Chapter 235: Daoist Cultivation Falls into the Bitter Sea of the Three Poisons, While Unorthodox Cultivation Proves Boundless Merit

The young girl's dark blue eyes remained fixed on the prey before her, her sword hovering constantly along the trajectory of the kill; that focused sensation did not resemble a human, but rather a tiger or leopard eager to devour people.

Looking again at her movement technique, her steps were light and silent, exuding a natural air of agility as she moved, yet unlike a ghostly evil spirit, she instead possessed a beauty that delighted the eye.

When things go against the norm, there must be something sinister afoot!

The two Daoist priests vaguely felt something was wrong; the young priest reacted slightly slower, while the middle-aged priest had already drawn his Dharma sword, and at the same time, his body-protecting talisman burst forth with brilliant light.

However, just as the two focused their minds in alertness, a sharp whistle of a sword slicing through the air suddenly exploded behind them, making their scalps go numb and their heartbeats nearly stop.

The two Daoists urgently twisted their bodies; the young priest, lacking a body-protecting talisman, had not yet clearly seen the scene behind him before his throat was already pierced through by sword light.

The middle-aged priest relied on his talisman to desperately dodge one strike, and when he focused his gaze, he discovered that the young girl from before had somehow approached behind them without his notice.

Something is wrong!

A needle-like chill came to the back of the middle-aged priest's neck; he turned sideways in horror, only to realize it was not that the girl had approached behind them, but that there was a black-clad young girl both in front of and behind them.

The two girls looked identical, just like twins, and even when turning sideways to walk, their light steps as they sought flaws in their prey were exactly the same.

"What kind of monster are you!"

The Daoist priest's response was a bone-chilling sense of mortal crisis.

Behind! Still behind!

The priest twisted his head, only to see another girl of the same style spinning up, and like a cat pouncing on a butterfly, her sword light resembled a cat's claw, blooming in mid-air to pierce through his protective Dharma light.

It is demonic qi!

The priest held his sword to block, yet he forgot that the two clones of the girl behind and to his sides had been seeking an opportunity all along.

Two beams of cold light suddenly appeared, blades sealing the throat, just like plum blossoms blooming.

The priest widened his eyes; at the pierced wound, dark black yin-cold demonic qi lingered without dispersing, constantly eroding inward, and within moments, the priest collapsed to the ground, completely devoid of sound or breath.

Watching the battle from afar, Xu Qing subconsciously touched his neck; perhaps related to his own habits, he noticed that this cat, whenever fighting, always liked to lock onto the prey's throat.

"Xuan Yu, the vital points of a human are not limited to the throat; if you face an enemy, you must have some variation, otherwise if the opponent becomes prepared, it will instead limit yourself."

Every Daoist priest of Ruyi Temple possessed cultivation, and in Xu Qing's eyes, they were undoubtedly natural whetstones for Xuan Yu.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xu Qing imparted to Xuan Yu considerable experience in fighting humans after assuming human form.

Besides martial arts and sword techniques, there were also hidden weapons, poisonous powders, and the panacea secret method that could break orthodox Daoist laws while naturally countering left-path evil arts—Holy Spirit Water.

Things like Moon-Gazing Sand, Night-Bright Sand, Five-Spirit Grease, Left-Coiling Dragon, and Sky-Mallow Water, when mixed together, would make even a Living Buddha retreat three paces.

Xu Qing was like a mother leopard leading a small leopard cub to learn hunting skills, imparting all his trump-card combat techniques without any reservation.

Xuan Yu always felt something was not quite right; do humans really fight like this?

"Yes! We humans have always been this way; just like cats, regardless of whether they are black or white, if they can catch mice, they are good cats," Xu Qing stated with absolute certainty: "Humans are the same; when dealing with utterly wicked enemies, regardless of what means are used, as long as they can execute them on the spot, they are all good means!"

"Xuan Yu understands; these evil people are the mice in Immortal Xu's eyes, and whenever we see them, even if our bellies are not hungry, we must kill them."

"."

"You must absolutely never say these words in front of Gu Zixu and the others."

"Xuan Yu understands."

Xuan Yu flicked the bloodstains off her sword, only then noticing that the villagers of White Cage Village, imprisoned in the carriage behind them, were looking at them in terror.

There was even anger in some people's eyes?

Xu Qing was surprised; he stepped forward, intending to ask questions, but discovered that these villagers could only make wild, babbling noises like savages.

Only one or two individuals responsible for maintaining order, similar to leaders, could understand human speech.

And the two who expressed anger toward Xu Qing happened to be exactly those two who could understand human speech.

Xu Qing did not continue questioning these people; he went to the corpses of the dead Daoist priests and began watching their life reviews.

In the White Cage Village, cut off from the outside world and shrouded in eternal darkness, freshly cooked meals filled rack carts; passing each cell, a Daoist priest dedicated to feeding would ladle out 'meals' of unappealing appearance, pouring them into troughs for the people in the cells to scramble and fight over.

These people had not seen the light of day since birth, living lives like savages, and moreover, they were 'savages' kept in captivity.

To better control these 'talents' and save manpower for Ruyi Temple, those Daoist priests deliberately divided the captive people, sorting them into various grades, with higher-grade villagers able to learn human speech and manage those of lower grades.

Over time, the Daoist priests of Ruyi Temple no longer personally fed those low-grade villagers kept in captivity, but instead entrusted higher-grade villagers to feed them on their behalf.

But, could those villagers who aided the tyrant in his evil deeds truly survive?

They could, but only until the age of thirty; after thirty, these people would still be taken by the evil Daoists of Ruyi Temple to be sacrificed to the cauldron for refining pills.

After learning these matters from the Daoist priest's memories, Xu Qing turned his head again to look at the two villagers on the prisoner cart who had displayed hostility toward him.

Judging by their age, they were exactly around thirty.

Xu Qing knew in his heart that this was the result of being domesticated by the evil Daoists of Ruyi Temple.

"How does Immortal Xu plan to deal with these people?" Xuan Yu asked.

Xu Qing countered with a question: "How does Xuan Yu think they should be dealt with?"

"Hmm."

This question indeed stumped the cat; beside her, Xu Qing spoke in an orderly manner: "Worldly matters are naturally handled by worldly people; once we have settled our grievances with Ruyi Temple, we will simply leave a clue for the officials."

Speaking of this, Xu Qing looked again at those villagers; although their freedom was restricted only by a wooden railing about a foot high, not a single person actively jumped off the cart to escape.

Those wooden railings were like the golden fillets the Daoist priests of Ruyi Temple had placed upon their heads, already deeply bound into their bones.

"These villagers are not yet civilized; even if you and I explain many principles to them, it will be to no avail, and if we arbitrarily take them away from White Cage Village, it is uncertain whether they can survive; these matters can only be left to the government to handle."

Xu Qing shook his head helplessly.

Afterwards, with Xuan Yu taking the lead and Xu Qing providing cover, the two went from the head of the village to the tail, thoroughly cleaning out those evil Daoists who did not act like humans, as well as some of the completely domesticated high-grade villagers.

In the season when late autumn approached early winter, the mist-shrouded White Cage Village was dyed with a layer of eerie blood-red color.

Legend has it that in the Cloud Dream Mountains, where the sun is never seen year-round, there is a dwelling of immortals called White Cloud Cave, inside which lives an immortal named Yuan Gong who guards the Book of Heaven.

Ever since stealing the Book of Heaven from the heavenly realm and descending to the lower world, Yuan Gong carved all the forbidden techniques and secret methods recorded in the Book of Heaven onto the stone walls of White Cloud Cave; after the Heavenly Emperor learned of this matter, he punished Yuan Gong to descend to the lower world, guarding the Book of Heaven in White Cloud Cave day and night, without permission to leave.

A thousand years ago, Yuan Gong redeemed his sins and completed his merit, returning to the heavenly realm, but the Book of Heaven in the Cloud Dream Mountains remained carved on the stone walls of White Cloud Cave, persisting to this day; opinions on this matter vary, with some saying the entrance of White Cloud Cave was sealed by giant rocks, making its exterior no different from an ordinary mountain body, so that no matter who seeks it, they will never find any clues.

Others say that inside White Cloud Cave there is an old demon subdued by Yuan Gong acting as a guardian, and anyone who goes seeking immortal fortune or tracing the whereabouts of the Book of Heaven ends up in that old demon's stomach.

These were all baseless legends, not to be taken seriously, yet there was one claim people still believed to this day: that the Daoist Priest Bai Yun of Ruyi Temple had accidentally entered the White Cloud Cave in his early years and obtained the method of immortality.

Even the current Son of Heaven firmly believed this matter; otherwise, he would not have repeatedly sent people to Ruyi Temple to seek elixirs of immortality.

It was said that Emperor Longping was able to live into his eighties precisely because he had consumed the immortal medicine from Ruyi Temple.

When Xu Qing arrived at Ruyi Temple, he finally understood what the aura of a nouveau riche looked like.

A Daoist temple located far from the prefectural seat was built more grandly than the temples within the great cities of Jingcheng!

This was like gilding the edges of a donkey dung ball or wrapping a clod of earth in silk satin; it simply did not match!

Xu Qing opened his Yin Eye and swept with his Qi-Observation Technique; the soaring resentment and misfortune were wrapped within the temple's incense smoke, truly like a donkey dung ball coated in egg batter, fried to look remarkably proper, so that anyone who saw it would have to exclaim, "Beautiful!"

But if someone actually took a bite, even if it didn't burst with fluid, they would end up with a mouthful of fishy stench.

Xu Qing dealt with the dead all day long and was a person steeped in misfortune, yet upon seeing the resentment suppressed for decades or even a century, and especially after hearing the sharp, painful wailing of infants hidden within it, Xu Qing felt utterly unwell.

These resentful spirits differed from the infant spirits in the Hundred Infants Pagoda of Huangping Township; the infant spirits in the pagoda still retained their fetal bodies as vessels, whereas the infant spirits of Ruyi Temple had no corpses.

This meant the Scripture of Saving People could not deliver them from suffering; Xu Qing could only rely on the incense smoke within the Blood Lake Dharma Realm of Baosheng Temple to transform them.

Sensing those infant spirits trapped within Ruyi Temple, Xu Qing realized that to deliver them all, at least half of the incense smoke in his Blood Lake Dharma Realm would be consumed.

Yet Xu Qing did not hesitate in the slightest.

If he did not come to help these children find deliverance, who else would come to save them?

Before Xu Qing could speak in front of Ruyi Temple, Xuan Yu, already familiar with the operational procedure, asked, "Same as with Little Mercy Temple?"

"The same, but do not set fire to the temple."

Xu Qing feared frightening the children.

Having killed monks and then slaughtered through White Cage Village, Xuan Yu had accumulated a certain degree of demonic aura and deadly qi; once this demonic aura broke through the critical point, a five-hundred-year thunder calamity would descend.

However, upon hearing Xu Qing say not to frighten the children, Xuan Yu, whose eyes were filled with killing intent, rarely revealed a trace of gentleness.

Immortal Xu was indeed still so gentle.

"Except for the villagers and common people, leave no evil Daoists alive; we of the Cat Immortal Hall conduct our affairs needing only corpses!" Xu Qing added.

Xuan Yu nodded, then the precious sword in her scabbard unsheathed, and the plaque of Ruyi Temple instantly shattered.

The Daoist Priests inside the temple moved at the sound, but upon seeing the young girl holding a sword at the entrance, everyone froze.

"Who are you lot! Daring to run wild in this pure land of our Daoist gate? Do you not know this temple is the cultivation ground of Immortal Master Bai Yun?"

Sword light flashed, and the Daoist Priest's voice cut off abruptly.

A pure land?

Xuan Yu shook her blood-stained precious sword in disgust; as for Immortal Master Bai Yun, it was precisely that evil Daoist she sought!

The grudge from those years, along with the dignity of Immortal Xu's Baosheng Temple, she would settle today!

Just as Immortal Xu had said, matters that needed resolving would sooner or later require resolution; now that the heavenly tribulation and thunder calamity were close at hand, if she did not come to settle scores now, would there be another chance once the thunder calamity descended?

The fear demons held toward the heavenly tribulation was innate; even though Xuan Yu had a million units of incense smoke protecting her body, she still feared the approaching thunder calamity.

Under the heavenly tribulation, whether one was an Undying Phoenix or a Nine-Life Black Cat, if one failed to pass through the calamity, all fate, all divine powers, everything without exception, would be annihilated beneath the thunder fire.

Xuan Yu cherished her carefree days in Jinmen very much; Immortal Xu could always arrange everything for her, which was precisely why she was so afraid.

She feared the helplessness when calamity clouds pressed down upon her head someday, just as when that old woman had abandoned her, leaving her in panic and stripped of all reliance.

It was just that this time, it might be she who abandoned Xu Qing.

The young girl clenched her pearly teeth tightly, and on her childish face floated a grim, killing air inconsistent with her appearance.

Xu Qing had never seen Xuan Yu in this state before; that demonic qi, seemingly endless and constantly surging, appeared ready to swallow the entire Ruyi Temple.

In Xuan Yu's heart, she was constantly constructing barriers.

As the Dharma Protector of Baosheng Temple, besides seeking revenge, Xuan Yu mostly wished to do something for Lady Baosheng.

Because Lady Baosheng's true form was Immortal Xu!

Xu Qing did not know what this cat was thinking, but seeing the soaring deadly qi, he still felt some worry; had he been too harsh on this cat?

However, this thought appeared only for an instant before Xu Qing suppressed it.

Now that the path to heaven was severed, all cultivators, whether scaled or shelled creatures or those born from womb, egg, or transformation, even anomalies like Xu Qing, were all situated within the Five Turbidities Evil World; no one could guarantee that under the scouring of the rolling red dust and turbid waves, they could stand tall forever.

Even Xu Qing did not dare to guarantee it.

Although zombies possessed no lifespan limits, it did not mean he would forever remain by Xuan Yu's side; after all, no one knew whether tomorrow or an accident would arrive first, so all Xu Qing could do was help Xuan Yu mature as soon as possible, even if this process would be extremely cruel.

In the alchemy chamber of the temple's rear hall, the young girl sliced the alchemical furnace that had once scorched her into pieces; just then, footsteps sounded behind her, and turning her head to look, she saw it was Xu Qing, so she sheathed her long sword, and the frost in her eyes melted away.

But immediately afterward, she heard Xu Qing say—

"In this world, no one can be trusted, not even me."

Xu Qing offered no praise or encouragement to Xuan Yu, but instead stated lightly, "A person's appearance can still be transformed; if someone were to change into my likeness, you would likely lose another life right now."

As he spoke, Xu Qing glanced sideways at the alchemical furnace before him; after being damaged by Xuan Yu, countless streams of black-purple mist were fleeing and scurrying out from it.

Xu Qing's gaze condensed slightly, and the Dharma Aspect of Lady Baosheng descended from the Blood Lake Dharma Realm.

In the next moment, a Lady Baosheng wearing a Five-Phoenix Crown, clad in a round-collared wide-sleeved robe, and draped with a jade-like cloud shoulder appeared right there in the alchemy hall.

On her sleeves, robe, and skirt, gilded intertwining flowers and brocaded mountains of longevity and seas of good fortune were displayed, truly dignified and extraordinary, with an bearing like that of an immortal.

The instant Xu Qing's Dharma Aspect appeared, the resentful spirits scurrying chaotically throughout the alchemy hall instantly fell silent.

They looked in Xu Qing's direction, seeing only a divine lady with a kind face, gazing at them very peacefully, her demeanor like a loving mother watching her infants.

In this moment, they felt a tranquility they had never experienced before.

(End of Chapter)