Mahayana 124
BGM: Wuthering Waves - Unwritten In The Stars
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Chapter 124: The Peculiar Resident of the Immortal Palace — Is Mo Shuiyao Really About to Be Made Into a Cauldron?!
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
Mo Shuiyao’s face lit up with delight as she sped toward the stele, landing swiftly in front of it and reaching out to grab it.
However, when her hand landed on the stele and she tried to pull it free, she found that it would not budge at all. At once, alarm bells rang loudly in her mind.
Without hesitation, she released her grip and spun around, the Moon Blade slashing backward without the slightest pause. With a clang, it was knocked back and sent flying.
Mo Shuiyao immediately employed her movement technique, her figure flashing away like a ghost, reappearing in the distance in an instant. Still shaken, she looked back toward the stele. At the spot where she had been standing just moments before, there now stood a strange figure that was neither fully human nor ghost.
Xiao Yifeng’s pupils shrank as he stared at the figure as well. The man wore tattered, filthy clothes. Slowly, he turned around, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth as he leered at Mo Shuiyao and let out a coarse laugh.
“It's been a long time since I’ve seen such a beauty. Just looking at you sets my desires ablaze.”
athed in his unabashed gaze, Mo Shuiyao felt her skin crawl with overwhelming revulsion.
The man was grotesque beyond measure. His mouth was sharp, fangs jutting out cruelly. Long, pointed ears framed bulging eyes that seemed ready to burst from their sockets. He was scarcely distinguishable from the vicious demons carved into the surrounding stone. Only his build stood out, broad and powerful, though his hands were twisted into the shape of ghostly claws.The man was grotesque beyond measure. His mouth was sharp, fangs jutting out cruelly. Long, pointed ears framed bulging eyes that seemed ready to burst from their sockets. He was scarcely distinguishable from the vicious demons carved into the surrounding stone. Only his build stood out, broad and powerful, though his hands were twisted into the shape of ghostly claws.
The strange man glared viciously at the two of them. Then a cold light flashed. With a mere gesture of his hand, the Samsara Stele flew toward him and landed firmly in his grasp.
Only then did Mo Shuiyao realise that the stele had long since been refined by him. No wonder she had been unable to move it earlier.
“Who are you?” Mo Shuiyao asked coldly. “You shouldn't be among those who entered the Immortal Palace this time.”
“Who am I?” the strange man rasped, letting out a hoarse chuckle. “Heh heh heh… I’ve long since forgotten who I am. By a rough count, this is already the third time I’ve seen people enter this Immortal Palace."
Hearing this, Xiao Yifeng and the other’s expressions changed drastically. If that was the case, then this man must have been among those who entered the Immortal Mansion in the previous four occasions but never left.
It was almost impossible to believe. That someone could remain inside the Immortal Palace and survive for such a long period of time.
Although spiritual energy within the Immortal Palace could replenish itself, it was tainted with a gloomy, ghostly aura. If one absorbed it for too long without a way to cleanse it, one would likely end up just like the man before them—neither human nor ghost.
“Then you must be one of the people who entered the Immortal Palace in the past,” Mo Shuiyao said slowly. “Why didn’t you leave?”
“Leave? If I could leave, why would I stay?” the strange man roared madly. “Hahahahaha! This Immortal Palace is nothing but a lie. Once you enter, there is no way out at all.”
Mo Shuiyao had not expected such an answer. She froze for a moment, then looked at Xiao Yifeng in astonishment.
“There’s no need to scare people,” Xiao Yifeng said calmly. “Looks to me like you just lost your jade pendant and got stuck here.”
Seeing her confusion, he explained evenly, “The Immortal Palace jade pendant binds us to this place. If it is destroyed, we become no different from the wandering ghosts that haunt these halls.”
The ghost-like figure sneered. “Kid, it seems you know this Immortal Palace rather well. Be sensible and get lost. I’m in a good mood today and don’t feel like killing you. After all, I’ve been bored for fifty years. I can’t go and kill you all at once.”
Both of them felt a chill creep through their bodies. They had not expected this being to be so utterly warped. It was now obvious that those who had entered the Immortal Palace before had not simply vanished—they had been slaughtered.
They extended their divine senses toward him, probing cautiously, yet it was as though their perception sank into an endless abyss, swallowed whole without even a trace.
Instead, the strange man glanced at them and laughed. “There’s no need to keep probing. You won’t be able to see through my cultivation. Little girl, I’ll give you two choices.
“Submit quietly and become my cauldron. Or let me capture you, rip out your soul, and refine you into a puppet. Though I must admit, that option lacks entertainment value.”
He paused, seeming to reminisce, then sighed regretfully. “The two women who entered last time refused to cooperate and chose death instead. After turning them into puppets, I only amused myself for less than ten years before crushing them in frustration.”
Mo Shuiyao’s face darkened with every word. The strange man’s gaze grew increasingly lewd as he added, “With beauty like yours, turning you into a puppet would be such a pity. Far too boring. Choose quickly. I’ve been suppressing myself for more than thirty years.”
“You disgusting creature! I choose the third option—killing you!” Mo Shuiyao cried out fiercely.
The moon blades surged forward, splitting mid-air into spinning rings of light that tore toward the strange man.
His expression darkened at once. “Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit,” he sneered. “No matter. Once I catch you, I’ll tame you slowly.”
He lifted a clawed hand lazily, flicking his fingers. In a heartbeat, the moon blade were scattered, hurled aside like scraps of metal.
Then his figure vanished in an instant. He reappeared behind Mo Shuiyao, five fingers forming claws as he lunged toward her. His ghostly hand seized her shoulder. Cold sweat broke out across Mo Shuiyao’s back. She stabbed backwards with the short dagger in her hand, then twisted her body low, supple as water, transforming into countless petals and vanishing from the spot in an instant.
Petals fluttered like a pink tide, swirling back to Xiao Yifeng’s side before knitting themselves together into Mo Shuiyao’s elegant form. Her robe had been ripped open, a jagged tear revealing the curve of a pale, perfumed shoulder.
“Tender Blossom Pavilion!” the strange man exclaimed, eyes gleaming. “So that’s where you’re from. Excellent. Truly excellent. The women of the Tender Blossom Pavilion are famous for their endless tricks.”
He pinched the torn scrap of fabric between his fingers, raised it to his nose, and breathed it in, wearing an expression of shameless rapture.
Mo Shuiyao’s heart plunged like a stone into deep water. Her face darkened as she said, “You’re a Nascent Soul cultivator. That’s impossible. How could someone at that level appear here?”
The man threw his head back and laughed. “I’d nearly forgotten. Nowadays, only Golden Core realm cultivators or below can enter this place. But I came in long before that restriction. So? Beautiful lady, why not surrender gracefully?”
Mo Shuiyao’s face darkened. She had never imagined that the man before her was a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. In this Immortal Palace restricted to Golden Core realm's entrants, such a being stood at the very pinnacle of power.
She still had means to deal with ghost creatures at the peak of the Golden Core realm, but the strange man before her was another story. He was no wandering spectre. His cultivation and Dao arts remained whole.
Was there truly no path left? She'd rather die than falling into the hands of such a revolting creature.
“Fairy Mo, if you do not wish to become his plaything, then heed my words.” Xiao Yifeng’s voice suddenly echoed within her consciousness, transmitted directly to her mind. She could not help but feel startled.
However, her expression did not change at all, as if she had heard nothing. Quietly, she replied, “Fellow daoist Wu Chen, what method do you have?”
“The stairways behind us, each one can only be climbed by a single person. If you seize the moment and dash onto one of them, he won't be able to continue chasing you. After that, you can deal with him again inside the palace,” Xiao Yifeng said calmly.
Mo Shuiyao felt a spark of hope flare within her, but it faded almost instantly into anxious contemplation. The closest stairway was still dozens of metres away.
Worse still, a Nascent Soul realm cultivator stood directly between her and that path of escape. He could teleport. How was she meant to avoid his pursuit?
As if he could hear her internal screaming, Xiao Yifeng sent another message. “Relax. I’ve got your back.”
It was not kindness that drove him. If Mo Shuiyao were captured, then with such an unstoppable force roaming the Immortal Palace, neither he nor Su Miaoqing would be left unscathed.
With Su Miaoqing’s beauty, should she fall into this monster’s hands, Xiao Yifeng did not even dare to imagine the consequences.
Thus, the only option at present was to draw all of the man’s attention onto Mo Shuiyao, and ideally lure him into the palace itself. Otherwise, if Su Miaoqing were to arrive here, with her level of combat strength, she would stand no chance against this strange man.
Once the two had reached an understanding, Mo Shuiyao let out a delicate laugh and said, “I never imagined that Senior would be a Nascent Soul realm expert. If I were to give myself to you, I suppose it would not be such a grievance.”