Chapter 23

Mingyi introduced, "These three women are the accomplished disciples of Master Baiyun from Yuling Mountain in Sichuan. They are named Yu Fangheng, Li Wenyuan, and Wan Zhen. The one who just argued with Fellow Daoist Wu was Wan Zhen. They do not live with Master Baiyun on Yuling Mountain but have established a separate cave for cultivation on Laoshan Mountain in Shandong. Therefore, they can be considered neighbors with Fellow Daoist Wu. It’s unknown what past grievances they have, but they immediately engaged in a deadly battle upon meeting."

Liu Quan said, "Why else? It’s just that they have their eyes on the treasure in the valley below! But these three women do have the means to be so arrogant!"

Yue Qing looked up at the battle and slowly said, "Bai Yuanjing started her Daoist studies the earliest, even before Qi Shumeng, following the Long Eyebrow Immortal. Her three disciples must have been cultivating for quite some time." He suddenly became alert and looked around.

Liu Quan asked worriedly, "What’s wrong? Is someone else coming?"

Yue Qing frowned slightly, "The Emei Sect always plans carefully before taking action. They never act rashly without a hundred percent certainty. Although these three girls are not weak in Daoist cultivation, they are no match for Fellow Daoist Wu. For them to dare to conflict with Fellow Daoist Wu so recklessly, their senior masters must be nearby, ready to assist in case of emergency."

Liu Quan was puzzled, "If there are Emei Sect experts here, why don’t they show themselves directly?"

Yue Qing sneered, "Let their arrogant and unreasonable disciples engage in conflict first, while they provide support from the shadows. This is a common tactic of the Emei Sect. If Fellow Daoist Wu is not a match, it’s fine. But if he injures the three girls, their masters will immediately appear, accusing Fellow Daoist Wu of bullying the young and not knowing right from wrong, hindering his path to enlightenment. If they get angry, they will then take action, claiming to uphold justice and righteousness, thus gaining a noble and justified reason for their actions!"

Liu Quan also strained his eyes to look around. He saw only blue sky and white clouds, with no sign of anyone.

Yue Qing pondered, "The Emei Sect is full of cunning schemes. By the time they appear, the situation will be decided. Fellow Daoists, you two stay here to support Fellow Daoist Wu. I will go down and get the treasure first!" He did not use a flying sword but instead used earth travel, transforming into a fine dust, closely following the mountain’s slope. He used the Taiyi Wuyan Luo to protect himself, separating himself from Wu Li’s crystal sand, and approached the barrier. He already had a clear plan for breaking the barrier. Holding the black jade gourd in his hand, he released the Six Jia Spirits, using the yellow sand above to cover them, and quickly broke the barrier.

In the sky, Wu Li was still dueling with the three women. Wu Li was determined to get the treasure below first and then deal with these Emei Sect youngsters who had repeatedly provoked him. At that time, he could do whatever he wanted with them! He was stubborn and self-willed but not evil. He secretly planned to only kill Wan Zhen, who had the most foul mouth, and capture the other two girls with immortal techniques to teach them a lesson...

The three women had practiced Daoism for many years under Master Baiyun, and their magical powers were not weak. Their sword techniques were also orthodox Emei Sect techniques. Together, they were evenly matched with Wu Li. Yu Fangheng had a natural keen eye. While dueling with Wu Li, she also kept an eye on the situation below. Seeing the protective barrier at the valley entrance becoming thinner under the rolling yellow sand, she knew the treasure was about to be unearthed. She also noticed a colorful mist in a hidden corner of the valley, under which a white-robed Daoist was hidden. She was startled and anxious, and her flying sword moved even faster.

Wu Li, who had been cultivating for hundreds of years, had exquisite and cunning sword skills, excelling in finding and exploiting weaknesses. In her anxiety, Yu Fangheng’s sword movements created a flaw. Wu Li immediately seized the opportunity, using two yellow essence swords in a scissor-like formation to attack. Yu Fangheng hurriedly turned her flying sword to intercept and retreated. However, the other sword that had been harassing Wan Zhen was the real threat, swiftly stabbing from the side. Yu Fangheng cried out in alarm, but it was too late to dodge. Fortunately, Li Wenyuan, in a critical moment, used the Xuantian Sword Finger to emit a sword aura, deflecting the yellow essence sword a few inches to the right, avoiding her vital spot. The sword pierced through her shoulder, exiting from the front.

Wu Li and the three women lived in neighboring caves on Laoshan Mountain, separated by only two mountain ridges. They knew each other well. He knew that Li Wenyuan, in white, was always steady and strategic, while Yu Fangheng, in purple, was simple and innocent. Only Wan Zhen, in yellow, was the most annoying. This time, he had spared Yu Fangheng, but if it had been Wan Zhen, he would have stirred her body with his sword!

Yue Qing, covered by a thick layer of yellow sand, did not know what was happening above. He used secret incantations to make the spirits penetrate the barrier and enter the ground, retrieving the jade box containing the treasure. The array left by Zhang Mian was quite mysterious, but Yue Qing was also an expert in array formations. He recognized it as the Xiantian Heluo Array, derived from the River Map and Luo Book. If others, including the Emei Sect, encountered it, they could only use their treasures to break through by force. However, Yue Qing’s knowledge of the Taiyi True Explanation came from the teachings of Chen Tuan, who was a great expert in the River Map and Luo Book, Yin-Yang, and the Eight Trigrams. He had created the Xiantian Wujiji Diagram and was unparalleled in the study of the I Ching and divination!

Since this treasure retrieval was crucial and he needed to demonstrate his strength to Mingyi and Liu Quan to reassure them, he had thoroughly calculated the origin and location of the treasure and the difficulties he would encounter. He had already understood the array’s structure. Now, with the help of the Six Jia Spirits, he could easily retrieve the treasure.

It took him about the time of a cup of tea to get the jade box containing the treasure. Opening it, he found three treasure swords and an ancient jade bottle sealed with talismans. He put them in his treasure pouch and then used magic to seal the jade box and have the spirits return it to its original place.

Just as he was about to return the same way, a loud explosion came from above, echoing through the valley and causing the ground to tremble. The orderly flow of crystal sand showed signs of losing control. Yue Qing was slightly startled, thinking, "Who has such power? Could it be the Three Immortals and Two Elders?" Before he could finish his thought, the crystal sand flowed away, rising into the air. The sky above Yue Qing brightened, and he saw Wu Li collecting all the crystal sand behind him, then dividing it into six streams to sweep towards an old Daoist nun.

When Yue Qing saw the nun’s face clearly, he was shocked and hurriedly flew up, shouting, "Fellow Daoist Wu, stop! Quickly retract your treasure!"

Wu Li did not expect him to fly up from the valley below and immediately thought he had secretly gone down to steal the treasure. He was furious, but seeing that he did not seem to have succeeded, he felt a bit relieved. He secretly planned: "I will deal with you after I eliminate that old beggar woman!" Thinking this, he wanted to win quickly and successively spat out three mouthfuls of essence, manipulating the crystal sand to transform into a yellow earth dragon, charging towards the old nun.

The old nun, dressed in purple robes and wearing a golden hairpin, looked like a wealthy old lady. She smiled coldly, and a ring flew from her fingertip, transforming into a green light that rapidly expanded to several meters in diameter, emitting a cold glow that even Mingyi and Liu Quan felt from a distance.

The green light hung in the air, rapidly spinning, generating immense suction. The crystal sand Wu Li released was immediately attracted and lost control, being drawn into the ring.

Wu Li, realizing his treasure was out of control, was terrified and hurriedly spat out true qi, using incantations to try to regain control of the crystal sand. However, not only did he lose contact with the sand already in the ring, but he also could not control the remaining sand outside. He could only watch helplessly as his treasure, which he had cultivated for decades, was taken away by the other side.

Yue Qing, in the air, was so anxious that he stomped his feet. He quickly took out the black jade gourd, bit his tongue, and sprayed a mouthful of blood on it.

The gourd spewed out three streams of blood, releasing the Six Jia Spirits. They, having received Yue Qing’s essence, were all full of energy, circling around him and howling. Yue Qing pointed at the old nun and silently recited incantations. The twelve spirits laughed eerily and, enveloped in blood mist, charged towards the old nun.

The old nun, who had initially appeared confident, was startled when she saw the spirits. Recognizing Yue Qing, who was holding the black jade gourd, she immediately scolded, "So it’s you, this demon brat! You killed two Emei Sect Daoists a few days ago. Everyone thought you had left, but you dare to appear here!" Before she could finish, the spirits had already reached her. She quickly pointed at the green light, which flew back to encircle her.

Her treasure was very powerful, not only able to capture the other side’s flying swords and treasures but also to defend against demonic harm. The twelve spirits were blocked by the green light, flying around and howling, but could not penetrate it.