Old Refining Spirit

Xuantian Sect, Luoxia Peak.

Ever since Li Xuangeng accidentally "exploded" the sect's treasured spirit-testing stone during the Ascension Ceremony, Elder Qingxu regarded him as a "one-in-a-millennium immortal spirit body" and promoted him directly to a core inner disciple, bestowing upon him the most spiritually rich Luoxia Peak as his cultivation ground.

Elder Qingxu had a very shrewd plan. With ten days left before the opening of the "Myriad Demon Secret Realm," he intended to use those ten days, along with the best resources of the Xuantian Sect, to fatten up Li Xuangeng, this perfect "cauldron," so that he could offer him as a sacrifice to the sect leader on the back mountain who was about to ascend to immortality.

Thus, Li Xuangeng began his most leisurely "paid vacation" period since he transmigrated to the Dayuan Dynasty.

At dawn, the mountains are shrouded in mist. Several graceful white cranes weave and call out amidst the sea of ​​clouds, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland.

Inside the secluded courtyard of Luoxia Peak, Xiaoman was diligently sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard with a bamboo broom. She had changed into a blue dress belonging to an outer disciple of the Xuantian Sect, and her hair was styled into two buns. Compared to the ragged, sallow-faced, and pitiful girl I first met, she now finally possessed the vivacity and liveliness that a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl should have.

Beneath the ancient pine tree in the center of the courtyard, there is a tea table made of rosewood.

Li Xuangeng, dressed in a wide, moon-white robe, with his eyes covered by the signature three-finger-wide white silk scarf, leaned lazily against the armchair. His long, pale fingers picked up a cup of freshly brewed pre-Qingming Longjing tea, brought it to his nose, and gently inhaled the aroma, a contented smile playing on his lips.

"The hospitality of the Xuantian Sect is not too bad. This tea is brewed with rootless water, so at least it doesn't have that rancid, rotten smell of corpses."

Hearing the sound, Xiaoman stopped sweeping, ran to the tea table, rested her chin on her hands, and gazed curiously at the white cranes in mid-air: "Daoist Master, this place is so beautiful! Look at those white cranes flying in the sky, and all these spiritual herbs covering the mountains, it's just like a fairyland from mythology. There shouldn't be any man-eating monsters here, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuangeng put down his teacup, and the smile on his lips became somewhat intriguing.

"Xiaoman, I have taught you that all phenomena are illusions." Li Xuangeng beckoned Xiaoman closer. "With your mortal eyes, the world naturally appears as a tapestry of flowers and splendor. Today, I will show you what this so-called fairyland is really like."

After saying that, Li Xuangeng pointed his fingers like a sword, and gathered a wisp of pure golden true energy at his fingertips, then gently touched Xiaoman's brow.

"Open the Heavenly Eye of Tao!"

Xiaoman felt a burning sensation between her brows, and her vision blurred for a moment. When she opened her eyes again and looked up at the sky, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and her blood instantly turned ice-cold!

Where are those ethereal white cranes in the sky anymore?

Those were clearly enormous, monstrous birds covered in pustules and black feathers! Even more terrifying, the necks of those monstrous birds had the faces of human infants! They circled in mid-air, emitting not the cries of cranes, but the chilling wails of infants!

Looking at the "spiritual herbs" covering the mountain, their roots and stems are all interwoven with human blood vessels, and you can even see the blood vessels pulsating slightly, absorbing the yin energy from the ground!

"Ah—!" Xiaoman screamed in fright, fell to the ground with a thud, her face turned pale, and her whole body trembled like a leaf.

With a wave of his long sleeve, Li Xuangeng dispelled the magic power from Xiaoman's eyes. The scene before her instantly returned to normal; the white crane was still a white crane, and the spiritual herbs were still spiritual herbs.

"Do you see? This is the truth about the cultivation world of the Great Abyss Dynasty." Li Xuangeng picked up his teacup again, his tone calm. "The so-called immortals throughout this sect are nothing but a group of deformed beings who wear human skin and maintain their sanity by sucking the blood and flesh of mortals."

"Master... since this place is full of monsters, why don't we leave? Or... or could you eat them all... all of them, like you did at the Qingping County government office?" Xiaoman stammered. Having witnessed Li Xuangeng's terrifying power in tearing apart the giant pig demon with his bare hands, Xiaoman's admiration for Li Xuangeng had surpassed her fear.

Li Xuangeng gently shook his head, his expression beneath the white silk becoming solemn and dignified.

"Xiaoman, although I enjoy 'nourishment,' I am ultimately a Taoist priest, not a beast that only knows how to devour under this distorted heavenly order." Li Xuangeng stood up, hands behind his back, the mountain wind blowing his white robes, making them flutter. "The Tao Te Ching says: 'All things carry yin and embrace yang, and through the interaction of these two forces, harmony is achieved.' The heavenly order is sick, leading to the pollution of spiritual energy and the rampant growth of demons. If I kill every person I see and eat every demon I see, what difference is there between me and those high and mighty immortals and Buddhas in disguise?"

He turned around, facing the undulating Xuan Tian Sect mountain range outside Luo Xia Peak. Under the vision of the [Qi Observation Technique], dozens of extremely faint yet incredibly pure white light spots flickered among the sky-covering crimson blood aura and black demonic energy.

"Although the Xuantian Sect is rotten to the core, look..." Li Xuangeng pointed in the direction of the white light spots, "In this quagmire, there are still a very few souls that have not been corrupted. They may be low-level disciples doing odd jobs, or they may be stubborn elders who prefer to cultivate in seclusion. They would rather their cultivation stagnate, rather be ostracized and ridiculed, than cultivate that kind of 'immortal technique' that devours its own kind."

Li Xuangeng's voice was gentle, yet it carried an undeniable air of supreme authority.

"If I were to flatten this mountain with a single palm strike, those good people who uphold their principles would also perish. The Taoist school emphasizes 'purifying the turbid to seek clarity.' The reason I am staying here on vacation is to uproot these weeds and malignant tumors and preserve those few clean flowers intact. This is the great path I wish to cultivate."

Xiaoman was stunned. She looked up at the man whose eyes were covered with white silk, and at that moment, she felt as if she had really seen a true immortal descending to earth to save people from suffering.

"Xiaoman, now that you've followed me, you can't always hide behind me and cry." Li Xuangeng walked back to the tea table, took out a yellow talisman and a cinnabar pen from his sleeve, and said, "This world is dangerous, and fear comes from insufficient firepower. Today, I will teach you the most basic self-defense method of Taoism—the Golden Light Mantra."

"Can...can I learn magic too?" Xiaoman was flattered and waved her hands repeatedly. "But...but that centipede demon elder said that I don't even have a Yellow-rank spiritual root and am a complete waste."

"Nonsense." Li Xuangeng sneered. "Their so-called spiritual roots are nothing more than whether the body is suitable for mutation, whether it's suitable to be a vessel for a great demon. My orthodox Taoist sect cultivates the mind and character, that wisp of innate energy! As long as one's heart is righteous, no evil can invade!"

Li Xuangeng held Xiaoman's slightly trembling hand and guided her to hold the vermilion pen.