Blind Ghostwriter: Starts with the full level of Nine Yang Magic Skill

Chapter 288 Son of Destiny
Inside a mysterious and enormous underground palace, Qi Miaoxuan sat cross-legged in the air. Below him surged dark purple magma, thick as blood. Sparks from bursting bubbles splashed onto the rock walls, but were extinguished instantly upon touching the hanging stalactites. Frost flowers condensed on the milky white surface of the stalagmites, and cold air seeped down from the cave ceiling, colliding with the heat waves below and condensing into a strange white mist.

The structure of this underground palace defies all logic. The temperature difference between the dome and the ground distorts the air, reflecting the eerie blue runes flowing on the rock walls. Even more terrifying are the magic arrays suspended in mid-air, not carved into the stone surface, but ring patterns composed of countless tiny light lines, slowly rotating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Each light line exudes an ancient pressure, and as they operate, they unravel strands of shimmering white spiritual energy.

The chains were not illusory, but rather tangible and icy, meandering and moving like living things, eventually piercing Qi Miaoxuan's chest with perfect precision, binding the dagger in his heart. The blade was pitch black and was now tightly bound by the spiritual energy chains. Each attempt to tremble caused the chains to tighten even more, bringing waves of dull pain to his chest.

"hold head high……"

A series of roars and howls of dragon souls emanated from the dagger: "You lowly slave, how dare you presume to devour your master? Everything you have is a gift from me. What means do you have to control me? Don't you know that I am formed from the laws of heaven and earth, without birth or death?"

Qi Miaoxuan, shirtless and revealing his muscular physique, with his white hair flowing freely, floated in the air. He slightly opened his eyes and said calmly, "Qinglong, the more you act like this, the more hysterical you seem!"

"Hmph, you lowly slave are courting death..."

With a roaring dragon's cry, the dagger trembled wildly, and a blue phantom suddenly appeared in the void. It was a dragon's shadow, with its body coiled and its scales and claws outstretched. Although there were only a few strokes of light and shadow, it exuded an awe-inspiring majesty. When the dragon's head was raised, a deep but penetrating dragon's cry faintly rang out.

However, the dragon shadow coiled in the void was actually wrapped in iron chains inscribed with runes that were permeated with the chilling aura of profound ice. Each chain was engraved with flowing golden incantations, and with each low groan and tremor of the dragon's body, the iron chains would contract and tighten as if they were alive.

But, in that very instant,

"hold head high……"

The Azure Dragon let out a fierce roar!

The azure dragon's body suddenly arched like a full moon, its bronze-lustered scales surging like raging waves, unleashing a world-destroying power. The icy iron chains binding the dragon's neck first emitted a muffled "crack" as they could no longer bear the weight, then shattered inch by inch like a spiderweb, the chain links exploding into sparks that shot out in all directions with sharp whistling sounds, cleaving the surrounding floating spirit reefs into a shower of rubble.

The broken iron chains dissipated into gas, and the azure dragon leaped up, its tail sweeping across the area and creating a storm that shattered the spell-inscribed light barrier that confined the entire space into fragmented glass. Its golden pupils burned with raging fury, and as its head fell, two streams of scorching dragon breath spewed out, carving two deep, charred ravines into the ground.

"You lowly slave!" A thunderous roar, carrying immense pressure, crashed down upon him. Fragments of chains still clung to the ground near the dragon's mouth, jingling as they fell. "You think you can restrain my monstrous body with just some earth vein energy?"

The void trembled as the Azure Dragon, carrying a terrifying aura capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, crashed into Qi Miaoxuan. The gale spewed from its wide-open mouth rippled through the clouds like torn cotton, and its scales sparked with bursts of crimson-gold sparks as they scraped against the air. The dragon's might, powerful enough to overturn mountains, caused ripples to spread through the space like spiderwebs, and it arrived before Qi Miaoxuan in an instant.

However, Qi Miaoxuan remained motionless, suspended in the turbulent waters, her long, white hair moving without wind. She merely raised her eyelids slightly before striking out with her palm.

In an instant, a purple flame appeared in his palm, like a black lotus blooming in the cold night, its edges emitting mysterious rhythms. As soon as it left his body, it transformed into a huge purple fire lotus, and its eerie light surged, completely engulfing the attacking azure dragon.

"Even when the Fire Qilin was alive, it was no match for me. You lowly slave dare to dream of using its primordial fire to deal with me? That's utterly delusional!" A contemptuous thunder rumbled from the dragon's throat, and the Azure Dragon's golden pupils burned with disdain.

Before the words were finished, the dragon's body trembled violently, and the purple flames around it exploded as if they were alive, turning into a thick mist.

However, before the Azure Dragon could react, the mist had already condensed into thousands of amethyst chains with intertwined incantations in mid-air.

At the same time, nine floating black altars suddenly appeared in the void, their surfaces covered with incantations. As the dark purple light bridges lit up between the altars, all the chains connected like snakes, forming an impenetrable binding array around the Azure Dragon!
The Azure Dragon snorted disdainfully and flicked its tail, but was surprised to find that the chain was unusually tough. The amethyst chain seemed to absorb its power, and each struggle made the chain tighten. It was originally a soul, and at this moment it began to evaporate as if into wisps of purple smoke and merge into the amethyst chain.

Even more terrifying, the runes of the great array lit up simultaneously, continuously compressing the entire space inward. The dragon shadow that originally covered the sky was squeezed down several times, and the azure dragon soul body burst out with fine cracks in the midst of excruciating pain.

Qinglong's expression changed drastically, and he asked, "What is this?"

Qi Miaoxuan slowly stood up, walked barefoot through the void towards Qinglong, and said softly: "Qinglong, you have been dead for more than two thousand years, spent more than eighteen hundred years in the Reverse Scale Blade, and I have been your blade stand for more than twelve hundred years!"
For over 1200 years, you have been asleep, rarely waking up. Therefore, you have no idea how much the world has changed in these past 1200 years. You don't know about battle qi, you don't know what level the formation has developed to, and you don't know that there are so many talented people in the world and that various martial arts have become so miraculous.

The restrictions you placed on me are no longer effective in this era. You only know that the primordial fire of the Fire Qilin cannot harm you, but you don't know that even if you still have your true dragon body, you cannot break free from the Heaven-Concealing Array with the primordial fire as its core.

The Azure Dragon panicked and said, "Even if you can trap me for a while, you can't trap me forever. Although the Ancestral Fire energy is strong, it has its limits. It is not a living being and has no consciousness, only instinct. The energy it absorbs by instinct is not as much as the energy it consumes. When the Ancestral Fire energy is exhausted, I will make you wish you were dead!"

Qi Miaoxuan smiled slightly and said, "Guess why I risked serious injury to bring back the Fire Qilin's body?"

Qinglong said in a deep voice, "What kind of schemes and tricks are you plotting now?"

Qi Miaoxuan said, "I have mastered the method of absorbing the power of the Fire Qilin. I will integrate the Fire Qilin into my body. At that time, my entire body will be a great array, and I will be the Fire Qilin. I will continue to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the Ancestral Fire will never lack energy."

As for you, don't even think about getting out. I will slowly refine you, and your essence will be forever sealed within the Reverse Scale Blade!

Azure Dragon roared, "You lowly slave, how dare you devour your master..."

"Shut up!" Qi Miaoxuan snapped. "What right do you have to accuse me of devouring my master? You're just a beast. Even after you died, you only managed to survive by acting as the spirit of a weapon. The Reverse Scale Blade is my weapon, and you, the Azure Dragon Soul, are merely the spirit of the Reverse Scale Blade. I am the master, and you are the slave. You have always been the one devouring your master!"

Azure Dragon roared, "Nonsense! If I hadn't granted you immortality, you would have been nothing but withered bones long ago!"

Qi Miaoxuan sneered, "So what? We've always been mutually dependent. I need immortality, and you need my talent. I am a born saint with a dragon's face and sun-like horns. You need my destiny to help you regain consciousness. You transferred some of your primordial power to me to survive. We are symbiotic beings, yet you have used your methods to enslave me for over a thousand years. Now, it's time to switch places!"

Qi Miaoxuan reached out and grabbed, pulling the Azure Dragon, which was trapped in the cage, down.

Qi Miaoxuan looked at the Azure Dragon and said, "Don't worry, it will take me a long time to refine you. You can also see how I master the true Great Dao and become the Heavenly Dao!"

Azure Dragon said coldly, "That's wishful thinking. There is no such thing as the Heavenly Dao in this world; it's just a concept!"

Qi Miaoxuan said coldly, "When I have devoured all the origins, then I will be the Heavenly Dao!"

As soon as the words fell,
Qi Miaoxuan made a hand seal, quickly compressing the cage to the size of a fist, like a purple iron ball, trapping the Azure Dragon inside and causing it to struggle continuously.

Qi Miaoxuan stuffed the iron ball into the wound in her chest.

At that moment,

The entire underground palace suddenly became extremely hot, and streams of golden liquid flowed out from all directions, like dense runes binding this place. In an instant, the golden liquid poured into his body, and it seemed that the phantom of a Qilin was roaring inside him.

……

For Gu Mo, the trip to the northern desert was incredibly fruitful, as he obtained a seven-star martial art, the Tathagata Palm, and an eight-star martial art, the War God Manual.

In particular, the War God's Manual directly raised his realm above the Ascension Realm, allowing him to see the laws governing the world.

This is a very special existence.

At the moment of breakthrough, his consciousness entered a very ethereal state. He seemed to be outside the world, standing in a unique position. At that moment, the people or things in front of him were like frames, as if he could start over or jump directly to the past with a flick of his wrist.

At that moment, he understood that he had seen the pattern.

For example, spring has passed, and summer should arrive; this is the natural order.

In Gu Mo's eyes now, it seems that everything is like this. Although the future is unknown, he sees as if there is a line connecting them. The future is not unknown, but a fixed development under the rule.

As these laws operate, they give rise to a special kind of Qi, similar to the purple flame that floated out of the body of the Fire Qilin after its death.

This kind of Qi is very, very special. It is not about the quantity, but about the understanding and application.

It was also at that time,
Gu Mo finally understood why he couldn't kill Qi Miaoxuan.

Because they are not even on the same level.

However, the reason he was able to injure Qi Miaoxuan and kill the Qilin was that he had already grasped a certain amount of the Qi of the laws even before he saw the laws.

Previously, when Gu Mo obtained the Dragon God Technique and the Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique, he was able to sense the fluctuations of heaven and earth and all things. Theoretically speaking, he had already sensed the laws of the world at that time.

However, at that time, his level of understanding was not high enough to see it, but he had already begun to grasp certain laws of Qi in a subtle and gradual way.

However, it's not surprising that Qi Miaoxuan didn't take him seriously; after all, he couldn't even see that "Qi" before, so naturally he couldn't utilize it to its full potential. Looking back, Gu Mo felt it was quite a close call.
If it weren't for the Dragon God Technique transforming into a dragon and awakening the remnant soul of the Azure Dragon within Qi Miaoxuan's body, the battle with Qi Miaoxuan that day would have been a huge problem.

However, Gu Mo wasn't exactly scared.
After all, he didn't fight with all his might. If he couldn't hurt him at all, he would definitely lose. However, at that time, he just couldn't see the "Qi" of the pattern, but it wasn't that he didn't have that "Qi". Even with all his strength, he was still not completely powerless to resist.

Besides the Tathagata Palm and the War God Manual
Gu Mo also gained a lot from Yu Shier: a large number of rare and precious herbs, all of which were extremely valuable, as well as various kinds of medicines and Yu Shier's lifelong medical knowledge, which would definitely be considered top-tier secret manuals in the martial arts world.

In addition, Gu Mo also retrieved the poison pearl containing all the world's rarest poisons from the Void Array and took it with him.

At last,
Gu Mo escorted Ye Jinglan's group all the way to Qingzhou before leaving.

The reason for the escort is that the northern desert is in a special position, being a border region separated from the Chu Kingdom by that desert. It is hard to guarantee that the Chu Kingdom will not send people to intercept them after receiving news about the ruins of the ruins.

However, it turned out that Gu Mo was worrying too much, as they were not intercepted all the way to Qingzhou.

……

Gu Mo returned to Linjiang City almost at the last minute, arriving just the day before New Year's Eve.

When Gu Mo arrived at the original address of Bu Er Manor, he saw that Bu Er Manor had now been renamed "Gu Mansion".

"Brother, you're back!"

Just then, Gu Chudong and Hongyi returned from outside, both carrying large and small bags.

Gu Chudong ran quickly to Gu Mo, tilting her head back and boasting, "How was it, brother? Isn't the estate a good renovation? Let me tell you, I've furnished it all. Also, I bought a dozen maids, so my sister-in-law won't be short of servants when she comes in..."

Gu Chudong pulled Gu Mo into the mansion and showed her around.

have to say,

During this period, Gu Chudong has indeed done a lot. Originally, this manor was a cloth shop, and many of the furnishings were mainly for business purposes, so it was not suitable for direct residence. But now, the manor has completely lost its former traces and has become a complete residential mansion.

The only drawback is that the strength of the guards Gu Chudong recruited is not quite up to par with the level of the Gu family. After all, how could a family that is the number one in the world not even have a single martial artist of first-rate skill?

However, upon closer reflection, it's not really necessary.

After all, with the Heavenly Demon Harp in hand, Gu Chudong is qualified to compete with the Grandmasters on the Qian Kingdom's Heavenly Ranking. The red-clothed man and the harpist are the pinnacle of human combat power, so even if the guards are Grandmasters, it seems meaningless.

Gu Chudong held Gu Mo's hand and walked around the mansion happily, introducing every stone and every tree to Gu Mo.

As they walked,

Gu Chudong suddenly said, "By the way, brother, after the New Year, we'll probably have to go to the capital again."

Gu Mo asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Gu Chudong said, "Two days ago, His Majesty the Emperor sent a letter inviting us to the capital to attend the ceremony. The second day of the second lunar month is the day for establishing the crown prince, and the ceremony will be held in the imperial city!"

Gu Mo nodded slightly.

Last time, after returning from Penglai Island, he went to the palace to see Emperor Qian. At that time, Emperor Qian told him that he had decided on the crown prince, who was the second prince, Prince Jin, Li Zhongqing. It was normal to hold the ceremony to establish the crown prince now.

"Just arrange a time and go!"

Gu Mo wasn't particularly interested in the matter of establishing a crown prince, but the timing was just right, as he had already planned to visit Chang'an after the New Year.

There are two things that need to be dealt with in Chang'an.

First, there's Yu Twelve's legacy hidden beneath the Corpse Cocoon Cave in the Ghost City, which Gu Mo needs to retrieve. Second, there's the game involving the poison beads orchestrated by Qi Miaoxuan.

Gu Mo was well aware of the power of the poisonous pearl. If it were to explode in Chang'an, its toxicity and plague would be so terrifying that it could turn Chang'an into a dead city in no more than ten days, or even just one or two days.

Although Gu Mo had already informed Ye Jinglan, the power of the poison bead was not necessarily something that Ye Jinglan and the royal family could suppress.

It wasn't that the Qian Kingdom's royal family was weak, but rather that the poison pearl was too extraordinary. After all, it was developed by the Plague God, one of the thirteen taboos, over a period of two hundred years. Theoretically, it was a product that transcended the human realm.

……

Chang'an, the imperial city.

Heavy snow fell, blanketing the city in a white mist.

Li Zhongqing, who was about to become the crown prince, was talking with Emperor Qian in the imperial study. The father and son sat facing each other, and the room was slightly chilly.

Emperor Qian handed a memorial to Li Zhongqing and said, "This is a message sent back by Ye Jinglan via carrier pigeon. The ancient city of Xunxu has been successfully opened, and the treasures left behind by the Xunxu Kingdom have been found. They can support the front line for at least another six months!"

Li Zhongqing exclaimed with delight, "That's wonderful! Congratulations, Father! Our Great Qian will surely win this battle, and you will expand our territory and make a name for yourself in history!"

Emperor Qian waved his hand and said, "That's not what I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to say was that Minister Ye wrote to say that there were some twists and turns in the process, and that the legendary taboos—the Fire Qilin and the Plague God—actually existed. However, the good news is that these two taboos were killed by Hero Gu!"

Li Zhongqing's eyes widened in shock.

Emperor Qian continued, "However, there is bad news: the Plague God left behind a poisonous pearl that could turn Chang'an into a dead city, which has been spread throughout the martial arts world through the Iron Cold Mountain's legacy."

Li Zhongqing was startled and said, "I have heard about this matter. About half a year ago, it suddenly stirred up a big storm in the martial arts world. It was caused by the treasure map of Hanshan Treasure Vault. It is said that Hanshan Treasure Vault has invincible martial arts, wealth that can rival a country, and the strongest divine weapon in the world."

Emperor Qian said in a deep voice: "According to Minister Ye, this is just a game played by the plague god to amuse the people. He wants to drag the entire city of Chang'an to its demise, thereby creating an unsolved historical mystery. We must find the poison pearl and eliminate the crisis. In addition, we must be careful to keep the news under wraps and not let it leak out."

Now, with the ceremony for establishing the crown prince imminent, all nations have sent delegations to observe the event, including Chu. Among them is Princess Xiao Ziyin, a woman of extraordinary character. If she were to learn of the existence of the poison pearl, she would undoubtedly find a way to cause it to erupt, even at the risk of her life. If the poison pearl were to erupt in Chang'an, Qian would be finished, and Chu's unification of the world would be imminent!

Li Zhongqing nodded and said, "Your subject will definitely not leak the news. However, compared to your concern for Xiao Ziyin, Your subject is more worried about Ye Chen, who is traveling with Xiao Ziyin."

"Ye Chen? Who is this?" Emperor Qian asked in confusion.

Li Zhongqing said, "He is a Jianghu person from the Chu Kingdom, without any official position or post. It is normal that I do not know him. If I had not been a hostage in the Chu Kingdom for ten years, I probably would not have noticed an ordinary Jianghu person in the Chu Kingdom delegation."

This person is very famous in the Chu Kingdom. He can be said to be the most renowned prodigy in the Chu martial arts world today, the undisputed number one prodigy. Originally, he was unremarkable and had no reputation in the martial arts world. But five years ago, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and quickly became the most prominent prodigy in the Chu Kingdom.

Emperor Qian asked, "What is so extraordinary about this person?"

Li Zhongqing thought for a moment and said, "Simply put, it's unorthodox. How unorthodox? Let me put it this way: while others fall off a cliff and are smashed to pieces, he might encounter a reclusive master who imparts his secret skills, or even enlighten him with a lifetime of power."

Every time they faced certain death, a way out would inexplicably appear at the last moment, whether it was the help of a master, a breakthrough in the face of battle, or a miraculous escape from death and an opportunity.

Most importantly, this person has always been unassuming and unassuming, yet all sorts of good things seem to fall into his lap. It's said he's never practiced martial arts, but when I returned to the country, he was already ranked third on the Chu Kingdom's Heavenly Ranking. The strangest thing is that it seems everyone who offends him ends up suffering terrible misfortune, but upon investigation, it's never him who did it.

Emperor Qianlong exclaimed in shock, "Is it really that strange?"

Li Zhongqing's expression was solemn as he said, "It is said that this person is a born sage with extraordinary celestial phenomena, possessing boundless blessings!"

(End of this chapter)