Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 379 Sect Tradition
Zhao Qi was still in shock when he was shouted at, and he trembled and looked up abruptly.

He saw Xu Zhen, but Xu Zhen no longer looked like Xu Zhen; he had become someone else!

Zhao Qi's eyes widened, his lips trembled, and he took a step back, seemingly wanting to raise his hand to point at the other person, but the next moment he seemed frightened and quickly lowered his hand. He took another step back, stepping on a broken, protruding stone brick, and fell to the ground with a thud—

"Master...Master!? Master?!" [Note 1]

“That’s right, I am your master!” Xu Zhen shouted again.

In terms of understanding Li Wuxiang, Xu Zhen knew he couldn't compare to Xue Baoping. But who else, besides her, could better guess Li Wuxiang's thoughts? That was another matter entirely.

During this time, the two had become like brothers, and he knew that Li Wuxiang felt he had fallen into delusion. But Li Wuxiang knew, and he himself knew too!
He wasn't one of those minor cultivators at the Qi Refining or Golden Core stages; he was at the Nascent Soul realm and possessed unique supernatural abilities, so naturally, he paid the most attention to his mental state. Three days after Li Wuxiang planted the seed of calamity in him, he realized something was amiss.

Then he realized that this might not be a bad thing!

When cultivators in the Central Plains discuss breaking through illusions, they all want to guard their hearts and enlighten their spirits. But he has an even better method—why not just make delusions come true?! It suits his supernatural power perfectly!
These days, Li Wuxiang has been trying every means to make him believe that he is the True Lord of Weishui. Xu Zhen knows what he is up to—he wants to push his supernatural powers to the limit, to make him go crazy and go mad.

But this little creature had no idea how powerful Li Wuxiang truly was, nor did it understand that the mental tribulation he had planted was like wind fanning a fire, making the fire grow stronger and the wind more powerful, all to his own supernatural abilities. Not only did he not go mad, he also managed to extract Li Wuxiang's true abilities—

This fellow is very good at leading people into delusion. He told me in detail how he met the True Lord of Weishui in Mount Ling, what he looked like, and also explained his cronies—for example, how this guy named Zhao Qi met him, how he died, and how he became the True Lord of Weishui's disciple.

Previously, he only thought that Li Wuxiang mentioned Zhao Qi to deepen his obsession with the True Lord of Weishui and to make him fall deeper into delusion. But today he knew why—Zhao Qi was a part of the Blood God, and he wanted to make him fall into delusion before stirring his thoughts to guide the Blood God to this world.

This kind of conspiracy has many variables, but he actually succeeded just now. However, this little thing probably didn't expect that he also had a series of schemes waiting for him—Li Wuxiang thought that his belief that he was the True Lord of the Wei River was a delusion, but there was one thing that was beyond Li Wuxiang's expectations, and even beyond his own expectations—

He really is the reincarnation of the True Lord of Wei River.

He only realized this after he discovered that he had fallen into a trance.

He, Xu Zhen, is the reincarnation of the true spirit of the True Lord of Weishui and the Ninth Prince!
At this moment, Li Wuxiang still wanted to urge him into delusion, but he didn't know that he was not urging Xu Zhen, but his own life. Zhao Qi's master was the True Lord of Weishui, so he would take this disciple in, and his helper would become his helper!
He then shouted again, "You know I'm your master, so why aren't you coming over here?!"

When he uttered this shout, he had already used his supernatural power. However, this supernatural power was different from that of magical beasts. He was born in the Eastern Continent, but after transforming into human form, he had also come to the Central Continent several times, so he was very familiar with the supernatural powers of cultivators in the Central Continent—they were all borrowed.

Humans borrow supernatural powers, but what about his magical beast? The magical beast Xie Zhi is born between heaven and earth, not a group, not a few, but a unique creation of heaven and earth. When the cultivators of the Five Mountains True Form Sect mention his supernatural powers, they often say, "Xu Demon King, you are a creation of heaven and earth, so your supernatural powers naturally come from heaven and earth as well."

However, if his supernatural powers come from heaven and earth, then they are borrowed from heaven and earth. But if he is learning from heaven and earth, why does he have to cultivate these supernatural powers slowly on his own? And even if he cultivates slowly, why is it completely unrelated to his physical body's level of cultivation, and only depends on his mind and temperament?

Xu Zhen never understood this matter until Li Wuxiang planted the seed of calamity on him, making him obsessed and believing that he was the True Lord of Weishui!
He woke up at that moment. Not that he woke up on his own, but he felt clear-headed and suddenly remembered who he was.

He is the true spirit of the True Lord of Weishui—he can't remember the past of the original body, but he remembers this true spirit.

The Central Continent was originally the Daoist temple of the Western Emperor Gouchen, but the True Lord of the Wei River assisted both the Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the Western Emperor Gouchen in attaining enlightenment, and then died himself. The Eastern Emperor Taiyi, fearing that he was a demon, truly killed him. The Western Emperor Gouchen, pitying that he was a demon, devised a way to preserve his true spirit, which was then reborn in the Eastern Continent as the magical beast Xie Zhi.

Recalling these events, he realized that his supernatural powers were not borrowed from heaven and earth, but from his true self. Therefore, he needed to temper his mind and character in this world, to dispel the illusion of the afterlife, and to return to his origin.

Li Wuxiang captivated him, but in doing so, he helped him escape the illusion. That's why he had previously given Li Wuxiang his entire skeleton of a Xie Zhi, enticing him to become a Xie Zhi.

This tactic backfired; it didn't harm him, but it benefited him. However, Xu Zhen knew that scheming and plotting never went perfectly; there would always be minor setbacks. But these setbacks weren't necessarily all bad—

Li Wuxiang believed that by obtaining the remains of the Xie Zhi, he had acquired its supernatural powers and used them to create Zhao Qi as a Blood God. However, he was unaware that these powers were borrowed from him, and that the Blood God Zhao Qi he created was formed precisely because of his own supernatural abilities!

All the things in this Myriad Transformations Formation were originally formed from the power of wishes. Now, with the addition of his magical beast powers, condensing and shaping them is even easier.

Just now, after Li Wuxiang landed, he told Zhao Qi that he was his master, still trying to lead him deeper and deeper into delusion, making it impossible for him to extricate himself. At that moment, Xu Zhen wanted to sneer—Li Wuxiang's appearance reminded him of the opponents he had encountered in the Eastern Continent. Even though the rope was already around their necks, they only focused on pulling hard, tightening it more and more, ultimately sending themselves to their deaths!

Oh, it's not just in the Eastern Continent, it also exists in the Central Continent, for example—

Xu Zhen sensed that Li Wuxiang was truly exerting his supernatural powers, so he immediately lent them out generously! The more he lent, the closer he got to the true nature of the True Lord of the Wei River, and the clearer his thoughts became—

For example, back in Jinshui, Zhao Qi was his disciple... Back then, he observed Li Wuxiang and Zhao Qi in the same way. Back then... back then, Zhao Qi set up an array, and he watched him use supernatural powers, gradually achieving the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, the Great Completion of his Dharma Body, and attaining his divine position, just as he does now...

With his thoughts becoming clearer and his cultivation greatly enhanced, what he saw became increasingly distinct, and the Myriad Transformations Formation began to change in the blink of an eye—

The ground rippled like the tide, and houses sprang up from it like trees. Main hall, side rooms, courtyard, incense table, talismans, weeds in the corners... Where in the Central Plains is this?

Then he looked at Zhao Qi—Zhao Qi's appearance had changed, as if he had become a mortal, completely different from the Blood God he had been before. This appearance was both strange and familiar; where was he… Oh, Jinshui! In the Chen family's courtyard!

The Chen family? Which Chen family? Xu Zhen frowned slightly, glancing at Xue Baoping in the distance. More memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave. He heard Zhao Qi calling again—he was sitting on the ground, staring at him with wide eyes, his lips trembling slightly: "Master... Master..." These two words, four characters, instantly ignited the anger in his heart.

Xu Zhen didn't know where his anger came from, but he only felt... felt... no, he knew! He just wanted to get angry just seeing this unworthy disciple's appearance! The good-for-nothing! Calling Li Wuxiang his disciple?! That Li Wuxiang used underhanded tricks on him in this Wanhua Fang, making him suffer greatly, making him... Xie... Xie...

...They gave away all the gold coins!

"You stupid thing... how could you be so stupid?!" Xu Zhen laughed angrily, tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and his chest immediately swelled up like the rising and falling of the tide!

His anger transformed into power, and he felt himself growing stronger, closer and closer to achieving godhood! So close, so very close... there are still some things he hasn't remembered... he needs to remember, remember—

He had grasped something. It was supernatural power, the supernatural power Li Wuxiang was using on himself… It was like he had grabbed a thread, lending it out, pulling desperately, trying to pull out everything he could think of and claim it for himself—

A thunderous roar resounded in his divine sense, and boundless power surged into his body—he had succeeded! He had returned to his rightful place!
He saw himself, as if his now-mastered Supreme Body had comprehended the rules of heaven and earth's fortune, becoming omniscient and omniscient. He saw his head detach from his neck, his physical body breaking into segments that floated in mid-air. It was as if the power within his body was too strong to contain what lay inside, and thus it was torn apart.

Then a wisp of smoke escaped from the skin, swirling around him, before suddenly bursting forth with a chaotic, torrential downpour. The smoke then abruptly subsided, revealing his clear features. The moment he saw his face, he remembered—

Zhao Kui!! I am Zhao Kui!!

The smoke immediately sculpted his body again, and the stretched, distorted strips of human skin danced within the smoke like a cloak. Meanwhile, the remaining wisps of fiery red clouds, absorbed by Zhao Qi, swirled and descended, forming three crimson canopies above his head, illuminating his entire body with a fiery glow, making him appear as if he had become a true immortal!

"Li Wuxiang!" he shouted, "I have now achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and have joined the ranks of the immortals!"

He then looked at Zhao Qi: "You unfilial disciple! Aren't you going to come and help your master?! Do you want to betray your master and destroy your ancestors?!"

Zhao Qi collapsed to the ground, his body trembling again. He scrambled back a few steps, clattering on his hands and feet, shouting, "Li Wuxiang... Li Wuxiang... you, you, you plotted against me again!"

Li Wuxiang looked at Xu Zhen, only glancing at Zhao Qi briefly: "Oh? How did I harm you?"

"You... Hey! When we were in heaven, you told me to call him Master, and I did! You told me to come down and bring up the matter of Jinshui, and I did! You, you said that if I said it, he would be captivated... You, you, how did you summon Zhao Kui!? You're insane! How did you bring Zhao Kui back to life?! No... how did you turn him into Zhao Kui!?"

Li Wuxiang slowly shifted his gaze from Xu Zhen, turning his head to look at Zhao Qi seriously: "He is Zhao Kui. You have to treat him as Zhao Kui. Xu Zhen is very strong, so I need to fight him in two rounds to be confident. Now you fight the first half, and after you're done, I'll fight the second half."

"...You're talking nonsense! I don't believe it! He is Zhao Kui!"

“Yes, that’s Zhao Kui. You’re right to think that way.” Li Wuxiang said this and paused for a moment. Seeing Zhao Qi’s lips trembling more and more violently, he sighed. “I didn’t invite Zhao Kui here. Xu Zhen has completely gone astray and gone mad. At this time, with my current level of supernatural power, I can make him whatever he wants with just a thought. But when a cultivator goes mad, his power will increase greatly. You’ve seen me fight Zhao Kui, so you know what he’s capable of. That’s why you’re here.”

"...Then why did you deliberately turn him into Zhao Kui?!"

Xu Zhen, now impatient, roared, "Traitor! If you don't come, you'll die with him!!"

He was surrounded by raging fire clouds, which surged forward like a tidal wave. But Li Wulian didn't even turn his head. He simply waved his hand, and his sword energy slammed into the fire clouds with a loud bang, immediately creating a continuous shockwave in mid-air, blowing sand and stones flying from the ground.

“It’s because of your current state.” Li Wuxiang stared intently at Zhao Qi. “Are you afraid? Afraid of him? Afraid to this extent? Zhao Qi, what you’re afraid of isn’t him, it’s your former self—if this kind of thing stays in your heart, it will be difficult for you to achieve anything in the future. Let me tell you, I also planted a seed of tribulation in you when we were in the sky just now—the Demon Mirror Tribulation. If you want to overcome this tribulation, you must face your inner demons!”

"Is Zhao Kui scary? Do you think he'll kill you? The old Zhao Qi might have been afraid, but what about the current Zhao Qi? Zhao Qi, think about who you are now!"

Zhao Qi froze, completely rooted to the spot. After a long while, he finally managed to say, "I...I'm now..."

His Taoist robe became so large that it seemed to grow out of his original clothes and hung down to the ground.

But when this robe grew, it seemed to have consumed his flesh and blood—his entire body was covered in skin, resembling the state he had been in when Zhao Kui skinned him alive in Jinshui. Blood flowed down, quickly soaking the clothes and re-dyeing them crimson.

"I am now..."

Blood was still flowing from his body, but new skin was growing, making him human again. The scabs on his skin, which were drying rapidly, seemed to be evaporated by the hot, burning power that was gradually filling him, and thus turned back into a crimson mist swirling around him.

"I'm the Blood God now!" Zhao Qi jumped up suddenly. "Yes! I'm the Blood God now! To hell with Zhao Kui! What a load of crap, what a lousy god! Li Wuxiang! You just wait and see! You—"

"—If things get really bad, remember to save me!!"

Li Wuxiang took a step back and walked to his side, then raised his hand and gave him a hard shove on the shoulder: "Then go!"

……

Note 1: The author's use of punctuation in this article is masterful. Please analyze, in conjunction with the context, the different ideas conveyed by the order of "!" and "?". (10 points)
(End of this chapter)