Severing the Body

Su Decheng held the black flower in his hand, examining it against the Gurong lamp in the Vermilion Bird Hall.

Actually, he wasn't as formidable as someone who could defeat all five members of Ink Bamboo Mountain in one go. He had fought several rounds with Yuhengzi of Ink Bamboo Mountain, but before a victor could be determined, his master Daochong the Real Person, suddenly flew into a rage and vanished into thin air. Clearly, something serious had happened, so how could the fight continue?

Sure enough, Daochong the Real Person returned shortly afterward, his face contorted with murderous intent. He said that his junior brother Dexin had actually been harmed by the Demon Race. He then threw Gurong over to him, telling him to settle the karmic debt with Ink Bamboo Mountain and to protect Nangong Wuqing, the apprentice disciple of Hengshan Mountain. He then flew off to seek revenge against the Demon King.

On the contrary, the people from Ink Bamboo Mountain, upon seeing that a battle had broken out with the Demon Race, said that the competition could be postponed, as the priority was to eliminate the demon with a formidable enemy at hand. So, except for the female cultivator who had been injured by him and returned to the mountain to recuperate, the rest went to support Hengshan in eliminating the demon.

This put him, a legitimate disciple of Hengshan, in an extremely awkward position. Although he had been instigated by the two enthusiastic Nangong fairies and couldn't resist standing up for them, none of the Outer Sect Disciple of the Nine Great Xuan Sects were fools. Upon careful reflection, he realized that the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain seemed to be quite different from what the Nangong Family had told him...

Furthermore, I've never heard of using Gurong to make medicine before! While his skill in alchemy might only be considered passable within the Xuanmen (Daoist sects), it should still be better than these rural rogue cultivators, right? Why have I never heard of any elixir requiring Gurong? Could it be a formula for elixirs requiring Nascent Soul Stage or higher?

A sudden gust of cool wind brushed past Su Decheng's neck, interrupting his thoughts. The silver bell at his waist seemed to ring slightly. But Su Decheng looked around and found nothing. Looking outside again, he saw that the three great demons had almost escaped the barrier's range, and the Nangong disciples, despite their large numbers, were unable to subdue them. He couldn't help but frown.

So he put away the Gurong and turned to walk towards the inner hall of the Vermilion Bird Platform. There he saw Nangong Wuqing sitting in the hall, flipping through the letter in her hand, showing no intention of restarting the Demon Suppression Terrace's array restrictions. He was taken aback and reminded her, "Junior Sister Wuqing, those three demons are about to escape. Aren't you going to activate the barrier?"

Nangong Wuqing shook her head and said, "No need. Only the Demon Palace below is sealed and damaged. Restarting the demon-suppressing barrier would consume too many spiritual materials. The Vermilion Bird Platform is fine and can still hold out for another hundred years. It's just a few small monsters. Let's just escape."

"Ah, this..." Su Decheng was taken aback. "But since they came out of the Demon Palace, they must have stolen things from the hall. If they escape and cause trouble, can we really not capture them?"

Nangong Wuqing glanced at him, "So what if we can't catch them? Besides, my family isn't stationed in Li Country anymore. If anything happens, the General of the South from Ink Bamboo Mountain will handle it. Why should you worry about them, Senior Brother?"

"But you said you were coming to inspect the demon-suppressing area..." Su Decheng choked when he saw her turn her head away, and said helplessly, "Sigh, I won't say anything more about your affairs with Ink Bamboo Mountain. Since there's nothing else to do here, why don't you go and help Master exorcise the demon?"

Nangong Wuqing remained unresponsive. "Senior brother has seen the level of my family's illegitimate children. This is already considered a selection process. Asking them to play musical instruments, sing, and compose poetry is fine, but asking them to go forward and exorcise demons is asking too much."

Several of the people I brought with me have already died. If more accidents happen, my uncles and elders will likely make things difficult for me when I return. Please, senior brother, don't put Wuqing in a difficult position."

Su Decheng sighed and shook his head, saying, "In that case, why don't you ask Junior Sister to take them back to the Flying Pavilion Immortal Palace in the North for temporary refuge? I must follow orders and ensure your safety first before I go to assist Master."

Nangong Wuqing shook her head. "Senior brother, I didn't mean to linger here. I came here to confirm whether the seal on the Vermilion Bird Platform is intact. This demon broke the barrier and sneaked in. If it's unattended, someone might steal my things."

I'll have to trouble you to help keep the palace quiet for another two days, and prevent those scoundrels from taking advantage of the fighting between the two sides to sneak in and fish in troubled waters."

Su Decheng was stunned for a long time before he finally gasped, "You yourself are unwilling to use the spiritual materials to restart the barrier, yet you want me to stay here and watch over your family's storeroom?"

Nangong Wuqing paused, half-closing her eyes, "Senior brother, what you said was a bit harsh. I'm just a junior in the family, ranked in the eldest son's lineage, with too little seniority. Doing many things badly is wrong, and doing them well is also wrong, so it's better not to do anything at all."

Su Decheng was speechless for a moment, then patiently advised, "Junior Sister Wuqing, you are now a disciple of our sect. If you could enter the Yellow Court Palace and receive Master Wei's true teachings, that would be an immense opportunity. Why bother with so many family matters? Why get entangled with these rogue cultivators from the desolate lands?"

In our Xuanmen sect, we place the utmost importance on the character of our disciples. If you don't help your master when he's in trouble, or don't avenge your junior brother when he's harmed, who will give you a high evaluation?

"How about this? When Chief Clerk Chen returns later, we'll have them stay and guard the Demon-Suppressing Platform. The two of us will go to help Master exorcise the demon. If you're worried about being scorned by Ink Bamboo Mountain, I'll give you the Gurong to settle our score. What do you say?"

To his surprise, Nangong Wuqing glanced at him and said, "Senior Brother Su, you're meddling too much. The feud between my family and Ink Bamboo Mountain cannot be resolved."

Su Decheng was absolutely furious.

"Alright, since Senior Brother has already said to bring up the evaluation, then I, Wuqing, will tell you the inside story as well." Nangong Wuqing tossed the letter in her hand to Su Decheng, "This is Dexin's top-grade evaluation for me."

Su Decheng frowned, took the document, and saw that it was indeed true. "But your aptitude is barely even worthy of a third-grade rank. Otherwise, the sect wouldn't have needed to send us, master and disciple, to investigate. How could Dexin..."

"Bought for two million strings of cash," Nangong Wuqing said expressionlessly. "Senior Brother Su, Dexin is much easier to talk to than you. The palace maids sent there took him down in one night, but he was harmed by the Demon Race. What a pity."

Su Decheng frowned, hesitated for a long time, and said, "But a first-grade is too... How about this, you come with me to help Master, and I'll give you a third-grade. That should be enough for beginners, and I won't need your two million."

If you won't agree... then forget it, I'll go myself."

"Senior Brother Su truly lives up to his reputation as a disciple of the Nangong Wuqing clapped her hands and stood up. With a wave of her hand, she actually broke a certain restriction on the main hall, revealing a secret passage beneath the main hall where she had just been sitting.

"Since you insist, come with me to see what's on this Demon-Suppressing Platform."

Su Decheng frowned. Logically, he shouldn't be too involved in the secrets of the Nangong Family, but he was indeed quite puzzled as to why Nangong Wuqing would give up the great opportunity to join the Xuanmen sect and insist on guarding the things inside. After thinking about it, he decided to go down into the secret room with her.

Beneath the main hall of the Vermilion Bird Platform Terrace, there was actually a sealed barrier, enclosing a square stone chamber.

"It was the remnant soul of the Gonggong clan that was sealed away back then. It directly cut the entire stone chamber out of the Demon Palace below. The so-called Demon Race inheritance must be inside. Actually, there's nothing down there except a few demon god eggs. And without these remnant souls possessing them, even if a demon god hatches, it won't be of much use. Putting it in the mountains would just make it food for monsters."

Nangong Wuqing said, "Those monsters who sneaked into the palace could never have imagined that we would take the demon god's soul out of the original restriction and seal it in the Demon Suppression Platform."

That's why I have to keep watch here to prevent anyone from breaking the seal and releasing Gonggong's remnant soul."

"This, this is something we definitely wouldn't have expected... Isn't this redundant?" Su Decheng stepped forward to examine the seal, his brows furrowed, and asked somewhat strangely, "Isn't it the same if you suppress it down there to guard it? If the seal is broken down there, the demon-suppressing platform will still have to be dismantled."

Moreover, if these remnant souls are removed from the original restriction, wouldn't the underlying magic array lose its support, thus negating the effect of releasing the Gonggong clan's fortune into Lei Marsh? Simply sealing them off like this, in the long run, might actually cause more trouble..."

Nangong Wuqing said, "I didn't expect Senior Brother Su to be so proficient in sealing formations."

"I'm in charge of guarding the Demon- Demon-Locking Tower in Hengshan, how could I not see it? Junior sister, you should actually seal these remnant souls down there, otherwise this resentment won't dissipate, and it might be used by someone with ulterior motives..."

Before Su Decheng could finish speaking, the silver bell at his waist suddenly jingled. He instinctively lowered his head, made a hand seal, and teleported away, activating his Shangqing True Qi to protect his body. As a result, a flying Sword Light that was heading straight for Su Chengd's neck was deflected in time by the Shangqing True Qi, only grazing his shoulder.

But just as he was about to turn around and fight back against the attacker, his internal energy suddenly choked, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest, his face turned purplish-red, and black blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

When did you get poisoned?

In the brief moment that his body stiffened, Nangong Wuqing, who had attacked from behind, was already wielding a pair of twin swords, leaping forward and thrusting straight at him. The first sword passed right through his chest, pinning his senior brother to the wall with a chilling blow, while the next sword ripped open his abdomen, ripping out his Inner Landscape Golden Core. Blood gushed out, splattering all over the princess in her palace dress and face.

"Senior Brother Su, you're really too annoying."

Su Decheng was nailed to the wall, black blood gushing from his mouth and nose. His throat was blocked by blood and foam, and he could only cough up blood. He glared at Nangong Wuqing, then looked at his own bluish-black fingers.

That letter was poisoned!

Su Decheng looked at Nangong Wuqing in disbelief.

But why...?

However, Nangong Wuqing did not have the habit of talking too much like a villain. With her two swords, she twisted Su Decheng in half at the waist, severed his limbs, and beheaded him, leaving him dead beyond any hope of survival. She then took the Gurong from Su Decheng's bosom, crushed it to a pulp, and burned it all with Samadhi True Fire.

Then, Nangong Wuqing opened her cherry lips and sucked back the flying sword she had used for the sneak attack. She grasped the twin swords in her left hand and took out a wooden Black Sword from the Ink Bamboo Mountain from her Storage Jade pendant with her right hand. She muttered incantations and actually used the basic sword energy of Ink Bamboo Mountain to kill corpses.

Finally, he took out a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood from his palms and the dust between his fingers, his face expressionless throughout.

"Are you going to try and shift the blame to Ink Bamboo Mountain again?"

The sudden male voice startled Nangong Wuqing, who jumped up like a cat, flung the Black Sword behind her, and at the same time opened her flying sword that spewed out golden lightning from its belly. In the blink of an eye, she wielded both swords and unleashed seventeen fire phoenix sword shadows around her, instantly blasting the secret room into a dazzling display of light, with phoenix cries filling the sky and a sea of fire raging!

However, the combo attack she unleashed, which seemed incredibly powerful, was actually just a random release of skills driven by fear, completely aimless and inaccurate. How could it possibly harm a single hair on Li Fan's head?

So the flying sword was snatched away by Li Fan with one hand after it only flew five feet. The Demon Slayer came over like a dark cloud and a black wind, and the pure basic sword energy instantly turned the phoenix feathers in the sky into sparks. He then attacked backhand and cut off Nangong Wuqing's hands and feet, cutting her into a human stick and letting her fall to the ground. The tip of the sword was pressed against her throat.

That's it?

You son of a bitch, your skills are terrible, but you're really quick with your blows.

Li Fan was still wary of traps and ambushes, but he was only a step too late to follow into the secret chamber, only to witness the Hengshan man being skinned alive. It was truly unbelievable. How come the Nangong Family is so adept at sabotaging their own teammates?

Nangong Wuqing strained to keep her eyes open, tilting her head back as the sword tip pierced half an inch into her throat, feeling a chill in her skin.

Although the 'Unknown Face' veil obscured her features, preventing her from seeing the purple-clad man's face, the Nangong Family naturally recognized the style of the Demon-Slaying Black Sword and screamed, "Black Sword! You're from Ink Bamboo Mountain! How dare you kill me!"

Li Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes and retort, "I wouldn't dare? Well, don't say I didn't give you a chance. Come on, say three sentences that will make me afraid to kill you."

Nangong Wuqing's pupils suddenly contracted, "You're not from Ink Bamboo Mountain!"

Li Fan scoffed dismissively. He was genuinely terrified. Surely even the Nangong Family wouldn't come along and say, "Actually, I'm an undercover agent from Ink Bamboo Mountain," right?

Fortunately, Nangong Wuqing only stared at the gruesome corpse of Su Decheng beside her and shouted, "If you don't take revenge immediately, and you don't capture me for your master to claim the reward, then you're not from Hengshan!"

You even accepted a reward, sending your two apprentices' assassins to the master of Hengshan to be executed along with them? Your service is too much! Forget it, as long as they're not undercover agents, that's enough.

Li Fan chuckled softly and tapped her face with the tip of his sword. "One more line left."

To everyone's surprise Nangong Wuqing smiled, as if she was certain that Li Fan wouldn't kill her. Her smile was fleeting, like a night-blooming cereus. "Your Excellency's ability to sneak up here and subdue me with a mere wave of your hand demonstrates your profound cultivation. If you are willing to join my Nangong Family and help us conquer the world, I, your daughter, am willing to cultivate together with you. I also request that the Immortal King impart to you the supreme Dharma, the Nine Heavens Tribulation Immortal Technique."

Ha, I thought you were going to say something else, another one trying to sleep with me. Sigh, my damn charm...

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao... wait, could it be the Three Lives, Three Worlds, Nine Revolutions Immortal Technique passed down by the Xuan Girl of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden?'

Li Fan shrugged, pausing his swordplay. "The Xuan Girl of the Nine Heavens's Three Lives Three Worlds Nine Revolutions Immortal Technique?"

Nangong Wuqing's eyes lit up, and she laughed with joy, as if she had survived a calamity. "That's right! It is the supreme method of rebirth through physical disintegration, as passed down in the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book!"

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Oh, alright, kill her then, I can do that too.'"

Li Fan shrugged and raised the sword again. "I can do that too."

Nangong Wuqing shouted urgently, "It's not the incomplete version from the Xuanmen! It's the complete version that my family deduced!"

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao? Impossible! I can't even deduce it! Who do you think you are to deduce it!'

Li Fan also shouted, "Impossible! I can't even figure it out! Who do you think you are, to think you can figure it out!"

Nangong Wuqing momentarily speechless, but still explained, "I don't know who you are, but this method was jointly developed by the two generations of Lou Guan Temple, the previous immortal kings of my Nangong Family, and the protectors of the Divine Sect, using the combined power of the three schools' traditions. With this method, one can surely succeed in disintegrating three times, with the soul intact, the cultivation undiminished, and one's cultivation greatly advanced!"

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hmph, you think I'm bluffing you? Even if you manage to disintegrate, it's not guaranteed. Besides, who knows where you'll be reincarnated, or even if you can cultivate in the next life? It's utterly heretical; you can't rely on it.'"

But Nangong Wuqing's eyes lit up and she said, "Your Excellency knows so much, you are indeed a reincarnated master! You must not be from Ink Bamboo Mountain!"

To be honest, only Feng Qingniu, the abbot of Ink Bamboo Mountain, has fully inherited this technique. Combined with his Lou Guan -gazing method, Feng can now accurately predict the location of his reincarnation three times!

If you do not believe me, Your Excellency may freely select any of the disciples from the fourteen peaks of Ink Bamboo Mountain, kill them, bind their souls, and search them! One glance will tell you! Eight or nine out of ten of these people were disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain in their previous lives! They died in the face of calamity, perished midway, and were reincarnated, then brought into the mountain to cultivate anew!"

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent, ah!? Then wouldn't that break through the initial killing tribulation...?'

Li Fan leaned his sword on the ground for a moment, frowned, and said, "Wait a minute, why don't I just go and join Ink Bamboo Mountain? What use are you?"

Nangong Wuqing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The current abbot, Feng Qingniu, is a stubborn and pedantic hypocrite. He actually said that the art of 'dissolving the body and reclaiming the soul' is a murderous technique. Therefore, the cultivators of Ink Bamboo Mountain are only allowed to cultivate for one lifetime. They are only willing to let the reincarnations of disciples who have perished in the Dao enter the sect to cultivate again, but they do not actively help them awaken their past life souls. Many people can't even remember their past lives. What difference is there between them and being dead?"

Back then, he betrayed my Nangong Family and we parted ways because of this absurd reasoning—isn't that ridiculous and laughable?! We're all cultivators defying fate, so why are you talking about the life and death of mortals?! If you've been reincarnated and can't even remember your grudges from your past life, are you still yourself? This is clearly just a ridiculous excuse he made up so he could take advantage of the previous Immortal King's misfortune to seize control of the forbidden immortal techniques and usurp my Nangong Family's throne!

"Your Excellency has worked hard to reach your current level of cultivation! Are you really willing to listen to the high-sounding principles of Ink Bamboo Mountain?"

Li Fan frowned.

Nangong Wuqing smiled and said, "But my Nangong Family is different. Although the Daoist priest of Ink Bamboo Mountain is treacherous, my Nangong Family has long been prepared. My family's Reincarnation Array has already been completed!"

If you are willing to become a retainer of the Nangong Family, marry into our clan, and change your surname to Nangong, then when you need to dissolve your body in the future, you will not have to worry about the suffering of reincarnation or the mystery of the womb. As long as there are still illegitimate sons of the Nangong Family alive, your primordial spirit will be guided by a secret technique to directly relinquish the Dao body of the Nangong Family and be reborn!

To be honest, even if Wu Qing died today, she would still be protected by an array and could use her own flesh and blood to perform the art of self-disintegration. It would only take her ten years or so to rebuild her cultivation.

However, since you are True Cultivator from the Xuanmen sect, you should know how rare the opportunity to enter the Hengshan Yellow Court Palace is! Even though my family has carefully nurtured many Dao bodies, there are not many with such a wonderful destiny and innate talent as you.

Look, even the gecko's markings haven't faded yet, and it's already dead! Isn't that a huge waste? Hehehe!

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said... This is insane! At least the Three Realms strictly forbid the possession of living people! This Nangong Family... what's more, they're using their own people! This is just too immoral!'

Yes... this family has completely gone mad in their struggle for power...

"You used a living person to possess this body. Is there still any lingering remnant soul of the original body inside?" Li Fan looked at her calmly.

Nangong Wuqing eyes, "Don't worry, the illegitimate children of my Nangong Family are not taught divine techniques or cultivated in the Dao Heart. Seizing a body is no different from taking a mortal body; it's very simple. How could a remnant soul remain? Moreover, the human soul is a top-quality tonic for our primordial spirits after disintegration. How could I waste it?"

"This lowly servant begs only that Your Excellency spare my life. I will serve you faithfully to repay your kindness in saving my life!"

Although Li Fan had severed her limbs, she seemed to feel no pain at all, twisting her body with a fawning smile, her face as beautiful as a peach blossom.

So Li Fan smiled back at her, "That's way past three sentences already."

Then, with a single stroke of his sword, he severed Nangong Wuqing's head, leaving her utterly astonished.

Li Fan's mood improved slightly.

Although the system provided this information, it did not report Nangong Wuqing's complete death. It seems that she can indeed rely on the method of self-destruction to be reborn.

That's fine too, we can kill again and vent our anger.

Happy National Day holiday everyone!