Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

With a thought, Jia Tang summoned the Tiger Demon Banner, which flew over instantly. He opened his mouth to absorb the spotless banner into his dantian and nurtured it. Then, he pulled Yan Chixia into the main hall and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. I don't think the remaining demons will cause any trouble."

Yan Chixia pursed his thick lips, chuckled dryly, and bowed, saying, "Senior's divine might is boundless, and your methods are truly extraordinary."

"Oh, not at all. What kind of senior is this? In the end, he still won by relying on the Heavenly Venerable's incantation he exchanged with you. It's nothing special."

Jia Tang smiled and waved his hand, pulling the startled Nie Xiaoqian into his arms. He stroked her cold, ghostly body and asked, "May I ask, fellow Daoist, does your sword box possess the power to contain Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed?"

"Yes, the sword box is a magical artifact bestowed upon me by my master. The Mustard Seed Sumeru is because a master craftsman infused the Sumeru Stone into the sword box."

Where can I buy storage artifacts? Or where can I buy cultivation techniques?

Yan Chixia pondered for a moment: "The closest one to here is the Qiantang Li Family Auction House in Hangzhou Prefecture, but most of the cultivation techniques there are incomplete or of low level. There are also auction houses in the prefectures and counties around the ancestral temples of the three righteous sects, and the situation is similar."

"Brother Yan, is the currency for this transaction spirit stones?"

"Spirit stones and rare and precious materials are both acceptable."

Jia Tang nodded and asked with a faint smile, "Now that all the evil spirits have been eliminated, where do you plan to go next, fellow Daoist?"

"I have lived here since I condensed my golden core in the cave of my ancestors ten years ago. I have been away from the mountain gate for more than twenty years now. Now that all the evil spirits have been eliminated, I am preparing to return to the mountain gate to cultivate in seclusion for a while."

Jia Tang nodded slightly and continued, "Next, our group plans to travel the world, and we may go to Shu. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you, fellow Daoist."

Yan Chixia laughed heartily and said generously, "Of course, of course. I, Yan, will certainly do my best as a host and invite you and your party to taste the strength of my sect's sword wine."

"Haha, thank you in advance."

"Not at all, not at all. I have also benefited greatly from observing the Daoist diagrams within your clan, and I should be the one to thank you."

As the two were chatting happily, Jia He led his troops back with five retainers, bringing back the corpses of the two demons and the remnants left behind after the ghosts had vanished.

Jia Tang looked at the huge locust tree and the poisonous toad, then turned to look at Yan Chixia.

Yan Chixia sighed. How could someone so powerful know nothing?

He gestured and introduced each item: "The core of the locust tree at the peak of the Golden Core stage contains the essence of the tree, which cultivators can absorb. However, the resentment must be removed. Once the core is removed, the locust tree will immediately wither. This is a common problem for plant-type demons, which is far inferior to the flesh of demon beasts."

"The green poisonous toad in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm contains a demon core, which can be refined into a cultivator's fake core or used to refine the elixir 'Golden Core'. The toad has poison glands on its back, and although some toxins remain after they are removed, it is edible and can be used to refine elixirs. It is a great tonic for low-level cultivators. The toad skin, long tongue, and eyes can be used as materials for magic weapons."

Upon hearing that it was edible, the guards' eyes lit up with greed as they stared intently at the toad's massive body. Whether it tasted good or not was uncertain, but it was certainly more nourishing than any of the medicinal herbs and spirit beasts in the manor.

Yan Chixia then pointed to the various remnants left behind by ghosts and said, "The soul powder left behind by Golden Core stage ghosts after their death is the essence. It can be used for cultivation or healing at the same level or below, and it is also the main ingredient in the precious elixir that prevents demonic possession—the Heart-Clearing Pill!"

"The natal bones of a mid-stage Golden Core Skeleton Demon can be used to make magical artifacts, but we righteous sects have always disliked them, while the demonic sects prefer them."

"Ore - Bloodstained Stone, a remnant of the Black Mountain Demon's natal spirit treasure after its dissipation, and one of the materials for refining demonic spirit treasures."

"The Ten Thousand Bones Banner is a low-grade demonic spiritual treasure. It is said to be made from the spines of 100,000 people and contains countless vengeful spirits. It can cast spells and set up formations, and can mobilize the bones underground within a hundred miles to fight enemies. The old demon was killed by my fellow Daoist before he could even use its power."

Yan Chixia looked on with a sigh, then pointed to a black stone full of holes next to him, and a small plaque that was neither gold, iron, stone, nor wood.

"The Ghost Stone Heart is a treasure left behind by the old demon after his death. It belongs to the demonic and ghostly paths and can help the nascent souls of these two paths to reshape their physical bodies into stone figures and reshape their paths."

"As for this tablet, it is the position of the mountain god of Black Stone Mountain. It is said that in ancient times, the Heavenly Court was in charge of the heaven and earth, regulating yin and yang and the five elements, and bestowed titles upon the gods to educate all spirits and people."

"Later, the Heavenly Court and all the gods and immortals suddenly disappeared, leaving only the Gate of Ascension and some lost positions of miscellaneous gods."

"The Black Stone Mountain God is one of the remnants, who governs the mountains and lands within a three-thousand-mile radius and guards one of the entrances to the underworld. After being taken over by this old demon, it has become a paradise for demons and monsters."

Yan Chixia continued, "In the past, our righteous ancestors repeatedly tried to subdue the old demon but failed. Firstly, it used its position as a mountain god to slightly control the mountains and rivers within three thousand miles, which was equivalent to having eyes that could see a thousand miles. Secondly, it liked to bully the weak and fear the strong. When it encountered something stronger than itself, it would hide in the underworld in an instant. People like us or demons, the higher our cultivation level, the more we were suppressed in the underworld, which led to its rampant arrogance."

"But unexpectedly, I was killed by this fellow Daoist in a single blow!"

Jia Tang nodded thoughtfully, "I see."

Perhaps his Nascent Soul realm was elevated because of his Mountain God status; otherwise, how could he have been killed by Ning and Yan through plot twists?

He smiled and bowed to Yan Chixia, saying, "Thank you for your explanation, Brother Yan. I am deeply grateful."

After saying that, he looked at Wang Zhuang and said, "Take some men and deal with the poisonous toad. Cut off its two hind legs and we'll roast them and have a good meal. Let's taste what the flesh of a Golden Core demon beast tastes like."

"only!"

Yan Chixia pursed his lips and said, "I'll go back to my room to meditate and regulate my breathing."

"Please make yourself at home, fellow Daoist. Once the meat is roasted, I will send someone to invite Brother Yan."

Thank you.

Jia Tang watched Yan Chixia's departing figure until he disappeared, then turned to the surrounding retainers and servants and asked, "How do we compare their strengths?"

Jia He spoke first, saying, "The four of us used ninety percent of our strength against the tree demon. If it were a one-on-one fight at full power, one person could escape, two people could hold it off without any problem, and if the three of us joined forces, it would surely die."

Upon hearing this, Jia Tang raised an eyebrow. Three martial artists at the early second stage could suppress and kill a tree demon at the peak of the Golden Core realm on the spot. He then asked Wang Heyuan and the others, "How do your retainers compare?"

Wang Heyuan recalled for a moment and pondered, "Although the Poison Toad is a mid-stage demon beast, my brother Li, brother Cui and I do not have the same level of internal energy as our family retainers. We basically used our full strength. Apart from the fact that I still have a hidden supernatural power, it was not difficult to kill it. If I fought it to the death alone, I could win by 30-70."

Zhao Daniu continued, "My brother and I fought against the skeleton with ninety percent of our strength, and we killed it in a short time."

Jia Tang pondered. The Zhao brothers, who had just broken through to the second tier of the Venerable Ones, could kill a skeleton in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm if they joined forces, and the three Venerable Ones could kill a poisonous toad in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

A second-tier family general who has broken through with golden body and golden blood can be compared to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator in this world. A second-tier general who has reached the limit of refining mortals can kill a Nascent Soul cultivator across different levels.