The fact that his disguise technique was wiped away by the Yin Yang Fish was far more troublesome than Gu Chengming had anticipated.
The crux of the problem wasn't his face; while appearing with his true features was certainly a nuisance, the Hehuan Sect disciples likely didn't recognize the face of "Gu Chengming." As long as he didn't expose his identity as a member of the Night Guard Division, a handsome face would, at most, draw extra attention but wouldn't lead to his immediate downfall.
The truly fatal issue was the scrutiny of the Red Dust Technique.
Any Hehuan Sect disciple practicing the Red Dust Technique could perceive the karma lines on others through the red dust aura.
Where you came from, who was in your heart, and how many unresolved karmic ties were entangled with you—to a cultivator proficient in the Red Dust Technique, these things were as clear as if they were written on your face.
Gu Chengming's karma lines were too numerous.
The karmic ties to the Wenjian Sect and the Night Guard Division were like countless fine threads wrapped around him. Any Hehuan Sect cultivator above the Fourth Realm who cast a Red Dust Technique probe at him would immediately discover that the identity of this so-called "Imperial Academy medical apprentice" could not withstand any real scrutiny.
Previously, with the Red Dust Face-Cover masking his karma, he could naturally rest easy.
But now that the Red Dust Face-Cover had been completely wiped away by the Yin Yang Fish, anyone would know something was wrong with him.
"I have to think of something." Gu Chengming sat cross-legged on the bed, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knee.
In his sea of consciousness, several techniques were also voicing their opinions.
【"Red Dust Phantom Step" calmly analyzed: In my opinion, the safest plan is to utilize the red dust aura of the "Yin Yang Creation Strategy" itself to construct a new layer of concealment. Since Hehuan Sect disciples perceive karma through red dust aura, it is theoretically possible to use the same source of red dust aura to disguise the karma lines.】
【"Hundred Bones Resonating" raised a hand and said: Or just blast anyone who dares to peek at Emperor Gu into oblivion.】
Gu Chengming ignored Emperor Bai's increasingly outrageous suggestions and turned his attention back to the analysis of Red Dust Phantom Step.
Using the red dust aura of the Yin Yang Creation Strategy to mask his own karma lines was the right direction.
Gu Chengming closed his eyes, sank his divine sense into his body, and slowly circulated the Yin Yang Creation Strategy.
The moment the technique began to run, that familiar flow of yin and yang qi streamed through his meridians.
At the same time, he cautiously guided the red dust aura he had recently condensed, trying to let it spread along his own karma lines—not to influence others, but to wrap his own karma lines, making them blurry, ambiguous, and difficult to identify.
The red dust aura was indeed flowing according to his will, but whenever it attempted to cover those deep-seated karma lines, it would vanish with a hiss, like water droplets falling on a red-hot iron plate.
Just as Gu Chengming was about to give up on this attempt, a surge of power that did not belong to him suddenly rose within his body. In that instant, the red dust aura, which had been so thin it was almost invisible, surged more than tenfold.
No, it wasn't a surge—something from the outside was continuously pumping red dust aura into his body!
And the source of that supply... was the Yin Yang Fish?
Once this power entered his body, it naturally began to spread along those thick karma lines, wrapping them up.
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, requiring no deliberate control from Gu Chengming.
Those karma lines that were originally exposed quickly became blurred under the cover of this power.
The previously clear label of "Night Guard Division" was smudged into a mass of ambiguous mist, and the traces of the "Wenjian Sect" gradually faded. It was a perfect disguise.
But what surprised Gu Chengming even more was that while masking his karma, the power from the Yin Yang Fish was actually guiding the Yin Yang Creation Strategy within him to perform a spontaneous circulation.
After about half an hour, that power from the Yin Yang Fish finally receded slowly.
His cultivation in the Yin Yang Creation Strategy had improved by at least thirty percent.
More importantly, the layer of red dust mist personally constructed by the Yin Yang Fish was now steadily enveloping him, tightly concealing all the karma lines that should not be exposed.
As long as he did not actively dispel this shroud, even a Fourth Realm Red Dust Technique probe would only see an ordinary "Gu An."
Gu Chengming felt a strange complexity in his heart. What on earth are you trying to do?
First it stripped away the Red Dust Face-Cover, and now it actively helped him conceal his aura. The true intentions of this Yin Yang Fish were truly hard to grasp.
Just as he was thinking this, knock, knock, knock—a tapping sound suddenly came from the window frame.
Three short and one long, three short and one long. This was the signal he had agreed upon with Su Qiuzhi.
Gu Chengming stood up and pushed the window open a crack.
Under the moonlight, a figure wrapped in an ink-black cloak was pressed against the wall outside the window. The hood was pulled very low, revealing only a sharp chin.
Su Qiuzhi slipped through the window with a series of fluid, practiced movements. Clearly, this wasn't her first time breaking into someone's room.
After landing, she instinctively looked around the room. Only after confirming no one else was present did she lower her hood, revealing her elegant face.
"The things you wanted—the personnel changes within the Hehuan Sect over the years, the relationships between the elders, and some secret information I could dig up." She looked up, her gaze lingering for a moment on Gu Chengming's face—a face capable of driving the entire Hehuan Sect into a frenzy—before quickly looking away, the tips of her ears turning a faint, imperceptible red.
"Focus on the main points first."
Su Qiuzhi cleared her throat, trying her best to keep her tone businesslike and calm. "The current power structure of the Hehuan Sect appears, on the surface, to be the Sect Master and senior elders missing, with three elders managing the overall situation. But in reality, the disagreements among the three elders are far greater than the outside world knows."
She held up three fingers and tucked them down one by one.
"First is Elder Yun Ni, the one you've met. She's responsible for the sect's daily affairs and external relations. She holds the most power among the three and is the current de facto ruler."
"Then there's Elder Kurong. She has an eccentric personality, stays in seclusion for years, and doesn't manage much."
"It's no secret that Yun Ni and Kurong are at odds. However, their disagreement isn't a typical power struggle."
She pointed to a certain section on the silk scroll on the table. "According to information I've gleaned from several senior sisters, Elder Kurong has always advocated for closing the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array, cutting off the Yin Yang Fish's connection to the outside world, and using the clumsiest but most reliable method to suppress the imbalance."
"But Elder Yun Ni's stance is the exact opposite."
"Elder Yun Ni has proposed a theory she calls—the Ultimate Bliss Sky."
"Simply put, Elder Yun Ni believes the imbalance of the Yin Yang Fish is not a disaster but an opportunity. Her theory is that the reason the Yin Yang Fish fell out of balance is that the Hehuan Sect's way of cultivation over the last thousand years has been too conservative and restrained. There's nothing wrong with entering the dao through emotion, but successive generations of Hehuan Sect practitioners have wavered between 'attaining the dao through emotion' and 'restraining emotion with rites,' never daring to truly embrace the red dust."
"She believes the imbalance of the Yin Yang Fish is caused by the inability to vent the accumulated red dust aura from the past thousand years. Instead of exhausting themselves trying to suppress it, they should follow the trend and let the entire Hehuan Sect completely release all restraints on desire. Once the red dust aura is fully released and no longer pent up, the Yin Yang Fish will naturally restore its balance."
"And when that time comes, the entire Hehuan Sect will enter an unprecedented realm—she calls it the 'Ultimate Bliss Sky.' In that state, every Hehuan Sect disciple can directly face their truest desires, using them to break through their shackles and advance their cultivation."
After listening, Gu Chengming reflected, "To put it plainly, she wants everyone to abandon reason and sink completely into their desires?"
"That's more or less it."
Su Qiuzhi then added, "But don't think this theory is absurd. Within the Hehuan Sect, those who support Elder Yun Ni are not few in number."
"How many?"
"Eighty percent."
Those two words caused Gu Chengming's brow to furrow tightly.
"The disciples of the Hehuan Sect are already deeply affected by the red dust aura, and their self-control is constantly declining. In this situation, when you tell them 'there's no need to endure anymore, indulgence is the true path,' how many do you think will resist such a temptation?"
"Especially the younger generation of disciples; they grew up in the Hehuan Sect, and their reliance on the Red Dust Technique is deep-seated. Elder Yun Ni is extremely skilled at wining people over, and the power she has built within the sect over these years is deeply rooted, stretching from core disciples to outer sect deacons—her people are everywhere."
"What about Elder Jingxin?"
"Elder Jingxin stands with Kurong, but her attitude isn't as firm as Kurong's. She's a peacemaker by nature, trying to mediate between both sides, and the result is that she pleases neither." Su Qiuzhi shook her head.
Gu Chengming processed this information, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table a few times.
"There's more." Su Qiuzhi pulled out another slip of paper with several lines of hurried, small characters. "That Elder Fu Xiaoxiao you asked me to look out for."
Gu Chengming's movements paused slightly.
Su Qiuzhi noticed his reaction and pursed her lips unnaturally before continuing, "I've gathered some news from several older senior sisters. Elder Fu Xiaoxiao returned to the Hehuan Sect about several months ago, even a few days before the sect officially closed its mountains."
Gu Chengming calculated the time in his head; that was almost exactly after Fu Xiaoxiao had left the capital.
"It's said that her condition wasn't good when she returned." Su Qiuzhi chose her words carefully. "Something went wrong with her cultivation. No one can say exactly what it was; the information is strictly sealed. All that is known is that she was arranged to go into seclusion somewhere as soon as she returned, and no one has seen her since."
"Arranged? Arranged by whom?"
"Elder Yun Ni."
Hearing that name again, Gu Chengming's gaze darkened slightly.
Su Qiuzhi also seemed to notice the frequency with which this name appeared and continued, "I have a close senior sister who works under Elder Yun Ni. She inadvertently revealed that Elder Fu Xiaoxiao's place of seclusion doesn't seem to be a standard Hehuan Sect seclusion cave dwelling."
"Then where is it?" Gu Chengming asked.
Su Qiuzhi shook her head. "She doesn't know the exact location either, only that the place is heavily guarded, and even Fourth Realm cultivators aren't allowed near. Furthermore..." She hesitated for a moment. "There are rumors that the true body of the Yin Yang Fish might be hidden in that direction."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chengming felt a stir in his heart.
What he had seen in the forbidden area earlier was only a phantom of the Yin Yang Fish, a projection acting as the array core within the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array.
As for the true body of the Yin Yang Fish—the physical form of that primordial spiritual item—no one had ever told him where it was.
"However, this news is just bits and pieces of rumors I've patched together. I can't guarantee how much is true or false, but there is one thing I can confirm—"
She stood up, walked to the window, and pointed toward the north side of Hongchen Mountain.
"On the northern slopes of Hongchen Mountain, there's a place where the concentration of red dust aura is abnormal. I've probed it with the Red Dust Technique more than once; the concentration there is about seven to eight times higher than anywhere else on the mountain, and the aura is extremely chaotic. It doesn't seem to be naturally gathered, but rather actively drawn by something."
"Any disciple who even approaches that area becomes dazed, their desires surging uncontrollably. Thus, that area has always been designated a forbidden zone by the sect, and even patrols steer clear of it."
Gu Chengming stood up, walked to Su Qiuzhi's side, and looked in the direction she was pointing.
Under the cover of night, the northern slopes of Hongchen Mountain were shrouded in heavy shadow, with a layer of pink mist, thicker than elsewhere, visibly swirling around the mountainside.
A place where the red dust aura was exceptionally dense, and Fu Xiaoxiao, who had been sent into seclusion by Yun Ni and never heard from again.
The possible location of the Yin Yang Fish's true body.
And that group of Hehuan Sect disciples who had died mysteriously three years ago after going out for experience—Li Suizhuang had said the timing of their deaths coincided exactly with when the Yin Yang Fish began to fall out of balance.
All clues were pointing in the same direction.
Gu Chengming suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Do you know when Elder Yun Ni started proposing the 'Ultimate Bliss Sky' theory?"
Su Qiuzhi was startled and thought back for a moment. "It seems to be... three years ago?"
The timelines coincided perfectly.
After sharing what she had investigated, Su Qiuzhi prepared to leave immediately. She pulled up her hood to hide her slightly flushed cheeks and leaped out of the window.
Before landing, she suddenly turned back, hesitated, and asked, "Um... Elder Fu Xiaoxiao, what is your relationship with her?"
Gu Chengming was slightly stunned, then said, "She is my Senior Sister."
"Oh."
Su Qiuzhi nodded, her thoughts unknown, and her figure vanished into the night.
...
Northern slopes of Hongchen Mountain, Youhuang Dwelling.
The triple-entry courtyard was surrounded by a grove of green bamboo, the leaves rustling in the night wind. Inside the courtyard was a hot spring pool fed by flowing water. The bed was draped in East Sea dragon-silk satin. On the antique shelves in the corner, several storybooks and miscellaneous records were scattered, along with a plate of half-eaten osmanthus cake.
If someone unacquainted with the situation were to stumble upon this place, they would likely assume it was the private cultivation residence of some favored elder.
Fu Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged on the soft couch by the window, clutching a pillow with her chin resting on it. Her complexion was much poorer than when she was in the capital.
Footsteps sounded from the courtyard gate.
Fu Xiaoxiao's ears twitched, but she didn't move. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
In the entire Youhuang Dwelling, only one person had the right to push the door open and enter without announcement.
"Creak—"
The door was pushed open. Yun Ni entered, dressed in purple court attire with her hair piled high. She was carrying a food box, looking less like she was there for business and more like she was paying a casual visit.
"Xiaoxiao, have you eaten today's medicinal meal?"
Yun Ni's tone was gentle as she placed the food box on the table and opened the lid. Inside was a steaming bowl of ganoderma and lotus seed soup, along with several exquisite pastries.
Fu Xiaoxiao glanced at it then turned her face away again.
Yun Ni wasn't angry. She self-sufficiently ladled out the lotus seed soup, placing it within Fu Xiaoxiao's reach, and arranged the plates of pastries one by one.
After finishing this, she sat in the chair opposite Fu Xiaoxiao, smoothed her skirts, and remained silent for a moment.
"Are you still unwilling to agree?" Yun Ni sighed.
Fu Xiaoxiao did not answer.
Seeing her like this, Yun Ni felt a sense of helplessness.
She knew the other person too well. Fu Xiaoxiao's stubbornness was etched into her very bones. It had been that way since the days she was the most brilliant genius disciple of the Hehuan Sect. Once she set her mind on something, ten oxen couldn't pull her back; if she didn't believe in something, she wouldn't bow her head even if you held a blade to her neck.
"I know you're angry. But have you ever considered that if I hadn't been mediating, with your current situation—"
"Don't give me that." Fu Xiaoxiao finally turned her head, her eyes filled with a disappointment that bordered on fury. "Before I came back, I never imagined that your so-called 'letting the Hehuan Sect endure' meant cooperating with the Longevity Sect."
Yun Ni's expression didn't change much, though her fingers tightened slightly around her teacup.
"Cooperation is too strong a word." She set down the teacup, her voice remaining steady. "It was merely borrowing momentum. The Longevity Sect has its goals, and I have mine. Both sides take what they need without interfering with each other. I have never handed the lifeblood of the Hehuan Sect to outsiders; you should be clear on that."
"Take what you need?" Fu Xiaoxiao let out a cold laugh. "You know better than I do what kind of thing the Longevity Sect is. Those madmen who cultivate death qi and use the lives of all living beings as fuel—you think they'll just 'take what they need' with you? Has everything you learned in the sect been fed to the dogs?"
"Xiaoxiao—"
"How did that group of disciples die three years ago?" Fu Xiaoxiao interrupted her sharply. "Did the deaths of those junior sisters who went out for experience have anything to do with your so-called 'borrowing momentum'?"
Yun Ni fell silent. This silence was longer than any before.
After a long time, she slowly spoke, her tone carrying a heavy weight she rarely showed. "That was an accident."
"An accident?"
"The people from the Longevity Sect acted out of control, exceeding my estimations. The deaths of those disciples... were indeed related to this matter." She paused, seemingly weighing her words, but ultimately chose to be direct.
"But I have already dealt with that uncontrolled element. In the three years since, nothing similar has happened."
Fu Xiaoxiao stared at her, her eyes churning with far too many emotions.
She had once trusted this person so much. When she agreed to return to the Hehuan Sect and cooperate with that plan, more than half of the reason was because of Yun Ni.
They had cultivated together for centuries. While they might not have been as close as sisters, they were at least trusted companions on the same path. Among the high-level members of the Hehuan Sect, Yun Ni was one of the few whom Fu Xiaoxiao considered reliable.
She deeply understood how severe the crisis facing the Hehuan Sect was, and she understood the pressure Yun Ni bore for the sect's survival. So when Yun Ni told her about that plan, although she felt apprehensive, she had still nodded.
"Do you still remember what you said to me back then?"
Fu Xiaoxiao's voice dropped, becoming so low she seemed to be talking to herself. "You said, 'Xiaoxiao, the Hehuan Sect needs you.' You said, 'Only you can do this.' You said, 'When it's all over, I'll give you back a complete Hehuan Sect.'"
"I believed you. And now you tell me you're working with the Longevity Sect?"
Yun Ni closed her eyes. She could feel the pain of betrayal in Fu Xiaoxiao's words, a pain that was harder for her to handle than any accusation.
"Xiaoxiao, all of this is just the process of reaching the Ultimate Bliss Sky. They are merely means."
Fu Xiaoxiao gave a mocking laugh. "Quite the means."
She leaned forward, her gaze meeting Yun Ni's directly. "Then let me ask you—if the Eldest Senior Sister returns, would you dare say that to her?"
Yun Ni's movements froze. The "Eldest Senior Sister" Fu Xiaoxiao spoke of was the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect, the woman who had vanished along with a group of the most senior elders on the eve of the world falling into chaos.
"The Sect Master told no one where she was going when she left." Yun Ni's voice was deeper than before. "If I hadn't held the situation together, the Hehuan Sect would have been targeted long ago." She looked up, her gaze heavy as she stared at Fu Xiaoxiao.
"You ask me if I'd dare say this if she returned?"
"You tell me—when is she coming back? Will she ever return?"
These two counter-questions caused Fu Xiaoxiao's fire to falter.
The Sect Master's disappearance was indeed the Hehuan Sect's greatest hidden wound. Under these circumstances, Yun Ni had taken up this immense burden and struggled to hold it up for so many years.
Fu Xiaoxiao didn't want to admit it, but she knew in her heart that if anyone else had stepped in, they might not have done better than Yun Ni. But that didn't mean she could accept cooperating with the Longevity Sect.
"Even if Senior Sister doesn't return, you have no right to make this kind of decision for the Hehuan Sect." Fu Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth, speaking each word with emphasis.
Yun Ni looked at her. Outside, several bamboo leaves were blown down by the wind. On the table, the steam from the bowl of lotus seed soup had completely dissipated.
Finally, Yun Ni stood up.
"I said all of this not because I wanted to convince you." She adjusted her sleeves, her tone returning to its usual unhurried composure. "Whether you agree or not is... no longer important to me."
Fu Xiaoxiao jerked her head up, looking into Yun Ni's eyes.
Yun Ni didn't avoid her gaze; instead, she turned slightly sideways, looking at the green bamboo swaying in the night wind.
"I'm telling you this only because I didn't want... I didn't hope to become enemies with you."
At this moment, her voice held a little less of an elder's authority and a little more of an imperceptible personal emotion.
"After all, we've been in the same sect for centuries."
Yun Ni didn't wait for a response but stepped toward the door, just as she had come.
The door closed.
...
Yun Ni stepped out of the gate of Youhuang Dwelling and paused on the bamboo-lined path.
She looked up toward Hongchen Mountain, her eyes reflecting the faint shimmering light of the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array in the distance.
Fu Xiaoxiao's refusal was expected, but it still left her with a sense of regret.
She still remembered the first time she met Fu Xiaoxiao centuries ago.
At that time, the Hehuan Sect was not in its current state. The Sect Master was present, the elders were all gathered, and its fortune was at its peak. Fu Xiaoxiao was the most brilliant jewel of that era.
She mastered the Red Dust Technique upon entry, broke through to the Second Realm within ten years, and reached the peak of the Third Realm within thirty years.
In the several-thousand-year history of the Hehuan Sect, fewer than five disciples could match her cultivation speed.
The entire sect believed she would be the undisputed choice for the next Sect Master. Even the Sect Master herself had once privately told Yun Ni, "If Xiaoxiao can successfully break through to the Fifth Realm, the next millennium of the Hehuan Sect will be secure."
Then, that event occurred.
That year, a group of Hehuan Sect disciples encountered an ambush from a Fifth Realm great demon while traveling outside.
Fifth Realm.
That was an existence that only the Sect Master and a very few elders of the Hehuan Sect could match at the time. Fu Xiaoxiao, who was leading the group, was only at the Fourth Realm. Logically, she should have protected the disciples while retreating and sent for reinforcements.
But Fu Xiaoxiao didn't retreat. She chose a near-suicidal method—reversing cause and effect.
With a Fourth Realm body, she forcibly unleashed the most extreme reversal method of the Red Dust Technique against a Fifth Realm great demon.
First, she planted the 'fruit' of 'this demon is dead' within her own divine soul. Then, using her own dao base as fuel, she forcibly invoked the power of heavenly cause and effect to complete that 'cause.'
Heavenly cause and effect were coerced by her will, forcibly sealing away the life force of that Fifth Realm great demon.
The demon died, and the disciples lived.
But the price a Fourth Realm cultivator had to pay to reverse the fate of a Fifth Realm great demon was beyond imagination—her meridians were snapped inch by inch, her dantian was nearly shattered, and her divine soul suffered irreversible damage from carrying karmic power far beyond its limit.
By the time reinforcements arrived, Fu Xiaoxiao was on the verge of death. Her aura was so weak it was almost imperceptible; everyone thought she wouldn't survive the day.
But she didn't die.
Because the Yin Yang Fish, the foundation of the Hehuan Sect and a primordial spiritual item, actively reached out to help Fu Xiaoxiao as she was about to be extinguished.
The Yin Yang Fish used its own power to stabilize her crumbling dao base, barely holding those snapped meridians and the shattered dantian in a state where they wouldn't continue to deteriorate.
But the price was—Fu Xiaoxiao was henceforth bound to the Yin Yang Fish.
Her life relied on the power of the Yin Yang Fish to be sustained. Once she left the protective range of the Yin Yang Fish for too long, the suppressed old injuries within her body would counterattack.
And the Yin Yang Fish did not save her for free. It continuously drew yin energy from Fu Xiaoxiao's body as the cost of maintaining this "protection." The constant extraction of yin energy meant that the balance of yin and yang within Fu Xiaoxiao's body was permanently shattered.
From then on, her cultivation could not advance a single step.
The Hehuan Sect Master, valuing her talent and unwilling to see her sink into despair, named her the "Fish-Managing Elder."
This title sounded dignified, but in reality, it had only one duty—to coexist with the Yin Yang Fish, acting as a medium between the Yin Yang Fish and the Hehuan Sect, assisting the Sect Master in maintaining the stable operation of the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array.
To put it bluntly, it was a nice-sounding title that allowed Fu Xiaoxiao to legitimately stay by the Yin Yang Fish's side and survive on its power.
This was Fu Xiaoxiao's past.
Yun Ni opened her eyes and pulled back her thoughts.
She didn't think Fu Xiaoxiao was foolish. On the contrary, precisely because she understood Fu Xiaoxiao's decisiveness, she had thought of her first when the Sect Master vanished three years ago.
The crisis of the Hehuan Sect was far deeper and more severe than the outside world knew.
With the world about to fall into chaos, the Sect Master had not abandoned the Hehuan Sect; rather, she had foreseen a crisis far beyond what the sect could endure. Thus, she had taken a portion of the people ahead of time to make some unknown arrangements.
But she had left behind the Hehuan Sect, left behind thousands of disciples, left behind the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array, left behind a thousand-year foundation, and also left behind a mess full of holes.
The Hehuan Sect's technique system itself had a fatal flaw—it relied on the Yin Yang Fish.
The power of the techniques practiced by all Hehuan Sect disciples, when traced back to their source, came from the yin and yang qi and red dust aura emitted by the Yin Yang Fish. The Yin Yang Fish was the root of the Hehuan Sect. Without this root, all the sect's techniques would become water without a source or a tree without roots.
And the nature of the Yin Yang Fish was not that of an ordinary primordial spiritual item—it had once been a Dao Throne.
A Dao Throne—one of the most supreme existences between heaven and earth—was the manifestation of heavenly laws. Each Dao Throne corresponded to a law of the Heavenly Dao. One who possessed a Dao Throne was equivalent to holding a portion of the authority over that law.
The conversion of a Dao Throne into a spiritual item meant it was no longer the exclusive authority of one person, but had become a public vessel that could protect an entire sect. The disciples of the Hehuan Sect were able to cultivate using the power of the Yin Yang Fish, and the entire sect had flourished for a thousand years because of it.
But this conversion was not without cost.
A Dao Throne was eternal, but a spiritual item was not. A spiritual item would decay, fall out of balance, and be affected by external factors.
When that Founding Grand-Patriarch was alive, she used her extraordinary cultivation to suppress all hidden dangers, so naturally, no problems arose. But after the Patriarch passed away, the Yin Yang Fish could only rely on the cultivation of successive Hehuan Sect Masters to maintain its balance.
Now the Sect Master was missing, and the strongest group of elders had left with her. The Yin Yang Fish had lost its most powerful suppressors, and imbalance became inevitable.
Yun Ni had seen this clearly three years ago, so she made a decision.
—To reverse the Yin Yang Fish, converting it back into a Dao Throne.
Once the Yin Yang Fish returned to its Dao Throne form, it would no longer be limited by the laws of decay for spiritual items, would no longer need anyone to suppress it, and would no longer fall out of balance. The Hehuan Sect's technique system could be reconstructed based on the Dao Throne, freeing them from reliance on a spiritual item forever.
But converting a spiritual item into a Dao Throne was entirely different from converting a Dao Throne into a spiritual item.
The Founding Grand-Patriarch back then could turn the Dao Throne into a spiritual item because she herself was the holder of that Dao Throne. Using the authority of a holder to actively give up the Dao Throne and disperse it into a spiritual item was simply following the natural flow.
But the reverse—condensing a primordial spiritual item that had existed in that form for a thousand years back into a Dao Throne—was like reversing cause and effect.
To achieve this, the first step was to return the Yin Yang Fish to its most primordial, most chaotic state.
And to push the Yin Yang Fish into that chaotic state, a massive, surging, and uncontrollable wave of emotions and desires was required to strike it.
This was the true essence of the "Ultimate Bliss Sky" theory.
She wanted the karmic desires of all living beings, the surging emotions of the thousands of Hehuan Sect disciples triggered by the red dust aura, those countless intertwined karmic threads, and those most primitive, most instinctive desires unrestrained by reason—all of these gathered together would form a torrent powerful enough to strike the Yin Yang Fish and push it back to its initial chaotic state.
This was also the primary cause of the Yin Yang Fish's imbalance.
It wasn't a natural disaster, nor was it entirely the infiltration of the Longevity Sect; rather, it was Yun Ni consciously guiding all of this to happen in the shadows.
She allowed the red dust aura to spread, she permitted the disciples to lose control, and she proposed the "Ultimate Bliss Sky" theory to soothe people's hearts—all of this was to push the Yin Yang Fish toward that critical point.
And in this process, Fu Xiaoxiao was the most crucial link.
As the Fish-Managing Elder, Fu Xiaoxiao shared a deep connection with the Yin Yang Fish established over centuries of symbiosis.
Although her dao base was shattered, because of that, her body had been permeated by the power of the Yin Yang Fish countless times, almost making her half an incarnation of the Yin Yang Fish in the mortal world.
At the moment the Yin Yang Fish was pushed back into a chaotic state and re-condensed into a Dao Throne, it would need a medium to carry this transformation process—just as boiling water needs a container.
Fu Xiaoxiao was that container. She would first carry the Dao Throne, then act as an intermediary to transfer it into the hands of the next holder.
And that next holder, naturally, would be Yun Ni herself.
Yun Ni had never hidden this point.
At the very beginning, she had laid out all the pros and cons before Fu Xiaoxiao, including the worst-case scenario.
Fu Xiaoxiao knew exactly what this meant.
Once the Yin Yang Fish was converted back into a Dao Throne, the power maintaining her shattered dao base would vanish instantly. The old injuries that had been suppressed for over a hundred years would all strike back in a single moment.
Meridians snapping, the dantian collapsing, the divine soul cracking—everything would come crashing down once the protection of the Yin Yang Fish was lost.
At that time, she would likely perish, yet Fu Xiaoxiao had still agreed.
Yun Ni still remembered Fu Xiaoxiao's expression that day.
There was no tragic air, no grand passion, not even much hesitation. She just looked at her, as if confirming something.
Then she said one sentence.
"If this can really save the Hehuan Sect."
It was that simple, just as simple as when she had used a Fourth Realm body to reverse the fate of a Fifth Realm great demon.
She had never been one to consider herself too much. Thus, when Fu Xiaoxiao discovered the "cooperation" between Yun Ni and the Longevity Sect during the process, her outburst was particularly violent.
She could die for the Hehuan Sect, but she could not accept that her death would be stained by the filth of the Longevity Sect.
This was the origin of the current stalemate.
Bamboo leaves rustled.
Yun Ni pulled back her drifting thoughts and took one last look at the dimly lit Youhuang Dwelling behind her. She ultimately hadn't been able to convince Fu Xiaoxiao.
But as she had just said—whether Fu Xiaoxiao agreed or not no longer mattered to her.
The plan had advanced to this stage; it was impossible to stop halfway because of one person's opposition.
Only...
Yun Ni turned and stepped into the darkness of the bamboo forest.
The part about not becoming enemies would probably not happen.
...
At the same time, on the other side.
Locating the Yin Yang Fish was even faster than Gu Chengming had expected.
Or more accurately—the Yin Yang Fish was almost actively guiding him.
Ever since that night when the Yin Yang Fish constructed a karmic shroud for him, Gu Chengming had discovered that the Yin Yang Creation Strategy within him possessed a sensory ability it never had before.
It was like standing blindfolded next to a river; although you couldn't see the water, you could clearly feel the direction of the flow, the volume of the water, and where its source finally converged.
The red dust aura was that river.
And the source of the river was at the northern slopes of Hongchen Mountain.
The intelligence provided by Su Qiuzhi matched his own sensations perfectly.
In the area designated as a forbidden zone by the sect, the concentration of red dust aura was seven to eight times higher than elsewhere on the mountain, and this red dust aura was not naturally gathered but was flowing toward a fixed point in an orderly manner.
Tracing the direction of this flow all the way back, Gu Chengming locked onto a location.
Deep in the North Foothills, a mountain valley surrounded by green bamboo.
In terms of terrain, this place wasn't particularly hidden; there was even a paved bluestone path leading to the valley entrance. However, the sides of that path were filled with restrictions, layered one upon another, with at least five layers or more.
An ordinary disciple walking halfway would be repelled by the restrictions' force, not even possessing the qualification to get close.
But the karmic shroud granted to Gu Chengming by the Yin Yang Fish not only blocked the scrutiny of the Red Dust Technique but also gave him a new ability—all arrays and restrictions in the Hehuan Sect based on yin and yang qi and red dust aura would automatically lose their effect upon contact with him.
In this way, he passed through the five layers of restrictions without any hindrance. The further he went, the denser the red dust aura became.
At the end of the bamboo forest, a double-entry courtyard appeared in his view.
The layout of the courtyard was quite elegant, with white walls and dark tiles in a staggered arrangement. Inside were a hot spring pool, a medicinal garden, corridors, and even an exquisite small pavilion.
Gu Chengming leaped over the courtyard wall and landed in the inner court, his toes touching the bluestone floor without making a sound.
He scanned his surroundings, and his gaze quickly locked onto the innermost wing room where a lamp was lit. A small shadow was cast upon the window frame.
That shadow was sitting cross-legged as if in a daze. Gu Chengming looked at the shadow, stepped forward, and knocked on the window frame.
A moment later, the window was violently pushed open from the inside.
Fu Xiaoxiao's face appeared in the window. Compared to when she was in the capital a few months ago, she was much thinner.
Upon seeing the person who had arrived, her brain went blank for about three breaths.
First breath: she thought she was dreaming.
Second breath: she confirmed she wasn't dreaming.
Third breath—
"Why are you here?!"
Fu Xiaoxiao's voice was kept extremely low, but the surge of shock and anger couldn't be hidden, practically squeezed out through her teeth.
Before Gu Chengming could speak, Fu Xiaoxiao had already grabbed his collar and was trying desperately to push him away.
"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what kind of place this is?!"
Her strength wasn't great, and pushing against Gu Chengming felt like a small cat scratching, but the urgency was genuine.
"There are restrictions outside! How did you get in?! No, why are you in the Hehuan Sect?! Weren't you supposed to be in the capital?!"
A series of questions came at him like a barrage from a cannon. Fu Xiaoxiao spoke so fast there were practically no pauses, her entire being in a state of bristling alarm.
As she pushed, she cursed in a low voice, "Get out of here right now! Before anyone notices, scramble back out!"
"Gu Chengming, listen to me. This has nothing to do with you. Don't go wading into these muddy waters; you can't afford to!"
Gu Chengming stood his ground, letting her push for a while without moving an inch.
Only after Fu Xiaoxiao had nearly exhausted her strength and stopped, panting, with her hands still braced against his chest and glaring up at him, did Gu Chengming speak.
"Senior Sister Fu." He smiled, his tone as casual as if they had met by chance in a corridor of the Imperial Academy. "Long time no see."
"I've been carrying the Suxiangzai gift box with me. However, the weather has turned cold in the capital lately, and there are fewer people in line, so I haven't really needed to cut in."
His gaze swept over Fu Xiaoxiao's face, his tone carrying a touch of natural concern.
"On the other hand, you've lost a lot of weight, Senior Sister. Is the food here not good?"
Fu Xiaoxiao opened her mouth then closed it.
Her hands were still braced against Gu Chengming's chest, and she could feel the heartbeat beneath her palms. That heartbeat was steady and unhurried, just like his expression, showing none of the tension one should have after breaking into a forbidden area.
It was as if he hadn't come to face danger but was just paying a visit.
Fu Xiaoxiao wanted to curse him, to hit him, to drive him out. But as she looked at that long-unseen face and those smiling eyes, the anger and anxiety that had filled her chest deflated like a pricked balloon.
"You bastard..."
Fu Xiaoxiao's voice was muffled, carrying a hint of a nasal tone she couldn't control.
She abruptly pulled her hands back, turned her back to Gu Chengming, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Who wants to hear about your stupid gift box?" Gu Chengming could see that she was trying very hard to keep her expression stiff.
Fu Xiaoxiao took several deep breaths, her clenched fists tightening and loosening repeatedly. It took a good while before she finally suppressed her churning emotions.
"Speak."
She walked back to the soft couch and sat down, clutching the pillow she had already squeezed out of shape, her chin resting on it. Her voice regained some of its usual crispness.
"A person from the Night Guard Division comes all the way to a place like the Hehuan Sect and even finds this spot. Did something happen?"
Gu Chengming sat in the chair opposite her, not beating around the bush. "In the capital, the influence of the Hehuan Sect's Yin Yang Fish imbalance has already spread to the capital region."
Fu Xiaoxiao's movements paused slightly.
"The Night Guard Division sent me to the Hehuan Sect to investigate the cause of the Yin Yang Fish's imbalance."
"I blended into the Hehuan Sect as Li Suizhuang's medical apprentice under the alias Gu An. So far, I've roughly figured out the situation among the elders and know about Elder Yun Ni's problem."
"I also killed a member of the Longevity Sect in the forbidden area of the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array."
Fu Xiaoxiao was silent for a few breaths then said, "Li Suizhuang is here too?"
"Yes."
"Does she know about my situation?"
"I'm not sure, but she's been asking for news about you."
The corner of Fu Xiaoxiao's mouth twitched as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gave a low sigh.
Gu Chengming didn't press her, waiting quietly.
The room remained silent for a long time—long enough for several bamboo leaves to be blown down outside and for the flame of the oil lamp on the table to flicker countless times.
Finally, Fu Xiaoxiao spoke.
"So, you came to investigate the Yin Yang Fish."
"Yes."
Fu Xiaoxiao looked at him, the emotions in her large eyes churning several times before finally turning into a kind of helpless resignation.
"Gu Chengming, let me ask you one thing. Answer me honestly."
"Please speak, Senior Sister Fu."
"If I tell you about the Hehuan Sect's affairs, will you leave and stay away?" Gu Chengming looked at her without answering immediately.
Fu Xiaoxiao's gaze was fixed on his face, as if trying to find some kind of promise in his expression.
"I will leave," Gu Chengming said.
Fu Xiaoxiao stared at him for several breaths. After confirming he didn't seem to be brushes her off, she said with a stern face, "After I tell you, you must return to the capital immediately."
Her tone allowed for no negotiation, like a final ultimatum.
"The matters here are not something you can get involved in, nor are they something the Night Guard Division can manage. Yun Ni's plan is about to begin. If you leave now, it will take at least a few days for the round trip. By the time you bring people back from the capital, everything will have already been settled."
"So—"
She took a deep breath, seemingly making a decision.
"Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you. But after I'm done, you must leave the Hehuan Sect immediately."
Gu Chengming nodded. "Alright."
Fu Xiaoxiao looked at his face, but her heart didn't feel any lighter because of his promise. Even though they hadn't known each other long, her intuition told her that this man's "alright" might not be a genuine "alright."
But she had no better choice.
Instead of letting him stumble blindly around the Hehuan Sect, it was better to explain things clearly so he would know how deep these waters were—too deep for a Second Realm sword cultivator like him to ever cross.
That way, he would know to retreat in the face of difficulty.
At least, that was what Fu Xiaoxiao thought.
She tossed the pillow aside, sat cross-legged properly, and cleared her throat.
"Do you know the true nature of the Yin Yang Fish?"
"A primordial spiritual item?"
"No, it's deeper than that." Fu Xiaoxiao shook her head. "The Yin Yang Fish was once a Dao Throne."
For the next incense stick's worth of time, Fu Xiaoxiao told Gu Chengming everything she knew without reservation.
The history of the Dao Throne's conversion into a spiritual item, the fundamental flaw in the Hehuan Sect's techniques' reliance on the Yin Yang Fish, the truth about the Sect Master and twenty-three elders leaving without a word, the plan Yun Ni devised to reverse the Yin Yang Fish back into a Dao Throne, and the role she played as the Fish-Managing Elder in this plan.
Gu Chengming quietly listened to everything. Until Fu Xiaoxiao finished her last word, the room fell back into silence.
After a long silence, Gu Chengming spoke.
He didn't ask about the Yin Yang Fish, Yun Ni's plan, or the details of the Longevity Sect. What he asked was, "What about you, Senior Sister Fu?"
Fu Xiaoxiao was stunned. "What?"
"What are Senior Sister Fu's own thoughts?"
Gu Chengming looked at her. "About the Yin Yang Fish, about Yun Ni's plan, and about the future of the Hehuan Sect. What do you think yourself?"
Fu Xiaoxiao completely didn't expect him to ask this question. She had just spoken so much about Dao Thrones, the Yin Yang Fish, Yun Ni, the Longevity Sect, the Sect Master's disappearance, and the coming chaos—each one a major event capable of shaking the structure of the Jiuzhou Continent.
She thought Gu Chengming would press for details on those major events.
But he didn't; he asked about her.
Fu Xiaoxiao stared blankly at Gu Chengming, her lips moving, taking quite a while before she found her voice again.
"I... I naturally approve."
"Isn't this how the Hehuan Sect is supposed to be? Entering the red dust, attaining the dao through emotion, and using desire as a guide. Although the 'Ultimate Bliss Sky' sounds a bit exaggerated, in the end, it's just pushing the Hehuan Sect's path to its extreme."
"As long as it can preserve the Hehuan Sect and the Yin Yang Fish, these means are worth it." She spoke fluently, as if she had rehearsed it countless times in her heart.
Gu Chengming didn't speak, just quietly watched Fu Xiaoxiao.
Fu Xiaoxiao felt a bit uneasy under his gaze and shifted uncomfortably.
"What are you looking at? I'm done speaking, and you should leave now."
During Fu Xiaoxiao's narration, Gu Chengming had been using the Red Dust Technique to sense her emotions.
Fu Xiaoxiao's current body was too weak, so Gu Chengming could clearly "see" her true emotions.
To this day, Fu Xiaoxiao had never once dual cultivated. She had practiced the Red Dust Technique for centuries, but the red dust she cultivated was never about desire.
What she cultivated were the myriad states of life—the mundane bustle of streets and alleys, the joys and sorrows of partings and reunions, those insignificant, ordinary, trivial things that constituted the entire meaning of a common person's life.
Thus, the "Ultimate Bliss Sky" was never the extreme of the Hehuan Sect's path to her; it was a total negation of the path she had cultivated her entire life.
To turn all disciples into beasts of desire who only knew how to copulate—that wasn't the future of the Hehuan Sect; it was its destruction.
But she could change nothing. Her dao base was shattered, her cultivation couldn't advance, and she was imprisoned in this tiny space, unable even to protect herself. What right did she have to resist Yun Ni's plan?
So, she chose to lie.
She hoped Gu Chengming would take her words and leave—leave far away, return to the Wenjian Sect, return to the Night Guard Division, return to his relatively safe world, and not wade into this mess.
That was the entirety of Fu Xiaoxiao's thoughts.
Gu Chengming looked at the small elder clutching her pillow, her face stern as she pretended to be unaffected.
He remembered the new clothes she had deliberately changed into when she pretended to run into him in the Imperial Academy's corridor. He remembered the "karma" of those five hundred spirit stones after she taught him the Red Dust Technique. He remembered her back as she stuffed a bunch of things into his arms before leaving without looking back. He remembered her acting cool as she waved and said, "Don't miss this seat too much."
"I understand," Gu Chengming said.
Fu Xiaoxiao glanced at him. After confirming the "I understand and am preparing to leave" expression on his face, the heart that had been suspended finally slowly settled back into her stomach.
Watching Gu Chengming's retreating back, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
...
Jingsi Courtyard, candlelight flickering.
After listening to Gu Chengming's account, Li Suizhuang remained silent for a long time.
She held her teacup, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force. Her white hair hung by her cheeks, covering most of her face, making her expression unreadable.
Gu Chengming had revealed everything he had learned from Fu Xiaoxiao—the nature of the Yin Yang Fish as a Dao Throne, Yun Ni's plan to reverse the Yin Yang Fish, Fu Xiaoxiao's role as the medium, and the impending Ultimate Bliss Sky.
After a long time, Li Suizhuang set down the teacup and said, "So what you mean is, let me return to the capital first to bring reinforcements."
"Yes." Gu Chengming nodded. "Director Zhou has the authority to mobilize dragon qi. As long as the intelligence is brought back, the Night Guard Division has enough means to intervene."
"Then what about you?" Li Suizhuang looked up at Gu Chengming. "You're letting me go, but what about yourself?"
Gu Chengming pondered for a second. "I'll stay and see if there's a solution."
Li Suizhuang stood up, walked quickly to Gu Chengming, and looked down at him.
This was the first time she had shown such an obvious emotional fluctuation in front of Gu Chengming. Her white hair trembled slightly with her hurried breathing, her palms clenching and unclenching.
"Senior Banner Gu, do you realize what you're saying? Yun Ni is a peak Fourth Realm cultivator who holds most of the Hehuan Sect's power and partial control over the Yin Yang Twin Fish Array. And you..." Her gaze swept over Gu Chengming, her voice carrying an undisguisable anxiety.
"You're only in the Second Realm."
"I know." Gu Chengming's tone was very calm—so calm that it made Li Suizhuang even more uneasy. "But the Yin Yang Fish gave me some... possibilities."
He didn't say more. It wasn't that he didn't trust Li Suizhuang, but there were some things he hadn't fully figured out himself, and saying them would only worry her more.
Li Suizhuang stared at him for a long time before finally sighing. "Fine."
She stepped back, smoothed her somewhat messy sleeves, and her voice became steady again. "I will depart tonight. With the flying boat's speed, I can reach the capital in four days at the fastest."
"You must prioritize your own safety above all else."
Li Suizhuang was an intelligent person, intelligent enough to know that in such a moment, any extra words would only become a burden.
Gu Chengming sat alone at the table, his gaze falling on the moon outside the window, which was tinged with a slight pink by the red dust aura.
In truth, he wasn't sure himself. His plan was less of a plan and more of a gamble—gambling that the Yin Yang Fish would stand on his side.
Since entering the Hehuan Sect, the Yin Yang Fish had been secretly helping him: masking the traces of the killing, stripping away his disguise to make him show his true face, actively constructing a karmic shroud for him, and even personally guiding his cultivation of the Yin Yang Creation Strategy.
Each of these actions could have a different explanation if viewed in isolation, but when put together, there was only one answer.
The Yin Yang Fish was choosing him. A primordial spiritual item that had fallen out of balance and was being pushed to the edge of chaos—or rather, an existence about to be forcibly reversed into a Dao Throne—did not want to be reversed.
But even if his judgment was correct, he was still only a Second Realm cultivator.
Facing Yun Ni's Fourth Realm cultivation and the karmic desires of all the souls in the Hehuan Sect, he had no idea how much the Yin Yang Fish's protection could truly help him.
【"Red Dust Phantom Step" rarely offered no analysis.】
【"Hundred Bones Resonating", on the other hand, was as excited as ever: Emperor Gu! The final decisive battle!】
Gu Chengming looked at the dialogue box and couldn't help but smile slightly.
It really was time to bring things to a close.
Rate on N.U.
