Yan Yushu

The Southern Wilderness is a land of continuous mountains and marshes.

A woman with a cold and aloof demeanor suddenly crawled out of a deep river valley. If she wasn't a Qi Refiner, then she was a demon, ghost, or monster!

"..."

Chen Xuan remained silent, staring coldly at the soaking wet young woman.

The young woman wore no makeup, her skin was fair, and water droplets slid down her smooth, jade-like face. Her natural beauty, unadorned, couldn't help but evoke a sense of pity in one's heart.

She held a blue cloth bundle tied with a bow, looking like someone who had encountered a villain and was forced to jump into the water to escape.

"Ah, someone..."

When the young woman saw Chen Xuan staring at her with narrowed eyes, she immediately covered the revealing white expanse at her neckline like a startled little fox.

Her delicate, flawless face flushed slightly. She looked back at the river, seemingly wanting to jump back in and come ashore elsewhere to escape the awkward situation... but in the end, she didn't dare to jump.

"This thing... acting weak and fragile, is it a Qi Refiner or a monster?"

Chen Xuan's brow furrowed even deeper, and he became more vigilant, although he didn't sense any hostility.

The young woman lowered her head and walked towards the mountain path. Her thin, dark blue dress was soaked, revealing glimpses of white. She was clearly avoiding Chen Xuan's gaze, but subtly, she gave off a seductive and charming aura, as if she was both resisting and inviting, making one want to... defile her.

"..."

Chen Xuan's eyes instantly turned fierce, staring intently at the young woman as if facing a formidable enemy.

The young woman passed by Chen Xuan with her head down. The scent of her body, which made men's blood surge, faintly reached him, causing images of intertwined white bodies and fragrant scenes to involuntarily appear in his mind.

"Snap!"

Something fell at Chen Xuan's feet.

"..."

Chen Xuan clenched his fists and immediately turned around, still staring intently at her slender back.

The young woman's body tensed, seemingly sensing the man's gaze on her body growing more intense. Finally, she couldn't help it and turned her head, frowning as she scolded:

"Haven't you ever seen a woman? Stop staring..."

Her voice was pleasant, clear like a stream flowing over stones beneath pine trees in the mountains, gently passing through one's heart.

Chen Xuan was momentarily stunned, his expression turning strange. Then he pointed at his feet and said:

"You dropped something."

The young woman looked down, her face instantly flushing with embarrassment. It was a small bronze mirror used for a woman's makeup, which had slipped out of her bundle and landed right at the man's feet. She quickly returned to pick it up, making a faint sound like a mosquito.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist..."

She seemed a little guilty and immediately turned around, quickening her pace as she walked away.

She was a Qi Refiner.

Chen Xuan watched the woman's back disappear, and after a moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked around.

He still didn't understand. The riverbank was wide, and she could have gone left or right to reach the mountain path.

Why did she panic and choose to pass by him?

And the item in her bundle just happened to fall at his feet.

"Was it intentional, or an accident?"

Chen Xuan muttered, his heart already extremely wary. If the young woman had shown even a hint of hostility just now, his hard, iron-like fist would have instantly smashed out.

"Wearing a tattered dress, completely soaked, what can that hide... I don't believe you're a good person."

Chen Xuan shook his head and muttered to himself, vaguely feeling that this woman was not simple, but it didn't matter much. He continued walking towards the outside of the mountain.

In the quiet foothills, the river flowed slowly, and new green emerged from the bare branches of the willow trees, a scene of vibrant life and growth.

The winter snow had melted, and spring was approaching.

Half an hour later, Chen Xuan walked past a few intersections and ran into several tall figures.

"Amitabha..."

Two monks appeared, wearing kasayas, their arms and legs as straight and thick as pillars. Their heads were square, as if neatly cut stones were piled on their shoulders. Their expressions were solemn, looking as if they carried deep-seated grievances.

Ascetic Monks of the Hanging Temple!

Exactly like the square figures in the legends!

"Fellow Daoist, have you met a woman around sixteen or seventeen years old? Her name is Yan Yushu, and her appearance is like that of an immortal."

The slightly older Ascetic Monk asked Chen Xuan with a solemn expression.

"I saw a woman who climbed ashore from the river."

Chen Xuan replied, his heart already quietly alert. He had secretly learned the Hanging Temple's trick.

But tricks were not like breathing techniques, which gradually changed the body structure through accumulated breathing rhythms. As long as he didn't actively display the Little White Ape Trick, the other party should not be able to detect it.

The Ascetic Monk's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Please tell us, where did she go?"

Chen Xuan heard this and shook his head, "Master, I have no grudges or enmity with that woman, and I don't know what she did to provoke you. Please forgive me, but I cannot casually reveal someone else's whereabouts."

Although this answer was a refusal, it was also quite straightforward.

"..."

The two Ascetic Monks heard this, exchanged glances, and then the two square heads huddled together, whispering in front of Chen Xuan.

"Senior Brother Kong Wen, this person wants to hide her whereabouts. He must have been blinded by beauty and forgotten righteousness. His nature and life have been completely hooked by the Six Desires Heaven."

The young monk said with certainty, "This person's life is ruined."

The older monk, whose Dharma name was Kong Wen, said with compassion, "Along the way, Yan Yushu has harmed too many lives..."

The young monk's eyes were practically spitting fire, and he said angrily, "Yan Yushu is cunning. She knows that human cultivators cannot casually step into the Southern Wilderness. Hmph, but she doesn't know what great determination our Hanging Temple has made. She won't be able to escape."

Even young monks like him, who had not been cultivating Qi for long and whose Buddhist Dharma was not deep, had been sent out from the temple. An invisible net covering the sky and earth had been cast down. Even if she escaped into the Southern Wilderness, she would definitely be caught.

Beside them, Chen Xuan listened to these words and pondered, "Six Desires Heaven...?"

That girl just now was named Yan Yushu. Was she the Six Desires Heaven recorded in the Small Underworld?

I knew it. This woman looked problematic at first glance. Although she was unbelievably beautiful, she had a demonic aura about her that inexplicably incited crime.

But.

He upheld righteousness and was unwilling to casually betray someone's whereabouts. Why, in the mouth of this young monk, did he become someone who was blinded by beauty and forgotten righteousness, completely hooked?

"If this Yan Yushu was truly heinous and had committed many evil deeds, I would definitely tell them the direction she left in. This would be doing a good deed, with no psychological burden."

Chen Xuan thought to himself, but the Mystic Cat Goddess had once said that the monks of the Hanging Temple were eccentric and most of them were not normal people.

Although they did not involve themselves in worldly affairs, they had once made the crazy move of trying to awaken the Yong He giant ape. Now, they were pursuing the Six Desires Heaven, a Heavenly Fate Immortal Seed, and who knew what shocking and unconventional major events they were planning behind the scenes.

Chen Xuan did not want to get involved in such matters and was about to turn and leave.

The young monk saw Chen Xuan about to leave and immediately became anxious, shouting, "Senior Brother Kong Wen, this person is leaving!"

He quickly stepped forward and was about to grab Chen Xuan's shoulder. Chen Xuan's back seemed to have eyes, and he instantly dodged to the side. Then, his eyes sank.

"What are you trying to do?"

The young monk was stunned, not expecting the other party to react so quickly and easily dodge his attack. He immediately turned to the older monk behind him and said anxiously, "Senior Brother Kong Wen, this person's life is already ruined and not worth regretting. Let's quickly subdue him and force him to tell us Yan Yushu's whereabouts!"

This was a very constructive suggestion.

But before Chen Xuan could react, a roar like a lion's sounded.

"Silence!!"

Monk Kong Wen's face changed drastically upon hearing this, and he suddenly kicked the young monk more than ten meters away. The young monk's chest was sunken, countless ribs were broken, and he couldn't stop spitting up large mouthfuls of blood in the air.

"Junior Brother, your evil thoughts grow freely, and you speak of harming others. How are you different from ordinary people in the secular world?"

Monk Kong Ming's face was serious, and he shouted at the young monk on the ground, "Junior Brother, you are beyond saving. You should end yourself here!"

"..."

Chen Xuan was shocked by this sudden turn of events.