Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

Chapter 99 Auctioning Liaodong! (First update, please vote!)

Is it due to the cultivation method and system, or the conflicting attributes? Or is it a problem that this world is in a state of five turbidities and evil?

Her fingers unconsciously slid down, and Nie Xiaoqian, who was in her arms listening to the conversation, couldn't help but widen her pupils. She hadn't even used her full strength yet.

Jia Tang tightened his grip on the frightened ghost in his arms and said calmly, "Next time, use all your strength to fight alone and test it again."

"only!"

Jia Tang extended his left hand, conjured a tiger tally, and handed it to Jia He, ordering him to absorb the blood of the tree demon and the poisonous toad demon. Then, he looked down at Nie Xiaoqian in his arms and said, "Let's go, let me taste you."

Nie Xiaoqian nodded hurriedly and followed Jia Tang into the main hall, where she did her best to serve him.

"My lord, you are wise. Although I was forced by the old demon to absorb the essence of passersby in the past, I used my magic to gather and absorb it, so my soul is still relatively clean."

"Let's see after we've tried it."

A moment later, Jia Tang emerged from the hall with a strange expression, carrying the somewhat ethereal Nie Xiaoqian. He hadn't expected that the primordial yang he released would be a deadly poison to Nie Xiaoqian.

Jia Tang sat down again and asked Nie Xiaoqian, "What level of cultivator are you?"

Nie Xiaoqian replied weakly, "I am a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator."

"How do you ghosts cultivate?"

"Absorbing the essence of the moon, or yin energy, death energy, people's resentment and blood essence."

"From now on, you'll only absorb moonlight for cultivation. Where is your golden pagoda then?"

"It is buried under a poplar tree where a bird's nest was built."

"I will send people to search for you at daybreak. From now on, you will stay by my side. If you can return to the clan with me, you will stay by your mistress's side to protect her."

"Yes."

A short while later, Jia He brought over the tiger tally and asked in bewilderment, "Second Master, after digging out the tree heart and demon core, the two demon bodies only condensed a red light, and the color has faded. It seems that the essence is all in the tree heart and demon core. Is the effect not good? But during absorption, there is a faint blackness that is constantly being washed away, and finally, wisps of faint golden light are formed and enter the tiger tally, without appearing on the surface of the body."

Jia Tang seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this. Was the golden light the aura of the dragon and tiger?

All the energy sources in the immortal cultivation system are in the dantian, but even with the loss from purifying the resentment in the bodies of demons, it is strange that only one energy condenses.

As he stored the Tiger Tally in his Yellow Court, a large amount of azure light began to emanate from his divine sense. Immediately, a message arrived: From now on, the energy of second-tier and above alien races will not be converted into blood refinement portions, but will be calculated separately. If you want to convert it, you need to lose 30% of the energy to decompose it.

"From now on, within the same level, three parts will break through, ten parts will advance to the next level, or two parts will advance to the next level."

Jia Tang was pleasantly surprised upon hearing this, as it would make it easier to calculate the energy required for breakthroughs in the future.

For example, Jia He needed three Golden Core demons to break through to the mid-stage of the second tier.

No, after deducting the demon core, there is also a loss in purifying the resentment and converting it into dragon and tiger energy. Roughly, two demons are equivalent to one second-tier blood energy.

"Wow, that's quite a lot."

Half an hour later, as dawn broke, Jia Tang first ordered his men to find Nie Xiaoqian's golden pagoda based on her directions. Then he summoned Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen to enjoy the hind leg tendon meat of the poisonous toad together.

The meat is incredibly elastic and chewy, with a faint wood-spirit energy flowing within it. When you eat it, it feels like tiny green snakes wriggling around inside, eventually being refined by your internal organs and gathered in your dantian.

After everyone finished eating the poisonous toad meat, they parted ways in front of the temple. Jia Tang and the others headed north towards Hangzhou and Qiantang, while Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen headed southwest.

In the following period, various forces in Zhejiang discovered that a mysterious group was clearing out demons and monsters from the deep mountains and forests of the region, as well as the places where cultivators lingered. They slaughtered all kinds of evil spirits and even reportedly killed two Nascent Soul Demon Kings.

Two and a half months later, on the fifteenth of June, past midnight, at the Li family auction house on the banks of the Qiantang River in Hangzhou.

As the only family in the Huaihe River region to possess a Nascent Soul Ancestor, the Li family's annual midday auction, held every five years, is a grand event for cultivators in Jiangnan.

Many Golden Core cultivators would go there, and even occasionally Nascent Soul cultivators would participate.

Various cultivators, riding spiritual weapons and magical treasures, flew over Hangzhou Prefecture, leaving streaks of spiritual energy in their wake.

According to the rules of the Li family, Foundation Establishment cultivators descend to the gate on foot, depending on their cultivation level, at intervals of five, three, or one li. Golden Core cultivators stop at the gate, while Nascent Soul cultivators can fly inside.

Time passed slowly, and more and more cultivators arrived, lined up, paid a hundred spirit stones, and entered with their number tags.

Just then, a golden ship flew swiftly from the horizon, its imposing aura overwhelming. Armored soldiers stood on board, and a large flag was tied at the bow, bearing the gilded character "Jia".

Amidst the astonished gazes of the cultivators below, the golden boat flew straight into the reserved passage at the top of the auction house.

The cultivators below began to murmur amongst themselves: "Could it be the Jia clan cultivator who beheaded the Black Mountain Ghost King, the Xuan Water Serpent King, and the Burning Sea Leopard King?"

Yes, it's them, the force that mysteriously appeared in Zhejiang a little over a month ago.

I heard that among the hundred people in the group, there were more than ten Golden Core cultivators, more than half of them Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the leader was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

That must be the case, otherwise the Li family, who are extremely particular about dough, would not have allowed it to fly inside.

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The main world, December 8th, the Imperial Palace.

Surrounded by civil and military officials with varying expressions, Emperor Changwu listened to the report from the Liaodong spies of the Flying Eagle Division below, his expression furious and his anger burning.

The spies reported, "Due to the dramatic changes in the heavens and earth on November 27th, all the tribes beyond the Great Wall have mobilized their troops and prepared for war."

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"On November 29th, the old slave who established the pseudo-Jin personally led ten second-tier cultivators to fly across the sky to the top of Guangning City, confronting the second-tier great cultivators in Liaodong Army Town. They only retreated when the old slave's four sons led 60,000 elite troops around the Sancha River and directly attacked Xiping Fort, the second line of defense of Guangning."

"At the same time, Huduntu and the Khorchin tribe jointly attacked Dakangbao, west of Yizhou City, and war broke out all over Liaodong."

On the night of November 30, Jiang Feibai, the newly appointed General of Liaodong, discovered that Xiping Fort, a bridgehead at the front line, was only guarded by Luo Guan with 3,000 infantrymen. He then ordered Liu Zhongqu, the Assistant General, to garrison Zhenwu Fort with 20,000 men. Later, he ordered Liu Zhongqu to break camp and support Xiping Fort. He also ordered Qi Zhong, the garrison commander of Lüyang Fort, to support Xiping Fort with three battalions.

Upon learning of the critical situation in Xiping, the newly appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong, Wang Xiaoqian, ordered generals Sun Kuagong, Zhang Yan, Huang Shijin, and Shi Ting to lead the troops in Guangning City to join Liu Qu's forces and head to Xiping Fort.

On December 2nd, the troops encountered the Jurchen army at Pingyang Bridge. Sun Kuagong and others were defeated and fled, causing chaos in the army. Generals Liu Zhongqu and Qi Zhong were killed in battle, and less than one in ten of their soldiers survived. As a result, Xiping Fort was besieged and captured by the Jurchens, and all the soldiers guarding the fort were killed in battle.

On December 4th, Sun Kuagong and others tricked the gates of Guangning into opening, and after the defenses were lifted, they went out of the city to welcome Lao Nu into the city. By this time, Guangning and the entire eastern part of the city had fallen, and the General and the Governor were stationed in Jinzhou to defend against the enemy.

The messenger from Liaodong has already entered the pass and will arrive soon.

After the spy finished speaking, the civil and military officials were in an uproar, all stunned and at a loss for what to do.

Such a terrible disaster has occurred in Liaodong in just a few days!

Even Guangning City has fallen!

In particular, the members of the founding lineage felt their limbs were ice-cold, their faces were ashen, and their eyes were filled with a chilling coldness as they stared blankly at the civil officials' ranks, their murderous intent almost uncontrollable.

"Tiger's prediction was absolutely right!"

Niu Jizong, Liu Fang, and Hou Xiaokang exchanged a knowing glance. They knew that the second-tier clan elder who had secretly aided Liaodong earlier possessed the deputy banner of the Tiger Fiend Banner, which allowed him to communicate with Jia Tang across vast distances.

Even if Jia Tang had previously written that he was in seclusion and couldn't respond in time, what about the family retainers?

Why wasn't this mentioned beforehand, leading to this passive situation!

What exactly happened to the Jia family? The lord, the commanders of the household guards, and the Tiger Guards have all vanished without a trace.

This is truly bizarre!

However, the Flying Eagle Division did not mention the second-tier clan elders from various prefectures who were assisting Liaodong, which means they have not yet shown up and their whereabouts have not been discovered, which is a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

While the three were pondering, the civil officials began to impeach Jiang and Wang one by one, and the military officers volunteered to go to Liaodong to defend the border.

At the front of the train, King Chungshun's face was grim and burning with anger. Just as his elder brother had said, the generals fought to the death while the civil officials defected.

Despicable, he deserves to die!

"Which generals dare to fight?"

Liu Fang shook his head slightly at the two men, took a deep breath, stepped forward, and saluted: "This humble general, the Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Army, requests permission to lead the troops into battle. I will surely stabilize the borders, pacify the frontier, and annihilate the bandits!"

In this situation, Niu Jizong was stationed in the Ministry of War and was not suitable to go out to fight. Someone else needed to stay behind to support the other military garrisons.

The tacit understanding among the three over the years allowed them to make decisions instantly. Liu Fang was the one who should go north, because he was more composed than Hou Xiaokang!

The purpose of this trip is to prevent the situation in Liaodong from deteriorating further. We must defend the city and wait for a turning point!

Upon seeing this, Emperor Changwu's icy expression softened slightly. He looked at the map and pondered for a while before ordering, "Issue my decree: Liu Fang is to command the troops of the three thousand battalions, the left and right outposts, the left flank, and the left outpost of the five armies, and to control the troops of the Yongping Guard, Funing Guard, and Dongsheng Left Guard to aid Liaodong and defend against the enemy outside the pass."

Zhai Zhenge was ordered to command the troops of the Left Wing, Tianjin and the Left and Right Guards of the Five Armies and march north to garrison Shanhaiguan.

The cabinet was ordered to oversee the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works to immediately begin inventorying military equipment and provisions, and to dispatch laborers from Zhili to escort the supplies. All departments were instructed to cooperate without error.

The order was issued to the prefectural and county governments to strengthen defenses in Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong, ensuring that the Tartars do not find any openings.

The civil and military officials held their breath, their expressions solemn. The generals who were called upon received their orders and left to prepare for battle.

Even so, everyone couldn't help but sigh inwardly. In the past, when armies were raised on the frontier, they were mostly led by the royal family and the founding line, with all sides joining forces to suppress them.

Currently, Emperor Changwu has no royal cultivators to send out, so he can only send the founding line to fight, and the other factions are happy to do so.

After all, it is only natural for the founding lineage to defend or repel the enemy. If they are defeated, lose their base, and lose some cultivators, their opportunity will arise.

Emperor Changwu paused, hesitated for a moment between nine and six, and then said sternly: "Order the Flying Eagle Division to execute Sun Kuagong, Zhang Yan, Huang Shijin, Shi Ting and others, along with their entire families, and exterminate their six clans."

Six generations is already the pinnacle; nine generations would not be permitted by the civil officials.

In Xiaogan, De'an Prefecture, Huguang, in a secret underground chamber.

Inside the underground chamber, which was about four zhang in length, width, and height, numerous men in black continuously escorted people with their wrists and ankles cut off, offering sacrifices to the many portraits hanging on the north wall.

The people, seemingly oblivious, had their eyes closed and looked devout. The bright red blood that had spilled onto the ground pieced together in a chaotic pattern.

"I offer my blood to my saint."

"Vessel of flesh and blood, please descend, Holy One."

"The saints will arrive, and divine power will accompany them."

"Wash away the broken body, and welcome the new god."

Many people chanted secret incantations and, with smiles on their faces, cut off pieces of flesh from their bodies and placed them in a blood-red three-legged cauldron in front of the portrait, which contained a pool of thick blood.

The mysterious energy was absorbed by the portraits, causing some of them to become increasingly vibrant red, as if they had come to life.

In another world, at the Qiantang Li Clan Auction House, room number four on the third floor.

..

The entire room, built of third-order (third order in this world is the Golden Core Realm) spirit wood, was filled with rich spiritual energy. Incense was burning on the table in the center. Two teams of Tiger Guards stood on the left and right. Jia Tang, dressed in a bullfighting outfit, led the two generals of peace and the Zhao brothers, who were serving as attendants, to sit down and talk with an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a light blue robe.

The old man's name was Li Qingdao, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. He was one of the three Nascent Soul cultivators of the Li family and was in charge of the auction. Jia Tang had spoken with Li Qinghe half a month ago and exchanged some supplies.

Li Qingdao poured a cup of third-grade cloud wood tea and handed it to Jia Tang, saying with a faint smile, "Fellow Daoist, you are quite capable. Three great demons have already perished at your hands, which is awe-inspiring."

Jia Tang took a sip of Yunmu tea with a smile, sensing the pure spiritual energy flowing along the tea into his martial meridians and eventually merging into his body. He smacked his lips and said, "Excellent tea, truly living up to its reputation. Besides, how dare we, with our meager skills, embarrass ourselves before you, fellow Daoist?"

Li Qingdao laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying, "It's just that fellow Daoists from all sides are giving my ancestor some face; how can you take it seriously?"

After a pause, he changed the subject and said, "The matter that you entrusted to me some time ago has been completed. Please take a look."

Having said that, he lightly waved his robe, and three small spatial rings appeared on the table.

Jia Tang's divine sense spread out, first to the ring on the left, inside which were five jade tubes: the "Tai Xuan Chi Yan Jue," a cultivation technique that could be cultivated to the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage; a Golden Core stage alchemy manuscript containing some pill formulas; a Golden Core stage weapon crafting manual containing some forging methods; a Golden Core stage talisman-making secret book containing several talismans; and the killing technique "Ren Shui Shen Lei."

Jia Tang nodded in satisfaction. The restrictions on cultivation techniques in this world are even greater than those in the main world. Cultivators' souls are all protected by restrictions. Anyone who dares to leak out will have their soul shattered and die. Moreover, cultivation techniques are passed down layer by layer.

It was already beyond my expectations to be able to exchange for a Nascent Soul cultivation technique. With the verification of different cultivation systems, it will definitely enhance my own foundation.

Next is the ring in the middle, inside which are placed some magical artifacts, magic treasures, three stacks of talismans, and nine bottles of pills:

The ring on the right contains various spiritual materials, minerals, and other materials for cultivating immortality.

Jia Tang nodded to Li Qingdao with a smile, and scanned the spatial ring on the index finger of his left hand with his divine sense. Instantly, four demon inner cores, a mini snake, and the Ten Thousand Bone Banner, along with the deposit for the three spiritual treasure materials and two demon inner cores that had been delivered earlier, were revealed to complete the transaction.

Li Qingdao, beaming with delight, put away a few items and then took out a small jar of Yunmu tea, saying with a cheerful smile, "Fellow Daoist is generous, so I cannot be stingy. This jar contains half a jin of Yunmu tea, a total of sixty pieces, enough for you to enjoy for half a year."

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