Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 269 Demon Soul, Sixth-level Middle-grade Magic Treasure

Looking down from a high altitude, one sees first a vast plain, then crisscrossing mountains and rivers, with spiritual energy surging and flowing violently between heaven and earth.

"Swoosh!" A flying sword broke through the air, the sword body flashing silver light, like a meteor across the sky, pointing directly at the opponent.

As the flying sword passed by, the clouds seemed to be split in two, leaving a deep sword mark.

"Hmph!" The monk who was attacked snorted coldly, and the spells in his hands changed rapidly. A vortex of ice rose into the sky, extremely cold and gloomy, and it bared its fangs and claws, and rushed towards the flying sword.

The cold air and sword light collided violently in the air, causing a deafening roar.

At the forefront of the border between the north and the south, the fight between cultivators has already begun. Even Nascent Soul cultivators cannot stay out of it. In other words, in this great catastrophe of heaven and earth, the top priority to be eliminated is to eliminate these Nascent Soul True Lords.

After a cultivator cultivates to the Nascent Soul stage, he will have a lifespan of two thousand years. With the improvement of the Taoist system of this world, a Nascent Soul cultivator can even have a lifespan of four thousand years through tribulation. Most of them will establish families and sects.

Moreover, everyone hopes that their family or sect can grow stronger.

Even if one ascends to the upper realm, one still needs the presence of cultivators in the lower realms, ancestral temples, and incense offerings to replenish one's luck year after year.

A smaller disaster would not be able to hurt them at all.

Therefore, all the primordial spirit ancestors who still reside in this world joined forces to launch a great catastrophe in this world, eliminating the rotten blood, replacing it with new blood, and reviving the vitality of the Tao world.

Of course, this is also a form of plunder in a sense.

These Yuanshen ancestors wanted to obtain the resources for advancement, so instead of taking action themselves, they unleashed disasters that caused the destruction of their sects and the decay of their Yuanying.

But this does make sense. Even if Yuanying Zhenjun went out to fight to the death, there were still those Yuanshen ancestors to clean up the mess before it got out of control. These Yuanshen ancestors went out personally, and there was no one above them unless the immortals from the upper realm came down to the mortal world.

“The heart of one person is the heart of thousands of people.”

"Worry and hard work can make a country prosperous, but leisure and pleasure can destroy a person."

These are the truths of mortals, but it is also the same in the world of immortals. Every cultivator hopes that his family and sect will be strong, so they will try their best to plunder resources from outside.

Every Yuanying Zhenjun, without the stimulation of life and death calamities, the study of Taoism, and the improvement of realm will also decline.

The sects that were destroyed by the great catastrophe of heaven and earth, and the cultivators whose relatives died in battle, can of course resent those Yuanshen cultivators after learning the truth, but there are several other great worlds near the Dingzhang world, and outside of these great worlds, there are also the heavens and myriad worlds.

If these Yuanshen cultivators do not launch the catastrophe of heaven and earth, replace new blood, and stimulate the development of Taoism, when one day other great worlds invade, or even the demon race and the ghost race invade in full force, and the entire Dingzhang world is dyed in blood, will the world resent those high-ranking Yuanshen cultivators who only care about their own ascension and freedom and do nothing?
As long as you do something, you will always be hated by others.

A flash of sword light flashed by, and a Tiannan Yuanying cultivator hastily parried with his own flying sword, but immediately afterwards, his body was devoured by the lightning spell launched by Huang Dao Zhong.

A Nascent Soul flew out from the spiritual platform above the head of the Tiannan monk, looked at Huang Dao Zhong with resentment, and immediately performed a life-saving escape technique to fly away.

The Illusion Sun Technique was profound and exquisite, and Huang Daozhong had already mastered its essence. The talisman sword cooperated with it to perform multiple changes, using cleverness to break the force with just a sixth-level medium-quality talisman to destroy the body of this Tiannan monk.

Although he wanted to use magic to completely kill its Nascent Soul, the battlefield was in great chaos, the spells were chaotic, and the Zodiac Bell was just a gap in the operation of magic power, and the Nascent Soul had already flown away without a trace.

"Retreat, Brother, retreat quickly!"

Junior fellow student Liu Hexuan transmitted his thoughts through his spiritual consciousness, so Huang Daozhong had no choice but to retreat.

The war between the cultivators in the southern and northern regions of Tiannan has been going on for several years, with both sides winning and losing. So far, Huang Daozhong's decision seems to be correct.

He gave his all in the early stages of the war, bringing with him most of the elite cultivators from Huanyun Valley, and even coming in person with his fellow apprentice monks.

Therefore, Huanyun Valley has made considerable achievements in the past few years, and even appeared on the first list of rewards given by Yuanshen Patriarch.

Inside the Lingfu, Huang Daozhong set up a banquet to entertain the monks of the sect.

In the center of the hall, there was a spiritual sword that shone with cold light.

This is a sixth-rank medium-grade flying sword bestowed by the Yuanshen Patriarch as a reward for his merits. Huang Daozhong took the opportunity to hold a treasure-rewarding meeting within the sect to unite people and boost morale.

The wine was flowing and everyone was drunk.

Suddenly, a Taoist child stumbled in from outside the door and presented a talisman to the True Lord, which cooled the originally heated atmosphere at the banquet.

The old Taoist Huang Daozhong opened the talisman, read it once, and his expression changed slightly.

"What's wrong, senior brother?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Dao Zhong handed the talisman to Liu Hexuan. After Liu Hexuan took the talisman and read it, his face turned pale at first, and then slowly recovered.

"It's okay. A Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator was discovered in the sect, but he was killed on the spot by your Iron Patriarch, and even his Nascent Soul was captured.

You are not allowed to ask questions privately. Your current mission is to deal with this battle and return alive."

He gave these orders to his disciples.

However, Huang Daozhong and Liu Hexuan still sighed:

"It must be the blessing of our ancestors that at this time of great calamity, a great man like Junior Brother Tie was given to us. Otherwise, how could we brothers join forces to fight the enemy on the battlefield? One of us must have to guard the sect. If we encounter this calamity again, we may all perish together."

On the battlefield, having someone you can completely trust behind you can improve your combat effectiveness and give you peace of mind. Both of them have experienced this deeply.

"The Fu and Kong families of Jingling? Even I have some impression of them. I didn't expect that they have fallen into the devil's way. Sigh."

"Humph, this kind of thing happened in the past, it happens now, and it will happen in the future. It is difficult to cultivate the foundation of Taoism, but it is easy to practice magic, but how can there be magic without Taoism?"

The practice of Taoism is like the accumulation of rivers, lakes and seas, which progresses slowly and majestically. The magic skills have the means to make the lakes evaporate and boil, turning them into an overwhelming and magnificent sea of ​​clouds. However, if a new cycle cannot be formed when the foundation of Taoism is exhausted, the person will surely die.

"No matter what, such a thing actually happened in Jingling County. I don't believe that the people below were unaware of it. And I'm afraid it has something to do with the Xuanmo Sect."

Huang Daozhong stroked his beard and said these words with some worry.

At the same time, in Huanyun Valley, there was a peak of thunder.

"In the sect, all the stewards and managers related to Jingling County should be investigated one by one. Those who should be arrested should be arrested, those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be confiscated should be confiscated. All the families that participated in the previous battle and even suffered casualties should be rewarded and compensated. We must not let them feel discouraged and damage the prestige of the sect.

I remember that three Jindan Zhenren named Pang, Ding, and Cao died in this battle. All the compensation and rewards that should be given to them should be given by the sect. I will personally check it out afterwards."

Inside the spiritual palace, Lu Cheng sat on the altar with his eyes closed, holding the Taoist formula in his hands, but his face was a little pale.

After defeating a Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator with sophisticated magic weapons, he himself suffered heavy damage.

If it were an ordinary Taoist, he would suffer from all kinds of injuries, and not only would his future path be ruined, but it would also delay his life for at least hundreds of years. A Jindan Zhenren only has a lifespan of a few hundred years?
Lu Cheng cultivated the Eight or Nine Caves True Dao Pill, and was protected by the innate magical power of Samadhi True Fire. The heavier the external disaster, the stronger his magic power.

However, one also needs a space to cultivate, recuperate, and rest. One cannot allow disasters to come one after another, as that would be difficult to resist no matter how advanced one's cultivation is.

Jingling County is a large county in the heart of Huanyun Valley. After experiencing this demonic calamity, even with the assets of the Fu and Kong families as compensation, a decline in income in the past few years is inevitable for the entire sect.

Fortunately, what Senior Brother Huang Dao Zhong left to Lu Cheng was not a mess at all. Although there were some hidden dangers, Huanyun Valley still had some assets. Otherwise, just the sect's finances and pensions would have been a headache for Lu Cheng.

“True Lord, the cultivators from the Pang, Ding, and Cao families did contribute to this demonic calamity, but these three families are also cultivators from Jingling County. Over the years, they were completely unaware of the changes in the Fu and Kong families? This is unconvincing. Should we reward them…”

The person who stood up was Shao Yifeng from the General Affairs Hall. Huanyun Valley did not have a leader, and the head of the General Affairs Hall was the chief steward. Senior Brother Huang Daozhong left him to Lu Cheng, which showed that he trusted him very much.

"Three immortals died, but that's just some effort. Even if these three families are involved with the Fu and Kong families, I believe it has nothing to do with the main line. After the investigation, let them deal with it internally, but the rewards and pensions cannot be reduced. Immortal Yifeng, the great catastrophe of heaven and earth is coming. At this time, put away your petty arrogance. I know you are frugal, but don't tarnish the reputation of the sect.

If we cause the sect to become disunited, what good will it do us to hold on to those spirit stones? Ahem…"

When he said this, Lu Cheng had some difficulty breathing and coughed twice.

"Okay, all of you go down. The ancestor needs to rest. If you have anything else, please submit it in the form of a talisman."

Seeing that Lu Cheng felt a little uncomfortable, Lin Qinghan immediately stepped forward to chase him away.

After everyone left the spiritual vein, the beautiful nun came to the platform and gently patted Lu Cheng's back, massaging the acupoints to clear the meridians.

In fact, she also participated in this battle and suffered some internal injuries, but because of this, Lin Qinghan understood more clearly how fierce and terrifying the demon cultivator was.

Such a terrifying demonic calamity that had been accumulating for a long time was actually resolved so easily by the person in front of him. Lin Qinghan did not deny that he felt a little moved in his heart. The Taoist heart that had been practicing Taoism for hundreds of years had already begun to produce ripples that were out of control.

"I know my own body best. My lungs and meridians are only slightly damaged. You are also injured. Go down and rest."

"Yes."

Lin Qinghan nodded with a little disappointment. She had thought that there were some monks who liked to use the Yin essence of pure Yin virgins to heal internal injuries... Obviously, her husband was not proficient in this. Because of the demonic calamity in Jingling County, a tragic internal cleansing began.

Shao Yifeng, the head of the General Affairs Hall of Huanyun Valley, formed several law enforcement teams with the attitude of "correcting a wrong without going too far" to investigate the evil cultivators within the sect's sphere of influence.

Almost all the monks who were secretly practicing magic were discovered and hunted down and killed.

Many monks who were affected cursed:

"That Master Tiexiao has a Ten Thousand Souls Banner that is full of demonic energy. Why don't you investigate him?"

But the more such people are, the more fiercely they are hunted down and the faster they die.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner in Lu Cheng was made by sacrificing and refining the ten thousand souls of the ghost baby tree demon, but people in the world are not aware of this.

But what does it matter if it is not clear? It is natural for earthly countries to equip their armies with armor, but even if officials privately keep armor, it is still regarded as a serious crime of treason.

Jileifeng Cave.

Surrounded by a sea of ​​crimson flames, Lu Cheng went deep underground. There was a feminine spiritual vein within the sixth-level spiritual vein of Huanyun Valley. Lu Cheng could reach it by diving a thousand feet from the cave abode on Jilei Peak.

He usually used this place as a library. It was filled with yin energy, and was not susceptible to snakes or rats, and was not prone to fire.

Lu Cheng stretched out his hand and cast a spell to summon out a piece of cold iron armor, then placed it inside the Yin Vein, then he turned into a rainbow and escaped back.

After several hours, the armor began to move on its own.

The ghost baby looked around with some confusion, then picked up a few Taoist books and began to read.

It needs such an environment to absorb Yin energy to recover from internal injuries. At the same time, the large number of Taoist books here can also increase its own foundation.

Sometimes, it wondered if the Taoist had discovered that his spiritual wisdom was still there, otherwise how could he have arranged it so appropriately?

But if he has discovered that his spiritual intelligence is still there, why doesn't he take action to destroy his own spiritual intelligence?

There was something he couldn't figure out, so the ghost baby could only put the doubt aside for the time being.

Time passed year after year. The pain brought by the Demonic Tribulation was severe, but life must go on. After this battle, the demon cultivator from Huanyun Valley, who had only reached the level of Yuanying Zhenjun and proved his strength to the Qi State's immortal cultivation world, and who had been wandering around doing evil, no longer dared to go to the Huanyun Valley's sphere of influence.

Lu Cheng's internal injuries gradually recovered, but as the ten-year period approached, Lu Cheng began to refine the Ten Thousand Souls Banner again.

Having a sixth-order mid-grade magic weapon to protect you is much more realistic than increasing your own magic power in a short period of time.

One night, the sky and the earth were dark, the cave was deep and dark, and a spiritual light flickered.

On a yin day and at a yin time, it is the intersection of Zi and Chou.

Taoist Lu Cheng sat cross-legged on a stone platform with his eyes closed. In his hand he held a long bronze banner with a dim glow.

There is a clear and pure inspiration flowing in the air. If you close your eyes and meditate for a long time, you seem to be able to capture the ethereal and invisible opportunity.

The Taoist's eyebrows lit up slightly, and a red light surged out of his body and poured into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The world inside the banner has no up or down, no left or right, no front or back, it is all gray and pale.

Lu Cheng's consciousness manifested in it, immediately stirring up countless souls in the gray air around him, gathering and biting.

It was just that Lu Cheng's Yuan Consciousness spread the magic power to resist them. Then, the Taoist sat cross-legged in the void and began to chant the scriptures:
"At that time, the Heavenly Venerable Savior of Suffering filled the ten directions, and with his mighty power, he rescued all living beings from their lost paths. Living beings were unaware of this, like a blind man seeing the sun and the moon..."

Among the soul flags, Lu Cheng would replenish the magic power of those souls who were willing to let go of their hostility, perform salvation, and help them reincarnate.

If they don't want to, then they can continue to live in this soul flag and plunder blood food. Lu Cheng even killed a Nascent Soul demon cultivator that day, and Kong Yourong's body was used as blood food to feed the ghosts in this soul flag. When he didn't kill anyone for too long, Lu Cheng would also feed them with blood from pigs, cattle and sheep to reduce the backlash of the magic treasure.

This is also an unspoken rule between the Taoists and demons in the world of immortal cultivation. The righteous only protect those with great blessings and the vast number of living beings, while the evil cultivators try their best to kill those with unlucky fates. By not offending each other, the intensity of karma and heavenly tribulations can be greatly reduced.

If strictly speaking, pigs, cows, and sheep also have souls, and according to the law of reincarnation, they were even humans in their previous lives, then what is the difference between blood sacrifice of livestock and blood sacrifice of mortals?
This involves the question of whether it is extreme or not. If a person insists on his own way and refuses to turn back forever, and refuses to repent even if he dies, and at the same time what he does is righteous, then is he a demon?
The answer is demon.

Because any righteous path must involve some thinking. If it is too pure and extreme, it will inevitably lead to evil.

All persistence without thinking is wrong, or at least it is heading towards error. Thinking and looking at problems from multiple angles are the prerequisites for spiritual practice.

People are bound to have hesitations and be unsteady. This is a blessing and also a good fate.

Under the nourishment of the Taoist's magic power and spiritual energy, the surface of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner gradually began to emit a faint blue light, as if countless souls were whispering and speaking in it.

Suddenly, a red light emerged from the Taoist's body and he opened his eyes abruptly. Two rays of light shot out like lightning. As he controlled the seals and turned the magic formula, the Qiankun bag beside the altar opened, and a demon baby flew out. There was golden-red flames surrounding its young body, and its eyes revealed crazy resentment and anger.

"Junior, junior, let me go, and let's fight again!"

"Humph, I will let you go."

Taoist Lu Cheng snorted coldly, and used his hands to cast spells to untie the restrictions on the demon baby. The golden-red flames dissipated, and just as Kong Yourong's demon baby was about to resist, the demon baby was entangled and wrapped by tens of millions of soul threads, and was forcibly dragged into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. In an instant, the entire cave was filled with a powerful fluctuation of magic power.

"Ah! Junior, you actually want to refine me into the main soul of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and make me suffer the pain of being bitten by thousands of souls every day. I curse you to die a miserable death, and die under the heavenly calamity!"

"Isn't it normal for a cultivator like me to die under a heavenly calamity?"

Lu Cheng's mind was calm and unwavering, and he cast out spells and magic power one after another. The blue light on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner became even brighter, as if the entire cave was shaking under this huge force.

Kong Yourong knew clearly in her heart that if she was really refined this time, she would never be able to escape for thousands of years, and her soul might even be torn apart one day, so she struggled with all her might.

As time went by and magic power was continuously injected into him, the Taoist's body trembled slightly, and a trace of pain finally appeared on his face. It was obvious that the ritual process was extremely difficult.

As the magic power was gradually consumed and overdrawn, every meridian was groaning in pain.

However, Taoist Lu Cheng's eyes were firm. He knew very well that only by going through such training could he increase the power of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner to its extreme and truly master this magic treasure.

At this moment, Lu Cheng was just using his own magic power to persevere. Suddenly, he withdrew his magic power. Before the demon baby could breathe a sigh of relief and made a few mocking remarks, it was immediately enveloped and controlled by an extremely cold magic power.

At some unknown time, a huge and ferocious cold iron armor appeared behind the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the powerful feminine magic power was transmitted from it, the ghost baby puppet.

In this way, the two of them endured the days and nights, refining each other alternately. The ghost baby puppet transmitted magic power, while Lu Cheng returned to practice Qi, and vice versa.

This long tug-of-war lasted for more than several months. Suddenly one day, Kong Yourong's demon baby no longer persisted, but stared at Lu Cheng with a sneer.

After a moment, it took the initiative to merge into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was like a black mirror, swallowing it whole.

As the last wisp of spiritual energy merged, a soul-shaking pressure suddenly erupted from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the entire cave seemed to tremble under this pressure.

Taoist Lu Cheng let out a long breath, then he slowly stood up, walked to the front of the magic flag and waved it gently. The surrounding spiritual energy surged and formed dark whirlpools, which seemed to be able to roar out at any time and destroy all obstacles in front of them.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner at this moment is no longer what it used to be. As a sixth-rank mid-grade magic weapon, the power contained within it is enough to greatly increase its ability to protect the world in the upcoming catastrophe.

But at this moment, a jade-like body appeared behind Lu Cheng, gently embraced him, and reached into the Taoist robe of the person in front of him.

Lu Cheng turned his head to look, and saw that the woman was extremely beautiful, with skin as white as cream. She looked about 70% similar to the Xiao sisters. Looking at her carefully, he felt that she was somewhat similar to Xue Yuzhen, Yun Ling'er and her daughter, and even Lin Qingyue back then.

As the saying goes, the devil's mysterious appearance is beyond the ordinary world. If Lu Cheng is willing to immerse himself in it, he can also see his senior schoolmate from his previous life and their common girlfriend.

But at this moment, a golden light shone out from Lu Cheng's body, accompanied by a clear and pleasant low hum, and a sharp golden spiritual energy flew out.

The wonderful form of the devil that Kong Yourong transformed into suddenly collapsed, and her jade-like face shattered piece by piece. Finally, what appeared was a moving skeleton. Under the pressure of the extremely sharp golden spiritual energy, it had to flee and hide in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner to survive.

"Are you so sure that I will help you? I helped you escape from the Tongxuan World with the power of the Golden Boat because I wanted to leave there too. After this, our grudges are settled."

A clear, pleasant yet sharp voice rang out in my mind. Who else could it be but the golden spirit transformed from the golden-winged Roc?

Lu Cheng was always unsure about the growth of her magical power. Even with the help of Jiuli Ding, Lu Cheng was not sure that he could control her, but he still had to lend her power if possible.

"Without your help, I am not sure I can refine this treasure to no more than the fifth level. Her last move, the Heavenly Demon Mysterious Form, was to sacrifice her Nascent Soul to merge into the banner, dragging me to death with her. Compared to that white-clothed tree demon, I trust you more."

"...Don't be so self-indulgent. You're lucky this time. If you dare to disturb my practice again next time, I'll kill you first!"

This time, Lu Cheng called the Golden Winged Peng Bird to save the situation. This monster is called Mingzun or Mingwang in Buddhism, and it has a natural restraining power against evil spirits and demons. However, the Golden Winged Peng Bird did not appear. It only used a golden spirit power to kill Kong Yourong and made her flee. It was even more powerful than he had expected.

(End of this chapter)