Manor was situated halfway up Shanyang Ridge. All goods had to pass through the town below, and the merchants transporting them would stop there to rest, making the town unusually lively.
After arriving in the town, Chen Yuan found an inn to rest for a while, planning to make his move after dark.
’A dark and windy night is a good night for killing. Broad daylight is not the right time.’
When Chen Yuan heard that the Qiu Family patriarch was celebrating his birthday, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
’What a fine day for it.’
After his meal, Chen Yuan strolled casually through the town and bought a ghost-faced mask.
The mask depicted a local deity from Qing Province named General Yun. He was originally a Fierce Ghost King who was later subdued by a Bodhisattva and now is in charge of suppressing other malevolent ghosts.
Every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the Gates of the Underworld are said to open, every household would wear the mask of General Yun, go outside, and set off fireworks and firecrackers to frighten away evil spirits and ensure a year of peace.
The festival was still half a month away, so many stalls in town were selling masks of General Yun.
「After nightfall」
Chen Yuan took off his Zhenwu Hall armor, changed into a plain black martial uniform, donned the General Yun mask, and leaped out of the inn window.
’The Great Brightness Sect is still a sensitive topic. To be on the safe side, I can’t let anyone know I’ve obtained its inheritance.’
On the mountainside, a lavishly decorated manor was brightly lit, with countless guests milling about.
The Qiu Family was the most powerful faction in the Shanyang Ridge area, and their patriarch, Qiu Tianzheng, was a great master of the Condensing Truth Realm.
Furthermore, despite being over eighty years old, his combat strength hadn’t waned in the slightest due to his special cultivation technique; his Qi and Blood had not yet begun to decline.
For Qiu Tianzheng’s birthday, the surrounding factions all showed their respect by coming with gifts to offer their congratulations.
Night had fallen, and nearly all the guests were already inside the manor.
The two Qiu Family disciples guarding the gate frowned as they spotted a lone figure walking up the mountain path.
"Who are you with? Have you no manners? The banquet is about to start, and you’re only just arriving?"
one of the Qiu Family disciples grumbled.
’To arrive late for our patriarch’s birthday celebration... This is a clear sign of disrespect to the Qiu Family!’
But as the figure drew closer and they saw the General Yun ghost mask on his face, a chill ran down the spines of both Qiu Family disciples.
Before they could react, a flash of light sliced through the darkness, and two heads tumbled to the ground.
"We’re all here for a feast, aren’t we? What’s the difference between arriving early or late?"