The pale-faced man, Hua Yinke, was a Hall Master of the Union Sect, at the peak of Core Formation, already glimpsing the path to Feathered Ascension. He had committed heinous crimes throughout his life, having tortured and drained countless men and women through his techniques of stealing yin and replenishing yang. He had long been on the execution list of the Dao Court's laws.
From the moment he entered the demonic path of Union Sect until now, he had faced countless pursuits, encirclements, and hunts from the Dao Court.
But this was the first time he had encountered such a secretive "assassination."
Hua Yinke was powerful, and when the killing intent was revealed, he reacted quickly.
He could feel a strange trace of killing intent from behind—very subtle, not strong, but precisely because of this, it sent a chill down his spine.
Because the sword that truly kills is often not flashy.
The cause and effect that will truly kill you are often the ones you most easily overlook.
Moreover, being able to slip behind him unnoticed and perform a hidden technique to assassinate him meant the person's cultivation was extremely strong.
"Can't dodge?!"
Hua Yinke's heart turned cold. At the critical moment, he canceled the spell aimed at Gu Changhuai, reversed his meridians, and activated the Yin-Yang Union Body.
His entire person seemed to split into two—a hybrid of male and female.
The strong man was behind, the beautiful woman in front.
Almost the moment he activated the Yin-Yang Union Body, a deep blue, water-attributed, sinister sword tip pierced into his back.
This sword was fast, precise, steady—concealed before release, lethal upon striking.
It was a completely different kind of water spiritual power, not belonging to the five elements, seemingly gentle yet extremely cold and violent.
As soon as this sword pierced Hua Yinke's back, the water entered his blood, causing his muscles to wilt, his physical body to wither, and his meridians to be thoroughly damaged.
The "Union male body" on Hua Yinke's back, acting like a shield, visibly corroded with intense pain, like withering flowers and trees in autumn and winter.
Hua Yinke himself let out a sharp, androgynous scream, clearly heavily wounded.
The assassin intended to follow through directly, to pierce Hua Yinke's male and female bodies and end his life right there.
But Hua Yinke was a Hall Master after all, deeply versed in Union techniques, having fought against righteous cultivators for years. He endured the intense pain and instead activated the Union yin body, manifesting a begonia sickle with the female yin form, slashing backward.
This begonia sickle was pale pink like congealed fat, seemingly made of a beauty's flesh, branded with begonia patterns, containing deep carnal desires.
If struck, carnal desire would enter the soul, breaking pure cultivation and corrupting the Dao heart.
Even the powerful assassin dared not take Hua Yinke's begonia slash head-on, lest he lose his Dao heart and become a slave to desire, eventually being drained by Hua Yinke for his Union path.
He had no choice but to cancel the assassination technique, not daring to push further.
The begonia sickle slash missed, not harming the assassin, but it bought Hua Yinke time.
He immediately tapped his foot, retreating twenty zhang, swallowed a pill, withdrew the Yin-Yang Union Body, wrapped himself in a pink robe for protection, and faced the assassin with a gloomy expression.
This sudden upheaval, the fluctuations from the peak Core Formation experts' clash, shook everyone present.
The Union Sect elders who had been besieging Gu Changhuai also stopped, looking stunned.
The scene gradually quieted down.
Hua Yinke's Yin-Yang Union Body was damaged, but he forcefully suppressed his injuries with his cultivation and looked at the opponent.
The assassination clash had ended.
Now, opposite Hua Yinke stood a black-robed cultivator wreathed in watery mist.
Everyone's attention focused on this person.
Mo Hua couldn't help but look as well. The man was of medium build, with a cultivation age of several hundred years, hair half-white, and eyes obscure like the sea. When not radiating killing intent, he looked ordinary, unnoticeable in a crowd.
But he had just unleashed killing intent, and now deep blue killing aura lingered on him like seawater, strangely intimidating.
Mo Hua guessed this was probably an expert specializing in the "assassination" path.
Ultimate concealment, deeply hidden killing intent.
When not killing, he was unremarkable. But once killing intent arose, he would erupt with extreme lethal force in an instant.
The Union Sect members looked at the black-robed man with fear.
Thinking that their Hall Master had nearly died at this man's hands, they all turned pale.
Hua Yinke, on the other hand, looked at the man with surprise, then revealed a complex sneer: "Suppression Demon Department, Yu Cangming… you aren't dead?"
Mo Hua's expression shifted slightly.
Suppression Demon Department?
This assassin was actually from the Suppression Demon Department?
And Yu Cangming—this name, and his water heritage, why did they seem so familiar?
Could it be that he was a remnant descendant of the Water Prison Sect?
The old man named Yu Cangming was about to speak when, as if sensing something, he abruptly glanced at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua restrained his thoughts, his gaze calm, betraying no emotion.
Yu Cangming glanced over and didn't dwell on it. Instead, he turned to Hua Yinke and sneered: "That beastly pervert like you, steeped in evil, hasn't died yet. What harm is there in me living a few more years?"
"It's just a pity—" Yu Cangming looked at Hua Yinke, "you old yin fiend are really hard to kill."
Hua Yinke's face twitched, then he smiled: "You old thing should have died long ago. Staying in the declining Suppression Demon Department, eking out a miserable existence, what's the point?"
Yu Cangming did not reply, his expression calm.
But Hua Yinke knew this was a sign that he was brewing killing intent, looking for an opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
When experts clash, they rarely show mercy; any casual talk between them is either courtesy or a chance to find an opening.
Hua Yinke's mind raced, analyzing the current situation, his brow slightly furrowed.
The situation was somewhat unfavorable for him. Yu Cangming had crippled one of his Yin-Yang Union bodies.
The Yin-Yang Union Body cultivated one yin body and one yang body.
Originally, he should have had two lives, yin and yang. But now, due to Yu Cangming's assassination, the yang body was lost.
The good news was that he had at least saved his life. If he hadn't summoned the Yin-Yang body at the last moment to block that sword, he would have been caught off guard and likely killed by Yu Cangming.
In terms of assassination techniques, few in the cultivation world could surpass the Dark Water Heart-Piercing Sword.
Hua Yinke felt both fortunate and hateful. By now, he understood perfectly.
This whole affair was a scheme within a scheme.
Liu San was the Union Sect's bait, luring the Dao Court-appointed Gu Changhuai, Director of the Canonical Department, as the fish.
And Gu Changhuai was also bait, luring him, the Union Sect Hall Master, along with these Union Sect elders.
If he, the Hall Master, had truly been skewered through the heart by that old bastard Yu Cangming, the remaining elders would certainly have died as well.
Then the branch hall of Jade Fragrance Pavilion would be destroyed, and the Union Sect's years of painstaking operation would go up in smoke.
Hua Yinke had also misjudged.
First misjudgment: Gu Changhuai's wind blade technique was an all-in-one offense and defense, flawless. His actual strength far exceeded his apparent level.
This kind of truly righteous cultivator, taking steady steps, had too solid a foundation.
The Union Sect elders, too greedy for carnal pleasures, had mostly derived their cultivation from furnace cauldrons, naturally inferior to Gu Changhuai's stable base.
Thus, eight Union Sect elders couldn't subdue him.
Second misjudgment: Yu Cangming.
Hua Yinke had never been assassinated before and had no idea Yu Cangming's concealment skill was so formidable.
He also never expected that the Dao Court's true target this time was actually to assassinate him.
He had received no information at all and nearly made a fatal mistake.
Hua Yinke felt angry.
Just as he was calculating and feeling anger, a hint of alarm arose.
When Hua Yinke looked forward again, Yu Cangming's figure was gone.
In that moment of distraction, Yu Cangming had vanished.
Hua Yinke's heart chilled, shouting: "Not good!"
He immediately flickered, trying to leave his spot, but as he activated his movement technique, Yu Cangming reappeared behind him.
The tip of the Dark Water Heart-Piercing Sword once again pointed at his back.
Hua Yinke's protective robe shattered at the sword tip, and fear arose in his heart.
Fortunately, this time he had anticipated it—before the sword truly pierced his heart, he managed to evade through his movement technique.
Assassination requires surprise.
Once noticed, the difficulty of assassination increases manyfold.
Hua Yinke immediately formed a begonia sickle in his hand and slashed at Yu Cangming.
Yu Cangming retreated to dodge the begonia sickle.
Instead of evading, Hua Yinke advanced, continuing his assault on Yu Cangming.
The Dark Water Heart-Piercing Sword was an assassination technique, terrifying for killing but too restrictive in direct combat.
Hua Yinke dared not give Yu Cangming any space. He had to constantly suppress him, or else, if Yu Cangming had room to operate, he might use his bizarre concealment to strike again, and the situation would turn bad.
Yu Cangming and Hua Yinke—one a Suppression Demon Department expert, the other a Union Sect Hall Master—thus clashed.
One used the Dark Water Heart-Piercing Stab, the other drove the begonia sickle through the Union yin body, both unleashing lethal moves.
At their level, when experts fought, they generally concentrated their spiritual power to the extreme.
Injuring ten fingers is worse than cutting off one.
Thus, the range of their techniques was not large, but the power was terrifying.
On contact, injury was certain; if a vital point was hit, death or severe disability would result.
Seeing this, Gu Changhuai, Gu An, and Gu Quan also engaged the other Union Sect elders.
The entire prison once again churned with deadly intent.
Mo Hua pulled his Little Junior Sister's hand, moved a bit to the side, and then fixed his gaze on the fight between Hua Yinke and Yu Cangming.
He wanted to learn how peak Core Formation experts fought and duelled.
Hua Yinke cultivated the Union Sect's demonic arts, strange and uncanny—yin and yang in one, gender ambiguous.
Mo Hua couldn't understand it fully, nor would he learn it, but he could analyze the principle of the technique, discern the changes in yin and yang.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
As for Yu Cangming, there was much more to learn—concealment, techniques, and assassination methods.
Yu Cangming's concealment seemed extremely advanced, even able to fool Mo Hua's spiritual sense.
His assassination skills were also exquisite.
As for Yu Cangming's sword technique, Mo Hua didn't know its name, but from its display, it was a highly unconventional water-based assassination sword art, even surpassing the five elements, with variations in other laws.
Moreover, it bore a strong Water Prison Sect imprint.
Unfortunately, this water assassination sword technique was clearly a very high-level art, and Mo Hua didn't know if he could learn it.
But whether he could learn it or not, he had to see it with his eyes and remember it in his heart.
Observing all things, all phenomena, all techniques could enhance his experience and improve his cultivation knowledge and enlightenment.
Mo Hua watched silently.
Bai Zixi was silent for a moment, then also followed Mo Hua's lead, staring at the battlefield.
After a while of watching, the battle gradually became clear.
In terms of assassination, Hua Yinke was no match for Yu Cangming.
In terms of direct confrontation, Yu Cangming was no match for Hua Yinke.
But Yu Cangming had already struck first, heavily wounding Hua Yinke through assassination.
Even in direct combat, with his yang body crippled and physical body withering, Hua Yinke naturally could not be Yu Cangming's opponent.
On the other side, the situation was similar.
The eight Union Sect elders could not defeat Gu Changhuai and his two companions.
The situation gradually improved.
Mo Hua also breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking: "Alright, as long as Uncle Gu doesn't die here—"
But before he could finish his thought, his expression suddenly shifted.
Yu Cangming and Hua Yinke, who were fighting, also seemed to sense something. They both stopped, their expressions grim.
Gu Changhuai and the Union Sect elders, with weaker perception, also sensed the anomaly after a dozen breaths and stopped.
Because on the floor of the Union prison, flower pistils had begun to grow.
These pistils were bright red, stretching like buds, resembling poppies, emitting an alluring fragrance.
In the blink of an eye, they covered the entire prison, its red glow enveloping everyone, immersing them in a strange atmosphere filled with surging desires.
Yu Cangming's face was gloomy.
Hua Yinke, on the other hand, showed a hint of wariness and disgust, uttering word by word: "Madam Rui—"
As soon as he spoke, a coquettish and lazy laugh sounded.
Everyone followed the sound and saw that, at some point, a woman had stepped out from among the bright red pistils.
She was barefoot, draped in red gauze that half-covered and half-revealed her fair, full, and seductive body, exuding a ripe, charming demeanor.
This was the Union Sect demoness, Madam Rui.
And her cultivation level was also at the peak of Core Formation.
Most of the cultivators present only had to glance at this ripe Madam Rui and their breathing grew heavy, their eyes slightly red.
Yu Cangming and Gu Changhuai looked solemn.
Hua Yinke, however, turned cold: "Madam Rui—who sent you here?"
Madam Rui glanced at Gu Changhuai and the others, then turned to Hua Yinke with a faint smile: "If I hadn't come, wouldn't you have died here today?"
Hua Yinke sneered and was about to say something when his face changed: "You brought others?"
Before his words faded, one large bed after another split apart.
Several streams of demonic aura, powerful enough to nearly solidify, filled the Union prison. From within the sinister demonic aura, three figures emerged.
One was tall as a small mountain, with muscles knotted like flood dragons, demonic qi surging like blood, mixed with the roar of wild beasts.
One was shrouded in ghostly qi, all skin flayed off, leaving only a white skeleton, like a skeleton walking among the living.
And one was half human, half corpse, with blue flesh and extremely potent corpse poison oozing from it—a single drop of poison blood could afflict a city with corpse plague.
"Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, Blood Flood Dragon Mountain Lord."
"Skeleton Cave, Withered Bone Loose Cultivator."
"Corpse Valley, Blue Corpse Son—"
Each of these three had stepped into the peak of Core Formation, seeking the path of Feathered Ascension, demonic overlords who could suppress an entire righteous force.
Hua Yinke recognized their identities, and his expression grew even uglier.