Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 96 Chang'an, Chang'an!
Wild beasts run in the wild wilderness, the weak are preyed upon by the fierce ones, the fierce ones are preyed upon by the even fiercer ones, and all creatures compete for freedom in the frosty sky.

With a loud cry that sounded like shocking the sky and clouds, and the flapping of its strong wings, a huge eagle soared into the sky and flew freely under the blue sky.

In his field of vision, a pack of wolves was resting on the grassland below. A giant white dog had caught food and was lowering its head to enjoy the blood. It was the wolf king. Before it was full, any other wolf in the pack who wanted to eat meat would be brutally attacked or even killed.

At this moment, a red light of Yuan Consciousness floated in the sky and suddenly appeared in mid-air.

The giant white dog raised its head alertly. More than half a year had passed, and it had almost forgotten about this guy, who had thrown it here.

That red light of Yuanshi was, of course, Lu Cheng who had escaped into the Jiuli Cauldron. At this moment, he was staring at the dog demon, thinking in his mind:

"When heading to the Western Region Demon Sect, we must prepare a few means to save our lives. Let's take this. When necessary, throw it out to cover our retreat so that I can escape."

“Wolves and dogs are different subspecies of the same species. So, when a wolf and a dog fight, the winner is the one with better physical strength, heavier weight, stronger power and more combat experience.

This goes against people's intuition. In fact, dogs are much more powerful than wolves.

In the secular world, wolves are restricted by their environment and without sufficient food, if they grow to a huge size, they will be doomed. But dogs are different, because people prepare food for them. As long as they are trained in a targeted way, they can grow into beasts that are much more terrifying than wolves, and can also withstand more arduous combat training than wolves.

So it is very simple for a dog to defeat a wolf. In the world of cultivating immortals, the more advanced methods, resources and guidance are sufficient food and training. "

As soon as this thought came to mind, the red light became brighter.

When the giant white dog reacted again, it found itself in the middle of a desolate mountain wilderness, and in front of it was a young Taoist priest sitting cross-legged on top of a rock.

"Ouch."

The giant dog let out a fierce howl and then pounced forward to bite. After half a year, its original injuries had healed for the most part, so its body was as fast as lightning and looked extremely ferocious.

It could sense that the magic power of the human monk in front of it was far lower than its own: kill him, devour him, and regain its freedom.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng smiled, and with a wave of his sleeve, the five elements of sword energy circulated and overlapped, and finally gathered on Chunjun. The long sword in his hand trembled slightly, and instantly turned into thousands of sword shadows, attacking the dog demon.

The sword fire overlapped, clang.

The two forces collided violently in the void, making a huge roar. The spreading magic power shattered some rocks nearby.

This dog-demon already possesses magical powers of the Condensed Evil level. The demon race is not as particular about condensing evil and refining Gang as the human cultivators, who value precision and purity. They often directly absorb and exhale the Gang of evil between heaven and earth, taking the path of Mixed Evil. However, the demon race's cultivation is mainly about condensing ancient bloodlines, so the path of Mixed Evil might be the right way for them.

Because the dog demon has powerful magic power, every attack it makes causes huge damage and wastes its demonic energy.

But Lu Cheng's Five Elements Sword Technique flew around his body as agile as the wind, light and sharp, and the sword energy was everywhere, dissolving every attack of the dog demon.

He shuttled around the dog demon, and every sword strike contained the power to split the air.

"Ouch!"

The pale cold flame that came out of the dog demon's mouth was high above, covering a wide area and was extremely fierce. However, Lu Cheng held the magic formula in front of him: Pure Gold, Pharmacist Wood, Bingpo Water, Red Flame Fire, and Hidden Edge Earth. The light of the five swords flew around his body, echoing the five elements of the true fire in Lu Cheng's body, forming a formation and dispersing the cold flames of the demonic energy that was attacking from the front.

It's not that the area is covered and the target cannot be hit. If the area is covered, it often means that the magic power is dispersed and not condensed.

Of course, if an ordinary foundation-building cultivator faces a fourth-order monster, even an unfocused attack from the opponent would be difficult to resist.

The two of them walked through the cliff hundreds of feet high on the left, and on the cliff hundreds of feet high on the right, the sound of swords broke through the air, cold light burst, and sword light flew into the sky.

Wow! Wow! Wow! The birds were startled and flew away, filling the sky with bird calls.

The sword light and the demonic aura were entangled, and it moved quickly like a dragon. After a while, it swam from one side of the peak to the other side.

Fortunately, Lucheng intentionally chose a wilderness and uninhabited area. Even if the two sides fight, there is no need to worry about accidental casualties. At most, the flowers, plants and trees in the mountains will be damaged.

Normally, to control the monsters in the Jiuli Ding, one would have to consume a certain amount of one's own spiritual consciousness, especially for a big creature like the dog monster. As the two sides become closer, the consumption would decrease. But at this moment, the dog monster was determined to escape from the control of the Jiuli Ding and kill Lu Cheng, so it had to bear the consumption of this spiritual consciousness.

"You've been attacking for a long time, it's my turn."

The two sides fought each other for more than a thousand moves, which also relieved Lu Cheng's itchy hands. After catching a habitual flaw of the dog demon, he raised his right hand to form a sword gesture at his dantian, tracing back from the dantian to the chest, and then the Taoist suddenly pounced out with a circle of sword light, raised his head, puffed out his chest, and opened his mouth: boom.

Streams of black and red flames swept over like a volcanic eruption. It was Lu Cheng's innate magical power in the foundation-building stage, the Great Five Elements Earth True Fire!
"Awwww..."

The gigantic dog demon was hit by a siege fire cone from the abdomen. Its entire huge body floated into the air. At the same time, a dark golden light suddenly emerged from its entire body. The next moment, it was sucked into the Jiuli Cauldron.

There were still remnants of black and red flames at the corners of the young Taoist's mouth. His magic power was greatly consumed, but Lu Cheng's spirit was extremely strong.

From that day on, the young Taoist priest would summon the fourth-order dog demon and beat it up whenever he had time.

But at the same time, he also began to prepare some delicious blood food and the flesh and blood of monsters for it.

At the beginning, the dog demon was of course angry, hateful, unwilling to accept, and manic, but day after day, after being beaten too many times, the dog demon really found that he could not beat the young Taoist in front of him, who seemed to have far less magical powers than himself.

Gradually, its eyes began to become clear.

In fact, there is really a huge gap between Lu Cheng's own magic power and it, but Lu Cheng adjusts himself to the peak state every time, and then summons the dog demon from the Jiuli Ding world. With his profound swordsmanship and terrifying combat ability, he squanders most of his magic power, and then summons the dog demon back.

After being beaten like a dog ten or dozens of times, the dog demon gradually began to fear that he would never be able to defeat this Taoist priest.

At this time, Lu Cheng began to feed it some meat. The moment the dog demon ate the meat, it felt that the Taoist in front of it didn't seem so hateful anymore.

Huoyun Mansion is located in the north of the Tang Dynasty, and Wanshou Huasheng Palace is located in the west of the Tang Dynasty.

During the process of traveling, training dogs, and recovering magic power day after day, Lu Cheng arrived at the capital of the Tang Dynasty: Chang'an, also known as Shengjing.

The prosperous and flourishing capital city.

Shengjing, the glory of the Tang Empire. After the young Taoist led his horse into the city, the prosperous scene spread out before his eyes like a painting.

Oh, that white horse was transformed by Lu Cheng using Taoist magic. I always feel that entering the capital city in a Taoist robe with nothing of his own would attract too much attention.

He came to a secluded place and clapped his hands, and the white horse turned into a paper talisman and fell back into Lu Cheng's hands.

The wide streets are paved with stone slabs, and on both sides of the road are tall locust trees. The swaying shadows of the trees bring a touch of coolness to the busy pedestrians on the streets even under the scorching sun.

The streets are lined with shops selling a dazzling array of goods. Silk, porcelain, gems and other treasures are passed around in the palm of your hand. The sounds of transactions are endless, and the place is very lively.

There are not only people from the Central Plains here, but also blond-haired and blue-eyed people from the Western Regions, and even dark-skinned Kunlun slaves.

In the streets of Shengjing, most people live a stable and prosperous life.

The clothes they wore and the smiles on their faces were something Lu Cheng had never seen in Ishihara City.

On both sides of the street, vendors warmly greet passers-by. The aroma of grilled beef and mutton skewers and the sweetness of fresh fruits and vegetables are intertwined, arousing people's endless appetite.

"Come on, chase me, chase me!"

"Hahahaha, don't run."

Children chased and played in the streets, their laughter echoed in the air. Walking through Lucheng was like walking into history.

In such a prosperous city, there are certainly many scholars and writers, who stop in front of bookstores, reading the latest books, or drink tea and discuss philosophy in teahouses, leisurely and contented.

Their presence adds a certain depth and profundity to the cultural context of this city. Shengjing is not only the name of a city, but also a symbol of the glorious culture of the Tang Empire.

Here, every brick and tile, every blade of grass and every tree, tells the story of the times and bears witness to the prosperity and strength of the dynasty.

The city is full of vitality and vigor. Whether day or night, the city exudes an atmosphere of prosperity and prosperity.

It seems to bring endless opportunities and hope to everyone, and therefore makes people hope that its prosperity and prosperity will continue indefinitely.

After strolling around, Lu Cheng discovered that there were quite a few cultivators in the city, or rather a lot of them. There were even people performing magic tricks on the street. Although they were not very sophisticated, they were undoubtedly the beginning of the path to cultivation.

After some inquiries, I arrived at a dental clinic in the city.

The shop assistant saw that Lu Cheng was dressed as a Taoist priest and had a handsome appearance, so he greeted him warmly. The current emperor worshipped Taoism, and these Taoist priests were likely to be important customers.

"I want to buy a house, quiet and with good scenery, about a hundred acres."

When the clerk heard that Lu Cheng wanted to buy such a house, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic. This was the capital city where every inch of land was worth a lot of money. He wanted a hundred acres? And he wanted a nice view? The commission here would be enough to support him for the rest of his life.

"May I ask what rank of Taoist priest you are?"

"..."

"Master, are you new to Chang'an? The emperor of the day reveres Taoism and designates Qigong practitioners as lower-rank Taoist officials, Taoists with a good foundation in Taoism as middle-rank Taoist officials, and Taoists who are even better as upper-rank Taoist officials. As long as you are designated as a Taoist, you can receive a monthly salary from the court, which is unlimited."

"Oh, so in that case I am a middle-rank Taoist official." It was also the first time that Lu Cheng heard of the method used by the Emperor of the Li family to bribe the Qigong practitioners all over the world.

It can only be said that although the Li Tang Dynasty is inferior to the eight great immortal sects in terms of the level of real people, in terms of the overall accumulation of powerful strength, it may be comparable to the combined strength of three or four of the eight great immortal sects. After all, it sits on the world and has no shortage of second- and third-rate cultivators in the Xuanmen to join forces with it.

"You are a middle-rank Taoist official? That's easy. You can live in the Taoist garden in the north. There are countless fields and houses there with great scenery. It was specially opened up by the court for you to practice."

During the conversation with the pawnbroker, Lu Cheng gradually came to know that the Tang Dynasty city of Chang'an was also a gathering place for monks from all over the world.

Cultivators at the Qi training and foundation building stages can live in the city or in the Taoist garden, while cultivators above the foundation building stage are directly supported and settled by the royal family.

The city is safer, and the Taoist Garden in the north has more spiritual energy and more freedom, but fights occasionally occur. As long as they are not too serious, the court generally adopts a strategy of letting nature take its course in dealing with the Taoist Garden.

Lu Cheng planned to settle down temporarily in Chang'an. Huoyun Mansion was in the north, Wanshou Sect was in the west, and Chixin Temple was in the south. Chang'an was geographically in the central position, so Lu Cheng did not hesitate to spend spirit stones and purchased a large courtyard in Chang'an Taoist Garden as his property.

The clerk from the pawnshop was efficient. He took Lu Cheng to choose a courtyard and then went to the government office to report. The whole trip took only two or three hours.

"Master, if you cultivate to the level of a high-grade Taoist official in the future, please report to Jingzhao Yin or Sitianjian again. If a high-grade Taoist official hides in the Taoist Garden, it will be regarded as a serious crime of treason."

"I know, thank you."

"Master, I will take my leave now."

After the payment was made and the paperwork was handed over, Lu Cheng owned a house and land in the Taoist Garden in Chang'an City. Because the house he chose covered a large area, he spent more than 20,000 spirit stones.

For most foundation-building cultivators, this is not a small amount of money, but compared to the value of the house itself, it can be said that Emperor Li Tang is treating the cultivators of the world with kindness and intends to buy over the Taoists of the world:

There are fields and houses, spiritual veins, and defensive formations, which provide a certain degree of security. If someone attacks the defensive formation in the Taoist Garden, the Jingzhao Yin of Chang'an will intervene.

But life and death outside the house is up to you, because if the court intervenes too much in the disputes between the monks, it will not only consume a lot of the court's power, but also accumulate dissatisfaction among the monks. In this case, let's just let nature take its course.

However, in Lu Cheng's opinion, the security in Dao Garden was also very high. At least he had not seen anyone fighting during the time he had lived there.

After moving in, neighbors also came to visit, and everyone had a great time chatting about Taoism and commenting on current affairs.

Half a month later, outside the gate of Daoyuan Lu Mansion.

"Daddy!"

Yun Linger called out sweetly, then flew into Lu Cheng's arms, acting coquettishly and refusing to leave.

"Husband." Lu Xue came to Lu Cheng and bowed to him. Although they had not seen each other for less than a year, a short separation was better than a new marriage. She looked at Lu Cheng with her peach blossom eyes as if tears were about to drip out.

Since you have taken her as your concubine and taken her body and Taoist books into your possession, you have to give her some arrangements and explanations.

Therefore, after Lu Cheng left Huoyun Mansion, he sent a message to Chixin Temple, making an appointment to meet in Chang'an. At least, this would let Xue Yuzhen know where he was, so that she wouldn't think he was in Huoyun Mansion even though he had been practicing Taoism in the Palace of All Beasts for a hundred years.

"Is everything okay at Chixinguan?"

Taking Yun Ling'er with him and holding Xue Yuzhen's soft little hand, Lu Cheng walked into his own mansion.

The maids and servants here have been fully provided by the pawnbroker. Although it may not be as satisfactory as the Chixin Temple, it will not be unbearable to live in.

"With Brother Chen in charge, everything is fine in the temple and Ishihara Castle, but..."

Xue Yuzhen hesitated a little when he said this.

"what happened?"

"It's a matter between Brother Chen and Miss Luo. Brother Chen doesn't seem to like Miss Luo very much, but Miss Luo insists on the engagement."

"..." Hearing about this, Lu Cheng stopped cursing. Chen Qingfeng and Luo Peifang had known each other for generations and were engaged since birth, but no one could explain matters of the heart.

"Master, the letter didn't say clearly that the ancestor sent you to the Western Regions' Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace to worship the ancestor Huang Longzi as your master?"

Xue Yuzhen also knew that no one could do anything about this matter, so she took the initiative to change the subject.

"Well, Master said that I built my foundation with the Five Qi, and my foundation in Taoism is no longer compatible with the Life and Death Illusion Sword Qi Yuan Gang True Evil. He thought that I would have a better future if I went to serve under the ancestor Huang Longzi."

Lu Cheng had no choice but to use the Five Qi to build his foundation. When he first traveled to this world, he didn't dare to go back to Huoyun Mansion. In fact, his soul and body were indeed out of harmony. It was only after he cultivated his foundation that his soul and body gradually returned to their original place and merged. If he had gone to see Chi Shen Zi in his previous state, he would have found out the problem at a glance.

Now he is a disciple of the Demon Sect's elder Huang Longzi, but he doesn't know whether it is a blessing or a curse.

"The Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace is the second most powerful sect among the four great demon sects, second only to the Dongyang Orthodox Sect. They rule over the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions and once led the whole world to attack the Tang Dynasty. If it weren't for the many famous generals of the Tang Dynasty and the full support of the orthodox sects in the world, the emperor would have almost fled the capital in a panic. The master is from the Central Plains, so it's no wonder that he is wary of this sect."

Xue Yuzhen smiled slightly and said so.

"I am not a native of the Central Plains. I even forgot where my master picked me up. It's just that the reputation of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace is really bad. Although I have the letter from my master, I don't think my uncle will make things difficult for me. But I still think I should investigate my uncle's relatives and friends, and his personality, and select and prepare gifts. I can't visit him rashly."

Lu Cheng knew that Jindan Zhenren’s concept of time was different from that of ordinary cultivators, and his master did not ask for his time when he wrote to him.

Combined with his experience in his previous life, Lu Cheng knew that the first meeting was very important. If a bad impression was left, it might be difficult to reverse it many years later.

During the time when Xue Yuzhen and Yun Ling'er were away, Lu Cheng also learned some information about his uncle Huang Longzi through some well-informed channels in Chang'an City:

The Grand Elder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace, he presides over the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace and enjoys immortal blessings in the Western Regions. His Taoist partner, Madam Baoxiang, is one of the few with a peaceful temperament in the demon world. He seldom takes action, but he must have profound magical powers, otherwise it would be difficult for him to even save his life in a sect like the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, so how could he hold a high position.

The Palace of Incarnation of Ten Thousand Beasts led the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions to be enemies with the Tang Dynasty, so the news between the two sides was cut off. The only channel of information was through the exchanges between the caravans of the two sides. However, it was obviously difficult for the Western Region caravans to reach Huang Longzi's level. Therefore, the information Lu Cheng received was almost a hundred years old, and it was difficult to distinguish the true from the false. Many people said that the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions were a mixed population of humans and monsters, and the status of humans was not as high as that of monsters and beasts, especially after the defeat of the Tianhe Sword Sect.

The entire Western Regions has been controlled by the Ten Thousand Beasts Demon Palace, and the people are living in poverty and hardship.

(End of this chapter)