Shi Feiyang had never expected Yue Qinyin to spout such nonsensical and mendacious gibberish, flipping right and wrong on its head. He firmly believed that, although the disciples of the Wutai Sect often acted almost demonically, they were still part of a widely recognized and reputable Immortal Sect, on par with the Emei Sect, and unlike other demonic Loose Cultivators, they could be ruthless and wicked, but they should have some dignity, some standards—they should have some shame!
He roared in a low voice, "Yue Qinyin! To think you are a renowned Sword Immortal of the Wutai Sect, how can you be so shameless? Claiming to be good friends with Luo Ziyuan and Bai Guyi? Would you dare to show your face in front of them, you..."
"How could I not dare?" Yue Qinyin retorted with his neck stiff, then told the two ladies from Immortal City, "I have a nickname, Mr. Iron Zither, master of zither, chess, and sword. Bai Guyi has a disciple named Yue Wen who also enjoys chess, and he's my old friend."
The two ladies from Immortal City had been taken by their adoptive father Xie Shan since they were in swaddling clothes and sent to learn the Dao under the Fairy of Bicircular, Cui Wu. Now, they had grown into teenagers, though they still looked like little girls aged around eight or nine.
Ever since their foster mother Cui Wu had passed away to circumvent tribulation, they visited their adoptive father in Wuyi Mountain only once a year, and they still spent most of their time in secluded cultivation in the Mica Tent of Jinchun Valley in Immortal Mountain. They knew little of the affairs of the outside world, but the three immortals and two elders were too famous. They didn't know Luo Ziyuan, but they knew Bai Guyi was a well-respected elder from the Orthodox Sect, and seeing Yue Qinyin's sagely manner, they trusted his words somewhat.
Yue Qinyin continued, "This Demon Dragon is the one truly steeped in monstrous crimes. All those children below are his victims. He's been devouring souls to cultivate his sorcery. My two fellow disciples and I happened to pass by, and although we are no great masters, how could we ignore such evil? But this Demon Dragon has grown too powerful; we were no match for it, and both my fellow disciples were killed by it. Fortunately, you two young fairies arrived in time, giving those children a chance at life!"
Upon hearing this, the two maidens from Immortal City were immediately filled with righteous indignation, enraged, while crisply shouting, "You vile beast, meet your death swiftly!"
Two streams of Xin Metal Sword Qi and two Green Centipede Hooks flew in simultaneously, with red and green intertwining, breaking the skies with a fierce sound, evoking awe in all who saw.
Shi Feiyang used his two inner cores to block them, and interrogated the two maidens, "Do you simply believe his words? Won't you go down and verify the truth yourselves?"
Ever since the two maidens had mastered their spells, they had only been tricked by practitioners of the Demon Path once when Cui Wu was still alive. Shortly afterwards, Xie Shan arrived and ground that person to dust using the Nine Heavens Duoluo Divine Blade. Since then, they had been more cautious. Blessed with excellent talents, they had devoted themselves to diligent cultivation over the years, becoming braver and more skilled, and occasionally emerging victorious in duels with outsiders.
Now Xie Lin, having repeatedly activated Sword Qi and the Flying Hook, and yet continuously blocked by the two inner cores, felt indignant and thus summoned the mountain treasure given to her by Cui Wu—the Five Stars Divine Blade.
That treasure flashed dazzlingly bright the moment it was wielded, the center too bright for the eyes to behold, vaguely revealing five starlights, emitting five-colored radiant light around, spinning with splendor, starlight showering down like rain.
In an instant, Shi Feiyang felt a dangerous, blade-like cleave at his head. Intending to use his inner cores to block, the Divine Fire within his inner core was still over a hundred yards away when it split to either side, and he immediately recognized the grave danger; even if he could block the treasure, his inner cores would be damaged.
He stood amidst the cloud banks, his voice deep and powerful, echoing through the surrounding mountains, "You two fools, relying solely on the Magical Treasures passed down by your elders to act recklessly. Since you are so determined to protect this man of the Demon Path, so be it. Just be sure you'll have no regrets in the future. Remember, no matter how advanced the Buddhist Law, it cannot be blind to karma; no matter how strong the Daoist Techniques, they must heed the Heavenly Tribulations. Be careful! As for those children below, it's up to you to save them and send them back to Alchemy Creek in the southwest, to their parents."
As he spoke these words, he steadily retreated, disappearing deep into the Mica Tent, while the Five Stars Divine Blade chased forward, cleaving the clouds, and locking onto him relentlessly, spinning incessantly, catching up with him over a hundred miles away by the time he finished speaking.
Shi Feiyang widened the distance, twisted his body, and with a surge of clouds, flew straight towards Dinghu Peak.
He wasn't afraid of the two girls from Immortal City, but he was wary of the power backing them. The influence of these two young girls was frighteningly strong, possibly even surpassing the Emei Sect. As Shi Feiyang pondered, he quickly listed the significant figures behind them:
Their father was Xie Shan. In his previous life, Xie Shan was a great monk of the Han Dynasty; in this life, he had joined the Mysterious Sect. Innately possessing immense mana, he was a super first-class expert in the Shushan World, endowed with the Buddhist treasure, the Heart Lamp Flower Lamp.
Xie Shan, in his previous life as a monk, had a fellow disciple named Zen Master Tian Meng, one of the three most formidable Great Monks in the Buddhist realm of Shushan World. Zen Master Tian Meng had a junior monk, Zen Master Zhi Gong, who was the forty-seventh disciple under the Western Shakyamuni and was the reincarnation of a Great Arhat.
Xie Shan also had a confidante in his past life who had become a nun in this life, cultivating in solitude at Little Han Mountain, known as Master Ren. Although slightly inferior to the previous two monks, she was still a super first-class master who could easily chase away ancient demons with a handful of ash.
In this lifetime, Xie Shan had two particularly close friends. One was Ye Bin, the Island Master of Golden Bell Island in Little Antarctic, who had forged the Ice Soul Divine Light Sword and vowed to pacify the islands of Little Antarctic. He was also a ruthless figure.
The other was Jile Perfected Li Jingxu, one of the top masters in Shushan World's Daoist order, a genuine Golden Immortal. If not for his reluctance to leave his wives, wanting to ascend with them, he would have already achieved perfection and entered the Immortal Realm.
There were also some less remarkable individuals not worth mentioning. Except for Ye Bin, any of the aforementioned individuals could suppress the current him with just a single finger, which made Shi Feiyang keen to avoid conflicts with the two ladies of Immortal City.
His main purpose for this visit was to rescue people, and the two ladies from Immortal City also harbored the intention of slaying demons and eradicating evil. If they could rescue the surviving children and return them to their parents, then this mission would be considered accomplished.
He wanted to conclude the matter there, but the two ladies from Immortal City, especially Xie Lin, whose malevolence was particularly strong, refused. When Shi Feiyang called them foolish, Xie Lin, unable to contain her anger, shouted, "You ignorant beast, still daring to rampant and do evil upon meeting us, today I must slay you to rid the world of a great peril!" She pointed her finger, summoning the Five-Star Divine Cudgel, locking onto Shi Feiyang and relentlessly pursuing him.
The sisters always acted together, having been abandoned and then picked up together, never separated since their infancy. As Xie Lin gave chase, Xie Ying naturally followed along, standing shoulder to shoulder with her. She even took the time to instruct Yue Qinbin, "Please take care of rescuing those children below and returning them to their parents. My sister and I will go slay the Demon Dragon."
"Is there such good fortune?" Yue Qinbin was overjoyed, "Feel free to slay the Demon Dragon, I will take care of the children!"
He watched the two sisters shouting and commanding their Sword Qi, chasing after the Black Dragon, quickly disappearing into the horizon. He hurriedly controlled his sword to land on the ground, arriving where the children were tied up, and took out a gourd painted with talismans from his Qiankun Bag.
This sword refining attempt had failed; to restart the process and refine again, he would need to wait another twelve years. However, the children's horoscopes had been carefully selected by him and could also be used to refine other Magical Treasures.
His Wutai Sect possessed many Magical Treasures that required the sacrifice of human souls for refinement, such as the Divine Infant Sword, Six-six True Yuan Gourd, Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, Hundred Spirits Immortal-Slaying Sword, and Nine Child Mother Yin Soul Sword.
He intended to use the "Life Souls" of these children to refine a Yin Yang Soul Splitting Shuttle, which would be useful against the Emei Sect during their swordfight.
Yue Qinbin held the gourd in his left hand and brought it close to a young boy's forehead, with the mouth of the gourd facing him. His right hand formed a Finger Technique, murmured a few spells softly, and suddenly directed the Finger Technique toward the boy's chest, emitting a beam of red light that entered the boy's heart.
"The heart houses the spirit, and if the heart is not calm, the spirit will not settle." The boy's heart vehemently thudded, his blood boiled furiously, rushing crazily upward into his skull, turning his entire face bright red. Then his two eyes turned blood-red and bulged out!
Yue Qinbin altered the Finger Technique in his right hand, and upon touching the gourd, it produced a strong suction force. Soon, fresh blood sprayed from the seven orifices of the boy, and his Three Souls and Seven Spirits were forcefully sucked out along with the blood, and collected into the gourd.
After the ritual was complete, the boy's head drooped, having died from suffocation.
All the other children tied to trees watched this scene in terror, struggling desperately, and trying to shout loudly, but they were unable to break free and no sound came out from their throats.
Yue Qinbin smiled contently, holding the gourd as he walked towards the next child.