You're Just a Matrilocal Husband, That's a Mysterious-Rank Human-Faced Moth!

A Heaven-rank weapon wielder, killed by a single punch? The people blowing the suonas wore faces of utter shock. In this world, it was exceedingly rare for an Earth-rank weapon wielder to defeat a Heaven-rank weapon wielder. As for defeating a Heaven-rank weapon wielder who had activated the state of harmony between heaven and humanity, there was only one known precedent—and that had been an individual whose excessive indulgence in lust ruined his cultivation, so that when he unleashed harmony of heaven and humanity, he failed to hold himself together and died on the spot. Yet Mo Sankong had just been smashed to pieces by Qi Yuan with a single punch! The caliber of this feat… was truly terrifying. Incomprehension, wild joy, bewilderment, shock… all manner of emotions surfaced on everyone's faces. At that moment, an exaggerated expression appeared on Chen Kangbao's face. "This matrilocal husband is actually so powerful!" Qi Yuan felt immensely pleased when he heard this. This was exactly the feeling he wanted. Meanwhile, the Confucian-robed scholar's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing it. Such a powerful, mysterious entity was actually a matrilocal husband? "Too strong!" Tu Sihai swallowed hard. Now, he was completely humbled regarding his prior arrogance. As for the younger of the Heisha brothers, his heart was in his throat, terrified that his earlier contempt might have provoked Qi Yuan's displeasure. "Sigh, I really want to see just what a peerless beauty Lady Lingxuan is, to make an extraordinary man like this marry into her family." Qi Yuan casually retrieved Mo Sankong's spatial storage artifact, took out the silver, and selected some materials. "The rest of these artifacts are yours." He cast them aside directly. To him, Heaven-rank artifacts were less useful than Heaven-rank materials. After all, he would have to smelt them down again to extract the materials he needed, which was far too troublesome. For the weapon wielders present, however, it was an entirely different story. None of them were implement masters, and even ordinary implement masters preferred finished products. Taking the artifacts, their eyes shone with excitement. Even Wang Dao, who had only recently advanced to an Earth-rank weapon wielder, received a peak Earth-rank artifact. Qi Yuan looked toward the Confucian-robed scholar, his gaze calm. "You know Chen Kangbao?" A bewildered expression appeared on Chen Kangbao's face. "You know me?" A reminiscent look crossed the scholar's face. "Thirty years ago, when I was young and traveling the world, I became acquainted with Brother Chen. Brother Chen was an extraordinarily talented implement master of unmatched wit." Hearing this, Chen Kangbao looked ecstatic. "Young Master, did you hear that? I'm of unmatched wit, more than qualified to be an advisor!" Seeing Chen Kangbao like this, the scholar's thoughts grew complicated. "Later, a group of mysterious people approached Brother Chen... hoping he would join them in a grand undertaking. As for what it was... this old man does not know. I only know that they were supposedly forging an extraordinary artifact." "The Radiant Society?" Qi Yuan asked casually. He recalled that the father of this physical body had once invited the Blind Implement Master to join an organization, apparently also to forge a powerful artifact. Later, Fang Shisan of the Radiant Society had even moved against him in secret. Had he not been wary of the spirit body gu, he would likely have attacked outright. The scholar's expression shifted several times before he finally nodded. "Just as I suspected." "That's all?" Chen Kangbao had no interest in this. "Since you know me, do I have any other good qualities? Preferably the kind described with four-character idioms?" Chen Kangbao looked at the scholar expectantly. "Aloof and unapproachable, indifferent and pure as jade..." The scholar pondered for a long while before squeezing out a few words. The current Chen Kangbao was raving mad, completely different from the brilliant implement master he remembered, who had been indifferent to fame and fortune and carried the common people in his heart. "Hehe, I never thought this old man had so many virtues." Chen Kangbao's grin was smug and thoroughly lewd. "What did you come here for?" Qi Yuan asked, looking at the scholar. The scholar looked at Chen Kangbao, his eyes heavy with complex emotion. "Back then, Brother Chen wasn't the only one invited by the Radiant Society; my elder brother was invited as well. I wanted... to bring back his remains, so he wouldn't be... buried in a strange land." At the mention of this, a bleak sorrow filled his eyes. "So, they were invited by the Radiant Society to forge an artifact in Shiwanshanjue?" Qi Yuan mused. No wonder Chen Kangbao had reacted upon hearing the name Shiwanshanjue; it turned out this had triggered his storyline. "In that case, let's go inside and take a look, and look for Shen Lingxuan while we're at it," Qi Yuan said, walking straight ahead. The people behind hurried to follow. After a moment's thought, the scholar disregarded his injuries and moved forward as well. Light was dim within the ruins, the atmosphere murky, and the corners exceptionally damp. About a quarter of an hour later, the group stopped atop a slab of stone. The slab was massive, spanning a full hundred meters in length and width, formed as a single unbroken piece. Moss covered its surface, stained with numerous dark bloodstains. A steady drip, drip echoed through the quiet. Right then, a sudden roar erupted. The sound was shrill and exceedingly grating on the ears. It was a guiling resembling a giant moth, bearing a human face that looked horrifyingly ghastly. "A mere guiling dares run rampant? Watch this matrilocal husband make his move!" Qi Yuan shouted loudly, striding forward aggressively. The scholar froze, finding the behavior utterly bizarre. At that moment, Tu Sihai called out anxiously, "That is a Mysterious-rank human-faced moth, and at the peak of the Mysterious rank at that! It's most skilled in speed—how dare a mere matrilocal husband like you provoke it?" The scholar began to doubt his own ears. "The human-faced moth is exceptional among guiling, a true king among its kind! You're only a matrilocal husband, don't seek your own death!" Confucian-robed scholar: "..." Was this man out of his mind? "Offend the great human-faced moth, and just wait for the Shen family to punish you!" "There will be no place left for you to stand in the entire State of Ning!" The remaining Earth-rank weapon wielders chimed in with mockery as well, their words all playing up how formidable the human-faced moth was and warning a mere matrilocal husband not to get above himself. This spectacle left the scholar completely bewildered. As a Heaven-rank weapon wielder, he could see right through the foundations of that Mysterious-rank human-faced moth at a glance. Could it be... his own eyes were playing tricks on him? For a moment, he doubted himself. "Hmph! Even though I am a matrilocal husband, not just anyone can insult me!" With those words, Qi Yuan's body launched forward like a cannonball, striking straight at the human-faced moth. The mockery ceased abruptly as the wail of suonas sounded at that very instant. "The matrilocal husband shall not be insulted!" A mighty punch stirred the surrounding currents of air, puffing out clouds of white vapor. The human-faced moth, ferocious a moment before, was stunned. Nobody told me... you were this strong? Boom! One punch flies, a hundred paths open! The human-faced moth's body shattered to pieces, leaving behind nothing at all. "You... a matrilocal husband actually killed the human-faced moth!" "How is that possible? That was a Mysterious-rank human-faced moth!" The surrounding weapon wielders quickly lowered their suonas, performing their parts to their hearts' content. The scholar was at a complete loss, not daring to speak a word. He felt that this entire group of people was thoroughly deranged. "What a pity. It didn't work hard enough. If only it had cultivated diligently to the Heaven rank, that would have been wonderful." Qi Yuan felt somewhat disappointed. Killing this human-faced moth yielded only a tiny bit of experience. Had it been Heaven rank, it would have given far more experience, and Qi Yuan would have been able to absorb harmony between heaven and humanity from it. What Mo Sankong and the spirit body gu had provided him was too little, insufficient to push him to level 120. *** "To think this place is actually a guiling forbidden zone!" Diwu Wei wore a gold-threaded robe, his waist adorned with a ferocious, imposing python embroidered in jade silk. "Not only is this a guiling forbidden zone, it is also... the Curious Domain!" An old man's face shone with ecstatic fervor, his shoulders trembling. "What? The Curious Domain?" Diwu Wei was taken aback, wild joy instantly surfacing on his face. "Rumor has it that fifty years ago, the Radiant Society gathered brilliant implement masters from across the world to forge an artifact surpassing the God rank. "Over the decades, talented implement masters were continuously invited and sent into the Curious Domain. "No one knew where the Curious Domain was located until fifteen years ago, when the Radiant Society vanished without a trace, never inviting another implement master. His Majesty deduced that the forging inside the Curious Domain had ended in failure. "Yet... even so, the treasures within the Curious Domain must be astonishing! "Among those implement masters, there was no shortage of Heaven-rank masters, and perhaps even the legendary God rank... If we obtain their legacies, this..." The elderly man's expression was manic, his face steeped in greed. The treasures here would surpass the wealth of an entire nation! The breathing of every Heaven-rank weapon wielder present grew ragged. "Hahaha! First the Mysterious Yin Physique, and now the Curious Domain—the Mandate of Heaven belongs to me!" Diwu Wei laughed heartily. If he obtained the treasures here, to what height would his strength rise? And once he claimed the primal yin of the Mysterious Yin Physique, stepping into the God rank would no longer be a pipe dream. The God rank! Even in the Rakshasa Country, God-rank beings numbered only a scarce few. "Speaking of which, if I recall correctly, had Divine Descent not fallen, the Radiant Society would likely never have dared to openly recruit the world's most brilliant implement masters into the Curious Domain," one Heaven-rank weapon wielder noted, revealing the hidden history. "There does seem to be such a claim. Back then, the fall of Divine Descent appeared connected to some otherworldly dispute, which likely had ties to the Curious Domain," an elderly man recalled. It was precisely due to the Radiant Society's intervention that Diwu Yuxian had hardened his resolve to strike against Divine Descent. Just then, the elderly man's eyes narrowed. "Who's there!" In the distance, a butterfly-like creature flashed past, fleeing swiftly upon being discovered. "A guiling? No!" Surprised, the old man rushed after it. With his strength, it would take only a little time to capture the butterfly creature. "Elder Wang, do not pursue! A mere curious creature is nothing to fear; our urgent priority is entering the Curious Domain," Diwu Wei said in a resounding voice. The pursuing old man finally halted his steps. "Everything is as the Prince commands." "Hmph, that useless fool Mo Sankong still hasn't captured that wretched Shen Lingxuan. Once we obtain the treasures of the Curious Domain... it seems we cannot wait for him; we must return to our country immediately," Diwu Wei murmured. Otherwise, once word of the Curious Domain spread and more powerful figures arrived, he would not be able to protect the treasures taken from within. *** Elsewhere, the Insect Maiden Caidie flapped her wings rapidly, only slipping into a secret chamber once she was certain no one was following her. "This is bad. Those Heaven-rank weapon wielders from the Rakshasa Country have nearly reached the entrance of the Curious Domain, and they already know what lies ahead," Caidie said with deep concern. The guiling source was also inside the Curious Domain. Back then, when the Radiant Society forged the Curious Domain, they had drawn upon the power of the guiling source. The Rakshasa Country's party was formidable; if they entered the Curious Domain, seizing the guiling source would become extraordinarily difficult. Shen Lingxuan frowned, finding the situation equally thorny. Just then, Caidie suddenly asked, "You have a husband?" "Oh?" Surprised by the question, Shen Lingxuan gave a nod. "Earlier outside, I saw an old man saying to another, 'Shen Lingxuan, your husband has come looking for you, fear not.'" Curiosity gleamed in Caidie's eyes. "Is your husband inadequate? Your primal yin is still completely intact even now. "I know of a kind of guiling right here in this guiling forbidden zone whose eyeballs can bolster yang. Do you want to take some?" The insect maiden was surprisingly thoughtful for an insect creature. Shen Lingxuan froze slightly. "My husband... Qi Yuan?" A trace of bewilderment touched her cold, exquisite face. She had never met Qi Yuan; she only knew he was Master Qi's son. According to Zhishuang's assessment, he was cowardly and lacked even the strength to truss a chicken. After returning to his ancestral home, he seemed to have lost his wits as well, acting in bizarre ways. He... had come here? Shen Lingxuan felt that it was probably not him. He wasn't even a weapon wielder; how would he dare come to a place like this? Perhaps it was some old monster coveting her Mysterious Yin Physique. "How strong is he? Does he have Heaven-rank strength? If he does, finding him would greatly increase our chances of obtaining the guiling source," Caidie said. "That person might not be my husband." "Not him?" "He is an ordinary mortal." "You married an ordinary mortal?" "To be precise, a matrilocal husband." "A matrilocal husband?" *** The group of nine came to a halt before a massive gate. Every person present looked thoroughly shaken. Before their eyes lay an underground palace. Rather than an underground palace, it was more like a fortress. This subterranean palace was constructed entirely of metal, completely devoid of vents or seams, forged as a single seamless whole. "This is the Curious Domain," the Confucian-robed scholar said, his expression desolate. "Inside the Curious Domain were roughly three hundred thousand... brilliant implement masters from across the Qingshan Realm. They entered the Curious Domain in obscurity, laboring to forge a mysterious artifact." The scholar knew very little. He only remembered his elder brother telling him before departing that this artifact concerned the very survival of the Qingshan Realm. If the Qingshan Realm lacked this mysterious artifact, a great calamity would descend upon it in the near future. "They are all inside?" Qi Yuan's voice was calm. The scholar looked toward Chen Kangbao. "Yes. I fear only a scarce few ever made it out. Aside from Brother Chen, the others all died after enduring horrific torment." Speaking of this, the scholar sighed with sorrow. Back then, a cataclysmic upheaval occurred within the Curious Domain, supposedly caused by a failure in the artifact's forging. Only a handful of people managed to escape. Powerful figures captured those who fled, subjecting them to severe torture to extract the location of the Curious Domain. Yet despite every manner of torment, and even threats against their families, wives, and children, not a single one revealed the location of the Curious Domain. That torture brought excruciating agony, inflicting severe trauma not merely on the flesh, but on the soul itself. In the end, every last one of them died. That was why, when the scholar later discovered Chen Kangbao in Ninghe County, seeing him raving and half-mad, he chose not to disturb him. "What secret is kept in this Curious Domain that made them choose death over speaking?" the younger Heisha brother asked. "According to you, they failed. If they failed, why would they fear being discovered?" Tu Sihai asked, puzzled. "Perhaps they failed, but not entirely. They feared that if outsiders entered, it would cause total failure," Qi Yuan guessed blindly. "There should be a special teleportation formation within the Curious Domain; those people escaped through it," the scholar continued. He lowered his head, his gaze bleak. "The entire Curious Domain is a single unbroken whole. I wonder if we can find an entrance inside." "No need for an entrance. This spot is relatively weak." Qi Yuan's gaze settled upon a section of the gate. According to the hidden auras his eyes perceived, that place had endured a tremendous impact, as if a God-rank weapon wielder had once attempted to break through, only to fail in the end. This showed just how remarkably sturdy the underground palace was. Yet in Qi Yuan's view, its sturdiness was limited. Most likely... its energy had been thoroughly depleted over all these years. Otherwise, in its pristine state, Qi Yuan suspected that even he would have struggled to breach it without using the Divine Descent state. "Break!" Qi Yuan's eyes shone like torches. Behind him, mockery piped up right on cue. At that moment, Qi Yuan's arm transformed into a kitchen knife. With immense power, the indestructible kitchen knife gleamed with sharp brilliance, cleaving viciously onto the weak spot of the underground palace. Boom! A mighty blow hacked open a two-meter-wide breach on the spot. Surprise surfaced in the scholar's eyes, quickly giving way to hesitation and bewilderment. "Let us... go inside and look." Though the news he had received claimed the implement masters in the Curious Domain had failed, what if... they hadn't? A glimmer of hope still lingered in his heart. The group entered immediately. Instantly, an odor of decay and rotting corpses washed over them, like an ancient tomb sealed for a thousand years. Tu Sihai frowned, his complexion turning foul. The others covered their noses one after another. Chen Kangbao wore an odd expression. "I'm... hungry." As he spoke, he quietly pulled out a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Though his belly was completely round, he still wolfed it down ravenously. Qi Yuan looked deeper inside. Before his eyes stretched an endless sea of white. Skeletons, everywhere. These bones lay scattered across the ground in contorted poses, as if enduring something agonizing before death. Others sat upright, as if calmly accepting their demise. Qi Yuan scanned the scene, his gaze resting upon one particular corpse. It was draped in a black robe, holding a broken sword in its hand. The broken sword still radiated a dangerous aura, though its spirituality was entirely gone. "This is... a divine artifact?" Qi Yuan asked calmly. Over a decade ago, it was likely this black-robed man who had held this broken divine artifact, repeatedly hacking at the underground palace in an effort to carve out a path. Now, stripped of all spirituality, the broken sword was inferior even to a Heaven-rank artifact. "These are the remains of a God-rank powerhouse," Qi Yuan stated placidly. The breathing of everyone else grew rapid, their gazes involuntarily drifting toward the storage artifact on the corpse. Yet because Qi Yuan made no move, none of them dared to act. Seeing the vast expanse of white bones across the floor, the scholar's spirit crumbled completely. "Dead... all dead..." He slumped to the ground, his expression dazed. Qi Yuan's gaze turned to a stone slab. "There are words here." The others hurried over to look. Covering the stone slab on the ground were densely carved lines of text. "My name is Qian Muzhi, National Preceptor of the State of Sang..." "It's actually Qian Muzhi, one of the top three God-rank powerhouses in the world! He vanished fifty years ago, and he was actually here!" Tu Sihai's breathing quickened. "The dark night descends, guiling run rampant, the front line is strained, and worlds are falling. The Qingshan Realm... may be the next to fall." Seeing this, the weapon wielders present turned pale with dread. "Weren't the guiling forbidden zones wiped out? How could this still..." A feeling of impending doom washed over them, as though they had stumbled upon a terrifying secret. "In a mere thousand years, seventeen realms have fallen, reduced to playgrounds for guiling. "In another thousand years, the one to fall... will be the Qingshan Realm. "To protect the Qingshan Realm, the Radiant Society told me that we must pool the strength of every implement master to forge the curious treasure of light. "Only if the divine reveals the light can we seize a sliver of hope. "For thirty years, though more and more brilliant implement masters concealed their names to join us, we still failed." The words carved into the stone were plain, yet many felt a chilling despair seep into their bones. "Three hundred thousand brilliant implement masters were in the Curious Domain, every one of them a true prodigy of the heavens. Had they grown to maturity, each would have become an elite of his region, some even leaving their names in history for eternity," the scholar murmured. Three hundred thousand scholars hid deep within the mountains, shedding their names solely to forge fragments of the curious treasure of light, hoping the Qingshan Realm might possess formidable power of its own to resist the guiling. "Human will cannot overcome heavenly fate; the gods never looked upon us with pity in the end... This old man cannot accept this... We were a mere fraction of a hair's breadth from success, how could we give up? "Success meant death, failure meant death—how could we fear dying?" "Refine implements with the flesh!" "Refine implements with implements!" "Our flesh and blood, our artifacts, were all cast into the God-Enlightening Furnace, solely so that majestic God might open its eyes and cast its gaze upon Tianyuan!" Inside the Curious Domain, these people had forged Tianyuan, seeking to make the divine open its eyes and transform Tianyuan into a fragment of the curious treasure of light. Yet they had failed. Even after striving with all their might, they still failed. Tianyuan was imperfect, unable to draw the gaze of the divine. If God remained unopened, how could light ever be witnessed? In the end, they used the spirituality of all their artifacts and the flesh and blood of their own bodies to feed Tianyuan, nurturing it to make it whole and perfect. Yet even so, the divine never lowered its gaze. "So hungry..." Chen Kangbao sat on the ground, continually stuffing buns into his mouth. Everything in the underground palace—all the artifacts, all the food... had been cast into Tianyuan. The spirituality of these things... had all been devoured by Tianyuan. Those implement masters had even fed their own flesh and blood to Tianyuan. "People died every day, and many more... were starving, ravenous with hunger, yet none could bear to eat. Everything was fed to Tianyuan, including our own flesh and blood. "I even thought of chopping through the underground palace to feed it to Tianyuan, but I failed. "This old man does not know the limits of Tianyuan's appetite, nor does he know... how long it must eat before the divine opens its eyes to look upon this place." The carvings on the stone slab carried a bleak sorrow. "We sit here waiting for death. For those who cannot bear the hunger, I help them end their suffering and feed them to Tianyuan." Once one entered the Curious Domain, there was no leaving. Because of Tianyuan, this place had long since become an absolute dead zone. One could imagine how three hundred thousand scholars had hidden their identities within this underground palace, tempering Tianyuan day after day, exhausting their life's blood. Alas, they still failed. Unwilling to simply die in vain, they fed the spiritual essence of their flesh and the spirits of their artifacts to Tianyuan to make it more perfect. Enduring the torment of starvation, they went to their deaths one by one. "In the end, this old man sent five people out through the Radiant Society's teleportation formation. "I hope that after five years, they can bring people from the Radiant Society back to the Curious Domain... In five years, Tianyuan should have devoured everything here clean. "Whether the divine has opened its eyes... this old man will not live to see." The writing on the floor came to an abrupt halt. Qian Muzhi sat upon the cold stone slab holding his broken sword. His flesh was entirely gone; none could tell whether his expression had held agony or yearning when the last breath of life left him. Chen Kangbao stuffed the bun into his mouth. Remembering something, he suddenly spoke up: "Young Master, so many people died here. Let's start the banquet... so they can eat a bit too."