Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 349 Let's pay our respects
The thought popped into his head, and he dared not make any rash moves.

Actually, fighting Xu Pianpian in the fog was quite strenuous, but it was a close call – Xu Pianpian herself wasn't particularly powerful, but the real challenge was that she summoned something and borrowed some supernatural power.

If he were just an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator from the Sword Sect, he would probably suffer a loss at Xu Pianpian's hands. But Li Wuxiang is extraordinary. This extraordinary nature has nothing to do with his background or origin, but only because he was once taken by Li Ye to travel through time and space, and truly experienced the power of Donghuang Taiyi.

He knew very little about the power of the Golden Immortals, but even this little knowledge made him feel that the thing Xu Pianpian had asked for was somewhat similar to the power of Donghuang Taiyi. This kind of thing is hard to describe. If power can be said to have some kind of "aura", "flavor" or "origin", then he was almost certain that the thing Xu Pianpian had asked for was very similar in origin to the power of Donghuang Taiyi, and could almost be considered "from the same school".

He also possessed the Great Calamity Star. The Great Calamity Star was merely a True Immortal's rank, but it belonged solely to him. It was by using the authority of the Great Calamity Star to protect himself that he was able to neutralize the supernatural powers summoned by Xu Pianpian, finally engaging her in a real battle and gaining the upper hand.

He thus learned that the demons of the Eastern Continent also worshipped gods, and not all of them hid in the mountains and relied on their own strength to cultivate. Now, Xu Zhen asked him again, "Which one do you worship?" Xue Baoping replied, "The entire Ranshan lineage is composed of demon kings."

Li Wuxiang then looked at Xue Baoping. He saw that she seemed to relax a little and let out a slightly exaggerated sigh.

She's usually very conscious of her image when she's with herself; sometimes she'd be embarrassed for a long time if she accidentally farted. This behavior is unlike her usual self; it's more like she's hinting at something.

Li Wuxiang immediately thought of the wind from earlier, that strong, demonic gust of wind.

—Was that evil wind caused by her?

Upon reflection, he wasn't surprised. He could tell that Xue Baoping had been keeping a secret lately, related to her claim of being able to revive the dead by drawing talismans. Perhaps she had used some method to create that eerie wind just now…

Li Wuxiang immediately gave a cold laugh and said, "Before you came to Dapan Mountain, you must have thought I couldn't escape your control, right? What, now that you think I'm a demon king even stronger than you, you're planning to slowly explain things away? Xu Zhen, what if I don't want to slowly explain things away?"

Xu Zhen showed no surprise whatsoever, and Li Wuxiang knew he had guessed correctly—he had thought the demonic aura belonged to Xu Zhen, but Xu Zhen thought it belonged to him!
He laughed inwardly—it was certainly enjoyable to confront an opponent head-on with overwhelming strength, but what he liked most was to use a little trickery and cunning to deceive someone completely.

Especially when the other party is a very smart person!
Xu Zhen didn't retaliate; instead, he smiled. However, it wasn't a cold smile like Li Wuxiang's, but a faint one: "I want to speak with you slowly, not because I'm afraid of you, but because I don't want to be disrespectful to the spirit you worship. The lineage I worship is the Wei River True Lord under the Western Emperor Gouchen. Li Wuxiang, which one is yours?"

Upon seeing Xu Zhen's smile, Li Wuxiang immediately felt he understood. He was an old hand at understanding all kinds of smiles from all kinds of people. In his previous life, he hadn't only been involved in fighting and killing; he also understood human relationships and social dynamics. He had followed several "big shots," so he had naturally seen a lot, such as the kind of smile on Xu Zhen's face.

If a very important person can maintain a smile even after hearing someone speak very rudely, there is only one reason—he has something to do or gain, and therefore cannot turn against them immediately.

Xue Baoping just mentioned "the Ranshan lineage," which naturally refers to the lineage of the Ninth Prince. The Ninth Prince's relationship with Li Ye is ambiguous, and during his fight with Xu Pianpian, he sensed the divine power she invoked—which must be the Weishui Zhenjun under the Western Emperor Gouchen, or even the Western Emperor Gouchen himself—that Xu Zhen mentioned. This power is remarkably similar to the authority of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Perhaps Xu Zhen, this great demon, came to the Central Continent for something similar.

To find their lineage and legal system?
Confused for a moment, Li Wuxiang burst into laughter: "Paying homage? You are paying homage, but I am not. Xu Zhen, have you met this person before?"

He reached into his robes and pulled out a tattered talisman. He dipped his finger in water and made a few strokes on the paper. With a flick of his wrist, the talisman transformed into a hazy, bluish human figure—the very face of the Ninth Prince of the Demon King.

Li Wuxiang pointed at him: "If you insist on asking me which one I worship—since I was the sect leader of Ranshan in the past, and Ranshan is the lineage of this one, then perhaps it is him!"

As soon as Xu Zhen saw the Ninth Prince's face, he started making a lot of small movements.

His expression faltered slightly, his shoulders hunched a little, before he straightened up again. But that reaction was enough; Li Wuxiang knew Xu Zhen had seen this Ninth Young Master before and recognized his appearance!
What the hell? The Ninth Prince was clearly trapped in Mount Ling and didn't want to deal with anything, so how come someone from the Eastern Continent demon race has seen him? They seem to be both afraid of and respectful towards him... What is Xu Zhen doing in the Central Continent? Surely he doesn't want to collect all thirty-six magical treasures like I have? Do the Eastern Continent demon race want to bring the Ninth Prince, this great demon king, back to life?
But the Ninth Prince himself didn't seem to be in a hurry before!
"So you also worship the True Lord of the Wei River." Xu Zhen slowly exhaled, his tone even more gentle, and smiled again, "Li Wuxiang, it seems we really are of the same lineage. In that case, you don't need to say such disrespectful things anymore. If the Lord hears you speaking like this, he'll probably be furious. Alas, the demon race of the Central Continent has had a truly difficult time these past years. But when they see me, it's like a human seeing a fellow disciple—I understand the difficulties you faced with what you just said, so please don't repeat it."

Hearing Xu Zhen's words and tone, Xue Baoping seemed surprised and stared wide-eyed at Li Wuxiang.

Li Wuxiang knew what she was thinking—she probably felt she had really frightened Xu Zhen. But he also knew that Xu Zhen's smile now was different from before.

His smile now must mean he's truly at peace, and this peace has given him a certain certainty, which in turn has made him exceptionally tolerant—the Lord of Wei River he speaks of is none other than the Ninth Prince.
He referred to himself as "Your Majesty," was he talking about the Ninth Prince? It sounds like he's quite familiar with the Ninth Prince.

Li Wuxiang frowned: "Your Majesty? Which Your Majesty?"

Xu Zhen not only became more composed, but even took a step forward and sat down beside the reclining ox stone, as if he no longer regarded Li Wuxiang as a threat. He stared at Li Wuxiang with interest for a while and said, "Back then, after Your Majesty helped Li Ye achieve the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, you were very disappointed and returned to the Eastern Continent. There, you helped Emperor Gouchen achieve the Western Emperor's position. I guess you don't know this."

"You've been trapped in the Central Continent for too long, so you think the demon race is declining, but you don't realize that the Eastern Continent is completely different from this place—oh, that's not surprising. Your previous leader of the Taiyi Sect was Cui Daocheng. You must have heard his words before to think that the Eastern Continent was what you imagined, right?"

What's the situation?
"I've long heard that Ranshan has fallen into ruin. I don't need to guess to know that it's because Ranshan is the lineage of the Sovereign. The Sovereign is a demon king, and although he is a meritorious demon king, he is still not of the same kind. Otherwise, why would the founders of the Thirty-Six Sects dismantle its remains and refine them into magical treasures? However, it is only natural to dismantle a dragon's corpse. But what if it were a human corpse? That would be the act of a heretic."

Xu Zhen sighed, "You see, you and I, and people, though we may look the same, have never considered each other as our own kind. If your Ranshan lineage wants to survive in the Central Continent, you naturally have to say some frivolous and insulting things when talking about your ancestor, so that people won't think you're different—Li Wuxiang, I understand all this." In that instant, Li Wuxiang felt as if he had become Xu Pianpian. He had become the Xu Pianpian from the bottom of the cliff last night, and Xu Zhen was himself—uttering a bunch of seemingly reasonable nonsense. If he didn't know he was making it all up, he would have believed it.

But he didn't want to back down like Xu Pianpian did last night, because he was genuinely curious—the "True Lord of Wei River" or "Lord" that Xu Zhen mentioned must be referring to the Ninth Prince. Why did it sound like he really knew the Ninth Prince well, and had even spoken to him?

Although he was bluffing, the situation was different from before. Previously, he genuinely couldn't win and could only resort to verbal attacks. But now he had the confidence; he just wanted to save effort. Now that he was curious, he actually asked, "Xu Zhen, you keep referring to 'Your Majesty,' have you spoken to the Ninth Prince?"

Xu Zhen smiled: "Yes, I did say that. I came to the Central Continent by order of the Sovereign. Li Wuxiang, before I left, the Sovereign bestowed upon me a treasure—do you recognize it?"

He raised his hand and made a slight gesture, and suddenly he had something in his hand—

...There was nothing there.

Li Wuxiang could see nothing, and could not even sense anything!

Xu Zhen stared at his palm: "If you've truly met the Emperor, you should be able to see this. If you haven't met him, you probably won't be able to see it. So, can you see it or not?"

From the moment he came into this world, he was always the one who pretended to be a ghost and fooled others; no one ever fooled him.

But now Li Wuxiang is confused about whether he is being played by Xu Zhen. He is a Nascent Soul cultivator, a Qingnang Immortal, and has the status of a Great Calamity Star. He has actually seen the Ninth Prince and spoken to him, but he really can't see or sense anything... He feels that Xu Zhen has nothing in his hands!
Without even thinking about it, he knew that a momentary look of surprise and uncertainty must have crossed his face.

No, if the True Lord of Wei River is indeed the Ninth Prince, then have I actually met the Ninth Prince? Did I really meet him?

Seeing his expression, Xu Zhen sighed, "Alright, Li Wuxiang, I don't blame you for bluffing. As I said, I know you were forced by circumstances. It's truly rare for a demon cultivator to have your level of cultivation in the Central Continent, but now that you've met me, you really should meet your patriarch—release Pianpian, and I'll take you both back to Qingpu Mountain. After we've finished dealing with matters in the Central Continent… Oh, I heard you still have some feelings for the people of the Taiyi Sect, then you just stay here, I'll handle things. After we're done, I'll take you back to the Eastern Continent."

He then turned to Xue Baoping and said, "Alright, put your sword down. We've become friends through this fight—why didn't you say he was a demon too if you'd told me earlier?"

Xue Baoping pulled out the sword and put her hand down. The sword hadn't pierced deeply, just barely penetrating the skull. Because of the hair on her head and the few blood vessels in her scalp, it appeared that not a drop of blood had flowed.

Xue Baoping seemed puzzled by Xu Zhen's behavior. She looked at Li Wuxiang, then at Xu Zhen, and finally managed to say, "I told you long ago, but you didn't believe me. He was already a demon when he met me. You've just come to the Central Continent, so you may not have heard the story of the Painted Skin Ghost—someone was skinned, and the resentment on that skin didn't dissipate, so it became a Painted Skin Ghost, which can transform into various forms to eat people. Li Wuxiang is one of those."

Xu Zhen's mood improved, seemingly because he discovered that his opponent was actually of the same kind, and even worshipped the same ancestor. He even smiled helplessly at Xue Baoping: "Alright, it was indeed my fault. I didn't believe you right away and only believed you now."

Tong Xu stood aside, feeling that the current situation was extremely strange—just a moment ago, they were on the verge of a major battle, but now it seemed as if they had put aside their differences and were about to shake hands and make peace!

She hadn't witnessed Xu Zhen's full power or his immense supernatural abilities, but she understood Li Wuxiang. She immediately spoke in a deep voice, "Xu Zhen, regardless of whether he's a demon or not, you can't persuade Li Wuxiang—"

Xu Zhen glanced at her: "Sect Leader Tong, you are not one of us, so it's naturally difficult for you to understand this kind of feeling. For example, let me ask you, if you were alone in a mountain forest teeming with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, enduring hardship for a long time, and suddenly you saw a campfire with a person beside it. Even though you didn't know if this person was good or bad, what would be your first thought upon seeing the fire and the person? Would you be happy or afraid?"

Tong Xu was taken aback. Xu Zhen stopped looking at her and looked at Li Wuxiang: "Li Wuxiang, you're the same. Now that we're the same kind of people, and now that you know this, are you still as afraid and wary of me as before?"

Putting everything else aside, Li Wuxiang did find the example Xu Zhen gave to Tong Xu quite reasonable. If we're talking about it—

"You know what," he thought to himself, "you know what—I wasn't human when I came out of the furnace. I should have died long ago. What survived was just a body attached to a shell… no, not even a shell, but a demon attached to the Golden Wrap. What is the Golden Wrap? It's made from the dragon tendons of the Ninth Prince, the demon king… A 'human' who died long ago, and whose current body is a demon's body, what else could it be but a demon?"
...It really is the lineage of the Ninth Young Master. Her body is the Ninth Young Master's demonic form, and she's also the sect leader of Ranshan, a descendant of the Ninth Young Master...

Xu Zhen is right!

He and I worship the same patriarch! Because I no longer worship Donghuang Taiyi! I'm not even a member of the Taiyi sect anymore!

The moment this thought arose in Li Wuxiang's mind, he actually saw it—

He saw the object Xu Zhen was holding in his hand—a small, crystal-clear jade statue that at first glance resembled the Ninth Prince, but upon closer inspection, it looked like Xu Zhen himself.

Xu Zhen laughed: "What, you saw it? Then you really saw it. Li Wuxiang, come and pay your respects. Pay your respects to your ancestor."

(End of this chapter)