Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 403 Master Zhou's heroic spirit soars!
There were indeed many more traps ahead. To Li Wuxiang's Nascent Soul cultivation level and his keen perception, the traps were as if they were laid bare. Poison traps, iron clamps, fire pits, insect nests—there was one every dozen steps or so, densely covering the entire hillside. The more he walked, the more he thought about it. These people were truly ruthless; they had no intention of letting anyone who had stumbled in leave alive!

There were too many traps, and even Deng Yuan couldn't remember some of them—of course, it could also be because some were set up in the North Cave and others in the South Cave—several times he almost led Li Wuxiang into them, and Li Wuxiang had to quickly pull him away. It's unclear whether the kid was genuinely confused or just trying to act more convincingly.

As they approached the foot of the mountain wall, they could see the North Cave. There was a small stone platform in front of the cave, obscured by a tree. When the four reached the bottom of the mountain, an old Taoist priest with a white beard was peeking into the cave. Seeing them stop, he immediately said, "Fellow Daoists, please have mercy and don't harm my disciple! We can talk this over. I'm here—"

Deng Yuan looked up from below and said, "Master, I accidentally stepped into a pit, and these fellow Daoists rescued me and brought me back."

The old Taoist priest was also stunned: "Huh?"

The old Taoist's name was Dao Shiye. He was called the old Taoist not because he was an old Taoist, but because he was the old Taoist. He embarked on the path of cultivation from the very first day of his life. His master accepted him in the same way he accepted Deng Yuan now.

There are generally three types of independent cultivators in the martial arts world. The first type is the smallest: they don't offend others unless they offend them, and they look like disciples of prestigious sects like the Thirty-Six Sects. These people usually have either exceptional talent or immense wealth, so they don't need to covet what belongs to others.

The second type is the most common, similar to the old Guo. They'll take advantage of any opportunity to profit, and run away if they can't. If the other party accepts their bad luck and obediently hands over their money, they'll be spared. But if the other party is ungrateful, they might feel some psychological pressure even if they commit murder and robbery, though not much.

The third type is far less common than the second, but far more common than the first: the old Taoist priest. From the very first day of their practice, they engage in empty-handed trading, using all their life's learning on how to cheat, swindle, and kill. These people put in little effort, reap high rewards, and face great risks. When a master teaches disciples, they are like batches of leeks, sometimes harvested by the tough ones, and sometimes by their own disciples.

The old Taoist priest had been wandering the martial arts world for over sixty years, and his disciples had come and gone, but he had only encountered the first type of person four times in total.

He had spotted the three men earlier that day when they stood on the ridge, because he had noticed the gleam of the blade of the short sword at Li Wuxiang's waist. Seeing them stop there, he knew that the three had taken a liking to this auspicious place, so he immediately arranged for Deng Yuan to wait by the river.

Deng Yuan is still young, not very talented, and was taken in late, so he is the most suitable person to do this kind of work. If he is killed without saying a word, he will know that he has met a fellow practitioner. The fellow practitioner will also know that he has met a fellow practitioner. To avoid trouble, they will usually just search for the body and leave.

If he sees that the man's leg is broken and he's just taking the money and leaving, then we'll have to see how Deng Yuan reacts. If the newcomer isn't very skilled, he'll take him for a walk up the slope and knock them all out. If he's more skilled, he'll lure him to the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist looked old, but his cultivation was actually quite profound; he had just achieved the Golden Core stage at the age of fifty-six. The Golden Core of a rogue cultivator is worthless, at least compared to those from the Taiyi Sect and the Thirty-Six Sects. But within the broader context of rogue cultivators in the martial world, he was considered a Golden Core master.

The old Taoist had been trading for many years, accumulating a considerable amount of rare and precious herbs and elixirs. Little by little, he had reached the peak of the Golden Core realm, just one step away from becoming a Nascent Soul expert. It was at this moment that he encountered the Great Calamity of Mountain Fire destroying the world.

For him, this world-ending destruction was absolutely perfect.

There are two good points. First, the Taiyi Sect and the Thirty-Six Sects were fighting like dogs, and then the Blood God Sect emerged, leaving everything in a mess. The members of the Thirty-Six Sects have now all hidden in their respective protective mountain formations, and can only slightly help some nearby towns—and these are only the major sects with a strong foundation.

In the past, when he was doing business without capital, he had to avoid some bustling big cities because there were disciples of the Thirty-Six Sects there, who wouldn't show mercy to someone like him. Now that no one was watching him, it was much easier for him to do things.

The second advantage is that the world is now full of refugees, and even the wandering cultivators in the martial arts world are having a hard time. They're like starving wolves, biting anyone they can get their hands on. Once they go crazy like this, they're not as careful as before, and more people will fall into their traps.

He had previously occupied this blessed land and made a few deals. Now, the essence of the wandering cultivators in the world is being refined—shrimp eat mud, small fish eat shrimp, big fish eat small fish, and all those who survive are richer than before. After making these few deals, the old Taoist made a fortune and was sincerely grateful to Donghuang Taiyi, feeling that he might truly achieve Nascent Soul stage in his lifetime.

Just then, the woman from the southern cave arrived. Seeing people there, she not only didn't leave but tried to forcibly occupy the place. Because this place was close to the sea, many cultivators replenished their energy in the eastern cave before continuing westward. The west was farther from the Great Calamity Mountain and less affected, perhaps still harboring many surviving creatures. This blessed land was a necessary stop on their journey, making it a geomantically auspicious location for both cultivating spiritual energy and committing murder and robbery.

The two fought only once, and it was clear that they were both at the peak of the Golden Core stage, but the woman had a slight advantage because she possessed a treasure.

So they agreed to share this valuable land and take turns doing business there.

However, the old Taoist knew this couldn't last. He was almost at the Nascent Soul stage, and so was the woman named Sun Ji. It was a matter of who would pull off the big one first. Once they both reached the Nascent Soul stage, the one who hadn't would be left as merchandise.

Why not move away? Because if one moves, the other will reach Nascent Soul stage faster. Once they reach Nascent Soul stage, they'll most likely come looking for them again, and the outcome won't be good either. Besides, they're people who constantly risk their lives in business, their gambling instincts are bound to be extremely strong. If a gambler could back down gracefully at this point, they wouldn't have continued this kind of business in the first place.

So when Deng Yuan told him that these three people had saved him, the old Taoist was first stunned, then shocked—Deng Yuan hadn't dared to lead them across the traps at the bottom of the slope, which meant there were some tough guys among them. He'd seen one of them leap across the river, so he knew they were at least at the Golden Core stage. Now, discovering they'd even saved someone, he realized these three must have quite a background.

They are either from one of the Thirty-Six Sects, or they are from a reclusive family that emerged from the mountains.

The old Taoist priest had a sharp eye; in the short time it took to utter that "ah," he had already looked all three people up and down.

Ignore the woman, she's useless. The young man seems capable; he's carrying a large box on his back. Anyone who dares to walk around outside like this must be difficult to deal with. Judging from his expression, he seems a bit worried and wary, as if he doesn't want to come into the cave. This man must have some experience in the martial arts world, and he's probably not from the same group as the older one.

The older man had an innocent, untainted look on his face, as if he had never been cheated. The old Taoist glanced at him and immediately ruled out the possibility of him being a disciple of the Thirty-Six Sects, deducing from his past experiences—he rarely traveled the world and had little contact with wandering martial artists; he seemed more like someone observing the local customs. This kind of person was undoubtedly a disciple of a reclusive family, and a rather well-off one at that, otherwise he wouldn't have looked like that.

As for his cultivation level, it's hard to say.

Because he had placed the poisonous smoke at the very spot below the cave entrance, where they were standing. The smoke was only mildly toxic, enough to induce drowsiness. If they were discovered, they could simply say it was for self-preservation.

None of the three seemed to have noticed. The woman didn't because she looked tired, and inhaling the smoke would only make her feel drowsy, as if she were exhausted. The younger man didn't notice because he possessed a certain level of cultivation, and the smoke was neutralized by his internal energy. As for the older man, the old Taoist knew it was because he had something protecting him—the poisonous smoke hovered around him but couldn't get close; it was being repelled.

Those three people might be the biggest deal he'd encountered in recent days. If he succeeds, he'll truly achieve Nascent Soul cultivation!

Let's do this job!
The old Taoist priest immediately spoke up: "Ah... everyone, then hold your breath for a moment. Deng Yuan, put out the poisonous smoke!"

Deng Yuan was in excruciating pain, but upon hearing his master's words, he immediately perked up.

He knew the big shipment had arrived!
He immediately frowned in pain and cried out, "...Master!"

He sighed helplessly and pointed to a clump of grass next to the three of them: "The poisonous smoke is over there, fellow Daoist. Go and put it out. Be careful not to use your feet. Just knock off what's pressing down on it."

Li Wuxiang immediately held his breath and walked to the grassy area. He first drew his knife and leveled the grass, then lifted his lantern to look. Sure enough, he saw a mechanism with a wooden handle pressing it down. Its appearance reminded him of the record player from his previous life. The thing was emitting a faint greenish smoke, which was completely invisible on the grass.

The old man's got some skills; he really didn't notice that!
He used the tip of his knife to pry open the mechanism and heard the old Taoist priest sighing from above: "Fellow Taoists, please don't blame me. I'm just guarding against evil people. My disciples and I live in seclusion here. I'm not very skilled and I'm old, and my disciples are all useless. I really have to be careful."

Zhou Xiang nodded and smiled at him: "Don't mind it, it's only right."

At that moment, he realized something: the entire Xuanjiao sect, from top to bottom, was filled with an atmosphere of decay and corruption.

He could have refused when asked to leave his parish to deliver the remains; he could have asked them to come up with another way—for example, to find a demon king from the Eastern Continent to deliver them.

But he agreed because he himself wanted to leave the parish.

It was incredibly stifling in the parish. To outsiders, the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect appeared incredibly powerful, like something cast in iron. But to him, at least the Five Mountains True Form Sect also seemed like something cast in iron, not the sect itself, but rather its internal structure.

Whether a person can cultivate, when they can begin cultivating, what level they can reach, and whether they will live or die, are all determined almost from the moment they are born by their aptitude, bloodline, and strength.

The leader of the main altar is one lineage, and the various branch altars in the east, west, south, and north are four lineages, making a total of five lineages. Therefore, the number of people who can achieve the Void Return or the Dao Integration is also predetermined.

This is because there are only so many resources available to help people reach the Void Realm or the Dao Realm.

Therefore, after the death of the Yang Shen within the Taiyi Sect, the Six Departments immediately decided to expand the sect's territory, even knowing it would result in many sacrifices. They were determined to do so because death freed up resources. Expanding the sect's territory meant more resources. By increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, the Five Families could reap even greater benefits.

The reason they didn't do this before, according to the sect's explanation, is that there are Yang Gods outside the sect, and thirty-six sects. The people of the thirty-six sects are still a disorganized bunch, but once they are pushed to the limit, they will be united by the Yang Gods of the Taiyi Sect.

It is also said that there are a vast number of independent martial arts practitioners outside the church. These people are uneducated and cruel. If the church expands outwards on a large scale, these people will not be able to be integrated in a short time, which will inevitably cause many troubles and cause endless harm.

Zhou Xiang himself was a descendant of the Great Emperor Zhou Er, yet even with such a status, he was confined to Mount Immovable for his entire life within the religious community. He both hated himself for having squandered his cultivation five times, and was also grateful for it. In his view, this rule within the family was likely due not to any other reason than the fear of internal strife within the sect.

When the last member of the clan established the rule that the cultivation level of his descendants could not exceed that of the Refining Spirit realm, it was precisely at that time that the four branch altars in the east, west, south, and north were growing in power and had gained influence. The ancestors must have realized at that time that if someone in the bloodline of the Great Emperor showed the aptitude to cultivate to the Dao Integration realm, it could bring about unforeseen disasters—if a descendant of the Great Emperor became the leader, he would surely be able to command a large following, and the four altars would certainly not sit idly by and watch this happen.

But now, after discovering that Mei Qiulu, who was outside the sect, had also achieved the Yang God status and had even killed the Descended True Immortal with Li Wuxiang, the Six Departments actually retreated and regurgitated many of the things they had already consumed.

Zhou Xiang thus realized that what the sect was worried about was not anything else, not the thirty-six sects, nor the difficulty of teaching outsiders, but rather the fear of the Yang God and their own cultivation and life!

A mere Taiyi Sect land-based sword immortal has frightened those Dao Integration Realm cultivators in the Six Departments who only think about protecting themselves for so many years!
That's why he wanted to leave—he was unwilling to spend his life consuming the Jade Blood Pill. He wanted to become stronger, to do what Emperor Zhou Er had done... The Five Mountains True Form Sect might not be descended from the Zhou family, but the Five Mountains True Form Sect as it is now should be led by the Emperor's descendants!
Now that he's out, he realizes that the people outside seem completely different from what the sect has long said—this Li Xiao is not a bad person, and the old Taoist he met by chance is even less so. It's clear that these rogue cultivators are not at all uncivilized or harmful; these are just excuses!

Those who portray non-Cultural entities as so dangerous are all unambitious individuals with ulterior motives!

So when he heard the old Taoist say, "My cave dwelling is simple and I'm afraid I'll have to neglect our honored guests," Zhou Xiang breathed a sigh of relief: "There are no such formalities when traveling. If you don't mind, we would like to ask to stay the night and pay you with pills. What do you think?"

It can also be used by people outside the church!
They don't care whether they believe in Taiyi or the Five Sacred Mountains!

The rogue cultivators could still understand each other's language!

I can start anew here!

(End of this chapter)