Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 353 I, Li Wuxiang, am the number one in the world!

Even in the evening, Tong Xu and Xie Qi didn't rest.

Both of them were too scared to rest. After the daytime reunion and brotherly affection, the two madmen who had both been affected hid together to "discuss important matters."

Xu Zhen said that "His Majesty" had ordered Tong Xu to temporarily oversee the Shangchi Sect, while Li Wuxiang told Xie Qi that he should cooperate with Tong Xu.

The "Lord" that Xu Zhen mentioned did not exist at all, and Li Wuxiang himself had gone mad and was obsessed, so Tong Xu and Xie Qi were very afraid when they heard these words.

Xie Qi feared that Li Wuxiang might collude with Xu Zhen to harm the disciples on the mountain. Tong Xu, however, had even greater fears!

When Xu Zhen went up Qingpu Mountain and found her, she was very wary. Whatever she wanted to do in the past, it was all about dealing with people. The humans of the Central Continent and the demons of the Eastern Continent had severed ties for more than three thousand years, with only scattered humans and demons crossing the sea to each other. Therefore, she really couldn't figure out the nature of the demons.

Why were they relieved? It was because they knew the current situation of the demon race, or, in Li Wuxiang's words, "the system."

Xu Zhen said that he did not help the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect for his own sake. There was a "Lord" above him, called the Ninth Prince, who was the demon king who assisted Li Ye more than three thousand years ago.

It is said that this sovereign now oversees many major cities in the Eastern Continent and is considered the supreme ruler of the Eastern Continent, and he is one of the Ninth Prince's men.

A large city in the Eastern Continent is essentially equivalent to a sect in the Central Continent. The Ninth Prince is the Lord of the Wei River, who can be considered the human incarnation and ruler of the Eastern Continent's Demon Emperor Gouchen.

Tong Xu felt reassured after hearing about this "system".

The existence of sects, a common leader, and organizations indicates that the demon race adheres to rules and principles, making their thoughts more predictable. Furthermore, with a superior above Xu Zhen, this great demon, keeping him in check, he won't act recklessly, making him more controllable.

That's why she agreed to let Xu Zhen and Xu Pianpian stay in Qingpu Mountain, and she did find that although Xu Pianpian acted eccentrically, Xu Zhen was very restrained from beginning to end.

But now she felt panicked.

Because Xu Zhen seems to be a madman, there seems to be something wrong with his mind... The Ninth Prince and "Your Majesty" he talks about don't seem to exist!

This means that what he said about the Eastern Continent before may not be true!
So if it wasn't because that ruler summoned him to the Central Plains for some reason, then what exactly did he want to do here?
Xu Zhen and Li Wuxiang were still talking by the lake, while the two of them stayed in the ruins of the destroyed Taiyi Hall on the mountaintop. Xie Qi first went down the mountain to appease the disciples, then returned. Seeing Tong Xu sitting in front of the Taiyi statue, he sighed repeatedly, "Alas, Sect Leader Tong, why are you doing this?"

Tong Xu's temper had improved at this point: "How are your disciples on the mountain? Li Yin is dead. After all, he was the former sect leader. Your disciple Li Jianbai has also suffered a loss. You need to be careful that they don't get agitated and anger the two on the mountain."

Xie Qi waved his hand: "I know what the people in the sect are like. Sigh, if you had talked about sect camaraderie like you do now earlier, why did things turn out like this today?"

Tong Xu snorted: "Is this something I can talk about or not? This is the general trend, Xie Qi. In the end, it's still a matter between the Xuan Sect and the Taiyi Sect. I just wanted to fish in troubled waters."

"Sigh, you know this is just muddying the waters. What you catch might not actually be a fish."

"Alright, I don't need your lecture. The only reason we're here is because those two by the lake have gone mad. Once that's over, we still have to..." Tong Xu trailed off, her mind troubled. "That's over"—but what about now?
She paused for a moment, then thought for a moment: "I should go find the Xuan Sect. Tell them that the person they invited to the Central Plains is a madman, and ask them to send someone to deal with him. No... the Xuan Sect has an agreement with Mei Qiulu, I should go find them..."

Her eyes lit up: "Xie Qi, could you send someone down the mountain to find that little girl Xue Baoping? Tell her to go find Mei Qiulu and call Mei Qiulu over!"

"No...that won't do either...Mei Qiulu's Yang Spirit arrives quickly, but finding her is slow. Who knows what might happen while we're waiting...I should go back to Qingpu Mountain and find that Corpse Immortal on my side, and tell it to go back and find the Blood God Cult. The Blood God Cult members might not be any worse than Mei Qiulu—"

Xie Qi was sitting on the ground. He patted the ground with his hand, making the stone bricks crackle. "Sect Leader Tong, sigh, don't think about it. Why do you always think the worst?"

"I call this being prepared for a rainy day—"

“I’m not talking about the downsides. I’m saying, sigh, why do you always drag yourself into trouble? Are you afraid that Xu Zhen, the Demon King, isn’t human, but the Blood God Cult is? They’re probably even more difficult to deal with than Xu Zhen.”

"Then you tell me—" Tong Xu straightened up, paused slightly, then slumped back down, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

“I think the solution is right in front of you—why don’t you think about Li Wuxiang? Have you ever thought about helping Li Wuxiang and getting him out of the maze? He let you go once, and if you help him this time, he can let you go a second time. I’m not kidding you. He’s a really good person.”

"I'm afraid that once he gets out of his trance, the first thing he'll do is kill me."

Xie Qi shook his head: "He's still a soft-hearted person."

Tong Xu sneered, wanting to retort. But the words caught in his throat as he thought of Xue Baoping—Xie Qi's words seemed to make sense. Li Wuxiang's Nascent Soul seemed different from any cultivator he had ever met before…maybe it really was as Xie Qi said, that he had a soft heart.

However, she couldn't understand how someone with such a soft heart could cultivate to the Nascent Soul realm.
"Then...how can we help him? Xie Qi, if we really help him and he gets lost in the maze, you can't just abandon him after you've served your purpose."

Xie Qi gave a wry smile: "Sect Leader Tong, not everyone in the world is... never mind. Let me ask you something. I thought you were going to join the Blood God Sect. I can understand that you were thinking of yourself. But now that I know you're going to join the Xuan Sect, I don't understand why you're doing this. I need to know this to talk to you about other things."

Tong Xu remained silent for a moment, opening his mouth several times only to close it again. But finally, he looked at Xie Qi and said, "I did it for something."

"treasure?"

"No. It's hard to say whether it's a thing or not. It's more like... a state of mind? A place? A feeling? It's hard to explain to someone like you."

Xie Qi had a good temper and understood Tong Xu's temperament, so he wasn't displeased. Instead, he thought about it seriously and said, "We've both reached the Nascent Soul stage. If there's anything in this world that's still unclear, it's probably things like Mount Ling. Is that what you mean, Sect Leader Tong?"

Tong Xu sighed: "I guess so."

Xie Qi nodded: "The emperors of the six ministries are all here. I can understand why you want to ask them for help with this matter. But isn't our emperor here too?"

“We used to think that Donghuang Taiyi was suppressed, but during the great calamity of the earth fire, it was Taiyi’s manifestation that brought the world back to life. Taiyi is the only one who has manifested his authority in the world for the first time in three thousand years. Both our sects are of the Taiyi lineage, so aren’t you going to look for something far away instead of something close to you?”

"Seek the distant? Can I possibly attain the One?"

"Couldn't Li Wuxiang have gotten it? I asked him what happened on Mount Dajie back then, and he said that Taiyi and another spirit were fighting. This shows that the Great Emperor was suppressed, but his spirit is still there. He said he had seen Taiyi—Mei Qiulu was able to produce a Yang spirit because of the Great Emperor Taiyi, and he also achieved Nascent Soul because of the Great Emperor Taiyi. You know that the Taiyi Sect now worships another Great Calamity True Lord, right? That True Lord also manifested on Mount Dajie."

"So you can't get what you want, but Li Wuxiang might be able to. He and Mei Qiulu genuinely want to save the world, but do you know what the Xuanjiao people and the demons of the Eastern Continent are thinking? He's a good person; it's easier for you to ask him than anyone else!" Tong Xu sneered, but said nothing more and fell silent.

After a moment, he spoke, "Xu Zhen's cultivation is higher than ours, and he's a demon king with unimaginable supernatural powers. Breaking his spell will be very difficult, but if we can temporarily rouse Li Wuxiang, I do have a plan—"

As she spoke, she looked up at Xie Qi, only to see him sitting up straight, looking at the statue of Taiyi behind her—

The next moment she realized what was happening, she turned around abruptly, and found Li Wuxiang standing right behind her.

Tong Xu felt the hairs on her body stand on end. She saw Li Wuxiang's ambiguous smile, exchanged a glance with her, and then sat down next to the two of them.

"You want me to clear my head? Sect Leader Tong, are you trying to drug me?"

"me……"

What kind of drug do you want to give me?

"No, it's not some bad medicine, it's just... it can clear the mind and replenish qi, this medicine..." Tong Xu couldn't continue. Because Li Wuxiang's gaze towards her was slightly cold. Xie Qi had said before that Li Wuxiang was soft-hearted, and she had gradually come to believe it. But seeing this kind of gaze now, she began to feel uneasy again.

But what she heard next calmed her down instantly, and even filled her with an unbelievable, ecstatic joy—

"How is Bao Ping? Elder Xie, did you send someone down the mountain to look for her?"

"Aquarius"! Not "Miss Xue"!
Xie Qi stared in disbelief: "Master Li, you didn't—"

Li Wuxiang sneered: "Enchanted? Haha, do you think I'm crazy? I don't even care about Xu Zhen's little tricks—how is she?"

“I just sent someone down the mountain. She’s really obsessed. I had someone follow her and protect her. Since we don’t know how long Xu Zhen will stay on the mountain, we can’t stop her from coming back. But we know where she is. Sigh, from now on, Zhen Zhen, you can just go and bring her back yourself—that’s what I’m thinking.”

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Elder Xie, you have handled things thoroughly and done a good job."

He then looked at Tong Xu: "Sect Leader Tong, it's unwise of you to associate with Xu Zhen. You just said it was for something, can you tell me what that thing is like?"

For a long time, Tong Xu felt that what she wanted to pursue was out of reach. Although the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect had made promises to her, she was really unsure whether they would keep their promises, and even less certain whether she could achieve the results they wanted.

However, now the opportunity seems to be right in front of us!
But before she spoke, she glanced into the distance: "Xu Zhen, he—"

"Hmph, still talking to his sovereign over there." Li Wuxiang sneered. "I was so infatuated before that I thought what he said was the sovereign's decree. After coming to the Central Continent, I've figured many things out. Sovereign? He's a madman, a delusional madman!"

Tong Xu and Xie Qi both fell silent. Then they exchanged a glance, feeling the chill of late autumn seeping into their bones once more.

Seeing that they didn't speak, Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "What, do you think I can't help you? Sect Leader Tong, let me make this clear to you, I've become an immortal, I've been an immortal for a long time—it sounds like crazy talk, right? But I really can help you."

Tong Xu shrank back slightly, and Xie Qi quickly spoke, his voice trembling slightly: "True Man... what kind of immortal have you become?"

"Old age".

"what?"

Li Wuxiang laughed again: "We used to think Xu Pianpian was Mao, but Elder Xie, I now understand that Xu Pianpian is indeed Mao, but Mao is not Xu Pianpian. It's like I am Mao now, but Mao is not me—"

"When I was still in the Eastern Continent, I felt that Xu Zhen was my elder brother and I was his younger brother. I was a tiger that had grown up and become an old man. But after coming to the Central Continent, I met Senior Sister Mei and witnessed the power of Donghuang Taiyi. I finally understood what the Spirit God Dao Fruit was all about and what the old man really was."

Li Wuxiang slightly raised his chin, tugged at the necklace around his neck, and looked at Xie Qi: "We saw this around Xu Pianpian's neck before, and we thought that those who wore it were like Hu Wei, who were killed by her and turned into beads, remember?"

"Ah...I...um, I remember," Xie Qi said cautiously.

“I remember now. No, it’s not that I remember, what I remember is that when I was in the Eastern Continent, this necklace was hanging around my neck, just like it is now. But at that time I didn’t know what it was, I only knew that Xu Zhen gave it to me, saying it was a magic weapon. And it is indeed a magic weapon, capable of releasing ghouls to help me fight.”

"But do you know where these face beads came from? They're from the past, from Xu Zhen's younger brother and sister." He said, picking up one of the beads. "Look, who does this one look like?"

As soon as he leaned closer, even just a slight forward lean, Xie Qi felt his eyelids start twitching uncontrollably. Tong Xu's face was taut, his body stiff as a board, and Xie Qi wasn't much better off, but he could only force himself to look closely and say, "Looks like... looks like Hu Wei."

“Yes, Hu Wei. Or you could say Xu Pianpian, or even Xu Pianpian—because she looked like Hu Wei before I swallowed her.” Li Wuxiang sighed. “These aren’t ordinary people, but like Hu Wei, they were once mortals. Every face was swallowed by a new mortal. I came to the Central Continent not because I wanted to play, but because I discovered this and was afraid that I would end up like this, and even more afraid that Xu Zhen would find out that I had discovered it, so I ran away. But since I managed to escape from the mortals, I lost all my memories.”

Just now, Tong Xu and Xie Qi both felt a chill and thought that Li Wuxiang was still crazy.

But now, listening to his words and seeing his expression, an unbelievable thought suddenly popped into their minds—

What if what he said is true?
Li Wuxiang looked at the two of them: "You think I'm still in a daze, don't you?"

Neither of them dared to answer.

Li Wuxiang sighed: "I'm telling the truth. I did come from the Eastern Continent, but I've forgotten what happened before. But you don't need to be afraid of me. In the Central Continent, I met Bao Ping, and she saved me. That's true. I met Senior Sister Mei, who is like my master and elder sister. That's also true. And I want to go back to the Eastern Continent and take Fangju City back from Xu Zhen. That's even more true."

"Otherwise, why would I have chosen the name Li Wuxiang? It's because I escaped from Maoli, and I don't even know who I am anymore."

“When I say I’ve become an immortal, I’m not talking nonsense. This ‘Mao’ is a kind of attainment. When I was fighting with Xu Pianpian just now, I felt that she wasn’t herself anymore, that there was something behind her. Now I remember, what’s behind her is this ‘Mao’. She’s not herself because this ‘Mao’ accumulates the consciousness of every person or demon that has been swallowed up—she invited the ‘Mao’ down, and her temperament naturally changed.”

"When Li Yin takes charge of the Shangchi Sect, he is the Sect Master of Shangchi. Elder Xie, when you take charge of the Shangchi Sect, you are also the Sect Master of Shangchi. That's how it is, a position. But now that I have regained this position, I will never give it up again. I will prove it."

As he said this, a clear-headed and confident smile appeared on his face: "Besides this, I have another achievement. In the past three thousand years, no one has had such an opportunity as me—I, Li Wuxiang, can be called the number one in the world!"

(End of this chapter)