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Chapter 88: 23: Ten Aspects of Dharma Explanation, Five Mushrooms and Five Poisons
Chapter 88: 23: Ten Aspects of Dharma Explanation, Five Mushrooms and Five Poisons
Chapter 88: Chapter 23: Ten Aspects of Dharma Explanation, Five Mushrooms and Five Poisons
The disintegration of the Intercepting Cult in ancient times came a bit later than that of the Clarify Cult.
Similar to the Clarify Cult’s division into three, the Intercepting Cult splintered into five: the Heavenly Demon Path, Mortal Life Path, Nether Ghost Path, Beast Taming Path, and Hell Path.
Later, the Beast Taming Path’s lineage was destroyed and was overtaken and renamed by the Eastern Emperor Path.
Then, the Asura Path, hostile to the Western Cult, joined them, and thus they were collectively known by the Three Pure Orthodox Sect as the Six Paths of the Demon Cult.
Of these, the Hell Path claimed to be the inheritor of the “direct lineage of the Intercepting Cult,” the most mysterious, with the Sect Residence whereabouts unknown;
Furthermore, the Mortal Life Path was located at Mount Wutai in eastern Shanxi, with the largest number of people.
The Nether Ghost Path was in Mount Beimang to the north of Luoyang, inhabited entirely by Ghost Cultivators.
The Eastern Emperor Path was on Yu Long Mountain in the Southern Border, experts in raising poisonous creatures.
The Asura Path was at Iron City Mountain in Qinghai, filled with foreign monks.
As for the Heavenly Demon Path, it was actually located on Big Plate Mountain near the offshore islands along the Yangzhou coast.
Most disciples within the Sect were female, active year-round in the southern East Sea, constantly infiltrating and corrupting the power of Penglai Jade Pure in the northern East Sea.
However, the fact that they could infiltrate Wuzhi Cave, so close to Yuqing View, still surprised Luo Yan considerably.
“Ah Jing, inside Li Qinniang’s skin-changing illusion technique, it wouldn’t happen to be some rough guy, would it?” Luo Yan suddenly recalled a more pressing matter.
If there were a burly man with chest hair, donning the “Ten Aspects Release Method” illusion, acting all delicate and charming as a young miss in front of him… Causing Luo Yan to throw up the lunch he had eaten would be a minor issue. Proving that the other party was sufficiently perverted would be the truly horrifying matter.
As Demon Cult Cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Sect who primarily refined Seven Emotions and Six Desires, the more perverted, extreme, and irrational their personalities were, the more sinister and powerful the magic they cultivated.
Thus there is a saying that goes, “Don’t provoke the three no’s” of the Demon Cult: children, women, and the elderly.
It’s well known that within the Demon Cult, there are a thousand ways to change one’s appearance. Anyone deliberately disguising as one of these three is certainly up to something.
“Hmm,” the Kunlun Mirror scanned and casually affirmed, “The true body is also female.”
“That’s a relief,” Luo Yan then breathed a sigh of relief.
“What does it matter if it’s a man or a woman?” inquired the Kunlun Mirror, puzzled.
“It’s quite evident,” Luo Yan sighed and said, “A tree without bark will surely perish; a person without shame is invincible.”
“If a man can even endure the humiliation of cross-dressing, what else could possibly defeat him completely?”
Kunlun Mirror: ……
For some reason, it found his twisted logic always came in patterns.
Although they seemed to make sense on the surface, a closer look would reveal they were clearly not okay, right?
In the marketplace on Danzhi Island, after Shi Liuli had thoroughly enjoyed herself for a day, she was arranged by Li Qinniang to stay with Luo Yan at a nearby inn.
After Li Qinniang left, Luo Yan circled the inn and activated his innate ability, Memorize a Thousand Times Over, to memorize the inn’s internal structure and the surrounding terrain completely.
Then he approached Shi Liuli’s door and knocked, thump, thump, thump.
To his surprise, the door swung open… as if it had been left ajar on purpose.
“Ah!” Shi Liuli inside let out a scream.
Luo Yan looked carefully and noticed that Shi Liuli was measuring up her newly bought bellyband against herself, thinking “Is that it? She didn’t even take off her clothes,” while calmly shutting the door, loudly saying:
“Ah, I had something to discuss with the senior sister, but I’ve forgotten what it was. I’ll remember and come back to her later.”
[Falsehood persona, Synchronization Value +1.]
He leisurely returned to his own room and began preparing to set up a Formation.
Not long after, Shi Liuli, having regained her composure, charged in furiously from outside.
“Forget everything you just saw, no matter what it was!” she demanded imperiously.
“Senior Sister, I only saw that you were holding a piece of underwear…” Luo Yan said with an innocent look on his face, but before he could finish, Miss Shi cut him off with a stream of agitated “Aaaahs.”
“Even that’s not allowed!” Shi Liuli’s face turned red as she glowered at him, “In short, you’re not allowed to remember! Did you hear me?”
Luo Yan was truly helpless.
We’re already cultivating immortality, and yet she’s making a fuss about her body being seen… Ah, no, I didn’t even see anything!
I just saw you holding underwear, and even for that, you’re shy?
He scoffed inwardly, unable to contain his disdain, but aloud he drew out his words, saying:
“Alright, alright, alright… Hm? Senior Sister, what was it you said I shouldn’t remember just now? I seem to have forgotten already?”
[Falsehood persona, Synchronization Value +1.]
“Hmph.” Shi Liuli snorted, taking out a paper scroll and unrolling it on the table, as she spoke, “Tomorrow’s plan is this: in the morning, we go to Jade Mushroom Island for a warm bath, as it’s said to have natural sulfur hot springs.”
“At noon, we eat at a lobster restaurant nearby, and in the afternoon, we visit Wood Mushroom Island to see the musk deer and buy some poison-avoidant wooden fragrance beads.”
“In the evening, we play in the coral forest at the bottom of Mysterious Mushroom Island, and then rest… Do you have any questions?”
“Yes.” Luo Yan pretended to be confused, “Since we’re already fasting, do we need to eat ordinary lobster?”
“Of course.” Shi Liuli said as a matter of course, “Because you’re too gluttonous, and the lobsters there are particularly delicious. As your Senior Sister, I have to cater to your preferences.”
Shameless! She wants to eat, but won’t admit it and pins it on me! Luo Yan cursed in his heart, but said aloud:
“Then when are we going to repair the island’s large formation?”
“Isn’t that something you can fix with a casual glance after we’re done playing?” said Shi Liuli.
Luo Yan could only force a wry smile:
“Indeed, you should rest early tonight, Senior Sister.”
“Mhm, I’m off to practice breathing and Qi Refinement,” Shi Liuli cheerfully left the room.
Luo Yan smiled as he watched her leave, then continued to set up formations in the room.
Despite not knowing the actual situation in Wuzhi Cave, and planning to play along with the other party as if completely oblivious to maintain peace for a while, Luo Yan naturally could not afford to be totally unguarded.
To be honest, if he had come alone on this trip, he would have taken the chance to escape long ago.
However, as Miss Shi was accompanying him this time, Luo Yan had no confidence that he could take her with him without exposing his true capabilities, thus he chose not to act precipitately.
Elsewhere, under the cover of night, Li Qinniang quickly arrived at the outskirts of Danzhi Island, meeting with another unfamiliar female cultivator on the rocky cape.
“Senior Sister,” she said with a grin, “I’ve already appeased the two cultivators from Yuqing View.”
“You didn’t give yourself away?” coldly inquired the female cultivator whom Li Qinniang addressed as Senior Sister.
“Not at all,” Li Qinniang said with a smile, “My Ten Aspects Release Method is so flawless that even our master struggles to find any fault in it.”
“Hmph,” the female cultivator said coldly, “If they discover anything and the plan fails, you will be the only one to blame!”
“Of course, Senior Sister,” Li Qinniang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Somehow, she felt a sense of security in narrowing her eyes, as if hiding her thoughts, perhaps because she had seen that man named Luo Yan do it often…
“However, Senior Sister,” she continued with a smile, “If those two manage to solve the formation, and we search but find nothing, that would be considered Senior Sister’s oversight, right?”
“Impossible,” the female cultivator scoffed, “Hmph, Sister Jiang, do you know that this place wasn’t called ‘Wuzhi Island’ ten thousand years ago?”
“Oh, what was it called then?” Li Qinniang asked innocently.
“Five Poisons Island.” The female cultivator’s voice was chilling.