CHAPTER 710: 586 DEMON SAID, BUDDHA SAID

Shi Feiyang had calculated Dongxuan Immortal would certainly betray him!

For the Galaxy Star Liquid, condensed from the Heavenly Stars, was as greatly beneficial to her as it was to him, both for personal cultivation and for using in Gu Refining; it had the miraculous effect of turning decay into wonder!

Now, Dongxuan Immortal might still wholeheartedly want to help him retrieve the Star True Liquid in exchange for those three incarnations of Serpent Gods, as well as assistance in future tribulations.

But once she got her hands on that Star True Liquid and witnessed its miraculous uses, she would surely find a way to keep it for herself!

However, he had considered this possibility from the moment he asked Dongxuan Immortal to help him find Yu Wa, so after Dongxuan Immortal headed for West Sea Island, he also left Divine Dragon Island.

Halfway there, he transformed himself, taking on the appearance of Yue Yun, the second disciple of True Master Yu, and also rushed towards West Sea Island.

Back when he wanted to infiltrate Emei Mountain, he had thoroughly grasped all the details regarding Yue Yun and his fellow disciples, even practicing their every word and deed to perfection, to the point that none of the Three Immortals of the East Sea could detect the slightest hint.

Now, assuming the guise of Yue Yun had become second nature; having changed his robes and employed the Taiqing Escape Technique of the Emei Sect, he dashed wildly across Heaven and Sea.

He arrived at the island just behind Dongxuan Immortal. As she called out at Pei’er’s cave dwelling, he had also reached the island.

Pei’er’s cave dwelling, as well as Wen Liangyu’s, was on the western side of West Sea Island, whereas Yu Wa’s aquatic palace was on the eastern side. The island was vast, a thousand miles in circumference, and the two sides did not interfere with each other.

Pretending to chase a large fish, he arrived at the shore of West Sea Island. The fish was a snow shark, pure white and massive, over thirty zhang in length, dashing through the water like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The snow shark had intended to escape to the deep sea, but, constrained by his spell, it could only flee across the sea surface. He had purposely directed it towards West Sea Island, up the river running against the current, its thirty-zhang body churning the water into a frenzy, sending fish and soft-shelled turtles scattering in all directions.

Swimming along, the snow shark eventually entered a large lake on the island.

Yu Wa’s nine-level "Crystal Palace" was built upon this lake, with sun rays scattering off it, causing dazzling, glittering reflections.

Yu Wa’s disciples spotted him and shouted in unison, "Who dares to run wild on West Sea Island!"

Four streaks of sword light flew from different directions, intertwining to block Shi Feiyang.

Intentionally showing off his magic, Shi Feiyang formed hand seals and concentrated his mana. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a bolt of Golden Light Thunder which instantly bathed half of the lake in a golden hue.

"Taiyin Divine Thunder!"

With a thunderous boom, the lightning blast scattered all the radiance and fierce energy of the four swords, sending them flying back.

"Halt!" A clear shout came from the palace, and a fairy in green clothes flew out, "Daoist Brother Yu, why have you come?"

This person was Yu Wa’s disciple, Wu Qingxin. The four individuals who had been Yu Wa’s disciples heard her and sheathed their swords to greet her, "Master Uncle!"

Shi Feiyang said, "I saw a large snow shark, exceedingly fine, and wanted to catch it to keep outside my cave dwelling, to watch over the island. But it fled this way in a panic, blindly ending up here."

As it turns out, Wu Qingxin knew Yue Yun, though not very well, and was aware that he was a disciple of True Master Yu.

In fact, Yu Wa and her disciples had detected Shi Feiyang from a thousand miles away, but at that time, their main attention was focused on observing Dongxuan Immortal, not paying much heed to this "Yue Yun," believing him to be a minor figure with low mana. They let him pass by but were taken aback when he unexpectedly turned up on the island.

When he displayed such a world-shaking Taiyin Divine Thunder, Yu Wa and her disciples finally took a serious look, "How did this lad become so powerful? It’s been said that their master and disciples ’recognized their ancestry’ and returned to the Emei Sect. Decades have passed unseen, and he has made such remarkable progress."

Thus, Wu Qingxin came out to meet him and even took the initiative to invite him into the palace as a guest.

This was precisely what Shi Feiyang wanted; following Wu Qingxin into Yu Wa’s "Crystal Palace," he saw that from top to bottom, all sides had transparent water walls, with fish and dragons freely moving about inside, the luminance sparkling — truly beautiful.

Having seen much of the world, including a palace on Outer Heaven Divine Mountain that had fallen from the Spiritual Space Immortal Realm, he was still secretly amazed upon arriving here.

Because everything had gone rather smoothly, he actually entered the palace ahead of Dongxuan Immortal, though their arrival times were not widely spaced. Wu Qingxin led him into a grand palace where, seated in the principal position, was none other than the Fairy Leng Yun herself, Yu Wa. After exchanging a few words, Chu Ling and others arrived with Dongxuan Immortal.

Yu Wa rose from her seat to welcome them; she did not dare to be too presumptuous with Dongxuan Immortal.

Yu Wa was aware that a great disaster loomed over her, and while she still maintained her pride, she knew the opponent this time was not easy to provoke. Dongxuan Immortal had long been famous, with high and strong mana. Should she be able to retain her to help face off against Shi Pi the Elder, two against one would almost certainly lead to an overwhelming victory, and there was even the potential to strike back, flattening Divine Sword Peak!

But she was aware that she and Dongxuan Immortal were neither kith nor kin, with no prior relationship or interaction. It was a pleasant surprise to expect her to help ward off an attack or two, but it would be exceedingly difficult to compel her full effort.

Yu Wa schemed internally, deciding not to mention her current plight to Dongxuan Immortal immediately, but instead to detain her with fine food and drinks, attempt to foster good relations, and treat her with great hospitality. When Shi Pi the Elder arrived, Dongxuan Immortal would find it difficult to just up and leave without seeming ungracious. If Dongxuan Immortal truly wished to leave at that time, Yu Wa would have to provoke her with words and somehow keep her there.

When she engaged Shi Pi the Elder in combat, she was bound to get fired up.

As the saying goes, there are no kind words in insults and no soft hands in a fight. Once they inflicted damage on each other, their anger would only escalate, and by then, there would be no need for me to provoke her further. She would risk her life to battle Shi Pi the Elder to the end!

Yu Wa had quite the rosy outlook. She continued to heap praise on Dongxuan Immortal, even going as far as to express her envy of the Gu Refining Skill and her desire to learn from Dongxuan Immortal.

The Gu Refining Skill was already disdained by the people of the Righteous Path, and even those of the unorthodox paths with high pride and arrogance didn’t practice it. Yu Wa, who always held herself in especially high esteem, had now exhausted a lifetime’s worth of flattery.

Dongxuan Immortal, a deeply cunning and shrewd individual, happily accepted all the flattery she was offered and even gave Yu Wa a pair of Golden Silkworm Gu on the spot. She taught Yu Wa how to raise the gu, how to perform sacrificial refinement, and how they could be used in the future.

Yu Wa, feeling contempt inside, continued to express her amazement and incessantly praised Dongxuan Immortal outwardly.

Dongxuan Immortal, with her senior status and high standing, had Yu Wa personally accompany her while Wu Qingxin entertained Shi Feiyang, with similar flattering tactics. She repeatedly praised him, the true and direct disciple of True Master Yu Dong.

She also worried about making pointless efforts, so she took Shi Feiyang on a tour of the palace, visiting several rooms rigged with arrays, to gauge the depth of Shi Feiyang’s mana.

Shi Feiyang had also cultivated the Nine Heavens Mysterious Scripture. He had learned the complete version from Zen Master Xiao Yue and also acquired a more detailed annotated half from the Emei Sect under the identity of Yue Yun – enough to sustain his current persona.

With ease, he navigated through all the arrays Wu Qingxin had shown him, leaving her dumbfounded. She couldn’t imagine that after decades of cultivating on Emei Mountain, Yue Yun had become so formidable upon his return!

Ultimately, she shared her assessment with Yu Wa, "This youngster’s daoist power is not beneath my own, though his exact level remains unclear."

Upon hearing this, Yu Wa was both shocked and thrilled. She knew the level of her own disciple. Any of her more than twenty disciples could manage a region or rule over an island or a mountain.

If Yue Yun had reached Wu Qingxin’s level, he would already be a significant asset!

So, Yu Wa instructed Wu Qingxin to take good care of Yue Yun and, by all means, keep him on the island for three days. They would provoke Shi Pi the Elder into action upon his arrival. After the fight, they could let Yue Yun go.

Shi Feiyang thus stayed there temporarily. Yu Wa’s nine-layered Crystal Palace had many rooms, so she arranged a separate courtyard for him and even assigned maids to serve him, treating him truly as an honored guest.

In the next two or three days, more people arrived, all of them on good terms with Yu Wa.

Yu Wa brought out Immortal Pills she had treasured for years, claiming her cultivation technique had reached Great Success, and coinciding with her centennial celebration, she planned to invite old friends for a grand celebration.

Her plan was: I will celebrate my birthday and gather friends and family. If Shi Pi the Elder suddenly attacks during this time, we will all naturally band together to beat you up. It was logical, saved face, and they could win by outnumbering the enemy.

She even prepared for the aftermath; Shi Pi the Elder, known for so many years as one of the Cosmic Six Strange and the Sect Hierarch of the Great Asura Sect, would surely kill several of her people. After they defeated Shi Pi the Elder together, she would lead a counterattack, seize Divine Sword Peak, annihilate the Asura Sect’s doctrine, and let the world know of the might of Fairy Leng Yun!

Little did she know of Shi Pi the Elder’s divine skills!

Shi Pi the Elder should have been converted by Master Zun Sheng several decades ago, renouncing evil to turn to the Righteous Path and join the Buddhist sect.

The closure for cultivation by the Emei Sect had delayed this, not pushing him to a desperate situation, and Master Zun Sheng lost the opportunity to convert him.

Over the years, he had studied the Buddhist Scriptures and examined the Buddhist Law on his own. Although it wasn’t blindly done, he essentially used Magic to unravel Buddhist Law.

It started well when he realized the Demon Path was a dead end. He wanted to find a solution in the Buddhist Law, seeking a way to the future.

However, there’s a saying in Buddhism: "Understanding without practice breeds misconceptions. Practice without understanding increases affliction."

Without thorough understanding or high-level expertise, forcibly observing precepts and cultivating compassion and generosity, as Xie Shan once did, only leads to more irritation and trouble, and constant increase in afflictions.

And if someone only studies the Buddhist Law without putting it into practice, not validating it through action, everything becomes a product of the mind, detached from reality, giving rise to all kinds of heretical ideas.

Shi Pi the Elder fell into this second category.

Using Magic to interpret Buddhist Law, he deconstructed it and saw the teachings of the Buddhas as hypocritical, the compassion of Bodhisattvas as self-serving, contending for an incense stick’s duration as selfish, and the vow to attain Buddhahood as supreme ego. He believed the Buddhas’ great vows to establish various Buddha Country Worlds were a grab for power...

Gradually, he came to view every phrase in the Buddhist Scriptures as a deception.

Decades more of studying Buddhism led him to mix the teachings of Buddha and Demon together. What was spoken by Buddha he considered demon talk, and what was demon talk, he saw as Buddhist—believing he had integrated both. He thought he had mastered the essence of Buddhist and Magic laws, which seemed to greatly enhance his Daoist power. In truth, he had only advanced farther along the Demon Path.

When the Tian brothers died, Shi Pi the Elder knew immediately, but he was then in the midst of refining the Ruyi Yin Thunder at a crucial juncture. By the time he was free to act, the Tian brothers had already met complete destruction.

The Old Demon didn’t get angry. Instead, he coldly sneered toward the East Sea and returned to his palace hall, continuing to refine the Demon Thunder.