Ruan Xuezong took the painting and unfolded it. His brows relaxed by a fraction, almost imperceptibly. The players caught the subtle shift and immediately pressed him. “Zongzong, that woman in green on the scroll—she’s not as pretty as we imagined!”
“This is a woman of top-tier beauty,” Ruan Xuezong said as he refolded the scroll. “Her allure is the deadliest weapon under heaven, more potent than a thousand armies and ten thousand steeds. She toyed with the entire Rivers and Lakes, and her descendants even inherited her gift…”
The players: ???
They stared blankly. Though they were only level twenty and hadn’t been wandering the Rivers and Lakes with Ruan Xuezong for long, they had already laid eyes on peerless beauties like Bai Miaoshuang, Gong Mingzhu, and Qu Wangshu. There was no way they could lie to themselves and say this green-robed woman outshone those three.
Yet from the tangled love and hatred between Qu Tianwei and Madam Qu, they could sense a unique, disruptive charm about her. That woman had to be extraordinarily beautiful, a master at stirring up tempests.
“You’ll find out soon enough. This painting hides deeper secrets,” Ruan Xuezong said. Beneath his mask, the corners of his mouth slowly curved into an arc.
Inwardly, he marveled. Players were players, after all. With them involved, the plot veered into uncharted territory. By sheer coincidence, they had swiped what seemed like an ordinary scroll but was in truth an ultimate weapon of mass destruction.
…
Three days flew by. Peacock Manor’s flowing banquet remained a raucous affair, but the outskirts lay eerily still. Thick gray clouds veiled the bright moon, blotting out all starlight from the night sky. Crimson lanterns swayed in the evening breeze, and an undercurrent of tension surged like the prelude to a brutal clash.
From days of lurking and probing—including the efforts of the players—most guessed the finale would be a classic Hongmen Banquet. They had rested and recovered their strength in advance.
The players appeared before Ruan Xuezong refreshed and brimming with vigor.
He nodded in approval. “Let’s head in.” His hands were clasped behind his back, clutching something.
The real show was about to begin. The players rubbed their fists eagerly. They knew the gist of what was coming, but the ensuing cutscene turned out even more bizarre than they’d anticipated.
“Five-Colored Mottled Black” had picked up the final tasting quest. Bursting with excitement, he dug into the food and drink when suddenly his chopsticks clattered to the ground with a sharp snap. He doubled over in a dramatic arc, poisoned and dizzy, shoving plates, bowls, and cups flying off the table.
The commotion he caused was tremendous. He looked terrifying as he bellowed, “Ev-everyone… the food’s poisoned!”
“Poisoned?” In that instant, every guest’s face twisted in shock. They leaped from their seats and stared in horror at the lavish spread on the tables. Suddenly, they all felt their throats tighten and hacked violently. The young talents dining with Ruan Xuezong looked utterly stunned.
Qu Tianwei couldn’t fathom why the poison had triggered earlier than planned, but he shoved through the crowd anyway and made a show of it. His voice boomed gravely, “What in the world is going on here?” All the while, he covertly vibrated a segment of his heart meridian, forcing the blood in his chest to roil and surge.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he spewed a mouthful of blood—right there before the crowd’s eyes. It looked utterly convincing. The guests gasped in even greater alarm. “Manor Lord Qu!”
Qu Tianwei feigned swift reflexes, grabbing a chair to steady himself before he could topple over. His lips turned a sickly purple. He trembled and gasped for breath half a day before croaking, “This old man has been poisoned too…”
The handoff was seamless, unfolding in the blink of an eye. The players cheered inwardly: What an acting legend!
If they hadn’t spent these days digging Peacock Manor to its foundations and unearthing its secrets, even these fledgling young heroes would have been thoroughly fooled by the old man’s masterful performance!
Events took an even stranger turn as a zither’s notes echoed through the chaotic banquet. Those who had seemed unscathed suddenly clutched their throats. They gripped their weapons and collapsed in neat, array-like rows, as if arranged for some ritual. The entire venue became a field of fallen bodies.
“What’s happening?!” That was the crowd’s burning question.
At that moment, a familiar light laugh rippled through the air. A graceful figure leaped down from the ceiling, her petite jade feet adorned with tinkling silver bells swaying lazily at her ankles.
The players recognized the voice instantly—it was their old acquaintance, Demonic Sect Saintess Tao Caiyan. With her arrival, black-clad figures materialized one after another like vengeful specters. Beneath the terrified gazes of the martial artists, they sealed off the banquet hall without a gap.
“Aiya, just a dash of poison spurred on by a melody, and your famed sects crumble to dust,” Tao Caiyan cackled wildly, reveling in her triumph.
“This must be one of the Demonic Sects’ bizarre sorceries—using sound to drive the toxin rampaging through the five viscera and six bowels,” a knowledgeable wanderer realized with a start. He suppressed his fury and berated her. “Demoness, why resort to poison? Do you even know who sits here tonight? Are you scheming to slaughter the Central Plains martial world and bathe the entire Rivers and Lakes in blood?”
The younger heroes paled in terror. It was all too plausible. If these guests failed to leave the banquet alive, the Central Plains martial world would be swept clean. The timing was impeccable—right at Peacock Manor’s lord’s birthday feast.
“You’re absolutely right,” Tao Caiyan snorted coldly. Her whip lashed out.
Her strike was vicious. The whip snaked forth like an electric eel, swiftly cracking across the man’s face. It left a gash splitting flesh from bone. The man, already weakened, couldn’t even twitch. Now his face streamed with blood amid cries of outrage from the crowd.
Qu Tianwei’s breathing grew ragged. He roared hoarsely, “Demoness, how dare you! If you’ve grievances, come at this old man—not my friends!” His display deeply moved the assembled martial artists.
Tao Caiyan’s gaze shifted back to Qu Tianwei’s face. She smirked. “You’re just celebrating your birthday, old man—fine. But you stirred up a citywide storm. And after all that, you invite Demonic Sect folk? How could we not crash your sixtieth and make it count?”
“Pah! This old man despises the Demonic Sects above all—why would I send you invitations?” Qu Tianwei spat the words even as fresh blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, painting him as the epitome of unyielding righteousness.
Their back-and-forth roused defiance in the other martial artists. “Exactly! The Demonic Sects are reviled by all—why invite scum like you?” “We’re sworn foes of your kind!”
Before they could finish, black-clad assassins loosed arrows into their hearts. As the Demonic Cult’s demoness, Tao Caiyan embodied ruthless depravity to perfection. She tittered girlishly, “Anyone else with loose tongues dies.”
The hall fell deathly silent, utterly cowed.
Qu Tianwei fumed. “The Demonic Sects have grown far too brazen!”
“Old man, your lives are in my hands. I suggest you play nice. Point east, and you dare not turn west,” Tao Caiyan declared. No sooner had she spoken than a black-clad figure glided forward like a phantom and presented a sword.
How to describe this blade? Its sheen gleamed like frost on ice and snow, bursting from its sheath like a silver flask shattering to spray water everywhere. It was none other than Pure Shadow, the foremost of Famous Sword Villa’s Ten Great Famous Swords.
“Pure Shadow! So the Demonic Sects stole it after all,” Lan Cangfeng blurted in shock and dismay.
Hua Bailian gritted his teeth. “Junior Brother, now I see why the Demonic Sects targeted Peacock Manor. Pure Shadow is the king of famed blades. With battle intent, it resonates with a hundred weapons… Manor Lord Qu must have set up that martial arena to scout swordsmen, giving them their opening.”
He lacked the players’ intel. Like the canon events, he trusted the centuries-old Peacock Manor and was swayed by Qu Tianwei’s righteous fury, convinced the manor had merely hosted the event and been dragged into the Demonic Sects’ malice innocently.
As Hua Bailian predicted, Pure Shadow’s resonant hum allowed Tao Caiyan to pinpoint every treasured sword among the guests.
Shen Jiangling gave a wry smile. “Pure Shadow first, then Sea Roar Sword… What plot are the Demonic Sects hatching? I have an ominous suspicion.”
With each divine weapon claimed, Clear Wind Fishing Ground’s forces wilted. Bathed in the hating, resentful glares of the fallen martial artists, the Demonic Cult demoness’s grin widened ever broader. Her laughter echoed endlessly through Peacock Manor… until she caught a very familiar sound.
Her heart jolted.
It was the players’ eternal group huddle of whispers: “The Demonic Sects are such assholes—top-tier shit-stirrers.”
“This cutscene slaps. Time for our grand entrance?”
“That demoness’s laugh is magnetic. Gonna loop in my head tonight.”
Tao Caiyan: ???
Damn it, those Heart Washing Manor pests again! Recalling the Clear Wind Fishing Ground fiasco, she schooled her iron-dark scowl and lashed her whips like shadows toward the voices.
The whips landed for 99999+ damage—a ultimate move. Tao Caiyan sneered inwardly: Finally, those pests shut up.
To her utter disbelief, the players’ health bars emptied in a flash, yet their faces stayed calm and voices unshaken. “Oh crap, the demoness heard us.”
“Cutscene ain’t over—devs dropping the hammer.”
“Such bad luck. I hid so well under the table, but she smashed it and chipped my HP with splinters.”
“Oof, see you at the respawn downstairs, bros. Don’t sweat it—Zongzong’s got this.”
Tao Caiyan: ???
What the hell? They croaked and kept yapping? It nearly gave her a heart attack. She itched to rip out their tongues.
Fortunately, with the Heart Washing Manor pests gone, she reclaimed control. She turned back to Qu Tianwei with a smile. “Got more treasures for me, old man?”
Qu Tianwei sat rigidly, his expression icy. “This old man has nothing of value.”
Tao Caiyan giggled. “Oh, come now. What about that ravishing beauty of a daughter?”
Her words stunned the Peacock Manor guests. So the Demonic Sects didn’t just aim to slaughter every last guest—they wanted to forcibly wed an immortal fairy too! Outrageous!
