Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 410 Taiyi's Movement
Dao Shiye just made quite a commotion in the North Cave. It seems the people in the South Cave next door heard it and couldn't help but come over to check it out. The person in front of us is Feng Yuxing, a disciple of Sun Ji, a Golden Core cultivator from the South Cave.

Li Wuxiang turned around and called out, "Senior, it's a woman. She said she's from next door—"

Then he looked at Feng Yuxing: "Next door? Which next door? Who are you?"

"I am Feng Yuxing! I am Feng Yuxing! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Zhou Xiang came out at this moment. Upon seeing that it was a young woman who seemed even more frightened than he was, he immediately lost his fear. He frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Next door? Which next door?"

Feng Yuxing pointed to the side, trembling, and said, "The ones in the next cave, I'm not with them!"

Is there someone next door? And there's a hole!?
However, Zhou Xiang had learned her lesson and dared not make decisions on her own. Instead, she said to Li Wuxiang in a testing tone, "You ask."

Li Wuxiang thought to himself, "That's right. If I had just used PUA on you earlier, why would you have suffered like this earlier?"

He asked, "How many people live next door? Are you alone?"

"Two! And my master too!"

"Where is your master?"

Feng Yuxing pointed to the bottom of the stone platform: "There it is!"

There was a clump of low trees in the direction she pointed, no more than twenty or thirty paces away. Li Wuxiang thought that Feng Yuxing must have been sent by Sun Ji to scout the situation. Sun Ji must have discovered that a fight had broken out here, but he didn't know whether the old Taoist priest had won or the big prize he had his eye on had won, so he didn't dare to come himself and forced Feng Yuxing to come instead.

When Feng Yuxing arrived and saw Zhou Xiang, she knew that the old Taoist priest and his group of seven had all been wiped out—two people had taken down seven, including one who was at the half-step Nascent Soul stage. She immediately realized that this was not something she could handle on her own, so she betrayed her master. What a filial daughter!

Li Wuxiang and Zhou Xiang looked towards the bushes. Before they could speak, a woman jumped out from behind the trees and shouted in the night, "Don't make things difficult for my disciple! Come at me if you dare! If you dare lay a finger on her, I'll haunt you to the ends of the earth!"

He then yelled, "Feng Yuxing! How many times have I told you not to go there! Don't you know what death means?!"

Li Wuxiang chuckled inwardly. Wow, the master and disciple pair from the Southern Cave have different personas than Dao Shiye. The old Daoist is a cautious cultivator struggling to survive in a chaotic world with six disciples, while Sun Ji sees himself as a loving master who dotes on his disciples like a daughter?

However, Zhou Xiang has just been through what the old Taoist priest did; he should be like a frightened cat now and probably won't fall for it again. These two are doing the same thing as the old Taoist priest, they deserve to die—

“Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. We were merely asking a few questions and had no intention of harming your disciple. Fellow Daoist, please come forward and have a chat,” Zhou Xiang said loudly, taking a step forward on the stone platform.

It seems Zhou Xiang is bolder than I thought. Li Wuxiang had assumed he would still be trembling with fear upon seeing Sun Ji, but he had already recovered.

Zhou Xiang should know that since they both live in this blessed land and are even neighbors, this pair can't be anything good. The question is, how should she make her move when the time comes? She absolutely cannot use her flying sword, but the Heavenly Heart Sect's treasury does contain several techniques that use qi to control form, which are perfect for countering the finger-force technique she used to knock down the stalactites earlier.

Without hesitation, Sun Ji strode forward and stopped three or four steps away from the stone platform, looking up at it.

How should I put it... Li Wuxiang doesn't usually like to glance at a woman's chest first when he looks at her. But looking at Sun Ji now, he can't help but notice her.

Sun Ji looked to be around thirty years old—not around thirty in this world, but around thirty in the place he came from. You could call him young, but his face had lost the naiveté of a young woman. You could call him old, but his skin was still smooth; only his expression held more experience and composure.

As for her face, it was truly beautiful. Not in a flawless way—her eyebrows were slightly thick, her nose bridge was slightly high, giving her a somewhat masculine look. But Sun Ji had an oval face and a small, cherry-like mouth. Combined, her eyebrows and nose didn't appear rough, but rather strikingly handsome.

The reason I noticed her chest was because she wasn't dressed properly. She was wearing her undergarment, which she wore to bed. The undergarment had two pairs of ties, one inside and one outside, but Sun Ji only tied the outer pair. As a result, one side of the neckline, which was folded inside, was loose, revealing a large expanse of her snow-white breasts.

She was standing with her head tilted back, her hair disheveled, and the moonlight above gave her a soft, blurring effect. A strong wind was blowing, causing her undergarment to cling tightly to her body, completely revealing her shapely figure—

In short, it looks wonderful and exciting.

Zhou Xiang almost acted impulsively.

There are many handsome men and beautiful women in the Xuanjiao sect, and Kong Youxin is quite pretty. This is because the people in the sect are selected from the best generation after generation, and there are very few who are ugly.

However, he had never seen such charm in a woman before—on Mount Immovable, who would dare to stand before him so disheveled? Who would dare to frown and shout at him like this?
He smiled slightly: "How shall I address you, fellow Daoist?"

At this moment, Sun Ji held two short swords in her hands. Her brow furrowed, and she pointed at Zhou Xiang: "My name is Sun Ji!"

Zhou Xiang nodded: "It's Fellow Daoist Sun. Why were you hiding over there just now instead of showing yourself to save your disciple?"

"Do you think I'm a coward who's afraid of death?!" Sun Ji gritted his teeth and shouted, pointing his sword at Zhou Xiang.

Li Wuxiang laughed again, thinking to himself that this small valley actually had both a sleeping dragon and a phoenix chick—Sun Ji's mind was in no way inferior to the old Taoist's. The reason she dared to act so tough was probably because she roughly guessed what kind of people he and Zhou Xiang were, so she took a gamble.

When the old Taoist saw the three of them on the ridge, Sun Ji must have seen them too. She must also know that the three of them entered the North Cave just as dusk fell and stayed inside for a long time before they started fighting.

What does this mean? First, these three weren't their colleagues. It was their colleagues who killed Deng Yuan and fled when they saw him injured.

Secondly, not only are they not from the same profession, but they are also likely to be of good character. Otherwise, they wouldn't have lingered with the old Taoist and his companions for so long after entering the cave before taking action, nor would they have spoken to Feng Yuxing so politely just now.

Therefore, she now acts with great integrity despite being a beautiful and lovable woman, which easily wins people's favor.

As for the question Zhou Xiang just asked? Not answering is the best answer—I'm not afraid of death, there are other reasons. For example, my apprentice sneaked out and I chased after him without even having time to put on my clothes, but it was too late. I could only hide and wait and see!
Zhou Xiang is sure to fall for the same trick he's encountered tonight, this first time with the master and disciple. But having just escaped death, Li Wuxiang knows that this time—

"It seems this blessed land originally belonged to the master and disciple," Zhou Xiang said to Li Wuxiang, sighing as she spoke.

Li Wuxiang was stunned: Huh?
"What, can't figure it out?" Zhou Xiang shook his head. "You're a good person, but you need to think more before you act. Let me ask you, after we slaughtered all the evil cultivators in the cave, these two people showed up. What does that mean?"

This suggests that they are desperate individuals who want to test the waters and try to get something for nothing.
"Look at them, all that idiocy. They only have a little bit of cleverness." Zhou Xiang sighed inwardly. "If they were also evil cultivators, and their cultivation was even higher than Dao Shiye's, they wouldn't have just sat and watched Dao Shiye lead us into a trap. They would have come to rob us of our people and treasures instead. Since they haven't made a move, and Dao Shiye seems to be quite fearless, it means that these two don't have the upper hand in the valley."

"But now that they know they are no match for us, they have shown themselves anyway. Doesn't that prove they have no ill intentions?"

Li Wuxiang remained silent, staring intently at Zhou Xiang's head. Li Wuxiang believed that Sun Ji could hear Zhou Xiang speaking. Li Wuxiang also noticed that Sun Ji seemed somewhat dazed as he listened to Zhou Xiang's words. Holding his sword, he appeared unsure whether to continue holding it or lower it.

Zhou Xiang smiled faintly at Sun Ji: "So this blessed land originally belonged to you and your master? And then it was occupied by this group of people in the cave?"

"Ah..." Sun Ji pondered for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Is it?"

Zhou Xiang sighed again: "It must have been difficult for you two masters. I guess Fellow Daoist Sun, your cultivation is no less than that of those evil cultivators, which is why you are able to both be reluctant to leave your Daoist temple and leave them helpless, right?"

He glanced at her collar and said softly, "It's windy tonight, fellow Daoist, please go back and put on some clothes, be careful not to catch a cold. Take your disciple with you as well."

Li Wuxiang figured it out. Besides being naive, this guy was also a lecherous bastard—no, a complete idiot who wouldn't even know the taste of beans after eating a hundred!
Sun Ji should have realized what was happening by now. And once he did, he immediately began the performance.

When she pointed her sword at Zhou Xiang earlier, she took a step forward, but now she pulled that step back. The way she pulled back was very deliberate—one foot stepped back slightly, and the other foot moved forward slightly, taking a small, quick step, which immediately highlighted her helpless and pitiful demeanor.

The sword in his hand also fell to the ground. At first, he held it there at his side, then, as if "remembering," he immediately twirled the sword and, like his other hand, gathered it behind his back.

A person standing with one hand holding a sword behind their back and the other hand pointing forward is a very elegant and graceful posture. But if both hands were behind their back with the sword, it would look a bit silly. However, because she held the sword with both arms, her chest was slightly puffed out forward, and coupled with her face, it wasn't silly, but rather charmingly naive, a charmingly stubborn kind of naive.

Zhou Xiang's eyes widened, her gaze softening further as she smiled, "What, are you worried? Li Xiao, let this fellow Daoist go."

Sun Ji's eyes flashed, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "...Senior, are you serious?!"

"There's no need to call me senior; just call me senior brother or fellow Daoist, that's fine too."

“Senior brother, you…” Sun Ji began to choke up, tears streaming down his face. He dropped his short sword and slid to his knees. “Thank you for your kindness in eliminating evil, senior brother. Senior brother, may I ask if you are planning to stay here, or are you just passing through?”

Zhou Xiang looked around and sighed softly, "Just passing by. What's wrong? Is something troubling you?"

"My master and I were originally cultivating in seclusion in these mountains. Then a great calamity struck, leaving only the two of us, a widow and her daughter, to depend on each other for survival. Then wave after wave of villains came, and we fought them off with all our might. But when Dao Shiye and his gang came, we were no match for them and could only barely survive here... We wanted to leave, but we didn't know where to go in this vast world... We are two women, and we have no one to rely on..."

"Tonight I unexpectedly met you, Senior Brother... I never imagined there was such a chivalrous and righteous person as you in this world. Senior Brother, may I travel with you? I dare not ask for anything else, I only wish to leave this conspicuous place of trouble and find a place where I can stay for a long time. I have no way to repay you, I will serve you like a cow or a horse, and repay your kindness with my life..."

The smell was too strong. Li Wuxiang turned his face away uncomfortably.

Zhou Xiang pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Li Wuxiang and said in a low voice, "What do you think?"

What do I think? I think you're still not tamed. Zhou Xiang, to put it nicely, is too principled; to put it bluntly, he's stubborn and hasn't learned his lesson enough. Li Wuxiang was starting to get impatient and began to wonder, what if he killed Sun Ji and Feng Yuxing with a single sword stroke now, then told Zhou Xiang who he was, and then tortured him severely?
He initially wanted to use Zhou Xiang. He had previously intended to let the disciples of the Six Departments know what the Six Great Emperors were all about, to incite them to fight amongst themselves. But now he saw that Zhou Xiang was rather incompetent and difficult to train…

Something suddenly jolted in my head. It wasn't a sensation, but rather a stirring of my consciousness.

Li Wuxiang's heart skipped a beat—

It's done! The task I asked Li Guichen to do has been completed!
"Senior, could you allow me to go inside the cave and take a look?" Li Wuxiang said in a low voice. "I want to see how much food is left. There won't be much food further ahead. Junior Sister Youxin and this... Feng Yuxing both eat a lot. If you agree, Senior, but then we run out of food and drink..."

Zhou Xiang nodded: "Alright, your concerns are valid. Go quickly."

Li Wuxiang immediately got up and went into the cave. Kong Youxin was still peeking around near the cave entrance when Li Wuxiang told her that her master was calling her out, thus sending her away.

Then he strode into the main cave and immersed his divine sense into Mount Ling—immediately he saw a seal. This seal was originally translucent, but now, illuminated by the red light of the Blood Sea of ​​Mount Ling, it turned pale red.

This is the Eastern Emperor's Seal!
He sent Li Guichen out more than twenty days ago to solve a problem—communication.

Li Wuxiang didn't know how communication was handled among cultivators when the Ye Dynasty still existed, nor did he know how things were now within the Six Ministries of Mysterious Teachings. Currently, however, the means of communication outside the sects were far too inadequate, completely inadequate for the supernatural abilities of cultivators.

The Taiyi Sect uses crows as messengers, which Li Wuxiang sees as not much different from pigeons, except that it's faster and has a higher success rate. Now that there are hardly any living creatures left in the world, if other swordsmen can't draw birds with talismans like he can, then they've essentially given up on long-distance communication.

So he set his sights on Mount Ling. Leaving the Yin God realm would lead to Mount Ling; this place was merely a transit point.

However, the problem with Mount Ling is that it's impossible to pinpoint its location. The Mount Ling you enter this time might not be in the same location as the one you enter next time. To pinpoint its location, you need an "ancient cave" like the one Zhao Kui had before. There are many spirits and evil gods in Mount Ling who occupy ancient caves, but it's not a good idea to get involved with them in order to pass on messages. Besides, these so-called ancient caves are often fought over, and they might disappear at any time.

But there is something there, always there—the Eastern Emperor Seal!

Back then, You Jiuyuan was in Mount Ling, where he was suppressed by the Eastern Emperor Seal!

What if we used the Eastern Emperor Seal as a base station?

Li Wuxiang had previously told Mei Qiulu about this idea using a flying crow to deliver a message. Mei Qiulu said it was feasible and that she could find a way. So Li Wuxiang sent Li Guichen with his family to find the Eastern Emperor Seal.

Whether he admits it or not, he is who he is. He touched the Eastern Emperor Seal, which means he registered there as well. The rest can be left to Senior Sister Mei to handle.

And now, it's really done—

The small seal was surrounded by a red mist. He stared at the seal's surface, and with a thought, a phantom raven flew out of the mist and landed in his hand. The phantom then dissipated, leaving only a note. The message traveled back and forth in less than half an hour!
Li Wuxiang immediately unfolded the note and read it—

"Judging from the appearance you drew, this person is Zhou Xiang, a descendant of Zhou Er. He has no power in the Five Mountains True Form Sect, but his status is extremely high, similar to a crown prince. He will be of great use in the future. The sect leader and I did not expect him to leave the sect. You must protect him. The sect leader and I also suspect that the True Form Sect sent him out for a deeper reason, perhaps even related to the infighting among the Five Altars within the sect."

“I have never met this person and do not know what kind of person he is. But according to rumors within the sect, he is not a bad person, and may even be slightly better than me. He may even be a kind-hearted person. You can make more of this.”

"The Master used supernatural powers to create the seal, which was very costly. We can't discuss the details now; we'll talk about it when we meet!"

Li Wuxiang read it again, paused for a moment, and then left Mount Ling.

He could still hear Zhou Xiang seemingly saying something to Sun Ji. But now he wasn't thinking about whether this guy was a lecher or not; he only had one thought in his mind—could this guy possibly become the future leader of the Five Mountains True Form Sect?

I've found a Snow White, haven't I?!
(End of this chapter)