Nie Yun had long known Ouyang Cheng was following him because of the Tracking Qi, but he didn’t call him out. Upon seeing the Ancient Corpse, he deliberately pretended to reach for it, luring Ouyang Cheng to make the first move.

’The Demon Saint was a Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm Powerhouse. Even in death, how could his body possibly tolerate being casually defiled? I didn’t even have to think to know it must have some kind of hidden defense mechanism!’

It was because he had considered this that Nie Yun let Ouyang Cheng make a move, allowing him to "enjoy" the contingency the Demon Saint had left behind.

Sure enough, stimulated by a jab from Nie Yun’s finger, the Demon Saint Ancient Corpse activated, rising to its feet and throwing a punch.

This punch was not a conscious act from the Ancient Corpse, but a conditioned reflex. In life, the corpse had experienced countless battles to reach its Realm. Even in death, it would still unconsciously counter-attack anyone who assaulted it!

Of course, this counter-attack was merely to protect the body from being desecrated by outsiders, so its power was not immense. While it severely injured Ouyang Cheng, the blow was not fatal.

"Nie Yun, you scheming bastard! Damn you!"

Struggling to his feet, Ouyang Cheng no longer dared to go near the Ancient Corpse. His eyes burned with intense hatred as he glared at Nie Yun.

"Heh, scheming? You were the one willing to risk your life for treasure. You can’t blame me for that!"

Nie Yun smiled faintly. As he spoke, he flicked his palm and sent an attack toward Ouyang Cheng.

"You’re a Soaring Water Master, and so am I. In the middle of the sea, you think you can kill me? Dream on!"

Ouyang Cheng’s face twisted as he let out a long roar.

Soaring Water Masters were the emperors of the water. While submerged, they could fight or flee as they pleased, utterly without fear. Although Ouyang Cheng was injured, he wasn’t particularly afraid. Instead, he shot the young man a cold, mocking look.

"Can’t kill you? Heh. That might be true for other Soaring Water Masters, but against me? You will die today!"

With a faint smile, Nie Yun drew his Profound Jade Sword. His body blurred, and he slashed down in a single motion.

"A dead man? We’ll see who ends up dead! Soaring Water Master Martial Arts—Ten Thousand Miles of Shocking Waves!"

With a flourish of his arms, Ouyang Cheng unleashed a profound power. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding seawater formed a monstrous, towering wave that surged toward Nie Yun.

A Soaring Water Master’s Martial Arts!

’Most special talents had corresponding Martial Arts, but they were exceptionally rare and difficult to find. I never expected this Ouyang Cheng to actually know a Soaring Water Master’s Martial Arts!’

These kinds of Martial Arts could greatly amplify a Soaring Water Master’s talent. Once unleashed, the effect was cataclysmic, making the entire seafloor feel like it was the end of the world.

’No wonder Ouyang Cheng was so confident. To think he had an ace like this up his sleeve!’

"A decent attack. But if you think this is enough to kill me, aren’t you being a little naive?" Facing the ferocious assault, Nie Yun showed no signs of panic. Instead, he laughed. Raising a finger, a strange symbol began to spin at its tip like a spell. With a flick of his finger, it once again shot through the water and into the forehead of the Demon Saint Ancient Corpse.

The moment this strange Spell entered its body, the Ancient Corpse behind Ouyang Cheng threw another punch!

BOOM!

Ouyang Cheng never expected the Ancient Corpse to attack again. Caught completely off guard, he felt a sharp pain in his back and was sent flying forward, his head smashing straight into the stone wall in front of him, leaving him dazed and bleeding.

With its caster severely injured, the Soaring Water Master’s Martial Arts—Ten Thousand Miles of Shocking Waves—lost its support and dissipated into nothing.

"This is impossible... How can you control the Ancient Corpse? I don’t believe it..."

Ouyang Cheng pulled his head out of the stone wall and let out a savage cry, but before he could finish, he felt another sharp pain as a foot stomped on his face. An immense force pinned him to the ground, pressing his face flat like a smashed fruit.

"I thought you could escape? Heh. Go on, escape now!"

Nie Yun smiled faintly, his foot still planted on Ouyang Cheng’s face.

In reality, he hadn’t been controlling the Ancient Corpse to fight. He had merely relied on his understanding of the Demon Race to cast a Secret Spell that the Blood Evil Demon Clan feared above all else. Under the Spell’s stimulation, the Ancient Corpse had instinctively attacked. Ouyang Cheng, being the closest target, bore the brunt of the blow and was thus tragically wounded once again.

"You killed the Seventh Prince and Young Master Qii Yang. The powers backing them will never let you get away with this..."

Knowing there was no escape, Ouyang Cheng’s face filled with bitter indignation.

"You should be more concerned about yourself. They won’t be letting *you* off the hook. What does that have to do with me?" Smiling and shaking his head, Nie Yun shifted his foot. With a sickening CRUNCH, he crushed Ouyang Cheng’s skull into fragments.

’I’d already arranged everything beforehand. Even if the powers behind the Seventh Prince and Qii Yang investigate, the trail will only lead them to Ouyang Cheng. It has nothing to do with me.’

’Now that I’ve killed Ouyang Cheng and destroyed all evidence of the crime, they won’t be able to find anyone to take revenge on. They’ll just assume he went into hiding and continue hunting him, trapping themselves in a dead end!’

"A brilliant move, diverting the blame!"

Seeing the young man kill Ouyang Cheng without a moment’s hesitation, Mu Qing was the first to grasp his plan, and her eyes lit up. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’Before, I couldn’t understand why Nie Yun was so unconcerned about killing the Seventh Prince and the others. Now I see he had a plan in mind from the very beginning!’

’Brave, cunning, and with a flawless, airtight plan... What a truly terrifying young man!’

"Heh."

With a grasping motion of his hand, a strange power emanated from his palm and pulverized Ouyang Cheng’s remains. His flesh and blood were instantly diluted by the seawater and devoured by the Demons in the passage, vanishing completely.

"Now, to subdue this Ancient Corpse!"

Having dealt with Ouyang Cheng, Nie Yun abruptly flew up and brought his palms together. His ten fingers moved in a rapid sequence, and with each motion, a drop of fresh blood appeared at his fingertip. The ten drops of blood formed a profound diagram in the water before him.

"The Supreme Demon Suppressing Technique, the Ten-Complete Nine Palace Diagram? Th-this... How is this possible?"

Seeing the diagram form from the young man’s fingertips, Baihua Xiu’s eyes went wide in utter disbelief.

"The Ten-Complete Nine Palace Diagram? What’s that?"

Mu Qing asked, looking confused.

"I don’t really know. I only heard my master mention it once before. He said that there is a Supreme Secret Technique for suppressing demons called the Ten-Complete Nine Palace Diagram. It arranges all things in heaven and earth according to the principles of the One Origin, the Two Polarities, the Three Powers, the Four Symbols, the Five Elements, the Six Harmonies, the Seven Stars, the Eight Trigrams, and the Nine Palaces. Then, by adding oneself to form the ’Ten-Complete’ aspect, it creates an Array that is absolutely unbeatable against the Demon Race. Even if a Demon is stronger than the caster, they will be rendered completely immobile..."

Baihua Xiu said slowly.

"An Array like that actually exists? He... he looks so young. How could he possibly know such a profound Secret Technique?"

Mu Qing found the young man before her more and more terrifying.

’First, there was that Blood Character Great Golden Spell, which I had never even heard of. Now, he’s using a Supreme Secret Technique. I have no idea what secrets this man is hiding. He has an endless supply of astonishing abilities, enough to leave even disciples from major Sects like us utterly dumbfounded.’

"Ten-Complete Array Map, vanquish evil! Absorb!"

While the two women were talking, the diagram Nie Yun had created completely enveloped the Demon Saint Ancient Corpse. Within the Array, the Ancient Corpse seemed to be under immense pressure. It tried to resist but was completely unable to move. Its body went slack, and with a WHOOSH, it was absorbed into Nie Yun’s Dantian.

P.S. Two more Chapters coming in the early morning! Keep those votes coming!

Thank you all for your support, which has pushed Lao Ya to seventh place on the new book rankings! But we have to keep it up. The eighth-place book, *Anaconda Disaster*, has four times our subscribers and reached the premium tier just a few days after it became available for purchase. Once a powerful book like that takes off, its monthly votes will shoot up fast. So, we have to keep sprinting! The more monthly votes, the better. We need to hold our current position and not get overtaken right after we’ve climbed this high...

Over the next few days, Lao Ya is going to be frantically building up a stockpile of Chapters for a huge release burst at the end of the month. Of course, if I get any major donations (10,000-coin rewards), I’ll release bonus Chapters as well. In short, Lao Ya will do everything possible to fight for a spot on this month’s rankings. I’ll work myself to the bone if I have to in order to secure a good position!

Sprint, sprint!!

Please keep subscribing! To any friends who haven’t subscribed yet, please support the official release. Your support helps the book achieve better results and makes all my hard work worthwhile. Thank you!! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)