I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 242 Soul Burial Sutra, Open the City Gate!

From what Xie An had learned, the Jin Family Residence had always been an extremely mysterious existence. More than ten years ago, he went north to Yunzhou, largely for the Jin Family Residence.

After more than ten years of searching, I still couldn't find the Jin family's residence.

Who would have thought that this dilapidated village where they were now was the Jin family's residence that countless people had dreamed of finding! ?

Thinking of this, Xie An rushed out of the Jin family ancestral hall, went to the lake, and looked at the magnificent ancient city on the opposite bank.

Jin Yuping and Chen Yuer also followed and looked ahead, with an expression of disbelief in their eyes.

Jin Yuping murmured, "That's the ancient city of Kongsang..."

Chen Yuer nodded heavily, "It's most likely."

Xie An stared at it for a long time and said, "Let's go to the village first and find out what happened. Why can even a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining be petrified? Then we can consider whether to go to the ancient city."

Jin Yuping and Chen Yuer nodded in agreement.

Soon, the three of them divided the work.

Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping each took a scroll and went to each household to count the people who had been petrified, including their gender, number, and what they had been doing before they were petrified. Xie An returned to the Jin family ancestral hall and carefully examined the details inside.

After some exploration, Xie An made some discoveries:
Only humans are petrified.

The other items are all intact.

It can be seen that the energy that suddenly descended was directed at humans.

In other words, they were targeting the Jin family.

Then the problem is coming.

What on earth had the Jin family done to be so outrageous that they deserved such a disaster as the extermination of their entire family?
In short, the Jin family was a family of tomb robbers. Generation after generation, they had been searching for immortality, which meant searching for the ancient city of Kongsang. Xie An felt that the Jin family's demise was likely related to the ancient city of Kongsang.

Is it possible that the Jin family discovered some secret of the ancient city of Kongsang, then offended someone... and were silenced?
Mayor Bai of Heishan Town?
That’s not right either.

The layout and architecture of the village were very old, indicating that the Jin family had lived here for many years and had enjoyed considerable safety.

If it was done by Heishan Town, why didn't they take action before?
After thinking about it over and over again, Xie An still couldn't figure it out.

Not long after, Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping returned, each carrying a copy of the album.

Xie An took it and looked through it carefully. It recorded in detail the number of people who died, their conditions, and what they did before they died. It was clear that no one had resisted, and they were all petrified without any warning.

If someone showed resistance or reacted, Xie An felt that it could be analyzed as important information, meaning that the other party knew something in advance.

However, the result before us is obviously difficult to analyze.

This made Xie An very disappointed.

Xie An walked to the kneeling stone statue in the center of the ancestral hall and squatted down to examine it.

This stone statue was a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining in his lifetime, and should have been the most powerful being in the entire Jin family's residence. Yet, when he died, he showed no signs of resistance.

Jin Yuping said, "The petrification was too sudden. No one resisted."

Xie An turned to look at Chen Yu'er, who said, "If there is such a person, he must be at least a master cultivator above the thirteenth level of Qi Refining."

Xie An said, "Then let's stay here first and see what's happening on the lake and the other side."

Jin Yuping and Chen Yuer both nodded in agreement.

Xie An and his two companions stayed here for the next few days. On the one hand, they continued to check the details of the Jinjia Village, and on the other hand, they kept a close eye on the lake and the ancient city across the way.

The result was no movement.

Seven days passed and no movement was found.

On this day, Xie An had given up and planned to move the stone statue with dry bones in the middle of the ancestral hall.

As soon as the bones were moved away, a huge difference was immediately noticed.

There is a small bump on the floor under the statue.

Ok?
Xie An curiously grasped the bulge and pulled hard. Surprisingly, he discovered a secret compartment beneath the ground. Inside was a golden box. Xie An picked it up and called Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping over to take a look.

After examining it, Jin Yuping said, "This box looks quite extraordinary. And since it's under the seat of an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator, it must be some treasure of the Jin family."

Chen Yu'er said, "You guys step back, I'll open it and take a look."

Xie An thought for a moment, then took a few steps back, not forgetting to warn Chen Yu'er: "Be careful."

"Don't worry, I know what's going on."

Chen Yu'er took two steps back, raised the blood-red spear in her hand, gently lifted the lid of the box, and circulated the spiritual energy in her body, ready to deal with any emergency at any time.

Although this box looked ordinary and nothing special, it was protected by an eighth-level Qi Refining expert after all, so there was no guarantee that there might be some kind of mechanism or restriction hidden inside.

It's always a good idea to be more careful.

Click!

The box was quickly opened by the tip of the gun.

A black mist immediately emerged from inside.

"Hold your breath!"

Chen Yuer gave some instructions, then immediately pulled Xie An and Jin Yuping out of the ancestral hall.

Before long, the black fog filled the entire ancestral hall.

Jin Yuping was terrified even from afar. "It's really dangerous. If an outsider isn't careful, they'll be poisoned to death by this black fog."

Xie An agreed with this and became more certain that the box contained the Jin family's treasure.

As the fog spread over a wider area, Xie An and the other two had no choice but to continue retreating out of the ancestral hall's courtyard.

From a distance, one could see that the black fog had enveloped the entire ancestral hall.

I think it must be some extremely vicious poisonous smoke.

Out of caution, the three did not approach the ancestral hall, but waited for three days until the black fog had completely dissipated. Only then did the three re-enter the ancestral hall.

There was only a small piece of parchment in the box.

Chen Yu'er picked up the parchment scroll with the tip of her gun and unfolded it in mid-air.

When Xie Anding looked over, he saw that the parchment was covered with densely written words, and at the top were three big words: Soul Burial Sutra!
Xie An was very surprised.

It turns out that this is the Jin family’s top-secret immortal technique...The Soul Burial Sutra!

The two great techniques of corpse refining and soul refining that Jin Xiaotang created were evolved from the Soul Burial Sutra.

Unexpectedly, I saw the real Soul Burial Sutra here.

Xie An started reading immediately.

The 2,000-plus words describe a method of cultivating the soul. Overall, it's quite unorthodox. It primarily aims to strengthen the human soul, ultimately allowing it to separate from the body and exist independently.

Either become an immortal ghost, or take over another body and be reborn.

In this way, one can achieve eternal life and eternal soul.

"This immortal skill is truly extraordinary." Jin Yuping sighed sincerely.

Then, Chen Yuer and Jin Yuping both looked at Xie An.

Obviously, they thought that this technique was discovered by Xie An, and how to distribute it... would be most appropriate if Xie An had the final say.

Xie An said: "Since we have obtained the immortal family skills, let's share them together. Let's comprehend them together. Whether we can cultivate this immortal family skills depends on our own ability."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Chen Yu'er hung the parchment scroll on the wall, and the three of them sat down cross-legged to practice this method.

call!
Xie An took a deep breath, sat cross-legged and entered into a state of meditation, repeatedly watching this immortal practice, and finally began to circulate his soul and spirit according to the above method.

Because this technique is so profound, it is very difficult to get started.

Jin Yuping practiced for seven days and seven nights, but achieved nothing. During one of her attempts, she even injured herself while forcing herself to practice. Finally, she had to admit she had no talent for this and gave up.

After seven days of practice, Chen Yu'er had barely made it to the entrance stage, but continuing her cultivation proved difficult. Thinking it was a long process and that it was impossible to make further progress in a short period of time, she gave up.

Only Xie An, who had been in seclusion for seven consecutive days, remained enthusiastic.

This is not because Xie An is stubborn, but because he found that... after the initial difficulties, once he got started, things became easy.

It should be the effect of seal identification and spiritualism.

Spiritual communication is a means of communicating with the soul. Xie An can even control the purple blade of the talisman treasure through the power of the soul. It can be said that he has already made some achievements in the field of soul.

It’s just that what I learn is very disorganized and unsystematic.

This Soul Burial Sutra made up for Xie An's shortcomings and made Xie An's soul method a complete system.

Practicing it will get twice the result with half the effort.

In seven days, I achieved something.

Xie An did not intend to stop, but continued to practice madly, constantly absorbing nutrients and blessing his own soul.

Seeing that Xie An's practice was very effective, Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping did not disturb him, but went out on patrol.

Time passes day by day.

Before long, half a month had passed.

Xie An still hadn't emerged from retreat, and Jin Yuping was growing increasingly impatient. Chen Yu'er then said to her, "Opportunities are rare; Xie An must be a good match for this immortal technique. He was already able to use the seal of inspection to communicate with spirits. This is his destiny, so we should be more patient. His strength will help us explore the ancient city of Kongsang."

Hearing this, Jin Yuping's impatience dissipated and she nodded heavily, "I'll listen to Miss Yu'er."

Three months, fleeting.

That day, Xie An finally opened his eyes.

Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping were not there, and Xie An was the only one left in the huge ancestral hall.

No matter how calm Xie An was, he couldn't suppress the excitement on his face at this moment.

After three months of training, Xie An clearly felt that his Soul Burial Sutra had reached a minor level of success. Not only had his soul power been substantially improved, but he was also able to achieve a brief out-of-body experience.

Simply unbelievable.

There is a difference between out-of-body experience and seal-finding clairvoyance.

To communicate with the spirit, one only needs to consume a portion of the soul power. Previously, when Xie An controlled the purple blade of the talisman treasure, he only poured a very small part of his soul into it, and in this way, he could burst out with extremely terrifying killing power.

And now, the soul leaves the body...it means that all the souls leave the body.

"If I pour all my strength into the purple blade, how much damage will it cause?"

try it?
Xie An couldn't wait to try it.

He took out the talisman and activated the Soul Burial Sutra.

Soul out of the body.

In an instant, Xie An felt himself flying up, floating in the air, and saw the body below him.

"Is this the soul leaving the body? It's too magical."

Xie An was very excited.

He could feel that his entire soul had left his body, leaving it as a consciousnessless form. If someone attacked his body at this moment, it would be extremely dangerous. After all, the body could not resist.

However, Xie An's soul was still very weak, and he would be greatly affected by a gust of wind.

Without saying a word, he immediately poured all his soul into the talisman's purple blade.

hum!
The purple blade suddenly emitted a sharp buzzing sound. In an instant, it seemed to become a part of his body, capable of any action.

It can fly and cut everything.

Wow!

As Xie An's mind moved, the purple blade suddenly cut outward, and instantly cut through the entire ancestral hall.

It flows in the air, and wherever it passes, it is unstoppable.

It feels like killing all the gods that stand in your way.

Xie An himself was shocked by this terrifying power.

"The soul has left the body, and the strongest state of using the soul to control the weapon is really terrifying! Even facing a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator, it feels like it can be easily killed."

Before Xie An could feel it, he immediately felt his body withering rapidly.

Without the soul, the body cannot exist for long.

Moreover, Xie An's soul was out of his body for the first time, so he was not familiar with many details and was not sure about them. He did not dare to be careless and stopped immediately, and his soul returned to his body.

Woo~
After his soul returned to his body, Xie An felt the touch of the unity of body and soul. After a period of discomfort, Xie An felt full of energy and immediately stood up to stretch his hands and feet.

The soul returned to its place and the body regained its vitality without many side effects.

Xie An carefully put the talisman away and placed it close to his body. "It really is the Nine Heavens Divine Weapon. The treasure of the Baiyun cultivator is truly extraordinary. It is worthy of being an existence from beyond the Tianhe River. There should be very few such divine weapons in this world."

This is not because Xie An is arrogant.

Xie An had seen sacred weapons like Chen Yu'er's blood-red spear. In Xie An's opinion, while the sacred weapon was formidable, it was still far inferior to the Purple Blade.

At this moment, Jin Yuping and Chen Yuer heard the commotion and hurried back. They were relieved to see Xie An was safe and sound.

Xie An stood up and explained, "I gained some insights from practicing the Soul Burial Sutra, so I tested the power of controlling soldiers with my soul. Don't worry."

Jin Yuping looked at the ancestral hall that had been split in two and was greatly surprised. "How could the Soul Burial Sutra have such power?"

Xie An nodded and said, "Yes, the soul leaving the body is the strongest state of controlling the soul."

Chen Yu'er laughed and said, "You truly are destined for great opportunities. I've only heard rumors of this happening before, but I never thought you'd actually pull it off. With this technique, even a master at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining could be killed by you without even realizing it. However, this method is dangerous. Once the soul leaves the body, the body becomes a lamb to be slaughtered. Use with caution."

Xie An nodded.

Seeing that Xie An had made great progress in practicing the immortal skills, Jin Yuping and Chen Yuer were very happy and looked forward to exploring the ancient city of Kongsang.

After some pleasantries, Jin Yuping asked, "Are you planning to visit Kongsang Ancient City?"

Xie An said: "We have no idea about the dangers ahead, so we need to be in the best condition. Don't worry, wait until I am familiar with the Soul Burial Sutra before setting off."

Jin Yuping readily agreed.

After three days, Xie An had become more proficient in using his soul to leave his body, and had also adapted to the strongest state of the soul-controlling weapon method. He felt that it would be difficult to make further progress in a short period of time.

After some discussion, the three decided to go and take a look at the ancient city.

The lake was large, requiring a boat. The three of them used dry wood from the Jin family village to make a simple bamboo raft, and then paddled slowly towards the other side.

The lake looks huge, and it's even bigger once you get inside.

It took the three of them a whole day to reach the other side.

Ahead lay a barren wasteland, devoid of any vegetation. Shrouded in mist, not a single living creature could be seen; the land was completely silent and dead.

The three of them each held their weapons tightly and moved forward little by little.

After walking for several miles, we finally arrived at the gate of the ancient city.

Rather than saying that it is an ancient city, it is better to say that it is a city-state built on the mountain. It is very magnificent and can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people for daily residence.

Three big characters were written on the imposing gate: Kongsang City.

The three of them stood at the foot of the city gate, looking up at the towering city gate, and felt that they were as insignificant as dust.

Chen Yu'er said, "To build such a magnificent city-state, ordinary manpower is no longer feasible. It must have involved the power of the immortals."

Xie An deeply agreed with this.

Not to mention the grandeur of this city-state, even a stone in the city wall is ten meters high, which is impossible for an ordinary martial artist to lift.

Jin Yuping was very excited, "Could this be a fairy city-state?"

"Immortal city? That's possible." Chen Yu'er muttered to herself, then walked to the front of the gate, pressed her hands on the left and right sides of the gate, and exerted force.

Click, click, click!
As Chen Yu'er's spiritual power erupted, the door opened with a heavy thud. The ground began to tremble, stirring up clouds of dust.

Chen Yu'er was a master of the fourth level of Qi Refining, and had even undergone a true transformation. How terrifying was the power of her full-strength burst?
However, no matter how hard Chen Yuer tried, she could not push open the ancient city.

Simply outrageous.

"let me help you."

Xie An couldn't bear it anymore and took the initiative to help.

The two people each pushed half of the door, exerting force at the same time.

Even so, he still couldn't push open the heavy bronze door.

Finally, I had to give up.

Chen Yu'er's face flushed crimson. "This bronze door is too heavy. It might be locked from the inside and can't be pushed open."

Xie An looked up at the towering city wall and said, "Then climb up."

He estimated that the wall was over a hundred meters high. Even a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage, before using a flying sword, couldn't jump that high. However, they could stick their weapons into the wall and climb step by step.

It was similar to how Xie An and Chen Yuer went up and down the cliff of Daliang Mountain.

Chen Yuer immediately understood Xie An's idea, and used her spiritual energy to control the spear, circling it in the air. Finally, she suddenly exerted force and stabbed it fiercely at the 30-meter-high city wall.

As long as the spear pierces the city wall, the three men can jump thirty meters, stand on the spear, and continue to stab upwards with the purple blade.

Clang!

The tip of the spear stabbed into the city wall so hard that it emitted a string of sparks, but ultimately failed to penetrate the wall.

This shocked everyone.

Jin Yuping felt her teeth chattering. "What are the stones of this city wall made of? It's so hard? Even the Azure Dragon Holy Soldier can't penetrate it?"

"Don't worry, I'll try a few more times."

Chen Yu'er also didn't believe it, so she immediately controlled the blood-red spear and stabbed it at the city wall again and again.

Each time he becomes more tyrannical.

However, in the end, it still failed.

The stones of the wall were too hard.

After trying many times, Chen Yu'er had to give up and gave a helpless smile. "No. This stone is not an ordinary stone. I have never seen stone like this. It is also possible that it is an ordinary stone, but it was transformed by the magic of the immortals."

Xie An murmured, "I'll try using the Purple Blade."

Under everyone's expectant gaze, Xie An sat down cross-legged, his soul leaving his body and infusing it with the talisman's purple blade. He controlled the purple blade to spin in the air, and finally stabbed it fiercely on the city wall.

"Clang!"

With a sharp sound, the purple blade penetrated about an inch and stayed on the 30-meter-high city wall.

Jin Yuping was delighted when she saw it. "It really works. Third Master is really powerful. But just one weapon won't do."

Xie An retracted the soul from the purple blade, returned to his body, and said to Chen Yu'er, "Miss Yu'er, may I borrow your spear?"

Chen Yu'er handed the bloody spear to Xie An without thinking.

Xie An's soul left his body again, filled with a blood-red spear, and struck the sixty-meter-high city wall hard.

Clang!

There was a loud bang and sparks flew everywhere.

However, the spear did not penetrate the wall and slid to the ground.

Ok?
The strongest state of controlling soldiers with souls is not enough?

Xie An continued to try several times, but still failed.

Finally, he had to retract the Purple Blade. His soul returned to his body. He stood up and shook his head, "It seems that it's not a lack of strength, but a problem with the weapon. The Purple Blade is more advanced than the Azure Dragon Holy Weapon, so it can penetrate."

Everyone nodded, their eyes revealing unconcealable disappointment.

If there are two purple blades, they can naturally go up in batches.

But one, no.

We finally reached the gate of Kongsang City, but are we going to return empty-handed?

Everyone was unwilling to accept this, but there was nothing they could do.

Xie An also felt very disappointed.

Chen Yu'er came up with a plan. "We can go back to the Waijin Village and find some ropes. We can use the ropes to trap the spears and steer them over the city wall. We just need to hook something inside and we can use the ropes to climb into the city."

Jin Yuping said, "That's a good idea. I'll go. You guys wait here."

Ever since arriving here, Jin Yuping had been thinking about playing her part. Now that there was finally something she could do, she volunteered.

Chen Yu'er said, "Okay, be careful."

Jin Yuping hurried away, returning a long time later with a large amount of rope. Chen Yuer tied the ropes to her spear, then used her spiritual energy to guide it across a hundred meters. Just as she was about to cross the top of the city wall, she found herself blocked by an invisible wall of air.

Surprisingly, I can’t get past it.

Tried many times, no exceptions.

Chen Yu'er stopped and murmured, "This is a formation, an immortal formation. Outsiders can't get in at all."

Jin Yuping said, "But this doesn't seem right. Didn't the Jin family obtain the Soul Burial Sutra in the city? And Jin Xiaotang also obtained a magical treasure from it before."

Chen Yuer shook her head, "I don't know about that."

Xie An was also very confused.

But obviously there is no way.

A few days later, everyone prepared to return.

At this moment, Xie An suddenly thought of the Seven Treasures Box in his arms, so he opened it and took out the five-colored lotus. However, he found that the five-colored lotus was trembling.

Ok?
Xie An was very curious and approached the gate of the ancient city with the five-colored lotus.

result--

Rumble!
The extremely heavy gate of the ancient city actually opened slowly and spontaneously.

(End of this chapter)