225: I came from heaven, and I look up to heaven!

Lu Jiuyuan got out of bed, paced to his front, and looked down at him; the smile on his face was more terrifying than a devil in Cao Jingxiong's eyes.

"Tell me, who are you? And who wants to kill me?" Lu Jiuyuan's tone was very casual.

"If you want to kill, then kill! How can I be someone who fears death? You can't get a single word from me!" Cao Jingxiong roared angrily.

"Oh, Yin and Yang Dagger Cao Jingxiong, Demoness Ji Yaohua sent you to kill me. Where is she?"

"You actually know me?"

Cao Jingxiong was startled; this person actually revealed his origin in one breath.

He immediately tried to mobilize the True Qi in his body to break his heart pulse and commit suicide, but he found that his True Qi could not be gathered at all.

"You're quite stubborn." Lu Jiuyuan saw his resolute gaze, chuckled, and didn't bother to say more.

A subtle, unnoticeable gleam suddenly flashed in his eyes, like a stone thrown into a deep pool, rippling outwards and directly imprinting itself into Cao Jingxiong's eyes.

It was one of the secret techniques from the Treasury of Lianhua, the Hypnotic Charm!

Cao Jingxiong only felt that the opponent's gaze instantly became incomparably deep, like two whirlpools, wanting to completely swallow his mind.

He wanted to struggle, wanted to avert his gaze, but his whole body was restrained, unable to move at all. His consciousness, under the impact of the other party's gaze, melted rapidly like ice and snow meeting the sun.

The fierceness and determination on his face gradually disappeared, his eyes became empty and bewildered, and finally, only a murky dullness remained.

"Speak, where is Ji Yaohua?" Lu Jiuyuan's voice was calm, yet it carried an irresistible magic, directly striking Cao Jingxiong's defenseless mind.

Cao Jingxiong's lips moved, his voice mechanical and flat: "My master… is seventy li west of the capital… in the depths of Black Wind Canyon… at Wangyou Hamlet…"

"Black Wind Canyon, Wangyou Hamlet…" Lu Jiuyuan nodded slightly; this place was indeed secluded, fitting the Devil Woman's usual elusive style.

"What arrangements are there in the canyon? Who else is with Ji Yaohua?"

"There's a maze at the canyon entrance… arranged according to the Eight Trigrams, with shifting life gates… the canyon is filled with poisonous miasma… one cannot enter without an antidote… My master… also has 'Poison Hand' Zhao Qianshan, 'Phantom Concubine' Liu Yiyi… and… thirty-six medicated Puppets… one cannot enter without someone to guide the way…"

Cao Jingxiong spilled everything he knew like beans from a bamboo tube.

Lu Jiuyuan listened carefully, already having a plan in mind.

He glanced at Cao Jingxiong, who had completely become a marionette, and a wisp of Sword Qi silently emerged from his fingertip, instantly shattering his heart pulse.

Cao Jingxiong's body trembled, the last trace of life in his eyes extinguished, and he fell softly to the ground.

He pushed open the window, and the night wind rushed in, dispersing the lingering traces of blood and the eerie "Soul-Softening Bone Fragrance" in the room.

"Demoness Ji Yaohua… Black Wind Canyon…"

Lu Jiuyuan muttered to himself, a cold arc forming at the corner of his mouth: "I wanted a few days of peace, but trouble always comes knocking.

Very well, I shall go meet this Demonic Path giant who stirs up the winds and clouds, and see if her Wangyou Hamlet can truly make one forget worries."

Tossing Cao Jingxiong's corpse out the door, his figure flickered, and after a few leaps across the continuous rooftops of the capital, he had already left the city walls, merging into the towering mountains and ridges west of the capital.

Under the cover of night, his figure was as elusive as a ghost, yet his speed was astonishingly fast; seventy li of mountain road was but a short while under his feet.

At the entrance of Black Wind Canyon, strange rocks were jagged, ancient trees reached to the sky, and a damp air with a faint sweet and pungent smell permeated the atmosphere; it was the poisonous miasma Cao Jingxiong spoke of.

The moonlight here also seemed to dim, and the depths of the canyon were pitch black, like the greedy maw of a giant beast.

Lu Jiuyuan did not directly charge in, but instead looked up, only to see two steep, towering Peaks on either side of the canyon.

His figure shot up from the ground, as light as an ape, using the protruding rocks and stubbornly growing ancient pines on the cliff face to ascend towards the Peak.

The Peak was flat, and the night wind was biting, making his robes flutter loudly.

From this vantage point, the entire Black Wind Canyon was visible, and in the deepest part of the canyon, nestled against the mountain wall and a flying waterfall, a few dim yellow lights could vaguely be seen, which must be the "Wangyou Hamlet."

"It's a dark and windy night, perfect weather for murder and arson.

However, there's no need to rush. That certain poison still has some effect!"

Lu Jiuyuan yawned, found a flat boulder, lay down casually, clasped his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes to nap.

He seemed to completely disregard the Demonic Path giant and the Dragon's Den he was about to face, his breathing quickly becoming even and prolonged, as if he had truly fallen asleep.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lu Jiuyuan on the Peak suddenly opened his eyes, which were clear and utterly devoid of sleepiness.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and the bones in his body made faint crackling sounds; his state had already returned to its Peak.

Lu Jiuyuan stood on the Peak, the night wind making his wide robes flutter, and the lights in the depths of Black Wind Canyon flickered in his eyes.

He suddenly took a deep breath, settled his Qi into his Dantian, and his voice, like a clap of thunder, suddenly boomed in the silent mountains:

"Ji… Yao… Hua…!"

"Lu is here to visit; has your Wangyou Hamlet prepared tea?"

The rolling sound waves, like substantial ripples, pressed layer upon layer towards the depths of the canyon, shaking loose stones from the cliff walls and causing the poisonous miasma in the valley to churn ceaselessly!

Stirring up the grass to startle the snake!

That was the effect he wanted.

Rather than sneaking in silently, it was better to knock on the door openly and see what kind of reaction this Dragon's Den would provoke!

Before the sound had completely dissipated, the lights in the direction of Wangyou Hamlet suddenly showed some commotion.

The originally dim and peaceful points of light instantly became frantic, figures flickered, and the sounds of shouts and the clanging of metal preparing could vaguely be heard.

The auras of several hidden sentries, originally lurking in the darkness, also clearly became chaotic and moved.

"As expected, there are arrangements." Lu Jiuyuan's mouth curved, taking in the brief chaos below.

Several key overt and covert sentry positions had been exposed under this sudden disturbance.

His objective achieved, he no longer hesitated.

"Hahahaha! Devil Woman, time to get up and receive guests!"

"Who goes there? What kind of hero hides his head and shows his tail?"

"Hahahahaha, I come from the heavens, and I look to the heavens!"

Amidst the long laughter, Lu Jiuyuan leaped, like a falling meteor, plunging straight down from the Peak a hundred zhang high!