Fang Qing strolled through the marketplace, wondering whether he should check out the various shops once more.
With a bit of luck, he might co across so rarer Dao Foundation spiritual items.
At that mont his footsteps paused as he passed a place filled with soft, seductive music.
“Sigh… Lady Jin Ling’er was truly unfortunate. She was assassinated right outside Yanshan Market. We were only one step away from reaching her in ti.”
“Damn half-demons. It is said one of our own human traitors transford into one!”
Fang Qing swept his divine sense outward and caught many such discussions.
“Haha… Now that Lady Jin Ling is gone, the Huai Chamber Pavilion Tower has invited another master of music. They say she is Lady Jin Ling’er’s own younger sister, called Yin Ping’er. She has quite a different charm about her.”
The lustful patrons ended with the kind of knowing laughter only n understood.
Fang Qing felt a chill run down his spine. Blissful Union Sect Demoness… truly not sothing he could enjoy.
He imdiately decided that once he returned to the Minor Huan Sea this ti, he would visit several pleasure houses to listen to music and soothe his wounded heart.
“Hmm?”
At that mont his divine sense caught sight of a gray shadow. His expression stirred. “Why is this demon here?”
In the back kitchen of the Huai Chamber Pavilion, an old fox was just erging with a chicken leg in its mouth when a large hand grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. It imdiately clasped its paws together and bowed repeatedly, begging for rcy.
Only after seeing it was Fang Qing did it relax. “You cultivator… why do you enjoy joking with this old one?”
This fox was none other than Anzhuzi!
Fang Qing said nothing more. He ford a hand seal to conceal their presence, brought the old fox outside the marketplace, then asked curiously, “You are a bookkeeper from Descending Phoenix Mountain. How did you end up coming to the front lines for this war? And sneaking into Blissful Union Sect territory to gather intelligence?”
“This old man was rely passing by and got a sudden craving, that is all.”
Anzhuzi stroked the whiskers on his narrow fox muzzle and said, “Last ti this old man and Lady Qingling… that demon general saved your subordinate Oldman Xu Hei. You cannot repay kindness with enmity.”
“Hehe… of course not.”
Fang Qing set the old fox down and asked curiously, “You really just ca to steal a chicken leg?”
“Hehe… there were other thoughts as well. The Blissful Union Sect and Cloud Grazing Cliff are working hand in glove. This old man did want to gather so intelligence. If I could luckily accomplish sothing and earn so rit, I could exchange it with the tribe for Dao Foundation spiritual items or Dao Foundation pills. Thanks to the spirit-nourishing pills you traded last ti, fellow Daoist, this old man’s cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. I am finally not far from becoming a demon general.”
The old fox smiled sheepishly.
“I see. But with those two major demonic sects joining forces, can your Descending Phoenix Mountain hold them off?”
Fang Qing asked with a hint of probing.
“Hehe… you do not need to test this old man. Since near-ancient tis, those great figures above the Golden Rank have withdrawn from the world and rarely take action.”
The old fox said, “Therefore, whether the demonic path sends two sects or one, what they face is roughly the sa. Our Descending Phoenix Mountain governs eight tribes. Right now only the Azure Bird Tribe, one of the eight, has made a move and has nearly broken through to Beixuan Commandery. Besides, Cloud Grazing Cliff is not the only one our demon race has its eyes on. Has not your Esoteric Hidden-Treasury Domain also sent Gurus and Monks to spread their teachings? In this old man’s opinion, they are still too timid. They should send a few Dharma Kings!”
“But how co I heard that your demon race recently suffered a great defeat?”
Fang Qing asked curiously.
“That was because the Shangyong Sect played dirty. They secretly set up a great [Zhen Water] array. This [Zhen Water] sowhat counters the [Bi Moon] demon race.”
The old fox spoke and then gave a cold laugh. “Hehe… let them enjoy their mont of triumph. It will not last long. Although [Zhen Water] counters [Bi Moon], it is in turn countered by [Wei Moon]. Qingling demon general has already gone personally to the Western Liang Land of Won to invite a great [Wei Moon] cultivator from there to take action. They will surely break the great array and crush the enemy vanguard!”
“Western Liang… Land of Won?”
Fang Qing had vaguely heard of it. It should be a small Hu nation.
However, [Wei Moon] countering [Zhen Water] was sothing he was hearing for the first ti. “[Wei Moon] is that powerful?”
“Hehe… [Wei Moon] represents the hidden aspect of the moon, yin within yin. You male cultivators probably would not like it very much.”
The old fox suddenly gave a mysterious smile.
“Oh? What do you an? Is that land called the Land of Won because those who cultivate [Wei Moon] turn into won?”
Fang Qing guessed.
With the example of the Blissful Union Sect before him, he had so tolerance for such things.
Unexpectedly, the old fox laughed even more happily. “No, no. The terror of [Wei Moon] lies in embracing yang while bearing yin. As the ultimate yin, it naturally craves all true yang madly. With just a bit of true yang, yin and yang can unite and give birth to a spiritual child. In other words, if fellow Daoist were hit by a [Wei Moon] divine ability, you would not turn into a woman, but you might give birth to a child. And the child born would definitely be a baby girl!”
“Fuck…”
Fang Qing was dumbfounded and very much wanted to curse. In his heart he decided that if he ever encountered a [Wei Moon] cultivator in the future, he would run as far as possible.
A man giving birth? Such a terrifying thing could actually happen? Was there no heavenly law or kingly justice left?
‘Fuck… Every ti I think Ancient Shu has reached its limit, it always finds an unexpected way to open my eyes wide!’
Still, the old fox had deliberately shared this piece of information as a favor to Fang Qing.
“Thank you for the reminder, old friend.”
He thanked him solemnly and then asked, “Does fellow Daoist still need spirit-nourishing pills? As long as you bring a few Purple Mansion technique manuals, you can exchange for them.”
With the Dao-Genesis Pearl, Fang Qing’s demand for high-rank technique manuals could be unlimited.
Unexpectedly, Anzhuzi shook his head. “This old man is rely an ordinary sweeper in the library. I can still browse and copy the less important miscellaneous books, and even so Dao Foundation scriptures with difficulty. But anything involving Purple Mansion is under strict control. If I violate the rules… this old man has no desire to be skinned and turned into a fox-fur coat.”
“What about last ti?”
Fang Qing looked puzzled.
“Last ti was a special case. Demon General Qingling took an interest in you and personally approved the exchange of that technique.”
The old fox rolled his eyes. “If one day this old man becos the master of the Langhuan Library, then we can continue trading.”
“Then I wish fellow Daoist every success.”
Fang Qing cupped his fists, saw the old fox off, and without another thought imdiately fled southward.
Since he now knew Beixuan Commandery was extrely dangerous, only a fool would linger on this border any longer.
The fierce wind whistled past his ears, yet Fang Qing’s expression turned sowhat strange. ‘My previous divination indicated the north should have been neutral. How could such a drastic change occur?’
“The only variable seems to be the recent involvent of the Western Liang Land of Won nation?”
‘Could the one who fooled my divination last ti have involved divinity? Does this operation concern figures above the Purple Mansion realm?’
The mont Fang Qing had grabbed the old fox…
Inside the Huai Chamber Pavilion.
Yin Ping’er smiled charmingly as she entertained two honored guests.
One guest was dressed as an Esoteric monk with pitch-black skin.
The other was adorned with countless golden rings all over her body. Her figure was graceful and alluring, her skin as smooth and fair as fresh milk, rivaling Yin Ping’er in beauty.
“Bright Son Miaofeng, Wisdom Consort Qingjing, please!”
Yin Ping’er affectionately linked arms with Qingjing Wisdom Consort. “The mont little sister saw you, elder sister, I felt an unusual sense of closeness.”
“If elder sister feels the sa. Does sister wish to discuss the dual cultivation of form and emptiness with ?”
Wisdom Consort Qingjing took a sip of wine and smiled. “That would not be impossible. But let us wait until after we have subdued that heretic. That heretic is truly cunning. He pretended to flee south and wasted several months of our ti. We even clashed with a Dao Foundation cultivator from the Yin Corpse Sect…”
“Any cultivator must have a background and lineage,” Yin Ping’er said seriously. “The person elder sister seeks should be a Dao Foundation cultivator. Such figures leave traces that can be followed. It is impossible for them to appear out of nowhere. That person should have visited the Listening Wind Pavilion three months ago and co here to listen to a song. Unfortunately he did not stay the night…”
“At that ti the pavilion was still managed by my elder sister Jin Ling’er. Sadly, elder sister was not blessed with good fortune and was assassinated by a half-demon.”
As Yin Ping’er spoke, two clear lines of tears stread down her face, enough to soften any man’s heart.
Bright Son Miaofeng appeared lost in wine and lust, yet he suddenly spoke in a stiff tone. “We are only here on our master’s orders to subdue the heretic. We will not involve ourselves in the slightest in matters between your demonic path and the demon race.”
‘Aren’t most Bright Sons supposed to be dull and crude? There are actually a few capable ones…’
Yin Ping’er cursed inwardly and was about to try persuading them again when her expression changed drastically. “This is…”
The three Dao Foundation cultivators could no longer suppress the tremors running through their bodies. They transford into streaks of light and rose into the sky above the marketplace.
“No mistake about it. This is earth-virtue evil qi. A Purple Mansion Spiritual Master cultivating the earth path has fallen in the north. Could it be that Shangyong Sect Spiritual Master?”
Wisdom Consort Qingjing carefully examined the aura, and her face paled. “Did you not just say the demon race was blocked by the great [Zhen Water] array and suffered countless casualties? How could a Purple Mansion cultivator suddenly die in battle?”
Yin Ping’er’s expression changed dramatically as well. “For a Purple Mansion cultivator to fall, it must have been the work of a Purple Mansion Great Spiritual Master. The Azure Bird Tribe’s Great Spiritual Master was clearly being held in check… Could the other eight tribes have taken action?”
Purple Mansion late-stage cultivators were called Great Spiritual Master!
The title was similar to the “great cultivators” of the Minor Huan Sea. Anyone who reached late stage could be addressed as a great cultivator of the sa realm and could easily slaughter early-stage opponents.
In this near-ancient era where True Lords no longer appeared, Purple Mansion Spiritual Master were already important forces capable of influencing regional situations.
A Purple Mansion Great Spiritual Master, however, carried the weight of a true chess player.
“Leave!”
The three cultivators knew that once Beixuan Commandery suffered a major defeat, the routed army would reach Yanshan Market in monts.
The Azure Bird Tribe cultivators and their main force would likely follow soon after. They imdiately turned into streaks of light and fled south.
Even Yin Ping’er gritted her teeth and abandoned her entire business, fleeing alongside the two Bright Ones.
She saw the situation clearly. These two had no intention of getting involved in demon-race affairs and were unlikely to sell her out to curry favor with the demons.
“Hehe… little sister, you are following so closely. Could it be you cannot bear to part with elder sister?”
Qingjing Wisdom Consort smiled charmingly and stroked Yin Ping’er’s cheek.
“Exactly. I beg elder sister to save my life.”
Yin Ping’er pleaded pitifully, drawing even Bright Son Miaofeng ’s attention.
He glanced backward and saw the vast Yanshan Market descending into chaos as countless cultivators scattered like birds and beasts. Joy rose in his heart. ‘A Great Spritual Master has taken action. This battle will bring heavy casualties. Could the ti for our Buddhist teachings to flourish in this land finally be at hand?’
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