Five Thieves Steal Heaven

The spell Red Snake used was called the "Eight Gates Reversal Heaven-Stealing Formation." It came from the Lesser Book of Heaven, whose Daoist arts mostly pursued overwhelming power to the exclusion of all else. This formation was no exception.

"Eight Gates reversal" meant that the formation was founded on Qimen Dunjia. Rest, life, injury, obstruction, view, death, fright, and opening—these Eight Gates were thrown into disarray rather than arranged in their usual order, making it impossible to find the correct way through.

"Heaven-stealing" came from the Yinfu Scripture: "Heaven has five thieves; those who perceive them prosper."

The scripture was then given another line: "Man has five thieves; those who obtain them flourish."

This linked to the passage that followed: "The five thieves dwell in the heart and act upon heaven. The universe lies within the hand; the myriad transformations arise within the body."

The formation was originally exceedingly sinister. Not only were its training methods vicious beyond measure, but once mastered, it was even more terrifying. What this so-called "heaven-stealing" stole was the victim's Essence Qi and spirit. It could suck all the vitality and blood from someone trapped within it without ever touching them, reducing them to a dried corpse.

In terms of its Qimen foundations, the formation originally had quite a few flaws. Its creator knew this too, and clearly stated in the book where it was suitable, under what circumstances it could be used, and under what circumstances it could not. The right spell had to be used at the right time.

Shi Feiyang was also well versed in Qimen arts and calculations. When he saw this formation, he became particularly interested in its reversal of the Eight Gates and began studying it, trying to patch all its flaws. He also removed the vicious methods required during its cultivation. This reduced the formation's overall power, making it balanced and harmonious instead of forever walking a blade's edge and courting danger.

Aside from its name, the formation Red Snake learned had become something entirely different.

Lei Qu'e came from an orthodox Daoist lineage and was very familiar with Qimen Dunjia. Though the Eight Gates were reversed, they could not trap him on their own. Yet this formation was both orthodox and sinister. It clearly had many flaws, but each flashed past before he could seize it, leaving him clawing at his heart and scratching at his liver in frustration. He made several tentative gestures, but truly had no idea where to begin.

The drifting red mist began contracting rapidly. A space that had covered roughly a sixth of an acre shrank to the size of a room in the blink of an eye.

Yao Suxiu had assumed that with a Sword Immortal present, slaying the monsters would be effortless. Standing beside him, Yao Suxiu cried with malicious excitement, "Immortal, hurry and slay the monster! Kill this Venomous Snake first, then I'll take you to kill that evil Long. Release your Flying Sword! Release your Flying Sword!"

Lei Qu'e frantically calculated the changes in the Eight Gates, his head throbbing from the racket. Seeing the red mist closing in and having no time to keep calculating, he could only deploy a protective Magic Treasure. It became a ring of yellow light that pushed the mist back a little. He told Yao Suxiu, "Stay here and don't move. Whatever you do, don't leave the yellow circle, and don't touch that red mist."

As he spoke, he prepared to merge with his sword and force his way out, but Yao Suxiu caught his sleeve. "Immortal, where are you going?"

Lei Qu'e said guiltily, "This Monster Serpent's formation has many peculiarities. I can't break it, so I can only find a way to fight my way out first. Wait here. I'll fetch my master and bring him back to save you."

Yao Suxiu could not believe it. "Immortal Lei, you actually can't break this formation? But you're a Sword Immortal!"

"To my shame!" Lei Qu'e said. "I truly can't break it. All I can do now is merge with my sword and try to fight my way out. I don't even know whether I can escape, so I can't take you with me."

Hearing how useless he was, Yao Suxiu immediately protested, a note of resentment creeping into the words. "Didn't you say you were a Sword Immortal of the Emei Sect? All that talk of your master and sect leader, and you can't even deal with one little Monster Serpent?"

Lei Qu'e was displeased to hear his sect spoken of this way, but patiently replied, "My sect's immortal arts are vast and profound. Any one of my martial uncles, or even the senior brothers and sisters who joined before me, could easily slay this Serpent Monster. I haven't been a disciple for long, and my innate aptitude and comprehension are both poor. I've only scratched the surface of Emei swordsmanship..."

Yao Suxiu said, "You've only scratched the surface, but you can still run back to fetch your master. If I stay here, won't I just be waiting to die?"

While the two argued, the red mist drew ever closer, pressing against Lei Qu'e's protective yellow light. Eight gateways appeared within it, each containing a giant serpent of red light. All eight opened their mouths toward the people inside and spewed jets of red poisonous mist.

Lei Qu'e sent his sword to slash at them. His Sword Light was tremendously powerful, and a single sweeping strike severed all eight giant red serpents, turning them into still more poisonous mist. The poison billowed, shrouding every direction until he could not see even ten feet away. Within that mist, more Venomous Snakes emerged. The small ones were only as thick as chopsticks, while the large ones were broader than cartwheels. In an instant, the space outside the yellow light was packed with a dense, writhing tangle of snakes.

Lei Qu'e used his Flying Sword to slay the snakes, cutting down many with every stroke, but new ones sprang into being almost at once.

He kept explaining to Yao Suxiu, "I certainly won't abandon you here to be killed by snakes. Rest assured. My revered master bestowed this protective Magic Treasure upon me, and I'll leave it here to protect you. As long as you don't step outside, that snake can't hurt you. Nor would I ever abandon this treasure, so I'll definitely return. My master's Cave Abode is on West Tianmu Mountain. At the speed I travel by sword, I can bring him here very quickly. Then slaying both this Monster Serpent and the evil Long inside the peak will be no trouble at all."

Judging others by personal standards, Yao Suxiu naturally refused to believe him and clutched Lei Qu'e's sleeve, unwilling to let go.

Lei Qu'e was about to say more when he suddenly cried, "This is bad!"

Red Snake was an exceptionally rare species. The mingled essence-blood produced by his coupling with Black Tortoise could make ghosts lose their sense of self, and his own blood vitality and venom were likewise extraordinary, particularly capable of infecting a person's Essence Qi and True Essence.

Lei Qu'e seemed to have the upper hand as he used his Flying Sword to slash the snakes formed from poisonous mist, but in truth, the poisonous vapor had already contaminated his sword.

Red Snake had spent more than three hundred years matching wits and strength against humans, gaining considerable cunning. He had also lived beside the Queen Mother Grass for years, and its prolonged influence had taught him the art of switching between the real and the false.

Once released, the red poisonous mist surged like a tide and could transform into Venomous Snakes that darted wildly through the air, striking terror into anyone who saw them. An ordinary person touched by even a trace would suffer festering flesh that oozed pus; in severe cases, the entire body would dissolve into bloody liquid. Yet this was not his most potent poison.

He possessed another deadly poison born within his Inner Cores, which he had repeatedly refined with many poisonous herbs. Not only was it more toxic, but it was also colorless and odorless when released, difficult for ordinary people to detect, and especially adept at inducing hallucinations.

When fighting an enemy, Red Snake released the two poisons together. While his opponent devoted all their attention to dealing with the red mist, he used the second poison to contaminate their Flying Swords and Magic Treasures.

Cultivators were linked to their Flying Swords and treasures through spirit and qi. As their True Qi flowed back and forth, this poison could quietly enter their bodies.

With anyone else, the poison would induce hallucinations, and the deeper the poisoning, the more completely they would sink into the illusions, often dying without ever realizing what had happened. But Lei Qu'e practiced orthodox Daoist arts and was no ordinary cultivator. Soon after being poisoned, he sensed something amiss and hurriedly focused his mind to examine himself inwardly. To his horror, he discovered that the poison had followed the True Essence and Essence Qi with which he controlled his Flying Sword straight into his dantian...

His scalp instantly prickled, and a cold sweat chilled him through. Without wasting another word on Yao Suxiu, he swept his left hand outward, knocking Yao Suxiu to the ground. His right hand formed a spell seal as he merged with his sword, becoming a streak of white light that shot up from the ground and plunged into the roiling red mist.

The Emei Sect's Swordsmanship was extraordinary indeed, while Red Snake had yet to attain full mastery. The formation he had laid could not hold Lei Qu'e, who pierced through the red mist. Red Snake opened his mouth and spat out a stream of deadly poisonous Elixir Qi, wrapping it around the Sword Light and dragging it backward. Lei Qu'e roared, and the white light on his sword blazed brighter, breaking free of the Elixir Qi and shooting straight north.

"You still think you can escape!" Red Snake uttered the human words with extreme awkwardness, using the dantian in his belly to stir all the poisonous vapor he had released into the surroundings—including, of course, the few wisps inside Lei Qu'e's dantian.

Lei Qu'e had flown a little over two li when his mind suddenly clouded. Unable to control his Sword Light, he plummeted straight down.

This section was originally placed later, to contrast the people of the Emei Sect with those of Wutai. After your comments, I moved it up front, but it feels like the effect is even worse now. --!