Cultivators were already no longer the same species as ordinary humans.
And demonic cultivators were the especially inhuman kind among cultivators.
Compared with those demonic cultivation sects, the Longevity Dao Sect was indeed a respectable orthodox sect. At the very least, it only ate people in secret. Its hierarchy was rigid, but it still cared about appearances and maintaining a veneer of propriety. The demonic cultivation sects, on the other hand, treated people as nothing more than consumable materials. Even fellow disciples schemed against one another at every turn.
To put it simply, the immortal cultivation sects were feudal imperial rule combined with capitalism, while the demonic cultivation sects were outright slavery—slavery practiced by something akin to a cannibal tribe.
Chocolate that tasted like shit was hard to swallow, but at least it was still food. Shit that looked like chocolate, on the other hand, existed purely to disgust people.
Shu Xin had once thought that killing was wrong. Then she killed several demonic cultivators and searched their souls. After that, she found herself wishing she had more than just two hands, so she could kill every last one of those beasts.
It seemed anti-fraud training was still necessary. If she let these little fools from the Wenshen Sect out into the world, they might not even know how they had died.
Xu Guan might have been a good master, but he was terrible at teaching disciples.
In a world like this, turning one’s disciples into little white rabbits only meant they would become meat in someone else’s mouth.
Still, no one could have everything.
When she had conducted a background check on the Wenshen Sect back then, hadn’t she specifically chosen it because the sect had so few members and was adorably foolish? If everyone in the sect had been as shrewd as ghosts, they would never have accepted someone like her as a refuge-seeker.
【These disciples are still young, after all. Young people are supposed to be spirited.】 The Sword Spirit felt that these youngsters were not all that bad.
As a sword spirit, it rather admired cultivators like them.
After following Shu Xin around, it had seen every kind of vile cultivator imaginable. It was rare to encounter a few so pure and innocent that it could not help feeling fond of them.
“Oh? Then do you want to choose them as your masters?” Shu Xin countered.
【Ahem. You’re right. They still need plenty of training.】 The Sword Spirit immediately withdrew its earlier comment.
Admiration was one thing.
But the Sword Spirit had to admit that only Shu Xin could survive for very long in this world.
And only someone who lived long enough could become a powerful cultivator—someone with the ability to change the world.
Perhaps the things all of its previous masters had been unable to accomplish could be achieved by Shu Xin.
The demonic cultivator who had attacked Meng Wenrui had been reduced to nothing but a sheet of skin. The other three demonic cultivators were not faring much better. They retreated as they fought, clearly unwilling to remain engaged.
No matter how stupid they were, they had realized that the eldest senior sister of the Wenshen Sect before them was far stronger than they were.
If they died here, their deaths would serve no purpose beyond adding another trace of blood energy to Xue Wang’s Soul-Seizing Banner.
With that thought, the three demonic cultivators acted decisively and turned to flee.
“You dare retreat in the face of the enemy?” Xue Wang roared furiously. He was just about to wave his command banner and suck the three men into it.
But Shu Xin’s sword was faster.
In the blink of an eye, it had slaughtered all three demonic cultivators.
【…I lost the bet. The blood from all three of them combined isn’t even as much as that of one ordinary demonic cultivator.】 The Sword Spirit was deeply depressed. Sooner or later, it was going to go to the Blood Demon Sect and slaughter them all. Surely that would be enough to wash the bloodstains off its body.
“All right, behave yourself.” Shu Xin made it return and settle down. The little brat from the Blood Demon Sect across from them was already trembling in fear.
“Your Blood Demon Sect and our Wenshen Sect are hardly on friendly terms.” A faint smile appeared on Shu Xin’s face. “Now, tell me. Who has been feeding you information? Besides you, who else came from the Blood Demon Sect? What is your plan, and what are the cultivation levels of everyone involved?”
Xue Wang did not answer immediately.
He tightened his grip on the command banner and watched Shu Xin warily, seemingly weighing whether he should answer her.
“I advise you to answer me,” Shu Xin said kindly. “My patience isn’t very good. If I were you, I’d take the initiative and lead me to the place where you’re lying in ambush. If I’m captured, you can claim credit for helping and complete your mission. If I kill everyone lying in wait for us, you can take advantage of the chaos to escape, and no one will be able to blame you. After all, if even the ambushers were killed by me, your escape would be perfectly understandable. You might even earn merit by bringing back news of me. It probably won’t be enough to spare you the death penalty, but staying alive is better than anything else, isn’t it?”
“You just said yourself that you don’t keep your word. Why should I believe that you’ll let me go?” Xue Wang sneered.
“Whether you believe me is irrelevant. What matters is that you have no other choice.” Shu Xin shrugged. “Lead me to your ambush site, and you’ll have a chance to escape in the chaos. If you refuse, I’ll kill you right now, and there’s nothing you can do about it. As for that shabby banner of yours, you can stop waving it. It won’t be able to make a single move in front of me.”
“Think about what I’ve said. The disciples of the Blood Demon Sect are all competitors. If the people lying in ambush die, you stand to gain, not lose. If you don’t take me there, I’ll merely have to spend a little more time.” Shu Xin was growing impatient. “I’ll count to three. One…”
Xue Wang’s face turned green, then red, then white. He wanted to muster his courage and fight Shu Xin, but in the end, he could not bring himself to make that decision.
That was right. If one could stay alive, who would want to die?
“Fine. I’ll take you there.” Xue Wang finally made up his mind. “Follow me.”
“That’s more like it.” Shu Xin smiled, then turned to Cao Ru and the others. “You three wait here for me.”
“Eldest Senior Sister, it’s too dangerous for you to go alone. Why don’t we wait for Master to return?”
“That’s right, Eldest Senior Sister. Who knows how many people they have lying in ambush?”
“Why don’t we come with you?”
“No need. If you come along, you’ll only be deadweight.” Shu Xin waved a hand. “If they really had a cultivator at the Immaculate Realm, they would have attacked us directly already. Why would an Immaculate Realm cultivator bother ambushing a few weaklings like us? I estimate that the Blood Demon Sect has, at most, two or three Nascent Soul cultivators lying in wait, along with some blood slaves. Oh, and perhaps a few cultivators who reported back to them and stayed behind.”
“Hmm. The only people capable of informing the Blood Demon Sect while also knowing the Wenshen Sect so well would be cultivators from the Longevity Dao Sect.”
“But the Longevity Dao Sect is one of the top orthodox immortal cultivation sects. Why would they do something so disgraceful? There are only a few people who would be willing to act this way despite the infamy it would bring.”
“Qin Rushan, right?”
Every single guess was correct!
The way Xue Wang looked at Shu Xin grew increasingly wary.
When had the Wenshen Sect produced such a terrifying figure?
Not only was she powerful, but she was also eloquent, exceptionally skilled at manipulating people’s hearts, and capable of analyzing these matters by carefully piecing together every clue. It was simply inconceivable.
Was she really an orthodox immortal cultivator?
Even in the Blood Demon Sect, she could probably rise straight to the position of saintess.
“Judging by your expression, I can tell I guessed correctly.” As she spoke, Shu Xin continued observing Xue Wang. “It seems the Blood Demon Sect doesn’t teach its disciples how to lie. I threw out a bluff, and you didn’t even bother trying to hide your reaction.”
Shu Xin had only been guessing, but when Xue Wang’s expression grew stranger and stranger, she knew she had guessed correctly.
I really do have a lot of nasty tricks up my sleeve.
Xue Wang was practically on the verge of breaking down.
What had the Seeking-God Sect done to deserve having such a terrifying figure in its midst? If the atmosphere had not been so tense, Xue Wang would have wanted to recommend Shu Xin to the Blood Demon Sect.
What future could she possibly have by staying in the Seeking-God Sect?
Xue Wang took the initiative to lead the way. Shu Xin carried one sword in her arms and stood on another, following leisurely behind him without the slightest concern that he might escape.
Watching Shu Xin leave on her sword with such effortless grace, Cao Ru and the others could no longer tear their eyes away.
“From now on, apart from Master, Senior Sister is the person I admire most.”
“That’s right. Senior Sister is so strong. From beginning to end, she didn’t give that demon cultivator anything—not even a promise—and yet he obediently did whatever she said.”
“…I’ll never believe another word a demon cultivator says again.”
Meanwhile.
Several of Qin Rushan’s disciples had already hurried over to report to him.
“You’re certain it was really Shu Xin?” Qin Rushan pressed again.
“Master, we couldn’t possibly have mistaken her. It was definitely Shu Xin. Even the two swords beside her were exactly the same. There’s no way someone else was impersonating her.” The disciples spoke with certainty. “Master, should we report this to the sect?”
“Master, why don’t we capture Shu Xin? It would surely be a great accomplishment.”
“If she were that easy to capture, would the sect have turned a blind eye to everything concerning her?” Qin Rushan was practically laughing from exasperation at his disciples. “She has a Mahayana cultivator backing her. Who would dare provoke her? Return to the sect immediately. Leave the Seeking-God Sect alone for now.”
Qin Rushan had previously wondered who had been advising Xu Guan. Xu Guan was as stubborn as a mule, so how could he possibly have been willing to listen to someone else so easily?
But if that person was Shu Xin, then everything made sense.
No—they had clearly been in league with each other from the very beginning.
That was why Xu Guan had taken the initiative to invite Shu Xin to become his disciple back when they were at the Everlasting Dao Sect.
Perhaps that Mahayana demon cultivator’s entry into the sect had also been arranged with Xu Guan’s help.
If that was really the case, then they would have to revise their plans for the Seeking-God Sect. They could no longer proceed as they had before.
It was just unexpected that Xu Guan, who had always despised betrayal, was also willing to become someone else’s dog.
What difference was there between betraying his sect to join the Everlasting Dao Sect and Xu Guan’s scheme of bargaining with a tiger—binding the entire Seeking-God Sect to some unknown Mahayana demon cultivator? How was that any different from betrayal?
Qin Rushan had originally thought Xu Guan possessed at least a little backbone. As it turned out, he was no better than Qin Rushan himself.
The thought immediately lightened Qin Rushan’s already terrible mood.
Aren’t you just like me, Xu Guan?
“Let’s go. We’re returning to the sect.” Qin Rushan made his decision at once, unwilling to waste any more effort on the Seeking-God Sect.
Whenever Shu Xin was involved, they had to be careful—extremely careful.
There were plenty of people looking for trouble with Shu Xin. There was no need for him to put himself at the front of the line.
“Master, we still have several senior and junior disciples hiding with those demonic sect cultivators. Should we notify them?” one disciple asked.
“I clearly have only you few disciples,” Qin Rushan said softly. “Those who colluded with the Blood Demon Sect have never been my disciples. They are merely traitors of the Everlasting Dao Sect.”
The disciples shuddered. They had already glimpsed the fate awaiting those few senior brothers from Qin Rushan’s words.
It wasn’t that those people could not be abandoned. They had simply been lucky enough not to be assigned the mission of lying in ambush.
Xue Wang began flying faster and faster.
Shu Xin let out a soft laugh, understanding what he intended to do.
“They’re just ahead!” Xue Wang violently waved the command flag in his hand. In an instant, countless streams of blood energy and vengeful spirits flew out of the flag, turning the entire area gray and murky in the blink of an eye.
“Spirit of the Blood Demon, heed my summons. Yin soldiers and ghost generals, destroy my enemies!”
As Xue Wang silently recited the incantation, he unleashed the Blood Demon Sect’s secret technique, releasing all the blood energy and vengeful spirits contained within the command flag and sending them hurtling toward Shu Xin.
The commotion also alerted the Blood Demon Sect disciples and Qin Rushan’s disciples who had been lying in ambush nearby.
“The enemy has been lured here by Xue Wang.”
“Go capture her! We can’t let Xue Wang take all the credit!”
“Wait for me!”
The cultivators lying in ambush wore gleeful smiles, as though victory was already within their grasp, and charged forward without hesitation.
Qin Rushan’s disciples also drew their weapons one after another.
Their master had told them that the lives of the Seeking-God Sect’s disciples did not matter. As long as they brought one back, he would grant them official disciple status, and they would no longer be dispensable servants.
However, when the three Dao Infant cultivators from the Blood Demon Sect charged into the formation of ghost soldiers, they realized that something was wrong.
“Xue Wang, who did you bring here?”
“Xue Wang, answer us!”
“Damn it! He left the command flag behind. He’s run away.”
…
The three Blood Demon Sect cultivators also sensed that something was amiss.
But by then, it was already too late.
Two flying swords attacked from both sides, harvesting the vengeful spirits and blood energy within the formation at an unbelievable speed. Every so often, they would also stab a few times into the bodies of the Blood Demon Sect disciples.
It was as if a cat were toying with a mouse, playing with its prey before finally devouring it.
It wasn’t that the Sword Spirits deliberately wanted to torment the cultivators. It was simply that the Blood Demon Sect cultivators loved refining blood energy into formations or magical artifacts, leaving very little vital essence in their own bodies.
For the Sword Spirits, cleansing the bloodstains from their blades still required the flesh and blood of these demon cultivators.
Thus, it was best to toy with them for a while longer, forcing the Blood Demon Sect disciples to use every technique at their disposal.
Shu Xin, meanwhile, had it easy.
They were only a few Dao Infant cultivators. The Sword Spirits could handle them on their own, so she didn’t even need to lift a finger.
“This Xue Wang is decisive. He ran without hesitation and even abandoned the magical artifact he painstakingly refined. He’s quite a character.” Shu Xin clicked her tongue in admiration. “If he survives, he might become a major figure in the Blood Demon Sect someday. All those chances I gave him to escape weren’t wasted after all.”
[You could clearly have pursued him, but you chose not to.]
The Sword Spirit dealt with the Blood Demon Sect cultivators while still finding time to criticize Shu Xin.
“You don’t understand. This is called casting a long line to catch a big fish.” Shu Xin waved her hand. “These demon cultivators are all better at hiding than the last. Finding them is genuinely difficult. But if we wait for them to come looking for us, things become much easier. Besides, Xue Wang betrayed these Blood Demon Sect disciples this time and then ran away precisely because he intended to rely on the fact that the dead cannot testify. How could I let him bury the matter so easily? This is a huge handle on him. If he can sell out the Blood Demon Sect once, he can do it ten times—or a hundred times. If we use him properly, he’ll become our mole in the Blood Demon Sect. He has your sword-qi mark on him, so the moment he comes within a hundred li of us, we’ll know. Isn’t that convenient?”
[That poor demon cultivator. He has no idea that you’ve already calculated every move he’ll make.]
The Sword Spirit sighed.
It understood Shu Xin far too well.
Shu Xin had told Meng Wenrui, “Don’t believe a single word a demonic cultivator says. The moment they start talking to you, they’re already setting a trap.”
The same could be said of Shu Xin herself.
She had been dragging her feet about killing Xue Wang because she was waiting for him to escape.
The news that Shu Xin had remained at Inquiry God Sect also needed someone to spread it.
In this world, honest and low-key people died easily, while those who attracted too much attention also died easily.
But a cultivator like Shu Xin—of unknown origins, impossible to gauge, and constantly moving among various factions—would certainly be difficult to kill!
As long as the Blood Demon Sect learned of Shu Xin’s existence and made a few inquiries, they would soon hear that she had a Mahayana-stage demonic cultivator backing her.
Meanwhile, once the Longevity Dao Sect heard that Shu Xin was staying at Inquiry God Sect, they would not dare attack the sect again anytime soon. At most, they would resort to underhanded tactics.
But when it came to playing dirty, Shu Xin would not lose to anyone.
It killed several birds with one stone. How wonderful.
Before long, after the Blood Demon Sect cultivators had exhausted every trick at their disposal, the Sword Spirit finally killed them all.
As for Qin Rushan’s disciples, they had not been killed on the spot, but they had been badly wounded and were sprawled on the ground.
“I… We’re disciples of the Longevity Dao Sect. You won’t get away with killing us.”
“E-Elder Shu, we’ve met before.”
“Elder Shu, we’re willing to follow your orders. We only ask that you show us mercy.”
Because of the formation of resentful spirits Xue Wang had unleashed, Qin Rushan’s disciples had been unable to see clearly who had arrived through the gray haze.
When they finally saw that it was Shu Xin, they were so frightened that their souls nearly left their bodies. They had no other thoughts left.
But they could neither escape nor fight back, so all they could do was kneel obediently and beg for mercy.
“Elder Shu, it was that treacherous bastard Qin Rushan who ordered us to ambush you. We never wanted to cooperate with the Blood Demon Sect cultivators!”
“That’s right, Elder Shu. We’re willing to testify against Qin Rushan. Please spare our lives.”
“Do you have any spirit stones on you?” Shu Xin asked impatiently.
“Yes, yes, we do.”
“We’ll hand over everything we have.”
The disciples immediately understood what was expected of them. They handed over every spirit stone, magical artifact, talisman, and pill on them. They even surrendered the disciple jade tokens they wore.
“Who would have thought that a few minor cultivators like you would be so wealthy?” Shu Xin glanced over the items and remarked ambiguously.
These cultivators were surprisingly rich.
“Qin Rushan swallowed up quite a few of the Li family’s businesses. We were the ones managing them.”
“We aren’t even his formal disciples, and our relationship with Qin Rushan isn’t particularly close. These are all our legitimate monthly allowances. Please accept them, Elder Shu.”
“Mm.”
Shu Xin stored away all the spirit stones, magical artifacts, and pills on the ground, then looked at the cultivators again.
“E-Elder Shu, we actually have some savings at home. How about we write to our families and have them pay spirit stones to ransom us?” one of the more quick-witted disciples ventured.
“I advise you not to bother. Once you fall into my hands, your families will declare you dead as soon as they receive the news,” Shu Xin kindly reminded him. “How about this? Inquiry God Sect is still short of servants. My junior brothers and sisters have so many chores to do every day that they have no time to cultivate, and they also lack an understanding of certain methods used in the cultivation world. Come back with me. If you perform well, I’ll spare your lives.”
She did not want to teach them personally, after all.
Teaching someone was one of the most painful things in the world. Even biological parents could not endure helping their children with their homework.
But when it came to using enemies, there was no need to worry about that.
Besides, those six little fools at Inquiry God Sect would benefit from being deceived by these people once or twice.
Actions spoke louder than words. After falling for a few more tricks, they would learn everything.
“We… We’re willing.”
“Thank you, Elder Shu, for sparing our lives.”
“We’ll obey you from now on.”
The disciples repeatedly knocked their heads against the ground, looking as if they were genuinely surrendering to her.
Shu Xin knew they were only pretending, and they knew that Shu Xin knew they were pretending.
But what did it matter?
If they truly tried to make a move against Inquiry God Sect, she could kill them then.
Constantly fighting and killing was so unpleasant. It would be better to squeeze every last bit of value out of them before killing them.
At Inquiry God Sect.
Xu Guan returned to the sect with three of his disciples and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“Disciples, come out quickly. Why are there unfamiliar auras here?”
“Where’s Shu Xin?”
Xu Guan checked and found that none of the precautions he had left behind had been triggered. His heart relaxed somewhat.
Cao Ru, Qi Feiyang, and Meng Wenrui heard their master’s voice and flew out one after another.
“Master, you came back so quickly.”
“Wow, why do you have so many storage bags on you? You must have returned with a huge haul.”
“Junior Brother Yuan, you’ve gotten fat!”
Cao Ru and the others were overjoyed and hurried over to help carry the things.
“What happened? Where’s Shu Xin?” Xu Guan immediately asked.
“Oh, Senior Sister went to kill some people,” Cao Ru replied, pressing both hands to his heart with an expression of pride. “Some Blood Demon Sect cultivators came looking for trouble, so Senior Sister went alone to the place where they ambushed us.”
“What?” Yi Renjie was instantly horrified. “Where is she? I’ll go find her right now. Those Blood Demon Sect cultivators are all shameless and sinister, and their methods are vicious. How can she deal with them alone?”
“That’s right, Master. Let’s hurry and go help Senior Sister.” Yuan Dawei and Li Qinghe were also extremely anxious.
Senior Sister absolutely could not get hurt.
They immediately regretted not returning sooner.
If only they had made it back a little earlier, they would not have had to worry like this.
“Master, let’s go help Senior Sister right now.”
“…Ahem. I don’t think you need to worry about that.” Xu Guan had initially been somewhat concerned, but when he heard that Shu Xin had gone there of her own accord, he immediately relaxed.
Shu Xin had caused such a huge commotion at the Longevity Dao Sect and still returned safely. What could a few Blood Demon Sect cultivators possibly do to her?
It was his own disciples who were rash and impulsive, completely incapable of calmly considering the situation.
“Look. Your Senior Sister is already back.” Xu Guan pointed behind his disciples.
Shu Xin was flying on her sword with her arms folded, looking as if she had merely gone out for a stroll.
Behind her, several cultivators who looked bright and polished followed in a single line, bowing and scraping like a row of dumplings.
They were exceptionally obedient, even without ropes tying them together.
Xu Guan looked at Shu Xin and had to admit that she was simply astonishing in this scene.
Then he looked at his own disciples. Compared with her, he suddenly felt a pang of helplessness.
When would his disciples be able to learn even half of Shu Xin’s ability?
No, three-tenths of it would be enough.
