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Chapter 296: Great Sun Demon Skill

The next day, early morning.

Ye Jinglan, who had just returned from the morning imperial court, excitedly rushed into Gu Mo's courtyard, laughing heartily, "Brother Gu, Brother Gu, hahaha, I just heard the news—that arrogant Ye Chen is in huge trouble!"

At this moment, Gu Mo happened to be in his room, studying the special "luck" he had extracted from Ye Chen. Hearing Ye Jinglan's words, he asked with curiosity, "What happened to Ye Chen?"

Ye Jinglan sat down on a chair, giving a thumbs-up. "Brother Gu, you are truly amazing! You only just said yesterday that you took Ye Chen's luck, and he started having terrible misfortune that very day. Now he's gone missing. His two swordsmen subordinates escaped from Ghost City to seek help from our imperial court!"

"What exactly happened?" Gu Mo asked, puzzled.

Ye Jinglan explained, "According to the two swordsmen, Ye Chen had such terrible luck in Ghost City that it was as if he had truly encountered ghosts. Various inexplicable dangers fell upon him. Even though Ye Chen is highly skilled in martial arts, being the third-ranked master in Chu, he still couldn't withstand it. Even those two swordsmen almost died in Ghost City. Right now, Ye Chen has gone missing. The Jingzhao Prefecture has dispatched men to search for him in Ghost City, but I reckon there's not much hope. That fellow is just too unlucky now, and Ghost City is incredibly complex and dangerous. I'm afraid he might die in there."

Gu Mo glanced at the "qi" in his hand and thought to himself, "Could it really be luck? Can luck even materialize?"

Recalling Ye Chen's experiences, he couldn't be described merely as a child of fortune; he was practically the father of fortune.

Even the protagonists in folk tales, despite possessing great fortune, still encountered logical lucky events. A prime example, in Gu Mo's view, was Ye Jinglan himself—a person truly blessed with great fortune and fitting the protagonist archetype perfectly.

Beneath his seemingly ordinary background lay an extraordinary destiny. At a young age, he rose to fame in the martial world. Even after forming an enmity with the Mystic Maiden Palace, he coincidentally met Lin Qixia, one of its top ten disciples, and they fell in love. Later, through a twist of fate, he also married Nangong Yuexi, the most beautiful woman in Qingzhou. Ultimately, he successfully defeated Qingzhou's top master and foiled the schemes of the Mystic Maiden Palace, the leading power.

Afterwards, his true lineage was revealed, leading to an unprecedented crisis. Yet, at that precise moment, he received aid from a master, overcame the crisis, and even gained the power of the Qilin through misfortune. From then on, his path was smooth, rising to become one of the world's top masters. He became embroiled in the Battle of the Blazing Ruin, a high-level conflict in which he seemingly had no part. Yet, he still stumbled upon good fortune, acquiring Qilin bones, which would elevate his cultivation further, directly making him a top-tier figure in the world.

Considering Ye Jinglan's experiences, he truly possessed immense fortune.

However, compared to Ye Chen, it was still quite ordinary. Ye Chen's experiences could no longer be described simply as good luck or great fortune; he was luck itself.

"Now that I've taken this mass of qi, he immediately became extremely unlucky. This means luck can truly materialize? We can artificially create people with great fortune, even protagonists of an era?"

What Gu Mo found hard to understand was that even for someone with great fortune like Ye Jinglan, luck, under the laws of nature, remained intangible, formless, and elusive.

"I hope that guy isn't dead!" Gu Mo thought to himself.

Chang'an City, Honglu Temple.

Xiao Ziyin was meeting with brothers Chang Qi and Chang Liu. He asked, "Think carefully. Were all the incidents Young Master Ye encountered in Ghost City yesterday truly coincidences?"

Chang Qi bowed and replied, "Your Highness, it's hard to believe, but we are certain that everything was indeed a coincidence, not man-made. While the events near the Corpse Cocoon Cave might have been pre-arranged, later, when our young master was swept away by the river, the time and place where we rescued him couldn't possibly have been set up by anyone.

Even if someone had arranged it, they couldn't have planned it with such precise coincidence, even calculating the exact spot where the young master would sit. The three of us were sitting on the ground together, and it was precisely his spot that collapsed, making him fall into a hidden pit.

Later, the three of us were running together, and quicksand on the ground suddenly swirled, and again, it was precisely him who fell into it... Many subsequent events involved all three of us, yet no matter if he stood to the side or in the middle, trouble unfailingly befell only him!"

Thereupon, Chang Qi and Chang Liu recounted Ye Chen's perilous experiences in Ghost City.

The Chu envoys present exchanged bewildered glances, both shocked by Ye Chen's bad luck and astonished by how incredibly difficult he was to kill. Had those incidents happened to anyone else, they would have died dozens of times over.

Xiao Ziyin frowned, saying, "In short, your young master is now as unlucky as he was lucky before?"

Chang Qi nodded, "Yes. After we got out, we immediately reported it to the Jingzhao Prefecture. Although they promised to help find our young master, the Jingzhao Prefecture's capabilities are limited. The underground Ghost City of Qian is notoriously complex. We humbly request Your Highness to officially ask the Qian court, in the name of the embassy, to help search for our young master!"

Xiao Ziyin nodded, "Rest assured, I've already sent someone to ask the Qian court for help. Oh, by the way, Young Master Ye has always been the luckiest person in the world. How could he suddenly become so unlucky? Were there any signs before this? Did he encounter anything unusual?"

"Yes," Chang Qi replied, "Our young master fell off a cliff near the Corpse Cocoon Cave and discovered a cave containing fortuitous treasures. In the past, our young master often encountered such situations, and the treasures were always unowned.

But yesterday was different. The fortunate encounter he had yesterday actually had owners, and their identities were not simple: Ye Jinglan, the Vice Minister of Justice of Qian, and Gu Mo, renowned as the foremost martial artist in the world."

Xiao Ziyin raised an eyebrow. "Gu Mo is in Chang'an? Then your young master's terrible misfortune makes perfect sense!"

Chang Qi asked, puzzled, "Why does Your Highness say that?"

Xiao Ziyin explained, "Your young master is a naturally born sage whose luck verges on the supernatural. Gu Mo is also a naturally born sage, and his strangeness surpasses even your young master's.

Your young master's luck, which granted him countless opportunities, still followed some discernible patterns. However, Gu Mo rose from obscurity to become the world's foremost master, displaying countless martial arts techniques along the way, most of which were utterly untraceable.

Both are naturally born sages, both possess an uncanny nature. It seems your young master has been countered by Gu Mo! Fortunately, this prince is not a naturally born sage; otherwise, I fear I would also be restrained..."

Just then, an envoy suddenly rushed in from outside, looking frantic. He nervously exclaimed, "Your Highness, something has happened! The Qian side responsible for negotiations has suddenly agreed directly to our demands. They're going to hand over the Divine Monk Dabai to us today! Your Highness, we... miscalculated!"

Xiao Ziyin's expression subtly changed. He quickly asked, "What's going on? Hasn't Qian's stance always been firm? Just yesterday, they were adamant about reparations in addition to the return of prisoners. Why the sudden concession?"

The envoy reported, "We don't know what happened. Just moments ago, we were still haggling with each other. The moment we put forth our strong demands, their attitude suddenly shifted dramatically. They immediately said, 'It's a deal,' and then produced the contract, ready to sign, stating that if we sign now, they'll hand over the person this afternoon. Lord Chen and the others don't know what to do. I just used the excuse of going to the lavatory to come and inform you, Your Highness. What do we do now? Qian has us cornered. Do we sign or not?"

Xiao Ziyin took a deep breath and said gravely, "This Gu Mo not only counters Ye Chen, but he also counters me?"

After pondering for a moment, she said, "Sign!"

The envoy quickly left.

Immediately, Xiao Ziyin waved her hand, dismissing the other envoys in the hall, leaving only a female attendant.

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

The female attendant bowed and said, "Your Highness, signing this contract now will be difficult to explain to His Majesty. Although we hold over a thousand Qian prisoners of war, Qian also holds our prisoners. Qian using the Divine Monk Dabai to exchange for prisoners means we will have to spend a large amount of money to get our own prisoners back. His Majesty will likely be very displeased when he learns of this. You must understand, the Qian army captured this time was an elite cavalry unit; each soldier's value could easily equal ten ordinary soldiers."

Xiao Ziyin waved her hand, "What else can I do now? Our diplomatic mission to Qian, to negotiate the return of Divine Monk Dabai, has been widely publicized by Qian in advance, forcing our court to make a statement. This is already a major issue domestically. Previously, we could use Qian's excessively high demands as an excuse for delaying, but now Qian has conceded. If we don't proceed with the exchange, it will cause unrest within the Buddhist factions and erode the unity and morale of our people. Who wouldn't worry about fighting for their nation and people, only to be abandoned by the state in the end?"

The female attendant said gravely, "Then how do we explain this to His Majesty?"

Xiao Ziyin replied, "Tell him the truth; what else can we do? However, for now, we must find a way to understand why Qian's attitude suddenly changed. I hope it has nothing to do with Gu Mo!"

The female attendant asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem if it's related to Gu Mo?"

Xiao Ziyin sighed and said, "Whether it's our highly publicized negotiations or Qian imprisoning the Divine Monk Dabai for twenty years, it all indicates that Qian is very clear about the Divine Monk's value. Under such circumstances, the guard and security around the Divine Monk Dabai must be extremely strict. The Qian court is also aware of the number of people and the strength of our embassy. Even with the help of secret agents, it would be absolutely impossible to reach the Divine Monk. Naturally, we could neither rescue nor assassinate him.

Qian's previous stance was very clear. A sudden change means only two possibilities: either the Divine Monk Dabai is dying, and they fear being stuck with him, or they have learned that we possess a method to kill him despite heavy guard.

If it's the first scenario, it's manageable. But if it's the second, then it's trouble. It would mean Qian might have also gained mastery over powers beyond the mortal realm, belonging to the Ascension Stage, or at least become aware of their existence.

And Gu Mo, as the foremost master in the world, is the person closest to ascension. If Qian has mastered Ascension Stage power or understands its characteristics, it most likely originates from Gu Mo. Even if Gu Mo hasn't reached that realm yet, with the full support of the Qian nation, he could easily grasp Ascension Stage power."

The female attendant's expression also grew solemn. She said, "Your Highness, this is highly possible. Do you remember the information we received earlier regarding the Grand Luo Heaven Ritual battle at Longhu Mountain in Qian before it was sealed? In that battle, it was rumored that someone claiming to be the reincarnation of Ling Xiao, the world's greatest master from generations past, appeared, and he ultimately died at Gu Mo's hands. Previously, we thought that was a trick by Gongsun Jue and Zhang Xisu. But if that account is true, then the reincarnated Ling Xiao must have possessed Ascension Stage power. Yet, he was killed by Gu Mo. Even if not killed, it at least indicates that Gu Mo possesses Ascension Stage power.

Furthermore, those who returned from Penglai Island all claim that Gu Mo transformed into a dragon on the island and defeated the First and Second Island Masters, and those two individuals very likely possessed Ascension Stage power. Considering today's events, it's very probable that Gu Mo has indeed mastered Ascension Stage power. Therefore, he understands perfectly that no matter how heavily guarded the Divine Monk Dabai is, once his location is confirmed, he can be easily killed using Ascension Stage power. He must have informed the Qian Emperor of this, which is why the Qian court's attitude changed so suddenly!"

Xiao Ziyin said gravely, "It is indeed quite a coincidence. Gu Mo just arrived in Chang'an, and the Qian court's attitude immediately underwent a drastic change. Moreover, Gu Mo's ability to counter Ye Chen now seems perfectly logical!"

As she spoke, Xiao Ziyin's expression grew increasingly solemn. She stated, "If this is true, it truly is problematic. Our two revered masters are restricted from freely moving about the mortal realm, but Gu Mo can. If he acts on Qian's behalf without regard for the cost, our state of Chu has no means to restrain him. As for His Majesty... he still needs some time to master Ascension Stage power."

The female attendant asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, what exactly are those two revered masters apprehensive about? Why dare they not move freely? If they could lend their full support, wouldn't our Great Chu's unification of the world be just around the corner?"

"I don't know," Xiao Ziyin pondered for a moment before replying. "First, find a way to ascertain whether Gu Mo has truly mastered Ascension Stage power... Oh, right, also issue another order: after we've exchanged for Divine Monk Dabai, cease all contact with secret agents. Peacefully wait for the Grand Ceremony for the Establishment of the Crown Prince of Qian to conclude, then we'll return home!"

"Yes," the female attendant bowed, then asked, "Your Highness, what about Young Master Ye Chen...?"

Xiao Ziyin sighed, "Try your best to find him. I hope he's still alive. It would be a great pity if such a person were to die like this!"

Chang'an City today was as peaceful as usual, but beneath its lively hustle and bustle, two major events unfolded that caused significant waves within the Qian imperial court.

The first event was the conclusion of the prisoner of war negotiations between Chu and Qian. Chu exchanged 1,352 prisoners of war for the "Demon Monk" Dabai, who had committed heinous crimes in Chang'an twenty years ago.

Dabai was released from prison that very day, but his freedom was temporarily restricted. He had to remain in Honglu Temple until Chu returned their prisoners of war from the front lines. Even then, his freedom would be relative; he would be directly repatriated to Chu, with no possibility of freedom within Qian's borders.

Few younger officials in the Qian court were aware of the Demon Monk Dabai's past, but he remained a nightmare for many of the older ministers. Therefore, Dabai's release from prison this time sparked significant controversy in the imperial court, creating a considerable stir.

The other unsettling matter concerned the disappearance of Ye Chen, an envoy from the Chu delegation, in Ghost City. Although Ye Chen was quite famous in Chu, he held little renown in Qian. Thus, it only caused a localized stir, affecting, for example, the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard, as they both had to dispatch personnel to search in Ghost City.

However, the Imperial City Guard and the Jingzhao Prefecture searched Ghost City all day without finding any trace of him.

It wasn't until evening, when the sun had already set, that a person, clad in ragged clothes and covered in wounds, crawled outside Ye Jinglan's residence. His hair was disheveled, and he looked utterly wretched. When he looked up and saw the characters "Ye Residence," he burst into hysterical laughter: "Hahahaha... the Ye family... I finally made it! I knew it, I am a fated person; you can't kill me, you can't kill me, hahahaha..."

This person was none other than Ye Chen, whom the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard were diligently searching for.

Just then, a few copper coins fell from above, landing in front of Ye Chen.

Ye Chen tilted his head in confusion, only to see a doorman from the Ye residence standing beside him, looking pained.

Ye Chen was bewildered and asked, "Brother, what are you doing?"

The doorman frowned and said, "Brother, I know begging isn't easy, but alas, I have a shrew at home, and this is all my drinking money. Don't think it's too little. Take it and go quickly!"

Ye Chen immediately understood that he was being mistaken for a beggar and was instantly furious. To think that he, Ye Chen, the dignified third-ranked master of Chu and known as the "Fated One" in the martial world, had been reduced to being treated as a beggar.

Instantly, he tried to stand up and tell the stout man his identity, but he couldn't get up, falling flat on his face and getting a mouthful of dirt. He angrily spluttered, "I am Ye Chen! Ye Chen! I, Ye Chen, the Fated One! I am the third-ranked master of Chu! I'm richer than an entire nation! Do I need your measly few coins?"

The doorman slowly squatted down, looking at Ye Chen with a conflicted expression. After hesitating for a long while, he fished out a few copper coins from his shoe, pressed them into Ye Chen's hand, and said, "Brother, this is really all I have left."

Ye Chen: "..."

Just then, a carriage stopped outside the gate. Ye Jinglan stepped out and, seeing the scene before him, asked, "What's going on?"

The doorman quickly stood up and said, "Master, this..."

Before the doorman could finish, Ye Chen propped himself up on his arms and crawled towards Ye Jinglan, hysterically crying out, "Ye Jinglan...呜呜呜... I've finally found you... Please, quickly take me to Gu Mo..."

The doorman quickly tried to stop Ye Chen.

Ye Chen hastily pushed his disheveled hair away from his face and shouted, "It's... it's me, Ye Jinglan! It's me, Ye Chen!"

Ye Jinglan stared at Ye Chen for a long moment, then said in surprise, "Brother, you're still alive?"

Ye Chen: "..."

Ye Jinglan walked over, looking at the disheveled Ye Chen, and asked, "How did you end up like this? Weren't you in Ghost City?"

"It's a long story," Ye Chen said. "Please take me to Gu Mo quickly. You have no idea,呜呜呜..."

Ye Chen recounted pitifully, "After I crawled out of Ghost City, to find you, I was run over by carriages seven times, had boiling water splashed on me three times, hot oil once, and even crawled in the wrong direction, so I had to crawl all over again..."

Ye Jinglan swallowed hard, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "You are truly hard to kill! But how can a person be so unlucky?"

Ye Chen's cries were filled with sorrow: "Gu Mo counters me!"

Ye Jinglan chuckled awkwardly and immediately instructed the doorman to help Ye Chen inside.

Subsequently, Ye Jinglan personally witnessed Ye Chen's misfortune. Just walking from the entrance to the main hall, a distance of only about four or five zhang, Ye Chen fell three times, landing headfirst each time. He bumped into wall corners five times. Just when he managed to walk straight down the long corridor, a tile suddenly fell and hit him again.

Nevertheless, Ye Chen valiantly made it to Gu Mo's courtyard. Then, with blood flowing from his seven orifices and a bruised, swollen face, he crawled towards Gu Mo, hysterically crying out, "Gu Mo... Ah, Big Brother... I was wrong...呜呜呜... I'm suffering so much..."

Afterwards, Ye Chen tearfully recounted how he had endured eighty-one trials in Ghost City, and then how he had painstakingly struggled to crawl to the outside of Ye Jinglan's residence.

"呜呜呜..." As he spoke, Ye Chen began to sob with resentment.

"呜呜呜, Big Brother..." Ye Chen cried, clutching Gu Mo's leg. "On this journey, I've figured it out. Ever since I met you, my luck has turned bad. Big Brother, you counter me! I know, your destiny must be stronger than mine. That's why, when I foolishly thought of taking you as my subordinate, my luck backfired! Big Brother, I was wrong. From now on, you'll be my big brother. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west. Big Brother, please forgive me. I'll never show off again, Big Brother!"

Watching the tearful Ye Chen wailing and sobbing, Gu Mo actually felt a hint of guilt. Although the fellow had been a bit arrogant before, he was generally straightforward and hadn't done anything truly evil. Yet, in just a day or two, he had been utterly broken!

"Big Brother, please just take me as your subordinate!"

Ye Chen cried out, clinging tightly to Gu Mo's leg, refusing to let go, terrified that if he released his grip for even a moment, he would lose his life.

Gu Mo chuckled lightly, channeling a stream of true qi into Ye Chen's body. He slowly said, "Can you first tell me what's going on with your luck? As far as I know, you were still completely unknown and unremarkable five years ago."

Hearing Gu Mo's words, Ye Chen's eyes showed a clear hint of hesitation, but it was only for a moment before he made up his mind. He said, "Big Brother, I'll tell you the truth. My luck became so good because I cultivated a certain martial art!"

Both Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan were full of surprise.

Ye Jinglan asked in confusion, "A martial art? What does that have to do with your luck? Is there any martial art that can cultivate luck?"

Ye Chen slowly replied, "Ordinary martial arts naturally can't cultivate luck. But what if it's the legendary 'Great Sun Demonic Art,' the Eighth of the Thirteen Taboos?"

Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

Ye Jinglan quickly asked, "Tell us more."

Ye Chen thought for a moment and said, "It was a summer five years ago. The day was sunny and pleasant, perfect weather. I was taking a nap at home when I suddenly heard someone groaning outside. I went out to look and saw an old beggar collapsed on the ground. Feeling pity for him, I gave him a bowl of water and some food. After a long while, the old beggar regained his strength and insistently, in a rather eccentric way, asked me what my dream was.

I had nothing much to do that day, so I thought it would be nice to have someone to chat with and pass the time. I started conversing with the old beggar and told him my dream was to gain without labor, to have whatever I wanted. I expected the old beggar to laugh at me, but he didn't. Instead, he said with a serious expression that he could fulfill my dream and asked if I wanted him to. Naturally, I couldn't take an old beggar's words seriously, so I jokingly replied, 'Of course I do.'

Then, the old beggar gave me a yellowed ancient book with four large characters on it: 'Great Sun Demonic Art.' He told me that if I cultivated according to the manual, I would gain without effort and have whatever I desired. Out of curiosity, I immediately flipped through it and found that there were indeed characters. But I only read the first page before closing the book, and when I looked up, the old beggar had already vanished. Then, I suddenly had an urgent need to urinate and woke up. It turned out I had only been dreaming. After that, I went to relieve myself, then went back to sleep, and slept soundly until dark. It was incredibly comfortable."

Gu Mo: "???"

Ye Jinglan: "?? Are you playing with me?"

Ye Chen hastily said, "Listen to me! Later, after I woke up, I recalled what happened in the dream. But what was strange was that I actually still remembered the content of that one page I saw. So, I tried cultivating it, and it turned out I could actually cultivate it, and the speed was incredibly fast—a thousand miles a day, so to speak. It was from then on that my luck started to improve, and as my cultivation grew higher, my luck got better and better. Eventually, my luck was so good that I would inevitably stumble upon fortuitous opportunities every time I left the house."

Gu Mo frowned slightly and asked, "Can you tell me about the cultivation manual you practiced?"

Ye Chen was decisive; he immediately began reciting: "Qian Yuan Heng Li Zhen, Kun Hou De Zai Wu. Where Yin and Yang contend, there lies the turning point... This formula uses trigrams as a boat, intent as a rudder. By observing the signs of unfolding events and the changes in scripture, one can condense 'fortune qi' throughout the body, turning the circulating power of heaven and earth to one's own use... Qi flows through the Du Meridian, reaching the Baihui point. If one's fortune is to rise, one must borrow the essence of 'Xun wind,' using intent to propel the qi flow like rising winds and surging clouds..."

Soon, he finished reciting the four to five hundred characters of the manual's content.

Both Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan looked bewildered after listening. Because, whether it was the general principles or the cultivation methods, in their view, it was all gibberish, not even qualifying as a common, low-tier martial art.

Given Gu Mo's current cultivation level, he could definitively confirm that this manual was completely useless and could not cultivate anything.

However, Gu Mo did not suspect Ye Chen of lying, because as Ye Chen recited, he was also circulating his internal energy, and it truly managed to form major and minor circulations within his body.

"Did you ever see the Great Sun Demonic Art again after that?" Gu Mo asked.

"No," Ye Chen replied, "I only remember this one page I saw in the dream. I regret it too. If I had read more at the time, would I have become even more powerful?"

Gu Mo chuckled lightly. He then quietly channeled his energy, re-integrating the "luck" he had extracted from Ye Chen back into him. However, when he used his energy to observe Ye Chen again, he found a vast amount of black qi emanating from Ye Chen, which had also materialized just like the previous luck, completely taking the place where the luck had been.

"Is this luck, or bad luck?"

Gu Mo slowly re-integrated the luck. This "qi," which could not attach to other people, naturally returned to Ye Chen. However, the mass of "bad luck" did not disappear; instead, it settled on one side, with the "luck" on the other.

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