Chapter 135: The True and False Daoist

I intended to pierce his demonic heart, yet my sword of killing intent struck only his blood-red dragon-scale armor. A surge of crimson, malevolent energy followed, slamming into me and throwing me back.

Staggering from the impact, I formed a seal with one hand and unleashed a Five-Thunder Palm strike at him. Mo Xin somersaulted, absorbing the strike head-on with a punch. With a deafening boom, the lightning from my palm dissipated as it collided with his fist. I used my footwork to dodge quickly, and his fist smashed into the cliffside, causing it to collapse with a thunderous roar.

Before I could recover, Mo Kui blocked my path. Caught off guard, I found myself staring into his eyes, which had turned a deep, blood-red. They swirled like black holes, causing a wave of dizziness to wash over me. My legs felt as heavy as lead, rendering me immobile.

In the next instant, he delivered a palm strike shrouded in a red phantom, slamming it into my chest. My dragon-scale armor manifested to protect my heart, but I was still blasted away, tumbling over the edge of the cliff.

At the bottom of the cliff, amidst the scattered rubble, I felt the searing mark of his palm on my chest. Blood seeped through the gaps in my white dragon-scale armor. Mo Kui had said the Demon Ancestor’s emissary was coming; I had no choice but to stop this. I had to defeat them and retrieve the item hidden beneath the Wutong Demon Palace.

I wielded the Qingping Sword, its energy surging. Instantly shattering the debris pinning me down, I gritted my teeth, spat out a mouthful of blood, and took a deep breath before standing once more. Mo Kui and Mo Xin stood atop the cliff, glaring down at me.

Just then, I heard someone calling my name.

"Lin Yi!"

I looked back, startled to see Daoist Li.

"Senior Li, why are you here?" I asked, truly surprised.

"I heard you had come to the Wutong Ancient Land and was worried about your safety, so I rushed over. How are you? Are your injuries serious?" he asked.

"I'm fine! But Mo Kui and Mo Xin are incredibly difficult to handle." After a moment of thought, I told him, "Senior Li, this place is not safe. You must leave at once and find a way into the Demon Palace to retrieve that object! We cannot let it fall into the hands of Er Pang!"

"Er Pang?" Daoist Li repeated, hesitating.

At that moment, Mo Kui and Mo Xin leaped down from the cliff. Seeing this, I urged, "Senior Li, go! You must not let them discover you, or you won't be able to escape!"

"Very well, take this!" Daoist Li said, throwing me a bottle. It felt ice-cold. When I asked what was inside, he replied, "It is another ice silkworm from the Nü Tong Village. The Mountain Ghost asked me to bring it to you."

I nodded, signaling him to leave quickly. As he hurried away, I leaped into the air, darting toward the opposite cliff to buy him enough time. Casting a glance at the pavilion across the way, I pushed off with all my strength, dodging the attacks of Mo Kui and Mo Xin as I soared across.

Upon reaching the other side, I didn't stop, sprinting straight toward the Forest of Withered Trees. I hoped to find a moment of respite there. Looking at the porcelain bottle in my hand, I felt a glimmer of hope—Daoist Li’s arrival was truly a timely help. I needed to buy time to use the ice silkworm gu. The Forest of Withered Trees, filled with dead wood, stagnant energy, and thick black mist, was an ideal place to hide.

Suppressing my presence, I ventured deep into the woods to evade my pursuers. Catching my breath, I pulled out the bottle again.

However, as I opened it, a white shadow darted toward me. Her speed was blinding, and in a heartbeat, the bottle was gone. Upon closer inspection, I realized the thief was none other than Hua Yuyan. I asked in confusion, "Yuyan, why are you here?"

She pressed her finger tightly against the mouth of the bottle and said, "Lin Yi, you’ve been deceived. This isn't an ice silkworm—it’s a Six-Yao Insect..."

As she spoke, her expression turned pained. She lifted her hand; three puncture wounds on her fingertip were turning black. A black silkworm slowly crawled out of the bottle. It was indeed not an ice silkworm. The creature then grew at a visible rate, spinning a cocoon and emerging as a butterfly. Hua Yuyan grabbed the malformed black butterfly, chanted a fire spell, and burned it to ashes.

This scene mirrored exactly what Weiyang had done to block the Six-Yao Insect. I grew deeply worried, but Hua Yuyan reassured me, "Don't worry, I have the antidote for the gu poison."

But I had heard from the Mountain Ghost that the Six-Yao Insect was incurable. I looked at her, at a loss for words, regretting that the Mountain Ghost couldn't stop her from following me. Recalling that it was Daoist Li who gave me the bottle, I found it impossible to believe. "Yuyan, what is going on?"

"That wasn't Daoist Li, but Luo Jinhong wearing a human-skin mask. Luo Jinhong and Ma Zhenlei disguised themselves as Daoist Li and Niu Dahuang, intending to harm us in the abandoned village, but the Mountain Ghost saved us. They followed us all the way to the Wutong Ancient Land to plot against you," she explained. She must have been so worried that she ignored the Mountain Ghost's advice and chased after me.

"Then where are Daoist Li and Grandpa Niu?" I asked.

"They came too. They caught the scent of Luo Jinhong and went to hunt him down," she said. Suddenly, the clouds above us turned a ghastly crimson.

Damn it, Mo Kui and Mo Xin had found me.

"Yuyan, look who's here!" I said. As she turned, I pinched a finger seal and sealed her brow. Before she could collapse, I hoisted her onto my back and carried her to the deepest part of the forest, to the old chieftain’s wooden tower. There was a barrier there that could at least offer her temporary protection. Sealing her brow was necessary; the situation was dire, and if she remained conscious, the toxicity of the Six-Yao Insect would accelerate. By sealing her soul pulse, I hoped to buy her some time.

After securing Hua Yuyan, I rushed back out. I pushed my speed to the limit, and once I was well away from the tower, I drew my Qingping Sword and slashed at the blood-red clouds to draw the attention of Mo Kui and Mo Xin.

When I emerged from the forest, I saw two Daoist Lis engaged in a magical duel. It was dizzying. However, thanks to Hua Yuyan’s warning, I knew one was real and one was a fake. Though I hadn't spent much time with Daoist Li, we had practiced together often, and I was intimately familiar with his techniques. After a moment of observation, I identified the imposter without hesitation. I locked onto Luo Jinhong.

The Qingping Sword gleamed as I unleashed a strike.

"Lin Yi, I am Daoist Li! What are you doing?" he shouted in surprise.

I ignored him. He tried to dodge, but my sword was faster than lightning. It pierced his brow, the surging sword energy shattering his primordial spirit and destroying the human-skin mask on his face. As I withdrew my blade, Luo Jinhong fell to the ground. The Mountain Ghost had told me that while Luo Jinhong was famous for his gu poison, his actual cultivation was mediocre; he could neither block nor escape my Qingping Sword.

Daoist Li stopped his spellcasting and asked, "You didn't hesitate—weren't you afraid of killing the wrong person?"

"I couldn't be wrong," I replied.

"Fair enough," he said.

"Where is Grandpa Niu?" I asked.

"He went after Ma Zhenlei. I wounded him earlier, so he won't get far!" Daoist Li checked my wounds and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!"

Behind us, Mo Kui and Mo Xin arrived, their presence radiating terrifying, malevolent energy. The sky outside the forest seemed stained with blood.

"This is the Wutong Demon Palace—Grand Palace Master Mo Kui and Second Palace Master Mo Xin," I said.

Daoist Li nodded slightly, but his attention wasn't on the two masters; he was staring at my Qingping Sword. When I asked what was wrong, he replied, "Lin Yi, your sword has changed."

I hadn't noticed until now. Perhaps from absorbing so much malevolent energy, the blade had turned from its original cyan to a deep, blood-red.

"Lin Yi, legend says the Qingping Sword can evolve into the Nine Qingping Swords. The Sword of Killing Intent is the most passive, and the weakest in terms of pure lethality. Think carefully—let your heart follow the sword's intent. You need not be obsessed with that one strike!"

Daoist Li’s words struck me like a bolt of enlightenment. He was right! I had been too fixated on the "Sword of Killing Intent," never considering other techniques. Upon reflection, that move required sufficient killing aura to be effective, and since it relied on "stopping killing with killing," it left me constantly on the brink of death. It was indeed the most passive way to fight.

"Lin Yi, focus on your sword intent. I will hold them off!" Daoist Li declared.