The Round-Up

As they were the direct descendants of the Qi Dynasty's royal family, and the Qi Dynasty was the primary force the Origin Sect used to control the mortal society within its sphere of influence, many of the Qi Dynasty's ancestors held high positions within the Origin Sect. Therefore, Princess Xiu and her companions received treatment that was more than a hundred times better than that of ordinary Origin Sect miscellaneous disciples. They resided in a private courtyard with two sections, surrounded by green pines and cypresses. In front of the gate was a small lake, with a rainbow bridge leading directly to the main entrance of the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard were six two-story small buildings, where Princess Xiu and the other four people lived.

Currently, the small building where Princess Xiu lived alone was brightly lit, and a faint, sweet, and alluring fragrance filled the air. From within the building, continuous seductive moans that could soften bones and paralyze muscles could be heard. In the bedroom on the second floor of the small building, on the carpet, Princess Xiu's two followers, Senior Brother Xiong and Senior Brother Ying, were engaging in intercourse with Miss Ya. The three had lost their basic consciousness, leaving only primal beastly instincts. They were moaning wildly like beasts in heat, forcefully pressing against each other's bodies.

Miss Ya let out a hoarse cry. Her pale face was flushed with lust. Her body trembled, and waves of paleness washed over her, as if her vital essence was being drained by a fierce ghost. Her skin had become so pale it was almost transparent. Even someone who knew no Taoist magic could tell that Miss Ya's vitality and life force were slowly dissipating. Miss Ya's two opponents were no better off. The skin of the two originally extremely robust youths was now somewhat loose. Their eyes were dark, their lips were dark, and their breathing sounded like a broken bellows, making one's heart ache. With every vigorous thrust, it seemed a bit of their life force was squeezed out, and their bodies shriveled a little more.

Immortal Miao, embracing the naked Princess Xiu, sprawled on the couch, gloatingly admiring the incredibly cruel live erotic show before him. He let out a smug, sinister laugh and said, "Beauty, look, this is the consequence of falling victim to our sect's 'Soul-Shattering Powder.' No matter how capable you are, as long as you haven't cultivated a Nascent Soul and tempered your own True Samadhi Fire within your body, you can only die through intercourse."

Embracing the pale-faced Princess Xiu, Immortal Miao kissed her forcefully and chuckled, "Lin Xiao has probably fallen victim to the 'Soul-Shattering Powder' brought by your little cousin. He must be indulging in pleasure right now! Hehe, as long as your little cousin acts according to the method I taught her, Lin Xiao will surely not escape her grasp. She should be bringing Lin Xiao back soon, shouldn't she? A mere cultivator at the Golden Core Stage, hmph! If I were to deal with him personally, wouldn't that be beneath me?"

Curled up in Immortal Miao's embrace, Princess Xiu slowly writhed her waist, gently rubbing her chest against Immortal Miao's body, and asked softly, "What if Jie'er fails?"

"How could she fail?" Immortal Miao said proudly. "My sect's Yin-Yang Harmonization technique is famous throughout the cultivation world. My specially formulated Soul-Shattering Powder is not a poison, but a supreme spiritual medicine that stimulates the innate instincts of cultivators. Even if Lin Xiao is a disciple of the Great Luo Pill Dao, even if he truly inherited the Great Luo Pill Scripture, he won't be able to find any spiritual pills that can counteract my Soul-Shattering Powder!"

After chuckling triumphantly a few times, Immortal Miao grabbed Princess Xiu's breasts forcefully and said with a sinister laugh, "As long as a trace of Soul-Shattering Powder enters Lin Xiao's body, his life will be beyond his control. Look at your three followers; their fate is Lin Xiao's fate. However, since Lin Xiao has already formed a Golden Core, he can hold on for a few more days, which is enough for me to interrogate him for some secrets of the Great Luo Pill Scripture." Immortal Miao said with a hint of schadenfreude, "That old demon got the Great Luo Pill Scripture but doesn't know the secret to unlocking it! Heh, as soon as he heard that this kid Lin Xiao actually inherited the Great Luo Pill Scripture, he sent me rushing over!"

Lowering his head and kissing Princess Xiu forcefully, Immortal Miao said triumphantly, "My little beauty, my princess, we are truly a match made in heaven, destined by fate! Otherwise, how could I have encountered you so coincidentally? Hehe! Let's not disappoint heaven's good intentions, nor waste this beautiful spring scenery. Let's enjoy ourselves sooner rather than later!" He pushed Princess Xiu onto the bed and was about to activate his sect's secret art for pleasure.

Outside the courtyard, the disciples of the Origin Sect had already surrounded it at some unknown time. Thirty elders of the "Yi" generation, including Yi Xing, had arrived. Among them, fifteen had Nascent Soul Stage cultivation. Below the "Yi" generation, there were nearly three hundred Golden Core Stage disciples. So many Origin Sect cultivators with profound cultivation had completely surrounded the small courtyard. On the periphery, some lower-generation disciples were rushing about, burying spirit stones, array cores, and banners in the ground. These lower-generation disciples moved without making a sound. In just two cups of tea time, they had set up eighteen layers of the Heavenly Net Array outside the small courtyard, completely encircling it.

A piece of bluish-purple moss, about the size of a fist, was stuck to Lin Xiao's shoulder. He followed closely behind Yi Xing and stepped onto the rainbow bridge leading to the courtyard's main entrance.

Yi Xing gently waved his whisk, and as he walked towards the small courtyard, he smiled at Lin Xiao, "Junior friend Lin Xiao, according to Huang Jie'er's confession, the one who audaciously sneaked into our Origin Sect is the infamous lecher of the cultivation world, Immortal Miao. This person has profound cultivation and was famous two thousand years ago. His cultivation is likely at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. His demonic arts are unpredictable, and his aphrodisiacs are extremely sinister and potent, making him a very difficult opponent."

Lin Xiao silently followed behind Yi Xing. The clump of moss on his shoulder, however, shouted loudly, "Bad guys, don't be afraid~ Yaoying will help big brother Lin fight him!"

A small arm made of moss extended from the clump of moss and waved forcefully in the air. Lin Xiao patted Yaoying, who was clinging to his shoulder, and said coldly, "You're just a little demon equivalent to the Qi Condensation Stage. You were lucky enough to shapeshift by borrowing the medicinal power of tens of thousands of spiritual herbs from that Yin River, but your cultivation is extremely weak. A peak Nascent Soul Stage cultivator could destroy a hundred of you with a single finger!"

Yaoying waved her fist weakly, saying somewhat dejectedly, "A hundred of me with one finger? Not necessarily! What about a thousand of me?"

Lin Xiao remained silent, while Yi Xing nodded and smiled, "What an interesting little monster. Junior friend Lin Xiao, you have good luck." Yi Xing nodded in praise, while Yi Xin, following behind him, stared intently at Yaoying, with undisguised envy in her eyes. A clump of moss had transformed into a monster, and its human form was still such an adorable little girl, which naturally made Yi Xin feel affection for her. However, Yaoying was only focused on pestering Lin Xiao and didn't even glance at Yi Xin. Given Yi Xin's status, she absolutely could not ask Lin Xiao for her.

Yi Xing and the others arrived at the courtyard gate. Yi Xing shouted a Taoist incantation to the sky and loudly reprimanded, "Fellow Taoist Miao, since you've come to our Qi Yuan Star, why don't you meet with your host and instead bully some junior disciples? Fellow Taoist is also a renowned figure in the demonic path, why do you engage in such despicable acts?"

Immortal Miao, who was vigorously engaging Princess Xiu, shivered and exclaimed in shock, "This is bad, that little girl has truly ruined my grand plan? Strange, how could Lin Xiao resist the Soul-Shattering Powder? It makes no sense, absolutely no sense!"

Immortal Miao didn't know, and even Lin Xiao himself didn't know. Lin Xiao's Golden Core contained a trace of Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire, which was the purest Yang flame in heaven and earth, over a hundred times stronger than the True Samadhi Fire cultivated by Taoists after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage. The trace of Soul-Shattering Powder sprayed by County Princess Jie had been evaporated by a trace of pure Yang fire naturally emanating from Lin Xiao's body before it even touched him. Protected by the Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire, Lin Xiao was almost immune to all evil toxins, let alone mere Soul-Shattering Powder!

With a cold snort, Immortal Miao climbed off Princess Xiu, slowly put on his Taoist robe, tilted his head, and thought for a moment before shaking his head, "Judging by Yi Xing's tone, he's going to play dumb! Heh heh, bullying junior disciples? Meaning, you guys won't be held accountable? Hmm, is there such a cheap thing in the world!"

With a flip of his right hand, a short sword as clear as crystal appeared in Immortal Miao's hand. With a casual wave, the heads of Princess Xiu, Miss Ya, and the other two flew up with a flash of blood. The short sword let out a mournful cry, and the souls of the four were drawn into the sword, quickly torn to shreds and devoured by a ferocious sword spirit nurtured within the sword through evil arts.

"Heh heh heh, I come and go as I please, what can you do to me?" Immortal Miao lightly slapped the small building he was in, turning it into ashes, and slowly floated into the sky on a cloud of pink mist. He lightly waved his short sword in his right hand, drawing extremely fine cold lights in the air, and sighed, "Little Taoist Yi Xing, you are no match for me. Call out those cowardly seniors of yours who are in secluded cultivation. Otherwise, no one here can withstand a single blow from me!"

Yi Xing sneered a few times and clapped his hands. Countless Taoists around them simultaneously chanted a Taoist incantation. The eighteen layers of the Heavenly Net Array suddenly rose, covering a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Layers of bright halos intertwined in the sky, and an invisible pressure descended from above. Immortal Miao couldn't help but frown and angrily exclaimed, "Heavenly Net Array? When did you complete the various banners and gates needed to set up the array? Seventeen hundred years ago—"

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

Immortal Miao let out a few mocking laughs. He twisted his body, and the transparent short sword in his right hand instantly transformed into countless silver sword lights, each about ten feet long, agile and swift like dragons, shooting out chaotically towards all the nearby Taoists. The cultivators of the Origin Sect simultaneously sent out sword lights to block the attacks aimed at them.

Lin Xiao was also targeted by a silver sword light. Recklessly, he flew out the Crimson Dragon Sword, which transformed into a red light over twenty feet long and met the attack. The moment the silver sword light and the Crimson Dragon Sword made contact, a pressure as heavy as a mountain struck him. Lin Xiao grunted, retreated rapidly, and large streams of blood gushed from his seven orifices. Lin Xiao's chest felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and his internal organs burned with pain, almost causing him to faint.

With a crisp 'ding-dang' sound, Lin Xiao's first flying sword, the Crimson Dragon Sword, was severed by the silver sword light. The two pieces of scrap metal, trailing rolling flames, fell from the sky. Lin Xiao's spirit suffered another heavy blow, and he spat out another mouthful of hot blood.

Yaoying shouted loudly, "Big brother Lin~ Your precious sword~ Ah, why are you covered in blood?" The Yaoying clinging to Lin Xiao's shoulder suddenly expanded to the size of a human head, with countless tiny hands extending out, quickly wiping Lin Xiao's face.

Lin Xiao sat on the ground weakly, staring blankly at Immortal Miao, who was controlling thousands of silver lights dancing in the sky. He finally understood the gap between himself and these top experts in the cultivation world. The sword light Lin Xiao had unleashed with all his might was actually cut in half by an ordinary sword light from Immortal Miao, which left Lin Xiao speechless. The gap between him, who had just formed a Golden Core, and Immortal Miao, who was at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage, was too vast for Lin Xiao to imagine.

Then, how strong 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 hope for revenge?" Lin Xiao felt a wave of despair. Looking at Immortal Miao in the sky, who was forcing the Origin Sect cultivators to gasp for breath with his sword lights, he suddenly sighed deeply.

Yi Xing suddenly shouted, "Heavenly Net, Illusion!"

The eighteen layers of the Heavenly Net Array in the sky suddenly disintegrated, and countless light particles rained down. Among them, dozens of extremely large streams of light twisted and merged in the air, conjuring a phoenix nearly a hundred feet long, completely covered in flames. At the same time, the nearly a thousand lower-generation Origin Sect disciples who had set up the Heavenly Net Array on the periphery felt a wave of weakness and collapsed to the ground.

Yi Xing let out a long cry, formed hand seals, and a blinding golden light flew out from his sleeve. Within the golden light, a large seal could be vaguely seen, which was smashed down towards Immortal Miao.

Simultaneously, all the "Yi" generation elders present flew out their various magical treasures. Dozens of beams of treasure light, carrying suffocatingly powerful energy fluctuations, were all hurled towards Immortal Miao.

The giant fire phoenix in the sky let out a soft cry. Its huge body suddenly condensed to a length of a few feet, carrying blinding light, and shot towards Immortal Miao.

Immortal Miao let out a long roar to the sky and said disdainfully, "Am I afraid of you? Behold my ultimate defensive treasure, the 'Carefree Hundred Immortals Pouch'!"

With a point of his finger, a colorful powdery light flew out from his fingertip, accompanied by melodious music. Within the powdery light, hundreds of naked, stunningly beautiful women could be seen dancing seductively. These women giggled foolishly, and with every movement, they brought forth countless powdery, lustrous lights, forming a mass that met the approaching magical treasures and the fire phoenix condensed purely from spiritual energy!

Just as Immortal Miao was about to confront the dozens of Origin Sect elders with his overwhelmingly powerful cultivation, a pure white, jade-like palm, about a foot long, silently appeared behind Immortal Miao. The palm held a two-foot-long red jade Ruyi scepter. With a gentle flick of the scepter, it struck fiercely at the back of Immortal Miao's head.

With a dull 'bang,' Immortal Miao staggered forward, spitting out a mouthful of blood. True fire erupted from his seven orifices, and he was dazed and dizzy, having lost control of the Carefree Hundred Immortals Pouch. Dozens of beams of treasure light struck him almost simultaneously. The magical robes on Immortal Miao's body continuously emitted colorful lights, stubbornly resisting the invasion of the various treasure lights. However, after all, it was the combined effort of dozens of Origin Sect elders, and Immortal Miao had also been ambushed from behind. The colorful lights on his body finally disintegrated, and dozens of beams of treasure light all struck him.

With the sound of 'crackling' bone fractures, half of Immortal Miao's body was shattered on the spot, leaving only the upper torso.

Immortal Miao roared to the sky in anger, "Old Ghost Xuan Luo! Your Origin Sect claims to be a righteous sect, but how have you learned to ambush from behind?"

A greasy, slippery voice echoed in the void, "People always change—It's so much easier to ambush, why should I fight you head-on?"

Immortal Miao, spitting out a mouthful of blood in anger, was bound tightly by dozens of golden rope shadows.

"Old Ghost Xuan Luo! You are despicable! Shameless! Vulgar! You are a disgrace to the righteous path!" Immortal Miao, tightly bound by dozens of specially made 'Demon-Binding Ropes' of the Xuan Sect, still struggled desperately on the ground. The blood vessels on his forehead bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and waves of powerful spiritual energy fluctuations surged from within his body, causing the ground for several miles around to tremble continuously, creating a terrifying spectacle. Especially within a dozen feet of Immortal Miao, surges of true essence rushed out, and the almost tangible spiritual wind scraped painfully against people's faces, stripping away a thick layer of the ground. Immortal Miao's Taoist robe ripped, and his muscles bulged. He wanted to use his innate true essence to break free from the control of the Demon-Binding Ropes.

What was even more incredible was that as Immortal Miao struggled, new body tissues rapidly grew from his shattered body. Extremely fine pink spiritual light circulated, and in just a moment, Immortal Miao's body returned to its original state, although his complexion became even paler, almost transparently so.

Yi Xing let out a cold snort and tapped his whisk. A white-bearded Taoist immediately took out a purple talisman, twelve inches long and two inches wide, from his sleeve and strode towards Immortal Miao. The closer the white-bearded Taoist got to Immortal Miao, the slower his steps became. Finally, within three feet of Immortal Miao, as the white-bearded Taoist took a step, Immortal Miao turned his head and spat out a stream of energy at him. The energy was like a steel pillar that struck the white-bearded Taoist's body, blasting a bowl-sized transparent hole through it and sending him flying dozens of feet away.

"Such powerful cultivation!" Lin Xiao's body trembled with excitement. This white-bearded Taoist, named Yi Cheng, was a renowned expert who had cultivated to the Nascent Soul Stage. Such an expert being severely injured by a single breath of true essence from Immortal Miao was truly earth-shattering. The difference between the peak of the late Nascent Soul Stage and an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage was astonishingly large.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel a bit dejected. Perhaps he would also need to possess cultivation like Immortal Miao's to easily achieve his goals. But was achieving the peak of the late Nascent Soul Stage cultivation so easy? Having been in the Origin Sect for several months, Lin Xiao naturally knew that with the Origin Sect's million-strong scale, there were no more than fifty Nascent Soul Stage experts. As for those with peak Nascent Soul Stage strength, perhaps there were only a few seniors in secluded cultivation—like the ambushing Taoist Xuan Luo.

Yi Xing, angered, let out a cold snort, "Immortal Miao is indeed extraordinary. Even in such a dire situation, he still possesses such might." Yi Xing picked up the talisman dropped by Yi Cheng from the ground and slowly walked towards Immortal Miao, intending to personally use the specially made 'Spirit-Calming Incantation' to suppress Immortal Miao's Nascent Soul.

One step, two steps, three steps—Yi Xing cautiously approached Immortal Miao. Yi Xin carefully followed about ten feet behind Yi Xing, with a soft glow flashing in her hand. Her left hand held a bottle of spiritual pills, ready to act at any moment to save someone. Old Taoist Yi Cheng, who was lying to the side receiving treatment from his fellow disciples, couldn't help but pout slightly, "We are all fellow disciples, why is Senior Sister Yi Xin so biased? Hmm, it's natural for women to be biased, but she's a bit too biased."