Good Morning, Everyone

"Exactly. Who would have thought the Mysterious Robe Hermit was right here in this mountain temple? Perhaps Liu Suiyun had arranged to meet him. But with our gang leader and the Saint Empress here, we may yet be able to keep the Mysterious Robe Hermit behind." The northwestern man spoke with pride in his voice.

Shi Xuan had not known who this gang leader was, but now he could more or less guess. To be so confident before Qi Taichong, the Mysterious Robe Hermit and one of the Five Great Grandmasters, and to be certain of joining forces with the Demon Empress to hold him back—he naturally had to be a grandmaster of the same rank. Among such experts, the only one called gang leader was Iron Fist Li Shenfan, leader of the Power Money Gang.

Why did Shi Xuan dare meddle in the Demon Sect's affairs? Was he not afraid that an immortal sect stood behind them? Because when Old Daoist Xu had once searched for the Daoist Sect, he had openly and secretly visited the Carefree Sect, which stood alongside the Righteous Dao and the Demon Sect. Yet he had still found no news of the Daoist Sect. He had also considered investigating the Demon Sect, but its movements were too secretive, and he had never managed to find it. Thus, the places Shi Xuan had initially marked out were only Tongxuan Mountain, Mang Mountain, and Luojing.

By this reasoning, while it could not be completely ruled out that an immortal sect backed the Demon Sect, the possibility was exceedingly slight. Besides, if one wanted to seek out the Daoist Sect without risking even a shred of danger, how could that possibly happen?

"May I ask this brother's honored name? Could you lead this humble taoist and Wan'er to the Saint Empress?" Worried that taking a wrong path would waste time, Shi Xuan directly asked the northwestern man to guide them.

"I am Dong Liang of Ganzhou. Please follow me, Daoist Priest and Saintess. May I ask how the Daoist Priest is addressed?" Dong Liang was naturally willing to lead this Daoist Priest. After all, as a precaution, the gang leader had not sent only him to gather their men.

"This humble Taoist's secular surname is Shi." Shi Xuan thought that since he was going up there to ruin things, there was no need to give his full name. Taking Wan'er's hand, he followed Dong Liang toward Little Absolute Ridge.

Dong Liang had wanted to invite Chu Wan'er onto his horse, but she showed no appreciation at all. She clutched Shi Xuan's hand tightly and refused to let go. Dong Liang could only lead his horse and walk ahead to show them the way.

Shi Xuan had been walking along well enough while holding Chu Wan'er's hand, but as they went on, he felt her tugging harder and harder. Puzzled, he turned his head to look and could not help laughing aloud. The girl wore a bitter expression, her steps growing smaller and smaller as the distance between them widened. No wonder he had felt her pulling tighter and tighter. From the look of her, she seemed ready to turn around and flee at any moment.

Hearing Shi Xuan laugh, Chu Wan'er shot her master a sidelong glance, looking utterly miserable. "Master, how do you think mother will punish Wan'er?"

"Mm, perhaps she'll spank Wan'er, then lock you up for a few days and forbid you to eat. Or perhaps she'll make Wan'er walk barefoot over cinders..." The more Shi Xuan spoke, the redder Chu Wan'er's eyes became, and her steps were practically inching forward. "But with your master here, I'll naturally stand up for Wan'er. I won't let your mother punish you!"

"Really?! Master, you're so wonderful!" Chu Wan'er did not react at first, but once she heard that Shi Xuan would stand up for her, she immediately cheered. "Exactly, exactly! Master, you're so powerful—you must help Wan'er take revenge! Mother is always bullying Wan'er."

Dong Liang, walking ahead, shuddered inwardly at Chu Wan'er's words. Could this young Taoist truly be some ageless senior expert living in seclusion within the Demon Sect? Otherwise, why would this little demoness say he was even stronger than the Demon Empress? No, that was not right. By the Demon Sect's rules, should the little demoness not be learning the Heavenly Demon Skill from the Demon Empress?

"Master, you must punish mother! Make her walk without shoes! Uh, but mother seems never to wear shoes..." Chu Wan'er had just thought of a peerless brilliant idea, only to have ruthless reality crush it.

Along the way, Chu Wan'er racked her brains. Usually, the moment she came up with an idea, she would overturn it herself, or else immediately think of another, better one. In the end, she never came up with a perfect plan for punishing her mother.

Dong Liang handed his horse over to gang members guarding the foot of the mountain, then instructed another subordinate to gather the others. He himself led Shi Xuan and Chu Wan'er up the narrow mountain path.

Little Absolute Ridge was steep and treacherous, with sheer cliffs everywhere. This mountain temple had a cliff at its back and a precipice before it—truly terrain easy to defend and hard to attack.

Perhaps something had changed. The Power Money Gang members dressed in reddish-bronze clothes had already begun attacking the mountain temple. Yet because the path was too narrow, apart from those on the rooftops, there were only seven or eight experts before the gate.

Dong Liang stepped forward, grabbed a gang member at the rear, and urgently asked, "Why did the attack begin when things were going so well? We haven't even gathered everyone yet. Did the Sacred Sect send people?"

"No, no. The Sacred Sect still only has those few experts from before. Hall Master Dong, you don't know—the Mysterious Robe Hermit saw several of our experts go down the mountain and tried to seize the chance to lead those people in a breakout. Unfortunately, he didn't know the Saint Empress was here. He exposed an opening and was driven back by the gang leader and the Saint Empress working together. They even pressed the advantage and fought their way in. The two Heavenly Kings and one Demon Sect expert have gone inside too." Seeing that Dong Liang was one of their own, the gang member immediately laid out the full situation.

Hearing that the situation inside was urgent, Shi Xuan no longer concealed himself. With his left hand, he pulled Chu Wan'er close and cast the Golden Dragon Armor Charm on both her and himself. Then he raised the Soul-Bewildering Banner in his right hand and swept it repeatedly. Caught unprepared, the Power Money Gang members ahead were struck unconscious by the black light one after another. Even the gang member speaking with Dong Liang was not spared.

Seeing Shi Xuan act, Dong Liang froze. What kind of demonic art is this, to actually condense black light? He truly is an unmatched master of the Demon Sect... Wait, why is he attacking his own people?

Before Dong Liang could finish that thought, Shi Xuan casually swept him down as well, knocking him unconscious. Shi Xuan had no time to take their lives; in any case, they would remain unconscious for quite a while. Pulling Chu Wan'er along, he headed straight for the mountain temple. Whenever a Power Money Gang member pounced at them on the way, a streak of black light would sweep out and send them sprawling.

Inside the mountain temple, the Demon Empress Chu Yuyan, dressed in white with her pair of snow-white bare feet exposed, wore a thin veil over her face. Stepping through the wondrous footwork of the Heavenly Demon Dance, she attacked Qi Taichong in his mysterious robes and high crown, now near, now far. Her white silken ribbons traced beautiful arcs through the air, forming one small Heavenly Demon Field after another. Qi Taichong's footwork and techniques were greatly affected, forcing him to expend far more effort to avoid being led astray by those Heavenly Demon Fields.

Opposite Qi Taichong stood a man in green robes. His features were refined, and his face carried a faint weariness and gentle loneliness. Yet he possessed a pair of resolute fists. There were no frills to them—just a simple punch, like a boulder shattering the heavens, forcing Qi Taichong's ancient, profoundly mysterious unarmed techniques to change moves and block it.

Yet Qi Taichong had been famous for decades and was no empty name. Under the pincer attack of Li Shenfan and Chu Yuyan, he still used the unarmed techniques he knew best to build an airtight defensive circle around himself.

Li Shenfan and Chu Yuyan were in no hurry to press their attack. With the situation so favorable, wearing Qi Taichong down and dragging him into collapse was the proper path. Thus, they used only fifty or sixty percent of their focus to attack, reserving the rest to guard against any escape.

The White-Clad Young Master Liu Suiyun had already suffered serious wounds during the earlier pursuit. Now, beneath Sword King Qu Hanshui's sword, he could only struggle bitterly to hold on. Yet unexpectedly, he also possessed skill with hidden weapons, always managing to salvage a sliver of the situation at critical moments. For the time being, his life was not in danger.

Qu Hanshui's treasured sword had already broken into two pieces and lay on the ground. In his hand was a crude, inferior sword forged of rough iron. His techniques had also completely abandoned their former exquisite subtlety, becoming broad and sweeping while retaining their finesse. Gradually, he brought the entire battle beneath his sword, performing even fifty percent better than when he had wielded his treasured blade.

Blade King Zhao Mingxi was a middle-aged scholar. He appeared utterly at ease, yet with a flash of his blade, he forced Du Yuhan back a step. He even had the leisure to tease him. "Young Hero Du, who would have thought that after only such a short time apart, your martial arts would advance by leaps and bounds? You have actually achieved the Major Heavenly Cycle. If your realm were not still unsteady, how could you be in such a sorry state now? Earlier, we misjudged your strength, and that was why we allowed you to break out all the way here."

Du Yuhan desperately wielded the slender sword in his hand. Its gleam darted like a shuttle, each strike faster than the last, posing immense danger even to Blade King Zhao Mingxi. That was why Blade King Zhao Mingxi had not swiftly defeated Du Yuhan. After all, when he already held the upper hand, gambling on grievous injury to rapidly take down an enemy was not something a clever man like Blade King Zhao Mingxi would do.

Meng Yuqiong and two Xu Family experts fought jointly against the Demon Sect expert. This expert was also a woman, her graceful body wrapped in white gauze, her face uncovered to reveal a delicate countenance lovely in joy and lovely in anger. Every gesture was like a beautiful dance, carrying profound killing intent. Meng Yuqiong's cultivation was inferior to this Demon Sect expert's, but not by much. Every technique of the Yuhua Sect's direct lineage carried mysterious trajectories. Together with the life-for-life fighting style of the two Xu Family experts, the two sides remained locked in stalemate.

Several experts who had followed them here were fiercely battling the rooftop fighters atop the main beam, preventing them from breaking through from the roof.

Xu Jinyi, Xu Tianqi, and several other young heroes and heroines blocked the entrance, fighting the attacking Power Money Gang members to the death. Though all of them possessed formidable martial arts, the attackers were no ordinary gang members; quite a few renowned figures of the Jianghu were among them. Since the fight began, Xu Tianqi and the others had relied on the terrain to viciously kill several opponents, only to be driven back step by step. Had there been any path of escape, some of them would likely have scattered like birds and beasts already.

As Liu Suiyun watched the situation steadily worsen, he gritted his teeth and made his decision. He used his trump card. Qu Hanshui only saw a blur before his eyes. The iron sword in his hand suddenly grew heavy, and his hand began to tingle and itch before losing all sensation.

An iron flower was embedded in the wall behind Qu Hanshui. Within a radius of ten feet around it, ants, crawling insects, and cockroaches fell from the wall one after another. They landed on the ground and did not move. Though Qu Hanshui had reacted with great speed and used his iron sword to block the iron flower, the hand gripping his sword had already turned black and swollen. Fortunately, his Internal Energy had instinctively protected his heart. He had merely fallen unconscious, but if this dragged on any longer, he would not escape disaster.

Liu Suiyun had no time to follow up with another strike. Seeing the Power Money Gang members at the entrance gradually pushing into the mountain temple, leaving the open temple gate behind him, he had no time to think and raced toward the gate.

Xu Tianqi, Xu Jinyi, and the others had already been forced away from the mountain temple gate. Yet neither they nor the attacking Power Money Gang members noticed that no one else had entered behind them.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Massive knocking rang through the mountain temple in three successive rounds. Even the Jianghu experts locked in fierce battle had no choice but to spare a sliver of attention and look over.

At the gate stood a young Taoist in a plain-colored robe. In his right hand, he held the eerie Black Banner that had struck the temple gate; with his left, he held the hand of a snow-like, adorable little girl in white. Seeing that everyone had turned their attention his way, the young Taoist smiled and said, "Good morning, everyone."