Supreme Sword Exalt

Within the consciousness space.

Unlike his usual unrestrained and flamboyant self, the shadow seemed like a lost soul, exuding an aura of listlessness from head to toe.

Gu Han was startled. “Are you alright?”

The shadow gnashed his teeth and sprang up. “You little bastard, you finally decided to show yourself to me! When exactly are you going to die?! Give me a definite answer!”

Gu Han felt a bit guilty. “Well, isn’t living a good thing?”

If he still had a body, the shadow would probably have spat blood on the spot. “I shouldn’t have believed you! You punk, you actually dared to deceive me! Just you wait, once I break free, I’ll definitely skin you alive, tear your bones apart, and hang your soul over the Demon Abyss for ten thousand years! I’ll let you have a good taste of demonic qi corrosion—”

Gu Han’s face darkened. “Think about your current situation before threatening me.”

The shadow’s anger hadn’t fully subsided, but his tone wasn’t as forceful as before. “So what?! You broke the agreement first!! What’s wrong with letting me curse you a couple of times to vent my anger?!”

Gu Han’s expression turned unfriendly. “Do you really want me to die?”

“Of course—” Halfway through his sentence, the shadow suddenly noticed the sword intent on the sword cage becoming active again. His temper was snuffed out instantly. “Kid, one shouldn’t... at least one shouldn’t...”

Gu Han sighed. “Enough. It really was an accident this time. Besides, didn’t I already promise to teach that disciple of yours a lesson? Aren’t you a Demon Monarch, a great figure ruling the Ninefold Demon Domain? Is your tolerance really that small?”

For the first time ever, he offered a few words of flattery to the shadow. The effect was quite obvious.

The shadow’s mood clearly improved significantly. “That also makes sense... I am not that petty—hmm? Wait! Kid, are you up to no good again?”

Gu Han felt a bit embarrassed. ”Erm, could you give me another cultivation technique?”

***

At the foot of the mountain of Fengwu Court, Ah Sha sat on the stone steps that had been cleaned spotless. Her fair, delicate hands propped up her chin as she was full of worry.

“Young master, when are you coming back?” she murmured to herself.

Boom!

Boom!

Just then, two soaring auras swept in from a distance, landing right away. Not only was the stone stele destroyed, but even the flowers and plants Ah Sha had just planted were completely ruined.

Ah Sha was filled with heartache. “Who are you? I worked so hard to plant these!”

It was Meng Chuan and Yang Xiong.

The more Meng Chuan thought about it, the more suspicious he became. Thus, he went to Yang Xiong to discuss the matter. They hit it off immediately and came directly to Fengwu Court to demand an explanation. By now, they were absolutely certain that Fu Fatty must be Zuo Yang.

Meng Chuan couldn’t care less about Ah Sha, his gaze turning cold. He swept his sleeve, about to send her flying. “Little girl, get lost!”

At that very moment, a delicate and seemingly fragile figure suddenly descended, blocking his attack completely.

Ah Sha hurriedly ran to Yu Miao’s side. “Senior Sister, these two people attacked as soon as they arrived. They don’t seem like good people!”

Yu Miao had none of her usual gentleness and grace, her eyes filled with coldness. “Do you have a death wish?”

Though Yang Xiong knew Yu Miao’s identity, he knew less about her than Zuo Yang. He didn’t take her seriously. “Where is Zuo Yang?! Tell him to come out!”

The coldness in Yu Miao’s eyes transformed into killing intent. “You really have a death wish!”

“Cut the nonsense—”

A faint gleam flashed instantly. Before he knew it, a cun-long jade needle was less than half a chi from the center of his brow.

Yang Xiong’s heart dropped. Shit! This woman is terrifyingly strong!

Boom!

He retreated, trying to evade that jade needle. However, Yu Miao was even faster. Before he could retreat far, she had already appeared beside him, silently swinging her jade-white palm.

A loud crash sounded and he was instantly sent flying backward.

Not far away, Meng Chuan was both shocked and horrified. “Your cultivation...”

Like him, Yang Xiong was a great expert who had survived nine Heavenly Tribulations and successfully stepped into the Earthly Tribulation realm. Yet they were still no match for Yu Miao. Her level of expertise was probably no less than Zuo Yang’s.

Yu Miao glanced at him. “Do you have a death wish as well?”

Locked by her qi, Meng Chuan stammered, “W-we came today—”

Before he could finish, the jade needle transformed into a stream of light once again, shooting straight for the convergence point of the meridians in his chest.

Meng Chuan instantly broke out in a cold sweat. “You!”

At the critical moment, he twisted his body violently, and the blow pierced through his shoulder instead. The jade needle circled once, returning to Yu Miao’s hand once more.

Yang Xiong also flew back over, standing together with Meng Chuan. Although Yu Miao’s attacks were fierce, they didn’t cause them too much damage. The only reason they didn’t dare to fight was because they lacked confidence. The two of them lost their intention to demand an explanation, preparing to leave this place and reconsider later.

“Let’s go!”

Yu Miao declared, “Stop! Did I say you could leave?”

Yang Xiong’s face was dark. “What do you want?! Don’t think the two of us are afraid of you!”

Meng Chuan was even more furious than Yang Xiong. “That’s right! Not only did Zuo Yang assassinate my clansmen, but he also took my son’s life! This matter isn’t over yet!”

Yu Miao frowned slightly. “Assassination? That’s none of my concern. What matters is that you’ve made a mess of Fengwu Court’s mountain gate. We need to settle this account properly.”

The two almost laughed in anger. Mountain gate? Does Fengwu Court even have a mountain gate to speak of?!

Ah Sha angrily pointed at the mostly ruined flowers and plants. “Look! I worked so hard to plant all these! You have to pay for them!”

Yu Miao patted Ah Sha’s head, glancing at the two men. “Did you hear that? If Ah Sha says you pay, then you pay!”

Her jade needle trembled threateningly,

Seeing that she was dead serious, Yang Xiong gritted his teeth. “Fine! Just wait! We’ll send someone over shortly!”

Watching the two leave, Ah Sha lifted her head. “Senior Sister, he said Senior Brother assassinated their clansmen. Is that true?”

Yu Miao’s eyes were full of coldness. “Definitely not. If he wanted to take action against them, why would he use such a troublesome method? He’d just charge into their clan directly. Hmph, it must be some clueless fool deliberately framing him. If I find out who it is, I’ll definitely beat them to death.”

Ah Sha sighed again. “I wonder how Young Master is doing. I just heard from Sister Murong that someone placed a huge bounty on him.”

Yu Miao smiled. “Don’t worry. Junior Brother is cunning as a fox. If they really had a way to deal with him, their expressions wouldn’t have been like that. However, daring to place a bounty on Junior Brother, just wait until Senior Sister returns. They’ll be in for it!”

Ah Sha was puzzled. “Is Senior Sister very powerful?”

Yu Miao was filled with admiration and pride. “If she were here, those two would have to kneel their way out of Fengwu Court’s mountain gate.”

Ah Sha’s eyes sparkled. “Really?! Then she must be incredibly powerful!”

***

Unbeknownst to Gu Han, a string of coincidences had made Yu Miao remember him. He was bringing the shadow up to date on everything that had happened in his life.

The shadow instantly perked up, throwing his previous displeasure to the winds. “Secret realm? I’m an expert at that sort of thing!”

Gu Han was taken aback. “Expert? You’ve done this before?”

The shadow looked smug. “Of course! I must have done it... oh, eighty to a hundred times!”

Gu Han’s eyes widened. “Aren’t you a Demon Monarch, a supreme powerhouse? You actually did things like that?”

The shadow said irritably, “Nonsense! My power wasn’t innate! I also had times when I was weak. Hah, back in the day, whoever dared to bully me, I’d go and wreak havoc in their family’s secret realms. I’d strip it bare, taking even what could never have been taken, leaving nothing behind! That was even more satisfying than taking revenge personally.”

Gu Han’s eyes shone. “Really! Do you have any insights? Tell me!”

As an old-timer in this line of work, the shadow had plenty of experience.

“Of course, I have many of them!” For a moment, he was full of vigor, and offered strategic advice. “This plan of yours is quite thorough with no major problems, but there’s a minor flaw!”

Gu Han humbly sought advice. “What is it? Tell me.”

The shadow glanced at him. “Hmph. I refuse!”

Gu Han’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.