Chapter 978: The Secret of the Portrait

After half an hour of fighting, Kai Xin fought while avoiding attacks, using tactics to buy time. He aimed to restore his internal injuries and energy through the Yi Jin Jing while inflicting more and more wounds on Yin Hou.
Gradually, Yin Hou realized something was wrong. A Shaolin disciple at the Liberation Realm, having taken over five hundred blows from her, still remained alive. Any leader from the seven major sects would likely be exhausted and dead by now, yet this opponent continued to fight fiercely and leave her in a miserable state…
Swish!
Yin Hou finally stopped attacking and stepped back ten meters, staring at Kai Xin with an uncertain expression.
“Are you a disciple of the Mad Monk from the Peak of Punishment?”
“…Yes.”
Kai Xin knew he couldn’t hide from Yin Hou for long. While staying alert to possible attacks, he replied, “I practice the Yi Jin Jing.”
Yin Hou immediately understood. Although the Mad Monk hadn’t appeared in years, he was once the most brilliant genius in the demonic sect! He had single-handedly defeated top experts from both the righteous and evil camps, committed countless atrocities, and was considered a great evil spirit in the Central Plains. His realm had even reached the level of Unity with Heaven and Earth—far beyond what she, at just the Mythical Realm, could match.
It wasn’t entirely shameful that a descendant of such a realm could hold out against her for so long…
Yin Hou realized that although the opponent hadn’t mastered the ultimate level of Yi Jin Jing, it was still an unparalleled treasure. Defeating him alone would be extremely difficult…
“Good. Since you’re a descendant of my sect’s predecessors, I’ll give you another chance. I’ll trade the supreme techniques from my sect’s Tian Mo Ce for the portrait in your hands. Will you agree?”
Hearing this, Kai Xin immediately knew she was ready to compromise.
At that moment, a system notification sounded:
Ding!
“A plot task has been triggered: Exchange Lady Wang’s portrait for Yin Hou’s supreme technique from Tian Mo Ce—Tian Mo Nine Styles.”
“If you agree, you’ll automatically give up Lady Wang’s task, but your relationship with the Manduo Villa and the Murong family will turn hostile, and your Justice Value will decrease by 100,000 points!”
“If you refuse, your Justice Value will increase by 10,000 points, along with 10,000 points in Reputation and Chivalry! Your relationship with the Manduo Villa will improve to friendly!”
Kai Xin didn’t even consider such options. Even without the increases in Justice Value and Reputation, he wouldn’t ally himself with the Yin Gui Sect. After all, he was a Shaolin disciple, not part of the demonic path. Trading with Yin Hou would mean falling into darkness. Besides…

Since the portrait in his hands held such strong appeal for the Yin Queen, didn’t that also prove its value surpassed even that of the “Nine Demonic Techniques”?
“Apologies, Patriarch Zhu. If you want the portrait, you’ll have to go get it yourself.”
“…”
Even polite offers were rejected. Anger flashed in the Yin Queen’s eyes: “You’d better think this through carefully. A portrait alone is useless if no one helps you unravel its secrets… It’s nothing but scrap paper in your hands…” The lethal intent in her words was unmistakable.
“Is Patriarch Zhu threatening me?”
Kai Xin laughed cheerfully:
“Though, what do you think? After being here for so long, could Lady Wang have done nothing? If Patriarch Zhu still wants to stay at Manduo Villa, I have no objection to experiencing your Demonic Techniques again. But if you’re alone, facing the three masters of the Murong family, it’ll be hard for you to escape unscathed.”
“…”
The Yin Queen’s expression turned ugly once more.
Indeed. Having been lured here by Kai Xin for so long with no one watching Lady Wang, the people of Manduo Villa must have already passed the message on to the Murong family. Though Manduo Villa wasn’t particularly formidable, the few extraordinary elders of the Murong family were highly skilled and extremely troublesome.
After glancing back and forth between Kai Xin and the direction of Manduo Villa several times, with her expression shifting repeatedly, the Yin Queen finally snorted coldly and chose to retreat.
“I’ll give Mad Monk Face a face today, but if I see you meddling in my affairs again, I’ll ensure you die without even a place to be buried!” With those harsh words, she vanished without a trace, appearing ten meters away.
“Patriarch Zhu, please go slowly. It’s better if I see you off.”
As Zhu Yuyan flew away, Kai Xin also activated his Void Step to follow closely behind…
“Hmph. A mere junior—does he really think I’d go back on my word?”
“Patriarch Zhu is overthinking it,” Kai Xin said, offering no further explanation, and closely followed Zhu Yuyan all the way to the dock—he wasn’t confident about the Yin Gui Sect’s tactics.
Hmph!!
Zhu Yuyan said nothing more. She lightly landed on one of the small boats, pressed a button in the air, and the boat shot forward like an arrow, moving over ten meters in an instant. The boatman exclaimed in shock before cautiously rowing toward the center of the lake with his pole…
From start to finish, Zhu Yuyan didn’t look back at Kai Xin once. But Kai Xin didn’t dare relax for a moment, keeping a close eye on her figure as the boat drifted away. Only when he heard the clear and pleasant system notification indicating the task was complete did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The evil Empress Yin was finally sent away safely. The first step of the mission had been successfully completed, and now by going to Lady Wang, he should be able to resolve his doubts and uncover the secrets in the portrait. Yet, Happy wasn’t in a hurry to meet Lady Wang right away; instead, he checked his own martial arts level information… Over the past half hour, he had exchanged blows with a master at the peak of the Mythical Realm, taking hundreds of strikes. It would be false to say he gained nothing from it. Sure enough! When he checked the martial arts page, a glimmer of surprise appeared in Happy’s eyes. Those hundreds of strikes hadn’t been in vain! Besides advancing to the tenth level of the “Meridians Transformation Scripture,” his “Immortal Body” technique had also reached the middle stage of the eighth level; his “Demonic Hong World-Annihilation Art” had seen modest progress but was already very close to the middle stage of the tenth level, and it wouldn’t be long before it reached perfection. On the other hand, his “Void-Stepping Technique,” which was advancing rapidly, showed almost no improvement. “Adversity brings fortune—this saying truly holds true. It seems I’ll need to trouble more masters from the Mythical Realm in the future…” Happy murmured to himself as he headed toward the Mandora Villa. After all, the Mandora Villa was Lady Wang’s territory. After the Empress Yin, Zhu Yuyan, left, Lady Wang quickly received word and restored order both inside and outside the villa. After Happy introduced himself, there was no need for the usual procedures, and the young girl warmly led him inside. The meeting place wasn’t the hot spring pavilion where a death had occurred, but rather the villa’s reception hall! “It’s truly beyond our expectations that Young Hero Happy was able to drive away the Empress Yin. We had already sent messages to several elders of the Murong family, asking them to confront her. Who would have thought that Young Hero Happy would resolve such a great crisis for us…” Lady Wang had been waiting there all along. Seeing Happy enter guided by the young girl, she quickly stood up to greet him, her face filled with warmth and excitement. “Seeing that you’re unharmed, I’m relieved,” Happy said humbly, bowing. “I still haven’t asked which eminent monk from Shaolin taught you, Young Hero Happy. Next time, our villa will definitely prepare offerings and go to Shaolin.” “You flatter me, Lady Wang. In truth, even without my help, the Mandora Villa, with the strong support of the Murong family, could have overcome this crisis. I merely happened to be there at the right time, using the reputation of the Murong family and Shaolin to drive away the Empress Yin. I certainly don’t deserve credit… My master is Master Xuanzhi.” “So it’s a monk from the Xuan lineage! No wonder, at such a young age, you’re so humble and unassuming in your words and actions. You truly are a disciple of a renowned sect…” Lady Wang praised him highly.

After expressing his deepest gratitude, the conversation turned back to the purpose of the Queen of Darkness’s visit.
Lady Wang showed a pained expression:
“This time it’s my fault for being too careless. I never imagined that even a place like my Manta Villa could have spies from the Yin Gui Sect lurking within. Once news of the portrait leaked, the Queen of Darkness happened to be nearby and immediately took control of my Manta Villa, sealing me and all my disciples away…”
“I dare to ask, Lady Wang—since the Queen of Darkness offered to exchange the martial art ‘Nine Styles of Heavenly Demon’ from the Heavenly Demon Strategy for your portrait, it’s clear she values it greatly. That’s why I really hope you can tell me what secret lies behind this portrait, one that even someone like the Queen of Darkness is so eager for.”
Kai Xin smoothly shifted the focus of the conversation to the portrait.
Lady Wang sighed with a complex expression:
“…As for the secret of the portrait, our family has always resolved that we would never reveal a single word about it, even at the cost of our lives. But since Young Master Kai Xin mentioned that the Queen of Darkness is willing to exchange it for a supreme martial art from the Heavenly Demon Strategy, it seems our family may have inadvertently given away some information to the Yin Gui Sect. There’s no point in hiding it any longer…”
Hearing this, Kai Xin perked up immediately.
Lady Wang’s voice drifted in slowly:
“Actually…”
“Long ago, during the Great Yan Dynasty, a master martial artist—also the ancestor of the Murong family—spent decades gathering secret martial arts manuals from across the land to create the ‘Langhuan Blessed Land’. But with the fall of Great Yan and the chaos that followed, those who created Langhuan Blessed Land all perished. Only the family head knew the location of the land, but he didn’t dare to open it easily.”
Kai Xin nodded slightly.
Martial arts secrets from various sects were considered the ultimate taboos. If one had enough power to protect them—like that of an entire dynasty—it might be possible. But relying solely on the Murong family, they could easily be destroyed by the wrath of other sects, leaving nothing behind.
“…Over time, as generations of Murong family heads passed on, the Murong family gradually declined to become a second-rate sect in the martial world… Many in the family hoped to restore Langhuan Blessed Land.”
“Only my cousin knew that it was impossible for the Murong family to restore Great Yan again, and he didn’t want to keep this threat that could destroy the family. So he drew a portrait of me and hid the location of Langhuan Blessed Land within it, entrusting it to me.”
Hearing this from Lady Wang, although Kai Xin had already guessed it, he still couldn’t help but feel his heart race when he confirmed this information!