Encirclement

Because they were direct descendants of the Qi Dynasty's imperial family, and because the Qi Dynasty was the Origin Sect's primary tool for controlling mortal society within its sphere of influence, with many of its forebears holding high positions in the Origin Sect, Princess Xiu's group received treatment that was more than a hundred times better than that of ordinary Origin Sect menial disciples. They lived in an independent courtyard with two sections front and back, surrounded by verdant pines and cypresses. There was even a small lake before its gates, with a rainbow bridge leading directly to the courtyard's main entrance.

There were six two-story buildings within the courtyard, housing Princess Xiu's group of five separately.

Princess Xiu's solitary building was now brightly lit. A faint, cloying sweet fragrance lingered in the air, while soft, seductive moans that could make one's bones go weak continuously drifted out from within. In a second-floor bedroom, on the carpet, Princess Xiu's two followers, Senior Brother Xiong and Senior Brother Ying, were joining forces with Miss Ya in lovemaking. The three had lost even their most basic reason, leaving behind only primal beastly instincts. Like animals in heat, they moaned wildly and squeezed each other's flesh with all their strength.

Miss Ya let out a heart-rending cry. Her bluish face was steeped in lust, her body trembled, and waves of pallor passed over her as though vicious ghosts were drawing the blood essence from within her. Her skin had already turned nearly translucent with whiteness. Even someone who knew no Daoist arts could see that the vitality within Miss Ya was slowly dissipating. Her two opponents were not doing much better. The skin of the two originally robust young men had begun to sag. Their eye sockets were dark, their lips blackened, and their lungs made sounds like torn bellows whenever they breathed, a sound that wrenched at the heart. Each violent thrust seemed to squeeze another bit of life force from their bodies, causing them to wither a little more.

Immortal Miao held the naked Princess Xiu in his arms as he lounged upon the bed, smugly admiring the cruel scene of living eroticism before him. He grinned savagely. "Beauty, look. This is what happens when one falls victim to our sect's Soul-Shattering Powder. No matter how capable you are, so long as you have not cultivated a Primordial Spirit and forged your own True Samadhi Fire within your body, you can only mate yourself to death."

He forcefully kissed the blue-faced Princess Xiu and chuckled. "That Lin Xiao has probably already been struck by the Soul-Shattering Powder your little cousin brought him. He must be losing himself in that tender haven right now! Hehe, so long as your little cousin follows the method this immortal taught her, Lin Xiao definitely won't escape her palm. In a little while, she should return with Lin Xiao, shouldn't she? A mere Golden Core Stage cultivator, hmph! If this immortal personally dealt with him, wouldn't that lower my standing?"

Curled up in Immortal Miao's embrace, Princess Xiu slowly twisted her waist and abdomen, lightly rubbing her breasts against his body as she softly asked, "What if Jie'er fails?"

"How could she fail?" Immortal Miao said proudly. "This immortal's methods of harmonizing yin and yang are renowned throughout the cultivation world. The Soul-Shattering Powder I secretly refined is not poison, but a supreme spiritual medicine that awakens a cultivator's instincts. Even if Lin Xiao is a disciple of the Great Luo Pill Dao, even if he truly inherited the Great Luo Pill Scripture, he will not find a spiritual pill capable of countering my Soul-Shattering Powder!"

After laughing smugly a few times, Immortal Miao forcefully groped Princess Xiu several times and gave a strange, quiet laugh. "As long as a trace of Soul-Shattering Powder enters Lin Xiao's body, his little life will no longer be his to decide. Look at your three followers—their fate will be Lin Xiao's fate. But Lin Xiao has formed a Golden Core after all, so he can hang on for a few more days. That will be enough for this immortal to interrogate some of the secrets of the Great Luo Pill Scripture." Immortal Miao smiled with undisguised glee at another's misfortune. "That old devil obtained the Great Luo Pill Scripture, yet does not know the secret of opening it! Heh, the moment he heard that this little brat Lin Xiao had inherited the Great Luo Pill Scripture, he eagerly sent this immortal here!"

Lowering his head to kiss Princess Xiu hard, Immortal Miao smiled smugly. "Little beauty, my princess, we truly are a match made in heaven. Heaven itself intends to bring us together, or how could this immortal have encountered you all by such coincidence? Hehe! We must not disappoint Heaven's good intentions, nor waste this fine springtime. Let us make merry while we can!" He pressed Princess Xiu down upon the bed and was about to circulate his sect's secret method for pleasure.

Outside the courtyard, Origin Sect members had surrounded the place at some unknown time. Beneath Daoist Yi Xing, as many as thirty elders of the Yi generation had arrived, fifteen of whom possessed Nascent Soul Stage cultivation. There were nearly three hundred Golden Core Stage disciples below the Yi generation as well. So many deeply cultivated Origin Sect cultivators had sealed off the little courtyard so tightly that not even water could pass through. Lower-ranking disciples hurried about along the outskirts, burying spirit stones, formation cores, and sect banners in the ground. They made not the slightest sound as they moved. In the time it took to drink two cups of tea, they had set down eighteen layers of the Heavenly Net formation outside the courtyard, completely encircling it.

A fist-sized patch of bluish-purple moss clung to Lin Xiao's shoulder as he followed behind Daoist Yi Xing and stepped onto the rainbow bridge leading to the courtyard gate.

Daoist Yi Xing gently swished his whisk. As he walked toward the courtyard, he smiled at Lin Xiao. "Young Friend Lin Xiao, according to County Princess Jie's testimony, the one who boldly infiltrated our Origin Sect was Immortal Miao, the most despised lecherous villain in the cultivation world. His cultivation is exceedingly profound. He was already famous two thousand years ago, and his cultivation has likely reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. His demonic arts are unfathomably strange, and the lust poison he concocts is especially sinister and vicious. He is an extremely difficult opponent."

Lin Xiao followed silently behind Daoist Yi Xing, but the clump of moss on his shoulder loudly shouted, "Bad guy, not scared~ Yaoying will help Big Brother Lin beat him up!"

A tiny moss-made arm stretched out from the clump and waved forcefully through the air. Lin Xiao gave Yaoying, hanging from his shoulder, a hard pat and coldly said, "You are merely a little demon comparable to the Qi Condensation Stage. You were fortunate enough to take human form by borrowing the medicinal power of tens of thousands of spiritual herbs in that Yin River, but your cultivation is pathetically weak. A cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage could destroy a hundred of you with one finger!"

Yaoying's tiny fist waved feebly, and she said rather unconvincedly, "One finger can destroy a hundred of me? Not necessarily! What if there were a thousand of me?"

Lin Xiao did not answer, but Daoist Yi Xing nodded with a smile. "What an interesting little demon. Young Friend Lin Xiao, your luck is quite good." Daoist Yi Xing nodded in praise, while Yi Xin, walking behind him, stared fixedly at Yaoying, unable to conceal the envy in her eyes. A clump of moss had become a demon, and its human form was such an adorable little girl—how could Yi Xin not feel affection for her? Yet Yaoying only clung to Lin Xiao and did not spare Yi Xin a single glance. Given Yi Xin's status, however, she absolutely could not open her mouth to ask Lin Xiao for her.

When Daoist Yi Xing and the others reached the courtyard gate, he raised his head and gave a long Daoist cry, then loudly rebuked, "Fellow Daoist Miao, since you have come to our Qi Yuan Star, why not meet with your hosts? Why do you only concern yourself with bullying junior disciples? You are also a famed figure of the evil path. Why commit such despicable acts?"

Immortal Miao, who was galloping wildly atop Princess Xiu, shuddered violently. He cried out in alarm, "Damn it, that little girl truly ruined this immortal's plans? Strange—how could Lin Xiao possibly resist the Soul-Shattering Powder? Impossible, there is no reason for this, absolutely no reason at all!"

Immortal Miao did not know it, and even Lin Xiao himself did not know it. Lin Xiao's Golden Core contained a strand of Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire, the purest yang flame between Heaven and Earth. How could the True Samadhi Fire cultivated by Daoists after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage compare to it? The tiny bit of Soul-Shattering Powder County Princess Jie had sprayed out had not even touched Lin Xiao's body before a thread of pure yang fire qi naturally emanating from within him had evaporated it. Protected by the Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire, Lin Xiao feared almost no evil poisons, much less mere Soul-Shattering Powder.

With a cold snort, Immortal Miao climbed off Princess Xiu and leisurely put on his Daoist Robe. Tilting his head as he thought for a while, he shook his head. "Judging from that old Daoist Yi Xing's tone, he intends to muddle things over! Hehe, bullying junior disciples? In other words, they will not pursue the matter regarding you lot? Hm, where in the world could there be such a cheap bargain!"

With a flick of his right hand, a crystal-clear short sword appeared in Immortal Miao's grasp. He casually waved it, and the heads of Princess Xiu, Miss Ya, and the other two flew high into the air amid a streak of blood. A miserable moan came from the short sword as all four souls were drawn into it, then swiftly torn to pieces by a vicious sword spirit nurtured within by evil arts and devoured as food.

"Hehehehe, this immortal comes when he wishes and leaves when he wishes. What can you possibly do to me?" Immortal Miao lightly struck the small building where he stood with a palm, reducing it to ash, then slowly floated into the sky atop a cloud of pink. The short sword in his right hand gently waved, tracing threadlike cold lights through the air. Immortal Miao sighed. "Little Daoist Yi Xing, you are not my opponent. Call out those cowardly ghosts of your sect who hide in seclusion and closed-door cultivation. Otherwise, no one here can withstand even a single blow from me!"

Daoist Yi Xing sneered several times and lightly clapped his hands. Countless Daoists all around simultaneously recited a Daoist invocation. The eighteen-layer Heavenly Net formation rose with a whoosh, sealing all three hundred and sixty degrees of the heavens tight. Layer upon layer of bright halos wound through the sky as an invisible pressure descended from above. Immortal Miao could not help frowning as he angrily said, "The Heavenly Net formation? When did you gather all the banners and gates necessary to establish it? Seventeen hundred years ago—"

"That was, after all, seventeen hundred years ago," Daoist Yi Xing said calmly. "Fellow Daoist Miao, obediently surrender."

Immortal Miao laughed mockingly. His body twisted, and the transparent short sword in his right hand instantly transformed into countless silver sword lights, each over a zhang long and agile as flood dragons, shooting in disorder toward all the nearby Daoists. The Origin Sect cultivators simultaneously released sword lights to block the attacks slashing toward them.

A silver sword light came for Lin Xiao as well. Ignorant of the immensity of Heaven and Earth, he sent out the Crimson Dragon Sword, transforming it into a red beam over two zhang long to meet it. The silver sword light and the Crimson Dragon Sword barely touched when a mountain-heavy pressure crashed head-on into him. Lin Xiao grunted and staggered backward, while torrents of blood already sprayed from his seven apertures. His chest felt as though it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and searing pain tore through his five viscera and six bowels, so agonizing that he nearly fainted.

With a crisp clang, the Crimson Dragon Sword, the first flying sword of Lin Xiao's life, was cut in two by that silver sword light. The two pieces of scrap iron fell from the sky trailing rolling flames, and Lin Xiao's mind suffered another heavy blow, causing him to spit out another mouthful of vivid hot blood.

Yaoying cried loudly, "Big Brother Lin~ Your treasured sword~ Ah, why are you covered in blood?" Yaoying, clinging to Lin Xiao's shoulder, swelled into a head-sized clump, from which countless tiny hands extended to swiftly wipe his face.

Lin Xiao sat weakly on the ground, blankly watching Immortal Miao command thousands of silver lights as they flew crisscross through the sky. At last, he understood the gap between himself and these top experts of the cultivation world. The sword light Lin Xiao had unleashed with all his strength had been sliced in two by one ordinary split sword light from Immortal Miao. It left Lin Xiao utterly speechless. The gap between his newly formed Golden Core and Immortal Miao's peak Nascent Soul Stage cultivation was simply too vast—so vast that Lin Xiao could not even imagine it.

Then how powerful was the Blood God Ancestor, who could command all demons? If the Blood God Ancestor had already surpassed the Nascent Soul Stage, then—

"Is there still any hope for revenge?" A wave of despair washed over Lin Xiao. Watching Immortal Miao drive the Origin Sect cultivators into such straits that they could barely breathe, he suddenly let out a deep sigh.

Daoist Yi Xing suddenly shouted, "Heavenly Net, transform!"

The eighteen layers of the Heavenly Net formation in the sky suddenly collapsed, and countless rays of light rained down. Several dozen immense streams of light twisted and fused in midair, conjuring from nothing a phoenix nearly a hundred zhang long and covered entirely in flames. At the same time, the nearly thousand lower-ranking Origin Sect disciples stationed around the outer perimeter of the Heavenly Net formation felt their bodies go limp and collapsed to the ground together.

Daoist Yi Xing gave a long howl and formed hand seals. A blinding mass of golden light flew from his sleeve, within which a great seal could vaguely be seen, smashing down toward Immortal Miao's head.

At the same time, all the Yi-generation elders of the Origin Sect present released magical treasures of every color from their hands. Several dozen treasure lights, carrying suffocating waves of immense magical power, smashed toward Immortal Miao.

The enormous fire phoenix in the sky gave a clear cry toward the heavens. Its massive body suddenly shrank to several feet in length, then shot straight at Immortal Miao's heart with a blinding brilliance.

Immortal Miao howled toward the sky and disdainfully shouted, "Does this immortal fear the likes of you? Behold this immortal's protective supreme treasure, the Carefree Hundred Immortals Pouch!"

With a point of his finger, a five-colored pink radiance flew from his fingertips accompanied by graceful music. Hundreds of incomparably beautiful naked women could be seen dancing out from within the pink light, striking seductive poses. The women giggled foolishly, and every gesture of their hands and feet stirred countless cloying pink rays. Gathering together, they met the magical treasures rushing at them and the fire phoenix formed purely from condensed spiritual power!

Just as Immortal Miao was about to rely upon his overwhelmingly powerful cultivation to clash head-on with the several dozen Origin Sect elders, a jade-white palm over a foot long suddenly appeared soundlessly behind him. The palm held a two-foot-long red jade ruyi. With a light shake, the ruyi struck Immortal Miao viciously on the back of the head.

With a muffled bang, Immortal Miao staggered wildly forward. He spat out blood, and true fire burst from his seven apertures. He had been struck dizzy and disoriented, losing control of the Carefree Hundred Immortals Pouch. Several dozen treasure lights struck him almost simultaneously. The magical robes upon him continuously emitted clusters of multicolored radiance, desperately resisting the assault of the various treasure lights. Yet this was the joint attack of several dozen Origin Sect elders, and Immortal Miao had also suffered a sneak attack from behind. The multicolored light around him finally shattered, and all the treasure lights slammed into his body.

Amid a series of crack-crack breaking bones, half of Immortal Miao's body was smashed into fragments on the spot, leaving behind only his upper torso.

Immortal Miao roared furiously toward the sky, "Old Ghost Xuan Luo! Your Origin Sect claims to be an upright and renowned sect, yet you have learned to launch sneak attacks from behind as well?"

A slick, glib voice rang out from the void. "People always change, you know~ It is so much easier to club someone from behind. Why should I risk my life fighting you face-to-face?"

Immortal Miao spat out blood in fury. Several dozen golden rope shadows pounced upon him and bound him tightly.

"Old Ghost Xuan Luo! You are despicable! Shameless! Lowly! You are unworthy of being righteous path disciples!" Immortal Miao was tied up tightly by several dozen Demon-Binding Ropes specially forged by the Origin Sect, yet he still rolled and struggled desperately on the ground. Veins bulged high upon his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and surging waves of powerful magical force poured from his body, making the ground within several li continuously tremble with an astonishing momentum. Especially within a dozen or so zhang around Immortal Miao, tides of true essence surged like a storm. The almost tangible gale of qi cut painfully against people's faces and even scraped away a thick layer of earth from the ground. Immortal Miao's Daoist Robe burst apart, muscles swelling piece by piece as he tried to use a mouthful of natal true essence to break free from the Demon-Binding Ropes.

What was especially unbelievable was that as Immortal Miao struggled, new flesh and tissue rapidly grew from the remnants of his shattered body. Threads of extremely fine pink spiritual light flowed around him, and in only a moment, Immortal Miao's body had returned to normal. Only his complexion grew ever paler, so white that it was nearly translucent.

Daoist Yi Xing snorted coldly and pointed with his whisk. A white-bearded Daoist immediately took a purple talisman one chi two cun long and two cun wide from his sleeve and strode toward Immortal Miao. The closer the white-bearded Daoist approached Immortal Miao, the slower his steps became. When he came within less than three zhang, he had barely taken another step when Immortal Miao turned his head and spat a blast of qi at him. It struck the Daoist like an iron pillar, blasting a transparent bowl-sized hole through his body and sending him flying dozens of zhang away.

"What powerful cultivation!" Lin Xiao's body trembled with excitement. This white-bearded Daoist was Yi Cheng, one of the few great experts who had cultivated a Primordial Spirit. Yet such an expert had been gravely wounded by a single mouthful of true essence from Immortal Miao. Such cultivation was truly earth-shaking. The gap between the peak of late Nascent Soul Stage and an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was so great that it made one click one's tongue in astonishment.

Drawing in a deep breath, Lin Xiao could not help feeling somewhat dejected. Perhaps he too needed cultivation like Immortal Miao's before he could more easily accomplish the goal in his heart. But was peak late Nascent Soul Stage cultivation so easily attained? Having spent several months in the Origin Sect, Lin Xiao naturally knew that among the Origin Sect's million members, there were no more than fifty Nascent Soul Stage experts. As for those who possessed peak Nascent Soul Stage strength, perhaps there were only those few senior figures cultivating in absolute seclusion—such as Daoist Xuan Luo, who had delivered that blow from behind.

Daoist Yi Xing snorted in anger. "Immortal Miao truly is extraordinary. Having fallen into such a state, he still possesses such might." Daoist Yi Xing picked up the talisman Yi Cheng had dropped and slowly walked toward Immortal Miao step by step. Daoist Yi Xing intended to personally use this specially made Spirit-Calming Incantation to suppress Immortal Miao's Primordial Spirit.

One step, two steps, three steps~ Daoist Yi Xing cautiously approached Immortal Miao. Yi Xin carefully followed more than a zhang behind Daoist Yi Xing. Gentle light shimmered in her hand, while her left hand gripped a bottle of spiritual pills. She was poised to act at any time to save someone. Yi Cheng, who lay nearby receiving treatment from his fellow disciples, could not help smacking his lips in grievance. "We are all fellow senior and junior brothers of the same sect. How can Senior Sister Yi Xin be so biased? Well, women being biased is only natural, but this is taking it a little too far."

When Immortal Miao saw Daoist Yi Xing slowly closing in, he instead stopped struggling. Lying on his side, he watched Daoist Yi Xing with a sinister cackle, mysterious green light flickering in his eyes. After a while, even his laughter subsided. His lips continuously moved, and an eerie buzzing incantation suddenly sounded from the surrounding void. It was like tens of thousands of flies droning at once. The dull rumble pierced directly into Lin Xiao and the others' minds. Every cultivator below the Nascent Soul Stage clutched their ears and staggered backward in disarray. The chant was so maddening that it seemed to slowly tear their brains apart and churn them into a puddle of minced flesh. Lin Xiao felt his temples cramping.