First Clash with Moon Worshipper

The spider demon let out a shrill scream the instant Fengdu nailed her to the ground. Her figure flickered, transforming into a young married woman in a black gauze dress.

"Spare me, mighty one!"

Fengdu had pierced through her abdomen, its powerful spiritual energy suppressing her thousand years of cultivation and leaving her unable to cast any spells. Other than begging for mercy, she had no options.

Chu Yang slowly descended from midair, one hand resting on Fengdu’s hilt as he looked coldly down at the wailing spider demon.

He took out a Demon Devouring Gu and tossed it onto the spider demon.

The Demon Devouring Gu became wildly excited upon catching the scent of a demon and immediately burrowed into the spider demon’s body.

"What is this thing?"

The spider demon’s face turned deathly pale as she cried out in agony.

Unfortunately, aside from that foolish little butterfly, no one nearby heard her cries.

Before long, the Demon Devouring Gu had drained the spider demon’s cultivation dry, reducing her completely to ashes.

Chu Yang held the blood-red Demon Devouring Gu in his hand. A moment later, it vanished, and Chu Yang gained nearly five hundred years of cultivation.

"The loss rate is around fifty percent, a little better than last time. This newly replicated breed has improved. If I keep refining it, it should eventually achieve perfect replication."

After killing the spider demon, Chu Yang had not found the Thunder Spirit Orb. That meant it was definitely in Lei Zhou.

Should I meet up with Senior Brother first, or go look for the other Spirit Orbs directly?

Chu Yang fell into thought.

The Wind and Fire Spirit Orbs might be in Nanzhao Kingdom, or perhaps one was in the God Realm and the other in the Demon Realm. The God Realm and Demon Realm were not easy to enter or leave, so checking Nanzhao Kingdom first was the best choice.

Ideally, he could obtain them smoothly. Even if he failed, Chu Yang could at least eliminate two wrong possibilities.

Just as Chu Yang was about to leave on his sword, a butterfly suddenly flew before him and lingered for a long while, unwilling to leave.

"Listen carefully. I’m a Daoist, not some scholar. The only reason I didn’t strike you down just now was because your nature isn’t bad and you follow the righteous path. If you don’t leave at once, I might start coveting your thousand years of cultivation!"

Chu Yang scolded her with a stern face.

He meant it sincerely. If this butterfly demon named Cai Yi had not been so loyal and righteous, he would have been unable to resist acting long ago.

The little butterfly seemed frightened. It fluttered about wildly in the air before disappearing.

Chu Yang smiled knowingly and flew away on his sword. However, rather than heading directly to Lei Zhou, he went to the General’s Tomb, a place he had visited before.

Cai Yi’s appearance reminded him of something. At Jade Buddha Temple near Baihe Village, there was another demon named Little Stone. Its true form was the Jade Buddha Bead once carried by Bodhidharma, and it had nine hundred and ninety-nine years of cultivation.

It was originally supposed to be subdued by Zhao Ling’er, but the plot had changed. It still occupied Jade Buddha Temple, throwing its weight around and forcing others to become monks.

Even according to the original plot, the Jade Buddha Bead’s future was not promising. After Zhao Ling’er died, no one restrained it, and it became a demon once more. It might even become Zen Master Chiba, the final boss of Chinese Paladin 2.

At the thought of a scene resembling "Little Leiyin Temple" in the future, Chu Yang shuddered.

Rather than leave the Jade Buddha Bead behind to plague the world, he might as well deal with it now. Whether he refined it into a magical artifact or absorbed its cultivation completely, the outcome would not differ much.

A flash of sword light streaked across the sky above the capital toward Baihe Village. Chu Yang released his Observation Haki and quickly found Jade Buddha Temple.

There were many mortals here, all forced into monkhood, their families destroyed and their wives and children scattered.

That alone meant Little Stone had to die.

Chu Yang strode into the temple, killing intent surging around him. Little Stone, disguised as the abbot, sensed the astonishing murderous aura and immediately felt that something was wrong. He gathered the monks and prepared to make a desperate stand.

"A Daoist disciple?"

The Jade Buddha Bead looked at Chu Yang’s attire and sneered. "Since you’re a Daoist, I won’t convert you this time. I’ll send you straight to meet your patriarch instead."

Chu Yang grinned. "Little thing, you’re quite prejudiced. If you won’t convert me, then I’ll convert you instead!"

The Jade Buddha Bead said in a strange tone, "If you have the guts, kill everyone here!"

The moment he finished speaking, countless monks swarmed out and charged straight at Chu Yang. Little Stone’s plan was simple: since his opponent was a Daoist disciple, he surely would not slaughter innocents indiscriminately. That would give him a chance to launch a sneak attack.

But in the next instant, an invisible storm swept outward from Chu Yang. Vaguely, Little Stone saw a pale golden ocean.

Conqueror’s Haki flooded those ordinary people, and the Jade Buddha Bead watched helplessly as they collapsed one after another.

When the shockwave reached him, the Jade Buddha Bead’s face immediately twisted into a hideous grimace.

By the time he came back to his senses, Chu Yang had already seized his throat and forced the Demon Devouring Gu into his mouth.

As the Jade Buddha Bead’s body and soul perished, the monks in the temple regained their senses and fled down the mountain in every direction. Chu Yang, meanwhile, gained another five hundred years of cultivation.

In the world of Chinese Paladin, cultivation and realms were not equivalent, especially for demons.

The more than two thousand years of cultivation Chu Yang had obtained from demons were not enough to propel him directly into the next major realm, but they could increase his combat strength.

He could use this cultivation to improve his martial arts, thereby strengthening his Source Martial True Body.

Stripped of its cultivation, the Jade Buddha Bead no longer possessed intelligence, but it still retained a trace of spirituality. Given enough time, it might give rise to another consciousness like Little Stone’s.

Chu Yang stored it in his soul space for others to study, then flew on his sword toward Nanzhao Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Moon Worshipper, who had already returned to the Moon Worship Sect, sensed something. He quietly stepped out of his room and gazed expectantly toward the horizon.

"A Yang truly keeps his word. He’s come to Nanzhao Kingdom to find me so soon." Moon Worshipper saw the sword light streaking across the heavens, but it did not stop at the Moon Worship Sect and instead headed farther away. His gentle expression darkened.

"Hahaha, it seems your little brother A Yang has more urgent matters to attend to."

"He doesn’t care about his agreement with you at all."

"I told you long ago that those bull-nosed Daoists of Shu Mountain cannot be trusted. I am part of them, so I understand their hypocrisy better than anyone!"

"It’s not too late. Join me and deal with them. That old man Qing Wei and elders like Cang Gu are too busy preventing the Demon Imprisonment Tower from collapsing to get away."

"It’s only one Sword Saint. The two of us can handle him with ease!"

The Evil Sword Immortal gloated beside him. Two out of every three sentences were aimed at tempting Moon Worshipper into opposing Shu Mountain with him.

Once Shu Mountain was destroyed, the Evil Sword Immortal, a lifeform formed from the evil thoughts of Qing Wei and the others, could absorb their cultivation and evolve into a true Extraterrestrial Demon.

At that point, across the Three Realms and Six Paths, the number of people who could truly match him could be counted on one hand.

Moon Worshipper was somewhat tempted by the Evil Sword Immortal’s persuasion. In truth, he had long guessed the other man’s intentions.

Had he not also intended to use the Evil Sword Immortal to eliminate Shu Mountain?

Originally, Moon Worshipper had not cared about Shu Mountain, because they rarely interfered in worldly affairs. Back when the Witch Queen and the Water Demon Beast perished together, the Sword Saint had watched from start to finish without intervening.

But for some reason, Shu Mountain had suddenly changed its stance.

He had merely approached the area around Yuzhou when the Sword Saint suddenly appeared to warn him away. The two had nearly come to blows over it.

This made Moon Worshipper realize that he might need to change his approach.

"I can cooperate with you, but what do I gain from it?" Moon Worshipper asked with a smile, his hands folded across his abdomen.

"You want to destroy the world, and you cannot avoid the Five Spirit Orbs. I can help you gather them. How about it?"

The Evil Sword Immortal patted his chest confidently.

"To break the Witch Queen’s seal, the Five Spirit Orbs are necessary. This is a fair deal. I agree."

Moon Worshipper nodded, then looked again in the direction Chu Yang had vanished and asked, "Why do you think Brother A Yang is in such a hurry?"

The Evil Sword Immortal chuckled. "Since we’ve reached an agreement, why not use that brat to consecrate our banner?"

"That won’t do. I still have many questions that have not been answered. Before he answers all my doubts, Brother A Yang cannot come to harm."

Moon Worshipper rejected the Evil Sword Immortal’s suggestion without hesitation.

A trace of displeasure appeared in the Evil Sword Immortal’s eyes as he looked at Moon Worshipper, but it quickly disappeared. He put on a smiling face again. "You have the final say in such matters!"

Moon Worshipper did not respond. He used a spell similar to shrinking the earth into inches and vanished in the direction Chu Yang had gone.

Chu Yang arrived at the Divine Tree Forest on his sword and searched everywhere for traces of the Golden-Winged Phoenix. But the forest was far too vast, connected to an endless expanse of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

"Brother A Yang has come to the Miao Territory. Why not visit the Moon Worship Sect?"

Moon Worshipper silently appeared behind Chu Yang.

"With the Sect Master’s heaven-reaching cultivation, naturally you can sense my location. There was no need for me to do anything extra."

Chu Yang turned to look at Moon Worshipper. Their eyes met in midair, and he saw the killing intent in Moon Worshipper’s eyes.

"So you deliberately lured me here?"

Moon Worshipper was somewhat curious.

"I wouldn’t call it deliberate. I was simply gambling on whether the Sect Master would come. If you didn’t, it would prove you still had some trust in me, and that everything could still be discussed. But if you came…"

Chu Yang shook his head in disappointment. "It means the Sect Master has already made a decision and intends to go against both me and Shu Mountain."

"’Go against’ is rather severe. I have always regarded Brother A Yang as a kindred spirit. Our thoughts and ways of thinking can align."

Moon Worshipper spread his hands, powerful magic power descending like a heavenly curtain. He said loudly, "Brother A Yang, it is you who is at odds with Shu Mountain. Why not remain in the Moon Worship Sect? I’ll make you Vice Sect Master, and together we can change this world."

Chu Yang shook his head. "There are many ways to change the world. Disaster is the one method that should never be used. I still prefer a more peaceful approach."

"You keep testing A Nu and Tang Yu only because you want to prove whether true love exists in this world. They have shown it to you many times, and you have seen it, but you simply refuse to believe."

Moon Worshipper was silent for a while before slowly speaking. "That is not true love. It is only childish play between children."

"You’re deceiving yourself and refusing to see reason. If you don’t know what love is, how would you understand it when you let it slip away?"

Chu Yang stood in the air. Fengdu beneath his feet suddenly flew out and circled around him. "If you want to force me into your sect, then show me some real skill. Stop standing there dreaming!"

"Why must it come to this?" Moon Worshipper shook his head, seemingly deeply disappointed by Chu Yang’s attitude. With a wave of his hand, magic power gathered like mist and drifted lightly toward Chu Yang.

In an instant, the winds and clouds of heaven and earth changed color. Countless ancient trees hundreds of feet tall in the Divine Tree Forest were crushed and shattered, as though some invisible force was running wild.

Light flashed across Chu Yang’s body as he entered his Source Martial True Body state. The phenomenon of sun and moon shining together appeared behind him, blocking Moon Worshipper’s vast magic power.

"Oh? Brother A Yang never fails to surprise me. I thought you were merely knowledgeable. I never expected that, at such a young age, your cultivation would be so profound."

Moon Worshipper became interested, and his expression turned serious. As his magic power steadily rose, the forces of wind, rain, lightning, and thunder began to appear around him.

A gale swept through, slicing trees apart as neatly as blades and leaving behind nothing but powder.

Raindrops fell, smashing massive craters into the ground as if each drop weighed ten thousand jin.

Lightning and thunder stretched for thousands of miles, like divine punishment.

The current Moon Worshipper was powerful enough to control nature itself. He wielded nature as a weapon against Chu Yang.

The Divine Tree Forest suffered devastating damage as a result.

That terrifying might reminded Chu Yang of Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni from the Bleach world.

He even felt that, without the Water Demon Beast, Moon Worshipper could still destroy the world through his own power.

Fengdu hovered above Chu Yang’s head. Then earthen-yellow Yomi Water appeared behind him, pouring from the void and raising waves a thousand layers high, helping Chu Yang resist the wind, rain, lightning, and thunder.

Chu Yang rode the waves and charged directly toward Moon Worshipper. He threw a punch, making the entire world tremble violently.

Moon Worshipper had expected Chu Yang to use some earth-shattering sword technique. Instead, Chu Yang opened with a punch that shattered the natural forces around him.

"Even ancient divine beasts likely cannot compare to this strength." Moon Worshipper was secretly alarmed. He then mobilized a great amount of magic power to defend himself, only for it to be scattered by another punch from Chu Yang.

Moon Worshipper realized he could not withstand him head-on. His figure immediately vanished before Chu Yang like a dream bubble.

Because Moon Worshipper’s body was also shrouded in magic power that caused interference, Chu Yang’s Observation Haki could not predict Moon Worshipper’s movements. He could only rely on speed to pursue him.

Both of them were teleporting. Chu Yang used Flying Thunder God, while Moon Worshipper used shrinking the earth into inches. Neither could do anything to the other.

Chu Yang grasped sunlight in his left hand and moonlight in his right, then pushed both hands forward. Beneath the radiance of the sun and moon together, a millstone glowing in two colors suddenly appeared.

The millstone, as large as a soccer field, was pushed toward Moon Worshipper by Chu Yang. Moon Worshipper controlled the forces of nature and bombarded it relentlessly, trying to erase that power.

Vast stretches of ancient trees in the Divine Tree Forest fell amid their battle. Countless animals fled in panic, only to be drawn by a crisp cry.

A golden light soared up from the forest. Its enormous wings resembled clouds hanging from the sky, while its tail feathers carried five-colored rosy light.

"Golden-Winged Phoenix?"

Chu Yang turned back in surprise. He had not expected the Golden-Winged Phoenix to appear at this moment.

The Golden-Winged Phoenix hovered in the sky, staring proudly at Chu Yang and Moon Worshipper. Both were the culprits responsible for destroying the Divine Tree Forest.

After a long while, the Golden-Winged Phoenix let out a cry and resolutely charged toward Moon Worshipper.

Chu Yang was hateful, but in the Golden-Winged Phoenix’s eyes, he was still not as bad as Moon Worshipper. Moon Worshipper was the truly unforgivable villain.

"Interesting?" Moon Worshipper clasped his hands behind his back and said indifferently, "You, a mere beast, think you can kill me?"

"If you were a true phoenix, I might fear you somewhat. But you are merely a spirit beast with Phoenix Bloodline. How dare you bark before me?"

Terrifying pressure spread through the air. It was as if the Golden-Winged Phoenix had been gripped by an enormous hand, its body frozen in midair as it cried out in agony.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones breaking rang out repeatedly. The Divine Radiance around the phoenix greatly dimmed, and its body shrank, transforming into the form of a woman.

She was covered in blood.

At the critical moment, Chu Yang charged forth again. Fist shadows filled the sky and rolled across the heavens, forcibly shattering Moon Worshipper’s magic power.

A flash of sword light swept up the Golden-Winged Phoenix and vanished before Moon Worshipper’s eyes.

Moon Worshipper watched the direction in which the two had left in silence for a long time before finally turning away.