Formless Fiendfire

Wei Fengniang tried to open the Jade Casket and take out the Heavenly Book inside. The moment she channeled a stream of true qi into it, a layer of Formless Fiendfire silently rose over its surface. Colorless and shadowless, the fire could not be seen with the naked eye, only sensed with the mind.

Wei Fengniang found the entire casket seamless, as though it were a single piece of jade. She tried three methods of opening it in succession, then suddenly felt an agonizing pain in her fingers, as though tens of millions of fine needles were stabbing them at random. Immediately afterward, both her true qi and her Primordial Spirit were contaminated.

With her level of cultivation, she would not have fallen into such a state had she remained calm. But trapped deep within the Five Elements Reversal Formation, she was frightened, while desperately longing to obtain the Heavenly Book inside the casket. Fear and greed had robbed her of her inner stillness. By the time she noticed the Formless Fiendfire, it was already too late.

Even then, she could not bear to discard the Jade Casket. Sitting cross-legged on the Crouching Dragon Stone, she focused her mind and circulated her power to resist the poisonous fire on the casket, intending to dispel it with her profound magical power.

Shi Feiyang would certainly not give her that chance. Seeing the fiendfire take effect, he immediately spat out his two Inner Cores and sent them smashing downward.

Wei Fengniang hurriedly blocked them with her flying sword. They had already fought for half the night, and when sword and cores clashed again, she distinctly felt that the weight behind his two inner cores had increased considerably. Her immortal sword alone could barely withstand them, so she unleashed her Vajra Divine Palm again.

She had certainly not earned the title "Divine-Hand Bhikṣu" for nothing. Great golden hands struck out one after another, each blow sending the two Inner Cores spinning backward amid splashes of water and fire.

Shi Feiyang was in no hurry to win. He simply kept up his fierce, swift assault. After they had fought for the time it took to eat a meal, the Formless Fiendfire invaded Wei Fengniang's body, burrowing into the apertures of her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. From above, Shi Feiyang cast spells at a distance to feed its power. Wei Fengniang forcibly suppressed it with a lifetime's cultivation and barely endured another cup of tea's worth of time before she could hold it back no longer. With a miserable scream, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

With that violent retching, emerald-green poisonous blood streamed from her eyes, black blood from her ears, and Bai blood from her nose. Then the poisonous blood caught fire, its multicolored flames engulfing her head and face. Within her, the Formless Fiendfire erupted with overwhelming force, reducing all her internal organs to ash in an instant. From the inside out, flames blazed wildly!

Seizing the chance, Shi Feiyang drove his two Inner Cores with all his strength. Like meteorites falling from beyond the heavens, they plunged straight down and slammed into the Crouching Dragon Stone, sending ten thousand rays of golden light bursting forth and filling his vision with crimson radiance. Wei Fengniang, seated upon it, was naturally smashed to pieces as well—not so much as a hair remained.

At last, he had destroyed the wicked woman. Shi Feiyang flew down and collected Wei Fengniang's Primordial Spirit and the belongings she had left behind.

He had passed through this tribulation amid danger and suspense. Though the overall course had stayed within his calculations, there had still been several twists along the way. In the end, however, he had waited until the clouds parted and the moon shone through, weathering it safely.

He cast a spell to draw spring water through the cavern, washing away all the filth, then dried it with the heat of his Gods-fire inner core.

The Queen Mother Grass Homunculus Mo Zhui emerged from his nest, babbling his congratulations. Having lived for nearly ten thousand years, he could be considered widely experienced, yet this was his first time witnessing such a perilous magical battle. He truly had broken into a cold sweat for Shi Feiyang.

Over those ten thousand years, countless guardian beasts of every variety had come and gone around him. Yet he still thought Shi Feiyang was the best: powerful, intelligent, and easygoing, and willing to help his cultivation with core qi.

Judging Wei Fengniang through the lens of his long experience, he knew she was no good. If Shi Feiyang had lost and he had fallen into that woman's hands, his little life would probably have been forfeit. Compared with humans, he much preferred dealing with animals.

Fortunately, Shi Feiyang had won. Standing on the cliff face, he gestured as he said, "Dragon-serpents like you ought to fall into a deep sleep when shedding your skin. Only when body and spirit unite can you obtain the best innate constitution. Forcing yourself to remain awake with poison actually impairs your constitution and affects your development. I'll give you some blood. Once you've drunk it, lie down and have a good sleep, and make up for as much as you can."

As he spoke, the little fellow was about to cut open his own arm and let out some blood.

Shi Feiyang quickly stopped him. "There's no need for that. Your vital blood is far too precious to use carelessly. Taking two small cups earlier was already a little excessive; I can't take any more. I'll refine more Elixirs in the future and slowly nourish myself back to health."

Shi Feiyang was delighted that the little fellow cared enough about him to offer his blood of his own accord. Mo Zhui was also somewhat moved. Shi Feiyang was not simply keeping him around and demanding things from him without end.

Shi Feiyang took stock of his gains from the battle: Wei Fengniang's Flying Sword and her Heaven and Earth Bag.

Wei Fengniang had nurtured and refined her Flying Sword for many years, giving it considerable power. But it had been forged through unorthodox methods, and its azure sword light was tinged with yellow. Its color was impure, and so was its intrinsic nature. In quality, it fell a notch below the White Light Sword.

The space inside her Heaven and Earth Bag was not very large, only about the size of a room. It held everyday necessities, an assortment of medicinal ingredients, and three bottles of finished Elixirs.

The other things were unremarkable, but among them were two volumes of cultivation notes Wei Fengniang had written herself. One contained the Tianshan Sect's secret teachings, systematic and comprehensive, with complete methods for refining pills and swords. The other contained spells of the Western Demon Cult, though only a dozen or so specific spells.

Shi Feiyang found the methods for refining and using the Ten-Thousand-Mile Yellow Sand Flags. This magical treasure had been devised by the founding patriarch of the Tianshan Sect through contemplation in the great desert. It consisted of fifteen formation flags, based on the Yellow River Map and Luo Writing. At rest, they were spread across a flat surface according to the nine palaces of the Luo Writing, with every horizontal, vertical, and diagonal line adding up to fifteen. Once activated, five gave birth and ten brought completion, forming a three-dimensional model of the Yellow River Map.

Shi Feiyang soon grasped the principles involved. He went to the summit and collected the formation flags Wei Fengniang had laid out.

The Heaven and Earth Bag contained several half-finished magical treasures; the only completed ones were the two Yellow Cloud Nails. Bruninga's Crow-Venom Thorn, however, was a formidable treasure. To keep the demonic monk from recalling it, Shi Feiyang immediately cast a spell to seal it.

Shi Feiyang did not dare venture outside to find the wounded Bruninga and cut out the weeds by their roots. Apart from Wei Fengniang and Bruninga, others had come that night to kill the dragon and seize his treasures. He knew of two other parties, and there might be more he did not know about.

Indeed, just as he feared, there was another party: a female immortal named Xiong Manniang, Sai Feiqiong. Her master was the Seven-Fingered Dragon Mother, Abbess Yinkong, of the Minshan Temple of the Dark Maiden. Her eldest senior sister had founded a school on Mount Heng and was the world-renowned Golden Granny Luo Ziyan. Her youngest junior sister was named Xiao Shijiu, known as the Void-Treading Immortal. Not long ago, Xiao Shijiu had heard that Mount Buxu behind Dinghu Peak matched her title perfectly and boasted beautiful scenery, so she planned to establish a separate residence there as a base for cultivation.

Nun Yinkong had originally been a Daoist School Sword Immortal before entering the Buddhist faith. Having divined that the Three Maidens' innate natures did not belong to Buddhism, she knew that forcing them to study dependent origination and the emptiness of inherent nature would not bring them attainment, but instead give rise to afflictions. Thus, she taught them only Daoist Swordsmanship.

Unlike Daoism, Buddhism did not pursue longevity; its ultimate goal was freedom from rebirth. Through her austere cultivation, Abbess Yinkong soon reached the end of her lifespan. Before departing for the Western Paradise, she called the three women before her and gave them her final instructions. She passed a copy of the Yue Maiden Manual to Luo Ziyan and a copy of the Three Origins Secret Manual to Xiao Shijiu, but gave Xiong Manniang no secret manual. Saying that her worldly ties were not yet ended, she gave her only eight lines of verse and two sealed notes marked with dates. Only when she opened them at the appointed times would the writing become visible.

After her master died, Xiong Manniang left Minshan and roamed the world alone. She had received no secret manual, and a fork lay amid her worldly ties. One path led into the mortal world, where she would marry, bear children, and grow old. The other led to Dinghu Peak, where she would kill Long, seize his treasures, and obtain the Heavenly Book, eventually achieving attainments no less than those of her two fellow disciples.

She had arrived near Dinghu Peak as early as two months before. Every day, when Shi Feiyang rose to the summit to gather the sun's true essence, she watched from afar. Knowing that her magical power and swordsmanship were no match for him, she concluded that she had to wait until the midnight watch on the final day of his shedding. Thus, she concealed herself and waited. Only moments earlier, when Wei Fengniang and Shi Feiyang's battle was at its fiercest, she had been about to go up and reap the spoils, but someone had descended from the sky and stopped her.

Thanks to "431 Qingchen," "w91," and "Zhenyi Mingshi" for their generous support. There will be three updates a day this week, with an additional update at 12:30 p.m.