Chapter 261. The Beast of the Demonic Path (1)

It didn't take Zhou Xuchuan long to reach the Evil Valley.

While his new followers tagged along, that didn't matter. All he had to do was to let the Valley know that they were his followers.

The border between Hunan and Guangdong.

The Evil Valley Headquarters.

It had been two years since Zhou Xuchuan last set foot in the Evil Valley. Back then, he was too busy fighting in the Four Gates Rebellion to even glance at the surroundings.

Now, as he returned and allowed himself a moment to take in the view, the scenery seemed different.

While I don't truly have leisure time...

Even at this very moment, casualties in the Great War of Good and Demonic continued to rise.

However, if he had shown a needless sense of urgency, hurriedly packed his bags, and rushed to the Evil Valley, it could have made it truly difficult for them to cooperate in the future.

The Evil Valley Master was not only incredibly strong but also quick-witted and resourceful.

If Zhou Xuchuan showed a sense of urgency, as if he had no time to spare, the quick-witted old man might realize that he had the advantage and act accordingly.

Since Zhou Xuchuan aimed to maintain a strong negotiating position and to be more certain about the Evil Valley's stance, he intentionally didn't move in a hurry.

Strengthening his claim even further, an incredible amount of people joined his cause during his procession to the Evil Valley.

"Ha... I guess that man must be the Domination God Monarch."

"Even from afar, his power is no joke."

"By the way, doesn't he seem younger than we imagined? He looks like he's just entered his twenties..."

"Tsk, tsk. This is why weaklings are useless. Your aging slows the higher your cultivation. This is especially true when one enters the Harmony Realm, as that's when you undergo a complete Bodily Reformation, making you look at least fifteen to twenty years younger. The effects are even more pronounced if you're young."[1]

"Aren't you a weakling, too? Hmph, you're just all talk!"

"Oh, you ignorant fool. Theory is what's important."

"Now that I look at you, you're totally a Righteous Faction bastard, Righteous Faction bastard! Kekeke. It must be nice to know a lot! You lunatic."

"What? Righteous Faction? You bastard!"

The martial artists thought the Domination God Monarch was a little young, but they didn't think much of it.

They all assumed he was a little older than he looked.

While part of it was because of the human skin mask made by the craftsman in the basement of the butcher shop, Zhou Xuchuan also purposefully let out his aura so that people wouldn't question it.

Since his days as one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua, Zhou Xuchuan had mastered the art of reading the room and tailoring his actions to fit his surroundings. In this life, he had added the skills of deception and acting, making his ability to pretend more convincing than ever.

Unknowingly, these skills had also helped mitigate the threat of assassination.

When the Melody Gate fell, its disciples had sought vengeance for their Gate Master, commissioning assassins to kill Zhou Xuchuan. Thanks to the immense wealth accumulated from the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Shao Leijin's efforts, they could afford to place a staggering bounty on his head.

However, all the assassin forces were reluctant and refused them.

In

murim,

commissioning an expert on the level of an Absolute Master was impossible.

While part of it was because of the individual master's strength, the other was that when one became a master of that level, they were no longer considered an individual.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

For example, the Completion Sword Nangong Weiwu was the Martial Alliance Leader. In order to assassinate him, the assassins would have to infiltrate deep into one of the

murim's

four great powers, the Martial Alliance, and kill one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords. That was virtually impossible.

There were countless experts within the Martial Alliance, so something like that was impossible unless the Completion Sword entered the

gangho

alone.

No, actually, even that was impossible because the sheer difference in strength was too much.

Some assassins accepted the commission because they were blinded by greed, but they gave up after seeing the Domination God Monarch and his followers.

Beyond that, Blessed Existence had sent soldiers from the Seven Stars Division, the Vast Gate Division, and the Pure Faith Division of the Dark Heavens Association. However, that, too, had failed.

Zhou Xuchuan gave off a strong 'I'll kill you if you come near' vibe, making it impossible for the association spies to approach while mixing in with the followers.

In a case like this, most groups would try to find the family of the assassination target and take them as hostages. But even

this

method was impossible.

Not only was there no family to kidnap, he didn't even have anyone related to him.

People quickly realized that everyone around him, including the rumor mill Nine Brothers of his led by Jin Ba, were scammers and abandoned the idea.

"Just what the hell are you thinking, Domination God Monarch?"

Blessed Existence was very busy with the Great War of Good and Demonic, but in the midst of that, he was thinking about the Evil Faction

murim

.

With two of the Dark Heavens Association's executives killed there, he couldn't help but be concerned.

The Domination God Monarch was extremely suspicious. It was strange that an Absolute Master like him would appear, disappear, and then appear once again.

Although he investigated it from all angles, nothing came of it, which deepened his suspicions.

Since the Evil Valley had essentially fallen out of the Association's grasp, it was difficult to obtain any information, which made such investigations even more difficult.

He was especially concerned about what the Evil Valley Master and the Domination God Monarch would discuss when they met.

Though its magnificent buildings had been destroyed during the rebellion, they had since been rebuilt.

While their power had been halved, there were clear efforts to maintain their prestige as the representative alliance of the Evil Faction.

In front of the main gate, a warrior from the Evil Valley stood on guard, his posture rigid and uneasy. Upon closer inspection, his face appeared unnaturally stiff.

"..."

Just like the Martial Alliance, the Evil Valley was always crowded with visitors.

But this time, it was a little different.

Starting from the weakest in the Third Class Realm to the experts who had surpassed the First Class Realm, the warriors of the Evil Faction were lined up on both sides of the path.

Hundreds of warriors lined the path, stretching from the main gate to the distant inner areas of the Valley.

Normally, such gatherings would be noisy, as if they were in a market, with all sorts of dirty jokes and vulgar insults going around. However, for some reason, it was as quiet as a monastery that was under a vow of silence.

"Ah...!"

A startled gasp broke the silence at the far end of the path.

They quickly covered their mouth, realizing their mistake, but no one paid any attention to them. All eyes were focused down the path.

A man seemingly in his early thirties, with fierce eyes and an unapproachable aura, came walking by, overwhelming everyone around.

The warriors of the Evil Faction glared at him, but the man didn’t so much as glance at them and continued down the road until he reached the main gate.

"State your identity!" the gatekeeper shouted in a very guarded voice.

"Seven Empyrean Overlords."

The man looked beyond the main gate and spoke confidently.

"Domination God Monarch."

The gatekeepers stood at attention and shouted.

"Welcome to the Empyrean Overlord!"

ROAR!!!!

Countless Evil Faction members cheered at those words.

It was a proper welcome for the newest master of the Evil Valley.

How embarrassing!

While Zhou Xuchuan appreciated the hospitality, they had certainly overdone it.

He lowered his face and quickened his pace. As he stepped through the gates, a breathtakingly beautiful woman approached him.

Even though it was easy to tell that she was a daughter of a noble family, she welcomed him warmly and personally guided him, making him feel deeply moved.

If he hadn't been accustomed to beauties like Luo Xiaoyue, Tang Hui, and Zhuge Xiuluan, he might have been taken aback.

"I'll be in your care."

"Please, this way."

The beauty smiled and guided him, but inwardly, she was surprised, and her pride was secretly hurt.

To think he didn't even react when he saw me, he's a eunuch for sure. Hmph.

There wasn't a single man in the Evil Faction who disliked women.

They were especially crazy about beauties. Unlike the Righteous Faction, which valued etiquette, the men of the Evil Faction openly showed their lust and made dirty jokes.

The same rule applied even if one was a master. However, since the Domination God Monarch didn't show any sign of being enticed, her pride was a little wounded.

Still, she dared not reveal her true feelings. She understood all too well that a single mistake could cost her life.

Completely oblivious of her inner turmoil, Zhou Xuchuan followed the beauty while keeping his guard up. He infused his perception with qi, scanning his surroundings for any hidden threats.

Hmm. How unexpected.

He had assumed that the Evil Valley would hide guards or spies in the ceilings or beneath the floors, but there were none.

Still, he walked forward without letting his guard down, passing through the magnificent buildings of the Evil Valley and entering deep inside.

He thought he would be guided to a hidden forest like he had when he went to the Martial Alliance. Instead, a luxurious annex came into view in the distance.

"Welcome, Domination God Monarch."

After being guided into the room, he saw the Evil Valley Master drinking surrounded by young beauties who could have been his daughters.

Zhou Xuchuan sat down across from him without saying anything.

"It's been a while, Evil Valley Master."

Eek!

The beauties were startled when Zhou Xuchuan omitted honorifics.

However, the Evil Valley Master didn't seem to care at all. He raised his hand and sent the women out.

"I heard that all Heroes liked beauties, so I prepared some, but it seems the Domination God Monarch doesn't care for them."

The Evil Valley Master never used any formal language. He could count on one hand the number of people he addressed politely.

The only exceptions were his fellow Seven Empyrean Overlords.

He didn't care if they were old or young or if they had higher or lower rankings within the

murim

. He only looked at their martial skills.

"Oh, would you like to have a drink?"

The Evil Valley Master looked directly at him while lifting a bottle.

Zhou Xuchuan picked up a glass and accepted a drink.

Splash, splash.

A clear, transparent liquid dripped down. Its fragrance was also quite good.

It was clearly a treasured liquor.

"I sincerely congratulate you on being appointed as one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords."

"Thank you."

Clink.

A clear sound was heard when the glasses clinked.

Zhou Xuchuan knocked the liquor back without any hesitation.

"You drink quite refreshingly. Indeed, you deserve the title of Domination God Monarch! Even the way you drink alcohol exudes domination!"

The Evil Valley Master laughed heartily.

"Now that you've had a drink, let's have a chat without pretense, befitting of members of the Evil Faction."

Zhou Xuchuan calmly placed his wine glass back on the table.

He wasn't afraid of poison unless it was Tang Mingren's.

The Dark Heavens Association can't try to convince the Evil Valley Master anyway.

There was a reason why Zhou Xuchuan had aided the Evil Valley Master during the Four Gates Rebellion and was visiting him again to borrow his strength.

Although the Evil Valley Master had died during the Era of War and Chaos, he had fought to the end while rejecting the Dark Heavens Association.

More than anything, he was suspicious and meticulous, making it difficult for the Dark Heavens Association to infiltrate his forces.

That was why Blessed Existence had abandoned efforts to control him directly, choosing instead to infiltrate through his son, the traitor Dan Libai.

"Oho?"

The Evil Valley Master narrowed his eyes.

What are you thinking, Domination God Monarch?

Even though they both were part of the Evil Faction, that didn't mean they were on good terms.

After all, look at the Sound God.

No, on the contrary, since they were members of the Evil Faction, they had to be even more careful of being stabbed in the back.

Just as the Evil Faction criticized the Righteous Faction for its hypocrisy, there was a reason why the Righteous Faction called the Evil Faction cowardly.

"I'll get straight to the point."

Zhou Xuchuan closed his eyes for a moment before opening them.

"I need the Evil Valley's strength."

Evil Valley Master's eyebrows twitched.

Zhou Xuchuan interrupted Evil Valley Master before he could get triggered.

"I’m afraid you might take this the wrong way, so let me be clear—I’m not here to challenge you for the Valley Master position. What I mean is exactly what I said. I need the Evil Valley’s manpower. If I had to label it, I’d call this a cooperative relationship."

"Cooperation?"

"Yes. I apologize for bringing my followers here to pressure you. I needed them to persuade you."

"Don't you think it's a mistake to call it pressure?"

"I won't deny it. But it was a necessary means to achieve the goal."

"...I'll listen to what you have to say."

Zhou Xuchuan inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

For now, the worst was behind him. But the next part was even more important.

"Have you ever heard of the name the Dark Heavens Association?"

"Dark Heavens Association...?"

The Evil Valley Master was puzzled, just as expected.

The Evil Valley Master of this era didn't know anything about the Dark Heavens Association.

Zhou Xuchuan began to explain the Dark Heavens Association in the same manner that he had told the Martial Alliance and the people around him previously.

The Evil Valley Master listened to Zhou Xuchuan's story seriously, silent from beginning to end.

And when the long story ended, he let out a sigh.

"Hmm... Honestly, it's a bit absurd."

1. Author says when you leave the Harmony Realm here, but it's when you enter it. ☜