Chapter 1457: Moon Demon
The white-robed woman behind Xiong Tianba, for instance, was his most favored woman. Although she was also an “Evil Spirit Cultivator,” Xiong Tianba’s affection for her had long surpassed that for the female soul cultivators within the sect.
Even someone like Great Master Lan had heard of this white-robed woman’s name. It was said to be You Su Qianqian, a fox demon from the “Seven-Spirit Fox” clan, a rather powerful force on the “Demon Prairie.”
After this demoness was drawn into the “Earth-True Domain,” she eventually fell into Xiong Tianba’s hands.
This fox was born with a seductive body and possessed the Way of Yin-Yin Union, allowing her to display her specialty to the fullest.
This made Xiong Tianba increasingly unable to resist. After gaining his favor, although a soul imprint still existed in her body, it was said that You Su Qianqian had begun to cultivate soul clan techniques and would gradually become a soul cultivator in the future.
With Xiong Tianba as her backer, this woman’s status rose. Furthermore, she was full of schemes and often offered strategies to Xiong Tianba, which made him dote on her even more.
He would take her with him almost everywhere he went. In the Arc Arrow Hall, even many soul cultivators didn’t dare to provoke this woman.
Great Master Lan was single-mindedly devoted to the Dao, and being a female cultivator herself, she had always been very unwilling to deal with lechers like Xiong Tianba, even feeling some disgust.
In any case, with her status and identity, others were falling over themselves to curry favor with her.
Although the Arc Arrow Hall was in charge of punishment, it was of no use against her. Even the current Sect Master had to give her some leeway. In terms of power, she faintly overshadowed Xiong Tianba.
In the eyes of others, Void Refining cultivators were already the top existences here, aside from the two Supreme Elders. However, in the entire “Earth-True Domain,” there were quite a few cultivators stuck at the Void Refining realm.
Not to mention the sects and cultivation families outside, just within each of their halls, there were five or six Void Refining cultivators. So, there were many Void Refining elders, and no single one could dominate.
Moreover, there was another matter that made Great Master Lan look upon this person with even more displeasure. In the past few decades, he had sought her out several times, trying to use other conditions to trade for Mu Guyue.
Great Master Lan didn’t have to think to know his purpose in wanting to trade for her. It was definitely to get his hands on Mu Guyue’s body.
Although she had no goodwill towards these outsider “Evil Spirit Cultivators,” as a female cultivator herself, she naturally despised male cultivators who treated them as objects for venting their lust.
Therefore, she was completely unwilling to deal with Xiong Tianba. After meeting him once, she had subsequently refused him at the door.
This made Xiong Tianba quite displeased. Mu Guyue was noble and aloof, a complete opposite of You Su Qianqian. This was also a top-quality woman, one who ignited a strong desire for conquest in him.
Every time he thought of this Soul Slave, he cursed himself for not having seen her first, especially since she had been taken by this unreasonable Great Master Lan.
No matter what methods he tried, she remained completely unmoved. After he had made his request just once, she had later used the excuse of being in seclusion to study formations and simply refused to see him anymore.
As Xiong Tianba stepped into the passage, his eyes fell upon the armored Mu Guyue. Her slender figure, her towering peaks, and her long, perfectly rounded legs that seemed to be half the height of You Su Qianqian—one glance was enough to ignite a raging fire of lust in his heart.
‘What a waste of such a top-quality specimen!’
He thought with dissatisfaction. Looking at Great Master Lan, who seemed not to have heard his question, he still maintained a smiling face and asked again.
“Great Master Lan, it’s rare for you to participate in the Soul Dueling today. Are you sending this Soul Slave to fight?”
As he spoke, Xiong Tianba sat down not far away. The alluring and enchanting You Su Qianqian stood quietly behind him, a faint smile on her face throughout.
Seeing Xiong Tianba sit down, she gently reached out her hands and began to slowly massage his shoulders.
The sleeves of her white shirt naturally slid down to her elbows as she raised her arms, revealing a section of her snow-white, lotus-root-like arms, as if they were the most perfect white jade in the world.
Hearing Xiong Tianba address her directly, Great Master Lan could no longer ignore him, no matter how much she wanted to. That would be a deliberate slight.
She had no choice but to turn her head and nod at Xiong Tianba.
“It seems Elder Xiong is also in a fine mood to be here today. I’m just participating occasionally.”
“Which of Elder Ning’s Soul Slaves will this Soul Slave of yours be facing, Great Master Lan?”
Xiong Tianba asked with a smile, his gaze shifting from Great Master Lan to Elder Ning.
He naturally had Soul Slaves of his own. He hadn’t expected the rarely-seen Great Master Lan to actually be willing to bet with Mu Guyue.
If possible, he was thinking of making a bet with Great Master Lan as well, using this woman as his stake.
“Storm Tiger!”
Elder Ning said with a smile.
After hearing his answer, Xiong Tianba’s eyes narrowed. He then nodded and said no more, as if lost in deep thought.
This Soul Slave nicknamed “Storm Tiger” should be ranked second among the Nascent Soul realm Soul Slaves.
Among Xiong Tianba’s Spirit Transformation cultivators, there was one ranked third, but his highest-ranking Nascent Soul level Soul Slave was only ranked sixth.
Elder Ning had several Nascent Soul level Soul Slaves. He hadn’t expected him to send this particular one, which showed that he wasn’t confident in defeating this Mu Guyue.
This Soul Slave named “Storm Tiger” hadn’t fought in nearly a hundred years. In the bloody battles of the past, he had already secured a very stable position.
‘This old crone Lan has never been one to suffer a loss. To dare to accept the challenge even knowing the opponent might send a high-ranking Soul Slave, it seems this Demon Clan woman is really strong…
Yes… with such a strong physical body, she’s a truly peerless beauty… I hope she doesn’t get killed by that ‘Storm Tiger.’ That would be a real waste of a fine thing!’
Xiong Tianba couldn’t help but think, and then, as if unintentionally, he shot a few more sidelong glances at Mu Guyue.
He was no longer in a hurry to propose a bet with Great Master Lan. He would first see Mu Guyue’s true strength.
Mu Guyue had been standing motionlessly behind Great Master Lan, but the moment she saw Xiong Tianba arrive, her heart tightened. She had heard about this person from Ting Lan.
This man had once sought out Great Master Lan. After he left, Ting Lan had heard Great Master Lan angrily cursing this Elder Xiong.
He was utterly shameless, a starved wolf for lust, a complete lecher. He was always trying to get Mu Guyue from her. He must be blind.
Having been in the Soul-Suppression Palace for several decades, Mu Guyue naturally knew some things about it. She had heard a lot about the reputation and character of many Void Refining cultivators.
This Xiong Tianba was a very high-profile person. As far as she knew, he was a cultivator who liked to take women as Cultivation Cauldrons or playthings.
It was said that among the Soul Slaves by his side, apart from a fox clan Soul Slave who had not yet died and had become his plaything, all the other female Soul Slaves had had their Primordial Yin quickly refined by him, eventually dying as white-haired, withered bones.
Although Mu Guyue’s eyes were fixed forward, she could naturally sense the few glances Xiong Tianba shot her way. It was as if maggots were crawling all over her body, making her feel utterly disgusted and giving her an impulse to erupt with killing intent.
But it was obvious that she was no match for him. Taking a step back, even if she could defeat him, here, she would only be killed by him.
Feeling Xiong Tianba’s scanning gaze, Mu Guyue felt both uncomfortable and a sense of shame and anger.
But she could only tragically discover that there was nothing she could do, not even show her displeasure, because she was just a Soul Slave.
As time flew by, many Spirit Transformation cultivators and several Void Refining cultivators soon arrived at the Soul Dueling arena. After exchanging some pleasantries, the first duel quickly began!
Ever since he saw that female demon general, although Li Yan was talking with Tang Feng, his mind was in a turmoil of various thoughts.
Clearly, this female demon general no longer posed any threat to him. But the thought of her current status as a Soul Slave filled Li Yan’s heart with waves of inexplicable discomfort.
Soon, Tang Feng was no longer paying attention to Li Yan, but was staring intently at the arena below.
After the first Soul Dueling match ended, a brilliant smile appeared on his face, making him look even more handsome, because he had won this round.
Next, after asking Li Yan again if he wanted to participate and seeing that Li Yan had little interest in betting, he bid him farewell and started to go around to find people for private bets.
This left Li Yan sitting alone in the crowd. Li Yan, on the contrary, felt more comfortable.
He had been unable to concentrate all day, and his heart was troubled. He didn’t really want to talk to Tang Feng, but was afraid that Tang Feng would notice something was wrong. Now that Tang Feng was gone, he also breathed a sigh of relief.
But he had no intention of leaving immediately. Many long-buried memories flooded his mind chaotically, one moment jumping to the Desolate Moon Continent, the next to the deep abyss of the sea, and then to the person before him.
He himself didn’t even know that the duels below were happening one after another. He hadn’t paid any attention to how the cultivators in each match fought or what the results were.
Instead, his eyes would often sweep towards an area on the opposite side. However, before each Soul Dueling match, Li Yan would also notice the information on the bone plaque about the two opponents in the next match.
After the eighth match, Nascent Soul level cultivators began to fight. However, Li Yan didn’t know the name of that female demon general, nor did he know her alias for the duels here.
It wasn’t until the eleventh match that he suddenly saw the female demon general who had been standing behind Great Master Lan move. With just a flicker, she had already flown into the square below.
Li Yan quickly picked up the bone plaque and looked at it carefully again.
“Eleventh match: Moon Demon, peak Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Dharma arts unknown, techniques unknown, first battle today…”
The second half read: “Storm Tiger, peak Late-stage Nascent Soul, Half-step Spirit Transformation realm strength, supreme body cultivator, sixty-three battles, sixty-two wins, one loss. Thirty-nine opponents killed, cultivation method…”
When Li Yan saw this, his pupils contracted sharply. This female demon general had been here for forty or fifty years, and just as Tang Feng had said, she had truly never fought a single match.
And her opponent had only lost once. By this calculation, among the current Nascent Soul realm Soul Slaves, there should only be one person who could defeat this cultivator with the alias Storm Tiger.
‘Moon Demon, could it be that her name has the character for ‘moon’ in it? Peak Late-stage Nascent Soul. Her opponent is already close to the Spirit Transformation realm. The outcome of this fight will be difficult to predict…’
Li Yan weighed this information in his mind. When he had met her in the sea back then, the female demon was still only at the Initial-stage Nascent Soul, while he was just a Golden Core realm cultivator. This gave Li Yan a feeling of time quietly slipping away.
…
After flying into the square below, Mu Guyue suddenly couldn’t hear any sound. She had entered the formation’s restriction below and was completely isolated from the outside world.
This made her, who had always preferred quiet, feel much more comfortable. Demon Clan cultivators were never fond of talking and preferred to solve all problems directly with strength.
This also gave all Demon Clan cultivators the impression that they were very arrogant and cold-blooded.
Mu Guyue looked around. Over the years, she had slowly gotten used to life without divine sense. During battle, she relied more on her keen senses.
On the stands above, a dense crowd of people were seated. Most of them were standing up, waving their arms and shouting something at her, but she couldn’t hear them.
Mu Guyue only glanced up before immediately looking forward, because in front of her, a burly figure had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
It was a powerfully built young man, half a head shorter than Mu Guyue. He was wearing a sleeveless beast-hide tunic, and his golden hair fluttered in the wind.
The exposed muscles of the young man were not the sharply defined, angular type, but had an exceptionally streamlined undulation, giving one the feeling of power contained within, yet as agile as a leopard.
After he appeared, his pair of wolf-like eyes just stared coldly at Mu Guyue, without speaking.
Mu Guyue knew that after losing his divine sense here, this person was relying on his senses to feel her aura and judge her strength.
An experienced cultivator in battle could quickly judge an opponent’s strength with just their six senses.
Just like herself, with just one glance, she could tell that this beast-hide-clad youth was likely also a cultivator who specialized in body cultivation, and his speed was extremely astonishing.
When he had appeared earlier, she had only sensed the approaching danger a moment in advance.
This meant that not only was his speed astonishing, but he could also control his killing intent very well. Otherwise, with the senses she had honed through years of battle, she would have easily sensed the killing intent.
“You are very strong!”
Just as Mu Guyue was sizing him up, the beast-hide-clad youth opposite her suddenly said these words, his voice devoid of any emotion.
In fact, before this duel even began, Great Master Lan’s side already had a considerable advantage.
Because in her hands, she had detailed information on several of Elder Ning’s Nascent Soul level Soul Slaves, and this information had long been shown to Mu Guyue.
On the other hand, although Elder Ning also had information on Great Master Lan’s Nascent Soul level Soul Slaves, he only had detailed information on the Soul Slaves who had participated in “Soul Dueling” before.
For people like Mu Guyue and Ting Lan, he only had some general information. As for their specific combat strength, only their realm was revealed.
So he could only ask others, namely the ones who had captured Mu Guyue and the others back then.
And the information those people could provide, although there was some, was certainly not as clear as the information on the Soul Slaves who frequently participated in Soul Dueling.
For Soul Slaves like Storm Tiger who fought in Soul Dueling year-round, their technique characteristics and the divine abilities and arts they excelled at were already well-known.
And in the “Earth-True Domain,” excluding the possibility of obtaining other techniques, their strength could basically only be improved by increasing their realm. This way, one could target and guard against them.