Chapter 307 The New Moon
The three of them - Full Moon, First and Last Quarter, had realized that Nineteen was here. They exhaled a long breath of relief in unison and greeted her simultaneously, "Eldest sister!"
Nineteen fell back by a few steps and smiled to Wen Leyang, "I am New Moon. I am the descendant of the lineage of Heavenly Moon from northwest Mingsha Mountain." As she spoke, she stretched out her finger and pointed to the rest of the three descendants of moon cone nail, "I'm also their eldest sibling. I didn't expect you to be here too."
Even a child from the Wen family would know that One Word Palace had been conspiring against Nine Peaks Mountain all along, but the other party refused to reveal their ill intentions this entire time. The Wen family members too, were unwilling to turn hostile, yet Wen Leyang had never expected that One Word Palace was actually the lineage of Heavenly Moon. Nineteen was even the leader of the Heavenly Moon, she was New Moon!
The fat man, Full Moon, stood steadily; the color of his face was extremely gray. He bustled about as he procured a purse embroidered with a full moon from his chest pocket and retrieved a piece of Centipede Grass' leaf. He then placed it into his mouth cautiously before exhaling a long breath of relief. A forceful laugh then echoed towards Nineteen, "The eldest sister should have never saved Qin Zhui back then. Tuo Xie's disciples followed the clue and found the place of the outer fringe…"
Wen Leyang's mind was a chaotic mess. After he listened to Full Moon's words, he asked Nineteen almost subconsciously, "Did you save Qin Zhui?"
Nineteen nodded, "I saved Qin Zhui. It was a matter of an unquestionable moral truth, unrelated to all you descendants of Tuo Xie." Upon saying that, Nineteen inhaled a deep breath; her gaze suddenly turned resolute, "As you are in the place of the outer fringe, you shall face a certain death. Without a doubt, I will never allow you to disturb Kong Nuer's matter. If you have any other wishes, I swear in the name of Mingsha Mountain's Heavenly Moon lineage, that I will help you fulfill it!"
Tu Mi took a step forward and sneered in a high-pitched tone, "There are thousands of cultivators here, even so, only a few of you possess unsurpassed cultivation base…"
Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by First Quarter Moon who spoke with a ghastly voice, "The few of us do not have the intention to fight or kill you. The moment all of you start launching an attack, we will immediately leave the place of the outer fringe.
Last Quarter Moon continued the words of his brother, "The great formation outside is already completed. The moment we leave, in a while, Shiwan Mountain's countless monsters will come dashing here. Honestly, if you want Wen Leyang to speak quietly to Nineteen, you shall stay here!"
Wen Leyang did not have an ounce of strength left in him. Chi Maojiu too was injured, while the other party had a new moon, a pair of first and last quarter moon and three top sword immortals with perfect combat capabilities. The victory and defeat was already determined. Even though there were thousands of cultivators in the surroundings, yet just by depending on their cultivation base, there was utterly no way to stop the descendants of the moon cone nail, should they wish to leave.
Wen Leyang was truly too lazy to think anymore. His entire body was trembling from exhaustion and he understood that the other party would certainly never allow him to leave the place of the outer fringe. He stretched out his finger and pointed to Chi Maojiu, Ji Fei and the rest, before pointing to the dwarf Taoist priest and Tu Mi, "Allow them leave this place."
Nineteen on the other hand, shook her head, "That's impossible. There are too many people here. Moreover, the people brought out of this place will have a portion of their memories erased by me. Chi Maojiu was skilled in rare art, Tu Mi and Qilian Sect's supreme leader possess profound cultivation base, and I am incapable of sealing their memories! The rest of the three people…"
Wen Leyang chuckled, "They are Ji Fei and Shui Jing, and the other one is but a child."
Nineteen gave a forced laugh, "This Art of Disguise, is truly remarkable! I shall bring the three of them out of the place of the outer fringe. I will erase their memories of the past few months before releasing them." As she was saying that, she paused for a moment, "I have unintentionally formed an enmity with Tuo Xie's lineage. If Nine Peaks Mountain were to find out what happened here, it will turn into a scene of no rest without death. I hope you'll understand why I did as such!"
Chi Maojiu spoke to Nineteen, "Bring Wen Leyang away from this place too. Tuo Xie's lineage shall be eternally grateful for your great kindness from now on!"
Nineteen still shook her head, "If Wen Leyang were to leave, he is willing to risk his life to stop us. Moreover… to bring him out, there is no way we can justify ourselves too!"
Chi Maojiu's eyes were bloodshot. He gave out an oppressed pant from his throat and was about to say something when Nineteen spoke in a dull tone, "There is no need… it is impossible." As she was saying that, she stretched out her finger and pointed to Ji Fei, Shui Jing and the child. She turned around and called out to her three companions, "Take them away."
Wen Leyang then pointed to the blind man, "He is an ordinary cultivator as well, and he's going to Nine Peaks Mountain to help You've Got Me." Wen Leyang only wished that the fat bug could live, yet he did not remember that You've Got Me had recognized its master and was spiritual. If he was dead, the bug could not live as well.
Nineteen was exceedingly straightforward. She stretched out her hand and pulled the blind man over, before pushing him to her companions. She waved her hand and instructed, "All of you leave first; I shall follow behind!"
The rest of the three descendants of moon cone nail brought Ji Fei and Shui Jing, the child and the blind man as they turned around to leave. Ji Fei turned his head around in an attempt to say something, but did not speak. Instead, he looked at Chi Maojiu as he nodded slightly. He mouthed three words, "Hang in there!" Soon after, the group of people vanished into the entrance of the place of the outer fringe.
Chi Maojiu truly wanted to reply to him – Will we be able to hang in here?
The moment they moved, the large group of cultivators in the place of the outer fringe too immediately moved along. Even Tu Mi could not help but to follow the crowd to surge towards the exit. But alas, no one had expected the exit to welcome a gush of incomparably thick and heavy force radiating from the outside. By the time they were dashing into it, it was as if there was an invisible great mountain that could not be pushed away or even moved. It blocked the only exit path from the place of the outer fringe.
The cultivators in the place of the outer fringe were blocked by the peculiar force and burst into a commotion all at once. Some with quick reaction had already understood that someone had casted a prohibition spell from the outside, allowing only their own people to enter and leave at will.
Nineteen remained calm and composed, as she explained in a simple manner.
This prohibition spell allowed entrance but not exit, but as it had yet to take full form earlier, they sent over their inferiors to seal the exit first. Now that the prohibition spell was completed, there was no need for their people to handle it anymore. Apart from the immortal master teacher's disciples being allowed to enter and exit at will, no one in the place of the outer fringe could even think of leaving!
At this point, Nineteen laughed, then she shot her gaze towards Wen Leyang again, "If you were as excellent as before, perhaps you can still use your strange punching method to punch your way through the prohibition spell, but right now… If I leave, all of Shiwan Mountain's monsters will surge into this place. Kong Nuer has assigned some people to design this for four years; it was meant to feed the cultivators in the place of the outer fringe to those monsters.
Nineteen's voice was not high-pitched, but she was not lowering her voice intentionally either. The surrounding cultivators had already become agitated initially, but upon hearing her words, they became completely infuriated. After a series of raging roars, capable of toppling the mountains and overturning the seas, were heard, treasured weapons rose up in layers that engulfed the sky and concealed the sun in the blink of an eye. They wished that they could immediately dismember Nineteen into thousands of pieces to vent their anger.
Just as the obvious feeling was aroused, fiery falcons shuttled through the air all of a sudden. Thousands of black long vines danced enchantingly, akin to a blooming, black man-eating flower when seen from a bird's eye view! Chi Maojiu's voice sounded extremely stern, one that carried a slight Qing Miao accent, and he even scattered his ruthlessness and tyranny into the sky, "Everyone, fall back!"
Tu Mi clenched her teeth, and raised the token in her hand once again. She instructed loudly, "Protect him!"
On the occasion when the crucial moment was about to happen, the World Sect's disciples received the order strictly. Upon the sound of their response, they had already surrounded Chi Maojiu and the rest in layers. They brandished their treasured weapons and stood gazing at one another with the other cultivators.
In the matter of life and death, Tu Mi was not supporting Wen Leyang blindly. She was an intelligent person and understood that if everyone were to launch an attack like a swarm of bees, it would only result in Nineteen's escape, followed by an imminent disaster. As that would be the result, she might as well allow Wen Leyang to have a discussion with Nineteen; perhaps they would be able to find some chance of vitality.
The people in the place of the outer fringe were infuriated, yet most of them were intelligent seniors. They figured out this principle after a moment, and retracted their treasured weapons in hatred. Some who were more impatient were helping the group to probe at the exit's prohibition spell once again, in hopes that they had one last opportunity to find the prohibition spell's flaw.
Chi Maojiu watched as the situation outside became much quieter. Only then he heaved a sigh of relief; too much panic in his expression. On the contrary, there was a little puzzlement. He looked at Nineteen and asked, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Nineteen's smile was warm and gentle. Even though she was not considered breathtakingly beautiful, she made everyone who looked at her feel a sense of comfort that was cheerful and pleasing to the eye, "I want to save all of you, but I cannot. I do not feel at ease in my heart, so, I shall stay for a little while longer. I will explain everything to all of you, if there is anything you wish to know, "
Even though Chi Maojiu was not even twenty years old, his natural disposition was bold and forthright. He burst out laughing upon hearing that, "Very well! Being dead from understanding the truth is still better than dying a confused soul! I shall ask first, I thought the monsters have already surged here earlier? Why didn't you just allow the monsters to surge here at that time? Why was it necessary to create all this trouble?"
As expected, Nineteen immediately answered, "Those were the monsters from the nearby two mountain peaks. It is still fine for them to surge and kill for a while, as they cannot hold on for a longer period of time. At this moment, the entire Shiwan Mountain's worth of monsters are waiting outside for a meal!"
Chi Maojiu nodded in a manner that was beyond delightful. He waved his hand and patted Wen Leyang, "It's your turn to ask a question!"
Wen Leyang could not even stand up, let alone ask a question. He pondered for a moment before bursting into feigned laughter, "I am not asking any questions. Why don't you tell us everything if you have the time?"
Nineteen did not act as graceful and poised like a lady from a noble family as she did usually. She stretched out her hand and scratched the back of her head, with mischievous agony rising in her face, "Hmm… where do I begin?"
Wen Leyang too laughed, "Start from the beginning!"
Nineteen stuck out her tongue and laughed, "Then, there would be a lot for me to tell!" She then thought for a moment before speaking again, "I don't know how much you know about Kong Nuer, however… The descendants of the moon cone nail would understand this – Kong Nuer who suppressed Xiang Liu on the Black and White Island, was not that immortal master teacher who led the cultivators in the world to go all out to serve him back in the day!"
Upon saying that, she was afraid that Wen Leyang could not understand her. She then added, "What I meant was, before the condensation of the demon-suppressing heaven's cone nails, someone was pretending to be the immortal master teacher! The Kong Nuer we see right now, is not the immortal master teacher from back then!"
Wen Leyang gave out a 'huh', and raised his brows with interest.
The split body Third Brother that seized the abode of the god level body, was a top secret matter. Zhui Zi only found out about the sequence of events, because she was right in the middle of that scheme.
Of course, the descendants of the moon cone nail did not know about this secret, yet it was unknown how they managed to discover the flaw.
Perhaps it was because Wen Leyang would die a certain death. Perhaps Nineteen was truly harboring regret in her heart. She did not try to hide anything else in her words and explained the matter of Heavenly Moon's lineage in entirety.
Below the Heavenly Moon's lineage, they were separated into four sects - New Moon, Full Moon, First and Last Quarter Moon. New Moon was the leader amongst them.
The Heavenly Moon Sect from Mingsha Mountain was the same as the Heavenly Water Sect from the snow peak. Their cultivation method was of the Yin genus, while the sect leaders for the past dynasties were all females. The Moon Sect's first ancestor was a top sword immortal that followed and served the immortal master teacher all year long. The relationship between the two of them was very intimate too.
At this point, Nineteen was blushing, "They are… especially intimate, no one else knew about that."
Wen Leyang was apparently more high-spirited, and chuckled, "I understand, the both of them are not ordinarily intimate!"
Nineteen was laughing with a furtive glance too…
The immortal master teacher led the heaven's cone nail master cultivators as they killed their way onto the snow peak. Zhui Zi was murdered in cold blood, but the Heavenly Moon Sect's leader did not pay too much attention to that. However, through their engagement in the future, she gradually discovered that something was wrong.
It could be said that Heavenly Moon back in those days was even more familiar to the immortal master teacher's body than the Third Brother. When they were spending time alone in the future, she discovered that something was wrong. The 'mark' that she left on the Third Brother's body in the past, had vanished.
Wen Leyang could not help but to reveal a peculiar smile. The god level body was exactly the same as the Third Brother. When the latter had occupied the god level body, Heavenly Moon discovered that the body had changed. She thought that the person had changed too, but in reality, the person truly did not... so the matter became complicated.
Third Brother utterly did not pay attention to that tiny mark on his body, nor did he reveal his doings to Heavenly Moon. Heavenly Moon, on the other hand, thought that Kong Nuer had already changed, but the new Kong Nuer's supernatural power and cultivation base were even stronger than the original one. She was afraid that the revelation of even an ounce of flaw, would result in the disaster that would eradicate her sect. She dared not probe around, neither did she dare to inquire even more.
Heavenly Moon did not discuss this matter with the other heaven's cone nails master cultivators. She understood in her heart that the result of her doing would only be the same as the Heavenly Water's lineage; that her sect would be eradicated by the other party.
Afterwards, Heavenly Moon herself was stripped off her primordial soul to condense the heaven's cone nail. In order to ensure that her sect dared not resist her decision, it could be said that eight of the heaven's cone nails master cultivators followed the immortal master teacher. Other than Zhui Zi, there was also a Heavenly Moon, who was stripped off her primordial spirit unwillingly and forcefully.
From then, the Heavenly Moon's disciples were unlike the rest of the descendants of heaven's cone nails. They continued to wait and serve the immortal master teacher willingly, as they were conspiring to steal away the moon cone nail on the Black and White Island in the future, and figure out a way to resurrect their first ancestor.
After the heaven's cone nails great formation on the Black and White Island was completed, Kong Nuer retreated back to live in seclusion. He disappeared without a trace from then on, but before he left, he planted a spiritual spell on the master cultivators serving him and passed down the spell to the following generations from then on, in order to ensure that he could contact his inferiors at any time hereafter. This form of magic spell did not hinder the person, but allowed them to contact one another, and also allowed the immortal master teacher to locate them at any time.
The immortal master teacher's spiritual spell was passed down for generations on the New Moon's body. The Heavenly Moon's disciples dared not make reckless moves. After many generations until three thousand years ago, they finally figured out a way to break the passing of the magic spell. From that moment on, the Heavenly Moon's lineage on Mingsha Mountain officially vanished from the others' sight. The rest of the heaven's cone nails sects thought that the bloodline of Heavenly Moon was lost; they paid no attention to it anymore.
While Nineteen was explaining, she looked towards Chi Maojiu, "The act of breaking the spiritual magic spell was very similar to the Art of Witchcraft. It was based on a method that was figured out by our first ancestors through laborious efforts. The spiritual spell was broken, but the price that we had to pay was…"
Chi Maojiu had been staring at the white robe on Nineteen's body all along. He was absent-minded in a baffling manner, as he had just regained his focus right. He did not even need to ponder before he continued, "The price is that every generation of New Moon is not allowed to have her own name! Hah-hah, that's why you are named Nineteen, but Nineteen sounds rather pleasant. At least it is stronger than Thirteen."
Nineteen burst out laughing, "Thirteen is my sister! Not only the New Moon alone, but every generation of female children under New Moon's sect are not allowed to be named."
New Moon's top cultivation base did not purely come from cultivation, but it was awakened from her meridians that were inherited. Before her meridians were awakened, no one could know which one amongst the large group of female children in the Moon cone nail's family, would become the next New Moon.
That was why every single one of the female children in the family was not allowed to be named.
When Wen Leyang was visiting the snow peak, her meridians were awakened. She prayed to the moon, transferred the spirit, and received the inheritance of the power of the new moon. From that point on, she was the sect leader of the Moon cone nail's sect.
In the perception of the descendants of moon cone nail, One Word Palace was used to conceal their identity. They did not have the intention to change it into the right path of Five Blessings, but something happened afterwards. One Word Palace needed more supporting influence to continue investigating the matter. Coincidentally, there was the battle of the right and evil a thousand years ago. One Word Palace seized that opportunity to rise abruptly.
Nineteen's gaze was shifting in between Wen Leyang and Chi Maojiu. She laughed as she spoke, "The matter that we're investigating, is precisely your family's grand master, Tuo Xie's whereabouts!"
Wen Leyang suddenly laughed. He stretched out a hand weakly as he patted Chi Maojiu's shoulder, "The grand master, Tuo Xie, is prestigious! Every single rise of the Five Blessings is related to him!"
Chi Maojiu too laughed out loud; pride was overflowing from his face. The both of them laughed for a long while before they shut up, before asking in unison, "Why are you investigating the grand master, Tuo Xie?"
Nineteen answered in all apparent seriousness, "Because every generation of New Moon is related to the first ancestor who is condensed into the moon genus heaven's cone nail on the Black and White Island!"
Wen Leyang's face was filled with astonishment; he widened his eyes.
The first ancestor of the Heavenly Moon's lineage was condensed into the demon-suppressing cone nail, but every time on the occasion of the New Moon's awakened meridians, the next New Moon was capable of communicating with the first ancestor using a temporary telekinesis, through the process of praying to the moon and transferring of spirit.
Even Nineteen was unaware that this peculiar ability was actually intentionally prepared by the first ancestor before she was condensed into the heaven's cone nail. It was formed from cultivation, or was an inherent supernatural power of the Heavenly Moon's lineage.
Two thousand years ago, Tuo Xie once stepped onto the Black and White Island and disclosed the entire process of how he casted witchcraft spell to resurrect Zhui Zi to Tian Yin's true soul.
The moon genus heaven's cone nail hence learned that it was possible for her to be resurrected, but it was almost until a thousand years later, that the New Moon's meridians were awakened. The moon cone nail finally had the opportunity to transfer the knowledge of this information to her descendant, and by then, Tuo Xie had since vanished.
In order to investigate Tuo Xie and his descendants' whereabouts, One Word Palace developed their domineering influence. Soon, they found out about the three families of Wen, Miao, Luo, but at that time, the three lineages of Shudao's descendants were only ordinary people. They were of no help to the One Word Palace.
Another one thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. It was until after Wen Leyang cultivated into the first ancestor Wen Lazi's cultivation method, that he severely dented a group of cultivators from the Sun of Palace Dynasty in the village. One Word Palace shifted its gaze towards Shudao once again!
The Wen family was treated as common folk for the past two thousand years, when a young disciple suddenly came jumping out - he could defeat a group of cultivators easily. One Word Palace's first thought was that Tuo Xie was back, and Wen Leyang had inherited Tuo Xie's legacy.
Following that, Wen Leyang was regarded as an honored guest by the Temple of Great Mercy on Mount Emei. One Word Palace then valued the Wen family even more.
At this point, Nineteen laughed in embarrassment, "Actually… when that wicked witch from Jingpo autonomous prefecture snuck into the Miao stockade village in an attempt to seize the witchcraft power, we received news about that as well."
The Mo family from Jingpo autonomous prefecture was beaten by One Word Palace back in the day; its surviving evildoers escaped into the mortal world and regarded themselves as World Sect.
Not to mention the moon cone nail behind their back, One Word Palace claimed the authority of the right path of the cultivation world for over a thousand years. How was Jingpo, the wicked witch capable of hiding her scheme from them? They were too lazy to pay attention on usual days, yet they would absolutely never allow the enemy to seize the entire Miao clan's witchcraft power.
One Word Palace's good hands were supposed to rush towards the Miao stockade village to eradicate the wicked witch, yet they changed their mind due to Wen Leyang's abrupt emergence into the world.
According to One Word Palace's perception, if Tuo Xie had truly returned, he would absolutely not stand aside and watch as disaster befell the Miao clan. It was such a great opportunity for them to probe around - One Word Palace was unwilling to miss it.
When Wen Leyang saved the Miao clan once again, One Word Palace too grew more and more certain. The matter of forcing a marriage was still because they were looking for Tuo Xie's whereabouts.
Afterwards, Wen Leyang's mighty power rose abruptly and caused the cultivation world to grow and change rapidly. The demon immortals, corpse immortals and sword immortals that had disappeared for many years had returned continuously. One Word Palace followed on the path of Wen Bucao's disciples like a leech.
As for whether Nineteen was to marry Wen Leyang or not, One Word Palace did not mind. She was already hanging out with the Wen family, so she would know the moment Tuo Xie revealed himself.
Wen Leyang nodded continuously after listening to her, "Why don't you ask us directly?"
Nineteen cracked into her smile; she was glowing with faint beauty, "Even if all of you were to tell the truth at the time, I'll still refuse to believe it!"
