White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 63 The Art of the Red Spider Lily
The crowd on the stage, seeing that Master Xu had truly breathed his last, finally snapped out of their earlier daze and turned away, not daring to look at the corpse on the ground.

Qian Yi saw through their thoughts, wiped the blood off her face, and smiled, lowering her voice, "Everyone has been busy all day, go back to sleep first."

Leaving me here alone is enough.

Xiao Wu couldn't help but point at the corpse on the ground and ask, "Then this..."

"When we wake up tomorrow morning, everything will be as usual for the opera troupe. However, Master Xu has fallen off a cliff while walking at night and has been eaten by wild wolves in the mountains, leaving him with only his tattered clothes."

Qian Yi's makeup hadn't faded yet, his white face, red complexion, and black-skinned eyes made his features appear even more striking in the firelight. Coupled with his calm eyes, they silenced everyone in the opera troupe.

After everyone else left, Qian Yi changed out of her costume, cleaned up the bloodstains on the ground, and then, without any fear of the corpse, found a rope, put Master Xu's body on her back, tied it around her waist, and, holding an iron shovel, staggered out of the mountain stronghold.

They dug a pit, buried the body, and tore up the clothes to preserve evidence—all in one swift motion.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that they finished all of this.

He didn't shy away from it, lying down directly on the chair Bai Wuxiang had just sat on, panting heavily, but his eyes remained fixed on the stage.

His slender eyebrows and eyes held a joyful smile, showing no signs of exhaustion; on the contrary, he felt refreshed after resting.

So, he put on his stage makeup again, this time as a red-faced opera actress with a floral crown and long sleeves. He put his hands together as one branch, moved lightly to the edge of the stage, and sang in a clear and melodious opera voice:

"Aaaaaah~"
Five years of humiliation have come to an end; let us now fulfill our old aspirations on this new stage.

Even when the audience was completely empty, he performed with remarkable subtlety. Perhaps it wasn't acting, but rather that his life itself was a stage play.

Bai Wuxiang stood in front of the stage, about a foot away from Qian Yi. The intensity of the movement allowed Qian Yi to clearly see the powder on his face and the joy in his eyes.

When the opera troupe left behind by the master was taken away, he not only showed no anger or resistance, but also devoted himself to performing for the troupe.

His murderous intent had long been sown, but because of the power of the Peking Opera troupe and the prestige of its headmaster, he was all alone and had no one to rely on but to endure it.

He just wanted to take back what was rightfully his. This Xu fellow dared to bribe the head of the troupe to obtain the position, so naturally he had to bear the risk.

Bai Wuxiang, standing in front of the stage, watched Qian Yi turn and walk backstage, and said thoughtfully, "The play is without form; the best magic trick is one that transcends the boundaries between the play and reality."

Good and evil, treachery and courage, can all reside in one person. The seven emotions and six desires, the good and evil of sentient beings, are all merely aspects of humanity.

Bai Wuxiang, standing on the stage, felt a sudden thought, and dozens of theatrical robes rose up without wind, as if someone were wearing them, swirling around Bai Wuxiang, each with its own unique features reflected in his face.

Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou; red, white, powdered faces. Hands, eyes, body movements, steps; swords, spears, halberds, whips. Tumbling, leaping, bounding; singing, reciting, sitting, striking, meditating. Wearing a python robe, pleated robe, and boots…

The skills of theatrical performance were fully absorbed into Bai Wuxiang's heart.

It's not that he grasped the essence of a play just by watching one, but rather that he accumulated his understanding through observing all aspects of life day by day.

Bai Wuxiang returned to the cave with great satisfaction. He took out a hundred pieces of white bone and carved them one by one by hand, creating a hundred-piece bone puppet.

He made costumes and added colors to each of these ancient puppets, depicting their emotions, good and evil, and the roles of male, female, painted face, and clown, all of which were incorporated into the play.

By the time Bai Wuxiang finished doing all this, it was already autumn, more than a month later.

On the first or fifteenth of each month, opera troupes from the foot of the mountain would come up to perform. You Junzi didn't inquire about the whereabouts of the troupe leader, Xu. Although he understood the shady dealings, Qian Yi was so shrewd and charming that it was hard not to like him. This was none of his business, and he didn't bother to get involved.

The head of the Peking Opera troupe did not blame Qian Yi; on the contrary, he admired him greatly.

By August, Bai Wuxiang had finally mastered this great technique, and he felt somewhat at ease.

On this day, Bai Wuxiang arrived above a certain marshland in the mountains. He gazed at the countless floating creatures and quietly waited for them to reproduce.

This is his fourth year in Black Stone Village. Winter is coming soon, and it will be the end of the year again.

Over the years, the number of skeletons on Skull Mountain has increased significantly. It's not just the graves at the foot of the mountain, but also the numerous animal carcasses.

Within a radius of a hundred miles, some old beasts in the mountains, when their lifespan is nearing its end, will come to Skull Mountain to await their death.

These animal bones mostly belong to foxes, raccoons, cats, wolves, and other animals capable of surviving in the harsh mountains.

In addition, some birds also come to Skull Mountain to spend the last moments of their lives.

Three years is not a long time, but it is not short either. Over time, the Skull Hill has grown another foot taller.

Gazing at the rippling water of Bai Wuxiang by the river, he recalled the past three years and realized that he had grown from a small spirit into a powerful demon.

A mayfly landed on his clothes, its wings fluttering slightly, silently enjoying its brief moment.

"The God of No Form is truly blessed."

A rough, resonant sound rang out, and a rather tall and sturdy figure appeared on the riverbank, but it was a man with an ugly face.

Bai Wuxiang turned around and asked with a light laugh, "May I ask which village god you are?"

"I am Shan You, the chieftain of Beiling Village," the man said, cupping his hands in a fist salute.

"So it's the village god of the northern foothills. No wonder I've never heard of him before."

There are also some villages on the northern foothills of the mountain, but because of the Tiger King Village, the northeast and southwest parts of the Yunze Mountain Range have almost no connection.

"God of No Form, this group of little insects could be taken under our command. If we cultivate them generation after generation, they might become a great help." Shan You said enviously, "It's a pity that the northern part of the mountain is cold and it's hard to find such a group of insects."

"These mayflies live for only a day. They have their own lineage, and all things thrive as beasts reproduce. My help or not makes little difference, but for this forest, it might mean that the birds by the water will have no insects to eat, and the fish in the water will have no food to find."

"Without fish and birds in the swamp, no beasts can survive here anymore. In the long run, this place will become a dead zone," Bai Wuxiang explained.

"But doesn't the God of No Form love places where death lingers? This should be of great benefit to your cultivation, right?" Shan You asked rhetorically.

"Perhaps if all the beasts in this mountain forest die out, my cultivation level can increase dramatically. But because of this, without living beings, there will be no new death energy appearing."

I'm afraid I'll have to find another vibrant place to deal with death energy for my cultivation.

But if I move to a new place, I'm afraid I'll attract many demon hunters and exorcists who will come to kill me. I'll be caught up in endless killing and conflict, where will I find the time to cultivate?

Bai Wuxiang looked at the floating creatures dancing in the air and said with a smile, "As the human race says, the way is to follow nature and to achieve harmony between heaven and man."

We, the demon spirits and gods of this stronghold, can also unite with the heavens and dwell there forever.

Dan You's eyes were blank as she shook her head, saying, "We demons don't follow the human ways, Wuxiang God, you mustn't go down the wrong path!" "Hehe, I'll know my limits," Bai Wu responded, then asked, "May I ask what brings the village god to the south of the mountain?"

"Hehe, I heard from the spirits outside the mountains that a flower goddess has appeared in the south of the mountains, who gives birth to all kinds of flowers, so I thought I would come and ask for some spirit honey to eat." Shan You chuckled, "But I got a little lost when I first came to the south of the mountains. I even went to the human world outside the mountains, but I didn't see any flower goddess."

"I see." Bai Wuxiang found it somewhat amusing. "If you follow this path northeast for another forty or fifty li, you will see Baihua Village."

"Thank you for your advice, Master Wuxiang. I won't bother you any longer." With that, the man transformed into a gust of black wind and headed northeast.

Bai Wuxiang didn't ask the other party any more questions. This demon was most likely a black bear spirit, and seemed to be easy to get along with. Its strength was not weak either, and its demon power was even three points stronger than that of the Azure God back then.

Time passed slowly. Bai Wuxiang sat cross-legged on an ancient rock by the river. A gentle breeze lifted his hair. The autumn sunset dyed the sky red, and the shadows of the mountains were heavy. As the sun set, Bai Wuxiang took down the bone flute from his waist.

"Woo~"

The melodious sound of a flute drifted by, and hundreds of mayflies, having already reproduced and laid their eggs, awaited their death at the bottom of the water.

But as the flute music began, mayflies leaped out, their wings flapping to droplets of water onto the swamp, like rain falling at sunset, a swarm of mayflies emerging from the water.

A massive swarm of millions of mayflies swirled around Bai Wuxiang like a surging ocean wave, obscuring the sky and shrouding the mountains in dark clouds.

Bai Wuxiang's figure soared into the sky, carrying them for over twenty miles before landing on Skull Mountain.

He stood atop the mountain, gazing at the mayflies that danced in the air like willow catkins, and said gently, "I wish to grant you one more moment of life. I will protect every mayfly that lives to the end of each year. But you must come to Skull Mountain in this last quarter of an hour and rest here."

As soon as the words were spoken, countless mayflies reached the end of their lives, no longer able to flap their wings, and fell like rain on Skull Mountain.

The entire mountain was a gray-white color.

Wisps of death energy were born, converging into countless strands that swirled around Skull Mountain.

Bai Wuxiang activated the great technique within the Resentful Spirit Pearl, using death to communicate with the underworld, guiding the spirits down to the Nine Netherworlds.

As he activated his powerful spell, a ghostly blue flame emerged from a patch of grayish-white corpses, incinerating them and turning them into dust, where the mayfly's body found peace.

Until, a splash of red appeared.

After the ghostly fire fades, the red spider lily blooms, its color like blood, and every moment of its blooming marks the end of its life.

The cycle of birth and death lingers in Bai Wuxiang's heart. He comprehends the true nature of life and death, and the flower of the other shore, thus reaching the netherworld, transforms life into death, and wherever it goes, all things return to nothingness.

A red spider lily suddenly bloomed in Bai Wuxiang's palm. As soon as the flower bloomed, thousands upon thousands of red spider lilies bloomed all over Skull Mountain.

This technique involves the rotation of Yin and Yang, connecting the two realms of Yin and Yang. Even though Bai Wuxiang can use the Vengeful Spirit Pearl to perform it, the amount of Vengeful Power consumed each time it is used is very large.

However, its supernatural powers are profound and mysterious, definitely great supernatural powers in the Yuanzhen realm.

After mastering these two great techniques, Bai Wuxiang realized that the resentment he thought was enough was now almost gone after just a few uses of these techniques.

We must remain vigilant and not let our guard down when collecting resentment.

The instant Bai Wuxiang mastered this technique, in the underworld, at the end of the Yellow Springs.

The sky is crimson and dark, the Yellow Springs are deep and dark, flowing into the realm of the six paths of reincarnation.

What separates the two sides of the Yellow Springs are two colossal shadows, each ten thousand feet tall, like an endless, massive mountain range.

These two mountains, one a deep, dark brown, the other a pure white, would reveal a terrifying sight if viewed from the highest point in the sky.

These two enormous mountain ranges, like two unseen spirits, stand guard on either side of the underworld.

There were no living beings or ghosts beside them; the two of them seemed to be asleep.

Until, thousands upon thousands of spider lilies on the banks of the Yellow Springs River silently sank into the ground and disappeared, the two figures, as vast as the heavens, simultaneously opened their pupils, which resembled the sun.

"Someone has tampered with the spider lily!"

"Who dares to cultivate the Other Shore Flower in the mortal world?"

"Are they those demonic cultivators from the human race?"

"No, my divine sense senses that it's more like a ghost or spirit."

"Could it be the work of several Yama Kings?"

"It shouldn't be like this. In this world, the gods govern the heavens, the underworld governs the underworld, and the human realm is a mixed bunch. The underworld wouldn't dare to do such an evil thing under the eyes of the gods."

The Black Impermanence Giant Form exclaimed in shock, "Could it be...?"

"If no one can escape the laws of heaven and earth, then it is because... the red spider lily has been summoned by the ancestor and is guiding the souls of the dead!"

"How many years have passed! I can't even remember how long it's been! We've finally waited for this moment!"

The two enormous mountains trembled for a moment. On the Bridge of Helplessness, the old woman holding the soup trembled, and the bowl of Meng Po soup was not fed to her.

The underworld was shaken as a result. A Yama King, with a cold face, summoned his judges, and Yama King's decrees were sent to the city god temples in the cities of the human world.

On Skull Mountain, Bai Wuxiang was unaware of the changes underground. After mastering these two great techniques, he continued to devote himself to cultivation.

In his spare time, he even personally entered eight blind children's dreams to teach them the principles of play, physiognomy, life, death, and sacrifice, so that they could understand them one by one.

Even though these children cannot see anything, in their dreams Bai Wuxiang leads them to overlook all living beings, all things, mountains, rivers, and phenomena from a god's perspective.

Down in the mountains, outside Zhangyang County, a down-on-his-luck sorcerer named Li Xiangzhi happened to see the Wuxiang God enshrined in a villager's home.

A bold idea sprouted in his mind: he wanted to make a name for himself and no longer be despised and ridiculed by everyone.

All of this can no longer be obtained through one's own efforts in today's world.

Asking Heaven is useless, so we can only pray to the gods and spirits!

On the tenth day of the tenth month, outside Xiaohui Village, Li Xiangzhi, dressed in white, addressed the villagers who had gathered there: "I have received a mandate from the God of No Form. The deity has sent me to establish a religion in the human world on his behalf, and I am honored as the Supreme God of No Form!"
Those who believe in me, the formless one, can receive divine blessings from the formless one, avoiding death and prolonging life, escaping calamity and misfortune!
From this day forward, I am the leader of the Formless Supreme Sect. All of you who believe in Formlessness are followers of my sect, obey my commands, and are children of Formlessness!

Thus, under the manipulation of such a person with ulterior motives, a folk cult was born!
(End of this chapter)