The Way of Stars and Moon

Until evening, as he accompanied Xue Qingqiu to meet Xiahou Di again, Xue Mu's mind remained somewhat dazed. Yue Xiaochan's smiling face drifted in and out of his thoughts, disrupting his focus and making it difficult to maintain his earlier clarity and composure.

He was certainly not at the tender age of Yue Xiaochan; on the contrary, his romantic history was incredibly rich. He knew this situation all too well—it was a sign that he might be developing feelings, which was extremely dangerous.

What a disaster... Lusting after someone for their looks and actually developing feelings for them were two completely different concepts, weren't they? Xue Mu rubbed his aching head. How could he possibly have feelings for a little girl half his age? Never mind the values of his own world; even in this world, he had learned that women married at sixteen, and thirteen was indisputably underage. Fortunately, this was the Demon Sect, where values were already quite twisted. If he were anywhere else, he would likely have been dragged off to be drowned in a pig cage.

The hell of it was that he had never realized he had a Lolita complex. Back when he played online, whenever people joked about how "three years is a bargain, the death penalty is worth it," he had only joined in for the fun of it, never taking it to heart. Based on his usual aesthetic preferences, he should have been charmed by the Enchantress beside him instead...

Beside him, Xue Qingqiu walked slowly through the narrow alleys, her face veiled in thin gauze. Passersby who seemed to recognize her would have their expressions change drastically before hurrying away in a panic.

Xue Mu rarely saw Xue Qingqiu walking; she still appeared as youthful as a girl, slender and graceful. Yet, her entire figure felt dreamlike and illusory. He clearly felt her walking right beside him, but he always felt as if she were very far away, like someone in a misty landscape painting—looking hazy and beautiful, yet completely unreal.

Xue Mu highly doubted that if someone were to attack her, they would even be able to find where she actually was.

This eerie demonic energy was not being emitted intentionally; it was simply there, naturally, her body in harmony with the heavens and earth.

Precisely because of this, he could not find the same feeling he had while strolling through the bamboo forest with Yue Xiaochan. It all felt so illusory; even though they were walking side by side, it felt like a solitary journey.

Damn it, why am I thinking about Yue Xiaochan again... He knew that if he continued like this, he might truly become a pervert, so he had to cut off this train of thought. He found a topic to shift his attention: "What exactly is the cultivation method of our Star Moon Sect?"

He had asked out of curiosity regarding Xue Qingqiu's illusory presence, but Xue Qingqiu, thinking he was interested in martial arts, shook her head: "The Star Moon Sect has many techniques, but none are suitable for you. You lost your primordial yang long ago, which is one thing, but the critical issue is that the toxins in your body have reached the marrow; no matter what you practice, you cannot achieve Foundation Establishment. However, I already had Qingqing go find Young Master Zhao this afternoon. That man has spent his life testing poisons; he should be of some help with your condition."

Xue Mu paused, feeling slightly disappointed, though not overly troubled: "That's not what I meant. Xiaochan said that among the hundred schools of martial arts today, each has its own voice. I want to know what makes our Star Moon Sect a 'Path'."

Xue Qingqiu was surprised that he would ask about this. Since someone had asked, as the Sect Master, she naturally answered seriously: "Our Star Moon Sect believes that the human body is like the starry sky of the universe—vast and mysterious. The sea of consciousness is the night, the dantian is like the moon, and the acupoints are like stars. We explore the mysterious connection between the human body and the universe. The self is heaven and earth; the universe is heaven and earth. 'Void' refers to the void of space; to perceive the universe is to reach the Void-Piercing stage, and to harmonize with the universe is to reach the Dao-Harmony stage."

Xue Mu was stunned. This sounded incredibly profound and lofty. No wonder he always felt a misty, mysterious aura about them—like stars and moons. This "Void-Piercing" was a hundred thousand miles more sophisticated than his own lecherous intentions.

But why was this considered a "Demon Path"?

Xue Qingqiu easily guessed his confusion and smiled: "There is no such thing as a 'Demon Sect' in the world; the so-called 'demons' are just what they call us. For instance, the Heart-Extinguishing Path enters the Dao through heartless slaughter; in the eyes of others, they are demons. In reality, from their own perspective, they are merely tempering their spirit and cultivating their will, acting with complete justification."

Xue Mu thought he understood: "Do we call ourselves the Sacred Sect?"

"Where did you hear that? That's not the case." Xue Qingqiu rolled her eyes at him: "The Star Moon Sect is the Star Moon Sect, the Joyous Union Sect is the Joyous Union Sect, and the Heart-Extinguishing Path is the Heart-Extinguishing Path. We are neither sacred nor demonic; there is no need to gild our faces, nor is there any need to belittle ourselves. It's just that we've become accustomed to being called that by the world, so we've started calling ourselves members of the Demon Sect, but it's merely for the convenience of a collective term. The so-called Demon Sect consists of three sects and four paths, each with vastly different cultivation methods; we are not of the same school."

"Uh..." Xue Mu thought to himself that he had truly been misled by wuxia novelists. The world was different, so he couldn't just apply tropes blindly.

Then again, the Demon Sect of this world seemed quite high-end, mainly reflected in the fact that each sect had its own set of principles and followed them through. Perhaps the principles themselves were twisted or warped, but they didn't seem to be labeled "demons" due to some anti-human defect of cruel or sinister character.

But the Star Moon Sect's lofty principles seemed perfectly upright. Could the people of this world not even accept that?

"Actually, there are paths among the Righteous Sects that are similar to ours; the Mysterious Heaven Sect is quite close. As for why we are 'demons'..." Xue Qingqiu still smiled faintly, her smile tinged with mockery: "We believe that since we are exploring the mysteries of the body, the first step is to cast aside unnecessary shame. Take, for example, seduction techniques or dual cultivation; those are the most fundamental mysteries of life. If one doesn't even explore the essence of yin and yang harmony, how can one talk about exploring the mysteries of the body?"

Xue Mu was dumbfounded and speechless. What a hell of a plot twist—how did the lofty mysteries of the human body and the universe turn into this? But thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem wrong... If he brought modern human anatomy to the ancient world, it would undoubtedly be the most demonic of the Demon Paths. It was just that their version of "health education" sounded a bit more... explicit.

Seeing Xue Mu's expression shift from shock to contemplation, Xue Qingqiu said lightly: "Not scared off?"

"No." Xue Mu laughed: "Actually, there's nothing wrong with it at all. After all, it's still different from the Joyous Union Sect."

"Correct. They cultivate through yin-yang harvesting, which, in our sect's view, is far too low-level." Xue Qingqiu said proudly: "Although we study seduction, it is merely to develop our own abilities; we study dual cultivation, but only to explore the secrets of yin and yang. The human body itself is a treasure trove, as vast as the firmament. We have yet to even scratch the surface of our own development, so where would we find the spare time to harvest others and add impurities? Moreover, their principle of indulging in pleasure is fundamentally contrary to the essence of the martial path. Being grouped with them is truly our shame."

Xue Mu found it increasingly interesting. This was indeed an otherworldly version of the "hundred schools of thought contending"—a collision of ideologies... just based on martial philosophy rather than political philosophy. But extending it, it could even be considered a philosophical trend.

"But Sect Master, don't those Daoist sects study yin-yang harmony? Why aren't they considered demons?"

Xue Qingqiu looked at him strangely: "Haven't you noticed the difference?"

Xue Mu thought for a long time and shook his head: "I really haven't."

Xue Qingqiu tilted her head and watched him for a moment, her gaze growing increasingly strange: "You and I are a lone man and woman, walking alone in a deep alley, discussing the topics of dual cultivation and harvesting, and you really don't think there's anything wrong with that?"

Xue Mu froze. Now that she mentioned it, it really was true. What famous righteous sect would do this? Try chatting with a Daoist nun about dual cultivation alone, and it would be a miracle if you weren't hacked to death by a sword. In that sense, the Star Moon Sect's nature was indeed undeniably demonic...

But to him, this felt perfectly normal! He was a modern man... and they weren't even discussing anything deep; wasn't talking about this just part of daily life? Some girls talked about dirty jokes even more filthily than men, didn't they? Besides, they were treating this as academic research!

Xue Qingqiu said quite casually: "We believe that the exploration of the mysteries of the human body should be frank and serious. Even when discussing sexual organs, we believe there is no need to cover them up. Those so-called righteous sects do it with great enthusiasm, yet treat talking about it like a flood or a beast, deceiving themselves and others—it's hypocritical and ridiculous. Yet, they are considered 'righteous,' while we are 'demons'."

"..." Xue Mu really didn't know what to say. Your thinking is so avant-garde and modern; are you the ones who transmigrated, or am I? Although I don't understand your lofty academic theories, could we perhaps discuss the Eight Great Famous Vessels and the Three Great Famous Spears?