"I apologize, but I am not using a sword."

It was late spring and early summer, the sky was clear and the air was crisp, the dove trees were like snow, the wheat fields rippled gently, and the willow catkins fluttered in the breeze.

The official road in Fufeng was bustling with carriages and horses. After crossing the official road and taking a small path, it would take less than half a day to reach Anping Town and Village.

It had rained a couple of days ago, and the village paths were half-dry. Two sheep were struggling with their ropes and stretching their necks, trying to eat the vegetables grown in the fields of the people next to them.

The shepherd boy frantically waved a branch and shouted, when a thin old woman who was weeding in the vegetable garden rushed over, grabbed the rope tying the sheep, and slapped each of the two greedy sheep across the face.

He muttered curses under his breath: "You damned beast, even in your reincarnation you can't find peace, always trying to take my things. May you be reborn as a pig or a dog in your next life."

When the shepherd boy saw the sheep being beaten, he burst into tears, crying, "We haven't even eaten yet! Why do you keep beating my sheep like this?!"

The old woman glared at him, and the child managed to stifle his sobs, hanging his head and kicking his feet as he waved a branch to herd the sheep.

The old woman looked back at the two sheep with resentment, her vertical sheep eyes revealing a particularly treacherous and evil expression.

A surge of anger welled up inside her, and she cursed, "You old bastard, how dare you glare at me!"

As he spoke, he moved his thin legs, which were swinging inside his trousers, and rushed forward to kill the sheep.

Hearing the commotion, the child quickly dragged the sheep away.

A woman carrying a washbasin happened to be heading towards the well at the village entrance. Upon seeing her, she called out, "Aunt Wu, what are you doing here? Your dog's new wife has run back, and he's beating her again!"

Old Mrs. Wu insisted on going up and kicking the two sheep a couple of times before her anger subsided a little. She leaned on her back, panting, and said nonchalantly, "Let them hit me. They're good-for-nothings. If I don't beat them a few times, they'll think they're something else."

The woman curled her lip smugly, "What? Master Liu came personally, saying that the demon wasn't exorcised. He tried to take her away, but she wouldn't listen. Almost the whole village is watching at your door. I think Gouzi will have no problem beating her this time."

"What? She came back without being exorcised? That wretched girl must be possessed!"

Old Mrs. Wu quickly patted the dirt off her clothes and ran home.

When the woman washing clothes saw her heading back in a menacing manner, she stopped washing her clothes, picked up her old wooden basin, and ran after her into the village.

When Old Lady Wu arrived at her door, there were three rows of people standing neatly outside, chanting the scriptures transmitted by the master of the sect.

A middle-aged, overweight man wearing a dark blue Taoist robe and holding a Sanqing bell was jumping around while shaking the bell and chanting incantations.

The young woman lying in front of her house had her face swollen from being slapped, blood around her mouth, and was limp on the ground, her life hanging in the balance.

The dog stood by the door, looking at the woman on the ground with disgust.

Old Mrs. Wu was taken aback when she saw this. Not daring to disturb the monk's ritual, she could only stand in the back row and chant scriptures.

She only had a vague understanding of it and didn't know what it meant, only that it could save people.

If the person who recites this scripture can come back to life, it means that the Holy Martial Divine Light Emperor has bestowed blessings upon them. If they cannot come back to life, it means that the person has been possessed by a malevolent spirit, and the Holy Martial Divine Light Emperor will take away the malevolent spirit.

The bells of the Three Pure Ones rang loudly, and the woman on the ground at the entrance began to convulse, unconsciously vomiting blood. The chanting gradually came to an end, repeatedly saying, "Enter my path and you will attain immortality; do not enter my path and you will be devoured by evil spirits."

After several imperial edicts were read, she still showed no signs of recovery.

The dog sobbed, “She still won’t wake up. What did I tell you? She told me not to worship the God of Light. She’s just a demon who came to destroy my sincerity… Master Liu, we were husband and wife. I beg you to extract her soul and turn her into a cow, sheep, pig, or dog to cleanse her sins, so that she can be a good person in her next life.”

The sudden appearance of the demon caused panic, and a group of people outside the door moved far away, pointing and gossiping about the wrongdoings the bride had committed since arriving in the village.

Old Woman Wu leaped out of the crowd, grabbed the heavy woman on the ground and slapped her twice, spitting viciously, "You vixen, you've been tainted by evil spirits! I sent you to be exorcised, and you ran back! You even dared to harm my son!"

The pot-bellied, greasy-faced Master Liu twitched his beady eyes and spat at the dazed woman, saying, "You truly have no destiny! Even if you were an evil being, the Divine Light Emperor could have helped you become an immortal. Now that you've taken a human body, are you trying to kill others and commit sins? I'd rather risk my life than let you harm anyone!"

As he spoke, he pushed Old Woman Wu aside, raised the Three Purities Bell and shook it with a clatter. Suddenly, a breeze arose, blowing dust and smoke everywhere.

Master Liu chanted incantations and paced a few times. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered a few steps, and said in a daze, "It's so powerful... Dog, I have to take your wife back to the temple and ask the divine messenger to save her."

Old Mrs. Wu was stunned, and countless feelings of gratitude welled up in her heart. The villagers around her rushed forward to help her up, and they couldn't help but be moved by this.

The dog cried out, "Master, you are truly a great god descended to earth to save people from suffering. You are even willing to save such a harmful creature."

Master Liu bravely pushed through the crowd, stood alone, and wiped the blood from his lips. "I am merely a servant of the Divine Light Emperor. You must frequently recite his divine name to protect you from being corrupted by evil spirits."

The unconscious woman was lifted into Master Liu's carriage by their combined efforts.

Master Liu performed another ritual, extending the lives of everyone involved in the rescue by one year. Only then, amidst profuse thanks, did he depart in a blue-curtained carriage with the money donated by each family.

As soon as the carriage left the village and turned into a shady path shaded by ancient trees, Master Liu heard a woman's voice calling out repeatedly, "Master, Master Liu, Master, save me!"

He lifted the curtain on the carriage window and peered behind it, where he saw a peasant girl dressed in plain blue clothes and wearing a matching headscarf, stumbling and scrambling as she chased after the carriage in a rather disheveled manner.

She tripped over her skirt and fell to the ground, but struggled to her feet and continued running, calling out, "Master Liu..."

Master Liu is a compassionate person, especially towards women, whom he is always exceptionally compassionate towards.

Moreover, she was an extremely beautiful young girl, so desperately chasing after him, needing him...

"parking."

Master Liu felt that this was the decree of the Divine Light Emperor, and that he was determined to save this poor girl, to fully impart the Dharma to her, to help her attain enlightenment, and to be by his side.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, the girl rushed over and clung to the carriage shaft, crying out pitifully, "Master... I dream of ghosts every day, I'm afraid I'm possessed by an evil spirit."

Master Liu lifted the carriage curtain, looked at her moist eyes and snow-white neck, and sighed, "Then you should get in the carriage too."

The girl sobbed as she climbed up the cart. Just as her feet touched the shaft, she slipped and fell. The young driver grabbed her arm and helped her up. The girl thanked him repeatedly.

Master Liu glanced at the coachman and felt that the newly hired coachman had been causing too much trouble these past few days, and that he should be severely punished when they got back.

The young coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage moved slowly forward.

Inside the carriage, the girl sat beside the unconscious woman, quietly wiping away her tears. Master Liu sat opposite her, chanting incantations and making hand gestures while circling a yellow talisman around the woman's head.

There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy.

After doing this for ten rounds while strolling leisurely, he finally packed up all his belongings and said in a profound and enigmatic tone:

“You’re from that village, aren’t you? You do indeed have evil spirits on you. Fortunately, the Divine Light Emperor is here to protect you, which is why you’ve survived until now. Since you are sincere, I am willing to perform a seven-day ritual for you to avert disaster.”

The girl said with trepidation, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

As the wheels slowly rolled, Master Liu, with his large pregnant belly, squeezed next to her and kindly began to tell her the story of the God of Light.

This innocent and beautiful young girl was a devout listener, offering admiration and flattery from time to time, and even shedding tears of gratitude for divine grace. All of this greatly satisfied Master Liu's heart for spreading the Dharma.

He tried to reach out and hold her hand, whispering, "As long as you are devout, I will preach to you and perform rituals for you every day, exorcise demons for you, and help you achieve immortality, okay?"

Yan Huanyue raised her hand to wipe away her tears, missing his outstretched hand. She clasped her hands together and exclaimed, "Master, I have never seen such a compassionate and kind person as you."

Master Liu regretfully withdrew his hand. Those who could come alone were the easiest to deceive; he couldn't scare her away now.

He tried to get closer to her, "Little girl, what's your name?"

The young girl answered with trepidation, "My surname is Yan, and my given name is Baoying."

Master Liu narrowed his beady eyes, clearly enjoying her submissiveness. "What an adorable name. Have you ever been married?"

“I’m not married yet. I had a fiancé before, but he was struck by lightning and died. I recently got engaged to a new fiancé. His birthday is coming up soon, and I want to get an exorcism done so I can go back and visit him.”

Master Liu was quite dissatisfied, but she didn't say anything. Once she arrived at the temple, she had no time to think about her fiancé.

The carriage entered a narrow crevice deep in the mountains, where the mountains on both sides stood as if cleaved by an axe, with only a long sliver of the setting sun hanging down.

After passing through the mountain crevice, there is a wide, flat area in the mountains, with ancient trees densely covering the ground, where the sun never shines.

Yan Huanyue jumped out of the car and saw a plaque hanging on a Taoist temple not far away, which had been clearly renovated. The plaque read "Shengwu Shenguang Temple," and below it was a brand-new couplet:

"If you advance one foot, divine light will bless you for a thousand years without illness; if you retreat one inch, evil spirits will invade your body and medicine will be incurable."

That's a really good way to threaten people.

The two young Taoist priests standing in front of the temple gate ran over and were both taken aback when they saw her. "Why has it been changed?"

Master Liu, half-paralyzed by the coachman, was helped down. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "That one is in the carriage. Let's carry her to the hall first and let the Divine Light Emperor dispel her evil spirits."

Yan Huanyue followed behind the two disciples, watching the woman they were carrying walk into the Shenguang Temple.

Lanterns hung under the eaves along the way, and on both sides were rooms of all sizes, inside which people were muttering and bowing to a blurry statue of a god.

The woman was carried into a cramped little room, and Yan Huanyue followed her in.

Inside, there were no windows, it was pitch black, and there was only a small bed with a strange, black statue beside it. It didn't look like a human, and it was impossible to tell what kind of animal it was.

Master Liu instructed, "You few go and stand guard outside the temple. Baoying, come with me."

The two Taoist priests and the coachman obediently left the room. Yan Huanyue circled the bed once, then turned around, went out, and closed the door. Master Liu then personally locked the door.

Just as he led Yan Huanyue into the inner courtyard, he saw a young Taoist priest in his early twenties standing there, holding a whisk in his arm, with two servants behind him.

He was startled and said in a flustered voice, "My lord, Divine Envoy..."

The divine messenger nodded with a rather haughty air, then looked at Yan Huanyue under the eaves and asked, "Who is she?"

Yan Huanyue said respectfully, "Greetings, Divine Envoy. I am from Xianghe Village. I saw that Master Liu is very powerful and willing to exorcise demons and save people, so I asked him to save me."

The divine messenger said calmly, "Oh? What troubles you?"

"I often dream of ghosts and I'm afraid to sleep."

The high and mighty divine messenger took pity on you and said, "Then come with me, and I will take a look at you."

Yan Huanyue glanced at Master Liu, who seemed somewhat unwilling. "Sir, didn't you say you didn't care about dealing with female believers...?"

"Master Liu, do you wish to personally meet the Divine Light Emperor?"

Master Liu's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "No, no, no..."

Yan Huanyue was immediately pushed out by him and followed behind the divine messenger. She looked around, her fingertips hidden in her sleeves rapidly forming hand seals as she probed for evil spirits in the area.

A strange aura emanated from the divine messenger, chilling and sinister. She silently gazed ahead.

Master Liu stood there angrily for a long time before turning around to open the door of the small room. Strangely, even after unlocking it, the two doors seemed to be nailed shut and he couldn't open them no matter what he did.

Perhaps the wooden pin was inserted when the door was closed.

Everything went wrong today, and he kicked the door twice in anger, leaving him drenched in sweat.

He turned around to find the stableman to help him pry open the door, but after searching several times, he still couldn't find that clueless idiot.

.

A moment later, Yan Huanyue was led to a spacious hall with flickering candlelight. Inside, a huge, black statue of a deity was enshrined, and a square stone platform stood in front of it.

Despite the incense, it couldn't mask the faint stench of blood.

The two servants withdrew and quietly closed the door.

The divine messenger, half-embracing his whisk, clasped his hands together and concealed them within his wide sleeves, stared intently at her and said expressionlessly:

"Take off your clothes and lie down on the altar, and I will perform a ritual to cleanse your sins."

Yan Huanyue asked curiously, "Really? What sins have I committed?"

The solemn and dignified divine messenger said coldly, "That's not something you should be asking."

"Then what should I be asking?"

The messenger was disgusted that she dared to ask a question.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense probably wouldn't have followed me here alone.

Many women who come here alone are either extremely gullible, timid and cowardly, or extremely self-righteous. Most of them will just obediently comply and rarely question or refute on the spot.

And that's the age when she's most easily deceived.

Perhaps she should be received along with others. If everyone else complies, why would she, who comes here seeking blessings on her own, object?

He was considering whether to use a miracle to win her over when he saw her slowly turn around, her eyes cold and her voice low: "Should I ask you when you will die?"

For a fleeting moment, the composed divine messenger almost laughed. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, saying such things... Ha...

Yan Huanyue kicked out, sending the divine messenger flying and crashing to the edge of the altar.

Two "crack" sounds were heard, indicating that a rib had broken.

He slid to the ground like a limp rag doll, blood gushing from his lips, his face contorted in extreme agony, and cried out, "You...you are a cultivator from a celestial sect..."

Yan Huanyue stepped forward, grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him onto the altar, coldly saying, "This place is so bloody, how many people have you killed here?"

The divine messenger continued vomiting blood, yet smiled wickedly, "It's not... murder, it's sacrifice, you understand? God... likes..."

His expression suddenly changed, his eyes rolled back, and his whole body convulsed violently, with blood splattering everywhere from his mouth.

With a few cracking sounds from his bones, he suddenly stood up from the altar, looking down at her in an extremely contorted posture, his shrill voice panting as he angrily rebuked, "You ignorant fool, how dare you disturb my sacred space!"

Yan Huanyue took two steps back and quickly formed hand seals. Taking advantage of her hand seals, the possessed divine messenger suddenly pounced on her.

With a loud "boom," the divine messenger was sent flying by her palm strike, crashing into the statue and splashing a layer of bright red paint onto the dark statue.

"I'm so sorry, there's no need to use hand seals to deal with you. I was just going through the motions."

A wisp of smoke shot out and drifted out the window.

The divine messenger fell from the statue like a discarded pawn, smashing the offering table full of incense and candles. Bowls and plates scattered all over the ground, and he was covered in bloody cuts.

Yan Huanyue cast a protective spell to shield the divine messenger, then leaped into the air, made a hand seal, pierced the window frame, and chased after him on her sword.

The bright moon was already high in the sky, and the night breeze was cool.

Yan Huanyue chased to the front of a cave, where two different forces attacked her from the darkness. She rolled over and dodged the first attack.

The second attack knocked her sword, which was hovering in mid-air, out of her hand.

Before she could regain her balance after turning over, a dark figure pounced on her, its sharp claws gleaming in the moonlight as it viciously dug towards her vital points.

A surge of hot blood suddenly gushed onto her face.

Blood dripped from her face, her eyes filled with indifference. She gripped the hilt of her knife, channeled her spiritual power, and ruthlessly slashed out, severing the other arm of the mountain demon before her.

"I'm sorry, Holy Martial Divine Emperor, I don't use a sword."

The mandrill, having lost both arms, writhed and convulsed on the ground in agony, baring its teeth and screaming loudly, startling the birds in the mountains into a flurry of flight.

Yan Huanyue landed beside him, knife in hand, and stepped on his chest. The narrow tip of the knife caught its fangs, and she whispered:

"Do you know why the demon immortal descended to earth? Do you even deserve to be chosen to use this trick? How many people have you eaten here? And how many people have you allowed your subordinates to harm?"

The mandrill trembled in pain, its tongue slashed several times by the cold blade, and it dared not even move its tongue. All its cries of pain were stuck in its throat, and it trembled uncontrollably.

Yan Huanyue's knife "accidentally" broke off its tooth, and the white fangs flew into the grass like a shooting star and disappeared without a trace.

Before the mandrill could even register the pain, it cried out incoherently, "Fairy, spare me! Please, Fairy, give this little demon a chance to repent!"

"You want a chance too?"

Yan Huanyue smiled silently and said with great tolerance, "Alright, I'll give you a chance to repent. I'll use you to appease and release those who died unjustly. I know that what they want most is probably your flesh and blood."

The mandrill at her feet, its eyes filled with despair, cried out urgently, "Fairy Maiden! Fairy Maiden!"

Yan Huanyue used a hand seal to freeze it in place, stuffed a rolled-up yellow talisman into its mouth, kicked its jaw until it was crushed, and then turned and took a few steps back.

With a "bang," blood splattered everywhere, and snow-white teeth and skulls were shaken into the woods. Yan Huanyue then summoned them back and threw them next to the still convulsing corpse of the mandrill.

Only then did he turn back to look at the dark mountains and fields under the moonlight, and said calmly, "Having watched for so long, shouldn't you show yourself?"

A person dressed in a blue Taoist robe slowly walked out from under the trees; he was one of the two servants beside the divine messenger.

The chilling aura she sensed today came from him.

The man sneered, "You've come fast. I just discovered there was a monster here that drains faith power, and before I could even subdue it, you killed it. Which sect are you from? How dare you be so ignorant of the rules and take over my mission?"

Yan Huanyue, her dress fluttering in the wind, stood facing him in the biting night wind, holding a blood-dripping knife. She made a hand seal with one hand, her face covered in blood, and said casually, "Is that so? Then you must have been wronged. That other attack just now, you were the one who did it, weren't you?"

The man retorted, "You stole my credit, can't I help you out?"

A clanging sound, like the tinkling of copper coins, came rushing from afar. The young coachman, dressed in purple, caught up with him, carrying a lantern.

He carried a white-faced paper figure made of bamboo on his back, and three copper coins tied in a row with red rope hung from his waist, along with a small Bagua plate, a small gourd, and other odds and ends tied with red rope. These miscellaneous items were strung together in a jumbled mess.

"Fellow Daoist, do not believe him! I have been chasing him for a long time. He has harmed countless people. He came here to obtain demon essence for refining, but he has not yet been able to wait for the divine messenger to summon that mountain demon to possess him. One day, when he replaces that demon's divine position, he will harvest the souls and lifespans of his believers!"

The messenger's servant's face darkened, hatred surfacing on his features. "You're the one who almost killed me in Longnan a little over a month ago?"

The young coachman took out a small paper figure made of bamboo from his back, placed it on the ground, grinned, bent his knees, and knelt behind the paper figure, causing the copper coin chain around his waist to jingle softly.

He held the Three Pure Ones Bell from his sleeve, formed a strange hand seal, and said with a gloomy face, "I underestimated you before and let you escape. Today, I'll show you what a true demon immortal descends to earth!"

The bell of the Three Pure Ones rang out, its sound echoing throughout the mountains and fields.

The young man made a hand seal and chanted: "I humbly beseech the fragrant incense to answer my prayers, and offer this offering to the Heavenly Palace to open the Soul Hall. I respectfully welcome the immortals to descend upon this earthly gate and help me and others break through the thousand tribulations!"

The Three Pure Bells swayed back and forth with the incantation, and Yan Huanyue felt a sudden, intense, dull pain shoot through her soul.

Startled by this sudden outburst, she gagged and hurriedly reached for the Vitality-Preserving Pill in her treasure pouch.

I've been away for several days and haven't offered incense to my memorial tablet yet, nor have I taken the Shouyuan Pill tonight.

Before she could even get her hands on the Yuan-Preserving Pill, she was already overwhelmed by the pain, and like a madwoman, she drew her sword and charged towards the servant of the divine messenger...

-----------------------

Author's note: The "降" in "妖仙降道" is pronounced with the fourth tone, meaning "to descend".

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 01:14:14 on November 1, 2023 and 23:25:23 on November 2, 2023!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Jolin's wife (1 person);

Thank you to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: He Yewei (36 bottles of the dark version of Midnight); Zhou Zhou who can't wake up (28 bottles); Yi Ye Wei Rui (26 bottles); Evillmurph (20 bottles); Xian Qi (16 bottles); Feng Guang (15 bottles); Qing Luan (12 bottles); Fo Tu Guan Xia, Ming Wen, Yu Zi Tong Pao, Zhu Shi, 3698, Lai Mo, Cang Shan Fu Xue, Shi Liu Shu Shui Le, Xu Ting, Yan An (10 bottles); Yang Liu Fu He Qiao (9 bottles); Diao Diao, Tu Tu Jiu Jiu (5 bottles); Yuan Ji, Tuo Geng Zuo Die Tou Wo Lai Qu, Jia Yue, 47580905 (2 bottles); Er Wu Zai, Jiu Shi Kan Kan, Mei Shaonv, Yi Yue Bai, Luo, Mo Gu Lei, Ge Ge Wu (23103353, Xiao Ke Ai, betsy545, Wo Wo Shui Zhe Le, Bu Jie, Chu Jiu, Ou Ou, Xin Wu Chu An Fang, Zhou Man De Jian Gu (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!