Chapter 224: The Secret of the Xuan Nu Disciple

Meng Qi thought for a moment, then gripping his saber and sword, he stepped onto the carriage and sat warily in front of Gu Xiao Sang.

The carriage moved steadily with little jolting. The carpets and woolen mats were thick, keeping out the cold wind, while the brazier burned hot, glowing red. The entire cabin was warm as spring, filled with a sweet, musky fragrance.

Gu Xiao Sang leaned on her cheek, smiling at Meng Qi. “My dear, why don’t you trust Xiao Sang? You insist on spreading your own rumors and accusing Shan Xiumei yourself. If that were effective, I would have done it long ago.”

The sleeve of the arm she leaned on slid down, revealing half of her snowy, delicate wrist.

“I must verify things myself. If I believed everything people said, I’d eventually fall into a trap and lose my head.” Meng Qi inwardly cursed the saying that one shouldn’t expose others’ weaknesses, while outwardly maintaining an expressionless demeanor.

“That makes sense!” Gu Xiao Sang cheerfully agreed, her expression mischievous and playful.

Meng Qi fell silent, his spiritual awareness extending outward, sensing the path the carriage was taking. He noticed it had turned several times before entering Yu Qiao Street.

Seeing Meng Qi’s silence, Gu Xiao Sang did not speak either. She continued leaning on her arm, her bright, clear eyes fixed intently on Meng Qi’s face, making him feel uneasy.

In this strange silence, the carriage reached the end of Yu Qiao Street, where three li of vermilion powder lined the banks of the river, its waters rippling with a hint of rouge.

Since it was daytime, the area was quiet and cold. The carriage quickly passed through the vermilion powder lane, reaching a small courtyard.

Gu Xiao Sang lazily stretched her waist, her posture exuding grace and beauty. Then she opened the carriage door and energetically jumped into the courtyard. Turning around, she tilted her head and smiled at Meng Qi. “My dear, get ready for a good show.”

Following her leap down, Meng Qi asked in confusion, “What kind of good show?”

“Haha,” Gu Xiao Sang giggled softly, leading Meng Qi into a side room against the wall. She pointed at a small hole. “Watch through it.”

Meng Qi had already cultivated the Eighty-Ninth Mystic Art to the point of opening his eye channel. Without getting close, he could see the scene inside the hole. It faced an adjacent courtyard, filled with flowers, plants, and fruit trees, creating a serene and elegant environment.

As he was about to ask further, he suddenly heard a soft creaking sound. The door to the neighboring courtyard opened, and a beautiful young woman entered. Radiant and delicate, her smooth skin appeared almost dripping with vitality.

“It’s her…” Meng Qi whispered inwardly. This was the false Joyful Demoness he had encountered on the boat.

Gu Xiao Sang transmitted her voice into his mind. “She is a disciple of the Joyful Bodhisattva sect of the Su Nu Dao. She specializes in drawing Yang to nourish Yin, using a human cauldron for cultivation. That’s why she often pretends to be the Joyful Demoness without anyone realizing it.”

Perhaps that was why Shan Xiumei had directly used the Ming Tian Sect’s name when she needed someone to stage a performance… Meng Qi nodded slightly. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and his expression became serious.

Behind this Su Nu Dao disciple was someone Meng Qi didn’t know well but recognized—Bai, the Hall Master of the Zeng Xian Sect!

He had been the first ally Meng Qi sought after descending the mountain with Ye Fu Hua Lun on his back.

Bai was nearly sixty but still had black hair remaining. His body was sturdy, and his expression was stern.

After turning to close the courtyard door, his face immediately showed a fawning, obsequious smile. He hugged the young woman’s waist, passionately kissing her face while whispering endearments like “my dear” and “my treasure,” completely different from the solemn old man he had been moments ago.

“Do all men act like this when they’re lustful?” Gu Xiao Sang looked at Meng Qi with a half-smile.

Meng Qi shrugged without answering, instead asking, “Is this the good show?”

“Keep watching,” Gu Xiao Sang said with a grin. “Old Bai came to Ye Du to purchase something and was targeted. Today, they finally hooked up. Once they’ve slept together, he’ll fall under Su Nu Dao’s control, further narrowing down the range of suspects.”

Meng Qi knew Bai had experienced the strange stone from beyond the sky, meaning he had the potential to inherit the Thunder God’s legacy. Once he was ruled out, Su Nu Dao would be one step closer to Meng Qi, and Bai had seen Meng Qi back then.

Both had exceptional spiritual perception, and they kept their gazes hidden, not attracting Bai or the young woman’s attention. Embracing each other, they entered the side room and closed the door. Then came a soft, spine-tingling moan, like the sound of a flute.

Separated by the door and walls, the sound was faint and intermittent. Although Meng Qi felt awkward, he had seen and heard worse. He stood calmly, while Gu Xiao Sang covered her lips with her jade-like hand, appearing both shy and annoyed, yet remained rooted to the spot without the slightest intention of retreating.

After a while, the moaning ceased, and the door creaked open. The beautiful young woman emerged wearing a light veil, her body half-revealed, with the room behind her filled with a pink, hazy glow.

Coughing, a sickly-looking man stepped out from the adjacent room, carrying some strange objects. Without jealousy, he followed the young woman into the pink mist-filled room.

Gu Xiao Sang lowered her right hand, opened her mouth, and exhaled. A lifelike white lotus appeared in her palm. She began plucking the petals one by one, and the lotus gradually vanished.

Suddenly, the scene Meng Qi was watching zoomed in, as if he were standing by the window, seeing the room’s interior through the thin paper window!

Pink mist filled every corner. Bai lay naked on the bed, looking blissful with his eyes closed, completely unaware of the young woman and the sickly man moving around him.

The other two arranged the objects they carried into an altar-like formation, about the size of a palm, exuding an ethereal aura.

Meng Qi slightly turned his head to look at Gu Xiao Sang. The Bai Lian Divine Calculation was indeed wondrous!

Although it couldn’t directly spy on the room, it could bring the “distance” closer, turning three zhang into a few feet!

Gu Xiao Sang’s face was slightly pale. She nodded slightly, signaling Meng Qi to watch the events inside the room.

The beautiful young woman and the sickly man knelt on the ground, chanting incantations. Suddenly, the pink mist gathered, entering the altar.

The altar swelled twice, and the mist flowed out, gathering in midair to form a pink silhouette.

She had eyebrows like distant mountains and a nose like a hanging gallbladder, elegant like a fairy. It was clearly Shan Xiumei!

But unlike before, Shan Xiumei now exuded a spiritual aura, ethereal and refined. Her appearance seemed to have suddenly come alive, exuding celestial grace. Even compared to Gu Xiao Sang, Jiang Zhiwei, and Ruan Yushu, she was no less enchanting.

She was still conservatively dressed, yet her figure was graceful and alluring, each curve inspiring imagination and making one’s mouth dry.

“This…” Meng Qi was dumbfounded. If this was Shan Xiumei, then who was the person with Wang Ce? What was their relationship? This couldn’t possibly be the method for opening the Heavenly Aperture!

Gu Xiao Sang transmitted her voice into his mind with a light laugh. “My dear, you come from the Buddhist sect. Doesn’t she look familiar?”

“What?” Meng Qi was only a half-hearted monk.

Gu Xiao Sang answered indirectly. “Shan Xiumei is indeed the daughter of the Zhou Shan Sword Sect’s leader. Her background, martial arts origins, and interpersonal relationships are all legitimate. She has no connection to the Su Nu Dao. Otherwise, how could she deceive the masters of the Wang family? So when you asked me if she was a disciple of the Xuan Nu sect, I could only answer ‘somewhat.'”

“She is a disciple of the Xuan Nu sect, but the Xuan Nu disciple is not her.”

Meng Qi was confused but had no time to ask further, as the beautiful young woman began speaking. “Reporting to Xuanzhu, we have obtained the old man Bai’s essence and blood, which can be used for divination.”

She threw the objects she was holding into the delicate altar.

The “Shan Xiumei” now held a black stone the size of a fist—the strange stone from beyond the sky—though it shimmered with a pink hue, appearing illusory.

Her left sleeve dropped, covering the altar. Her eyes were half-closed as she silently chanted something. After a long while, she opened her beautiful eyes and said, “It’s not him, and we can now eliminate several others… Currently, there are only five suspects left. We will eventually find the Thunder God’s heir. Pay attention to searching for ‘the Sword Monarch’ Meng Qi and ‘the Famous Sword of Qin Mountain’ Ning Kefei…”

Her voice was clear and melodious, like celestial music.

“Xuanzhu, the Great Luo demon girl has vanished without a trace. She probably didn’t catch up with us, or she had to retreat due to the Wang family. What should we do next?” the seductive woman asked.

“Shan Xiumei” spoke softly. “Proceed as we have for the past six months. It’s not easy to infiltrate the Wang family, and it’s even harder to cultivate with the inheritor of the Haoran Qi.”

After she finished speaking, her body suddenly disintegrated, returning to pink mist that spread out.

At this point, the view returned, and Meng Qi could only see the hole and the courtyard and walls outside.

“Kill them all, and no one will know you’re a suspicious candidate. Without the strange stone from beyond the sky as a basis for divination, the Su Nu Dao girls will be like searching for a needle in a haystack,” Gu Xiao Sang said with an innocent smile, yet her words were cruel. “If they identify your identity, with the connection between the Overlord Saber and the Thunder God’s inheritance, you won’t be able to escape even if you flee to the ends of the earth.”

Meng Qi did not immediately agree but asked, “What exactly is going on with the Xuan Nu disciple? What is the relationship between Shan Xiumei and her?”

“Shan Xiumei is the Xuan Nu disciple, but the Xuan Nu disciple is not Shan Xiumei.” Gu Xiao Sang smiled mysteriously. “This is a special technique of the Xuan Nu sect, almost unknown to the outside world. If it weren’t for my fortunate discovery of some ancient texts and a past encounter with her, I probably wouldn’t have been able to uncover the truth.”

Suddenly, Gu Xiao Sang raised her eyebrows and stopped teasing, speaking directly. “This extraordinary skill is similar to the Buddha sect’s ‘Manifestation Body.'”

“Manifestation Body?” Meng Qi had been a monk for quite some time and at least understood the differences between Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. The Nirmanakaya referred to the body that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas manifested in the world according to circumstances—different forms for different situations, such as a youth, an old man, a farmer, or a courtesan, to enlighten people. However, this required having a pure Dharmakaya to achieve.

Gu Xiao Sang gently nodded. “It’s just similar; in reality, there are significant differences. The ‘Manifestation Body’ of the Xuan Nu disciple can have at most two during the Qi-opening stage, and they must rely on physical bodies, cultivating their minds and spirits from childhood using special methods. Shan Xiumei is a secret ‘Manifestation Body’ of the Xuan Nu disciple, cultivated by the Su Nu Dao. She ‘manifested’ in Huanzhou following the Thunder God’s and Wang Ce’s fates, with her martial arts background and identity naturally having no issues.”

“It is said that if one reaches the Semi-Dharmakaya stage, the Xuan Nu disciple will have three thousand Manifestation Bodies, engaging in dual cultivation with three thousand men according to their fates. Upon reaching full mastery, all three thousand will ascend together during daylight, forming a physical body.”

Meng Qi listened in shock and astonishment. He never imagined such a martial arts technique could exist in this world where Daoist sages and Buddhist patriarchs came before gods and countless demons: “Then killing Shan Xiumei won’t affect the real Xuan Nu disciple’s true body?”

If that’s the case, what’s the point of killing her? Wouldn’t the suspicion still fall on me anyway!

“The divine manifestation just now indicates that the true Xuan Nu disciple’s body is in Ye Du. Only by severing her ‘Manifestation Body’ can we use the connection between the manifestation and the original body to find her true form and eliminate her.” Gu Xiao Sang’s expression was pure and ethereal, showing no trace of coldness or ruthlessness.

Meng Qi pondered for a moment and asked, “How should I cooperate? Should I infiltrate the Wang family with a false identity?”

What he had just seen and heard made him decide to strike first.

“No need for a false identity. If your identity is fake, it will eventually be exposed.” Gu Xiao Sang smiled lightly, then turned serious.

“Please, my dear, arrive in Ye Du under the name ‘Thunder Saber Mad Monk,’ using the preparation for the martial arts examination as a reason. Challenge each Qi-opening expert with your saber, including the Wang family’s descendants.”

“The Shaolin Sect is weak here. By the time the disciplinary monks travel from afar, you will have already left, having gained fame as a righteous hero who eliminated evil cultists.”