"Evil King Sect entrance?"
Zhong Shenxiu was not wearing gloves at that moment, draped in a white robe, with his face covered with an Asura mask.
Even his aura, along with the magnetic field emitted as a Great Grandmaster, was nearly identical to that of the Undying Evil Emperor.
Combined with the Great Grandmaster’s innate imposing presence, he brazenly entered through the main gate, and all the Evil King Sect disciples he encountered knelt and kowtowed, addressing him as Sect Master, none harboring any doubts.
Even the Evil Dao Grandmasters, upon seeing the Undying Evil Emperor without making a sound, would first frighten themselves until they shook.
Zhong Shenxiu regally made his way to the Evil King Sect’s grand hall and, with a flick of his sleeve, seated himself on the throne of the Evil King Sect. Internally, he was somewhat astonished:
’Could the Evil King Sect be an empty husk, an enormous carrot? Is there truly only one Great Grandmaster, and no others hidden?’
But this was also normal.
Even the eight major forces could barely maintain an unbroken line of Great Grandmasters, but the threshold for attaining Divine Skills was extraordinarily difficult, and failure meant failure.
Having one was already a stroke of incredible fortune.
It was the imperial court that was somewhat wealthier and more powerful. Aside from the hidden Tributes, there were actually two Great Grandmasters on the Heavenly List!
Albeit one at the top and one was the former bottom dweller.
Naturally, the bottom position had changed hands by now.
Zhong Shenxiu rested on the throne’s armrest. When he released his spirit, he immediately felt something abnormal.
His fingers flew over the throne, tapping continuously as if entering a long sequence of passwords.
This was also the ’information’ left behind in this space!
The sound of gears turning echoed, and the solid steel floor in front of the throne split apart, revealing an ingeniously crafted iron box.
If not struck in the correct sequence, this box would likely self-destruct.
Zhong Shenxiu casually opened it and retrieved a scroll.
On this scroll was a dense splotch of ink, and within the unyielding darkness, something seemed to be slowly writhing.
’Nine is the number of extremes...’
Some cryptic information was interpreted by Zhong Shenxiu.
’As expected, the Nine Lives Evil Technique is a Cultivation Technique that can only be understood intuitively; it cannot be conveyed in words. This scripture is special; even for the Undying Evil Emperor to produce a second copy would probably be difficult... It must undoubtedly be the original.’
’It’s just a pity that it’s not one of the four great peculiar books, the "Heavenly Silkworm Secret." Its very "material" is quite special—it can automatically conceal its own information and magnetic field...’
Thinking of this, Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t help but feel regretful.
In truth, during the Five Poison Sect’s conquest, the imperial court also failed to find the "Portrait of Outsiders" or the Ten Thousand Slaves Divine Skill among other scriptures.
He is now a Great Grandmaster; he wouldn’t lack his share of the spoils of war, but there really was nothing.
According to the Divine Capture Sect’s estimation, several secret disciples of the Five Poison Sect had transferred these techniques elsewhere long before the imperial court disclosed their intention to attack.
After all, the Five Poison Sect had been a dominant force for many years, and to completely eradicate them was not easy.
It was even possible that, decades later, they might suddenly resurge.
Such precedents have already been set in the history of Jianghu Martial Arts.
’At this point, it’s a bit too late to train in martial arts...’
Zhong Shenxiu unfurled the scroll, looking into the dense, impenetrable darkness. His spirit was suddenly drawn into a mysterious space.
Within the darkness, he seemed to see a worm.
Blurry and ethereal lines made up its indescribable form.
Wrapped around it were the tributaries of time, capable of traversing through time—it was a Time Worm!
At this moment, slender threads began to spread out from the other person’s body, starting to trace back into the past and anchoring a certain figure of oneself.
"The Time Worm is not actually an image created by some Evil God, but rather an image visualized by the Undying Evil Emperor... Does it represent his understanding of time to a certain extent?"
Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes shone brightly, yet he felt somewhat troubled.
It would probably not be easy to cultivate the Nine Lives Evil Technique.
With this thought, he called up the attribute panel:
[Do you want to spend 50 Heavenly Show Points to cultivate the Nine Lives Evil Technique?]
"The secret manual is still so expensive, yes!"
Zhong Shenxiu’s intention moved vehemently.
In an instant, he felt as if he were in the river of time, seeing the Time Worm flow backward, locking onto a past figure of himself in this world.
That was the historical image of him hurrying on his way after he had become a Great Grandmaster!
The Time Worm targeted this image and exhaled several threads of silk-like lines.
These fine threads formed the anchor, connecting his historical image to the present.
Zhong Shenxiu counted carefully and discovered that there were a total of nine of these silk threads.
He fell silent, then suddenly rolled up his sleeves to find that there were nine scars that had somehow appeared on his right arm.
"The anchoring is complete. If I die now, I will be resurrected in the state contained within that moment in history... and the number of times is nine!"
Zhong Shenxiu quietly reflected on the extraordinary nature of this Martial Arts Divine Power: "Each time a life is consumed, a scar will disappear, but it can be replenished through cultivating martial arts... It’s just that the Undying Evil Emperor didn’t have time to replenish before, and he was killed once by the Saint Monk and eight times by me, and then he truly died..."
After cultivating the Nine Lives Evil Technique, a subtle change occurred in his aura.
If previously, a highly skilled Great Grandmaster could spot a flaw in his disguise, now nobody would believe that Zhong Shenxiu was not the Undying Evil Emperor!
"When a person’s appearance is that of the Undying Evil Emperor, the aura is that of the Undying Evil Emperor, and the martial arts are also those of the Undying Evil Emperor, then he is the Undying Evil Emperor!"
Zhong Shenxiu chuckled to himself: "Even... if a flaw is discovered, the Evil King Sect would still have to beg me to become their Sect Master! Otherwise, without a Great Grandmaster to back them up, they would be eradicated by the imperial court..."
The imperial court had just eradicated the Five Poison Sect, and their momentum was soaring. Saying they had no intention of taking this opportunity to sweep away the downfall would certainly be false.
Jianghu Martial Arts, and indeed the whole world, were entering a troubled autumn.
The Undying Evil Emperor had probably entrusted his martial arts with this in mind.
Whoever learned the Nine Lives Evil Technique would be considered part of the Demon Path, and even if not the Undying Evil Emperor, could offer a bit of protection to the Evil King Sect.
Because... there was no second Great Grandmaster in the Evil King Sect now...
"Greetings to the Sect Master!"
While Zhong Shenxiu was lost in thought, the Grandmasters of the Evil King Sect had arrived at the main hall and bowed in salute.
"The Five Poison Sect is annihilated, and Jianghu Martial Arts say that the demon is eliminated by the Daoist, but I beg to differ... Is the Five Poison Sect considered part of the Demon Path?"
Zhong Shenxiu rested his right hand under his chin and let out a sneer.
He did not deliberately impersonate the Undying Evil Emperor’s voice but rather started being himself.
He saw a few Grandmasters below him, their eyes initially flashing with confusion, shock, fear, sorrow, and other emotions, but they soon became resolved: "The Sect Master is right!"
Clearly, these were smart people.
Even if they found something amiss, they would still play along with Zhong Shenxiu’s act.
There was no other reason!
If a Great Grandmaster wanted to put on a play, they had to give face!
As for the investigations afterward, about moving secret manuals and disciples, Zhong Shenxiu did not care.
All he needed was the identity of the Undying Evil Emperor and the Nine Lives Evil Technique. Beyond that, only the Heavenly Silkworm Secret in the Demon Path might catch his attention.
"Starting today, if I wear gloves, I am Xun Liuyi; if I don’t, I am the Undying Evil Emperor..."
Zhong Shenxiu murmured to himself, his voice becoming even more resonant: "You may go. List out for me all the forces in Jianghu that lack a Great Grandmaster yet possess extraordinary martial arts listed on the ranking or even Great Grandmaster secret manuals. I want the world to know, when the Undying appears, the world trembles!!"