Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 264: Yu Shuang builds foundation, draws talismans and knows the secrets; yin and yang of heaven and earth, life and death, rise and fall

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, several years have passed.

There is a cave on Yueyang Peak in Haoran Courtyard. Inside the cave, bookshelves are neatly arranged, battle formations are clearly visible, and inspiration flows in an orderly manner. A female cultivator in green clothes is calmly studying Taoist books and feels that she has gained something.

Tie Yushuang has been practicing Taoism for more than twenty years since his eldest brother Tie Xiao became a disciple of the Qinzhou sect Huanyun Valley. He has good aptitude, is willing to work hard, and has no shortage of spirit stones. Today, Tie Yushuang has already reached the ninth level of Qi training.

But when I counted on my fingers, I realized that I was already nearly forty years old.

Although he still maintained a youthful appearance of Chun Yin, looking no more than twenty years old, for a cultivator in the late stage of Qi training, forty years old was less than half of his life span, but his state of mind was different after all.

The eldest brother Tie Xiao got the opportunity, practiced hard for twenty years, and actually ascended to the sky in one step and became the ancestor of the Nascent Soul. Although the price is that his magic power will not improve in this life, it is a good thing no matter how you think about it. There are countless people practicing immortal cultivation in this world, but how many of them can get a glimpse of the Nascent Soul realm?
What's more, with a lifespan of two thousand years, one can guard against arrogance and impatience, study Taoism in depth, change his nature, and even put his hopes on the path of Taoism in the next life.

Tie Yushuang was also truly happy for her elder brother Tie Xiao.

With the help of Master Tiexiao, Tie Yushuang became a disciple of Master Tianqiao, the master of Yueyang Peak, and became his sixth true disciple.

Zhenren Tianqiao is a well-known person with a gentle temperament in Haoran Academy. There are countless cultivators who want to become his disciple and practice cultivation.

Although Tie Yushuang had to go through connections to become his disciple, Master Tianqiao did not treat her badly and gave her a foundation-building pill.

The sisters who jointly managed the Daxue Mulberry Garden pooled together 10,000 spirit stones and bought her a foundation-building pill.

Tie Yushuang received a letter from his elder brother some time ago. When he opened it, he found two top-grade spirit stones inside.

One hundred low-grade spirit stones are equal to one medium-grade spirit stone, and one hundred medium-grade spirit stones are equal to one high-grade spirit stone.

This time, the Haoran Academy's foundation-building pill furnace was opened and the profits were considerable. Tie Yushuang gathered some spirit stones and bought two foundation-building pills. Then, he ignored everything else and practiced in seclusion.

A storm is about to come in Qinzhou. Many small and medium sects and immortal cultivation families affiliated with Xuanmo Sect, Huanyun Valley, and Haoran Academy are either in internal strife or exterminated. There are flames of war everywhere, and the spearhead is directed at the other two sects. For a time, there is a panic as if there is a civil war among the three sects.

Strangely, even in the face of such a direct provocation, the three sects still maintained a certain degree of restraint and did not actually go to war.

Taoist nun Tie Yushuang sat on the altar in the secret room. Compared with the outside world, the passage of time seemed to be still here.

Tie Yushuang's fingers gently touched the round porcelain jars in front of her, and a feeling of both anticipation and nervousness surged in her heart.

Then, he uncorked the bottle, took out the pill, tilted his head back and swallowed it.

He then began to circulate the magic power in his body with all his strength. As he breathed in and out, white mist seemed to be lingering around his body, indicating the depth and power of the magic power in his body.

Inside the stone chamber, a solitary lamp flickered, casting light and shadow on the solemn face of the female cultivator, reflecting her resolute expression.

The technique that Tie Yushuang practiced was called Yiyuan Zhenjue. It was moderate and peaceful, widely spread, and suitable for cultivators with most spiritual roots.

After entering Haoran Academy, she originally planned to change her martial arts method. After she wrote a letter to her eldest brother to explain, her eldest brother replied:
"You will be inferior to others in the next hundred years, and others will be inferior to you in the next hundred years. How can we be greedy for the achievements of the moment?"

Later in the letter, he gave a lot of guidance on his practice of the One Yuan True Secret.

Many years later, Tie Yushuang gradually understood that although the Yi Yuan Zhen Jue was slow to progress, its magical power was neutral and peaceful in nature, and could be compatible with most of the exercises. By using this Taoist exercise as a foundation, he could later switch to practicing the orthodox exercises of Haoran Academy, thus accumulating strength and then reaping the benefits of both.

But if I had changed to practicing a different technique at that time, my magic power would inevitably be mixed, and my body would inevitably be damaged. Even if I could gain temporary benefits, it would not be worth it in the long run.

After many days of seclusion, Tie Yushuang frowned. She could feel that her foundation-building practice had reached the most critical moment. Streams of heat flowed through her body, and her meridians seemed to be widened. The flow of every bit of magic power was smoother than before. Her breathing gradually became long and deep. Every time she inhaled, she seemed to absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and every time she exhaled, it was as if all the impurities in her body were eliminated.

Concentrate your energy and break through the barriers.

As the power of the One Yuan True Jue circulated, every inch of Tie Yushuang's muscles seemed to be slowly wriggling, as if spring had arrived and everything was full of vigor and vitality.

A condensed purple light gathered from the belt meridian and this time traveled all over the body except the head.

The head is the leader of the Six Yangs and there cannot be any mistakes. Only when one cultivates to the Purple Mansion realm, one will begin to cultivate the Ancestral Acupoint between the eyebrows, connecting the Ancestral Acupoint, Tanzhong, and Qihai. Cultivation at a lower realm does not need to go to this point.

Click click click…

Tie Yushuang moved this ball of light along the Ren and Du meridians on the spine, and when it reached the Dantian three inches below the navel, it was blocked. The powerful magic power could no longer be pushed forward and spread, and could only dissipate slowly. This was a bottleneck.

In the foundation-building stage, as long as the Dantian is expanded, the magic power will be greatly increased, the spiritual energy will be nourished, and the cultivator's consciousness will naturally be born, looking down like a god.

Driven by magic power, the blood in the body surged, impacting the acupuncture points. It seemed that he encountered a huge force, and Tie Yushuang felt a sense of fear of being shattered and broken in his heart.

"Oh, it still doesn't work."

Tie Yushuang let out a long sigh and dispersed all his concentrated magical power.

The powerful magic power accumulated throughout her life reversed and rushed into her meridians. If she had not taken the foundation-building pill, this Taoist nun in green would have exploded and died at this moment, a tragic death.

However, the most important function of the Foundation Establishment Pill, in addition to increasing magic power, is to maintain the cultivator's meridians. Therefore, although there was still some tingling and cracking pain, Tie Yu Shuang was fine. Instead, his magic power grew and climbed to the tenth level of Qi Refining.

He recovered from his injuries, read books, drew talismans, and read the letters written to him by his elder brother Tiexiao, and he always gained something from it.

Two months later, his internal injuries recovered and he took the second foundation-building pill, continuing to try to break through the foundation-building realm. However, he was still one step short and failed.

Healing his wounds, summarizing the lessons from the previous two failures, drawing talismans, and reading the letters written to him by his eldest brother Tiexiao.

"All the arts of cultivating immortals contain the Dao. Ancient sages once said that the Dao is like mercury pouring down on the ground, penetrating every hole. However, this realm is too difficult for ordinary cultivators like us to comprehend. It is better to start with the hundred arts of cultivating immortals and study one of them carefully, which may accelerate your cultivation."

Putting the letter aside, Tie Yushuang thought for a moment, picked up the book of talismans, and began to read the talisman book. He was no longer in a hurry to heal his wounds, but began to draw talismans from time to time, starting with the first-grade lower-grade talismans, then the middle-grade, upper-grade, and second-grade lower-grade.

All that one knows and can do can be put into writing.

She held a magic bamboo pen in her hand, with the tip of the pen dipped in cinnabar. As time passed, she danced with her mind and soul, seeming to have a magical effect.

One month, two months, three months, four months later.

In the cave, Tie Yushuang, who was drawing talismans, suddenly felt something in his heart, as if he had realized something.

At this moment, her talisman drawing skills broke through the long-standing bottleneck, and the talismans on the long table seemed to come alive, emitting a faint glow.

At this moment, the meridians in Tie Yushuang's body had not even been fully repaired, because she had been concentrating on drawing talismans for the past four months, but inexplicably, she knew that this was the time for her to build her foundation.

Sitting back on the altar in the secret room, although the shadow of failure was still lingering in his mind, every failure in breaking through the barrier was like his meridians being torn apart, bringing him great pain.

But at this moment, there was no sign of retreat in Tie Yushuang's eyes, only determination and resolve. She took a deep breath and swallowed a foundation-building pill. Instantly, a stream of heat rose from her dantian and quickly spread to the meridians throughout her body.

For her, under the powerful magic power, pain came like a tide. Tie Yushuang gritted her teeth and forcibly suppressed the agitation in her body. She closed her eyes and adjusted her mental state to restore her state of mind to peace. At this moment, she seemed to be isolated from the world, with only her heartbeat and breathing existing, and even returning to nothingness afterwards.

Faintly, Tie Yushuang felt that the talisman on the long table and the One Yuan Zhen Jue magic power in his body were responding to each other, making his own magic power flow and also become a talisman.

Build the foundation underground, draw the talisman and know the trick, and you will succeed.

In the Dingzhang world, there is no such thing as the Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, or the Way of Man to build the foundation. The realm of a cultivator's foundation-building only depends on how deep his foundation is.

Tie Yushuang's foundation-building realm is undoubtedly very solid.

A hundred days later, when the Taoist nun in green flew out of the cave again with a whisk in her hand, she felt that this world was very different from what she had seen before.

After a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage has opened up his Dantian and strengthened his meridians, his magical power will naturally flow throughout the body, warming the Ancestral Acupoint between his eyebrows. His spiritual consciousness will naturally develop. In a sense, it is like opening his "third eye", and his view of the world through this method is naturally different from the past.

Flying in a flying vehicle, Tie Yushuang had just established her foundation and wanted to find relatives and friends to share her joy. Of course, the people she wanted to find most at this moment were her brother and parents, but unfortunately, none of them were around.

Eldest brother Tie Xiao is practicing in Huanyun Valley. Under the care of eldest brother, the Tie family also has spiritual veins and clan lands, becoming a real immortal family. In Haoran Courtyard, Tie Yushuang can only look for fellow disciples and friends. At this moment, the person she wants to find most is Senior Sister Mu Yun, who is like her sister.

When we were halfway through the flight, we unexpectedly met the sisters who ran the Daxue Mulberry Garden together. They also looked busy.

"Su Jin, what are you doing?"

Tie Yu Shuang asked this after flying closer.

"Yu Shuang, where have you been during this period? Don't you know? Tiannan has started a war with us. Now the prices of all the magic tools, elixirs, and talismans in the sect have risen sharply. If we don't go and grab them, then..."

Halfway through the conversation, Su Jin froze as if she had seen something horrible. Then she looked again in disbelief before exclaiming, "Uncle Tie...Uncle Tie, have you already established your foundation?"

Qinzhou Tiannan and the Northern Territory's immortal cultivation world went to war. Even immortal cultivators were in danger of losing their lives in such an environment. However, the chances of survival for cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage were much higher than those in the Qi Condensation stage.

"Go buy some magic tools, elixirs, and spells. We can talk about our business later. Go quickly, go quickly."

Seeing her former sisters trembling in fear in front of her, Tie Yushuang felt a little embarrassed and let them leave.

Arriving at Senior Sister Mu Yun's cave, Tie Yushuang remembered something and took out a jade bottle with her last remaining foundation-building pill. In the upcoming sect war, if she had a trustworthy senior sister by her side, it would definitely increase her chances of survival and repay Senior Sister Mu Yun for her help over the years.

In the Cangyun Mountains, Jilei Peak, one of the three main peaks of Huanyun Valley, inside the cave, Huang Daozhong, Liu Hexuan, and Tie Xiao were sipping tea.

“It seems that this time, inviting Junior Brother Tie to join the sect has saved Huanyun Valley from a disaster!”

Huang Daozhong said this with some emotion.

The war between the Tiannan Immortal Cultivation World of Qinzhou and the Northern Territory could not have been without any signs beforehand. The Xuanmo Sect and Haoran Academy had obviously been aware of it and prepared for it.

However, Huanyun Valley was unaware of anything because of its own weakened power.

Under such circumstances, the Xuanmo Sect and the Haoran Academy were almost ready to attack the Huanyun Valley first, and then concentrate their forces to deal with this catastrophe.

When faced with an external disaster, it seems incredible to start a civil war first.

But it is easy to understand from the overall situation of the southern and northern regions: the Cangyun Mountains are in the northern region, but they are not on the front line.

It is normal for a catastrophe like this to last for hundreds or even thousands of years.

From the perspective of Xuanmo Sect and Haoran Academy, Huanyun Valley, which was so weak that it was completely unaware of the coming catastrophe, no longer had the strength to survive this catastrophe.

In this case, it would be better for them to be swallowed up by Xuanmo Sect and Haoran Academy. With their deliberate plan and the advantage in strength, the two sects have a good chance of killing Huang Daozhong and Liu Hexuan, the two brothers, and dividing the thousand-year accumulation of Huanyun Valley equally.

Faced with such a calamity, the spiritual stone resource reserves of Xuanmo Sect and Haoran Academy are seriously insufficient. If they can annex Huanyun Valley, the pressure will be greatly reduced. What's more, in the Xuanmo Secret Book of Xuanmo Sect, there are several methods of refining the Nascent Soul of others and greatly increasing their supernatural powers. For the Nascent Soul of the brothers Huang Dao Zhong and Liu Hexuan, the Xuanmo Sect is even willing to share more of Haoran Academy's wealth.

However, Lu Cheng suddenly advanced to the Nascent Soul stage as Taoist Tiexiao, which really showed that Huanyun Valley's luck was not over yet.

In the sect's grand ceremony and two attempts by True Lord Chi Kui, Lu Cheng first killed Zhong Muhan and then tied with True Lord Chi Kui.

According to the judgment of the top leaders of Xuanmo Sect and Haoran Academy, the strength of Huanyun Valley has greatly increased.

Even though there is only one more Yuanying Zhenjun, it is not difficult to kill two or three Yuanying Zhenjuns. As long as one escapes, no matter how many resources Xuanmo Sect and Haoran Academy successfully swallow up, they will be in a dilemma.

Huanyun Valley is slightly weaker than the other two sects, but as time goes by, it gradually becomes aware of the actions of the Tiannan Immortal Cultivation World.

Combining the actions of the two sects and finally deducing their intentions, Huang Daozhong and Liu Hexuan were both shocked and broke out in cold sweats:
The sect was almost destroyed, how could I not be afraid?
At this time, the two came to Jilei Peak and met with Lu Cheng to discuss how to respond to the future catastrophe.

“It’s very strange to say, I’ve also read the historical books of the Tiannan Xiuxian World and my Northern Territory, and it seems that every few thousand years, we have a war, with both sides winning and losing, and many casualties.

Monks cultivate Taoism to achieve immortality, what kind of grudges are so difficult to resolve?"

After Lu Cheng took a sip of the spiritual tea, he asked with some confusion.

In the Tongxuan world, there is no such situation. The various Buddhist, Taoist, Demonic, and Confucianist schools of thought, both good and evil, coexist in the world, all seeking the path to immortality. It seems unnecessary for the ideological disputes to reach this point.

"Hahahaha, Junior Brother Tie, I also had the same doubts in the past and asked Master for advice. Do you know how Master answered?"

"I don't know."

"The yin and yang of heaven and earth, life and death, rise and fall, are nothing but a cycle. Life and death are the keys to unlock the treasures of Taoism, and immortality is the combination of all desires."

Huang Dao Zhong waved his whisk, and a yin-yang Tai Chi diagram appeared in front of him. There was yang in yin, and yin in yang, and the cycle continued endlessly.

An hour later, the two True Lords Huang Dao Zhong and Liu He Xuan left Ji Lei Peak, while Lu Cheng turned back after seeing off his two brothers.

"It's really cruel. Is it unavoidable?"

Thinking back to Brother Huang Daozhong's Yin-Yang performance again, even with Lu Cheng's temperament, he still felt that it was a bit cruel and cold:

The way of the sky is more than damage but not enough to make up for.

The way of man is not to lose enough but to give more than enough.

When I first started learning Taoism, I felt that human nature was cruel. After I learned more about Taoism, I sighed that the way of heaven was ruthless.

Lu Cheng has lived two lives as a human being. As his Taoism improved, he could recall the memories of both lives. But when he put them together, he realized that what Senior Brother Huang Dao Zhong said was right.

In the past, in ancient China, a dynasty rose and fell every three hundred years. After great chaos, there would be great order. After the yin reaches its extreme, the yang will be born.

Between Eastern and Western civilizations, Eastern civilization has long been superior to Western civilization. It has stronger productivity and can support a larger population.

But it was Western civilization that developed modern science first. Why?
Of course, it is not because the West has a more scientific spirit, but because of backward civilization and lack of public health construction. The Black Death broke out and almost one-third or even more of the population died from the plague. Everyone was forced to hide in their rooms. In an environment without more entertainment, mathematics and art naturally developed rapidly, laying the foundation for modern science.

This is also the case when yin reaches its extreme, yang is born. After great chaos, great order will surely come.

During the Age of Discovery, the unnatural death rate among crew members and sailors exceeded 50%.

During the same period, although the people in the East worked hard, they were still able to survive. However, as long as they had space to survive, they lacked the basis for change when poverty arose.

"The yin and yang of heaven and earth, life and death, rise and fall, a reincarnation? No, it is a cycle of rise and fall."

Lu Cheng also waved his whisk, and a Yin-Yang Tai Chi diagram also appeared in front of him, but it was different from the one that Senior Brother Huang Daozhong had, which was a flat and circular rotating diagram.

Lu Cheng's Yin-Yang Tai Chi diagram continues to rise upward, forming a three-dimensional figure.

When he was in southern Xinjiang, he taught mathematics to local children and taught local craftsmen how to make gunpowder.

Lu Cheng was sure that he had remembered the gunpowder formula correctly, but he just couldn't make gunpowder. Later, he gradually realized that the world was different, and some slight changes in the basic laws of physics would lead to a series of chain changes.

It's not that this world cannot develop science, but it can only develop its own science, not the science that Lu Cheng brought from another world.

The war between the immortal world of Tiannan in Qinzhou and the Northern Territory was deliberately guided at the beginning. It was to give all the cultivators the strongest stimulation through life and death in order to promote the overall development of the immortal world.

Senior Brother Huang Dao Zhong's perspective is slightly limited, so he thinks this is a reincarnation. Lu Cheng knows that tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years ago, there was no such realm as Purple Mansion in the world of immortal cultivation. All immortal cultivators started from the Foundation Establishment Realm and tried to reach the Core Forming Realm. The failure rate and mortality rate were higher, and they relied more on external objects. There were fewer cultivators who could reach the Core Forming Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, and Primordial Spirit Realm.

Today, the top sects all have one or two Yuanshen monks. At the same time, they are also the main driving force of the monk war because they want to ascend.

“What I have realized today may not necessarily be the true truth. Perhaps Senior Brother Huang and I have misunderstood. Perhaps I have been influenced by studying the Yuanshi Tianmo Strategy too much.

But it might be a good idea to record it for later verification.”

The world of immortal cultivation also needs war. If there is no war, there will be more and more immortal cultivation families, and the sects will be dominated by a few major immortal cultivation families. They rely on bloodlines rather than talents to allocate resources, and the entire world of immortal cultivation will become more and more solidified, and even degenerate.

War is cruel. Every time a war comes, a large number of independent cultivators will die. The chances of survival for family cultivators and sect cultivators are much higher than that of independent cultivators, but eventually some families will be destroyed and some sects will be ruined.

The scattered classics, magical instruments, and elixirs will be transformed into vibrant new blood.

"The best situation is that the world is in turmoil, but my sect remains unmoved in the midst of it. The world is full of new blood, but my sect can obtain countless resources to strengthen itself."

Of course, Lu Cheng also knew clearly that if this situation developed to the extreme, the sect that benefited from it would gradually develop into the biggest cancer in the entire world of immortal cultivation, but that would be tens of thousands of years later.

A few days later, Lu Cheng received a letter from Haoran Academy via a flying sword.

I learned that Tie Yushuang had already reached the foundation-building stage and had a solid foundation.

"In this way, the matter is concluded."

Then, Lu Cheng sat cross-legged with his eyes closed on the altar. After a moment, a ball of red light flew out from his head and fell into his arms.

Jiuli world, the realm of death of tree demons.

Because of Lu Cheng's constant attacks, the ghost baby tree demon suffered increasing injuries and finally turned into a demon tree, burrowing deep underground to resist Lu Cheng's extraction of its dark death energy.

But how could he withstand this kind of passive resistance? Lu Cheng once again summoned the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, creating a chaotic hole that continuously extracted the dark and deadly energy from the ghost baby tree monster's body.

The sect war is approaching. Compared with improving the magic power, it is more meaningful to improve the grade of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The same is true for low- and middle-level cultivators, so in recent years, the prices of all magical instruments, elixirs, and talismans in Qinzhou have skyrocketed.

Many family cultivators even sold their family's skills and secret techniques that had been passed down for hundreds of years, just to obtain more resources and survive this great calamity for the cultivators. After all, if the family was destroyed, the inheritance would be meaningless.

In this turmoil between heaven and earth, countless cultivators will strive for survival, and countless inspirations and wisdom will burst out, which will finally be absorbed by the ancestors of the primordial spirits and become the nourishment for them to take the final step.

(End of this chapter)