Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 388 When the Stars Shine
Li Guichen thought for a moment and said, "I can go. But we need to come up with a detailed plan. Let's see Lou He first, and I'll ask him what it's like over there."

Li Wuxiang clapped his hands: "Alright, these are settled, let's get down to business. I need to recruit people now. There are plenty of people outside, wandering martial arts practitioners. There should be quite a few good people who can find this place at a time like this—Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Qi perked up: "Should I go out and collect it?"

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Yes, but let's go out and take a look first, and then do an experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"

“I can only find out if you go out.” Li Wuxiang turned to Li Guichen and Xue Baoping and said, “Let’s go out and take a look. Li Guichen, you go out and bring your niece-in-law and niece-in-law in.”

The Myriad Transformations Cube originally had an exit, but it was hidden by Xu Zhen's supernatural powers. Li Wuxiang obtained the bones and skin of the Xie Zhi, and although he retained its supernatural powers, he realized that his powers were still somewhat inferior to Xu Zhen's when he tried to change the appearance of this place—perhaps because he hadn't gone mad.

However, opening the exit wasn't too difficult. He focused his mind and looked towards the gate of the Chen family compound.

The courtyard was on the edge of Jinshui Town, with the gate facing south. What used to be farmland outside the gate had now turned into lush green grass. After he glanced at them, the remaining three people all had the same feeling—stepping out of this courtyard gate would mean entering the outside world.

First, he regained consciousness, then became the Blood God, and then the Great Sword Master of the Sword Sect. Zhao Qi felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his life and was extremely happy. As soon as he sensed something, he couldn't wait to run to the courtyard gate and take a step out. He had already figured out how to use his supernatural powers to transform himself and try to take on disciples one by one.

But he was dumbfounded when he stepped outside. As soon as he entered the outside world, he shed his red robe and transformed back into Zhao Qi from Jinshui Town—a Qi Refining cultivator.

It's not particularly dangerous for Qi Refining cultivators to travel the world, but the problem is that the outside world is full of people—it's become Maple Valley again, and those who had turned into beasts have returned to normal. Now they're gathered together, staring at each other, seemingly having regained their senses for some time, asking each other what happened.

Some of them retained their sanity after transforming into beasts, while others with poor character forgot everything. They either found themselves missing limbs and on the verge of death, or felt bloated and full, and when they burped, they smelled only of shrimp.

Those who remembered what happened were telling others—"We came here to join the Sword Sect. Little Divine Lord Li Wuxiang is going to establish his own sect here, and we came to become his disciples. But once we arrived in this place, we all turned into beasts. Some people lost their minds and started devouring each other. There was also someone before, claiming to be the Demon King, the True Lord of the Wei River—things seem different from what we originally thought. Have we fallen into a trap?"

These wandering cultivators who have survived to this day, regardless of whether they are good or bad, are all incredibly shrewd. They may not have seen the real world, but they've heard countless stories. Like how there's a wicked female demon in some place who lures young cultivators into dual cultivation to drain their life essence, or how there's a Black Mountain Monster who uses the hearts and livers of cultivators to refine elixirs, or how there's a wicked Taoist priest who stuffs people into his furnace to create "great gods"—each of them can recount several of these tales in a single, vivid voice.

Now that they've come to their senses, they realize they've probably been tricked. They all gather together, put aside their grudges, and discuss whether to run away quickly or find out who's behind it all.

Zhao Qi emerged at this time.

Actually, there are hundreds of heroes from all walks of life in Maple Valley. His appearance, dressed normally, would not have attracted attention.

But suddenly everyone around him fell silent, turning to stare at him in a daze, some even taking a few steps back. Those outside, unaware of what was happening inside, also fell silent upon hearing the sudden quiet. After a moment of stunned silence, the entire Maple Valley became completely still.

Zhao Qi quickly turned around and realized why—the place he had just come from was no longer the black fortress, but a hazy black mist. He had been seen stepping out of it.

He had no Blood God cultivation outside, only the Qi Refining realm, and no weapons on him. Surrounded by such a group of burly men, he immediately panicked—Li Wuxiang, you created a door, but couldn't you have made it glittering with gold or shrouded in mist? Why is it pitch black?!
These people already looked hostile, and when they saw someone walk out of that dark door, their hostility only grew stronger!

Zhao Qi was stunned for a moment, waiting for Li Wuxiang to come out—but he didn't.

He and a group of people were locked in a standoff. He felt that there must be one or two among them whose cultivation level was far superior to his own, and a single wrong word could be disastrous. The group of people also felt that the person opposite them was far superior to them, and a single wrong word could be disastrous. After another three breaths, Li Wuxiang still hadn't appeared. Zhao Qi couldn't hold back any longer and was about to speak when a small pebble suddenly flew from the crowd towards him. He hadn't expected anyone to resort to such underhanded tactics at a time like this, and before he could block it, it hit him on the forehead with a loud thud.

The person who threw the stone didn't hit hard enough; Zhao Qi's head was only slightly scraped. He raised his hand to cover his head and cried out in pain, then realized something was wrong—

The people surrounding him, seeing his appearance, immediately realized he wasn't all that great. A young man dressed in tattered clothes, with a pair of captivating eyes, immediately stepped forward, pointed, and shouted: "You fiend! What's going on here?! Did you trick us into coming here?!"

The moment he opened his mouth, it was like a sparrow starting to sing in a flock of quiet sparrows. The people around him immediately stepped forward to press him for answers, and the commotion almost knocked Zhao Qi over.

Zhao Qi waved his hands and tried to speak, but no one could hear what he was saying; they just kept pushing forward. Zhao Qi quickly took two steps back, trying to return to the Myriad Transformations Cube, but his foot slipped—the dark door he had come out of was gone, and he fell to the ground.

Seeing him like this, the people around him became even more excited, shouting that they would tie him up and interrogate him. Suddenly, a sharp sword cry was heard—a person suddenly drew his sword and flicked it into the air, creating a transparent sword aura.

This man's attire was strikingly different from the crowd: a long, dark white robe with a cross-collar, overlaid with a bluish-green lining. He was handsome, but his eyes were cold. Taking advantage of the moment when the crowd was startled by the sound of his sword, he called out, "Gentlemen, don't be hasty! Ask him one by one, let's hear what he has to say! I am Xie Qiufeng, the eldest son of the Xie family of Songhao Mountain. Please give me some face, I—"

The young man in plain clothes who had spoken first immediately retorted, "I am Zhang San! I won't give you any face! Are you fucking in cahoots with him?!"

A man next to him quickly pulled him back: "Young man, don't make a scene. This fellow Daoist Xie makes a good point. We should ask him slowly—"

Zhang San turned and glared at him: "Who are you?"

The man cupped his hands in greeting: "My name is Chang Buqing. I am honored by the esteemed reputation of my fellow martial artists, and I am known by the nickname 'The Unpredictable and Free Sword of Silent Light and Wondrous Use'."

"Are you one of them too?!" Zhang San slapped his hand away. "Evil heretics love to fish in troubled waters. Are you two in cahoots?!"

Then another scream, or rather, an exclamation, rang out: "Wait! Stop! I remember now... I understand!"

There were many independent cultivators here, but few female cultivators, and this was a woman's voice. What she said was astonishing, and the voice was astonishing as well, so the noise of the crowd quieted down for a moment.

Then the voice said, "Don't touch him, I remember now, he's a great demon king!"

The moment he said that, the voice stopped abruptly, and the people in front all turned to look back—the crowd parted like a tide, and a tall, disheveled man with squinted eyes stared intently at Zhao Qi lying on the ground, slowly walking over as if he were thinking about something.

Zhang San seemed about to ask her if she was in the same group, but he stiffened his neck and remained silent. Xie Qiufeng's face lit up with joy, while Chang Buqing remained expressionless, but both of them asked almost simultaneously, "Really!?"

He then immediately went to check on Zhao Qi on the ground.

“Really!” The woman stepped to the front of the crowd. “I remember now, I saw him when I was still in the Eastern Continent, he—” Another female cultivator in a green dress and blue robe jumped out from the crowd, grabbed her arm, and covered her mouth: “Senior Sister Nan, don’t talk nonsense at a time like this!”

Then, forcing a smile, she looked at everyone and said, "Don't listen to her. She's delirious. She hasn't recovered from turning into a beast yet, and she's just talking nonsense. My name is She Mu, and hers is Tu Nan. We came with several brothers and sisters, and we can all testify to that—Senior Sister Yu, Senior Brother Zhang, where are you?"

Zhang San, having caught his breath, glared at her and said, "You think it's just nonsense? Let go of her hand, I'll ask her—"

Before She Mu could let go, Tu Nan leaped aside and broke free: "I told you long ago, I am the Demon King of the Eastern Continent! I am the legitimate princess of the Demon Emperor of the Eastern Continent, sold to the Central Continent by my half-sister. She was born earlier than me and is the eldest princess, but I am the legitimate daughter. It's truly a case of illegitimate and legitimate not being distinguished... Father and Mother are both confused... Does the principle of legitimate and illegitimate still apply in this world... legitimate and illegitimate, legitimate and illegitimate... legitimate, legitimate and illegitimate..."

At this moment, Zhang San also realized that this female cultivator was truly delirious, and might even have gone completely insane. The third female cultivator squeezed out of the crowd, grabbed Tu Nan again, shook her hard, and stared at her: "Tu Nan, if you keep spouting your so-called orthodox doctrines, I'll skin you alive, you hear me!"

Tu Nan seemed very afraid of her, and immediately stopped speaking loudly, only muttering softly, "Your master is the Second Elder, what right do you, a mere half-sister, have to tell me what to do..."

Another robust male cultivator struggled to squeeze out of the crowd, clasping his hands in a fist salute as he did so: "Fellow cultivators, what my junior sister She said is true. My name is Zhang Jingzhong, and these are my three junior sisters Tu Nan, She Mu, and Yu Wuyi. We are all disciples of the Shaowei Sect of Donghuang Mountain. You should all have heard of the Shaowei Sect, right?"

Zhang San immediately frowned: "We're all wandering cultivators, how come the four of you are from a sect? Is your Shaowei Sect also part of this gang?!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Then someone laughed. And with that laugh, everyone fell silent again.

Because it was Zhao Qi who was laughing.

He had fallen to the ground earlier, and now he was lying on his side, supporting his head with one hand, as if he were sleeping.

Because after cursing Li Wuxiang in his heart, he suddenly realized—in the Myriad Transformations Formation, he had asked him to fight Zhao Kui, who was actually Xu Zhen in disguise, to overcome his inner demons. Now, he was only being asked to come out, while Li Wuxiang was hiding inside, perhaps also conducting some kind of trial.

But Li Wuxiang's previous approach was truly effective. Because once he understood this point, even though he knew he was still only at the Qi Refining stage and that these people could easily kill him if they got angry and swarmed him, he was no longer afraid.

Having just fought Xu Zhen as the Blood God and witnessed the corpses in the Myriad Transformations Formation, it seems that there is really nothing in the world that can frighten him anymore.

He simply lay down and burst into laughter. Only after everyone turned to look at him did he smile slightly and say, "Okay, okay."

He pushed himself up with his arms on the ground, pointed at Zhang San, and said, "Young friend, you don't believe this or that, but you are quite clever."

Zhang San was stunned, and blurted out, "You motherfucker—"

But Xie Qiufeng and Chang Buqing, who were beside him, exchanged a surprised glance and rushed to Zhao Qi, bowing down in gratitude.

Xie Qiufeng said, "Junior Xie Qiufeng of Songhao Mountain greets fellow Daoist."

Chang Buqing said, "I am Chang Buqing, also known as the Sword of Silent Light, Wondrous Use, Impermanence, and Unfettered Freedom. Greetings, fellow Daoist."

Zhao Qi smiled and nodded, looking at Xie Qiufeng: "You have the ambition to lead the masses, and this kind of drive is like that of a swordsman."

Then he looked at Chang Buqing and said, "You are steady and proper in your work, you know how to be pragmatic, and you are like a swordsman."

Then he stared at Zhang San. Zhang San looked a little confused, as if he couldn't decide whether to continue cursing. But after glancing at Xie Qiufeng and Chang Buqing beside him, he suddenly realized what was happening and immediately knelt down: "I am Zhang San!"

Zhao Qi suddenly felt refreshed and extremely pleased with himself. He smiled slightly and looked at the four people who had previously given their names: "It's rare that the four of you have been able to support each other and get this far in this kind of world. This is precisely the style of my Sword Sect. You can also be swordsmen. But how will you explain this to your sect?"

The four exchanged glances. Tu Nan was about to speak when She Mu quickly covered her mouth. Zhang Jingzhong bowed to Zhao Qi and said, "Senior, our sect has been destroyed. We came down from Donghuang Mountain only after burying our elders and fellow disciples."

Zhao Qi sighed and nodded: "Okay, that shows you have good intentions."

Then he stood up, frowned slightly, and said loudly, "You did indeed enter an illusion before. But this illusion is the first test for those who have come to the Sword Sect—mortals who enter the Sword Sect's Myriad Transformations Illusion will have their appearance reflected in their hearts. Those who are vicious and incorrigible will lose their minds and turn into beasts that devour each other. Some of these people have already been screened out."

"Those with slightly better temperaments, while not necessarily turning on each other, may still be foolish and confused. These people still need to be examined and identified."

“Those with a better temperament can maintain a clear mind; that's what good temperament means, and that makes them suitable to join our sect. From what you've said, you're all quite clear-headed, hmm…” He glanced at Tu Nan, “While this one may not be quite right in the head, his appearance does resemble our sect leader—”

Everyone was stunned: Huh?

"—It's not bad to have a style of being the only one sober in a world of drunks, refusing to mingle with the corrupt world." He pointed at one of you, "You seven, Jie Qiufeng, Chang Buqing, Zhang San, Tu Nan, She Mu, Yu Wuyi, and Zhang Jingzhong, will temporarily be registered sword disciples of this sect. Come to my side, and in a moment you will divide these people into seven...six teams, and then each of you will select some who were clear-headed before, and have them vet each other."

"Those who ate people when they transformed into beasts and have new injuries, the Sword Sect will not make things difficult for you. Go back to where you came from. As for the rest, separate those who were conscious into one group and those who were in a daze into another. Record their names, ages, and lineages."

After he called their names, all seven of them stood around him. Except for Tu Nan, who was still frowning and thinking seriously, the other six bowed and accepted.

With these seven people around, Zhao Qi felt even more smug, and smiled mysteriously: "Someone just threw a hidden weapon at me. It wasn't very powerful, but they were quite bold—who was it?"

"It's me! It's me! Senior, it's me!" A burly man squeezed out of the crowd with great joy, raising his hand high.

"Hmph, he may be bold, but his sneak attacks show his wicked intentions. Teach him a lesson and get rid of him!"

……

There were even more updates today, 4600.
(End of this chapter)