Bi Xiu indulged in the jealousy and rivalry of the four women, lingering in their tender charms. After what seemed like eternity, he suddenly felt a sense of alarm and awoke in shock. Looking up, he saw a golden sword light shooting across the sky.

Upon seeing the familiar sword light, Bi Xiu quickly employed the Prohibition Technique of the Mysterious Sect, immobilizing all four women on the spot. They were frozen in postures of sitting gracefully and toying with wine and cakes, as if they were turned into four statues, unable to move so much as a finger, let alone speak out.

Bi Xiu was frightened to the extreme, his forehead drenched with cold sweat as he looked up at the sword light.

The golden sword light passed overhead and was about to fly away when it suddenly paused and flew back.

The sword light dispersed, revealing a handsome young man with the build of a great ape and a wasp's waist. Hovering in mid-air, he glanced downwards and rubbed his hands together, casting down a beam of golden light onto the Yaksha Formation. A mass of black smoke surged out of nowhere, the invisible capabilities of the array were broken, revealing the true scene below.

The young man first glanced at the colorful mist swirling below, his gaze then fixed on Bi Xiu, "Junior brother, aren't you going back with me to apologize to Master and Mistress?"

This was Bai Guyi's eldest disciple, Yue Wen. He might look young, but he had been following Bai Guyi since the Northern Song dynasty, though several cycles of reincarnation. Now his cultivation of the Daoist Technique was complete, and Bi Xiu knew he was no match, which was why he was so frightened.

He replied timidly, "If I go back now, will I still have a life? Elder brother, for the sake of our many years of fellowship as fellow disciples, please pretend you haven't seen me…"

Yue Wen was known for his gentle nature and kindness to others, but his expression was unusually serious now, "If you go back with me now, kneel and confess to our Master and Mistress, and show remorse for your mistakes. I will try my best to plead on your behalf. They will not take your life. Whatever punishment you receive, accept it, and I will do my utmost to help you get through this ordeal. You are already stepping onto the evil path, but your fall is not yet too deep. There is still time to pull back, and this could be your only chance to turn over a new leaf. Otherwise, if you continue down this dark path, disaster could be just ahead."

Bi Xiu exclaimed loud, "There's no turning back! I can't turn back, and I don't want to! Elder brother, what kind of days did we have on the mountain? I merely spoke a few words with Luo Ziyuan, a female disciple from Heng Mountain, and Mistress accused me of improper intentions, forbidding me from seeing her again! Elder brother, one longs for the basic human desires..."

Yue Wen interrupted him, "Don't speak anymore, our Master's Daoist ways are clear. The pros and cons were explained to you when you first entered the door; I was there too. You were at the end of your rope and promised to renounce everything and join the priesthood with a pure heart. Once you've become a monk, don't speak the words of a layperson anymore."

"I regret it! There is a chance for a monk to return to secular life!" Bi Xiu said, "Elder brother, you are a good man, please go back. I don't want to hurt you."

Yue Wen spoke with a touch of anger, "You betrayed our Master! You even stole his Daoist books and Mistress's treasures—do you really plan to just run away like this? If that's the case, you don't have to go back, just wait for your doom to come, but you have to return what belongs to Master and Mistress!"

With that, he formed hand seals and exhaled golden light, transforming into a golden rainbow that descended swiftly, splitting into eight strands in mid-air, and crystallizing into eight Golden Talismans that fell upon a Yaksha Flag each.

The Yaksha Flag belonged to a set known as the Eight Heavenly Dragon Flags, which Ling Xuehong used during the training of the Heavenly Dragon Zen. They served both as protectors and to create illusions to temper one's mind, a Training Flag not intended for battling foes.

Bi Xiu had learned a secret technique from the Red Body Sect's Tie Shu and stole the Yaksha Flag, committing murders far and wide, amassing vengeful spirits on the flag, employing the sacrificial refinement of demon gods to nurture eight great Yaksha Kings.

The Golden Talismans released by Yue Wen would have taken away the original Yaksha Flags directly. However, now that the flags had been reforged with demon magic, as Bi Xiu formed his hand seals and chanted incantations, large swathes of black smoke surged from each flag. Hidden within the smoke churned a torrent of Demon Light, holding the Golden Talismans aloft in the air, unable to descend.

Yue Wen was furious, "If you don't stop now, don't blame me for being merciless under my sword!"

Bi Xiu bellowed, "Merciless then be merciless, what can you possibly do to me!"

The two brothers released their Flying Swords at the same time—one gold and one red—creating intertwining sword lights in the air, looking like two dragons vying for a pearl under the sunlight, fighting fiercely with Sword Qi crisscrossing and dazzling radiance in all directions.

Despite practicing the same Mysterious Sect Swordsmanship, Yue Wen was more than one level above Bi Xiu. Within moments, he gained the upper hand, the golden light growing ever brighter while the red light dimmed—a little longer, and the red light was in danger of scattering.

Bi Xiu kept retracting the red light until it was just a few yards in front of him, with the golden light pressing down as well. Amidst the swirling Sword Qi, his face and head were bathed in a layer of golden color. His forehead and cheeks were gashed as if cut by a knife, showing numerous fine wounds through which blood gushed, and his clothes started to tear.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Elder brother, you are pushing too hard. Don't blame your younger brother for being ruthless!"

He chanted a Demon Curse, stepped through the Gang Step, and began casting spells. The eight Yaksha Flags around him started to sway wildly, and the black smoke they emitted gathered toward Yue Wen.

To counter this kind of magic, the use of Mysterious Sect Qiantian Taiyin Divine Thunder was best, but Yue Wen, reluctant to destroy the flags as they belonged to his master's wife, refrained from using the Thunder Skill. Hoping to break out of the battle before planning his next move, he attempted to merge with his sword.

Little did he know, the Yaksha Flags, originally Buddhist treasures, had been reforged with Demon Cult Techniques, gaining many new uses. The black smoke coalesced into a large dark cloud enveloping Yue Wen, with both man and sword wrapped inside, while eight clusters of red Demon Light also merged and encased him.

The Demon Light could cause hallucinations. Yue Wen saw his master's wife, Ling Xuehong, flying over from a distance, shouting angrily, "If you don't immediately behead that beast who betrayed our sect, won't you be as tainted as he is?"

Yue Wen, having cultivated the Mysterious Skill for many years, knew it was an illusion and did not succumb. However, with the sword light stuck by the Demon Light, he was momentarily unable to break free and felt it infiltrating and corroding his defenses. He tried to teleport away with a different spell.

Just as he was about to cast his spell, his vision suddenly brightened; the black smoke and red light vanished, and he found himself at the bottom of a valley, with steep cliffs on both sides. The lush vegetation obstructed the daylight above, yet it was not dark below.

A young man of a similar age was sitting on a large boulder cultivating, continuously exhaling a Five-Colored Radiant Light from his mouth.

Yue Wen paused, instinctively guarding himself with the Immortal Sword in front of him against the illusion. As he focused and cast his spell, he released successive talismans made of golden light. There were no signs of any Prohibition Formation. Knowing Bi Xiu was conspiring with the Red Body Sect and Wutai Sect's Demon Humans learning powerful Evil Skills and Demon Cult Techniques, which could subtly influence one's mind, he was aware that many illusions could feel genuinely real to the senses, yet were wholly false.

He cautiously used his sword to protect himself while observing the person cultivating.

Naturally, that cultivator was none other than Shi Feiyang, who was then retracting the Five-Colored Radiant Light from the Azure Dragon Bottle back into his body, combining it with the Primordial Qi from his Five Internal Organs, using Dan Qi as the central driver of coordination, ceaselessly refining it with fire, and only after completing a cycle of Circulation did he finish his practice and open his eyes to look at Yue Wen: "Do you see me as a human? A demon? A spirit?"

Yue Wen pondered before replying, "Observing the fellow Daoist, your Divine Sense is introverted, your essence is ample, sitting there as immovable as Mount Taishan, yet also exuding a sense of becoming one with the world at any moment with the breeze. You must undoubtedly be from the Mysterious Sect's Righteous Path. How did you come to be here? What is your relation with that traitorous disciple?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.