Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 74: Fire Cave

Before they had walked more than two miles, a group of Confucian disciples suddenly scattered and stood in the forest to explore. Xu Boyang was startled and stopped immediately. Monk Li whispered in his ears:
"It's okay, just be quiet and go around them. They won't be able to see you."

Xu Boyang nodded and tiptoed over quietly.

In the jungle, he took two steps at a time, one step to the east, one step to the west, and finally passed through the crowd safely.

After they walked away, Xu Boyang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, Monk Li smiled softly:
"See, I didn't lie to you. It seems that you are a cultivator who just came out of Qingshen to seek a way out. You have never met a Confucian scholar before."

When Xu Boyang heard this, he snorted, raised his eyebrows, and said coldly:

"Senior, I don't think I asked you about your origins. Since you are so seriously injured, I think you should watch your mouth and say less."

"I dare not, I don't mean that."

Monk Li quickly explained and said softly,

"I'm just discussing the strengths and weaknesses of Confucian scholars with fellow Taoists. Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy is the only purpose. Confucian scholars are very similar to our Taoists. They also have six realms. They cultivate the inner sage and outer kingly way..."

Under the effect of the "Rejuvenation Pill", the old monk seemed to have recovered some of his strength. Along the way, he kept chattering in Xu Boyang's ear about the inner sageliness and outer kingly way of Confucian cultivation. Xu Boyang listened silently without saying a word, just looking at the huge volcano.

"The Confucians love etiquette the most, so they also imitated the Taoists and established titles. If a Confucian scholar has just entered the [Li Qi Realm], they call him a Confucian scholar. If he successfully accumulates his spirit, he will be called a Si Ye. This is what they call a Si Ye in the [Yuan Ling Realm]."

"After the spirit is contained, if one is lucky enough to establish a Divine Palace, then he will be an extremely powerful [Divine Palace Realm] Situ. The Divine Palace Situ of Confucianism is very versatile and has extraordinary magical powers, which is comparable to my Taoist Huangting Yushi."

Xu Boyang's eyes flickered as he suddenly asked, "Situ of the Divine Palace? What about the higher realm? What's that [Gezhi Realm] called?"

"Haha! Further up?"

Monk Li saw Xu Boyang start to listen to him, he laughed and said slowly:

"There are only a few who are above them, all of them are Confucian teachers, respected by the people, and their influence spread throughout the world. They are revered by Confucian scholars throughout the country as great scholars of the science of science."

Xu Boyang looked at the trees ahead, which were deserted and no one was in sight. He felt a little relieved and asked casually, "Is there anything else up there?"

Hearing this question, Monk Li slowly shook his head, sighed softly, and said slowly:
"No, no, above the [Gezhi Realm] is the [Hongru Realm]. Confucian scholars in this [Hongru Realm] only exist in legends and are revered as Grandmasters. However, the Confucian world seems to have no Grandmasters of the [Hongru Realm] for so many years, just like our Taoist world has no True Lords of the [Qingxu Period]."

Xu Boyang's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Senior, you said that Qingshen... doesn't have Qingxu Zhenjun?"

"My friend..."

Monk Li spoke in a hoarse voice, looked at the blue sky, and laughed. His laughter was full of fatigue, hoarse and low.
"Our Qingshen... has been declining for many years. You may now see the four counties of Qingshen as peaceful and prosperous, but in reality, it's all superficial. Behind this, undercurrents surge, and filth is everywhere. These four sects may appear powerful, with many cultivators, but in reality, they are weak inside and precarious. For these hundreds of years, they have relied on one person to support them."

"As far as I know, not only do we not have a True Lord Qingxu in Qingshen, we even have only one True Lord Zifu left."

Xu Boyang was shocked, and found it incredible. He paused for two steps, and after a long time, he continued to move forward. He looked up at the towering mountains that reached the horizon, and at the deep blue sky, and slowly asked:
"Senior, is it so difficult to seek immortality?"

"Haha! Thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge is no exaggeration. My friend, when it comes to cultivating immortality, the difficulty lies not in a weak will, not in diligent practice, and even not in the intuition or the pursuit of immortality itself."

"But on your journey to immortality, there will be countless people who want to pull you down, and countless people who want to step on you to climb up. If you want to climb up, you can only pull others down, and you can only step on others to climb up."

"Don't you see that there is only one True Person standing on the peak of the majestic Qingshen land, all alone? There is no other reason, but because someone doesn't want to see a second True Person appear on the peak of Qingshen Mountain."

Xu Boyang lowered his head silently and asked calmly, "What is the name of this True Man of Qingshen?"

"No one knows his name, not even whether he's a man or a woman. I only know that the people of the Qingshen Immortal Sect, whether they're Taoist priests or Taoist priests, all refer to him by the place where he lives. They don't even dare to call him by his Taoist name."

"This place, located on the Huai River, is a place where all the clouds return to their destination. It's called 'Langfeng Peak.'"

After saying this, Monk Li looked up at the white clouds in the sky with a longing look, as if he was reminiscing about the past.

Xu Boyang was also struck by these words. He had never really understood the purpose of cultivating immortality. Was immortality really that important? What would it matter if he finally stood on the top of the mountain?

Could it be that he is the king who rules the world, covers the sky with one hand, and has all things submit to him?

As a person who lived a second life, Xu Boyang had the memories of two lives. Although the memories of his previous life had long since disappeared, they still left some marks in his mind. Therefore, he had long since put life and death aside. Immortality is good, but the present is too ethereal and empty. Now he has just embarked on the immortal path and cannot see that far ahead.

But at this moment he has a firm goal, which is to become stronger and eventually become an unshakable tree instead of an ant being controlled by others!
What’s the point of living forever if you can’t become stronger?
The two men had their own thoughts and didn't say much along the way. After a while, they arrived at the foot of the volcano. Along the way, they met more than a dozen Confucian disciples, but fortunately Xu Boyang quietly bypassed them and didn't reveal any clues.

As we approached the volcano, the temperature suddenly rose. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur, which choked our eyes and noses. Countless black ashes floated in the sky, like clouds and mist, sweeping over us.
Xu Boyang took out two anti-poison pills and took them respectively.

Monk Li smiled bitterly and said, "Alas... I am seriously injured, otherwise why would I need this anti-poison pill?"

Xu Boyang ignored this afterthought and looked around. He saw only pitch-black volcanic rocks all over the mountain. He asked:

"Senior, where is your cave?"

Monk Li looked up at the volcano with black smoke billowing out of it and sighed, "My friend, we still have to climb up a bit, to the top, and then jump down from the crater."

"what?"

Xu Boyang's expression changed drastically, his eyebrows raised, and he said angrily:

"Why didn't you tell me earlier, monk? This mountain is so high, and the fire is so fierce. I'm carrying you on my back, using invisibility, and can't fly with my sword or use any other magic. How long will it take to climb this mountain?!"

"It's already been an hour. I'm afraid we won't reach the summit. If you don't get burned to death, you'll go to hell!"

"Alas...don't worry, my friend. I won't die anytime soon."

Monk Li sighed and told his plan.

"My dear friend, if you don't want to go down the mountain, there is a way. My spiritual power has been cut off and I have lost my consciousness. However, I think you should have reached the sixth level of Condensation Yuan. You should have practiced the 'Mountain Passing Technique' and the 'Fire Sitting Technique', right?"

"You carry me halfway up the mountain, use these two techniques, and walk through the mountain. Then you can directly enter my cave, the Lihuo Cave."

Xu Boyang sneered: "You old monk are very calculating and cautious. What if I don't know these two skills?"

Monk Li smiled awkwardly, with a look of embarrassment on his old face, and said in a low voice:

"Well, then we can only leave it to fate and take it one step at a time."

"Humph!"

Xu Boyang snorted lightly. He was right. This old monk was indeed a bit cunning. But now he was in a difficult situation. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go all the way to the end. He then said:

"Senior, you've made a mistake. To be honest, I'm at the sixth level of Condensation Essence, and I've indeed learned these two techniques. Although I haven't mastered the Fire Sitting Technique, I have a formation artifact in my hand, so ordinary flames won't hurt you or me. However, I've only mastered the basics of the Mountain Piercing Technique, and I can't even penetrate more than five meters. How can the walls of such a large volcano be that thin?"

"Five zhang should be enough. So, we can only climb up a little more. There is a depression on the dark side of this Yanhuo Mountain. That is a secret escape passage I left there. The wall should be only five zhang thick." Monk Li lay on Xu Boyang's back, recalled with lowered brows, and said slowly.

"Don't make any mistake."

Xu Boyang stopped talking, turned around and glanced around, making sure everything was safe. He then looked in the right direction and immediately climbed up the mountain with all his might.

Unexpectedly, after climbing for only a moment, there was a rumbling sound in the sky and suddenly something changed. A purple light flashing with lightning quickly spread out from the top of the head like ripples on water, and enveloped all directions in the blink of an eye.

Xu Boyang raised his head, his expression changed drastically, and he heard Monk Li sighing beside him:
"Oh no! This is the Confucian Spirit-level sacred formation, the 'Wind Howling, Thunder Chanting Dome Formation'! They're going to trap you and me to death. Run away!"

Seeing this situation, there was no way out. The only way to leave this place was to use the secret passage in the mountain as the old monk had said. Xu Boyang quickly quickened his pace, feeling a little frightened and angry, and thought:

"It seems those three people were setting up the formation just now. No wonder they disappeared. If I had known this, I should have taken this monk and slipped away. It's hard to say if we could have escaped. We wasted the opportunity in vain. I was really delayed by his words."

There was no conversation along the way. The volcano was pitch black, covered with black rocks and ash. It was difficult to identify at first glance.

Fortunately, Monk Li was familiar with the route and knew every place on the mountain like the back of his hand. Following his instructions, Xu Boyang spent another two quarters of an hour before finally reaching the depression on the shady side of the mountain that Monk Li had mentioned.

Xu Boyang looked around and made sure that no one was watching from the air. He then revealed his figure and used the "Mountain-penetrating Technique" to disappear into the mountain.

This "Mountain-piercing Technique" consumes a lot of spiritual energy. Xu Boyang had tried it several times before, but he always felt that the spiritual energy in his body was like a vortex, disappearing rapidly, so he never dared to try it again.

Now that I have entered the mountain, that familiar feeling comes over me again. I dare not delay and rush forward!

One zhang, two zhang, three zhang...

"My apologies, young friend. I seem to have remembered it wrongly...it should be nine zhang..."

Monk Li's words rang in Xu Boyang's ears, and his heart suddenly tightened. Without thinking too much or getting angry, he slapped the storage bag with his right hand, and a green light flashed, and [Biyouxian] flew out!

It is unknown how many years this volcano has been formed. The mountain inside is extremely hard, like a copper wall and iron wall. Xu Boyang is unable to do it and can only chisel it hard. Fortunately, after the [Shanyin Yexue] in his body was injected into [Biyouxian], the green water on the sword was very powerful. It seeped into the rock wall and turned into black frost and snow. The rocks fell apart and scattered!

"Is this [Shanyin Night Snow]? Bi, Bi Youxian?" Monk Li exclaimed softly when he saw the Bishui Long Sword, a smile wrinkled his face, and he exclaimed in admiration, "Young friend, you have a rich family background, have learned good Taoism, and use a good magic weapon... a good magic weapon..."

"Oh!"

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from inside the mountain!
Xu Boyang tried his best and finally rushed in!

Rocks were scattered, smoke and dust were rising, and it was pitch dark. With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he found himself in a long corridor.

As soon as he came in, the scorching temperature instantly rose several times. Xu Boyang did not feel it because he had spiritual energy protecting his body, but the beard of Monk Li on his back suddenly curled up.

At this moment, he was seriously injured and on the verge of death, and was no different from an ordinary person.

Xu Boyang quickly transferred spiritual energy from his palm into his body to protect him, and then said angrily:

"Old monk! I saved you out of kindness, but you're talking nonsense! From now on, if you dare to hide things and lie, don't blame me for leaving you here!"

"I dare not, I dare not!"

Monk Li complained:
"My friend, I have no intention of hiding anything. I am indeed old and my brain is not so good..."

Xu Boyang was no longer willing to believe his lies. He had already entered the mountain and just wanted to leave quickly. He glanced around and saw a corridor leading up and down. He just said:

"Where to go from here?"

It was pitch black here, and Monk Li could not see, but he did not hesitate and answered:
“Go up!”

Xu Boyang didn't move, and slowly asked, "Shall we go to the bottom of the lake and walk up?"

Monk Li hurriedly explained, "My friend, you don't know that I have dug several secret passages in this Smoke Mountain to confuse the enemy. This secret passage is a dead end and contains traps."

"The secret passage leading to the bottom of the lake is not here."

"is it?"

Xu Boyang remained calm and quietly took out the magic brush [Black Jade Wolf Hair] given by his father and made a mark on the stone wall behind him.

"Alas... my friend, my life is hanging by a thread. My life or death depends on your thoughts. Why would I lie to you? It was indeed my fault just now... that I remembered it wrong." Monk Li heard his bad tone and hurriedly explained again.

"Ah."

Xu Boyang responded, too lazy to talk nonsense with him, carried him on his back and used the "magic movement" to rush up along the corridor.

There were indeed many forks in the road along the way. Following the guidance of Monk Li, Xu Boyang passed by like the wind, and with a slight movement of his hands, he marked every intersection without anyone noticing.

Suddenly, the firelight was blinding, and the scorching flames were like fire dragons roaming outside the cave. Xu Boyang immediately took out the [Lingji Jade Pendant], transformed it into the "Yuanqing Biguang Cover Array", slowed down his pace, and slowly walked to the cave entrance.

After an hour and a half of traveling, Xu Boyang and Monk Li finally arrived inside the volcano.

This is a sea of ​​fire. Everywhere you look, there is dazzling, red-hot lava emitting endless high temperatures.

Everything was red, with only a few tiny bits of black smoke falling from the sky and floating above.

The temperature here is already outrageously high. The surrounding scenery is distorted by the floating air. The flames and sparks from the exploding magma are directly hitting the light shield of the "Yuanqing Biguang Shield Array", making it hiss and emit wisps of black smoke!

The cave where Xu Boyang came out was about twenty or thirty feet away from the sea of ​​fire at the bottom of the volcano. Even at such a high distance, it still couldn't withstand the erosion of the rising flames!

The fire was blinding and the air was filled with smoke. Xu Boyang had never seen such a scene since he was a child. He was secretly frightened and used the "Thousand Miles" pupil technique to look around. There was a sea of ​​​​lava and fire rolling below, and there were jagged rock walls on both sides. Looking up, he could vaguely see the blue sky in the crater filled with black smoke.

"Where is the cave?"

Xu Boyang glanced around and didn't see any cave entrance, so he turned around and asked Monk Li.

"My dear, please don't be angry first!"

After spending such a short time together, Monk Li felt a little afraid of this young man with fierce eyebrows, and he stammered,
"I can't see the fire cave yet. I have to sink into this sea of ​​magma and fire... Don't worry, you've learned the fire-sitting technique and have a magic array weapon, so you should be able to get down..."

"you…"

Xu Boyang couldn't help laughing angrily and shook his head halfway through his words. At this moment, he was speechless to the old monk, but he was imprisoned and trapped, and had to listen to his deception step by step. He didn't know whether saving this man today would be a blessing or a curse in the future.

This sea of ​​magma and fire, melting gold and iron, its depth unknown, was completely resisted by a mere Condensation Stage array artifact and the "Fire Sitting Technique"? Even if Xu Boyang was beaten to death, he couldn't believe it. If he continued like this, he would simply be courting death!

"This... this... isn't that deep. You mainly need to protect me. Otherwise, you can just use the Fire Sitting Technique. It might hurt a little, but it's just a flesh wound."

Xu Boyang was furious after hearing this. He raised his eyebrows and shouted, "Old monk, you only have half an hour left to live. If you keep dawdling, you might die before you even reach the cave entrance!"

Monk Li said with a bitter face, "My friend, trust me one last time. Sink into this sea of ​​fire. In a moment at most, you will see the cave."

At this point, there is no other way. Xu Boyang said coldly:

"Okay, for the last time, you said it!"

After saying that, he performed the "Sitting on Fire Technique", carried Monk Li on his back, and jumped!
"thump!"

The figure disappeared in a flash, and sparks flew in the sea of ​​magma and fire!

As soon as they entered, everything was ablaze with red, so blindingly bright it was practically impossible to see! The "Yuanqing Green Light Shield" began to hiss, and the light array surrounding the two of them began to crumble at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, countless fine, dense cracks had already appeared.

"How do we go? Go straight down?" Xu Boyang asked anxiously.

"down!"

Monk Li looked at the cracks on the light shield, wiped his sweat secretly, and said quickly.

He already knew that he could not joke at this moment. If the shield was broken, even with the spiritual energy of the white-robed man to support him, he would not be able to withstand such high temperature and would turn into a pile of black ash in the blink of an eye.

Xu Boyang struggled to go down, but his speed downstream was obviously not as fast as the speed of the light shield's collapse. In just half a minute, the "Yuanqing Green Light Shield Array" became shaky and was about to fall apart!
"It happened!"

Monk Li screamed, and just as he finished speaking, there was a bang, and the light shield shattered like a tile and disappeared in an instant.

In an instant, countless seas of magma and fire surged from all directions like surging waves!
"Humph!"

Xu Boyang snorted coldly. He was prepared for this and took out a white jade pendant!
Another [Spirit Jade Pendant]!
"Buzz!"

As the incantations were chanted, there was a slight sound, and a green light suddenly formed a light shield, and the surging magma was instantly blocked outside.

Monk Li was so frightened that his soul was about to be blown away. After seeing Xu Boyang's calmness and calm response, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was still in shock and sighed:

"Little friend...you really have a good trick..."

Xu Boyang saw cracks appear on the light shield again and asked anxiously, "Continue going down?"

Monk Li lay on top of Xu Boyang, raised his head and opened his old eyes wide, looking carefully, and replied: "We should be almost there. Go a few feet to the right and look for a door."

Xu Boyang did as he was told and walked a few feet. Sure enough, he found a stone wall. He explored along the stone wall and searched for dozens of breaths. Finally, he found a black stone door that was flashing with blood-red light.

He heaved a sigh of relief. He then realized that Monk Li had reached out and groped around his body. He took out a bronze token, chanted a mantra, and said with a smile:
"My friend, my storage bag is destroyed. Fortunately, I have the formation activation token with me. I have no spiritual energy left. Please, my friend, open the formation, and I can pass through the door!"

Seeing the cave in front of him, Xu Boyang took the token without saying a word and walked in as Monk Li said.

The blood-red light array opened a hole and closed instantly, blocking out all the thick magma that seeped in from the crack in the door.

As Xu Boyang came in, the burning sensation disappeared immediately, replaced by a cool feeling. He saw another long corridor, but at every interval, there was a small spiritual lamp hanging on the wall.

"Cough cough..."

At this time, Monk Li covered his mouth and coughed twice. One hand was covered with blood, and his face was pale again. He said in a trembling voice:
"Little friend, please go over here as soon as possible. I... don't have much time."

Arriving here, Xu Boyang felt relieved. Seeing him coughing up blood, he nodded, used his "magic speed" and ran inside.

In just a moment, an empty and bright cave appeared in front of him, with strange-shaped black rocks above and below. A dark stream ran through the middle, with gurgling water flowing. There were stone tables and chairs on a flat ground beside the stream.

The stone wall behind the stone table was covered with bottles and jars tied with red ropes, and there was also a long sword with a black hilt and a fiery red blade, and a huge purple-skinned gourd.

A stone couch was built about four or five feet next to the stone table and stone chairs, and two people were sitting cross-legged on the couch!
Xu Boyang took a quick look and was immediately startled. He stopped in his tracks and subconsciously clapped his right hand, and [Biyouxian] appeared in his hand!
My pupils suddenly contracted as I realized that the two men were wearing different clothes, with their eyes closed and heads bowed, their hands on their knees, motionless, like dead people!
Thanks to book friend 2961 for the monthly ticket!
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(End of this chapter)