Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Storm Is Brewing

Gu Guanqi held the Autumn Water Sword in his hand. The blood on the sword gleamed with a dark red luster under the moonlight. He flicked it lightly, scattering a blood trail on the ground.

He did not go to see the fallen body of "Suzaku".

Instead, they rushed towards An Yi.

Before the person even arrived, he had already raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

in an instant,

Several steel balls were launched, breaking through the air. True energy enveloped the steel balls, as if even the air itself rippled.

"Pfft pfft pfft"

Several steel balls accurately pierced the backs of the assassins who were besieging An Yi. The men groaned and collapsed to the ground, silent forever.

An Yi was finally able to relax.

Several assassins, seeing this, were greatly alarmed and quickly scattered in all directions.

Immediately, Gu Guanqi unleashed several more white rainbow palm strikes. The palm strikes curved in the air, catching up with the last few assassins who had fled to the courtyard wall. The palm strikes hit their backs, and the men all fell to the ground.

The courtyard finally fell completely quiet.

A night wind blew by, carrying a strong, pungent stench of blood. Moonlight, like water, spilled over the corpses scattered on the ground and the shattered flagstones, enveloping everything in a cold, silvery-white glow.

An Yi stood in a corner of the courtyard, her long sword hanging at her side, blood still dripping from its tip. Her face was as pale as paper, her lips bloodless, and fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead.

She hadn't fully recovered from her previous injuries, and after this major battle, the new injuries combined with the old ones left her in very poor condition. She was barely holding on by sheer willpower.

Seeing that the crisis was over, he staggered and fell to the ground.

Gu Guanqi took a step forward and used the Lingbo Weibu technique, his figure as swift as smoke and mist, and in an instant he had already reached An Yi's side.

Just as An Yi's body went limp and she was about to fall, Gu Guanqi reached out and caught her waist.

An Yi's body stiffened slightly.

She immediately tried to stand up, but her physical condition was too poor to do so. Turning her head to look at Gu Guanqi's profile, she sighed softly and thought to herself:

"He's already touched me, he's already seen me naked, so a hug is fine too!"

As she thought this, her stiff body gradually relaxed, and her tense shoulders also eased slightly.

Gu Guanqi didn't notice An Yi's unusual behavior. His palm was placed on her waist, and his innate true energy slowly flowed out from his palm, warm and gentle, like the warm spring sun, seeping into her body along the meridians of her waist.

Wherever that true energy passed, An Yi felt a warm current slowly flowing through her meridians, and the pain in her wounds seemed to lessen somewhat. Her breathing gradually became steady, and her complexion regained some color.

"Senior Sister An, please sit down and regulate your breathing." Gu Guanqi's voice was soft, with a hint of concern.

An Yi nodded without saying anything.

Gu Guanqi helped her down and slowly squatted down, letting her sit cross-legged on a flat stone slab in the courtyard.

An Yi closed her eyes, placed her hands together in front of her dantian, and began to circulate her internal energy and regulate her breathing. The true energy of the Heavenly Physician's Divine Scripture flowed slowly within her body, resonating with the innate true energy that Gu Guanqi had just transferred in.

"I do not understand!"

Just then, Ding Yue spoke.

He had been struggling on the ground for a while before finally managing to sit up. He looked at An Yi and asked, "Young Master An, where did I give myself away that made you suspect me? I was truly poisoned!"

Gu Guanqi also looked at An Yi with some doubt.

Ding Yue's sudden move was indeed well-timed, as he was at a crucial moment in his battle with "Vermilion Bird".

However, this "Vermilion Bird" was still a bit lacking in cultivation and was not able to completely entangle him. He had three choices at the time: first, to abandon his sword and take action against Ding Yue; second, to use the Fifteen Deadly Swords; and third, to use all his internal energy to blast the "Vermilion Bird" away.

I just didn't expect that in that instant,

Ding Yue was actually poisoned, and it was a very strong poison at that; he collapsed immediately.

Since he didn't poison Ding Yue, the only person who could have poisoned him was An Yi.

At this time,

While circulating her internal energy to heal her injuries, An Yi slowly said, "Hero Ding, I have never doubted you. Your reputation as a hero and your actions these past few days make it hard for anyone to doubt you."

Ding Yue asked suspiciously, "Then why did you poison me?"

An Yi said, "I'm just being extra cautious. The moment the people from the Four Extremes Palace appeared, I was thinking that if I were to orchestrate a killing spree against Sword Immortal Gu Guanqi, besides deploying more experts, I would definitely find a way to place someone by his side as a precaution. After all, killing such an expert is extremely difficult; we must have a contingency plan in place for failure!"

Ding Yue sighed and said, "So, you poisoned me? What if the Four Extremes Palace isn't as cunning as you think, and they're very confident in their strength?"

An Yi said, "So, I'm just taking precautions. If you don't attack Junior Brother Gu, the poison won't be triggered. My poison skills are actually quite good; I can control them. It can be a poison that kills you, or it can be an antidote for you."

Ding Yue said helplessly, "So, you poisoned me while you were trying to detoxify me?"

"Mm," An Yi replied.

Ding Yue took a deep breath and said, "No wonder I can never establish my own sect. Even a young disciple like you is so cunning. I wonder how shrewd those old guys are."

An Yi asked, "Master Ding, why did you willingly stoop to such a low level and get involved with the Four Extremes Palace?"

Ding Yue sighed and said, "My biggest dream in this life is to build a legacy that can be passed down. However, whether I established a chamber of commerce or founded a sect, I always ended up failing miserably. Now I am over fifty years old and still owe a lot of debt. As a grandmaster, I still have to rely on my wife's family to make a living. I have always been resentful."

Some time ago, a benefactor approached me. He offered to help me establish a sect, creating a legacy that could be passed down through generations, allowing me, Ding Yue, to become a founding patriarch still revered centuries later! I naturally agreed readily, and cooperating with the Four Extremes Hall was merely my task; I did not pledge allegiance to the Four Extremes Hall!

"Who is this benefactor?" An Yi asked.

Ding Yue looked at An Yi, then at Gu Guanqi, and said, "I can tell you everything I know, but can you promise me one thing?"

An Yi didn't answer but looked at Gu Guanqi.

Gu Guanqi said, "Tell me your conditions first, and I'll consider them."

Ding Yue pondered for a moment and said, "I have never sought wealth in my life, only fame, fame in this life and fame after death. I am a grandmaster of my generation, and I have quite a reputation for chivalry in Yunzhou. I have enough fame in life, but I have no hope for fame after death. Now, I am even more worried about ruining my reputation in my later years. I will not be able to die in peace."

Therefore, I would like to ask you two to tell me everything I know, but after my death, could you please declare that I was killed by the Four Extremes Hall and not reveal my cooperation with the Four Extremes Hall? This would both preserve my reputation and allow my family to live in peace.

Gu Guanqi and An Yi exchanged a glance. Gu Guanqi asked, "Did you kill the Zhang family members in Xinmi County?"

Ding Yue quickly said, "That matter really has nothing to do with me. They only told me to go there to meet you, and then hand over the Ou family's Bright Moon Pearl to you, to test whether you had destroyed the Chen family's Bright Moon Pearl."

I truly had no idea they would be so heartless as to wipe out an ordinary family that wasn't even in the martial arts world. Just as Young Master An said, they sent me close to you only as a precaution; I won't take action unless absolutely necessary.

If I were to personally strike against the Zhang and Chen families and leave any trace, my value would be greatly diminished. What they want is my reputation as both a grandmaster and a righteous hero in the Yunzhou martial arts world, and they hope that I can establish my own sect and serve them in the future. They're not here specifically to deal with you, Gu Guanqi. Dealing with you was just a spur-of-the-moment decision!

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I can say that you were killed by the Four Extremes Palace."

As he spoke, Gu Guanqi looked at An Yi.

An Yi nodded and said, "Junior Brother Gu has the final say."

Thank you!

Ding Yue thanked him and said, "The person who came to see me is Zhang Donglou, the youngest son of Zhang Jiexi, the current Left Chancellor."

Gu Guanqi frowned.

Ding Yue pondered for a moment, then continued, "Zhang Donglou approached me, offering to help me establish my own sect, and I agreed. Over the years, I've repeatedly failed, and I've come to realize that sometimes it's not entirely due to my lack of ability, but rather that various forces are preventing me from succeeding."

Yunzhou is only so big, and the interests of the martial arts world are also limited. The four major sects control it all, making it difficult to allow another grandmaster-level power to emerge. Therefore, if I weren't a grandmaster, I could easily establish my own sect, but since I am a grandmaster, it's absolutely impossible.

Gu Guanqi looked at An Yi.

An Yi was quite frank, nodding slightly as she said, "The martial arts world has already established its structure. Without any major upheavals, no one wants that structure to be broken. The emergence of a fifth grandmaster force will inevitably involve seizing benefits from the original four major sects."

Ding Yue said, "However, with Zhang Donglou helping me, the situation is different. The Four Great Sects are not something that the Eight Great Sects can contend with the imperial court. Moreover, with the Martial Arts Conference imminent and the Martial Alliance to be established, the martial arts world of Yunzhou will inevitably be in turmoil. This is the perfect opportunity for me to seek my place in the cracks."

Gu Guanqi asked, "What does Zhang Donglou want you to do?"

"They want me to fully support the future leader of the martial arts alliance," Ding Yue said. "And they will use the martial arts alliance as the core to establish a sect that complements the martial arts alliance for me."

Gu Guanqi asked in confusion, "Does this mean that the imperial court has already appointed a martial arts alliance leader in Yunzhou?"

"That's what I mean," Ding Yue said.

"Who?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"I don't know either," Ding Yue said. "I asked, but Zhang Donglou wouldn't say, only that it would be revealed in time."

Gu Guanqi frowned.

An Yi said, "How will they decide this? At that time, it will definitely be jointly recommended by the various martial arts factions participating in the meeting. If there are roughly equal numbers of supporters, they will use the most primitive method: mutual sparring, and whoever wins will be the leader of the alliance."

Gu Guanqi said, "It's very simple. Either they are absolutely certain that the person they have chosen will become the leader of the martial arts alliance, or they will find a way to eliminate the potential rivals of the person they have chosen."

An Yi's face darkened, and she said, "The leader of the martial arts alliance will definitely be chosen from among the thirteen grandmasters, but it's hard to say who will definitely become the leader. Even Master Fayuan, who is known as the number one expert in Yunzhou, is not necessarily able to defeat the other grandmasters... So, in order to make their chosen one take the position, they can only arrange for someone to be injured or killed off the stage, which will inevitably cause chaos in the martial arts world of Yunzhou!"

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly and said, "There are essentially two methods. One is for a master like Zhuque to carry out an assassination to clear the way for others, but that's a very low-level approach. The second, more sophisticated method is to incite infighting among the masters in Yunzhou. Therefore, various conflicts are bound to arise."

An Yi's expression turned serious.

Gu Guanqi then looked at Ding Yue and asked, "Then why are you cooperating with the Four Extremes Palace again?"

"It was also Zhang Donglou's order," Ding Yue said. "He told me to cooperate with the Four Extremes Palace. And then, the Vermilion Bird of the Four Extremes Palace... to be precise, it wasn't the Vermilion Bird, it was a substitute for the Vermilion Bird."

"The one I just killed?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"Yes," Ding Yue said, "I only learned after I came into contact with this fake Vermilion Bird that the four hall masters of the Four Extremes Hall actually have a substitute. These substitutes are carefully selected and trained, and their strength can reach 60 to 70% of their real bodies."

Gu Guanqi was somewhat surprised: "Is it accurate?"

Ding Yue nodded and said, "That's what he told me, but I'm not sure if it's true or not. I've never fought a real Vermilion Bird."

Gu Guanqi's heart skipped a beat.

The fake Vermilion Bird was very powerful; in summary, it was about 50% of Wen Qiuchi's cultivation level under the reverse cultivation technique state.

Then he had a rough idea of ​​Zhuque's cultivation level, which was about the same as Wen Qiuchi's, with the only difference being the soul-stirring intent of the Seven Soul-Stealing Palms.

However, the artistic conception was somewhat limited by the power of the celestial being flying from beyond the heavens, and it was almost useless against the Fifteen Deadly Swords.

Then, Gu Guanqi asked, "What brings the Four Extremes Palace to Yunzhou?"

Ding Yue said, "I don't know the specific reason, but I haven't seen the real Vermilion Bird since it returned from Qingzhou. It's always been this fake Vermilion Bird who's been in contact with me, and the fake Vermilion Bird's goal is to find the Heavenly Physician's Poison Manual. It's said that the real Vermilion Bird's cultivation has encountered some problems and it needs the Heavenly Physician's Poison Manual."

Furthermore, the Four Extremes Hall has taken on a job to kill you and Yan Wangchuan, the Deputy Magistrate of the Six Doors of Qingzhou. Since you've become involved in the Bright Moon Pearl matter, the fake Vermilion Bird wants to resolve both matters at once, so they've sought my cooperation. Zhang Donglou's instructions to me are simply to follow the Four Extremes Hall's arrangements.

Gu Guanqi frowned slightly and said, "It seems that the order that the Four Extremes Palace accepted this time was not actually retaliation by the eunuch faction, but rather the people of the Left Prime Minister Zhang Jiexi's faction who wanted to kill me and smear the eunuch faction with dirty water."

Ding Yue and An Yi both looked at Gu Guanqi with suspicion. An Yi asked, "Junior Brother Gu, why do you say that?"

"It's a very simple principle," Gu Guanqi said. "Assassin organizations like the Four Extremes Hall are hated by everyone in the martial arts world and the imperial court, but they seem to be hiding in the depths of hell, and even their hideouts cannot be found. There is only one possibility: someone in the imperial court is protecting them."

The martial arts world lacks the ability to simultaneously deceive both the imperial court and the martial arts community, but the imperial court can. Therefore, it's obvious without even considering that this kind of organization must have been cultivated by one of the imperial court's factions.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Donglou's willingness to trust the Four Extremes Hall so much, allowing Ding Yue, who had already pledged allegiance to him, to obey the Four Extremes Hall's arrangements, speaks volumes. It goes without saying that the Four Extremes Hall is definitely part of his faction. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to entrust Ding Yue, who possesses certain secrets and is also a Grandmaster, with the Four Extremes Hall's orders. This demonstrates his extreme trust in the Four Extremes Hall, knowing that they wouldn't do anything to harm his interests.

An Yi suddenly realized.

Gu Guanqi then asked, "So, Zhang Donglou is in Yunzhou now?"

Ding Yue nodded and said, "I was there before, but I don't know now. You're not thinking of attacking him, are you crazy?"

Gu Guanqi chuckled and said, "Not for now. After all, I can't be sure if what you're saying is true."

Ding Yue quickly replied, "I assure you I'm not lying."

"I believe you're not lying to me," Gu Guanqi said, "but we江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) people certainly can't compare to those in the imperial court in terms of methods. How can you guarantee that what you know isn't something someone deliberately misled you into believing, and then used to mislead me?"

"this……"

Gu Guanqi chuckled and said, "However, it's possible that the eunuch faction is retaliating by killing me, or it's possible that the Left Prime Minister's faction is killing me to smear the eunuch faction. As long as Yan Wangchuan and I are both assassinated, everyone will think that the eunuch faction killed us in retaliation. And coincidentally, one of us has a government official status and the other has a martial arts background. If the public opinion pressure gets out of control, the eunuch faction will also have a headache."

An Yi quickly advised, "Junior brother, don't be impulsive. Neither the Eastern Depot nor the Left Prime Minister are ordinary people in the martial arts world. You can't act rashly."

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly without saying anything.

Ding Yue said in a deep voice, "That's all I know. Please keep your promise and leave me with a good reputation after I die."

After all,

Ding Yue reached out, channeled his inner energy, and inhaled forcefully. Instantly, a broadsword flew from not far away.

With a "plop" sound,

The broadsword pierced through his chest.

Ding Yue's body trembled slightly, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and then slowly lay down, losing all life.

Looking at Ding Yue's corpse,

Gu Guanqi sighed slightly, then turned around and picked up a bundle from a corner.

This bundle was initially on the fake Vermilion Bird. Before the war, he entrusted it to a subordinate for safekeeping. That subordinate had been preparing to escape but was killed by a steel ball fired by Gu Guanqi.

He picked up the bundle, opened it, and took a look.

Just as he had guessed, the three stolen Moon Pearls were inside.

After all, this thing is meant to be taken with you, so it's reasonable for the fake Vermilion Bird to carry it with him.

Gu Guanqi walked to An Yi's side with the bundle and said, "Senior Sister, the Moon Pearl is all here."

"Thank you, junior brother." An Yi quickly cupped her hands in thanks.

Gu Guanqi waved his hand and said, "There's no need for such formalities between us..."

An Yi's face flushed slightly.

Then Gu Guanqi said, "You're already that familiar, aren't you? Besides, you're Fuling's senior sister!"

An Yi's expression changed slightly, and her mood instantly became somewhat depressed.

Gu Guanqi then said, "Senior sister, hurry up and heal your injuries. We still need to go find the Liu family later. Hopefully, that fake Vermilion Bird wasn't lying and that the Liu family members are still alive."

An Yi quickly said, "Yes, junior brother, don't worry about me, go to the back mountain and look for the Liu family."

"That won't do," Gu Guanqi said. "I'm not comfortable leaving you here alone."

An Yi's heart started racing.

Gu Guanqi continued, "What if you're here alone, and there are people from the Four Extremes Palace lying in ambush? If something happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to Fuling in the future..."

An Yi sighed softly to herself.

Gu Guanqi continued, "Besides, you're such a good person, Senior Sister. I already feel very guilty for not protecting you. If anything else were to happen to you, I really wouldn't be able to forgive myself!"

An Yi quickly lowered her head, her heart racing again. She thought to herself: Was he... just saying that he really wanted to protect me?