Chapter 140: Ximen Qing

Honestly, Ximen Surin’s worry was justified.

When Qing, having lost herself to the Demonic Cult, had dramatically recovered her senses through the teachings of the Great Tranquil Zen Art, the baleful star in the heavens had reportedly pulsed red with anger and regret.

Ximen Surin, reading the star’s meaning, had been so relieved that her disciple had overcome a great crisis that she had offered rites in the middle of the night.

In truth, her worries had been endless since then. She feared that her disciple—so tender, kind, and utterly lacking in ruthlessness—would return injured in body or spirit from the harsh and unforgiving martial world.

And as autumn deepened, the time for Qing’s return passed, yet her disciple did not appear.

Then, a disciple sent out for groceries brought back news: there was major trouble in Sichuan, something about a rebellion, an assassination plot, and Qing’s name was somehow mixed up in it.

Her heart plummeting, Ximen Surin had employed her exquisite Sword Flight technique, crossing the natural barrier of high mountains surrounding the Sichuan basin in a single step to arrive in Chengdu.

Of course, Ximen Surin, being a great elder of a Daoist path who knew courtesy and propriety, did not commit the ill-mannered act of knocking on the Tang Clan’s door in the dead of night.

She first found lodging for the night. Only after arranging her attire and waiting until the respectable hour of si (around ten in the morning), when a visit would not be an imposition, did she make her way to the Tang Clan.

And so, she finally laid eyes upon her disciple.

Even though the sun was high in the sky, a time when all under heaven were diligently active under the bright Yang energy, her disciple was sprawled languidly across a luxurious silk-quilted bed, lost in dreamland.

Furthermore, the shameless wench was stark naked save for a bandage around her chest. Having kicked off the covers, she lay spread-eagled, limbs akimbo, a sight mortifying to behold.

Ximen Surin’s anger meter shot up instantly.

As the Profound Realm expert grew furious, the very atmosphere vibrated, and gravity seemed to double, crushing the space with oppressive pressure.

Under this pressure, the disciple’s eyes fluttered open. Her gaze met Surin’s, and though her expression was unfocused and hazy, she broke into a bashful, innocent smile.

“Hehe, Master… I missed you…”

Then she closed her eyes again, resuming her soft, even breathing.

Ximen Surin’s anger, which had breached its limits, faltered and began to stabilize.

Right. As long as the child is safe, that’s what matters.

Besides, who was going to see her sleeping like this? So what if she looked a bit indecent—no, extremely indecent?

Moreover, in the time they hadn’t seen each other, her face had become even prettier and younger, and her limbs were long and slender—clear signs of having undergone Overhaul Rebirth.

It was a pity she hadn’t reached the Transcendent Realm, but truthfully, it was quite common for one’s body to change while the realm remained the same if enlightenment was grasped but then lost.

Such missed enlightenment was bound to return soon enough, so it wasn’t worth regretting.

But why is she wearing a bandage only on her chest?

Although there were no bloodstains or the scent of blood, the faint, fragrant smell of medicine reached Surin, making her heart clench.

Ximen Surin reached out a hand, and the bandage on Qing’s chest gently slid down, revealing a glimpse underneath.

Exposed was a ghastly wound stitched closed with thread!

A horrifying trajectory—a little deeper, and it would have hit the ribs; deeper still, and it would have sliced the heart.

Thinking the girl might be lying down because she was sick from the pain and medicine, Surin rushed forward to check her pulse. What she found were healthy meridians developed to a world-altering degree compared to before, and… traces of numerous Demonic Arts.

Ximen Surin’s anger meter instantly skyrocketed, burst through the ceiling, and exploded.

“You—insolent—girl—!”

Smack—!!!

Tears pooling under both eyelids, a prominent lump swelling on the side of her head, Qing knelt on the floor, hands raised high.

“This wench has been carelessly treating her body, hasn’t she? Gone and carved a monumentally stupid mark on herself. Bravo, truly bravo.”

“B-But they said it wouldn’t leave a scar…”

“Ha! Quite the accomplishment, isn’t it? Then what, pray tell, is all this demonic energy plastered all over you? Do Demonic Arts also vanish without a trace later?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Not it?”

“Hehe. Disciple greets Master. I missed you. A lot.”

Qing, still holding her hands up, naturally bowed her upper body into a deep kowtow.

Ximen Surin may have achieved youthful regression through her high realm, appearing as a noble lady, but she had lived longer than even Choi Leeong, a grand senior of the martial world.

Having lived so long, she knew Qing’s greeting wasn’t merely an act to escape the current predicament.

Rather, it was brimming with heartfelt longing, filled only with sincerity, causing Surin's lingering resentment to melt away.

Ximen Surin let out a deep sigh.

“The girl who claims she missed me was found sprawled out lazing around in someone else’s house?”

“They said it wouldn’t leave a scar. I didn’t want you to worry.”

That single phrase dissolved the last dregs of Surin’s displeasure.

Still, not wanting to forgive her immediately, Ximen Surin deliberately spoke sharply.

“Ha. So you conspired to make your master look like a fool who didn’t even know her disciple’s chest was nearly split open.”

“Hehe. Actually, my chest already split—Ack!”

Smack!!

Qing rolled around on the floor.

Ow! She hit the same spot again!

A Profound Realm expert’s aim never wavered.

It was even a distance-ignoring, physics-defying, quantum-entangled, super-percussive, nuclear-powered noogie that transcended mere physical blows.

Highly developed martial arts surpass even science.

Qing, rubbing her head so hard it felt like it was on fire, caught Surin’s fierce gaze and flinched, quickly raising her hands again and resuming the punishment pose.

“Haaah. How is it that in my later years, the disciple I have is satisfactory only in her temperament and nothing else?”

If hell truly existed, the countless villains burning within would curse her out, saying she’d learned her cultivation through her ass.

“Alright. But what on earth are all these Demonic Arts you’ve learned? I clearly warned you to stay away from them.”

“Well, you see… it’s not like this disciple wanted to learn them.”

In front of Ximen Surin, Qing’s way of speaking resembled Tang Nanah’s.

“If you didn’t want to learn them, then what? As you say, did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to learn Demonic Arts?”

“Well, that’s actually kind of what happened…”

Ximen Surin’s eye twitched.

Come to think of it, besides her temperament, this disciple possessed a talent far more dazzling than her disposition.

It wouldn’t be strange if some demonic scoundrel had coveted her talent and forced her to learn Demonic Arts.

But even so, it should just be one.

“No, which utterly depraved villains took someone else’s disciple and forced her to learn Demonic Arts? Unless the Demonic Cult themselves kidnapped you…”

“The Demonic Cult did kidnap me, actually…”

Ximen Surin’s expression grew graver.

“The Demonic Cult? I see. Well, seeing you safe now, it seems you managed to escape somehow. More importantly, let’s hear exactly which Demonic Arts you learned. I need to know so we can deal with them.”

“Uh. Well, first there’s the Purple Lightning Demonic Art and the Black Slaying Demonic Palm…”

In truth, the Demonic Cult was being unfairly blamed here; those were the only two arts they had actually forced her to learn.

The rest, Qing had forcibly taken and learned herself.

“And the One Hundred And Eight Asura Sword, Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts, Blood Demon King Divine Art, and the Lustful Fairy Disrobing Dance. I think that’s about it.”

“…You’ve learned quite a lot. Heavens, and four of the Ten Great Demonic Arts of the world, no less. At this rate, you seem poised to collect all ten.”

“But I learned good things too! The Inverse Marrow Washing Sutra and the Great Tranquil Zen Art that you mentioned, Master.”

“Wait. No.”

Ximen Surin held up a hand.

The origins of the Demonic Arts were clear, and since Qing claimed she was kidnapped by the Demonic Cult, their despicable intention to brand her as a demon, even if she escaped, was obvious.

But the Inverse Marrow Washing Sutra? And the Great Tranquil Zen Art?

Was there some Shaolin monk and an Emei nun amicably held captive together in the Demonic Cult, who also happened to be custodians of these divine arts and passed them on?

“Hmm. Never mind. Alright. What else?”

Ximen Surin’s expression softened.

This disciple had always been one to learn strange things after venturing into the martial world.

She had already suspected Qing possessed some unspoken means of acquiring skills. Thinking back now, even Qing’s initial question about what skills would be good to learn seemed incredibly loaded.

“The Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Art, and something called the Maiden's Joy Sutra, which they definitely said was a Daoist internal art.”

“It’s a bit unorthodox, but yes, it is.”

“Ah. And someone gave this to me as a gift, but I wasn’t sure if I should learn it.”

Qing retrieved the secret manual for Wave-Treading Subtle Steps from a drawer in the guest room and presented it.

Ximen Surin’s expression hardened again as she roughly flipped through the pages.

Her facial muscles were getting quite a workout today.

“This… This is no ordinary thing.”

“It seems to be called Wave-Treading Subtle Steps.”

“Has the Revolving Wheel Demoness found a place in the Demonic Cult? Hmm? You didn’t mention learning the Revolving Wheel Demon Calamity, though.”

Qing’s expression was answer enough.

If Qing didn’t know, anyone in the world could tell just by looking at her face.

Ximen Surin changed the question.

“Was the person who gave you this in the Demonic Cult?”

“No. Someone at the Grand Prince's residence gave it to me.”

“I see. The Royal Prefecture… You should burn this after you learn it. It’s an object that brings bloodshed into the world.”

“Ah. They mentioned that too. Something about a blood wind?”

“Indeed. An entire sect was annihilated over that single manual. That’s how coveted it is by people in this world.”

The Yeongseong Sect Bloodshed. A common tragedy that occurs when those without the power to protect possess a treasure.

“Uh, is it a good martial art?”

“It is the greatest footwork under heaven. I’ve heard that upon mastery, one’s movements become like the wind, impossible for anything in the world to catch. Even in the worst situations, you could save yourself. It’s a divine art worthy of being called the best under heaven.”

“Then, shouldn’t we make it part of our Divine Maiden Sect? I’ve already memorized it all. We can just change the name, right? Something like Divine Maiden Divine Steps.”

Ximen Surin smiled benevolently.

To her disciple, the greatest divine art under heaven was merely something nice to have, but not essential.

The problem was that she treated terrifying Demonic Arts with the same casual indifference, which led to this mess.

But is there anything in the world made of only one side?

Yin and Yang, the shadow behind the light—such are the principles of nature.

Therefore, the duty of an old master must be to act as a shadow, concealing the disciple’s own shadows.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Ximen Surin tucked the secret manual away.

She might hesitate with other martial arts, but this could guarantee her disciples’ safety. It was worth enduring even the despicable act of stealing and overwriting the legacy of a vanished ancient sect.

“Ah. Right. Let’s hear your story. How did you manage to escape from the den of those Demonic Cult villains?”

Ximen Surin’s gaze was so warm that Qing’s heart gently melted and relaxed.

But, as often happened in front of her master, she relaxed perhaps a bit too much.

“Ah, well, you see. This disciple once again displayed astonishing prowess and crushed the Demonic Cult's ambitions. Oh! Right. Look at this. Hup! Summon Heavenly Demon! This is the true form of that Heavenly Demon fellow. What happened was…”

As Qing chattered away, the Heavenly Demon Soul surged up from her palm.

A vein pulsed on Ximen Surin’s forehead.

As was the natural order of things, it was time for something to bulge on the crown of Qing’s head as well.

Immediately following, SMACK!!!

The sound of a walnut cracking echoed loud and clear, reverberating past the door and into the bright world outside.