Chapter 143

Jiupanpo was a big shot in the Demonic Sect; originally a mountain barbarian girl, later, after losing in love, she entered the mountains out of jealousy and anger, fortuitously meeting a senior of the Demonic Sect, who transmitted the three Demonic Scriptures to her, enabling her to establish a sect and found a teaching. Since Jiupanpo herself was a barbarian, and in practicing the demonic arts she often appeared naked and in strange attire, her sect came to be called the Naked Sect.

Xu Feiniang did not conceal the situation of the Naked Sect, giving a rough overview. After hearing her explanation, Zhou Shuo felt it rather strange—not only was it an evil cult, but also an evil cult with a cross-dressing fetish; it seemed that such queer arts indeed existed in Mount Shu, where one casts spells by performing the Heavenly Demon Dance while naked, causing the enemy to lose all consciousness.

Actually, that naked-body technique is roughly similar to the Nethergod Soul-Refining Record; cultivation breaks through via sexual prowess, the Nethergod Soul-Refining Record fills the mind with the pleasure experienced, whereas the naked Heavenly Demon Dance approximately discards one's sense of shame to achieve a spiritual breakthrough.

Although he understood the principle, the exact nature of the technique still required further inquiry; Zhou Shuo had little interest in joining the Naked Sect, yet he did want to make a trip to Nine Return Mountain, so he explained his position to Xu Feiniang and apologetically declined her kindness.

"Fellow Daoist, resisting the Naked Sect is only natural; we cultivators may not be as bound as ordinary folk, yet we still value human propriety, and the queer practices of demonic cultivation are unprecedented as well." Xu Feiniang, truly living up to her epithet "Myriad Marvels Fairy Maiden," showed no anger, instead smiling and nodding, then without waiting for Zhou Shuo to speak, she continued:

"Fellow Daoist, going to Nine Return Mountain, I suspect you wish to meet the great law of the Demonic Sect; however, although Jiupanxianpo is open to karmic affinities, her temperament is strange, and she once had a Han Chinese male disciple who unfortunately proved slippery and betrayed the sect—your coming to her door this time may well not bring good fortune; it would be better if I accompany you on the trip."

"How could I possibly accept that?" Zhou Shuo looked at Xu Feiniang, feeling somewhat surprised; he could see that Xu Feiniang intended to win him over, but was it really necessary for her to personally accompany him on a trip to Nine Return Mountain?

"Anyway, I have nothing to do, and it's a good chance to visit some friends in the southwest; Fellow Daoist, come with me." Xu Feiniang laughed, waved her hand, guided Zhou Shuo to switch his sword light, and flew off toward the southwest.

"You still have friends in the southwest?" Zhou Shuo urged his sword light to follow.

"Haha, Xu Feiniang still has a few friends in the cultivation world; I have a fellow Daoist who practices with hair uncut, residing in seclusion at the Azure Bamboo Hermitage outside Chengdu. Although we dwell in the mundane world, scattered across the south and north, relying on our Daoist arts and immortal swords, touring the North Sea in the morning and resting in Cangwu by evening is but a trifle." Xu Feiniang hurriedly urged her sword light forward, her laughing words drifting lazily, carrying an air of heroic immortal-knight bearing.

"Morning tour of the North Sea, evening repose in Cangwu; with a green snake's gall in his sleeve, his spirit is bold—truly an immortal's abode." Zhou Shuo watched the sword light darting ahead, wanting to applaud but having to follow with his own sword; Xu Feiniang's skill was indeed formidable, her flying sword seemed refined to a higher level, and her sword-flying technique, in speed, far surpassed his—this being her deliberate slowing to wait for him.

Zhou Shuo and Xu Feiniang flew side by side on their swords, forming two streaking meteors, one ahead and one behind, rushing southwest across the sky; with the local guide Xu Feiniang leading the way, his journey was extremely steady, below the settlements and towns gradually faded, and the mountains and forests stretched vast and boundless.

"Boom—" Sometime ago, as Zhou Shuo and Xu Feiniang flew their swords through the air above the wilderness, a deep thunder rumbled from the far reaches of the wilds; accompanied by this sound, the light in the sky dimmed unconsciously, and Xu Feiniang abruptly halted her sword light.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Shuo hastily halted his sword light, gazing at the halted Xu Feiniang; his eyes turned toward the deep reaches of the wild peaks where the muffled thunder came from, as if someone were engaged in a magical battle there.

"Nine Return Mountain lies just ahead, but it seems someone is attacking Jiupanxianpo's Demonic Palace." Xu Feiniang looked at the distant sky, her brows faintly knitting.

"……" Zhou Shuo withdrew his distant gaze, looked at Xu Feiniang with furrowed brows, blinked his eyes, and frankly said, he hadn't even seen the edge of Nine Return Mountain yet!

"That's my fault, Fellow Daoist—you don't know that Nine Return Mountain is right ahead, but Jiupanxianpo's Demonic Palace is concealed by a great spell, and the visitors now are no ordinary folk; even I cannot fathom their depths." Xu Feiniang, seeing Zhou Shuo's puzzled expression, hastily explained.

"Who are you two little brats?" Just as Zhou Shuo was about to speak, a sudden voice transmitted into his ears.

Hearing the sudden voice, Zhou Shuo's eyes flickered; his psychic apertures, ever since they opened, had relied on keen sight to discern people without looking, needing only sound to gain some information about them—but before this voice, his psychic apertures seemed utterly useless; he could not even tell whether the speaker was male or female, and the direction of the sound felt as if it were coming from within his own heart.

"Junior Xu Feiniang pays respects to the senior." Upon hearing the voice intruding into her ears, Xu Feiniang's complexion likewise changed.

"Junior Zhou Shuo pays respects to the senior." Zhou Shuo glanced at Xu Feiniang's slightly altered complexion, feeling uneasy, as if he had stumbled upon some great affair.

"You've come to find that slut Jiupanpo, haven't you?" The voice seemed to rise from within the heart, intensifying Zhou Shuo and Xu Feiniang's sense of foreboding; it appeared that Jiupanpo had provoked a master to come and block the door.

"Old fool, you rely on cultivating the Asura Great Law to bully me excessively; today there is you but not me." A shrill, anguished scream echoed from afar, reverberating endlessly between the wild peaks and forests.

"Hah, you slut, cultivating a few dead men's bones, you've created heretical sects that disgrace my Demonic Sect; I tell you, if you do not hand over my two disciples today, I will demolish your ruined temple on Nine Return Mountain."

"If your disciples are lost, go find them yourself—what's the point of showing off here?" The anguished scream carried a tone of grievance; Zhou Shuo's eyebrows twitched twice, then he furtively glanced at the equally shocked Xu Feiniang, confirming his thought: this voice was Jiupanpo's, and this great Demonic Sect leader, blocked at the door, actually felt wronged?

"Hah, Yao'er and Qi'er disappeared near your Nine Return Mountain just a few days ago—do you dare claim you know nothing?" The question carried a hint of suspicion.

"If you insist that I abducted your disciples, then go ahead and smash my Nine Return Mountain; however, old fool, wait—today my magical power falls short of yours, but someday I will surely tread upon your Divine Sword Peak and level your Heavenly Desire Palace to the ground." The shrill scream grew more anguished, spitting out harsh words without restraint.

"I'll be waiting for you." In the faint voice, Zhou Shuo finally heard a hint of aged hoarseness; immediately, a yellow light flashed before him, and in his vision appeared a tall, red-clad figure.

"Senior…" Xu Feiniang watched as the radiant light landed on the figure before her, instinctively holding her breath; but before she could finish speaking, she felt a yellow light flash before her eyes—the figure raised its red robe sleeve, yellow light engulfed Zhou Shuo, and without uttering a word, it transformed into a streak of yellow light that shot across the heavens.

"……" Xu Feiniang watched the yellow light that had enveloped Zhou Shuo shoot straight into the heavens, unable to help but open her mouth, wondering why that senior had taken him away.

"Jiupan Sect Leader, Xu Feiniang pays her respects here." Xu Feiniang, somewhat at a loss yet unable to guess the situation, flew her sword forward, alighting before a mountain peak and gorge that was gradually emerging from the air, and spoke.

"Enter." A slightly hoarse, aged female voice sounded; Xu Feiniang promptly lowered her sword light, flew into the gorge, passed through the Nine Revolutions Seven Returns valley passage, and arrived before a vast Demonic Palace spanning between the peaks.

The demon palace built in the canyon was magnificent and splendid, but outside it was shrouded in a thin layer of black smoke, within which light flickered faintly; at a glance, inside resembled a fleeting parade—emperors, ministers, merchants, laborers—countless figures flickered back and forth, Xu Feiniang didn't even glance at those lights, she retracted her sword light and then stepped into the palace walls, arriving before the palace steps, where a column of black smoke already stood; within the smoke was a figure no taller than four feet, whole body black and thin like a desiccated corpse, with a long nose and upper lip, resembling an old woman like a pigeon‑bird Lei Gong, holding a bird‑head iron staff, gazing fixedly at the yellow light fading westward, her eyes emitting a green light that waxed and waned.

"Jiu Pan Sect Leader," Xu Feiniang called out softly, looking at the old woman on the palace steps who gazed westward within the black smoke, her eyes flashing with an uncertain green ferocity.

"Who is the kid you brought with you? Why did you bring him here?" the Jiu Pan Crone asked, lowering her gaze to look at the respectful young Daoist nun.

"That person is called Zhou Shuo, an extraordinary individual Xu Feiniang happened to meet on the road; he came here originally to seek instruction in the Dao from the Sect Leader, and even intended to become a disciple, so Xu Feiniang brought him here." Xu Feiniang did not conceal it, nor could she; she knew well that this Naked Sect Leader was not only versed in sorcery but also skilled in innate divine calculations, his foresight far surpassing her own.

"Hmph, he sure has good fortune." the Jiu Pan Crone snorted coldly, lightly tapping the black bird‑head iron staff in her hand; the black smoke surrounding her dissipated, revealing her whole body—she wore only a short skirt woven from black feathers and leaves and a splendid jeweled shoulder mantle, her exposed hands and feet were not human but splayed and curled like bird claws.

"Senior, who was that just now?" Xu Feiniang asked the snorting Jiu Pan Crone, unable to help but inquire cautiously, wondering exactly who that person had been.

"He is called Shi Pi, an undead old one in my demon sect; he is at odds with our faction, so he broke away to form his own lineage. The child you brought cannot die, and moreover he shares a teacher‑student affinity with that undead old one, though the outlook is unclear. Today's matter…" The Jiu Pan Crone recalled being barred at the door; her face, as black‑iron as Lei Gong's, instantly grew grim and sinister.

"…" Xu Feiniang lowered her head at the sight of the Jiu Pan Crone's sinister face, her heart pounding with shock. Shi Pi the old man—he is not the foremost figure in the demon sect; legend says he attained the Dao a thousand years ago. He, he actually shares a teacher‑student bond with Fellow Daoist Zhou. Fellow Daoist Zhou, you've really struck it rich.