Chapter 783 - 412: The Woodcutter (Part 2)
The previously invisible rebel scouts were indeed enjoying leisure here. And those who were accommodating them below were clearly remnants of Formless Palace.
Indeed, faceless yet enchanting in form, their bodies were voluptuous and jade-like, but above the neck, they were like steamed bun and boiled egg, with no eyes, ears, mouth, or nose, not even a single hair.
Yet, facing such figures, these soldiers remained firmly resilient, and as the battle intensified, they went in and out with their guns, fighting fiercely with no clear winner. Truly, they’ve been pent up for too long in the military camp...
Having come this far, Tie Dan naturally wasn’t satisfied with just watching from the sidelines. Without hesitation, he raised his ax, planning to execute a ’White Tiger Leaping Over the Stream’, intending to jump down and chop off all their heads.
Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stood with sweat, as if a sharp sword had pierced his body and lightning struck his head. Shocked, he quickly glanced behind him, only to see a woodcutter carrying firewood in the pine forest staring coldly at him.
Old Dong, so you’ve finally been forced out.
Tie Dan then put away his ax, made a leap, and entered the forest, standing three meters apart from the woodcutter. After a brief stare-down, Tie Dan bowed respectfully.
"Nine Heavens Xuan Nu Ruyi True Monarch, Nine Yin Mountain Beichen Sword Sect Leader Xuantian, meeting the Great Mage."
Xuan Du frowned,
"Sect Leader? Where is Tian Gang?"
Tie Dan raised his head,
"I killed him."
Xuan Du raised his eyebrows,
"...You’re quite something?"
Tie Dan cupped his hand,
"You flatter me. My little skills are nothing compared to the way seniors like you can pick stars and change the day, deceive the heavens and sea with divine skills."
Xuan Du looked at the ax in Tie Dan’s hand, then at the blood-soaked flesh strapped to his chest,
"Chat?"
"Alright."
"Follow me first, the meal hasn’t been cooked yet."
"The meal hasn’t..."
Indeed, it was about cooking. Xuan Du took Tie Dan to the side courtyard, skillfully chopping wood, lighting the fire, boiling water, and cooking a vegetarian meal, preparing a table of dishes which he then delivered to the door of the pavilion, knocking for the hardworking beings, both human and non-human inside, to enjoy.
Tie Dan, frowning, watched from the shadows. The faceless immortals didn’t consider Xuan Du an outsider, emerging to take food unclothed with only sweat glistening on their skin, at most adhering to a few silk threads.
First, they split open their mouth, chewed the food thoroughly, and then "Wah—" spat out a heap of black sludge-like substance, still within the bowls, taking it back to feed the exhausted soldiers.
After consuming the sesame paste-like stuff, the men immediately stood up again, full of energy, finding spirit in the joyous laughter, launching into new rounds of passionate battles.
Xuan Du seemed unfazed by this, returning to boil water, just like a servant in a Taoist temple.
Tie Dan frowned at him, retrieved the flesh egg from his arms, and set it on the ground.
"Are you trying to let the demon fetus descend?"
Xuan Du nodded, not denying.
"Why."
Tie Dan didn’t waste words, inviting him to perform his act.
But Xuan Du didn’t reveal everything to Tie Dan right away, just remained silent for a moment, studying him for a while before managing to say,
"No, no, you aren’t capable of handling Tian Gang. That guy’s vicious and ruthless. There must be another reason..."
Tie Dan wasn’t patient to discuss from ancient times, directly slapped him with a recap,
"Right, it’s good for you to know, this was all your senior brother’s plan.
He foresaw the end of Taiji Dao two thousand years later and was frightened by the old tale of Nine Heavens Leisure Sect, so scared of the Nanhua Old Demon, he transmigrated as Mystic Sect Leader Daoist Lingxu, giving away a millennium of Dao Power freely to assist me in cryptically taking down Sect Leader Tian Gang, successfully seizing Cloud Platform Peak from the Sword Sect, crafting it as the Third Void for escape.
I heard that under Thunder Ancestor, the Four Great Heavenly Kings now only have you, the Great Mage, holding the aspiration to protect the common world, relentlessly chasing the old demon for thousands of years. I admire for that reason, specifically sought you out to learn the technique to break this situation and the art of Demon Suppression. Who would have thought you secretly harbored a nest of Carefree remnant births here, perhaps playing with one Nanhua isn’t enough for you, wanting to invoke another?"
Xuan Du was stunned by the report slapped at his face, even nodded,
"Ah? Uh, hmm... yes..."
"So, why?"
Tie Dan asked again without wasting words for him to perform.
Having lived over five thousand years, Xuan Du truly hadn’t seen such a straightforward young man, but since the mutual understanding was so clear, he had no more to hide, confessed,
"It’s a simple reason, I can’t manage Nanhua no matter what, just summon one that can."
Tie Dan doubted,
"Just that?"
"Of course, it’s more than just that."
Xuan Du squatted on the ground, peering at the lump of demon fetus flesh, poking it with his finger, then looked up.
"Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know what this thing is?"
Tie Dan was indeed curious, asking,
"What is it."
Xuan Du spread his hands,
"I don’t know."
Tie Dan nearly punched him in the face...
Xuan Du wasn’t bothered, only lowered his head, staring at the black meat,
"Saving the common world? I am not worthy. I just want to know what these things are.
It is precisely because I don’t know that I need to learn, seek Dao and ask Dao, feel around, search for, then gradually come to know.
Don’t like it, can’t understand it, don’t know, then stop learning, don’t care, neglect it.
Eliminate it by slaughter, can’t kill then seal it, can’t defeat then flee, always like this, just stepping in place, never understanding anything..."
Tie Dan understood,
"So you want to unlock Carefree Demon Sect and revisit the path of Jiuxiao?"
Xuan Du nodded then shook his head, smiling wryly,