Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 418 Rhetoric
After that sound, all seven people, both human and demon, were stunned.

Zhao Qi was stunned, because he felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders. It was because seeing Li Wuxiang was like seeing a savior, a guarantee of safety.

Governor She, Official Youming, and the two demons were stunned, because they never expected to encounter Demon King Xu here! Demon King Xu possessed the ability to transform himself into his true form, a skill renowned throughout the Eastern Continent. Therefore, his appearance frequently changed… in fact, no one knew what he truly looked like.

The reason they could recognize him was because they could smell the demonic aura on him—no matter how unique the demonic aura of other demons was, it always had members of the same kind. But Xu the Demon King was a magical beast, the Xie Zhi, and the demonic aura on his body was unique in the world, so naturally they couldn't mistake it.

The king had said before they arrived that the Demon King Xu had been defeated by a rogue cultivator from the Central Plains, which was why Governor She and his three demons had been so cautious, fearing they might encounter some formidable opponent. But he's still alive?!
Because of this, Governor She was very worried that Demon King Xu had overheard what You Mingguan had just said—"Our Great Western Kingdom's ruler is not some kind of demon king! I've already said this before. Our Great Western Kingdom's ruler is the true ruler of the Eastern Continent, on equal footing with the leaders of your Blood God Sect and the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect. You'd better not make such a fuss!"

It should be known that the Eastern Continent, like the Central Continent, is vast and boundless, teeming with countless demons. How could Governor She and his three companions have known the scent of Demon King Xu?

It was because the previous ruler of the Great Western Kingdom had said something similar to what You Mingguan had said—"I am the ruler of the kingdom, how can I be compared to those demon kings?" Somehow, this reached Xu Zhen's ears, which greatly displeased him. So he infiltrated the kingdom, first killing the ruler, then impersonating him, and then issuing more than a hundred execution orders, almost completely slaughtering the civil and military officials of the Great Western Kingdom. Afterwards, he revealed his true form in the court, mocked and slaughtered the remaining demons, and then took the princess of the Great Western Kingdom hostage before gracefully departing.

That princess later became Xu Pianpian, the younger sister of the Demon King Xu. After he left, the Great Western Kingdom was thrown into turmoil again. The current king has just ascended the throne and taken control of the Golden Seal. Since then, he has been cautious and dared not say anything about the Demon King or the King again, for fear that it would reach Xu Zhen's ears.

Now, when Governor She smelled that demonic aura emanating from him again, he was reminded of how he had seen him before—back then, he was just a lowly demon servant outside the palace, only able to peek into the main hall through the crack in the door. While others rushed forward to seek their deaths, he lay on the ground pretending to be dead, and that's how he survived.

Now that the Demon King Xu was standing right in front of him, he didn't know whether to be grateful to have encountered a fellow member of the Eastern Continent or to immediately lie down on the ground again and pretend to be dead. In an instant, he felt his scalp tingle, his bones and flesh go limp, and his body went limp. He was so frightened that he revealed his true form.

When the four demons revealed their true forms and trembled in fear, Li Wuxiang immediately realized that they had mistaken him for Xu Zhen.

He had just left his body to find Zhao Qi, and from afar he saw four things following behind him. Unsure of their origins, he didn't act rashly. Now that he realized they had mistaken him for someone else, he immediately played along, mimicking Xu Zhen's demeanor by putting on a stern face, narrowing his eyes, and scrutinizing them: "You recognize me?"

The giant snake, Commander She, dared not coil itself before Demon King Xu, but instead stretched its body out straight to avoid provoking him with a lunging motion. It flicked its tongue and replied, "This humble demon saw Demon King many years ago, many years ago in the Golden Palace!"

Golden Palace? What the hell? Li Wuxiang looked him over again: "Oh, you've got some nerve."

"No, no, I dare not! It was only because I was a coward that the Demon King spared my life. I dare not say I am not brave!"

"Hmph, you've finally gotten the hint. What are you bunch of fools doing here?"

With Li Wuxiang's backing, Zhao Qi immediately became more assertive and preemptively said, "They came to kill Zhou Xiang on the orders of their Great Western King—I ask you, were you menacing behind me just now trying to kill me? I am the Corpse Immortal of the Blood God Sect, how dare you lay a hand on me?"

As he spoke, he winked at Li Wuxiang, who immediately understood. Brother Zhao was now a member of the Blood God Cult, and these four demons came from the "Great Western Kingdom" of the Eastern Continent—his previous guess was correct; the Xuan Cult really intended to kill Zhou Xiang!

Before the snake demon could speak, Tu Nan leaped out from behind Li Wuxiang: "Great Western Kingdom!? You've come to pick me up, haven't you!? Hey, look up at me, do you recognize me!?"

Since she was standing behind Li Wuxiang, Governor She dared not be negligent and quickly raised his head to look, only to see a golden pheasant: "Uh, this little demon does not recognize this demon king."

Tu Nan was stunned for a moment, then flapped her wings vigorously, transforming back into human form: "Now? Do you recognize me?! I am your princess! Don't you even recognize me, your legitimate princess?"

Governor She looked at You Mingguan, then at Xu Yaowang, and then at Tu Nan: "Uh... our Great Western Kingdom doesn't have a princess?"

Tu Nan frowned, pointed at the four demons, and said to Li Wuxiang, "They're fake! If they were from the Great Western Kingdom, they would recognize me!"

Zhao Qi pulled her aside and led her a few steps before whispering, "Don't have a fit of hysteria here. The sect leader is talking about serious matters!"

"I'm not delirious. I remember now, I am the legitimate princess of the Great Western Kingdom!"

"Alright, alright, so you are one of them. Wait until we finish our serious business before you talk about yours—if you keep spouting nonsense, the sect leader might expel you from the sect!"

Tu Nan snorted indignantly and fell silent.

Zhao Qi then walked over and asked, "I just asked you, were you four trying to attack me? Hmm? Why?"

"Uh, this, Immortal, it's all a misunderstanding. One of your immortals came to our Great Western Kingdom before, and that immortal said his cultivation was the highest under your sect's leader. We just saw you, Immortal, and felt that your cultivation was even higher than that immortal's, but you couldn't be the sect leader. Suddenly, we remembered something that immortal said—"

"He said that when we come to the Central Plains, there is someone we need to be careful of, named Zhao Qi. He said that although Zhao Qi is not a Corpse Immortal, he can still transform. We just saw you, Immortal, and that reminded us of him..."

When Governor She mentioned "there is one person we must be careful of," Zhao Qi felt a surge of pride, thinking that Li Wuxiang's fame had already spread to the demon kingdom of the Eastern Continent. But when he heard that the demon was referring not to Li Wuxiang, but to Zhao Qi, he was first stunned, then overjoyed, scratching his head in delight, realizing for the first time that he too had become famous throughout the world.

He didn't even have time to worry anymore and hurriedly asked, "Did he only say a few words? Did he only tell you to be careful of Zhao Qi? Did he say anything else, like how powerful this guy is? Tell me in detail!"

Governor She hurriedly shook his head: "Immortal, we really are from the Great Western Kingdom. The Great Western Kingdom really has no princess."

Zhao Qi frowned: "Why are you telling me this out of the blue?" "Uh... wasn't the immortal testing us? We really did see that immortal from your sect. That immortal said that although Zhao Qi wasn't a corpse immortal, he could still transform. He told us to be careful if we encountered him, lest we accidentally kill him. Because his skills weren't very high, that immortal said to spare his life, as your sect leader still needed him."

"You think you can just let go—" Zhao Qi gritted his teeth in anger, "Don't worry about it! That person isn't that easy to deal with!"

Li Wuxiang glanced at him and asked, "Who from your sect went to the Great Western Kingdom? Why didn't you come looking for me? How come I didn't know about this?"

Zhao Qi was so angry his head was spinning. He only got into character after being stared at by Li Wuxiang for a while. Just as he was about to say "Ah," he realized the role he was playing and snorted, "Ask them about this. I can't be bothered to ask about things the sect leader ordered!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Wuxiang looked at Governor She and asked, "Then you tell me. Who came to you? Why did they come to your Great Western Kingdom and not to me?"

The snake demon felt guilty and turned to look at You Mingguan, who quickly buried his head under his wings. He then looked at the other two demons beside him, who were also lying on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

He had no choice but to say, "That immortal said—Demon King, this is what that immortal said—our Great Western Kingdom is different from other demon kingdoms in the Eastern Continent, but very similar to your former Ye Dynasty in the Central Continent. Although small, it has all five poisons—"

"Complete with all five internal organs?"

“Oh right, right, it has all the vital organs. Tell me…tell me…” He stuck out his tongue, then looked at Zhao Qi, “Ah, this certainly wasn’t said by the immortals of the Blood God Sect. That immortal said it was said by the Taoists of the Five Sacred Mountains True Form Sect, that it has all the vital organs and is most suitable to rule the Eastern Continent in the future—”

Without pausing for breath, he continued, "—Our king hurriedly said he dared not, saying that if we were to discuss who could rule the Eastern Continent, it would naturally be King Xu the most suitable. The Taoist priests of the Xuan Sect also hurriedly said that it was true, it was true, but King Xu the Demon King was no longer here. Alas, we thought that King Xu the Demon King was no longer here, otherwise our king would not have dared to keep him, and would have definitely sent him to find you again!"

Li Wuxiang had initially thought Xu Zhen was just one of the many demon kings in the Eastern Continent, but now he realized that this guy's reputation in the Eastern Continent was much greater than he had imagined. He wanted to ask about the Blood God Sect members who went there, but the little demon had already explained these things first, startling him.

He frowned: "I'm not listening to your nonsense. Go find your Corpse Immortal, what's his name?"

"I don't know, that immortal just calls himself Immortal Cui." He said this and looked at Zhao Qi, who nodded in a pretentious manner: "Oh, it's him."

Li Wuxiang understood that Zhao Qi didn't know who Immortal Cui was, and neither did he himself. But when the surname Cui was mentioned, the first person he thought of was Cui Daocheng, the former Sword Master Cui, and later the Sect Leader Cui.

During the Great Calamity Mountain, Cui Daocheng's soul, as the core, along with the thirty-six Nascent Soul cultivators from the Thirty-Six Sects, was refined into a Corpse Immortal and transformed into a Corpse Dragon. They fought a great battle with Mei Qiulu before being annihilated. Li Wuxiang remembered that Cui Daocheng revealed his true soul form at that time, only to have it crumble into pieces under Mei Qiulu's finger—wasn't his soul destroyed? Did the Blood God Sect resurrect him and refine him into a Corpse Immortal again?
If that's the case, then this demon says "Immortal Cui" isn't the leader... so who is the current leader of the Blood God Cult?
At that time in the Great Calamity Mountain, Tang Xi and the dozen or so Yang Gods from the Thirty-Six Sects present sacrificed their own flesh and blood to invite the True Spirit of the Fate Master to descend to the mortal realm. Those people should all be dead by now. The Blood God Sect's leader's cultivation should at least be above the Nascent Soul Corpse Immortal level. But if Immortal Cui takes Cui Daocheng, the Nascent Soul Swordsman of the Taiyi Sect, as his core, then who does their leader, that Corpse Immortal, take as his core?

Immortal Cui should already be the strongest Nascent Soul Corpse Immortal. Is their sect leader some kind of Yang God?

Besides Mei Qiulu, the only other Yang Shen Sword Immortal Li Wuxiang knew was Jiang Jie, but Jiang Jie was gone; no one remembered him anymore—Jiang Jie, as the Chief of Destiny, had been killed by Li Ye. And Jiang Jie, as the True Lord of Destiny—no, the Jiang Jie who became Li Jiaotu—had also been killed by Jiang Jie…

In the past few days, he had exchanged letters with Mei Qiulu several times in Lingshan and already knew what she had done after he and Xue Baoping left Dajie Mountain—first, she joined up with the remnants of the Taiyi Sect led by Sword Master Xiao and spent some time making some reorganizations.

She then instructed Sword Master Xiao to remain at Dajie Mountain, while she led seven Golden Core swordsmen to the Tiangong Sect's dojo. Upon arriving there, they discovered the mountain gate was empty. They then learned that the sect members had all gathered at Bixin Lake, a thousand miles away, which had become the current headquarters of the Blood God Sect.

She immediately led her people back to Bixin Lake, encountering numerous ambushes and attacks from the Blood God Sect along the way. However, the opponents were nothing more than Pill Immortals and Nascent Soul Immortals without a clear leader; not only were they no match for her, but two Golden Core Swordsmen were even forced to achieve Nascent Soul status during the battle. In her letter, she also said that it seemed the Blood God Sect was no longer a threat.

But now, after listening to this demon's words, the Blood God Sect is not only not "insignificant," but has actually already colluded with the demon race of the Eastern Continent and the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect...

Li Wuxiang suddenly felt his heart pounding and his mouth go dry—back then, in the sea of ​​fire outside the Wanhua Fang, Jiang Jie taught him many things, and then sent him back to the Youjiu Abyss to trigger the Eastern Emperor Seal, while he stayed behind to stop Jiang Jie, who had transformed into "Li Jiaotu".

Li Wuxiang had always believed that the Jiang Sect Leader who had regained his senses and regretted his actions must have perished together with "Li Jiaotu," who had fallen from "Dutian Siming" in the Wanhua Fangzhong.

But now, as if suddenly waking from a nightmare, he suddenly realized something—

I still remember him.

After waking up on Mount Dajie, when he mentioned "Jiang Jie" to Senior Sister Mei, she actually remembered him after hearing it.

It's not surprising that she could remember it... Li Ye used his authority. But after hearing it, Senior Sister Mei could remember Sect Leader Jiang, but not the Chief of the Heavenly Palace!

Is Master Jiang's soul still alive? Or does it still exist in some extremely subtle form?
Li Wuxiang felt a discomfort in the bones beneath his double skin, as if they were itching or throbbing—not because he thought it would be difficult to deal with the Blood God Cult leader if Jiang Jie was the mastermind, but because he felt that the leader of the cult should not have fallen to this state. He did not want this to be true, but rather hoped that the Blood God in the Crimson Heaven had used some supernatural power to create a powerful leader!

……

The book signing has been postponed to next month, so I don't need to work on writing this month. I'll start updating more frequently tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)