The Lord of the Path of Destruction, the "Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity," did not attend today's gathering. Yet even so, among everyone present, she was the one they feared the most.
Though relatively young, one of the newer additions to the demonic sect, the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity's strength was undeniable. In open combat, she stood shoulder to shoulder with the Lord Decay, ranking easily within the top three among the Tenfold Dao.
The final spot was a toss-up between the Lords of Birth and Revelation.
The rest were less inclined toward direct combat.
After all, as the saying went, "The Way has its order, and every art its own mastery."
Paths like Craft, Righteousness, Causality, and Constancy were never meant for warfare; their strength lay elsewhere. Even so, no one dared underestimate them. They might lack in duels, but their destructive potential was unquestionable.
Of course, that was only how outsiders judged them.
If that old monster of Constancy ever revealed his true self, he could send all the rest of them packing in a single breath.
As for the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity, her characteristics were well-known.
Everyone knew she possessed a divine ability called the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity. This technique could convert the rise and fall of all existence into karmic power.
Through this accumulated karma, her power could soar to terrifying levels.
However, every time she used it, she consumed that same karmic force, undoing her own progress toward extinction. Thus, she rarely acted. But whenever she did, the results were catastrophic.
None of the demonic lords here had forgotten that sight.
For that reason, the sect treated the Path of Destruction as its ultimate trump card. Only when the Path of Death failed would the Path of Destruction take the field.
And they all knew well how many resentful souls floated within that golden wheel.
At that moment, when Gu Fangchen declared he would disguise himself as the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity, everyone's first reaction was simple: this man had gone mad with arrogance.
To prove his supposed identity, he would spout any nonsense!
The Path of Emotion, no matter how intricate its illusions, at its core relied on trickery and deceit.
Without sufficient cultivation, an emotional adept was merely a con artist of the martial world, his means no different from a street swindler's.
And to achieve a flawless illusion, two conditions were generally required.
First: the gap in cultivation between illusionist and target could not be too great.
Second: there must be external distractions to draw attention away.
At the Qionglin Banquet, for instance, Gu Fangchen had seized the stage by storm, provoking the Omen of Heaven and Earth with his stolen verses, drawing every eye toward himself.
None had noticed Qing Jian and Old Ding in the corner. Those who did dare not linger, lest they attract the gaze of the Martial Sage or the Xiyin Attendant.
Otherwise, with his then cultivation, the Mirage Array would surely have been exposed.
An illusion required at least one of those conditions, or meticulous advance preparation, layered upon itself, to achieve perfection.
So, in their eyes, if this "Lord of Emotion" or some impostor aimed to seize the title by claiming to be her, then such a seamless disguise could only be the product of careful, long-laid plans.
But now, before all of them, with similar cultivations and no preparation, to display an illusion that could mimic the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity herself, such a thing was impossible!
The lords' faces barely began to show disbelief when they saw it:
A vast golden wheel rose slowly behind Gu Fangchen.
The first phase, All Things Begin.
The second, All Laws Constant.
The third, All Deeds Impermanent.
The fourth, Nirvana's Silence.
Four Calamities revolving, the rise and fall of all existence.
Boom.
The roar shook the air. All present flinched, their pupils contracting.
Though the wheel turned only slightly, endless karma and tribulation flowed forth, an ocean of power.
From the shifting visions of life and death within its surface came crushing pressure. The entire chamber distorted, space and time bending like molten glass.
Walls and floors stretched, twisted, as if to be drawn into that spinning abyss.
The Wheel of the Sea of Calamity, once set in motion, was like a black hole, everything it touched was devoured, transformed, and reduced to nothing.
Without overwhelming cultivation, even the wielder could be consumed.
That was why Lu Fuyi had been so astonished when Gu Fangchen stole the wheel and survived unscathed.
Back then, the system had treated the Wheel as an "item," storing it within Gu Fangchen's soul as though it were a bag, bound completely by his karma.
Now, when he revealed it voluntarily, the golden wheel roared free like an untamed beast.
A shiver of dread seized every lord in the room.
Even among these supreme cultivators, not one failed to feel their hair stand on end.
Sixth Division Star Lord's face blanched; he was the first to react, forming seals at lightning speed, trying to restrain the rotation of the wheel with the Art of Causality.
The less battle-minded lords panicked, shouting in alarm.
"Stop! Stop at once!"
Even the usually calm Lord Decay rose sharply, hand gripping the sword planted before him, nearly drawing it.
When the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity went all out, who would dare stay standing? That was suicide!
But then, he remembered.
The man before him was Gu Fangchen, not one of the Path of Emotion, and certainly not the real Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity.
So... could this truly be illusion?
Lord Decay lifted his gaze toward the shining wheel, its lifelike brilliance almost too real.
Too real.
He couldn't tell the difference.
This kid... really did have some skill.
No wonder he'd known about the Resonant Bell.
Even Lord Decay, who already knew the truth, almost unsheathed his sword. The others had no such restraint.
In the midst of that chaos, Gu Fangchen stood with the golden wheel blazing behind him, smiling cheerfully.
"So, what do you think, my lords? My improved version of the Mirage Array, how is it?"
"See any flaws? If you do, be sure to tell me. I'll fix them when I get back."
Heh. That was no illusion, he'd stolen the real thing from the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity herself.
If anyone could spot a flaw in that, he might as well marry her on the spot.
At his words, the lords who had instinctively recoiled paused, realizing their fear had gotten the better of them.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, they cleared their throats and sat back down, though their eyes still flicked nervously toward the spinning golden wheel.
General Qianmo studied Gu Fangchen carefully. "This Mirage Array is indeed extraordinary."
He, a master of formations, could sense no trace of array energy, none at all. It was unsettling.
The Charcoal Seller exhaled deeply, muttering, "Truly flawless... I can't see a single break. It's as if it were real. What a divine art!"
The Lord of Craft leaned forward, eyes alight. "Marvelous. Truly marvelous! For a moment I thought the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity herself had arrived, I nearly bolted!"
Even Lord Decay, who seldom spoke, said gravely, "Not ordinary at all. If you hadn't warned us it was illusion, I wouldn't have known."
In truth, he still wasn't sure it wasn't real, and that thought was even more terrifying.
Sixth Division Star Lord smoothly lowered his hands and nodded. "Indeed... lifelike. This illusion art surpasses all who came before. Even past Lords of Emotion would pale in comparison. You are most worthy of the title."
Gu Fangchen's smile did not waver.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ying Liangxin staggered, her face pale as death.
At the moment she saw the golden wheel, she knew she was finished.
Now, with Sixth Division Star Lord's endorsement, the verdict was sealed.
Whatever the truth, the Tenfold Dao valued results and usefulness above all.
Ying Liangxin's best trait had been never making mistakes. This new "Lord of Emotion," however, possessed illusions of such power that the sect could use him far better.
With those few words, her fate was decided.
She pressed her lips together, drawing a deep breath. Within her ring, her sword trembled with killing intent.
The demonic sect had no mercy.
She had lost today, and the victor would surely erase her.
Unless she struck first.
But before she could act, Gu Fangchen's cold voice rang out: "Guanyue."
The fat man instantly obeyed, forming seals that triggered the chamber's mechanisms and lunging toward her.
Ying Liangxin's disgust surged. She had heard the rumors of Guanyue's lust and cruelty, and as his hand reached out, vile images flashed through her mind.
She bit down hard, darting toward the hidden exit.
If Gu Fangchen and Guanyue had entered openly, the entire Wuchuan Chamber of Commerce was already theirs. The main door would be a trap, so she aimed for the secret one instead.
But Gu Fangchen had predicted that. While the others' attention was fixed on the wheel, he had quietly repositioned himself, blocking that very route.
Seeing her movement, he stamped his foot sharply, crushing a crystal beneath it.
The Merfolk Tears shattered, releasing the array carved upon it.
Energy flared around him as he stepped calmly into position, right in front of the secret door.
Ying Liangxin drew her sword, hatred blazing. But the moment she raised it, the blade suddenly felt impossibly heavy, as though resisting her.
Her heart skipped. That instant of hesitation was enough for Guanyue to catch up.
She clenched her teeth, forcing strength into her trembling arm, and lunged toward Gu Fangchen in a final, desperate strike.
He smiled faintly. Two fingers snapped forward and caught the blade.
Impossible.
Ying Liangxin's eyes widened in disbelief. She was a fourth-grade sword cultivator, how could he stop her so easily?
"Petty tricks," Gu Fangchen said coolly, "and you still think to struggle?"
What he had crushed was a Sword-Binding Array, derived from the Sword-Playing Method of the Grand Dao Sword Palace.
It targeted swords specifically, not by true control, but by illusion, making the wielder believe their weapon was rebelling.
It was still, in essence, a Mirage Array.
The sword itself was nearly unaffected; the illusion merely unsettled the user's heart.
A confident swordsman could break it instantly.
But the more fear and tension the opponent felt, the stronger the illusion became.
And Ying Liangxin, already shaken by his earlier display, was at her limit.
Thus, he subdued her effortlessly.
In truth, that seemingly casual gesture had taken every bit of his strength, he'd nearly strained himself making it look easy.
But she didn't know that.
Defeated, she was seized by Guanyue, her disguise collapsing to reveal a beautiful, foxlike face.
Gu Fangchen tilted her chin up, clicking his tongue. "A little beauty after all. Fourth grade, daring to impersonate your own master, such boldness."
"Guanyue, take her to my room. I'll interrogate her personally."
The sycophant nodded eagerly, dragging her away as she shut her eyes in silent defiance.
The other lords, seeing her true form and meager cultivation, felt any lingering doubt vanish completely.
Gu Fangchen stepped into her place among them.
"Well then," said Sixth Division Star Lord, "one seat still empty."
Gu Fangchen nodded toward it, his smile faint. "Gu Yuye?"
"Correct."
Gu Fangchen's grin deepened.
Gu Yuye, ah, Gu Yuye... I wonder what the Northern Garrison Prince will think when he sees you.
Surprised?
Delighted?