The Conspiracy Begins, The Ominous Star Descends

The Wang Family Eldest Daughter-in-law had only recently advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and it was clear she had paid a steep price.

Her temperament had changed, and her mind and soul were unstable.

Ge Xian had suddenly struck her from behind, and she hadn't been able to resist in the slightest. Her body went limp, and the Jade Plate holding the strange flesh was about to fall.

Ge the Peddler reacted quickly. He scooped up the Jade Plate with one hand and carried Sister Wang off to his hiding place with the other.

After successfully hypnotizing her, the man didn't bother with any pleasantries and went straight to questioning her about secret matters.

While Sister Wang was overcome with desire, she spilled every secret of the Ancient Tomb Sect to the shameless peddler.

Ge Xian listened, then couldn't help showing his surprise. He marveled that eight-foot-tall Li Wa was quite the one for games.

"So my earlier sense was right. Li Wa and her so-called adopted daughter, Li Su, are one and the same."

"Or rather, Li Su is the Spirit Embryo split off from Li Wa, while Li Wa herself is the Desire Embryo. This is the Eternal Life Cult's core secret technique: Spirit Desire Dual Cultivation. Their cultivation advances twice as fast as that of practitioners from other lineages, and the supernatural abilities and spells they gain are even more powerful. They only have to pay a little extra, developing a few Vicious Habits."

"To reach Mortal Transformation Perfection as quickly as possible and meet the requirements for advancing to the Spirit Connection Realm, Li Wa built a Spirit Pool beside the Flesh Altar. The pool had once been the Nine Nether Cold Pond, which connected straight to the Underground Water Vein. Its original owner was that Song Dynasty Remnant Cultivator called 'Yuan Niangniang.'"

"Yuan Niangniang had once been a Buddhist Cultivator. She'd managed to cling to life until now by borrowing a Spirit Medicine from the Eternal Life Cult. Over the years, she'd connected with the Water Vein and drawn the Spiritual Qi and baleful qi underground into the cold pond, transforming that poisonous cold pond into a Spirit Pond to heal her wounds."

"Unfortunately, in the end, she paved the way for Li Wa of the Eternal Life Cult."

"As long as several hundred kinds of flesh containing different kinds of Dao Qi are added to the Spirit Pool, using exactly the same recipe as the Flesh Altar, the pool will transform as well."

"Then, once Li Su enters the pool, they'll cast a spell to draw in the souls of the young heroes who've eaten her Jade Bee Pills and devour them all. That will bring her to Spirit Embryo Perfection and let her enter the Mortal Transformation Realm."

"Once Spirit Desire Union is achieved, it'll only be a matter of time before Li Wa advances to the Spirit Connection Realm."

"What a scheme. She's using the momentum to feather her own nest."

Ge the Peddler marveled.

Compared to these "second-generation" cultivators with abundant resources at their disposal, a rogue cultivator like him simply couldn't compare.

After questioning her, Ge Xian hurriedly ordered the Wang Family Eldest Daughter-in-law to take the Jade Plate back. The flesh in the dish was called Rou Zhi, taken from a Zhi Ren that had become a spirit. It was extremely rare; a single piece could extend one's lifespan by ten years.

Ge the Peddler was tempted, but he didn't dare indulge. He didn't want to risk being discovered.

As soon as the Wang Family Eldest Daughter-in-law left, he crouched back in his hiding place.

Before long, just as expected, he saw the young girl Li Su glide over, surrounded by white-clad women. She looked like a Nine Heavens Immortal as she headed into the mountainside.

This time she passed even closer. Ge Xian secretly took a look, then sighed inwardly:

"The Eternal Life Cult's lineage specializes in 'spirit and desire' and 'flesh and blood.' Most living beings can't resist it, especially a desire-filled species like humanity."

"This Spirit Embryo Li Su split off from Li Wa only had to hold a Martial Arts Competition for Marriage to charm men and women alike, winning over a crowd of young heroes... If she went down the mountain and roamed the martial world, befriending all sides, she might be even more frightening than that Shi Feixuan from the martial arts novels I read in my previous life. Even adding Wanwan wouldn't be enough to take her on."

"Compared to her, my own hypnotic enticements seem downright vulgar."

"I'll have to find a chance to steal a couple of the Eternal Life Cult's secret manuals and study them. What a pity that Sister Wang only knows Bone-Melting Palm. She only entered the Foundation Establishment Realm through a shortcut and hasn't been taught any secret techniques. Otherwise, I could get my hands on one right now."

As Ge the Peddler lamented his failure to pluck a feather as the bird flew by, he completely forgot how much time had passed during all that commotion.

The deadly deadline was suddenly upon him.

The sounds of the martial arts discussions that had continued uninterrupted atop Sunset Mountain abruptly stopped.

Then a white-clad female immortal suddenly rose into the sky. Who else could it be but Li Wa?

Once more she revealed her Jade Transformation Dharma Body, her height swelling from eight feet to more than ten. Even so, she still possessed the beauty to topple every living soul. Anyone who looked at her, man or woman, couldn't help feeling a stir of desire deep in their mind and soul.

Ge Xian hadn't understood the reason before. Now he knew she was a Desire Embryo Body. It was simply her nature.

At the sight of her divine manifestation, the Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators across the mountain grew excited.

The Beggar Sect Leader, Shaolin Temple Elder, Wudang Elder, Ming Cult Protector, and other senior figures from the great sects were especially stirred. They had been stuck in the Foundation Establishment Realm for a long time and had thought this was as far as they would ever go. Who could have imagined such a sudden turn of fortune?

They had worried about the risks on their way here, suspecting it might be a trap.

But after meeting Li Wa, they had all changed their minds. They were convinced this was a Great Opportunity, and that Li Zhangmen of the Ancient Tomb Sect was the greatest Martial Arts Genius in centuries—a Great Philanthropist without equal.

Every one of them waited expectantly to hear the Mortal Transformation Secret Technique.

The next moment, they got their wish.

"Fellow cultivators!"

"Li Wa has seen how martial artists throughout the land have been trapped in the Foundation Establishment Realm for years. I am willing to make public the Mortal Transformation Secret Technique I have comprehended. I invite you all to examine it."

"I will demonstrate it only once. Watch closely."

As her voice fell, everyone focused their minds and souls.

Then the scene from a few days earlier unfolded once more. Li Wa exhaled a breath of Immortal Qi; spring winds blew, sweet rain descended, and Sunset Mountain turned to jade once again.

Even more astonishingly, flowers of flesh and blood bloomed all around her Dharma Body, spreading across the mountain and filling the sky.

The sight was shocking and bewitching, seizing the soul.

While everyone stood stunned, Li Wa, surrounded by a sea of flesh and blood flowers, smiled brilliantly and breathed out another mouthful of Immortal Qi.

It collided with the sweet rain, and in an instant, countless crystalline mirrors, scarlet as blood, took shape.

As though carried by an invisible force, they drifted to hover before each person.

On their surfaces, lines of tiny blood-red characters began to appear:

"Open your minds and souls, focus, and look carefully. This is the Spirit Flesh Union Longevity Borrowing Method I have comprehended."

At her words, everyone looked without thinking.

The impatient ones began reading before Li Wa had finished speaking.

At that glance!

Even though they had seen only the first line, every Guǐ Wǔ Cultivator present, whether highly or poorly cultivated, instantly went rigid, unable to move.

And within each of them, wondrous yet horrifying changes began to take place, starting with the senior martial artists whose cultivation was the highest.

Zhuang Buxian, the Beggar Sect Leader, had initially been cautious too, intending to look only once. But he'd still fallen for it. After going rigid, he was compelled to scan the entire secret technique in a short time. His body's cultivation method ignored his will and began circulating on its own.

The next instant, he began to "transform."

Fangs and sharp teeth, coarse bristling fur, sharp limbs... Along with them, a dense demonic aura poured out, visible to the naked eye.

The Foundation Establishment Realm?

Yes and no.

Everyone could sense that the Beggar Sect Leader's cultivation and demonic aura had surged. He was stronger than he had been at the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet nowhere near the Mortal Transformation Realm.

If that were all, it would have been enough to make the Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators rejoice. Who wouldn't want a great boost in power?

But everyone heard the agonized howling that echoed across Sunset Mountain and knew that Zhuang Buxian was suffering unimaginable pain.

It was like a torture in which his soul was slowly torn apart, ripped into countless fragments.

In truth, that wasn't all.

Spirit Flesh Union meant exactly what it said. The punishment Zhuang Buxian was enduring was the tearing of his soul and its forcible fusion with his body, turning him into a blood soldier.

Everyone's expression changed.

Their delight turned to terror.

By now, even an idiot could see that Li Wa meant them harm.

What Martial Arts Competition for Marriage?

What Guǐ Wǔ Tournament?

This was clearly a trap.

Li Wa's target was the entire martial world: the nearly thousand Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators gathered here. She meant to catch them all in one net.

Zhuang Buxian howled, struggled, and roared:

"Li... Sect Leader Li, what have you done to me?"

"What are you trying to do?"

In the sea of flesh and blood flowers, Li Wa's Dharma Body no longer bore any resemblance to a human woman. It swayed, towering and utterly bewitching. A smile played on her face, but her voice remained cold as ice.

"Don't panic. I'm helping you all."

"Once you've cultivated this secret technique, your power will surge. And in the future, after achieving Spirit Flesh Union, you can cultivate the secret technique I bestow upon you and advance a thousand miles a day. You'll not only surpass martial artists by far, but even suppress cultivators from other lineages."

"The price is simply a little of your lifespan and your obedience to me."

"Leader Zhuang, didn't you privately promise me that my words would be an imperial decree to you?"

Her words rang out.

The cultivators across the mountain twisted in anguish, their minds and souls exploding with shock.

They were no fools. They all understood what was happening.

This Li Wa!

She meant to turn every Guǐ Wǔ Cultivator into her own servant.

What a deal!

With one mere pretext, she had easily taken in dozens of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, more than a hundred Dao Entry Realm cultivators, and hundreds of slaves with all kinds of tricks up their sleeves.

Most importantly, if she handled things properly, she could even take in the sects behind them all.

She would have subdued every Guǐ Wǔ Cultivator under heaven.

At this sort of deal-making, Li Wa was every bit the equal of Yelü Tianzheng.

Watching all this, Ge Xian once again marveled at the power of the Eternal Life Cult's secret techniques.

Even though things had come out into the open and the pretense had been torn away, the Beggar Sect Leader still called Li Wa "Sect Leader Li" instead of using his usual foul-mouthed habit and calling her a bitch or a whore.

The reason was likely that after coming into contact with her, his mind and soul had been bewitched by the "Desire Embryo."

The same was true of the others.

There was no helping it. Martial artists were simply too weak.

Their lineage was the bottom of the Bottom Layer.

Their Dao Qi, magic power, supernatural abilities, and demonic arts were all far inferior to those of the Myriad Laws Sect, the various Holy Lands, and the Evil God Dharma Lineages—those immortal cultivators.

At the same Foundation Establishment Realm, the latter could fight two opponents at once without losing ground. Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators simply had too little resistance to such strange and terrifying demonic arts and supernatural abilities.

Of course, the Guǐ Wǔ lineage had its own advantages. It was quick to learn, had very few taboos or restrictions, and could recruit humans widely and choose freely.

"In a Chaotic World, the Guǐ Wǔ lineage may even have the best opportunity to grow."

"If the Eternal Life Cult can see that these people are suited to being made into 'flesh slaves' and 'blood soldiers,' and set a trap to catch them all, how could the various Rebel Armies not know?"

"With me sending word in advance, if the Eternal Life Cult still pulls this off, Liu Futong and Zhu Hongwu might as well give up their rebellions, surrender and accept amnesty, or join the Eternal Life Cult instead."

As Ge Xian muttered to himself,

more Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators on the mountain began to mutate.

They were forced to reveal their Demon Bodies. After achieving Spirit Flesh Union, their cultivation and power did indeed surge, but they could no longer return to human form, and their lifespans were being consumed.

One after another, before long, the Guǐ Wǔ Tournament had become a gathering of demons and monsters.

In the process, another bizarre change occurred:

The young heroes and prodigies, including the Eight-armed Buddha from Shaolin Temple, Immortal Guye from Wudang, and the Young Sect Master of the Ming Cult, did not transform into Demon Bodies. Instead, they all collapsed to the ground as if they had lost their souls, leaving behind nothing but empty shells.

The others couldn't understand what had happened. Only Ge Xian knew.

These gifted young talents were the most delectable morsels in the feast. Li Wa's "Spirit Embryo Li Su" had reserved them ahead of time, drawn their souls away, and taken them to the Spirit Pool inside Sunset Mountain, where they were dual cultivating with Li Su to help her reach perfection and enter the Mortal Transformation Realm.

By now, the Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators were wailing and cursing. All of Sunset Mountain seethed with upheaval.

Ge Xian, meanwhile, furrowed his brow and wondered why none of the factions had made their move.

"I told Bai Fugui last, and she still had to go ask others for help, so a delay of a little while is understandable."

"But why haven't Monk Faxian, Shi Er, and Yang Bi done anything?"

"Behind them are the Rebel Armies, each now occupying territory and backed by numerous factions. How could they sit by while the Eternal Life Cult makes a Red Pill Army and takes a share of the spoils... They should've been the most eager to act, making arrangements as soon as they got the news."

As he pondered,

Ge Xian unexpectedly saw the Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators' cultivation surge one after another, their Demon Bodies becoming completely fixed.

In an instant, a terrible suspicion surfaced:

"I... Fucking hell, that's filthy."

"Could they be this insidious? Are they waiting until these Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators' Demon Bodies are fixed and they're at their most desperate before showing up to recruit them? Are they trying to bind the cultivators and their sects completely to their own war chariot?"

Just as Ge Xian was thinking this,

he saw that all the cultivators had achieved Spirit Flesh Union.

Li Wa smiled brilliantly again, then breathed out another mouthful of Immortal Qi. It carried crystalline shards and Blood Flowers as it slammed into the mountainside. Every palace and temple in its path was obliterated. The seemingly solid mountain wall melted away in the blink of an eye, revealing a horrifying, dreadful sight within.

Sunset Mountain had been hollowed out completely. Deep inside the gloomy cavern lay flesh—an endless sea of scarlet. Pus and blood, visible to the naked eye and even rising in waves, corpses and broken limbs, intestines drenched in blood, internal organs, bones... It wasn't only human. There were other living species as well.

The Flesh Altar!

The ancient mountain, once ablaze with incense during the Song Dynasty, had been turned into one complete altar.

Ge Xian hadn't sensed anything before because a layer of "Jade Transformation Barrier" lay within the mountain walls.

That barrier had cut off all traces of qi.

At that moment, it was melting away.

A laugh that set the mind and soul aflutter and made desire surge rang out:

"Come!"

"My children, come with me into the altar and revel in the pleasures of spirit and desire."

"Soon, all of Jiangzhe Province will revel with us. The day the Red Pill Immortal Army is born will mark the beginning of the Dayuan Dynasty's downfall."

Even Ge Xian,

hearing that laughter, felt an itching in his heart, desire sprouting within him.

The next moment, he saw scarlet Blood Flame suddenly surge from Li Wa's body, burning away all her clothes. Countless Blood Flowers ignited as well. She seemed like a "Fire of Desire" made manifest in the mortal world as she headed toward the Flesh Altar.

All the Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators had their Demon Bodies fixed. They leapt after Li Wa against their will, heading for the altar as well.

For an instant, in the shadows, Ge Xian—

with his Supernatural Perception and Outer Sky Gray Eye layered together—saw both Li Wa's naked body and the "Spirit Pool" deep inside the mountain, connected to the Earth Core. He saw the so-called Spirit Embryo Li Su, who had also revealed her True Form.

Her head was still that of a naturally lovely human girl, but from the neck down she was a mass of viscous, constantly shifting blood-mud.

She was immersed in a cold pond brimming with Spiritual Qi, squirming and panting. Jewel-like red growths studded her body; inside each one lay the soul of a young hero.

Male or female, they had all fallen under her spell, completely unaware that Li Su was devouring their souls.

Ge the Peddler's skull rang with a frenzied roar.

He seemed to see the Flesh Altar lit by Li Wa, while the other seventeen altars in Jiangzhe Province ignited as well. The Spirit Desire Blood Cloud covered the sky, and a torrential Blood Rain poured down...

"Run!"

"Turn into a dragon and fly away. Best to make my escape first."

Just as Ge Xian could no longer restrain himself and was about to leap down the waterfall, follow the mountain stream into Qiantang River, and use the gathered power of the Water Vein to rise up and transform into a dragon,

the change he had been muttering about finally arrived—and three waves came at once.

At the foot of Sunset Mountain, familiar Buddhist chants suddenly rang out. He looked back and saw Monk Faxian charging toward them, laughing heartily.

He had taken on a new appearance: a Great Yellow Cassock and a Skull Necklace. Behind him, a rift gaped in the void, and Buddhist light from some unknown place surged into his body. With every step, his Dharma form swelled dramatically. By the time he reached Sunset Mountain, he had become a Holy Monk, the very image of a Buddha come to earth.

His cultivation had already leapt from Foundation Establishment Perfection to Peak Mortal Transformation Realm—and was still climbing.

With a loud laugh, he swept out a Buddha Light Grand Hand Seal as vast as half a mountain.

Buddhist light shone, and the chants filled the sky.

"Fellow Daoist Li, hold on! Jiangzhe Province was destined long ago to belong to my lord. Your Red Pill Army won't be allowed to run rampant here."

"And you won't be allowed to harm the fellow Daoists of Shaolin Temple and the others, either."

Before those words had even faded, the hand seal that had suddenly burst forth landed a successful sneak attack. It swept Li Wa, transformed into the Fire of Desire, away, and extinguished the wisp of Spirit Desire Blood Cloud that had just risen. It even sheared off part of Sunset Mountain's peak.

On its return, it swept up the monks and High Monks of Shaolin Temple as well.

Before Li Wa and the disciples and elders of the Ancient Tomb Sect could erupt in fury and strike back, Shi Er appeared without warning at another spot at the foot of the mountain. He, too, had changed his attire: half Daoist, half military. Whatever price he had paid, his cultivation and magic power had likewise reached Peak Mortal Transformation Realm, just like Faxian's.

Muttering a spell, he raised his Magic Sword and pointed it at the sky.

At once, sand and stones flew, clouds and mist churned, and streams of Heavenly Star Light fell from the sky in broad daylight.

Each beam of starlight that touched down turned into a Fiend General. They linked together in formation and charged up Sunset Mountain. Their Sky-Piercing Fiend Qi even drove back the enraged Li Wa, and they swept away more than seventy percent of the Guǐ Wǔ Cultivators, including those from the Beggar Sect, Emei Sect, and Qingcheng Sect.

In the shadows, Ge Xian cried out in astonishment again and again. Once more, he thought about latching onto a powerful patron.

"Well, I'll be!"

"Those really are one hundred and eight Fiend Generals? What a spectacle! I want to learn that, too."

As Ge Huolang watched Shi Er's secret art with envy, the most treacherous Chief Spy in Zhu Hongwu's household finally appeared.