Dressed in red, Plum Sword stepped forward and, gazing at the scholar sitting on the carriage, said loudly, "My mistress has learned that you are passing through Tianshan. She has specially instructed us to escort you and offer a humble gift as a token of respect. We hope you will accept it."
The meaning was clear: we didn't get the Nine Yin Manual anyway, so take this gift as an apology, and let's call it even.
Plum Sword glanced at Wu Laoda among the crowd, signaling him to deliver the prepared gift to the "Demon Lord."
Wu Laoda wore a bitter expression, cursing silently but quickly plastered on a smile as he respectfully carried a pile of glittering treasures toward the carriage.
As he approached, Wu Laoda cautiously used the moonlight to sneak a look at the scholar before him.
He had expected the man to look fierce and intimidating. Instead, he saw a face with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, exuding a gentle, jade-like aura.
This man seemed like a kind Confucian scholar, utterly unrelated to terms like "Demon Lord" or "Tyrant."
Wu Laoda stood in a daze until he felt the other's teasing gaze on him. He snapped out of it, breaking into a cold sweat.
"Mr… Mr. Chu, this humble gift, we hope you will accept it." Wu Laoda stammered, his limbs cold and his tongue tied.
The treasures, including four or five fist-sized luminous pearls, were undeniably priceless.
Yet Chu Yang didn't spare them a glance. He lightly knocked on the carriage and softly called, "Little girl."
Li Mochou peeked her head out, glanced at the treasures, and said, "I don't want them," before retreating.
Shrugging helplessly, Chu Yang smiled. "She says she doesn't want them. What should we do?"
Wu Laoda's cold sweat poured as he forced an awkward smile. "Please, just accept them. Children's words don't count!"
"The problem is, I don't want them either…" Chu Yang said softly, "Unless you offer something more valuable?"
Wu Laoda swallowed nervously. "What could be more valuable?"
Chu Yang didn't reply, only looking at him with a gentle smile.
Wu Laoda's face turned ashen as he seemed to realize what was more valuable…
He trembled as he backed away step by step, not daring to turn his back on Chu Yang, fearing that his head would part from his body in the next instant.
Plum Sword frowned. "Wu Laoda, what are you doing?!"
"Plum Girl… Mr. Chu wants something more valuable!" Wu Laoda replied with a tearful expression.
Plum Sword was puzzled.
Wu Laoda had to clarify, "The Demon Lord wants our lives!"
Plum Sword's face darkened, and the others didn't look any better.
"Arrogant to the extreme! The mistress doesn't want to fight him, yet he's pushing his luck. Does he think Lingjiu Palace fears him?!"
"All units of Lingjiu Palace, hear me! Form ranks and encircle the carriage. Let's see what this 'Mr. Chu' is truly capable of!"
"The 36 Cave Masters and 72 Island Lords, the mistress commands you to lead the charge. Whoever captures him will be freed from the control of the Life-Death Talisman!"
The Tianshan Tonglao had anticipated the worst outcome and made arrangements early, delegating commands to the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum Swords.
Hearing the promise of freedom, the initially despairing Cave Masters and Island Lords turned ecstatic, their eyes blazing with madness.
Compared to death, the torment of the Life-Death Talisman was far worse.
Shouts of battle echoed as a group of warriors charged toward the carriage, while the palace maids of Lingjiu Palace followed, forming ranks.
Chu Yang had no interest in sparring with these nobodies and directly unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.
An invisible wave swept through, and one by one, the so-called martial experts collapsed. Moments later, only the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum Swords remained at the mountain's foot.
Plum Sword, who had just been issuing commands, now stood trembling.
She had heard rumors of the Demon Lord's mysterious powers but had never witnessed them firsthand.
Now she had.
"What do you plan to do with these people?"
"They didn't directly harm me, so I don't intend to take their lives."
"Alright, then according to the old rules, abolish their martial arts."
Hearing this, Huang Rong eagerly climbed out of the carriage and adeptly began to destroy the meridians and dantians of Wu Laoda and his men.
Her proficiency was unsettling.
Chu Yang had always been clear about rewards and punishments.
Tianshan Tonglao was the mastermind, and Wu Laoda and his men were accomplices. The maids of Lingjiu Palace, however, were merely servants of Tonglao and had nothing to do with the matter.
Back at Bright Peak, Chu Yang had only killed the leaders of the Kongtong Sect, Huashan Sect, and Kunlun Sect without troubling their disciples.
Therefore, he decided to spare these maids.
As the carriage neared the mountain path leading to Misty Peak, Chu Yang turned to the four swordswomen—Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju—who stood frozen in fear and said, "Excuse me, step aside."
The four were visibly panicked and trembling, but they didn't move.
They knew that if they stepped aside, Tianshan Tonglao, who was in secluded cultivation, would be no match for the man before them.
The four had been raised by Tonglao, and her kindness alone was enough for them to sacrifice their lives.
"Your loyalty is commendable."
Chu Yang nodded.
The four gritted their teeth and drew their swords, ready for a desperate fight. But before they could take a single step, they collapsed stiffly to the ground.
After all, they weren't even first-rate martial artists. How could they withstand the impact of the Conqueror's Haki?
The Tianshan was steep and rugged, with Lingjiu Palace perched atop a dangerous peak. Little Red, the horse, couldn't climb it, so Chu Yang left it at the foot of the mountain.
Huang Rong wanted to follow but worried about Li Mochou and Xiaolongnu's safety, so she gave up the idea.
Thus, Chu Yang ascended the peak alone.
The Tianshan was majestic, and its silence at night added a sense of mystery.
Most of Lingjiu Palace's maids had been stationed at the base of the mountain by Tonglao, leaving only a few at the peak who were hardly a threat.
Whether on the mountain or at its base, Tonglao didn't care about their lives. As long as they could delay Chu Yang, their deaths would be worthwhile.
In her understanding, no martial artist in the world could truly take on thousands alone—not even her master, Xiaoyaozi.
She might have believed that Zhang Sanfeng and Feng Qingyang combined wouldn't match her master, and defeating the two wouldn't make Mr. Chu invincible.
With nearly a thousand disciples and Wu Laoda's gang, there was no reason they couldn't stop Mr. Chu—even sheer attrition in a battle of endurance should work.
"Dark Lord? Tyrant?"
"Once my divine skills are perfected, I'll deal with you. Enjoy your moment of arrogance!"
As she cultivated, Tonglao couldn't shake her unease. Her threats seemed more like self-consolation.
After adjusting her breathing for a while, she resumed her training.
Suddenly, the palace where she was secluded began to tremble.
Tonglao's eyes snapped open.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside, something terrifying seemed to be bombarding the entire palace—no, the entire Misty Peak!
Tonglao turned pale with fright. Ignoring the danger of qi deviation, she interrupted her training and rushed out.
A young scholar stood at the gate of Lingjiu Palace, pounding on it with fists as large as sandbags.
Since he was here to avenge a sect's destruction, it made no sense not to destroy the gate.
Chu Yang had done the same with every sect he dismantled: first demolishing the gate, then killing the leader.
Tonglao's scalp tingled at the sight.
Even with her toes, she could guess who this scholar was.
So many people couldn't stop him?
Just as Tonglao was in utter shock, Chu Yang suddenly raised his head, his gaze locking onto hers.
Their eyes met.
Chu Yang grinned.
Tonglao's heart clenched as if gripped by a giant hand.
She turned and fled using her lightness skill, but mid-air, she was pulled back by an immense force. The scenery around her spun rapidly.
In the next instant, her neck was clamped tightly, like being caught in a vice.
"You are a pitiable soul, transformed into this state for an illusory love. Before your death, let me tell you the truth: your senior brother, Wuyazi, never loved you or Li Qiushui most. His heart belonged to your junior sister."
Tonglao's body stiffened. She turned sharply, but the grip on her neck made her twist it fatally.
Even so, she stared at Chu Yang with wide eyes.
"Is it true...?"
Tonglao's eyes bulged, desperately clinging to her last breath for an answer.
"It's true."
Chu Yang nodded.
"Hahaha... haha..."
Tonglao let out a strange laugh, her eyes growing dim.
Chu Yang placed her body beneath the mountain gate and shattered the gate with a palm strike, burying her remains with it.
Afterward, he explored the grand Lingjiu Palace, eventually discovering a hidden passage beneath a rock garden.
The passage spiraled downward, leading to a massive cavern within the mountain.
The cavern walls were polished smooth like mirrors, engraved with intricate diagrams and texts. Most depicted cultivation methods, though some were missing pieces.
The nearly thousand illustrations dazzled the eyes.
Some were legacies of Tonglao's Xiaoyao Sect, but many originated from the site's ancient creators.
Lingjiu Palace atop Tianshan had once been an ancient sect's ruin, later occupied by Xiaoyaozi.
The ancient martial arts surpassed even the Nine Yin Manual. To Chu Yang, they seemed akin to divine techniques.
Ordinary people couldn't observe them for long without losing their minds or feeling unbearable headaches—a sign of mental overload.
Chu Yang, however, memorized them effortlessly after a brief glance.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes to analyze. When he opened them, a look of astonishment emerged.
The ancient techniques had immense value, comparable to Zhang Sanfeng's Taichi intent and filled with a natural "Dao charm."
"Young Xiaoyaozi must have used these as inspiration to create the Xiaoyao Sect's marvelous techniques."
Looking at the eroded murals, Chu Yang felt a pang of regret.
If the diagrams were intact, he could fully master a complete cultivation method now.
Leaving the cavern without destroying its entrance, Chu Yang chose to let future generations explore it themselves.
From the peak to the foot of the mountain took but a blink.
Mei, Lan, Zhu, Ju, and Wu Laoda remained unconscious.
Little Red snorted, pulling the carriage into the night.
Not long after, news of Lingjiu Palace's destruction spread, throwing the martial world into chaos. Disciples lived in fear, and sects prepared for war.
Under pressure, the Jianghu of the Southern and Northern Song Dynasties united to hold a martial arts assembly. They sought to negotiate peace with the legendary "Mr. Chu."