Chapter 321 - 312: [Shu Lin], Helian

Chapter 321: Chapter 312: [Shu Lin], Helian

After dealing with the Chaha Clan’s Fish Demon, it was time for the usual round of threats and intimidation.

However, Fu Juemin couldn’t even be bothered to make empty promises anymore. He just casually planted a Five Poison Life and Death Talisman before tossing the person directly to Mu Feng for "brainwashing and re-education."

Imperceptibly, his methods had become cruder and more urgent.

With his Five Poison Skills at Perfection, the Five Poison Life and Death Talisman had also become the Five Fiends Life and Death Talisman. The Profound Evil True Gang was of a much higher quality than the original Five Poison Qi. When the Profound Evil entered a body, it no longer caused immediate, destructive havoc. Instead, it could remain inside for a considerable amount of time.

Because it was fused with a portion of Demon Soul Force, it could still be controlled by Fu Juemin’s will even after leaving his body. When dormant, it had no effect on its host. But once activated, the agony—a fate worse than death—was even more intense than before.

It truly lived up to the name "Life and Death Talisman."

Night fell on a corner of the Chaha Clan estate.

The cold, clear moonlight spread across the water’s surface, shattering into a pool of rippling light.

SPLASH—

The water broke, scattering the moonlight. Fu Juemin walked on the surface, slowly emerging from the Demon Pool where the Chaha Family had raised their Fish Demon.

At that moment, his entire body—from his neck to the sides of his cheeks—was covered in patches of bright, fine, blue-green scales.

Glistening with water, they refracted a strange, eerie light under the moon.

It was as if he were wearing a bizarre, form-fitting suit of armor.

Fu Juemin reached the edge of the pool and slowly slicked his wet hair back. He didn’t bother evaporating the water from his body, letting the droplets slide freely down his skin as he looked down at his own scale-covered hands.

A translucent membrane had grown between his long, slender fingers, like the webbing on an aquatic creature, but it didn’t impede his grip.

’Shu Lin.’

This was the Talent he had obtained from the Chaha Family’s Tributor Fish Demon.

It was only White Level. When activated, it caused a layer of fish-like scales to grow over his entire body. In water, it could automatically draw in the current to form a protective membrane on his skin. Its Defense Force was decent.

Furthermore, it granted the ability to breathe freely underwater, and the speed and agility it provided were even greater than what he possessed on land.

All in all, it was a rather practical semi-support Talent.

Underwater combat had always been Fu Juemin’s weakness. Now, with the Shu Lin Talent, he had finally shored up this last vulnerability.

’Next time I face an aquatic Demon Fiend, at least I won’t have to just watch as it escapes into the water...’

’During underwater combat, I can try swapping Copper Hide for Shu Lin. The basic Demon Body should be fine, but my Flame Monarch stance will definitely be weaker...’

Fu Juemin shed his coat of scales, returning to his true form by the edge of the pool.

The outer section of this Demon Pool was kept relatively clean, its water changed daily. The inner section, inscribed with an Esoteric Array, was the truly filthy part. Its bottom was littered with human bones—leftovers from the Fish Demon’s meals.

Although the Chaha Family’s Fish Demon didn’t have a great Talent, it still provided Fu Juemin with over two Skill Points.

He now had three Skill Points. Looking at his panel, besides the Six Great Seal Techniques of Dragon and Elephant and the Pharmacist Master’s Blade, the only thing left worth upgrading was the Five Beasts Skill.

Fu Juemin stared at the words "Five Beasts Skill" on the panel. A glint flashed in his eyes, and with a sudden movement, he began to practice the Bird Form from the Five Beasts Five Forms.

He didn’t channel his Vitality, merely practicing the movements of the techniques.

But after just a few moves, the massive phantom of a Yin Crow—black-bodied and white-beaked—materialized behind him. It was as if countless black feathers blotted out the sky, making the moonlight even hazier. The once graceful and nimble Five Beasts Bird Form had become grim and sinister.

WHOOSH—

Fu Juemin unleashed his Palm Momentum, cleaving the air. A sinister wind gusted past the edge of the pool.

Where the force of his palm landed, a decorative rockery nearby had a layer silently sheared off, as if by an invisible blade. Sand and stone dust trickled to the ground.

"Just as I expected."

Fu Juemin withdrew his Palm Momentum and stood his ground, a bright light swirling in his eyes.

’The Active Skill techniques of the Five Beasts Skill alone are enough to naturally channel a Demon Soul.’

’Once the Demon Soul is integrated, this martial art will ascend to a completely different level...’

In Fu Juemin’s opinion, the Five Beasts Skill had far more potential than the Five Poison Skills.

Unlike the heretical and tyrannical Five Poison Skills, the Five Beasts Skill was a true Celestial Martial Art. Every single one of its forms moved in harmony with the natural laws of the universe, using the finite to express the infinite, using the human heart to pursue the will of heaven.

It was only due to the limitations of the human body and the Martial Dao that its unleashed power seemed finite.

By integrating a Demon Soul, perhaps he could shatter those constraints and elevate this martial art to an incredible new height.

As things stood, this path seemed far more promising than forcibly trying to deduce the Five Muddles from the foundation of the Five Poisonous Creatures and the Five Evils.

But for now, he had only collected one of the Five Beasts Five Phases Demon Souls; four were still missing. There was no hurry to bring his Five Beasts Skill, already at the Great Success stage, to Perfection.

’But I do need to collect the other two wondrous skills, which are on par with the Pharmacist Master Dragon Elephant, as soon as possible.’

Fu Juemin closed the panel and pondered in silence.

According to the clues from Elder Huai Kong of Purple Cloud Temple, the remaining two skills should be with a man named Huai Hai at Spiritual Light Temple.

But there were countless temples around Yingjing; there was likely more than just one or two called Spiritual Light Temple.

After taking over the Mu Family, Fu Juemin had ordered Mu Feng to send men to search for it. However, he had been busy subjugating the Lower Five Banners for the past two days, so there were no results to report just yet.

At this thought, Fu Juemin activated Yao Ling.

Under the intangible Perception of Yao Ling, the entirety of the vast Chaha Clan estate came into Fu Juemin’s "view."

When he had seized control of the Mu Family, he had activated his Flame Monarch stance and turned the entire household upside down. Many of the Mu family servants had seen his transformed appearance.

When he moved against the Ninggu Clan, he had intentionally limited the chaos. Only a few key members of the Ning Family saw his Demon Body.

This time, while dealing with the White Banner Chaha Clan, he had deliberately churned the pool to create a dense cloud of steam. Not even Chaha Shuo himself had gotten a look at his Flame Monarch stance.

As a result, the Chaha Clan estate was still remarkably calm. The vast majority of its residents had no idea that their world had been turned upside down, and they went about their business as usual.

Only Chaha Shuo was locked away in a small, secret room. Members of both the Mu and Ning families were present, with Mu Feng leading round after round of "earnest" and "heartfelt" persuasion.

Mu Feng was using the same script that Fu Juemin had used on him.

Evidently, it wasn’t working very well.

Chaha Shuo simply sneered, looking at Mu Feng as if he were a pathetic, capering clown. Caught in the middle, the father and son Ning Yuan and Ning Yu said nothing, looking utterly aggrieved and helpless, like men forced onto a pirate ship with no way off.

Mu Feng spent a long time trying to persuade him, but Chaha Shuo remained completely unmoved. Finally, Mu Tingzhou couldn’t take it anymore and stood up.

"Alright, Dad, stop wasting your breath on him..."

Mu Tingzhou raised his arm and rolled up his sleeve, his face a mask of impatience. "This old bastard is the stubborn type—he won’t give in until he’s at death’s door. Let me give him a few slaps and ’persuade’ him properly."

With that, he strode toward Chaha Shuo.

Chaha Shuo, who had been completely impervious, finally paled. "You insolent brat, you dare?!"

"You wanna bet if I dare?"

SLAP!—

...

Fu Juemin "listened" to the commotion and couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

’If only everyone in the Lower Five Banners were as simple and sensible as Mu Tingzhou, life would be so much easier.’

He had already made up his mind—if the Top Four Banners remained quiet, he would proceed with his original plan.

If they reacted violently, he would simply sever the clan lines he now controlled and give the Lower Five Banners a "blood transfusion."

In any case, he was already quite "satisfied" with his first bite of the enormous cake that was the Demon Capital.

Just as he was lost in thought, the night wind carried the crisp tinkling of a bell.

By the silent pool, the sound was exceptionally clear, laced with an ethereal and mysterious air.

Fu Juemin followed the sound with his gaze.

Not far away, a woman sat quietly on the corner of an upturned roof eave, her profile to him.

The woman wore a long dress of black gauze that revealed a pair of long, snow-white legs.

A black veil obscured her face, but it was clear she was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

A string of small copper bells was tied around her ankle, and lotus-shaped tattoos adorned her thighs and chest.

She seemed unaffected by the spring chill, her aura cold and remote. Under the hazy moonlight, her body appeared almost translucent, like a phantom.

The woman turned her head slightly to face Fu Juemin, her voice as cold as ice.

"You have some nerve. Here, at the foot of the Imperial City, you dare to kill a Demon Official of my Nine Banners, rope in our noble sons, and plot a rebellion!"

Fu Juemin watched her, a glint in his eye, and then his figure vanished.

Beneath her black veil, a disdainful sneer crossed the woman’s beautiful face.

Her form on the eave rapidly turned ethereal.

But in the next instant...

THWAP!

Two figures appeared atop a rockery by the Demon Pool—one standing, the other suspended in the air.

Fu Juemin stood with one hand behind his back, the other clamped tightly around the woman’s neck. His expression and posture were utterly casual.

The veiled woman’s expression was one of utter shock. Countless black tendrils burst from her enchanting body, lashing against Fu Juemin with a flurry of sharp cracks, but they provoked no reaction whatsoever.

Gradually, the woman’s face went from pale to flushed, and then to a purplish blue.

As she felt the pressure on her neck relentlessly increasing, her eyes finally filled with terror.

"I... we... we can actually sit down and talk about this..."