Wang Shu Invited to Slay Demons

The cold moonlight flickered over the Moon Star, the Dao field of Fairy Wang Shu and the source of the ultimate yin power of the Primordial World. Guanghan Palace, bathed in eternal clear radiance, held a Moon Laurel Tree ten thousand zhang tall, rooted in the star core, its branches and leaves swaying as they scattered drops of lunar essence.

Not far from the Moon Laurel Tree, two masses of the purest Taiyin Origin pulsed slowly like giant cocoons of light, drawing in the essence of the Moon Star. Within the cocoons, two graceful female figures could faintly be seen gestating, their auras sharing the same origin as Wang Shu's yet softer and more gentle. They were the future Xi He and Chang Xi.

After returning, Wang Shu secluded herself in this tranquil place for cultivation. Her discussions with Li Cha, especially the Innate Enlightenment Tea imbued with unique Dao resonance and the unheard-of Great Dao of Tea, had given her immense inspiration. Two hundred years passed. When she opened her eyes again, the starlight around her shone even brighter and deeper, her aura vast as the sea—she had successfully broken through to Late Quasi-Sage!

She looked gently at the two Taiyin Origins. Nourished by the boundless star power that had naturally flowed from her during her breakthrough, the two life cocoons had accelerated their gestation, their auras growing more spirited.

"Soon, before long, you will be born," Wang Shu murmured to herself, her eyes showing a maternal affection as if looking at her own daughters.

Meanwhile, outside the sealed valley.

A figure wreathed in violet qi had lingered here for nearly two hundred years—Daoist Hongjun. His expression was calm, but inwardly he grew anxious. The deadline for the demon-slaying drew near; Yang Mei had flatly refused, and he still couldn't find a suitable fourth person to counter the Zhu Xian Sword Formation. He had divined the celestial mechanisms and vaguely sensed a thread of opportunity here, but the formation was so profound he couldn't enter or sense what lay inside. After nearly two hundred years of waiting, he hadn't seen a single person.

"It seems the opportunity here has not yet arrived. I must make other plans," Hongjun sighed inwardly, already thinking of leaving.

Just then, a cold beam of moonlight fell from the nine heavens, revealing Wang Shu's graceful figure. She had come to discuss formation Dao with Li Cha again...

When Hongjun saw Wang Shu, his eyes lit up! This master of the Moon Star, already at Late Quasi-Sage and wielding the power of the Grand Celestial Stars—if he could persuade her to help, her strength would be no less than Yang Mei's!

He immediately approached her. After exchanging pleasantries, he earnestly laid out the harm of Luohu demonizing the Kun Clan and ravaging the Primordial World, declaring that if this demon were not eliminated, all beings of the Primordial World would fall into boundless calamity, and even the order of the stars might be disrupted. His words were sincere, laced with the righteousness of the Heavenly Dao, painting a picture of a peaceful world after the demon's defeat.

Wang Shu was cold by nature but compassionate at heart, especially when it came to the responsibility of the stars' movement. Moved by Hongjun's "righteousness" and thinking that Luohu's Demonic Energy could indeed pollute star power, and feeling her own cultivation had greatly advanced, she felt she could contribute to the Primordial World. Somehow, she nodded in agreement:

"Daoist Brother speaks rightly. Luohu acts against the Dao; I cannot stand idly by. In that case, a thousand years from now, I will accompany you all to the West to slay this demon together!"

Hongjun was overjoyed and quickly said, "With the Fairy's help, this demon will surely be eliminated! We will meet at the western border a thousand years from now!" He then took the opportunity to probe about the valley owner's background. Wang Shu only knew that Li Cha's Dao name was Yun Hua, his cultivation at Late Da Luo, and his formation skills extremely high, but she was unclear about his specific origins.

When Hongjun heard that Li Cha was only at Late Da Luo, the little regard he had held for him due to the formation vanished instantly. In his eyes, once he succeeded in slaying the demon, with the merit and Primordial Violet Qi, he would immediately attain sainthood. At that point, a mere Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal was not worth his attention. He didn't linger. After agreeing with Wang Shu, he returned contentedly to Purple霄 Palace to inform the two ancestors, Qiankun and Yin Yang, that a thousand years hence, they would go west to slay the demon!

Wang Shu stayed outside the valley, waiting quietly. And so she waited for nearly another hundred years.

One day, the long-silent Qiankun Seal and Sever Formation finally rippled like water, its light curtain undulating. A figure in a green robe strolled out—it was Li Cha.

"Fairy Wang Shu? When did you arrive?" Li Cha was pleasantly surprised to see her. After three hundred years in seclusion, aided by the Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation and his own terrifying comprehension, he had deduced most of the modified formation, but he felt a missing spark at the final critical point, preventing perfection. Seeing Wang Shu, a formation master, he could seek her advice.

"Daoist Friend Yun Hua, I have been waiting for some time," Wang Shu said with a slight smile.

Li Cha quickly invited her into the valley. Though the valley had not yet undergone its final transformation, the spiritual energy was already ten times denser than before. Spiritual springs gushed, rare flowers and herbs covered the ground, and the thousand-zhang-tall Enlightenment Tea Tree at the center scattered clear radiance, already taking on an immortal aura.

They sat down. Li Cha didn't stand on ceremony and directly laid out his ideas for the modified formation and the bottlenecks he faced, especially the key points of stably guiding the divine power of Buzhou Mountain and efficiently gathering star power without destroying the original formation.

Wang Shu listened intently. As the master of the stars, her understanding of star power movement was unmatched, and with her deep formation expertise, she often hit the nail on the head, pointing out problems and offering ingenious improvements. They sometimes debated, sometimes encouraged each other, their thoughts colliding into sparks of wisdom.

This discussion lasted a full hundred years.

When the final difficulty was overcome through their joint efforts, a composite modification plan perfectly integrating the "Earth Vein Spirit Attraction Formation" and the "Heavenly Stars Gathering Yuan Formation" was finally complete! Li Cha felt a sudden clarity, his joy beyond words.

With the plan set, Li Cha immediately set to work. He took out the many spiritual materials he had accumulated, including the Star Crystals Wang Shu had given him, as well as various Five Elements essences and innate spiritual objects gathered during his travels through the Primordial World. Using the Chaos Pearl to suppress the formation eye and the Spirit Origin Ruler to carve Dao patterns, he spent another hundred years successfully embedding the new formation system perfectly into the Qiankun Seal and Sever Formation!

The moment the formation modification was complete and activated, the entire valley shook violently!

Visible to the eye, thick, ancient, earthy yellow streams of energy (the divine power of Buzhou Mountain) seeped up from the earth veins. At the same time, stars appeared in the daytime, and countless brilliant beams of starlight crossed endless space, precisely striking the preset star nodes throughout the valley! The convergence of these two supreme powers caused the valley's spiritual energy to surge instantly, turning into dense spiritual mist. Plants grew wildly at a visible rate, spiritual springs turned into nectar, and even spiritual dew began to condense in the void!

In just a thousand years, this once-dead land, this prison, had transformed into a true blessed land, rich in spiritual energy and brimming with Dao resonance, no less than any external grotto-heaven—it could be called Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven!

Wang Shu watched this miraculous transformation, deeply shaken, and admired Li Cha's methods even more.

Li Cha was elated. To express his gratitude, he naturally brought out his best. He once again took out the Five Elements Furnace and the Shouyang Pot, set them on the Sacred Spirit Table, and carefully brewed the Innate Enlightenment Tea.

"Fairy, please!"

Wang Shu took the cup and tasted the Enlightenment Tea again. Even at Late Quasi-Sage, the tea's effect of clearing the mind and sharpening comprehension was still remarkable, making her exclaim, "Daoist Friend, every time I taste this tea, I am surprised. It is truly a unique treasure of the Primordial World."

As they sipped tea and chatted, Wang Shu was in high spirits. She told Li Cha about agreeing to go west with Hongjun in a thousand years to slay Luohu, presenting it as a righteous act for the Primordial World, with a hint of pride.

Li Cha's hand holding the teacup jerked, and the smile on his face froze instantly.

"What?! Fairy, you... you agreed to go with Hongjun to kill Luohu?!" Li Cha's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Wang Shu was puzzled by his strong reaction. "Luohu corrupts all beings and harms the Primordial World. Our intervention follows the Heavenly Dao..."

Li Cha set down his teacup, his expression turning serious. "Fairy, do you know how dangerous this demon-slaying is?! The Zhu Xian Sword Formation cannot be broken without four sages! According to the original... ah, according to my deductions, in this battle, Daoist Friends Qiankun and Yin Yang are likely to meet their doom. The four slayers were supposed to be Hongjun, Qiankun, Yin Yang, and Yang Mei. Now I wonder if my previous deductions will hold true?"

He almost let it slip and quickly changed his words, framing it as a deduction.

Wang Shu's pretty face turned pale instantly. "Dao... Daoist Friend, is this true?! Will Qiankun and Yin Yang... fall?"

"I would never speak recklessly!" Li Cha said gravely. "This battle is the final conflict of the Dao-Demon struggle, part of the Heavenly Dao's grand trend, and extremely dangerous! That Hongjun... hmph, he has likely already calculated all the ins and outs." He didn't explicitly state Hongjun's schemes, but the implication was clear.

Wang Shu stood frozen. She had thought it was a righteous act on behalf of Heaven, never imagining so many conspiracies and calculations behind it, and that she had unknowingly been drawn into this terrifying death trap!

Li Cha looked at her pale face and sighed inwardly. Sure enough, his existence as a variable had triggered a butterfly effect. The position that should have been Yang Mei's had, by some twist of fate, fallen to Wang Shu. He had only met her twice, but the bond of Dao discussion, the gift of stones, and his appreciation for her character made it impossible for him to watch her go to her doom, potentially affecting the two yet-unborn beings on the Moon Star.

After a moment of silence, a flash of determination crossed Li Cha's eyes. He spoke, "Fairy, don't worry too much. Since this matter was indirectly caused by my discussions with you, I naturally won't stand idly by. A thousand years from now, when you set out, I will follow secretly."

His gaze deepened as he looked west. "At the critical moment, I may be able to lend you a hand."

Wang Shu looked at Li Cha, seeing his confident expression and steady tone, which gave her an inexplicable sense of safety. Thinking of his unfathomable formation skills and his mysterious origins that could even challenge the Heavenly Dao, she felt somewhat reassured and said gratefully, "Then... I am in your debt, Daoist Friend. I will remember this kindness."

Li Cha waved his hand. His gaze once again fell on the newly transformed Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven, but his mind had already drifted a thousand years ahead, to the western battle destined to reshape the Primordial World's landscape. With his intervention, would the outcome of this Dao-Demon struggle be any different?