The Will to Move Mountains

Liu Yunshen had an exceedingly long and bizarre dream. In it, Yang Qingchan and Li Qinghui appeared at the same time.

"Senior Brother! My sister and I have decided that we will serve you together for the rest of our lives."

Liu Yunshen was thrilled beyond measure and immediately wanted to agree, yet no matter how much strength he exerted, he could not utter a single word.

"Senior Brother, why aren't you saying anything? Could it be that you're unwilling?" The two women looked grief-stricken as they continuously backed away, until they finally vanished into the darkness!

"No! Don't go! Don't go!" Liu Yunshen cried out in every direction. The Yellow River Swordsman answered his call. "Second Brother, your elder brother is proud of you!"

"Big Brother!" Liu Yunshen had been wracked by pain and vexation, and his brother's few words brought him some comfort. Yet the Yellow River Swordsman removed his human-skin mask, revealing Xiao Jinyu's savage, lecherous face. "Hehehe! Kid, it seems you and I were fated to meet after all!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Xiao Jinyu gave a sinister cackle, then suddenly clutched his stomach. "Not good, I need to take a shit! I'll spare you this time!"

Liu Yunshen cried and laughed at once. "Is this real or an illusion?"

"Disciple, you actually took another master behind my back! Add at least another three months!" The eccentric Daoist walked over with a beaming grin and pressed a hand against his dantian. "Disciple, your master will raise you from the first realm of Qi Refinement to Earth Immortal in a single night!"

The eccentric Daoist's kindly face, forever grinning and jesting, transformed into the savage visage of a demonic cultivator. Liu Yunshen shouted, his dantian swelling as if about to burst. A longsword appeared from thin air, and the eccentric Daoist was miserably beheaded!

Jie Xiao stood before him, staring deeply at him. "The next time we meet, either you die, or I live!"

"Brother Jie! Brother Jie!" Liu Yunshen opened his eyes and abruptly sat up. Cold sweat had already soaked through his shirt!

"So it was a dream!" Only then did he gradually calm down. Looking around at the villagers, he found himself half-reclining on a wheelbarrow, pushed from behind by a burly man from Zhao Family Village.

The burly man looked at Liu Yunshen with utmost respect. "Benefactor! You're awake!"

"You all are...?"

"We've all discussed it. We'll follow you, Benefactor. Wherever you go, we'll go! Even if you're heading to your death, we'll follow you there!"

Liu Yunshen's face filled with shock. He leapt down from the cart, though his head was still somewhat dizzy and his legs somewhat weak.

The villagers hurriedly stopped and ran toward him. "Benefactor! How are you?"

"Fellow villagers!" Liu Yunshen sighed. "This boy is incompetent and has dragged you all into this. But Four Swords Sect is hundreds of li away, and the road is fraught with danger. Why must you all...?"

"Brother Liu, stop refusing. You'll break the villagers' hearts," Lei Zhaoye whispered by his ear.

"In ancient times, Han Zhaolie crossed the river with his people; today, Hero Liu leads the masses eastward!" Cai Yuelin said with a giggle.

The villagers looked at Liu Yunshen, their eyes filled with deeply buried pleas. Liu Yunshen dropped to both knees. "Thank you, fellow villagers, for your generous devotion. Yunshen will surely lead you all safely out of this land!"

The villagers were overjoyed and excited. "Thank you, Benefactor!"

The villagers helped Liu Yunshen to his feet. When he looked around and failed to see that slightly plump figure, a trace of disappointment rose in his heart. "Has Mister Qi already gone back?"

"This old man is here!" Qi Hong said with a smile as he emerged from the rear. Liu Yunshen quickly stepped forward, unable to stop himself from feeling that he had someone to rely on. Qi Hong lightly patted his shoulder and smiled. "A good deed should be done to the end. This old man will see you all back."

"Thank you, Mister!" Liu Yunshen, Cai Yuelin, Ouyang Qingcang, and the others bowed in thanks.

The villagers set off once more. A radiant aura spread out for a hundred zhang, and without anyone noticing, their running speed increased by nearly a hundredfold!

An eagle swept across the sky. Sword Slave stood on its back, gazing down below. "So he was hiding here!"

"If not for last night's great battle at Zhao Family Village, this mountain lord's identity might have remained hidden!" The eagle snorted. "Are we returning to the demon sect? Going back would only be putting on a show!"

"Jie Xiao is still waiting for me in the sect. Of course I'm going back!"

The eagle flew with astonishing speed. By midnight, it had arrived once more before that cliff face. A demonic face appeared, and Sword Slave leapt inside.

"Heaven-Touching Palace, heh heh. Every time I return to this place, I feel uncomfortable all over!" Sword Slave gave a dry laugh, then leapt a hundred zhang and appeared in the center of the great hall.

Jie Xiao was kneeling silently on the ground, holding that rotten left arm in his hands.

"Ah Jie! You..." Sword Slave rebuked him in a low voice. Jie Xiao turned his head and respectfully said, "Big Sister, Jie Xiao was incompetent and failed to complete the mission! I willingly accept the Palace Master's punishment!"

At the very top of the hall crouched a gigantic spider two zhang tall. Yet upon that spider grew one incomparably beautiful face after another.

"Greetings, Palace Master of Heaven-Touching Palace!" Sword Slave merely nodded slightly. She neither clasped her fists nor knelt, and her eyes brimmed with defiance!

The spider spoke in a bewitching voice and smiled. "Little Sister's figure is still as lovely as ever. Back in the dance hall, more than half our sisters could not compare to you!"

Sword Slave sneered. "Why has the Palace Master summoned this subordinate here?"

"Why?" The human face of the Thousand-Faced Venomous Spider suddenly turned, changing into a completely different yet still beautiful woman's face. "Don't think that because I usually call you Little Sister, you may do whatever you please!"

"Which palace rule has this subordinate violated? I ask the Palace Master to make it clear!"

"Which one? Without my consent, you privately assigned Ah Jie a mission, and he returned with feathers clipped, causing Ah Jie's dantian to be sealed! How do you explain this?" Thousand-Faced Venomous Spider's expression turned cold. Her face rotated again, becoming another charming, smiling visage, her manner soft and delicate. "Oh my, Little Sister, do say something!"

Sword Slave clasped her fists and smiled. "The Palace Master ordered me to infiltrate the Zhou Court. Zhu Xun asked me to kill someone, and I could not refuse despite every attempt to evade it, so I could only send Jie Xiao!"

"Oh! Is that so? Ah Jie, who did Ah Nu send you to kill? You even lost an arm. Tsk, tsk, tsk! It looks so painful!" The spider's eyes were full of pity as its eight long legs descended the steps.

Jie Xiao remained unmoved, keeping his body straight as he continued kneeling on the ground.

A jade-white hand quietly appeared and gently caressed his face. "This humble one simply loves that steadfast righteousness of yours!"

"The Palace Master is of noble status. Please conduct yourself with dignity."

Jie Xiao's tone was calm. With a flash, he retreated three chi!

Sword Slave and Jie Xiao raised their heads slightly, their eyes filled with shock!

The gigantic venomous spider had vanished, replaced by a tender, seven-foot beauty with eyes brimming with affection.

"She's so beautiful!" Sword Slave's face reddened, and she slightly turned her head away.

The beauty wore nearly transparent rainbow robes. Ignoring Sword Slave at her side, she stared coldly at the man on the ground. "Jie Xiao! You have already comprehended the first level of the 'Restrain' realm of martial arts, yet there is still someone you cannot kill?"

"Reporting to the Palace Master, that man is named Liu Yunshen. His cultivation is comparable to Cao Huan, the peak second-realm expert under the Palace Master of Delusive Thoughts! This subordinate is incompetent! I beg the Palace Master to punish me!" Jie Xiao's eyes were clouded as he closed them and awaited death!

"I think it is not that you could not kill him. Poisoning, sneak attacks, threats—your methods are endless. It is your resolve that wavered! Am I right?" Thousand-Faced Venomous Spider stepped forward and removed the golden hairpin from her coiffure!

Sword Slave was greatly alarmed and drew her longsword. "Xue Duanyun! What are you doing!"

"Insolence! No one has ever dared to call this seat by her former name within Heaven-Touching Palace!" Xue Duanyun flew into a towering rage. With a spin, she transformed once more into that gigantic spider over two zhang tall, and countless spider threads burst forth in an instant!

Sword Slave sneered and swung her sword, effortlessly severing a thousand threads with one strike!

Xue Duanyun laughed in extreme anger. "Excellent! Little Sister! I fear you have always refused to submit to me! Today, why don't we sisters settle this with a duel and see who truly stands foremost among women!"

"I would not dare refuse!" Sword Slave swept her longsword, sending a streak of Sword Qi shooting toward the Thousand-Faced Venomous Spider. The great spider moved nimbly, all eight legs rising as its blade-sharp limbs slashed down from the air!

Sword Slave sidestepped to evade, then swung her sword backhandedly upward. A sword mark an inch deep appeared on the spider's leg!

"Since Little Sister shows no mercy, do not blame this Palace Master for being discourteous!" Xue Duanyun flew into a rage. Dozens of human faces appeared across the spider's back at once. The faces seemed to possess demonic power as green-glowing spider threads spewed from their mouths, binding Sword Slave!

Sword Slave's expression changed drastically as the spider threads bound her. "This move is so fast!"

Just as Xue Duanyun laughed triumphantly, a terrifying fluctuation shook the hall!

Jie Xiao was like a moving mountain as he slowly stepped forward. With one hand, he gripped the spider threads, ignored their soul-scattering venom, and exerted force in a burst. The threads snapped all over the floor like brittle strands of hardened sugar!