Master of the Xuanyin Sect of Mount Shu

Chapter 4 Lu Rongbo

Several months later, Guan Minghui forged another beast-gathering banner with the Wood Demon as its main deity and placed it at his feet.

Not only can it help block the yin winds blowing from the earth's core, but the wood demon can also absorb the useful essence of black afflictions and earthly evils in the yin winds with its three auxiliary souls and temporarily swallow them.

After the wind subsides, he will spit it out and present it to Guan Minghui.

Guan Minghui would only take eight-tenths each time, leaving the remaining two-tenths for them to absorb, refine their primordial spirit, and nourish their banner bodies.

He used the Xuan Yin Refining Soul Method to nourish his primordial spirit and the Tai Yin Refining Form Method to nourish his physical body.

Xuan Yin and Tai Yin are both alternative names for the moon, and the lineages named after them all originate from the moon, only one emphasizes internal cultivation and the other focuses on external cultivation.

The spirit refined by Xuan Yin is blood-red, while the blood refined by Tai Yin is emerald green.

Both surged into the long-parched energy and blood vessels, flowing ceaselessly.

After more than a year, his body had basically recovered, but there were still seven holes in his heart, and he occasionally bled.

His entire body was ashen, and his black hair grew to three or four zhang long, spreading out beneath the stone bed.

The ten fingernails on both hands were about a foot long, as hard as iron, and as sharp as knives.

The senses in the eyes, ears, nose, and other organs gradually returned.

His body was still very stiff, and he could only sit up with difficulty.

He estimated that if he continued to cultivate like this for another two years, he would be able to walk on the ground.

Although the Fire Cloud Chain limits his movement to within three zhang around the stone bed, he can now live and sit like a normal person.

On this day, a man and a woman, both around sixteen or seventeen years old, flew over Lingyu Cliff. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful. Each rode a sword light and flew side by side over the cliff.

The boy suddenly said, "Senior Sister Lu, look, the vegetation on this hillside is taller and denser than elsewhere. The trees have thick trunks and leaves, and the fruit grows in abundance. There are exotic flowers and rare herbs everywhere. Could there be some treasure hidden underground?"

The woman appeared to be about his age, but her gaze was calm and composed, her spirit focused and her energy abundant. She had already cultivated her inner core and possessed the qualities of a wandering immortal. However, she had not yet undergone the process of refining the core to completely complete the golden elixir.

Her name is Lu Rongbo, and her father, Lu Min, is an unofficial disciple of the Blissful Immortal.

The father and daughter usually cultivate at Rabbit Cliff, which is about a hundred miles away from here.

The boy's name was Yang Li. His master, Ling Xuzi Cui Haike, was the island lord of Juping Island in the South China Sea and a friend of Lu Min. He had brought his young apprentice to visit him over a month ago.

The elders played chess and chatted every day, exchanging ideas on alchemy. The two younger ones also practiced swordsmanship and cultivated together. After finishing their daily tasks, they would collect rare flowers and herbs to decorate their cave dwelling.

After listening to Yang Li's explanation, Lu Rongbo stopped the sword light and looked down. She also found it very strange: "I live nearby and have passed by here a few times. I don't remember anything unusual."

The two used magic to part the low bushes and grass, and landed in the forest.

Yang Li was both surprised and excited when he saw a wisteria vine winding around a tree: "Isn't this the Jade Fruit Immortal Fruit? It's so thick and has produced so many fruits!"

The wisteria vine was several meters long, twining around a poplar tree. Its leaves resembled those of a wild mulberry, with five leaves clustered together, each bearing a fruit with a red stem and green skin, shaped like a kumquat.

Yang Li explained, “This is the Jade Spirit Fruit, a kind of immortal herb with the strongest vitality. It can greatly nourish the liver and kidneys. It is one of the main ingredients in my master’s Six Yang Bone-Changing Elixir! Goodness, I have never seen such a robust one before! It’s perfect to take it by the roots and transplant it back to add splendor to my senior sister’s immortal abode.”

He was talking as he walked forward when Lu Rongbo suddenly called out to stop him: "Don't go over there!"

With a flick of his white robe sleeves, a dazzling sword light flew out from beneath the sleeves, leaping like lightning. Wherever it passed, tree branches and grass stems were cut in half and fell to the ground, revealing piles of white bones beneath the trees!

The skeletons of three bears, two serpents, and one mandrill—a total of six ferocious beasts—had all disintegrated and shattered, mixed together.

The six creatures were enormous, their bones piled up like a small mountain.

Yang Li still didn't understand: "Is Senior Sister worried that there might be even more powerful ferocious beasts nearby?"

In his view, what was there to fear about wild beasts? No matter how fierce or evil they were, as long as they hadn't cultivated into demons, they were still flesh and blood. He could simply release his flying sword and kill them.

Lu Rongbo said, "There is not a trace of flesh or blood left on these skeletons, not even a shred of meat. The marrow has also been drained. Obviously, they were not eaten by other wild animals. To me, they look like they died from the evil magic of some heretical sorcerers!"

She warily scanned her surroundings, then suddenly pointed, and her flying sword shot forward, cleaving a large poplar tree, so thick that it would take ten people to encircle it, in half. The tree crashed to the ground, startling rabbits and foxes into scattering in the jungle.

Lu Rongbo walked up to the tree and examined the cross-section of the trunk. Her tense expression eased slightly: "This tree didn't become a demon. It must have been a demon who killed wild beasts and piled them up under the tree to form an array for practicing evil arts."

"Senior sister, do you know what kind of evil magic this demon practices? Which school of thought does he follow?"

Lu Rongbo slowly shook her head, looking around worriedly: "Let's look under other trees again, they should all be there."

The two checked several more old trees and, sure enough, found piles of animal bones under them.

Yang Li was only sixteen years old, had only been a disciple for three years, and had only recently mastered the flying sword. He was in the prime of his youth, full of youthful passion.

He was eager to try: "Let's cut down all these trees piled with animal bones first, then wait for the demon to come so we can slay the demons and exorcise evil spirits!"

Lu Rongbo, however, was very cautious: "We can't easily alert the enemy. I don't understand this sorcerer's methods either. I should go back and consult my father and Uncle Cui to find out the sorcerer's background before we make a move."

Yang Li greatly respected and even admired this senior sister, and he agreed with everything she said.

The two quickly left Lingyu Cliff and flew back to Rabbit Cliff, where they found Cui Haike and Lu Min.

Yang Li saw that the senior brother from Juping Island was standing next to Cui Haike. Before he could ask any questions, Cui Haike told him, "A yellow alligator has come to the island. Your senior brother is no match for it. The island's protective formation is in grave danger. We must hurry back!"

Yang Li didn't have time to say goodbye to Lu Rongbo, so he had to leave in a hurry with his master and senior brother.

After the two left, Lu Rongbo quickly told Lu Min about the strange things she had seen at Lingyu Cliff.

She had assumed that her father, who hated evil, would surely curse her, saying, "What kind of demon dares to practice evil magic under my nose?" and then take her with him to slay the demon.

Unexpectedly, Lu Min looked towards Lingyu Cliff for a moment, then waved her hand and shook her head: "Let's not concern ourselves with what happens there."

Lu Rongbo asked in confusion, "Is Father worried that the sorcerer is too powerful and that we are no match for him?"

Lu Min frowned: "No matter what kind of demon he is, can he scare your father? Even if I am no match for him, I can go to Huangshan and ask your Uncle Canxia to come and help us slay the demon together!"

He paused, and seeing the look of curiosity on his daughter's face, he reluctantly said, "You don't know, many years ago, the Emei Sect's leader, Master Changmei, once killed a heretical sorcerer known as the Xuan Yin Sect Master."

The demon, relying on his supernatural powers, acted lawlessly. Even though the Long-Browed Immortal was about to ascend to immortality, he could not completely destroy him. So he sealed his broken body and primordial spirit inside the belly of the Spirit Jade Cliff.

The master left a prophecy, saying that the demon would be resurrected and reborn as a demon corpse in a hundred years, at which time disciples of the Emei Sect would come to slay the corpse and exorcise the demon.

When Lu Rongbo heard that it was the Long-Browed Immortal, she knew that he was a master of the same generation as the Patriarch, the Blissful Immortal, so she nodded: "Since the Long-Browed Immortal had made arrangements in advance, the demon will probably not be able to run rampant anymore."

But… that sorcerer is already practicing evil arts in the mountains, harming the wild beasts. If Father could, he could eliminate him beforehand, wouldn't that save many lives, accumulate good karma, and benefit his path to enlightenment?”

“What do you know!” Lu Min told her daughter with a serious expression, “The Long-Browed Immortal is recognized by all the immortals in the world for thousands of years as the number one Taoist and the leader of the Xuanmen.”

He couldn't eliminate the demon at that time, and left behind a prophecy that the demon would be completely destroyed more than a hundred years later. Before that, no matter how hard others tried, it would be in vain.

"If things go wrong, it could backfire, releasing the demon prematurely, causing havoc on humanity, and bringing about a great disaster!"

Lu Rongbo thought about it and agreed. Since the Long-Browed Immortal had made arrangements in advance, that demon probably wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

Moreover, even if the father and daughter succeed in slaying the demon corpse at this time, it would break the prophecy of Master Changmei. Their grandmaster and Master Changmei were close friends, which would not look good on the Emei Sect.

As for Yang Li, he returned to Juping Island in the South China Sea with his master, and with the full strength of the sect, finally killed the Yellow Crocodile.

He kept this matter in mind, so he told his master, Cui Haike.

Cui Haike felt that he should support her: "What your senior sister Lu learned was taught by her grandmaster, the Blissful Immortal. You have received her guidance, and although you only have a superficial understanding, you have already benefited a lot."

The orthodox cultivation methods of the Xuanmen emphasize both internal and external skills. Slaying demons and eliminating evil is the way to accumulate external skills. Your aptitude is above that of your fellow disciples. Since you have this opportunity, you should not miss it.

"As your master, I will lead your fellow disciples to refine the Dragon Pearl. Go back to Rabbit Cliff and report to your Uncle Lu, where you will receive orders to slay the demon alongside him and his daughter!"

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(End of this chapter)