Day and night tour

Chapter 456 The Butcher Outside the Car

Qing Yangyu was extremely dissatisfied with Zhou Xuan's decision to be the first to refine pills for "Heaven and Earth."

As he spoke, his abdomen bulged, and a friction-like sound was constantly emanating from his abdominal cavity.

"Squeak, squeak"
The sound of friction was very sharp, like the sound of a beetle flapping its wings amplified countless times.

The leader of the Longevity Cult felt his eardrums almost explode from hearing this and immediately covered his ears with his hands.

But covering it up won't help.
In his secret realm, there is a golden incense stick.

Anyone who is above the nine-stick incense level will have such a golden incense stick.

Gold is the most auspicious color in the world. The most expensive currency is gold, the most magnificent temples are also built in gold, and the highest level of incense is also gold.

With this golden incense stick as its core, countless incense offerings gathered around it, providing the Longevity Cult Leader with unparalleled supernatural powers.

But these incense offerings—the power of incense woven from countless "fragrant souls" and "fire spirits"—began to become agitated and frenzied after hearing Qingyangyu's "wingbeats."
Like a wild horse that has broken free of its reins, uncontrollable, wave after wave crashed against the secret realm of the Longevity Cult Master.

"boom!"

"boom!"

Several giant waves crashed down one after another, relentlessly battering the Eternal Life Cult Leader until his internal organs were churning...

Even the golden incense stick lost its luster.
"My strength is waning."

The leader of the Eternal Life Cult was inwardly screaming in anguish.

These are the people of the Heavenly Fire Clan.
A group of deformed beings, neither insects nor humans, have managed to control the vast source of incense offerings in this world.

"Palace Master, there are many misunderstandings regarding Zhou Xuan's matter. Let me explain in detail."

The leader of the Longevity Cult trembled, and there was a hint of pleading in his tone.

If Qing Yangyu's brain was indeed damaged by the "elixirs," then the Heavenly Fire Clan Palace Master's personality was even more unpredictable.

Even the most foolish or idiotic mortal, after hearing the words of the Eternal Life Sect Master, would at most temporarily temper their temper a little.

But Qing Yangyu, as if taking a 180-degree turn, immediately clapped her hands and danced with joy, saying to herself,
"Oh, little Changsheng, you've reminded me! What's life like in the heavens, and what's life like in the disease village?"

"In the sick village, patients are everywhere, flesh is rotting, and there is no sense of manners whatsoever. But above us, in the heavens, order is restored, and the scenery is breathtaking."
How could little Zhou Xuan not like such a life, how could he not try to curry favor with it? But this time, he didn't refine pills for us in the Heavenly Vault first. There must be a reason for this.

We, the Skyfire Clan, are the most understanding of all. A child with such potential should be given two or three chances to resolve his grievances. Don't you agree?

Qingyangyu turned her head and looked at the Longevity Cult Leader.

"..." Even the leader of the Longevity Cult wanted to shrug and say, "You've already said everything I wanted to say, so what else can I say?"
At the same time, the repeated mentions of "sick village" stirred up all sorts of fantasies in his mind.

"A sick village! Another sick village!"

To be honest, this isn't the first time the Eternal Life Cult Leader has heard this name in all the years he's been in the Heavenly Vault.

Moreover, during his interactions with the Skyfire Clan, he had heard people describe the human world on numerous occasions.

In the mouths of the Skyfire Clan, the human world is a "crucible of disease," a furnace filled with nothing but illness: the disease of rotting flesh, the disease of rotting bones, the disease of perforated intestines...

The world is plagued by disease and plagued by filth; every village's land is covered with sticky, rotting flesh.
The key point is that these sights are not unfounded rumors or hearsay. The Eternal Life Cult Leader is certain that the Heavenly Fire Clan above the heavens can see the human world.

Even after witnessing it firsthand, the fact that they could still utter terms like "sick village" made the Eternal Life Cult Leader suspect that the eyes of the Heavenly Fire Clan might be different from those of mortals.

When he, the leader of the Eternal Life Cult, was in the mortal world, he saw lush green grass, magnificent rivers, verdant peaks, and a beautiful landscape.

In his view, the real "sick village" is located in the sky.

"Little Changsheng, what are you daydreaming about? I'm asking you a question. What's wrong with Zhou Xuan?"

“Oh… Zhou Xuan has a friend who died a few days ago. He wants to use elixirs to exchange with heaven and earth to bring his friend back to life.”

"Alas, such fine medicine, wasted like this. The people in that sick village are all unfortunate, born with festering sores and rotten flesh, living a life worse than death day and night. What's the point of living like this? Death is better than life, death is better than life!"

This Zhou Xuan is quite loyal and sentimental, but unfortunately, he's not very bright; he's kind of a simpleton.

Qing Yangyu's words were sometimes sincere, and sometimes carried a condescending sense of superiority. It was impossible to discern his true feelings—whether it was pity for the so-called "sick village" or schadenfreude.
Fortunately, the Lord of the Longevity Cult, having resided in the heavens for a long time, knew exactly how to deal with these eccentric Heavenly Fire Clan members.

He said with a smirk, "Palace Master, dying isn't necessarily better than living."

"Oh?" The four fleshy growths on Qingyangyu's throat began to throb again, clearly about to erupt.

The leader of the Longevity Cult changed the subject, saying, "Palace Master, it's true that the mortal realm is a sick village, but... at least some people can still live there... But if someone dies and goes to some even more precarious place, boiled and burned every day, then it's not even as good as a sick village."
Those who are born beyond the heavens find hell everywhere, but here we are, true paradise.

This last sentence pleased Qing Yangyu greatly, and he immediately felt much better, chuckling, "That's right, that's right, Little Changsheng, you're becoming more and more insightful about the truth of this world. Well said, well said. Here, this is your reward."

He poured out two more pills from the gourd and handed them to the Longevity Cult Leader, saying, "That Zhou Xuan has his reasons, which I understand. It doesn't matter if Tianqiong doesn't refine his first batch of pills."
However, you must keep a close watch on him. Only after he has refined the complete elixir can the pair of blue and red fish belong to him.

"Yes Yes."

"Let's continue tasting the elixir and admiring the flowers. The flowers are in full bloom today, so vibrant and beautiful. Our Longevity Palace hasn't seen such a sight in many years."

Faced with Qing Yangyu's enthusiastic invitation, the leader of the Longevity Cult inwardly groaned.

When he first entered the palace, he was given a pill, but he held it in his mouth without eating it. Now he has been given two more, and if he doesn't chew one of them, he won't be able to hide them in his mouth.

The three pills were quite large; if one were to hold them all in their mouth, their mouth would be so big that it could hold an oil lamp. How could they possibly hide it from Qing Yangyu?
Having thought of this, he had no choice but to force himself to chew down a pill.

A pill burst open in his mouth, like a fresh cow's eye, splashing juice all over his mouth.
Immediately afterwards, a fishy and unpleasant odor grew stronger in my mouth.
However, when this nauseating odor intensified countless times, nearly causing the Longevity Cult Leader to vomit up all three pills in his mouth, the medicine changed its nature.

The pungent, nauseating smell transformed into a rich, refreshing floral fragrance.
The Immortal Cult Leader felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration, and at the same time, the things he saw had changed.

That desolate and gloomy Longevity Palace was truly filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs.

In the dark sky, the warm sunlight rose, and Qingyangyu was no longer that "ugly fat man with four fleshy growths on his throat".
He had an otherworldly air about him, and his wide robes and sleeves made him quite handsome, truly befitting the rather evocative name "Qingyang" (Green Sheep).

When the leader of the Longevity Cult looked at his own hands, they were covered in festering sores. He was disgusted by his own appearance.

For a moment, just like every time he took a pill, he couldn't tell whether it was the eyes of the mortals that were damaged, or the eyes of the Heavenly Fire Clan.

Or perhaps everyone's eyes are damaged, and the world they see is only real after consuming the elixir?
Reality and illusion, truth and falsehood, became blurred together, and the Immortal Cult Leader could no longer distinguish between them.

"Why separate them? It's better to take advantage of this rosy glow and enjoy a good bath; that's the right thing to do."

The cult leader's mind is becoming increasingly sluggish.

He then saw that, at some point, a clear spring had appeared in the Palace of Longevity, flowing continuously and forming a small pool.

The pool was crystal clear, shimmering like amber under the sunlight. He immediately removed his clothes and, together with Qingyangyu, leaped into the pool, enjoying the refreshing coolness of the spring…

……

Night is still night.
The Palace of Longevity remained deathly still.
Only two large lumps of white flesh rolled and laughed in a blood-soaked, muddy pit, uttering incoherent, utterly deranged sounds...

……

The next day, Zhou Xuan, together with Zhao Wuya and Mr. Bailu, went to find a suitable venue for storytelling.

The content of this storytelling performance is no longer important.

The key point is that this storytelling is to complete the reconstruction of Mingjiang Prefecture, and for Sister Cui to create a huge alchemy furnace out of thin air and refine the first real "Heaven and Earth Longevity Pill".

To undertake such a significant undertaking, one must select a prime location—primarily one with ample space.

During the search, Zhao Wuyai was quite gossipy and said to Zhou Xuan, "Brother Xuan, I heard that a lot of foxes will die this time you're going to refine pills."

"Ah."

Zhou Xuan did not deny it, saying, "Sister Cui cannot build such a large alchemy furnace in a short period of time by herself; she needs the blood sacrifice of the fox clan."

"That's a terrible tragedy."

"Who says it's not tragic?"

Zhou Xuan shook his head and said affirmatively.

"I heard that as soon as King Xishan returned yesterday, he summoned the Snow Mountain Fox Clan to select foxes for sacrifice."

However, this time, he offered very generous terms.

"What are the conditions?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"Whoever volunteers to sacrifice themselves will have their seniority in the Hu Clan elevated by one level."

The generational order of the Hu family is "Hu, Deng, Chang, Qing". It is said that the Daoist family pays attention to seniority, but the Yexian Ancestral Hall is the place that pays the most attention to seniority.

If one's seniority is high, the benefits received each year will be much greater.

"Have you collected all the foxes yet?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

"They gathered them all in just one hour. The fox clan is truly fearless; they managed to collect five hundred."

Zhao Wuya said. Bai Lu, the Taoist priest, added from the side, "The Fox Clan truly lives up to its reputation as the number one sect of wild immortals; their family tradition is still quite strong."

“The fox clan is very fierce.” Zhou Xuan then asked Zhao Wuyai, “Wait a minute, you haven’t left Jingyipu either. Where did you get your information from?”

"Sister Cui told me this while I was eating breakfast."

Zhao Wuyai said in a very straightforward manner.

"Well, let's stop talking now. That place is quite nice."

Zhou Xuan and his group had now arrived at "Xiejia'ao," a valley situated in a basin.

The valley is concave in the middle and gently sloping around it.

“This valley is like a megaphone. If I stand in the middle and speak, people on the edge of the valley, two or three hundred meters away, can hear me clearly.”

To test the effect, Zhou Xuan even had Zhao Wuyai stand a little further away from him.

"Stand further away, stand even further away..."

Zhou Xuan kept waving his hands until Zhao Wuyai was three or four hundred meters away, looking as small as a peanut. Only then did he manage to stand up straight and recite the opening poem for his storytelling in a fairly normal voice.

"Life is a hundred years with many diverging paths; even kings, generals, and immortals were once mortals..."

After reciting the poem, Zhao Wuyai jogged over and said, "I can hear you clearly, I can hear you clearly."

"Can you hear every word clearly?"

“It’s like you’re standing right next to my ear and talking to me,” Zhao Wuya said.

"That's good."

Zhou Xuan said, "Let's go with this place. I'll go and inform Lao Hua later to have the people from the Mingjiang Prefecture government set up a stage here for storytelling."

With the venue settled, Zhou Xuan's affairs became much easier.

The three walked towards East Market Street. As they walked, Zhao Wuyai asked with some concern, "Brother Xuan, that pill of yours must be very precious, right?"

"should be."

Zhou Xuan said.

He had only refined a single medicinal dust, yet "fingers" came to take the pill. After taking the pill, auspicious omens descended, which was enough to demonstrate the value of this pill.

Not to mention a whole, complete "longevity pill".

Zhao Wuyai continued, "To tell you the truth, when I was obsessed with refining pills, I would always think wildly, if a supreme elixir were to emerge from that furnace, how could I, with my meager cultivation, possibly protect it?"

"and then?"

"Then every time I worried, it was all for nothing. I couldn't refine any useful pills at all."

"Kukuku." The White Deer Taoist priest was already laughing beside him.

"You stinking alchemist, what are you laughing at? I've emptied half a steel mill, can't I even dream a little?"

After Zhao Wuya finished teasing Bai Lu Fangshi, he said to Zhou Xuan, "But Xuan-ge'er, you're different. You really can refine good pills. Aren't you afraid someone will steal them?"

Zhou Xuan turned his head, looked at Zhao Wuyai seriously, and said, word by word, "I'm not afraid."

"why?"

“Because of you,” Zhou Xuan said.

"You think saying that will make me happy? Don't I know my own limitations?"

Zhao Wuyai was not buying Zhou Xuan's act.

Zhou Xuan pointed to the sky and said, "You're getting all worked up over a joke? Let me tell you, I don't need to call for reinforcements. There are people guarding this pot of pills for me."

He understood perfectly well that his pot of pills was extremely eye-catching, and naturally, there would be people trying to steal them.

However—he didn't get this position as a Dan official by asking for it; he insisted on getting it in front of the Taoist priests, the crippled monk, and the leader of the Longevity Cult.

If he ruins this pot of elixirs, the incense-burning Taoist priests will be fine, but that crippled monk and the Longevity Cult Leader will be in deep trouble.

"Those two have to act as my gatekeepers."

With these two Celestial Gods present, and the Heavenly Fire Clan standing behind them, who would dare to steal the pill?

"Two god-level beings are standing guard. Master, your attitude as a novice alchemist is much more advanced than that of the average alchemy disciple."

The White Deer Taoist priest stood by, and everyone said with envy.

Zhou Xuan smiled but didn't say anything more.
In his view, there must be quite a few people here today to steal the pills, and perhaps... it's not just the people of Jing Kingdom who have come...

"The Buddhists haven't caused any trouble for so long. Maybe they're waiting right here in front of this pot of pills."

Zhou Xuan thought to himself.

……

After Zhou Xuan, Zhao Wuya, and the White Deer Taoist left, the Heavenly Crippled Monk stood on the earthen hill outside Xiejia'ao, watching them go from afar.

A portal of light appeared.
The leader of the Longevity Cult walked out of the door, his face somewhat pale.

"Master, did you... have too much fun yesterday?"

"I was forced to take the pill by the Palace Master, isn't that how it is?"

The leader of the Longevity Cult said irritably.

"The pills that Zhou Xuan refines are too precious. He is going to give a lecture today, and there will probably be a lot of people trying to snatch them."

"Just kill them if they come. Trying to take things from the heavens is just asking for trouble."

"The Lord of Immortality said."

The Heavenly Crippled Monk nodded and said, "That's true... By the way, now that we've finally come to the mortal realm, the sect leader should take me to taste some blood offerings."

“Old Can, you, the Broken Robe, are the most Buddhist of the Otherworldly beings. You should be detached from worldly desires. How come you have the idea of ​​blood sacrifice when you come to the human world?”

"If you stay in that godforsaken place in the sky for too long, what's the point of talking about Buddhism? Your appetite is just as important."

The crippled monk said, "I must eat blood food."

"That's easy... After we've finished our business, I'll take you to see the King of Xishan."

The Longevity Cult Leader said lightly, "The entire fox clan is my granary for raising pigs and dogs. If you fancy any fox, just pick it. Eight incense sticks, seven incense sticks, once you've chosen, just eat. All you can eat."

As he spoke, he gently patted the belly of the crippled monk.

The Heavenly Crippled Monk could barely contain his drool...

……

The distance between the capital city and Mingjiang prefecture is long.
Most of the people in the Dunjia Sect possess extraordinary escape techniques, so they can travel to Mingjiang Prefecture overnight without much time loss.

However, the Calabash Taoist believed that a collective escape would be too much of a fuss, and that capturing Zhou Xuan would be counterproductive.

Therefore, they were all skilled at it and disguised themselves as caravans, traveling by traditional horse-drawn carriages.

Despite being a horse-drawn carriage, the horses were equipped with Taoist "armored horses" on their legs, making them exceptionally powerful. In less than half a day, they had already passed through the two prefectures.

Zhao Youting sat in the front carriage of the caravan, occasionally lifting the curtain to look at the road ahead.

"Where are we?" Zhao Longhu asked, his eyes slightly closed.

He was now calm and composed. Among the vehicles in the caravan sat three Supreme Ancestors, and three more were secretly following behind.

With the six patriarchs of the Dunjia Sect unleashed, what in the world can't be calmed down?
"Further ahead is Compassion Mountain, and beyond that mountain lies Mingjiang Prefecture."

Zhao Youting said.

"Come on, come on."

Zhao Longhu said, "This time, we brothers are also taking advantage of the situation... With all six Supreme Elders here, Zhou Xuan has no chance of escaping."

“Who says it isn’t…” Zhao Youting was about to agree.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the car.

"Slaughter a piglet, no charge, free slaughtering service."

"Slaughtering an old pig costs twelve copper coins; the price is fair, and we treat everyone fairly, young and old."

A butcher's cry of "losing money to gain popularity" reached the carriage, and immediately, the expressions on Zhao Longhu and Zhao Youting's faces changed...

(End of this chapter)