Chapter 296 - 293: Divine Mansion, Open

Chapter 296: Chapter 293: Divine Mansion, Open

A village in Qingyang Prefecture, Ling Province.

The once-quiet, pitch-black village suddenly erupted with activity.

The sounds of fighting and the clang of weapons filled the air in a cacophony.

A full hour passed before the commotion gradually subsided.

"Clean up the battlefield. Don’t let these Demons plague any other villages."

Bai Yuan flicked his long saber, and the blood on its blade instantly vanished. A good saber had many advantages, and not needing to be wiped clean was one of them.

Yang Fangyu frowned. "The Demon Sect’s numbers have clearly increased recently."

Bai Yuan nodded.

This was already the seventh wave of Demon Sect Demons that he and Yang Fangyu had exterminated. For this reason, Bai Yuan had personally led his troops to suppress the demonic disaster and maintain stability.

Yang Fangyu couldn’t stand being disrespected in Huanglong Prefecture any longer, so he had simply followed Bai Yuan to stamp out the demonic disturbances across Ling Province.

However, he hadn’t expected the demonic disturbances in Ling Province to be even more ferocious than he had imagined.

Bai Yuan suddenly spoke. "Brother Yang, hurry back to Huanglong Prefecture and tell Prefect Kong about this."

Yang Fangyu’s expression turned grim.

"Alright."

Factional strife was one thing, but Ling Province was not, after all, a peaceful land like the Central Plains or Jiangnan. Dealing with the Demon Sect was the top priority.

Even though the factions of Bai Yuan and Kong Sen were fighting each other, their stances became united when facing the Demon Sect.

Yang Fangyu immediately took several Officials and spurred his horse back toward Huanglong Prefecture.

If the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office was not prepared for this, they would surely suffer a great loss.

Bai Yuan could have easily used this situation to frame Kong Sen, but it would have been at the cost of tens of thousands of lives in Ling Province.

A single Kong Sen was not worth such a price.

After Yang Fangyu galloped off, Bai Yuan continued to lead the Ling Province soldiers in searching for the whereabouts of the Demon Sect’s Demons.

Relying on the powerful senses of a Demon Hunter, he led his troops to destroy several more Demon lairs.

"My lord, the Demon Sect Demons have all been slain."

A Commander looked at Bai Yuan with respect.

In this battle, Bai Yuan alone had killed half the Demons, which was why almost none of their own men had died.

The veterans of Ling Province who had served under Bai Yuan were, almost without exception, completely loyal to him.

After all, commanders like Bai Yuan, who led from the front, were exceedingly rare. Compared to that Prefect Kong who stayed cooped up in Huanglong Prefecture all day, he was immeasurably better.

It was for this very reason that even though Kong Sen had tried every trick in the book, Bai Yuan still had a large number of die-hard loyalists in Ling Province.

Bai Yuan nodded.

"Let the men rest for a while."

"Yes, sir!"

The Commander accepted his order and withdrew.

Bai Yuan’s eyes were fixed on the forest before him, but he was actually looking at his panel.

He had gained several thousand enhancement points from this battle.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

’Allocate points!’

[In your 2,913rd year of cultivating the Manggu Zhuhe Technique, your poison skills have become transcendent.]

...

[In your 3,250th year of cultivating the Manggu Zhuhe Technique, you have completely integrated the Spirit Cooking Technique into your poison skills.]

...

[In your 3,879th year of cultivating the Manggu Zhuhe Technique, your poison skills have reached the Legendary level!]

’Finally!’

Bai Yuan could no longer suppress his excitement.

The Manggu Zhuhe Technique had finally been upgraded to the Legendary level.

He gazed at the gilded text of the Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber and the Manggu Zhuhe Technique on his panel, a sense of pride welling up within him.

He had worked hard to acquire these two Legendary-level Cultivation Techniques.

But upgrading the Manggu Zhuhe Technique to Legendary wasn’t the most important part. The most important thing was that he could finally upgrade his class.

The Divine Mansion Technique was within his grasp!

Bai Yuan didn’t hesitate for a second longer.

’Synthesize!’

[Special Cultivation Technique detected...]

[Activating Special Cultivation Technique: Divine Mansion Technique.]

[New Class Acquired: Blood Slaughter.]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Blood Slaughter]

[Skills: Divine Mansion Technique (Novice), Demon Mimicry Technique (Master), Demon Seeking (Legendary), Demon Qi Lure (Legendary), Demon Control (Master)...]

[Enhancement Points: 314]

The previously grayed-out Divine Mansion Technique was finally activated.

Bai Yuan’s expression was odd as he stared at the two words "Blood Slaughter" after "Class" on his panel.

The text for classes like Sword Ghost, Spirit Cooker, and Boxer had vanished, replaced by the new class: Blood Slaughter.

’But the more I look at it, Blood Slaughter sounds more and more like a villain’s class...’

’Am I walking the path of self-destruction?’

’Whatever...’

Bai Yuan considered how he used hidden weapons and poison—weren’t those the trademarks of a villain?

After the Divine Mansion Technique was activated, his body began to change quietly.

He also understood the meaning behind the two words "Divine Mansion."

The Divine Mansion Technique could truly be called a wondrous technique.

This technique was divided into five levels. The first level required one to open up their four limbs into "Caverns."

These so-called "Caverns" were actually a mystical way of describing a state similar to Zhou Botong’s "Technique of Ambidexterity"—practicing one cultivation technique with the left hand, another with the right hand, one leg technique with the left foot, and another with the right foot, then blending these four techniques into a perfectly natural state.

In a best-case scenario, this would be equivalent to quadrupling one’s combat power.

Following this logic, the second level of the Divine Mansion Technique involved turning parts of the body that ordinary Martial Artists would almost never use for combat—such as the head, neck, chest, and abdomen—into "Caverns."

If one cultivated to the fifth level, opening a "Cavern" in every single cell, their power could rival an immortal!

Even the creator of this technique had not achieved such a realm; it was merely a conjecture.

Bai Yuan couldn’t help but marvel at the incredible imagination of the master who created it, to have conceived of such a unique Cultivation Technique.

’A Cultivation Technique for every cell.’

’It’s incredible just thinking about it.’

But Bai Yuan liked it...

If any other Martial Artist obtained this technique, they would only find it absurd. After all, the second level alone required cultivating twelve different Cultivation Techniques.

Even a genius might not be able to master that many techniques in their entire lifetime.

Not to mention the third level, which required hundreds of techniques, a notion that would only invite ridicule.

But Bai Yuan had a cheat... and that made the Divine Mansion Technique possible for him.

It was as if this Cultivation Technique was tailor-made for him.

He had now integrated the Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber and the Manggu Zhuhe Technique into his left and right hands, respectively.

The first level required four Cultivation Techniques in total.

Since the four limbs were a Martial Artist’s most important assets, the choice of these four techniques had to be made with caution, but he also couldn’t be overly ambitious.

Bai Yuan looked at the Cultivation Techniques on his panel.

In the end, he decided to postpone opening the "Caverns" in his two legs.

After all, once they were opened, there was no chance for regret. He couldn’t be too casual about it.

After integrating the Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber into his right hand, Bai Yuan had practically reached the legendary realm of "Man and Saber as One."

Now, his greatest strength was not his saber technique, but his physical body.

At this point, it made little difference whether Bai Yuan had a saber or not.

He figured he should find a body-hardening Cultivation Technique to strengthen his physique, which would be more effective in combat.

It was as if everything Dong Wanjun had once told him about cultivating all techniques was laying the groundwork for practicing the Divine Mansion Technique.

...

Huanglong Prefecture, Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

"Thank you, Lord Yang."

Kong Sen bowed to Yang Fangyu, who had rushed back from afar, his attitude sincere.

The conflict between him, Bai Yuan, and Yang Fangyu was purely factional; there were no personal grudges among them.

Since arriving in Ling Province, he had met Bai Yuan and Yang Fangyu only a handful of times, so there was naturally no deep-seated hatred between them.

In fact, if they weren’t on opposing sides, he would actually quite admire Bai Yuan.

"No need for thanks."

Yang Fangyu’s attitude was cold.

After relaying the necessary message to Kong Sen, he turned and left.

As the Prefect of Huanglong Prefecture, he couldn’t even enter the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office now, so of course he was unhappy.

After Yang Fangyu left, Kong Sen turned and instructed Chen Danian, who was standing at his side, "Lord Chen, the Demon Sect has indeed been restless lately. Assign more men to keep an eye on them."

Chen Danian: "Yes, sir!"

Chen Danian had now become Kong Sen’s trusted confidant, responsible for most affairs in Ling Province.

Once Chen Danian departed, the last trace of a smile vanished completely from Kong Sen’s face.

He would absolutely not allow any problems to arise in Ling Province.

There were many advantages to being close to Yan Shao’an, but the disadvantages were fatal. If he made a mistake, it would be magnified infinitely and could even directly sever his future prospects.

...

A village on the border between Ling Province and Dingzhou.

Even though they were very close to Dingzhou, the villagers here had no intention of leaving before the flames of war engulfed their home.

The wealthy farmers in the village had already moved south; even the village chief had fled.

Those who remained were naturally the poor, mostly the elderly, the weak, women, and children.

Fortunately, Grand Protector Yan Shao’an had pushed the front line forward by a hundred li in one fell swoop, so this place was still relatively safe for the time being.

The sounds of children playing at the village entrance gradually became more frequent.

Suddenly, several shadows appeared at the village entrance, enveloping the children.

A little girl raised her head innocently.

She blinked her big, curious eyes. ’Why don’t these uncles make any sound when they walk?’

A total of eight people clad in black robes had appeared on the village path at some unknown time.

Just then, a village woman also saw the eight strange people at the entrance.

She was just about to speak when her pupils suddenly widened.

A black-robed figure had appeared before her like a specter, his right hand gripping her throat tightly.

Unable to breathe, the woman’s face turned crimson, and her hands flailed weakly in the air.

Soon, the woman’s body went limp, and she stopped breathing entirely.

The children at the village entrance wore looks of terror as they saw this, frozen in shock.

The other seven black-robed figures walked past the children and entered the village.

"The offerings for the Demon God are running low. Speed up, and don’t let the Profound People find us."

A hoarse, ancient voice rang out.

If anyone who had fought in Dingzhou were present, they would have recognized these people at a glance as priests of the Celestial Heart Sect.

The Profound People did not know much about the obscure Celestial Heart Sect; in the eyes of most, it was far less intimidating than the Soul-Chasing Tower.

Only the Demons and people of the Northern Plains, as well as those who had fought the Celestial Heart Sect, knew just how terrifying this sect was.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to stand on equal footing with the powerful Soul-Chasing Tower.

In the Northern Plains, the Celestial Heart Sect represented the ultimate in primitivity, savagery, and piety...

...

"Five villages have been massacred?"

Kong Sen’s face was dark.

A man who looked like a general knelt before him.

In the past few days, bloody incidents had continuously occurred under Ling Province’s jurisdiction, all of them horrific tragedies like village massacres. This put him under immense pressure.

If he couldn’t capture those people soon, the Lord Grand Protector in Ling Province would surely hold him accountable, and he would not be able to bear the punishment.

"Send another five hundred men from the City Guard Army! I want this investigated thoroughly!"

"Yes, sir!"

The general immediately accepted the order and left.

Kong Sen stared at the empty hall of the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office with a glacial gaze.

"What a useless trash."

He cursed under his breath.