Murong Wuhen had been listening to Ruan Ziya's conversation with Gu Qingyun with a smile, but when she heard Ruan Ziya say that she wanted Gu Qingyun to kill her, her expression changed slightly, and she looked at her in surprise.
But Ruan Ziya gave him a cold smile and said, "Master Gu, I will go ahead first. When the time is right, I will send someone to contact you. Farewell." After saying that, she used her lightness skill and flew away without looking back.
Murong Wuhen's eyes darted around, and he leaped out of the door, intending to seize the opportunity to escape. But then he saw a dark iron sword thrusting towards him. The nameless swordsman shouted, "Since you have the audacity to insult my Flying Flower Manor, do you still think you can escape now?"
Zhang Datou, Zhou Yi, and others had also surrounded them. Murong Wuhen laughed loudly and said, "You all usually consider yourselves righteous and chivalrous people, but now you are bullying the few with the many for your own personal grudges. Wouldn't it be a laughing stock if word got out?"
Gu Qingyun stepped out of the room and said in a deep voice, "Please step back, everyone, and let me deal with this person myself."
The people of Feihua Manor retreated as instructed, and Gu Qingyun slowly said, "Murong Wuhen, since we had agreed to a duel at the back of Yingshan Mountain, let's settle our differences tonight."
Murong Wuhen laughed as he brandished his sword, "Alright, a fair one-on-one duel, life or death is irrelevant."
Gu Qingyun said no more, took up her sword and flew up. Two figures, one in black and one in white, were already fighting.
Gu Qingyun's swordsmanship was superb, and he had rarely met his match since he debuted. Murong Wuhen changed his swordsmanship several times, but he could not gain the upper hand. He couldn't help but feel a little impatient. Seeing the people of Feihua Manor rubbing their fists and glaring at him, he knew that if he did not use his best skills, he might really lose his life here tonight.
Thinking of this, he let out a low shout, and the sword moves of his longsword gradually became stagnant. A cold internal force emanated from the tip of the sword and clashed with Gu Qingyun's longsword.
Gu Qingyun saw that his sword moves suddenly became strange. When the two swords clashed, she felt a chill coming from the blade. She was startled and silently used her internal energy to resist. She felt the coldness of the internal energy coming from Murong Wuhen's sword getting stronger and stronger. Later, wisps of cold air even emerged from the blade, forming a faint white mist around the two of them.
Gu Qingyun suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice, "Did Young Master Mozhu teach you martial arts?"
A sly smile appeared on Murong Wuhen's face. Gu Qingyun suddenly felt a chill run through his body and swayed slightly. Murong Wuhen had already struck him in the chest with a palm. Gu Qingyun's expression was solemn as he raised his palm to meet the blow.
The two men clashed palms together. Gu Qingyun took several steps back, her body trembling slightly. The people of Feihua Manor were startled, only to see Murong Wuhen use the momentum of the palm strike to leap backward, turn in mid-air, and rush away into the distance, disappearing into the darkness in a moment.
The people of Feihua Manor, disregarding the pursuit, all anxiously surrounded Gu Qingyun. Gu Qingyun closed her eyes to regulate her breathing for a moment, then opened them and reassured everyone, "It's alright."
It turned out that while Gu Qingyun was still in shock, Murong Wuhen secretly released the cold poison. The cold poison was wrapped in the water mist around the two of them, making it invisible. Gu Qingyun was caught off guard and fell into his trap.
As the two exchanged blows, Gu Qingyun stepped back several paces, skillfully deflecting the force of the palm strike, while Murong Wuhen was already injured by it. However, he stubbornly held on, not showing any signs of defeat, calculating that the people of Feihua Manor would be distracted by their concern for Gu Qingyun. His risky move proved effective, and he ultimately managed to escape amidst the chaos.
Murong Wuhen was actually quite badly injured. After running forward for a while, he gradually felt weak and found a secluded spot. He sat down with his back against a tree and spat out a mouthful of blood.
A soft laugh came from above. Murong Wuhen's expression changed, and he looked up to see Ruan Ziya sitting on the top of an ancient tree opposite him. Her body swayed gently in the wind, and she was looking down at him with great interest.
A surge of anger welled up in Murong Wuhen's heart, and he said, "I am not dead yet. Are you very disappointed, Holy Maiden?"
Ruan Ziya chuckled, leaped down from the tree, and said, "A little." She took two steps closer to Murong Wuhen, lowered her head, and asked in a low voice, "Was your martial arts truly taught by Young Master Mozhu?"
Murong Wuhen snorted and said, "So you never left."
Ruan Ziya chuckled and said, "How can I not secretly watch the show of two of the world's greatest masters clashing?"
Seeing her laughing heartily, Murong Wuhen felt even more annoyed. He glanced at her sideways and said, "You're here to kill me?"
Ruan Ziya did not answer, but slowly took two steps in front of him and said, "When you were negotiating with Gu Qingyun just now, did you want him to summon the righteous people to wipe out my Xueye and Cangye Halls?"
Murong Wuhen sneered, but did not reply.
Ruan Ziya looked down at him, then suddenly bent down, placed her palm on his chest, and whispered, "With the force of my palm, no matter how many schemes and tricks you have, you will never be able to use them."
Murong Wuhen smiled slightly, his gaze sharp, looking directly at her.
Ruan Ziya silently channeled his palm power, and Murong Wuhen felt a chill coming from his heart, flowing to all parts of his body. This extremely cold internal energy was exactly the same as the internal energy he cultivated, and instantly merged with his internal energy. After a while, Murong Wuhen's internal energy was flowing smoothly, and the internal injuries caused by his palm strike with Gu Qingyun had been mostly healed.
Ruan Ziya was about to withdraw her palm when Murong Wuhen suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand, staring at her with a smile as he asked, "Why don't you kill me? You can't bear to?"
Ruan Ziya smiled and said, "Since you have been taught martial arts by Young Master Mozhu, you must have a deep connection with him... Besides, you saved me three times at sea that day, and I don't want to take advantage of you now. But if you become my enemy, even if I don't kill you this time, I can't guarantee that I won't do something to you in the future."
Murong Wuhen gazed at her for a moment, a smile appearing in his eyes, and suddenly leaned forward to kiss her lips.
Startled, Ruan Ziya didn't have time to dodge before feeling a sharp pain on her lip—he had bitten her, drawing blood. She forcefully pushed Murong Wuhen away, her eyes flashing with shame and anger, and cursed, "You brat, do you want to die?!"
Murong Wuhen leaned lazily against the tree trunk behind him, looking smug, and said leisurely, "I haven't settled the score with you for biting my tongue last time. Since you said you wouldn't kill me this time, I'll collect some interest from you first."
Ruan Ziya wiped the blood from her lips, recalling the scene of their passionate kiss on the island that day. Her face flushed slightly, and she said coldly, "Young Master Murong is a womanizer. Just now he was embracing Miss Ruyu in Mingyu Fang, making love to her. Now he's trying to touch me. He must think I, Ruan Ziya, am as ridiculous as those women who have been bewitched by you."
Murong Wuhen was stunned for a moment, then sat up. He was about to explain when he saw Ruan Ziya glare at him reproachfully, muttering under her breath, "Shameless." She then turned and flew away. He dared not chase after her, and could only stand there watching her leave, shaking his head and smiling bitterly.
Meanwhile, Gu Qingyun was silently channeling her inner strength to expel the cold poison, pondering how to find out where Ruan Ziya had hidden Li Feiqing, when she suddenly saw Hua Liran following behind a Feihua Manor servant, hurrying over from afar.
Before he could even get close, Zhang Datou couldn't help but call out, "Young Master Hua, our master has just been poisoned by the cold. Come quickly and take a look at him."
Hua Liran was startled upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "How could you have been poisoned?"
But then Gu Qingyun said, "I have already used my internal energy to expel the poison. Don't listen to Zhang Datou's exaggeration." After briefly recounting her fight with Murong Wuhen, Hua Liran was relieved and said, "Now that Miss Li has fallen into Ruan Ziya's hands, she should be safe for the time being. I will immediately send someone to find out Ruan Ziya's whereabouts."
Gu Qingyun nodded, and Hua Liran continued, "Master, there is one more thing. Today you ordered me to investigate if anything unusual had happened nearby. I didn't expect that I would find something very strange."
Gu Qingyun looked at him with a questioning look in her eyes.
Hua Liran said, "In the past few months, dozens of young men have disappeared from several nearby villages." He looked at Gu Qingyun and said slowly, "What's even stranger is that just now, Shen Luo and I discovered a secret grave in a desolate area more than ten miles away. There were dozens of male corpses buried in it. Their internal organs were all shattered by the force of the palm strike. Moreover, all of these people were poisoned before they died."
Gu Qingyun pondered for a moment and said, "Indiscriminately killing villagers who don't know martial arts, yet doing it so secretly... The victims were first poisoned, and then their internal organs were shattered, causing them to die..." He looked at Hua Liran, his eyes seemingly already having the answer.
Hua Liran's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "I think the same thing as the manor lord. This person is probably using those villagers to practice some kind of evil skill."
Gu Qingyun said, "This skill is so insidious. If we don't find out about it soon, who knows how many more innocent people will lose their lives." He paused, then added, "Since this happened within the territory of Yingshan, we should inform Sect Leader Yi."
Hua Liran said, "Shen Luo has just sent a letter to Yi Feng, and it is expected that Sect Leader Yi will arrive tomorrow morning."
The next morning, Yi Feng indeed arrived with his two junior brothers, Bai Jun'an and Chen Bing, to join the others from Feihua Manor. After discussing the matter, everyone decided it was not advisable to alert the enemy, so they sent people to take turns secretly guarding the grave pit, and to report back if there was any movement.
Several days passed, and Ruan Ziya had not sent anyone to contact Gu Qingyun. Hua Liran's spies also found nothing; Ruan Ziya seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. Gu Qingyun was understandably anxious, and Yi Feng, Shen Luo, and the others were also deeply worried, secretly concerned for their junior sister.
That day, Gu Qingyun was discussing countermeasures with Yi Feng in the room when Hua Liran hurriedly entered the room and said to Gu Qingyun, "Master, there is news about the grave pit."
Gu Qingyun and Yi Feng turned their gazes at the same time, only to hear Hua Liran say, "Last night, someone dragged a corpse and buried it. The brothers in the manor followed from a distance and saw them enter an abandoned temple, and then they didn't come out again. It seems that there are experts guarding that abandoned temple in secret, so the people who followed did not dare to get close to investigate, so as not to alert the other party. They only sent one person back to report to me about this matter, and the other two are still watching outside the temple."
Gu Qingyun and Yi Feng exchanged a glance, and Yi Feng said, "Master Gu, it seems we need to explore that deserted temple."
Author's Note: Time to write, time to write. Same old routine, update tomorrow at noon, you know what that means... *tears*
Underground Demon Palace
Gu Qingyun and the others arrived at the temple. Looking into the distance, they saw that the surrounding area was desolate and rarely visited by people, and the temple itself was dilapidated.
The two spies who were keeping watch outside the temple saw Gu Qingyun arrive and bowed to him. One of them whispered, "Master, we have been waiting here for a long time, but we have not seen anyone come out."
Gu Qingyun exchanged a glance with Yi Feng, then turned and instructed Zhou Yi to arrange for a meeting outside before heading towards the temple with the rest of the group.
A figure flashed in front of the temple, and a young man dressed in all black peeked out from inside the temple and glanced outside.
Gu Qingyun said loudly, "Yi Feng of Yingshan Sect and Gu Qingyun of Feihua Manor have come to pay their respects. We request that you show yourself to us."
Upon hearing his name, the man showed a hint of surprise, immediately shrank back, and disappeared.
Gu Qingyun waited for a while, but no one came out. So she led the group into the temple. Inside, the temple was dilapidated and unremarkable, but it was completely empty.
Yi Feng said, "Since that person has disappeared, there must be a secret passage in this temple that leads to another place."
Gu Qingyun nodded, and the group looked around. Before long, they discovered the entrance to the secret passage hidden next to the shrine.
The group cautiously leaped into the secret passage and proceeded along it, but no one appeared to stop them.
Seeing how meticulously the underground passage was constructed, which must have required a great deal of manpower and resources, and how smoothly they had progressed, Gu Qingyun, Yi Feng, and the others couldn't help but become even more vigilant.
Before long, the passageway came to an end, and everyone's eyes lit up as they entered the hall.
A burst of laughter rang out. Ruan Ziya sat in front of the couch, with Elder Zhai and several members of the Demonic Sect standing beside her. With a smile in her eyes, she looked at the people entering the hall and said softly, "Master Gu is truly capable. I had planned to send someone to invite you in a couple of days, but I didn't expect you to come to my door today."
When Gu Qingyun saw her, she was first surprised, then overjoyed. She hadn't expected to find her so easily. Ruan Ziya was hiding in the underground of this temple. No wonder she hadn't been able to find any trace of her for the past few days.
He was concerned about Li Feiqing and bowed to Ruan Ziya, saying, "Miss Ruan, I apologize for my intrusion. May I ask where Miss Li is now? Could you please bring her out so I can meet her?"
Ruan Ziya laughed and said, "Master Gu, you're already in a hurry to see your sweetheart before the terms have even been agreed upon? Don't worry, Miss Li is eating and living well now. For Master Gu's sake, I would never dare to let her suffer the slightest grievance."
Seeing that she had no intention of handing over Li Feiqing, Gu Qingyun had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being, and said, "We have come here specifically for another important matter, which we would like to ask Miss Ruan for advice."
Ruan Ziya's eyes flickered, and she immediately smiled knowingly, "It seems that Master Gu discovered the place where the corpse was abandoned, and that's why he followed it here and found my underground palace?"
Seeing that she was talking and laughing as if nothing had happened and readily admitted to the matter of abandoning the body, Gu Qingyun's face turned cold and he asked in a deep voice, "Those villagers had no grudge against Miss Ruan. It is a bit too cruel of Miss Ruan to have them treated like this."
Ruan Ziya sighed and said, "Master Gu, this matter is entirely your own fault."
Gu Qingyun was slightly taken aback and asked, "Is it my fault?"
Ruan Ziya said with a smile, "Does Master Gu remember that he once gave me a copy of the Five Elements Poison Manual?"
Gu Qingyun naturally remembered the Five Elements Poison Manual. After obtaining it from the Zhan Family Fortress's Jihuang Pavilion, he had shown it to Hua Liran. According to Hua Liran, the manual mostly recorded methods for preparing poisoned hidden weapons. Hua Liran, with her extensive knowledge of poisons, found the Five Elements Poison Manual unremarkable, which was why Gu Qingyun had confidently exchanged it for an antidote with Ruan Ziya. Now, hearing her suddenly bring up the manual again, he was momentarily puzzled by her intentions.
Ruan Ziya continued with a laugh, "This poison manual has a hidden compartment containing a set of miraculous poison techniques. I, Ziya, have always loved studying poisons, and upon seeing it, I was immediately captivated and had no choice but to practice it. This poison technique requires a young man as a catalyst to aid in the practice, so I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. In the end, if it weren't for Master Gu giving me this poison manual, I'm afraid I wouldn't have caused this disaster today."
Zhang Datou, standing to the side, angrily retorted, "Bullshit! You vixen, you're ruthless yourself, and you dare to blame my master?"
Ruan Ziya's face darkened. Elder Zhai behind him waved his hand, and several members of the Demonic Cult suddenly leaped forward, each holding a small bamboo tube, which they aimed at Zhang Datou.
Just as Zhang Datou sensed something was wrong, he saw the demonic cult members push the bamboo tubes, from which countless tiny, black needles, as fine as ox hairs, shot out, flying densely towards him. Terrified, Zhang Datou tried to leap away, but the projectiles were both fine and dense, launched at close range using mechanisms, covering the sky and blocking all his escape routes.
Suddenly, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Zhang Datou was caught off guard and was about to be injured by the poison needles when a figure in green suddenly appeared from the side, blocking his way. The figure swung a long sword and created a circle of light in front of him. The poison needles disappeared into the circle created by the sword as if they had sunk into the sea, and were absorbed by the sword and thrown to the ground.
Ruan Ziya's eyes flashed, and she stood up and smiled at the man, "The Shadow Mountain's treasure, the Gathering Shadow Sword, truly lives up to its reputation. Sect Leader Yi, your skills are superb. I admire you."
Yi Feng's gaze was fixed on her face as he slowly said, "Miss Ruan, you flatter me."
Ruan Ziya smiled slightly, turned to Gu Qingyun, and said, "Master Gu, the condition I want to discuss with you is actually related to this poison technique. I just completed this poison technique yesterday, and I would like to ask Master Gu to personally give me some pointers. If Master Gu is so kind as to offer his guidance, I will be very grateful and will return Miss Li to you."
Gu Qingyun noticed the glint in her eyes as she spoke and knew she must have a scheme. But with Li Feiqing in her hands, even if she knew there was a mountain of knives and a sea of fire ahead, she would still brave it. So she nodded and said, "Alright, then please enlighten me, Miss Ruan." With that, she stepped into the arena.
Ruan Ziya did not get up, but simply clapped her hands three times.
A man slowly walked out from the other exit of the hall. He was dressed in black, with a pale face and tightly pursed lips. His handsome face was marked with a crescent moon pattern in red and black. He was none other than Zhan Zichen, the young master of Zhan Family Fortress.
Everyone was shocked to see him, and Zhang Datou shouted, "Zhan Zichen! How come you're still alive? And you even have the Demonic Cult's mark on your face, trying to announce to the world that you've abandoned the light and joined the darkness?"
Zhan Zichen's eyes darkened, but his face remained cold and expressionless. He stepped into the hall, bowed slightly to Ruan Ziya, and whispered, "What are your orders, Master?"
Ruan Ziya smiled and pointed at Gu Qingyun, saying to him, "Now that you have mastered your divine skill, why don't you spar with Master Gu and test your skills on him? If you are lucky enough to win, I will reward you."
Upon hearing her voice, everyone realized that the one who practiced this poisonous skill was Zhan Zichen, and they were all shocked.
Gu Qingyun thought to herself: Since Ruan Ziya values this poison technique so much, yet she doesn't practice it herself, it must be extremely insidious and harmful. That's why the elders of Zhan Family Fort hid the cultivation method within the Five Elements Poison Manual. She captured Zhan Zichen, branded him with the Demonic Sect mark, severely humiliated him, and then forced him to practice this poison technique to fight me. She clearly has ill intentions. I must find a way to rescue Zhan Zichen.
Zhan Zichen bowed to accept the order, walked into the arena, nodded to Gu Qingyun, and said, "Greetings, Master Gu."
Seeing that he was lucid, Yi Feng said from the side, "Young Master Zhan, since your disappearance, your father and brother have been very worried. If you have any difficulties, you may speak up. Do you really want to help the wicked and become an enemy of Master Gu?"