Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 312 Self-indulgent
But Mei Qiulu looked away and quickly walked to Lou He and Zhao Yu, taking their pulses.

Then he straightened up: "You are flesh and blood, and you are still conscious. Li Wuxiang, come with me."

Lou He and Zhao Yu were still in a daze, but their reactions were different. Lou He seemed stunned by joy, while Zhao Yu looked genuinely bewildered and couldn't get up even after several attempts. Xue Baoping hurried over to help her, while Li Wuxiang followed Mei Qiulu and took a few steps to the side.

Mei Qiulu stopped, turned around, and looked at him. Li Wuxiang had thought she would want to ask him in detail about the method Xue Baoping had used, but what he heard was—

"The concept of 'external evils' actually existed before Mount Ling existed, roughly before Taiyi attained enlightenment. After Mount Ling was established, there were spirits and ghosts causing trouble there, and now 'external evils' gradually refers to them."

Mei Qiulu paused for a moment, then said, "All the Taoist practices in the world originated from Li Ye, and he also spoke of the 'external evils.' This is one of the secrets of ancient times, and not many people know about it. What I know is not complete either; it's just a few words Li Ye uttered when he talked about external evils. He roughly meant that there are heavens beyond heavens—the Heaven Beyond Heaven in Ling Mountain today is actually a manifestation of this concept—and in the Heaven Beyond Heavens there are extraterrestrial demons, hence the name 'external evils.'"

"External evils are different from those of ordinary people. They are ever-changing, but one thing remains constant: their minds are confused and undifferentiated."

She paused at this point. Li Wuxiang then asked, "What do you mean by 'confused and undifferentiated'?"

"It means there is only one soul."

Li Wuxiang felt another tingling sensation on his scalp.

He truly only had one soul. If Li Ye hadn't helped him gather three souls to form a nascent soul, who knows how he would have ended up with the Three Souls Gathering at the Top of His Head.

The "Heaven Beyond Heaven" that Li Ye mentioned might refer to the place he came from... People who come from there all end up as a single soul here?
Is it just that he hates where he comes from? He calls the people there "extraterrestrial demons"?
But he didn't speak, he just called out, "Senior Sister—"

Mei Qiulu sighed: "You say you come from Peach Blossom Spring, but your knowledge is quite different from others. I've thought about this before, but I don't think you can be considered any kind of extraterrestrial demon... Li Wuxiang, did you come from Peach Blossom Spring?"

They were talking about the magic that Aquarius learned from that person, how did it get involved with him?
But now that things have come to this point, it's as if Li Wuxiang had anticipated it. His true identity couldn't be hidden, at least not sooner or later, from the world's top experts. Li Ye could use the power of Taiyi to cause people to be reborn and die; if someone were to take over this power and use it in the future, wouldn't it be incredibly easy to find out if someone's soul had ever reincarnated in this world?
He shook his head: "No."

Mei Qiulu should have been prepared, but she was still slightly taken aback when she heard him say "no," and then asked, "Then—"

"I may be considered to have come from beyond the heavens, but I am not some kind of demon. Senior sister, I was originally just an ordinary person... I drifted here by accident, like a lost person. I don't know how I got here, nor do I know how to get back."

"Are all the people over there ordinary?"

"Yeah. There's no difference. We're all people, just... maybe we just live in different places."

Mei Qiulu nodded: "Li Ye called it an extraterrestrial demon, so it's clear that things aren't peaceful there either. Li Wuxiang, should we worry about that place?"

Li Wuxiang felt that the conversation was going too far astray. But he knew that Mei Qiulu had already restrained herself and hadn't asked any more questions about his secret. So he shook his head: "I can't say for sure about other things, but I can guarantee this with my life. There's absolutely no need for that."

Mei Qiulu seemed slightly relieved: "That's true. Since then, Li Ye hasn't mentioned anything about extraterrestrial demons again. But I asked you these questions because I sensed a trace of that person just now."

“I told you outside the coffin city that any spell cast must be connected to Mount Ling. But the spell cast by the treasure bottle did not come from Mount Ling, but from the void, from somewhere else, from a place I never knew. So I thought of the extraterrestrial demons, the outer heavens.”

Huh? Not Taiichi?!
That probably didn't come from me...it must have come from someone else.

There are other worlds!

He was stunned for a moment before regaining his composure and asked, "Senior sister, you don't seem surprised at all."

Mei Qiulu smiled and said, "How could I not be surprised? I was quite taken aback. But the surprise was because it's true. You haven't studied the classics of this world much, so you don't know much about cultivation—countless predecessors in this world have thought about it. All things in the world are born from spiritual energy, and the universe is boundless, the starry sky is infinite. Among the many stars in the sky, there must be some that can be nurtured by spiritual energy to create the essence of heaven and earth."

Senior Sister Mei didn't seem very curious. Was this the composure of a Yang God? Li Wuxiang suddenly wanted to ask her a question that had long puzzled him—Senior Sister, could you fly to the moon when you left your Yang God form?
But Mei Qiulu added, "I can't say for sure about this person's background. Are you comfortable with him?"

Li Wuxiang hesitated for a moment: "I'm leaning towards reassurance. But I can't say for sure."

"Then let's put our minds at ease for now. If you're traveling with her, keep an eye on things along the way. To be honest, this is unbelievable to us, but for those stronger, like True Immortals or Golden Immortals, it might be commonplace. Immortals can shatter the void; perhaps this one is an immortal from your side?"

Mei Qiulu sighed again: "Cultivation is truly endless. The higher one's perspective, the more unknown one sees. You are a Nascent Soul cultivator, and I am a Yang God. In the eyes of the world, we are already immortals. Yet, faced with something like tonight, we still feel completely clueless... Some things are far beyond our current reach. Since that's the case, let's pave the way through the mountains and build bridges over the rivers, and just wait and see."

Her words sounded like she was helpless and had no other choice. But Li Wuxiang understood that this precisely demonstrated her inner strength—being able to take things on and let them go also requires strength. Compared to the fear he felt when he first learned of the existence of the external evil, Senior Sister Mei's mental fortitude was truly remarkable.

He was also infected by this sentiment, a sense of "the more lice, the less they bite" creeping into his heart. To hell with it, Senior Sister Mei is right! Come on! The barrier between this world and the other world is a natural protective film. Once I cultivate to the Yang God realm, I'll truly be fearless!

As he thought about it, he felt his face getting wet. He raised his hand to wipe it—his palm was completely soaked with a dark, bitter substance. He flicked it away and felt his mind clear, his body and mind refreshed, and he became more open-minded.

Great! This stuff is so much more effective than alprazolam!
He breathed a sigh of relief: "Senior sister, I understand. Senior brother Lou will stay with you, so we'll be leaving now."

Aren't you going to talk to Jianqiu anymore?

“I’m afraid that if I talk to him, I’ll be even more trapped.”

“Alright.” Mei Qiulu nodded. “After a few days, when Sword Master Xiao arrives with the rest of the people, we will head to the Tiangong Sect’s dojo first, which is in the west. You can head east. The closest sect to here in the east is the Shangchi Sect, which is similar to Tianxin Sect. It doesn’t have many experts, and there are no True Spirits within the sect. Tell them that you have come on the orders of the Taiyi Sect to retrieve the sect’s treasure, and explain the advantages and disadvantages. If they refuse, you can decide for yourself.”

"Okay. What about the people from their sect?"

"Those who want to come to the Great Calamity Mountain are welcome to come. Those who don't want to come should at least not let me see them go to the Blood God Sect. You Jiuyuan has endured for three hundred years, and now I am about to start a killing spree."

Li Wuxiang's heart skipped a beat, then he became certain. Senior Sister Mei was drawing fire for him, while he was clearing out the small fry for her. She was intentionally gathering the remaining cultivators from the thirty-six sects, seemingly intending to emulate her actions three hundred years ago, using these thirty years of downtime to establish a large and powerful Taiyi Sect.

Three hundred years of forbearance wasn't entirely without its benefits—the Taiyi Sect, including the branch led by Sword Master Xiao which is heading towards the Great Calamity Mountain, still has at least fifty or sixty members. These people address each other as brothers and sisters, have a very good relationship with one another, and are all outstanding individuals.

Actually, isn't this just an incredibly loyal officer corps? The biggest headache for any large organization is managing and controlling it. Even if the Taiyi Sect expands to nearly a thousand members, once these fifty or sixty people are dispersed, Senior Sister Mei will still be able to manage them with ease.

It's unclear whether this was Jiang Jie's original intention or an unintended consequence.

When the two walked back, Lou He and Zhao Yu had already realized what had happened. Lou He looked at him, tears welling in his eyes, and took a step towards him, his knees almost bending.

Li Wuxiang quickly ran over to help him up—he was his grandmaster, and he couldn't accept such a grand gesture!

"Senior Brother Lou, how are you feeling?"

Lou He gripped his arms, hesitant to speak, but finally said only, "Li Wuxiang, I owe you my life."

Li Wuxiang shook his head: "Saying such things would be too formal. We've been through thick and thin together for a long time. We're leaving now. Take care."

Lou He was always eloquent, and at this moment, everything he wanted to say came from the bottom of his heart, but he couldn't say it, and could only nod heavily.

Li Wuxiang walked to Xue Baoping and Zhao Yu's side, then turned to look at Mei Qiulu and Lou He, listened to the laughter and chatter in the big room, turned around, and took a step.

Seeing this scene, Xue Baoping must have felt bad too. She walked a dozen steps, then leaned closer to Li Wuxiang and asked, "That matter..."

"Senior Sister Mei didn't ask any more questions. Don't worry, she didn't think anything was wrong."

Xue Baoping breathed a sigh of relief: "Senior Sister Mei is such a kind person."

Li Wuxiang smiled and turned to look at Zhao Yu. But he noticed that her face didn't seem to show the joy of rebirth; instead, it looked slightly somber. She trailed behind the two by a body length, took a few steps, then secretly wiped her face with her hand before quietly flicking it to the ground.

She wasn't very happy.

Li Wuxiang thought for a moment, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind—could she have fallen in love with me?
That's quite possible. She's always been a romantic, and while she's not bad-looking, she's saved Zhao Yu more than once. Now, seeing Xue Baoping… Baoping's looks are less striking than hers, but she's still a great beauty. Seeing her so close to Baoping might make her feel sad. Sigh, this is troublesome. But Baoping is kind-hearted, and Zhao Yu is sensible, so it's unlikely…

By this time, they had already walked forty or fifty steps. Looking back, Mei Qiulu and Lou He had become tiny figures... It seemed as if there was another person beside them.

Li Wuxiang guessed that it must be Zeng Jianqiu.

He didn't want to say goodbye to Zeng Jianqiu not because of himself, but because of Xue Baoping. She was his disciple, and Li Wuxiang didn't want to add to their sorrow when they parted. Besides, it was just a long journey now, and they wouldn't never see each other again, so there was no need to make it seem like they were going to the ends of the earth; that wasn't a good omen.

But since he was already standing there, Li Wuxiang simply stopped and raised his hand to wave at him.

This wave was meant to be a farewell, but Zeng Jianqiu hesitated for a moment and then ran over here.

Old Zeng has been gone for so long, why has he become less carefree? He—

wrong.

After the man had run a dozen steps, Li Wuxiang realized it wasn't Zeng Jianqiu—he was tall and thin, walked very fast, and even stumbled twice in his haste. For a swordsman to trip over the grass was highly unusual, demonstrating just how unsettled this man was…

It's Li Ke!
Li Wuxiang sighed inwardly. His junior brother Li Ke had always respected him and had spoken up for him several times. Now that he knew Li Wuxiang was leaving, Li Ke's genuine feelings were truly touching.

He took two steps forward to meet him. Li Ke ran to within three or four steps of him, then suddenly stopped.

Li Wuxiang noticed that his eyes were a little red, and he looked extremely reluctant to part. Suffering can be conjured up, but he didn't, clearly because he was deeply moved and allowed himself to indulge in that emotion.

Ugh.

Li Wuxiang raised his hand and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Junior brother, there's no need to be sad. It's not like we'll never see each other again."

Li Ke, with red eyes, remained silent but raised his hand to bow to Li Wuxiang, saying, "Hmm."

"He's still young at heart, sigh." Li Wuxiang was about to say a few more words when he paused slightly, then looked closely at his eyes.

Li Ke's gaze was off... It was shifty, glancing at me a few times, and then looking behind me a few times—

Li Wuxiang turned his head and saw Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu stood there, stunned, her eyes reddening. The two women no longer avoided him, looking at each other from seven or eight steps away. After a moment of this eye contact, Li Ke spoke in a trembling voice, "Junior Sister Zhao, take care of yourself too."

Zhao Yu glanced at Li Wuxiang, lowered her face, and just like Li Ke had done earlier, gave a low "hmm".

Huh? No, when did you two... in just over ten days on and off?
Li Wuxiang looked up at Mei Qiulu and Lou He, and saw that the two of them were standing there without moving.

"Alright." Li Wuxiang sighed. "Zhao Yu, do you want to stay?"

Zhao Yu lowered her face again: "I will go with my master and uncle."

Upon hearing this, Li Ke trembled almost all over, but he pursed his lips and remained silent.

Li Wuxiang then asked, "Would you like to come with us, or would you like to stay?"

"I……"

"Alright, let's go back with him."

"Thank you so much, senior brother!!" Li Ke immediately shouted and quickly took a few steps toward Zhao Yu.

But Zhao Yu quickly stepped back, and Li Ke was taken aback and stopped.

"Zhao Yu is willing to go with Master. This disciple has already learned his lesson and will henceforth devote himself to the Dao. Before his cultivation is complete, he will absolutely not—"

Li Wuxiang waved his hand: "Alright, stop talking about this. Everyone is suffering in this miserable world, why make yourself suffer even more? You stay here. You are the senior sister of our sect, and Lou He is an elder of our sect. You two can stay here and set up a garrison office for our sect. There are plenty of people here to teach you. — Alright, stop talking, or I will expel you from the sect."

Zhao Yu finally raised her head, her eyes already brimming with tears. She knelt down and bowed deeply to Li Wuxiang, then walked to Li Ke—the two of them took hands and almost simultaneously burst into laughter through their tears. They bowed to Li Wuxiang again in gratitude and walked towards Mei Qiulu.

Li Wuxiang turned around, patted Xue Baoping's arm, and smiled: "Let's go, we can relax now."

Bao Ping turned to look at Zhao Yu in the distance: "This is good too. After I used that method, she became a mortal. It would be too dangerous for her to come with us."

"Hmm. Zhao Yu has good aptitude, but he doesn't seem suitable for cultivation. I've always heard people talk about mind and character, and tonight I understand what mind and character are."

Aquarius stared at him with wide eyes: "Are you angry with her?"

"How could that be? I was just expressing my feelings; I didn't say her character was bad—spiritual practice is one way of life, and so is daily life. Everyone has their own desires. But what about you? Have you thought about what you want to do?"

Xue Baoping smiled, revealing two dimples: "Didn't I say that I figured it out the day I left Jinshui? I want to see the world and kill some bad people."

"Wow, young lady, you have such lofty ambitions. I'm afraid you'll be quite busy from now on."

The two walked and talked and joked as they went, gradually entering the woods.

The swordsmen had cleared a path here while cutting down trees these past few days, so it wasn't difficult to walk. Once the grassy area behind them was out of sight and they were surrounded by giant trees, Li Wuxiang stopped and said, "Take a break. You should get some sleep."

"Huh? We've only been out for half an hour?"

Li Wuxiang looked around and found a flat patch of grass among the trees to stand down: "You still need to sleep. But the reason I'm in a hurry to leave is actually because of this—"

He took out half a broken brick from his pocket: "Do you still have the one I gave you?"

Xue Baoping also reached into her bosom and took out another broken brick—one she had kept in her bosom before. At that time, Li Wuxiang couldn't tell; he only thought that the little girl had become stronger and healthier after practicing martial arts, with a fuller chest and abdomen. But now, after taking out this half of the brick wrapped in cloth, she suddenly appeared with a delicate figure.

He examined it a few more times before holding the two bricks in his hand and saying, "This didn't originally belong to Zhao Kui; it's an extraordinary treasure. Let me try it out—"

He tried to put the two bricks together. But as before, they separated as soon as he loosened his grip.

He tried to infuse it with his Nascent Soul True Power—the brick seemed to react somewhat, as if some spiritual energy had been stirred within it. But as soon as he let go, it split into two pieces again.

Li Wuxiang simply sat down: "You rest for a while, I'll think about it some more."

Xue Baoping sat down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Li Wuxiang fiddled with the broken bricks, and Xue Baoping watched him. She couldn't help but like him, and couldn't resist gently twirling her fingers through his hair.

Li Wuxiang's body trembled slightly. He smiled at her sideways, then frowned and went back to working on the brick. Xue Baoping reached out and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder, finding herself in a comfortable position.

Feeling so comfortable, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it. After what seemed like an eternity, she vaguely heard Li Wuxiang whisper, "All done!"

(End of this chapter)