Xuantian 1: Ancient Xuandongtian

Chapter 293 Immersed in Enlightenment
Mu Hanchan turned around and first saw Jin Gui's fearful eyes, then she saw a slender yet voluptuous and alluring woman.

"Snake Queen, what's the matter?"

Mu Hanchan frowned and asked.

Qin Xi also sized up this woman with a cold and beautiful face but a charming figure.

"Lord Kuling, why didn't you inform me before you left?"

"The Snake Princess asked."

"My term is coming to an end. Returning to the sect to report on my duties is a matter between myself and the sect, and has nothing to do with the gangs here. Why should I be notified?"

"What if I said I have one hundred bottles of ternary purified water and ten bottles of quaternary purified water?"

"oh…?"

Mu Hanchan's Green Vine Wood Set and the Bow of Defeat are both wood-attribute magical artifacts, which especially need to be nourished by pure water.

Furthermore, the higher the rank, the more is required.

The Green Vine Wood Set is already a high-grade magic weapon, while the Bow of Defeat was a top-grade magic weapon from the day it was completed.

Both are progressing towards higher levels.

"Lord Kuling Envoy, please take a look."

After saying that, Snake Princess had several people beside her bring over a few plates.

"So how do you want to trade? You can't just give me something this good for free, can you?"

The Snake Princess approached, coming within two feet of Mu Hanchan.

Then he said, "My spiritual energy has been out of balance recently, and I need pure yang energy. If Lord Ku Ling is willing to cultivate with me once, I can give you these one hundred bottles of three-element pure water and ten bottles of four-element pure water."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xi's expression instantly turned somewhat unpleasant.

Mu Hanchan took a step back and said, "I'm afraid that won't work. The mine management has witnessed what happened to Xu Bo and Jin Gui. How could I possibly jump into a fire pit?"

Furthermore, I am now…

Having said that, he spread his hands and pointed to Qin Xi beside him.

"Oh, really..."

Snake Queen glanced at Qin Xi.

But then he said urgently, "You won't be like those two good-for-nothings, Lord Kuling Envoy. I have observed you carefully. Your spiritual power is extremely abundant and strong. One dual cultivation with you is equivalent to dozens or even hundreds of times with an ordinary male cultivator in the Spirit Origin Realm."

And you won't suffer any real damage.

"enough."

Seeing that the Snake Princess was still pestering him, Mu Hanchan interrupted her.

Suddenly, a glance revealed that the skin under the wrist had been torn apart by scales.

With a slight frown, he quickly came to a rough judgment.

"How about this, I'll exchange a fourth-tier Qian Yuan Pill for your Four Yuan Pure Water, how about that?"

"Oh, that works too."

The two quickly completed the transaction.

"May I ask, Lord Kuling Envoy, what was the name of the palm technique you used at the quarry that day?"

"The Snake Princess asked."

"Qianling Wave Palm".

"Rank?"

"Earth Rank".

"really."

The Snake Princess seemed to have finally gotten the answer, and said with some certainty.

"May I ask, Snake Queen, have you cultivated the Hehuan Demonic Art?"

Mu Hanchan frowned slightly and asked.

"Oh, why do you ask that?"

Seeing that she was beating around the bush, Mu Hanchan said, "Answer my question first, is it a kind of demonic art of the Joyful Union?"

"Yes, but why would you think that?"

"I examined Xu Bo and Jin Gui's physical condition; it wasn't ordinary dual cultivation at all... it was more like they were being drained..."

"Oh, so what? Matters between men and women are based on mutual consent, aren't they? They get ecstasy from me, and I get their essence. It's fair."

"That's not fair, is it? You almost died in bed last time?"

"Isn't Kim Gyu still alive? Oh, right, he didn't... you know..."

"That's what Snake Princess said."

"I don't want to argue with you about this. I'm just telling you, don't bother the people at the mine again."

Seeing this, Snake Princess returned to the previous topic.

"What grade of Earth-level is the Qianling Wave Palm?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Oh…"

Mu Hanchan asked, "Then is your cultivation technique derived from the Demonic Joyful Union Sect?"

"I can't tell you that either."

……

Mu Hanchan then said seriously, "Stay away from my mine. Don't let the situation like Xu Bo and Jin Gui happen again. The mine needs to operate normally."

"Oh fine."

Snake Princess then said sadly, "It seems that Lord Ku Ling Shi is no ordinary man. He has no way of enjoying my soul-stirring love potion."

He's far superior to those inferior men.

Mu Hanchan said, "Everyone is equal in terms of personality, so why must we distinguish between high and low, noble and base?"
Furthermore, I don't think that liking beautiful women is a shameful thing for men.

Snake Princess said, "You're wrong. In a woman's eyes, at least in my eyes, men are divided into superior, middle, and inferior categories."

Moreover, these three,
Except for the top one, which is a bit difficult, I can handle the others with ease.

Mu Hanchan frowned and asked, "How can you tell? And how can you distinguish them?"

Why should I tell you?

"Please teach me, Snake Princess."

Mu Hanchan bowed and said.

"Oh my, you were just giving me a stern warning a moment ago, how did you change your attitude so quickly? You can turn on someone faster than flipping through a book."

Snake Princess sneered.

"Officially, I do need to warn you. Personally, I do have questions I don't understand."

Maintaining a clear distinction between public and private matters has always been my principle.

"All right…"

The Snake Princess's eyes flickered as she slowly spoke.

"There are three types of men to control, and three methods to control them."

Inferior men can be seduced with their beauty and then easily manipulated.
Average men, bound by power and wealth, will willingly be driven by it;

As for the superior men... only ideals can hold them back.

"If you want these people to work for you, just make sure they get what they want while they're with you." Mu Hanchan, surprisingly unable to refute this, continued, "What about the woman? And what's the deal with the woman?"

The Snake Princess said again:

"Actually, the way you manipulate women is the same as with men, and it also comes in three levels."

But regardless of their social class, women are all the same at heart—they all want a strong man who they can genuinely admire and who can keep them in check.

A young woman lacks "obedience".

Give her stability, go along with her in everything, and protect her. She will feel that she has found someone to rely on and will generally follow you closely.

—Your "smooth sailing".

However, this can only establish a relationship, not elevate it.

Even if you go along with her, she might not go along with you.

……

Perhaps most of them are just compromises made out of necessity.

……

In fact, what she lacks is one:
A strong person who can make her feel secure and rely on him, and who will always go along with her wishes.

(This is a paradox, a violation of logic, and can only be broken by true love.)
The stronger you are and the more you can protect her, the more obedient she will be and the more willing she will be to revolve around you.

—Her "obedience".

An average-sized woman lacks "face".

What she wanted wasn't petty romance or smooth sailing, but face, status, and the respectability that others would give her.

If you give her status and prestige, and let her hold her head high in public, she will willingly belong to you.

A woman of high social standing has everything she needs, from smooth sailing to a pleasing appearance.

What she lacked was love in a true sense.

It's not about coaxing, it's not about weighing the pros and cons.

It is, under the premise that the basic conditions are met, a unique sincerity.

Strong people are easy to find, admirers are easy to find, but true love is rare.

After listening, Mu Hanchan frowned and remained silent.

"What's wrong, Lord Withered Spirit Envoy?"

The Snake Princess was also somewhat puzzled.

"Besides these, are there any other types of women?"

Mu Hanchan pondered for a long time before asking.

"Yes, but this doesn't even qualify as a normal upper, middle, or lower class."

"What is it?"

"They are outcasts whose minds are completely warped and who are pathologically twisted."
They're the kind of people who are "obsessed" in the common parlance—you can't get them to cooperate with flattery, kindness, or even genuine affection; they only respond to force, not gentleness.

"???"

Seeing that Mu Hanchan was completely confused,
Snake Princess laughed and said, "Lord Withered Spirit Envoy, your cultivation is high, but you still don't understand women very well."

He continued, "To put it bluntly: if you go along with her, she'll think you're spineless and weak."
You give her face and status, but she thinks you're afraid of her and easy to manipulate.

You give her your heart, but she thinks you're cheap and takes advantage of you.

Conversely, how can you make it effective?

If you treat her coldly, suppress her, don't indulge her, and even be firm and unfriendly, she will immediately become obedient, cling to you, and sincerely admire and stick to you.

This isn't a lack of obedience, face, or love; it's a pathological desire for submission stemming from a flawed mindset. It's an extreme exception outside of normal people, and can only be suppressed forcefully. You can't give it the slightest bit of leniency; if you do, it will escalate to an extreme.

"..."

Snake Princess's words silenced Mu Hanchan.

"Actually, the Hehuan Demon Art also describes a type of person, and tends to specifically refer to men."

But I've never met a man like that in my entire life.

There are no examples of such techniques in the demonic arts.

"Who goes there? Please have Snake Princess teach me."

Mu Hanchan lowered his stance even further, because he had not studied the Joyful Union Path or the Warfare Department in the Demonic Altar.

These two tracks were areas where his knowledge was lacking.

"The enlightened one."

"What…?"

"This humble woman takes her leave."

The Snake Queen did not reply further, but accepted ten bottles of Qian Yuan Pills and over a hundred mid-grade spirit stones and left.

The Hehuan Demon Codex was created by a cultivator who possessed both yin and yang during the second generation of cultivators, and it records almost all samples of human nature.

There are two extreme examples.

One: A convicted criminal.

Second name: Enlightened One.

However, there are examples of those who have committed crimes, but there are never any examples of those who have attained enlightenment.

Because the sample collected from convicted criminals consisted mostly of women,
Therefore, he could only assume that the enlightened one was male.

Summarized as follows:

Outlier specimens —

I. Breaking free from the extreme minority of third-class women
These people are pathological outcasts who crave abuse and willingly accept being hurt.

These kinds of women don't fit into the normal human framework of "beginners seeking obedience, middle-class women seeking face, and advanced women seeking true love"; they belong to a distorted branch of human nature.

Conventional approaches like appeasement, giving her face, and showing genuine affection are all ineffective with her. What she wants is extreme suppression, complete submission, and even satisfaction from being hurt or manipulated. She is a pathological exception that is completely out of the normal range, with no discernible pattern, and is not within the scope of normal methods of managing people.

II. The Enlightened One Who Transcends the Third-Class Man

This is a true, ceiling-level transcendent being.

He has long since broken free from the shackles of desire, profit, and ideals, and from a multidimensional perspective, he has seen through all the underlying tricks of historical cycles, the workings of the universe, and the manipulation of human nature.

He was unmoved by beauty, for he had seen through desire;
He cannot be bound by power and influence because he takes gains and losses lightly.
Ideals cannot bind him, because he is a practitioner of the Way, not someone driven by ideals.

These kinds of people are uncontrollable and unmanageable; they exist completely outside of all rules of manipulation.

Common specimens —

Men are driven by: physical attraction (physical desire) → material gain and power (worldly desire) → ideals (spiritual desire).

A woman's qualities are: compliantness (security) → dignity (respect/face) → true love (soul resonance).
Both are:
The psychological logic of progressing step by step from basic survival needs to worldly value needs to ultimate spiritual needs is universal, though it may be categorized by gender, it is not fundamentally different.

Snake Queen chatted with Mu Hanchan for quite a while in front of everyone, and before leaving, she gave Mu Hanchan a 100,000-mile sound transmission stone.

Mu Hanchan hesitated for a few breaths.

He also took out one of the same specifications and gave it to her.

Then, he led Qin Xi onto the flying beast.

As the flying beast spread its wings and flew away, he heard the sounds fading into the distance behind him.

"Respectfully seeing off Lord Kuling Envoy!"

"Respectfully bidding farewell to Senior Soul Reaper..."

Volume 8: The Withered Spirit Mine (The End)