At the peak of the Golden Core stage, nearly half-step to the Feather Transformation stage, his vital energy was fluctuating, and he faintly exhibited an aura of flying into the heavens.
As this androgynous man appeared, the yin energy in the room instantly intensified, and together with a group of Union Sect Golden Core cultivators, it created an extremely oppressive and sinister atmosphere.
Mo Hua, hiding on the beam, couldn't help but constrict his pupils.
Under the heavy encirclement of the Union Sect's Golden Core cultivators, Gu An and Gu Quan's hearts sank. They each took a step back, guarding Gu Changhuai's left and right.
Gu Changhuai also furrowed his brows, his gaze solemn.
"Union Sect Incense Master—Flower Shade Guest—"
The man in women's clothing, with a half-step Feather Transformation cultivation and a gloomy aura and powder-white face, smiled faintly upon hearing this. His voice was shrill and androgynous: "Lord Archivist, you actually recognize this servant."
A man calling himself "this servant" was somewhat unsettling.
Gu Changhuai said coldly, "Every Incense Master of the Union Sect is a demon tyrant who brings disaster everywhere. Since I, Gu, have taken up a post in Kun Prefecture, how could I not know of your reputation?"
Flower Shade Guest laughed, his smile charming, but because it was on a man's face, it seemed eerie: "Since Lord Archivist is so sensible, you absolutely cannot leave tonight. In this Jade Fragrance Pavilion, this servant must, no matter what, fulfill the duties of a host, treat Lord Archivist well, and let Lord Archivist experience ultimate ecstasy and joy, forgetting to return home."
Gu Changhuai raised an eyebrow and said gravely, "What if I am unwilling?"
Flower Shade Guest shook his head, "What childish words, what is this talk of willing or unwilling? This is the Jade Fragrance Pavilion—pleasures between men and women are natural and justified. Even a passing monk would cultivate a Joyful Zen here."
Gu Changhuai began to circulate his spiritual power, activating his magical treasure.
Seeing this, Flower Shade Guest's smile faded a few degrees: "This servant has kindly advised you, but you do not understand the mood. If you submit, then tonight, you can decide with whom to share a moment of spring joy, and you can still experience the pleasures of romance."
"But if you put up stubborn resistance and are captured by this servant, with your meridians sealed and limbs removed, what state you'll end up in after being plundered for essence is hard to say."
"Moreover, Lord Archivist is handsome and dashing. It's not only the women of my sect who will plunder you."
"Even this servant is somewhat greedy and wants a taste."
Flower Shade Guest's eyes showed a greedy look.
Gu Changhuai was utterly disgusted.
People from the Union Sect not only had problematic sexual orientations but also mostly had mental issues.
Flower Shade Guest seemed to notice the disgust in Gu Changhuai's eyes and became even more interested. He nodded and said, "Lord Archivist is upright and incorruptible—very good. I like this kind of man."
He clapped his hands and ordered the crowd, "All together, seize Lord Archivist. Let's all taste what flavor an Archivist sent by the Dao Court is."
All the elders of the Union Sect, both men and women, showed excitement and prepared to pounce on Gu Changhuai.
Just at this moment, Miao'er said, "Incense Master."
Flower Shade Guest looked at Miao'er. Miao'er said, "It's not just Gu Changhuai; there are others in the room."
Flower Shade Guest paused briefly.
Gu Changhuai also narrowed his eyes.
Mo Hua, on the beam, was also stunned.
Flower Shade Guest asked in a deep voice, "Where?"
Miao'er smiled and pointed her fair finger at the beam, exactly where Mo Hua was located.
Mo Hua's expression changed, and he quickly grabbed Bai Zixi's hand and jumped down from the beam.
Almost instantly, a powerful pink energy, condensed into flower petals, shot through the air from Flower Shade Guest's fingers, shredding the beam to pieces.
This was a true peak Golden Core strike, extremely fast and immensely powerful.
Fortunately, Mo Hua was alert and skilled in causal prediction, so he jumped down in time.
After the dust settled, Mo Hua and Bai Zixi landed on the ground. With this incident, using concealment techniques would be foolishly trying to hide the truth. The two had no choice but to reveal themselves.
These were two "gentlemen": one wore a bronze mask, warm and jade-like; the other a phoenix mask, magnificent and noble.
Seeing Mo Hua and the other person, everyone present was momentarily stunned.
They hadn't expected that someone could actually avoid everyone's perception, hide on the beam, and eavesdrop. Moreover, they were only at the early Golden Core and middle Golden Core stages—truly audacious.
However, the appearance of these two was truly surprising.
Gu Changhuai, Gu An, and Gu Quan were also somewhat taken aback. They looked at Mo Hua and the other, especially when looking at Mo Hua, a long-lost sense of strange familiarity arose in their hearts.
But Mo Hua wore a mask, and his figure had grown taller; moreover, they were in such a brothel, so they couldn't recognize him for the time being.
"Could it be two handsome young gentlemen?" Flower Shade Guest's eyes flickered.
Although Mo Hua and the other wore masks and their full faces were unclear, these Union Sect demons, who were well-versed in matters between men and women, could judge from the part of the face revealed by the masks and their extraordinary bearing that these two "gentlemen" were surely top-tier figures.
Such figures appeared two at a time, standing side by side, like a perfect pair complementing each other.
Miao'er looked at them, unable to resist trembling inside, her body going weak.
After a moment, she asked seductively, "May I ask the identities of the two gentlemen? And what business brings you to my Jade Fragrance Pavilion?"
Mo Hua did not answer. He first glanced at Flower Shade Guest, then turned to Miao'er, somewhat puzzled, "You saw through my concealment?"
Mo Hua thought his concealment skills had reached perfection. The "Divine Concealment" technique he had applied to Little Junior Sister was particularly profound.
If a Feather Transformation cultivator had seen through it, he would accept it.
But now, this Union Sect Incense Master Flower Shade Guest, who was at peak Golden Core and nearly half-step Feather Transformation, hadn't seen through it, yet this Miao'er, an elder at only middle Golden Core, had detected them.
Mo Hua was very curious and wanted to clarify.
Miao'er saw that Mo Hua was handsome and already surrounded by her Union Sect, like a lamb entering a wolf's den, so she didn't conceal anything. She smiled and said, "Miao'er did not see through your concealment technique."
Mo Hua was surprised, "Then how did you find me?"
Miao'er looked at Mo Hua and said with a smile, "This servant is an elder of the Union Sect, well-versed in matters between men and women, and extremely sensitive to the aura of lust and desire."
"Earlier, when this servant was being intimate with Lord Pu in the boudoir, I sensed some aura coming from the beam above—it seemed someone else was also aroused."
"That aura of lust was fragrant, rich, and sweet, yet extremely clean and pure, like unpolished jade; both clean and wonderful."
"Thus, this servant knew someone was peeping on the beam, and while peeping, they were stirred by desire."
Mo Hua and Bai Zixi's faces remained stiff, but inwardly they burned with shame.
Miao'er couldn't help but look at them again, her gaze like water, "However, I initially thought it was a young couple sneaking a romance on the beam, playing some little game. I never expected that the two who were stirred were such handsome gentlemen."
Mo Hua's face was already turning red.
Bai Zixi had two masks on, so her face wasn't visible, but the tips of her ears flushed slightly red.
Mo Hua could even sense an inexplicable murderous intent from Little Junior Sister's cool demeanor. Startled, he quickly grabbed her hand and whispered, "Don't act."
If they acted, they would be exposed.
Only then did Bai Zixi's emotions calm slightly.
But their holding hands and innocent manner made everyone present's hearts tremble, sensing a special affection.
Especially the Union Sect crowd—both men and women who were versed in such matters—were all extremely envious.
Those who cultivated the path of Union—the more they indulged in carnal pleasures, the more they indulged their desires, the higher their thresholds became, and the more numb they grew.
Instead, they developed an unattainable greed for this pure, jade-like, snow-pure sentiment—even a jealousy that desired to destroy and defile what they couldn't obtain.
In their minds, they had already thought of ten thousand ways to torment this pair of "lovebirds" who had strayed into the Union prison, making them sink into material desires and completely soil them.
On the other hand, Gu Changhuai gradually frowned.
Earlier, he had felt that the gentleman in the bronze mask looked inexplicably familiar, and his voice resembled that of an acquaintance.
But now, seeing his actions, he found them somewhat strange.
"Probably... not?"
After all, in his heart, Mo Hua was still a child. He probably wouldn't be so audacious.
Miao'er looked at Mo Hua and the other, the desire in her eyes almost liquefying into water and flowing out. Her voice hoarsened a few degrees, "How about the two gentlemen consider joining our Union Sect? Miao'er will take good care of you both."
The other Union Sect elders turned to look at Elder Miao'er.
Both men and women unconsciously showed a hint of jealousy and dissatisfaction.
This was the nature of Union. For any top-quality cauldron, everyone wanted to contend, possess, and shamelessly defile to extract pleasure.
Whoever wanted to monopolize would become the target of everyone.
As the Incense Master, Flower Shade Guest quickly sensed the shift in atmosphere.
The appearance of this pair of jade-like gentlemen had greatly altered the atmosphere and everyone's desires.
This was a major taboo for the Union Sect.
Not to mention that, as the Incense Master, he had a stronger desire to monopolize such top-tier figures than anyone else.
So Flower Shade Guest's eyes darkened, and he spoke, "Enough."
His voice carried immense power and had a suppressing force, startling the Union Sect members present.
Flower Shade Guest said, "First, handle the main business—capture Lord Archivist. As for these two gentlemen... we'll deal with them later."
He looked at Mo Hua and the other, a flash of greed in his eyes.
With the Incense Master's order, the Union Sect elders dared not neglect the main task and had to obey, surrounding Gu Changhuai's trio again.
Flower Shade Guest suppressed his inner desire and turned to Gu Changhuai, saying, "Lord Archivist, I'll give you one last chance."
Gu Changhuai sneered, "Demon remnants deserve death a thousand times. There's no need for further discussion."
"Fine," Flower Shade Guest sneered, "Good, 'demon remnants deserve death a thousand times.' Then let Lord Archivist experience the mysteries of my Union demon path."
"Let you taste what it's like to share a bed with the demon remnants who deserve death a thousand times, to wallow in the same mire with them."
"At that time, let's see if you can still be stubborn and have the face to speak of the difference between orthodoxy and demonism."
Flower Shade Guest waved his hand, "Take good care of Lord Archivist."
Eight Union Sect elders, all at the Golden Core stage, joined forces to attack Gu Changhuai.
The techniques of the Union Sect were all tainted with the desires between men and women—beautiful and illusory, yet hiding dirty killing intent.
Eight people worked together, each activating their techniques, and their magical treasures coordinated with each other, making the attack both lingering and insidious.
Union hooks, soul-snaring tents, hundred-allure silks, desire-spring satin, soul-wasting poisons...
These Union magical treasures that seduced human desires were driven by techniques, weaving back and forth within the prison. Once touched, one could easily lose their Dao heart and become a desire slave of Union.
Facing the siege of eight Union elders, Gu Changhuai remained fearless. With a flip of his right hand, he manifested the Gu family's magical treasure:
a seven-colored peacock feather fan dazzling with light.
Mo Hua had seen this treasure more than once back then, and every time he saw it, he found it extraordinarily resplendent.
Now, more than ten years had passed. Uncle Gu's seven-colored peacock feather fan was even more gorgeous than before. Due to years of nurturing, the spiritual power condensed on it was even brighter and sharper.
The battle between orthodoxy and demonism was on the verge of erupting.
In an instant, the eight Union elders and Gu Changhuai's trio were entangled in battle.
The magical treasures of orthodoxy and demonism collided, producing intense fluctuations that shattered the prison around them inch by inch. The third-grade fine iron railings were constantly twisted and torn.
As the battle grew chaotic, with Golden Core spiritual energy spilling everywhere, Mo Hua could only pull Little Junior Sister and retreat to the edge of the battlefield.
Under these circumstances, as long as he didn't run away, the Union Sect wouldn't stop him.
At least, before capturing Gu Changhuai, they wouldn't attack him.
After standing still, Mo Hua was concerned about Uncle Gu's safety. He frowned and looked into the battlefield. He didn't know if Uncle Gu could hold out under the siege of so many.
But after observing for a while, Mo Hua was shocked to find that not only was Uncle Gu holding on, but he actually seemed to have the upper hand.
Gu Changhuai, along with Gu An and Gu Quan, was actually suppressing the eight Union elders in the fight.
Gu Changhuai was at the peak of middle Golden Core. Activating the seven-colored peacock feather fan and the Gu family's superior technique, "Gale Feather Transformation Art," he was surrounded by layers of dense wind blades like cyan phoenix feathers, integrating offense and defense.
Gu An and Gu Quan, both at early Golden Core, assisted from the side with the Gu family's authentic "Mother-Child Blade Art."
On the Union Sect's side, without Flower Shade Guest's intervention, there was only one late Golden Core demon cultivator, and the other elders were at the early to middle Golden Core stages.
But despite eight of them, with superior cultivation and numbers, they were completely at a disadvantage in this coordinated magical treasure offense-defense battle. Not only their treasures but even their bodies suffered under Gu Changhuai's dense, indiscriminate wind blade bombardment.
Flower Shade Guest frowned.
Even Mo Hua was somewhat impressed.
After so long of cultivation, Uncle Gu's fighting style now somewhat resembled that of Fire Buddha.
Uncle Gu cultivated the orthodox Gu family's heritage—techniques, methods, and magical treasures that matched and integrated seamlessly.
Superior spiritual root, superior Golden Core, superior-grade technique, superior-grade Dao method, matched with a top-tier magical treasure—all overlapped and enhanced each other, forming a complete and powerful cultivation heritage.
After reaching mid-to-late Golden Core, once spiritual power reached a certain magnitude, this set of heritage integrating technique, Dao method, and magical treasure could exert increasingly stronger combat power.
On the battlefield now, Uncle Gu was like the righteous 'Fire Buddha' of the azure phoenix, with wind blades like rain of fire, conducting indiscriminate magical bombardment.
Mo Hua, as a proficient magician, grew more and more amazed as he watched.
Back then, Uncle Gu kept a low profile because of too many restrictions. But if he was allowed to fight without restraint, he was indeed extremely powerful.
No wonder he dared to enter the Jade Fragrance Pavilion with only Gu An and Gu Quan, risking danger.
With his cultivation and combat power, ordinary Union Sect Golden Core elders might not be able to stop him.
But...
Mo Hua frowned and looked at Flower Shade Guest.
In this scene, there was not only ordinary Union Sect Golden Core elders but also this androgynous Union Sect Incense Master.
This Incense Master's cultivation had already touched the edge of Feather Transformation. No matter how strong Uncle Gu was, he would absolutely not be a match for him.
Under these circumstances, Uncle Gu simply couldn't escape. Once this Incense Master made a move, Uncle Gu would definitely not hold out.
As he was pondering, the Union Sect Incense Master Flower Shade Guest, with a somber expression, indeed grew impatient.
It seemed he hadn't expected that Gu Changhuai, who wasn't even at late Golden Core, would be such a tough nut.
But this could actually prove Gu Changhuai's importance. With such character and ability, whether killing him to eliminate future trouble or subduing him to serve the Union Sect would be a great benefit.
With this thought, Flower Shade Guest's anger turned to joy.
He looked again at Gu Changhuai, who was displaying great power, and finally couldn't resist. He began to activate his technique, and the spiritual power around him was like ethereal strands on the verge of Feather Transformation, or like blooming flowers, containing astonishing Dao power.
Seeing this, Mo Hua's eyes flickered, and he thought, "This is bad—Uncle Gu is in trouble."
His divine sense raced, and he was about to use his mental power to interrupt Flower Shade Guest's casting. But suddenly, he sensed something and looked behind Flower Shade Guest, his pupils condensing.
Behind Flower Shade Guest, on a completely empty patch of ground, a trace of water vapor quietly emerged at that moment.
And within this extremely subtle water vapor, there were also spiritual threads nearly at half-step Feather Transformation, gathering an icy water-element sword light so sharp it was extreme yet extremely restrained and subtle, like the tongue of a poisonous snake while hunting. It flickered slightly and then, with lightning speed, fiercely stabbed toward Flower Shade Guest's back.
Assassination!
Mo Hua's eyes widened in shock, and his thoughts raced as he instantly understood.
Flower Shade Guest was executing a Dao technique to ambush Uncle Gu and capture him.
But Uncle Gu was actually also "bait."
The moment the Incense Master Flower Shade Guest was gathering Union magic and locking his divine sense onto Uncle Gu, another powerful figure had been lurking in the shadows all along.
This person was waiting for Flower Shade Guest to be careless, for his divine sense to shift and expose a flaw, then execute a concealed fatal Dao technique to kill Flower Shade Guest in one strike.
Completely eliminate this Union Sect Incense Master to remove future trouble.
What truly shocked Mo Hua was that this assassin also seemed to be between peak Golden Core and half-step Feather Transformation, and his concealment technique was extremely high-level—not only had Flower Shade Guest not noticed, but even Mo Hua's own divine sense hadn't detected him.
And the water-element assassination Dao technique he executed, subtle and insidious with extremely strong power, also gave Mo Hua a sense of inexplicable familiarity.
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