Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 85 Tigers among Sheep
Along the way, the three of them advanced hand in hand, breaking through the clouds and mist. Ever since Zhang Guanzhi saw the long sword of green water at Xu Boyang's feet, he had been secretly amazed. When he got to the road, he finally couldn't help asking:
"Brother Xu, where did you get this [Biyouxian]?"

Xu Boyang replied, "It was a gift from a senior by chance. By the way, this sword seems to have been forged by your Nanhuai Taiping Dao Sect's Jianyi Pavilion. Brother Zhang, do you know its origin?"

Zhang Guanzhi nodded and said:

"This sword was forged by the head of our Nanhuai Immortal Sect, the feathered monk 'Shuihuo Weiji'. It also has a sister sword called 'Funanyan'. These two swords are very famous among foundation-building instruments and are considered top-grade. There are not many of them left in the world, apparently no more than three pairs."

"It turns out it was cast by a Taoist priest."

After hearing this, Xu Boyang was a little surprised, and then he heard Su Yanlu laugh:

"The Taiping Dao Sect of Nanhuai is famous throughout the country for its weapon refining. Most of Qingshen's magical weapons are from Nanhuai. For example, the "Ruyuanlin" under my feet is also made by the Nanhuai Jianyi Pavilion."

Zhang Guanzhi forced a smile and nodded slightly:

"Brother Su's 'Ruyuanlin' is also not to be underestimated. It was made by another feathered scholar in our sect, 'Baiyu Fuchen', and is considered one of the famous swords used in foundation building."

Xu Boyang lowered his head to glance at the shiny white sword at Su Yanlu's feet. It was like a long piece of white jade, crystal clear. As it flew at high speed, a hint of milky white vapor emanated from the sword body, which looked truly extraordinary.

The only thing left was the large iron sword at Zhang Guanzhi's feet. Its hilt was thick and had the most primitive luster of pig iron, coated with only a layer of sheen. It looked simple and crude, yet dignified.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "Brother Zhang, what is the name of your sword?"

Zhang Guanzhi replied:

"Mine isn't great. It pales in comparison to the two of you. This sword is called [Xuan Lian Guang], and it's considered a top-grade foundation-building weapon! It costs about five or six hundred spirit stones!"

Xu Boyang asked curiously, "Brother Zhang, since you work at the Sword Chess Pavilion of the Immortal Sect, why don't you get a better sword?"

Zhang Guanzhi forced a smile. "Brother Xu, there's no need. My talent is mediocre. My ancestor cut off my ability when I was eight years old. I'm destined to build my foundation in this life. My family also has some good magic tools, but they were all left to my two brothers."

"Although my [Xuan Lian Guang] is not of the best quality, it is not bad either. I estimate that no more than 30% of people in Qingshen can match my magic sword. Not everyone is lucky enough to get the magic weapon of Yushi."

Su Yanlu smiled when she heard this: "Brother Zhang, you are a disciple of the Immortal Sect and a descendant of an aristocratic family. You seem to be content with being ordinary when you say this. How do you make those other descendants of aristocratic families feel?"

Zhang Guanzhi laughed dryly and said slowly:
"Brother Su, your family has been with the Pei family for a long time, so you understand the ways of the world in Qingshen. Immortal sect disciples like me are plentiful in Qingshen, and are nothing special."

"I am just an ordinary person. I can't seek any immortal fate in this life, nor can I see any great trends. My family has paved the way for me since I was young. I will honestly contribute to the immortal sect and my family. When I am old, I can reach the middle stage of foundation building and get a position in the middle of the immortal sect. Then I can raise a few descendants and live out my life in peace. This life will be worth it."

"To be honest, even if there are external enemies in Qingshen, we might not even get a chance to fight. Why would I pursue such a fine sword? I won't be able to use it. This sword is more than enough for occasional use in the Zhufen Wilderness. Some cultivators in this place are so poor that they don't even have a decent Condensation Artifact, let alone a Foundation Establishment Artifact."

His words actually silenced Xu Boyang and Su Yanlu. Xu Boyang thought about it and felt that what he said made sense. There were not so many children of destiny in this world, and not so many people who were unwilling to be ordinary. And how many people could be like Monk Li, who endured for a hundred years without building a foundation, just for the great way in his heart.

The vast majority of people are ordinary people, the same as Zhang Guanzhi, or even worse. With his current identity and status, he is probably already superior to cultivators above the fifth level of Qingshen.

People’s greed is not enough, but without persistence and hard work, how can we expect to achieve what we want?

Xu Boyang did not agree with Zhang Guanzhi's words from the bottom of his heart, but this was someone else's life and he had no right to interfere. Everyone had his own way of living. Besides, some things would not necessarily have results if you worked hard, just like there would not necessarily be a reward for your efforts, and good people would not necessarily be rewarded.

But how do you know if you don’t try anything?

God rewards hard work.

Xu Boyang firmly believes in this.

After that, the three of them didn't talk to each other anymore. They just kept flying at high speed. It was already getting dark. The sunset in early spring was not that dazzling, but it made the lake look like golden scales.

There was bound to be a fight on this trip, so Xu Boyang took advantage of this opportunity to secretly check the talismans he had obtained from Monk Li in his storage bag. He found that there were quite a few good things and was secretly delighted.

After about an hour, a group of scattered islands suddenly appeared on the lake. These islands were in groups of three or five, with various shapes, dotted on the lake. At a glance, they were densely packed, with no less than a hundred islands.

"Coming!"

Zhang Guanzhi narrowed his eyes and said something, lowering the flight altitude and preparing to dive at any time.

Xu Boyang controlled [Biyouxian] to follow, looking left and right. As he reached mid-air, he seemed to be in the mountains for a moment, with island peaks facing each other and the spiritual formation colorful, but below was the sparkling lake.

Suddenly, an island peak in the distance was engulfed in flames and billowing with smoke.

When Zhang Guanzhi saw this mountain, he became more anxious and sped up. Xu Boyang and Su Yanlu realized that this mountain was Kongxian Mountain and followed closely behind.

After a while, the three of them arrived near the sky above Kongkong Mountain. Zhang Guanzhi suddenly flew up, his face embarrassed, and looked straight ahead.

As Xu Boyang looked, he discovered that many monks were hovering above the island peak in front of him. Some of them were stepping on various magical instruments, while others were flapping their wings, with their arms folded across their chests, pointing from time to time, as if they were watching a play.

I couldn't help but ask, "Brother Zhang, are you from the Houyan tribe?"

Zhang Guanzhi shook his head and gritted his teeth, "I don't know."

Seeing the timid look on his face, Su Yanlu snorted coldly and said, "Don't be so timid. If you don't go up and take a look, how will you know who it is?"

After saying that, he stepped on the sword and slowly flew closer.

Xu Boyang followed Su Yanlu without hesitation. While paying attention to what was in front of him, he glanced down and found that the battle on Kongkong Mountain was still going on. Figures were flying around, fires were everywhere, and the battle was particularly fierce. It seemed that his guess was right. If Zhang Guanzhi was allowed to make the decision, Kongkong Mountain might fall into the hands of the barbarian monster.

Feeling relieved, he quickly followed, and when he glanced over, he saw eight people hovering above the island peak.

They have different appearances and clothes, including Taoists, Confucianists, and Buddhists. There are also two barbarian monsters wearing armor and having horse faces, which should be horse monsters.

The eight people were standing on each side, looking at the empty mountain below, laughing and chatting, when they suddenly saw three people flying over. Their faces changed, and they retreated and spread out in a circle.

Su Yanlu stepped on the sword with her hands behind her back and slowly flew closer. She looked at these people with disdain and a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.

In an instant, several invisible spiritual consciousnesses rippled in the sky like ripples.

"Ninth level of Condensation!"

A skinny Taoist priest looked at Su Yanlu and lost his voice. Everyone was shocked and stared at Su Yanlu, retreating away as if facing a great enemy.

Xu Boyang slowly approached. He had just scanned the area with his spiritual sense and found that among the eight people, two Taoists were at the seventh level of Condensation Yuan, and one was at the eighth level. He could not detect any trace of spiritual sense on the other two Confucian scholars, presumably not yet at the Soul Formation stage. However, he could not tell at what level they were at. According to Monk Li, Confucianists were relatively strong at the Qi Formation stage, but he was already at the ninth level of Condensation Yuan and had helpers, so he was not afraid.

The two horse demons had long faces and thick noses, and they looked very horse-like. They had a pair of wings on their backs that flapped up and down. They had not yet fully transformed. They should be little demons in the [Spiritual Awakening Realm]. When the spiritual consciousness scanned them, there was no trace of spiritual consciousness.

The remaining monk was a man in a grey robe, with a nine-ring staff on his back, his hands clasped together, and a red light flickering in the pāra between his eyebrows. According to Monk Li, he should be a monk who had completed the six perfections and planted the seeds of Bodhi.

It seems that only this monk is relatively strong, and the others are not to be feared.

"Another Ninth Condensation Level! And another one at the Eighth Condensation Level!"

As Xu Boyang and Zhang Guanzhi approached, another Taoist priest cried out in surprise, and everyone quickly retreated several dozen feet. Only the monk clasped his hands together with a smile on his face.

Zhang Guanzhi was puzzled. He released his spiritual consciousness and discovered that Xu Boyang beside him had already reached the ninth level of Condensation. He was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.

"Xu, Brother Xu, when did you arrive at the ninth floor?"

Xu Boyang smiled helplessly and whispered, "Brother Zhang, you are so slow to realize it. What can I say? This is not the time to talk. We can talk in detail later."

The gray-robed monk spoke first:

"Three of you, according to the rules of the martial arts world, we have to fight in a literary contest. I have already achieved Bodhi. The two of you are at the ninth level of Condensation Yuan, which is slightly inferior to me. You will be ranked second and third later!"

The tall and thin Taoist priest at the eighth level of Condensation Yuan rubbed his hands and smiled:
"Yes, yes. Since the three of you have come to share a piece of the pie, let's follow the rules of the martial arts world. Later, this eighth-level Taoist friend and I will be ranked fourth."

After hearing this, Xu Boyang finally understood what kind of people these were. It turned out that they were just a group of independent cultivators who were waiting for the two families to finish fighting so that they could take advantage of them. They were even engaging in a verbal fight. For a moment, he was secretly annoyed.

Su Yanlu glanced coldly at the monks, then slowly descended the mountain, saying softly:
"Enough of the idle chatter, all eight of you, I'll give you a quarter of an hour. Get out of here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the eight people in the air changed drastically!
"okay!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two Taoists at the seventh level of Ningyuan bowed and slipped away. It was because they were fellow Taoists after all. Just by looking at their magic weapons, they knew that they were not to be messed with, not to mention that the three of them were in the same group.

Xu Boyang flew over, raised his eyebrows, and said loudly: "That's all we have to say. Don't you all know that you can't eat plums picked by the roadside?"

The two horse monsters looked at the three men with angry faces, and they didn't seem to be joking. The first man had already flown down the mountain. Their eyes widened immediately, and they roughly understood what was going on. They reluctantly snorted and flapped their wings to leave.

The two Confucian scholars felt strange when they saw four people leaving in an instant, but when they saw the green-robed monk and the skinny Taoist priest both changed their expressions and stared at the fat man in front, they felt uneasy for a moment. They whispered to each other, glanced at the three people cautiously, and quietly escaped.

In the blink of an eye, only the gray-robed monk and the skinny Taoist priest were left standing. The skinny Taoist priest remained undaunted and sneered, "What a boast!"

Suddenly, Su Yanlu's figure, which had already fallen, flashed and returned to the air. She smiled at the two of them with her fat face.
"I'm trying to persuade you with kind words, why don't you two listen?"

The gray-robed monk bowed and smiled, "You are a bit too overbearing. Not only do you not abide by the rules of the martial arts world, but you also want to interfere in the private affairs of two families."

Su Yanlu did not comment, and tilted her head and said:
"Boyang, you two go down and take a look first. I'll stay for a moment. Today is a completely different place from the one I'm in. I want to see how many lives the wandering cultivators on this Thousand Stars and Ten Thousand Islands Lake have left."

Xu Boyang nodded silently without saying much. He immediately signaled Zhang Guanzhi, and they both flew down on their swords.

After all, the battle below was too intense. If they went down a moment later, it would be much more difficult to rescue people. No matter who would take over the Empty Mountain in the end, there couldn't be only an empty mountain left, otherwise what would be the point.

The skinny Taoist priest looked at Su Yanlu and smiled, "Fellow Daoist, are you planning to eat alone? This place is on the foundation-building mountain, so there must be a lot of good things. When the fight is almost over, we can go down and help out. Kill a few cultivators, and the master will definitely give us something. Why bother with the confrontation and the fighting?"

Su Yanlu smiled: "Sorry, I am the host."

The skinny Taoist's face changed, and he saw a green jade belt like flowing water rushing towards him!
"Brother Zhang, you go left and I go right, let's kill him first!"

As soon as Xu Boyang came down, he squinted his eyes and saw a lot of people gathered in the square in front of a big hall in the mountain. The two sides were fighting with blood splattered everywhere. His spiritual consciousness continued to spread, and he found that a group of young cultivators were fighting against a group of monkey monsters that had not transformed. They were short in stature, wearing helmets and nails, with colorful hair, and holding swords, guns, sticks and clubs in their hands, but their movements were extremely flexible, twisting and turning in the air, as fast as lightning.

Xu Boyang fell to the ground, rolled on the spot, and waved his hands. [Biyouxian] instantly transformed into six frost dragons, which roared out in all directions at the same time!

"Boom!"

The crowd seemed to explode, blood splattered, and figures were thrown out. More than ten monkey demons were hit in the vitals by the sword energy at the same time, spitting blood, and then their bodies turned into frost. It was obvious that they were not going to survive.

This time, everyone was shocked!
The monks of Kongkong Mountain were all determined to die, fighting without hesitation, completely forgetting about life and death. Suddenly, a divine soldier descended from the sky. They were shocked and happy, and could not help but cheering loudly!
"Thank you for your help, senior!"

"You monkey demons, prepare to die!"

"God has mercy on me, I hope Senior will kill the monster quickly!"

"God will not destroy my Kongkong Mountain!"

Zhang Guanzhi stepped on the sword and used the "Silver Light Technique" to kill two monkey monsters. Suddenly, he saw Xu Boyang, who was like a ghost, appearing and disappearing out of nowhere. One sword technique transformed into six frosty sword auras, like a dragon swinging its tail, invincible. In just a moment, all the twenty or thirty monkey monsters in the square in front of the hall were killed by him. He was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.

Xu Boyang landed on the ground, looked at the group of young cultivators, his eyes like lightning, and shouted:
"Where is your Patriarch Ji?"

An older monk said, "Senior, the head of the family should be guarding the Sutra Cave in the back mountain."

"Brother Zhang, gather everyone together first. Don't fight alone. It's best to clean up these minions one by one to prevent them from leaking information!"

Xu Boyang pulled the elder monk over, and they both flew away on their swords, turning into streams of light. The sound finally died down.

"I'll take care of the emergency first. When Brother Su comes down, you and he can come to the back mountain to find me!"

Zhang Guanzhi saw that Xu Boyang was extremely brave and could fight against many people alone, which was simply too outrageous. He himself had no opinion and had already followed Xu Boyang's lead in his heart. He immediately called on a group of young cultivators to search everywhere, kill the little demon, and collect the people.

"boom!"

When Xu Boyang stepped on the sword and stood up, there was a loud bang above his head, as if the thunder god was angry. He looked up.

Suddenly, a green spiritual energy like ripples appeared in the sky. Knowing that Su Yanlu intended to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and intimidate the monsters, and had already started fighting with the two wandering cultivators, he did not have time to think about it and flew quickly towards the back mountain in the direction pointed by the young cultivator!

Once Su Yanlu makes a move in the sky, the people in the mountains will definitely notice it and there will be chaos. This way, she can take advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack!

(End of this chapter)