Chapter 463: Monkey, Beat Him!

The crucial point was that Niu Youdao had known perfectly well these three harbored malicious intent, yet the bastard had still dragged everyone straight into the pit they had dug for them. Now the whole affair had blown up this badly. Guan Fangyi felt like she was going to lose her mind. Yuan Fang felt much the same. Inside, he was practically screaming, Master Dao, what in Heaven's name are you playing at?!

Yuan Gang merely cast them a cold sidelong glance, perfectly calm. After working with Niu Youdao for so many years, he had long since grown used to this sort of thing. Niu Youdao naturally had reasons Yuan Gang found convincing.

Pinned underfoot, the three fellow disciples grew increasingly terrified. Chao Shenghuai's voice trembled. "Brother Bei, could there be some misunderstanding between us?"

Niu Youdao looked down at him from above, smiling without a word.

He Youjian asked, "Who exactly are you?"

"You've already done what you did, and only now you're worried about who I am? Isn't it a little late?" Niu Youdao chuckled, swept his gaze around, and raised one hand to signal that they should take the captives away. "We shouldn't stay here long. Myriad Beasts Sect's people should be arriving soon. Let's go."

The moment he finished speaking, the Blood Rakshasa suddenly gave a "yaa" toward the space behind them. Its face twisted savagely, and its wings began to spread as though something had drawn its hostility.

Everyone spun around.

Between the rocks behind them, a scarlet tongue flicked in and out. A dark green serpent covered in scales slowly extended its head. The head alone was as thick as a man's thigh, and eerie light glimmered in its eyes.

Before they could even see how long the serpent's body was, its head writhed and rapidly transformed into a human face, carrying a faint demonic air.

Its human head bore cloud-dark hair piled high, with a strip of white gauze covering half the face. The veil could not conceal the elegant beauty beneath it. It was Yun Ji. The serpent's body sliding from between the rocks gradually transformed as well, until a living, breathing Yun Ji stood atop the stone.

Niu Youdao and the others froze. None had expected this woman to appear here. She had actually ventured alone beyond the protection of the Light-Repelling Grass?

"Yaa..."

The Blood Rakshasa shrieked. The three Blue-Wing Rakshasas were already opening their wings to attack. Niu Youdao raised one hand. Yuan Gang immediately roared back at the Blood Rakshasa, suppressing the rising fury of the Butterfly Rakshasas.

Niu Youdao smiled. "How did you get here? Have you been in this area all along, or did you just arrive?"

Yun Ji replied, "I was already nearby. You made such a huge commotion that it would have been difficult not to draw me over. What, are you worried I saw something I shouldn't have? I truly didn't expect you people to be able to collude with these butterfly demons."

Niu Youdao asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll silence you permanently?"

He said it with a broad, brilliant smile, but genuine killing intent had already risen inside him. Letting an outsider know that his side could communicate with the Butterfly Rakshasas truly was no small matter.

Yun Ji said, "With these Butterfly Rakshasas helping you, I truly am no match for your group. But in this mountain forest, if I want to escape, you may not necessarily be able to catch me. Otherwise, I would never have appeared alone, much less shown myself voluntarily."

"You've probably heard about some things. Cultivators of the State of Zhao have encircled and hunted me more than once, yet I can still maintain a foothold within the State of Zhao. There is a reason for that."

"So I advise you not to act rashly. If we fall out, it won't benefit either side."

Niu Youdao asked, "Senior appeared of your own accord. Surely you didn't do so without a reason."

Yun Ji's gaze swept over the Butterfly Rakshasas behind them. "There is something I need your help with. Don't worry, I won't ask you to work for nothing. I have something to exchange."

"What?"

Yun Ji countered, "Do you intend to remain here until a large force from Myriad Beasts Sect arrives?"

Her meaning was obvious. This was not a place to linger.

"Senior is right." Niu Youdao turned and gave an order. Chao Shenghuai and the other two were immediately knocked unconscious so they would not see or hear anything they should not.

At Yuan Gang's direction, the three Blue-Wing Rakshasas seized the unconscious men and took flight. The Blood Rakshasa flew ahead through the forest to lead the way, while Yuan Gang hung from one of its legs. The others followed by gliding and leaping through the forest, disappearing deeper into the mountains.

Along the way, tree after tree towered to unbelievable heights. Ancient giants a full hundred zhang tall stretched toward the sky, glowing with soft radiance. Human figures darting beneath them seemed as tiny as ants.

Old vines glowing emerald green were thicker than a man's body. Moss shone with blue-green light. Pure white flowers had bowls as large as bath tubs, big enough to hold a person. Strange blossoms of every kind emitted every color imaginable, while transparent luminous creatures like jellyfish drifted silently through the air.

Most numerous of all were great glowing butterflies more than a zhang in length, beating enormous wings. When whole flocks flew above the forest, viewed from a distance they truly resembled the Milky Way.

These butterflies were the parent stock of the Moon Butterfly. When distinguished from the Moon Butterflies bred outside, they were called Greater Moons. That was also why Moon Butterflies were sometimes called Lesser Moons. The streams they crossed likewise contained all manner of strange luminous creatures. The fantastical scenery was truly too beautiful for the eye to take in all at once.

Along the way, Niu Youdao could not help sighing. "Like an immortal realm. This truly is a wonderful place."

Yun Ji, traveling beside them, said, "Naturally. Otherwise Shang Song would never have built an imperial retreat here."

Niu Youdao said, "I saw Myriad Beasts Sect beginning to plant Light-Repelling Grass in this region. If the grass spreads through this forest, won't this immortal-realm scenery be destroyed? All these dazzling colors swallowed by darkness... it would be a pity for such beauty to vanish."

"Destroyed?" Yun Ji replied. "Do you think Myriad Beasts Sect only began planting Light-Repelling Grass here now? More than three hundred years ago, once they discovered the grass could suppress the plants of this world, they already began planting it here. There are merely circumstances they never made public."

"Strangely enough, Light-Repelling Grass planted elsewhere is left alone. Only the grass planted in this ancient forest is destroyed by the Butterfly Rakshasas, no matter what means the sect uses."

"Every time the illusory realm opens, Myriad Beasts Sect comes in and plants it again. Once the realm closes and the sect withdraws, the Butterfly Rakshasas come and destroy it. This has repeated more than thirty times."

"Myriad Beasts Sect refuses to give up. They have tried one method after another, always hoping to conquer this place, but have never found a way."

"In the early years, several of the supreme experts even tried large-scale fire attacks. They wanted to destroy the vegetation here and cut off the Butterfly Rakshasas' foundation for survival so the creatures would no longer stand in their way."

"Unfortunately, the plants in this world are extremely resistant to destruction and difficult to burn. A wildfire simply cannot take hold here, so fire attacks were useless."

"After all these attempts, the ancient forest has remained intact. In a sense, it has survived precisely because of the nature of this place itself."

Everyone was hearing this for the first time. Even Guan Fangyi, with her broad experience and extensive knowledge, had never heard such details before.

Niu Youdao asked curiously, "Why don't the Butterfly Rakshasas destroy Light-Repelling Grass elsewhere? Why only here?"

Yun Ji said, "No one knows the exact reason. There are two main guesses."

"One is that the Butterfly Rakshasas survive by feeding on the various fluids and sap found here. This may be the foundation of their survival, so they protect it."

"The other is connected to the legends surrounding Shang Song, emperor of the Wu Dynasty. According to legend, the Holy Rakshasa was Shang Song's spirit pet and could command every Butterfly Rakshasa in the illusory realm. Rumor says that before Shang Song and his wife disappeared, they sent the Holy Rakshasa back into this realm."

"Those who have tried to conquer this place suspect that the Holy Rakshasa may still be inside Shang Song's imperial retreat, and that the retreat itself may lie somewhere within this ancient forest. They suspect the Butterfly Rakshasas destroy the Light-Repelling Grass because the Holy Rakshasa commands them to protect Shang Song's retreat."

"This illusory realm is beautiful, but in truth it isn't particularly suitable for human survival. The outside world is likewise unsuitable for Butterfly Rakshasas. We live in two different worlds, so there is not actually much conflict between us."

"That is why exterminating the Butterfly Rakshasas has little meaning in itself. In the end, people simply want to find Shang Song's imperial retreat and locate the place where Shang Song broke Heaven, which has never been found."

"Heh. Human desire has no end. Some people can look down upon the whole world and still remain unsatisfied. They want to seek the road to eternal life."

Niu Youdao glanced at the Butterfly Rakshasa flying ahead as their guide and tried asking, "This help you want from me... don't tell me you also want to find Shang Song's imperial retreat."

Yun Ji replied, "I'm not interested in something that exists only in legend, when no one even knows whether the legends are true. If one wants immortality, one should first obtain the qualifications to pursue immortality. Reaching for something far beyond one's grasp is meaningless. Wouldn't you agree?"

Niu Youdao asked, "Then what do you need my help with? Surely you took the risk of entering this ancient forest because you saw that we can control the Butterfly Rakshasas and want to find something here."

"Someone."

Everyone who had been listening closely looked surprised. Niu Youdao did as well. "Someone? There is a person here you're looking for?"

Yun Ji said, "Don't misunderstand. Even if the person I seek didn't die to the Butterfly Rakshasas, his natural lifespan should have ended long ago. He should already be dead. I merely want to find his remains."

"Your husband?"

There were mother and son at Duyun Mountain, but no husband, so the thought naturally occurred to him.

Yun Ji said, "You're overthinking it. My husband died at the hands of cultivators in the outside world long ago. There's no need to ask more. If we find what I'm looking for, you'll naturally understand."

With the Blood Rakshasa leading the way and communicating with its kind, any Butterfly Rakshasas they encountered along the route no longer interfered. The journey remained smooth and safe.

After roughly two hours, a natural tree fortress came into view ahead, formed by the immense roots of an enormous ancient tree arching over an open space.

Yun Ji spoke again. "This should be far enough. Even if large numbers of Myriad Beasts Sect disciples appear, they're unlikely to venture too deep. And even if they reach this area, they won't dare spread out enough people to conduct a broad search. If they trigger another Rakshasa Tide, even the entire sect would find it difficult to bear the consequences. We should be safe now."

Niu Youdao gave her another long look. He increasingly felt that this woman understood Myriad Beasts Sect's affairs unusually well. At least one thing was certain now: this was absolutely not her first time in the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm. Niu Youdao had matters to handle and asked everyone to stop.

Once the group entered the shelter beneath the tree roots, Niu Youdao lifted his chin toward the three unconscious captives on the ground and told Yuan Gang, "Interrogate them separately. Pry their mouths open and find out exactly what happened."

Yuan Gang called over the Blood Rakshasa and took the three men away. About an hour later, he brought them back and nodded to Niu Youdao, indicating that the matter had been clarified.

Using his sword like a walking staff, Niu Youdao moved aside. Yuan Gang followed and leaned close, murmuring a report into his ear. As he listened, Niu Youdao's shifting gaze slowly drifted toward Yuan Fang farther inside. When the two returned, Yuan Fang noticed Niu Youdao repeatedly looking at him strangely and immediately grew wary. Whenever Master Dao stared at him that way, nothing good seemed to follow. He instantly arranged his face into an expression of pitiful innocence. The sight made Niu Youdao's teeth ache.

He thought, I told you not to come, but you insisted. Now which person here is less innocent than you? Who hasn't been dragged into this because of you?

He immediately pointed at Yuan Fang. "This old fellow is really getting on my nerves today. Monkey, beat him!"

"Ahhh!"

Yuan Fang screamed as Yuan Gang's sudden kick sent him flying. Yuan Gang was also finding that innocent expression irritating today. He rushed over and unleashed a brutal flurry of punches and kicks. Yuan Fang curled up in a corner and howled under the beating.

[End of Chapter 463]