Chapter 42 - 39: Canglan Sect
"It’s the Corpse Puppet Sect, Young Master."
’What kind of sect is the Corpse Puppet Sect?’
Xia Lianxue was already used to Lu Changyuan’s ignorance of the Cultivation Realm’s power structure, so she explained matter-of-factly, "It’s a Demon Sect, one of the Nine Gates. It’s newly established; I believe it used to be called the Human Puppet Sect."
"Never heard of it."
"It was just a very small Sect before the turmoil, so it’s normal that you haven’t heard of it, Young Master." Xia Lianxue said softly, "But the Corpse Puppet Sect is extremely far from here. If they came for the Heavenly Repair Pill, we haven’t seen any sign of them. Why would they ambush us now?"
Lu Changyuan said, "They probably saw you were alone and decided to eliminate a Fairy like you while they were at it. But they never expected you’d reached the Fifth Realm. You’re so impressive, Fairy Lianxue!"
Xia Lianxue’s earlobes turned red. "Don’t tease me."
Lu Changyuan knew when to quit while he was ahead and pointed to the temple not far away. "Your senior sister fought the Heart-Eating Monk to a standstill right here. It’s where I found her and took her home."
At some point, they had flown to the mountain where the temple stood.
"Young Master, this is a Compassionate Temple."
The Buddha Statue inside had left a deep impression on Lu Changyuan. It was a statue that embodied both divinity and demonic nature, giving it an incredibly strange appearance.
’Right. I heard the Heart-Eating Monk mention before that the Compassionate Palace from the Black Realm was collecting Incense Fire here. Why would the Black Realm’s Compassionate Palace build a temple in the White Realm?’
Xia Lianxue said, "In recent years, the Compassionate Palace has taken to building temples in the Mortal World. They always place a Thousand-Handed Compassionate Statue inside. To those with Cultivation, it appears as White Jade Compassionate. To mortals, it’s just a clay and stone statue. And if someone gets greedy and steals the statue, they will return it the very next day and convert to the Buddhist Sect."
Lu Changyuan asked doubtfully, "Do you know what the Compassionate Palace is planning?"
"The Incense Fire Immortal Path. It’s said the Palace Master of the Compassionate Palace wants to use the Incense Fire from mortals to glimpse what lies beyond the Yao Guang realm."
’Collecting mortals’ Incense Fire to achieve a Breaking Realm... it’s one way to do it. But it’s extremely easy to have one’s Dao Practice obscured by Red Dust Qi. It’s a risky gambit.’
Xia Lianxue turned her back so Lu Changyuan couldn’t see her face, then said, "The people of that Palace are all strange. The Master Elders in my palace used to give us special warnings to stay far away from anyone from the Compassionate Palace. So, Young Master, it would be best for you to stay away from that Third Princess in the future."
’How did we circle back to Su Youwan again?’
How could Lu Changyuan possibly know what was going through Xia Lianxue’s mind? He could only say helplessly, "I don’t really have any connection with her. I just see her as a junior. Neither of us took Noodle Granny’s words seriously."
The two continued their conversation as they walked toward the Compassionate Temple.
Although they appeared to be chatting and laughing, Xia Lianxue had actually readied her sword, prepared to destroy the entire temple at a moment’s notice.
BOOM!
Before the two could even draw their swords.
The entire Compassionate Temple suddenly exploded, and a clear voice shouted, "Don’t you dare run!"
The clear ring of a sword vibrated through the air. A Female Immortal in a green dress, sword in hand, tore through the sky and threw out a magic ring, attempting to trap the black gas that was scattering in all directions.
BANG!
Something landed in front of Lu Changyuan. It was a massive Blood Spider, about the size of a human face. The swarm of black monsters from before had been a cluster of these Blood Spiders.
A sword fell from the sky, piercing through the spider.
"That scoundrel... Never mind. Are you two fellow Daoists alright?"
The Female Immortal in the green dress slowly descended from the sky. She had an ethereal beauty and didn’t mistake the two for enemies. Instead, she slowly walked forward, cupped her hands in a salute, and said, "Canglan Sect, Xian Qingqiu. And you two are?"
With the interruption, the villain from the Corpse Puppet Sect was already far in the distance; it seemed there was no way to continue the pursuit.
So Xia Lianxue politely returned the salute. "Miao Yu Palace, Xia Lianxue."
"Lu Changyuan, a countryside cultivator."
"Ah, so you are Fairy Lianxue and Young Master Lu."
"Why are you here, Fellow Daoist Xian?" Xia Lianxue asked. "What brings you to the White Realm?"
’Beyond Canglan, one bows their head; the carefree clouds drift at leisure. The Canglan Sect was also one of the Righteous Dao’s Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces, but their main branch should be in the Black Realm. Why would she be here in the White Realm?’
Xian Qingqiu, however, looked surprised. "Does Lady Xia not know? My sect and your esteemed palace have a scheduled Dao discussion. My sect is taking this matter very seriously."
Xia Lianxue truly didn’t know about this. The Dao discussion had been arranged after she left to investigate the Heavenly Repair Pill, and since she hadn’t returned to the palace, she had missed the news.
Xia Lianxue asked again, "If it’s for the Dao discussion, why is Fellow Daoist Xian... here?"
Only then did Xian Qingqiu smile and explain, "I was already traveling in the White Realm, so when I got the news, I had to head to Miao Yu Palace on my own. But along the way, I saw a Demon Dao cultivator refining the people of three villages into corpses. I couldn’t stand by, so I hunted him all the way here."
It seemed the Demon Dao cultivator from the Corpse Puppet Sect had been fleeing for his life, so panicked that he lost control of the Heart-Eating Monk. That was how the two of them had accidentally run into the out-of-control Heart-Eating Monk Corpse Puppet.
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch that Demon Dao cultivator just now. It escaped using a Substitute Technique!"
Xian Qingqiu sighed, appearing quite guilty.
’This story sounded familiar. On the way somewhere for business, happened to run into a Demon Dao cultivator harming commoners, chased after them, and ended up at this Compassionate Temple.’
Lu Changyuan couldn’t help but ask, "Xian Fairy, the corpses refined by the Demon Dao cultivator you met... were they all disemboweled, with their hearts and livers missing?"
Xian Qingqiu said, "That’s exactly right. How did you know, Young Master Lu?"
"Those three villages were massacred by the Heart-Eating Monk. I killed him. I never thought he’d be refined into a Corpse Puppet himself."
’What goes around comes around. Commit too many evil deeds, and you won’t even find peace in death. Your corpse just gets turned into someone else’s weapon.’
Xia Lianxue clearly thought of the same thing. "Fellow Daoist Xian, you must have been chasing someone from the Corpse Puppet Sect."
Xian Qingqiu nodded in understanding. "A pity I couldn’t stop that Demon Dao cultivator. By the way, are you two heading back to Miao Yu Palace?"
"We are."
"Why don’t we travel together?"
Xia Lianxue was just about to refuse. She was reluctant to travel with someone else, especially another woman.
’Besides, her Immortal Vessel was very small.’
’It could only seat two people, no more. Any more and it would be crowded.’
But Lu Changyuan spoke up first. "Alright."
"Young Master!?"
Lu Changyuan said, "It’s on the way anyway. Why not travel together?"
Xia Lianxue said "Young Master" one more time, but seeing Lu Changyuan’s playful expression, she just nodded. "Then let’s go together."
When the Immortal Vessel set off again, Lu Changyuan sat even closer to Xia Lianxue. This made the red-eared Fairy’s hand tremble, and she nearly lost control of the Immortal Vessel.
She could almost feel Lu Changyuan’s warm breath tickling the small of her back.
’What is the Young Master doing?’
Xia Lianxue wanted to murmur "Young Master," but she saw Lu Changyuan smiling at her and fell silent. She didn’t actually mind him being so close.
Of course, Lu Changyuan was doing it on purpose.
’Lu Changyuan didn’t believe a single word Xian Qingqiu had said.’
’Because not only was this person’s appearance far inferior to his Little Fairy’s, but she also didn’t seem like a good person.’
’Better to focus on the gentle Lady Xia. After all, the soft, fragrant Lady Xia was much more pleasant than the faint scent of a Desire Demon coming from Xian Qingqiu.’