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Zhu Yuyan sat cross-legged, the vast and profound aura of the eighteenth level of demonic power surrounding her slowly receding and becoming inward. Her long eyelashes trembled a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Those once alluring, yet also filled with madness and despair, purple eyes were now as clear as the purest amethyst! Deep within them lay an unprecedented calm and profundity, as if cleansed by the dawn of the universe. The gloom, resentment, and obsession that had plagued her for decades… had vanished almost entirely, as if washed away by clear water! In their place lay a clarity akin to “enlightenment,” and… a trace of awe and… a sense of belonging, deeply hidden in the very essence of her soul, ineffable and irresistible? The presence of that spiritual imprint made her instinctively feel a pressure and submission emanating from the depths of her being.

She looked down, staring incredulously at her fair, jade-like hands, which seemed to contain boundless power. Her inner energy surged and circulated within her, perfectly smooth and inexhaustible, without the slightest stagnation! That bottleneck that had plagued her for decades, that eighteenth level symbolizing the highest achievement of the *Heavenly Demonic Art*… she had actually… reached it?!
Ecstasy? No, it was more of a state of utter shock and bewilderment!
Who was it? In this world, who could so easily suppress her desperate attack? Who could fathom all the secrets and flaws of her techniques? Who could use supreme power to forcibly extinguish her decades-long inner demons and help her open that long-awaited door?!

A name, a name that had recently shaken the world, yet was so bizarre that she instinctively doubted it, struck her mind like lightning!

She abruptly looked up, her clear yet deeply awestruck purple eyes fixed on Yi Huawei, who stood before her in a moon-white robe, hands clasped behind his back.

"'Nameless'?! The one who defeated Ning Daoqi, killed Yuwen Huaji, and scared away Yuwen Shang... is that you?! The rumors in the martial arts world... are actually true?!"

She had always thought it was an exaggeration, a deliberate attempt to mislead, until now, when she personally experienced this miraculous feat!

Zhu Yuyan was unaware that Shi Zhixuan had been severely injured by Yi Huawei; otherwise, her thoughts might have been even more complicated.

Then, another name flashed through her mind, a name that had been secretly circulating among the upper echelons of the Demonic Sect for a long time. Looking at Yi Huawei's unfathomable aura, she felt a hint of probing and disbelief:

"...To the Holy Lord?"

In her view, only the mysterious and unpredictable Demon Emperor Xiang Yutian could possess such terrifying strength and deep scheming, and also have such "understanding" and even "concern" about the Demonic Sect.

But didn't Xiang Yutian break through the void and go to the 'upper realm' long ago?

Upon hearing this, Yi Huawei's lips curled into a faint, indifferent smile, as if he had heard an amusing joke. He slowly shook his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through Zhu Yuyan's soul, carrying a sense of vast, historical detachment.

"Xiang Yutian? The Evil Emperor? Ha..."

His tone carried a hint of indifference, but also an air of transcendence that placed him above all worldly identities.

He neither admitted nor denied "Nameless," but the absolute confidence and detached demeanor revealed in his calm words were more powerful than any affirmative answer! It was as if, in his eyes, neither the fame of "Nameless" nor the power of "Xiang Yutian" were anything but fleeting clouds, not worth mentioning.

Zhu Yuyan shuddered, staring into Yi Huawei's deep eyes that seemed to hold the vastness of the primordial starry sky and endless ages, and feeling the imperial imprint on his soul... who exactly was this person before her?!

Yi Huawei did not give her a chance to continue asking questions.

"Of the ten volumes of the 'Heavenly Demon Strategy,' including 'Wandering Among Flowers' and 'The Art of Mending the Sky,' I have already obtained two of them."

Yi Huawei's voice was calm and even, yet it carried an undeniable will, like a king demanding something that rightfully belonged to him: "The core of the Yin Kui Sect, the complete 'Heavenly Demon Great Art,' is hereby presented."

It's not a request, not a transaction, it's a self-evident command.

Zhu Yuyan's heart tightened. Hand over the complete "Heavenly Demon Great Art"? This was tantamount to handing over the very foundation of the Yin Kui Sect, the core of her life's legacy, to someone else! The pride of a demonic sect leader for decades instinctively wanted to resist, but a cold tremor suddenly came from the mark deep in her soul, as if silently reminding her of the price of disobedience.

What chilled her to the bone even more was the information revealed in his words—he had already mastered the true teachings of both the Flower and Heaven-Mending Sects! This meant that his understanding of the "Heavenly Demon Strategy" was probably far beyond her imagination! Shi Zhixuan was able to combine the Flower and Heaven-Mending Sects to create the Undying Seal Technique, so what kind of earth-shattering techniques could this man in front of her deduce?

wrong! !
A flicker of shock crossed Zhu Yuyan's eyes. The Flower Dance and the Torture Escape Technique were in Shi Zhixuan's hands… Could it be…? Her delicate body trembled, and she exclaimed in disbelief:
"Young Master...you...Shi Zhixuan??"

Yi Huawei nodded slightly: "That's right, I got it from Shi Zhixuan!"

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Yuyan forcibly suppressed the complex emotions in her heart. Her jade-like hand reached into the inner hem of her deep purple dress and carefully took out a scroll that was neither silk nor cloth, but warm to the touch and shimmering with a dark luster. Mysterious dark golden demonic patterns flowed along the edges of the scroll, which was the original copy of the Yin Kui Sect's supreme inheritance—the "Heavenly Demon Great Art"!
Holding the scroll in both hands, his steps slightly stiff, he walked a step behind Yi Huawei and bowed to present it:

"Holy...Young Master, the Heavenly Demon Great Art is here."

Yi Huawei casually extended his right hand. The scroll seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, floating lightly into his palm. He didn't even immediately flip through it, but merely weighed it in his hand before putting it into his sleeve, as if he were just putting away an ordinary book.

"Tell me about it."

Yi Huawei's voice remained calm, yet carried an air of interrogation, as if he were in complete control:

"How much strength does the Yin Kui Sect still possess? How many grandmasters does it have? How many core disciples? Where has its influence spread? And what constraints are hindering it? I need to know whether this 'foundation' blade is still worthy of use."

Zhu Yuyan's heart tightened once more. This other party was determined to thoroughly investigate the Yin Kui Sect's secrets! She dared not be negligent, much less conceal anything. The existence of the soul imprint made her instinctively feel that any deception would be exposed. She quickly organized her thoughts and began to state her facts in the clearest and most objective tone:
"Reporting to Young Master, among those below me in the Yin Kui Sect, I am the only one at the Grandmaster level..."

Her voice carried a hint of bitterness. If she hadn't been forcibly pushed into the eighteenth level today, she wouldn't be considered a truly perfected grandmaster. Although she had reached the pinnacle, she was now under the other party's control.

"There are still three elders: Elder Yun (Yun Xiazhen) is stationed in Sichuan and Chongqing, connecting with local powerful families and Jie Hui of Duzun Fortress. Her influence is mainly in Sichuan. Elder Xia (Wen Caiting) is stationed in Luoyang and has many dealings with Wang Shichong. She is responsible for gathering information on the court and the martial arts world. Elder Danmei... is responsible for the daily affairs of the main altar and the teaching of some disciples. She lives in a secret place in Guanzhong."

Zhu Yuyan paused for a moment, then added, "These three people have not yet reached the Grandmaster level; their strength is roughly at the top of the first-rate in the martial arts world."

"Core disciples..."

The image of that quirky and clever figure flashed through her mind: "Only Wanwan possesses extraordinary talent. She has received my true teachings and has already reached the sixteenth level of the Heavenly Demon Great Art. Given time, she will surely become a grandmaster. She is full of wisdom and is especially good at manipulating people's hearts. Currently, she mainly operates in the Jiangnan area, scouting for the sect, absorbing resources, and clearing obstacles."

"There are about twenty inner disciples scattered in various places, responsible for intelligence transmission, stronghold management, and external affairs execution. The number of outer disciples and affiliated forces is large, but most of them are informants and henchmen, and are not of great use."

"Regarding influence..."

Zhu Yuyan quickened her pace, striving for detail: "There are three core strongholds: one in the secret Guanzhong region, the location of the main altar, the most secluded; one in Sichuan, managed for many years by Elder Yun; and one in Luoyang, deeply infiltrated through Elder Xia's relationship with Wang Shichong. In addition, there are secret strongholds and industries in key locations such as Jiangdu (Yangzhou), Jingling, Xiangyang, and Chang'an, mainly used for intelligence gathering, personnel transit, and the flow of goods. In the Jiangnan region, due to Wanwan's recent activity, there are also some arrangements." "As for obstacles..."

A hint of fierceness and helplessness flashed in Zhu Yuyan's eyes: "Cihang Jingzhai and its proxies, especially Fan Qinghui and her disciple Shi Feixuan, are our sect's mortal enemies. They are constantly at odds with us, which is the greatest external pressure."

Zhu Yuyan finished speaking in one breath, slightly out of breath. She felt as if she had been completely stripped bare in front of Yi Huawei, with no secrets left. This unprecedented sense of transparency made her feel both humiliated and strangely... relieved? As if she had handed over this heavy burden to someone who could truly bear it.

Yi Huawei listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the gunwale. A gentle breeze blew across the lake, lifting the hem of his moon-white robe.

"One Grandmaster, three Elders, one True Disciple, and twenty Inner Disciples..."

Yi Huawei's voice was devoid of emotion: "It's even more desolate than I expected."

"You two haven't seen each other for a long time, you must have a lot to talk about... I'll be back in a bit!"

He glanced at Shan Meixian and her daughter, who were watching him nervously, nodded slightly to Shan Meixian, and then his figure disappeared silently from the painted boat as if it had blended into the water, leaving only a barely perceptible ripple on the lake.

"Pfft!"

Not far away, another golden carp leaped out of the water, its scales shimmering, breaking the calm surface of the lake before disappearing into the deep water, leaving only ripples spreading outwards.

"Mother!..."

Looking at her mother's complex expression—a mixture of disorientation and a hint of rebirth—and then gazing in the direction where Yi Huawei had disappeared, Shan Meixian's heart was also filled with turbulent emotions, unable to find peace. West Lake remained shimmering, but from this day forward, their world had been completely changed.

On the shore of West Lake, atop Gushan Mountain.

Yi Huawei's figure drifted down like a cloud, silently landing on a rock smooth as a mirror, polished by wind and rain. Beneath his feet lay the vast, misty West Lake, dotted with painted boats; in the distance, the slumbering city of Lin'an lay, its lights dim. The night breeze, carrying moisture, stirred his moon-white robes, but could not disturb the stillness in his heart, as solid as a mountain.

He didn't immediately take out the original copy of the "Heavenly Demonic Art," which was neither silk nor cloth. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze piercing through the night, as if measuring the world around him, or perhaps tracing back some thread that spanned time and space. Just now on the painted boat, he seemed to casually weigh it in his hand and put it into his sleeve, but in reality, his divine sense had already captured and analyzed all the profound aura contained within the scroll, like an invisible hand.

At this moment, what he needed was not words, but to resonate with this world and with the "Daoist Rhyme" that embodied the wisdom of the Yin Kui Sect of the Demonic Path over hundreds of years.

With a slight thought, the scroll, shimmering with a dark luster and flowing with dark gold demonic patterns, appeared out of thin air in his palm. Without being opened, the scroll itself seemed to come alive, a profound, feminine, unpredictable, and intensely alluring yet destructive aura slowly spreading out. The surrounding air seemed to thicken, the moonlight appeared to be distorted and swallowed by an invisible force field, and even the rocks beneath his feet emitted a faint, unbearable groan.

Yi Huawei slightly closed his eyes, and within his sea of ​​consciousness, his divine sense poured down like a vast galaxy, instantly enveloping the entire scroll of "The Heavenly Demon Great Art." It wasn't reading; it was "devouring," "analyzing," and "reconstructing"!
The vast flow of information contained within the scroll surged into Yi Huawei's consciousness like a burst dam. It wasn't simply text and a diagram of cultivation methods, but rather a magnificent panorama constructed from pure spiritual will and the true essence of martial arts:

The Demonic Dance: Countless graceful yet deadly figures danced in the sea of ​​consciousness, bewitching all beings and confusing their minds. Every glance and every turn drew upon the most primal desires of heaven and earth, transforming them into invisible blades.

The Demonic Force Field: Countless delicate, resilient, twisting, and devouring force field threads crisscross the void, layer upon layer, constructing an invisible yet omnipresent domain. At times, it's like a deep-sea whirlpool, devouring all things; at other times, like a net stretching across the sky, strangling everything; and at still other times, like a lover's whisper, shattering willpower…

The Heavenly Demon Disintegrates: A devastating, resolute, and all-consuming will of destruction erupts! It is the ultimate mystery that instantly burns away the potential of life and the origin of the spirit, carrying a terrifying will that drags all things down into the abyss.

A series of steps, constructed from pure Yin-attribute primordial energy, spiral upwards, pointing directly to some kind of limit in the darkness. Each step represents a deeper level of control over the laws of "Yin," "Softness," "Change," "Illusion," "Charm," and "Devouring."

The seventeenth peak that Zhu Yuyan had previously reached appeared crude in Yi Huawei's eyes at this moment, like a child learning to walk, full of forced imitations and irreparable cracks. The eighteenth level, on the other hand, was a near-perfect, harmonious cycle, endlessly regenerating, as if it had touched the threshold of "yin giving rise to yang," yet it was firmly blocked by some invisible barrier.

Yi Huawei's body remained motionless, as if transformed into a stubborn rock atop the mountain. But within his body, a cataclysmic transformation was underway. Vast and unparalleled true essence began to simulate and evolve the various mysteries of the "Heavenly Demon Great Art." His aura sometimes became ethereal and illusory, as if merging into the night; sometimes it became sinister and unpredictable, causing the surrounding space to slightly distort; and sometimes it erupted with heart-palpitating destructive waves, only to be instantly smoothed out by an even more powerful force.

Within a three-foot radius, the space seemed to form its own domain. Moonlight, when it entered, was refracted, decomposed, and swallowed, forming a constantly shifting, bizarre, miniature chaos. On the surface of the rock beneath his feet, fine, spiderweb-like cracks silently appeared, only to be healed again by some invisible force in the next instant.

Night falls.

After "devouring" and "evolving," Yi Huawei's divine sense was not satisfied with the superficial mysteries. He began to trace back to the source of the "Heavenly Demon Great Art," and to the ultimate mystery that the ten volumes of the "Heavenly Demon Strategy," which were revered by the Demonic Sect, all pointed to.

In his sea of ​​consciousness, the complex phenomena of "enchanting dance", "force field", "disintegration" and so on began to fade and decompose, eventually transforming into nine "strings" of different forms but with the same essence!
The first string, dark and deep, represents the "devouring" of the origin, like a cosmic black hole.

The second string, flexible and ever-changing, represents the true meaning of "change," which is formless and without appearance.

The third string, "Mòmò Huī Mīn," represents the power of "bewitching" and directly targets the soul.

The fourth string, twisted and torn, represents the will of "destruction," annihilating all laws.

The fifth string, chilling to the bone, represents the essence of "extreme yin," freezing life.

The sixth string, mysterious and hidden, represents the way of "concealment," disappearing into nothingness.

The seventh string, representing the endless cycle of life, embodies the principle of "cycle," where yin gives rise to yang.

The eighth string, encompassing heaven and earth, represents the domain of "control," forming its own universe.

The ninth string, surpassing all others, represents the ultimate "One," the source and destination of the nine strings, and a fragment projection of the ultimate "Dao" that the "Heavenly Demon Strategy" points to when it shatters the void!

Zhu Yuyan spent her entire life, even with the help of Yi Huawei's immense power, barely managing to touch the edge of the seventh string (cycle) and the eighth string (control). Yet Yi Huawei, in a mere day and night, analyzed and mastered all nine primordial strings!
(End of this chapter)