Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 162, page 180: The Dragon-Grievous Insect King, the Tenth Level of Qi Induction, and the Envoy from Xuanming (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 2828)

Inside the underground palace, the dragon's grievances surged forth from the cauldron like a tide, and a ferocious dragon head was faintly visible in the dark green poisonous mist.

"The eight directions are locked in spirit, the earth's veins are restored to their proper places! Pardon!"

Zhao Wuji rushed into the underground palace, the array flags in his hand 'swish swish swish' like meteors falling to the ground.

Instantly, eight beams of blue light pierced into the eight directions of the altar.

The fragment of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot Map flew out of his hand, unfolding in mid-air with a 'whoosh'. The moment he activated it, it resonated with the chains on the cauldron, forcibly suppressing the surging dragon resentment back into the cauldron.

"Gah!" "Bah!"

Xiong Ba was so frightened that he shrank behind the stone pillar.

Zhao Wuji quickly formed hand seals and used a guiding technique. He pressed his palms to the ground and used the Earth Vein Qi-Seeking Technique to forcefully suppress the boiling resentment of the dragon vein.

The guiding light, like a tidal wave, swept over the altar, drawing out strands of resentment mixed with dragon energy, forming streams of dark green resentment.

Zhao Wuji patted the storage bag.

With a series of whooshing sounds, a large number of fasting pills flew out.

"go with!"

One hundred and eight fasting pills formed a celestial array, like a string of beads, surrounding the ancient cauldron.

A surge of dark green resentment immediately rushed into the Bigu Pill.

Zhao Wuji changed his hand gestures and used the "borrowing pills to cast spells" technique.

"receive!"

One hundred and eight talisman pills trembled violently, and dragon-shaped runes appeared on their surfaces as they twisted.

The spiritual energy was rapidly depleted.

Simultaneously activating 108 talisman pills to form a spell put him under immense pressure, causing beads of sweat to appear on his forehead.

"This is really terrible. The pressure of casting spells in a spiritless environment is completely different from casting spells in a cave!"

As the last wisp of dragon resentment entered the elixir, the ancient cauldron in front of him gradually calmed down, and Zhao Wuji let out a long breath.

They quickly retrieved all 108 talisman pills.

The dragon's resentment within the ancient cauldron has not been completely dispelled, but it has been somewhat appeased.

Zhao Wuji examined the pill in his hand, which had green dragon runes appearing on it, and could sense the resentment within it.

"I can use ingestion techniques to neutralize poison and turn it into nourishment. I wonder if I can refine this talisman pill?"

He pondered for a moment, then decided to find some test subjects first.

He immediately threw the talisman pill into the blood pool inside the Pot Heaven space.

"Eat."

"Buzz!"

The swarm of spirit-eating insects instantly wrapped the talisman pill into a golden cocoon.

Through the perception of the Pot Heaven, one can see that the insect armor blood pattern is devouring the dragon's resentment and transforming it into wisps of light golden spiritual liquid, which is ten times stronger than the remnants of the source crystal!
Soon, some of the spirit-eating insects' armor blood patterns suddenly lit up, their size expanded several times, and dragon-shaped runes appeared on their shells, exactly like those on the talisman pill.

Meanwhile, other spirit-eating insects emitted a piercing "squeak" sound, their carapaces quickly corroded by the dark green resentment, instantly stiffening and floating on the surface of the blood pool.

"There are actually those who can't withstand it?" Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted slightly as he sensed it through the pot-shaped sky.

Before the dead insects could sink to the bottom, they were torn apart and eaten by their own kind.

Even more astonishingly, half of the spirit-eating insects that were devoured a second time died from their carapaces shattering.

The remaining creatures completely refined the dark green resentment, and their insect bodies shone with a metallic dark gold luster, their wings flapping with a faint sound like a dragon's roar breaking through the air.

"Using resentment as a sieve, the law of the jungle prevails... it's just like the Gu poison breeding techniques of the Southern Frontier!"

He witnessed the swarm of insects in the blood pool spontaneously forming a brutal cycle.

Each round of devouring makes the survivors even stronger.

Finally, more than ten insect kings, with dark gold bodies and dragon scale patterns on their backs, emerged from their cocoons.

The remaining hundreds all became floating corpses.

As the Insect King flapped its wings, the blood pool's spiritual liquid was drawn into a spiral and submerged into its mouthparts.

Zhao Wuji suddenly chuckled: "So that's how it is! Although Dragon's Vengeance is poisonous, it has the effect of tempering the bodies of spirit-eating insects with poison. Survival of the fittest..."

He then threw in ten more talisman pills, and the blood pool immediately boiled like a purgatory.

This time, the Insect King actually took the initiative to transfer its resentment to ordinary spirit-eating insects.

After the prey dies, they then choose the best to eat, demonstrating a hunting wisdom.

"Excellent! If this method were used to cultivate insect swarms..."

He stared at the pale golden spiritual liquid that appeared in his palm, which was more than ten times purer than before. "Not only can I obtain a batch of powerful spiritual insects, but I can also turn waste into treasure and transform the dragon's resentment into usable spiritual insects and spiritual liquid."

Zhao Wuji was immediately motivated.

However, it was still very difficult for him to set up the formation, expel the dragon's resentment, and then find time to study the talismans all by himself.

"Shake people!"

Zhao Wuji immediately took out the Xuanji Peak Master's communication jade talisman and began to send a message to the cave to call for help.

"Immediately order Elder Xiang of the Array Hall to lead eight array masters to the Xuan Kingdom Imperial Mausoleum to assist in clearing away the dragon's resentment."

Meanwhile, in the ruins of Yunfeng Cave.

Within the crimson barrier, the surging crimson mist suddenly froze.

Inside a stone hall, a pale-faced man in an ancient Taoist robe raised his fingers from a lamp.

Within the lamp wick, the remnant soul of a garment in the style of the Northern Song Dynasty emitted a mournful cry. As many lights and shadows swept by, the scene of a valley vaguely appeared.

Then the image of the bound spirits reappeared before instantly collapsing.

"A master indeed. I never expected to encounter such a skilled manipulator of spirits in this degenerate age. It's a pity we couldn't track him down."

Huang Shang squinted and sighed, then coldly glanced at the kneeling ancient Taoist priest and the general wearing fish-scale armor.

The blood puppet threads binding the two of them were emitting an unnatural bluish glow.

"Two losers!"

Huang Chang's blood river surged from his sleeve, shattering the lotus crown on the Taoist's head. "We didn't get the Yin-Yang Twin Lotus in the Tiannan Secret Realm, nor did we get any other resources. Instead, the Blood Corpse Puppet was controlled by someone without even realizing it."

The ancient Taoist priest and the general remained silent, heads bowed, accepting whatever punishment they were given.

The blood river suddenly calmed down, and Huang Shang stroked the inscription "Chongning Tongbao" on the lamp, his tone softening: "However, you have recently driven away that so-called Yanling Ancestor and regained control of the Qian Kingdom, which is commendable."

"That small dragon vein in Qian Kingdom is at least being well-maintained."

Upon hearing this, the ancient Taoist priest hurriedly offered a piece of dragon marrow.

The golden dragon phantom swimming inside the dragon marrow is three times more solid than it was a few days ago; it is the result of their manipulation of the Qian Kingdom emperor's sacrificial ceremony.

"Indeed, though it falls short even a fraction of the dragon vein of Bianliang in the Song Dynasty."

Huang Shang suddenly coughed violently, black blood seeping from between his fingers. "But combined with the 'Dragon-Based Life Extension' chapter of the *Blood Lotus Crossing Calamity Sutra*, it's enough to prolong my life."

The ancient Taoist priest understood and whispered, "My lord, we may also obtain other dragon veins, and even spiritual veins."

I just received a message from the Blood Puppet outside: the dragon vein of the Xuan Kingdom controlled by the Linglang Cave Heaven has exploded and is in turmoil. Cave Master Zhong Kui has died, and the two new Cave Masters are seriously injured. The spiritual veins of the cave heaven are also unstable.

The fish-scale armor of the general clanged as he said, "The Azure Netherworld Cave Heaven is even more wonderful. Their cave master, Cheng Youlu, has already died. Now, the cave heaven is leaderless, and without a Condensation Realm expert to oversee it, the dragon vein of the Yu Kingdom and the spiritual vein of the cave heaven are highly sought-after."

This has already aroused the covetousness of Xuanxiao Cave Heaven and White Bone Cave Heaven. However…

The general hesitated and said, "It's just that the shocking events that have occurred in Xuan Kingdom have revealed that there are powerful experts lying in wait, and even the master of the Supreme Cave Heaven suffered a minor loss."

It may be related to the mysterious force that appeared in the secret realm, which is why both Xuanxiao Cave Heaven and Baigu Cave Heaven are still observing.

"Hehehe, they're all just a bunch of cowardly cowards."

Blood lotuses bloomed suddenly in Huang Shang's eyes: "What do I have to fear? I'll go and deliver the 'Blood River Token' to the Azure Netherworld Cave Heaven."

He flicked his finger and sent out a drop of blood essence, which landed and transformed into a red jade invitation card. "I, Huang Shang, wish to borrow the Azure Netherworld Cave for a while."

He paused, then turned to look south. "And there's the Linglang Grotto-heaven. I'm also interested in the mysterious force that connects these two grotto-heavens, but for now, I'll focus on Qingming. I need to make some contact with the Linglang Grotto-heaven."

He flicked his finger again, sending out another visiting card.

Four months passed quickly.

The border of the Xuan Kingdom, the location of the ninth Dragon Cauldron.

Zhao Wuji sat cross-legged on an ancient stone platform.

Eight array flags fluttered all around him, and the incomplete map of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot floated in front of him, emitting a faint golden light.

He extended his finger and tapped lightly, drawing the last trace of dragon resentment from the ancient cauldron into the talisman pill, finally completely clearing away the dragon resentment within the nine cauldrons.

"It's finally finished." He let out a long sigh of relief, a hint of fatigue flashing in his eyes, but more so with joy.

Seeing this, Elder Xiang of the Array Hall, who looked exhausted, also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned around to bow to Zhao Wuji.

"Congratulations, Peak Master Zhao! You have finally eliminated the dragon's resentment within the Nine Cauldrons. Peak Master's hard work and great achievements are truly admirable and we are all humbled!"

The surrounding array masters and disciples immediately followed suit, bowing and paying their respects.

"Alright, you're all tired. Leave two of you here to finish up, and the rest of you can go back to your grotto to collect your rewards."

Zhao Wuji waved his hand and laughed, while Xiong Ba, who exuded a powerful aura from his shoulder, also declared imposingly, "No seats! Collect your reward!"

Upon hearing this, the array masters immediately bowed in gratitude, then left the two behind and departed.

For the past four months, Zhao Wuji has led the people of the Array Hall to travel almost all over the Xuan Kingdom to clear the dragon's resentment from the Nine Cauldrons.

Not only did he obtain a large number of Resentment Talisman Pills, but he also made a major breakthrough in the art of talismans through the ancient talisman books and spells in the Cave Heaven Scripture Pavilion.

At this moment, a new message appeared on the surface of the second Yang Pearl: "Seventy-two Earthly Fiend Techniques - Talisman Water Technique: Beginner (67/100)"

This is the new Earthly Fiend Technique that he deciphered after studying dozens of ancient books and various talismans over the past four months.

With this talisman water technique, combined with pill-making and medical skills, there was finally a possibility of breaking the bloodline curse.

"Although I haven't reached the initial stage of mastery yet, I should be able to give it a try."

Zhao Wuji turned his gaze to two disciples in front of him who were arranging the array flags.

With a thought, he quietly activated the Dream Marriage Technique, his divine sense invading their consciousness like silk threads following their auras.

The two disciples froze instantly, their eyes widening in confusion.

He then cast a bloodline spell by making hand gestures.

The two men writhed in pain, and a large number of spiderweb-like blood vessels appeared under their skin, a shocking sight.

"As expected, they all have bloodline curses."

Zhao Wuji sighed inwardly.

Over the past four months, he has tried the Bloodline Curse on dozens of cultivators from various grotto-heavens, and the Bloodline Curse has been implanted in the bodies of almost all of them.

For the time being, he did not understand how this spell worked.

We can only speculate that it is related to dragon veins, dragon energy, and spiritual veins.

It is possible that anyone born in or who has lived in the Xuan Kingdom for a long time, nurtured by the water and soil of this dragon vein, and then entering the cave heaven, being placed under the Bewitching Curse, will slowly condense it into a bloodline curse within their body.

However, this bloodline curse is not usually visible; its terrifying nature is only revealed when a person who is proficient in the curse casts it.

Zhao Wuji could sense that the dark red curse patterns deep within the blood and bone marrow of these two people were like a bone-deep abscess, entwined in their blood vessels and gradually merging with their flesh.

Such a curse cannot be broken unless both of them are killed, even with a complete blood transfusion.

He took a deep breath and took out some spiritual spring water from the Pot Heaven space.

He made a hand seal to cast the Water Talisman Technique, and a stream of clear, water-like spiritual energy mixed into the spring water. It shot out from his fingertips, transforming into countless shimmering, tiny runes in the water mist, which seeped into the pores of the disciple in front of him.

"Talismanic water as the guide, pill-making as the medium, medicine as the foundation—breakthrough!"

He gave a low shout and quickly formed a hand seal with his fingers.

The three techniques were used simultaneously.

The spiritual power of the talisman water technique washed over the bloodline curse within the disciple's body like a clear spring.

The pill-making technique involves quickly kneading the talismanic water into a pill, then gradually peeling away the incantation power and covering the pill.

Medical techniques can quickly repair damaged blood vessels.

The dark red runes within the disciple's body began to tremble violently, his skin turning red like a scorched snake, as he struggled frantically.

"Come out!"

A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes.

With a "poof," the disciple suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a blood pill covered with dark red runes.

The moment the blood pill emerged, it quickly and completely disintegrated, turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating.

After the disciple spat out the blood pill, his body immediately went limp, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. He was not only exhausted, but his whole body was also swollen.

"It seems we'll have to combine this with the Gu healing technique and the Golden Needle Technique to minimize the damage to the human body."

Zhao Wuji looked at his disciple, who was utterly exhausted, and nodded slightly.

Then he looked at another person.

He did the same thing, except this time he waved his sleeve, and dozens of spirit-eating insect kings cultivated with the Dragon Vengeance Pill flew out from his sleeve.

"go."

With a light tap of his fingertip, the swarm of insects split into two groups, coordinating with a spell to cleanse the bloodline curse.

The first wave of burrows entered the disciple's mouth and body. The hair-thin mouthparts pierced the flesh and blood, secreting a pale golden spiritual liquid to help quickly repair the physical damage caused by the removal of the blood curse.

The swollen skin healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if aided by a gentle rain.

The second wave spread across the body's surface, and under the guidance of Zhao Wuji's golden needles, it expelled spiritual liquid at key acupoints such as "Baihui" and "Shanzhong".

The golden needles trembled, guiding the dragon energy from the spiritual liquid into the meridians, forcefully breaking through the acupoints blocked by blood stasis.

The second disciple also quickly broke the bloodline curse without suffering any physical damage.

"Success!"

Zhao Wuji's confidence also increased greatly.

Since he could easily break the bloodline curse in the bodies of two ordinary disciples, it was not impossible for him to remove the curse from Master Yan and acquaintances like Li Shiyu.

He waved his hand to dismiss the two disciples who were still under the control of the Dream Marriage Technique, and then got up and looked into the distance.

"Next, it's time to reconnect the dragon veins."

On the incomplete map of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot, five broken dragon veins are slowly wriggling, as if they could reconnect at any moment.

The dragon's resentment within the Nine Cauldrons has been eliminated, the backlash from the dragon vein has been greatly reduced, and the time is ripe for renewal.

These four months of eliminating the dragon's resentment were not in vain.

Despite being in a spiritless environment for a long time, the disciples of the Array Hall have been replaced batch after batch.

But he held his ground.

This was mainly due to the Dragon's Vengeance Talisman Pill, which was made using the ingestion technique, and the Golden Goblet Treasure Wine.

He could then match the speed of cultivation within a perfectly preserved cave.

Now, his cultivation has reached the tenth level of Qi Induction (65/600).

He had mastered the techniques of manipulating pills, guiding qi, and ingesting elixirs, reaching a level of consummate skill.

The former can "transform objects into pills", and can forcibly transform some low-level magical artifacts into pills.

The latter can draw upon the power of the stars for cultivation, and even guide it into the Pot Heaven space for storage, although the amount drawn in is somewhat less.

But in the degenerate age, it is like squeezing water out of the desert, an extra resource.

In addition, the art of ingesting food can transform into an internal furnace.

Now, almost anything that goes into your stomach can be refined, even dragon resentment can be refined into pure spiritual energy.

"Only my Qi-restricting techniques, swordsmanship, and Dream-marrying techniques haven't been improved yet."

Zhao Wuji recalled the dream scene transmitted by Gong Yu that he had sensed through the Dream Marriage Technique yesterday.

In that dream scene, a powerful cultivator in a python robe and jade belt stood on a spirit boat, with the 'Mysterious Brightness' jade pendant hanging from his waist.

Twelve cultivators stood in formation behind him, among whom a white-clad woman with an exceptional temperament caught his attention the most.

Because what the woman was wearing at her waist was not a 'Xuanming' jade pendant, but a jade pendant with the character 'flower' on it.

It is exactly the same as the one that Peak Master Hua Qingshuang often carries with her.

"That woman must be a member of the Hua clan?"

Zhao Wuji pondered, "Judging from the dream that Gong Yu, who accompanied us, sent back, these people should arrive in Tiannan in about ten days."

He leaped off the stone platform, collected the array flags around him, and prepared to return to the cave.

Suddenly, the jade talisman at my waist vibrated.

Hua Qingshuang's cold voice came: "Wuji, return immediately. Your senior uncle's bloodline curse is acting strangely."

"What!?"

Zhao Wuji's pupils suddenly contracted.

He had only recently figured out how to break the bloodline curse, so why did Master Yan's curse suddenly activate?

Unless the people of the Xuanming Dynasty have already activated the spell! But how could these people have arrived so quickly?
(End of this chapter)