Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 365: Nine Insect Scriptures, Fire Crystal Ore Veins (Subscribe!)

It was noon, and the sky was bright and cloudless.

In the private room on the third floor of "Tingtao Pavilion" in the east city of Haiyuan City, a pot of Yunwu Lingcha was boiling and making noises.

There were seven or eight foundation-building monks sitting around the Eight Immortals Table by the window. Among them, a middle-aged man in an ochre Taoist robe was clapping on the table, spitting and looking very excited.

"You didn't see the fight on the Sunset Terrace that day! When Master Lu summoned the golden-bodied Arhat phantom, the sky was filled with the Buddhist swastika seal formed by spiritual energy. But then that cultivator from the Changle League..."

He deliberately dragged out his voice, and when he saw the people around him craned their necks, he lowered his voice and said, "He actually shook out a mourning stick from his sleeve, with black air wrapped around it and a heavy ghostly aura!"

A female cultivator who was resting with her eyes closed in the corner suddenly opened her eyes, and the tea lid she had subconsciously crushed in her hand fell to the ground:
"Master Lu has integrated Buddhism and Taoism into his practice, and his power is pure and authentic. How could he be defeated by such an evil weapon?

"Evil?" The middle-aged Taoist priest in a red robe who was telling the story sneered:

"That mourning stick is clearly made of ten thousand years of Yin wood, and the Yin patterns on its surface are actually ancient witchcraft. After it hit Master Lu... his Arhat golden body was actually shattered, and black blood oozed out of the wound!"

Suddenly, a jade chime sounded from the stairs. Everyone turned around and saw a red-faced young monk leaning on the railing, panting and saying:
"The latest news! A good friend of mine in the Tiansha League told me that an expert speculated that the technique practiced by the Changle League cultivator was the long-lost "Mysterious Corpse Refining Technique"!"

Lu Chengfeng of the Tiansha Alliance, although only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage, has cultivated both his Dharma body and his body, and has integrated the secret techniques of Buddhism and Taoism into his own creation of his own martial arts, which far exceeds his peers in terms of combat power.

He had been besieged by sea monsters several times but was able to escape unscathed, and had also provided protection to many lower-level cultivators, so he was quite famous among the cultivators in Haiyuan City.

Such a True Lord cultivator was defeated in public on the Luoxiantai by a new cultivator from the Changle League, which naturally attracted the attention of the other cultivators.

However, the further the message spreads downward, the more distorted it becomes.

After all, Lu Cheng went there alone that day, and Nansong Zhenjun of Tiansha League and his trusted subordinates would not spread the matter everywhere. If only a few words were leaked out, the matter would naturally become more and more outrageous.

"I heard that after that battle, Master Chengfeng lost his heart of Taoism, and now he is kneeling outside the Golden Court Fairy Palace of Canglong Mountain, begging the Master of Changle League to help him break through the bottleneck and continue his Taoism."

"No way. Tiansha League's Master Jiang An is a great cultivator. He can't do anything about it. Master Chengfeng, a Master of the First Realm of Changle League, is desperate and trying any possible means, right?"

"Of course not. Master Chengfeng is still guarding outside the Golden Court Immortal Palace. Sigh, his obsession is so deep that I'm afraid Master Chengfeng will turn to the devil's way in a few years."

Inside the Tingtao Pavilion, monks would sigh from time to time, expressing regret for the future of a Zhenjun monk with a good reputation.

On the other side is the Jinting Fairy Palace of Canglong Mountain.

The sources of information for Nascent Soul cultivators are much more accurate than those for lower-level cultivators. Lu Chengfeng is quite famous, and Lu Cheng has risen to the top based on his reputation, which naturally attracted many cultivators of the same level to visit and make friends with him.

This kept Lu Cheng and the Xiao sisters busy for a while. At the same time, since there was already a Lingshan Palace, the next thing for everyone to do was naturally to take over the task of hunting monsters.

On the one hand, one cannot live off the resources, and on the other hand, many spiritual objects in Haiyuan City can only be exchanged for monster hunting merits. If there are only a large number of spirit stones, Haiyuan City will not exchange them for cultivators without channels.

Yuwen Zheng, Wu Lingjun, Shi Sheng and even Yun Huang'er have already cultivated to the late Jindan realm. Looking at the monster hunting list:

How could one not be tempted by such spiritual objects as the Infant Transformation Pill, the Nine Heavens Jade, and the Disaster-avoiding Thunder Bead?

The Infant Transformation Pill and the Nine Heavens Jade can assist in the cultivation of the Nascent Soul and reduce the difficulty for cultivators to break the Golden Pill and condense the Nascent Soul.

The calamity-avoiding thunder beads can be used to resist the heavenly punishment thunder calamity. The cultivators in the Tongxuan realm absorb the earthly evil and heavenly gang to cultivate the foundation of Taoism. After reaching the golden elixir realm, they have to go through forty-nine calamities. The last forty-nine calamities will be mixed with the heavenly calamity of infant transformation.

Therefore, even for cultivators who have been blessed by heaven, such as Qinghong Zhenjun of Bajing Gu, the tribulation of infant transformation is still very severe.

This calamity-avoiding thunder bead that can assist in overcoming calamities is even more valuable and important to traditional Tongxuan realm cultivators than spiritual objects such as the Infant Transformation Pill and the Nine Heavens Gang Jade.

So after settling down, Yuwen Zheng, Wu Lingjun, Shi Sheng and Yun Huang'er immediately began to take on various monster hunting missions through the relationship with the Changle League, accumulating monster hunting merits bit by bit.

After all, although spiritual objects like this exist, it is difficult to exchange them even if a Jindan cultivator holds on to them for a hundred years, unless there is investment from a teacher behind them.

However, on the monster hunting list, there are also many Taoist books and scriptures, sword-making treasures and mines that Lu Cheng and the Xiao sisters are interested in. For example, he has recently become obsessed with a Taoist masterpiece called "The Insect Classic".

Taming beasts and controlling spirits is one of the hundred arts of cultivating immortals, and raising poisonous insects is a branch of it. However, this insect book is a summary of a great cultivator's life-long experience in Taoism. It is divided into nine parts. The first three parts are from one to three levels, the middle three parts are from four to five levels, and the last three parts are from six to seven levels.

The first three parts can be purchased with spirit stones, but the last three parts must be exchanged for monster hunting merits, and after the exchange, a contract must be signed not to resell them to others. The seventh part, "Insect Sutra", has a similar exchange price to spiritual objects such as Jiuxiao Gangyu and Avoid Disaster Thunder Pearl.

The eighth volume of "The Insect Sutra" has a similar exchange price to the sixth-grade top-grade magic weapon and the sixth-grade elixir that assists Nascent Soul cultivators to break through bottlenecks.

Fortunately, the content of the first three parts is already quite a lot. During this period, Lu Cheng was fascinated and absorbed in reading them. His understanding and knowledge of spiritual insects has greatly improved.

But now he lacks the merits for hunting monsters and doesn't know where to get them.

The Xiao sisters, Xue Yuzhen and Yun Ling'er, used the Ghost Infant Pill to refine their Nascent Souls. Their magic power could not be increased, but their Taoism could be improved. They were also deeply interested in the many Taoist books and texts in this world.

On this day, inside the Taoist palace, Lu Cheng was drinking tea and reading, combining his experience in raising spiritual insects with the legal verification in the "Insect Classic".

He constantly deduced the areas where he needed to improve in the cultivation of the poisonous golden silkworm Gu and the gold-gnawing fire ants.

At this time, Shi Sheng walked in from outside the Taoist palace.

Shi Sheng and Yun Huang'er recently accepted a mission to clear out the fire-scale fish tide near the coast:

Target: Clear out the school of fire-scale fish near the coast (foundation-building stage monsters, extremely numerous.)
Danger rating: Class C (It is recommended that a Jindan monk lead the team.)
Profit: Every hundred kilograms of fish bones can be exchanged for ten medium-quality spirit stones or monster hunting merits of the same value. The price of the fertility spirit beads found will be calculated separately.

This task is not difficult for Shi Sheng and Yun Huang'er, and the income is not low, it is just a bit hard. At the same time, exterminating a large number of these sea monsters can also prevent the fire-scale fish from giving birth to dragons after a long period of cultivation, thus reducing the pressure of hunting monsters.

After completing the task, Yun Huang'er was very tired. Shi Sheng felt sorry for his wife, so he let Yun Huang'er go back first and came alone to apologize and pay his respects.

"Master, your relative from five hundred years ago is still waiting at the gatehouse. I just hope you can see him."

"No, this person cannot be fully Buddha, nor can he be fully Taoist. He suffers from the disease of splitting his soul and splitting his spirit. For many years, he has asked Master Jiang and Master Gu for help, but he still cannot break through the bottleneck. Am I better than those two great cultivators?

He just saw that I was also a practitioner of both Dharma and body cultivation, so he held a little hope in his heart, but he couldn't believe it completely. This kind of person is the most difficult to deal with."

Lu Cheng was wearing a loose Taoist robe, with the Insect Sutra placed in front of him and a cup of fragrant spiritual tea on the table. While answering his disciples' questions, his eyes did not move away from the scriptures.

"Master, since you like this book so much, I will exchange the Middle Insect Sutra for you in a while."

Shi Sheng noticed Lu Cheng's expression and didn't think it was unusual to say so.

Hundreds of years ago, the master raised the golden silkworm Gu, which was known as the most vicious Gu in the world. He could control it with his mind and it had never backfired. His practice of this art might even be better than that of the Yinshan Patriarch, who was the number one person in southern Xinjiang at that time.

Now, if you combine it with other realms of Tao, you will gain new insights.

"I need to read a book. I will take on monster hunting missions in a while. You don't need to take on all the responsibilities. You and Huang'er are both from the Tongxuan cultivator lineage. Although your foundation is solid, you will face great disasters in the future. You and Huang'er should save up and buy more treasures to avoid disasters in the future, so as not to make a wrong move that will cause you to regret for the rest of your life."

"Master is right. I understand."

Lu Cheng's words were quite serious, and Shi Sheng bowed politely.

"I'm not too worried about you. You were born with stone in your womb and were born with good fortune. Your mother, I, and your brother have prepared some backup plans for you. Plus, with your temperament and foundation, it won't be difficult for you to survive the heavenly tribulation. However, Yun Huang'er was born too well, has experienced too few tribulations, and everything has gone too smoothly. In these years in Haiyuan City, you and her need to go through more trials, otherwise you can only be husband and wife for this life and be separated forever."

"Thank you for your advice, Master. I will keep it in mind."

Shi Sheng finally bowed deeply with a solemn look. He knew that with his master's magical power and temperament, what he said must not be without reason.

If the current situation continues, my master may think that my wife will not be able to survive the Nascent Soul stage, and he must intervene in order for her to have a chance of survival.

"Well, what are your two uncles busy with recently?"

Lu Cheng only touched upon the previous topic briefly, as he knew that his disciple was smart enough.

"The two uncles have been managing the moonlight clams recently. The demonic aura near the sea is strong. Some of the tamed moonlight clams are showing signs of demonization again. If not properly handled, it may lead to disaster." Having just taken over the monster hunting mission in Haiyuan City, it is obvious that Yuwen Zheng, Wu Lingjun and Shi Sheng are all very cautious. They would rather work harder and earn less than rashly take over a more dangerous hunting mission.

Get to know the environment and build your network first, then talk about the rest.

Two months later, in the north of Haiyuan City, at the Jinting Immortal Palace of Canglong Mountain.

Before the Yin hour, a foundation-building disciple who was guarding the gate rubbed his sleepy eyes and pushed open the vermilion bronze door. He was almost shocked by the scene outside the door and fell to the ground.

A nine-colored rainbow stretched across the sky and earth. It turned out to be nine Jindan Zhenren, each riding on a magic weapon and flying into the air. The rosy glow made the morning mist look like it was covered with colorful clothes.

"Master Wu Chen of Qingxie Island has come to congratulate Master Lu on the opening of his mansion!" The old woman in the lead had white hair and a youthful face. A three-legged golden toad was sitting under her, breathing out clouds of mist. Behind a curtain made of eighteen Dinghai pearls, a three-meter-long gilded gift list could be vaguely seen.

Although Master Wu Chen of Qingxie Island is also an early Nascent Soul cultivator, he has mastered the art of alchemy and is also a standout figure among the many early Nascent Soul cultivators in Haiyuan City.

The several types of sixth-grade elixirs that he is best at can even reach the sixth-grade mid-quality realm.

Therefore, when Lu Cheng learned that this person was coming to visit him, he had to gather his wives and concubines to go out to greet him.

A sword rainbow swept across the sky, first it was a flying sword, and the next moment it was a Taoist standing there, welcoming the distinguished guest.

"Fellow Daoist Wu is of such a noble status that he actually came to visit me. My wife and I had originally planned to go and pay a visit to you in the near future."

"Hahahaha, Fellow Daoist Lu is too polite. I hope you don't blame me for coming here in such a presumptuous manner."

"please."

"please."

Master Wu Chen wears a nine-hole exquisite crown on his head and has hanging silver hair, but his skin and hair contain a strong vitality.

The black Taoist robe has wide sleeves with drooping clouds, and the cuffs are embroidered with a map of the twenty-eight constellations. When walking, one feels that the starlight is flowing like mercury.

As a sixth-rank alchemist for many years, he obviously has no shortage of spirit stones. Even if such a cultivator is not good at sword fighting or magic, when fighting, he can use many high-quality magic weapons and talismans at the same time, which makes him extremely difficult and terrifying.

This is why the world of immortal cultivation places special emphasis on the qualifications for cultivation, and not on the qualifications for fighting. Although both types of qualifications are actually very important, the former can greatly make up for the latter.

By practicing to a higher level in a short period of time, you will have stronger magic power, save more spirit stones, and purchase magic tools and talismans, and you will be able to defeat powerful enemies.

The latter is more about raising the upper limit. Some cultivators who have a solid foundation in Taoism and are good at sword fighting and magic fighting, once they have achieved success in their cultivation, will not be afraid even if they are besieged by more than ten cultivators of the same level.

Inside the Jinting Immortal Palace, Master Wu Chen exchanged some pleasantries and finally explained his purpose.

“Fellow Daoist, you look bright and energetic. I think you have cultivated to this level at only 500 years old. More importantly, your foundation in Dao is profound. You are truly a young person to be feared.

However, we cultivators must practice Taoism day and night and must not neglect it. I have a furnace of Tianchen Pills that is about to be refined. I wonder if you are interested?"

Tianchen Pill is a sixth-grade pill that is the most moderate and peaceful way to increase magical power. It is the coveted treasure of countless Nascent Soul cultivators. Obtaining it can save hundreds of years of hard training, and the toxicity of the pill is relatively minimal.

"You have already refined such a magical pill? How much spirit stones are needed? You can name your price." Hearing this, Lu Cheng was also moved.

"Uh... well, after years of preparation by me and a few friends, we have already prepared two batches of materials for the Heavenly Dust Pill. Now we only need one ingredient, the Seven-Colored Magnolia, and then we'll be done."

"Then what is the purpose of your visit this time, fellow Taoist?" Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng's expression calmed down and the doubts in his heart.

"Alas, friend Lu, I have already found out where the Seven-Colored Magnolia is. It is in the cave of a sea monster king. We have arranged all the plans, but we are missing a fellow who is good at killing, just in case.

We originally planned to invite Master Chengfeng, but now we have a better choice."

At this point, Master Wu Chen’s meaning was already very clear.

Inviting Lu Chengfeng is an invitation, inviting Lu Cheng is also an invitation, so naturally we have to invite someone with stronger magical power to ensure everyone's safety.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to let you down. The last time I fought with Master Chengfeng on the Falling Immortal Platform, I actually suffered some internal injuries, and I haven't recovered yet. I'm afraid I can't go with you."

If it was in the Tongxuan Realm, and Lu Cheng was invited by some fellow disciples from the Tiandi Demon Palace or Huoyun Mansion, he would most likely go for such an event.

Not only can you share the profits, but you can also stretch your muscles and feed your flying sword.

However, Lu Cheng was not familiar with Wu Chen Zhenjun of Qingxie Island, and it seemed that many people had been invited: this trip was dangerous, and the benefits would be limited after the success.

Lu Cheng declined this kind of thing. Even though the Tianchen Pill was indeed very tempting, Lu Cheng had already thought of other alternatives.

"My dear friend, I am striving to become a sixth-rank middle-grade alchemist. Therefore, if this is successful, I will not take a penny. You will also gain the friendship of a sixth-rank middle-grade alchemist. Why not?"

"Master, I am indeed injured and have not yet recovered. It's not that I don't want to go, but even if I go, I'm afraid I will be a burden to you."

Master Wu Chen lobbied for a long time, but Lu Cheng finally did not agree.

The great alchemist finally waved his sleeves and left angrily, but when the two passed each other, Master Wu Chen did not notice that a faint golden light fell on him.

Among the tens of millions of poisonous golden silkworm Gu, some are good at fighting, some are good at being extremely poisonous, and some are good at hiding.

Lu Cheng really felt that the actions of Master Wu Chen were somewhat suspicious, so he used his physical cultivation ability to secretly plant a golden silkworm Gu on him.

Tianchen Pill has a significant effect on cultivators in the early and middle stages of the Nascent Soul. With Master Wu Chen's bargaining chips, it is not impossible to win over a cultivator in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul. Why would he spend so much effort to win over a stranger?
Lu Cheng has been practicing Taoism for hundreds of years and is no novice. He is naturally alert to this and has not lost his mind because of the benefits.

Master Wu Chen brought his disciples back to Qingxie Island. Because the golden silkworm Gu had already crawled into his clothes, even though the mountain protection formation was detecting it with spiritual light, it was still not discovered.

Master Wu Chen returned to his cave, first meditated and practiced, then read Taoist books. All of this was very normal until several hours later, when Master Wu Chen suddenly stood up and welcomed in a middle-aged cultivator from outside.

The two of them set up the magic domain again, isolating the inside and outside of the cave. The golden silkworm Gu's spiritual sense transmission was also affected.

"...This person is very cautious...What should we do next?"

"... Such a great benefit... Let an outsider take it like this... I really can't bear it..."

Inside the Taoist palace, Lu Cheng clasped his hands together and tried his best to sense the messages that the golden silkworm Gu was sending him intermittently.

Although it is not very clear, it is certain that the other party is indeed planning to deal with me.

"Why is this happening? It's just a sixth-level spiritual vein blessed land, it shouldn't be this serious, right?"

Lu Cheng's doubt was answered a few days later.

But it was brought by Deacon Han from Yuque Pavilion.

"Congratulations, Master Zhenjun. Congratulations, Master Zhenjun. It turns out that there is a spiritual fire crystal vein under the spiritual vein of Canglong Mountain. According to the laws of the city, if you mine this spiritual vein, the city will give you at least 20% of the profits!"

On this day, Han Zhi came to Jinting Xianque in ecstasy. He knew that this Master Lu was very powerful, so he naturally rushed to curry favor with him as soon as he heard the news.

"The Canglong Mountain spiritual vein has been developed for many years. How could there be new mineral veins that have not been explored? Is this wrong?"

Lu Cheng frowned slightly when he heard this, and was not happy at first.

"Originally, mining the Spirit Fire Crystal veins would destroy the entire spirit vein of Haiyuan City. So even though we knew the veins existed, we couldn't mine them. But in recent years, Yuqing Fajie has developed a new mining technology that can mine the Spirit Fire Crystals while filling the veins with other ores. This way, it will have no effect on the spirit veins of Haiyuan City."

Hearing this, Lu Cheng finally understood why so many people were trying to deal with him openly or secretly not long after he arrived in Haiyuan City.

A large, high-quality mineral vein could generate a profit of tens of millions of spirit stones a year. Even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would be like a child carrying gold in a busy city. If he were a local cultivator, it would still be better. However, as luck would have it, an outsider like him had occupied the spiritual vein of Canglong Mountain almost by chance. It was normal for many people to want him dead.

(End of this chapter)