59 – Demon Hunting Heaven and Earth Net

“Remember. Don’t reveal what we know before I get back. I want to see her reaction to getting found out,” I told Qingfeng as I dropped him off at an intersection.

“Of course. Take care now,” Qingfeng replied, waving goodbye before pulling out his flying treasure and heading back toward the sect.

I continued driving north, following the somewhat familiar road.

“You know, I never really asked why you and Wendao so readily joined me on this mission.” I said to Huiran, who sat in the passenger seat beside me. He was reading a book that was, surprisingly, not porn.

“I must complete my one mandatory mission this decade, otherwise I’ll forget about it. Huiran replied honestly. “I think Wendao wants to do the same so he can focus on cultivating afterward.”

“Really? So this is all just convenience?” I asked.

“No, we are your friends, idiot.” Huiran answered honestly again. “We share the same, ehem, interest in arts, and we’ve been in trouble together.”

Neither statement was a lie. So both were true? Good. I couldn’t help feeling a little anxious and paranoid. Now that I could differentiate between lies, I didn’t want to be lied to by people I considered friends. This was reassuring.

“Really? That’s all it takes?” I asked.

“What else do you need? We aren’t exactly from prestigious clans or families.” Huiran answered.

“Well, I’ll be glad to consider you my friend then.”

“Likewise.” Huiran nodded. “Though I don’t know about Wendao. He seems more interested in fighting and surpassing you.”

“What else do you have friends for?” Wendao appears in the middle, surprising us both.

“Well, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Someone to share the fun and difficulties in life?”

“Brother, what you describe is marriage.” Huiran laughed.

I cringed and bunched my shoulders after realizing how sappy I sounded. “Well, I mean… that’s the goal of all sorts of relationships, right?”

“For what? Marriage?” Huiran joked once more.

“Hmmm. I suppose what Danxing said is correct.” Wendao supports me. “In a very general and mundane way.” He added.  

“A friend is one that inspires others to do better.” Wendao offered as his definition.

“Someone to share the best moments in life.” Huiran added his own.

“Well, I sure hope I can meet the criteria of both then.” I answered honestly.

“You already did.” Wendao then said. “The last spar showed me where I was lacking and what to do better. If you need the same thing, I’d be glad to do the same.”

“Haha!” Huiran laughed. “Then I guess the three of us meeting back then was supposed to be fate then.”

“Hahaha” I laughed along with Huiran and Wendao. I guess, this is not so bad.

While the three of the boys immediately hit it off, at the back, Wanxia cringed as she sat at the counter.

We reached the Tianhe sect’s branch southwest of Jinchuan. The one where I found the spiritual vein. It sat right beside the highway road connecting the five kingdoms, which had seen far more traffic than before. Of course, my bus was very out of place, looking almost ten times bigger than the mortal carriages. Fortunately, there was a courtyard where I could park it.

“Why are we stopping again?” I ask Wendao.

“There’s an acquaintance I want to visit.” He answered, his tone serious.

“Is this related to the warning on going north?” Wendao nodded in response.

“Very well then. If anyone else wants to get out, we can do it now. Get some fresh air and stretch your legs.”

The rest exited the bus one by one, visiting and sightseeing the newly built branch. Of course, many areas were still under construction, but it was already large enough. As soon as I stepped out of the bus, however…

“Immortal Master Danxing is here!” A mortal shouted, drawing the attention of many others. They immediately crowded around me, offering thanks and gifts. So many that Qi Refining disciples from the branch had to step in to prevent the courtyard from being completely overrun.

—

“Is that him?” a scout asked while his companion checked the description on the list.

“Correct. Relay the information to the rest.”

The information was passed to the various groups tasked with killing Xuan Danxing. His appearance, his companions, the massive carriage, and more were all noted. This time, it was not just a bunch of useless young masters. But groups from sects and other organizations.

The Demon Hunting Heaven and Earth Net have been cast. All that is left is for the prey to enter the more rugged terrain of the southern mountain range.

—

We return back to the bus. I get plenty of food supplies and such. Mostly vegetables and fruits whose names I didn’t know. I think I had enough for half a year based on the sheer amount. That was even after I declined the latter half of the offerings. At the very least, it looked like the Kingdom of Jin was recovering well.

I was almost angry that the king had focused on building the temple to honor me first. But the people said the king had originally created the temple as shelter for the workers and citizens. The roads and houses had been built around it afterward. It was very flattering, actually. To have the temple honoring me placed at the center of the city. I never thought I would be revered as a local saint.

As I drove out of the branch’s courtyard, the people waved their goodbyes.

“So, did you get what you needed?” I asked Wendao who sat in the passenger seat this time. Huiran stood in the middle.

“I asked my acquaintance about any news from the north and the mountain range. I got nothing” Wendao answered.

“Is that a good thing?” I asked.

“I get nothing.” Wendao repeated, his tone remaining serious.

Assuming he had asked someone who should be in the know about the latest developments, getting nothing meant either nothing of note had happened… or no information was being shared with the south. I glanced at Huiran, who clearly understood the implication the same way.

“Should we turn back?” I asked.

“No. I already told him to relay this back to the sect. If we suddenly turn back now, it would mean we know something and might put us at risk.” Wendao objects.

“Going blindly is also a risk.” I cautioned.

“But why?” Wanxia chimed in. She and Ningguang had been listening. “Our sect’s relationship with the sects up north, while not exactly good, does not warrant this kind of treatment.”

“The target’s not the sect then?” I realized as we entered the mountainous road of the mountain range.

“What do you mean?” Wanxia looked at Ningguang. While her senior sister had a Divine Physique, that was a very closely guarded secret known to less than a handful even within Tianhe Sect.

Then she looked at me, along with the rest.

“I am so sorry guys.” I said after realizing that this was somehow my fault once more.

What should have been a casual outing had suddenly turned into a potential life-and-death encounter. The lighthearted atmosphere inside the bus evaporated in an instant as the weight of danger settled over us like a heavy fog.

“We need a plan.” Huiran stated, his usual playful tone gone.

Then I felt a shiver run down my spine. A huge but almost imperceptible wave of Qi swept past us from the front.

“Did you guys feel that?” I asked, glancing back. It seemed only Ningguang and I had sensed it.

“It was an array formation,” Ningguang finally spoke, her voice steady but tense. “We cannot turn back now.”

“Five behind us!” Wendao gripped his sword, and the rest quickly drew their respective weapons.

“Don’t attack this one!” I said as I made some preparations. Popping a Qi Recovery pill from Qingfeng as my Qi is not 100% refilled after tanking Zhaoxia’s slap and making this bus.

—

Five Foundaton Establishment cultivators from the Wànshòu (萬獸|Ten Thousand Beast) sect glides soundlessly on their mounts. Following the giant metallic carriage at their front.

They were a fearsome sight. The leader rode a massive black panther with glowing crimson eyes and rippling shadow-like fur. Beside him, a cultivator commanded a ferocious golden lion with a mane of crackling lightning. Another rode a sleek silver serpent whose scales shimmered like liquid metal, while the last two controlled a pair of enormous crimson eagles whose wings left trails of burning embers in the sky. All five wore masks carved to resemble savage beasts, their bodies clad in dark, flexible armor reinforced with beast bones and hides.

The five attackers struck without mercy. The leader’s black panther lunged forward in a blur of shadow, its claws tearing through the reinforced metal of the bus’s rear like paper. At the same time, the golden lion roared, unleashing a storm of lightning that crackled across the vehicle’s surface, short-circuiting parts of its structure. The silver serpent coiled around one side, its metallic scales grinding against the bus while injecting corrosive venom that melted through the armor plating.

The two crimson eagles dove from above, their talons ripping open the roof while raining down waves of burning feathers that ignited the interior. The bus shook violently under the coordinated assault. The Wànshòu cultivators’ signature move was Beast Fusion Assault, merging their own Qi with their mounts to amplify both speed and destructive power into a seamless, overwhelming storm of fang, claw, and elemental fury. The bus’s sturdy construction held for a moment, but the combined might of five Foundation Establishment beast cultivators was rapidly tearing it apart.

Then the illusion faded. Immediately they realized they had been chasing a decoy. They quickly notified the rest of the groups with communication jade.

In another place, a group of three Foundation Establishment cultivators stopped as they listened to the information. They are from Bìhǎi (碧海|Jade Sea) sect. A relatively young and upstart sect located on the narrow gulf Nortwest of the Southern Mountain Range. Their attire was light and revealing, suited for a coastal lifestyle. Flowing robes of sea-blue silk that left shoulders, midriffs, and legs partially exposed, adorned with pearl and coral accessories. Their skin glistened as if perpetually touched by sea spray, and their movements carried the fluid grace of ocean currents.

They sensed a divine sense locking onto them. Then, before they could even react, two of them had their heads destroyed. The leader’s life-saving talisman blocked one shot, but four more cleanly blasted through her limbs. A heavy set of chains locked her in place and pulled her into a mountain, phasing through what appeared to be normal terrain.

This cave as well as the concealment array covering the entrance was hastily made by Huiran. Imbued by Danxing’s own illusion arts.

“Speak and we will make this painless.” Wendai unleashed his sharp killing intent directly toward her. The tip of his sword was already in her mouth before she could bite her tongue to kill herself. Ningguang froze the stumps of her limbs so she wouldn’t bleed out.

“Torture it is.” Wendao said icily.

“No, no, no.” A calming voice came. Xuan Danxing pushes past Ningguang and Wendao.

“I am sorry I killed your brother and sister,” Danxing apologized as he knelt on one knee. He was still large enough that his shadow completely covered the female cultivator.

She spat in return. The spit stopped at a seemingly empty air before falling to the ground.

“May I have their names?” the veiled creature asked.

“What’s the point?” the female Bìhǎi cultivator spat icily.

“Well, it would seem like we are going to die soon. I just want to know who wants to kill me,” he answered.

“Their names are Tianqin and Mengying! Better remember their names as you burn in hell!” she spat. In her vanity, perhaps, seeking some small retribution for how her juniors had been so easily killed.

“I see.” The creature nodded as he pulled the veil up, revealing his deer skull with three pairs of eyes.

“May I have your name now?” he asked as he opened his jaws. Wolf jaws underneath the deer, serpent jaws underneath the wolf, and a human jaw underneath the serpent.

“I am Lengyue.” As soon as she answered, the creature’s jaws slammed shut.

Her eyes widened in horror. A wave of realization crashed over her. Her rage, her vanity, they had been subtly stoked by an Illusion Art, pushing her to give the names. She had been manipulated like a puppet, her emotions twisted against her will. The crushing weight “Now then, Lengyue, would you kindly tell me what is happening?” The creature’s voice was almost soothing.

“We came to kill you, Xuan Danxing.” Lengyue noticed that her mouth was moving on its own in horror.

“May I know why?”

“A mission, missives, and assassination requests have been spread to all surrounding sects and organizations to kill Xuan Danxing before he can grow strong,” Lengyue answered like a puppet.

“Now that’s troubling. May I ask what the reward is to move so many?”

“A Nascent Soul Inheritance. We do not know whose or what the inheritance is.” At her answer, the atmosphere of the room grew darker.

There were so many who would come for a chance at a Nascent Soul Inheritance. Clearly far beyond the league of just five Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“Let’s start over, May I ask how many of you?”

“From my Bihai sect… there’s still three others.” Lengyue answered as tears streamed out of her eyes. Despair gripped her heart as she had betrayed her fellow disciples and she cannot do anything about it. “From the Wanshou sect, five. From the Tianjian sect, five. From the Wúqíng sect, eight. From the Dúxīn sect, six. From Jiushuang sect, nine. Followed by cultivators from the five families whose young master Xuan Danxing have killed, though I don’t know how much. As well as two dozen rogue cultivators and the young lady of the Gu family along with an unknown expert.”

The atmosphere grew heavier and heavier as she listed all the names. 

“May I know how we leave this formation?” The creature asked, his voice level.

“We have enacted the Demon Hunting Heaven and Earth Net. There's no way out unless our number is reduced to less than half.”

The creature glanced back at his companions. “Is that everything?”

There’s no answer. So the creature looked back at Lengyue. “Thank you for the cooperation Miss Lengyue.”

“Now, would you kindly… kill yourself?”

~ Valarion