Chapter 522: You Are Just a Matrilocal Son-in-Law, That Is a Profound-Grade Human-Faced Moth!

Chapter 522 You're Just a Live-in Son-in-Law, That's a Profound-Level Human-Faced Moth!

A Heaven-level Weapon Master, killed with one punch?

The man playing the suona was utterly stunned.

In this world, it was rare for an Earth-level Weapon Master to defeat a Heaven-level one.

As for a Heaven-level Weapon Master entering the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, there was only one case—and that one, due to excessive indulgence affecting his cultivation, failed to hold tight while executing the Unity and died on the spot.

But this Mo Sangkong before them had been directly shattered by Qi Yuan's single punch!

The weight of that feat... was truly terrifying.

Confusion, ecstasy, doubt, shock... all kinds of emotions flickered across the faces of the crowd.

At that moment, Chen Kangbao's face twisted into an exaggerated expression: "This live-in son-in-law is actually this powerful!"

Qi Yuan felt smug hearing that.

This was exactly the feeling he wanted.

But the robed scholar, upon hearing this, narrowed his eyes.

Such a powerful and mysterious existence was actually a live-in son-in-law?

"Too strong!" Tu Sihai swallowed hard.

Now, he was utterly humbled by his earlier arrogance.

As for the younger of the Black Fiend Brothers, he was even more anxious, terrified that his previous disdain might incur Qi Yuan's displeasure.

"Ah, I really want to see what peerless beauty Miss Lingxuan must be, to make such an extraordinary man agree to be a live-in son-in-law."

Qi Yuan casually took Mo Sangkong's storage artifact, removed the silver inside, and selected some materials.

"The remaining artifacts are yours."

He tossed them away directly.

To him, Heaven-level artifacts were less useful than Heaven-level materials.

After all, he would have to reforge them and extract the materials he needed—a troublesome process.

But it was different for the Weapon Masters present; they were not artificers, and even ordinary artificers preferred finished products.

They took the artifacts, excitement gleaming in their eyes.

Even Wang Dao, who had just become an Earth-level Weapon Master, received an Earth-level peak artifact.

Qi Yuan turned to the robed scholar, his gaze calm: "Do you know Chen Kangbao?"

Chen Kangbao looked puzzled: "You know me?"

The robed scholar's face showed a reminiscing expression: "Thirty years ago, I was young, traveling the world, and I met Brother Chen. He was a gifted and quick-witted artificer."

Hearing this, Chen Kangbao's face lit up with wild joy: "Young master, did you hear that? I'm quick-witted—enough to be a strategist!"

The robed scholar looked at Chen Kangbao's demeanor, his thoughts complicated: "Later, a group of mysterious people approached Brother Chen... wanting him to join them for a great undertaking. What exactly it was... this old man does not know, only that it involved forging an extraordinary artifact."

"The Radiant Assembly?" Qi Yuan asked casually.

Because he recalled that his body's father had once invited a blind artificer to join an organization, seemingly also forging a powerful artifact.

And later, Fang Thirteen of the Radiant Assembly had even made a move against him in secret; if not for the fear of the Spirit Body Gu, he would have struck directly.

The robed scholar's face changed several times before he finally nodded: "That matches my guess."

"Is that all?" Chen Kangbao showed no interest in this. "Since you know me, do I have any other virtues? Preferably ones that can be described with four-character idioms?"

Chen Kangbao looked at the robed scholar expectantly.

"Aloof and solitary, pure as jade..." The robed scholar pondered for a long time before squeezing out these words.

The Chen Kangbao of now was mad and delirious, utterly different from the genius artificer he knew—one who was indifferent to fame and fortune and cared for the world.

"Hehe, I never thought this old man had so many virtues." Chen Kangbao's smile was smug and lecherous.

"What are you doing here?" Qi Yuan looked at the robed scholar.

The robed scholar gazed at Chen Kangbao, his eyes complex: "Back then, not only was Brother Chen invited by the Radiant Assembly, but my elder brother was also invited. I want to... bring back his remains, so he won't be... buried in a foreign land."

As he said this, the robed scholar's eyes grew bleak.

"So, they were invited by the Radiant Assembly to forge an artifact in the Ten Thousand Mountains Abyss?" Qi Yuan mused.

No wonder Chen Kangbao reacted to the mention of the Ten Thousand Mountains Abyss—it had triggered his story.

"In that case, let's go in and take a look, and also find Shen Lingxuan," Qi Yuan said, walking straight ahead.

The others quickly followed. The robed scholar thought for a moment and, ignoring his injuries, headed forward.

The light in the ruins was dim, somewhat gloomy, and the corners were especially damp.

After about a quarter of an hour, the group stopped on a stone slab.

The slab was enormous, a full hundred meters in length and width, a single piece.

It was covered in moss and stained with much blood.

Drip, drip sounds echoed.

Just then, a sudden roar came.

The sound was shrill and piercing.

It was a spirit resembling a moth, with a human face, looking especially terrifying.

"A mere spirit dares to act recklessly? Watch me, the live-in son-in-law, strike!" Qi Yuan shouted, charging forward.

The robed scholar was taken aback, feeling something was off.

At that moment, Tu Sihai said anxiously, "This is a Profound-level Human-Faced Moth, and at the peak of Profound-level, most skilled in speed. How dare you, a mere live-in son-in-law, provoke it?"

The robed scholar doubted his ears.

"The Human-Faced Moth spirit is especially unique among spirits—it is the king of spirits. You are just a live-in son-in-law; do not seek death!"

The robed scholar: "..." Is this man insane?

"Offend the great Human-Faced Moth, and you'll face the wrath of the Shen family!"

"There will be no place for you in the Ning Kingdom!"

The other Earth-level Weapon Masters also jeered, their words all suggesting that the Human-Faced Moth was formidable and that the mere live-in son-in-law should not be reckless.

This scene left the robed scholar utterly baffled.

He was a Heaven-level Weapon Master and could see through the Profound-level Human-Faced Moth's foundation at a glance.

Could it be... that he had misjudged?

At that moment, he began to doubt himself.

"Hmph, even if I am a live-in son-in-law, not just anyone can insult me!"

With that, Qi Yuan's form turned into a cannonball as he lunged at the Human-Faced Moth.

The jeers ceased, and at that moment, the suona sounded.

“A son-in-law must not be insulted!”

A mighty fist stirred the air, emitting white vapor.

The once-grimacing human-faced moth froze.

No one said… you were this strong?

Boom!

One fist struck, a hundred fists followed!

The human-faced moth’s body shattered, leaving nothing behind.

“You… a mere son-in-law, actually killed the human-faced moth!”

“How is that possible? That was a Profound-grade human-faced moth?”

The surrounding Weapon Masters hastily set down their suonas, putting on a full performance.

The scholar in Confucian robes was utterly lost; now he dared not speak.

He only felt that these people were all insane.

“What a pity, it didn’t work hard enough. If it had trained to the Heaven-grade, that would have been wonderful.”

Qi Yuan felt somewhat disappointed.

Killing this human-faced moth only yielded a tiny bit of experience.

If it had been Heaven-grade, the experience would have been greater, and Qi Yuan could have devoured it to achieve Unity of Heaven and Man.

The Unity of Heaven and Man that Mo San Kong and the Spirit Clone Gu had brought him was too meager, not enough to support him reaching level 120.

…

“I never expected this place to be a Forbidden Zone of Anomalies!”

Diwu Wei wore a robe of gold silk, with a python embroidered in jade thread at his waist, fierce and majestic.

“This is not only a Forbidden Zone of Anomalies, but also… a Domain of Wonders!” An old man’s face lit up with ecstasy, his shoulders trembling.

“What? A Domain of Wonders?” Diwu Wei was also stunned, a wild joy spreading across his face.

“Legend has it that fifty years ago, the Radiant Assembly gathered the world’s prodigious artificers to forge artifacts beyond the Divine grade.

Over the decades, one after another, these prodigious artificers were invited into the Domain of Wonders.

No one knew where the Domain of Wonders lay, until fifteen years ago, when the Radiant Assembly vanished without a trace, ceasing to invite artificers. His Majesty speculated that the forging within the Domain must have failed.

But… even so, the treasures within the Domain of Wonders are enough to astound!

Just those artificers alone—many were Heaven-grade, and even the legendary Divine-grade existed… If we could obtain their bequests, then…” The aged old man’s expression was fervent, his face full of greed.

The treasures here were more than enough to rival a nation’s wealth!

The Heaven-grade Weapon Masters present began to breathe heavily.

“Hahaha, first the Profound Yin Body, then the Domain of Wonders—Heaven’s mandate is with me!” Diwu Wei laughed heartily.

If he obtained the treasures here, to what new heights would his power soar?

And if he seized the Profound Yin Body’s primal yin, stepping into the Divine grade would no longer be a fantasy.

This was the Divine grade!

Even in the Raksha Kingdom, there were only a few Divine-grade existences.

“Speaking of which, if I recall correctly, had it not been for the fall of Shen Lin, the Radiant Assembly would not have so brazenly gathered the world’s prodigious artificers into the Domain of Wonders,” a Heaven-grade Weapon Master revealed the hidden truth.

“That seems to be the case. The fall of Shen Lin back then was tied to some celestial conflict, likely related to the Domain of Wonders,” an old man recalled.

It was precisely because of the Radiant Assembly’s interference that Diwu Yuxian hardened her heart to deal with Shen Lin.

Just then, the aged old man narrowed his eyes: “Who’s there!”

In the distance, a butterfly-like creature flickered past, and upon being discovered, it fled in haste.

“An Anomaly Spirit? No!” The aged old man was astonished and immediately gave chase.

With his strength, it would take only a little time to capture that butterfly creature.

“Elder Wang, do not pursue. Such a trivial strange creature is not worth fearing. Our urgent task is to enter the Domain of Wonders,” Diwu Wei said in a clear voice.

The old man who had been chasing finally stopped.

“Everything is at the prince’s command.”

“Hmph, that Mo San Kong is truly useless. He hasn’t even captured that bitch Shen Lingxuan yet. Now that we’ve obtained the treasures of the Domain of Wonders… it seems we cannot wait for him; we must return to the kingdom quickly,” Diwu Wei muttered.

Otherwise, word of the Domain of Wonders would spread, more and more powerful figures would appear, and he would be unable to protect the treasures gained from the Domain.

On the other side, the insect girl Caidie fluttered her wings rapidly. Only when she was sure no one was following did she fly into a secret chamber.

“Bad news! Those Heaven-grade Weapon Masters of the Raksha Kingdom are almost at the entrance to the Domain of Wonders. They already know it’s the Domain ahead,” Caidie said with a worried expression.

The Source of Anomalies was also within the Domain of Wonders.

Back then, the Radiant Assembly had forged the Domain with the aid of the Source’s power.

The Raksha Kingdom’s group was formidable; if they entered the Domain, it would be very difficult for her to seize the Source.

Shen Lingxuan frowned, also feeling the difficulty.

Just then, Caidie suddenly asked, “Do you have a husband?”

“Oh?” Shen Lingxuan was surprised by the question but nodded.

“Just now outside, I saw an old man say to another man, ‘Shen Lingxuan, your husband has come for you. Do not be afraid.’”

Caidie’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Is your husband impotent? Your primal yin is still intact.

I know of an Anomaly Spirit here in this Forbidden Zone. Its eyeballs can strengthen virility. Would you like some?”

Caidie, the insect woman, was quite kind.

Shen Lingxuan was taken aback: “My husband? Qi Yuan?”

A flicker of doubt crossed her icy, beautiful face.

She had never met Qi Yuan, only knew he was the son of Master Qi.

According to Zhi Shuang’s assessment, he was cowardly and weak, with no strength to truss a chicken.

After returning to his hometown, he seemed to have lost his mind, acting strangely.

He… came here?

Shen Lingxuan thought it unlikely.

He wasn’t even a Weapon Master—how could he dare come here?

Perhaps it was some old monster coveting the Profound Yin Body. “How strong is he? Does he have Heaven-grade strength? If so, finding him would greatly increase our chances of obtaining the Source,” Caidie said.

“That person might not be my husband.”

“Not?”

“He is an ordinary man.”

“An ordinary man, and you’d marry him?”

“To be precise, a live-in son-in-law.”

“A live-in son-in-law?”

……

A group of nine halted before a great gate.

The faces of those present were all somewhat horrified.

For what met their eyes was an underground palace.

It was more a fortress than an underground palace.

This underground palace was constructed entirely of metal, with no apertures, seamless and whole.

“This is the Mystic Realm,” said the robed scholar, his expression bleak. “Within the Mystic Realm, there are about three hundred thousand… master artificers from all corners of the Green Mountain Realm. They entered the Mystic Realm, unknown and unheard, to forge a mysterious artifact.”

The robed scholar knew little.

Only that before his elder brother departed, he had told him this artifact concerned the survival of the Green Mountain Realm.

If the Green Mountain Realm lacked this mysterious artifact, a great calamity would befall it in the near future.

“Are they all inside?” Qi Yuan’s voice was calm.

The robed scholar looked at Chen Kangbao: “Yes, I fear only a handful emerged. Aside from Brother Chen, the others died after unspeakable torture.”

At this, the robed scholar sighed with regret.

Back then, a major upheaval occurred in the Mystic Realm, and it was suspected that something went wrong with the forging of the artifact.

Only a scant few escaped from the Mystic Realm.

Some powerful beings captured those who fled the Mystic Realm, subjected them to brutal torture, and sought to extract the location of the Mystic Realm.

Yet, even under every kind of torment, even with threats to their families, wives, and children, not one of them revealed the Mystic Realm’s address.

That torture was unbearable—not just physical, but their very souls were ravaged.

In the end, all of them died.

So later, when the robed scholar discovered Chen Kangbao in Ninghe County and saw him raving mad, he left him undisturbed.

“What secrets lie in the Mystic Realm that they would rather die than speak?” asked the younger of the Black Fiend Brothers.

“According to you, they failed. If they failed, why fear being discovered?” Tu Sihai wondered.

“Perhaps they failed, but not entirely. They feared others entering and causing failure,” Qi Yuan speculated idly.

“Within the Mystic Realm, there should be a special teleportation array. Those people left through that array,” the robed scholar continued.

He lowered his head, his gaze desolate.

“The entire Mystic Realm is seamless. I wonder if we can find an entrance to go in.”

“No need for an entrance. This place is weaker.”

Qi Yuan’s eyes fixed on a spot on the gate.

According to the hidden aura his eyes perceived.

That spot had suffered a violent impact, as if a divine-level weapon master had struck to break it, but ultimately failed.

Clearly, this underground palace was exceptionally sturdy.

Yet in Qi Yuan’s view, its sturdiness had limits.

It must be… that over the years, its energy had been depleted.

Otherwise, in its original state, Qi Yuan guessed that even he, without using his Divine Descent state, would find it hard to breach.

“Break!”

Qi Yuan’s gaze blazed.

Behind him, jeers arose at the right moment.

In that instant, Qi Yuan’s arm transformed into a cleaver.

With immense power, the indestructible cleaver bared its edge, striking fiercely at the weak point of the underground palace.

Boom!

That mighty blow carved a two-meter-wide gap right there.

The robed scholar’s eyes showed surprise, then shifted to a dazed confusion.

“Let’s… go in and see.”

Though the news he had received was that the artificers in the Mystic Realm had failed.

But… what if they hadn’t?

A sliver of hope still lingered in his heart.

The group immediately entered.

At once, a stench of decay and rotting corpses assailed them.

It was like an ancient tomb unopened for a millennium.

Tu Sihai frowned, his expression sour.

The others covered their noses.

Chen Kangbao’s face was unreadable: “I’m… hungry.”

As he spoke, he silently took out a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Though his belly was round and full, he still wolfed it down.

Qi Yuan’s gaze swept inward.

What met his eyes was a vast expanse of white.

All bones.

These skeletons lay on the ground, twisted in posture, as if enduring agony in life.

Some sat upright, as if facing death calmly.

Qi Yuan looked over, his eyes stopping on one skeleton.

It was draped in a black robe, holding a broken sword in its hand.

That broken sword exuded a dangerous aura, but all its spiritual essence was lost.

“Is this… a divine weapon?” Qi Yuan’s voice was calm.

A dozen years ago, it must have been this black-robed man who, wielding the divine broken sword, repeatedly hacked at the underground palace, trying to carve a path.

This broken sword had lost all its spiritual essence, inferior even to a heavenly weapon.

“This is the remains of a divine-level powerhouse,” Qi Yuan said calmly.

The others’ breaths quickened, their gazes involuntarily falling on the storage artifact of the skeleton’s owner.

But Qi Yuan made no move, and they dared not make any either.

The scholar in Confucian robes saw the vast expanse of white bones on the ground, and his spirit collapsed: "Dead... all dead..."

He sat on the ground, his expression blank.

Qi Yuan's gaze fell upon the stone slab.

"There are words here."

The others quickly looked over.

On the stone slab on the ground, they saw densely carved characters.

"My name is Qian Muzhi, the State Preceptor of Sang Kingdom..."

"It's actually Qian Muzhi, one of the top three divine-level powerhouses in the world! He vanished fifty years ago, and now he's here!" Tu Sihai's breathing grew rapid.

"Night has fallen, ghouls run rampant, the front lines are strained, many realms have fallen... Qingshan Realm might be the next to fall."

The Imperial Weapon Masters present turned pale with horror.

"Wasn't the ghoul ban lifted? How can this be..." They felt a sense of impending doom, as if they had uncovered some secret.

"In a mere thousand years, seventeen realms have fallen, becoming ghoul playgrounds.

In another thousand years, the one to fall... will be Qingshan Realm."

"To protect Qingshan Realm, the Radiance Society told me we must gather all Artificers' strength to forge a Luminous Treasure.

Only with divine revelation of light can we gain a sliver of hope.

For thirty years, even as more and more genius Artificers went into hiding and joined us, we failed."

The words carved on the stone slab were plain, but many present felt a trace of despair.

"There were three hundred thousand genius Artificers in the Wonder Domain, each a true child of destiny. Had they grown, they would have become elites, some even immortalized in history," murmured the scholar in Confucian robes.

Three hundred thousand scholars hid in the deep mountains, concealing their names, all to forge fragments of the Luminous Treasure, hoping that Qingshan Realm would have its own powerful force to resist the ghouls.

"Human will cannot overcome fate; the gods ultimately showed us no mercy... This old man is unwilling... We were but a hair's breadth from success—how could we give up?

Success means death, failure means death—why should we fear death?"

"Forge the artifact with our bodies!"

"Forge the artifact with artifacts!"

"Our flesh and blood, our magical instruments—all were cast into the Divine Revelation Furnace, so that the majestic god might open its eyes and gaze upon the Celestial Origin!"

Within the Wonder Domain, these people refined the Celestial Origin, seeking to make the god open its eyes and turn the Celestial Origin into a fragment of the Luminous Treasure.

But they failed.

Even though they tried, they failed.

The Celestial Origin was not perfect, and could not attract the god's gaze. Without divine revelation, how could light be seen?

In the end, they fed the Celestial Origin with the spirituality of all magical instruments and their own flesh and blood, strengthening it and making it perfect.

Yet even so, the god did not cast its gaze down.

"So hungry..." Chen Kangbao sat on the ground, eating buns incessantly.

Everything in the underground palace—all the magical instruments, all the food—was fed to the Celestial Origin.

The spirit of these things... was devoured by the Celestial Origin.

What's more, these Artificers even fed their own flesh and blood to the Celestial Origin.

"People died every day, and many were... very, very hungry, but they couldn't bear to eat anything. Everything was fed to the Celestial Origin, including our own flesh and blood."

"I even thought of breaking down the underground palace and feeding it to the Celestial Origin, but I failed."

"This old man does not know the Celestial Origin's appetite, nor... how long it must eat before the god opens its eyes and looks upon this place."

The words on the stone slab were somewhat desolate.

"We sat here waiting for death. For those who could not bear the hunger, I helped them end their suffering and fed them to the Celestial Origin."

Once you entered the Wonder Domain, you could not leave.

Because of the Celestial Origin, this place had long become a dead zone.

Thus, in that underground palace, three hundred thousand scholars had hidden their names, day after day tempering the Celestial Origin, exhausting their hearts and souls.

Alas, they still failed.

They were unwilling to die like that.

So they fed the Celestial Origin with the spirit of their own flesh and blood and the spirit of their magical instruments, making the Celestial Origin even more perfect.

They endured hunger, one by one going to their deaths.

"In the end, this old man sent five people out through the Radiance Society's teleportation array.

I hoped that five years later, they would bring the Radiance Society people into the Wonder Domain... In five years, the Celestial Origin should have devoured everything here.

Whether the god opened its eyes... this old man will never know."

The words on the floor came to an abrupt end.

Qian Muzhi, holding a broken sword, sat on the cold stone slab. Alas, his flesh was gone, and it was unknown whether his face bore pain or anticipation when his life finally ended.

Chen Kangbao stuffed a bun into his mouth. Then, struck by a thought, he suddenly said, "Young master, so many people have died here. Let's start the feast... let them have some too."

(End of this chapter)