“Who do you think will shine the most this time?”
“I’d say Baili Jingzhan from Tianyuan Sect, Monk Qian Yue from Wuxiang Temple, Nan Zhi from Zixiao Sect, Si Chun from Chuixue Pavilion, and the rising star Li Xiuran from Tianzhao Sect—all outstanding, roughly equal.”
“You don’t know how strong Senior Brother Xie Qingrong from Rufeng Sect is. In the mortal world, he’s quite famous. He seeks neither fame nor profit, only exorcising demons and protecting the Dao.”
“But he’s blind. Even with spiritual vision, there are some limitations.”
“You forgot? There’s also the rumored disciple of Elder Luofeng—Mo Xuanli.”
“That one…”
The chatter quickly became a mess. Some said his cultivation was rapidly advancing, faster than normal people could keep up; others said he had gained nothing at Ten Thousand Swords Island, so who knows. Hard to reach a conclusion.
“But… I think Young Master Mo is the most handsome.”
A female cultivator blushed appreciatively.
“Young Master Li is not worse than Young Master Mo.”
“What? I think young Master Baili is the best.”
Before long, the discussion had turned into a handsome-men appreciation contest.
Of course, all these conversations reached Gu Baiqing’s ears.
At that moment, he and Baili Jingcheng had found a high spot overlooking the water mirror below.
After sending off their disciples, each sect’s flying vessel landed.
Those who had sent disciples naturally did not wait idly. As on Ten Thousand Swords Island, they set up a water mirror on the ground below with a protective array, so everyone could observe the situation inside.
But the Void Spirit Secret Realm was dozens of times larger than Ten Thousand Swords Island, and external spiritual energy couldn’t penetrate, making it very difficult to track their own disciples. It was purely a matter of luck.
Baili Jingcheng came to find Gu Baiqing to invite him to watch and catch up.
Seeing him bring a wine flask, Gu Baiqing immediately declined, claiming he felt unwell. Baili Jingcheng smiled gently and set the flask down.
The two of them reached a spot suitable for viewing the water mirror from above.
Just as they were about to sit on the ground, Jingcheng felt something underfoot blocking him. Looking down, he saw Three Bean, the tri-colored Illusion Cat.
Sensing the beast’s spiritual energy, he recognized it belonged to a friend. Surprised, he said: “You made the tri-colored Illusion Cat your contracted beast?”
Gu Baiqing, already seated, casually nodded. “Mm. Its name’s Three Bean.”
Jingcheng laughed, watching Three Bean squeeze itself between the two of them. “I thought you didn’t want a contracted beast, saying it was troublesome.”
Gu Baiqing replied, “Accident.”
Three Bean, a little dissatisfied, extended its paw to scratch Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing smiled faintly and patted it.
Baili Jingcheng looked at him in surprise. Though it was just a small smile, it was rare to see him show it.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“Ah?” Gu Baiqing’s heart fluttered.
Jingcheng laughed: “Before, my companions and I who trained with you said you lived by three ‘no’ principles: no disciples, no spirit beasts, no Dao companions for dual cultivation. Only two years have passed, and you’ve broken two of them. I wonder when the third will go?”
Gu Baiqing’s lips twitched awkwardly. The original self would never have wanted this, but part of him still longed for it.
However… unless he completely sent Mo Xuanli away, he couldn’t think about anything in peace.
“Hope I get to attend your wedding someday,” Jingcheng joked.
Gu Baiqing remembered that in the original text, Baili Jingcheng had indeed attended a wedding—back when Mo Xuanli had become a Demon Lord, captured Master, and forcibly summoned the sect leaders to attend his and Master’s wedding. That scene was more ruthless than the Hongmen Banquet. Mo Xuanli even arrogantly gave Baili Jingcheng the place of honor.
The text described him staring wide-eyed, furious beyond imagining. It was hard to picture the current easygoing, friendly Jingcheng in that light.
Embarrassed, Gu Baiqing rubbed his nose.
As they were speaking, an exclamation came from below:
“Wow, Zixiao Sect’s luck is terrible! They just ran into the Red Feather Dragon!”
Jingcheng glanced down, but before he could speak, Three Bean leapt up. “Red Feather Dragon! It’s so big! Dangerous!”
Jingcheng was a little surprised. He had thought Three Bean was just an immature Tricolor Illusion Cat, but unexpectedly it could already speak human language. Without a hundred years of cultivation, how could that be possible? Truly strange.
Gu Baiqing held Three Bean down and said, “Don’t be anxious. Did you forget what Mo Xuanli was looking for?”
Three Bean froze, then recalled, “The Red Feather Dragon Bone… but… this one is too big. Even with teammates it would be very difficult…”
Jingcheng nodded and said, “The Red Feather Dragon ranks among the top ten in combat power within the Void Spirit Secret Realm. Its temperament is violent, bloodthirsty, and vicious, and its speed is extremely fast. Once discovered by it, there is inevitably a fight to the death. With your sect’s current team, it’s risky, but you still have the power to fight. It’s just that…”
Jingcheng didn’t spell it out, but Gu Baiqing also understood. To encounter such a battle right after entering would exhaust the disciples greatly, and there could even be casualties. That would seriously impact the following progress and count as an ill-omened beginning.
But Gu Baiqing showed not the slightest trace of worry. He knew this would be the start of Mo Xuanli’s stunning rise in the cultivation world.
….
Not long after the Zixiao Sect team regrouped, they discovered that there was actually a Red Feather Dragon in the area they had been teleported to.
Although it had “dragon” in its name, it wasn’t truly a dragon, but a giant four-legged lizard with wings, dark red all over its body, skilled in fire-type attacks.
What’s more, the one they encountered was of considerable age, enormous in size—a grown adult was practically no bigger than its claw.
Faced with the massive beast blocking their way, even though everyone present was at the Golden Core stage, they knew this battle would be extremely difficult.
“Senior Sister, what should we do?!” someone blurted out.
The Red Feather Dragon’s vertical pupils turned, locking onto them. Its mouth opened wide, and a massive ball of flame blasted toward the group.
Nan Zhi leapt into the air, swung her heavy sword to meet the attack, splitting the fire apart, but when she landed, she stumbled back several steps.
Meanwhile, the Red Feather Dragon looked as if it had merely let out a casual yawn.
Nan Zhi said directly, “It’s already locked onto us—this is to the death. Everyone together! Unless we kill it, we cannot leave.”
Nan Zhi had no thought of strategy and chose to start with sheer force. With many disciples from Chunyang Pavilion in the group, once Senior Sister Nan Zhi shouted, everyone rushed forward together, unleashing all kinds of spells and attacks at the Red Feather Dragon.
But this Red Feather Dragon was already so large that it didn’t even need to fly to avoid their attacks. It simply withstood the first wave with its tough hide, then immediately counterattacked, catching the group off guard.
Several disciples, unable to react as quickly as Nan Zhi and Mo Xuanli, were flung away by the sweep of its tail. Yun Yue, being a healer, rushed up at once to treat them, only to be struck at by another blast of dragonfire.
Fortunately, Mo Xuanli promptly used wind spells to divert the flame’s path, allowing Yun Yue to escape unharmed.
Nan Zhi landed and prepared to charge again, but Mo Xuanli stopped her.
“Senior Sister, forgive me—let me command from here.”
Nan Zhi was stunned, and the others voiced their disbelief: “Junior Brother Mo, don’t joke around. Everyone should attack together.”
But Mo Xuanli only looked at Nan Zhi. Nan Zhi’s eyes flickered, and she declared directly, “Listen to Junior Brother Mo!”
Although Nan Zhi’s battle strength was formidable, every time she sparred with Mo Xuanli she ended up at a disadvantage—because Mo Xuanli truly fought with his head, always finding the optimal way to win.
With Nan Zhi’s order, the others were still uneasy, but they tried to follow.
Mo Xuanli, only at mid-Foundation Establishment and holding nothing more than an iron sword, took command—shocking the onlookers outside through the Water Mirror.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Shouldn’t they listen to Nan Zhi? She’s the highest cultivation here.”
“Probably just being arrogant. Against a Red Feather Dragon, if you don’t go all-out, what else can you do? At a time like this, the strongest should lead to rally morale—otherwise it’s just waiting for death.”
“This kid will probably get his companions killed.”
Just as they were talking, they saw in the Water Mirror that the disciples who had first been attacking together suddenly scattered. Only Nan Zhi remained up front to draw the dragon’s attention.
As the watchers assumed Nan Zhi would be overtaken and devoured, glowing light suddenly shone beneath the Red Feather Dragon’s feet. Four beams of light shot into the sky, pinning its massive limbs in place.
“This is a formation-killing technique! They can actually set up a killing formation? Does Zixiao Sect just teach that to any disciple? Weren’t those few all sword cultivators?”
“Look carefully—they’re holding talismans, and there are four others behind them channeling spiritual power. Seems like they’re using the power of talismans to trigger the formation, not setting it up on their own.”
“Look—some disciples in the air—water… no, ice! They’re using five-element countering spells!”
“Wait, all this was directed by Mo Xuanli. Where is he himself?”
The battle grew intense. Even Jingcheng, who had been calmly listening above, leaned forward to look. Three Bean jumped onto Gu Baiqing’s head, peering down.
Only Gu Baiqing remained composed, flipping through his little booklet as if reading something.
The next second, the crowd erupted.
“Heavens—Earth-Escape Technique! He’s underground! He’s coming out—his target is… the Red Feather Dragon’s abdomen.”
“Did he plan to kill it all along? How does he know the dragon’s weak point so well?”
“No, the Red Feather Dragon’s greatest weakness isn’t its belly. The belly is only the part it protects the most. Its real weakness is—” Jingcheng, engrossed in watching, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
The spectators all held their breath, staring at every move.
From underground, Mo Xuanli did indeed strike at the dragon’s belly. The trapped Red Feather Dragon noticed at once, sweeping its tail to shield its abdomen and lifting its wings to strike down at the foe below.
But this was precisely the moment Mo Xuanli had been waiting for. He tossed an explosive talisman at the dragon’s belly—not enough to wound it, but enough to buy time.
At that instant, Mo Xuanli and Nan Zhi, one from the left and one from the right, charged straight at the bases of the Red Feather Dragon’s wings.
The wide-spread wings revealed their innermost, most fragile part— even a shard of iron, so long as it was sharp enough, could completely tear it apart.
A rending roar shook the valley. The Red Feather Dragon’s wing was struck hard; writhing in agony, it tore free of the killing array and rolled across the ground.
The wing’s root—this was the Red Feather Dragon’s true weakness.
Outside the water mirror, people fell silent for a moment before bursting into heated discussion. Almost everyone was shocked at Mo Xuanli’s stratagem.
“This lad’s too formidable—no wonder he dared enter the Void Spirit Secret Realm in mid Foundation Establishment. Turns out it really wasn’t blind ignorance!”
“Those few moves just now—fast, precise, ruthless, no wasted motion at all. His control of spiritual power was perfect. That sword in his hand—is it really not a spirit sword?”
“Now’s their best chance to escape.”
“Escape? Of course not—kill it!”
Some, swept up by the desperate struggle for survival just now, only thought of fleeing. But in fact, this was the moment of greatest advantage. A Red Feather Dragon’s entire body was treasure; such a massive one, if they could bring it down, this journey into the secret realm would not be a loss for all the disciples of Zixiao Sect.
“Look—Mo Xuanli is giving orders again. They’re going to encircle and kill the Red Feather Dragon.”
Mo Xuanli seemed to know every disciple’s condition. In no time, he made the best deployment, combining their strength so that one plus one became greater than two, striking at the wounded beast.
Everyone obeyed without hesitation, excited beyond measure.
But just then—sudden change. The ground trembled, a thunderous roar rolled over them.
Outside the water mirror, the watchers were stunned. With a loud cry—“Another Red Feather Dragon has come!”—faces darkened all around, sighs broke out.
Someone couldn’t help cursing: “How unlucky can Zixiao Sect be! Did they forget to burn incense for their ancestors before heading out?”
No sooner had those words fallen than several who had just turned away, unable to keep watching, saw two Zixiao Sect elders—Fu Zhiyi and Chu Fei—appear beside the water mirror. If even the elders couldn’t sit still, then the situation was dire.
Indeed—inside the water mirror, another Red Feather Dragon, nearly the same size, appeared before them, bellowing.
“You won’t look?” Jingcheng frowned, turning toward Gu Baiqing—only to see Three Bean’s explosive fur atop Gu Baiqing’s head standing on end.
Gu Baiqing rolled his weary neck and smiled with confidence. “My disciple will be fine. I trust him.”
Jingcheng couldn’t bring himself to refute, though he thought it nearly impossible. Mo Xuanli’s attack method just now could indeed work again—but only against one Red Feather Dragon. Now, there was one gravely injured and one completely unharmed. There was no way to handle both.
By Jingcheng’s judgment, if luck favored them, one or two might escape alive. If not, total annihilation.
It had to be said—Zixiao Sect was truly unlucky.
This was the shared thought of all the disciples as well: why were they so cursed with misfortune?
Faces pale, their gazes all fixed on Mo Xuanli. Yet they also knew—after that last battle, they had spent everything. They might manage to hunt a half-crippled Red Feather Dragon, but one and a half? They had no chance.
“Retreat! Back to the fissure in the cliff wall!” Mo Xuanli decided instantly, leading them in swift withdrawal.
During the previous battle, in its violent thrashing, the Red Feather Dragon had smashed open a crack in the nearby mountain wall.
Now, it served as a temporary refuge. But the new dragon had already locked onto them—how could it let them go so easily? Charging after them, when it saw all the humans hide inside, it spewed fire at the gap. Yet the barrier Mo Xuanli had set held firm for now, so the beast turned to battering the mountain wall madly.
As stones rained down, someone shouted: “Should we try the same trick Junior Brother Mo used just now?”
“No.” This time Nan Zhi knew there was no hope. She would not lightly risk the others. Coldly she said: “In a while, I’ll hold it back—you all run.”
At once the others realized: Nan Zhi intended to use herself as bait, gambling her life for their chance to escape. But that was almost certain death.
“No, Nan Zhi!” Yun Yue immediately clutched her, shaking her head through tears.
Nan Zhi’s voice was cool: “I’m not going to die. Don’t cry.”
“Junior Brother Mo, you always have the most ideas. Think of something else.” The group turned to Mo Xuanli. Looking over, they saw him staring straight out through the fissure, as if deep in thought.
Just as the sound of the mountain wall splitting came nearer, Mo Xuanli suddenly spoke: “Help me draw its attention. I need to go out.”
“What are you going to do?” Nan Zhi snapped alert. “If something must be done, let me. I’m your senior sister.”
“Rest assured, Senior Sister. I have confidence. Only I know what to do.” Mo Xuanli’s voice was firm. “There’s no time—cooperate with me.”
Yun Yue seized Mo Xuanli’s sleeve, silently gazing at him.
“Trust me,” Mo Xuanli said again.
In his resolute eyes, there radiated a calm assurance, the kind of presence only the strongest could give, enough to steady their frantic hearts.
The disciples’ expressions were grave, but at last they all nodded together.
“They’ve started!”
Outside the water mirror, the spectators grew restless. “What are they doing—seeking death? What use is all this smoke and confusion? It has no killing power.”
“Wait, look—see that? Mo Xuanli slipped out alone! Do they mean to send them out one by one like this?”
“Impossible. There’s still the wounded Red Feather Dragon outside the perimeter! No matter how clever he is, he can’t handle that—he won’t escape. He’ll probably be the first to die.”
The crowd argued noisily, while Fu Zhiyi found himself lifting his head toward Gu Baiqing high above. Since Gu Baiqing cared so much for his disciple, if he could still remain calm now, surely he knew something? But Fu Zhiyi himself had no confidence.
Glancing at Chu Fei beside him, he wanted to ask, but Chu Fei too was frowning—because he had noticed: Mo Xuanli had sheathed his sword. He didn’t look like he was going to fight at all.
Just what was he planning to do?
“What’s he trying to do?” Jingcheng also voiced the question.
Three Bean was so anxious it hopped about. “Master, hurry and think of a way! Xuanli’s going to be in trouble!”
Gu Baiqing finally lifted his head to glance at the water mirror, the corner of his mouth twitching as he slowly explained: “To obtain the Red Feather Dragon’s bone, he made quite a lot of preparations. Of everyone who went in, none understands this beast more than he does. And to find a Red Feather Dragon quickly in the secret realm, he brought something with him.”
“What is it?” Three Bean and Jingcheng asked in unison.
Gu Baiqing looked slightly awkward. “Red Feather Dragon’s exclusive Mating Incense.”
At that moment, gasps erupted among the spectators. Mo Xuanli had leapt onto the neck of the wounded dragon—an act of suicide, they thought—but he didn’t stay there long before being swatted away by the beast’s tail.
Everyone’s eyes went wide, bracing for him to be swallowed in the next instant.
But suddenly, the injured Red Feather Dragon rolled violently on the ground, becoming frenzied, manic, its tail lashing wildly as strange sounds rumbled from its throat.
On the other side, Dragon Number Two, which had already injured a swath of disciples, abruptly stopped. It too let out strange sounds, and slowly turned its head toward the comrade it had ignored until now.
Red Feather Dragons are fiercely territorial. Male or female, they only fight for territory; only in mating season do they tolerate each other. Normally, one only dares enter when the other is wounded, as before—not to save its kind, but to seize its turf.
Yet now, before the stunned eyes of countless cultivators, Dragon Two charged at Dragon One, landing atop it, biting its neck, claws pressing hard to pin it down.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
“Senior Sister… I didn’t see wrong, did I? Are they about to mate?”
“Uh…”
“What did Mo Xuanli do?”
“I think I saw him scatter something on the Red Feather Dragon.”
“Um… is no one going to mention the key point? Aren’t they both MALES?!”
