Blood Carving
As dawn broke, they set off again.
Perhaps it was because the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace had finally made everything clear, and this knot in their hearts was untied, that the four of them got along much better. Yan Dan wondered if it was because of the recent warm and pleasant weather, but her heart had also become kinder. She felt that it was rather pitiful that the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace couldn't even remember who she was. Although the past might not necessarily bring happiness, it was still better than being completely ignorant. Thinking this way, her mind became less agitated.
"What exactly happened in the war between immortals and demons?" Tang Zhou asked calmly. "I've seen some ancient texts that only mention it briefly, saying that the demons were wiped out."
Yan Dan immediately responded, "I know that. I had already transformed into human form at that time, so I know it perfectly well. Do you want to hear the simple one or the complicated one?"
Tang Zhou raised an eyebrow: "You're actually quite old? How come you still look like you're only sixteen or seventeen? You should be older by now."
Yan Dan said coldly, her face stiff, "I like it. So what?"
Yu Mo raised his hand and placed it on Yan Dan's shoulder, smiling slightly, "What's wrong with being a little older? No one can tell anyway."
Yan Dan glanced at him, pouting, "Are you insulting me or praising me?" She changed the subject, bringing up old stories: "Before the war between immortals and demons, demons weren't called demons, but evil gods. The great war between immortals and evil gods actually had hidden dangers long ago, just like the struggle for the world between Southern Chu and Great Zhou twenty years ago. You can't say who was more wrong or who was right. Just like how Great Zhou eventually unified the country, and the immortal lords in the Heavenly Court died or were crippled, in the end, they suffered fewer losses than the evil gods, so they won."
"The most tragic immortal lords here were Ketu Star Lord and Tianji Zixu Zhaosheng Emperor from the Nine Luminaries. They perished along with the Demon Realm without even leaving behind a corpse." Yan Dan stroked her chin. "That's a general account. If we were to go into detail, it would probably take several days. However, there's something strange about this: Ketu Star Lord and Zixu Emperor entered the Cloud Palace of the Demon Realm first and met Xuanxiang, the leader of the Evil Gods. After that, the entire Demon Realm collapsed and perished. No one knows what exactly happened in the Cloud Palace. Perhaps they fought to the death inside and perished together?"
Tang Zhou couldn't help but say, "The victor is king and the loser is a bandit; this has been the truth since ancient times."
Suddenly, the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace changed his expression and said in a deep voice, "Lower your body!" Yan Dan also felt something rushing towards her from behind, so she quickly lowered her body. She saw a wild beast the size of a wolf swoop past, its claws bouncing off the ground before it turned around and stared intently at them.
When Yan Dan finally saw the beast's appearance clearly, she couldn't help but gasp: on the beast's body was a human face! However, the face was wooden and stiff, without any expression, and it was two or three inches longer than a normal person's, making it look like a strange-looking person on all fours looking at them.
This is the human-faced badger.
Yan Dan's mind was a jumbled mess. Besides the name, there were other ideas like, "The human-faced badger's fur is very tough, and it's hard to penetrate with knives and spears, which is why it wasn't used for tailoring," and "The human-faced badger is actually very simple; it just tears its enemies apart." Before she could think of a way to deal with the human-faced badger, she saw the strange, stiff, long face turn towards her, and with a powerful push from its hind legs, it pounced on her.
Yan Dan had no choice but to pull out the hairpin that bound her hair. With a swift motion, the jade hairpin transformed into a long sword, which she thrust towards the human-faced badger's throat. With a clear clang, the sword bent slightly, and the human-faced badger suddenly leaped backward, beginning to slowly circle around Yan Dan.
Yan Dan gritted her teeth inwardly. There were four of them, yet it only saw her; it was utterly incomprehensible. The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace said in a calm, declarative tone, "Legend has it that the human-faced badger understands human nature, and that is indeed true." Yan Dan gritted her teeth and said, "Even if a beast understands human nature, it's still a beast, especially a monster like this that perished after the war between immortals and demons..."
Tang Zhou, however, became even more blunt: "It can tell at a glance who is the weakest among us; it is indeed remarkable."
Yan Dan snorted and tossed her sword into the air. Seeing her unarmed, the badger immediately sharpened its claws and pounced. The longsword fell, transforming into countless blades, each exuding a chilling aura. While still in mid-air, the badger suddenly rolled to the side, and countless sword energies fell like meteors, leaving shallow craters in the ground. However, these sword energies couldn't pierce the badger's fur; they only left a few bloody scratches on its human face.
As Tang Zhou watched her sword strike, he felt that her magic not only lacked demonic energy but was more like... a celestial technique? The human-faced badger, having suffered a loss, abandoned Yan Dan and suddenly turned towards the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace with a swipe of its paw.
When the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace dealt with the Kunlun Divine Tree, Yan Dan only saw a flash of white light in mid-air before the branches snapped into several pieces; she didn't even see what weapon he used. The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace simply sidestepped, and a jade flute, shimmering with emerald green, slid from his sleeve. He caught the flute, gently twirled it, revealing a short sword, no thicker than a finger, inside. He turned the flute, plunged the sword tip into the belly of the badger with a soft "plop," then cleanly withdrew it, before floating back a few steps.
Although the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace moved quickly, the jade flute in his hand was still caught in the jaws of the human-faced badger that pounced on him. The fur on its belly was very thin, and it was instantly stained red with blood. The eyes on the human face were bloodshot, staring intently at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace, and with lightning speed, it stretched out its claws and fiercely scratched at the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace's face and neck.
Yan Dan gasped in surprise. Without even thinking, someone scratched by such iron claws must be a bloody mess. Although the Divine Firmament Palace Master's appearance wasn't exactly handsome, even the ugliest was better than a bloody, mangled mess.
At that moment, the Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace discarded his weapon, reached out and grabbed its neck, twisting it forcefully to the side. With a crisp, loud "crack," the human-faced badger shuddered and then lay still.
Yan Dan involuntarily raised her hand to touch her neck, feeling pain for the badger.
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace picked up the jade flute, reached out and touched the torn skin on her face, rubbed it a few times, and threw down a human skin mask. Yan Dan stared, speechless, and stammered, "Saw-mouth... no, Young Master Liu?" She shook her head, then immediately denied it, "No, no, you must have met that person named Liu Weiyang, and then made a human skin mask that looks a lot like his face, right?"
The Palace Master of Shenxiao Palace glanced at her, and even his tone of voice became exactly the same as Liu Weiyang's: "What do you think?"
Yan Dan honestly said, "I don't know." She paused, then suddenly realized, "That's right! The person I saw at Lingxiao Daoguan that night was Tao Ziqi, and the one who attacked me from behind and ultimately caused me to be bullied by insects, toads, and poisonous snakes was you!"
Liu Weiyang remained expressionless, neither denying nor admitting anything.
"I really want to punch you..." Yan Dan gritted her teeth and spat out a few words, but in the end, she held back. She was no match for him either way, so she decided to endure it and back down a few steps.
The sun gradually rose higher, reaching its zenith. The sunlight was dazzling and clear, making their eyes water. Before them lay still a vast expanse of Gobi desert dotted with strange rocks. As they walked on, they couldn't even find a single thistle, let alone an oasis.
Yan Dan raised her sleeve to wipe the sweat that had trickled down her chin, then raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Her sleeve slipped down, revealing a slender, white wrist. She glanced at Yu Mo and Tang Zhou, who were leading the way, and then at Liu Weiyang, who was bringing up the rear. She had to admit that either of them was more reliable than her.
Suddenly, Yan Dan heard Liu Weiyang give a soft "hmm" behind her. She immediately jumped back three steps and turned around to ask, "What?" Liu Weiyang frowned, but his tone remained calm and indifferent: "From now on, everyone should try not to think about anything and just keep moving forward. It won't be long before we get out of this stretch of Gobi Desert."
Yan Dan was very curious and was about to ask why, but when she saw his expressionless face, she swallowed her words. Even now, she still couldn't accept the fact that Liu Weiyang was the master of Shenxiao Palace. She recalled everything she had seen about the master of Shenxiao Palace in the ancient tomb in Qing Shi Town, and then she thought of the elegant and unapproachable figure she had seen from afar when she first entered Zhu Cui Mountain. But that figure had suddenly transformed into the lewd herb gatherer Wu Shun, who could be as elegant as he wanted and as lewd as he wanted. How could such a man be Liu Weiyang?
“Especially you, you should avoid overthinking.” Liu Weiyang’s gaze finally settled on Yan Dan.
Yan Dan glared at him resentfully, then suddenly said, "Speaking of which, I had a dream this morning. In it, a young man in a blue robe slashed his wrist with a dagger, and the dripping blood turned into a giant, blood-red eagle." She immediately covered her forehead, stammering, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I shouldn't have thought about that..."
Yu Mo couldn't help but sigh softly.
Liu Weiyang looked at her and asked, "You said that person's blood turned into a blood eagle?"
Yan Dan nodded.
His calm expression shifted slightly, and he said in a low voice, "The person you saw was Xuan Xiang, the leader of the evil gods. This Chu Mo is indeed something from the demonic realm." He suddenly stopped and looked at the dark clouds drifting towards them from the distance, his voice solemn: "It's the Blood Eagle."
Yan Dan was startled. Looking closely at the dark cloud in the distance, she realized that it was faintly tinged with blood red, but because so many of them overlapped, it appeared completely black. She had only casually mentioned the strange dream she had that morning, but this karma had come far too quickly!
Tang Zhou didn't say anything, only raising his hand to grip the sword hilt, his fingers tightening slightly. Yan Dan felt quite apologetic: "...Actually, we should take a different path. These blood eagles have fire poison on their bodies. Once you get in contact with it, your skin and flesh will be burned to a crisp. Then, slowly, the fire poison will attack your heart, causing you to lose your mind. When it flares up, you'll experience excruciating headaches and unbearable pain." She realized she had really encouraged the other person's momentum, so she added, "But that was before the war between immortals and demons. After the evil god Xuan Xiang, Emperor Zi Xu, and the Nine Luminaries Star Lord Ji Du perished together at Yun Tian Palace, the blood eagle ceased to exist in the Three Realms. After all, so much time has passed, and the world has changed. Now, thinking about it, the blood eagle might not be as powerful as it seems."
Yu Mo glanced at her and said calmly, "I see you've said so much, but you don't seem to be in a hurry at all."
Yan Dan pointed to the stone forest on both sides: "The Blood Sculpture was created by the evil god Xuan Xiang using his own blood. It's not very powerful. I heard that as long as you hide between the stone walls, they will only bump into the rocks outside."
She found a cave in a large stone forest, familiar with the area. She moved a rock to cover most of the entrance. Just as she finished, a large flock of blood eagles circled overhead, their cries sharp and piercing. Suddenly, the largest blood eagle, the leader, swooped down and crashed violently into the cave.
Rock fragments flew up, and the blood eagle crashed into the sharp corner of a rock, falling backward, but immediately flapping its blood-red wings and leaping back. Tang Zhou, standing on the outermost edge, saw it clearly: one of the blood eagle's wings was twisted unnaturally, as if it had broken in the crash. Just then, dozens or even hundreds of blood eagles swooped down, crashing into the cave walls one after another, only to flap their wings and crash in again. They seemed oblivious, only continuing to crash and screech.
Tang Zhou asked Yan Dan, who was staring intently at him, "Who told you about this method?"
She was speechless for a moment, and after a long while, she stammered, "Actually... when I had just taken human form, I spent some time in the Heavenly Court. At that time, the evil god had just been destroyed, and there were always some boastful immortal lords talking about those times..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Zhou said, "I see."
Yan Dan had just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Yu Mo looking at her, his dark eyes unfathomable. His lips twitched slightly, but he ultimately said nothing. Yan Dan couldn't help but think that, judging from Yu Mo's expression, he definitely didn't believe her words, but he didn't want to expose her.
Suddenly, Liu Weiyang said, "I think I've been here before." He bent down and slowly touched the stone wall of the cave where they were hiding, his face showing no pleasure: "This mark is mine."
Yan Dan leaned closer to look and saw a series of strangely shaped marks where his fingers had touched: "What does this mark mean?"
Liu Weiyang slowly shook his head: "It didn't mean anything special, I just mentioned this place." He curled his fingers and gently tapped the stone wall, lost in thought. Yan Dan quietly took two steps back and turned to look at the situation outside the cave. She saw groups of blood eagles flying into the air and swooping down again and again, crashing into the ground and bleeding profusely, but they still didn't stop.
Suddenly, a corner of the rock blocking the cave entrance was smashed, and the smallest blood eagle squeezed into the cave, flapping its wings and swooping down. As the blood eagle took flight, it left a trail of crimson flame. Yan Dan immediately ducked to avoid it; being scratched by a blood eagle would cause the flesh to burn and rot instantly, which was no joke. As she dodged, the blood eagle flew towards Liu Weiyang, who was still staring blankly at the stone wall behind her.
Normally, Liu Weiyang would have been perfectly capable of dodging, but his mind was scattered, and he completely failed to notice the dramatic change within the cave. Suddenly, the soaring blood eagle landed at his feet, slowly folded its wings, and squatted there motionless. Yan Dan's warning, which she was about to utter, was swallowed back with a "gulp."
Liu Weiyang finally heard the noise behind him, turned around, and frowned slightly when he saw the blood eagle squatting obediently at his feet. He strode towards the cave entrance, pushed aside the stones blocking the way, and the blood-red eagle suddenly paused, flapping its wings and landing on the surrounding stone forest.
Yan Dan knew of the wondrous sight of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, but felt it still paled in comparison to the marvel of what she was witnessing. Liu Weiyang, dressed in a pale white robe, exuded an air of refined elegance and nobility, like a king among men, his sharpness and imposing presence concealed, like a sword sheathed in its sheath.
“He is probably one of the evil gods whose clan was wiped out, or even more likely…” Tang Zhou lowered his voice, the last few words barely audible.
Yan Danxin thought to herself, the evil gods had long been exterminated, and the demonic realm had vanished long ago. Even if Liu Weiyang truly recalled the past, it would be an unpleasant memory. In every painful story, there are beautiful past moments that will never come true. Time has passed, and all companions have long since departed, leaving only the one who keeps reminiscing, like drinking poison to quench thirst, wanting to forget but daring not to.
Until the sea is no more, and the mulberry fields are no more.
Liu Weiyang raised his hand, and with a whoosh, a large flock of blood eagles flapped their wings and flew away, a few crimson feathers drifting down slowly. After a moment, his expression returned to normal, and he turned back and said softly, "Let's continue on our way."
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