Editor: Sahloknir
—The Secret Yin Yang Chaos Technique
Most secret Daoist scrolls are old, but this particular one only came into existence a few decades ago.
It was originally created by the Ghost Taming Sect in Beiling as one of the many forbidden arts which the Sect developed. Later, the Sect Master burned all such scrolls in a bid to cover up the evidence. However, no one expected that Gong Wei, who was still young and extremely bored at the time, had already read and memorised the whole cart of bamboo scrolls.
When he returned, he even penned down the tens of thousands of words based on his memory. As a result, the entire Ghost Taming Sect was condemned and imprisoned, and this secret technique was compiled into a book and put away by Ying Kai. This was a top-tiered forbidden art, known to only a few families in the Immortal Alliance.
The Lotus Immortal was very active growing up. He could almost tear the Correctional Palace apart into chaos and the Sword Sect as well. But when he sat down and concentrated he could also study an entire sutra in earnest.
During his lifetime, he deciphered many ancient and lost Daoist scriptures. Occasionally, he would share some of what he had learned with Yuchi Rui for fun, but never took on any disciples. When he died on the Ascension Platform sixteen years ago, the Hundred Schools of the Xuanmen lost a living dictionary, and many of the secret scriptures were lost, including the soundtrack of this book, “The Great Mantra of the Secret Yin Yang Chaos Technique”.
“…” Gong Wei blinked and said, “You must have heard wrong.”
He was about to turn around when he felt there was a sudden stab in his throat, a hooked sword blade against his larynx, forcing him not to move a muscle against the potentially fatal move.
“Xiang-Xiao-Yuan.” Yuchi Xiao said behind him, softly, word by word, “Do you want to explain clearly here, or do you want me to escort you back to the Cang Yang Sect and explain in front of Lord Xu?”
Xu Shuangtze.
As soon as Gong Wei heard these three words, a chill shot up his spine, and the lingering devious tone in his voice was gone, “You really misheard me, what is the Secret Technique? I really just barged in by mistake because I got lost…”
“Has the Lotus Immortal really awakened?”
“What?”
Yuchi Xiao lowered his head and whispered fiercely in his ear, “Is it true that Lord Ying and the Sword Sect Master were so badly injured because of the awakened corpses, or is it because they encountered you, a seemingly harmless disciple who is actually well-versed in forbidden arts?”
From Yuchi Xiao’s angle, he could only see half of Gong Wei’s face. He appeared to be panicking, yet also naive and frail. He hastily opened his mouth, seeming about to retort, but no words came out.
“…”
After a moment of silence, Gong Wei sighed helplessly and softened his expression.
“Never mind, even I can’t think of an excuse.” He said feebly, “Why don’t you tell me what you want to hear, and I’ll say it.”
Yuchi Xiao’s expression changed subtly in response and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, “Where did you learn this forbidden art?”
Gong Wei replied, “I peeked at a manual back when I was at Cang Yang Sect. Whatever, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Lbk jgf sbe mbccfmafv ab atf lcmlvfca bo atf jkjxfclcu mbgqrfr ja Glcu Wljc Zjerbifew?”
Xbcu Qfl rjlv rieuulrtis, “Gb sbe atlcx la mjc tjnf jcsatlcu ab vb klat wf? Po sbe atlcx rb atfc, bxjs.”
“Tbe…”
Temtl Wljb alutafcfv tlr uglq ecali atf nflcr kfgf qgbagevlcu bc atf yjmx bo tlr tjcv. Tfa, tf rjk atlr sbecu wjc rwlif jr tf uijcmfv yjmx ja tlw afjrlcuis jcv lccbmfcais ja atf rjwf alwf, “Tbecu Vkbgvrwjc, lo P kfgf sbe, P kbeivc’a jrx la ilxf atja.”
“I would first dislocate the limbs and joints of ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ and drag him in front of a crowd, preferably in the presence of Changsun Chengfeng—who specialises in mechanical weapons and has developed a wide range of novel and savage torture devices under the Artefact Sect. Then invite Xu Shuangtze, who hates any form of illusionary arts, to preside over the interrogation. With Lord Xu present, even the toughest man would be so severely tortured that he stands no chance of keeping any secrets.”
“I wouldn’t do it like you did, purposely luring everyone away before putting your sword to the suspect’s neck, and even being careful not to hurt him. I would not question him in a gentle and roundabout manner such as ‘where did you learn the forbidden arts’ or ‘did the awakened corpses have anything to do with you’ because that’s just too weak.”
Gong Wei smiled and turned his head, and because of this movement, the skin of his neck was finally slit by the sharp immortal sword, and blood instantly gushed. Yuchi Xiao watched this in surprise.
Gong Wei laughed, “I would ask directly, are you still the same Cang Yang Sect outer disciple Xiang Xiaoyuan? Or—”
Yuchi Xiao lost his voice all of a sudden and cried, “What are you doing!”
He tried to let go of his sword, but Gong Wei clutched it at his throat and tugged it to prevent Yuchi Xiao from pulling it away. He then chuckled softly yet cruelly, “Or has your soul been taken over and transformed to the legendary Chief of the Disciplinary Court, Gong Zhiyu?”
Clang!
The hilt of the sword slammed into a tombstone as Yuchi Xiao finally broke free of Gong Wei’s bloodied hand, interrupting him in a stern voice, “I said, shut up!”
“You are too weak, Young Master Yuchi.” Gong Wei looked at him from the bottom up, his eyes expressing pity, “You don’t even dare to cut one off my hand or stab me, so what had you hoped to hear from me?”
A faint scarlet glow swirled and emerged from the depths of his right pupil, but Yuchi Xiao didn’t notice. The wound on the young man’s neck appeared like the edge of a shattered, white porcelain fragment. A drop of blood could be clearly seen snaking down until it sank into his deep collarbone.
Yuchi Xiao didn’t know where his wretchedness and anger had come from. He felt his temples throbbing as he bellowed breathlessly, “Do you think I don’t dare to? I just don’t—I—”
The candles on either side of the bronze wall flickered, and suddenly he caught a glimpse of a figure as it flashed past at the end of the tomb passage.
Yuchi Xiao’s heart thumped violently and his cries came to a screeching halt.
At this moment, it was his instincts that were developed over his many encounters with life and death situations that saved him. Instead of looking straight at the figure, he reflexively swung his sword and peered at the reflection of the man in his blade.
The thin figure stood there quietly, in a white burial robe and was only slightly taller than Xiang Xiaoyuan. Although it was expressionless, its slightly tilted head gave off a naive and innocent demeanor.
“…”
Yuchi Xiao’s hand shook, and he tried not to make a sound as he tilted his blade a little more, this time, its eyes were clearly reflected—
The right pupil appeared red as blood.
“What’s wrong?” Gong Wei had already noticed the abnormality and asked softly.
The knot in Yuchi Xiao’s throat slid up and down violently, “Leave, now.”
Gong Wei, “?”
“Don’t make a sound, don’t turn around, don’t look directly into its eyes.” Yuchi Xiao covered Gong Wei’s eyes with his hands and he said hoarsely, “I can’t stop it for long, you go back up there and look for the Artefact Sect Master immediately. Go now!”
Yet for some reason, Gong Wei did not move. “—is it the Lotus Immortal?”
The tense atmosphere already gave away the answer.
If the soul of the Lotus Immortal had reincarnated, the corpse shouldn’t have been awakened, and Yuchi Xiao had naturally gotten an answer to his own question earlier.
But now it was too late to say anything, and he continued to stare at the reflection without a blink, “Why isn’t it gone?”
Gong Wei asked, “Are his eyes red?”
“…What?”
Gong Wei aggravated his tone and repeated, “Are his eyes red?”
Yuchi Xiao responded, “Yes, so?!”
Everyone in the world knew that the Lotus Immortal could cast illusionary arts using his right eye. The fact that he could activate his powers meant that his golden core was still intact. With that, even if he were a dried-up skeleton, he would be a formidable opponent.
Gong Wei said with a sigh, “Alright.”
He raised his fingers to brush away Yuchi Xiao’s hand and turned back to smile at him, “Lord Ying and the Sword Sect Master couldn’t bear to fight against this corpse, but I can.”
Behind him, Yuchi Xiao was stunned, but it was already too late to stop him. The sword in his hands was already gone.
Gong Wei held Gou Chen in his hand and used his overwhelming spiritual power to force out the sword aura which burst like red-gold light, shining on his beautiful and cold face.
In the next moment, he leaped forward and slashed his sword head-on at the Lotus Immortal!
—Clang!
The bronze wall cracked open and the sword glare shot wildly in all directions. Yuchi Xiao was watching an unimaginable scene as every move of ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ appeared like torrents of golden light. Even the Lotus Immortal could not receive his blows directly and retracted his steps until the end of the tomb passage. Then, Gou Chen sent a blow towards the bronze steps behind him which exploded in an instant.
The bronze fragments and broken iron pieces rained down like hail, causing Yuchi Xiao to stumble.
The corpse fell into the next level of the underground palace right away, while Gong Wei with his murderous intent flew down behind and clamped the corpse’s pale face with his fingers, laughing, “Strange…”
Everyone knew that the Cang Yang Sect Master dismembered the Lotus Immortal’s corpse to quell his hatred. Given the ruthlessness of Xu Shuangtze, it would be fortunate for Gong Wei to even be able to roughly piece his body back together. It was unexpected to see his corpse so dexterous and complete. What did Xu Shuangtze dismember then?
Before he had time to ponder, the drop came to an end and he had landed with a thud. At this moment, the corpse raised its hands and Gong Wei dodged to avoid it, only to see a cold light flashed in the darkness. It was a sword.
The corpse clutched the hilt of the sword firmly and swung down.
The two swords collided with each other with an earth-shattering bang, and the entire stretch of tomb passage shook violently!
The prowess of the sword was so overwhelming that Yuchi Xiao leapt in the midst of the violent shockwaves and shuddered, “Xiang Xiaoyuan!”
Spiritual energy swirled wildly, like millions of sharp blades, and smoke and debris obscured everyone’s vision. Anyone with a slightly weaker cultivation level would never survive this, and might even be cut to pieces by the hurricane of sword glares.
A strange fear emerged from the bottom of Yuchi Xiao’s heart. He forgot everything in an instant and rushed forward. As the debris settled, he saw that Gong Wei was holding onto Gou Chen and deflected the terrifying moves by the Lotus Immortal. The bronze wall surrounding them was shattered to pieces.
For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. “…Xiang Xiaoyuan?”
—The next thing he saw was ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ staring at the corpse of the Lotus Immortal, and his lips curled into a sneer.
This boy was indeed renowned for his unparalleled beauty. But it was only at this moment that this same beauty emerged as an intimidating force.
“What are you?” He asked softly to the corpse.
Before he finished, he snapped two fingers of his right hand together and sank them into the right eye socket of the Lotus Immortal with a speed of light.
Blood sprayed in all directions and the corpse, which should have been devoid of all senses, bent down vigorously. But Gong Wei didn’t show the slightest mercy, his fingers forcefully crushed the crimson red eyeball and flung it away with his hand!
Blood and flesh splattered on the wall as he did so, leaving a red arc.
The corpse seemed to be rapidly drained of its spiritual energy as it crumpled to its knees. The sword that it had summoned out of nowhere fell to the ground with a clang. Immediately afterward, without even a moment of hesitation, Gong Wei swung Gou Chen and sliced off the head of the Lotus Immortal, sending it flying.
Thud!
The head spun and rolled on the ground, and the headless corpse shook twice before falling heavily at Gong Wei’s feet with a muffled thud.
Editor: Sahloknir
—The Secret Yin Yang Chaos Technique
Most secret Daoist scrolls are old, but this particular one only came into existence a few decades ago.
It was originally created by the Ghost Taming Sect in Beiling as one of the many forbidden arts which the Sect developed. Later, the Sect Master burned all such scrolls in a bid to cover up the evidence. However, no one expected that Gong Wei, who was still young and extremely bored at the time, had already read and memorised the whole cart of bamboo scrolls.
When he returned, he even penned down the tens of thousands of words based on his memory. As a result, the entire Ghost Taming Sect was condemned and imprisoned, and this secret technique was compiled into a book and put away by Ying Kai. This was a top-tiered forbidden art, known to only a few families in the Immortal Alliance.
The Lotus Immortal was very active growing up. He could almost tear the Correctional Palace apart into chaos and the Sword Sect as well. But when he sat down and concentrated he could also study an entire sutra in earnest.
During his lifetime, he deciphered many ancient and lost Daoist scriptures. Occasionally, he would share some of what he had learned with Yuchi Rui for fun, but never took on any disciples. When he died on the Ascension Platform sixteen years ago, the Hundred Schools of the Xuanmen lost a living dictionary, and many of the secret scriptures were lost, including the soundtrack of this book, “The Great Mantra of the Secret Yin Yang Chaos Technique”.
“…” Gong Wei blinked and said, “You must have heard wrong.”
He was about to turn around when he felt there was a sudden stab in his throat, a hooked sword blade against his larynx, forcing him not to move a muscle against the potentially fatal move.
“Xiang-Xiao-Yuan.” Yuchi Xiao said behind him, softly, word by word, “Do you want to explain clearly here, or do you want me to escort you back to the Cang Yang Sect and explain in front of Lord Xu?”
Xu Shuangtze.
As soon as Gong Wei heard these three words, a chill shot up his spine, and the lingering devious tone in his voice was gone, “You really misheard me, what is the Secret Technique? I really just barged in by mistake because I got lost…”
“Has the Lotus Immortal really awakened?”
“What?”
Yuchi Xiao lowered his head and whispered fiercely in his ear, “Is it true that Lord Ying and the Sword Sect Master were so badly injured because of the awakened corpses, or is it because they encountered you, a seemingly harmless disciple who is actually well-versed in forbidden arts?”
From Yuchi Xiao’s angle, he could only see half of Gong Wei’s face. He appeared to be panicking, yet also naive and frail. He hastily opened his mouth, seeming about to retort, but no words came out.
“…”
After a moment of silence, Gong Wei sighed helplessly and softened his expression.
“Never mind, even I can’t think of an excuse.” He said feebly, “Why don’t you tell me what you want to hear, and I’ll say it.”
Yuchi Xiao’s expression changed subtly in response and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, “Where did you learn this forbidden art?”
Gong Wei replied, “I peeked at a manual back when I was at Cang Yang Sect. Whatever, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Lbk jgf sbe mbccfmafv ab atf lcmlvfca bo atf jkjxfclcu mbgqrfr ja Glcu Wljc Zjerbifew?”
Xbcu Qfl rjlv rieuulrtis, “Gb sbe atlcx la mjc tjnf jcsatlcu ab vb klat wf? Po sbe atlcx rb atfc, bxjs.”
“Tbe…”
Temtl Wljb alutafcfv tlr uglq ecali atf nflcr kfgf qgbagevlcu bc atf yjmx bo tlr tjcv. Tfa, tf rjk atlr sbecu wjc rwlif jr tf uijcmfv yjmx ja tlw afjrlcuis jcv lccbmfcais ja atf rjwf alwf, “Tbecu Vkbgvrwjc, lo P kfgf sbe, P kbeivc’a jrx la ilxf atja.”
“I would first dislocate the limbs and joints of ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ and drag him in front of a crowd, preferably in the presence of Changsun Chengfeng—who specialises in mechanical weapons and has developed a wide range of novel and savage torture devices under the Artefact Sect. Then invite Xu Shuangtze, who hates any form of illusionary arts, to preside over the interrogation. With Lord Xu present, even the toughest man would be so severely tortured that he stands no chance of keeping any secrets.”
“I wouldn’t do it like you did, purposely luring everyone away before putting your sword to the suspect’s neck, and even being careful not to hurt him. I would not question him in a gentle and roundabout manner such as ‘where did you learn the forbidden arts’ or ‘did the awakened corpses have anything to do with you’ because that’s just too weak.”
Gong Wei smiled and turned his head, and because of this movement, the skin of his neck was finally slit by the sharp immortal sword, and blood instantly gushed. Yuchi Xiao watched this in surprise.
Gong Wei laughed, “I would ask directly, are you still the same Cang Yang Sect outer disciple Xiang Xiaoyuan? Or—”
Yuchi Xiao lost his voice all of a sudden and cried, “What are you doing!”
He tried to let go of his sword, but Gong Wei clutched it at his throat and tugged it to prevent Yuchi Xiao from pulling it away. He then chuckled softly yet cruelly, “Or has your soul been taken over and transformed to the legendary Chief of the Disciplinary Court, Gong Zhiyu?”
Clang!
The hilt of the sword slammed into a tombstone as Yuchi Xiao finally broke free of Gong Wei’s bloodied hand, interrupting him in a stern voice, “I said, shut up!”
“You are too weak, Young Master Yuchi.” Gong Wei looked at him from the bottom up, his eyes expressing pity, “You don’t even dare to cut one off my hand or stab me, so what had you hoped to hear from me?”
A faint scarlet glow swirled and emerged from the depths of his right pupil, but Yuchi Xiao didn’t notice. The wound on the young man’s neck appeared like the edge of a shattered, white porcelain fragment. A drop of blood could be clearly seen snaking down until it sank into his deep collarbone.
Yuchi Xiao didn’t know where his wretchedness and anger had come from. He felt his temples throbbing as he bellowed breathlessly, “Do you think I don’t dare to? I just don’t—I—”
The candles on either side of the bronze wall flickered, and suddenly he caught a glimpse of a figure as it flashed past at the end of the tomb passage.
Yuchi Xiao’s heart thumped violently and his cries came to a screeching halt.
At this moment, it was his instincts that were developed over his many encounters with life and death situations that saved him. Instead of looking straight at the figure, he reflexively swung his sword and peered at the reflection of the man in his blade.
The thin figure stood there quietly, in a white burial robe and was only slightly taller than Xiang Xiaoyuan. Although it was expressionless, its slightly tilted head gave off a naive and innocent demeanor.
“…”
Yuchi Xiao’s hand shook, and he tried not to make a sound as he tilted his blade a little more, this time, its eyes were clearly reflected—
The right pupil appeared red as blood.
“What’s wrong?” Gong Wei had already noticed the abnormality and asked softly.
The knot in Yuchi Xiao’s throat slid up and down violently, “Leave, now.”
Gong Wei, “?”
“Don’t make a sound, don’t turn around, don’t look directly into its eyes.” Yuchi Xiao covered Gong Wei’s eyes with his hands and he said hoarsely, “I can’t stop it for long, you go back up there and look for the Artefact Sect Master immediately. Go now!”
Yet for some reason, Gong Wei did not move. “—is it the Lotus Immortal?”
The tense atmosphere already gave away the answer.
If the soul of the Lotus Immortal had reincarnated, the corpse shouldn’t have been awakened, and Yuchi Xiao had naturally gotten an answer to his own question earlier.
But now it was too late to say anything, and he continued to stare at the reflection without a blink, “Why isn’t it gone?”
Gong Wei asked, “Are his eyes red?”
“…What?”
Gong Wei aggravated his tone and repeated, “Are his eyes red?”
Yuchi Xiao responded, “Yes, so?!”
Everyone in the world knew that the Lotus Immortal could cast illusionary arts using his right eye. The fact that he could activate his powers meant that his golden core was still intact. With that, even if he were a dried-up skeleton, he would be a formidable opponent.
Gong Wei said with a sigh, “Alright.”
He raised his fingers to brush away Yuchi Xiao’s hand and turned back to smile at him, “Lord Ying and the Sword Sect Master couldn’t bear to fight against this corpse, but I can.”
Behind him, Yuchi Xiao was stunned, but it was already too late to stop him. The sword in his hands was already gone.
Gong Wei held Gou Chen in his hand and used his overwhelming spiritual power to force out the sword aura which burst like red-gold light, shining on his beautiful and cold face.
In the next moment, he leaped forward and slashed his sword head-on at the Lotus Immortal!
—Clang!
The bronze wall cracked open and the sword glare shot wildly in all directions. Yuchi Xiao was watching an unimaginable scene as every move of ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ appeared like torrents of golden light. Even the Lotus Immortal could not receive his blows directly and retracted his steps until the end of the tomb passage. Then, Gou Chen sent a blow towards the bronze steps behind him which exploded in an instant.
The bronze fragments and broken iron pieces rained down like hail, causing Yuchi Xiao to stumble.
The corpse fell into the next level of the underground palace right away, while Gong Wei with his murderous intent flew down behind and clamped the corpse’s pale face with his fingers, laughing, “Strange…”
Everyone knew that the Cang Yang Sect Master dismembered the Lotus Immortal’s corpse to quell his hatred. Given the ruthlessness of Xu Shuangtze, it would be fortunate for Gong Wei to even be able to roughly piece his body back together. It was unexpected to see his corpse so dexterous and complete. What did Xu Shuangtze dismember then?
Before he had time to ponder, the drop came to an end and he had landed with a thud. At this moment, the corpse raised its hands and Gong Wei dodged to avoid it, only to see a cold light flashed in the darkness. It was a sword.
The corpse clutched the hilt of the sword firmly and swung down.
The two swords collided with each other with an earth-shattering bang, and the entire stretch of tomb passage shook violently!
The prowess of the sword was so overwhelming that Yuchi Xiao leapt in the midst of the violent shockwaves and shuddered, “Xiang Xiaoyuan!”
Spiritual energy swirled wildly, like millions of sharp blades, and smoke and debris obscured everyone’s vision. Anyone with a slightly weaker cultivation level would never survive this, and might even be cut to pieces by the hurricane of sword glares.
A strange fear emerged from the bottom of Yuchi Xiao’s heart. He forgot everything in an instant and rushed forward. As the debris settled, he saw that Gong Wei was holding onto Gou Chen and deflected the terrifying moves by the Lotus Immortal. The bronze wall surrounding them was shattered to pieces.
For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. “…Xiang Xiaoyuan?”
—The next thing he saw was ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ staring at the corpse of the Lotus Immortal, and his lips curled into a sneer.
This boy was indeed renowned for his unparalleled beauty. But it was only at this moment that this same beauty emerged as an intimidating force.
“What are you?” He asked softly to the corpse.
Before he finished, he snapped two fingers of his right hand together and sank them into the right eye socket of the Lotus Immortal with a speed of light.
Blood sprayed in all directions and the corpse, which should have been devoid of all senses, bent down vigorously. But Gong Wei didn’t show the slightest mercy, his fingers forcefully crushed the crimson red eyeball and flung it away with his hand!
Blood and flesh splattered on the wall as he did so, leaving a red arc.
The corpse seemed to be rapidly drained of its spiritual energy as it crumpled to its knees. The sword that it had summoned out of nowhere fell to the ground with a clang. Immediately afterward, without even a moment of hesitation, Gong Wei swung Gou Chen and sliced off the head of the Lotus Immortal, sending it flying.
Thud!
The head spun and rolled on the ground, and the headless corpse shook twice before falling heavily at Gong Wei’s feet with a muffled thud.
