On the street.
Yang Cheng, thinking about Hu Po's pace, didn't rush. He strolled casually through the market with Xu Qingxue.
He'd never been to Canglan City before, and he was genuinely curious about the local customs.
Before they knew it, the two of them reached a bustling, lively avenue.
Beside the street stood an extravagant estate.
Right then—
Prefect Yuan appeared at the estate gate with a group of officials.
Xu Qingxue looked surprised, unsure what was going on.
She glanced at Yang Cheng.
He shook his head slightly, signaling her to keep her identity hidden.
He didn't want anything to go wrong today.
If revealing his identity caused Prefect Yuan to hesitate and complicate matters, it wouldn't be worth the risk.
Bang!
Prefect Yuan ordered his men to break down the gate.
The scene instantly drew a crowd.
People swarmed around, curious and excited.
Luckily, Yang Cheng and Xu Qingxue had arrived early and were standing in a quiet corner, or else they would've been shoved out by the crowd.
Soon, the estate gates were smashed open.
Prefect Yuan led his men inside.
"What's going on? Looks like Prefect Yuan is furious."
"Heh, I know someone in the yamen. Heard the Prefect's wife was hiding her boy toy in there."
"Hiss… that juicy? Looks like he's here to catch them in the act."
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
Moments later—
The crowd watched as yamen officers dragged out a man with nothing on.
The Prefect's wife followed closely behind, looking disheveled.
"Yuan Cheng! You've got some nerve doing this to me!" she shouted, not the least bit guilty—just angry.
"Hmph. If it was someone else, maybe I'd let it slide. But with him? Absolutely not," Prefect Yuan snapped. "Now it makes sense why this scum dared to assault you in broad daylight. Turns out, it wasn't assault. You two were already sleeping together."
"So what if we were?" the Prefect's wife shouted back, brash and shameless.
"He's a bloodthirsty maniac!" Prefect Yuan barked.
That made her flinch.
All around, the crowd broke into a frenzy.
Wasn't Liu Wuji supposed to be dead?
Now they realized he'd faked his death and had been hiding out in this luxurious estate, having an affair with the Prefect's wife.
And now, stripped bare, lying on the ground in front of thousands, Liu Wuji had completely lost face.
Xu Qingxue stared in disbelief.
Liu Wuji had faked his death?
Then her expression turned cold. She looked at him with disgust.
In that moment, she was beyond grateful that she had already divorced him.
Otherwise, she would've been humiliated right alongside him today.
[The Ancient Demon That Devours the Heavens was stripped naked and humiliated before thousands of onlookers.]
[From this moment on, the name of the Ancient Demon That Devours the Heavens is completely ruined across all realms.]
[Xu Qingxue now utterly despises the Ancient Demon That Devours the Heavens. The chance of reconciliation has been severed for good.]
[The host's methods shocked the heavens and moved the ghosts. To have brought such shame upon the Ancient Demon That Devours the Heavens is an art.]
[Congratulations, host. You've achieved an epic-level feat. The Heaven Dao Divine Book has been fully unlocked. Please claim your reward.]
Yang Cheng let out a breath of relief.
This task was finally done.
Ding!
[Due to the host's exceptional performance in this mission, an advanced mission has been triggered.]
[Host, press on and slay the Ancient Demon That Devours the Heavens.]
[Note: The Ancient Demon That Devours the Heavens is a Nirvana God-level powerhouse. Given the host's current cultivation, slaying him would be incredibly difficult. A special grace period of 50 years has been granted. Host may choose to accept or decline this mission freely.]
[Please consider carefully. If you accept and fail, you will be punished by the Heavenly Dao.]
[Mission reward: The second Square Inch Source Seed.]
Kill Liu Wuji?
"Accept the mission," Yang Cheng said silently to himself.
At the same time, the way he looked at Liu Wuji grew strange.
Still, Yang Cheng had no intention of acting right away.
Liu Wuji was too dangerous. No one knew what kind of trump cards he had. If he were pushed into a corner and decided to self-destruct, he might level all of Canglan City.
And Yang Cheng would be caught in the blast.
He would only strike when he was certain Liu Wuji had burned through all his tricks.
As it turned out, his caution was absolutely right.
Anyone else in Liu Wuji's position right now would've been dead for sure.
After all, Prefect Yuan was a peak Martial King, and he had many powerful officers with him.
But suddenly, a strange white flame erupted from Liu Wuji's body.
The eerie white flame twisted the space around it.
Then Liu Wuji vanished on the spot.
"A demon!"
"This Liu Wuji is definitely a demon!"
Everyone was dumbfounded, and once they snapped out of it, their faces were filled with fear.
"Looks like the real Liu Wuji probably died long ago. The one now must be a demon in disguise," Yang Cheng sighed.
Xu Qingxue stood frozen, a strange emptiness swelling in her chest. It felt like some invisible string of fate had snapped entirely.
But the moment she heard Yang Cheng speak, her thoughts shifted instantly.
'Even His Highness said so. It must be true.'
'The real Liu Wuji must've been killed by a demon. That monster deserves to die.'
Her hatred toward the "Liu Wuji" who had just escaped only grew stronger.
South of Canglan City.
Inside a small, ordinary courtyard—
Space twisted violently as a figure tumbled out.
It was Liu Wuji.
"Pfft!"
He coughed up blood the moment he landed, his face pale as paper.
"Damn it..." he muttered, features contorted with rage.
What he had used earlier was the Upper Obscure Divine Flame.
With his current cultivation, he wasn't qualified to wield that flame at all.
He had forcefully burned part of his soul's origin to activate it.
If he had only lost some cultivation or qi, he wouldn't have cared much. But soul origin? Without rare innate spiritual medicines, it was almost impossible to recover.
"You..."
A boy stepped out from the courtyard.
He was only three years old but bore a slight resemblance to Yang Cheng, even sharing a bit of his aura.
The moment Liu Wuji laid eyes on him, disgust rose in his chest.
Of course, he could tell this wasn't Yang Cheng.
"Who are you? Why do you know who I am?" Liu Wuji asked coldly.
"I am Yang Xiu, Sixth Prince of Great Zhou."
Yang Xiu presented himself with the grace of one who valued talent. "I know your reputation is in ruins and you've been sentenced to death, but I value ability more than appearances. I'm willing to overlook your flaws. Follow me, and I'll help you clear today's humiliation..."
"Die!"
Liu Wuji roared and struck with his palm.
He'd been bottling up rage all day. Back at the Xu estate, he'd already wanted to kill the Crown Prince of Great Zhou.
But the Crown Prince was surrounded by too many masters. He'd had no choice but to swallow his fury.
Now, this Sixth Prince stood here alone. How could he hold back?
In Liu Wuji's eyes, sons of the Great Zhou Emperor were all the same—scum.
No need for words. Just kill.
Liu Wuji was terrifying.
Even though his cultivation was only at the Martial Master realm—and heavily injured—this palm strike still carried the power of a Martial King.
Yang Xiu was shocked and furious. He quickly drew his sword to defend.
Boom!
Palm wind and sword qi clashed.
Yang Xiu was blasted several steps back on the spot.
He couldn't believe it.
This guy—rumored to be trash—actually suppressed him?
Liu Wuji was just as shocked.
This three-year-old kid had already reached Martial Grandmaster level?
In that instant, Liu Wuji's killing intent surged.
No doubt—another freak like the Crown Prince.
He had to die.
Liu Wuji's eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
"God-Breaking Palm!"
He unleashed his ultimate killing technique.
This palm was monstrous. The five fingers represented the Five Elements, and the palm center embodied Yin and Yang. When struck, a thunderous net exploded toward Yang Xiu.
Yang Xiu's face changed, and he quickly activated the Tai Supreme Sword Canon.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword qi and thunder net collided violently.
Eventually, Yang Xiu broke the thunder net, but not before the Yin-Yang palm force struck his chest and sent him crashing into a nearby artificial hill.
"You lunatic!" Yang Xiu shouted in anger.
He had lowered himself to recruit this disgraced criminal.
Not only was Liu Wuji ungrateful—he even tried to kill him?
"Not bad."
Liu Wuji sneered, preparing another devastating attack.
"Rising Dragon Soars to the Heavens!"
In a flash, his entire form lunged forward like a divine dragon.
"Taichu Sword Talisman!"
Yang Xiu was forced to use his sword talisman.
Boom!
This time, they were evenly matched.
"A Xiantian Sword Talisman?" Liu Wuji's eyes lit up. "Perfect. This sword talisman is mine now."
"Rising Dragon, Second Form—Dragon and Phoenix Dance!"
In an instant, dragon and phoenix cries echoed. The pressure doubled.
Yang Xiu was knocked flying again.
Frustration flooded his chest.
It was one thing to be no match for Yang Cheng, but now some nobody from this small city was beating him too?
Heaven's Mandate Chosen?
He suddenly felt like a joke.
"Hahaha, hand it over!"
Liu Wuji summoned a massive qi hand to snatch the Taichu Sword Talisman.
Yang Xiu pushed his limits to resist, but he was completely on the defensive.
At this rate, the talisman really would be stolen.
"Brother Yang, let me help!"
Just then, a new figure appeared.
A young man around twenty, radiating Martial King realm power at the eighth level.
There was no doubt—this was Heaven's Mandate-level luck in action.
The youth punched straight at Liu Wuji, breaking apart his qi hand.
Seeing the shift, Liu Wuji turned and fled.
The youth wanted to chase.
"Brother Zheng, don't," Yang Xiu called. "That guy's dangerous. Best not to rush in."
The youth halted.
News of the fight reached Yang Cheng almost immediately.
Before entering Canglan City, he had secretly deployed 1,000 Blood Shadow Guards throughout the city.
They had already taken control of every underground faction in Canglan.
So, not a single movement in the city escaped Yang Cheng's notice.
Standing beside him now was Lin Shu.
With her talents, being just a maid was a waste.
Yang Cheng had her serve as the liaison between him and the Blood Shadow Guards.
Once they were used to her leadership, he planned to let her command them completely.
"Liu Wuji fought Yang Xiu head-on? And they really battled it out?"
Yang Cheng was surprised too.
As for the result—he didn't need to ask. It must've been a draw.
After all, in his past life, those two fought for over 200 years and never settled it.
"Your Highness, should we take this chance to go after Liu Wuji?" Lin Shu asked.
Yang Cheng waved it off. "No rush."
Liu Wuji wasn't easy to kill.
He was certain Yang Xiu wouldn't let it go so easily.
Better to wait until they finished tearing each other apart.
Then he could swoop in and reap the rewards.