Chapter 172

A forest filled entirely with red maple trees.

Countless colorful venomous snakes surged wildly toward the forest's center.

There, seven or eight bodies of Four Phases Sect disciples and over ten spiritual beasts lay scattered, each completely entwined with various venomous snakes, their surfaces shrouded in thick black vapor.

Among these corpses sat a graceful woman dressed in red and green, her features delicate, skin snow-white, long hair cascading past her shoulders, several differently colored leather pouches hanging at her waist, a jade flute of vivid green held to her lips as if playing, and before her rested a large pale yellow wooden bowl.

Though the flute occasionally glowed with yellow-green spiritual runes, no sound emerged, while countless venomous snakes spontaneously spat all manner of toxins into the wooden bowl.

The entire forest was filled with a thick, foul stench.

Yet the woman paid no heed, instead watching as the toxins in the bowl increased at a visible rate, a pleased expression crossing her face.

…

Among a pile of scattered rocks at the edge of the mountain range, thirteen or fourteen disciples of the Thousand Bamboo Sect and the Setting Sun Sect were desperately attacking a towering, one-zhang-tall monkey covered in black fur with spells and artifacts.

The monkey's black fur seemed impossibly hard; no matter how many spells or artifacts struck it, the fur merely became disheveled, leaving the creature utterly unharmed.

Yet whenever the giant monkey leapt high and slammed down, it inevitably crushed a disciple beneath its feet into pulp.

No matter how these disciples dodged or defended, even using teleportation techniques to vanish underground, the moment the monkey landed, a corpse turned to pulp would appear beneath its feet—as if the disciples had willingly stepped into the giant ape's grasp, a most eerie sight.

In moments, the black giant ape crushed them all one by one; the final Thousand Bamboo Sect disciple, terrified, turned and fled into the air, only to be kicked down by the descending ape and crushed into death upon impact.

The giant black ape glanced left and right, confirmed no opponents remained nearby, then pounded its chest twice, its body rapidly shrinking, its black fur retracting swiftly until it became a slender young man.

The young man appeared twenty-three or twenty-four, his face pale, a large blood-marked sigil prominent between his brows, draped in a black monkey pelt—now riddled with countless holes, clearly unusable.

"The Thousand Beasts Mountain's Fur-Covering Art is indeed powerful, but it consumes these specially prepared pelts too quickly. The Four Beasts Sect excels in beast-controlling arts—perhaps they have similar improvement techniques. I should go take a look."

"I'll capture a few Four Phases Sect disciples soon and interrogate them. It's been a long time since I used interrogation methods—I wonder if I've grown rusty." The pale youth tossed aside the black monkey pelt, muttered to himself, then strode out of the rock pile with casual confidence.

…

By a lake with rippling waters, a solitary boat floated quietly on the surface, one hundred meters from shore, upon which stood a woman clad in a pink long dress.

Her eyes were not particularly large, her mouth not particularly small, her nose not particularly high—but merely standing there, her posture drained color from heaven and earth; every movement, every glance, every smile, was enough to drive every man in the world mad.

On the nearby shore, over twenty male disciples of the Great Four Sects and demonic sects stood silently, gazing dazedly at the woman on the boat, their noses and mouths filled with a faint, intoxicating fragrance.

This fragrance intoxicated them, shattered their souls, making them wish only to gaze at her forever, unwilling to expend any effort on thought, as if they could remain like this until heaven and earth collapsed and oceans dried.

"Die, demoness of the Joy Palace."

The water near the boat suddenly erupted; from another woman's sharp cry, a white light flashed like lightning toward the woman on the boat, as if about to pierce through her body.

"Bang."

The woman in the pink dress did not move; suddenly, a purple-gold shield appeared on her body, intercepting the white light and knocking it away into the water—it was a pale, misty short blade.

Almost simultaneously, a blue banner floated above her head, swaying slightly.

The lake's surface immediately churned violently, water swirling wildly; from the spot where the water had erupted, a massive vortex appeared, and within its center, a female disciple of the Thousand Bamboo Sect emerged, tossed helplessly by the furious current, unable to control her body.

"Swoosh."

The drenched body of the Thousand Bamboo Sect woman and the short blade were spat out by the vortex, landing precisely at the feet of the woman on the boat.

"Demoness, I'll…"

The fierce-looking Thousand Bamboo Sect woman, ignoring her limp limbs and weakness, raised her head to stare at the peerless beauty—and from her mouth shot another slender white ray, aimed straight at the opponent's throat.

"Clang."

Without any movement from the woman in the pink dress, the purple-gold shield flashed again, blocking the white ray and knocking it away—it was a semi-transparent needle.

"Look at me."

The woman in the pink dress showed no change in expression, merely speaking casually to her opponent and glancing at her.

"Demoness, you… so beautiful…"

The Thousand Bamboo Sect woman, upon meeting the woman's clear, watery gaze, instantly froze—her furious eyes dulled into blankness.

At that moment, the faint fragrance entered her nose and mouth; her fierce expression vanished, replaced by the same vacant, entranced look.

"Go, use this knife to kill every man on the shore." The woman in the pink dress glanced at the white short blade on the boat, reached out, and lightly touched the Thousand Bamboo Sect woman's lovely face, giving a calm order.

"Yes, kill every man on the shore." The disciple, as if possessed, repeated the pink-dressed woman's words, bent down to pick up the short blade, and turned, vanishing into the lake.

Within a dozen breaths, the disciple's figure emerged from the water on the shore.

She held the short blade, stepped slowly onto land, continuously muttering "kill every man on the shore," then, facing the men still dazedly staring at the woman in the pink dress, stabbed each one with the blade.

In moments, blood flowed like a river on the shore; all the men lay dead in pools of blood, yet their eyes remained wide open, faces still filled with rapturous devotion.

Only the Thousand Bamboo Sect woman remained standing among the corpses, still clutching the short blade, her face wearing the same vacant, entranced expression.

At that moment, the woman in the pink dress had somehow appeared behind the disciple, her head slightly lowered near the girl's ear, whispering softly:

"Go, kill every man you see—leave none alive."