The Bright Moon Has Its Obsessions

"Young Master! Aren't we pushing the Four Swords Sect too hard?" Ying Xu, deputy general of the Qin army's iron cavalry, looked back. "Even a cornered rabbit will bite. After all, the Four Swords Sect was once the foremost sword cultivator sect under heaven more than a thousand years ago. Though it has declined to this day, it must still have some foundations. As the saying goes, where mercy can be shown, mercy should be shown..."

"Enough, Uncle. I know!" The youth frowned. "I can't stand these old men, buzzing in my ear all day, lecturing without end!"

The youth's true name was Ying Xiao. Among the six sons borne by the Qin Emperor, he was the most beloved. Born of the principal wife, yet not the eldest, he stood in stark contrast to his overly generous elder brother, who even carried a measure of cowardice. Ying Xiao acted with extreme decisiveness and ruthlessness.

Now that they were far from the Four Swords Sect's gates, Ying Xiao's overbearing air had vanished without a trace, replaced by a gentle warmth. "The soldiers have traveled all the way and are somewhat weary. Let them rest first!"

"The matter is urgent..." Ying Xu pondered briefly. "Why not let this general take a small group of elites and continue onward with Young Master?"

"Very well!"

Ying Xiao mounted again. Ying Xu selected twenty elite soldiers from the five hundred iron cavalry, all of whom had entered the first realm of Qi Refinement. After giving the necessary instructions, they galloped once more into the night.

Yet after the group had traveled barely twenty li from the main army, a sleeve sword flashing with emerald light suddenly shot toward Ying Xiao!

"Watch out!" Ying Xu cried in horror, shoving Ying Xiao aside. He himself was struck by the hidden weapon, and his face instantly darkened!

"Uncle!" Ying Xiao flew into a rage. He drew a bamboo flute from behind his back and played a tune. All sounds of heaven and earth drifted long and low as the Soul-Seizing Ghost Note tore through the sky!

"Show yourself!"

As Ying Xiao played, his spiritual sense released a terrifying shout. A banknote flew out from behind the trees like Death's scythe, and wherever the fierce wind passed, great trees were sliced down one after another. "One hundred thousand taels of gold! Enough to repay what the Four Swords Sect owes!"

Ying Xiao pulled the banknote, fortified by pill power and as hard and sharp as a razor, from a thick trunk. His expression froze before he sneered. "So it's some little girl in heat, unable to bear seeing her lover suffer!"

"Impudence!" A majestic sound wave, impossible to identify as male or female, shook the more than twenty Qi Refinement cultivators present until they nearly fainted!

"Give me the antidote, and I'll agree to this!" Ying Xiao checked the soldiers' breathing, then sent powerful pill power into them to temporarily suppress the poison. Ying Xu's life was preserved, but his cultivation was weaker, and the virulent poison had already tortured him into a cold sweat!

"This medicine is to be taken internally and applied externally, once a day. You will recover in three days." A small porcelain bottle flew out from different directions within the forest. Ying Xiao poured out a fiery-red pill. "Uncle! Take it!"

"I'm fine now!" Ying Xu swallowed the medicine. Thirty percent of the cold poison in his body was expelled, and the remaining poison was suppressed.

Ying Xiao put away his bamboo flute with his back to the forest, then suddenly flipped backward!

Someone in the woods cried out in alarm! The two were already locked in battle!

"I'd like to see whether you are..." Ying Xiao wore a wild, arrogant expression. His twin claws flashed like lightning. With the strength of the first stage of the third realm, every claw carried the might to slice the wind and split the clouds!

A fierce wind rushed head-on. Left with no choice, the black-clad figure drew a fiery treasure sword from her waist! With a slanting thrust, she slashed him across the shoulder!

"Allure Flame! It truly is you, Yang Qingchan!" Ying Xiao gave a strange laugh and actually ignored the long sword as he rammed straight into her!

"You don't value your life?!" The black-clad figure did not dare kill him. As her blade withdrew, the bamboo hat and veil on her head fell to the ground, revealing a beauty unmatched beneath heaven. She was none other than the Great Han Empire's princess, Yang Qingchan!

"To die beneath a peony flower is to remain a romantic ghost! Besides, you can't bear to kill me!" Ying Xiao grinned viciously. He pinned Yang Qingchan's hands and pressed her against the great tree behind her. Their chests were separated by only a few inches!

Allure Flame erupted with blazing force. Ying Xiao dodged in shock, the back of his hand scorched black over an inch-wide patch, yet he lightly licked it with his tongue. "Beating is pain, scolding is love. This little prince savors it like honey!"

"You are disgusting!!" Yang Qingchan's hatred was beyond words. Sword Qi, white as snow, enveloped a radius of five zhang. Ying Xiao weaved through it with ease, cackling strangely. "You traveled a thousand li to get here. Could it be for that boy surnamed Liu? Tsk, tsk, he does have quite a handsome face. What a pity that tomorrow, he'll turn to ash!"

"What did you say?!" Yang Qingchan stopped her sword in terror!

Ying Xiao grinned viciously and stepped forward. "Take off one piece of clothing and dance for this little prince, and I'll tell you one sentence. How about it?"

"You beast, keep dreaming!!" Yang Qingchan's Sword Qi arced like a rainbow as a ten-zhang sword radiance rose in splendor!

"This sword is fast!" Faced with the sudden Sword Qi, Ying Xiao had no time to react. He dodged in a sorry state, and when he looked back, the strike had blasted a huge crater into the ground. He could not help but grow angry. "You and I have no grudge, yet you came at me with a killing move!"

Yang Qingchan had barely steadied her breathing when she suddenly heard the sound of a zither, and her body went limp. The head of an ancient zither emerged from Ying Xiao's sleeve. Within three feet, the zither notes trembled, their sound waves cold as frost. They sealed the fiery power of Allure Flame and stirred the enemy's pill power into turmoil, making it impossible to gather!

"Little beauty, if you won't undress, don't blame me for being rough!" Ying Xiao sneered as he closed in step by step. Yang Qingchan gathered her pill power with all her strength. I need five more breaths. When this villain comes close, I'll take his life in one move. As for the Qin Emperor's fury, I can only make plans afterward!

Ying Xiao stared fixedly at the sword in her hand. Just as he was about to unleash his cultivation, another zither note sounded in the sky!

Yang Qingchan abruptly shot out a stream of Sword Qi, then strode away at once, vanishing in an instant!

"Damn it!" Ying Xiao drove power through both feet and shot into the sky, punching toward the bright moon. "You still dare use an illusion to blind me!"

Ripples spread across the bright moon, and another figure appeared, fleeing in the opposite direction from Yang Qingchan. Ying Xiao was furious beyond measure and pursued with all his strength. Yet the farther he chased, the farther away it seemed. In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, the figure had completely melted into the night, impossible to distinguish!

"Young Master, do not pursue a desperate enemy!" Ying Xu came galloping over. Ying Xiao checked his pulse and shook his head. "Uncle's body is no longer fit for travel. I'll go alone. You would only hold me back!"

"Young Master, take care on your journey."

For the next several hours, Ying Xiao galloped at full speed, finally reaching Seaview Commandery on the western edge of the Qin Kingdom before dawn. Farther west of this commandery lay two adjacent "seas." One was a vast blue ocean stretching ten thousand li, while to the northwest lay the boundless "Vast Sea," commonly known as the desert.

"The Palace Master really is cautious. Every time, she arranges to meet in some godforsaken place where birds don't even shit before she's willing to take me back to the sect!" Ying Xiao sighed. Before long, a "hexagonal seal" appeared on the ground. Before Ying Xiao could sneer, white light flickered before him. When he opened his eyes again, he was already standing within the main altar of the demonic sect!

The Wonderful Sound Palace Master, Hundred-Skeleton Scholar, and the Palace of Delusive Thoughts Palace Master, Great Dream Venerable, stood before him.

"Greetings, Master. Greetings, Palace Masters!" Ying Xiao bowed deeply.

Great Dream Venerable smiled. "A talent of fine bearing. All the best disciples under heaven have been claimed by you alone, Yan!"

Hundred-Skeleton Scholar helped him up. "My disciple, you have endured hardship on the road. Have a cup of tea."

"Thank you, Master!" Ying Xiao raised his head slightly, a little startled. "Master is actually meeting me with an illusory body today!"

Hundred-Skeleton Scholar wore a jade crown and azure robes. He stood seven feet six inches tall, with a square face and an appearance that was exceptionally honest and ordinary. Smiling, he asked softly, "What? Have you never seen your master dressed this way?"

"I would not dare!" Ying Xiao bowed. "This disciple has acted according to the orders of both Palace Masters. Before long, the Four Swords Sect will pour out in full force."

"Good!" Hundred-Skeleton Scholar opened the copy of Mencius in his hand and nodded with a smile.

"Only..."

"Only what?" Great Dream Venerable turned his head to stare, two rays of green light shooting from his eyes. Hundred-Skeleton Scholar drew out a bamboo slip and threw it over. The yellow light struck the slip, turning into something like ice before shattering across the floor. "Don't casually use divine abilities to pry into others' privacy!"

Great Dream Venerable gave two dry laughs and turned away.

Ying Xiao smiled, picked up the bamboo slip, and respectfully handed it back. "This disciple encountered Yang Qingchan on the road!"

"Why did she come here?!" Hundred-Skeleton Scholar's hand holding the bamboo slip froze in midair. Great Dream Venerable turned to the left. "Cao Huan!"

"Palace Master, Yan Chen... is dead!"

Great Dream Venerable shed sorrowful tears, reaching beneath his mask to wipe them away. "The pain of losing a son—what pain could compare?"

Hundred-Skeleton Scholar remained calm as he returned the book slip. "Some deaths are lighter than a feather, others heavier than Mount Tai. My son's death was insignificant! There is no need to mention it again."

Cao Huan? Ying Xiao was utterly astonished and looked toward Great Dream Venerable.

"Do you not intend to avenge him?"

"What of the blood vengeance covering my own body?" The scholar glared furiously, transforming once more into a flesh-and-bone mountain over a zhang tall before his body vanished from the hall.

"Cao Huan, after the news was released, how have the various factions reacted?" Great Dream Venerable asked again.

"For now, the reactions of the various sects have been exceedingly calm." Cao Huan frowned.

"The bald donkeys of Sakyamuni Temple are still striking bells and chanting scriptures. The seven mountain masters of Vast Sea Academy appear and vanish like divine dragons, the Divine-Demon Sect has not stirred, and those devils of the Three Stars Sect—" Cao Huan ground his teeth in fury. "Every disciple sent to gather information had their bodies hollowed out. Bones, flesh, skin, internal organs, and souls all vanished without a trace. All that remained were inner pills, each scrubbed spotlessly clean, without even a drop of blood left!"

"They truly are demons who eat people without even spitting out the bones!"

Great Dream Venerable's voice trembled slightly, yet he asked in puzzlement, "They left behind the cultivators' inner pills, the most important part, and instead took everything else. Isn't that like buying the casket and returning the pearl?"

Great Dream Venerable paced back and forth.

Cao Huan and Ying Xiao exchanged a look and silently shook their heads. "We have become merchandise!"

"This disciple forgot one matter: the Myriad Swords Sect!" Light flashed in Cao Huan's eyes. "And the four great kingdoms also seem ready to make a move!"

"What about the Non-Vessel Workshop... Forget it. Asking would be pointless. Those craftsmen never concern themselves with external affairs... Just look at Qiwu Huiming's face and you can tell..." Great Dream Venerable looked toward Cao Huan, only to see his lips part slightly. Startled, he said, "Wait! Could the seventh greatest sect under heaven also be interested in this boy?"

Cao Huan wore a grave expression and nodded slightly. "Precisely!"