Beichen Sword Sect's Headmaster's Secret Records

Chapter 413 Woodcutter
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Just in case, Tie Dan used his sword to chisel open the golem's skull, split its spine, cut open its belly, and chop it into pieces, ensuring that the thing could not rise again. He also disassembled all its organs to study them.

Although this golem is made of stone, its internal organs are exactly the same as those of a normal person, so lifelike that it's actually quite disgusting upon closer inspection.

Unfortunately, even after being dismantled like this, Tie Dan still couldn't figure out what this Xuan Nu Demon Statue was, how it moved, or whether it belonged to any category such as demon, human, god, or ghost.

However, the deeper Tie Dan's understanding of Tao and the more thorough his knowledge of law, the clearer he became that one can know a person's face but not their heart, and what the eyes see is often unreliable. The demons and monsters of this world possess too many yin-yang transformations, and there are countless illusions and bewitching techniques used by beautiful women to deceive and confuse.

Young people like him naturally lack experience and insight, making them less discerning and easily manipulated, even vulnerable to being tricked and harmed. Therefore, only by hardening his heart, sticking to his own sword, and relentlessly cutting through obstacles and hardships can he have a chance to succeed.

In short, whatever, just chop them up.

"Snapped"

Okay, the demon fetus has been completely dug out, and it looks like a...ball.

Hmm, a heavy, round stone ball was stuffed inside the golem's belly. Looking at it like that, I'd think it was a mammal. Is it oviparous?
"Eh—Eh—Eh—"

Suddenly, a sharp cry, as if suppressed in a throat, came. Tie Dan turned his head and saw that the ginseng head had sprouted many fresh roots and tentacles from the broken neck, like the limbs of an octopus, desperately crawling out.

Since there was no need for it anyway, Tie Dan let it go. He took an axe and chopped away fiercely, smashing the golem into dust and completely destroying the demonic scripture on its belly. Then he looked at the stone screen next to him.

The demonic fetus born from the image of the carefree demoness can be considered a legitimate disciple of the carefree sect.

So Tiedan wrapped the stone egg in his robe, held it in his arms, circled the screen once, blinked, and then saw...

Crimson pavilions and ornate halls greet the rosy dawn, brocade curtains and cloud-like screens conceal verdant hills. The incense sticks are about to burn out, the golden beast-shaped burner is cold, the mirror reflects the fading jade hairpins. Rolling up the curtain, I occasionally hear the warbling of orioles, leaning on the railing, I watch butterflies fluttering in the distance. All day long, I tidy and mend the embroidered fabric, unaware that spring has departed, playing with the silk curtains.

A fragrant breeze wafted in, carrying the sounds of swallows and orioles through the window. In the blink of an eye, the scene before me changed completely. It was no longer the ruins of a demonic sect or a ghostly tomb. Instead, I saw vermilion buildings with green tiles, gauze curtains billowing like waves, and brocade cushions scattered with silks and satins, their fragrance intoxicating and their colors as vibrant as spring—clearly a woman's boudoir.

Looking back, what lies behind is no longer a collapsed and ruined wasteland, nor is the wordless stele like a stone screen that has been scraped clean by a knife. Instead, it is a white marble screen, brimming with spiritual energy and inlaid with gold and silver.

The screen was adorned with clusters of blooming flowers, their branches and leaves decorated with gold and silver tassels. Although slightly different from the exquisite thousand-petal screen in Linglong Pavilion, it still revealed the opulent style of the Xiaoyao Demon Sect. However, from this perspective, all that could be seen were the profusion of flowers, not the true scriptures.

With his sharp eyes, Tie Dan could tell from just a breath that he still couldn't use his true breath power. He naturally understood that he was still within the barrier and restrictions, and everything in front of him was an illusion, a dream, a bewitching illusion.

Then he suddenly felt a damp liquid flowing out of his arms. Looking down, he saw that the stone egg in his arms had turned into a blurry mass of flesh and blood, dripping hot, black blood that looked like petroleum.

Looking coldly at the blurry, bloody mass in his arms, Tie Dan remained silent, letting the black blood soak his body, and then picked up his axe and pushed open the door to leave.

Sure enough, outside the house was the magnificent Dao Palace and the carefree cave, probably an illusion created by a powerful being using the techniques of reversing heaven and earth and turning back time.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and in the distance, the palaces, temples, and Taoist monasteries appeared like mirages suspended in the clouds, their vermilion eaves piercing the blue haze, and dewdrops clinging to the glazed tiles. The stone lions on either side of the mountain gate were covered in moss, and the rusty copper rings in their mouths gleamed with a chilling light.

The winding corridors resembled coiled dragons and snakes, with ancient pines on both sides their gnarled branches like outstretched claws of azure dragons. Sunlight filtering through the pine needles condensed into scattered gold dust on the ground. Suddenly, the sound of bells and chimes came from the Sanqing Hall, startling the gilded cranes on the bronze bells on the eaves. The feathers that fell as they flapped their wings were like snowflakes, disappearing into the pine forest like waves.

Judging by the scenery alone, this place is indeed a blessed land, a paradise for immortals. However, at this moment, something particularly out of place is the faint, decadent sound of "beep beep beep beep beep" coming from the inner chambers of the outer courtyard, echoing through the foothills.

Well, what kind of sect is the Free and Unfettered Sect if it's not free and unfettered?

However, Tie Dan was not in a hurry to find the exorcist after hearing the sound. He first picked up his axe and walked into the main hall, glancing at the shrine.

The shrine was empty, as if the faceless goddess had run away on her own. But this time everything was correct, and Tie Dan recognized the plaque in front of the hall.

Colorless and formless, without death or birth, a carefree palace without form.

That's pretty blunt. It seems that shamelessness is a popular practice in cultivation these days...

However, Tie Dan still remembered that he had been immediately killed by Kun after obtaining the inheritance of the Faceless Immortal. Moreover, the Xuan Nu Demon Statue was so evil that Tie Dan neither wanted to be faceless nor wanted to be pregnant, so he naturally stopped studying the various demonic scriptures and secrets in the Faceless Palace.

So he picked up his axe again, stepped down the mountain, and headed toward the hermitages and Taoist dwellings. He heard people making merry in the houses all around him, so he found the house with the loudest creaking and jumping onto the roof. He lifted the tiles and looked inside.

Found them! The rebel scouts who had vanished without a trace were indeed living freely here.

Indeed, it has no form or face. Although at first glance it appears as a graceful, smooth, and round human figure, its neck and above are bald, like a hard-boiled egg. It has no eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or hair.

Having come all this way, Tie Dan was naturally not content to just stand by and watch. Without hesitation, he raised his axe, ready to leap down and chop off the heads of all those bald-headed bastards.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his spine stood on end, as if sharp swords were piercing his body and lightning was striking his head. He glared angrily and saw a woodcutter carrying firewood in the pine forest behind him, coldly watching him.

Old man, I've finally forced you to come out.

So Tiedan put away his axe, leaped into the forest, and stood three zhang away from the woodcutter. After a moment of eye contact, Tiedan bowed and paid his respects.

"The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Ruyi True Lord, the Great Heavenly Venerable, Xuan Tian, ​​the Sect Leader of the Beichen Sword Sect of Jiuyin Mountain, pays respects to the Grand Master."

Xuan Du frowned.

"Sect Leader? You? Where's Tian Gang?"

Tie Dan raised his head high.

"Killed by me."

Xuan Du raised his eyebrows.

"...You have that ability?"

Tie Dan cupped his hands in greeting.

"You're too kind. My humble skills are nowhere near as good as your extraordinary abilities, like plucking stars from the sky and deceiving the heavens."

Xuan Du glanced at the axe in Tie Dan's hand, then at the bleeding chunk of flesh tied to his chest.
"Chat?"

"it is good."

"Come with me first, the rice hasn't been cooked yet."

"The food isn't ready yet..."

It really was cooking. Xuandu brought Tiedan to the side courtyard and skillfully chopped wood, started a fire, boiled water, and cooked rice. He chopped melons and vegetables with a clattering sound, prepared a table of vegetarian food, delivered it to the door of the hermitage, knocked on the door, and offered it to the people inside who were working day and night, as well as to the non-people.

Tie Dan frowned and watched from the shadows. Those fairies with bald heads really didn't treat Xuan Du as an outsider. They didn't wear skirts or robes, and they came out to get food, all soaked in rain and sweat, with at most a couple of pieces of silk gauze stuck to their skin.

Eating was also disgusting. First, he would open his mouth, chew the food once, and then "waaaah—" spit out a bunch of black, muddy, disgusting stuff, which was still in the bowl and then fed back to the exhausted soldiers.

Xuan Du seemed unfazed. After delivering the food, he returned to boil water, just like a servant or maid working odd jobs at a Taoist temple.

Tie Dan frowned at him, took the piece of meat off his chest, and put it on the ground.

"Does the sorcerer intend to bring a demonic fetus into the world?"

Xuan Du nodded, not denying it at all.

"why."

Tie Dan didn't waste any words, indicating that he should begin his performance. However, Xuan Du didn't immediately reveal his secrets to Tie Dan. He simply remained silent for a while, scrutinized him for a long time, and then finally uttered a sentence.
"No, no, you're simply not capable of dealing with Tian Gang. That guy is both insidious and ruthless; there must be another reason..."

Tie Dan had no patience to start a long, drawn-out explanation with him, and simply threw a recap of the past in his face.
"That's right, so that the senior knows that this was all your senior brother's scheme."

He foresaw that the Taiji Dao would end in two thousand years. He had also seen the story of the Nine Heavens Free and Unfettered Sect and was terrified by the old demon of Nanhua. So he reincarnated as the head of the Xuanmen, Lingxu Daojun, and gave away a thousand years of Dao power to help him. Only in this way could he successfully plot against the sect leader Tiangang, seize Yuntai Peak from the Sword Sect, and refine it into the third Taixu for his escape.

I've heard that of the Four Heavenly Kings under Lei Zu, only you, Grand Master, still cherish the grand ambition of protecting all living beings, relentlessly pursuing the old demon for thousands of years. Therefore, I hold you in high esteem and have come to seek your guidance on breaking this deadlock and suppressing the demon. Who would have thought that you, senior, would harbor a nest of remnants of the carefree sect, laying eggs and multiplying here? Is one Nan Hua not enough for you to handle? Do you intend to provoke another one?"

Xuandu was stunned by the direct hit to his face, and couldn't help but nod.

"Huh? Uh... um... yes..."

So, why?

Tie Dan stopped wasting words and said, "Please begin your performance."

Xuan Du has lived for five thousand years and has never seen such a straightforward young man. However, since he has seen through things so clearly, there's no point in hiding anything. To be frank...

"It's a very simple principle. I can't beat Nanhua no matter what, so I'll just call on someone who can."

Tie Dan suspected,
"That's it?"

"Of course, that's not all."

Xuandu squatted on the ground, staring at the mass of demonic flesh and blood, poked it with his finger, and then looked up.

Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know what this is?

Tie Dan was naturally curious and asked,
"What is it?"

Xuan Du shrugged.

"I do not know."

Tie Dan nearly punched him in the face...

Xuan Du didn't care, he just looked down at the lump of dark flesh.

"Saving the world? I'm not worthy of that. I just want to know what these things are."

It's precisely because we don't know that we need to learn, to seek the truth, to explore step by step, to find the path one by one, that we can gradually come to know.

If you don't like it, can't understand it, or don't get it, then you won't study it, you won't care, and you won't pay attention.

"Kill them all, seal them off if you can't kill them, run away if you can't win. If you keep doing this, you'll just be stuck in the same place and won't learn anything..."

Tie Dan understood.
"So you want to unseal the Free and Unfettered Demon Sect and retrace the Path of the Nine Heavens?"

Xuan Du nodded and then shook his head, smiling wryly.
"It's not that simple. After all, we old folks saw Jiuxiao's madness back then. The Xiaoyao lineage has indeed gone too far astray, far beyond our comprehension. They've entered the evil path, and not only are ordinary Xuanmen disciples unable to handle them, but they've also become a great scourge to the world."

So all I can do is set aside a place, raise a few celestial demons, and personally keep an eye on them and study them.

Alas, it's a pity that after so many years of wasted time, I haven't achieved much. Ultimately, it's because I'm getting old, lack courage, hesitate, and want both sides; in the end, I've accomplished nothing.

Tie Dan made no attempt to hide his suspicion.
"Has he really accomplished absolutely nothing? Has he achieved absolutely nothing?"

Xuandu shook his head repeatedly.

"No, no, you've seen it yourself, none of the others are pregnant yet."

After sixty years of hard work, this child was finally born. It was supposed to be born in another ten years, and we didn't even know if it would survive.

Now that you've cut it open, naturally there's nothing left.

Upon realizing the old man wasn't telling the truth, Tie Dan's expression changed.
"I don't believe you! You're still not telling the truth! I think even this Free and Unfettered Demonic Sect is just a front! You have other schemes up your sleeve!"

Xuandu was speechless for a moment.
"No, how can you not tell right from wrong? Tell me, what am I supposed to gain from this?"

Tie Dan bluntly laid his cards on the table and flipped the table.

"Where is the Langxuan Secret Realm?! Where are your salamanders?!"

Xuan Du was taken aback, and then "whoosh!" an axe came crashing down!

"I knew it!"

Tie Dan was overjoyed and swung his axe to block the attack! But his bronze axe was shattered by the opponent's iron axe, leaving him with a bloody gash on his forehead! Ignoring his bleeding face, he roared...
"I get it! You're not just feeding demons! You're raising monsters!"
That's it! There are still bugs underground! No wonder no one's come to relieve the guards! They're going to be born from the Heavenly Demons anyway! What can't be used to breed them!

"Fine! You've broken all the rules of the Xuanmen sect and the precepts for suppressing demons!"

"upbraid!"

"boom!"

Xuandu opened his mouth, raised his eyebrows, and his hair and beard bristled! Instantly, lightning flashed from his five orifices, and a divine bolt of thunder shot out from his mouth, striking Tie Dan in the chest! It sent Tie Dan flying like a meteor, flying more than ten feet away! With a deafening roar, it destroyed countless temples and monasteries, leaving a scene of utter devastation!
"Cough cough, heh, heh heh, you just start attacking like that? What, did I touch a nerve and you want to kill me to silence me..."

Tie Dan climbed out of the ruins, looked at his chest which had been blasted open by lightning and was now covered in scorch marks, and looked up.

The Xuan Du Thunder Lord, his entire body radiating lightning like a plasma supernova, rose slowly into the sky, overlooking him amidst a blinding barrage of thunder and lightning.
"Kid, I don't care who instructed you to mess with me, this isn't going to end well today!"

"Either you commit suicide, or don't leave! Otherwise you'll spread rumors, cause trouble, and ruin my grand plan!"

Tie Dan chuckled and cracked his neck.

"Hmph, the Lord of Shenxiao Dao, the Nine Tribulations Thunder God, with five thousand years of Dao power, what a great title. But this little bit of thunder power is far inferior to heavenly thunder."

What, you're afraid to go all out because you're afraid of ascending to the Dao realm?

But judging from this, this place isn't truly 'ineffective,' is it? Could it be that it's not some kind of 'Primordial Realm' at all?"

Amidst the dazzling lightning, Xuan Du coldly said,
"Good eye, not bad. I am responsible for guarding this place. How can I act as recklessly as Jiu Xiao and let the Heavenly Demons in to wreak havoc on the world before I have figured out their methods?"

This Free and Unfettered Palace of the Great Void is merely a branch of the Free and Unfettered lineage, specializing in the deduction and simulation of the Great Void Immortal's methods. Through array formations and barriers, it simulates the Great Void Illusionary Realm, where I, with my own Dao power, suppress heaven and earth, forming a prison.

To be honest, it's not some extraordinary method. As long as you stay put and cultivate until you surpass my level of cultivation, or even kill me, you can escape.

"If the calamity is broken, the Dharma will naturally become effective."

"Hmph, I have things to do, and I don't have the patience to waste decades here."

Tie Dan wiped the blood from his forehead and raised the black sword in his hand.

"Then I have no choice but to kill you."

(End of this chapter)