Chapter 10: Wan Deshun's Disappearance
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
"Ding! The host has been detected for challenging party from higher realm and killing Wan Deshou. Awarded 500 points of villain value."
Only when the system sound rang in his mind did Gao Xuan pull out the dagger. Wan Deshou's lifeless body fell backward, stirring up a little dust as it landed, his eyes wide open in death.
Gao Xuan's blood-red pupils gradually regained clarity, and the demonic shadow disappeared, leaving only the Great Devil Bottle hovering above his head.
With no time to ponder, he dragged his severely injured body and used a single hand to form seals. Suddenly, numerous black radiance emerged, interweaving and converging around him, an astonishing sight.
The pitch-black Great Devil Bottle floated, emitting faint demonic aura, enveloping Wan Deshou and devouring his origin power.
The wounds on Gao Xuan's body began to heal rapidly, his aura soaring, and his cultivation skyrocketing.
In the end, his Soul Palace realm had reached a state of great perfection, just one step away from breaking through to Golden Core realm Grandmaster.
Moreover, he had already mastered all the various techniques that Wan Deshou had practiced, even more proficient than Wan Deshou himself.
The commotion in the small courtyard went unnoticed by the outside world, allowing Gao Xuan to swiftly clean up the scene.
The reason he was able to kill Wan Deshou was solely because his divine soul had intimidated him from the very beginning.
The word "demon" was considered a taboo in the hearts of everyone in this world.
The most recent recorded incident in history occurred 1,500 years ago when dozens of high-ranking experts at the third rank were slaughtered within a few months, their origins completely drained. The scene of their deaths was extremely gruesome, and it even included a Ninth Heaven Void God Realm Master.
This led to great chaos in the world, with cultivators living in constant fear and anxiety.
It was later resolved by Emperor Wu Aotian, the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, who gathered almost all the top experts in the world, set up ambushes in advance, and battled the inheritor of the demonic path for several days. In the end, they managed to kill him at the cost of nearly total annihilation.
This also resulted in the decline of martial arts, which remained dormant for thousands of years until it gradually regained some vitality.
So when Wan Deshou saw Gao Xuan's demonic manifestation, he became frightened, thinking only of escape.
Combined with the effects of the poison, which greatly reduced his strength, and his lack of understanding of Gao Xuan, it allowed Gao Xuan to seize the opportunity and deliver a fatal blow to the back of his head.
If Wan Deshou had been a bit bolder and more rational, he would have realized that Gao Xuan was just bluffing.
The demonic shadow had no practical use apart from intimidation; it was currently useless.
Strength was undoubtedly important, but mental fortitude was equally crucial. Many attempts to achieve great results through small means were ultimately high-risk gambles, especially when life was at stake. Once one retreated, they would fall into an irreparable situation.
Gao Xuan searched Wan Deshou's clothing and found a book titled "Sunflower Scripture," an identity badge, and several silver bills with a denomination of 5,000 liang each.
The old guy didn't carry much with him when he went out. Besides the Spirit-ranked technique, the "Sunflower Scripture," the rest had little use.
Especially the silver bills, once he used them, there was a chance that these clues would expose him to fatal danger once Wan Deshou's death became known.
Therefore, Gao Xuan only took the "Sunflower Scripture" and put it into the system for recycling, exchanging it for 1,500 points of villain value. Then he found a sack, placed Wan Deshou's body inside, and stuffed it with a few large stones.
Taking advantage of the late night when no one was around, he quietly carried the sack and threw it into the lake in the imperial palace's royal garden.
Upon returning, he carefully cleaned up the traces of the fight in the courtyard. He was a professional in this regard.
Although this world lacked technological means like fingerprint detection, Gao Xuan couldn't afford to be careless. Some techniques were even more terrifying than technology.
For example, the emperor's golden eyes that forced people to speak the truth—who knew if there were even more bizarre methods?
After thoroughly cleaning up the scene and making sure no traces were visible, it was almost dawn.
Only now did Gao Xuan return to his room to rest.
As the Deputy Supervisor now, he no longer needed to wake up early like a eunuch and had many privileges in his daily life.
After a night of exhaustion, he felt immensely fatigued and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
...
It wasn't until mid-morning, when a eunuch came to deliver a meal and knocked on the door, that Gao Xuan slowly woke up.
Feeling refreshed after a good sleep, he felt as if last night had been a dream, and now he was waking up like an innocent bystander.
After eating, he followed the usual routine and went to report in the office, introducing himself to the little eunuchs from the Hall of Mixed Bath, then returning to the small courtyard.
Previously, Wan Deshou had been in charge of everything in the Hall of Mixed Bath. Although no one had discovered that he was dead yet, Gao Xuan still had to pretend to be oblivious and slack off.
The other eunuchs did not notice anything unusual at this time and continued to do their daily work. The bathing schedule of the Emperor, Concubines, and others in the Palace had been arranged a few days in advance. Even if Wan Deshun was not around, there would not be any problems for a while.
After returning to his room, Gao Xuan had nothing better to do, so he started punching in the courtyard, pretending to be a noob who had just started cultivating.
He waited until it was late at night before locking his door and opening the system. He was ready to upgrade the 2000 Villain Points he had just obtained.
He sat cross-legged and circulated his demonic technique. The demonic god phantom appeared again.
With the help of the system, a golden core quickly condensed above the Spirit Sea. However, it was still completely black, and there were complicated and strange patterns on it.
Having reached the state of great perfection in the Soul Palace realm, he smoothly upgraded to the Golden Core realm, his aura rising steadily, becoming a Grandmaster-level expert.
Gao Xuan now clearly felt the stark difference between the Lower Three Realms and the Middle Three Realms. Although they seemed to be just a step apart, they were worlds apart, with an insurmountable chasm between them.
The higher the cultivation, the greater the disparity brought about by each realm advancement.
Killing Wan Deshou had been too risky. It relied heavily on timing and luck, with less than a 0.1% chance of success.
Next time, if something similar happened, he must be fully prepared in advance.
In the following days, he would practice in the courtyard during the day and consolidate his Golden Core realm cultivation at night.
During this time, Ling Shuang came twice to deliver the antidote for the Soul Annihilating Pill. Gao Xuan accepted it without a hitch, immediately recycling it through the system to earn every point he could.
From the surface, he appeared to be a beginner cultivator with only a Qi Refinement realm cultivation.
Under the concealment of the Demonic Devour Art, no one could discover his true cultivation.
Meanwhile, news of Wan Deshou's disappearance gradually spread and quickly alarmed those above.
..
Qianqing Palace.
The beautiful emperor, disguised as a man, was reviewing the memorial when Ling Shuang suddenly rushed over, whispering a few words by her side.
Upon hearing it, the emperor's eyebrows furrowed.
"Is this true?"
Ling Shuang replied, "Absolutely true! Wan Deshou hasn't appeared for several days. It started with speculation among the eunuchs, but then it spread. Just now, Wei Xian went to Wan Deshou's residence and found nothing. It's confirmed that he's missing."
The emperor's phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly. "You're saying it might be the work of the Wan family? After all, Wan Deshou is their person, and he might have been recalled."
Ling Shuang shook her head. "I don't think so. I heard that the Wan family was also shocked when they learned about this. They have sent people to search for Wan Deshou."
"That's strange."
The emperor murmured to herself, "How could a living person disappear into thin air? Moreover, I received intelligence that the old guy has already broken through to the Golden Core realm."
Ling Shuang pondered for a moment and tentatively said, "Is it possible that he was killed?"
The emperor shook her head. "It's unlikely. A Grandmaster-level expert in the Golden Core realm, how could they be silently killed in the palace?"
"Well, that's odd." Ling Shuang also found it strange.
The emperor tapped her jade finger on the table, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Go and summon that bastard Gao Xuan. He is the Deputy Minister of the Hall of Mixed Bath. Maybe he knows something."
...
-- Gift
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