Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 112 Lover

"Now is not the time to worry about that."

Xia Dong suddenly opened his eyes, a ruthless and decisive glint flashing in his eyes, influenced by demonic power.

In this eerie and unpredictable underground palace, where someone could break in at any moment, there was simply no environment or time for him to slowly temper his divine sense and stabilize his realm.

With his newly broken through and unprecedentedly powerful Qi Refining Eighth Layer Divine Sense, Xia Dong instantly regained absolute control over his physical body's Qi and blood.

He deftly pulled out a "Mysterious Yin Gathering Qi Pill" from his storage bag and swallowed it. Under the domineering pressure and urging of his powerful divine sense, the medicinal power of the pill was forcibly dissolved at an unprecedentedly terrifying speed, continuously transforming into his parched dantian, rapidly replenishing the Mysterious Yin power he desperately needed.

Xia Dong guided the immense medicinal power of the Xuan Yin Gathering Qi Pill, allowing it to circulate rapidly through the meridians for a full cycle.

Under the powerful guidance and control of the eighth level of Qi Refining, the medicinal power dissipated at an unprecedented speed.

The once completely dried-up dantian finally regained a pool of pure and viscous Xuan Yin magic power, and the stagnant martial arts qi and blood also resumed their flow.

Feeling the renewed surge of power within him, Xia Dong let out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, he had finally regained much of his ability to protect himself.

The breach in the outer formation wouldn't last long, and the stunned Eagle Wolf Guard guards could wake up at any moment. This place was not safe to stay any longer; he had to leave immediately.

However, before setting off, Xia Dong's light fell on a stone slab not far away—it was a pile of "spoils of war" that he had poured out of Ci Xiang's storage bag earlier.

If he takes these things with him, will the high monks of the Red Lotus Temple in the capital cause him trouble in the future, based on the possible residual secret aura on them?

The thought only flashed through Xia Dong's mind for a moment before he dismissed it.

Cixiang's previous attitude at the Thousand Household Office also indicated that the two sides, Honglian Temple and Cixiang, were already on opposing sides. As the saying goes, the more debts one has, the less one worries. Since they are already mortal enemies, acquiring more resources to strengthen their own power is the most practical and righteous way.

Xia Dong took two steps forward, his gaze sweeping over the shrunken storage bag.

This bag is neither gold nor silk; its surface is embroidered with a strange, blood-red lotus in dark red silk thread, with intricate and interwoven runes, exuding an inexplicable and eerie atmosphere.

Xia Dong's spiritual sense has greatly increased, and his intuition is extremely sharp. He vaguely sensed a hint of danger from the bag.

To be on the safe side, he decisively abandoned the idea of ​​keeping the storage bag for himself.

Moreover, it was easy for him to forcefully break the seal with his innate Qi and pour out the contents; but if he wanted to use it to store things again, he would have to spend a lot of time refining it completely.

Time was of the essence, and every second counted; he had no intention of wasting a single moment on something that might harbor deadly danger.

With a thought, Xia Dong's newly advanced spiritual sense, now at the eighth level of Qi Refining, swept across the pile of cultivation resources scattered on the ground like an invisible net.

Under the precise discernment of divine sense, every detail of the objects on the stone slab became clearly visible.

Xia Dong acted with extreme decisiveness. He blatantly ignored the common low-level talismans, a few bottles of ordinary healing pills, scattered low-grade spirit stones, and a few broken fragments of magical artifacts.

His divine sense, like nimble fingers, precisely picked out several tightly sealed jade boxes, several ancient jade slips, a black array flag of unknown material, and several strange objects that emitted remarkable spiritual energy fluctuations and whose origins he could not even recognize.

"receive!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Xia Dong swept up all these precious and unknown treasures, along with the remaining high-grade spirit stone, and quickly stuffed them into the storage bag at his waist.

A moment later, Xia Dong's storage bag was full.

He reaped a great harvest and was quite satisfied.

Then, he activated the Concealing Breath Talisman and the Invisibility Talisman, and arrived at the entrance of the underground palace where the sealing formation was located, preparing to leave the underground palace.

Just then, a clear sound of footsteps and conversation came from above the underground palace.

Xia Dong's consciousness stirred slightly, and he immediately realized that the Eagle Wolf Guards who were changing shifts had arrived and had even revived the unconscious Eagle Wolf Guards.

Furthermore, the gap he had forcibly opened in the sealing array using "Innate Power" had, after the array had naturally circulated for some time, quietly closed again.

"We need to find another way to break through the gap from the inside." Xia Dong frowned slightly in the shadows. If he were to use his innate power again, it would not only deplete his precious resources, but it would also easily cause fluctuations in spiritual energy, alerting the people on shift outside.

Just as he stood in front of the array's light screen, pondering how to break through the array unnoticed, a sudden change occurred!

boom!

A massive and extremely sinister spiritual pressure from the Foundation Establishment stage descended from the night sky without warning, like an invisible mountain.

Outside the formation, the Eagle Wolf Guards who had just arrived to relieve the shift and were still whispering among themselves were instantly overwhelmed by this terrifying pressure. Their knees buckled, and they collapsed to the ground with a thud, struggling to breathe and turning ashen-faced.

"Green——Green-faced ghost!"

One of the Eagle Wolf Guards barely managed to raise his head and, by the dim moonlight, made out the figure slowly descending from mid-air. He was immediately terrified and let out a desperate scream.

Xia Dong, inside the underground palace, felt a chill run down his spine and immediately held his breath, locking his own energy tightly.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the newcomer was wearing a tattered, wide blue robe. His skin was a deathly bluish-green, and two protruding, white fangs protruded from the corners of his mouth. His appearance was ferocious and terrifying, and his body was surrounded by a thick aura of bloodlust.

This person was none other than one of the infamous Five Ghosts of Tianshui from the Wusheng Sect!

Xia Dong snorted inwardly.

In the underground river at the bottom of the Crimson Fire Mine, the red-haired cultivator who was skilled in tracking had long been killed by him and the Lonely Moon True Man in a "joint effort". Now, the so-called Five Ghosts of Tianshui have actually become the "Four Ghosts of Tianshui".

Why would this blue-faced demon, who wasn't causing trouble in Lin Yuan Prefecture, suddenly run to this abandoned underground palace in the middle of nowhere?

It turns out that the Five Ghosts of Tianshui were originally from unorthodox sects, and all five of them had practiced extremely powerful methods of commanding ghosts.

The Green-Faced Ghost learned that in the underground palace of the ancient temple outside the city, there was a Foundation Establishment stage vengeful ghost transformed from Cixiang of the Red Lotus Temple who had gone mad from a cultivation deviation.

For evil cultivators who practice the art of controlling ghosts, a stray, unclaimed Foundation Establishment stage ghost is an incredibly rare and precious opportunity.

Once it is subdued and refined into its own ghost slave, the Blue-Faced Ghost's strength will surely see a significant increase.

That's why, after receiving the news, the Green-Faced Ghost didn't even bother to greet his other comrades from the Wusheng Sect. He hurriedly broke away from the group and rushed towards this direction.

He was so eager because he was afraid that if he arrived even a fraction of a second late, this tremendous opportunity would be snatched away by someone else.

Little did this green-faced ghost know that the Foundation Establishment stage "opportunity" he had been longing for had already been refined into a Yin Spirit Pill by the ancient bronze bell and entered Xia Dong's stomach.

1

On the other hand, the Five Ghosts of Tianshui made quite a splash during this turmoil. The Eagle Wolf Guard paid particular attention to them, and portraits of the figures had already been distributed to all the squads within the Eagle Wolf Guard.

When the blue-faced demon in mid-air saw that someone from the Eagle Wolf Guard recognized him, he was not angry at all. Instead, a cruel and triumphant smile appeared on his terrifying face covered with blue tumors.

"Hehehe—you bunch of imperial lackeys, you do have some sense." The blue-faced ghost looked down at the group of people sprawled on the ground and said coldly, "Since you recognize me, then I'll be merciful today and spare your souls from being burned like lanterns. Instead, I'll take you as my accomplices and make you my companions, so you can enjoy yourselves together!"

Before he could finish speaking, the blue-faced ghost suddenly swung his wide black robe.

Ugh!

A foul wind suddenly arose, and several visible, jet-black ghostly claw-like phantoms shot out from his sleeves with lightning speed.

The Eagle Wolf Guards outside the formation didn't even have time to draw their swords, let alone let out a scream, before they were annihilated by the Ghost Claw.

He crushed the top of his head with a passionate gesture.

In the blink of an eye, these martial arts experts were all killed. They were no match for even a single blow, and their bodies lay limp and lifeless in the pool of blood.

Witnessing this brutal scene, Xia Dong's heart nearly jumped into his throat, and all the muscles in his body tensed up instantly.

A Foundation Establishment stage evil cultivator in his prime is far beyond his current ability to contend with; the slightest mistake would result in the annihilation of both body and soul.

Fortunately, he was currently inside the sealing formation and had already activated all his hidden trump cards.

At this moment, Xia Dong was like a lifeless, stubborn rock, perfectly blending into the dark corner of the underground palace.

After the blue-faced demon dealt with the Eagle Wolf Guards as easily as crushing ants, he coldly withdrew his gaze and directly focused on the sealing array that was shimmering with a faint light.

His cloudy eyes gleamed with undisguised greed and eagerness.

"Break it!"

The green-faced ghost let out a fierce shout, raised his hand and condensed a huge ball of Yin evil ghost fire, which he slammed mercilessly towards the array light screen.

Boom!

The sealing array was only set up for emergency purposes; how could it withstand the violent bombardment of a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

With a deafening explosion, the array's light barrier flickered violently twice before shattering like fragile glass, creating a huge gap.

In the very instant the formation shattered and dust billowed up!

"Now!"

Xia Dong, who had been lurking in the shadows and staring intently at the cave entrance, suddenly sharpened his gaze.

Without any hesitation, the moment the formation shattered and the exit was completely opened, Xia Dong decisively crushed the life-saving trump card bestowed upon him by Master Guyue—the [Heavenly Demon Blood Escape Talisman]!

"Sizzle!"

The once quiet and dark entrance to the underground palace suddenly erupted with an extremely piercing beam of blood-red light.

The crimson light instantly enveloped Xia Dong's body, transforming into a blood-red lightning bolt that tore through the night sky, hurtling out from the gap in the newly blasted formation at an incredible, terrifying speed!

This sudden turn of events caught the blue-faced ghost off guard, who was preparing to stride into the underground palace to subdue the evil spirit.

He never expected that a living person would be hidden in this forbidden land that was sealed with evil spirits!

Moreover, the opponent's escape speed was unbelievably fast.

By the time he reacted and instinctively reached out his ghostly claw to stop it, the blood-red light had already streaked across his head like a meteor, instantly rushing over a hundred feet away, leaving only a faint blood-red afterimage in the night air.

The blue-faced demon was slightly taken aback, then flew into a rage!

He instantly realized that the opportunity he had been longing for had definitely changed.

"How dare you, you brat, deceive me? Leave your life behind, Taoist priest!"

The green-faced ghost roared angrily, bit his tongue, spat out a mouthful of blood essence, and instantly unleashed the unique escape technique of the Wusheng Sect.

Clad in a black robe, he transformed into a swirling, dark gust of wind, carrying overwhelming killing intent as he relentlessly pursued Xia Dong in the direction she had fled.

However, the [Heavenly Demon Blood Escape Talisman] is a rare talisman used by high-level demonic cultivators to save their lives. Once activated, its speed is unmatched even by ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In a short while, no matter how frantically the Green-Faced Ghost activated his escape technique from behind, the distance between him and the blood-red light not only did not decrease, but instead increased.

But the Blue-Faced Demon is a ruthless character who has been living a life of constant danger and is inherently cruel.

His triangular eyes were filled with malice and resentment. Although he couldn't keep up with the terrifying speed of the blood escape, he locked onto the direction of the blood light's escape and turned into a black streak in the night sky, relentlessly pursuing it like a madman.

Shortly after the Green-Faced Ghost transformed into a gust of wind and chased Xia Dong away, the intense fluctuations of magical power and the rumbling of the shattering formation at the ancient temple finally attracted the patrolling Eagle Wolf Guards.

The centurion, leading a group of elite cavalry, rushed into the dilapidated ancient temple and immediately saw the mess on the ground.

The magic array originally used to seal the underground palace has been violently shattered, and the remaining fragments of the light barrier still flicker in the night wind.

Outside the formation, on the open ground, lay several Eagle Wolf Guards on duty, changing shifts haphazardly.

The officer in charge of examining the wound, Xiaoqi, quickly stepped forward. After only a short while, he couldn't help but show a look of horror.

"My lord, it's the Yin Sha Ghost Claw," the squad leader reported, his face pale. "It crushed the skull with a single blow, leaving no chance to even draw a sword in retaliation. Moreover, there's an extremely heavy aura of bloodlust remaining at the scene."

Baihu's eyes sharpened. Combining the intelligence coming from the city, he instantly made a judgment: "Yin Sha Ghost Claws—these methods are very similar to the Blue-Faced Ghost of the Five Ghosts of Tianshui from the Wusheng Sect! Let's go and see what's going on inside."

Everyone immediately became extremely alert, formed a battle formation, and cautiously rushed into the depths of the underground palace.

However, the terrifying scene of vengeful ghosts rampaging during the Foundation Establishment stage that was expected did not appear.

The underground palace was empty. The terrifying ghost that Ci Xiang had transformed into after going astray was nowhere to be found. Only limbs and dried, blackened bloodstains remained on the ground.

"The vengeful ghost is gone." Baihu glanced around the underground palace, sneered, and said with a hint of certainty, "The Five Ghosts of Tianshui are skilled in the evil art of commanding ghosts. The Blue-Faced Ghost ventured into this sealed land without even saying hello, surely to subdue the vengeful ghost that Master Cixiang had transformed into as a ghost slave. Now that the vengeful ghost has disappeared, it must have been suppressed and taken away by him with his great supernatural powers."

This reasoning is perfectly logical and irrefutable.

The wounds on the corpse and the lingering yin energy were all irrefutable evidence.

For the Eagle Wolf Guard, this was absolutely fantastic news.

Ci Xiang was a high-ranking monk from the Red Lotus Temple in the capital. His death in Lin Yuan Prefecture was already a major headache for the Thousand Household Office, which was afraid of being entangled by the bald monks of the Red Lotus Temple.

Now that the vengeful ghost he transformed into has been taken away by the demons of the Wusheng Sect, the Thousand Households Office can easily pin this enormous black pot on the heads of the Wusheng Sect and the Blue-Faced Ghost.

Just then, several captains responsible for searching the corners discovered the ordinary cultivation resources that Xia Dong had abandoned, as well as the storage bag embroidered with a blood-red lotus, in the shadow of the altar.

"My lord, here are some scattered healing pills, fragments of magical artifacts, and—Master Cixiang's storage bag."

A trusted captain stepped forward, carrying the items, and said in a low voice.

The centurion's eyes flashed as he stared at the storage bag for a long time before exchanging a knowing glance with his subordinates.

Since the Green-Faced Ghost looted the underground palace and took away the vengeful spirit, all the precious treasures lost from the underground palace were naturally also stolen by this Wusheng Sect demon.

As for the scraps and discarded storage bags left behind by the robbers on the ground, they naturally became the spoils of the brothers' hard-earned business trip.

Since the Green-Faced Ghost is taking the blame anyway, why not take this money from the dead?

As for the Crimson Lotus Temple's divine soul markings that might remain on the storage bags and these cultivation resources, Baihu didn't care at all.

The Eagle Wolf Guard has plenty of ways to deal with these "black goods." They can find a few skilled enshrined officers in the garrisons who are proficient in array formations and restrictions, or go through the underground black market. With a little time, they can wash off the marks completely, and no one can find out anything.

Without making a sound, Baihu waved his sleeve and put the storage bag into his pocket. He then signaled his men to divide up the resources on the ground.

In fact, this unspoken rule of "turning bad things into good things" and taking the opportunity to line one's own pocket is already an open secret among the Eagle Wolf Guards of Lin Yuan Prefecture.

Take, for example, the recent attack by the Wusheng Sect on the prefectural city, which resulted in the looting of the armory of the thousand-household garrison.

On the surface, this was a great humiliation for the Great You Dynasty; but in reality, this fire inadvertently helped the entire Lin Yuan Prefecture settle many deadly old scores.

Over the years, countless divine weapons, elixirs, and spirit stones in the armory have been embezzled and sold off by officials at all levels.

The accounts were already riddled with holes and could not withstand the rigorous investigation of the Tongxuan Division in the capital.

Now that the Wusheng Sect has arrived, they've wiped out all the losses. Regardless of what was lost before, the official story is now the same: it was all stolen by the Wusheng Sect's heretics!

For Xiang Qianhu and other high-ranking officials, this chaos in the prefectural city was certainly extremely dangerous, but it could also be considered a blessing in disguise.

.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Inside the secluded Tiger Hill Snake Cave, all was quiet and still.

After a period of seclusion and recuperation, the injuries sustained by the backlash from the strange fire and the attacks from powerful enemies have gradually healed, and his pale face has regained its gentle glow.

At this moment, she was sitting cross-legged on the blue stone, with the Yin Spirit Jade Bottle used to seal the wonders of heaven and earth floating in front of her.

During this period, the Sacred Heart Lotus in the jade bottle finally matured under the constant burning and catalysis of the strange fire.

Unfortunately, this rare treasure of heaven and earth was forcibly pulled from the Earthly Fiend Fire Pool at the bottom of the Crimson Fire Mine by True Person Lonely Moon ahead of time, thus depriving it of its perfect nurturing environment and causing a loss of its innate essence. The entire Sacred Heart Lotus exhausted its resources, ultimately only managing to ripen a single complete Sacred Heart Lotus seed.

Master Guyue went to great lengths to successfully extract this lotus seed, which carried the hope of achieving enlightenment.

She dared not be careless in the slightest, and with her extremely profound magical power, she activated the Taiyin Divine Light, transforming it into countless strands of extremely cold chains, binding:

The raging, incomparably powerful strange fire was relentlessly suppressed and continuously weakened.

Under the repeated cleansing and stripping by the Yin energy, the originally ferocious and powerful strange fire was eventually forcibly suppressed, leaving only a weak but pure flame, quietly burning on the Sacred Heart Lotus.

This strange fire was formed from the "Earthly Fiend Fire Spirit" at the bottom of the Crimson Fire Mine over a long period of time, truly a marvel of creation.

Even though it has now completely left the extreme lava environment of the underground fire pool, it has not gone out, but has survived on this last ember.

Interestingly, this strange fire remained quietly on the crystal-clear Sacred Heart Lotus, and did not exhibit the violent and lewd "lotus growing in fire" appearance of the Red Lotus Temple. Instead, it presented an extremely mysterious and pure "fire rising from lotus" realm, revealing a profound and untainted Daoist truth.

"Since that kid has learned the skill of alchemy, let's leave this strange fire seed to him."

Although the Lotus Heart Sacred Flame is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, Gu Yue doesn't even look at it.

Immediately, Master Guyue took the plump, round, and fragrant Sacred Heart Lotus Seed into his palm, then looked up at the outside of the cave.

She did a quick calculation of the time, a glint of light flashing in her cool eyes. Only one day remained until the full moon in the heavens.

For her, who cultivates the "Taiyin Refining Technique," the moment when the moonlight is at its brightest tomorrow night will be the perfect time for her to swallow the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed and attain the Golden Elixir in one fell swoop.

Thinking of the Golden Core path he was about to embark on, Master Guyue couldn't help but feel a slight sense of regret.

She ultimately did not possess the legendary, ethereal "innate Qi".

Lacking this fundamental substance that can transform a person, she was unable to break through the shackles of heaven and earth to attempt the perfect "superior golden elixir".

However, this minor regret only lingered in Gu Yue Zhenren's heart for a moment before being completely severed by her rock-solid Dao heart.

Although he lacked the innate talent, with this Sacred Heart Lotus Seed as the main ingredient, and combined with the "Xu Zhenren's Cultivation Notes" he had previously obtained from the Qin family's jade box, Gu Yue Zhenren already had a plan in mind.

According to the profound concept left by Master Xu, she was fully confident that she could push the quality of her soon-to-be-formed "middle-grade golden elixir" to its limit, bringing it infinitely close to the level of a high-grade golden elixir.

Although she failed to open the "Purple Mansion", she was unable to use the Qi of the Purple Mansion to further nourish the Golden Core after forming the Golden Core, which prevented her foundation from becoming as solid and flawless as that of a top-grade Golden Core.

But things in this world are rarely perfect.

Refining a mid-grade Golden Core to its peak was the most perfect path she could take in this place where spiritual energy was depleted.

More importantly, this path ultimately preserved a glimmer of hope for her to reach the legendary "God Transformation" realm in the future!

With this thought in mind, Master Guyue gripped the lotus seed in his hand, slowly closed his eyes, adjusted his energy and spirit to their peak, and waited for the full moon the following night.

It was dusk.

Suddenly, Gu Yue sensed a presence approaching from the horizon.

It was summer or winter.

The kid is finally back.

If he misses tonight, he will miss a chance to witness the formation of the Golden Core.

"Senior Lonely Moon, save me!"

The lonely moon has not yet spoken.

Xia Dong cried out for help.

With a single movement, Gu Yue appeared in the void outside the Five Elements Bewildering Array.

At this point, Xia Dong had already had most of his life essence drained by the Heavenly Demon Blood Escape Talisman, and the power of the Heavenly Demon Blood Escape Talisman had been exhausted along the way.

For the last leg of the journey, Xia Dong used the Wind Control Technique to escape.

Therefore, the Blue-Faced Demon got closer and closer in the second half of the journey.

Fortunately, Xia Dong managed to escape to the outside of Tiger Hill Cave before the Green-Faced Ghost caught up with her.

Xia Dong felt relieved when he saw Gu Yue Zhenren.

Because his spiritual consciousness had only recently broken through and was still very weak, he lost control of his magical power and fell from the sky.

Master Guyue moved slightly and caught Xia Dong just as she was about to crash to the ground.

"Lonely Moon? So you've been hiding here all this time, enjoying yourself with your little lover." The blue-faced ghost arrived, both surprised and delighted to see this.

Finding the Lonely Moon is equivalent to finding the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed.

"presumptuous!"

Master Guyue's face was frosty, and instantly the void within a radius of several hundred feet was frozen by a terrifying chill.