The Fourth Volume Chapter 4 (Part 1) The Female Demon's Clever Disguise

  Walking on the streets of Datian City, no one recognizes us.

  The mermaid wore a golden and silver inlaid helmet, with a rounded brim that hung down semi-transparent gauze all around, covering her face. The golden armor transformed into fish-scale gold thread clothes, wrapping the mountain-like undulating torso. I also put on a bamboo hat, tied up my long hair, and covered myself up. The mermaid said I had already become a celebrity in the Red Dust Heaven, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, it was best not to reveal my whereabouts before dueling with Yun Dalang.

  The autumn sun was still strong, and the road surface was a bit sticky from the heat. In a clothing store, Haiji bought me over ten new sets of clothes, chose a plum-red silk cheongsam for me to change into, and tied a crimson leather belt around my waist. She gazed at me intently for a while, nodded in satisfaction: "You look better in bright colors."

  I scratched my head: "I'm not the groom, why wear red like a girl? Right, didn't you say you weren't bringing any money? Where did all this silver come from to buy clothes?"

  "Hai Ji smiled lightly and said, 'How could I dare not bring silver when going out with a scoundrel like you? For these three years, I've been sleeping with a package of gold and silver under my pillow, thinking that once I find you, I must let you eat and drink well.'"

  My heart skipped a beat as I grasped Haixi's hand: "Is it worth it? For me to do this."

  "I like it the way I like it." Hai Ji said softly. We strolled slowly in the city, and I remembered what Tulufan asked me to buy for him. This old demon's purchases were all strange goods, six-whisker Tianma and bamboo honey were just expensive, but a catty of Danmu seeds made me search half the city, and the shopkeeper looked at me like a monster, muttering: "One grain of Danmu seed can produce fruit that can feed one hundred people for a year, yet you want to buy a whole catty, you must be born under an unlucky star."

  I settled the bill and took the Danmu seeds, then went to the Dan medicine shop in the east of the city. When I asked about the Qilin horn powder, it turned out that one catty cost a thousand taels of silver. Without saying another word, I targeted a large package of Qilin horn powder on the counter, stretched out my hand and pretended to probe, preparing to cast the Hunyuan Jiaoyu spell.

  "Slap", Haiji lightly slapped my hand and scolded: "Don't do that." She took out a pale blue clam pearl and handed it to the shop owner.

  I rolled my eyes, with several women around me fussing over every detail, sometimes it's a nuisance. The shopkeeper carefully examined the pearl and was overjoyed, not only did he hand over the qilin horn powder but also gave us back several hundred taels of silver.

  "I'd like another pound of ice cream," I said to the shop owner.

  Hai Ji looked at me in surprise: "Ice Ant Powder is a half-cold and half-hot thing, it's said that after taking it, people will have hallucinations. What are you buying this messy stuff for?"

  Because I was bound by the oath of Tulufan, I couldn't tell Haiji directly, so I made up a reason about cultivating magic. The shopkeeper shook his head and said: "Sir, Ice Ant is a rare specialty of Moze Heaven, and although our store has the most complete medicinal herbs and elixirs in Dacheng City, we don't have it for sale. Even if you searched the entire city of Dacheng, I'm afraid you still wouldn't be able to buy Ice Ant paste."

  I was feeling a bit disappointed, when someone next to me whispered: "That's not necessarily true, I've heard that there's a place called the All Great Delight Building, 100 miles west of the city, where all sorts of rare and precious things can be found."

  I immediately asked for the address of the Great Happiness Building and, seeing that it was getting late, hurriedly pulled Haizi along with me to rush there.

  This building is located in the western suburbs, far and desolate, with gray walls and gray tiles hidden among a lush ancient forest. The guests coming and going are not many, but each one is very mysterious, mostly covering their faces, riding in cars pulled by strange beasts such as Qilin, White Lion, and Vermilion Bird, looking very majestic. At the gate of the building, two muscular and terrifying giants stand guard, with their arms crossed, staring fiercely.

  "Is there an invitation?" A giant stretched out his palm to block me, geez, this guy's fingers were thicker than my thigh, I don't know how his mom gave birth to him in the first place.

  "What invitation? I have money!"

  Giant said: "No matter how much silver you have, only guests invited by the host can enter."

  "What kind of rule is this?" I complained loudly: "I just want to buy some things."

  The giant waved his hand impatiently: "This isn't a store, hurry up and move, don't block the entrance and bother our guests."

  Hai Ji looked around and said, "This 'All Great Delight' building seems to be newly opened. I hadn't heard of it a year ago, and I don't know what kind of business they do."

  I rolled my eyes and fixed my gaze on the guests entering and exiting. The so-called invitation was a red card with golden edges, with a cluster of jumping flames printed in the corner. At this moment, a plump female demon with a pair of large ears and covered in jewels and treasures was about to enter the building under the escort of several servants. As she passed by me, I skillfully used my Chaotic Armor Technique to snatch an invitation from her.

  Facing the accusing gaze of Hai Ji, I chuckled and said: "As the saying goes, a brother should lend a helping hand when his sister is drowning. A great man shouldn't be bothered by trivial matters, how can he let urine kill him?" With that, I flashed the invitation in front of the giant and was about to enter the building.

  "Ah, my invitation is gone!" The fat female ogre's cry was even more unpleasant than a mother pig's. The giant, however, was very polite and bowed with a smile: "Who in the North doesn't know the great name of Zhu San Jie? Please come in, no need for an invitation."

  A servant of the female demon Zhu Sanjie suddenly walked straight up to me and said indifferently, "Return the stolen invitation."

  My heart skipped a beat as I knew I had met a master, so I pretended to be foolish and said: "What nonsense is this dog slave spouting?"

  I felt a chill on my face, and I took a step forward with my left foot. I made a fake move to the right, then quickly stepped back several times. My footsteps were strange and agile, but my right foot remained still like an iron stake. I was stunned for a moment, not knowing what kind of trick my opponent was playing. Suddenly, I heard Hai Ji whisper: "Be careful, it's Qingxu Tian's Ten Great Gate Step Fighting Style!"

  As soon as the words fell, a bright purple gas rose from the servant's left foot and traversed along the path he had just trodden, moving like a dragon. Immediately, a string of deep footprints appeared on the ground, forming a mysterious purple pattern, with bursts of sharp purple gas shooting out of the pattern, just like incense smoke.

  In an instant, the purple mist spread out, and a vast expanse of nothingness appeared before my eyes. The people and scenes around me all disappeared, and I was trapped in the rolling waves of purple clouds, losing my direction.

  A mass of purple gas surrounded me, constantly moving, and I seemed to be dragged into a deep and bottomless swamp. The surroundings were sticky and thick, and my body gradually softened. I knew something was wrong, so I quickly activated the Feathered Tripod Cloudswallow within my Dan Tian, making my entire body feel as heavy as a thousand kilograms, rapidly sinking downwards. At the same time, I concentrated all my energy into a single punch, unleashing the Chaotic Armor Technique towards the cloud waves. With a "whooshing" sound, the purple cloud sea split open a gap, revealing a faint light. I quickly darted towards that opening and burst out of it.

  Suddenly, a bright light flashed before my eyes, and the purple gas dissipated like steam. My vision cleared, and I was still standing in front of the gate, with the attendant looking at me in shock. Before he could react, I turned to attack, wrapping him in a circle of jade energy. With a punch, six fist shadows appeared, striking him one after another.

  I retreated hastily, while retreating, my left foot continuously treading on the Qigong position, walking out a Big Dipper pattern like a snake, seven footprints appeared on the ground in an instant, and purple gas rose along the Big Dipper pattern.

  My four fist shadows arrived at the opponent's side, just like being sucked into a swamp, disappearing without a trace. I looked at the footprints on the ground, and suddenly had an idea, my left foot performed the "Bing Qi Jia Yu" technique, transforming into an iron hammer, smashing towards the ground. "Boom", the seven footprints were shattered, and the Big Dipper pattern disappeared along with them. The other two fist shadows finally broke through the purple gas, heavily hitting him.

  I let out a muffled grunt, my hand clutching at my chest as I retreated. My heart was racing too - the Step Dou's secret path technique was truly wondrous, able to defeat an enemy with just a change in footsteps. Ever since defeating Liu Cuifeng and Shui Liulang, I had become somewhat arrogant, underestimating the world's top experts.

  "Listen, the members of the Step Fist Sect are ordinary characters and can only use one foot to perform their fist techniques. However, their leader, Floating Chuan True Person, can use both feet at the same time, creating a powerful purple energy with each step. If you engage in combat with them, you must seize the initiative and attack first, otherwise, you will be at a disadvantage."

  Another servant of Zhu Sanjie stepped forward, speaking in a mysterious and eerie tone: "You're quite skilled, aren't you? I've come from the farthest reaches of the land to learn from your expertise."

  Budangpai, Zhai Chi Tianya Jiao are all top ten sects of Qingxu Heaven, with masters as numerous as clouds. How did I run into them all today? Seeing that the opponent was not willing to give up, I pointed at the remaining few servants and said with a heroic spirit: "You all come together, I'll make a big deal out of it today!"

  "Everyone, stop!" A middle-aged man rushed out of the building, shaking his hands repeatedly. He first bowed deeply to me and said humbly, "It's a misunderstanding, I hope you can forgive us, sir. Our master has instructed us that your visit is an honor to our humble abode, please come in quickly." Then he turned to Zhu Sanjie with a smile all over his face: "San Jie, this young master is an old acquaintance of our master's, please be magnanimous and don't mind it. Today, our master has specially arranged for you a new...". He leaned close to Zhu Sanjie's ear and whispered a few sentences. My Wind Ear Secret Technique clearly heard that it was about a merman captured from the Hundred Flowers Pond in Mo Yue Tian, how handsome and strong he was, etc.

  I watched as Zhu San Jie entered the building surrounded by her attendants, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. What kind of place was this "Great Joy Pavilion" anyway? It seemed a bit strange. Hai Ji glanced at me and asked, "Do you know the owner of this building?"

  I shook my head in confusion: "Could it be that the host has recognized me as the son-in-law of the Pulse Classic Sea Temple, so he's deliberately trying to curry favor with me? In any case, let's go inside and take a look first."

  Inside the building, there is another vermilion gate. The frame is made of purple gold and the border is made of emerald jade. Behind the gate, a pair of beautifully dressed young men and women kneel down to welcome us, taking out snow-white silk handkerchiefs from crystal plates to wipe our shoes clean.

  Treading on the colorful phoenix feather carpet, stepping onto the emerald staircase, thin silk curtains hung down like cicada wings on both sides, with round snow-white pearls embroidered on the silk. The bronze beasts spouted fragrance, and the fire tree spat out flowers. I couldn't help but feel dizzy. This building looked unassuming from the outside, but inside it was like a luxurious paradise.

  Upstairs, a row of crystal screens separated the left and right sides. Behind the screen, a pair of young men and women flashed out. The young man was handsome and beautiful, with a face as white as jade; the girl had a slender figure and a beautiful appearance. Both people were wearing very little, almost half-naked, the girl affectionately held up my arm, wanting to pull me away.

  "You come with me too." The young man smiled lightly at Hai Ji and reached out to take her hand. "Slap", Hai Ji slapped the young man to the ground, her beautiful eyes flashing coldly, and she said sternly: "What do you think you're doing?"

  The young man was stunned, knelt down on the ground in a flurry, and kept kowtowing: "If the guest doesn't like me, I can be replaced immediately to serve."

  I also pushed the girl away and asked: "What is this place doing? I just want to buy a catty of ice cream, who should I look for?"

  The girl looked puzzled: "Aren't you two here to have fun?"

  "Debauchery?" I took a glance at the young men and women, then recalled the whispers between the middle-aged man and Zhu San Jie, and suddenly realized. It turned out that this was a brothel! Not only were there female prostitutes, but also male prostitutes.

  A middle-aged man came over and asked the reason, then smiled and said: "Since neither of you needs to be served, please go to the elegant room to rest. As for the ice ant syrup, we do have it here, but we never sell it outside. Let me ask the master of the house and I will come back to reply to you." He called a young servant to lead the way in front.

  Through the carved corridor, hundreds of rooms were scattered, and I happened to catch a glimpse of a elegant room with its door slightly ajar. The sound of "slap" came from inside. Through the gap in the door, a handsome male demon was tied up on the beam, completely naked, with iron chains piercing through his shoulder blades, fresh blood flowing along the chain all the way to his blue tail covered in scales. The servant quickly closed the door, but I still saw Zhu Sanjie swinging her shiny leather whip, her face flushed with excitement and panting.