The Hehuan Sect's Chain Store. As the old saying went, "There are no fields that can't be plowed, only oxen worked to death." Women from the Hehuan Sect were like the most difficult terraced, dry fields to till—the kind that could work an ox until it became a dried corpse. She was as beautiful as a celestial goddess, her delicate clothes immaculate. Her style of dress was also entirely unlike the revealing outfits favored by Hehuan Sect members elsewhere; instead, she was quite demure. But there was a saying: "A bewitching charm is born in the bones." Even though the woman was now graciously brewing tea for her guest, every man who saw her at first glance was still captivated by her beauty and turned into her puppet. Bai Qiuran walked up to the door and saw the figure in white seated in the courtyard. "Miss, judging by your appearance, you must be a righteous cultivator. Did that senior catch you and make you a slave?" He clasped his hands behind his back and swaggered toward the Joyful Realm. The two Hehuan Sect disciples in skimpy clothes standing at the entrance sensed the aura Bai Qiuran had deliberately released and grew wary, blocking his way. Tang Ruowei had heard plenty about the Hehuan Sect in her cultural studies classes at the Azure Nether Sword Sect. Just like the Righteous Path Alliance, founded by the five leading orthodox sects of the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou, the Demonic Cultivators had four major sects of their own. Centered around the most powerful of them, the Heavenly Demon Sect, they had formed the Demonic Sect Alliance. "Hmph. Ridiculous." Bai Qiuran looked puzzled. Tang Ruowei told him what she had learned in class, and he replied, "There's nothing to be afraid of. That was all from the previous generation. Maybe there are still people in the Hehuan Sect who do that, but they absolutely wouldn't dare lay a hand on you." "Do you even know what kind of place this is?" Tang Ruowei couldn't hold back any longer and whispered, "Please, this is an actual brothel! You're a three-thousand-year-old virgin who blushes when you find the Sect Master's stash of pornographic books, so why are you so calm when you've come to a place like this? Besides, no matter what, I'm still a girl. Is it really okay to bring me somewhere like this?!" Meanwhile, the other female cultivator who had stayed outside called out to her. The two female cultivators were startled. They immediately reined in the seductive aura radiating from their bodies and bowed to Bai Qiuran. One of them respectfully asked, "So you're a senior from the Demonic Sect. What brings you here? Looking to unwind, or to cultivate through dual practice? If you don't come here often, you could try one of our lower-ranking disciples first." "Once, I was an orthodox cultivator too. Then I met a Demonic Cultivator, and ended up in this sorry state..." Bai Qiuran took Tang Ruowei by the hand and led her onward, following the road into one of Dingguo's great cities... Meanwhile, the other three sects took the opportunity to absorb the Blood God Sect's legacy and grew even stronger. Bai Qiuran produced a red token that exuded an evil aura from who knew where. The Hehuan Sect was also the sect people least wanted to run into among the three remaining Demonic Sects. The other two might have hard fists, but at least they'd let you die quickly. In the Hehuan Sect's hands, male cultivators died in a daze, while female cultivators were worse than dead. One of the female cultivators spoke in a sweet, coquettish voice. "This is Hehuan Sect territory. Cultivators who wish to enter, please show your token." Hearing her insinuation, Bai Qiuran smiled proudly. "Bring out the strongest person you have!" With a voice that seemed to ensnare the soul, the lovely woman asked her question and raised her head coquettishly. Then she saw Bai Qiuran standing at the courtyard gate, watching her expressionlessly. The female cultivator wiped away a tear. He seemed to know the layout of the city already. Taking the young woman along, he turned this way and that before leading her into a street lined with brothels. She had heard that when orthodox cultivators encountered members of the Hehuan Sect, the men were drained until they became dried corpses, while the women were locked away in the sect's dungeons and subjected to mysterious brainwashing. By the time they emerged, they had become wicked women of the Hehuan Sect. It was terrifying. And the Demonic Sect prized doing as one pleased; the Hehuan Sect's combat strength was no joke either. So, in the early days, the sect's wicked women ran riot wherever they went, leaving streets full of dead men and one dried corpse after another. "Why?" Bai Qiuran replied. Of the four sects, the Blood God Sect's conduct was so heinous that even many Demonic Cultivators within the Demonic Sect Alliance couldn't tolerate it. So, more than a thousand years ago, it was betrayed from within the Demonic Sect and wiped out by the Righteous Path Alliance. The Hehuan Sect was one of the three Demonic Sects that remained to this day. The sect was made up entirely of women and accepted only female cultivators as disciples. It was said that women who practiced the Hehuan Sect's techniques grew more and more alluring. Those who cultivated them to the highest level could captivate the soul with every gesture; paired with the Hehuan Sect's dance steps, they could even bewitch the immortals. "Sect Master, I've brought the person." Tang Ruowei was thrilled, but Bai Qiuran said only one thing, and she immediately calmed down. Tang Ruowei asked, "Fellow Daoist..." "Why are you afraid?" The teacher who taught them cultural studies, Qing Yun Yuan Jun, had said as much, anyway. "Because you're a disciple of the Azure Nether Sword Sect, and my student. Listen carefully: as one of the Righteous Path Alliance's five great sects, we're the ones the Hehuan Sect should fear." "Damn! Bai Qiuran?" The two female cultivators exchanged glances. One of them went inside for a moment, then returned and ushered Bai Qiuran in. A gentle, lilting woman's voice came from within the courtyard. Just that single sentence was enough to set one's imagination running wild. "Daoist friend." So when Tang Ruowei heard they were in Hehuan Sect territory, she immediately wanted to run, but Bai Qiuran grabbed her by the hand. "You're not embarrassed?" Tang Ruowei asked, her face red. "I have no impure thoughts. What's there to be embarrassed about?" Tang Ruowei froze for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, that's right. You're traveling, and sometimes fortune doesn't favor you." "I'll go in first." Bai Qiuran left Tang Ruowei with those words, then followed a female cultivator inside. "You wait here." "I'm going to ask an old acquaintance for information." "Sigh, we're both wanderers at the ends of the earth." "Show me the way." Tang Ruowei felt her hands and feet turn cold. Bai Qiuran said to Tang Ruowei, "Watch closely." Although being attractive was a good thing—there was nothing wrong with a woman wanting to be beautiful—the problem was that the Hehuan Sect's cultivation method required masculine yang energy to assist it. "What are you doing in there, Master?" "This... all right." "This is Hehuan Sect territory." Watching the scantily clad women on either side of the road singing, dancing, and striking coquettish poses, Tang Ruowei's face grew hot. But Bai Qiuran kept pulling her along until they arrived outside a grand inn called the Joyful Realm. The female cultivator stopped at the entrance to the courtyard and said softly, "Which fellow Daoist has come to visit Xiangxue today?" After seeing Bai Qiuran stride toward the entrance, Tang Ruowei hurriedly grabbed him. "Come in." The female cultivator opened the door and respectfully stepped aside to let Bai Qiuran pass. (Even with their extensive experience, the two Hehuan Sect disciples could tell at a glance that Bai Qiuran was probably still a virgin. They were only afraid he'd fly into a rage if they said so aloud, so they offered a very tactful reminder instead.) But the three-thousand-year-old, steel-straight Bai Qiuran remained calm and unmoved.
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