Chapter 190

Chapter 190: Unlucky Purple Beard

It was a dark, moonless night filled with terror.

At the edge of Purple Beard Villa, a winged figure suddenly descended. Landing silently, he produced a Golden Bowl and tipped its contents downward.

A golden-crowned man without arms tumbled onto the ground—the pitiful young master.

Fang Lie demanded, "How do we enter this place?"

"Use the secret technique along with my jade token for identification," the young master answered mechanically, his voice dull.

"Then do it!" Fang Lie snapped.

The young master blinked slowly. "No arms… can’t perform hand seals."

Fang Lie smacked his own forehead. "Damn! Forgot about his missing arms. Should’ve reattached them earlier—now they’re fish food in some river."

Grumbling, he ordered, "Transfer the secret technique and all Purple Tower access methods through your divine sense."

The young master obediently projected a white beam from his brow, flooding Fang Lie’s mind with information.

Such mental transfers were dangerous—it left the sender’s consciousness sea completely vulnerable. A malicious recipient could crush the sender’s divine sense effortlessly. The process also drained one’s spiritual energy, making it a last-resort measure.

But the brainwashed young master complied without resistance.

Sweat drenched Fang Lie as foreign knowledge crammed into his skull, facial muscles twitching violently. Had the young master retained his sanity, the pain would’ve made him scream.

Now possessing all necessary secrets, Fang Lie saw no further use for the fool. A swift sword strike separated head from body. He stored the Soul-Losing Golden Crown and rummaged through the young master’s Sumeru Bags, retrieving a special jade token for his belt.

Fang Lie performed the required secret techniques toward the mountain’s protective array. Empty air rippled like water, forming an entrance.

Normally, the activated array made Purple Beard Villa appear hazy—like blurred flowers in mist. Trespassers below Wind Tribulation Immortal strength faced instant death. But through this temporary gap, Fang Lie entered unharmed.

His jade token pulsed softly, clearing the obscuring mist to reveal hidden paths. According to the stolen memories, Purple Beard Villa housed about a thousand inhabitants—mostly Qi Sea Realm servants and a few dozen Golden Pool Realm cultivators. Unknown to the young master, recent betrayals had reduced their forces to barely ten.

Of the three original Purple Palace Realm experts—the family leader, Deputy Leader, and young master—only injured Purple Beard remained, recovering in Purple Tower.

Recent turmoil had left security lax. Despite Purple Tower’s importance, no guards patrolled its perimeter. Overconfidence in their protective array created this fatal oversight.

Following the acquired instructions, Fang Lie manipulated the tower’s defenses. The entrance slid open soundlessly.

Before him stood Purple Tower—the accumulated labor of Purple Beard’s clan across generations.

Although it wasn’t a grand treasure, generations of Purple Beard Master’s family heads had spent millennia fortifying the Purple Tower. It housed countless mechanical traps and formations. Uninformed intruders—even Nascent Soul True Immortals—would perish instantly.

Fang Lie, however, had obtained most of the tower’s secrets from the young master. Though unable to control its mechanisms, he navigated past dangers and reached the basement—Purple Beard Master’s closed-door training chamber.

A seven-foot jade door stood there, etched with glowing divine patterns and guarded by potent restrictions.

According to the young master, this door led to Purple Beard Master’s sanctuary. Even he lacked the qualification to learn its opening method. Forcing entry would activate lethal restrictions, fatal even to Nascent Soul True Immortals.

Fang Lie hadn’t come here to die. Yet thwarted by a mere door, he reluctantly asked Old Bird, "Bird Bro, how do I open this thing?"

Old Bird scoffed, "Just a mix of Five Elements and Bagua with Nine Palaces Maze formations, sealing some overpowered Dao magic. Mess up, and you’ll trigger attacks from both formations. To you, it’s a death trap. To me? Trash."

"Teach me!" Fang Lie pleaded.

"Tap these eighteen spots in order with precise pressure," Old Bird instructed, transmitting the details.

Fang Lie followed instantly. With a click, the jade door swung open.

Beyond lay a barren thirty-yard-wide space. Misty spiritual energy swirled as white fog across the floor. At the center sat Purple Beard Master, meditating to heal his injuries.

A cultivator’s weakest moment is during cultivation. Even a mortal’s nudge could trigger qi deviation. Hence, all cultivators prioritize fortifying their training sites.

Purple Beard Master’s defenses were formidable—outer protective arrays, lethal tower traps, even the sealed door itself. Yet he’d never anticipated Fang Lie: a monster who’d captured the young master for secrets, then consulted Old Bird to bypass the jade door.

Now helpless, Purple Beard Master sat exposed.

Fang Lie wasted no time. He slammed the Soul-Losing Golden Crown onto the man’s face. Divine light blazed as the crown erased his divine sense.

Purple Beard Master’s magic spiraled out of control, causing immediate qi deviation. Before he could scream, the crown turned him into a puppet.

Through the agony, Purple Beard Master droned, "Greetings, Master."

Not wanting to lose this enforcer, Fang Lie barked, "Heal now!"

"Yes, Master." The puppet began suppressing injuries.

The crown was ruthless—it erased consciousness but retained skills and memories. Though dull-eyed, the puppet fought and functioned nearly as well as before.

Fang Lie fed him a top-grade spirit pill, fearing lasting damage to his combat strength. By dawn, Purple Beard Master’s breathing stabilized.

"Stand up," Fang Lie ordered.

"Yes, Master." The puppet obeyed.

"You’re now my servant. Purple Beard Villa is mine. Hand over control of the protective array and tower!"

"As commanded." The puppet produced a blue Banner’s flag and purple jade token. "The flag controls the array’s core—one main, two deputies. The token governs the tower. Refine them as treasures to claim ownership."

Fang Lie snatched them. "Resume cultivation."

The puppet obeyed. Fang Lie would drive him to boost his power relentlessly.

As for the Banner’s flag and jade token, refining them took half a day—simple treasures with no complexities. Now Fang Lie controlled Purple Beard Villa and all Qingyu Island.

Almost. Remaining villa members still needed subduing.