Ye Wen stopped abruptly when he saw Dongfang Sheng standing ahead, letting out an awkward sound. The address felt strangely familiar as it left his lips.

Simultaneously, Ning Ruxue’s left hand gave his a sharp squeeze. Likely unsettled by the sudden appearance of this man, especially since it was already dark, she felt a flicker of unease. Why was he standing here? Was he waiting for them deliberately?

Having just heard Yuqingzi’s account, Ning Ruxue knew that anyone who practiced the Phoenix Nirvana Nest Art was a madman—even if they started sane, a period of practice would turn them so. With such a person blocking their path, anyone would tense up. Though Ning Ruxue possessed martial skill, she was, after all, a woman. The thought that this man might suddenly erupt in violence made her inevitably nervous.

Ye Wen gently squeezed her hand in reassurance before speaking, "May I ask why you are waiting here, Sir?"

"I was waiting for Sect Master Ye!"

Before Ye Wen could finish his question, Dongfang Sheng cut in directly, glancing pointedly at the arm Ye Wen had unconsciously positioned slightly in front of Ning Ruxue. "I have a few words for Sect Master Ye. Are you perhaps busy?"

"If Brother Dongfang invites me, I certainly have no reason to refuse!" He turned to Ning Ruxue. "Junior Sister, please return first. I’ll speak with Brother Dongfang for a moment and then catch up!" He exchanged several subtle glances with her, signaling her to be at ease. After all, they were on Zen Sect territory; even if Dongfang Sheng intended to lose control, he probably wouldn't choose this location.

Ning Ruxue nodded, then slowly walked past Dongfang Sheng. Beneath her steps, however, she secretly channeled her internal energy, ready to leap three zhang away should Dongfang Sheng show any abnormality. As for the sword qi surrounding her, it was ready to deploy at a moment's notice, requiring no conscious concentration to manifest.

She had walked about ten paces past Dongfang Sheng when he still hadn't given her a second glance, his posture unchanged, merely standing quietly where he was. Ning Ruxue glanced back, seeing that neither Ye Wen nor Dongfang Sheng had moved, which made her worry even more. Just as she considered turning back, she saw Ye Wen wave her away: "Go back and tell Huayi to prepare my bedding!"

"Tsk! He has the nerve to joke at a time like this!"

Muttering under her breath, Ning Ruxue had no choice but to head back to the Zen quarters reserved for her sect. She then waited quietly in the courtyard for Ye Wen’s return, secretly resolving that if her Senior Brother hadn't returned in an hour, she would go out searching for him.

Huayi had been inside when Ning Ruxue returned alone, looking worried as she sat in the courtyard. She immediately guessed something might have happened with Ye Wen. After asking a few questions, she sat down with her: "With the Master's skill... even if Dongfang Sheng practiced some strange art, he wouldn't be easily harmed!"

Ning Ruxue felt slightly relieved by Huayi’s comfort. She continued, "Besides, the Master is incredibly sharp. If the situation were truly perilous, he would surely find a way to disengage!"

The two women chatted with slight apprehension, their gazes fixed on the main gate awaiting Ye Wen’s return. Meanwhile, Ye Wen was still engaged in small talk with Dongfang Sheng.

"Brother Dongfang, what matter brings you to seek me out?" Now that Ning Ruxue was long gone, Ye Wen became curious about Dongfang Sheng’s purpose. He mused that they had no prior connection; they had only met for the first time a few days ago, exchanging barely a handful of words. It seemed unlikely he would be waylaid in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.

Dongfang Sheng glanced around, revealing a strangely bright smile. "This is hardly a place for conversation. Sect Master Ye, please follow me!"

"Where to?" Ye Wen’s gaze sharpened. He secretly wondered if Dongfang Sheng truly harbored ill intentions. "Surely this fellow isn't interested in me, is he?"

"Is Sect Master Ye afraid?" Dongfang Sheng raised a hand to cover half his face, then let out a sound like the ringing of silver bells. A voice that should have enchanted a man’s heart instead sent a chill down Ye Wen’s spine.

Dongfang Sheng's appearance, physique, and even voice were indistinguishable from a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Yet, Ye Wen knew this person was no peerless beauty, but a purely mutated being. To think that a man who was once utterly masculine could produce such a sound—even after being exposed to far more terrifying realities—still made Ye Wen feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Ye Wen had been bombarded by all manner of bizarre things, granting him a high resistance. He managed to show no outward sign of alarm, only feeling a prickle of fear in his gut, while still managing to flash a brilliant smile on his face: "Afraid of what? Though, I must admit, I am a little scared right now!"

Dongfang Sheng turned, his voluminous sleeves fluttering, his long, dark, lustrous hair dancing in the wind, leaving behind a parting shot: "If Sect Master Ye feels afraid, then don't follow!"

With that, he leaped, shooting upward in a swish that carried him ten zhang away in an instant. Ye Wen blinked in surprise at such superior lightness skill. Stung by a surge of competitive spirit, he activated the Cloud-Climbing Steps himself, covering seven or eight zhang and following close behind Dongfang Sheng.

As Dongfang Sheng leaped, he subtly turned his body in mid-air to look back. Seeing Ye Wen keeping pace, he smiled without speaking, turned forward again, and continued. Countless high walls of buildings blurred past beneath their soaring leaps. Soon, they had left the Zen temple grounds and arrived in the dense woods outside.

Although their previous leaps were high and far, their true skill in lightness movement was hard to judge. It was only upon entering the forest that Dongfang Sheng's sheer mastery of movement became evident. Dressed in a light blue scholar's robe, Dongfang Sheng became a streak of blue light, twisting and turning swiftly through the woods, yet seemingly unaffected by the multitude of trees. Every time he appeared about to collide with a massive trunk, the blue light would suddenly fold and neatly dodge the obstacle, moving like a seasoned horse. In a few swift zigzags of blue light, he passed through without grazing even a protruding branch.

Looking at Ye Wen, clad in robes of blue tinged with violet, with the innate Purple Qi circulating, faint wisps of purple cloud could be seen around his form as he moved. He too shot past in a blur of purple light, turning freely and moving with incredible speed. The Cloud-Climbing Steps, when pushed to its extreme, could rival the "Shrinking the Ground to an Inch" technique of the Nine Swords Immortals, allowing one to cross distances in the blink of an eye.

However, despite his high cultivation level, Ye Wen had not immersed himself deeply enough in this particular lightness skill. While he navigated the dense forest with relative ease, he couldn't avoid brushing against small, unnoticed branches and similar debris.

After a period of swift movement, Dongfang Sheng stopped at the edge of a sandalwood stream. He appeared utterly immaculate, though his breathing was slightly rushed, bringing a faint flush to his exquisite features, making him even more beautiful.

When Ye Wen stopped, however, his shoulders and sleeves were dusted with small bits of detritus. His breathing showed no abnormality, suggesting his internal energy was a notch higher than Dongfang Sheng's. Furthermore, the innate Purple Qi recovered rapidly, allowing him to return to peak condition within a few breaths.

Seeing Ye Wen largely unfazed, Dongfang Sheng praised him. "Sect Master Ye's skills are indeed formidable. I didn't realize your lightness skill was so exceptional! My father and elder brother couldn't keep up with either of you!"

Such words brought Ye Wen no joy. He had chased after Dongfang Sheng on a whim but now realized his action was reckless—venturing into this desolate area with a madman. What would he do if trouble really erupted?

Thinking this, a shade of wariness entered his eyes as he glanced around, assessing the environment and potential escape routes.

"Stopping me on the road and luring me here—Brother Dongfang, what exactly did you wish to discuss?"

Dongfang Sheng smiled demurely at the question. He crouched down, casually pulling out a silk handkerchief, dipping it slightly into the clear stream water, and began wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow. "Didn't Sect Master Ye first show interest in me? Questioning Senior Yuqingzi alongside the Venerable Huixin about the martial art I practice..."

"You eavesdropped?" Ye Wen couldn't help but be astonished. This Dongfang Sheng had managed to listen in on their conversation while three masters of considerable martial skill were present?

Dongfang Sheng corrected him with a laugh. "Why put it so crudely? I wasn't eavesdropping. I was merely enjoying the moon from atop Senior Yuqingzi's roof..." He then pointed toward the moon in the sky. "The moon is quite full tonight, isn't it!"

Ye Wen glanced in the direction Dongfang Sheng was pointing, noticing that he wasn't indicating the full moon hanging high above, but its reflection in the water.

"It's a pity this full moon is merely an illusion of shadow..." With that, he sat down casually by the stream, displaying a complete lack of defensive posture. This, in turn, made Ye Wen hesitate: should he strike first? To use a popular phrase from his previous life, Dongfang Sheng was presenting so many openings that Ye Wen didn't know where to begin.

Dongfang Sheng looked up at Ye Wen and smiled. "Sect Master Ye doesn't wish to know the details of my skill? Perhaps I should tell you myself!"

Without waiting for Ye Wen to speak, Dongfang Sheng began immediately. "I started practicing this art eight years ago, when I was only fifteen. Even then, I possessed extraordinary talent; I could master any martial art just by seeing it once, without needing a second glance! My father praised me as a once-in-a-century prodigy of the Dongfang family, and even my elder brother showered me with compliments! At that time, I was full of ambition, looking forward to growing up, mastering peerless martial arts, and making the Azure Dragon Society one of the foremost powers in the martial world."

"However, just as I was about to begin practicing the family's ultimate art, the Azure Dragon Chant, I fell gravely ill and severely damaged my meridians. Not only was the Azure Dragon Chant, which demands high meridian integrity, inaccessible, but even ordinary internal energy circulation methods were beyond me! I believed I was destined to become useless, a burden to my family and the society."

"Later, my father suddenly told me that the Dongfang family possessed a secret art that placed no restrictions on meridians or bone structure, and its power was absolute. Once mastered, no one in the world could defeat me! I still recall my father solemnly telling me that upon mastering this technique, it would only be a matter of time before the Azure Dragon Society became the number one sect in the martial world!"

"Seeing the eager look on my father's face, I agreed, thinking that if I could master this miraculous technique, I wouldn't be useless, and my original ambitions might still be achievable."

At this point, Dongfang Sheng's expression abruptly changed. The smile gradually faded, replaced by a layer of frost. "But I never expected this art to bring such agony during cultivation! Though, I could endure the pain; for the sake of helping my father and elder brother, I felt I could bear it! However, this technique caused me to transform into this current state—neither male nor female! Even my father disowned me as a monster, refusing to even look at me all day. My brother was filled with revulsion, often cursing me if I even stood too close!"

"Why? Why do this to me?" Dongfang Sheng suddenly stood up and violently tore open the front of his tunic with a ripping sound, exposing pale, tender skin beneath and a pair of slightly rising mounds with faint pinkish nipples. "Just because of this?"

Ptooey!

Ye Wen, who had been listening quietly, expecting Dongfang Sheng merely needed someone to confide in, never anticipated such a fiery outburst accompanied by a live-action shirt-ripping display. Startled, he nearly spewed a mouthful of old blood. "Brother, please put your clothes back on!"

"You think I'm a monster too? Having such a thing as a man!" He then laughed bitterly. "What man am I even? My vital root vanished long ago... I held onto the hope of recovery, but today I learn that is impossible."

It turned out that although the Dongfang family retained the cultivation methods for the Phoenix Nirvana Nest Divine Art, they were ignorant of its specific characteristics. Due to the passage of time, many details were hard to verify. Dongfang Yi had only hastily reviewed the manual after obtaining it, noting its immense power but also the severe pain of practice, making it unsuitable for ordinary people, so he tucked it away.

Later, when Dongfang Sheng suffered that severe illness and became functionally crippled afterward, Dongfang Yi, who had placed high hopes on his second son, felt immense disappointment. It was then he remembered the divine art. He retrieved it and finally asked his son if he was willing to cultivate it.

In his mind, as long as his son had the resolve to become a true master, the pain could be endured. The manual did not mention that the cultivator would turn into a woman, nor did it state that the pre-completion form would be androgynous, nor did it require the practitioner to be male.

Dongfang Sheng’s progress after starting cultivation was indeed swift. He was naturally gifted with outstanding comprehension, but his damaged meridians prevented him from practicing other internal arts. With this meridian-independent technique, he mastered the first transformation within months. However, the seven days of simulated death left such a profound and terrifying impression that he needed half a year of recovery before starting the subsequent stages. At that point, Dongfang Sheng’s physical appearance and features had not changed significantly, so Dongfang Yi remained unaware of the art's peculiar traits.

Though Dongfang Sheng noticed certain changes himself, he dared not speak of them, fearing his father would treat him like a monster. He was still a youth then, desperate to be useful and help his father, so he gritted his teeth and continued cultivating.

The more he practiced, the more pronounced the physical transformations became. By the time his appearance and form gradually adopted feminine characteristics, influencing his mannerisms and speech, concealment was no longer possible. Dongfang Yi was greatly shocked and believed it was Dongfang Sheng’s fault for hiding the truth, leading to his son becoming this unnatural entity.

Initially, Dongfang Yi refused to believe the transformation was due to the art, attributing it to his son's own issues, resulting in his extreme coldness. Only when Dongfang Sheng’s changes became undeniable, gradually resembling a woman more and more, did he accept that it was the art's effect. Yet, the loss of his original son was too much to bear, and his detachment toward Dongfang Sheng remained.

Hearing this, Ye Wen understood that Dongfang Yi was subconsciously shifting responsibility, avoiding the realization that his own oversight led to his healthy son becoming this way. Especially since he had placed such high hopes on this son, Ye Wen even suspected Dongfang Yi had originally intended to pass everything down to his second son.

Dongfang Wuji’s reaction was likely an instinctive repulsion toward something completely incomprehensible—especially when the person was his once familiar younger brother suddenly appearing in a different form, which was genuinely hard to accept.

As for Dongfang Sheng's resentment toward his father, it stemmed from his earnest desire to fulfill his father’s aspirations by practicing the art, only to be shunned by his own family before the technique was even mastered. He felt it wasn't his fault, so why was everyone rejecting him? Blaming everything on him—the cumulative effect of grievance and indignation naturally bred deep resentment. Taken to an extreme, he might see his father as the architect of his suffering, the primary culprit.

Faced with such a situation, Ye Wen didn't know how to offer comfort. He couldn't very well say, "Don't worry, your current situation is nothing; you're practically a woman now anyway, so just be a woman contentedly! As for the future? I can assure you that many people would envy your current state..."

However, he surmised that if he voiced such words, Dongfang Sheng would interpret them as mockery, potentially escalating the situation. So, he chose to remain silent, acting as a loyal listener.

"Does Sect Master Ye have nothing to say?"

Having spoken for a long time, the slightly agitated emotions had been vented. Dongfang Sheng used his fingers to tuck a few strands of hair behind his ear, then neatly adjusted his lapel. He looked at Ye Wen, only to find the Shu Mountain Sect Master unnervingly calm.

Ye Wen opened his mouth, then scratched his face, struggling for a moment before managing a single phrase: "I have nothing to say."

Dongfang Sheng was slightly surprised that Ye Wen showed no disgust upon seeing his condition. He was unaware that Ye Wen had witnessed far more repulsive sights; his situation was practically nothing in comparison.

Seeing Dongfang Sheng suddenly fall silent, Ye Wen recalled a previous statement and asked in confusion, "Don't tell me you plan to kill me?"

Dongfang Sheng blinked. "Why would I kill you?"

Ye Wen rubbed his chin. "Isn't the usual trope that you've learned my greatest secret, so I must die, or something along those lines?"

Dongfang Sheng blinked again, finally agreeing: "It seems that is how it should go!"

Hearing this, Ye Wen immediately tensed, preparing to strike the moment Dongfang Sheng made any hostile move. Unexpectedly, Dongfang Sheng followed up with: "But I can't beat you!"

This single sentence deflated Ye Wen’s tension. He assumed Dongfang Sheng wouldn't attack today, only for the other man to suddenly add: "But trying can't hurt!"

Before the words faded, Ye Wen saw a blur. A fierce palm strike slammed towards the back of his head—it had reached Ye Wen’s rear in the blink of an eye.

PS: Oh my goodness, you all are too wicked!