The Moon-Masking Sect Arrives

Chapter 178: The Moon-Masking Sect

Han Li’s heart stirred at the words. He understood well that on the path of cultivation, a single pointer from an enlightened master could save one from countless detours and greatly benefit one’s progress.

But equally, this Ancestral Master Li was no easy man to deceive. Han Li harbored too many secrets. If he stayed close to the man for any length of time, his inconsistencies would surely be discovered. Once questioned, he would be walking straight into a dead end.

Moreover, listening to those earlier “words of wisdom,” this was clearly not a man who would honor any master-disciple bond. More likely than not, he would treat even his own disciple to the same law of the jungle—seize the treasure and silence the witness.

Han Li’s momentarily active thoughts settled back down after this cold analysis.

The other Yellow Maple Valley disciples carried no such burdens. They were all rubbing their hands together, their morale soaring. Now they fought not merely for survival, but for their futures.

Han Li glanced subconsciously at Junior Sister Chen. He saw her flushed cheeks, her hands clenched into tight fists, a strange light flickering in her eyes—the look of someone who had made up her mind.

He sighed inwardly, then lost interest in watching his fellow sect members. Instead, he turned to look at the Clear Void Sect across the way.

That old Daoist was speaking to his men with spittle flying, occasionally striking an impassioned pose that drew bursts of cheering from the young priests. They were all in high spirits, thoroughly brainwashed. Of course, a few older priests remained calm and unmoved the entire time.

Han Li found this amusing and was watching with great interest when someone suddenly shouted:

“Look! The Moon-Masking Sect is here! That’s the Heavenly Moon Divine Boat!”

Startled, Han Li looked up at the sky.

A white dot glowed on the horizon, slowly drawing nearer.

It approached with incredible speed, and soon it was above the desolate mountain—a massive boat carved from green jade. Gold foil traced dragons and phoenixes across its outer walls, an extravagant sight. A great white light shield enveloped the vessel.

The boat was crowded with a large group of men and women, all dressed in white. At their head stood a charming woman in the attire of a young matron. Every movement she made carried a thousand allurements that stirred the soul.

The woman landed the jade boat and dismissed the light shield before parting her apricot lips to speak: “Fellow Elders, Uncle Qiong, Ni Chang pays her respects!”

Ancestral Master Li and the old Daoist hurriedly returned the greeting. Old Man Qiong, however, bared his teeth in a strange laugh. The next moment, his form blurred and vanished into thin air, leaving behind only one sentence and a gleeful cackle:

“I’ll return in seven days! Have the wager ready! I’m certain to win this time!”

The Daoist and Ancestral Master Li exchanged glances. Neither understood why the old man was so confident. They had already sized up the Moon-Masking Sect’s disciples. Though they were stronger than their own sects’ disciples, it was hardly enough to warrant such boasting.

The young matron’s beautiful eyes swept the scene. She asked out of curiosity, and when she heard the details of their bet, she couldn’t help but laugh. Her body shook with mirth, the curves of her frame stirring hearts.

The sight of this youthful matron’s charms made many of the young male disciples from the three sects stare with glazed eyes, nearly drooling.

But Ancestral Master Li and the Daoist had no attention to spare for the scenery. Seeing her like this, their hearts sank. They both felt the sharp sting of being played. Their faces turned bitter.

Could the Moon-Masking Sect truly possess some hidden trump card that would let them overpower both sects at once?

Holding back their pride, they were too embarrassed to press the matron for the truth despite their growing unease. As for the beautiful matron—Ni Chang the Immortalette—she was naturally content to feign ignorance and steered the conversation toward lighter topics.

The male disciples of Yellow Maple Valley, Han Li among them, had long since turned their gazes toward the new arrival’s large group of female disciples.

Rumors had long held that the Moon-Masking Sect advocated dual cultivation and that at least half their disciples were women—and only those of exceptional beauty would be accepted.

Seeing it with their own eyes, the rumors proved true. Every woman among them was a thousand graces and a hundred charms, their faces like the moon. The young men could barely keep their drool from flowing as their imaginations ran wild.

Han Li fared slightly better. Though momentarily dazzled, he relied on his extraordinary willpower to quickly collect himself and calm his heart.

Only then did he notice that the Moon-Masking Sect’s female disciples seemed wholly accustomed to being stared at by so many. They chatted and laughed without changing expression. A few even shot flirtatious glances at those watching, causing the observers’ legs to go weak and their bones to turn to jelly.

Their male disciples, by contrast, glared back with fury. Those standing beside their female partners were especially possessive, wishing they could return every stare with violence.

Han Li smiled faintly. A single glance at how the men and women stood together in pairs made it clear: even if these couples were not truly lovers, they were certainly paired for training purposes. That was why the male disciples were so indignant. They had already come to see the women beside them as their personal property—even if the women themselves did not share that view.

Han Li noticed that the male disciples glared not only at the Yellow Maple Valley side but also at the Clear Void Sect disciples.

Curious, he turned his head. Sure enough, the hot-blooded young Daoists were stealing furtive glances at the young women, then quickly looking away as if afraid of being caught. They looked thoroughly shifty.

Han Li barely suppressed his laughter.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt the Moon-Masking Sect’s female disciples were shooting far more flirtatious glances at the young Daoists than at the Yellow Maple Valley men.

He was speechless for a long moment.

But after a moment’s thought, his heart tightened. They hadn’t come here for flirtation and fun. They were here for a life-or-death struggle in the forbidden land. If the younger disciples from the other sects met Moon-Masking Sect’s women in battle, they would likely lose three-tenths of their strength before a single blow was struck. Laying a heavy hand on those charming, seductive women was not something just anyone could do.

What puzzled Han Li even more was this: how were all the Moon-Masking Sect disciples so young? There was not a single older face among them. That defied all common sense. If these were all old monsters who had preserved their youth, Han Li refused to believe it. Given their flirtatious and frivolous behavior, they were at most in their twenties. There was no sign of maturity about them.

Yet the Blood Forbidden Trial was famously a journey toward death. There was no way so many young people would willingly throw away their lives. And even if they did, they could not all be perfectly paired, their affections so deep that they were willing to die together. Han Li would never believe that.

Both Yellow Maple Valley and the Clear Void Sect had some elders among their numbers.

These were men whose lifespans were nearly spent. Even without entering the forbidden land, they would not live much longer. So they had come for one final gamble. If they could obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill and, by some miracle, break into Foundation Establishment, they would turn their lives around completely. Even if they could never hope for Core Formation, another hundred years of life was something gained for nothing.

Though not many elders harbored such thoughts, the two sects together had seven or eight such men. Yet the Moon-Masking Sect had none. To Han Li’s eyes, that was indeed somewhat strange.

Ancestral Master Li and the Daoist seemed to sense the anomaly as well. Their faces grew even darker. Though they continued speaking with Ni Chang the Immortalette of the Moon-Masking Sect, anyone could see their minds were elsewhere.

Not long after, the other four sects arrived one by one. Among them, the Giant Sword Sect and the Spirit Beast Mountain left the deepest impression on Han Li.

The Giant Sword Sect was entirely composed of men. Each wore black robes and carried a man-high, sheathless greatsword on his back. Their expressions were utterly cold, and their killing intent filled the air.

The disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain, by contrast, wore gaudy, eye-catching robes of green. They were covered in pouches and bags of all sorts, and faint movements could be seen within them. The sight made the disciples of other sects’ skin crawl.

As for the Saber Transformation Cove and the Heaven’s Fortress Sect, aside from their different attire, they seemed normal enough to Han Li. Like the Yellow Maple Valley disciples, many whispered among themselves or wore expressions of nervous tension.