Qu Yougu and Shu Xin were two completely different kinds of people.
Ever since Shu Xin crossed into this world, she had struggled along at the very bottom. She had seen too much of the world’s darkness and too many hearts as vicious as wolves, and she had developed a deep skepticism toward everyone and everything in this world. Later, when she was forcibly recruited into the Longevity Dao Sect, she witnessed even more factional infighting within the sect. She had no idea how many outstanding talents had died as a result of those internal conflicts, which only deepened her hatred for the current system of sects and aristocratic clans. Naturally, she had never believed a word of the principles they preached.
How could a place that was rotten to the core possibly bring peace to the world?
Qu Yougu, however, was different.
He had grown up within a sect and had been cultivated with the full support of its factions. His master had placed great hopes in him, his fellow disciples were proud of him, and he himself took immense pride in being a disciple of the Myriad Dao Sect. Every gesture he made carried the bearing of a great sect’s scion.
As a result, Qu Yougu treated the sect’s principles as the rules by which he lived.
As a disciple of the sect, it was his duty to bring glory to its name. It was also his responsibility to slay demons and purge evil.
As for the struggles within the sect, those were merely the result of differing positions. Once the doors were closed, they were still family.
The fundamentally different views that Shu Xin and Qu Yougu held toward the sect were therefore a reflection of the two kinds of people they represented: unaffiliated cultivators and sect cultivators.
That was why, even when an unaffiliated cultivator possessed exceptional aptitude, a sect would generally distrust them after recruiting them—unless they were still young and had yet to form their own understanding of the world. Such people would usually be treated as cannon fodder.
To be sure, there would certainly be a number of exceptions. But for a sect, taking the time to distinguish which unaffiliated cultivators were loyal and which were treacherous was far too time-consuming and thankless. It was much easier to lump them all together. After all, unaffiliated cultivators were like chives in a field: no matter how many times you cut them down, they would grow back. There was no need to pan for gold in a cesspit.
Because Shu Xin had spent a long time in both worlds, she possessed an astonishingly precise understanding of both unaffiliated cultivators and sect cultivators.
In front of Qu Yougu, Shu Xin deliberately appeared rather mediocre. Her personality was restrained and unremarkable, making her seem no different from the senior and junior female disciples Qu Yougu had met in the sect. As a result, Qu Yougu subconsciously lowered his guard around her and followed the script Shu Xin had prepared for him without question.
Just like now.
The moment Qu Yougu detected the faint traces of demonic qi within Shu Xin’s body, he immediately realized that something was wrong with the Fan family. He activated the formation at once, sealing off the entire Fan residence. Unless he, the formation’s master, died—or the demonic cultivator’s strength far surpassed his own and reached the Immaculate Realm—it would be impossible to break out of the formation in a short time.
Shu Xin practically wanted to applaud him.
Excellent. Fast and efficient. Just what one would expect from the Daoist heir of the Myriad Dao Sect.
She had originally thought she would have to remain in the Fan residence a while longer. But now, it seemed that before long, the demonic cultivator would be forced to reveal himself.
The moment the Myriad Dao Sect’s sealing formation rose into the air, it stunned everyone in the Fan family.
“Elder, what is that?”
“A formation?”
“What’s going on?”
…
All the members of the Fan family could see countless golden beams of light shooting up from the ground. Before long, the golden radiance had enveloped the area within twenty li of the Fan residence.
If they concentrated their spiritual power into their eyes, they could even see formation inscriptions drifting continuously across the golden light.
With a clang, one of the Fan family cultivators, unwilling to accept defeat, drew a magical weapon and hacked at the golden formation.
The golden light did not suffer the slightest damage. Instead, the cultivator was directly thrown backward by the formation and crashed heavily onto the ground.
“My sword!” The fallen cultivator paid no attention to anything else. He was too heartbroken over his treasured spirit sword. A notch had actually been knocked into the blade.
At that moment, Fan Xiang was questioning his son and daughter. He naturally noticed the commotion outside as well.
He rushed out of the room, and when he saw the golden formation surrounding them, his face turned dark and livid.
“Someone! Someone, come here!” Fan Xiang shouted.
The steward immediately ran over, an anxious expression on his face.
“Didn’t I tell you to calm Shu Xin down? Why has someone from the Myriad Dao Sect activated this sealing formation anyway?” Fan Xiang could barely contain his roar.
As the Fan family’s patriarch, he had naturally seen the power of such formations before.
Those top-tier sects would sometimes have their most powerful formation masters inscribe formidable single-use formations specifically for dealing with demonic cultivators or hostile enemies.
These formations were not only immensely powerful, but also expanded at astonishing speed, while placing relatively few demands on the person using them.
Aside from their exorbitant cost and the fact that they could only be used once, they had nothing but advantages. They were also one of the major distinctions between the top sects and ordinary ones.
Anyone who carried such a powerful single-use formation with them was certain to be someone the sect valued immensely.
Fan Xiang had considered the worst possible outcome, and it was nothing more than this.
But he had never expected Qu Yougu to activate such a sealing formation less than an hour after parting ways with him. It was obvious that the steward had completely botched the matter.
“Patriarch, the contract hasn’t reacted. Shu Xin truly didn’t reveal anything about the demonic qi.” The steward couldn’t help wiping the sweat from his brow. “Most likely, the Daoist heir discovered something was wrong himself. Otherwise, how could he have activated such a powerful formation in such a short time?”
Fan Xiang knew the steward was right. Even if Shu Xin had told Qu Yougu that there was something wrong with the Fan family, Qu Yougu would at least have investigated carefully first. After all, even someone of his status as the Daoist heir would possess no more than one such single-use formation.
“Order everyone to assemble in the main hall.” Fan Xiang ground his teeth and strode out.
“Patriarch, what about the young master and young miss? Should we…” The steward glanced toward the room, where the twins were bound.
The flesh on Fan Xiang’s face seemed to twitch.
“Break their legs first,” Fan Xiang ordered immediately. “Whether they live or die, let fate decide.”
With that, Fan Xiang leaped away.
The steward’s legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed directly onto the floor.
“It’s over… It’s over.”
If the patriarch had killed his own children outright and taken them along to apologize to the Daoist heir of the Myriad Dao Sect, explaining the situation, then perhaps the Fan family might still have had a sliver of hope.
But the patriarch had not killed them. That meant the family still needed them.
Under what circumstances would a family need two children who had yet to mature and had already committed such a grave mistake?
Only when the family was facing life or death!
The patriarch clearly intended to fight the Daoist heir of the Myriad Dao Sect, break through the formation, abandon the Fan family’s entire foundation, and flee with the gifted children.
Fan Xiang returned to the family council hall almost instantly.
Quite a few people were already waiting there.
“Patriarch, what’s the meaning of this formation?”
“If we explain everything clearly to the Daoist heir, will he withdraw the formation?”
“Patriarch, this has nothing to do with us!”
…
Fan Xiang looked at those anxious, panicked faces and suddenly found them somewhat laughable.
“Once this formation is activated, it will be useless even if we are completely innocent of any dealings with demonic cultivators,” Fan Xiang said with a cold laugh. “Do you know how much this formation cost to set up? Once it has been deployed, there is no way its caster will return empty-handed. Whether this Daoist heir intends to use the opportunity to destroy our Fan Clan and seize everything we own, or whether he truly discovered that someone in our clan has colluded with demonic cultivators, it no longer matters.”
“This whole mess was caused by your precious son and daughter. You were also the one who brought that female cultivator, Shu Xin, into the clan. Why should the rest of us bear the consequences?”
“Exactly! Who knows whether Shu Xin and that Daoist heir deliberately set us up to seize the Fan Clan’s wealth? The great sects have done plenty of things like that!”
“Fan Xiang, this was your doing. We’re tying you up and turning you over to them.”
…
Some people in the Fan Clan were taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble.
Upon hearing this, Fan Xiang burst into loud laughter.
“Hahahaha! Hahahaha!”
Seeing Fan Xiang behave this way, everyone thought he might have gone mad.
“How truly ridiculous. You’re all utterly ridiculous!” Fan Xiang stopped laughing and sneered. “Have you forgotten what excuse we used back then to swallow up the other clans? Where are those cultivators who begged for mercy and surrendered now? The foundation our Fan Clan possesses today was built by our ancestors through countless battles, blade in hand. He is merely one Daoist heir from the Myriad Dao Sect. Does that mean we must die simply because he wants us dead?”
“No!”
The female elder of the Fan Clan immediately stepped forward and stood before Fan Xiang. “The Fan Clan is now at a life-or-death juncture. The only person we can trust is the clan head. I support the clan head’s decision. Our Fan Clan absolutely cannot surrender and end up in the same state as the Hu Clan. Even if we all flee, that would still be better than becoming slaves and being beaten or killed at any moment.”
Once someone had taken the lead, the rest became much simpler.
At a time like this, they had no other choice.
“Clan head, tell us. What should we do next?” someone asked bravely.
The hall fell silent. Panic filled the hearts of the Fan Clan members, but they also waited anxiously to hear the answer Fan Xiang was about to give.
“The only way to break through this crisis is to capture Shu Xin and her junior brothers and sisters, seriously injure the Daoist heir of the Myriad Dao Sect, and have Shu Xin deliver the final blow. That will shift the Myriad Dao Sect’s attention to the Wenshen Sect and buy us some time. Then, we will take all our valuables and flee as far as possible,” Fan Xiang said, each word deliberate. “The butcher holds the knife while the fish lies on the chopping block. This is our only option. The Myriad Dao Sect will be distracted by my plan to divert the calamity toward someone else, if only temporarily, but that will still buy us enough time. As long as even one member of the Fan Clan survives, there will naturally be a day when we can rise again.”
At that moment, no one said another word about Fan Xiang’s past entanglement with the female cultivator named Shu Xin.
When the survival of the clan was at stake, everything else was meaningless.
The voices in the hall ceased for a moment. Everyone realized that the plan was feasible, and then an even fiercer fighting spirit erupted among them.
Without their noticing, wisps of black energy seeped into every part of their bodies, making their emotions grow feverish and agitated.
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Senior Sister, why has a formation suddenly surrounded the entire Fan Clan?”
“Everyone from the Fan Clan has gone to a meeting. I’m afraid something is about to happen.”
“Senior Sister.”
After Yuan Dawei and the others sensed that something was wrong, they immediately came to Shu Xin’s side.
They naturally saw Qu Yougu as well, and could only awkwardly offer him a bow first.
Seeing them, Qu Yougu felt somewhat reassured.
“Fellow Daoist Shu, I apologize for involving you in this. However, how could disciples of our path shrink from battle?” Qu Yougu sounded apologetic, but he did not believe his decision had been wrong in the slightest.
As disciples of the Daoist sects, exterminating demonic cultivators was their duty.
He had been able to send Yuan Xinmei and her senior brother out as bait without hesitation, so he could naturally use himself as bait as well.
As a disciple of the Wenshen Sect, Shu Xin was likewise duty-bound.
After speaking, Qu Yougu took out several bottles of pills and handed them to Shu Xin. “Fellow Daoist Shu, I have already examined you. Your cultivation has not gone awry; you have been contaminated by demonic energy. These are pills from my sect. They are highly effective for removing demonic energy and healing injuries. You should first take your junior brothers and sisters somewhere to hide and recover. Have them buy you some time. That way, we will have a better chance of winning.”
“Wait a moment. What exactly are you saying?” Qi Feiyang immediately snapped. “You set up this formation? You’ve sealed the Fan Clan inside it. Aren’t you forcing them to turn against us? Do you know how many cultivators there are in the Fan Clan? There are five Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivators alone, not to mention the Dao Nascent and Core Formation cultivators. How is this anything other than throwing an egg at a rock?”
More importantly, couldn’t he have told them before setting up the formation, so they could take Senior Sister and leave first?
Qi Feiyang’s barrage of questions quickly brought the other disciples to their senses as well.
So this Daoist heir looked refined and handsome, but in reality he intended to drag them into a life-or-death battle with the Fan Clan.
Yuan Dawei and the others were furious.
There were only a handful of them. What difference was there between fighting the countless cultivators of the Fan Clan and throwing their lives away?
The last time they had encountered this Daoist heir, they had ended up fighting. This time, they had run into him again, and it was the same story.
Yuan Dawei and the others were practically rolling their eyes out of their heads.
“If I had let you leave first, I’m afraid I would have alerted the enemy,” Qu Yougu explained when he saw that Qi Feiyang and the others had misunderstood. “Don’t worry. I have already notified the sect. As long as we hold out here for three days, reinforcements from the sect will arrive. The strongest members of the Fan Clan are only at the Grotto-Heaven Realm. Their Immaculate Realm cultivator died of old age several years ago.”
If he had not been confident, Qu Yougu would not have activated the formation so quickly. He would have continued playing along while notifying his sect.
It was precisely because he believed they had more than a fifty percent chance of victory that Qu Yougu had acted as he did.
Cao Ru examined the formation around them and tugged at Qi Feiyang’s sleeve. “This formation is incredibly powerful. It was definitely created by a top formation grandmaster. Without an Immaculate Realm cultivation level, no one can break it. However, for such a powerful formation to be deployed so quickly, the person controlling the formation must use their own body as its core. Once that person dies, the formation will disappear. We should stay as far away from him as possible.”
They still wanted to stay alive and return home to serve their master.
If they had to die for the Wenshen Sect, for their master, or for their senior sister, they would do so without a second thought.
But what did the Myriad Dao Sect have to do with them?
“If you go and find somewhere for Fellow Daoist Shu to recover first, then once she has fully recovered, I also have a defensive treasure bestowed by my master. It should not be difficult to hold out until reinforcements from the sect arrive,” Qu Yougu said earnestly when he saw that they still did not understand. “Eliminating demonic cultivators will also greatly benefit the reputation of your Wenshen Sect. Your sect has declined and has very few disciples. This is precisely the opportunity you need to restore your sect’s prestige.”
“I’m the eye of the formation, and I’m the person the Fan family wants dead most. I’ll buy you some time while we wait for Fellow Daoist Shu to recover. If I truly perish and my Dao is extinguished, you needn’t worry about me. Escape as soon as you can. However, if you happen to encounter anyone from my sect, please tell them that I never brought shame upon the sect’s reputation.” Qu Yougu’s advice was utterly sincere.
For a moment, Yuan Dawei and the others were left speechless.
If they had met under different circumstances, they might even have admired Qu Yougu.
Although he seemed a little lacking in common sense, it appeared that he had genuinely thought everything through. He was even willing to risk his own life, yet still took the trouble to explain all this to them. That alone showed that he possessed a good conscience.
[...This man really is an idiot, isn’t he?] the Sword Spirit couldn’t help muttering.
Even it could tell that Qu Yougu was being completely sincere.
He truly believed that taking action now and eliminating the demonic cultivators would benefit both the myriad Dao sects and the Wenshen Sect.
He had even prepared himself to sacrifice his life for the Dao.
What else could they say?
“He has his reasons, but they aren’t my reasons.” Shu Xin shook her head. “If these sects had nothing worthwhile about them, how could they have stood for so many years?”
Whether it was the Fan family, the Myriad Dao Sect, or even the Longevity Dao Sect—
Each of these forces had people who took pride in bearing their names and were willing to uphold their principles with their very lives.
One could call such people foolish, but one could not say they were wrong.
Disciples like Qu Yougu were precisely the core disciples these sects valued most. If the day ever came when a sect truly began to decline, it would need people like him to restore its former glory.
“Thank you.” Shu Xin accepted the pills and said righteously, “In that case, we shouldn’t delay any longer. We won’t keep Fellow Daoist Qu from doing what you must. Hold on as long as you can. I’ll recover as quickly as possible.”
With that, Shu Xin stopped hesitating. She took Yuan Dawei and the others and flew away, leaving the entire area to Qu Yougu.
“Senior Sister, are we really just leaving like this?” Li Qinghe asked, unable to contain himself.
He didn’t know what misunderstanding Qu Yougu had about Senior Sister, but they all knew perfectly well that Senior Sister wasn’t injured in the slightest. She was in excellent condition.
“The real show has only just begun, so don’t rush. Besides, we’re trapped here by the formation and can’t get very far anyway.” Shu Xin smiled. “The Fan family has only a limited number of experts. To break the formation, they’ll have no choice but to pursue both me and Qu Yougu relentlessly. As for you, the others, you can rest a little easier. With your abilities and strength, as long as Xiao Ru finds a place and sets up a formation in advance to boost your power, holding out for several days won’t be difficult. You didn’t get the chance to participate last time. This time, you can all gain some proper experience.”
Shu Xin had thought the matter through. If she never let her junior brothers and sisters participate in situations like this, she would only end up raising them into useless ornaments.
When faced with an enemy they couldn’t defeat, they needed to escape as soon as possible. But if the enemy was within their ability to handle, they should fight without holding back.
“Senior Sister, are you saying you won’t be coming with us?” Cao Ru immediately caught the implication in her words.
“I can’t guard you every day. Don’t forget, I still have to capture the demonic cultivator hiding within the Fan family.” Shu Xin smiled. “All right, this area below looks suitable. Go down and set up your formation first. I’ll leave once you’re nearly finished.”
They flew to a remote corner of the Fan family estate. Only one road led into the area, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Cao Ru got to work immediately and began setting up the formation.
Qi Feiyang and the others also took out their favorite magical artifacts and began warming up.
This time, they wouldn’t be as uninvolved as they had been before.
Once they had all made the necessary preparations, Shu Xin gave them a few more instructions before leaving.
Still, the place wasn’t very large. If anything happened, they only needed to call out, and she could come over at once.
[Don’t keep looking over there. I’m here, aren’t I?] the Sword Spirit said irritably. [Even if something happens at this distance, I’ll know everything perfectly clearly.]
“I know. I’m just thinking about how they’ll have to grow up eventually. Look at their spirits now. They’re completely different from when they first came down the mountain.” Shu Xin couldn’t help sighing with emotion.
[Isn’t that all thanks to you? Near vermilion, one turns red; near ink, one turns black. Spending time with you was bound to change their personalities completely.] The Sword Spirit had just been preparing to mock Shu Xin a little more when it suddenly said, [Oh, they’re here. The Fan family has surrounded Qu Yougu.]
Shu Xin immediately concealed herself. With the Sword Spirit’s protection, she quietly returned to the scene.
At that moment, Qu Yougu was sitting cross-legged at the entrance to Shu Xin’s courtyard, meditating as though no one else was present.
Fan Xiang led his clansmen over. When he saw Qu Yougu’s posture, he immediately ordered, “First, send people to seal off the other exits. Shu Xin and her junior brothers and sisters must not be allowed to escape either. If you encounter them, capture them and bring them back. I have important uses for them.”
Knowing that Shu Xin was in the Grotto-Heaven realm, Fan Xiang had even specifically sent a Grotto-Heaven cultivator with a group of people.
Those sect disciples who did not belong to the Fan family were also an indispensable part of their plan.
“Heir, ever since you arrived at the Fan family, I have done everything I could to receive you properly. Since I promised to prepare a feast tonight to celebrate, surely you and Fellow Daoist Shu won’t refuse to attend?” Fan Xiang spoke politely, but he had already surrounded Qu Yougu with his people, leaving him not the slightest opportunity to escape.
Qu Yougu had seen such formations before.
Three Grotto-Heaven cultivators and five Dao Nascent cultivators.
It would be troublesome, but killing him within three days was nothing more than wishful thinking.
“I’ve already sent a request for reinforcements to my sect. Three days from now, the entire Myriad Dao Sect will regard you as targets to be eliminated.” Qu Yougu slowly opened his eyes and calmly surveyed everyone present. “I wasn’t completely certain before, but judging from your appearance now, you have indeed been invaded by demonic energy.”
Upon closer inspection, every member of the Fan family had a faint reddish hue in their eyes. This was clearly a sign that demonic energy had entered their bodies.
Moreover, for demonic energy to invade them so quickly, it was obvious that this had not happened overnight.
“Why dress it up in such righteous language?” the female elder shouted sharply. “You merely plundered the Hu family and enjoyed the benefits, so now you want to use the same trick against our Fan family.”
“Patriarch, why waste any more time talking to him? Capture him first!”
Fan Xiang nodded as well, then waved his hand.
The crowd pounced like hungry tigers, unleashing the magical artifacts in their hands without hesitation and launching a vicious attack at Qu Yougu.
[He can’t keep up the act anymore.] The Sword Spirit and Shu Xin were hiding nearby, watching the scene below with perfect clarity.
The demonic fiend hiding among these people was precisely what they were looking for.
Although it appeared that all of them had been invaded by demonic energy, this was different from a demonic cultivator’s external incarnation.
[Does this demonic cultivator have some kind of peculiar fetish?] After observing for a while, the Sword Spirit couldn’t help commenting. [Why does it possess female cultivators every time?]
“A doppelgänger is merely a part of its original body, so naturally it follows the original body’s traits. The person Yuan Xinmei’s spirit inhabited was a powerful female cultivator who hardly ever associated with outsiders. Thus, after the original body’s death, the doppelgänger would naturally imitate her behavior as well.”
Shu Xin had suspected Fan Xiang before, but after spending so much time with him without noticing anything amiss, she did not believe that a mere doppelgänger of a demonic cultivator could have deceived the Sword Spirit’s eyes.
This doppelgänger had to possess enough authority within the Fan family to avoid being killed by its young masters, yet not be reduced to serving others.
At the same time, it needed to maintain a certain distance from Shu Xin and have little contact with people in its daily life.
The only ones who fit these conditions were the various elders of the Fan family.
Moreover, a cultivator’s preferences could never be concealed completely.
Back when they were at the Hu family, Yuan Xinmei and her senior brother had both been sent forward as pawns. The demonic cultivator who possessed them was male, yet he had deliberately chosen to inhabit a female body that was not suited to him. On the one hand, female cultivators inspired less wariness than male cultivators; on the other, it was simply a matter of personal preference.
A person’s habits and inclinations were difficult to change.
And this female elder, no matter how one looked at it, fit that demonic cultivator’s preferences exceptionally well.
