Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 84: Taiyi Tiandun Yin and Yang Calculation, Southern Xinjiang Banquet

A comfortable life, even wealth, are not taken for granted, especially in a place like the Tongxuan Realm in Southern Xinjiang where there are far more evil cultivators than righteous cultivators.

The righteous cultivators absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth, collect herbs to make elixirs, temper their internal organs and bones, restrain themselves and persevere, hoping for a chance of breakthrough.

The evil monks nourish yin and feed on poisonous insects, drink blood and eat souls, and thereby gain a certain amount of magic power and spells, and then do whatever they want and indulge in their selfish desires.

If there weren't so many evil cultivators in southern Xinjiang who were restraining each other, and only a small number of them were ruling this place, each of them would be a local emperor with three thousand beauties in his harem.

There are also many Qigong practitioners in the Middle-earth who have three wives and four concubines, but as long as they can exercise self-control and have not reached the point of indulging in lust, they are only considered to have poor personal ethics and are not considered to have stepped into the evil path.

There was a short story about the Lord Chixin. It was said that before he entered the good path, his name was Wang E, a ghost god from Xiangyin. Although he protected one area, he also required local people to offer blood sacrifices to him in the form of young boys and girls.

Later, he was burned by the flying talisman of Master Sa, which seriously damaged his vitality. Wang E refused to accept it and reported it to the Heavenly Court... Wang E devoured young boys and girls himself, but dared to report it to the Heavenly Court. It can be seen that even in the Eastern mythology system, as long as your merits far outweigh your faults, then even if you devour young boys and girls to satisfy your selfish desires, you can still be among the righteous gods.

The Jade Emperor then gave him wisdom eyes and a golden whip, and allowed him to follow Master Sa secretly. If he found any fault, he could take revenge on him.

During the following twelve years, Wang E observed everything with his keen insight and found no faults that could be blamed on Master Sa. He then became Master Sa's disciple, and Master Sa changed his name to "Shan", changing Wang E to Wang Shan.

Master Sa's morals are flawless, and he is certainly worthy of his name. But if people take him as the standard of righteousness, then the world will be a chaotic, evil, dark and turbid world.

Allow yourself and others to make mistakes, just like Lu Cheng. Although he studied "Taiyi Tiandun Yin Yang Miaosuan" with Xue Yuzhen every night, he did not delay his own studies and practice. At the same time, he used Chixin Temple as the center to control the area and bring peace and prosperity to hundreds of thousands of people.

Even if his boudoir pleasures were a little more absurd and fancy, he would still be a righteous monk:
Although I am bloodthirsty and lustful, I know that I am a good Taoist priest; I had no choice before, but I also want to be a good Taoist priest in the future.

Compared with the book "Explanation of the Secret Demonic Dao of the Heavens", the book "Taiyi Tiandun Yin and Yang Miraculous Calculation" brought by Xue Yuzhen is of greater help to Lu Cheng for the time being.

This Taoist has a strong and profound foundation in Taoism, and his magic power is constantly increasing and improving day by day, but "Taiyi Tiandun Yin Yang Miao Suan" is not about dual cultivation to increase magic power, but: "Use the heart of Tao as the plate, divination with Yin and Yang, and evolve the principles of all things."

If a monk practices it, it can enlighten his wisdom and increase his understanding of the Taoism he practices.

Plus with Xue Yuzhen's top-notch cauldron, why not study day and night?
However, when Lu Cheng was taking notes that day, he keenly discovered that his understanding of the Five Viscera Refining Essence Technique had gradually turned narrow-minded and vicious. At this moment, he realized that although this set of Taiyi Magical Calculations looked upright, it was also a magical skill.

In other words, this kind of practice can easily lead to wrong practice.

"Yu Zhen's husband back then must have been from a large demon sect and held a high status, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to let her, a concubine, read so many secret books."

Lu Cheng did not ask too much about Xue Yuzhen's past life. After she became his concubine, Lu Cheng only greatly increased her offerings and her authority in the Red Heart Temple. Within his own ability, he would protect her and her daughter's wealth and prosperity.

The Chixin Monastery is a wealthy and powerful family, and Lu Cheng is a wealthy and powerful monk.

In this way, several more years of peace passed.

Lu Cheng was guarding the Chixin Temple in southern Xinjiang and practicing magic. Everything went smoothly. The only thing that made him unhappy was that the poisonous golden silkworm Gu was staring at the strange fruit in the lake.

Lu Cheng entered the Jiuli world several times with his consciousness and attached himself to the body of the Golden Silkworm Gu. In fact, he had several opportunities to help the Golden Silkworm Gu get the exotic fruit in the lake.

But Lu Cheng did not do so, because through the spiritual insect book brought by Xue Yuzhen, Lu Cheng already knew what kind of spiritual fruit it was, and also understood why the golden silkworm Gu was so eager for it:

When consumed by spiritual insect monsters, the fruit will quickly mature and reproduce.

However, Lu Cheng has raised this golden silkworm Gu for quite a long time. Lu Cheng wants to cultivate it into a powerful demon insect instead of letting it reproduce a large number of bloodlines.

Therefore, in the past few years, Lu Cheng not only did not help, but also intentionally or unintentionally held the insect back. At the same time, he recited various Taoist scriptures to the golden silkworm Gu, hoping to help it enlighten its wisdom, comprehend the Taoist transcendental principles, and no longer be bound by its own instincts.

So far, there has been no effect.

That morning, the breeze was gentle and pleasant, and I watched the outside world with a sincere heart.

In the eastern sky, someone came riding on a cloud and bringing a group of people with him.

The leader was a handsome middle-aged monk with feathered robes, a tall crown and deep eyebrows. Behind him followed twelve Taoist children, six men and six women on the left and right. Some held whisks, some held swords, some held peach wood tokens, some held incense burners, and some held prayer mats. They looked very impressive.

"Brother Tang, how are you?"

"Hahahaha, after not seeing you for many years, Brother Lu is even more charming than before. This is really cause for celebration."

As Taoist Tang Shi landed on the ground, the six men and six women on his left and right stepped forward and took out a large amount of spiritual wine, spiritual meat and mountain products from their Qiankun bags. They were then transported back to the temple by the Taoist children of Chixin Temple and properly stored.

"Brother comes whenever he wants, and he always spends this much money every time."

"Alas, you and I brothers don't talk about these things."

Lu Cheng and Tang Shi exchanged greetings and then walked into Chixin Temple together.

"I have met my uncle."

Arriving at the courtyard, Xue Yuzhen, dressed elegantly and modestly, stepped forward to pay her respects.

After becoming the concubine of the Lu family, Xue Yuzhen's clothing became more and more dignified and rigorous. However, this female cultivator had a voluptuous figure, with curves that were almost exaggerated. The more experienced she was, the more she could appreciate the thrilling aspects of this...

Just thinking of Lu Cheng beside him, Tang Shi immediately calmed down and returned the greeting.

Huoyun Mansion is the world's top-notch righteous sect. Even his own master would try to establish some friendship with it.

What's more, even if we ignore the Huoyun Mansion, Taoist Tang Shi also knows Lu Cheng's methods.

He used the alias Lin Lie, sneaked into the City That Never Sleeps, and founded Wenjianzhai. Within a few years, he was almost known as "the best swordsman in the Qi training realm". Later, he mysteriously disappeared in the beast tide in southern Xinjiang.

Others thought he was missing, but where is that Lin Lie now and who he is? Maybe Tang Shi doesn’t know?

The mere presence of Lu Cheng made Tang Shi want to make friends with him wholeheartedly. He thought that he might be a life-saving straw when he encountered troubles or disasters in the future. Thinking of this, even a stunning female cultivator like Xue Yuzhen had no temptation for Tang Shi.

After Tang Shi sat down, he talked with Lu Cheng about Taoism, and talked about the recent events in the Tongxuan world, as well as many anecdotes and interesting things:

"Two years ago, the Western Region Tianhe Orthodox Sect and the Myriad Beasts Incarnation Palace clashed again. An elder named Zhong from the Tianhe Sect fell into a trap and easily broke into the formation. He died, along with several of his true disciples. The head of the sect, Master Jiao, announced that the sect would close its doors for a hundred years and would not be involved in foreign affairs."

"Six months ago, the monks of the Hidden Sword Palace started a conflict with the Dongyang Orthodox Church. The two sides agreed to fight with swords and magic for several times. Both sides won and lost, and both suffered heavy losses. Now it is still in a stalemate. I don't know what the final result will be."

"Two months ago, monks from the Three Immortal Islands in the East China Sea came to the Middle Earth. Some people speculated that they were joining the conflict between the Hidden Sword Palace and the Dongyang Orthodox Church. Others said that a mansion left by ancestors was opened in a secret place in the Middle Earth, and the monks from the Three Immortal Islands in the East China Sea learned about it."

"Speaking of which, although this Tongxuan Realm is prosperous and has many cultivators in the Central Plains, it is far inferior to our Southern Border in terms of stability. With the teacher in charge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, his power is so great that no one from the Taoist or Demonic sects dares to set foot here easily. It can be regarded as a good place for cultivation."

"That's right, Brother Tang, let's drink together." Lu Cheng raised his glass to toast.

"Hahaha, you and I win."

As the banquet was in full swing, Tang Shi became excited and walked into the venue himself, summoned his Thousand-Winged Flying Centipede, and then danced with the Thousand-Winged Flying Centipede while playing the flute.

It would have been fine if Tang Shi was just dancing by himself, but the huge, ferocious black-shelled centipede also swayed its body to the dance music and flute sounds, surprisingly looking quite adorable, causing Xue Yuzhen, Yun Linger and others at the banquet to cover their mouths and chuckle uncontrollably.

After the song and dance, the whole audience cheered.

Then, the boy who accompanied Tang Shi took out more than a dozen insect jars.

This is an entertainment program at the banquet of the monks in southern Xinjiang, fighting Gu.

Blindly choose or pick two poisonous insects, then put spirit stones on each of them, let them come out of the tank and fight, the winner lives and the loser dies, and the cultivator who bets on the win earns the spirit stones.

Lu Cheng couldn't say that he liked this kind of entertainment, but he didn't mind hating it either. Powerful poisonous insects were made in this way, so there was nothing wrong with adapting to the local customs.

"Ling'er, this is a blind selection, it all depends on luck, just pick a bug tank at random."

"Yes, Master."

Yun Linger had never played this kind of game before. The little girl ran over excitedly and designated an insect tank, and Tang Shi also designated one.

"I don't have much confidence in Ling'er's luck, so I bet on the insect tank chosen by Brother Tang." Xue Yuzhen did not choose his daughter's choice, but placed the same bet as the dealer with a smile on his face.

"Then I'll bet with Ling'er." Lu Cheng said. Everyone bet 2,000 spirit stones. Xue Yuzhen and Yun Ling'er felt bad, but for Lu Cheng and Tang Shi, this was just a game.

As Mai Ding let go, the Taoist boy following Tang Shi pushed the two insect tanks to the center. During this process, terrible knocking and roaring sounds came from the two tanks.

Then they sprinkled medicine powder all around, and finally two Taoist boys chanted incantations outside the circle of medicine powder.

As the runes on the two insect jars emerged and then disappeared, bang, bang, the inner walls of the two insect jars were quickly broken.

As Yun Ling'er screamed in surprise, two ferocious and terrifying creatures appeared in front of everyone:
One looked like a centipede covered in flames, with two balls of golden-red flames flickering in its eyes.

The other one looked like a mix of a bear, a mantis, a wolf and a reptile, but this chaotic shape was terrifying and deadly. It roared madly, and kept tearing the ground with its two sharp claws and the sickle-like forelimbs of a mantis behind it. The moment it saw the fire centipede, it suddenly leaped up, shook its mantis wings, and pounced on it, extremely ferocious.

"I kind of like that fire centipede, can I re-press it?"

Yun Ling'er asked this, somewhat disgusted by the ugliness of the poisonous insect behind her.

"That won't do. Little girl, you must learn to be responsible for your own choices."

Tang Shi answered as he watched the fight in the arena.

In fact, at banquets held by monks from various sects in Middle-earth, there would also be sword fights between disciples for fun. However, unless it was a demon sect, the intensity of the fights would be strictly controlled, and usually not even serious injuries would be incurred.

In contrast, the fight between poisonous insects is to the death.

This fight between the two poisonous insects ended with the two poisonous insects dying together. In comparison, the poisonous insect in the form of a mantis was relatively stronger, but the fire centipede poisonous insect finally coiled around it and exploded, and both died together in the raging fire.

These are all poisonous insects with relatively mediocre bloodlines. They either have to win in the fight among thousands of poisons or die. Otherwise, these two poisonous insects, which already have certain magical powers, will not be used in such a game.

The Taoist boys put the two corpses back into other insect tanks, and soon the chilling sounds of insects biting could be heard from inside.

"Speaking of which, as an uncle, I haven't given my niece any gifts yet. These two thousand spirit stones can be considered as a meeting gift. Don't let Ling'er think that her uncle is stingy."

The communication between monks is not much different from that between mortals. If one party in the communication has a high enough status, the other party will naturally not be stingy with kindness and gifts to the younger generation.

Xue Yuzhen refused several times until Lu Cheng asked her to accept it.

At a banquet one day, Tang Shi arrived in the early morning and left in the evening.

Lu Cheng and Tang Shi were still arguing when they arrived at Chixin Temple. At this time, a talisman flew from the sky. Lu Cheng initially thought it was Tang Shi's communication talisman, but the next moment he found it was his own.

He raised his hand to take it, and when he opened it, he saw a blank talisman soaked in blood, which meant a matter of life and death.

"...Qingfeng, Qingyun!?"

Lu Cheng didn't have many friends, and the only ones who would come to him and ask for help at a critical moment of life and death were the siblings Chen Qingfeng and Chen Qingyun.

Without bothering to exchange pleasantries with Tang Shi, Lu Cheng was suddenly caught in a beam of sword light that shot up into the sky and flew towards the direction where the talisman came from.

Upon seeing this, Tang Shi slapped the gourd on his waist, and a puff of black smoke rose into the sky. The next moment, he was standing on the back of his own life-defining spirit Gu, the Thousand-winged Flying Centipede, and followed.

Back then, he was acquainted with the siblings Chen Qingfeng and Chen Qingyun, and they had a close relationship.

By the time Xue Yuzhen reacted and wanted to fly after them on her sword, the two men were no longer visible. Her speed of escape was far inferior to that of the two men.

"Mom, will the master be okay?"

Seeing her mother flying down, Yun Linger asked with some concern.

"Master Lu is an expert in swordsmanship and has a solid foundation. Don't worry, Ling'er. He will be fine." He held his daughter in his arms and comforted her softly, but there was a hint of worry on Xue Yuzhen's face.

……

A branch stream of the Nanjiang Zhanjiang River.

A man and a woman were fleeing for their lives.

Chen Qingfeng's body was soaked in blood. He dragged the pale-faced Chen Qingyun along the edge of the stream, and finally he ran out of strength and fell down with a thud.

It has reached its limit. If he had not predicted the miasma river network and used the water escape technique to escape for a distance, he and his sister would have died long ago.

In fact, this period of survival was deliberately left for him by the other party. Otherwise, given the difference in their cultivation levels, he and his sister would not have been able to escape so far.

"Brother, don't run away. If you flee to Chixin Temple, you will only bring disaster to Senior Brother Lu. That person is a foundation-building cultivator. Even if Senior Brother Lu... woo..."

Because of the fall just now, the seriously injured Chen Qingyun finally woke up at this time, and cried out because of the severe pain in his body.

"Brother Lu was able to defeat the third-level Gu King at the Qi training stage. Moreover, we haven't seen him for so many years. Maybe he has already advanced to the foundation building stage? Or maybe Brother Tang Shi is also at the Chixin Temple. In that case, he can save our lives."

Compared to his sister, Chen Qingfeng's will to survive is undoubtedly stronger.

Although he knew that the possibilities of what he had just said were extremely small, he still stood up and continued forward with Chen Qingyun.

But Chen Qingfeng was seriously injured, and even with the magic talisman, he couldn't move fast with Chen Qingyun. At this time, a middle-aged Taoist in a gray robe stood in the sky behind the two of them, holding a talisman.

"It seems that no one else can be implicated. It's a waste of my tracking these days. You two juniors are from the same school as me. I will kill you!"

The middle-aged Taoist priest in gray robe swung his hand, and the paper talisman in his hand turned into a long lightning whip that was swung in the blink of an eye. In the blink of an eye, it slashed towards Chen Qingfeng and Chen Qingyun like a condensed blue knife.

"Catching up again so soon?"

The Taoist who was building the foundation did not hide, and as Chen Qingfeng was in a state of full alert, he suddenly turned around and threw a talisman towards the stream on the ground.

boom.

The water gathered and rose up, and the stream burst into several columns of water.

Chen Qingfeng used everything he could, including the geographical location, magic power, and talismans, and actually managed to take on the thunder knife.

However, under the impact of the magic power, he vomited blood and fell backwards to the ground.

"Why bother struggling any more? It will only add to your pain."

The foundation-building cultivator didn't care about it, but waved his hand from top to bottom, and a long thunder whip fell down.

At this moment even Chen Qingfeng was completely in despair, but at this moment, a dazzling golden sword light slashed across and shattered the thunder whip.

Upon seeing this, Chen Qingfeng and Chen Qingyun turned their heads and saw a sword light flying towards them at an astonishing speed in the distance.

"Such a speed of escape, such a sword force!"

The middle-aged Taoist priest's right eyelid twitched at the scene before him, and as he watched the sword light rushing towards him, he hurriedly raised his voice:
"I am Nan Songzi, a disciple of Huoyun Mansion. May I ask your name, fellow Taoist?"

Normally, as long as he mentioned this name, most monks would give him some face and he would be successful in everything he did.

However, this time, what came in response was the clanging of swords and an even more violent and brilliant sword light.

A serious monk should abstain from killing and cherish life.

Lu Cheng decided to be a serious monk starting from tomorrow.

"what!"

With a scream, the middle-aged Taoist in gray robe was cut in two by the sword light. Under the power of the sword, the man didn't even have time to use his defensive magic weapon.

(End of this chapter)