Chapter 126: Great Law Of Ultimate Bliss

Chapter 126: The Art of Ultimate Bliss

Zhao Changhe shot and killed Fa Yuan with an arrow, while Yue Hongling was not idle either. She quickly recovered her state, and with a flash of her sword, the remaining monks present were all slain.

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky; the Book of Turmoil did not flash.

He had killed a ninth-rank opponent, yet there was no flash... He scratched his head, then understood.

The Hidden Dragon Ranking assessed martial potential, not battle reports. A long-range ambush on a severely wounded, unprepared enemy—what did that have to do with potential? The potential to seize an opportunity? With an eighty-eighth ranking, such a performance was expected and would not cause any change in evaluation.

Over there, Yue Hongling bent down to examine a woman still writhing and moaning on the ground, her expression grim.

As expected, her dantian had been completely drained. These poor women, likely from various sects traveling the martial world, were now utterly ruined, better off dead than alive.

This was the so-called "quick recovery" secret technique.

Even so, when they saw Zhao Changhe approaching, they still smiled seductively and clung to him, seeking pleasure. With a blank expression, Zhao Changhe tapped their sleep acupoints and set them aside.

"Maitreya Sect..." Yue Hongling gritted her silver teeth and thrust her sword heavily into the ground: "If I don't uproot this demonic sect, I swear I'm not human!"

With that flick of her sword, blood seeped again from her shoulder wound. She bit her lip, clutching her shoulder, and fell silent.

Zhao Changhe sighed. "This wound of yours, it's on the shoulder. It might not look like much, but in action, it's all kinds of inconvenient. You should rest more. If you have the energy, better to dress them and send them out later. I'm not comfortable doing that."

Yue Hongling glanced at him, then lowered her head. "Changhe... you are a gentleman."

"Don't. I wanted to hold you when I sat behind your horse, and even more so just now." Zhao Changhe no longer hid his thoughts. "In fact, I still do now."

Yue Hongling was taken aback but said nothing, silently going to dress the sleeping women.

This attitude... Zhao Changhe watched her slender, graceful figure, suppressing his thoughts again and again. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to say anything more aggressive. He pursed his lips, thought for a moment, then walked to the Buddha statue to search for something.

Soon, he found a hidden compartment. Opening it revealed a list of officials in Yangzhou who believed in the Maitreya Sect, along with correspondence between Fa Yuan and the sect leader.

Zhao Changhe let out a breath, thinking that this "spy" mission was now perfectly concluded. Tang Wanzhuang would probably find it hard to bring up the Six Harmonies Divine Art and the Dragon Sparrow again.

Then he felt something was missing... He tapped his head and turned to search Fa Yuan's corpse.

Quite a bit of money, medicine, poisoned hidden weapons... and indeed several martial arts manuals, all high-level techniques of the Maitreya Sect. Among them, one stood out the most: *The Art of Ultimate Bliss*.

Yue Hongling finished dressing the women and turned to see this. She glared angrily: "You must not learn such evil arts!"

"Earlier, the Flower-Picking Celestial Maiden said that among them, there are parts about normal dual cultivation that benefit both sides. That should be true. The higher-ups wouldn't always drain each other when training... And it might help a little with meridian issues, which makes sense. This is important to me; I won't pretend to be a gentleman. Besides, I'll have a wife someday. It's about how you use the art, not rejecting it outright."

Zhao Changhe's old face didn't even redden as he stuffed the manual into his chest, placing it next to the gold leaf.

Yue Hongling stared at him for a long time. *You'll have a wife, but why are you looking at me when you say that? Who are you thinking of using it with right now?*

But the air was still filled with the scent of flowers, and they were both forcibly suppressing the lustful poison that lingered within. Their hearts remained restless.

Zhao Changhe's behavior just now had been too perfect... At this moment, aside from pretending to glare in anger, Yue Hongling truly couldn't say a word.

If Zhao Changhe had taken advantage of the atmosphere to come closer and say, "Ah, Sister Yue, let me check your wound," Yue Hongling didn't know if she would have half-heartedly yielded. That was why she had called him a gentleman, hoping to keep him in check, hoping he wouldn't act recklessly.

But he hadn't taken the bait. He said, "I still do now."

His intentions were almost an open book. He truly wanted to, but he respected her and refused to do anything profane.

The atmosphere fell into a tense silence, broken only by the sound of their hearts beating faster, thumping in the air, adding to the intimacy of the moment.

Everything was over.

Should they really say something now...

Zhao Changhe's throat moved. He looked at her lowered head and took a small step forward.

Yue Hongling instinctively stepped back half a step.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?!" From the passage where Fa Yuan had come, Tang Buqi's head popped out. "We finally found the secret tunnel... Huh? Fa Yuan is dead?"

Zhao Changhe turned his stiff neck slowly, his voice seeming to squeeze through clenched teeth: "I didn't see you during the attack on the temple. Where did you pop out from?"

"?" Tang Buqi was baffled. "I've been fighting on the front lines the whole time. Just because I'm weaker doesn't mean you can pretend I wasn't there, right?"

Zhao Changhe ground his teeth. "I not only see you now, but I'll remember you."

"Pfft." Yue Hongling suddenly laughed. She naturally reached out to wipe the sweat from Zhao Changhe's forehead and said softly, "Let's talk when we get back."

Zhao Changhe turned in surprise. Yue Hongling smiled gently, her eyes clear, her expression tender.

His heart slowly softened, and he replied quietly, "Okay."

Carrying Fa Yuan's head and the sleeping women, they left the passage. Zhao Changhe handed them over to the Demon Suppression Bureau and went to find the Flower-Picking Celestial Maiden.

In the monk's quarters, her trace was gone.

Yue Hongling was somewhat surprised: "I was worried that your acupoint-sealing technique wasn't special enough and could be easily broken, so I added an extra finger... Yet she still broke free. Did you really capture her in single combat?"

"Hey." Zhao Changhe frowned. "She's only at the fourth level of the Xuan Pass, and her combat experience is quite immature. Winning against someone like that isn't surprising. Maybe she has some special method to unblock acupoints. I'll study the *Art of Ultimate Bliss* later and see."

Yue Hongling rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Fourth level of Xuan Pass, a Celestial Maiden... It shouldn't be possible for a Celestial Maiden to have such low cultivation. Either she's a novice who stumbled into your hands during her first trial, or there's something else going on."

This was essentially saying Zhao Changhe's cultivation was low. His pride stung again. He snorted and muttered, "Once I study the Maitreya Sect's techniques, if they can help me reach the fourth level of internal energy, I can try for the fifth level of external techniques."

"So you really haven't reached the fourth level of internal energy?" Yue Hongling was even more shocked. "With third-level internal energy, you could hear sounds before me and suppress the lustful poison better than I could. What kind of technique is this..."

Being able to hear sounds before her was likely due to the combined boost of his internal energy and the "eyes behind the head" ability; neither alone could achieve it. As for suppressing the lustful poison, that was truly the marvel of this internal energy. Without Yue Hongling as a reference, Zhao Changhe wouldn't have realized how extraordinary the Six Harmonies Divine Art was.

He sighed. "The technique is powerful, top-tier in the world—I've always believed that. But my meridian problem prevents me from making it my main cultivation. This damned limitation—who knows how long it will plague me."

Both of them simultaneously thought of the *Art of Ultimate Bliss* in Zhao Changhe's chest and fell silent.

Gong Chaoqun flew over. "Young Hero Zhao, I saw the head of Fa Yuan you had them deliver. Is there anything else?"

Zhao Changhe pulled out the list of officials and letters from his chest. "I'm going back to rest. Leave the rest to the Demon Suppression Bureau."

Gong Chaoqun took the list, overjoyed. "Yangzhou is as good as settled!"

*Is it?*

Zhao Changhe smiled faintly, said nothing, and turned to leave.

He returned to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion. His luggage, clothes, and the Stepping Snow Dark Steed were still there. With the city in chaos as they hunted down Maitreya Sect followers, he hoped no one had been foolish enough to take the horse.

When he arrived at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, he saw that most of the people inside had been arrested. To his surprise, Ruyan was still there, neither gone nor captured.

Zhao Changhe asked curiously, "You... are you just an ordinary believer, so they let you off? When did the authorities become so reasonable? If I were being malicious, I'd say someone like you would be even more likely to be arrested, just for fun."

Ruyan said, "The Xiaoxiang Pavilion itself is run by the Cao Gang, not a Maitreya Sect branch. Young Master Wan thought Ruyan was innocent and wanted to protect her, so he did."

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and laughed. "Alright, then why aren't you going home? Still hanging around here?"

"Ruyan has no home." She sighed softly. "I've been in this life of dust for too long. I'm used to it. I'll just keep going like this. If you need me now, young master, I can still serve you..."

Suddenly, Yue Hongling's face appeared before her.

Ruyan: "..."

Zhao Changhe chuckled. "I don't think you'll be open for business tonight anyway. This is just a normal inn. Arrange a room for my Sister Yue to rest in. We'll talk about everything tomorrow."