Between heaven and earth, there was only one palm—the Heaven-Shrouding Hand. When wielded by the Third Young Master, paired with his Shura Demon Eyes, it had the power to crush all resistance.
The roaring gust from his palm strike was like the ultimate storm from the depths of the universe, capable of shredding the very fabric of reality. The massive hand that reached out seemed to cover not just the sky—but all life beneath it.
BOOM!The deafening explosion shook the entire room. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling, and dust and debris fell like rain. Smoke choked the once-luxurious VIP suite.
Half of the wall was obliterated beneath the Third Young Master's strike. The other half trembled precariously. But the crimson-clad woman was gone.
She hadn't been smashed to bits—in fact, she had retreated into the doorway the moment the Heaven-Shrouding Hand descended, disappearing without a trace.
The Third Young Master stood before the ruined wall, eyes cold as frost, staring into what used to be a doorway.
Beyond it, a shaft descended straight down into darkness. That woman had dropped into it the moment she stepped through the door.
The square shaft exhaled an eerie chill and a faint, sweet aroma. He knew that scent well—it was poison. Not strong enough to affect him, but more than enough to kill most pursuers.
He waved his palm, dispersing the toxin, only to find tiny holes corroded into his robe."What a potent poison," he murmured, then pressed his palm to the broken wall, collapsing the remaining rubble and sealing the shaft to prevent further contamination.
After all, not everyone in the room was immune to poison—certainly not Jo Wei and the others.
Turning back, he looked at Jo Wei and Uncle Li, who both radiated killing intent. He said calmly, "Cornered prey should never be pursued. This passage leads to something strange and dangerous—we'd best not act rashly."
Jo Wei nodded. "Third Young Master, this place was clearly a stronghold of the Demon Sect. Those eight swordsmen were 'Swift Blades' from the Sect's Heaven Mirage Branch. That crimson woman was none other than the 'Nine-Yin Saintess' of Heart Mirage Branch. And the bodyguard guiding us was a low-ranking disciple of Cloud Mirage Branch. If all three major branches of the Demon Sect are present here in Dingzhou, it's safe to assume the other five halls are lurking nearby as well."
He paused grimly. "Looks like the Demon Sect is dead set on making waves at the upcoming Martial Assembly."
The Third Young Master snorted. "They ruined my name. I haven't even gone after them yet, and now they're already coming for me? If people don't cross me, I don't cross them—but if they do… I make damn sure they regret it. If I want peace in the future, it looks like I'll have to settle the score with the Demon Sect myself."
Uncle Li frowned. "If the Three Branches and Five Halls are converging in Dingzhou, then it's likely the Sect Leader himself—Ximen Wudi—is also in the city."
He grew more serious. "Ten years ago, at the age of twenty-three, he had already mastered the fifth level of Godslayer Heart Sutra and the fourth level of Immortal-Bane Codex. If he's completed both by now… I fear there's no one in the world who can stand against him."
Jo Wei nodded. "Uncle Li is right. Ten years ago, he and I were evenly matched. I've always publicly dismissed him, but between you and me, I never underestimated him."
The Third Young Master raised an eyebrow. "How would he compare to my father?"
Jo Wei sighed. "Hard to say. Your father hasn't fought anyone in years. Uncle Li and I are confident we could take him down together—but who knows until fists are flying?"
The Third Young Master curled his lip. "So in short—you're just guessing. Anyway, Ximen Wudi isn't likely to kill me. Didn't you say he wants to use me as leverage against the Xiaoyao Villa and Iron-Blood Fortress? If I die, he loses his leverage. And if he really wanted me dead, wouldn't he have done it himself already?"
He rolled his eyes. "Forget him. Whether he's Ximen Wudi or Dongfang Bubai, I'm starving. Dammit, I was already hungry, and now after all that fighting I've burned through most of my qi—I'm about to collapse!"
He turned toward the door. "Place is wrecked, nothing left to see. Let's go."
The four of them strolled out of the obliterated VIP suite. Behind them was nothing but ruin… and nine corpses that no longer resembled anything human.
The four black-clad swordsmen struck by Jo Wei stood frozen, faces twisted in pain, their bodies aging at a visible rate. Muscles withered, skin wrinkled and dulled, teeth fell out, hair turned white and shed like autumn leaves.
Even their clothes and swords decayed—rusted and rotting—like time itself had accelerated a thousandfold.
As for the four struck by Uncle Li's "Phantom Demon Palm," they remained frozen in their last moments. Their entire beings—flesh, garments, weapons—were crystallizing, turning into shimmering, brittle gemstone. A single falling chip of plaster from the ceiling was enough to shatter them into fragments.
The bodyguard? Already doomed before they entered—Jo Wei had tapped his shoulder twice, planting "Time Spares No One" into his body.
By the time the four of them stepped outside, not a single human figure remained upstairs. The destroyed suite now housed five piles of dust and four heaps of sparkling crystal residue.
As they walked down the main street toward the nearest tavern, the Third Young Master suddenly paused and muttered, "Wei-ge… can you remember what that Nine-Yin Saintess actually looked like?"
Jo Wei blinked. He reviewed every detail of the encounter—from the moment she appeared, to her final escape—recalling even the illusion she cast of herself performing a sultry dance in a dreamscape. Finally, he shook his head helplessly.
"Odd thing is, I know I saw her face. First thing I noticed when we entered. But now… I can't recall a single feature."
The Third Young Master turned to Uncle Li. He too shook his head. "Don't look at me. I'm old. Memory's already bad. And that witch used the Demon Sect's deadliest charm spell. I couldn't recall her face if I tried."
He looked at Li Xiaoye next. She blushed, her face turning red as she remembered the humiliating moment when the spell had taken hold—how she'd lost control of her body.
Even though no one had seen her behavior clearly at the time, she still felt mortified. She remembered the intoxicating sensations—the way she had instinctively touched her own body under the spell's influence. Her breathing quickened.
When the Third Young Master gave her a questioning look, she snapped, "What are you staring at?! Never seen a girl before?"
He laughed. "I'm not looking at you. I'm asking if you remember what that witch looked like!"
Flustered, she turned away. "If you three 'great experts' can't remember, how could I? Don't ask me—I don't know anything!"
The Third Young Master shook his head in frustration.This time… he had really been played.
Though his Shura Demon Eyes had shattered her ultimate illusion spell, Allure of the Fallen Kingdom, that Saintess was still formidable. Even under his gaze, she had managed to obscure her true appearance from everyone.
She had worn no mask. Used no disguise.She had simply enhanced her seductive features a thousandfold, amplifying only the parts that each person found most irresistible.
If someone was drawn to eyes, they remembered her eyes. If someone favored curves, they remembered only those. But what they recalled was always a distorted illusion—never the truth.
Not even Jo Wei or Uncle Li, despite their knowledge of the Demon Sect, knew the secret of this spell.
The Third Young Master groaned inwardly. If word got out that he had stared a deadly beauty in the face for nearly a full incense stick of time… and still couldn't describe her—he'd be laughed out of the martial world.
Worse yet, if she ever appeared again, he wouldn't recognize her. And knowing his habit of never letting a pretty woman go, he was very likely to be tricked by her again.
"Dammit," he cursed. "What am I supposed to do? Suspect every beauty I see is the Nine-Yin Saintess? Then how the hell am I supposed to keep chasing girls?! What's the point of being a fake playboy if I can't even tell who's who?"
Grinding his teeth, he muttered, "To hell with it. If I run into her again—Nine-Yin Saintess or not—I'll just sleep with her first and ask questions later!"
Just then, his steps halted. His eyes narrowed.
"Not good," he muttered. "I've got a bad feeling—something dangerous is coming… and it's aimed right at me."