Volcanic Age

The training with the Zhejiang Branch had ended, so Zhou Xuchuan set off on a journey.

While he thought about taking a few phantoms with him, he ended up leaving them behind, as there were so few of them. After steadily moving south for several days, he eventually arrived at Fujian, but the conditions of the road and the overall situation deteriorated dramatically from there on.

Fujian had many mountains, so the terrain was rugged, and the land was barren, making it unsuitable for farming. There were frequent food shortages, which led to frequent migrations. The situation was so dire that it didn't improve even under frequent migrations, and there were often cases of cannibalism.

All sorts of problems arose, and it eventually became a safe haven for criminals.

The majority of the province's visitors were vile criminals who decided to flee all the way to Fujian upon committing abhorrent acts.

"Kekeke. If you don't want to die, give me everything you have!"

"If you don't want to die, then turn around. I'll let this go."

"What the hell are you—ugh!"

There were many annoying encounters. Thieves and parakhos[1] were swarming around the province like insects.

Upon entering Fujian, Zhou Xuchuan donned a mask to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. He also avoided villages and roads, as he didn't want to run into bandits.

However, he was soon amazed to realize that he still had to fight them anyway.

After a few days of journey, he arrived at the province's capital, Fuzhou. While there weren't any tourist attractions, there were many people, as it was still the center of the province.

The port was also nearby, so Zhou Xuchuan could feel the sea breeze.

Good. Then, let's go look for the Xia Wu Sect. He needed the Xia Wu Sect's power for the perfect disguise. That was the reason he decided to go to Fuzhou—the Xia Wu Sect had a base here, after all.

While he was training in the Zhejiang Branch a week ago, Zhou Xuchuan had asked the phantoms to gather information for him. Upon hearing that a disguise artist from the Xia Wu Sect was living in Fujian, he decided to reach out to Jiang Ningchu to ask for help.

"Okay. I'll contact them."

As expected from an organization of undercover intelligence traders, the response was quick.

It's a shame that the Phantoms aren't good at disguise arts.

Well, it made sense if one simply thought about it. There was no reason to use disguises when they had the Phantom Art. If they really needed to infiltrate a place, they just had to lower their presence to the extreme or use a Phantom whose features were suitable for the situation.

Regardless, finding the Fuzhou Branch of the Xia Wu Sect wasn't difficult. All he had to do was catch a rascal approaching him at night and break his arm; the boy would surely talk to him by then.

However, it still took him quite a while to locate the branch, and it was due to the Xia Wu Sect's habit of not leaving any traces.

"Are you by any chance from the Zhengzhou Branch?"

While Zhou Xuchuan was busy poking around, those of the Xia Wu Sect had decided to approach him directly.

"Is this ready?" Zhou Xuchuan asked, swiping his palm over his face.

Realizing the meaning of the gesture, the Xia Wu Sect member nodded.

"We've been waiting for you. This way."

Zhou Xuchuan was guided to the outskirts of the city. There were very few people, and he could feel gazes from everywhere, but they were all members of the Xia Wu Sect.

Soon, they arrived at a butcher's shop, and Zhou Xuchuan was then taken to a hidden basement.

It was a basement, but it wasn't dark at all. Instead of sunlight, there were many sources of light placed closely together, making the area bright like daytime.

Animal skins were hanging from the ceiling, decorating the basement's interior.

After massing them, Zhou Xuchuan saw traces of people, such as dishes and a desk that seemed to be serving as a workbench.

"I'll wait for you upstairs," the Xia Wu Sect member said before going up to the main floor and closing the door.

"Please come in."

Zhou Xuchuan heard a phlegmy voice. When he turned, he found an old man with a face covered in burns deeper in the room.

"What kind of face are you looking for?"

Disguises weren't usually made for something clean.

If one were to ask about it, they wouldn't be told. If they insisted out of curiosity, they'd lose one, or even two, lives. When it came to this kind of work, it was best not to ask anything specific.

"While everything from children to the elderly is possible, your height, physique, and Adam's apple make you unsuitable for a child's face.

"If you want the face of an elderly person, it would be good for you to practice walking with your back bent for a while.

"Moreover, you need to bind your muscles down, so you'll have to wear tight clothes, too," the old man said, sounding calm as if he were enjoying an ordinary day.

Those words made Zhou Xuchuan know one thing—the old man before him was an expert. He had come here for a rough disguise, but they paid more attention to detail than he initially thought.

"Around thirty years old…"

"Hmm. Do you mind taking off your mask?"

"Oh, I forgot about that."

Zhou Xuchuan had gotten so used to wearing the mask that he had completely forgotten about it.

"You're young. Do you mind if I touch your skin?"

"Do whatever you'd like."

The old man came over and started poking as well as massaging his cheek.

"What sort of style are you looking for?"

"Not handsome, not ugly. Just enough attractiveness that I won't stick out."

“Two days.”

“What time?”

"The hour of the tiger[2], early."

It was nice that it went by quickly and swimmingly, without unnecessary conversations at that. Upon making an appointment in two days, Zhou Xuchuan went upstairs.

He called out to the Xia Wu Sect member, who was waiting in the butcher's shop, and asked the latter for any place to rest comfortably without attracting any attention.

"There's a suitable place, but it costs quite a bit."

"That doesn't matter."

With that, Zhou Xuchuan was introduced to an inn. It was located in a corner of the city center and could only be reached after passing multiple twists and turns in alleyways that, while not as intricate as Zhengzhou's streets, were incredibly convoluted.

Zhou Xuchuan walked into his room and immediately sprawled out on the bed.

Just then, the window opened, and Little Ghost came in, sitting down quietly.

The Dark Heavens Association and the Evil Valley…

Zhou Xuchuan's goal naturally came to his mind as he sprawled out on the bed.

He didn't want to stay still, so he decided to organize his thoughts.

Since their preparations had ended up failing, they must have brought something else. He wasn't completely ignorant of the information that he had obtained from Jiangsu. He knew of some of the details from an incident in his previous life.

According to the original history, the Seven Swords War led to the Great War of Good and Evil, which lasted for over ten years. Once it neared its end, the Dark Heavens Association showed up and declared an all-out war on the murim world.

The Martial Alliance and the Evil Valley had felt a sense of crisis and belatedly joined hands to fight the Dark Heavens Association, but it had been a difficult fight.

The Dark Heavens Association had planted spies in both organizations, obtaining useful information from the two groups. They then used those spies to stab both organizations in the back.

There were a few major incidents, and one of them was the upcoming "Unfilial Piety of Dan Libai."

The Unfilial son, Dan Libai. The Evil Valley Master had many children.

The most famous among them was Dan Libai.

Perhaps it was because he had inherited his father's blood, but he had an extraordinary talent for martial arts since he was young. Those around who saw his talent stuck to him like leeches, watching his every move and flattering him.

Their flattery and the all-out support of those around him were probably the reason he became arrogant. Before he was even an adult, he had already committed a huge variety of evil deeds; some of them were severe, like slapping a cultist for no reason.

The Evil Valley Master seemed like he couldn't care less. It wasn't like they were of the Righteous Faction; they were proud members of the Evil Faction!

He seemed to have tolerated whatever his son had done as long as Dan Libai was cultivating diligently.

The Evil Valley Master's indifference—the indifference of the only person Dan Libai feared—became the impetus that led to the steady growth of his wickedness.

Still, Dan Libai realized that he couldn't do whatever he wanted if he were weak, so he devoted himself to martial arts, spending any other day doing whatever he wanted.

When Dan Libai reached thirty, the Evil Valley Master finally complained.

"Hey, tsk, tsk. You've grown this old, and yet you're still just a child," the Evil Valley Master said, sounding bitter.

Dan Libai had been so selfish and arrogant during his childhood that he grew up thinking that the world belonged to him. The word "compromise" did not exist in his dictionary, and he was so arrogant that he'd kill anyone who pointed out his flaws.

His cultivation was sufficient, but he himself was unfit to be a leader.

The Evil Valley Master pointed that out while clicking his tongue, and he called Dan Libai "stupid" as well. Dan Libai's father often embarrassed him in front of his subordinates, and his mounting dissatisfaction finally exploded.

Just why do I have to live like this? Dan Libai had been receiving praises since he was young; he had ascended to the Harmony Realm and became one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven before his forties.

Dan Libai's desires were greater than everyone else, and the dissatisfaction caused by the humiliation amplified those desires exponentially. Just how long does that old man plan on living?

The Evil Valley Master seemed like he had no plans of considering himself old anytime soon.

While it wasn't to the extent of immortality, the Evil Valley Master's lifespan had increased thanks to the Bodily Reformation and Youth Restoration that he had undergone upon ascending to the ranks of the Ten Empyrean Overlords.

He was still healthy, so he'd probably live another twenty or thirty years.

However, that was too long, and the wait would be too boring for Dan Libai.

That seat is mine.

He could never have dared to think of taking it while he was a boy or even a young man, but his thoughts were changing as he grew older.

The fact that dissatisfied him the most was that he'd probably only inherit the throne once he was in his sixties or perhaps even seventies.

To make matters worse, he wouldn't be able to do as he pleased. Even to him, a genius, the Evil Valley Master was a monster.

He was an absolute monster beyond the Harmony Realm, and he couldn't be considered human at all. Above all, Dan Libai couldn't get past the very fact that more than half of the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao were following the Evil Valley Master.

Amidst the mounting dissatisfaction, someone approached him at the beginning of the Seven Swords War.

It was none other than the Dark Heavens Association.

"I'll make you the Evil Valley Master."

At first, Dan Libai had thought that the man was some sort of lunatic.

However, Dan Libai changed his mind and believed the man all thanks to the power that the latter showed to him.

Hehehe. Good. Let's use them.

Dan Libai had figured out the reason behind their helping hand, but he couldn't care less. He was planning on using them for now and throwing them away later.

After all, people like them were a tael a dozen in the murim.

A few years later, the power structure of the Evil Valley changed, and half of the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao were now under Dan Libai. A war of nerves between father and son ensued, and it had a huge impact on the Evil Faction.

They could no longer work together; they split up and engaged in a war of nerves, so there was no way that things would go right. Their battle caused all sorts of problems and gave the Evil Faction a massive headache.

Things became even worse when the Dark Heavens Association bared its fangs, and their internal power struggle made the cooperation with the Martial Alliance shaky.

In the end, Dan Libai committed the worst unfilial crime by stabbing his own father in the back.

The incident was called the Unfilial Piety of Dan Libai," and it caused widespread chaos.

When I think about all the hardships I had because of that unfilial son… Hmph!

One person’s betrayal had created a total crisis.

The Eight Gates of the Evil Dao became uncontrollable. They distrusted even each other, thinking that spies from the Dark Heavens Association could be hiding within their upper echelons.

Even the joint cooperation between Righteous and Evil ended up in failure, and both sides were almost annihilated.

An incredible amount of people died as a result.

I have to stop it at all costs, Zhou Xuchuan thought. History moved faster than one thought. Blessed Existence had to be in the middle of coming up with a plan that would make up for the continued failures.

According to the information that Zhou Xuchuan had uncovered, Blessed Existence had to be in the middle of enticing Dan Libai and recruiting the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao at the same time.

The Xia Wu Sect has a lot of contact with the Evil Valley, so they'd be helpful in my task. This shouldn't take long. The Righteous Faction had the Beggar Gang, while the Evil Faction had the Xia Wu Sect.

The Xia Wu Sect wasn't exactly part of the Evil Faction; it was part of the Black Hand, but their interests were somewhat aligned, so they used each other often.

Can I really do this? Zhou Xuchuan thought. He had to enter into the Evil Valley's den, not the den of a Righteous Faction. He could end up facing the Evil Valley Master as well.

He had to overcome all obstacles and stop Dan Libai no matter what, as Blessed Existence was involved. In the worst-case scenario, he'd have to resort to assassination.

Dan Libai was just starting to entertain rebellious thoughts, so if he were to choose this method, he'd end up getting chased by the Evil Valley Master for the rest of his life.

However, he had to stop that incident from happening, even at the risk of that.

1. Parakho is a Korean word borrowed from Japanese that refers to a thug who comes from a well-off family who goes around bullying people for money using their status or power. ☜

2. We've referenced this before. It's 3 to 5 am. ☜