She, Mei Wenhua, a deep infiltrator of the Celestial Demon clan into the Primordial World… had been captured.
As her mother’s most beloved child—equivalent to a princess among the Celestial Demon clan from the Primordial World’s perspective—and the Holy One’s most favored attendant! Yet she was caught bare-handed while attempting to invade the heart-dao of a Primordial World cultivator!
Mei Wenhua admitted that she had been impulsive at the time. Upon discovering a perfect vessel for possession, she had felt victory was assured. Without carefully sensing her surroundings, she had rushed forward when she detected fluctuations in the target’s heart-dao…
But Mei Wenhua truly hadn’t expected that any being could casually grab her true form and pull her out from the shadow realm!
This exceeded her understanding of both herself and the beings of the Primordial World.
Suddenly…
“Thank you for lending a hand this time.”
Who?
Who was conversing beside her, allowing her to overhear such dialogue?
A female cultivator’s voice spoke:
“So this is an Outer Realm Demon? She looks quite presentable in human form.”
A male voice responded:
“Based on my understanding of Celestial Demons, this should be a variant type and one of no low rank. This appearance is merely shaped by someone else…
Would you mind helping me test if we can trigger her sealed Seven Emotions? I’d like to conduct some deeper research.”
“Oh my, no need to be so formal with us, Star-Lord!
Though you left us here unattended, we can’t blame you for anything.
After all, it’s thanks to you that we can roam freely outside.”
“Heavenly Court affairs are busy, terribly busy, please forgive me, forgive me…”
‘Is this the Primordial World being who captured me?’
Mei Wenhua had this thought as her sensing abilities partially recovered, and she began to perceive her surroundings with full effort.
The Heavenly Dao’s power, which she found repulsive, flowed around her;
She seemed to have been sealed away, and according to the restrictions set by her mother, her body would naturally transform into the innate dao-body state pursued by Primordial World beings.
Of course, this wasn’t Mei wenhua’s true form;
She was most comfortable as a mass of gray mist, able to stretch freely in the Chaos Sea like an expanded net, allowing fragments of dao principles to brush against every strand of her misty body, producing an unimaginable pleasure.
This wouldn’t do.
Such base pursuits, like self-indulgence, shouldn’t appear in her.
She was the servant chosen by the Holy One, originally without superfluous things like names, devoid of any Seven Emotions or Six Desires of Primordial World beings.
She would only follow orders, only obey Mother’s will, sealed by Mother to accompany the Holy One.
But for convenience in entering the Primordial World, the Holy One had bestowed a name.
Mei Wenhua, a beautiful name.
After countless moments of bewilderment, Mei Wenhua and three companions were summoned by their Holy One and received their mission.
Indeed, it concerned the Primordial World beings.
This time, the Holy One commanded them to infiltrate the Primordial World, possess beautiful female cultivators, attempt to approach the Heavenly Court’s Grand White Star, become his close associates, and then await further orders.
Mei Wenhua’s progress had been much smoother than her companions’. After possessing a female cultivator’s heart-dao, she directly reached the Five Continents of the Primordial World.
To avoid the Heavenly Dao’s detection, Mei Wenhua constantly changed her vessel.
While most Celestial Demons took pride in entering the heart-dao of powerful cultivators, Mei Wenhua wasn’t picky;
She could choose to possess any being with spiritual awareness.
They had their own clan’s spies in the Primordial World. Although that cursed divine beast Dicheng had eliminated some previously, remnants still operated.
Mei Wenhua received information that today, at this gathering of mortals, Heavenly Court immortals might appear.
Indeed, she who had been lurking here for several days sensed the aura of Heavenly Court fairies.
Everything seemed perfectly smooth; the Heavenly Dao appeared not to have detected her presence.
Heh, the Primordial World’s Heavenly Dao was merely this.
Just as Mei Wenhua tried to find a suitable fairy’s heart-dao to possess and hide in, she struggled because the Heavenly Dao’s power was too concentrated around those fairies, leaving her no opening…
Suddenly, Mei Wenhua sensed from the side what seemed to be significant fluctuations in a Celestial Immortal cultivator’s heart-dao.
According to their clan’s nature, encountering such a situation couldn’t be passed up.
Entering a Primordial World cultivator’s heart-dao, gradually eroding their will, finally consuming their primordial spirit as delicious food…
Nothing was more beloved by Celestial Demons than this.
Oh, except for extending their true form in the Chaos Sea, accepting the brushing of dao-principle fragments—such demon-degrading behavior.
Arrays without Heavenly Dao power posed no threat to Mei Wenhua; she quickly found her target.
At the moment of seeing the one with heart-dao fluctuations, even as a heartless demon, Mei Wenhua was severely shaken for an instant.
Is this the fortune of Primordial World beings?!
Mei Wenhua was considered knowledgeable about the Primordial World, having received countless messages about it shared by Mother, the Demon Sovereign.
She understood the general principles of the Primordial World, but why was this so…
Decided! It would be her!
This would be the dao-body she’d use to execute the final plan of seducing Grand White Star!
None could resist her initiative!
At that time, Mei Wenhua was extremely excited.
She didn’t know why—she who should have had no emotions of any beings—became inexplicably excited then, to the point of recklessly rushing forward, eager to enter this female cultivator’s heart-dao.
—Shadow Demon Crossing, was a commonly used method for Celestial Demon possession.
Fast… it should have succeeded…
In the instant when Mei Wenhua’s joy was infinitely magnified—optimism to the point of complete blindness—a small hand grabbed her from the side…
Why had she been directly captured?
And why, at that time, did she have such emotional fluctuations that shouldn’t exist in Celestial Demons?
Why…
“Awake?”
A gentle voice came forth as Mei Wenhua felt the surrounding seal slightly loosened, allowing her to recover her sensing ability.
Subsequently, Mei Wenhua immediately made a judgment, imitating Primordial World beings’ ‘body’, deliberately revealing some weakness, slowly ‘opening her eyes’.
Celestial Demons observed their surroundings through sensing abilities;
But now, to survive and continue executing the Holy One’s assigned mission, Mei Wenhua would use all her advantages at any cost!
‘Before her’ sat an elder with white eyebrows and white hair.
He wore a plain white Daoist robe, sitting behind a low table, seeming to write something with a brush in hand.
Wait…
This aura!
This dao rhythm!?
It matched perfectly with the aura and dao rhythm that the Holy One had imprinted on her!
Was this the Grand White Star she was looking for?
The surroundings were an array constructed of dense Heavenly Dao power; Mei Wenhua felt as if she had been imprisoned in a cage set by the Heavenly Dao.
Indeed, it was Grand White Star…
The elder, without raising his head, spoke slowly: “Kunpeng’s subordinate?”
Mei Wenhua was somewhat dazed at this moment, momentarily forgetting to answer.
The elder, who seemed to be her target, muttered: “Such a Celestial Demon, so similar to Primordial World beings, is truly rare. The specimen has some collection value.”
“Are… are you Grand White Star?” Mei Wenhua asked softly, her voice unexpectedly weak.
But Li Changshou frowned, already pondering a profound question.
Demon Master Kunpeng…
Was he a lecherous old man?
Because of this preference, did he join forces with Senior Wanderer?
Otherwise, why would Kunpeng cultivate a Celestial Demon and shape its image to be so… so enchanting?
This Outer Realm Demon maintained human form now, without a hint of danger about her. Her body seemed solid; Li Changshou had just poked her arm earlier, and the sensation was distinct.
‘Heart Demon’ type mixed with ‘Pseudo-Being’ type?
Of course, facing such an outer demon, Li Changshou’s heart-dao remained unwavering, and he even had the urge to dissect her for research.
He must extract the cause and effect from this demon’s mouth; this situation was extremely serious.
That Outer Realm Demons would target Uncle Wine Master, could Kunpeng’s intelligence system have already deeply infiltrated the Cloud Palace, among such trump cards he had always concealed?
Outer Realm Demons could erode cultivators’ heart-dao; Kunpeng indeed could achieve this.
Thus, though Li Changshou appeared calm on the surface, his mind was frantically considering how to pry open this demon’s mouth.
This was rare—Li Changshou felt himself suppressed in ‘intelligence work’.
His odds of victory against Kunpeng therefore dropped dramatically.
“What’s your name?”
Li Changshou asked gently, then said: “Don’t be afraid. I suspect you are originally a Primordial World being, just that your heart-dao was invaded by heart demons, and your memories were modified by great divine powers.
I am the Heavenly Court’s Grand White Star, which I believe you already know.”
Step Two: [Set up doubts, attack the person and their heart.]
The beautiful-formed demon froze.
Is the primordial World being, heart-dao invaded by heart demons, memories modified by great divine powers?
Mei Wenhua almost laughed out loud.
She was constructed from Mother’s original power, born specifically for today, this was beyond doubt!
But Mei Wenhua said tremblingly: “Really? But how could Mother deceive me, the Holy One wouldn’t deceive me like this.”
Li Changshou: …
Moving performance.
“Look,” Li Changshou condensed immortal power into a dagger in his hand, his finger lightly waving, cutting across this demon’s arm, a touch of crimson quietly emerging.
This time, the demon truly froze.
Mei Wenhua looked at the wound on her arm, and those drops of blood seeping out, along with the slight stinging pain…
How could she have these?
Li Changshou continued writing and sketching on the scroll before him, inwardly sighing slightly. Before the demon could examine carefully, he raised his hand again, passing over and restoring the wound on the demon’s arm.
“You probably… aren’t a Celestial Demon.”
Li Changshou’s voice carried a hint of uncertainty. “I can tell you plainly that I stand in opposition to Kunpeng—the Holy One you speak of. In my hands, you have no possibility of escape.
But I’m very interested in your current state and wish to conduct some research about the essence of beings.
I won’t make you reveal any information about your plans; that holds no meaning for me.
I can roughly guess that Kunpeng sent you all into the Primordial World to try to approach me, correct?”
The demon before him had lifeless eyes, but Li Changshou could sense she was watching him with a ‘complex gaze’.
This second step had been executed steadily.
The demon had accepted the term ‘you all’, which meant there were other accomplices.
Step Three: [Reasonable Deduction, Misdirection.]
“Tell me,” Li Changshou put down his brush, “about matters concerning yourself. I’ll see if I can help you find some clues.
If you were originally a wronged Primordial World being, I might spare your life, merely keeping you sealed.”
Demon: …
Within this prison-like array, Li Changshou began a special interrogation.
As he had just said, he completely avoided probing for information about Kunpeng, nor did he ask about their mission’s purpose or plans.
All topics revolved around the demon herself. Whenever this demon began to firmly assert she was an Outer Realm Demon, Li Changshou would provide new hints.
For instance, cutting her arm would cause bleeding and pain;
She who should have had no emotions now felt a sense of desolation.
Moreover, she even experienced the joy of being understood, and the satisfaction of being noticed…
These characteristics of Primordial World beings, which she should have been able to exploit, were gradually manifesting in her.
Why was this happening?
It was quite simple.
If the viewpoint gradually pulled back, moving beyond the ‘prison’ where ‘Li Changshou’ and the ‘beautiful demon’ were, it would enter a pitch-black space;
Pulling back further, it would fly out from the chest of this ‘demon’s’ current innate dao-body form.
On that mountaintop, within the grand array previously arranged by Kong Xuan, Li Changshou sat cross-legged, his left palm supporting a treasured pearl, his right hand forming sword fingers, pointing at the sealed demon ‘maiden’ before him.
The pearl contained a trace of ‘origin mirage qi’ that Li Changshou had collected in the Ancient City of Asuras.
At Li Changshou and Mei Wenhua’s side, Seven Emotions stood quietly, cooperating with Li Changshou’s voice transmission, occasionally changing emotions.
This was the first step in deceiving this demon:
[Seven Emotions Illusion, Plant Demon in Demon Heart!]
Even the dialogue that was deliberately let the demon overhear at the beginning was cleverly designed, laying extensive groundwork.
…
Outside the array where Li Changshou, the Seven Emotions maiden, and the demon ‘Mei Wenhua’ were;
Dozens of Heavenly Soldiers created isolation barriers with immortal power, concealing the anomalies on this mountaintop. The Jade Emperor’s avatar currently hid in the air without showing himself, while Ao Yi, Bian Zhuang, and Princess Long Ji guarded outside the illusion array.
At this moment, Jiu Jiu stood with her hands behind her back in a corner of the outer array.
She wasn’t familiar with these popular figures of the Heavenly Court and had just received Li Changshou’s voice transmission that she absolutely must not reveal her identity as the Holy Maiden of the Cloud Palace. Now she stood there in the capacity of Seven Emotions maiden’s friend and Immortal of the Degree Immortal Gate.
Nervous, and very nervous.
When she had just heard Little Shou-shou’s voice transmission, Jiu Jiu felt her heart-dao buzz, as if it had exploded, leaving her whole person dizzy and somewhat disoriented.
Fortunately, after his avatar arrived, he was busy dealing with the Outer Realm Demon matter.
Speaking of which…
For her heart-dao to be unstable enough to attract an Outer Realm Demon, it was truly somewhat… somewhat…
Pat!
Jiu Jiu raised her hand to her forehead, gritted her teeth, and stamped her foot!
Hmph, at worst she could say she came back because she needed wine, regroup, and fight another day!
Subsequently, Jiu Jiu observed Long Ji, who was dressed formally for today’s outing. Though she knew Long Ji was Li Changshou’s disciple and wanted to befriend her, she felt somewhat shy.
What should she say?
She couldn’t very well say she was Changshou’s Junior Master and asked to be called Great-Grand Master, could she?
Never mind, she’d come back another time when better prepared.
At least she should wear her pretty clothes; that way she’d have some air of authority over her grand disciple.
Jiu Jiu was attracted by movement nearby and looked up;
It was Ao Yi, whom she had met a few times before, who had hooked his arm around another Heavenly Court general’s neck and violently slammed him to the ground…
What happened?
Do Heavenly Generals fight each other?
At this moment, Ao Yi was cursing through voice transmission: “Who dares to look! This is Teaching Master Brother’s Little Junior Master!”
Bian Zhuang repeatedly patted the ground in surrender: “I understand, I understand! I didn’t have any improper thoughts, I was purely surprised, surprised!”
“Hmph!”
Ao Yi stood up with an unfriendly expression. Bian Zhuang sighed softly as he got up, appearing on the verge of tears, yet not daring to let even a hint of immortal awareness drift toward Jiu Jiu.
Long Ji slightly frowned and said softly: “Generals, though we are within the array, please mind the Heavenly Court’s dignity.”
“Yes!”
Ao Yi and Bian Zhuang cupped their fists in acknowledgment, immediately quieting down.
Just then, the array’s light barrier before the three slowly dissolved, and Li Changshou stepped out together with the Seven Emotions maiden.
Long Ji hurriedly addressed him as Master, while Ao Yi and Bian Zhuang called out Star-Lord.
The Seven Emotions maiden pouted and sighed softly: “That wore me out.”
Li Changshou turned his head to look at the demon who was still immersed in the illusion, maintaining her innate dao-body appearance, his eyes showing some hesitation.
Just now, it seemed they might have been too forceful with the deception, and the Seven Emotions power was also too concentrated…
There shouldn’t be any problems, right? After all, this was an Outer Realm Demon, a life form closer to the true spirit and dao-principles than Primordial World beings.
They should observe for a while; results should come soon.
Li Changshou smiled and nodded to everyone, then walked straight toward Jiu Jiu;
Jiu Jiu felt inexplicably nervous, unconsciously standing straight, showing some of a Junior Master’s dignity toward Li Changshou.
No matter what, she was still his Junior Master!
“How did you—”
“Star-Lord, how did it go?”
A shout suddenly came from above. Li Changshou looked up to see the Jade Emperor’s avatar Quan Tong riding a cloud down.
Li Changshou smiled and said: “I’ve learned the truth. It’s Demon Master Kunpeng’s scheme, wanting to use such a demon to lure me into the Chaos Sea, thinking I was some sort of lecher.
Truly, I feel somewhat underestimated.
This demon’s name is quite interesting too, given by Kunpeng, called Mei Wenhua.”
“Mei Wenhua? What’s wrong with that name?”
“Uh, nothing.”
Quan Tong frowned, landed on the mountaintop, moved close to Li Changshou, and transmitted: “What’s the situation with this immortal maiden?”
Li Changshou hurriedly transmitted back: “Your Majesty, she’s the Holy Maiden of the Cloud Palace, my Junior Master from the Degree Immortal Gate. The Cloud Palace’s rapid development owes greatly to her merit.”
“Oh?”
Quan Tong transmitted with a smile: “I thought Changshou you had so many predestined relationships… Having General Youqin is quite good enough. Too many dao companions wouldn’t look good, would it?”
Li Changshou: …
He felt the Jade Emperor was being subtly sarcastic.
Just as he was about to make introductions for Jiu Jiu, unusual fluctuations suddenly appeared in the illusion array behind him.
Waves of pure spiritual power rippled out, like waves of pure white light breaking through the inner illusion array, surging outward.
Holy, pure, without any impurity, several great daos representing goodness and truth were resonating with these lights!
This?
Everyone looked into the array to see the still-sealed demon maiden now floating up with her fingers interlocked;
A white light bloomed from her forehead, and first, strands of black qi surged from around her body, instantly purified by the white light.
As her black hair danced, it was as if white flames ignited around her body, sweeping over her in an instant, changing her into a pure white long dress. Her previously pale, bloodless skin now emanated a soft glow…
A beam of light fell from high above, carrying dense Heavenly Dao power, shining upon her, seemingly stabilizing this form.
Those narrow eye corners had tears streaming down, and a circle of soft white light appeared behind her.
Forming an immortal spirit body?
She murmured:
“I must save them, can’t let them continue to be deceived…”
Li Changshou was completely stunned.
When a Celestial Demon develops a heart demon, could there be such a pleasant surprise?
To the side, several gazes slowly shifted to his face, the entire mountaintop became pin-drop silent—the immortals turned to stone statues, and for a moment only that holy light continued to shine…