Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

In a secluded spot in Xianjing, a young man named Xiulan stood with his hands behind his back in a stone pavilion, leisurely admiring the clusters of flowers among the rocks in front of him, among which was a red flower with six petals and three leaves.

Autumn has arrived, and most flowers and plants cannot escape the cycle of the seasons, but this flower is in full bloom. Its petals have fine, thread-like patterns, and its entire body is deep red like blood, emitting a sweet fragrance.

"The five realms are the seeds, the grass and weeds are the fertilizer. It takes root in three months, sprouts in two hundred and three months, forms buds in three hundred and three months, and blooms in four hundred and three months. It truly deserves the name Thousand Blood Flower, for it blooms so beautifully."

Xiu Lan reached out her finger and gently touched the petals, causing them to sway and cast blood-red shadows on the mounds of earth.

Has the Blood Flower been successfully cultivated?

"Never."

"Has the method for processing the Thousand Blood Flower been deduced?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Qinglin bowed slightly and replied, "We have tried soaking, boiling, simmering, refining, stir-frying, boiling, roasting, baking, calcining, and so on, but none of them worked."

Xiu Lan's smile remained unchanged: "So, all these years of painstakingly withholding the ten Thousand Blood Flowers offered as tribute have been wasted?"

"Ten Thousand Blood Flowers, when combined with a powerful elixir, can yield ten Blood Pills. The effect of one of these pills is equivalent to three months of continuous cultivation by a second-tier cultivator."

"Even though I can only eat one every two months, that's enough for me for almost two years. Am I just going to throw it away like that?"

Huang Qinglin trembled and dared not answer.

Seeing this, Xiu Lan sighed and said, "It seems the old man was still holding back."

"Has this batch all been harvested and replanted?"

Huang Qinglin replied, "All twenty-one blood fields in the seven locations in the Northwest have been planted. The same applies to the twelve blood fields in the four locations in the South. The three locations in the Southwest are also safe. Only the blood fields in the Huai River region have not been planted due to the recent situation."

"The previous batch of forty-five Thousand Blood Flowers were all delivered to the Dragon Blood Protector."

Xiu Lan nodded slightly and said calmly, "Don't rush the blood fields in Lianghuai. Just wait a little longer. Perhaps using the martial bodies of first-tier cultivators, or even second-tier grand cultivators, as seeds and fertilizer would be more effective?"

"Give it a try!"

Huang Qinglin hesitated, paused, and cautiously asked, "Do you really think the other side will send another Tier 2 fighter?"

"Of course, this is both a good opportunity to demonstrate our strength and to probe their capabilities; the other side will not remain indifferent."

"But where did they get so many cultivators?"

Xiu Lan's expression showed a hint of interest, and he said with a faint smile, "The world has undergone great changes, and secret realms have appeared frequently. There are many people who secretly harbor ill intentions. There is the Linlang Literary Alliance in Lianghuai, the Lusong Literary and Martial Association in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian, and there are also forces in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. In particular, in this Immortal Capital City, literary and martial arts practitioners gather in large numbers, and they all have their most treasured secrets."

"But that's fine too, isn't it more interesting?"

Huang Qinglin sighed inwardly. This method, which requires devout people to commit suicide to cultivate blood flowers and aid in cultivation, is probably the only one of its kind in the world.

Cultivation is fast, but after consuming the Blood Pill, anyone who hasn't consumed it looks delicious, and it becomes even more difficult to draw vital energy into the body for cultivation.

There's no going back.

"The Ning and Rong mansions have been keeping a close eye on things, but Jia Tang is still the same as before. He spends five days training his troops and five days hunting animals, and his household guards and tiger guards are all present and accounted for."

Xiu Lan asked nonchalantly, "Where is the second-tier cultivator hiding in the shadows? Where are the Zhao brothers? And the people from the other seven prefectures?"

"None of them match up yet."

"It's alright, just wait it out, they'll eventually slip up."

Huang Qinglin's expression changed slightly, and his lips moved slightly but he did not make a sound.

Xiu Lan glanced at him and asked with a smile, "Are you heartbroken because some of your clansmen died?"

"no."

Xiu Lan sighed, seemingly losing interest in appreciating the flowers. Wisps of literary energy surged from her fingertips as she plucked the flower, stem and all, and turned to walk into the room.

"I arranged your father's official position, and the cultivators in your clan broke through their limits by using my resources."

"So, it's okay if a few people die for me, isn't it?"

"Besides, they didn't die in vain. Didn't they become sacred pills that your clan's cultivators scrambled for? It can be considered a continuation of the lineage and a passing down of the torch."

"The more people die, the more I reward."

"only!"

"Send a message to Mo Yun: find Xu Yuan and cut off his head."

"That old Xu fellow is too scheming; let's teach him a lesson."

"only!"

"Send a message to the south: kill one of their second-tier enemies first, so they can continue to add manpower."

"only!"

...

On the third day of the tenth month, the moon was not visible that night, and the dark clouds were heavy.

Qimei Mountain is located between Suzhou and Hong County. It is thousands of feet high, with steep and undulating terrain. The forest is so dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face.

Just as the rain was about to fall, the clouds in the sky suddenly changed.

A dense aura pierced through the sea of ​​clouds, from which hung an eight-sided Han sword formed from azure aura. The tip of the sword carried astonishing killing intent as it thrust straight toward the cave halfway up the mountain.

The Han sword transformed into a streak of blue light, piercing the night with overwhelming momentum, and struck in an instant!

"Bang!"

Instead of the imagined cataclysmic upheaval, an invisible circular membrane quietly appeared, upon which flowed three-colored primordial energy, like exquisite silk wrapping the sword tip, emitting a dull sound like a drumstick striking a heavy cowhide drum, before dissipating along with it.

"Hmph, found the rat's nest."

A cold snort echoed in the sky, followed by sword energies fourteen or fifteen feet long descending from the air, determined to kill the creatures inside the cave.

Suddenly, a figure silently stood up on the open ground in front of the cave. He was wearing a dark robe and a mask with unknown patterns. A blue glow emanated from behind the holes in his eyes, from which thin green light shot out as he charged forward.

"Ah, a rat's nest?"

After the emerald light extinguished the sword energy, its remaining force shattered the clouds, revealing the three people flying through the air inside.

"If I didn't intentionally expose anything, would you be able to touch me?"

"Three second-tier cultivators, two scholars and one warrior, quite a formidable force. It's a pity your paths to enlightenment are about to end; kneeling and bowing your heads might allow you to survive!"

The three people in the sky changed their expressions slightly upon hearing this. The leader said coldly, "Bluster? I don't believe that you bunch of brutes from the North have three great cultivators among you."

"It's just a southern branch of a clandestine force; having one or two powerful cultivators stationed there is enough."

Li Jia, hidden behind the mask, shook his head and sighed. "If it weren't for the boss leading reinforcements, you would have guessed right."

If no one comes, I won't deliberately leave any loose ends, letting the other party fall into my trap.

"Your answer is wrong; you have no way to live and are destined for death."

"Let's do it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, unusual phenomena appeared in the east, north, south, and west, in addition to the east where Li Jia was located.

The East is azure and emerald, the South is ablaze with fiery light, the North is brimming with literary spirit, and the West is a vast expanse of ink!

In particular, the southern fiery aura stretched endlessly, flashing continuously in the sky, illuminating the sky above Qimei Mountain as if it were daytime!

The three surrounded men were taken aback: "Two scholars and two warriors? You actually have a scholar among you?!"

Fortunately, they did not use their supernatural powers immediately in order to conceal their identities.

"Then let's put on a show!"