A bright moon hung high in the void, pure and lustrous as jade, reflecting ten thousand scenes.
The black-armored cultivator's footsteps halted outside the Yin-Yang Tomb.
He stared intently at that luminous moon, light glinting in his eyes.
A red moon had hung suspended over this underworld realm; he had previously assumed it was caused by a special array, but now it became clear that this magic treasure was the true source. Indeed, beneath the gaze of his Scarlet Eyes and Golden Pupils, that bright moon was unmistakably a wheel-shaped treasure. That it manifested as a red moon elsewhere was merely due to the refraction of light.
Only now that he stood close could he appreciate its exquisite craftsmanship.
The bronze spokes, spanning a hundred zhang across, were engraved with lines of scripture whose characters were the size of clay bowls, accompanied by the faint, permeating drone of Buddhist chants.
The mirror-like surface refracted all the sights of the underworld. One could even make out Bai Xuanjun lingering reluctantly in hesitation at the Gate of Death. The man seemed torn, but after glancing back at the underworld several times, he finally hardened his heart and escaped through the Gate of Death, vanishing without a trace.
Bathed in this treasure's radiance, the grim tomb took on a semblance of serenity.
Yet it was only a slight semblance.
Luo Chen cast his gaze downward, and a colossal tomb spanning ten li in circumference instantly greeted his eyes.
Ferocious beast claws stood upright around the perimeter like screens. Gleaming tiles were laid out in neat rows like scales. Two high-hanging lanterns resembled beacons guiding the dead toward the Yellow Springs, while a yawning entrance gaped like the maw of an ancient leviathan, awaiting the voluntary entry of its prey.
*Are they inside?*
No longer concealing his capabilities, Luo Chen unleashed his vast divine sense like a surging tide, sweeping the surroundings for every trace.
Soon enough, he captured several lingering auras.
Hongye's, Meng Shentong's, and Heavenly Master Li's!
*They are all inside!*
Having confirmed their presence, Luo Chen moved forward to enter.
Yet as his divine sense swept through, he made another discovery.
*Why is there another bizarre aura?*
Luo Chen's brow furrowed. He lingered at the entrance for a brief moment, but then, his expression firm and resolved, he stepped into the Yin-Yang Tomb.
Upon entering the Yin-Yang Tomb, the path was extremely narrow at first, feeling like a stroll through a cramped passageway.
Yet as Luo Chen quickened his pace and pressed deeper, the passage grew increasingly broad. Before long, it stretched over a hundred zhang from wall to wall—hardly an entryway designed for human use.
Not only that!
*Chhh...*
Sword qi burst from Luo Chen's fingertips and struck the walls flanking the passageway, leaving only faint white scratches.
Such a sight was utterly astounding.
The sword qi he had unleashed just now was drawn from the sword pellets of the Great Five Elements Sword Formation, inheriting the sheer sharpness of True Artifact-grade sword pellets. Against such an attack, most True Artifacts and magic treasures under heaven could barely hold their ground. Yet the mere walls flanking this corridor had managed to withstand it.
*Why is this?*
Frowning, Luo Chen reached out and touched the wall. Under his fingers, it did not feel rigid; rather, it had a strangely pliable texture.
*If I strike with the true body of a sword pellet, could I slice through it? What about the Yuantu Sword?*
Just as Luo Chen was tempted to test it, a shrill, piercing shriek echoed from deep within the tomb.
"It's Hongye!"
Luo Chen's brow twitched. Ceasing his study of the walls, he shot forward at astonishing speed.
A few breaths later, a sudden burst of light greeted his eyes.
A sprawling subterranean plaza opened before him.
Most prominent was a black coffin flanked and guarded by dragon heads! Presumably, that was the final resting place of the mighty Yin-Yang Zi.
Second to that was the state of battle across the plaza.
Granny Hongye had been impaled from behind by a sharp sword. The flesh and blood across her entire body were decomposing uncontrollably, hissing with scalding steam and laying bare stark white bones.
It was Corpse Rot Poison!
With the insights into poison dao Luo Chen had absorbed over a short period, he instantly recognized the cause of Granny Hongye's physical deterioration from these outward symptoms.
This poison was exceedingly common in the cultivation world. One needed only to extract the relevant toxins from a corpse. Yet the more common a toxin was, the more terrifying it could be—much like run-of-the-mill cultivation methods, which were often abridged versions of profound arts. If this Corpse Rot Poison was harvested from a corpse that was exceptionally powerful in life, its potency would multiply drastically. It possessed an unfathomable countering effect against body refiners in particular, circulating alongside surging blood and qi to seep into the extraordinary meridians, limbs, and bones.
Witnessing this, Luo Chen's expression tightened.
"It seems you recognize it. A pity—this poison was originally prepared for you."
A voice tinged with faint regret drifted from the center of the plaza.
Luo Chen followed the sound to find Heavenly Master Li standing before the black coffin, gazing back at him from afar. Prostrated beneath his feet was a winged monster, firmly suppressed by three blood yokes locked around its neck, midsection, and ankles.
A Flying Yaksha!
Luo Chen's pupils contracted slightly. That monster was the very Flying Yaksha he had frightened away earlier—the pinnacle of flying zombies, capable of matching a late Nascent Soul Great Cultivator. Ordinary Great Cultivators were reluctant to provoke such beasts due to their formidable bodies and invulnerability to myriad arts. Luo Chen naturally had no fear of such a creature, but what put him on high alert was the brief span of time since the Yin-Yang Tomb opened. Even if a battle had erupted, a victor should not have been decided so swiftly.
Yet the moment he entered, he saw Hongye grievously wounded and the yaksha subdued, while Heavenly Master Li remained completely unscathed. This alone demonstrated his immense prowess.
Drawing a deep breath, Luo Chen's eyes shone with sharp light as he scanned the surroundings, eventually fixing on a single spot.
"Fellow Daoist Meng, why not show yourself?"
"Hm?"
"Eh!"
Two soft exclamations rang out simultaneously—one from Heavenly Master Li, the other from the spot where Luo Chen was staring.
Ripples washed through the air, and a slightly disheveled figure slowly emerged.
It was Meng Shentong!
Only now, he looked thoroughly battered, with traces of blood clinging to his robes.
Heavenly Master Li gazed at Luo Chen, the astonishment in his eyes deepening. "To think that you saw through the Luo Cult's void-evasion art in an instant—a technique even I could not pierce. Luo Chen, you truly offer far too many surprises."
Luo Chen paid him no heed, keeping his eyes on Meng Shentong.
Meng Shentong's face was grim as he warned, "Be careful, Fellow Daoist. Heavenly Master Li's strength and methods are far beyond imagination."
"I can see that," Luo Chen murmured, the corner of his mouth twitching.
To repulse three peers within such a brief span, whether through ambush or direct combat, Heavenly Master Li's standing in Luo Chen's mind rose rapidly. Luo Chen turned his gaze toward Heavenly Master Li and said evenly, "Hand over the Demonic Heart Gu, and I will leave the Yin-Yang Realm at once."
Beside them, Meng Shentong started, failing to understand what the Demonic Heart Gu had to do with Heavenly Master Li.
Heavenly Master Li smiled faintly, still bearing his usual genial, benevolent demeanor. "Why suspect this old man? The Demonic Heart Gu Emperor is infamous, reviled by all across the Southern Border, while I enjoy high esteem and respect. There is no connection between the two, is there?"
"Instinct," Luo Chen said flatly.
Heavenly Master Li was momentarily at a loss, then countered, "Intuition is far too flimsy. The Southern Border is vast—on what basis do you conclude it is me?"
Luo Chen pursed his lips. "According to the process of elimination you once laid out, the Southern Border is only so large, and only a handful of people meet the criteria for the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor. Songyang is not him; Shi Xiang of the Gate of Life and Death is not him; Fairy Xuanji's gender rules her out. Could it be Meng Shentong beside me?"
Meng Shentong waved his hands in haste. "Though I have seen the previous generation's Demonic Heart Gu Emperor, I am certainly not him!"
Heavenly Master Li chuckled. "Among the suspects I gave you back then, wasn't there also Old Man Zangsheng?"
Luo Chen shook his head. "Old Man Zangsheng's methods are harsh, but not cruel, which does not match the style of the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor. You, on the other hand—rumors say you spared neither living mortals nor demonic beasts as experimental material to refine Gu. Though praised by others for an inquisitive spirit of exploration, has it not crossed into excessive cruelty?"
"Not enough," Heavenly Master Li said, still smiling.
Luo Chen continued, "Rumors say that years ago, the new Demonic Heart Gu Emperor usurped and backlashed the old Gu Emperor. When I first heard that tale, I could not fathom how a junior could accomplish such a feat given the disparity in cultivation and the innate suppression of the natal Gu's rank. Later, a thought struck me: only someone with an extraordinarily profound understanding of Gu insects could reverse the Demonic Heart Gu and consume his superior. And when it comes to understanding Gu insects, in the entirety of the Southern Border, no one comes to mind before you!"
Heavenly Master Li raised an eyebrow. "Still not enough!"
Luo Chen fell silent. All the while, pained wails continued to echo across the plaza.
They were Granny Hongye's shrieks.
Beneath the Corpse Rot Poison, her flesh was continually disintegrating. Worse yet, in this condition, her Nascent Soul could not dare escape. Once the Nascent Soul was tainted by the slightest trace of Corpse Rot Poison, the outcome would be catastrophic. She could only desperately cast arrays in an effort to strip the toxins from her body.
Luo Chen's gaze swept over her before he spoke again. "Then how do you explain the tampering you did on me?"
Heavenly Master Li froze, then sighed with regret. "You already noticed?"
Touching his own chest, Luo Chen said calmly, "The Demonic Heart Gu operates on the principle of refining essence into qi. The stronger a body's physical blood and vitality, the greater its refining efficiency. The Southern Border's body refinement path was once aided by Gu insects and enjoyed great prominence. The reason it declined was that body refiners became prime targets during the Demonic Heart Catastrophe.
"Ever since I entered the Southern Border's cultivation world, I deliberately displayed my powerful physique to draw the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor's attention.
"My plan was to use myself as bait to lure the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor into planting a Gu in me. I did not expect your methods to be so circuitous, planting the Mother-Child Qianji Gu instead."
Heavenly Master Li sighed. "It wasn't that I couldn't plant it, but that the world is far too wary of the Demonic Heart Gu. The moment a trace showed, I would have been exposed."
Luo Chen raised a brow. "So you admit it?"
"So you were bluffing!" Heavenly Master Li said, enlightened.
Luo Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Hardly a bluff—merely a reasonable deduction within plausible bounds. Even if I were wrong, there was no harm done."
Just as when Heavenly Master Li had investigated the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor for Luo Chen years ago, the Southern Border seemed vast, yet before Nascent Soul True Persons, the scope was narrow. As long as the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor lived and sought the Great Dao, he could not halt his cultivation. And how could a cultivator who had once chosen the Demonic Heart Gu ever abandon the pursuit of the Great Dao? Thus, the pool of suspects was only ever those few individuals.
Heavenly Master Li had simply been clever enough to clear his own name from the start. Had Luo Chen not discovered the tampering done to him while cultivating the Hundred Poisons Body Refinement Technique, he too would have found it difficult to suspect him.
Heavenly Master Li exhaled a long breath of turbid air and confessed openly, "Indeed, this old man is the contemporary Demonic Heart Gu Emperor."
At these words, Meng Shentong's expression shifted drastically, his gaze toward Heavenly Master Li growing far more guarded.
Ignoring the reactions around him, Heavenly Master Li continued of his own accord, "Years ago, I was merely an unremarkable junior of the Golden Lion Empire's Moon Worship Cult, managing to advance to the Golden Core stage only by relying on the Demonic Heart Gu. Amid the Demonic Heart Catastrophe, I fled everywhere in hiding, stumbling by sheer chance into this Yin-Yang remnant realm.
"Back then, the underworld had not decayed to such a degree, and the various specters and corpses were caught in a transitional state. Relying on the research into various Gu insects left behind by Yin-Yang Zi, I gradually felt my way along the path of a Gu refiner.
"It was also through this Gu-refining mastery that I altered the properties of the Demonic Heart Gu. Thus, when that old codger finally tracked me down, I was able to usurp and backlash him, inheriting his immense cultivation and ascending straight to the Nascent Soul stage in a single leap.
"Yet I knew that relying on the Demonic Heart Gu for cultivation would inevitably be discovered in time. Therefore, I embarked on an orthodox path, gradually making a name for myself across the Southern Border as a Gu refiner.
"Step by step, I finally reached my current standing and attained my present cultivation.
"And you, Luo Chen, are the only person in five hundred years who has stirred my desire!"
Listening to the past events, Luo Chen felt both marvel and a measure of sighing contemplation. Only at that final sentence did he frown in displeasure.
Heavenly Master Li laughed freely. "Such a formidable physique—if fed to the Demonic Heart Gu to consume and absorb, who knows how much magic power it could convert for me? Compared to Marquis Ziyi, whom I deliberately nurtured, you surpass him a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"
Luo Chen said coldly, "Perhaps you do not know, but I detest nothing more than those who covet my flesh. Every last person who has dared to do so met the same end—their bones turned to dust, their souls obliterated!"
Heavenly Master Li chuckled and shrugged. "Since you already discovered the Mother-Child Qianji Gu, you have likely resolved the latent danger as well. In that case, I have no leverage over you anyway. Why not cooperate?"
"Cooperate?" Luo Chen countered.
Heavenly Master Li nodded. "Indeed. I will give you the Demonic Heart Gu, and you kill Meng Shentong for me. How about it?"
At these words, Meng Shentong's face twisted in alarm, and he reflexively retreated over a dozen zhang from Luo Chen.
Luo Chen cast a calm glance at Meng Shentong before withdrawing his gaze. "Since you could grievously wound Hongye and suppress a Flying Yaksha, Meng Shentong is surely no match for you either. Why would you need my help?"
Heavenly Master Li sighed. "The Luo Cult is an ancient lineage in the Southern Border, after all, and their Vacuum Gu combines combat, cultivation, and concealment into one. I might defeat him, but killing Brother Meng would prove exceedingly difficult. Just now, the moment you arrived, those eyes of yours pierced the void to uncover Brother Meng's hidden location, proving you possess a method to counter the Vacuum Gu. As for your strength..."
Heavenly Master Li glanced toward the outside.
Three mid Nascent Soul powerhouses had failed to stop Luo Chen. Combined with his illustrious deeds under the title of Alchemy Grandmaster, Heavenly Master Li was convinced that an eminent reputation harbored no false claims—Luo Chen was more than capable of handling Meng Shentong.
Faced with this exchange, the wariness on Meng Shentong's face grew heavier. His figure began to fade into translucence until it vanished entirely.
Yet no matter how he concealed himself in the void, Luo Chen's gaze tracked him relentlessly.
This made him realize that those eyes truly could pierce the void and see through everything!
"Qi—Fellow Daoist Luo, do not fall for this old scoundrel's scheme to drive a wedge between us! Inside that black coffin lies a Tier 5 Gu insect—the Life-and-Death Gu, the very source of the Demonic Heart Gu! If Heavenly Master Li obtains it, his breakthrough to Soul Formation will be a certainty. When that time comes, even if your cultivation reaches the heavens, you will meet no good end!"
Meng Shentong spoke in hurried, urgent tones. Evidently, he too understood the immense weight behind the name of Alchemy Grandmaster Luo Chen.
Amid the stifling tension, Luo Chen stood blocking the entrance of the Yin-Yang Tomb, his robes snapping in the wind.
*Crack, crack, crack...*
The sound of breaking seals rang out.
Beneath the creature's colossal strength, the three blood yokes suppressing the Flying Yaksha began to loosen.
Heavenly Master Li's brow furrowed, his patience worn down to nothing.
"Luo Chen, have you made up your mind?"
Luo Chen's eyelids lifted, his gaze locking directly onto Heavenly Master Li.
"I would rather take what is mine by direct force than seek it through crooked bargains. That Demonic Heart Gu—I had best claim it with my own hands!"
Before the words had finished settling, the world within the Yin-Yang Tomb underwent a violent upheaval.
Crimson clouds blanketed the sky as blazing flames surged to incinerate the world.
A flaming dragon breached the clouds high above Netherworld Mountain, shattering layers of solid rock, and plunged straight toward Heavenly Master Li.
Chapter 964