The last five chapters of the He Sha Book were written in a special ancient script, which few people in the world could recognize. Although Ni Fangxian had been cultivating for many years and came from a side path, he later received a decade of cultivation techniques from Li Jingxu and had been cultivating in seclusion ever since, able to recognize nearly one-third of it.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor had many Daoist books from the main, side, and evil paths, covering a wide range of topics, and he could recognize most of them.

Shi Feiyang and Zhu Zaiyu had specially discussed the evolution of Huaxia characters, the reasons each character emerged, the meaning they represent, studying the changes in character shapes and meanings from their inception through various dynasties to the present. There were several types of Tadpole Script and ancient seal script, with some variations in form, but the logic of their creation was the same; even if one had never seen them before, one could guess their original meaning by examining the strokes.

After examining the text, the three of them gained different insights.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor hadn't fully comprehended the He Sha Book and took the initiative to exchange ideas with Ni Fangxian. Besides discussing Daoist techniques, he also mentioned the reason for his trip to the Southern Border.

In his first swordfight, he had been defeated by Qi Shuming using Mysterious Sect swordsmanship on Emei Mountain and had an arm cut off.

The Mysterious Sect's righteous path emphasized cultivation technique over Daoist skill, and their principal plan for immortality was to cultivate step by step and then ascend to the Immortal Realm. Whether it was Flying Swords, Magical Treasures, or Immortal Pills, all were meant to protect oneself, to refine demons and pass tribulations safely, and finally to cultivate the Yang God and ascend.

Even though there were powerful Daoist and Immortal techniques within the righteous path, these were by-products or auxiliary tools that had to be prepared during the cultivation journey.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor began his cultivation in the Northern Song dynasty and initially belonged to a side path. By the end of the Southern Song, he obtained a Daoist technique from the Mysterious Sect, which had very orthodox cultivation methods. Its Daoist techniques and swordsmanship were decent but not as formidable as the Emei Sect's 'Nine Heavens Mysterious Scripture'.

After that defeat, the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor switched to side path cultivation techniques. Cultivators on the side path cultivated to become 'superhumans'; they pursued all manner of Divine Power Techniques, desiring great power to stand above others, to act without restraint, and to freely settle scores.

He collected a large amount of highly toxic materials, built a shack on Maoshan, and after ten arduous years, refined an incredibly ferocious Five Poison Immortal Sword.

In his second swordfight on Yellow Mountain, he finally defeated Qi Shuming. Just as he was about to claim victory, the other party's numerical advantage led to a forced mediation.

He didn't accept the mediation, and so they ganged up on him. If it weren't for the protection of treasures like the Taiyin Five Smoke Net, he would have lost his life. Even so, he suffered severe injuries from the Invisible Sword Energy of Master Xuanzhen and almost underwent Soldier Disintegration.

Dissatisfied, the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor arranged for a third swordfight fifty years later. This time, he delved further into the Demon Path, intending to refine the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, the fiercest of swords mentioned in Daoist books known from ancient to modern times.

Now he had refined the sword mold and placed the Talismans; all preliminary preparations were complete. Next, he needed to refine a demon into the sword.

According to Daoist books, the highest method of refining involved setting up a Dharma Platform and offering sacrifices to lure an Otherworldly Heavenly Demon, then casting spells to capture and refine the demon into the sword.

But this method was too dangerous. Otherworldly Heavenly Demons possessed vast Divine Skills and were unpredictable. Even if he had the magical treasures specifically for Demon Refinement, a moment's carelessness could backfire on him. Despite the techniques for refining and controlling demons written in the books, the odds of success were still slim.

Moreover, the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor estimated that even if the sword could be successfully refined, its demon nature would be too strong, and the Heavenly Demon inside could influence the wielder's temperament, even affecting the emotions and minds of those who approached it. With his level of effort, he was not certain he could control it, and a single mistake could turn him into a puppet of the demon within the sword.

He decided to opt for a less risky approach, not to draw a Heavenly Demon from the Demon Realm, but to refine a Cultivator's Primordial Spirit from the Human World into a Divine Demon for the sword. Earth Demons might not be as formidable as Heavenly Demons, but he figured they should be sufficient against the Emei Sect.

The Primordial Spirit to be refined into the sword naturally needed to have as high a Dao Level as possible—the best would be the Yang God of a Heavenly Immortal.

But the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor considered that if someone had already achieved the status of Heavenly Immortal and was ready to ascend, they must be at a point of Perfection. If he captured them for Sword Refining, it would be too offensive against the heavens.

He came to the Southern Border this time because he remembered an old enemy, who was the master of Red Cloud City, known as Di Can.

The Red Cloud Master was initially the niece-in-law of Shen Wugou, the wife of the Blood God Child Deng Yin, but later became her disciple. After being foul-played during a duel and undergoing Soldier Disintegration, they both reincarnated as females, and as conjoined twins at that, joined at the waist with four legs, two arms, and two heads—one ugly and one beautiful. The ugly one was the male's reincarnation, the beautiful one was the female's.

Abandoned by their parents in the mountains as children, they were robust and could forage for wild fruits.

By the age of thirteen, the beautiful one, possessing a fiery temper due to constant arguments with the ugly one, separated them with a blade in a fit of rage. If it weren't for Shen Wugou arriving in time, they would have bled to death.

Shen Wugou collected their blood with Immortal Technique, took them back to the Immortal Mansion, and used Immortal Pills to transform the blood to be poured back into their bodies, employing various methods to revive them.

However, the bond between master and disciple was severed, and after Shen Wugou ascended to the Immortal Realm, they were left behind—the ugly one assumed the role of the elder sister, calling herself Tian Que, and the beautiful one, hating her given name, took the Daoist name "Red Cloud," built pavilions and terraces on the cultivation site left by Shen Wugou, and gathered numerous male and female disciples to form what is now known as Red Cloud City, styling herself as the City Master with aspirations of establishing a sect.

This Red Cloud Master was of a bizarre nature, stubborn and cruel; her disposition allowed no rebuttal from others.

The Tian Que Master was her husband in a previous life and the conjoined elder sister in this one. With a mild nature and always indulgent to her, even they could not coexist without quarreling.

Red Cloud had heard that there were also a pair of dreadful old creatures in the Northwest, one named Tian Can and the other Di Que. They were conjoined twins at birth and, after being separated, one was missing the left leg, and the other the right leg. Angry about someone else with a matching name, they sought out Tian Que to force a name change.

Tian Can and Di Que had worse tempers and greater mana, and in the ensuing duel, the two sisters were soundly defeated. After Tian Que later fell into misfortune, Red Cloud moved away to establish a new dwelling.

One could glimpse their temperamental nature from this.

The enmity between Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor and Red Cloud originated from their respective disciples, who were fiercely protective of their own kind. Their disciples' battles resulted in mutual harm, and neither master could tolerate the grievances brought back by their disciples.

In the past, there were two duels: during the first, Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor used the Taiyin Five Smoke Net to trap Red Cloud nearly to death, but fortunately, Master Changmei happened to pass by and saved her.

Later, Red Cloud obtained the Chi You Three Disks Scripture and, after cultivating it, her mana greatly increased. She also refined the Red Cloud Scattering Flower Needle and took advantage of a moment of misfortune for Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor to launch a sudden attack, nearly shattering his physical body.

Thus, the two sides harbored a death grudge against each other.

This time Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor came to the Southern Border specifically to kill Red Cloud and seize her flesh and Primordial Spirit to refine into Divine Demons, ultimately to temper them into a demon god within the sword!

Shi Feiyang had not seen Red Cloud but, based on the original description, she wasn't a good individual either. It was no concern of his that the Ancestor wished to kill her, yet thinking of her possession of the Chi You Three Disks Scripture, he had other thoughts.

The Chi You Three Disks Scripture was divided into three parts: one part in the hands of Geng Kun, a Taoist practitioner from the East Sea; another part with the Red Corpse God Monarch in the Western region; and the last part with Red Cloud, the lord of Red Cloud City.

Each part of the scripture emphasized different aspects. Geng Kun's focused on Refining Form, and the emphasis of the others retained by the two was yet unknown.

Chi You was a contemporary of the Yellow Emperor, and Shi Feiyang was interested in his unique cultivation method. Moreover, he hoped to gain a different perspective on the world and human circumstances during the Yellow Emperor's era, which could greatly benefit his understanding of the Three Emperors Dao.

Of course, this ambition was not urgent.

The content of Geng Kun's Daoist book was currently in Zhu Changyuan's mind. By restoring Zhu Changyuan's memory of a previous life, he could naturally obtain it, but he chose not to do so.

Once memories were unlocked, the emotional connection between Zhu Changyuan and Geng Kun would be restored. Given Geng Kun's character, he was bound to encounter a disaster in the future, and Zhu Changyuan would inevitably be unable to let go, likely resulting in his own entanglement and misfortune. Shi Feiyang thought it unworthy.

Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor merely wished to use a cultivator's Primordial Spirit to temper a sword, while Shi Feiyang had several Divine Demons refined from the Primordial Spirits of cultivators. Exchanging one of them for a scripture was feasible.

But this would involve a complicated interplay of interests between three parties. Good planning was crucial lest everything descend into chaos.

Shang Zhu still sought to avenge his master and junior brother, so the trio didn't stay long in Evil Spirit Gorge after perusing the He Sha Book and soon departed.

As Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor sought to deal with the Emei Sect and wished to draw Ni Fangxian and Shi Feiyang to his side, he invited them to visit Wutai Mountain.

Shi Feiyang thought to himself: if he knew that more than one of his disciples had died at my hand, would he still be so cordial to me?

After a few polite exchanges, they went their separate ways.

After Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor had departed, Shi Feiyang asked Ni Fangxian to return to Xianxia Ridge first, explaining that he had another matter to attend to.

Ni Fangxian inquired about the matter.

Shi Feiyang replied frankly, "The lord of Red Cloud City has in her possession a part of the Chi You Three Disks Scripture which could be of some assistance to my path to enlightenment. I intend to obtain it for study."

After a moment's thought, Ni Fangxian said to Shi Feiyang, "Jingxu mentioned to me the conflict between the Wutai and Emei Sects, stating that it started over pride but later turned into a battle between good and evil. Pride can be contested, but good and evil cannot; evil will ultimately lead to self-destruction. Unfortunately, this dispute has become intertwined with the heavenly tribulation, and not only should we not get involved uninvited, we must also try to avoid it as much as possible."

Shi Feiyang understood her point, "Thank you for the advice. Don't worry, I'll find a way to handle this matter smoothly, just to acquire the scripture."

Ni Fangxian nodded. She had secretly calculated Shi Feiyang's fate and saw that he had already become involved in the three swordfights, though she did not know the details and refrained from asking, merely offering a few words of caution.

Shi Feiyang knew that Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor was supposed to die in the second swordfight, and his actions in killing the traitor Zhu Hong had enabled the Ancestor to survive by preventing him from stealing the Daoist books and Taiyin Five Smoke Net, significantly altering the third swordfight's dynamics.

Originally, the Emei Sect would have dominated overwhelmingly; now, though they still had the upper hand, the Wutai Sect was not without the power to fight back. Much would depend on the Ancestor's future actions.

Shi Feiyang, when he decided to kill Zhu Hong, had already foreseen this consequence but had no other choice. Only by allowing Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor to survive could he secure the treasures inside the Shaqing Immortal Mansion at Golden Stone Gorge: the Purple and Blue Duoluo Fire, the Three Talents Clearing Circle, and the Heavenly Heart Double Rings. Each had their own threads of cause and effect, impacting relationships and determining whether he could obtain two more Cosmic Treasures in the future, which in turn would decide if he could achieve enlightenment.

Everything in the world depended on each other, forming a complex web of connections. It was merely a matter of weighing the costs and benefits. Often one must act in full knowledge of potential harm because the immediate lesser harm might prevent a greater future disaster.

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