Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 214 Ancient Battlefield, Pursuit in the Demon Ruins
Song Yan sat opposite him, with Xiao Ju and Xiao He on either side, not wanting to lose in terms of presence.

"The ancient battlefield of the Immortal Dynasty?"

He pondered.

Song Yan had naturally heard of the Celestial Dynasties. In ancient times, not only the Tang Dynasty, but also various small border states had established their own Celestial Dynasties.

Where there is a celestial dynasty, there will be emperors.

Where there are emperors, there will be ambition.

There were constant frictions and conflicts between the various immortal dynasties, with Changping being the largest battlefield in the past.

However, although Changping is the largest battlefield of the Xianchao Dynasty in historical records, it cannot be called an ancient battlefield.

After the Battle of Changping, the strength and foundation of each immortal dynasty plummeted, and they quickly declined.

As for what event ultimately led to the complete evolution and disappearance of the Immortal Dynasty, Song Yan had no way of knowing.

Even though the Battle of Changping was a fierce and chaotic battle in history, and many cultivators must have left behind a great deal of treasure, the scale of the battle was simply too large and was known to everyone.

Over the years, no matter how many treasures were left behind, they have all been dug up.

The fact that they called me all this way, and what big deal they were talking about, makes it all clear what they meant by the ancient battlefield that Sheng Nian was referring to.

"What? Could it be that you know of an ancient battlefield ruin that no one has ever explored?"

"It really is."

Sheng Nian took out an ancient talisman from his Qiankun bag. The talisman was red and purple, with some ancient runes on it, and placed it on the table.

"I came to Yijiang to explore the tomb of an ancient cultivator. I never expected that this cultivator was once a general under a local general in the ancient Qin Dynasty."

"His cave contains many treasures, and this talisman is one of them placed in the most central position."

Recalling everything that happened in the secret realm, Sheng Nian sighed softly: "I went through a lot of trouble to retrieve this item. The seal that sealed it was extremely strange. Forcibly breaking the seal actually caused my cultivation level to drop."

Sheng Nian shook his head: "When we were exploring that cave and mausoleum, no one knew what this thing was for, so no one was willing to be the first to break the restriction."

"However, during subsequent explorations, some autobiographies and military treatises left behind by this person were discovered, which contained several descriptions of a battle from that year."

"It appears to be a small-scale battle fought between three armies belonging to different ancient immortal dynasties in Yangling back then."

Song Yan suddenly interrupted and asked, "Yangling? Where is that now?"

"Right here, east of the Yi River."

Sheng Nian spoke up, saying, "According to this person's records, this battle was extremely fierce, with the armies of the three immortal dynasties evenly matched."

"But for some reason, the battle was stopped by the respective monarchs before it was over, and the battlefield was sealed off before it could be cleaned up."

"This man was ordered by his general to seek reinforcements and was lucky enough to survive. However, he still harbored resentment about that battle and thought there was something strange about it. He always wanted to return to that battlefield to find out the truth."

"This talisman is one of the keys he obtained through various means to enter that ancient battlefield."

Sheng Nian changed the subject: "However, this matter is obviously far from simple. That sealing formation is not an ordinary formation. Even with this item, it is impossible to enter. Perhaps something important is missing."

"This person then used the excuse of keeping vigil for his old friend to build a cave near the site of the battle years ago, secretly searching for a way to break the formation."

"Although the formation was not ultimately broken, he did discover some patterns. In short, the formation would reach its weakest point of restriction approximately every sixty years."

"By then, some of the seals in this formation will be broken. If we then use this talisman again, we will most likely be able to enter it."

Song Yan frowned: "Every sixty years?"

Sheng Nian nodded: "That's right. That cultivator back then didn't have much time left to live, so naturally he didn't live to see the outcome."

He made a desperate attempt before his death, but failed, and eventually passed away with resentment in his heart.

Chen Jiping, Xiao He, and Xiao Ju all listened attentively to the conversation between Sheng Nian and Song Yan.

Only the corpse puppet A Yuan was lost in thought, while a crow leisurely perched on his shoulder, looking at him with some curiosity.

The corpse puppet reached out to touch the crow's head, but was pecked by Xianxian, leaving a small wound on its palm.

Fortunately, he was already dead and felt no pain.

He seemed completely unconcerned about such a shocking secret.

On the contrary, it was Song Gongzi's little crow that made him happy.

"So, that weakest point in time has arrived?" Song Yan asked.

"Not yet." Sheng Nian shook his head: "But it should be soon, at the shortest two years, at the longest five years."

He took out a red communication talisman from his Qiankun bag and tossed it to Song Yan.

"This talisman is divided into two parts, which can only be used for the two of us to transmit our voices. As long as we do not leave the territory of Chu, the transmission can reach us."

This was clearly a rather unique communication talisman. Song Yan played with it for a while before putting it away.

"Are you just going to wait here?" he asked, somewhat puzzled.

Sheng Nian waved his hand: "I can't just wait around. I need to recuperate here and start working on my foundation building."

He looked at Song Yan and said, "You are now at the ninth level of Qi Refining. If you have the opportunity, you should try to establish your foundation as soon as possible."

"I suspect there is more than one ancient talisman; there will likely be other cultivators entering that ancient battlefield."

"If both of us can enter it at the Foundation Establishment stage, our chances of finding the treasures inside will be much greater."

Establish your foundation as soon as possible...

It's easier said than done.

However, Song Yan nodded nonetheless.

“Aren’t there still many cultivators chasing you outside? Rest and recuperate here…” He changed the subject: “Aren’t you afraid that you’ll be forced into a dead end again and I’ll have to come and rescue you?”

“Hey.” Sheng Nian couldn’t help but chuckle at this point.

"I wanted to run away earlier because I didn't expect these people to move so quickly, and I was all alone. I only regret that I wasn't strong enough..."

"Things are very different now."

"With Sword Immortal Young Master Song's help, why are we still running? Why don't we switch tactics and wipe out these bastards in one fell swoop? Don't you think so, Sword Immortal Song?"

"Not to mention..." He looked at Song Yan with a smile.

"Among this group, there are quite a few cultivators from the Demon Ruins who have been instructed by Liu Ciming of the Yellow Springs Path to hunt you down."

“If we kill these people one by one, it will not only vent my anger, but also make Master Song’s travels smoother. Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?”

Song Yan frowned: "Demon Ruins?"

"The lair of demonic cultivators."

In his prime, he succinctly stated: "My future world."

"Strictly speaking, it is not actually in this realm, but rather in the narrow space between the human realm and the prison gate of the underworld."

"The four major demonic sects, namely the Asura Sect, the Yellow Springs Path, the Demon Seed Path, and the Joyful Union Sect, all have their roots in it."

Sheng Nian looked relaxed, showing no concern for his good brother: "You ruined Liu Ciming's good deed in Changping, so naturally they want you dead."

"But don't worry, you're just a Qi Refining cultivator. As long as you don't come to their doorstep, Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators won't bother risking their lives to hunt you down all over the world."

"And those Qi Refining cultivators are no match for you."

Song Yan suddenly realized that the so-called big deal was just a pre-announcement.

Otherwise, it would seem somewhat unnecessary for someone to travel all this way just to talk about something that will happen several years from now.

Their real purpose was to join forces with him to kill these cultivators who were hunting him down. He chuckled, "It seems that Young Master Sheng isn't doing so well in the demonic path."

"It's understandable that these Demon Ruins brothers are chasing after me, but why do they want to kill you?"

Sheng Nian sighed deeply, feigning seriousness: "Alas, it's a long story, I'd better not go into it."

It didn't matter; Song Yan wasn't particularly interested in knowing either.

"Tell me, where are those cultivators from the Demon Ruins now?"

Sheng Nian shook his head: "No rush."

He casually pointed, and Song Yan followed his gaze to the demonic cultivator who had been abandoned in a corner by the corpse puppet A Yuan.

The man was covered in blood and barely breathing; he had clearly lost the ability to resist.

"You should know that you can know anytime."

"Let's divide these treasures up first."

With a wave of his hand, Sheng Nian's corpse puppet, A Yuan, understood and placed all the Qiankun bags in front of the two of them.

Song Yan raised his eyes slightly and discovered that in just a short while, the intelligent corpse puppet had actually started playing with the crow.

Why does this corpse feel so familiar to me?
"..."

While he was pondering, Sheng Nian had already broken all the restrictions on the Qiankun bags one by one.

"In accordance with the grace of Master Song saving my life, all these things should rightfully belong to you."

Sheng Nian grinned and rubbed his hands together excitedly: "However, among the treasures these people obtained from that cave, there is one that is of great significance to me. I hope Immortal Master Song will be generous enough to part with it."

"What is it?" Song Yan asked casually.

In his prime, he took out an oval-shaped spirit jade from a Qiankun bag. It was dark gold in color and had a smooth, warm texture.

It is small enough to be held in the palm of your hand, and under the light, a faint golden light flows within the jade.

"Dujue Ancient Jade".

In his prime, he held the ancient jade in both hands, lifted it up, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Seeing how seriously he was taking this object, Song Yan couldn't help but ask with curiosity, "What is its purpose?"

"In this path of cultivation, whether you kill people, demons, or monsters, you will accumulate malevolent energy on your body."

"This kind of thing is invisible and intangible, but it is hidden on the body. It is nothing special in ordinary times, but once you break through the bottleneck, it can be fatal."

Song Yan frowned; this explanation did sound somewhat similar to the concept of inner demons.

Sheng Nian glanced at him: "For righteous cultivators like you, whether it's self-defense or slaying demons, you've killed some cultivators or demons. That bit of malevolent aura is negligible. You don't even need any treasures. After a few years of quiet cultivation, it will dissipate on its own."

"I'm different. My cultivation level was all earned through fighting, and my body is filled with an overwhelming amount of killing intent."

Song Yan pondered for a moment and asked, "Can this item dispel inner demons?"

Sheng Nian pondered for a moment, then said with a strange expression, "No."

"Inner demons cannot be eliminated by any external means. So-called talismans, formations, and pills can only assist and suppress them. To eliminate inner demons, one can only rely on mental cultivation. Outsiders cannot help."

Sheng Nian put away the Dujue Ancient Jade: "I only want this item; everything else is yours."

Song Yan pushed back the Qiankun bags containing Jiang Chen and the two cultivators killed by the corpse puppet A Yuan.

“Your fellow Daoist has also contributed a lot; I, Song, am not worthy of such a reward.”

"Okay, okay, hehe."

Sheng Nian took out some treasures from his Qiankun bag and offered them to Song Yan to choose from.

"These are all things I obtained from that cave. Take what you like."

What he gained from that cave and tomb was mainly three things.

The ancient talisman was one thing, and all the spiritual herbs and plants in the herb garden were another.

The third is a supremely spiritual substance of the metal and earth elements, called "Sinking Sand Mysterious Gold".

The rest were just odds and ends, not worthy of Song Yan's approval.

He didn't mince words with Sheng Nian; having saved a dog's life, it was only right to take a little something from his pocket.

First, he swept over the medicinal herbs and plants.

It must be said that, setting aside the ancient talisman, the most valuable of these items is the elixir.

Many medicinal herbs and plants are over several hundred years old.

However, to Song Yan's disappointment, after a thorough inspection, he did not find any trace of the Fallen Vine.

Without hesitation, Song Yan immediately picked out the dark gold and sand.

It would be a lie to say that Sheng Nian wasn't heartbroken, but when she thought about how Song Yan had given her a fine knife, she felt more at ease.

In his original plan, this sedimentary black gold was intended to be used to forge blades.

Now that Old Song has directly gifted him a precious sword, he's saved himself the trouble of forging it.

Originally, Song Yan had stopped deliberately pursuing supreme spiritual objects, since even if he fused with supreme spiritual objects, his cultivation speed would no longer increase before his Dao foundation was established.

However, now that he is facing the foundation building stage, his thoughts have changed.

In the cultivation world, the foundation-building process for cultivators is not clearly divided into different ranks.

However, the cultivation techniques a cultivator practices, the Taoist arts they practice year after year, and even the magical artifacts, talismans, formations, and elixirs they use will all affect the foundation of their cultivation.

Without a doubt, no two cultivators in the world can build the same Dao foundation.

Therefore, there will always be a distinction between good and bad in the unseen world.

It seems that the sword seed that has sprouted beneath the Sword Palace, which is the foundation of my Spirit-Slaying Sword, is the very sword that I have planted.

So, if one could refine more spiritual objects before establishing one's foundation, could one somehow improve the quality of one's foundation?
After all, this is almost the simplest and most direct thing I can do.

Song Yan put away the remaining Qiankun bags one by one.

"When should we make our move? Let's settle this matter quickly, I still need to go to Longquan Prefecture."

Sheng Nian nodded, signaling the corpse puppet A Yuan to drag the demonic cultivator to the center of the stone chamber.

The cultivator, whose cultivation had been crippled, no longer pretended to be unconscious. His body was limp as mud, and with a rag stuffed in his mouth, he could only utter muffled whimpers.

He was filled with despair. In his prime, he talked to Song Yan about these secret matters without any attempt to hide his own existence.

Without a doubt, in his eyes, he was a dead man from the very beginning.

A Yuan held Sheng Nian's head with one hand, like holding a chicken waiting to be slaughtered, and respectfully faced him: "Young Master, please."

"Thank you for your trouble." Sheng Nian leaned lazily against the stone bench, and a wisp of dark purple demonic energy suddenly shot out from his fingertips, coiling around the demonic cultivator's brow like a nimble little snake.

He turned to Song Yan and grinned, "Don't be offended by these underhanded, demonic methods."

Having said that, he said no more, and a magical light suddenly shone from his fingertips.

The wisp of demonic energy suddenly pierced the cultivator's brow, causing him to convulse, his eyes to bulge, and veins to throb wildly beneath his pale skin.

Xiao Ju was terrified.

(End of this chapter)