596: Chapter 596 Talent

"What counts or doesn't count?" Liu Xuan feigned ignorance.

Yin Lizhi grew anxious. "It's about you and me becoming Dao Companions! I've agreed to it."

"Didn't you say you needed to think it over?" Liu Xuan smiled. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Yin Lizhi glanced at her three old acquaintances nearby and stepped to Liu Xuan's side. "I'm afraid the Saint might be deceived by certain ill-intentioned people."

Knowing that the Saintesses of the other three lineages had also come to Biyou City, and with the same idea of sneaking into the beauty pageant to get close to Liu Xuan, Yin Lizhi immediately regretted her earlier hesitation.

When it came to the skill of seduction, she admitted she was no match for the other three Saintesses. If they beat her to it and became Liu Xuan's Dao Companion, she wouldn't stand a chance!

"Sister Lizhi, those words are uncalled for!" Dong Xiangjun said in an unfriendly tone. "We are all Disciples of the Joyous Union Sect. Seeking the Saint is merely to exchange sentiments. How does that become 'deceiving' when it comes out of your mouth?"

"Yin Lizhi, think carefully before you speak!" Saint Daughter Gu Yujing rebuked. "Saint Liu is the Saint of my Hehuan Lineage. Since when has there been a precedent for him to become Dao Companions with someone from your Yin-Yang Branch?"

"You're the one trying to deceive the Saint, aren't you?!"

Liu Xiaowan didn't speak, but she nodded slightly, appearing to strongly agree with what Dong Xiangjun and Saint Daughter Gu Yujing had said.

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Yin Lizhi's mouth, and the pure expression on her Face faded. She said gloomily, "Do you think I don't know what kind of people you are? Calling you deceivers is already giving you enough Face!"

"You..." Dong Xiangjun laughed out of sheer anger. "You think you're any better? You're just a fake!"

...

They say three women make a drama, and now there were not just three, but four—and four old women who were at least two hundred years old at that!

In the Cultivation World, among those who can reach the level of Nascent Soul True Lord, aside from a few who Cultivate in bitter seclusion, how many can truly be considered good people?

The four Saintesses were from the Joyous Union Sect; it was even less likely for them to be simple young girls. They were just playing each other. After all, who could blame them when Saint Liu favored beauty?

"Enough!!"

Liu Xuan grew tired of it and interrupted their bickering with a heavy voice, saying impatiently, "If you want to argue, get the hell out and do it elsewhere. I'm sick of hearing it!"

Normally, when the women in the backyard of the Liu residence bickered or got jealous, Liu Xuan was occasionally happy to watch the show as long as they kept it within limits. But once it escalated into a full-blown argument that brought him negative emotions, it would inevitably draw his disgust.

Possessing the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Heart, Liu Xuan was extremely sensitive to the desires of others and could easily see through their true emotions.

Among the four Saintesses of the Joyous Union Sect, only Yin Lizhi was relatively sincere. Liu Xiaowan was full of calculations but harbored no real malice. Saint Daughter Gu Yujing and Dong Xiangjun were different; Liu Xuan could feel a thick wave of malice hidden beneath their beauty. If they found an opportunity, these two would not hesitate to strike at him.

Liu Xuan didn't move against them primarily because everything was under his control, and he could use them to understand the true motives behind the Joyous Union Sect.

Furthermore, most Cultivators in this Southern Border Cultivation World harbored more or less malice toward others. If Liu Xuan killed everyone he met who felt that way, he would never finish.

Human hearts are fickle; unless there are irreconcilable grudges, kindness and malice are often just a matter of interest.

Seeing the four women fall silent, Liu Xuan said calmly, "I accept the identity of the Joyous Union Sect Saint. Cooperating with me is fine, but you must act according to the rules of my Liu Family!"

His tone deepened as a terrifying pressure slowly emerged. "If you break the rules, don't blame me for being heartless!"

"Lizhi and Xiaowan stay. You two go directly to the City Lord's Manor. I will send someone to discuss the cooperation details with you later," Liu Xuan ordered directly.

"On what basis!" Hearing Liu Xuan's words, Saint Daughter Gu Yujing's Face instantly turned ugly, even worse than when she was arguing with Yin Lizhi just now.

Dong Xiangjun also lost her previous steady composure. She pointed at Yin Lizhi and Liu Xiaowan, then looked directly at Liu Xuan, questioning, "On what basis can they stay while we have to leave?"

"You have an objection?"

*Buzz~*

As Liu Xuan spoke indifferently, the stars in the sky seemed to shift, and lightning faintly flashed beneath the water. A terrifying aura instantly locked onto the two of them.

Seeing that Liu Xuan wasn't joking, Saint Daughter Gu Yujing and Dong Xiangjun said no more. They bowed to Liu Xuan and then exited the Fishing Pavilion, flying toward the City Lord's Manor.

After dismissing the two malicious Saintesses, Liu Xuan walked to Liu Xiaowan's side, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, leaned into her neck to take a deep breath, and then said with ill intent, "I heard that your Red Dust Branch deals in the flesh trade. Are you, the Saintess, also in that business?"

Liu Xiaowan's body dodged slightly, but for some reason, she eventually stopped. A forced smile appeared on her Face as she explained, "That is what ordinary lower-level Disciples do. My Red Dust Branch primarily Cultivates Charm Techniques, Illusion Techniques, and Music. We follow the Great Dao of controlling the human heart, not the flesh trade you speak of."

"Heh~" Liu Xuan laughed, his fingers sliding down her hair. "So you're saying you're an artist?"

"Music?"

"Why don't you show me your talent?"

Liu Xuan felt that Liu Xiaowan was very much like Bai Shan. She talked so loftily, but in reality, she was just an Advanced prostitute, a social butterfly.

Just like those top courtesans in brothels who sold their art but not their bodies—it wasn't that they wouldn't sell, the price just wasn't high enough.

According to the information Liu Xuan currently had, the Red Dust Branch of the Joyous Union Sect fell somewhere between righteous and evil.

They opened brothels and raised Cauldrons, and their low-level Cultivators earned Spirit Stones that were quite dirty.

The higher-ups were even more ruthless. They practiced Charm Techniques and Illusion Techniques, carrying out scams under the guise of helping others stabilize their Dao Heart or break through Heart Demons.

However, they still had a bit of conscience and professional ethics; it wasn't pure fraud. Music and Illusion Techniques truly did have auxiliary cultivation effects in helping others break Heart Demons or even achieve an Epiphany at times.

The Soul-Soothing Song, the Profound Mystery Song, and the Demon-Suppressing Song—the three most famous pieces of the Red Dust Branch—had even been publicly praised by big shots in the Dao Court.

Unlike the Caixuan Lineage, which everyone despised, the Red Dust Branch, though controversial and suppressed by Dao Court edicts, still saw its 'Hongchen Elegant Courtyards' spread across the Eastern Sea. They even had branches in some parts of the Central State Dao Court's territory, enduring through the ages.

An artist? Liu Xiaowan frowned slightly, not quite understanding what Liu Xuan meant.

But she understood the next sentence. Liu Xuan was interested in the musical Dao of the Red Dust Branch and wanted to test her level.

"Saint, I am not skilled in the three famous songs. What I excel at are songs of slaughter, which have the power to wound a person's Divine Soul. Do you really want to hear it?" Liu Xiaowan's snowy-white neck lifted slightly as she looked at Liu Xuan with a hint of defiance in her eyes.

"Oh~" Liu Xuan became even more interested. He released his hand from her waist and commanded, "Begin your performance."

Liu Xiaowan took a few steps back. A white jade flute suddenly appeared in her hand. Holding the jade flute, she gave it a light twirl, and a sound wave rippled out, overlaying itself onto the soundproofing barrier.

With the jade flute in hand, Liu Xiaowan's temperament changed. Her dress fluttered without any wind. "Saint, watch out!"

The melodious sound of the flute rose, and an Concept of extreme desolation spread out like something tangible.