Ch. 661The Evil-Slaying Bureau's New Director
Chapter Summary: The Evil-Slaying Bureau's New Director
Key Plot Points & Events
- Reveal: Sheng Yuzhou—former Chief Envoy of the Evil-Slaying Bureau, long missing and presumed dead—suddenly appears before Yuwen Chongguang and Bi Li, who are stunned.
- Battle unfolds: Yuwen Chongguang attacks with the Green Jade Ring Saber and the Five Hells Lightning technique, unleashing a massive lotus of lightning and saber qi. Sheng Yuzhou effortlessly deflects it with a single sleeve strike merging Buddhist light and demonic shadows.
- Bi Li's hidden arts fail: Bi Li uses the Shadow Poison Sect's Five-Part Mourning Qi Formula (concealed plague/decay evils hidden in the void), but Sheng Yuzhou absorbs the attack with a "Universe Within the Sleeve" technique.
- Escalating attacks: Yuwen Chongguang unleashes Myriad Thunders Soar, but his attacks pass harmlessly through Sheng Yuzhou. Bi Li strikes from behind, but Sheng Yuzhou's Dragon-Elephant Dharma Body renders him invulnerable.
- Ultimate move countered: Yuwen Chongguang uses his clan's ultimate killing move, Five Hells Ascend to Heaven (fusing five hells into one saber strike). Sheng Yuzhou destroys his body with a single attack—only Yuwen Chongguang's head survives.
- Bi Li defeated: Sheng Yuzhou strikes Bi Li with a Buddhist Dharma Eye, severely wounding him, then traps him in a force-cage prison.
- Confronting the traitor: Sheng Yuzhou turns to Yuan Xing—his former subordinate who colluded with the enemies—and demands to know who gave him the courage.
- Authority revealed: Sheng Yuzhou produces a golden imperial token ("As if I Myself Had Arrived") and reveals an imperial edict appointing him acting Chief of the Evil-Slaying Bureau, commanding all its forces across the nine provinces. Yuan Xing kneels in submission.
Character Developments
- Sheng Yuzhou: Revealed to be alive and immensely powerful. His abilities combine Buddhist and demonic cultivation (the "union of Buddha and demon"). He is now the appointed Acting Director of the Evil-Slaying Bureau, giving him both martial supremacy and legitimate authority.
- Yuwen Chongguang: A master of the Yuwen family's Five Hells Thunder Saber. Despite unleashing his ultimate technique, he is utterly crushed—his body destroyed, only his head remaining.
- Bi Li: A Shadow Poison Sect practitioner skilled in concealment and deadly plague arts. His entire arsenal is systematically countered, and he is captured alive.
- Yuan Xing: Former subordinate of Sheng Yuzhou who betrayed him by not arresting the two enemies. Now cowed and kneeling, he represents a loyalty test passed by threat of imperial authority.
Significant Themes
- Legitimacy of power: The golden token and imperial edict establish that true authority comes from the Emperor; Sheng Yuzhou's position is officially sanctioned, making resistance both futile and treasonous.
- Mind over matter / transcending death: Sheng Yuzhou's philosophical speech—"Hell is the human heart... the flesh is a cage"—frames his victory as understanding a higher truth: suffering exists only through attachment to the material body; true transcendence lies in breaking that cage and returning to the mind.
- The fusion of opposites: Buddha and demon, life and death, flesh and mind—the chapter repeatedly pairs opposing concepts to show mastery comes from uniting them, not choosing one.
- Betrayal and consequences: Yuan Xing's collusion with enemies against his former superior highlights the theme of loyalty, with Sheng Yuzhou demanding absolute obedience.
Character Interactions
- Yuwen Chongguang & Bi Li vs. Sheng Yuzhou: A one-sided three-stage battle where both attackers escalate to their ultimate arts and are each methodically broken—first their techniques, then their bodies.
- Sheng Yuzhou's philosophical monologue: Directed at Yuwen Chongguang just before destroying him, explaining why the "Five Hells Ascend to Heaven" move ultimately fails against him.
- Yuan Xing & Sheng Yuzhou: A master-subordinate confrontation. Yuan Xing tries to justify his inaction by citing court authority, but Sheng Yuzhou neatly counters by revealing his own higher court authority, crushing the excuse and demanding servitude.