Chapter 123: The Tragic Iron-Hearted Divine Marquis.

Jiang Yuyan's cheeks were red and swollen, and a bright red palm print was imprinted on her left cheek.

Her expression was filled with panic. During the day, the madam told Jiang Yuyan that she would be required to receive clients in two days. Jiang Yuyan clearly did not want to be the woman whose red lips were admired by everyone, so she strongly refused.

The result was a severe beating. A slap on the face was considered light. After all, if Jiang Yuyan really wanted to receive clients, her face was very important and could not be damaged. So she was severely whipped.

The slightest movement caused her to grimace in pain.

"What should I do? What should I do? I told the madam that my father is Jiang Biehe, but she simply did not believe it. Who can come and save me? Who can come and save me?" Jiang Yuyan's face was filled with pain and even despair.

Looking at the diary on the table, Jiang Yuyan opened it.

To be honest, Jiang Yuyan was extremely envious of those who kept diaries, and even more so of most of the women mentioned in them. At least they weren't forced into submission by a brothel owner like she was.

Watching the owner's constant complaints of boredom, Jiang Yuyan couldn't help but smile bitterly. If possible, she'd really like to experience that kind of boredom—at least without being forced.

Just after finishing reading the diary, Jiang Yuyan suddenly received a reminder from the diary.

[Monthly Summary: You were mentioned less than ten times in the diary this month. You receive a basic reward of one month's internal cultivation and a basic internal cultivation technique. The diary owner's favorability towards you reaches 48, granting you an additional 10% bonus. Ultimately, you receive one month and three days of internal cultivation and a set of basic internal cultivation techniques.]

Jiang Yuyan felt a surge of warmth within her body. This warmth flowed through her body, bringing comfort wherever it touched her. Even the pain from the brothel owner's beatings was reduced by three points.

At the same time, a set of basic internal cultivation techniques appeared in her mind.

Although it was only a basic internal energy technique, it was nonetheless a complete set. It naturally included information on the locations of meridians and acupoints, as well as how to circulate internal energy, how to increase arm strength, how to run faster, jump farther, and so on.

It could be said that just this basic internal energy technique transformed Jiang Yuyan, who had previously known nothing about martial arts, into someone with a deep understanding of the fundamentals.

Jiang Yuyan was pleasantly surprised.

She hadn't expected this diary to hold such profound secrets.

With this set of internal energy techniques and over a month of internal energy cultivation, Jiang Yuyan had already acquired even the most basic self-protection skills.

Jiang Yuyan was filled with gratitude to the diary's owner. If it weren't for the diary's owner, she would have become a prostitute.

Jiang Yuyan blew out the candles in her room and simply packed up her belongings.

They weren't much, really: two worn-out sets of clothes and a few dozen copper coins she'd saved over the years. Then, Jiang Yuyan quietly left.

Although Jiang Yuyan was a little unfamiliar with the internal energy, she found that her body felt lighter, her steps were faster, and her movements became more agile.

She bypassed the patrolling guards and climbed over the wall.

Without the other things, climbing over the wall alone would have been impossible without the month of internal energy training.

Carefully and cautiously, she kept getting around others and finally escaped before her meager internal energy was depleted.

After escaping, Jiang Yuyan didn't stop and quickly fled the place. She wanted to get as far away from this place as possible to minimize her chances of being caught.

When her internal energy and even her physical strength were almost depleted, Jiang Yuyan stopped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Although she was extremely tired, she had never been so happy and cheerful as she was now.

"Where should I go next?"

"Should I go find my father?"

"But the diary says he treated me very badly."

"But if I don't go find my father, where else can I go? Besides, my father still has the Liuren Divine Dice. The diary says I helped him open it. Perhaps I can learn the martial arts within it."

Jiang Yuyan pondered this and made a decision. No matter what, she would first go find her father, Jiang Biehe, with the goal of opening the Liuren Divine Dice and learning the martial arts within.

Jiang Yuyan didn't know yet that her father, Jiang Biehe, had been killed by Yao Yue with a single palm strike.

...

Dongfang Bubai saw Ning Zhongze's cultivation level rise to the ninth level of the Xiantian realm, a significant improvement. However, she knew that while Ning Zhongze's progress was significant, it was still far behind her own.

But that was understandable, after all, Ye Xiu was already hers. Their relationship, no matter what, was closer than that of Ning Zhongze, the master's wife.

Dongfang Bubai's cultivation reached the Grandmaster level, but she didn't immediately head to Yihua Palace. Instead, she planned to consolidate her cultivation and acclimate herself to her current combat capabilities.

This would allow her to be more effective in battle.

Furthermore, while Yaoyue's strength hadn't reached the Grandmaster level, it was still superior to that of a typical ninth-level Grandmaster. Dongfang Bubai suspected she was nearly there.

She might even have reached the Grandmaster level after receiving the monthly summary reward from the diary.

While Dongfang Bubai was consolidating her cultivation, Tiedan Shenhou had quietly arrived outside Xiuyu Valley.

His target this time was the Liuren Divine Dice.

However, he couldn't let this news get out.

After all, Tiedan Shenhou's reputation was excellent. He had leveraged this reputation to build Hulong Villa to its current state, and he possessed many unknown secrets. Therefore, Tiedan Shenhou planned to infiltrate Yihua Palace.

If he could find the Liuren Divine Dice, he would quietly depart. If not, he would directly capture the two Yihua Palace masters, Yao Yue and Lian Xing. He might even wipe out the entire Yihua Palace afterwards.

This way, news of him wouldn't leak out.

Tiedan Shenhou, at the ninth level of the Grandmaster Realm, possessed the combat power of a Grandmaster. If he were to infiltrate Yihua Palace, no one except those nearly as powerful would be able to detect him.

Tiedan Shenhou strolled into Yihua Palace with a casual demeanor, but the disciples patrolling the palace were completely unaware of his presence.

He even spotted Hua Wuque, which didn't surprise him, as he already had information about him at Hulong Villa.

Seeing Hua Wuque's cultivation at the seventh level of the Xiantian Realm despite his youth, Tiedan Shenhou had to admit that he was truly exceptional.

However, Hua Wu Que was too young after all. Even with his seventh-level Xiantian cultivation, he was still too weak for Tiedan Shen Hou. Tiedan Shen Hou only observed him once and never looked at him again.

However, Tiedan Shen Hou never expected to meet another man in Yihua Palace.

A handsome young man, around eighteen or nineteen, whose cultivation level was even higher than Hua Wuque's.

"There's actually a second man in Yihua Palace, and Hulong Villa has no information about this. It seems their intelligence system isn't perfect yet." Tiedan Shenhou's expression was gloomy, deeply dissatisfied with the intelligence from Hulong Villa.

In reality, Hulong Villa had already gathered information about Ye Xiu, but they were a bit slow. By the time Hulong Villa's intelligence personnel relayed the information about Ye Xiu from Yihua Palace, Tiedan Shenhou had already left the capital under the pretext of seclusion, thus missing the news.

In order to avoid unnecessary complications, Tiedan Shenhou merely glanced at Ye Xiu twice before turning and leaving.

After Tiedan Shenhou left, Ye Xiu glanced in the general direction of where he had been. Previously, Ye Xiu had had a vague feeling that someone was observing him, but he hadn't taken it too seriously.

After all, besides Yaoyue, the only person observing him in Yihua Palace was probably Lianxing. No matter who these two people are, they are not people that Ye Xiu can afford to offend at the moment.

"Who?"

Lian Xing suddenly sensed the emergence of a strange and hidden aura, and could not help but shout softly.

It must be that Lian Xing's Mingyu Gong broke through to the ninth level, and her strength was completely renewed, otherwise she might not be able to detect the other party.

Tiedan Shenhou was a little surprised to see that Lian Xing had actually noticed his whereabouts.

According to Tiedan Shenhou's thinking, the only person in the entire Yihua Palace who might have noticed him should be Yao Yue.

This is why Tiedan Shenhou first came to Lian Xing to look for news about the Liuren Divine Dice. After Lian Xing found nothing, he went to Yao Yue.

Unexpectedly, Lian Xing's strength was not weak, and she actually discovered his existence.

Since he was discovered, Tiedan Shenhou no longer hid and showed up directly.

Reappearing, Tiedan Shenhou sighed softly, a touch of resignation and compassion in his voice. "Originally, I had no intention of attacking the Yihua Palace, but you've revealed my whereabouts, forcing me to exterminate your entire Yihua Palace." "

What a boast! Not only did you trespass into the Yihua Palace, but you're even going to exterminate my entire Yihua Palace?" Lian Xing couldn't help but sneer. She'd just found someone to practice with after her breakthrough, and Tiedan Shenhou had practically delivered himself to her.

"Where is the Liuren Divine Dice? Tell me, and I can give you a quick death," Tiedan Shenhou said bluntly.

"A quick death? Who do you think you are?" Lian Xing sneered, no longer wanting to waste time on Tiedan Shenhou. The ninth level of the Mingyu Gong was activated, and the next moment, she had rushed in front of Tiedan Shenhou, her right hand like a beautiful jade, slapping him.

Tiedan Shenhou didn't want to get too entangled. He wanted to make a quick decision. After all, he was going to wipe out the entire Yihua Palace next, so he had to speed up. After all, the longer this matter was delayed, the greater the chance of trouble.

"Sucking Qi Technique!" Tiedan Shenhou slapped out with his palm, which happened to collide with Lianxing's palm. Then he activated the Sucking Qi Technique, wanting to suck Lianxing dry.

"Huh?"

Lianxing and Tiedan Shenhou almost hummed in surprise at the same time.

Lianxing felt a strong suction coming from Tiedan Shenhou's palm, as if trying to suck the true Qi out of her body. This feeling was like the effect of practicing the last level of Yihua Palace's previous Wedding Dress Divine Art.

However, although the suction force in Tiedan Shenhou's palm was very strong, the Mingyu Art was very special.

The Mingyu Gong can be said to be a creation of Yaoyue's combined essence of Hunyuan Qi and Jiayi Divine Art. After reaching the ninth level, not only does the Mingyu Qi become incredibly pure, leaving skin as transparent as jade, but the power does not evaporate outward but instead converges inward. While practicing internal gong, it not only increases Qi without depleting it, but also reaches a state of endless, limitless power.

Furthermore, the Qi within her body forms a vortex of suction, drawing anything that touches her like a magnet to iron. While the Mingyu Gong cannot absorb another's Qi cultivation like the "Transplanting Flowers and Grafting Trees" or "Absorbing Qi" techniques, it is virtually the nemesis of all absorption-based techniques.

Tiedan Shenhou, using his own vast Qi as a guide, attempted to forcibly absorb Lianxing's Qi, but Lianxing's Qi was so pure and stable that his Absorbing Qi technique was completely unable to absorb Lianxing's Mingyu Qi.

This shocked Tiedan Shenhou greatly, as he had rarely encountered a martial art that failed to effectively absorb his Absorbing Qi technique.

It could even be said that, to this day, Tiedan Shenhou has no Qi he cannot absorb, save for Gu Santong's Vajra Indestructible Divine Art and the Shaolin Temple's signature martial art, the

Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing. Now, he's encountered Lianxing's Ming Yu Gong.

In reality, Tiedan Shenhou is completely unfamiliar with the Ming Yu Gong.

After all, Yihua Palace previously had two core martial arts: Hunyuan Qi and Jiayi Divine Art. These two martial arts lack the ability to counter Qi-absorbing techniques like the Qi-absorbing Great Art.

Unfortunately, Yaoyue, despite having created the Ming Yu Gong, was too arrogant to share his own unique skills, which rivaled those of Hunyuan Qi and Jiayi Divine Art. As a result, the outside world remained unaware that the two Palace Masters of Yihua Palace practiced Yaoyue's Ming Yu Gong.

While Tiedan Shenhou was stunned by the ineffectiveness of his Qi-absorbing Great Art, Lianxing attacked directly, using the Yihua Jieyu Palm technique to swiftly strike Tiedan Shenhou.

Tiedan Shenhou's strength was, after all, comparable to that of a Grandmaster. Despite his earlier distraction, he quickly reacted.

"Great Shift of the Universe."

Seeing the hand almost approaching his body, Tiedan Shenhou immediately activated it, deflecting Lianxing's palm force.

"Huh?" Lianxing was surprised. The Great Shift of the Universe used by Tiedan Shenhou had a similar effect to the Flower-Transferring Jade Palm.

Although surprised, Lianxing didn't slow down her attack. With her Flower-Transferring Jade Palm technique, she continuously attacked Tiedan Shenhou.

Tiedan Shenhou, however, remained calm in the face of Lianxing's attack. After all,

although both Lianxing and Tiedan Shenhou had reached the ninth level of Grandmaster cultivation, the zhenqi within Tiedan Shenhou was far greater.

After briefly gathering his concentration and engaging in the battle, Tiedan Shenhou quickly overpowered Lianxing.

Fortunately, Lianxing's Mingyu Gong was very powerful, so she was able to hold off for a while.

However, Tiedan Shenhou's energies were so immense that, after a few rounds of overwhelming force, Lianxing was injured, her internal organs severely shaken, and even her meridians damaged.

Seeing this, Tiedan Shenhou once again activated his Absorbing Qi technique.

Previously, Lianxing had been able to withstand the Absorbing Qi technique because her body was intact and uninjured. But now, Lianxing was injured, even her meridians were damaged. In this state, she might not be able to resist the Absorbing Qi technique.

As to why Tiedan Shenhou used the Absorbing Qi technique at this moment, it was because he coveted the Mingyu Gong, a martial art that could counter the Absorbing Qi technique.

He wanted to use it to absorb Lianxing's energies while also obtaining the Mingyu Gong's cultivation method.

Seeing Tiedan Shenhou use the Absorbing Qi technique again, Lianxing's eyes flashed with anger, and she wanted to ignore her injuries and unleash her own energies in a desperate battle against Tiedan Shenhou.

Just when Lian Xing was about to fight Tiedan Shenhou to the death, a petite figure appeared in front of Lian Xing, standing between her and Tiedan Shenhou.

Seeing this petite figure, Lian Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Yao Yue's body was petite, at this moment, Lian Xing felt that Yao Yue was extremely tall.

At the same time, because of her trust in Yao Yue, Lian Xing even felt that the crisis was over, and she immediately began to practice the Shen Zhao Jing and began to heal her internal injuries. When

Tiedan Shenhou used his Qi-absorbing technique to absorb Lian Xing's true energy, Yao Yue suddenly appeared and slapped Tiedan Shenhou's palm.

Not only did the Qi-absorbing technique fail to work, but Yao Yue also repelled it with a single palm.

Tiedan Shenhou took a few steps back and looked at Yao Yue with a rather grim expression.

"You are, a Grandmaster?" Tiedan Shenhou cursed in his heart that the people in the intelligence system of the Hulong Villa were all useless.

Yao Yue was clearly a Grandmaster, but the intelligence system had reported him as such.

If he had known Yao Yue was a Grandmaster, he would never have come to Yihua Palace.

"Yes, I am a Grandmaster. Your strength is not weak. With the cultivation of a Grandmaster, you can actually display the combat power of a Grandmaster. But a Grandmaster is still a Grandmaster. Prepare to die!" Yao Yue was in high spirits after breaking through the Grandmaster realm, so much so that when confronted Tiedan Shenhou, he said a few more words.

It was only two words, though. After that, Yao Yue launched a direct attack on Tiedan Shenhou.

It was the same Mingyu Gong, the same Yihua Jieyu, but in Yao Yue's hands, compared to Lian Xing, it was like two completely different martial arts.

In Yao Yue's hands, these two martial arts unleashed an astonishing power.

Tiedan Shenhou and Yao Yue clashed, and Yao Yue was immediately defeated.

Fortunately, not only was Tiedan Shenhou's inner Qi abundant, but thanks to his Qi-absorbing technique, he also possessed a vast array of martial arts, including the Ming Cult's signature technique, the Great Shift of the Universe.

This allowed Tiedan Shenhou to remain undefeated despite being at a disadvantage, even remaining undefeated.

However, facing Yao Yue, whose strength, power, and ferocity grew, Tiedan Shenhou could no longer help but break out in a cold sweat.

Indeed, his abundant Qi and numerous martial arts skills could temporarily prevent him from falling. However, over time, he might eventually lose to Yao Yue.

If he were captured, or even injured by Yao Yue, the situation would be disastrous.

However, Tiedan Shenhou was quick-witted, or perhaps it was the case that even bad guys had quick minds. He almost instantly thought of the second man in Yihua Palace.

This stranger, kept in Yihua Palace, must be extremely important to the palace.

If it weren't important, given Yaoyue and Lianxing's personalities, they would absolutely not allow any man to enter Yihua Palace.

After all, ever since the incident with Yulang and Jiangfeng, Yihua Palace had become a near-forbidden zone for men. Anyone who dared to set foot in Yihua Palace would almost certainly die at the hands of its disciples.

Thus, Tiedan Shenhou deliberately fought and retreated, quickly arriving at Ye Xiu's residence. Ye Xiu

, upon hearing the commotion, couldn't help but step out to see what was happening.

Upon emerging, Ye Xiu saw two figures engaged in a fight.

But it was just two figures, and even then, they were blurry. He couldn't tell who was fighting whom, or even if they were male or female.

But this was Yihua Palace, and Ye Xiu was certain one of them was Yaoyue.

Seeing the two fighting, Ye Xiu deliberately retreated, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.

Given their strength, if Ye Xiu were caught in the crossfire, the only outcome would be a horrible death.

Ye Xiu simply wanted to escape the clash between Yao Yue and Tiedan Shen Hou, but Tiedan Shen Hou was intent on Ye Xiu.

So, Tiedan Shen Hou deliberately let Yao Yue strike him with a palm strike, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood, which then transformed into a bloody mist that enveloped Yao Yue.

Simultaneously, Tiedan Shen Hou, drawing upon Yao Yue's palm power, shot like an arrow, dashing towards Ye Xiu in the blink of an eye. With a single open hand, a suction force swept Ye Xiu towards him, capturing him in his grasp.

Yao Yue hadn't expected Tiedan Shen Hou to act this way, and a flicker of anger crossed her face. "Let go of Ye Xiu!"

Seeing Yao Yue's fury and anxiety, Tiedan Shen Hou immediately understood how important Ye Xiu was to her, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Palace Master Yao Yue, let me leave Yihua Palace now, or I will absolutely kill this brat."

"You're courting death!" Yao Yue's face was icy, a faint chill emanating from her.

"Palace Master Yao Yue, why don't you try and see if it's me or him who will die?" Tiedan Shen Hou sneered.

Yao Yue glared at Tiedan Shen Hou, but because of Ye Xiu, she was restrained, not daring to attack.

Tiedan Shen Hou, holding Ye Xiu hostage, slowly began to leave.

Ye Xiu, on the other hand, felt incredibly unlucky, having been kidnapped for no apparent reason. Furthermore, this person was incredibly powerful; after being captured, he had lost the ability to move, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation like a bean sprout.

However, Ye Xiu was also curious about the person's identity.

In the original novel, few dared to trespass into Yihua Palace. Only one person, Wei Wuya, the leader of the twelve zodiac signs, had come to the palace to propose to Yao Yue, only to be badly beaten.

Wei Wuya himself was incredibly ugly and a dwarf.

His captor, on the other hand, was at least 1.7 meters tall, not ugly, and exuded an air of authority. Clearly, it couldn't be Wei Wuya.

"Well, this is Zongwu, so it's not surprising that someone besides Wei Wuya would have entered Yihua Palace." Ye Xiu thought to himself.

After all, in Ye Xiu's opinion, many of the previous actions were different from the original novels and became a mess, just like Liu Zhengfeng's retirement from the underworld, and Huang Rong's escape to the Ming Dynasty. Now a strange man appeared and broke into Yihua Palace, which was normal.

Ye Xiu was kidnapped by Tiedan Shenhou. Yao

Yue stared at Tiedan Shenhou with her eyes, sharp and full of murderous intent.

It was only because of Ye Xiu that Yao Yue could only follow Tiedan Shenhou and walk out step by step.

Just as Tiedan Shenhou led Ye Xiu to the outside of Xiuyu Valley, an extremely sharp blade suddenly attacked Tiedan Shenhou from behind.

Moreover, the attacker this time was also extremely powerful, which made Tiedan Shenhou feel a chill in his heart.

"Another Grandmaster? Damn it, why did another Grandmaster suddenly jump out? And so shameless, he actually attacked by surprise." Tiedan Shenhou cursed inwardly, then activated the Great Shift of the Universe, trying to deflect the opponent's attack.

However, he didn't expect that the person attacking him from behind was not only a Grandmaster, but also extremely fast. He was so fast that Tiedan Shenhou couldn't even use the Great Shift of the Universe in time, and the opponent's attack had already landed on him.

Puff——

Tiedan Shenhou felt as if his body had been pierced by a sharp sword. Simultaneously, a surge of searing energies surged through him, giving him the illusion of being deep in the desert, scorched by the scorching sun.

At the very moment Tiedan Shenhou was attacked, Yao Yue swiftly rushed in front of him and struck him with a palm strike.

Tiedan Shenhou hadn't expected Yao Yue to take advantage of his misfortune.

He felt Yao Yue was truly despicable for even allowing someone to attack him without her knowledge. She had completely lost the dignity of a Grand Master, attacking a mere Grand Master like him repeatedly.

Tiedan Shenhou thrust Ye Xiu in front of him.

The next moment, Tiedan Shenhou felt a strange, twisting force radiate from his grip on Ye Xiu. He had been attacked from behind, and before he could react, Ye Xiu was snatched away by Yao Yue. With

Ye Xiu snatched away by Yao Yue, Tiedan Shenhou's inner door opened wide, and Yao Yue's free hand struck Tiedan Shenhou directly in the chest.

Suddenly, Tiedan Shenhou felt a surge of strangely cold energy pouring into his body, making him feel as if he was in an ice cellar in Tianshan Mountain, and he couldn't help but shiver.

When Dongfang Bubai saw Ye Xiu being snatched away by Yaoyue, he immediately gave up attacking Tiedan Shenhou and instead attacked Yaoyue, trying to snatch Ye Xiu back.

Although Tiedan Shenhou felt strange seeing this, he knew it was an opportunity. Without a second thought, Tiedan Shenhou dragged his seriously injured body and turned around to run.

Looking at Dongfang Bubai who was trying to snatch Ye Xiu from him, Yaoyue snorted coldly and slapped him with a palm.

Dongfang Bubai did not flinch either, and directly attacked Yaoyue, trying to take Ye Xiu back.

The two fought for several rounds, with no winner, and then they separated temporarily.

"Dongfang Bubai!"

"Yaoyue!"

The two looked at each other, and it seemed as if lightning burst out.