Chapter 55

Wind roared. Thunder crashed. Sleet and snow came down.
The River Sword unleashed a storm of wind and ice as the Reflecting Sky Cloud danced through sky like a dragon, like a snake.
Frost and cold steel, a blade gleaming under a sliver moon. A blizzard of bone-chilling froststormed down from the heavens, battering the bull-headed demon until its hide split, blood splattering everywhere.
Yet the beast barely seemed to feel the pain. Flesh peeled, skull almost exposed, but still it advanced fearlessly through a storm of swordlight towards Mu Xue in midair, low growls ringing in the moonlit night.
Mu Xue knew it all too well, her fierce attacks looked sharp, but they weren’t enough to deliver a killing blow. The demon’s wounds healed faster and faster, her strikes struggling to even keep pace.
Pause even a second, and the battered, butchered bull’s head would knit itself back together almost instantly before her eyes.
The raging minotaur pressed forward, bronze-gold eyes bleeding scarlet. Suddenly, its two thick arms split to four, monstrous shadow-limbs whirling through the dusty haze.
Mu Xue narrowly slipped beneath one huge, shaggy arm, but a whiplash of wind from a passing fist caught her shoulder, knocking her hard out of the clouds.
As she fell, a gentle force caught her just in time, a careful surge of spiritual energy, almost cradling her for one heartbeat before vanishing.
Mu Xue seized that chance, grabbing hold of the edge of the cloud, glancing around, but couldn’t seem to spot who’d helped her so deftly and at just the right moment.
No time to ponder. With a mere Foundation Establishment body like hers, one direct hit from a beast like this and she’d be as good as dead.
Her spiritual energy was running dangerously low, while the monster seemed to have an endless well of brute force.
No matter how hardworking you are, grow up too comfortable and it’s only natural to let your guard down. Mu Xue couldn’t help but reflect, had she gotten lazy all these years, content just to slowly run the Embryonic Breathing Art, laying a safe foundation and nothing more?
The bull demon’s hind hooves pawed at the earth, steam snorting from its nose as it charged straight for Mu Xue.
Suddenly, a shout from behind her: “Divine Form: Heaven and Earth!”
Cheng Yan pressed his palms together before his chest, his whole body flush with golden light. He grew and grew, towering, until he was face to face with the monstrous bull.
A giant, shining Cheng Yan charged into the fray, arms bulging, bracing himself head-on against the raging demon.
On Tiezhu Peak, disciples trained in the Indestructible Body technique, this was its ultimate form, Heaven and Earth as One.
Of course, what Cheng Yan had managed now was just a pale imitation, the real technique could turn bodies into mountains. He’d only hold out so long, and couldn’t truly become unbreakable.
Still, Cheng Yan’s legs planted firm as pillars, holding back the raging demon, buying Mu Xue the moment she needed to escape disaster.
A spark of fire blazed beneath the bull's hoof. A dragon of flame curled up around the demon ox, coiling upward in a burst of searing brilliance.
Though badly wounded, Zhuo Yu forced himself to stand. One hand pressed over his freshly bandaged abdomen, the other summoned a hand seal, unleashing his strongest skill, Spiritual Manifestation.
"Your spleen’s ruptured and you’ve got broken ribs. Quit showing off and get your ass back down before you pass out," Xiao Changge couldn’t help but chide.
"Damaged organs and broken bones mean I can't brawl in close range, not that I can't use my spiritual power." Zhuo Yu’s face was grim, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "If we don’t risk it now, once Zhang Xiao Xue falls, who's left that can stop this demon ox?"
Xiao Changge’s concern was met with nothing but Zhuo Yu’s signature stiff, stubborn attitude. Lin Yin scoffed in obvious annoyance, flipping out a steel-boned folding fan and leaping skyward, catching the wind on her fan as she darted straight back into the fight.
In a heartbeat, all the Guiyuan Sect disciples who’d recovered their wits joined the fray.
Ding Lanlan’s mechanical puppet duo, Xiao Changge’s spear-shooting wooden vines, Cheng Yan’s sky-shaking, earth-moving magic, Zhuo Yu’s blazing fire dragon, plus a small army of charms and magic artifacts all stormed toward that enraged demon ox at once.
"This won’t work, everyone spread out!" Mu Xue called from atop that Reflecting Sky Cloud, frowning with exasperation.
They each fought well, top-tier among Foundation Establishment disciples, but it was clear none of them had much real combat experience, and teamwork was worse than useless. All this wild chaos only drained their own attacks and infuriated the already-volatile minotaur.
As if on cue, Mu Xue hadn’t finished speaking when the bull-headed, man-bodied demon let out a thunderous roar. Its jaws cracked open, spitting a black beam that struck Cheng Yan’s gold-clad body with an earth-shaking metallic crash.
The blast echoed. Layer by layer, Cheng Yan’s body shrank down, launched clear across the field, smashing into a towering tree. For a moment, he couldn’t even get up.
A giant hand burst from the roiling smoke and, with one slap, squashed one of Ding Lanlan’s black-iron puppets flat as a coin.
Three or four broad, sooty-black hands came crashing down from above. Ding Lanlan looked up, seeing those hooped claws and stained palm-lines looming overhead, about to crush her flat.
Not far off, Lin Yin hurled out an overturned alchemy cauldron and dove inside, with barely a pause to grab Ding Lanlan’s arm and haul her in too.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thunderous blows pounded against the cauldron. Only when silence fell did the two girls cautiously nudge open the lid and poke their heads up from the sand.
All around them, the earth was littered with massive handprints, each one big enough to swallow a person whole.
They exchanged pale, shell-shocked looks. Surviving together made them forget their usual squabbles, at least long enough to scramble out of the mess and bolt as fast as possible.
"Clear out, everyone. Leave this to us from Dongxuan Sect!" A bold, ringing voice boomed through the night.
A silver-white, four-pillared Heaven-Net Array flared up from the ground, locking the rampaging bull demon in the center.
Sword cultivators from Dongxuan Sect appeared at each corner, strong, practiced fighters working in perfect sync. Two burly disciples inside the array wielded shield-shaped weapons, taunting the demon and soaking up every attack it could throw.
The rest stood well back, each unleashing their flying swords. Dozens of blades fused as one, forming a colossal sword Qi. That gleaming plume of white light sliced through the mist, catching the bull demon off-guard, severing its massive head in a single blow.
Even headless, the demon ox’s body still thrashed, trying to stand. Ribbons of red snapped to life across the array, hacking the huge corpse apart piece by piece.
Smoke cleared. The monster, towering like an iron fortress, crashed dead into a pool of blood, ringed by the array. As one, the Dongxuan disciples recalled their swords in perfect order.
One of them, balanced atop the demon’s carcass, plucked out a radiant, phosphorescent demon core. He glanced back at the battered Guiyuan disciples, snorted, and soared off on his sword.
"Can’t believe the so-called best of Guiyuan Sect are this weak. Hilarious." His mocking words drifted down from above.
Ding Lanlan stepped forward in a fury but was stopped by Mu Xue, who caught her arm.
"Talk about arrogant. Those guys are the worst," Ding Lanlan fumed.
"Ignore him. Trading insults won’t make us stronger," Mu Xue soothed her. "We just need to work on our teamwork. We’ll get there."
Everyone from Guiyuan Sect took a beating in that chaotic, hurried battle. By the end, everyone was bruised, if not bloodied.
Xiao Changge and Lin Yin, both from Danding Peak, rushed from person to person to dress wounds and check injuries. The rest built a fire, set up camp, and raised magical wards, settling in for a rough night nearby.
The demon girl who’d been sacrificed to the bull beast was missing an arm, a wing, and half her side was gone, but somehow she clung to life. Under Xiao Changge’s careful treatment, she gradually opened her eyes and shifted her broken body, her breath ragged and weak.
"Those were your people, right?" Xiao Changge asked her gently. "Why did they bring you here?"
At first, she was terrified, but when she sensed the familiar calm of plant-life clinging to him, her guard slowly dropped.
"For our tribe, the males are utterly useless in battle," the girl-demon murmured, lashes drooping, "So we keep our strongest, most beautiful females as offerings to powerful monsters. That’s how we keep the tribe safe."
"I looked you up, you’re from the Night-Illuminating Tribe, right?" Cheng Yan called out, one arm still in a sling and the other thumbing through the copy of Study of Beasts Mu Xue had lent him. "Says here: your people multiply quickly, but nearly all the males are lazy freeloaders. All the labor, child-rearing, and day-to-day work falls on the females. When a strong demon shows up near your territory, they pick out the prettiest girls to sacrifice. That’s how everyone else gets to kick back and live easy."
For once Ding Lanlan and Lin Yin were totally in sync, both looking thoroughly disgusted. "Ugh, there are actually guys that gross in this world?"
"What do you expect from demon tribes? They’re nothing like us," Cheng Yan shrugged, flipping the page. "Look, says here there’s another tribe called the Devouring-Dragon. Their females eat…the males after marriage, literally eat them, for the nutrition to keep the clan going."
A few junior brothers who’d been listening to him speak shuddered violently. “That’s terrifying… just terrifying. Demonic monster, all right, there’s not a shred of humanity left.”
The warm glow of the fire and the aroma wafting from the pot gradually eased the tension from everyone’s faces.
Suddenly, from deep within the road, came the urgent whoosh of sword-flight through the night air.
The same cultivators from the Dongxuan Sect who’d just left now reappeared, riding their flying swords and scrambling back in utter disarray, panic etched across their faces.
The last of them suddenly pulled a talisman from his robes and set it ablaze, tossing it into the sky. With a burst of light and smoke overhead, it shattered the simple barrier Mu Xue and the others had set, exposing their hiding place.
Their protective array was broken, and suddenly the group was left in plain sight.
One Dongxuan cultivator, still running, pointed and shouted, “Over here! There are more people here!”
He yelled as he ran, a look of utter terror on his face as he fled deeper into the town.
From the darkness, over a dozen strangers with mismatched heights and bizarre outfits emerged, each riding a two-wheeled flying machine.
At the front lounged a curly-haired guy, slouching on his vehicle, swinging three freshly-severed heads by the hair. On closer inspection, one of those heads belonged to the very man from Dongxuan Sect who’d mocked the Guiyuan disciples earlier.
A short time ago, that Dongxuan disciple had been bravely shielding others from a rampaging demonic bull with his giant shield. Who’d have thought he’d die, not to monsters, but at the hands of his fellow humans?
“Wow, what’s the occasion?” the curly-haired man drawled, flashing a wicked grin and swinging the heads. “Come out for a little scavenger hunt and just my luck, so many VIPs from the Immortal Spirit Realm! And look at that, a bunch of dainty little fairies too. Guess we’ll have to roll out the red carpet, eh?”
Behind him, the rest of the demonic cultivators hovered in midair atop their flying machines, howling with laughter.
“A feast! We’ll make sure you enjoy yourselves so much you’ll never want to leave. Hahaha!”
“Don’t worry, fairies. Men from the Demon Spirit Realm, way more fun than those pretty-boy wimps you’ve got back home.”
“And come on, don’t leave the Immortal bros out! It can’t be every day you get to see how we party out here.”
Cheng Yan was the first to step forward. He ripped off the bandages from his neck, skin flaring with a golden light. “I’ll hold them off. The rest of you, fall back, now!”
Xiao Changge moved up beside him. “Senior and junior sisters, go! Now!”
Zhuo Yu was deathly pale but said nothing, and didn’t budge an inch.
Ding Lanlan summoned her last puppet. “Why should we be the ones to leave? Sure, mortals worship men over women, but here in the world of cultivation, there’s nothing holding us back. Tell me, how are girls supposed to be weaker than you?”
Zhuo Yu’s face was stone. “Those things aren’t men. They’re animals. Their depravity and cruelty will make you regret it if you’re not careful.”
Ding Lanlan huffed, “I couldn’t care less. There’s only one way I’m dying here, fighting till I fall.”
Lin Yin, pale but resolute, drew her blade. “Exactly! We fight. Why should we be scared before we even try?”
Of everyone here, only Mu Xue truly understood just how huge the gap was between their group and the enemy.
After all, most disciples from the Immortal Spirit Realm grew up coddled and sheltered. Facing these Demon Spirit cultivators, people forged in oceans of blood and mountains of corpses, they barely stood a chance.
And it wasn’t just a matter of strength. They were outnumbered, too.
Mu Xue quickly checked her own supplies.
Before leaving, her Master had given her every kind of defensive artifact, her senior sister had slipped her healing elixirs, and the senior brothers had even tossed in escape talismans. Plus, she still had the Immortal-Binding Rope, handy for slowing monsters long enough to make a break for it.
She could slip away on her own, no problem. But carrying all her senior brothers and sisters out? Nearly impossible.
Mu Xue sucked in a deep breath. For one moment, she hesitated, hand gripping the cold hilt of her sword. When she looked up again, her eyes were crystal clear.
That familiar feeling returned, the jolt in her blood, the pulse of clarity that came when facing unbeatable odds. The sort of high that came from standing on the knife’s edge between life and death, and refusing to back down even for a second.
“Master,” came a small, childish voice in Mu Xue’s mind, clear as a bell, ringing out from the chilly blade in her hand, “let me fight with you. Let me drink their blood and taste their pain.”
Since she’d taken the Wangchuan Sword from the treasury, Mu Xue hadn’t heard a single whisper from the sword spirit. Now, for the first time, it opened its heart and forged a bond with hers.
The sword spirit’s voice remained young and untested, but it throbbed with excitement that matched her own, battle-lust and bright anticipation swirling in her chest.
True nature, at its core, never flinches from adversity. Cultivators follow the Dao, never forcing things, but never shrinking back either.
Meanwhile, the curly-haired man perched atop his flying machine, knees up, spewing vulgar jokes with abandon.
Suddenly, a young cultivator in red appeared before him, seemingly out of nowhere.
Without a word, she flicked her wrist and sent a silver blade spinning. The short sword hung in midair, and a wave of frosty sword energy exploded toward his face.
At the same moment, both her arms snapped forward, cloaked in a layer of obsidian combat armor. She barely glanced at him, just reached out with practiced ease and dismantled the core of his vehicle.
Pressed by sword energy and suddenly stripped of his ride, the man spat out a curse.
He’d just tangled with Dongxuan cultivators from the Immortal Realm. Those losers had spent more time shaking than fighting, totally rigid once the blows actually started. He’d collected three heads without breaking a sweat, hardly a challenge.
Who’d have guessed that the next random girl he ran into would fight every bit as fiercely and decisively as he did?
Twisted as these demonic cultivators were, their skills were no joke.
The man twisted, ditching his flying machine with snakeskin agility, wriggling clear of the incoming storm of icy sword-light, even managing, in the thick of battle, to reach out for Mu Xue’s pale cheek and spout another filthy line: “Damn, you’re spicy. Just wait till I’m done with you, sweetheart, you’ll forget all about those pretty-boys back home and never want to leave.”
Mu Xue’s gaze was glass-cold. Blades gleamed along her gauntleted arms as she slashed at his throat, zero hesitation in her movement.
In that instant, a hand, scaled and armored just like hers, shot out from the side. With lightning-fast speed, it clamped around the sleazy man's throat.
The relentless chattering cut off, clean and sudden. Iron fingers tightened, snapping his neck with a brutal twist, and with a swift motion, the man was slammed down onto the hard earth. He collapsed in a boneless heap, life utterly snuffed out.
Ding Lanlan was locked in fierce battle. Her opponent was a short, smirking demonic cultivator.
But Lanlan realized with growing despair that she was completely outmatched. The man clearly just enjoyed toying with her, like a cat chasing a mouse, he barely broke a sweat, while she was already breathless and exhausted.
Ding Lanlan's heart sank to rock bottom.
Then, out of nowhere, the man stared past her as if he'd just glimpsed the Reaper himself. His face twisted in terror and he jabbed a finger forward. “Cen… why is he here?”
He didn’t waste a second, abandoning Lanlan, he scrambled away, practically tripping over his own feet to leap into their flying car. The engine roared, a streak of exhaust trailing behind, and in a blink, he was gone.
The battle that seemed destined to end in bloody disaster ground to a halt, all because a black-clad demonic cultivator had appeared without warning.
That mysterious stranger who’d stepped in to help now stood alone, silent among the aftermath. He neither spared a glance at Xiao Xue or anyone else, nor showed any intention of leaving.
The disciples of Guiyuan Sect exchanged uneasy glances, until finally, Cheng Yan, the oldest among them, stepped forward to bow in gratitude.
“Thank you for saving us, Senior. May we ask your honored name?”
“No need for such titles. Just call me Daoist Cen.” The black-robed cultivator corrected him immediately. For some reason, he seemed unusually sensitive about this point, and quickly added, “I used to know Fu Yun from your Xiaoyao Peak. We’re equals, just call me a peer.”
“Oh! I know you now.” Ding Lanlan’s eyes went wide, nearly leaping up. “You’re that legendary, no, sorry, I mean, you’re Cen Qianshan, right? Master Cen?”