Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 243: Ten Years of Cultivation, and Resolving Old Enmity (Request for Subscription)

In the Huangquan Cave, deep underground, there are ancient trees with lush branches and leaves. It takes several people to hug the trunks.

Time has carved grooves on its bark, and its roots are deeply embedded in the earth, as if connected to the source of spiritual energy underground, making this tree extraordinary.

This is not only the work of nature, but also the result of thousands of years of cultivation by Lin Chong Taoist.

However, after "the road to the underworld is opened and the nine underworlds devour the world", the root system of this spiritual tree has been severed, and it is only withering and decaying day by day. It is exactly the case that one does not take what heaven gives, and suffers the consequences.

A young monk in a Taoist robe stood under the tree, with one hand on the tree trunk and the other holding a piece of green jade. The jade was green and transparent, emitting a faint glow. Upon closer inspection, the texture on it looked like ancient talismans, mysterious and unpredictable.

The monk closed his eyes and concentrated, mobilizing the spiritual energy in the jade to inject it into the tree. The green jade rang slightly in his hand and gradually emitted circles of waves, as if creating some kind of strange resonance with the ancient tree.

As Lu Cheng chanted the spell, the light around Qingyu became brighter and brighter, and finally it seemed to turn into a wisp of light smoke and slowly merged into the ancient tree.

The ancient tree suddenly trembled, as if it felt the long-lost strength. The dry branches on the trunk began to soften, and even new green buds leaped on the branches.

When spring comes, dead trees regain vitality.

A trace of relief appeared on Lu Cheng's face. He felt that the last vitality of the ancient tree was being stimulated. During this process, Lu Cheng used magic to cut a wound on the tree, and then immediately transplanted the golden branch of falling treasure on it.

In the next few years, Lu Cheng will use the Falling Treasure Golden Branch as a medium to continuously inject Yi Wood spiritual energy into the ancient tree. This is not only nourishment, but also a kind of sacrifice. If the ancient tree wants these Yi Wood spiritual energy, it needs to recognize that the Falling Treasure Golden Branch is a part of itself. In the end, all the spiritual energy will converge on the Falling Treasure Golden Branch with the most spiritual energy until it is finally successful.

The Fallen Treasure Branch will become an ancient tree, a new form of life.

The continuous recovery of vitality of the ancient trees made the surrounding air begin to become fresh and moist, as if even the wind had a hint of sweetness.

The leaves of the ancient tree shone with emerald green luster under the light of the fire crystal in the cave, and each leaf looked full of vitality.

The monk's robe under the tree fluttered in the wind, and his figure blended with the ancient tree and the surroundings, becoming an inseparable part of this nature.

At this moment, Lu Cheng is no longer a mere spectator, but a participant in this world. He breathes and grows with all things. Therefore, his state of mind is peaceful and profound, as if he has touched the edge of the true meaning of Taoism and found a way to communicate with the world.

Of course, it is easy to obtain the Tao but difficult to maintain it. Every cultivator will have more or less experienced "attaining the Tao" during their long practice, but whether they can maintain the Tao is the most important and difficult thing.

At this time, Lu Cheng was the only one in the mountain mansion.

The eldest disciple Situ Hua went to Mingquan Temple to ask for spiritual water in preparation for his master Lu Cheng's next step of cultivation.

After learning about the level of weapon refiners in the nearby market, the second disciple Miao Chuyun decisively returned to Guizang Mountain to look for the sect's weapon refiners to refine weapons. Even if the round trip would take some time, it was better than selling inferior products as good ones with many hidden dangers.

The combination of the Falling Treasures Golden Branch and the ancient tree is not a one-day job.

During this period, in addition to his daily Taoist practice, Lu Cheng also began to refine the pale giant insect on the ancient tree, which had scales and horns and was in the shape of a dragon.

This dragon-like poisonous insect is extremely soft and gentle, and can be refined into any kind of physical form. It is an extremely precious treasure of Taoism.

Just taking this poisonous insect as an example, Taoist Lin Chong's practice in the art of poison has even surpassed that of Taoist Yinshan. In terms of level and realm, this poisonous insect is superior to the golden silkworm Gu with a hundred poisons.

This is an advantage, but it also has disadvantages.

Differentiating the second soul is naturally a very powerful magical power, but it also has a weakness. That is, if the realm and magic power are not reached, if you force yourself to practice it, it is easy to split the mind, like two people and like one person. This is the most taboo thing in Taoism: "two minds hurt the mind."

The Tao Sutra says:
"Tao has clarity and turbidity, movement and stillness; it descends to the root and flows to the end, and gives birth to all things. Clarity is the source of turbidity, movement is the basis of stillness. If a person can always be clear and still, heaven and earth will all be his. A person's spirit likes clarity, but the heart disturbs it; a person's heart likes stillness, but desires pull it. If one can always let go of desires, the heart will naturally be still, and if one can clear the heart, the spirit will naturally be clear..."

The mind loves tranquility and is afraid of being startled. Once the mind is frightened and disturbed, it will become confused and the vital energy in the body will be in danger of collapsing and being lost.

"I have practiced in both the essence and qi, but my spiritual consciousness is my weakness. I just use essence and qi to make up for it. Things will be perfect if you take your time, and people will be at peace if you take your time. I'd better use solid methods to slowly refine this external incarnation and cultivate it naturally. I won't rush to split my mind for now."

Lu Cheng knew that there was an old demon in the Tongxuan Realm a thousand years ago who was proficient in spiritual cultivation. However, in the demon sect, the fighting was extremely fierce and dangerous. In order to protect himself and even have a chance to make a comeback after death, he divided his mind into seven parts, thinking that he had seven lives. Even if his physical body was destroyed, he would have seven chances to make a comeback.

But later he gradually went crazy. It was not obvious at the beginning, as he was able to control himself with his powerful cultivation. But as time went by, he made more and more extreme and stubborn mistakes, and became more and more irrational in doing things, and finally brought about his own destruction.

This is a typical example of practicing magic to the point of digging one's own grave. Each of the three souls and seven spirits of a person has its own use and ability. Even ordinary people are like this, let alone cultivators.

"But such a treasure cannot be missed. Even if I can only refine you into a dragon poison and use it with the most extravagant method, it will still be a big profit, not to mention that it is almost an extra life!"

On top of the ancient tree, the pale dragon-shaped giant insect was lying quietly on the thick branches, as if it was sleeping.

Lu Cheng's eyes were focused. He stretched out his hands and cast a spell. A ball of light emitting a faint golden-red glow condensed in his palms and slowly approached the giant insect.

The giant insect seemed to sense Lu Cheng's approach and trembled slightly. Its scales flashed silvery-white light in the sunlight, revealing a mysterious and ancient aura.

Lu Cheng took a deep breath, cast a spell to condense the light in his hand into a small dot, and gently touched the scales of the giant insect.

The light spot merged into it, and suddenly, a powerful magic power burst out from the giant insect's body, even shocking Lu Cheng to retreat several steps.

He can resist it, but he cannot fight it head-on. What he wants is a living dragon insect, not a dead insect.

After a while, the scales on the giant insect's body began to change slightly, from the original pale color to a deep dark red, as if it contained infinite power. Seeing this, Lu Cheng showed joy on his face. He also did not expect that the dragon-shaped giant insect instinctively expected this change.

In fact, this is also natural. Although Lin Chong Taoist has practiced Taoism for thousands of years, he is trapped in one place. Although he has dissected the dragon and studied the dragon inside and out thoroughly, he has never seen a few real dragons in his entire life.

Lu Cheng used his magic power to condense the meaning of Dharma and injected it into the white worm's body, helping it to transform from a dragon. The white worm's own consciousness had almost been refined completely by Taoist Lin Chong, so it would naturally be easier for it to adapt to changes after obtaining the meaning of Dharma.

"Unfortunately, I have only understood the method of human-dragon transformation in the Xuanmen General Principles. Even if I complete the five elements transformation... it won't work. I'm afraid it will exceed the potential limit of this dragon Gu. It will be harmful instead of harmful. Now is exactly the limit."

Nurturing the ancient tree that has existed for thousands of years, he sacrificed the white dragon to transform it into a human-dragon.

Time flies by like this, year after year.

The second disciple Miao Chuyun returned first. Holding Lu Cheng's order, she ordered the sect's weapon refiner to refine two new jade bottles specifically for storing the yin and yang fires.

Then, near the Yellow Springs Valley, she began to collect the Nine Nether Fire and the Great Sun True Fire. Although the process was bumpy, her mind was pure and she was focused, so she was able to face danger with ease, and it turned out to be a way to train her Tao mind.

Lu Cheng secretly looked after her several times, and seeing that she could indeed do it, he stopped caring about her.

Anyway, even if he was injured by the Yin and Yang fires, as long as the burns were not too severe, the fire poison could be removed by jade bee jelly, Qingyuan pure water, and Lu Cheng's own Samadhi True Fire.

Two years later, in the fourth year of Lu Cheng's concentrated cultivation in Huangquan Valley, his eldest disciple Situ Hua returned and successfully brought back the Qingyuan pure water.

"Please forgive me, Master. It was not my fault that I delayed this on purpose. It was because Guanghui was too rude and repeatedly made things difficult for me, which is why I have been delayed until today. I have delayed Master's practice, which is really a great sin for me."

"...Okay, tell me what's going on."

In the mountain mansion, Lu Cheng did not believe Situ Hua's one-sided words, but asked about the details of the incident.

Situ Hua did not dare to hide anything and had to tell the whole story in detail.

It turned out that after arriving at Mingquan Temple.

Situ Hua explained his purpose and offered jade bee nectar. The abbess of Mingquan Temple, Master Guanghui, who was entertaining friends at the time, came out to meet him immediately.

However, after she knew Situ Hua's purpose, she did not ask for the jade bee jelly, but asked Situ Hua to help her complete three things within his ability.

The Jade Bee Jelly of Lu Cheng is a fifth-rank spiritual object, a treasure that even a Jindan Zhenren would treasure with great care. Being able to save it is certainly a good thing in Situ Hua's opinion. It is only a matter of completing three things within his ability, which is certainly not difficult.

Unexpectedly, Situ Hua soon regretted it.

The abbess of Mingquan Temple, Master Guanghui, asked him to farm the land in Mingquan Temple for a year first.

Immortal cultivators can also eat earthly grains, but they cannot get much nutrients from them. Instead, they have to use magic power to refine away the residue. It is better for them to eat spiritual grains, spiritual rice, and spiritual fruits. Even if they eat less, they can get spiritual energy to nourish the body.

Therefore, there is a profession in the hundred arts of cultivating immortals, called spirit plant husband, which is the hardest, most tiring, but also the most stable and profitable profession for low-level cultivators.

Master Guanghui explained that the spiritual farmer of Quan'an Temple had retired, so Situ Hua was required to farm the land in the temple for a year. However, if no spiritual rice could be grown, or the yield was reduced, he would have to farm for another year until the standard was reached.

Situ Hua's teeth were almost broken, but thinking about the bottle of jade honey that he had saved, he got up early and went to bed late for a whole year. He also paid a lot of money to hire many experienced spiritual plant doctors for guidance. It took him a whole year to complete the instructions of Master Guanghui.

Then comes the second thing. You cannot use magic to build a scripture pavilion in Mingquan Temple. If it is not solid and cannot stand for more than three hundred years, it will not be considered a success.

After the Sutra Repository was built, Master Guanghui said that there must be scriptures in the pavilion, and asked Situ Hua to copy 100,000 volumes of scriptures without using any magic.

In other words, these three things happened one after another. If Master Guanghui had stated it from the beginning, Situ Hua would definitely have killed someone.

Now that he has endured hardships and accomplished two things, how can he not accomplish the third?
Therefore, it was not until today that Situ Hua successfully brought back the Qingyuan purified water and saved a bottle of fifth-grade jade bee jelly.

After hearing the whole story, Lu Cheng seemed to be thinking about something. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Do you know who the old friend was that Master Guanghui was receiving when you went to visit her?"

"Disciple doesn't know."

"It is the Immortal Qingxuan, the master of the Eight Views."

"what!?"

Situ Hua was shocked when he heard this. He could not believe that the plain-looking old woman could actually be on equal terms with a real person who was at least ranked in the top ten in the Tongxuan Realm.

"Situ Hua, do you want to practice the Five Extreme Punishments?"

"...Please help me, Master."

Situ Hua hesitated for a moment, then bowed deeply.

"Okay, then you can go to Mingquan Temple and farm for twenty years. Farm during the day and reorganize your Taoism at night."

"what?"

"not understand?"

"My disciple is stupid." Situ Hua really didn't understand what was going on. His mind was in a mess and all kinds of thoughts came to his mind.

"My intelligence is not as good as the master, and your intelligence is not even as good as mine. Mingquan Temple is a righteous sect, so Master Guanghui deliberately made things difficult for you, but she was afraid of the majesty of the master of our sect, so she gave you benefits to help you get rid of your anger, but she also didn't want our jade bee syrup.

I am sending you there today, firstly to continue to grind away your evil thoughts, otherwise when practicing the Five Extreme Punishments, you will be attacked from both inside and outside, which is too dangerous. Secondly, to pass on a message to the Immortal Qingxuan of the Eight Landscapes, that although my Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace is a demon sect, it is based on self-centeredness and uses demons. If we can control ourselves, we can be partners. "

Many cultivators of the magic path behave eccentrically and paranoidly, mixing human and demon together and finding it difficult to exercise self-control. The Dongyang Orthodox Church and the Palace of the Incarnation of Ten Thousand Beasts both claim to be the orthodox sects of the magic path. The key point, in fact, lies in the four words "self-control".

True Man Qingxuan of the Eight Views and Madam Cangjian of the Cangjian Palace also have some understanding of this. If it is a person who is completely controlled by the devil, they dare not cooperate with him at all. It is true that the thoughts of such cultivators change in an instant, and sometimes even go against common sense.

"...Disciple, I understand. I will return to Mingquan Temple and ask Master Guanghui to take me in. I will farm for twenty years. Thank you for your guidance."

After saying this, Situ Hua thanked him again. Although this boy had poor aptitude, he did have a heart for Taoism.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng nodded slightly, knowing that if his registered disciple could survive these twenty years, hone his character, and become a top-grade elixir in the future, he might be able to become his true disciple.

…………

Outside the Moyun Cave in Yinshan Mountain in the southern wilderness, the entire sky was dark, just like the state of mind of the many evil-doing monks in Yinshan Mountain.

But it is said that the Yinshan Immortal was once on the shore of the East China Sea when Lu Cheng used his newly-refined Samadhi True Fire to melt away the poisonous golden silkworm Gu that he had relied on for hundreds of years to dominate the world. He was then beaten by Taoist Huang Longzi with a punch, and his body and soul were shattered, turning into a ball of blood mist. If he had not forcibly refined his second Yuanshen Yuanpin Pearl and escaped with his soul, essence and blood, he would have died that day.

Even so, his vitality was greatly reduced. After returning to his nest, he was filled with fear and hatred, and almost bit his sharp teeth to pieces.

Especially with the Taoist power of the Golden Elixir True Person Realm, it is really difficult for him to practice the second incarnation method. What's more, the evil body in his Yuanpin Pearl is condensed by all kinds of negative emotions. It was okay at the beginning, and he could still control himself with reason, but as time went on, the poisonous fire attacked his heart. Every time when it was late at night, the past surged up, and the demons in his spirit platform disturbed him. It was almost worse than death!

Over the past ten years, Yinshan Zhenren's magical powers have not only failed to recover, but have continued to decline, with both his body and spirit collapsing.

But Yinshan is not a righteous Jindan Zhenren. When he is sad, he must use various methods to make his disciples even more sad, so that he can vent the poison in his heart.

Over the years, several people from the Yinshan lineage have died at his hands and had their hearts and livers cut out and eaten.

In the past, Yinshan Zhenren was not a good person and was often cruel to his disciples, but he finally fulfilled his duties as a master.

Up to now, Yinshan Zhenren knows that he has greatly offended Huang Longzi and Huolin Dasheng. Now his luck has not yet ended. In the future, when his luck is weakest, the two will surely take action and leave him from everlasting destruction. This feeling of waiting for death is the most terrifying.

Even an evil demon like Yinshan Zhenren would find it difficult to bear.

Outside the Moyun Cave in Yinshan Mountain, Tang Shi, dressed in a Taoist robe, stood quietly outside the cave, waiting to be summoned by his master.

I don't know what he has experienced over the years. His left arm was lost and now he has an iron hand. There are many scars on his body outside the Taoist robe, but his temperament has become more dignified, and his magic power has greatly improved compared to many years ago. He has already cultivated to the level of condensing qi.

The Moyun Cave in front of him was pitch black and gloomy, as if there was an extremely terrifying beast hidden inside. In fact, it was even more terrifying than this. What kind of beast in this world could be more ferocious and evil than Yinshan Zhenren?

At this moment, Yinshan Zhenren's whisper came from the cave:

"Tang Shi, come in."

"Yes, Master."

Upon hearing this, Tang Shi bowed respectfully and then disappeared into the Moyun Cave.

The once magnificent Moyun Cave has now become dark, because only darkness can bring Yinshan Zhenren a sense of comfort and security.

All of Yinshan Zhenren's disciples knew that this was the habit of the poisonous insect, but no one dared to speak out. They only knew in their hearts that their master's magic power was becoming weaker and weaker.

Although it was dark inside the cave, the high-level cultivators had bright eyes and divine light in their minds. This was certainly not an obstacle for Tang Shi, so he quickly found Yinshan Zhenren.

At this moment, the old demon was crouching in the corner, gnawing on something with his head down.

Tang Shi looked intently, but what he saw was the look of disbelief in the eyes of his third senior brother Bai Luzi. His chest had been cut open, blood was flowing all over the floor, and Yinshan Zhenren was devouring his heart and liver. The man and the Gu were united, the two sexes were blended, and only at this moment could Yinshan Zhenren feel at ease.

"Old Five, your third brother was a traitor and wanted to harm me, but I have already killed him."

Turning around, the old man in black with white hair and drooping hair, with bloodstains at the corners of his mouth, looked like a ghost or a demon.

"I never thought Bai Luzi would be such a scum. It is too merciful for Master to kill him so easily. He should extract his soul and let him suffer the punishment of the Ten Thousand Gu Soul Devouring."

Seeing this scene, even though Tang Shi believed that he had become as hard as stone after all these years of training, he still knelt down and followed his master's instructions.

Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll be killed in the next moment. This old monster has gone completely crazy.

"My magic power is greatly reduced now, so it is understandable that he wants to find another way out, but he should never sneak into my cave and steal my magic weapon before leaving. In addition, before the fifth and third brothers died, they said that you had many connections with Guizang Mountain. Is this true?"

Yinshan Zhenren was still far away the moment before, and appeared in front of Tang Shi the next moment. His skinny hand stained with blood gently stroked Tang Shi's forehead, and blood seeped down.

Tang Shi could almost see the scene of Yinshan opening his own skull and sucking out the brain directly.

"Master, you asked me to make friends with Lucheng, so we have been in contact over the years. Before you left for the East China Sea, I also enjoyed a lot of jade bee nectar sent by Lucheng. But after the battle in the East China Sea, I had already drawn a clear line between him and me in my heart. Now we still have some contact, but it's to gather information for Master!"

Tang Shi's mind was racing. He knew that there was no way he could explain himself clearly at this moment, so he might as well demonstrate his own value. Perhaps this way he could still have a glimmer of hope.

"Oh? Yes, more than a hundred years ago, when Lu Cheng first arrived in Southern Xinjiang, I sent you to make friends with him."

Yinshan Zhenren gently stroked his forehead with his hand, as if feeling pain.

"The little ant that I could crush to death with just one finger back then is now coming to claim my life! After all, it was the calamity that blinded my heart. I had been on good terms with Huang Longzi, but driven by the calamity, I went to the East China Sea to block his path... I thought I could use the power of the calamity to go further... I didn't expect that one wrong step would lead to another, until today."

"What did you find out?"

Yinshan Zhenren's words changed from regret to indifference, and he asked his fifth disciple Tang Shi.

"...Master, it seems that Lu Cheng has come to the southern border to practice Taoism in recent years. If you are interested, I can try to lure him out. Or, you can go to the Chixin Temple in Shiyuan City. There are several old friends of Lu Cheng in the temple, and they have a close relationship with each other."

Tang Shi didn't want to say this, but he knew that if he didn't say something, he would die soon. He didn't want to die even more.

However, Yinshan Zhenren's next words made him feel like he was falling into an icy lake.

"Oh, you can betray your friend today, but how can you be sure that you won't betray your master tomorrow?"

"..."

Tang Shi wanted to say something, but the extreme fear that filled his body and mind made him unable to utter a word.

"Get out of here. If you have any useful information, send it back to me immediately."

"Yes, it's Master."

After all, Master Yinshan did not kill Tang Shi because of his value. Thinking about the young man's swordsmanship and murderous nature in his memory, Master Yinshan felt that it would be best not to create any more trouble before he dealt with Huang Longzi and Fire Scale Great Sage.

(End of this chapter)