Chapter 397: Experts, We Need a Lot of Experts

Hmm? Why is it so noisy?

On the slowly rotating Tai Ji Tu, a young Taoist reluctantly pulled off his eye mask, smacked his lips in a daze, stretched lazily, and then looked toward the source of the noise that had woken him...

Uh...

What on earth is going on?

In the distance, a blood-red figure flashed repeatedly across the sky; it was a hovering form, apparently that of a woman, with multiple arms extending from her front and back, radiating a terrifying aura of Dao rhythm.

She was speeding through the air at an astonishing pace, almost continuously deploying the Qian Kun Escape Method. Each time her figure paused, the jade arms on her front and back would condense blood-red spears, hurling them viciously downward.

Every spear carried immense power, rippling layers of Qian Kun energy; upon colliding with their targets, they erupted in powerful shockwaves, producing rhythmic drum-like booms.

Her assault was incredibly swift, now fully unleashed, with blood-red spears raining down like a storm on the figure below who was shielding with a small tower, her laughter growing increasingly manic...

That white-haired old man with the small tower...

"Changgeng!"

Xuandu Great Mage's Dao heart trembled, his eyes instantly clearing as a pair of faint yin-yang double fish appeared in his pupils.

With a single glance, he pierced through everything in this realm!

Hadn't he dozed off in a palace just moments ago?

The palace...

Far on the horizon, a massive tree lay toppled, and at its base, the faint ruins of a palace could be seen, its surrounding grand arrays already deactivated.

From that fallen tree to where Xuandu Great Mage stood, the once vast sea of sand had transformed into a scorching lake of molten lava across an unknown distance.

As the battle in the sky raged on...

More precisely, as the blood-red woman unleashed her frenzy, cracks spread across the earth in all directions; stars plummeted from the sky, filling the world with a vicious aura that stirred the deep-seated hatred and resentment in all living beings; the starry expanse lost its brilliance, choked with thick smoke and filth, while the projection of the Six Paths of Reincarnation hid within the heavens.

The winds stirred by the combat howled mournfully through this world, like the low wails of countless souls...

Xuandu Great Mage narrowed his eyes, and in his gaze, the flickering figure in the air froze in place.

Her blood-red hair whipped wildly, her body clad in a simple battle skirt, those multiple arms blending seamlessly, surrounded by a familiar aura of battle intent and Dao rhythm...

Houtu · Seven Emotions · Extreme Evil!

At the same time, the Great Mage spotted another less significant battlefield.

On the edge of the palace ruins, King Chujiang and King Qingguang were locked in a furious exchange, these two Wu Clan experts and Underworld Judges fighting like bloodthirsty beasts, their veins rupturing.

"Die!"

The embodiment of evil, the "little evil girl," roared fiercely.

Below, on the lava lake, the Xuan Huang Tower spun rapidly as Li Changshou stood calmly within its aura, still holding the now-unconscious embodiment of desire, without a single scratch on him.

The Great Mage tilted his head in confusion...

What in the world is happening?

Could it be that Changgeng had already dealt with those two, but mishandled some emotional issue, making one of them jealous?

That doesn't make sense—he'd only been asleep for a short while, and Changgeng couldn't have resolved things so quickly...

Oh well, never mind. First, save them.

The Great Mage tapped his toe, vanishing with the Tai Ji Tu, and reappearing above King Qingguang and King Chujiang.

"You two..."

King Chujiang roared upward: "Take you down, and I'll be the Great Witch Priest's favorite brother!"

King Qingguang gritted his teeth and snarled: "You're just after the top spot, aren't you!

I've seen you scheming for it!

You've devoured all the Wu Clan's simplicity! I'll beat you to death, you scoundrel!"

The Great Mage's mouth twitched slightly. Without a word, he vanished from midair and reappeared behind the two Wu Clan experts in an instant, delivering hand chops to their necks...

With two dull thuds, the men, oblivious to the attack from behind, had their spirits sealed and slumped over, pulled into the Great Mage's sleeve.

The Great Mage turned toward where Li Changshou was, bent his knees slightly, and his robe billowed as he shouted lightly, transforming into a black-and-white comet streaking upward toward the little evil girl.

"Get out of my way!"

The evil thought girl, her hair shifting from pale red to blood red, twisted her head and howled, her jade arms swinging to hurl a dozen blood spears at the oncoming Great Mage.

This time, the Great Mage didn't summon the Tai Ji Tu. His rushing form halted abruptly, his long hair and robe fluttering forward; he placed his left hand behind his back, his right hand forming a sword finger with yin-yang energy swirling at the tip, condensing a black-and-white qi sword.

He stepped in the eight trigrams pattern, moving like a graceful dragon; his sleeves danced as his figure left trails of afterimages in the air, his qi sword simply flicking and thrusting with profound, natural Dao rhythm.

The blood spears shattered one by one, and with a few flashes, the Great Mage closed in within a hundred zhang of the evil thought girl!

She let out a beast-like growl, gripping a spear in each of her eleven arms, erupting into fierce combat with the Great Mage in the sky...

Just then, a vortex appeared beneath Li Changshou's feet!

Yin-yang energy gathered rapidly, as the Tai Ji Tu opened a Qian Kun passage.

Li Changshou didn't retreat immediately; instead, he looked down at the embodiment of desire he held.

He had just...

"Changgeng, let's get out first."

The Great Mage's voice transmitted into his ear, and Li Changshou nodded in agreement.

After a brief hesitation, Li Changshou decided to leave the embodiment of desire here to restrain the nearly berserk little evil girl.

He pointed a finger at the forehead of the Seven Emotions embodiment of desire and whispered:

"Niangniang, take care. I'll make all preparations quickly and return to assist you."

With that, he tossed the woman in his hand far away. The embodiment of desire opened her eyes slightly, her lips curving into a faint, gentle smile.

But soon after, she trembled lightly, letting out a soft, pained hum from her nose, her gaze filled with confusion.

She stared at Li Changshou, startled at first, then her expression turned to one of alarm. She transformed into mist and exploded with a bang, cursing as she did:

"Are you even a living being? Ugh! You bastard!"

Before Li Changshou could respond, a figure flashed beside him—it was the Great Mage using the Qian Kun Escape Technique.

Without a word, the Great Mage pressed his left hand on Li Changshou's shoulder, and the two plunged into the vortex below, his right hand waving upward to collapse the passage...

The pursuing blood-red figure barely missed, crashing into the lava lake, still cursing viciously:

"Come back! I'll kill you all! Kill! Glug glug..."

Finally, they were out.

Li Changshou sensed his paper effigies across various places; he and the Great Mage had emerged outside the Six Paths of Reincarnation disk, positioned to its upper left.

The two moved in perfect sync, concealing themselves without alerting anyone.

Li Changshou said, "Shixiong, let's head to the bottom of the eighteen layers of hell first and cleanse the minds of those two Judges."

"Very well."

The Great Mage lifted his right hand, glancing at his trembling, slightly swollen fingertip, and chuckled:

"Houtu Niangniang's strength has truly improved over these years—this is just an embodiment."

"Hmm, why didn't you use a treasure, Shixiong?"

"I thought it would look more dashing that way... Ha, ha, hahaha! Truth is, I just woke up and forgot I had the Qian Kun Ruler with me."

Li Changshou: ...

He cradled the spinning Xuan Huang Tower in his palm, calling out mentally to the tower spirit, but received no response.

Li Changshou asked hurriedly, "Shixiong, what's wrong with the tower spirit?"

The Great Mage smiled without answering, tapping the small tower with his finger, causing it to stop spinning.

The tower trembled gently and expelled a murky burst of Xuan Huang energy from its base; the tower spirit's thoughts reconnected with Li Changshou's mind, conveying a sense of exhilaration, enjoyment, and relief as it exclaimed:

"Refreshing!"

A moment later, at the deepest layer of the eighteen layers of hell.

With the Great Mage and the Tai Ji Tu's assistance, the two slipped through the eighteen layers unnoticed, passing the forty-nine grand arrays as easily as visiting a neighbor, arriving at the "Lake of Tears."

Upon arriving, Li Changshou felt a slight trace of malice in his heart dissipate instantly, replaced by an inexplicable wave of sorrow.

At the lake's center, Little Sorrow sighed softly, murmuring something, remaining prone without stirring.

What difference would changing position make?

It would only provide a fleeting, unwarranted comfort to an empty heart, only for that comfort to vanish, leaving even deeper sorrow behind.

—From "Little Sorrow's Sayings."

This time, Li Changshou and the Great Mage didn't approach Little Sorrow; they simply released King Chujiang and King Qingguang by the lake and lifted their seals.

The two Wu Clan figures, previously consumed by malice and ready to fight, lunged at each other again.

But as their fists clenched and before they could land a blow, tears welled up in their eyes, streaming down as they embraced and wept bitterly...

Li Changshou observed and noted this scene for his thoughts.

Among Houtu Niangniang's Seven Emotions embodiments, in terms of combat prowess, the fully erupted Little Evil Girl and the yet-to-emerge "explosive" embodiment of anger were the strongest.

Yet, the power of the Seven Emotions' resonance was greatest with Little Sorrow.

Houtu Niangniang had cast Little Sorrow out of the Six Paths of Reincarnation disk not only because Little Sorrow would self-collapse without causing trouble, but also because she was too powerful, easily influencing the other Six Emotions embodiments and leading to unforeseeable consequences.

Houtu Niangniang herself was enduring the erosion of the Seven Emotions embodiments, with Little Sorrow's influence being the strongest...

The Great Mage rubbed his fingers and asked, "Changgeng, what happened after I fell asleep?"

Li Changshou's eyes took on a deeply resentful look, and the Great Mage threw his head back in laughter, feeling a bit embarrassed...

The power of the Seven Emotions was inescapable.

"Shixiong, you're incredibly tough—getting knocked away didn't even wake you..."

Li Changshou sighed and briefly recounted his "duel" with the embodiment of desire after the Great Mage had dozed off.

"I seized the moment when she was self-consuming and her mind had a gap, sending my primordial spirit power in. Sure enough, I found Houtu Niangniang.

She was trapped within the Seven Emotions; the embodiments were both chains and a cage."

"Oh?"

The Great Mage grew serious: "Tell me more."

"Yes," Li Changshou replied, sitting in meditation with the Great Mage by the Lake of Tears as he began to explain in detail.

At the time, he had pointed his finger at the embodiment of desire's forehead, sending his primordial spirit power surging in, plunging himself into a sea of stars...

It wasn't a real sea of stars, but a quiet abyss with the Six Paths of Reincarnation disk's projected river of stars floating above.

The starlight's remnants were the only light source there.

Li Changshou felt as if he were falling endlessly, and in the fall, he heard soft sobs.

Following the sound, he called out "Houtu Niangniang" repeatedly until he found the key figure of his journey.

The great virtuous Houtu.

Seeing Houtu's figure, Li Changshou's heart clenched...

This emotion had only arisen once before, when his master had cried in the thatched hut after drinking.

Houtu Niangniang...

She wore a simple white skirt, curled up among stellar remnants, with four glowing orbs circling her emaciated form, drawing power from her.

—These were likely the yet-to-emerge Four Emotions embodiments.

"Niangniang?" Li Changshou called in his heart. "This junior, a Tai Qing disciple, has come to assist on the teacher's orders!"

The curled-up figure showed no response.

After calling out over a dozen times with no answer, Li Changshou sensed that Houtu Niangniang's Seven Emotions were quite active.

She had only a little joy, a little love, yet was exerting all her effort to suppress anger, fear, evil, and desire, while allowing sorrow to consume her.

Because sorrow was a bitter wine she drank alone, not affecting the operation of the Six Paths of Reincarnation disk...

But the assault of sorrow made her fall deeper into the abyss.

Houtu Niangniang herself, though not as despairing as Little Sorrow, was enveloped in a sense of dejection and helplessness.

Li Changshou suddenly felt the repulsive force here intensifying—it was the embodiment of desire regaining her "mental force"...

He had only two or three chances to speak!

Li Changshou had to get a response from Houtu Niangniang and ask how he could help her!

With no other choice, he resorted to a soul-shaking question:

"Niangniang! Do you still remember Xuandu Great Mage by the Blood Sea?"

Still no response.

Clearly, in Houtu Niangniang's heart, his shixiong wasn't that important.

"What about the agreement with Tai Qing Saint? Do you remember?"

Again, no answer; it seemed Houtu Niangniang hadn't heard Li Changshou at all.

The pulling sensation grew stronger as the embodiment of desire's "mental force" surged like a tidal wave.

Due to the gap in their Dao realms, Li Changshou struggled to resist and was about to be expelled!

In that instant, his mind raced to its limit, presenting several options!

These were phrases he could think of that might catch Houtu Niangniang's attention.

He could mention the Wu Clan's dwindling population and how the demon clan was using Wu souls to forge the Mie Ren Sword, stirring her anger;

Or bring up the Underworld's yin divisions being integrated into the Heavenly Court;

Or even exaggerate and spread rumors that the Wu Clan was about to be wiped out and the Underworld attacked.

But at that moment, Li Changshou felt a pang of reluctance.

He couldn't bear to lie to this niangniang or burden her already exhausted spirit with exaggerated words.

To be torn and tormented by the Seven Emotions—what agony that must be...

Yet Li Changshou knew he had to say something, and say it as gently as possible:

"Houtu Niangniang, this junior needs your help."

Drip—

Like a drop of water hitting a pond, the silent space echoed with a sound, accompanied by a faint glow.

Looking closely, the light came from Houtu...

The woman, curled up in the stellar remnants, hugging her knees and radiating intense sorrow, slowly lifted her head and opened her starry eyes.

Who are you?

By the Lake of Tears, as Li Changshou recounted this to the Great Mage, he couldn't help but sigh.

"After awakening Houtu Niangniang, the embodiment of desire could no longer drive me out. Niangniang temporarily suppressed her while she was weak.

I briefly explained the current state of the Underworld to Houtu Niangniang and sought ways to resolve it from her..."

"Any solutions?" the Great Mage asked with concern.

"Yes," Li Changshou frowned, extending his left hand where golden light swirled, forming a ring-like object made of what seemed to be dried grass.

Li Changshou whispered, "Though Houtu Niangniang said that we two as shidi and shixiong would suffice, for safety's sake...

Shixiong, how many Daoist experts can you summon? Preferably ones whose strength is close to yours."

The Great Mage laughed: "Summoning numbers isn't the issue; the problem is, if I call too many, you might not get much merit."

Li Changshou pondered and replied, "Better to play it safe. As long as there's merit, that's fine; I won't push for more."

Pausing, Li Changshou added with a smile: "Worst case, I'll have you guard me later while I hunt down some karma-heavy demons to make up for it."

"You mean, why did those demon clans provoke you in the first place?"

The Great Mage shook his head and sighed: "It's practically a clan-ending disaster."

"Ah."

A breeze carried sighs from afar, and the girl at the lake's center murmured softly, though her words were unclear—they were surely words of negativity.