Great Sun Demonic Art

The next day, early morning.

Ye Jinglan, who had just returned from the morning court, ran to Gu Mo's courtyard with a beaming face, laughing heartily, "Brother Gu, Brother Gu, hahaha, I just got news that that arrogant Ye Chen is having terrible luck!"

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

Ye Jinglan sat on a chair and gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Brother Gu, you are truly amazing. You only said yesterday that you had captured Ye Chen's luck, and he started having bad luck that very day. He's already missing. His two swordsman subordinates ran out of the Ghost City to seek help from our court!"

"What exactly happened?" Gu Mo asked doubtfully.

Ye Jinglan said, "According to those two swordsmen, Ye Chen was like he had encountered a real ghost in the Ghost City, with all sorts of inexplicable killing intents falling upon him. Even though Ye Chen was highly skilled in martial arts and was Chu Kingdom's Third Master, he still couldn't withstand it.

Even those two swordsmen almost died in the Ghost City. Now, he's missing. Jingzhao Prefecture has sent people down to the Ghost City to search, but I suspect there's little hope. That guy is too unlucky now, and the Ghost City is complex and dangerous. I'm afraid he'll die in there."

Gu Mo looked at the ball of "qi" in his hand and thought, 'Could it really be luck? Can luck be substantial?'

Recalling Ye Chen's experiences, it couldn't be described as just a Child of Fortune; he was completely a Father of Fortune.

Even the protagonists in folk storybooks with great luck had logical fortunate events. The most typical example was Ye Jinglan. In Gu Mo's opinion, he was actually a person with great luck and fit the protagonist setting of a novel very well.

Beneath a seemingly ordinary background lay the extraordinary. At a young age, he made a name in the martial world. After offending the Mystic Maiden Palace, he coincidentally met Lin Qixia, one of the Mystic Maiden Palace's ten great disciples, and they fell in love. Later, by chance, he married Nangong Yuexi, Qing Province's Number One Beauty, and finally successfully defeated Qing Province's Number One Expert, thwarting the Mystic Maiden Palace's conspiracy.

Afterward, his true identity was revealed, and he encountered an unprecedented crisis. Just then, he received help from a powerful expert, overcame the crisis, and even gained the power of the Kirin as a blessing in disguise. After that, he soared to success, becoming a top expert in the world, and was drawn into the battle of the He Xu Ruins. It was clearly a high-level battle he couldn't possibly interfere with, yet in the end, he still reaped the benefits and obtained the Kirin Bone. His cultivation would advance further, directly making him a top-tier figure in the world.

Looking at Ye Jinglan's experiences, it was already great luck.

But compared to Ye Chen, it was still very ordinary. Ye Chen's experiences couldn't be described with words like good luck or great fortune; it was simply luck itself.

'Now that I've taken this ball of qi away, he immediately became extremely unlucky. This means luck can indeed be substantial. Can one create those with great luck, create the protagonists of an era?'

However, what Gu Mo found difficult to understand was that even for someone like Ye Jinglan, who possessed great luck, his luck, under the laws of the world, was formless and intangible, impossible to grasp.

'I hope this guy isn't dead!' Gu Mo thought.

Chang'an City, Honglu Temple.

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

Chang Qi cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, it's hard to believe, but we can confirm that they were indeed all coincidences, not man-made at all. If the events in the Corpse Cocoon Cave area could possibly have been pre-arranged, then later, when our young master was washed away by the river, the time and place we rescued him couldn't possibly have been arranged by someone.

Even if someone arranged it, they couldn't have arranged it so precisely, calculating even the exact spot where Young Master sat. The three of us were sitting on the ground together, yet it just happened to collapse where he was, and he fell into a secret pit.

Later, the three of us were running together, and a vortex suddenly appeared in the quicksand, and it just happened that he fell into it... Many things afterward involved the three of us together, but no matter if he was standing on the side or in the middle, trouble would invariably fall upon him alone!"

Afterward, Chang Qi and Chang Liu recounted Ye Chen's adventurous experiences in the Ghost City.

The Chu Country envoys present exchanged glances, shocked by Ye Chen's misfortune, but also by how hard he was to kill. Anyone else would have died dozens of times over from those incidents.

Xiao Ziyin frowned and asked, "In short, is it that your young master's previous good luck has now turned into extreme bad luck?"

Chang Qi nodded and said, "Yes. The moment we came out, we went to Jingzhao Prefecture to report the case. Although Jingzhao Prefecture promised to help find our young master, their capabilities are limited. Gan Country's Underground Ghost City is notoriously complex. I beg Your Highness to use the delegation's name to ask the Gan Country court to help find my young master!"

Xiao Ziyin nodded and said, "Don't worry, I've already sent people to seek help from the Gan Country court. Oh, right, Young Master Ye has always been the luckiest person under heaven. How could he suddenly become so unlucky? Were there any omens before this? Did he encounter anything special?"

"Yes," Chang Qi replied. "Young Master fell off a cliff near Corpse Cocoon Cave and discovered a cave containing hidden opportunities and treasures. In the past, my young master often encountered such situations, and they were all ownerless.

But yesterday was different. The opportunity he encountered yesterday actually had an owner, and the owner's identity was not simple. It was Gan Country's Ministry of Justice Vice Minister Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo, known as Number One Under Heaven."

Xiao Ziyin's eyebrows shot up. "Gu Mo is in Chang'an? Then it makes sense that your young master would have such terrible luck!"

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

Xiao Ziyin explained, "Your young master is an Innate Sage blessed with extraordinary luck, and Gu Mo is also an Innate Sage, whose 'evil' nature surpasses your young master's.

Your young master's luck, which has brought him countless opportunities, can still be traced. But Gu Mo, from a Nobody to Number One Under Heaven, has displayed countless martial arts along the way, most of which are untraceable.

Both are Innate Sages, both possess an 'evil' nature. It seems your young master is also suppressed by Gu Mo! Fortunately, I am not an Innate Sage, otherwise, I might also be suppressed..."

Just then, an envoy rushed in from outside the door, saying nervously, "Your Highness, something has happened! The person in charge of negotiations from Gan Country has suddenly agreed to our request. They will hand over the Great Compassion Divine Monk to us today. Your Highness... we've miscalculated!"

Xiao Ziyin's expression changed slightly, and she quickly asked, "What's going on? Weren't the people from Gan Country always firm in their stance? Yesterday they insisted on returning prisoners of war and demanding compensation. Why have they suddenly relented?"

The envoy replied, "We don't know what happened. Just now, we were still haggling. As soon as we made our firm statement, their attitude changed drastically. They directly said 'it's a deal' and then produced the contract to sign, stating that if the contract is signed now, they will hand over the person this afternoon.

Lord Chen and the others don't know what to do. I took the excuse of using the restroom to come and inform you, Your Highness. What should we do now? Gan Country has us cornered. Should we sign or not?"

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

She pondered for a moment and said, "Sign!"

The envoy quickly left.

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

For a moment, the hall fell into deathly stillness.

The female official cupped her hands and said, "Your Highness, now that we sign the contract, it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty. Although we have over a thousand Gan Country prisoners of war, Gan Country also has our prisoners of war. Now that Gan Country is exchanging the Great Compassion Divine Monk for prisoners of war, it means we will have to spend a large amount of money to get our prisoners of war back.

His Majesty will likely be very angry when he finds out. You must know that the elite cavalry unit captured by Gan Country this time is top-tier. Any one of them is worth ten ordinary soldiers."

Xiao Ziyin waved her hand. "What can I do now? Our mission to Gan Country to negotiate for the return of the Great Compassion Divine Monk was publicized in advance by Gan Country, forcing our court to make a statement. This has already become a major issue domestically. Previously, we could use the excuse that Gan Country's demands were too high, causing the delay. Now that Gan Country has made concessions, if we still refuse to exchange, it will cause unrest within the Buddhist Faction and shake the people's resolve. Who would not worry about fighting to the end for the country and its people, only to be abandoned by the country?"

The female official said in a deep voice, "Then how will we explain this to His Majesty?"

Xiao Ziyin said, "Tell the truth. What else can we do? However, we must now find a way to figure out why Gan Country's attitude has suddenly changed. I hope it has nothing to do with Gu Mo!"

The female official asked doubtfully, "What's the problem if it has something to do with Gu Mo?"

Xiao Ziyin sighed and said, "Whether it's us coming to negotiate so grandly, or Gan Country imprisoning the Great Compassion Divine Monk for twenty years, it all shows that Gan Country is very aware of the Great Compassion Divine Monk's value.

Under such circumstances, the guard and security for the Great Compassion Divine Monk would absolutely be extremely strict. Gan Country's imperial court also knows how many people are in our delegation and how much strength we have. Even with the help of spies, it would be absolutely impossible to get close to the Great Compassion Divine Monk. Naturally, it would be impossible to save him, nor to kill him.

Gan Country's previous attitude was very clear. A sudden change means there are only two possibilities: first, the Great Compassion Divine Monk is dying, and they are afraid he will die in their hands; second, they know we have a way to kill the Great Compassion Divine Monk under heavy guard.

If it's the first, it's fine. If it's the second, it's troublesome. It means Gan Country might also possess power that surpasses the human world, belonging to the Ascension Realm, or at least knows of the existence of such power.

And Gu Mo, as the Number One Under Heaven, is the closest person to ascension. If Gan Country masters Ascension Realm power or knows its characteristics, it will most likely come from Gu Mo. Even if Gu Mo hasn't reached that realm yet, with the combined efforts of Gan Country, they could easily help Gu Mo master Ascension Realm power."

The female official's expression also became grave. She said, "Your Highness, this is very possible. Do you remember the battle of the Grand Heavenly Ritual before Dragon Tiger Mountain was sealed in Gan Country that we received information about before? In that battle, it was rumored that someone who claimed to be the reincarnation of the Previous Generation Number One Under Heaven, Ling Xiao, appeared, and was eventually killed by Gu Mo.

Before, we thought it was Gongsun Jue and Zhang Xisu's doing. But if that was true, then the reincarnated Ling Xiao must have possessed Ascension Realm power, yet he was killed by Gu Mo. Even if he wasn't killed, it at least shows that Gu Mo has Ascension Realm power.

Another thing is the people who returned from Penglai Island. They all said that on Penglai Island, someone transformed into a dragon and defeated the Great Island Master and the Second Island Master. Those two also very likely possessed Ascension Realm power.

Considering today's events, Gu Mo very likely has already mastered Ascension Realm power. Therefore, he knows very well that no matter how strictly the Great Compassion Divine Monk is guarded, as long as his location is confirmed, he can easily kill him with Ascension Realm power. Thus, he informed Emperor Gan, which is why the Gan Country's imperial court's attitude changed so suddenly!"

Xiao Ziyin said in a deep voice, "The timing is indeed too coincidental. Gu Mo just arrived in Chang'an City, and the Gan Country's imperial court's attitude changed drastically. Also, Gu Mo's ability to restrain Ye Chen seems reasonable!"

As she spoke, Xiao Ziyin's expression became even more solemn. "If this is true, it will be truly troublesome. The two Esteemed Ones are restricted from moving freely in the human world, but Gu Mo can.

If he acts for Gan Country at all costs, our Chu Kingdom has no means to restrain him. As for His Majesty... he is still some time away from mastering Ascension Realm power."

The female official asked doubtfully, "Your Highness, what are the two Esteemed Ones afraid of? Why don't they dare to move freely? If they could wholeheartedly assist us, wouldn't our Great Chu unifying the world be just around the corner?"

"I don't know." Xiao Ziyin pondered for a moment and said, "First, let's find a way to investigate whether Gu Mo has truly mastered Ascension Realm power... Hmm, right. You can pass down another order. After we retrieve the Great Compassion Divine Monk, stop all contact with spies. Wait patiently until after Gan Country's Succession Ceremony ends, and then we will return!"

"Yes." The female official bowed and asked again, "Your Highness, then, regarding Ye Chen, Young Master Ye..."

Xiao Ziyin sighed and said, "Try to look for him. I hope he is still alive. Such a character, it would be a pity if he died just like that!"

Today's Chang'an City was as peaceful as ever, but beneath the lively hustle and bustle, two major events occurred that caused ripples in the Gan Country's imperial court.

The first event was the conclusion of the negotiations between Chu Kingdom and Gan Country regarding prisoners of war. Chu Kingdom exchanged one thousand three hundred and fifty-two prisoners of war for the Demonic Monk Dabie, who committed heinous crimes in Chang'an City twenty years ago.

Dabie was released from prison that day. However, his freedom was temporarily restricted. He could only stay at Honglu Temple. He would not regain his freedom until the frontline, where Chu Kingdom returned the prisoners of war. But even then, it would be relative freedom. He would be directly deported back to Chu Kingdom and would still have no freedom within Gan Country.

Regarding the Demonic Monk Dabie, very few young officials in Gan Country's imperial court knew about him now, but he was a nightmare for many old ministers.

Therefore, this time Dabie was released from prison, It caused great controversy in the Imperial Court, stirring up a significant commotion.

Another matter that stirred up a commotion was the disappearance of Ye Chen, an envoy from the Chu Country Delegation, in Ghost City. However, although Ye Chen was famous in Chu Country, he wasn't well-known in Gan Country, so it only caused a minor stir, affecting places like Jingzhao Prefecture and the Imperial City Division, as they both had to send people to search Ghost City.

However, the Imperial City Division and Jingzhao Prefecture searched Ghost City for an entire day without any trace.

It wasn't until evening, when the sun had already set, that

a person with tattered clothes and wounds all over his body crawled to the gate of Ye Jinglan's house. His hair was disheveled, and he looked utterly disheveled. When he looked up and saw the two large characters "Ye Manor," he let out a hysterical laugh: "Hahahaha... Ye Family... I've finally arrived. I knew it, I'm the Chosen One. You can't kill me, you can't kill me, hahahaha..."

This person was none other than Ye Chen, whom Jingzhao Prefecture and the Imperial City Division were currently searching for in full force.

Just then, a few copper coins rained down from the sky, landing in front of Ye Chen.

Ye Chen tilted his head in confusion and saw a gatekeeper from Ye Manor standing beside him, looking pained.

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

The gatekeeper frowned and said, "Brother, I know it's not easy begging, but my wife is a tigress. This is all the money I have for drinks. Don't think it's too little, take it and go!"

Ye Chen immediately understood that he was being mistaken for a beggar, and he was furious. He, the dignified Third Master of Chu Kingdom, known in Jianghu as the Chosen One, Ye Chen, had been reduced to being treated like a beggar.

He immediately wanted to stand up and tell the fat man in front of him his identity, but he couldn't get up. He fell face-first, eating a mouthful of dirt, and roared, "I am Ye Chen, Ye Chen, I, the Chosen One Ye Chen, the Third Master of Chu Kingdom, I have Riches Equal to a Country. Do I lack this paltry sum from you?"

The gatekeeper slowly crouched down, looked at Ye Chen with a conflicted expression, hesitated for a while, then dug out a few copper coins from his shoe and stuffed them into Ye Chen's hand, saying, "Brother, I really only have this much."

Ye Chen: "..."

Just then, a carriage stopped outside the gate. Ye Jinglan alighted from the carriage and, seeing the scene, asked, "What's going on?"

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

Before the gatekeeper could finish speaking, Ye Chen propped himself up with his arms and crawled towards Ye Jinglan, shouting hysterically, "Ye Jinglan... sob sob sob... I've finally found you... Hurry and take me to see Gu Mo..."

The gatekeeper quickly stopped Ye Chen.

Ye Chen hurriedly pushed aside his disheveled hair and shouted, "I... It's me, Ye Jinglan, I, Ye Chen!"

Ye Jinglan stared at Ye Chen for a long while, surprised, "Brother, you're not dead yet?"

Ye Chen: "..."

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

"It's a long story," Ye Chen said. "Hurry and take me to see Gu Mo. You have no idea, sob sob sob..."

Ye Chen said aggrievedly, "After I crawled out of the Ghost City, I was run over by a carriage seven times, scalded with boiling water three times, and splashed with oil once while looking for you. I even crawled in the wrong direction and had to do it all over again..."

Ye Jinglan swallowed, gave a thumbs up, and said, "You're really hard to kill. But how can a person be this unlucky?"

Ye Chen cried out with sorrow, "Gu Mo curses me!"

Ye Jinglan chuckled awkwardly and quickly ordered the gatekeeper to carry Ye Chen inside.

Then, Ye Jinglan personally witnessed Ye Chen's misfortune.

From the entrance to the hall, a distance of only about ten to fifteen feet, Ye Chen fell headfirst three times, hit his head against the corner of the wall five times, and after finally walking straight in the corridor, tiles suddenly fell and hit him once more.

However, Ye Chen still stubbornly reached the courtyard where Gu Mo lived. Then, with blood bleeding from seven orifices and a bruised and swollen face, he crawled towards Gu Mo and shouted hysterically, "Gu Mo... Ah, Big Brother... I was wrong... Wuwuwu... I'm so miserable..."

Afterward, Ye Chen cried and recounted how he experienced eighty-one tribulations in the Ghost City, and then how he arduously crawled to the outside of Ye Jinglan's house.

"Wuwuwu..."

As he spoke, Ye Chen cried out aggrievedly.

"Wuwuwu, Big Brother..." Ye Chen hugged Gu Mo's leg and said, "I've thought it all through on this journey. Ever since I met you, I've started having bad luck, Big Brother. You curse me!

I know it must be because your fate is stronger than mine, so when I foolishly thought of taking you as my subordinate, I suffered a backlash from my luck. Big Brother, I was wrong. From now on, you are my Big Brother. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west. Big Brother, please forgive me. I'll never show off again, Big Brother!"

Looking at Ye Chen, who was crying rivers of tears, Gu Mo actually felt a trace of guilt. Although this guy had been pretending earlier, he was still very straightforward in doing things and hadn't done anything evil. Now, in just one to two days, he had been completely messed up!

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

Ye Chen cried, clinging tightly to Gu Mo's leg, afraid that if he let go, he might lose his life soon.

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

Hearing Gu Mo's words, Ye Chen's eyes showed obvious hesitation, but after a moment, he made up his mind and said, "Big Brother, I'll tell you the truth. My luck has become so good because I cultivated a martial art!"

Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan were both full of surprise.

Ye Jinglan asked doubtfully, "A martial art, what does that have to do with your luck? How can a martial art cultivate luck?"

Ye Chen slowly said, "Ordinary martial arts naturally cannot cultivate luck. But what if it's the Great Sun Demonic Art, the eighth taboo among the legendary Thirteen Taboos?"

Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo exchanged a glance, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Ye Jinglan quickly asked, "Explain it in detail."

Ye Chen thought for a moment and said, "That was five years ago, one summer. The weather was fine and sunny, perfect. I was taking a nap at home when I suddenly heard someone groaning outside.

When I went out, I saw an old beggar collapsed on the ground. I felt sorry for him, so I gave him a bowl of water and some food. After a long while, the old beggar recovered and insisted on asking me mysteriously what my dream was.

I didn't have anything else to do that day, so I thought it would be nice to chat with someone to pass the time. I started chatting with the old beggar. I told him my dream was to get rich without working, to have whatever I wanted.

I thought the old beggar would laugh at me, but he didn't. Instead, he said with a serious face that he could fulfill it and asked if I wanted it. Of course, I couldn't take an old beggar's words to heart, so I jokingly said, 'Of course I do.'

Then, the old beggar gave me a yellowed ancient book with four big characters on it: Great Sun Demonic Art.

He told me that as long as I cultivated according to the secret manual, I could have whatever I wanted without working. I was immediately curious and flipped through it. It actually had words. But I only read the first page before closing the book. When I looked up, the old beggar had already disappeared.

Then, I suddenly felt an urge to urinate and woke up. It turned out I had just been dreaming. So, I went to relieve myself and went back to sleep, sleeping until dark. It was so comfortable."

Gu Mo: "??"

Ye Jinglan: "?? Are you kidding me?"

Ye Chen hurriedly said, "Listen to me finish. Later, after I woke up, I remembered what happened in the dream. But strangely, I still remembered the content of the page I saw.

So, I tried to cultivate it, and it turned out I could really cultivate, and the speed was very fast, a thousand miles in a day. It was from then on that my luck started to improve, and as my cultivation grew higher, my luck got better and better. Later, it reached the point where I would definitely find opportunities just by going out."

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

Ye Chen was decisive and recited it directly: "Qian Yuan Heng Li Zhen, Kun Hou De Zai Wu, Yin Yang Xiang Dang Zhi Chu, Zheng Zang Zhuan Huan Zhi Ji...

This technique uses hexagrams as a boat and intention as a rudder. Observe the Tui Bei Zhi Zhao, deduce the Jing Zhi Bian, and condense 'Yun Qi' throughout the body, transforming the power of heaven and earth's flow for one's own use...

Qi flows through the Du Mai, reaching the Bai Hui. If the momentum is about to rise, it needs to borrow the meaning of 'Xun Feng,' using intention to drive the Qi flow like wind and clouds rising..."

Soon, The four to five hundred words of the secret manual were recited.

Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan both looked confused after listening.

Because, whether it was the general outline or the cultivation method, it seemed like a jumbled mess to them, not even as good as a common, low-level martial art.

With Gu Mo's current realm, he could also be completely sure that this secret manual was 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 energy, and it actually formed a Lesser and Greater Circulation within his body.

"Have you seen the Great Sun Demonic Art again after that?" Gu Mo asked.

"No," Ye Chen said. "I only remember the content of the page I saw in the dream. I regret it too. If I had looked more, would I be more powerful now?"

Gu Mo let out a light laugh.

He immediately and quietly circulated his energy to re-integrate the "luck" he had taken from Ye Chen back into Ye Chen. However, when he circulated his energy and looked at Ye Chen again, he found that a huge mass of black qi permeated Ye Chen's body. It had also become substantial, just like the previous luck, completely replacing the position where the luck had been.

"Is this good luck, or bad luck?"

Gu Mo slowly re-integrated the good luck. This "qi" that could not attach to others returned to Ye Chen very naturally. However, the mass of "bad luck" did not disappear, but remained on one side, with the "good luck" on the other.