Da Zaojun

Chapter 139: The Twelfth Cave Heaven, the Thirty-eighth Blessed Land
On the banks of Luohu Lake, Iron Pillar Palace.

All I saw was a faint column of fireworks reaching up to the sky. Even the breeze from the lake could not blow away the green smoke that reached the sky.

Luo Chuan, Wan Xiang and other pioneers who were ordered to explore the secret realm of Luohu and Tiezhu Palace all realized that this place was extraordinary.

"Who is enshrined in the Iron Pillar Palace?" Wan Xiangping licked his lips. He was not as good as Chen Xiu in terms of boxing skills. Even after becoming a demon hunter, his archery skills were not superb.

In Song Wuji's opinion, among his three treasures, only Qi has broken through 3 points and is at the ninth level. Jing and Shen have not reached the foundation of the ninth level and are still a little short of it. The breakthrough of Qi may be related to the Qi method of the Five Rats, which can refine essence into Qi.

Luo Chuan said, "The Iron Pillar Palace is no different from any other Taoist temple. It also enshrines the Three Pure Ones, the founders of the Taoist sect. In addition, there's the Iron Pillar Immortal, who subdued a demonic dragon with an iron pillar eight hundred years ago. There's also the octagonal Iron Pillar Well, where the Iron Pillar Immortal subdued the demonic dragon."

Xiong Hao, a young man from the Xiong family, a prominent clan in the county, said, "The Iron Pillar Palace is the ancestral home of the Iron Pillar sect of Taoism. They are known for their talismans and sword techniques. Legend has it that the Iron Pillar Immortal possessed twin swords. Later, whenever people built bridges, they would offer sacrifices to him and hang a sword at the bottom of the bridge to scare off floodwaters from dragons."

Xiong Hao was "both civil and military". He was one of the few scholars in the city and had awakened his great spirit. In the battle to defend the city, he obtained the power of the Wuzu after the Wuzu order was forcibly issued by the county magistrate Tian Chengbi. He killed the low-level demons and offered their heads as sacrifices to them.

The rituals for being both civil and military do not conflict with each other. The righteous spirit is the main focus of the spirit and energy, while the skull sacrifice is the main focus of the spirit.

Just like how Lu Han could assist and support Chen Xiu before, Xiong Hao also liked to recite poems when he took action.

Not for anything else, just to learn from the Green Lotus Sword Immortal, so cool.

What about "Kill one person every ten steps, leave no trace in a thousand miles. When the work is done, leave in a hush of your clothes, hiding your body and name!"

Every time you chant and kill monsters, you can add some sharpness to your weapon.

However, there was no swordsmanship in the city, and his weapon was a three-foot sword.

After all, the sword is what Confucianism considers to be a "gentleman's weapon."

After becoming a scholar, one can actually wear a sword, but most people don't, or they take a wooden sword instead during the coming-of-age ceremony.

Xiong Hao's eyes lit up: "After the demonic era, if the gods and Buddhas awaken, then the Iron Pillar Palace must have some magical powers. Now seeing this green smoke reaching up to the sky, it must have already had some magical powers."

Luo Chuan said, "Since we are going to explore the Crystal Palace, why don't we pay our respects to Master Tiezhu first?"

Wan Xiangping was more cautious. "Even the City God has transformed into a disaster. Who knows what's happening here? Compared to the demons, we should be more cautious about the temples and shrines where the demons were before the transformation. What if an evil spirit takes over?"

"However, the City Lord asked us to explore the Iron Pillar Palace to see if we can obtain the Taoist rituals and gain the power to slay demons and monsters."

"Let's all check together first to see if there are any living people. Don't burn incense, and don't go out alone."

Xiong Hao nodded: "That's right, be cautious, it's okay."

The group, a total of twelve people, immediately gathered into groups of three and were divided into four groups.

Walking along the mountain path from the Tiezhuguan Mountain Gate, I saw some disaster victims collecting things in the mountains not far from the mountain gate.

Wan Xiangping was surprised: "Besides the county town, there are actually still living victims?"

Seeing outsiders, these disaster victims were very excited: "What year is it now? What's going on down the mountain?"

How could these disaster victims even forget their age? It couldn't be possible! It had only been a month or so since the demonic transformation.

Everyone immediately answered the victim's questions one by one, but heard the victim exclaim in surprise: "How can it only be one month?"

"We've been up the mountain for at least three or four years since the demonic rebellion! I've been counting!" "We've survived thanks to the Taoist priests on the mountain, who issue daily missions to the mountain gate."

"We were able to survive by obtaining some fasting pills after completing the mountain gate mission."

"Later, we'll dig bamboo shoots, pick mushrooms, and grow herbs outside the mountain gate. That way, we'll have some food to eat, and we won't have to just eat tasteless fasting pills."

Xiong Hao heard them say they had been in the mountains for at least three or four years, so he asked, "How many of you are there? Are all of you like this?"

"There were three or four hundred of us who fled to the mountains. Some of us have had children over the years, so there are more than five hundred of us now. All of us are like this!"

Xiong Hao listened thoughtfully and said to Wan Xiangping, "I wonder if Brother Wan has ever heard of the game of Lan Ke? A single day on earth lasts a thousand years in the cave. I heard that a woodcutter watched immortals play chess, and after a game, a hundred years had passed on earth, and the axe handle had rotted away. I'm afraid the Iron Pillar Palace gate is in the same boat."

"It seems that this place has already mutated since the beginning of the demonic chaos."

Luo Chuan quickly said, "I've heard since I was a child that the Iron Pillar Palace is the twelfth cave heaven and the thirty-eighth blessed land in the world."

"That's it! I just don't know what the difference is between this blessed land and the secret realm."

"Then you have never tried to go down the mountain before?"

"I tried, of course I tried, but I couldn't get out, so I never thought about going down the mountain. The Taoist priests said it was a catastrophe of heaven and earth, and they sealed the mountain gate. People outside couldn't get in, and we couldn't get out either."

At this time, another disaster victim asked, "Is it because the Taoist priest issued more missions for the mountain gate a few days ago, recruiting Taoist children? So he reopened the mountain gate?"

"Daotong is great! After I learned about the recruitment of Daotongs, I sent my son to be one."

"Aren't the Taoists in the Iron Pillar Palace the legendary immortals? It's a pity that they only want Taoist children under twelve years old, otherwise I would have been one too."

Several people were excited. "It seems this place is indeed as the city lord said, with a Taoist heritage! The twelfth cave heaven, the thirty-eighth blessed land! It's also an immortal Taoist temple. Do you think there are Taoist rituals above the seventh rank? Can we become disciples and learn from them?"

The group gradually relaxed their minds until they reached the mountain gate.

Outside the mountain gate, there were many victims who built houses with bamboo and stoves for cooking.

When the victims saw people from outside the mountain, they were very excited and asked what was happening outside. But when they learned that only a month had passed, they were shocked. They also asked about their family members, but they only got bad answers.

The demons attacked the city and slaughtered the people... Only one in ten people survived.

After hearing this, some of the people on the mountain felt relieved, while others burst into tears.

Finally, they all sighed and said, "It's so dangerous down there, we might as well live up there."

When they learned that the group was here to visit the Taoist priest, they helped them to go around the settlement in front of the mountain gate and all the way to the mountain gate.

However, the main gate was closed and only the side gate was open, with a plaque on it that read "Iron Pillar Palace Built by Imperial Order".

The four young Taoists had calm expressions. From time to time, disaster victims came forward to hand over their tasks at the mountain gate.

At this time, the Taoist priest took out the fasting pills and some copper coins.

Copper coins are also useful. Taoists also sell talismans and medicines with copper coins. When villagers suffer from illness or disaster, they will spend money to buy talismans, burn them and drink them. If the talismans don’t work, they will buy elixirs.

(End of this chapter)