Born with immortal seed

Chapter 194 Both are bad news

The small island in the middle of the lake is arranged just as it was when Master Yang was alive.

On one side of the small island, there is a gently sloping floating island with a slightly raised center, covered with moss and aquatic plants, but with few trees.

Bai Zichen's sword light fell, causing the floating island to sway and reveal two lantern-sized vertical pupils staring at him, conveying a sense of having weathered many years.

"Old Turtle, if you had been more proactive, at least Lake Emerald Moon would be as stable as Mount Tai..."

This floating island is clearly the thousand-year-old tortoise that was taken in as a spirit beast by Old Ancestor Yang.

Already a peak second-tier demon beast, Ancestor Yang spent a large sum of spirit stones to purchase several kinds of pills specifically for spirit beasts from the Myriad Beasts Sect.

Some enhance demonic power, some nourish vital energy, and some awaken spiritual intelligence.

When Bai Zichen visited the island several years ago, Old Ancestor Yang said that the old tortoise was only one step away from becoming a third-tier spirit beast.

The edges of the shell on the thousand-year-old tortoise's back are turning golden, and sharp teeth have grown in its mouth.

The two bulges on the top of his head were more obvious, as if something might pop out from them at any moment.

The dragon turtle bloodline is slowly manifesting.

Once it breaks through to become a third-tier spirit beast, the Dragon Turtle's defensive capabilities make it difficult for even a Nascent Soul cultivator to harm it.

However, this final line, when applied to turtle-like spirit beasts, could very well be a concept spanning decades or even centuries.

"Senior Brother Bai, you've arrived too... You recently killed another Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator, which greatly boosted morale, and all the disciples in the sect are thrilled."

A frail-looking young man with a reserved demeanor flew in from behind.

Following Bai Zichen's gaze to the old tortoise, he said, "Before the ancestor went to the sect, he broke the spirit beast contract with it and signed a special contract... If it does not advance, it will have to be the sect's spirit beast for life; if it becomes a third-tier dragon tortoise, it only needs to guard the sect for five hundred years to gain its freedom."

Third-tier demonic beasts have awakened their intelligence, and some demonic beasts with special bloodlines can even refine their transverse bones and speak human language.

Unless it is a spirit beast that has been raised from a young age, or the master's cultivation level is at least equal to or stronger than the spirit beast's, the beast is strong while the master is weak, and it is easy for the spirit beast to resist the contract and become uncontrollable.

If Elder Yang doesn't break the spirit beast contract, the old tortoise will die with him.

After breaking the contract, apart from Ancestor Ge Cang, no one else in the sect could suppress the thousand-year-old tortoise.

They simply set a relatively lenient contract, so that even if the old tortoise successfully advanced, it would be willing to stay in Jade Moon Lake.

Perhaps five hundred years from now, it will become a habit, and even if the old turtle regains its freedom, it may not leave.

Even if it doesn't work out, five hundred years is equivalent to a lifetime for a Core Formation cultivator.

For a third-tier dragon turtle, this is merely a segment of its long lifespan.

"I see."

Bai Zichen withdrew his gaze and looked at the frail cultivator in front of him: "Junior Brother Su, your divine light is hidden within you, it seems you have made a breakthrough?"

"However, it's just a minor skill, far inferior to Senior Brother Bai... I finally managed to draw a second-grade superior-level Zhenshan Talisman two months ago, but it takes five sets of talisman-making materials to draw one. After two months of practice, I've stabilized at a success rate of over 50%, which barely qualifies me as a second-grade superior-level talisman master."

The sect war presented a rare opportunity for the disciples of the Alchemy Hall, Talisman Hall, and Weapon Refining Hall.

All stored materials were opened and supplied in unlimited quantities. The furnace was used for alchemy every day, and the earth fire burned every night. Precious talismans, demon blood, and cinnabar were delivered in a continuous stream.

Many disciples have accumulated rich experience over the years, and have made further progress in all aspects of cultivation.

Compared to alchemy and weapon crafting, talismans consume more resources but can have a more direct effect in combat.

Second-tier talisman masters like Su Li work almost year-round, becoming talisman-making machines.

The high-intensity work actually brought out his potential in talisman making, and he performed even better in the art of talismans than his master Luo Changkong did back then.

As expected of a born talismanic spirit body, and having inherited the legacy of a fourth-tier talisman master under the stone tablet.

“I told you back then that the way of talismans also embodies the will of Heaven and can lead to the understanding of the Great Dao... It is by no means a minor path, but a grand and righteous one, so there is no need to belittle yourself.”

Bai Zichen discovered that since reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the proud genius of the talisman path had disappeared, becoming overly humble and low-key.

Several Foundation Establishment cultivators had already arrived at the small island in the middle of the lake.

Besides the cultivators from Qingfeng Sect, several other nearby cultivation families also retreated into the Feiyue Lake Formation because they were unable to resist the invasion of Guiling Sect.

For example, the Liu family of Monkey Mountain spent a great deal of money to acquire the second-tier spiritual vein of Monkey Mountain after the war of reclamation.

The entire clan worked tirelessly and devoted themselves to building Monkey Mountain, which they intend to pass down as a family legacy for generations to come.

Unexpectedly, they received the devastating news of the Ghost Spirit Sect's invasion of Black Mountain, forcing them to abandon Monkey Mountain and relocate their entire clan to Jade Moon Lake.

Anyway, the 3,600-ring water smoke array has a wide coverage area, and it can easily accommodate ten more members of the Liu family.

If they switched to another cultivation family, they might have joined the Ghost Spirit Sect.

The Liu family of Monkey Mountain had no such idea; their only option was to follow the path of the Green Maple Sect to the very end.

They migrated to Black Mountain County from elsewhere because they were affected by the war between the righteous and the demonic, and they also offended a demonic sect, which forced them to leave their hometown.

Although they hadn't heard of any close relationship between the demonic sect and the Ghost Spirit Sect, the Liu family dared not take that risk.

If the two demonic sects were connected, and they compared notes and discovered that the Liu family was under the Ghost Spirit Sect's command, wouldn't they simply send a message and have the entire Liu family slaughtered?

Over the decades, the Liu family abandoned their ancestral home twice and moved, and one can imagine their frustration.

As soon as Bai Zichen appeared, the sect elders and the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the families all stepped forward to greet him.

Her attitude was enthusiastic, her tone gentle and humble, completely treating him as someone superior to herself.

Bai Zichen's achievements were simply too outstanding. Since the start of the war, nearly half of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had died or been injured in the Ghost Spirit Sect had been killed by him.

The killings left no trace of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators within a hundred miles of Jade Moon Lake.

If you don't travel far, the surrounding area seems no different from before the war.

"Everyone is here. There are two main reasons why I called you all here."

Zhou Suqing sat at the head of the table. As the only late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in Feiyue Lake, she could be considered the person in charge here.

However, despite his high level of cultivation, he lacked prestige among the crowd, given his past record of being too 'amazing'.

But Bai Zichen, the only one who could potentially challenge her position, had no such intentions and was even extremely cooperative, leaving those with ulterior motives helpless.

"Why would I bother competing with Senior Sister Zhou for control of Jade Moon Lake? With external enemies and internal strife, how ridiculous... Besides, without her, who will control the third-tier grand formation? Me, a mid-grade first-tier formation master? Or you bunch of useless trash?"

Bai Zichen's eyes turned cold as he thought of those guys who had repeatedly come to visit him, only to be refused an audience and left letters to subtly and overtly incite him to fight for power.

In times of crisis, only Elder Bai can stabilize the situation.

Junior Brother Bai possesses unparalleled combat prowess. As the Abbot of the Law Enforcement Hall, he holds a prestigious position, equivalent to that of the Deputy Hall Master, and should therefore bear greater responsibility.

If my junior brother is willing, I am willing to take the initiative to propose it at the meeting, and I can even connect with other elders.

'With a formidable enemy at our side, once we've driven off the Ghost Spirit Sect, I'll use my position as the Supervising Elder to properly deal with you all…'

Zhou Suqing already had a full head of silver hair and looked old. In the past few years, she had been maintaining the great array on her own, constantly activating the 3,600-ring water smoke array to its highest protective effect, which had caused her to suffer a great loss of energy and left her looking exhausted.

There was originally an elder of the Array Hall in Jade Moon Lake, who was a second-tier array master and could share some of the burden.

Unfortunately, she returned to her home mountain before the grand formation was activated, and was then separated from her and could not return, leaving her to guard the core of the formation alone.

"The sect sent word that a few days ago, when Junior Brother Luo Guangwu was leading a group of disciples to retreat into the mountain gate formation after a mission, he was entangled by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Ghost Spirit Sect while covering the rear alone... He unfortunately perished in the end, but before he died, he dragged his opponent down with him."

Zhou Suqing looked sorrowful and first announced an obituary.

This is the fifth Foundation Establishment elder of Qingfeng Sect to die since the start of the war.

Between Jade Moon Lake and the sect, extremely detailed information can be transmitted using a third-order grand array, but each transmission requires the consumption of one high-grade spirit stone.

Therefore, Zhou Suqing basically only receives messages and never sends them proactively.

Bai Zichen was slightly stunned, and pulled up the image of this somewhat unfamiliar name from his memory.

It was Senior Brother Luo, who was known as the number one swordsman in Black Mountain before he established his foundation.

It was that Senior Brother Luo who put on the airs of a senior sword cultivator and shamelessly offered to teach and guide me.

It was that same Senior Brother Luo who, knowing he had defeated the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, fell silent and retreated in the face of difficulty.

'I never expected that Senior Brother Luo would also die. I didn't realize he was so fierce. He truly lived up to his words: "We sword cultivators are unparalleled in our might, and we would rather break than bend..."'

Although the two had no relationship and even had some minor conflicts, Bai Zichen still raised his teacup and offered a toast in the direction of the sect, using tea instead of wine, and poured it on the ground.

"The second thing is that a new Core Formation cultivator has appeared in Black Mountain... Judging from their appearance and fighting style, they should be the Nine-Child Yin Demon and Jiang Yuhe."

After a brief moment of silence, Zhou Suqing, with a grave expression, delivered an even worse second piece of news.

"Nine Sons Yin Demon?"

The Liu family patriarch's expression changed drastically. He was someone who had personally experienced the great war between the righteous and the demonic paths and had a great understanding of the top demonic cultivators.

"This demon plundered dozens of immortal seedlings in the territory of the Righteous Alliance, sacrificing them all to enhance its own strength. It was hunted down by the Righteous Alliance and had nowhere to escape, so it surrendered to the Blood God True Man. How could it appear in Black Mountain?"

"Since you understand this demon, Patriarch Liu, please explain it to us clearly."

One impatient elder, unable to wait for Zhou Suqing to speak, directly pressed the Liu family head for answers.

The news was truly alarming. Just when the tide of battle had turned, the Ghost Spirit Sect gained two more Core Formation cultivators.

This will have a crucial impact on the morale of the Qingfeng Sect and on the course of the war.

"This demonic cultivator was originally a rogue cultivator. He obtained a powerful demonic cultivation technique from thousands of years ago and cultivated it together with his sworn brother. The two of them both achieved the Core Formation stage..."

The Liu family patriarch's voice trembled slightly, revealing the terror in his heart.

The Nine-Child Yin Demon, at the early stage of Core Formation, cultivated demonic arts that produced nine naked infants, each filled with boundless resentment, specifically designed to capture the souls of cultivators.

He was vicious and cruel, often slaughtering towns. Even among demonic cultivators, he was considered extremely wicked and had committed countless evil deeds.

(End of this chapter)