Chapter 7: The Heavenly Demon Without Form

The Heavenly Demon Without Form

"That's another one!"

Although they were deep underground, the cultivators' sensitivity to the changes in the world's Qi was naturally far keener than that of mortals. Within the earth-well, as three surges of spiritual energy erupted one after another, the cultivators of the three sects could not help but stir. The woman in green robes frowned and said, "This is bad. The power of the earth veins has been completely triggered; I fear the collapse of the great array is now irreversible."

Liu Jizi let out a muffled grunt, looking up at the Mother-Child Yin Coffin within the tripod. Under the scorching refinement of their magic power, the earth and stone had all been melted away. One could see two coffins rolling incessantly within the tripod; the stone color had long since been burned off, revealing the crystalline, beautiful jade beneath. At this moment, the fire beneath the tripod was intense, and even the jade color was gradually being burned to transparency, vaguely revealing two black shadows, one large and one small, inside the coffins. Just a moment ago, Xie Xie Yan Huan had still been mocking and provoking them from time to time, but his voice had grown smaller and smaller, as if he could no longer withstand the firepower of the Three Talents Tripod.

Liu Jizi, however, felt no joy; instead, he frowned and said, "Senior Brother, this demon's abilities are far more than this. Just now, before the great array shattered, tremors came from the earth vein nodes in the capital. The powers of Fire, Wind, and Gold surged into the sky, echoing with the Earth power here. With the Five Elements incomplete, the Four Spirits' momentum in drawing upon the Water spirit became even more ferocious. We are tied down here beneath the Three Talents Tripod, with no one to preside over the changes in the array, which is why the great array was so easily broken... Hmph, it sounds simple enough, but this array was laid down by a Grotto-Heaven True Person. Even if it is not stable enough because it reverses the laws of heaven and earth, it is not something any random cultivator could break. To simultaneously trigger the power of three spirits at the earth vein nodes requires at least a Nascent Soul cultivation base to control; even then, it is difficult for an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator to accomplish this in such a rush."

The long-bearded cultivator could not help but agree, saying, "Indeed. The flaw in the array is right there; realizing the principle to break it is not actually difficult. But this array seals off heaven and earth and can monitor spiritual power; any cultivator operating their spiritual power would be immediately detected by us. If someone were to sneak in here and coordinate with Xie Xie Yan Huan from afar, I would not believe it. He is the enemy of the world; few would dare to defy the world's will and openly help him. In my opinion..."

He looked toward the woman in green robes and pondered, "Perhaps Senior Sister Jin was not overthinking it just now. Xie Xie Yan Huan was only using a distraction here to stall for time; his true body has already escaped."

"This scoundrel has always been full of tricks. However, even so, we have not fallen for his scheme. This Mother-Child Yin Coffin is extremely important to Xie Xie Yan Huan. Seven hundred years ago, he scattered all his magic treasures on Little Bamboo Island in the South Sea, keeping only the Mother-Child Yin Coffin. As long as he still intends to do that thing, he will definitely come to retrieve this set of coffins."

Chen Yunzi pointed his fingers, and in an instant, a jade slip appeared from nothingness and shot into the sky. "The great array is already ruined, which is still a good thing for us. The Three Talents Tripod was set up precisely by borrowing the power of the array. Now that the array is broken, we can just release the array's power to refine the Mother-Child Yin Coffin and see if his true body returns!"

Song Guo had always been under the jurisdiction of the Lingxiao Sect, so Chen Yunzi was naturally more concerned about this place. For seven hundred years, the Spirit-Severing Array had suppressed the Water spirit here, covering a radius of tens of thousands of miles. How majestic was the power of the array? Now that the array had been broken, they could join forces to vent the array's power here, which could also prevent the power from dissipating and further disrupting the spiritual energy, making the weather in Song Guo even more chaotic.

Senior Sister Jin understood this in her heart and it was a good opportunity to do the Lingxiao Sect a favor. She smiled slightly at Chen Yunzi, without pointing it out, and said, "Indeed, we can also save some effort."

The cultivators responded loudly, each pinching incantations and operating their arts. Brilliance flowed beneath the tripod, and the invisible flames grew even more intense, yet the cultivators' expressions became much more relaxed. The Mother-Child Yin Coffin was burned to transparency, and wisps of black energy continuously seeped out, but they were all dissolved by the spiritual energy in the tripod. Everyone felt their spirits lift, only Liu Jizi had his brows tightly locked. His expression suddenly shifted, and he turned his head to look toward the west. "Uncle-Master Li has arrived."

"He comes just in time! If we have the help of his old self's Profound Spirit Divine Light, this Mother-Child Yin Coffin will not last a day."

Just as joy appeared on Chen Yunzi's face, Liu Jizi shook his head and said, "I sense that he has gone outside the capital. He must have discovered the location of the demon's true body—"

Just as he said this, everyone turned to look. To them, mundane mud and stone were as nothing. What the cultivators saw was not 'substance,' but 'momentum.' Although they could not see Uncle-Master Li and Xie Xie Yan Huan, the image of that golden hand pressing down, only to be broken by a jade hairpin, was incomparably clear in their senses.

Senior Sister Jin could not help but ask, "Didn't they say he scattered all his magic treasures on Little Bamboo Island? This jade hairpin, I fear it is—"

"It is not," Chen Yunzi said, his face extremely ugly, shaking his head. "It is just a mundane object, with no spiritual power inside. It really was just a jade hairpin Xie Yan Huan took off at random."

The cave fell into silence, and the cultivators were all speechless. Only Liu Jizi had long since thought of this move and sighed, "Sure enough, he split into two bodies. The false body is here, driving the Mother-Child Yin Coffin to contend with the Three Talents Tripod, while the true body can break Uncle-Master Li's Profound Seal technique with a single hairpin. You must know that Uncle-Master Li is a Great Perfection Nascent Soul figure, only a step away from Grotto-Heaven. Could it be... that in these seven hundred years, not only has he fully recovered from his injuries, but he has truly taken that step?"

"Hee hee, Liu Jizi, although your cultivation is low, you have a good eye."

Inside the Mother Coffin, which had been silent for a long time, the black shadow suddenly laughed. With a 'bang,' the coffin lid sprang into the sky, and a black shadow stood up lightly from the coffin. Its face was blurred, and its long sleeves fluttered as it took the two coffins into its sleeves. The cultivators shouted in unison, "Demon, don't run!"

The Three Talents Tripod was stimulated by magic power, becoming transparent throughout. The black shadow let out a sharp whistle and took a step outside the tripod. Its figure fluctuated, yet it passed through the wall without any obstruction, as if it had never made contact with the tripod wall at all, just two phantom shadows brushing against each other.

"Not good! Chase him!"

The cultivators all raised their escape lights, chasing after the black shadow. At this moment, the depth of their cultivation was apparent. Liu Jizi was second only to Chen Yunzi, while Fairy Jin and the long-bearded cultivator followed closely behind. The rest of the people had insufficient magic power and gradually fell behind. But even they were getting further and further away from Xie Yan Huan. With every step Xie Yan Huan took, he covered several miles, his figure appearing and disappearing. If it weren't for the fact that the Mother-Child Yin Coffin had just been refined by the Three Talents Tripod and had a connection to everyone's Qi, they would have had no way to sense his direction.

"His Small Formless Heavenly Demon Escape Technique is actually this miraculous..." Chen Yunzi could not help but sigh.

"Senior Brother, he is using the power of the Three Talents Tripod to refine his treasure!" Liu Jizi, who was shocked and angry, shouted from behind Chen Yunzi, "This Three Talents Tripod cannot trap him at all. Xie Yan Huan stayed here just to refine the Mother-Child Yin Coffin and remove the impurities of the Yin energy, so that he wouldn't attract the Yang Thunder when he breaks through to the world beyond!"

Chen Yunzi did not speak. Instead, the black shadow in the distance turned its head and looked at him, seemingly smiling at him. A whisper rang in Liu Jizi's ear, as if Xie Yan Huan were speaking right against his ear: "Liu Jizi, although you are smart and know to stay one step behind your Senior Brother, you are still a bit too talkative."

Liu Jizi was terrified. Looking around, he saw that neither Fairy Jin nor Senior Brother Wang of the Panxian Sect seemed to have noticed anything, so he knew that this sentence was spoken only to him. He looked at Chen Yunzi's escape light, his heart filled with mixed feelings, and finally sighed faintly, thinking to himself, "It really is Xie Yan Huan... Sigh, even if it were the him from seven hundred years ago, we would not have been able to stop him, let alone now that his cultivation seems to have reached a higher level. Let's just see if those old monsters in our South Zhuzhou can arrive in time."

While he was thinking, the black shadow had already arrived at the location of the true body and stepped to the cliff. The cultivators did not dare to get close and landed one after another beside the old man in yellow robes, calling out, "Uncle-Master Li, are you unharmed?"

The old man in yellow robes tapped his cane, let out a muffled grunt, and sat down dejectedly. He had just been confronting Xie Yan Huan from afar, and his aura had been extremely strong; only after everyone arrived did he dare to sit and heal his wounds. Chen Yunzi and the others naturally formed a formation to protect him. Liu Jizi thought to himself: Uncle-Master Li is already at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection, yet he still couldn't withstand a single hairpin from Xie Yan Huan. It seems he really has taken that step...

Presiding over the Dao and refining the Law, Grotto-Heaven Dharma-Image True Persons are extremely rare in Langhuan Zhou Tian. Compared to these Nascent Soul True Persons who cultivate the Dao and refine the Spirit, although it is only one realm, it is as if they are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. Liu Jizi was certain that Xie Xie Yan Huan had already entered the Grotto-Heaven, and instead, he stopped worrying. Having entered the Dao Gate, he had long since seen through life and death; his previous anxiety was merely because hope remained. Now that he knew Xie Xie Yan Huan's departure had nothing to do with them, he became calm. Seeing that Xie Xie Yan Huan had brought a young girl with him, his heart stirred, and he thought, "This little girl has no aptitude at all. What does Xie Xie Yan Huan want to do by keeping her by his side? Eh? The green talisman she is wearing... Is she a member of the Ruan family?"

Throughout Song Guo, the styles of wooden talismans varied, and great clans had their own talisman emblems. Cultivators have photographic memories and observe the finest details. Liu Jizi had just slaughtered the Ruan family tonight, so he naturally recognized it. He looked closely at Both Both Ruan Ci's bone structure, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter, and he thought to himself, "Could Xie Xie Yan Huan be thinking of... Incredible, incredible, he is also too whimsical."

Just as he thought of this, Xie Xie Yan Huan looked over from afar with a smile on his lips. Liu Jizi's heart tightened, and he lowered his head, not daring to think anymore. He was only at the Jin Dan cultivation base, and being able to suppress a Nascent Soul by relying on the power of the great array was already taking advantage. In the eyes of a Grotto-Heaven True Person, he was no different from an ant. If Xie Xie Yan Huan wanted to kill them, it would be nothing more than a matter of a hairpin.

However, Langhuan Zhou Tian had always tabooed the strong bullying the weak, and Xie Xie Yan Huan did not kill anyone, so the crowd did not retreat and stood in a standoff with him from afar. The old man in yellow robes adjusted his breath for a while, and his aura became steady. He spoke again, "Supreme Master Xie, you are a heaven-sent talent. You have cultivated for less than ten thousand years and have already stepped into the Grotto-Heaven realm. You are one of the most outstanding people in our Langhuan Zhou Tian for this epoch. Now that your divine art is complete, the world is yours to roam, so why must you persist in your own way? My words are humble and may not reach your ears, but please think of the people of South Zhuzhou. Although South Zhuzhou is desolate, it also has several Grotto-Heavens sitting in town. A Grotto-Heaven's anger brings devastation to all living things. You have already ascended to the Grotto-Heaven, so naturally, you should have the responsibility of a Grotto-Heaven. I ask you to think thrice, Supreme Master."

Just a moment ago, he had been calling him by his full name, but now he called him 'Supreme Master.' It could be said that he was arrogant at first and respectful later, but no one showed any strange expression. A Grotto-Heaven True Person, regardless of whether they were righteous or evil, naturally deserved the title of Supreme Master.

Xie Xie Yan Huan let out a long laugh and said proudly, "Everything I, Xie Xie Yan Huan, have done in my life can be summed up in two words: 'pleasure.' You don't need to say anymore—you are not even a match for me in one round, so how are you qualified to talk to me? Those few people in your South Zhuzhou who are qualified to talk to me are on their way. Tell them to hurry; time is limited, don't keep me waiting too long."

Although he was an enemy and not a friend, his aura was overwhelming in his conversation. The crowd was involuntarily captivated by him. Chen Yunzi lowered his head and cast a ray of spiritual light from his sleeve, which turned into a cloud of light at the peak of the mountain. Liu Jizi glanced at him: the Thick Earth Divine Light had infinite miraculous uses; one of them was that it could serve as a catalyst for guiding escape lights. Any cultivator who practiced earth-attribute techniques, as long as they were taught by the Lingxiao Sect, could borrow its power to accelerate their escape speed.

This Three Talents Array was also presided over by Chen Yunzi. Just now, when he opened his mouth to call Xie Yan Huan 'Uncle-Master,' although that was their generation, it was a bit too intimate. Now that he was listening to Xie Yan Huan so obediently, Liu Jizi only felt that in the past seven hundred years, many things had suddenly become very intriguing. He naturally would not ask out loud. He shook his sleeves and also shot out a ray of spiritual light. Xie Yan Huan looked into the distance along the light track they had cast and laughed, "You are so slow. It has been seven hundred years; has Qi Yaoxian's cultivation not improved at all?"

"Who says so!"

Before the words fell, a sword light lit up from far away, and almost in the blink of an eye, it was before everyone's eyes. Liu Jizi felt his breathing stagnate. It seemed that the moment he saw the sword light, time stood still. Only that vast and mighty sword light, moving from stillness to motion, from far to near, occupied his entire field of vision, and even his sea of consciousness reflected this sword light—

"Haha! Good sword!" Xie Xie Yan Huan let out a loud laugh. Liu Jizi suddenly came to his senses. The illusion brought by the sword light seemed to be broken by the laughter and retreated like a tide. A beautiful young girl landed in front of the old man in yellow robes, holding a long sword, and said angrily, "Xie Xie Yan Huan, why are you pretending to be a woman again? How disgusting!"

Although Xie Xie Yan Huan was dressed in men's clothing, his brows were curved, and his face was like a hibiscus; he was a woman of the most brilliant appearance. He turned sideways and raised his left hand, his slender fingers pinching a piece of sword light—it was the very sword that the girl had just thrust. Following Qi Yaoxian's words, his face suddenly fluctuated, and his shoulders became broader. A face with sword-like brows and star-like eyes, quite similar to before but heroic and bold, emerged. The young girl beside him looked up and asked, "Sister Xie, are... are you a man?"

As soon as the words 'Sister Xie' came out, Xie Xie Yan Huan's face began to flicker again, as if he could grow into thousands of appearances according to the changes in other people's minds. He smiled and said, "What do you think I look like?"

"This is the Formless Heavenly Demon Art..." Uncle-Master Li said in a low voice behind the young girl. "Fellow Daoist Qi, be careful, don't be confused by him. The more you want to see his face clearly, the more you will fall into his technique. If you are invisibly planted with a demon seed by him, that would be bad."

"Hmph, what can a demon seed do to me?" Qi Yaoxian did not appreciate it and pointed her sword at Xie Xie Yan Huan from afar, shouting, "Hey, stop pretending to be a god or a ghost. You can't fool my magic eyes. You really don't have a single word of truth. You are clearly still at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection. What stepping into the Grotto-Heaven? You're a liar!"

"When have I ever said that I am already a Grotto-Heaven True Person?" Xie Xie Yan Huan asked with a smile. Qi Yaoxian swept her eyes back, snorted, and said to Uncle-Master Li, "This insight is a disgrace to our South Zhuzhou."

Although the three were all at the peak of Nascent Soul, there was a world of difference in their strength and vision. Uncle-Master Li showed a look of shame, and Liu Jizi also bowed his head, thinking to himself, "Sure enough, these genius disciples of the Sheng Sect roam the wind and clouds and are absolutely incomparable to ordinary people. Realm and strength are still two different things."

"Seven hundred years no see, Junior Sister Xie's style remains the same. Good, good."

Just as they were speaking, a white cloud floated by leisurely, seemingly slow but actually fast. A young man in white landed beside Qi Yaoxian and bowed, "I benefited a lot from that battle seven hundred years ago. Meeting again today, I wonder if I can learn another sword from Junior Sister Xie."

"Oh, Liu Yin, you've come too." Xie Yan Huan was still empty-handed until this moment. She looked up and laughed, "Yun Zhongzi and Cao Tiannv are still on the way, and there are so many great powers peeking from afar. Good, good. My, Xie Yan Huan's, face is still this sufficient."

She lowered her hands and rolled up her sleeves, revealing wrists like white jade. "Talking and talking is not a way. How about this: the four of you come together. If you can withstand one move from my bare hands, the matter of South Zhuzhou will end here. If you can't withstand it..."

She turned sideways and raised her palm, the smile on her face disappearing, filled with murderous intent that made people afraid to look. She looked around and said coldly, "Then you will die and your Dao will vanish, and you will never be able to stop me again."

Uncle-Master Li pinched an incantation in his hand and let out a muffled grunt. "Hide behind me!" He led the disciples and retreated far away.

He walked fast, but Qi Yaoxian and Liu Yin had come here to stop Xie Xie Yan Huan. She was willing to fight four against one, and the two should have been eager to do so, but at this moment, being locked by Xie Xie Yan Huan's Qi, warnings kept appearing in their spiritual platforms. Qi Yaoxian let out a muffled grunt, flew backward for a short distance, and leaned into Liu Yin's arms. Only by joining forces could they barely resist this momentum. Her pretty face turned pale, and she said urgently, "How is this possible? You... have you really not broken through to the Grotto-Heaven?"

"Enough nonsense has been said." Xie Xie Yan Huan's aura continued to climb. She slowly rose from the cliff, her long hair dancing without wind, her purple robes fluttering, and her jade hands raised to her chest, slowly pressing forward. "It's time to kill a few people."

Before this palm was even struck, Qi Yaoxian had already spat out a mouthful of blood. She wiped her mouth and shouted, "Good brother, spare my life, I'm leaving!"

As she said this, she flipped her body and turned into an escape light, reaching hundreds of miles away in the blink of an eye. Liu Jizi could barely sense it. Liu Yin, however, could not dodge in time and was struck squarely in the chest by Xie Xie Yan Huan's palm. His eyes widened, and he said in disbelief, "You—are—not—injured—"

Before the words fell, blood seeped from Liu Yin's seven orifices, and a bright light erupted around his body. He fell straight down from the sky, his hands forming a seal, his knees crossed, and his head bowed, actually choosing to dissolve his body and reincarnate.

This Liu Yin was a guest of the Panxian Sect and also a top cultivator in South Zhuzhou, yet he was killed by Xie Xie Yan Huan with a single palm. Everyone was terrified. The two escape lights that were approaching at high speed in the sky turned their clouds and fled. Xie Xie Yan Huan did not withdraw her palm, glanced at Uncle-Master Li and the others, and said coldly, "Get lost."

Uncle-Master Li did not say a word, stood up, bowed, unfolded his escape light, wrapped everyone up, and turned to leave. Although they were Xie Xie Yan Huan's enemies, they could not help but feel gratitude and lingering fear in their hearts, and even more so, they felt lucky. With Xie Xie Yan Huan's ability, killing them one by one would have been nothing more than a matter of a hairpin. Fortunately, she was extraordinarily arrogant and disdained to haggle with the younger generation, sparing their lives.

Xie Xie Yan Huan stood at the cliff watching them go, turned around, and laughed, "Alright, now that the annoying guys are gone, we can have a good talk."

For Both Both Ruan Ci, everything today had long since exceeded her knowledge. Furthermore, as a mortal, her knowledge was limited. She had been shocked to the extreme at the beginning, but at this moment, she didn't feel anything strange, not even as shocking as when she first saw raindrops. She just poked her head out, looked curiously at the bottom of the cliff, and asked, "If that person falls from such a height, will he turn into a pile of meat?"

"The physical body of a Nascent Soul cultivator is hard and can be considered a magic treasure; it won't rot." Xie Xie Yan Huan also poked her head out with her to take a look. "Seven hundred years ago, this Liu Yin intercepted me on Little Bamboo Island along with a dozen other people. Taking advantage of my lack of attention, he struck me on the left shoulder, making me hurt for three days. Today, this palm of vengeance is considered repaid."

A single palm of vengeance was repaid with a life. Both Both Ruan Ci could not help but feel that Xie Xie Yan Huan was a bit ruthless, worthy of being a great demon who made people talk about him with fear. She said somewhat naively, "Sister Xie, you are so powerful, why do these people still dare to oppose you?"

Xie Xie Yan Huan smiled slightly, "Everyone in the world opposes me, so they are naturally the same."

Both Both Ruan Ci did not quite understand. According to her thoughts, Xie Xie Yan Huan was so powerful that even if they didn't join her, they should try not to be her enemy. She looked at Xie Xie Yan Huan, and Xie Xie Yan Huan said, "Do you want to know why they oppose me?"

She reached back over her shoulder, and Both Both Ruan Ci suddenly noticed that there was a long sword behind her. Xie Xie Yan Huan had nothing on her, and she had been bare-handed when fighting just now. She didn't know why she hadn't used this sword.

Xie Xie Yan Huan slowly untied the sword and held it horizontally in front of her. She was very tall, and her movements were free and charming, indescribably beautiful. "Because I have this sword, I am the first-class figure in Langhuan Zhou Tian for ten thousand years—but even if it were me, compared to this green sword, I am like a firefly seeing the sun. This sword is an extremely precious treasure. You would never imagine how many people have died for it in Langhuan Zhou Tian."

She held the sword body and handed the hilt to Both Both Ruan Ci, laughing, "I want to lend this sword to you, okay?"

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Updated, sorry for the long wait, everyone. I'll send out the red envelopes for the previous chapter in a moment.

Q&A time: 1. Do the people of Song Guo excrete, cry, etc.? They do all of it, and it also produces water, but it dries up immediately. The Song people boil jade for drink, so they know about water, but Both Both Ruan Ci has never seen rain. Look closely at the description in the previous chapter; she knows what water is, just not what it's doing falling from the sky in such large quantities.

2. Can Xie Xie Yan Huan use the water produced by the Song people to heal? No. According to the principle of the great array, the Song people carry talismans, and if the talisman power comes into contact with spiritual power, there will be a reaction.

3. Is Xie Xie Yan Huan a man or a woman? This involves the plot and will be explained later. I won't explain it now~

I'm very happy that everyone likes this text! It's only serialized to the sixth chapter, which can be said to be the beginning of the beginning, and there are already so many comments, which shows that I write quite well. Throw flowers~ As an author, I think the happiest point is being able to hit my own points and also hit everyone else's. The feeling of aesthetic resonance is really great!

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